Emerald Chronicles

by Dandereshy

Rating: teen
Tags: Queen Chrysalis, Fluttershy, Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Main 6, Romance, Changelings, Original Character, Science Fiction
Length: 59795

Emerald Shield has had enough of Manehattan and all else it had to offer. In a last effort attempt to rid himself of all his past burdens, he moves to Ponyville. But fate had plans for him...and they would not be in his favor.

This story is being rewritten. Here is a link to the new version.

Emerald Shield lived in Manehattan for far too long. Nothing worked out right for him. He was an adult, cutie markless, friendless, and most recently...fatherless. Hoping to escape the torment of the city and lose his newly made adversary, he randomly chooses a town on the map to start a new life. With nothing to lose, he makes the choice that will alter his life forever...

Currently undergoing revisions. If you find any inconsistencies, I'm aware of them and are trying to fix them.

If you choose to thumbs down, please, respectfully provide a reason. I can't improve as an author without reader support. Thank you for understanding.
Links to music in story text.

Published 2015-05-04 07:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-06-07 06:59:11 UTC

Chapter 2(Revised)

Chapter 2

"Could you possibly be wanting something bigger?" The realtor asked him hopefully. After he'd seen Emerald's large amount of bits, he'd grown greedy, offering more and more expensive places in Ponyville.

"No, I like this one, actually. I don't need anything too big," Emerald said, admiring the simplicity of the medium-sized home. The homes and apartments in Manehattan were nothing compared to the homes he'd seen here in Ponyville. Out there it seemed that some ponies tried too hard to make them livable and nice at the same time, not caring about having sufficient furniture or atmosphere unless they were rich, but to no avail.

The realtor kept trying. "Surely a stallion of your caliber deserves a little more elegant than this! I have another you can see."

Emerald tossed a bag containing 1000 bits in front of the startled realtor. "I'm quite fine with this one, thank you."

The realtor smiled widely. "Of course you are. And so am I. Enjoy!" He left without another word.

The home was close to the edge of town, and even though he wanted to be far from large numbers of ponies, he couldn't care less at the moment. The home was great for a bargain price.

He also had to be sure that Black Flame did not know he was here, as consequences would surely ensue.

He brought all of his things to the bedroom, where he personalized it to the best of his ability, until the movers got his other stuff there.

After he checked out the house more closely, he left to do a little bit of town exploration and deposit his bits. It wasn't safe to carry the large amount of bits he had. Even though he hadn't been able to get a job, when his father Sapphire Shield died a few weeks ago, he was the inheritor. He'd been living off the money ever since.

He left the house and stood out front, looking around curiously. Everypony was just minding their own business. Emerald marveled at this. He was so used to the nosy, stuck-up wannabes in Manehattan. This was incredible. Maybe he could live here without any trouble.

Emerald walked toward the few stores lined up downtown. It was early afternoon, so a lot of ponies were out eating lunch or just finishing.

He decided to go check out the few businesses, but first he went and deposited what bits he didn't need.

He kept about a hundred and deposited ten thousand.

"Wealthy, are we?" The pony behind him commented.

"No," Emerald said truthfully. Loneliness is not wealth, no matter how much money you have, he thought unhappily.

He left and went to the Ice Cream Shop. It was hot outside, and in turn a lot of ponies were at the shop getting ice cream to cool down.

Emerald sighed and got in the line.

"But I don't want dark chocolate, I wanna banana split!" Applebloom complained to Applejack, who tried to reason with her.

"No, that banana split there is jus' too darn expensive. I'm gettin' the dark chocolate cone, too."

Applebloom pouted. "But you asked me what I wanted!"

"I know. And I'm regretting it," Applejack mumbled.

"It's only ten bits! Come on!"

The line moved forward a few spaces and they were at the counter.

"Can I help you?" The ice cream pony asked cheerily.

Emerald kept his distance, but at the same time listened to Applejack and Applebloom argue.

"Ten bits? Well skin me alive. That's twice as much as a dark chocolate, I can't afford that."

Applebloom looked hurt. "You said you had fifteen bits."

"I did, but we got other stuff to buy with that, girl. I can't jus' spend it all on ice cream. Jus' get a darn chocolate cone. Besides, ya' said ya' like 'em."

"Can you please make your decision. I have customers waiting," The cashier said, getting annoyed.

"I'll get ya' an ice cream cone," Applejack told her little sister.

"Uh…that won't be necessary," Emerald interrupted her. She glanced at him curiously.

Emerald dug out five bits and gave them to her.

She took them, looking surprised. "That's awfully nice of you, stranger. But ya' don't have to help."

Emerald waved his hoof dismissively. "That's okay. I've got plenty of that. Just get your, um, I assume this is your little sister?"

Applejack nodded. "She's my little sis, yeah."

"Well get the girl a banana split," Emerald said with a smile.

"Thanks, mister! It's 'bout time somepony came to their senses," Applebloom said, staring at the ice cream through the glass display and drooling.

"Are you quite ready to order yet?" The ice cream pony demanded, impatient.

"Yeah, yeah. Get us a dark chocolate ice cream and a banana split," Applejack said, handing her the bits.

"It's about time," the salespony groused, taking the bits and giving them their ice cream.

Applejack and Applebloom both turned to Emerald. "If you ever need help with anything, just ask me." Applejack told him.

Emerald scratched the back of his head. "Well, I am new to Ponyville…"

"Great!" Applejack exclaimed. "My name's Applejack, this here is my lil' sis', Applebloom, an' later I'll introduce ya to my friends. We'll help you get to know Ponyville. Ya busy tonight?"

Odd question. "Uh…yes, I suppose. Why do you ask?"

"Take your conversation elsewhere, please," the pony behind the counter said, giving them a dirty look.

Applejack returned the same look. "Come by the Spiral Tower, it's the tallest thing in Ponyville besides the town hall, and I'll come get ya and bring ya over to my friend Twilight's house. That's where all my friends will be. We'll help ya out."

Emerald nodded. "Well, thank you. I will do that."

"That's great," she looked over at Applebloom, who was hungrily devouring her ice cream. "Say thanks to…"

"Emerald," he said.

"…Emerald for getting ya the ice cream."

Applebloom gave him a grin full of chocolate. "Thanks!"

Applejack gave him an embarrassed smile. "Ha ha ha. She does that sometimes," she took Applebloom by the hoof and led her to the front doors. "We taught ya better than that, Applebloom. That was embarrassin'. You'll be lucky I don't tell Granny Smith 'bout this..."

"Sorry."

"Are you gonna order or stand there?" the colt behind Emerald demanded.

Emerald stepped up to the counter. "I'll have a dark chocolate please."

Black Flame was furious.

The stallion he specifically instructed to keep a close eye on Emerald had no idea where he was.

After Black Flame had gone to Emerald's apartment and discovered that nopony lived there, he'd immediately gone back to his home and called his spy, Sly Spy, over.

"When did you last check on his position?" Black Flame demanded, the shadowy-figured pony trying to keep his temper in check.

The red-and-white-colored stallion stood nervously before his boss, who clearly was not amused. "Um…Well earlier, I noticed he was packing his stuff up, but I didn't think anything of it."

Black Flame exploded. "You imbecile! Nopony just packs up their stuff for no reason!" As was his name, Black Flame utilized his special ability to frighten Sly by throwing a black ball of fire into the nearest wall with his broken horn, singeing it.

Sly Spy cringed. "Well, maybe he just moved into another part of the city."

"Damn it Sly, there's millions of ponies in Manehattan! He could be anywhere and I'd never find out!"

"Well sorry, boss, but I got hungry. You don't sit out there all day watching his house."

"WHAT did you just say?" He got in Sly's face. "That's what I pay you to do, you moron! To watch him no matter what!" He lit an orb of dark fire and prepared to use it to kill Sly, but held back for a little more information. "Did you go in the apartment when you found out he left?"

Sly trembled before his boss. "Yes. He left a few things there."

Black Flame turned away and walked a few feet, facing the door. "Unfortunately, I don't condone mistakes, and you have made a fatal one." He turned and blasted Sly in the face with a ball of fire. He collapsed on the floor, unmoving.

Black Flame glared down at Sly. "If you want something done, you have to do it yourself."

He left for the apartment Emerald abandoned.

Chapter 3(Revised)

Chapter 3

That evening, after Emerald ate dinner and made a few runs around town, he came home and rested before going to the tower where Applejack had instructed him to meet her. The tower looked like a giant candy cane to him. After dark, not too many ponies were out, something far different than Manehattan. Manehattan was a city that never slept. And was unsafe on many levels.

Ponyville was quiet – much quieter than Emerald was used to. It was almost too quiet.

He stood in the area of space in front of the tower and waited patiently but with a persistent paranoia for Applejack. He still had a fear of darkness after almost being killed a few weeks ago.

While Emerald was getting groceries for himself and his dad, Black Flame had followed Emerald all the way from the store to about a block from him and his father's modest apartment in a decent part of town. Black Flame jumped on Emerald and attempted to kill him with a fireball, and Emerald escaped his grasp and scrambled for safety. Black had missed the first three times, but the fourth blast had caught Emerald on the tip of his left wing, igniting it and putting him in extreme pain. Emerald escaped and put out the fire on his wing, but the damage was done. He couldn't fly very well from then on, if at all.

Just another reason for his paranoia.

"Hey you – "

"Ahhh!" Emerald leapt into the branches of a nearby tree.

It was Applejack, confused and amused at the same time. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle ya'." She apologized.

Emerald laughed nervously. "Oh…" He dropped out of the tree with a heavy thud. "Sorry, just a bit on the easily startled side."

"I guess we all get the hay scared out of us every once in a while, huh?" She said, smiling understandably at him.

He scratched the back of his head. "I guess you're right."

She turned and began walking down the street. "Come on, now. My friends are eager to meet ya."

________________________________________

When they got to Twilight's, Applejack introduced Emerald to her friends. All of them seemed friendly, and none made fun of him for not having his cutie mark. In fact, they seemed to want to help him.

"How old are you?" asked Rainbow Dash, who was lounging out in a foldable lawn chair set up in the middle of the room. The others were set up in their chairs around her as well. Spike sat in his bed.

"Well, older than you guys, I'm guessing," Emerald said, sitting in a chair in front of all of them.

"Try me," Rainbow Dash urged him.

"20."

"DANG!" She yelled happily. "I like being the oldest."

"You aren't the oldest, I'm pretty sure Fluttershy is," Twilight pointed out.

"It's really not all that important…" Emerald said quietly.

"Oh, yes it is," Rainbow Dash countered. "I'm the oldest. I'm 21."

"I'm 23," Rarity said matter-of-factly.

"I'm only 20," Fluttershy tried to clear herself out of the argument.

"It's REALLY not that important…" Emerald repeated.

"What!? You told me you were 21 like me!" Rainbow Dash raged at Rarity.

"Well I lied to make you feel better. Is that so wrong?" She admitted.

Rainbow Dash glared at her. "Very."

"Okay, moving on," Twilight said, getting out a map from her collection on her bookshelf. "Here's a map of Ponyville. It should be helpful even though it's a few years old." She gave it to Emerald.

"Thanks," He took it and put it in his bag he brought with him.

"So, did ya' get yer own place?" Applejack asked him, changing the subject.

Emerald nodded once. "Yeah, and it's pretty nice, too."

"Where is it?" Twilight asked him from over at her bookshelf, getting a few books for him to read.

"Uh, I'm not sure, but there's a park nearby. It's a medium-sized home and newer, from what the realtor told me."

"Oh, you're over there by Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. "She's gonna try and give you an animal."

"I was going to ask him, yes," Fluttershy agreed quietly.

"So where'd you come from?" Spike spoke up from his bed.

Emerald shifted in his seat. He didn't like where this was going. "I was born and raised in Manehattan."

A few of them gasped, growing far more interested.

"Big city," Pinkie Pie noted.

"That's where Babs Seed is from," Applejack reminded her friends for reference.

"Why'd you move to Ponyville? Manehattan is far more glamorous," Rarity asked quizzically. Twilight came back over with a stack of books a pony tall and set them next to Emerald's chair.

"Is it really necessary to give him all those books, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked her.

"Well everypony likes reading – I think. Right?" She looked at Emerald, who nodded.

"I moved out here to Ponyville to get out of the city life," Emerald explained. "It's too crowded and noisy and everypony hated me."

"Well, we won't hate ya here," Applejack reassured him.

They all agreed.

"We'll help you get your cutie mark, if it means anything to you," Rarity said.

"Well, I appreciate the help. It's…nice," Emerald was touched.

"Now, what about Ponyville –"

"Or us," Pinkie Pie interrupted.

Twilight glared at her and continued. "What else do you want to know about us or Ponyville?"

Emerald had a list.

Black Flame was furious as he flew over to the apartment Emerald had previously rented. That numbskull Sly had it coming. If he hadn't been so foolish, I could have kept him.

The darkened sky was overcast and hung low, threatening to rain. He could smell it. He started flying faster.

As he approached the apartment, he noticed that the lights in the front room were on. So maybe he didn't leave and instead tricked Sly…?

He wanted to find out.

He landed in the street in front of the front door and knocked casually. Then he hid around the corner to rush whoever opened.

The door unlocked and opened very slowly, but Black Flame couldn't see who it was, so he leapt into the door, throwing the pony who was inside across the room into a wall.

"Waaaaah!"

It wasn't Emerald. It was some blue pony.

"Who are you?" Black Flame asked angrily.

The pony rubbed her head and stood up slowly. "Why, I'm Trixie. Who are you and why are you breaking into Trixie's house?" She looked frightened.

"None of your business. I ask the questions. How long have you been here?" He asked, pacing the room.

Trixie stopped rubbing her head. "Um, Trixie has only been here since this afternoon."

"Why are you talking in third person? It's ridiculous," But kind of cute.

She backed against the wall. "Please don't hurt Trixie. She swears she didn't do anything."

He stopped pacing. "Did you find anything in here when you moved in?" He asked, a little less harshly, giving her some pity.

Trixie seemed to notice the change in his attitude and voice. "Um, yes. There was a piece of paper with some mover names and a receipt in the kitchen on the counter. They're in the trash."

Black Flame went into the kitchen and dug through the trash until he found the stuff. "So," He whispered. "Moved to Ponyville, huh? I can handle that. I needed to move anyway," he threw the paper and receipt away and turned back to Trixie. She stood there nearby, looking nervously at him, but not making eye contact. "I'm not going to hurt you." He told her gently.

She clearly didn't believe him since he'd already thrown her into a wall. "What did you need those papers for?" She asked, still frightened.

Black Flame closed his eyes for a few moments and then answered, "Revenge."

Trixie walked up to him, fighting her fear for the sake of sudden curiosity. "Revenge?"

He looked up at her. She's really pretty…"How about you join me?" he offered.

She was taken aback. "Me? But Trixie's life of crime ended a long time ago. She has no desire to take part in harmful activities."

Harmful activities? "Come on. I know you have revenge to reap. Everypony does," he prodded her.

"Trixie is a changed...well…actually, there might be someone Trixie has always wanted to better…" She gave in.

"That's the spirit! Who is that?" He kept going.

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "You wouldn't know her."

"But you want to be better than her, correct? You want her to beg for mercy from you?" He fed her hate.

She looked upset now. Mad. "Yes, yes Trixie would. She made The Great and Powerful Trixie look like a fool! Trixie wants to make her cry out in pain as she – "She looked over at Black Flame. "Say, who are you anyway?"

Black Flame grinned darkly. "Your new friend."

Chapter 4(Revised)

Chapter 4

As the night wore on, Emerald opened up a little more, and began laughing and joking with the other ponies. They noticed it too and began doing the same with him. Trust built up as he began acting the way he truly was.

"You couldn't beat me in a flying contest. I seriously doubt it," Rainbow Dash was saying. He'd told them he could beat her despite his wing injury.

"Oh, I'm certain I can. I was a street racer in Manehattan," he challenged her, a smile spreading across his face.

"Uh, oh…" Fluttershy uttered.

"We'll see about that tomorrow," Rainbow Dash said hastily.

"Yer gonna to regret trying to beat her," Applejack told Emerald.

He snorted. "Ha! I laugh at competition."

"No, Applejack's right. You're not going to beat her," Twilight agreed with her.

"Well, we'll find out tomorrow for sure. Place your bets, folks," Emerald half-joked, stretching in his seat.

"So what are your hobbies? What do you like to do on your own time?" Pinkie Pie asked him, leaning forward from her chair in interest.

Emerald considered what to say. "Well, I enjoy books, I like interacting with animals, I like walks in the woods and flying, I like food and I like games."

They all stared at him, mouths open and eyes wide.

"The best of all worlds, huh?" Spike said humorously.

"Well, a few things that seem to be more popular, yes," Emerald looked at them. "Is there something wrong? Did I say something offensive?"

They snapped out of it. "No, no no no no no. It's just nice to hear you have such a wide variety of interests," Twilight told him, looking at the others and back at him.

"He certainly does have a variety of hobbies," Rarity agreed. "But none that I'm interested in."

"What are you interested in?" Emerald asked, turning to her and catching her off guard.

She blinked a few times. "I am a pony of style and fashion. I'm very sophisticated and I like collecting and making outfits for desirable customers."

"Desirable?" Emerald cocked his head to the side.

"Careful, Rarity," Applejack warned her.

"What? I'm telling him my hobbies. He asked, after all."

"How about you, then, Applejack?" Emerald asked, changing ponies. "You look like a country pony. And sound like one, too."

Applejack smiled. "Ya guessed right. I like farmin' and apple harvestin'. I do it all fer Ponyville, and the Apple family, of course. It's my favorite thing to do." She pointed a hoof at her cutie mark. "And it's my special ability."

"Special ability? What are you, an action figure?" Spike said and laughed at his own joke.

"Ok, why don't you tell me about yours, Fluttershy?" Emerald turned his attention to her. She drew back in nervousness. "Um, well, you don't have to answer if you don't feel comfortable."

"Oh, don't mind her, she's just a bit shy toward strangers," Twilight informed Emerald.

He nodded. "It's fine. She can take her time."

"Um...you...you like w-what I like..." She stammered and let her mane fall in front of her face to conceal it. Her embarrassment and timidness clearly got the best of her.

"Fluttershy, you don't have to be so shy. He's not scary or anything," Rainbow Dash said to her.

Fluttershy kept silent.

"Um, Fluttershy, are you alright?" Twilight asked her, concerned.

She nodded very slowly. "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry for being so quiet..."

"Oh, that's okay. Did you have more to say?" Emerald encouraged her.

She sighed. "Um, I like cooking, animals, and trees."

Emerald smiled. "Trees?"

"Yes, I'm afraid she's very fond of her trees," Twilight answered.

"That's adorable."

Fluttershy blushed and smiled, hiding her face with her mane again.

"Awww, nuts. We're out of cheese again," Rainbow Dash whined. She tossed the empty can across the room into the trash can.

"So, Twilight, you like…what now?" Emerald asked her.

"As if it wasn't obvious..." Rainbow muttered.

She gave Rainbow Dash her evil eye.. "Me? Oh, I like reading, writing, and learning new spells."

"Yeah, she's the best in the land," Pinkie Pie said loudly. "Just like I'm the party pony. Need a party? Come to me!"

"She's had competition twice, but we made her competition change her ways," Applejack said, referring to Twilight.

"What do you mean?" Emerald asked attentively.

Twilight stood and went over to her bookshelf, looking for something. "There was a pony named Trixie, and she came into town one day, claiming to be the 'The Great and Powerful Trixie'. It was annoying and not true. She tried to use a spell she couldn't, and almost got hurt by an Ursa Minor. After I took care of the Ursa, Trixie showed no remorse for being arrogant. She ended up coming back and using the Alicorn Amulet to take over Ponyville, and she kind of did, but we stopped her. She was apologetic and changed her name to 'The Great and Apologetic Trixie'."

"So she changed? Where is she now?" Emerald wanted to know, just for good measure.

Twilight gave up and went back over to where she was sitting. "She left town, but I'm sure she's truly sorry and won't ever try again."

"She did seem pretty different after the second incident," Rarity added.

Emerald reached for the bag of chips near his seat on the floor.

"Did you make any friends in Manehattan?" Pinkie Pie asked him.

"I like flying, thanks for asking," Rainbow Dash said with a hint of attitude.

"Oh, please. Like he couldn't figure that out already," Spike waved his claw.

"Hey, he asked everypony else but me. I had to say it."

"I wasn't done asking, but to answer your question Pinkie Pie, I had one friend for most of my life, but we had problems, so he and I don't hang out anymore," he thought back on the assassination attempt and shivered.

"What kind of problems?" Pinkie Pie poked.

"Pinkie Pie, that's not our business." Rarity admonished her.

"No, no...It's fine." Emerald said. "He and I were friends all our lives, but around my 19th birthday, he began acting strangely. He was belligerent and argumentative. He blamed my being made fun of on me, like it was my fault I couldn't find my purpose or get my cutie mark. He and I got into a fight one day, and he vowed to come back and 'make me pay' someday, whatever that meant."

"Sounds like he may have a grudge now. Maybe he's blaming ya for something else and he's not telling ya for some reason." Applejack suggested.

"Or he's mad at himself for something and took it out on you." Twilight offered too.

Emerald shrugged. "Whatever it is, he seems pretty mad about it. I don't want to confront him about it any time soon. He's a bit violent."

"Well, doesn't he live in Manehattan?" Rainbow Dash asked him, lounging out so far down in her seat she was almost on the floor.

Emerald nodded. "Yes. He still lives a few blocks from where I used to live. At least, I think he still lives there."

"Any chance he'd move here?" Twilight asked in worry.

He shook his head. "I strongly doubt it. He'd never shown interest in Ponyville, mainly because neither of us ever knew it existed. And when I moved, I made sure he didn't move. Besides, Black Flame is a city colt. He'd die out here from lack of population and fun. He's the kind that likes gambling."

"Sounds like a jerk." Spike muttered.

"He didn't used to be, but yes, he is." Emerald confirmed.

"So, what do you plan on doing here in Ponyville? What made you choose Ponyville out of all towns?" Rainbow Dash asked, sipping a soda.

"Get my cutie mark, stay away from the city life, make friends, keep friends, and not get attacked." He replied nonchalantly.

"Attacked?" Twilight repeated with a frown.

"Nothing. It's not important."

"So are ya' gonna sleep over here tonight? We have some board games we can play and tell stories," Applejack asked expectantly.

Emerald shook his head. "Sorry, but I've got to be at my house for tonight until tomorrow morning for my stuff coming in. I'll have to leave here in a few minutes. But tomorrow I've got nothing to do, so, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like a tour of Ponyville."

"I'll walk him back home!" Fluttershy offered suddenly. "Of course, that's because I have to go feed Angel dinner and come back." She smiled innocently.

"Okay, well, thanks for coming over, and we'll help you unpack tomorrow if you want. After that, we'll give you that tour you wanted. You're going to love Ponyville," Twilight said warmly.

"Sounds good. Thank you guys for your help."

"Don't mention it," Applejack replied kindly.

"See you guys tomorrow," He got up and took the chips over to Rainbow Dash. "You kept eyeing them, so I assume that means you want them. Here."

"Alright!" She exclaimed happily. She immediately began eating them noisily, sending bits and pieces everywhere.

Emerald turned to leave. Fluttershy quickly followed him.

When he stepped outside, Fluttershy got beside him.

"So what made you want to walk with me, Ms. Shy?" He asked with a curious smile on his face.

She looked away and blushed. "I…I figured I'd give you somepony to talk to while you walked home because I had to go home to feed Angel anyway."

"Who's Angel?"

She looked over at him excitedly. "He's my adorable pet bunny. He's cute, and funny and smart. I don't know what I'd do without him."

"Sounds like a good friend."

She nodded. "He is. All my friends are."

They got on the street their houses were on.

"Well, if you want to be my friend, I'll be a good one too," he proposed with a smile.

She smiled back timidly. "Oh…of course. I thought we already were..."

"Good. I'm doing better than I thought I would."

They approached his house. "This is my stop." They stopped in front of it and faced each other.

"Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Fluttershy said softly.

"Hopefully. Thanks for walking me home. It was very kind of you. You're a sweetheart."

She blushed again. "Yeah, that's what my friends say."

"I should hope so. It's true." He said. "Anyway, be safe and goodnight." He turned and went to his door.

"Goodnight." She still stood there after Emerald went in. She was there for a few moments, then turned to go to her house.

Chapter 5(Revised)

Chapter 5

Emerald was running down a dark street. The sky was overcast, obscure, and spitting rain drops. Manehattan was quiet, and he didn't see a single light on or anypony on the streets - strange for the city, even on a night such as this. The smell of pollution and trash filled the air, with the hint of fresh rain.

Emerald was running from a sound. A sound so familiar, it scared him to death.

The sound of being followed.

He knew who it was without even seeing them. So he began trotting home.

But the follower kept pace. Emerald broke into a full gallop.

The stalker stayed hot on his tail. Emerald started panicking. He knew what would happen if he was caught.

He rounded the edge of a skyscraper and ran into an alley, racing to the other end, a different street. Looking back into the alley, Emerald saw nothing but darkness.

Then the sound of hooves shuffling behind him startled him into a run again.

The pursuer never fell behind.

Emerald dove through different streets abruptly, trying to shake off the shadow. It was futile.

Now in a frantic sprint, his hooves clopping noisily on the pavement as he zipped in and out of the streets and between buildings, he failed to see the higher curb and tripped, rolling end over end a dozen times and coming to rest against the side of an office building.

The sky erupted with lightening, and it began to pour large, cold raindrops.

Dazed, Emerald drew up into a fetal position until the dizziness subsided.

Through the rain, whenever the lightning burst from the sky, he thought he saw a dark figure approaching from down the street where he just came from.

"Go away!" He shouted in pure terror.

The figure got closer and he heard his name called in an evil whisper, seemingly right next to his ear.

"Emerald…"

Emerald tried to stand, but it was as if his body was refusing the command. He stared in horror as the figure came ever closer.

"I said leave me alone!" He screamed.

"You can't run forever. Your time has come, Emerald."

Black Flame stepped up to him, only a pony-length away. He was almost invisible due to his midnight black coat. Only his fiery red and orange mane and piercing orange eyes gave away his position.

"Black Flame, I didn't do anything! Leave me alone!" Emerald tried again to stand and flee, but his legs were in severe pain, and his ankles likely sprained.

Black Flame glowered down at Emerald. He looked menacing and very angry. "I've finally got you. It was only a matter of time." He leaned down to a frightened Emerald's face and whispered hoarsely, "I know where you live."

Then he raised his head and lit up a ball of purple fire.

Lightning flashed and Emerald screamed as Black Flame launched the fire at him.

"AHHHHHHH!" Emerald awoke lying on the floor, drenched in sweat and tangled in his sheets. He wasn't sure what was happening or where he was for a moment until he regained his composure. He stood up, weak but okay, and went to his bedroom window. Save for a few stray clouds, the deep purple nighttime sky was clear. The moon was nearly full, and it shed its yellowish light over all the land, giving it an eerie glow. Not a single pony was outside, which didn't surprise him.

He turned back to his bed and went back over to lie down.

Sleep wouldn't come again tonight.

Emerald barely dozed off before a rap at his door startled him out of his bed. A glance at the clock on the wall revealed that it was only six in the morning.

At first, he couldn't think of anypony who'd be knocking on his door so early, but he then remembered his request to have the movers here early, for safety reasons.

He wandered down into his living room and opened the front door.

"Uh, Emerald?" An older stallion asked unsurely.

"Yes?" Emerald managed to say. His voice sounded awful.

"I've got your stuff here," He motioned toward the lighter-built mule, the stallions less-bulky partner, with the trailer that was hopefully full of Emerald's belongings.

"Oh…sorry. I'll get it," Emerald went out to the trailer, and along with the two movers, brought all of his things into the living room and set them on the floor.

"Thanks, guys."

The mule waved it off. "No problem. Enjoy your new house."

They left, and Emerald went back into his room and collapsed face-down on his pillow. "Ugh." A few minutes later, another knock made him slide out of his bed onto the floor in annoyance. "Now who is it?"

He went to the front door and opened it roughly. It was Pinkie Pie and Twilight. They smiled warmly, full of energy and well-slept.

"We're here to help you unpack. We saw the movers come and rushed over to help," Twilight said gregariously.

So much for discretion. "Okay…uh, thanks. Come in."

They came in and immediately complimented his home.

"Thanks, girls. It's a nice home alright. Good price."

They went over to his boxes that contained a majority of his things.

"So, what first?" Pinkie Pie asked, looking at labels on the sides of the boxes.

"The kitchen stuff first. Then the bedroom, then the living room. And I'll take care of the bathroom stuff," Emerald instructed them. He opened the two boxes for the kitchen.

"You don't have a lot for your kitchen," Twilight noticed, watching him pull out dishes and hand them to her and Pinkie Pie.

"Yeah, I never really did. It's not my favorite room in the house."

"It sure is mine. Oh my gosh I love cooking. Let me tell you, I've made some really neat – "

"Pinkie, not now please. Tell him later." Twilight told her.

"It's okay. I wasn't meaning all you guys were going to do was unpack, I'm good for a chat." The gruffness of his voice betrayed him. "We can talk while we do this." Emerald led them into the kitchen. He started putting pots and pans under the sink, thus prompting Twilight and Pinkie Pie to do the same.

"So, did you sleep well?"

Emerald was slow to answer. "No, not at all. But that's okay. I'll rest later."

"Gosh, were you excited? I know I'd be if I just moved to a new town." Pinkie Pie asked while bringing plates in and putting them in a cabinet.

"Um…not particularly. I'd rather not talk about it." Emerald replied, sounding very tired suddenly. They caught the cue.

"Bedroom stuff now?" Twilight inquired, pointing at the empty kitchen boxes.

Emerald sighed heavily. "Yes." He opened the box and they helped him carry it into his room.

"This is really neat." Pinkie Pie approved.

They pulled stuff out of the boxes and helped him put them where he wanted.

"Do you like Ponyville so far?" Asked Twilight as she put stuff in his nightstand.

Emerald nodded. "Yes. You guys are my favorites and the reason I do like it."

"Awww, thanks. You're too kind," Pinkie thanked him.

"We're happy to have you here in Ponyville," Twilight said .

"No, thank you guys. For being so friendly. It was so hard to make friends in Manehattan. They were so judgmental there," Emerald sat down on his bed.

"Well, we're your friends now. Me, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Spike. And we won't judge you ever," Pinkie Pie assured him.

He smiled warmly. "That's very nice."

"Now we do the living room?" Twilight wondered.

He got up and went out to it, the two followed him. "Yup. Then we'll be done."

"Great, cause I've got a few things to do this morning." Pinkie said, trying not to sound rude.

"Well, so do I, but we're in no hurry," Twilight added.

"That's fine. We've got just a little bit left." He tore open a box in the center of the living room and seen the first thing on top.

A picture of his dad.

He stood still as a statue, feeling a pang of pain as he remembered the one who raised him fed him, comforted him, and loved him no matter what. Without realizing it, he grew teary-eyed.

"Ummmm…are you okay?" Twilight asked him in alarm.

He shook his head vigorously to shake off the pain and sadness. "Yeah, sorry…it's just…that's my dad. And he died right before I moved out here."

"Oh…oh, sorry to hear that," She gave him her condolences. Pinkie Pie did as well.

Emerald thanked them. "And thank you guys for your help."

"Yeah, any time you need help, just ask one of us. We'll be there for you," Pinkie Pie told him.

They followed him to the front door and he let them out.

"Just come to my house when you want anything today, okay?" Twilight said with a friendly smile.

"I will be by later for that tour I was promised." He winked at them.

"Okay. Bye." They left.

Emerald shut the door and turned around.

"Long day ahead."

Chapter 6(Revised)

Chapter 6

"Then she told me I wasn't good enough to use the Alicorn Amulet. Can you believe that?" Trixie and Black Flame were walking to his gang hideout on the less populated side of town. Black Flame had convinced her to be his partner as they seek and reap revenge on the two that they believed wronged them. Trixie had actually consented to a relationship with him if he promised to tell her the truth the whole time they were taking over Ponyville. Now he was taking her to his hideout to grab a few of his boys to go to Ponyville with.

"That's horrible. I think you're plenty capable of being powerful. You're my Great and Powerful Trixie." He said sweetly. She smiled at him.

"Why, thank you. Who are these minions of yours?"

They rounded a corner, and a poorly built, abandoned office building stood before them on the end of the street. The white paint was peeling and fading to a nasty gray, and it had graffiti on almost every side. Only one entrance was available, always guarded from within.

"They are my faithful and obedient agents of darkness. They do as I say and do it well. Trust me, they'll never let us down, or the consequences for them will be lethal." Black Flame assured her as they got to the entrance and went in. "Grudge! Blade! Dark Storm! Get over here, now!" He hollered, his voice echoing through the whole building.

Within a few moments, three battle scarred stallions approached them from the darkness. Grudge was a smaller, lankier, but sinister-looking unicorn. He had a dark blue mane and grey coat. A large scar ran vertically across his face, from ear to lower jaw. Grudges cutie mark was a black stone.

The Pegasus was Blade. He was large, muscular, and faithful to the death. He was red-maned and white-coated, with many scars on his face and body. A tattoo of a double-edged sword ran from his neck to his flank, blade facing forward. Blade's cutie mark was a double-edged axe.

Dark Storm was a Pegasus as well, and looked very similar to Black Flame, since they were cousins. Dark Storm was a dark gray with a deep red mane. Only a few small scars covered his face, but he had an eye patch on his left eye, signaling a battle loss. His cutie mark was a cloud with red lightening.

The three of them bowed before Black Flame and Trixie.

"Black Flame? What is it you need, boss?" Blade asked, looking at Trixie with curiosity.

"I have a job for you, and I need your complete cooperation, loyalty, and participation," Black Flame said ominously. "The pay will be – astoundingly high."  He motioned for Trixie to come forward. "This is my girlfriend and second in command. You will answer to her if not to me, understand?"

"Wait – what job are we talking about?" Blade asked, tapping at the concrete floor with his hoof.

"I've got Emerald on radar, and Ponyville isn't far behind on my schedule for domination. Plus, this one here has unfinished business and knows about the Alicorn Amulet. We must retrieve that for success to be an option. This is my biggest mission for you yet. I must eliminate Emerald. He mustn't discover his ability. Obviously, under those circumstances, he cannot be allowed to get his cutie mark. Anything and everything must be done to prevent that."

"What's his ability? Why can't he be allowed to get his cutie mark?" Grudge demanded.

Black Flame turned to him, a dirty look on his face. "Don't you remember Sapphire Shield?"

The three of them shuddered.

"Of course, boss. That's the guy's dead old man." Blade answered.

"Yes, because we killed him before he could tell Emerald his ability. Under no circumstances can he be allowed to discover this. We must get rid of him." Black Flame walked up to Blade casually and pointed out his scars. "You'll get more of those if we cannot destroy Emerald before he gets his cutie mark - or worse. I want an eye kept on him until I'm ready to confront him, understand?

"Where is he, exactly?" Dark Storm spoke up. He didn't look too happy.

"I don't know yet. But that is what I will pay you guys for, understand?"

"We aren't Sly Spy, Black Flame, we don't do surveillance for any price," Blade said defiantly. "We are warriors, not spies."

"Are you sure?" Black Flame asked, throwing a sack of 1000 bits on the floor in front of them. "There's 10,000 more where that came from if you decide to join me on this wonderful campaign. Your choice."

The three of them looked at each other.

"Alright, we'll do it. For 10,000 each."

Black Flame grinned emotionlessly. "Fair enough."

"When is this job effective?" Asked Grudge.

Black Flame turned to leave with Trixie. "Immediately."

Emerald left not long after noon to go to Twilight's and see what she was up to. Along the way, he ran into Fluttershy, who was getting some food for Angel.

"Oh, hey! Um, what are you doing? I mean, right now of course," she asked bashfully.

Emerald smirked and said, "Oh, I was just going to Twilight's to get that tour."

Fluttershy perked up. "I can give you a tour…um…if you're okay with that. If you want me to."

I see where this is going. "Uh, yeah, sure. I'd like that. If you're not busy."

She finished paying for what she had and told him to follow her home so she could drop her stuff off for Angel. They were walking back from the busiest part of downtown, with all the businesses. "Are you enjoying your time here so far?" she asked him, trying to initiate a conversation. it was noisier in town today than the previous night, so Fluttershy had to speak louder for Emerald to hear.

"I like it. You guys have been so helpful and kind; I'm not used to it. But I do appreciate it. I'll pay you guys back sometime."

"Oh, you don't have to…" Then she said under her breath, "If you want to you can."

"Huh?" Emerald asked, not hearing her.

"Oh, nothing," she replied coolly. They got out of the main part of town onto the path that led to her house and Emerald's.

"So, is Angel talkative?" Does he tell you what he wants or needs?" Emerald asked, walking closer to her so he could hear her since she talked so quietly.

She gave him a sideways look for a split second, but returned to her usual shy style. "Oh, yes. He's talkative all the time. And a bit feisty, too."

"Mmhm. That sounds about right." He noticed that they'd already passed his house. "How much further do you live down the street from me?"

She grew a bit shy again. "Oh, not far. I'm only a few minutes away from you. Which is good."

Emerald frowned. "Good? Like, that we live near each other?"

"Yes, sorry, I'm rambling again," she replied. They got close enough to see her house now.

"That's a nice cabin. You're lucky," Emerald said, shielding his eyes from the sun as he walked.

Fluttershy smiled meekly. "In a lot of ways," she replied.

They walked up to her front door. It was a pretty home, decorated well.

"Um, do you want me to wait outside?" Emerald asked hesitantly.

"Of course not. Come in and make yourself at home. If you want to," she answered.

He obliged and followed her in. She went off and left him at the front door. "Angel! I got that food for you! Where are you, honey?"

Emerald stood there and looked around at the inside of her house. She kept it neat and tidy, something he expected. He kept his the same, but sometimes let it fall into disarray when he was really lazy.

"Are you thirsty?" Fluttershy asked him nicely as she entered the room.

He nodded. "A little, yes."

She motioned for him to come into her kitchen area. "You can get something if you'd like."

He thanked her and got something out of her fridge. "It's really been nice for you to help me like this."

She walked up to him and stood there. "I like helping other ponies. I'm a really big help for all my friends."

"I see that. I wish I could help you as much as you've helped me," Emerald confided, taking a sip and smiling at her.

"Oh, I'm sure you will sometime."

They stood there in awkward silence for a few moments.

"Okay, well, uh, do you wanna go hit the town? I mean, walk around?" Emerald suggested.

She gave him a momentary look of attraction, something he was surprised to have noticed. He refrained from saying anything. "Sure."

He smiled a half-forced smile. "Great. We should uh, head out so we have enough time before dark."

'Yeah, that's a good idea. Have you eaten lunch?"

He opened the door for her. "No, that's what we're about to do."

"My, okay. I'll just get enough bits – "

"Don't worry about that, sweetheart. I've got it," he told her.

She reddened lightly. "Uh…okay. That's kind of you." She walked past him out the door and he trailed after her, shutting her door.

"Do you know a good place to eat?" he asked her as they began walking toward town.

She hesitated. "Well, there's this little restaurant – "

"No, Fluttershy. I mean good. Like, as in, nice," he cut her off, not trying to be rude, but sounding that way.

"Um, those are all in Canterlot. Up on the mountain," she responded, not understanding why he'd want such a place to spend money.

"Well, I guess after the tour, we're going to Canterlot." He looked over at her. "I'll take you out to eat."

She turned red again. "Like…like a…a date?"

He smiled amiably at her. "Yes, like a date."

Chapter 7(Revised)

Chapter 7

The restaurant was a 5-star, white-tablecloth place. Fluttershy had pointed it out while they were walking around, looking for a place to eat. The waiter immediately showed them a table near the back, where a large window overlooked Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. It was nearing dusk and the sky blazed with brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows, resembling a pastel painting.

Emerald smiled over at her from across the table at Fluttershy, who was wearing a casual dress that Rarity had designed for her a few weeks ago for a different event. Emerald was wearing a dark green tuxedo.

"So, this is a nice place to eat," Fluttershy commented, staring down at the silverware arranged neatly in front of her. She looked up at him through the flowers in a vase in the middle of the table.

Emerald grinned. "Yes, I told you I'd be picking something good."

"It's probably the fanciest restaurant I've ever eaten at. Will it be expensive?" she asked, concerned.

Emerald couldn't help but laugh. "Fluttershy, I told you, I'm going to spoil us tonight. It's the least I could do for the one who's shown the most interest in me. I'll get something for the others another time."

She seemed to glow, beaming at him. "Oh, my…"

A waiter came up to them, wearing a traditional suit and tie. "Can I get the lovely couple something to drink?" he asked, not even looking at them.

"How about a cocktail - of sodas," Emerald  said, looking at Fluttershy.

The waiter wrote this down on his notepad. "Okay, what would you like to eat?"

Emerald and Fluttershy answered at the same time, "Kale salad." They gave each other a look of surprise.

"You like…kale salad?" Emerald asked incredulously.

Her eyes sparkled as she answered, "I didn't know you liked the same thing I do."

"Neither did I," he said with a big smile. "Boy, it seems like you're just copying off of me."

"Will that be all?" The waiter asked, hinting that he needed to go to the next table for his other customers.

Emerald beamed at Fluttershy. "Yeah, that'll be all."

"Very well." He left quickly.

Emerald returned his attention to Fluttershy, who sat across the table giving him with an interested gaze. "What? I didn't do anything," he said innocently.

She shook her head. "Oh, sorry. I was just…thinking."

Emerald leaned forward. "About…?"

She blushed. "Nothing." Then she looked down at the table and changed the subject. "What did you do over in Manehattan? I mean, for a living?"

He was caught off guard. "Well, I was a pretty good flyer, so on weekends I'd fly in street contests for money. Also I was – never mind."

"You were what?" Fluttershy asked, wanting to hear the rest.

He felt uncomfortable sharing his past. "Nothing, it's not important. How long have you lived in Ponyville?"

She lowered her eyes to the table. "I moved to Ponyville as a filly. I was born in Cloudsdale, and I planned on staying, but I fell out of the clouds onto a beautiful swarm of butterflies. They stopped my fall, and later I learned my abilities with animals. With the help of Rainbow Dash, of course. It's how I got my cutie mark." Emerald cringed for a split second when she mentioned "cutie mark". He'd still not figured out what his ability could be. He was beginning to once again lose hope. Fluttershy must have noticed because she said, "Don't worry about getting your cutie mark. I promise you'll get it if it's the last thing I'll help you get."

"Thank you. I'm just not sure how, though. What could I possibly do to get it?" he asked, watching a waiter pass by with another couple's food and drinks balanced on a platter.

"You don't have to worry. It'll come to you. I promise." She tried comforting him again, sensing his distress.

"I miss my dad," Emerald started. "I remember him always telling me when I was a colt, 'I promise you'll know your capabilities by the time you're an adult. I'll see to it myself.' But, he died before he saw to it, so now how am I supposed to know? It's like, he knew what I was capable of even before I could walk. It makes me wonder…"

Fluttershy overcame her shyness and took his hooves from across the table. Emerald was astonished. "I want you to be happy, but you keep trying to do stuff you can't do. Trust me when I say, I'll make sure myself that you find your abilities. I will be there for you whenever you need me."

"Your meals," the waiter said as he brought them to the table and put them on it. They let go of each other's hooves to allow room for the plates. "Enjoy." The waiter said and left again.

Fluttershy and Emerald smiled bashfully at each other.

"Well…let's eat before it gets cold. Of course, it's salad, so it's already cold..." Emerald suggested, growing red-faced with embarrassment when he realized what he'd just said.

"Yeah," Fluttershy agreed and they commenced eating.

________________________________________

Later, they were back in Ponyville, walking side by side in the street. The sky had darkened to the point of a deep blue and purple hue. The moon just began its journey from the horizon into the sky. There wasn't anypony out tonight, for reasons Fluttershy and Emerald couldn't identify.

"Maybe it's a holiday again." Fluttershy offered.

Emerald shook his head in doubt. "Nah, it's probably just one of those nights."

"One of those nights?" Fluttershy repeated with uncertainty.

"It's just a figure of speech." He noticed they were about to pass his house. "Hey…why don't you stay for a few moments? I could show you around my house."

"That'd be pretty nice," she consented.

They walked up to his door. "When do you need to be back home?" he asked her as he opened the door and let her go in before him. He came in and turned on the light.

"Oh, just before midnight and I'll be fine," she said, turning to face him and watch him lock the door. He unlocked it after a moment's hesitation. "Why'd you unlock it?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Nopony's gonna break in. I trust Ponyville more than Manehattan. One couldn't even double-lock their door there and expect to be safe. Lots of break-ins there in the city." He held his hooves over his head and shouted, "Welcome to my humble abode, young lady!"

She giggled. "It's nice. You aren't done setting it up yet, are you?"

He shook his head slightly. "No. I stopped until the weekend."

"Got lazy, huh?" she said humorously.

He smiled. "Yes, I got lazy. So what?"

She trotted femininely up to him, stopping only inches away. She looked him deep in the eyes. "Oh, I guess I'll have to help you with that too."

"Yeah…uh, do you want to see the rest of my house?" he suggested.

She drew back a little. "Yeah, that'd be fine."

He smiled back at her. "It's not that bad. Come on, I'll show you my kitchen and bedroom."

She followed him around as he pointed out things to her and talked about them. They went into his room.

"And this is my sleeping quarters," he said jokingly.

"Your bed is messy. You don't make it every morning?" Fluttershy asked.

He sighed. "Uh, no. I do, it's just…last night, I – I had a…nightmare."

She came up to him and nuzzled him under his head on the side of his neck. "I'm sorry. What was it about?"

He sat down on his bed, and Fluttershy did the same right next to him. "I was running through Manehattan, from somepony who was following me. I was terrified. The city was dark and lonely, nopony in sight. It was about to rain, and now I was worried that I wouldn't be able to hear my stalker. I tried to outrun them, but I tripped over a curb and fell. It ended up being Black Flame, and the weirdest part was, he said right before he – hurt me, that he 'knew where I lived'. What does that mean?"

Fluttershy once again conquered her timid and bashful attitude and grabbed his hoof. He looked over at her, but this time, not surprised but lovingly.

"You know, you're pretty touchy for a shy girl."

She smiled mischievously. "I guess it's my concerned friend side taking over..."

He smiled affectionately. "That's interesting. Could I make it more?"

She nodded ever so slightly. "Um...h-how? If I may ask..."

He leaned toward her and kissed her. A long, passionate kiss – until they heard a high pitched squeak from the doorway, in which they both jerked their heads in the direction of.

Rainbow Dash stood in the doorway, her eyes wide and pupils shrunk to pinpoints, both hooves covering her mouth.

Emerald scratched the back of his head nervously. "Oh, dear."

Chapter 8(Revised)

Chapter 8

Trixie and Black Flame were packing their stuff to leave the next morning for Ponyville. Part of their plan was to find the Alicorn Amulet and then Emerald. After Emerald was eliminated, they'd effortlessly overpower Ponyville and claim it as their own. It, to them, was a foolproof plan.

"Darling, where am I putting your papers?" Trixie called out to him from his room. He was out in the living room packing the stuff in it.

"Just put it all in a box, we'll deal with it when we get there." He told her. He finished up with the room and went back to the room with Trixie. She looked up at him and smiled when she heard him come in.

"Well, it's about time you came in here and helped me."

He came up beside her and gently pulled the stuff out of her hooves. She looked up at him in surprise. "Don't worry about the stuff right now. I want to focus on you for once." He said provocatively. She grinned in understanding.

"Oh, my…now?"

He pushed her back on the bed. And climbed on top of her. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Yes…now."

They finished packing later that day.

"Rainbow Dash, it's not what it looks like. I swear," Emerald tried to say, jumping off the bed to approach her. He knew the others probably wouldn't approve of this relationship, knowing that Emerald was new, and they hardly knew anything about him.

Rainbow Dash took a step back and glared at him. "What kind of pony do you think I am, huh? I'm not stupid," she said angrily. "I'm older than you. I know exactly what's going on."

Emerald and Fluttershy looked sheepishly at each other.

Rainbow Dash's expression of anger disappeared, and she raised an eyebrow. "And I gotta say – that was fast."

That caught both Fluttershy and Emerald off guard.

"Wait – I thought you were mad? Aren't you?" Emerald asked, muddled.

Rainbow Dash put an arm around both of them and pulled them against her, smiling. "It's fine, guys. I understand you got a little – excited." She laughed. "On the other hoof, I want hush money." Her smile faded to a serious scowl.

Fluttershy and Emerald gave each other concerned looks.

"Uh, that's…fair. How much are we talking about? I mean, just until we're comfortable sharing it with everypony else," Emerald asked, worried.

"Um, well, actually...I wouldn't mind telling the others. They could help us out whenever we needed it. But if you don't want anypony to know..." Fluttershy murmured.

"It's not them knowing that I'm afraid of; it's the rebuttals I'd get from them," Emerald said, burying his face in his hooves.

Rainbow Dash laughed again. "No worries, guys. I just need ten bits a day to seal my lips."

"TEN BITS?!" Emerald yelled. "Are you on drugs, lady? I have to be able to provide for myself, I can't be spending all my money on…silent Rainbow Dash."

"Can you be a teeny bit more reasonable, Rainbow?" Fluttershy requested.

She shook her head in annoyance. "Alright, alright…nine. But Tank needs a few things, and I need a way to make the money to do so."

Emerald collapsed on the floor, moaning. "What have I done?"

Fluttershy pushed away from Rainbow Dash and hugged Emerald. "It's okay…it's not your fault."

Rainbow Dash felt bad, so she said, "Alright, no cost. But I better not catch that again…or anything worse." She made gagging noises. "I'd puke."

Emerald sat up. "I don't know what you're insinuating, but that's a bit too personal, and not likely for a long time anyway."

Fluttershy nodded but said nothing.

"Okay, but remember this: You hurt my friend, I hurt you. And it won't be pretty," she warned him.

"I would never do that, not for anything or anypony," Emerald promised. He looked over at Fluttershy, who flashed him a quick smile.

"But you understand me, right?" Dash asked.

"Yes," he replied stagnantly.

"Good."

"Wait…why were you over here in the first place?" Fluttershy suddenly asked.

Rainbow Dash looked startled. "Uh…no reason. See ya!" She flew out of the bedroom and out the front door.

Emerald sighed a long and heavy sigh. "Sorry about tonight."

She hugged him. "It was just fine." She let go and looked him in the eyes. "We'll do this again, right? The date, of course, not the…you know…unless…" she let her voice trail off.

He laughed softly. "Yes, I know what you meant. And I guess we might as well tell the others, since you believe they can help us if we needed it. Anyway, you should go home before Angel tears up your kitchen again."

She smiled, remembering earlier that night when she'd told him about Angel destroying the kitchen and living room looking for food, but mostly in rage that she wasn't home yet. "Yeah, you're right."

"Do you need me to walk you home?" Emerald offered, walking with her to the front door.

"No, I'll be fine. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

He opened the front door. "Yeah. Um, be safe and sleep tight."

"Thanks. Bye." She continued to look at him as she walked out and down the road.

Emerald took his time shutting the door, until she was out of site, then he shut the door and locked it. He turned around and crumpled onto the floor. "Damn…I'm in love, aren't I?"

________________________________________

Blade, Dark Storm and Grudge stood on a rocky plateau near Ponyville, watching the moon rise higher and higher into the night sky. They travelled there on hoof instead of train or carriage to minimize their chances of being identified.

"Any signs of him yet?" Blade asked, not taking his eyes off of Ponyville.

Grudge smacked the ground with a hoof, sending up a cloud of dust. "We haven't gotten close enough to know. But by daybreak, we'll be in Ponyville. And then we hunt him down."

"Remember, Black Flame gave us plenty of bits for our expenses, so he won't be accepting any excuses," Blade said.

"And neither will I," Dark Storm muttered. He stood behind them in the dark.

Grudge sneered. "Just because Black Flame appointed you above us, doesn't mean you got the right to be bossy."

"We can make our own decisions. Besides, we were told to split up anyway, our odds of finding him are better," Blade said, stepping closer to the edge of the cliff.

"I don't care what your opinions are. I'm not Black Flame, so don't talk back to me. He may allow talking back every once in a while, but with me, it won't be tolerated. You do as I say, because Black Flame told you to. So shut up and listen. After we get there and find out where he lives, we split up. Then I notify Black Flame, who will be here sometime this week. And it is he who will dispose of Emerald. We are simply defense and surveillance for his plans. Now we need to get a move on if we want to get there before sun up, so quit chatting and let's go."

"Arrogance only gets you hurt, Dark Storm. Don't do it," Grudge said rudely.

"Quit screwing around and let's go," Blade said, already heading down the mountain.

Grudge followed not long after.

Dark Storm sighed. "I hate this job." Then he followed them down.

Chapter 9(Revised)

Chapter 9

Emerald yawned loudly as he stretched in his bed, his alarm clock blaring its first warning that morning. He tapped the snooze and hopped out of bed. He went to the window and looked out at Ponyville, already alive with the morning commute. He smiled and went to his kitchen for breakfast. After he poured himself a bowl of cereal, he sat on his couch and ate it while planning out his day. While he was doing this, somepony knocked on his door. "Coming!" He set his bowl on the floor and went to the door and opened it. It was Twilight, Applejack and Spike.

"Well, howdy there. We came by to see if you wanted to come over to my farm for some work. I'll pay ya," Applejack said cheerily.

"Uh, yeah, sure. No need for the pay, though. Sounds fun. Give me a moment," he turned and ran to his bowl of cereal and polished it off. He went out the front door.

"You ready now? We've got a lot of work for you," Twilight said, turning with him and the others to walk to Applejack's farm.

"Yeah, I'm a lot better rested today than yesterday. I didn't toss and turn all night," he said, looking around at everypony going about their morning.

"It's because we're your friends now and you're not paranoid about that Black Flame guy. Right?" Spike asked.

Emerald stopped, as he noticed a pony staring at him from down the path near another stand. He looked familiar…

A pony got in the way, and when they moved, the pony watching him was gone.

"Emerald? Are you okay?"

He shook his head violently to get the image he was having out of his head. It's my imagination. That couldn't be him…could it? He felt a presence nearby and looked to see Twilight, Applejack, and Spike looking worried. "It's – nothing. I just thought I saw something impossible. I'm sure it was just my imagination, anyway."

Twilight glanced down the path in the direction of the stand. "Who did you see? Or thought you saw?"

"Well, Black Flame had his – minions, and I thought I saw his highest ranker down there, but they never work alone, so it was clearly my imagination," Emerald assured them. He took another look down the path and turned back in the direction they were originally heading. "Let's go do this."

They started down the path again. "So, you're sure it was not one of them?" Applejack asked, leading the way to her farm. They dodged ponies who were doing business at the various stands in the Mare-Do-Well Chase Zone.

"It did look very much like his cousin Dark Storm, but it couldn't…shouldn't be him. There's no way," he said, a million thoughts running through his mind now.

"Okay, but if it was, what would that mean?" Twilight asked him as they stopped at a place for garden tools. Applejack went off to buy something while the others stayed on the path and talked.

He shivered visibly. "It would mean Black Flame is here."

________________________________________

A few hours later, Emerald was hanging out with the three when Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy stopped by. "What are you guys up to? Me and Fluttershy were just hangin' out today talking about stuff." She gave a noticeably long glance at Emerald, who acknowledged it with a shy smile.

"Oh, we're just hanging out, too. We just finished Applejacks barn. We were repainting it because she had problems with the paint on the edges of the building." Twilight answered, returning a smile.

"Rainbow Dash taught me to always pay attention to body language when – "Fluttershy yipped when Rainbow Dash elbowed her in the ribs. "Oh," Fluttershy understood the reason. "Sorry."

Emerald smiled to himself.

"So, I guess we're done if you wanna go home, Emerald," Applejack said, coming back from the kitchen with a drink.

Emerald stood up and stretched. "Alright then. I've got stuff to do today too. I'll see you guys later."

Fluttershy broke off from Rainbow Dash and followed Emerald outside.

"Hello to you too, Fluttershy," Twilight muttered, watching the two leave.

"Do you want to go for a walk through the path in the Everfree Forest? It's really beautiful." Fluttershy offered, sounding like she herself wanted to go.

"Yeah, of course. It's a nice day, so why not?" He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close as they walked down the path to the forest. "Is it a long walk?" He asked, looking up at the sun and squinting.

She nodded. "It's pretty long. But we've got all day, don't we?"

Emerald laughed. "Yes we do, hon. Yes we do."

They reached the edge of the forest and entered, watching the birds fly, and other animals flee or gaze at the passing ponies in wonder. The smell of the forest was a spicy, woodland smell, and the scent of late summer flowers acted as a perfume, appealing the senses.

"It is a beautiful day, isn't it?" Emerald remarked, looking around at the wonderful nature in awe.

"I figured you would want to see the forest since you did say you wanted a tour. This is part of Ponyville," she replied happily.

He gave her a quick squeeze. "Oh boy…what to do with you."

A breeze blew through, throwing leaves across them and the path.

"It's a bit windy today." Fluttershy noticed.

"Yeah, it wasn't like this earlier. Maybe a storm's moving in."

The sky was clear, but that didn't mean the weather would be stable.

They came up to a fork in the path, and a small wooden sign pointed to the left one reading, "Loop to Ponyville", and the other pointed to the right and read, "Winsome Falls".

"Let's go see the falls, huh?" Emerald said, leading her down the path to the right.

"Oh yes…it's really pretty, especially on a bright and sunny day like this." She replied, hugging him briefly.

"I can already see a few pretty things," He said.

"Oh, like what?"

He chuckled. "Well, one of them is not part of the forest."

"Oh, how sweet. Maybe Black Flame will find it amusing, if you're lucky." A voice said mockingly.

Fluttershy and Emerald gasped and stopped dead in their tracks.

In front of them were Blade, Dark Storm, and Grudge.

Emerald overcame his fear with protectiveness and put Fluttershy behind him. "What are you doing here? How'd you find me?"

Blade stepped forward. "That's not your main concern right now. I'd be more afraid for your safety. It's – in jeopardy."

"You became a pest, Black Flame needs you out of the way, and that's our job," Grudge added.

Dark Storm pushed his way in front of both of them. "Shut up, you idiots." He glared at Emerald. "You and I have a lot to talk about, Emerald. And unfortunately for you, you won't be going anywhere until we're done."

Emerald lowered his upper body to the ground and gave them a warning stare. "I don't have time for this. You have to leave. Look, I don't know what you want, but if you want my money, I'll be glad to give it all to you. I'll take you to a bank and – "

"I don't give a damn about money! It's you who Black Flame wants dead, and I intend to fulfill his wishes ASAP. And now that I have you, alone -" he looked back at Fluttershy. "– for the most part, I will get my assignment done."

"Wait, I thought Black Flame told us not to - " Grudge stopped mid-sentence when he received a deadly glare from Dark Storm.

"I have my own revenge to attend to."

"No! I want no part in his or anypony's violence! I'm living a different life now, and I won't have anypony screw it up!" Emerald nudged Fluttershy to get her to move back a little more.

Dark Storm grinned portentously. "Have it your way." He lunged at Emerald, catching him off guard and knocking him on his back.

"Ahhhh!" Fluttershy screamed in terror and jumped into the woods to hide.

Emerald got back up and glared at Dark Storm, who smiled mockingly at him. "Well?" Dark Storm goaded.

"I'm not doing this, not now."

Dark Storm gave him a dirty look. "You'll change your mind." He flew up in the air above Emerald and dived down on him, pushing him into the ground.

"Ahhh!" Emerald cried out in pain. He grabbed Storm and threw him off, and Storm stopped himself in midair to turn and deliver a kick into Emeralds face. Emerald recoiled and fell back, tasting blood.

Storm landed on the ground nearby and stared down at Emerald. "Want to protect yourself yet?"

Emerald struggled to his hooves. Once he was up, he wiped the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He looked down at it and yelled in anguish. "You piece! I won't stand here and let you kill me!"

Storm bum rushed him, tossing him a few feet away into a small tree trunk. "Then do something, you meandering fool!"

Emerald stifled a cry and forced himself to stand up. He stood on shaky legs and gave Storm the meanest look he could muster. "No, violence solves nothing. And I refuse to…" His speech was cut short by a punch from Storm, right in the mouth.

"Fight back!" Storm kept punching, relentlessly. "Fight back, fight back, fight back!"

Emerald finally struck out, knocking Storm on the ground with an uppercut. Storm was smiling cruelly. "It's about damn time, you puss."

Emerald wiped his face and mouth, panting. "I'm leaving, and I won't be coming anywhere near you or your friends again. So back off!"

Storm pulled himself up. "Not gonna happen, Son of Prince Shield."

Emerald stood still, not understanding. "How did you know who my dad was?"

Storm started to laugh. First it was quiet, but gradually it built to a loud, maniacal bellow. "You're even more foolish than Black Flame made you out to be."

"What are you talking about?" Emerald demanded.

Storm took a step toward him. "Don't you see? Or are you just too dumb and naïve to notice?"

Emerald gave a snarl. "Get to the point!"

Storm smirked. "Your dad didn't die in an accident – he was murdered."

Emerald froze. His life screeched to a halt. Thoughts of the times spent with his dad and the final moments of his life flooded his mind as he realized where this was going. "No…"

Storm stepped forward again, his face only inches away from Emerald's.

"That's right…I killed your father."

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Emerald grew nauseous. "You're lying." But deep down he knew it was the truth.

"No, your father was a prince before you were born, but he renounced his royalty for your mothers love. And it was I who ended his life." Dark Storm paced back and forth in front of Emerald. The two others just stood and watched the scene unfold. And there was no telling where Fluttershy was.

Emerald regained his composure and faced Storm with a fixed glare. "You'll pay for this. For everything."

Storm laughed. "I'm waiting."

Emerald coiled up to pounce on Storm, but a spine-tingling voice rang out from behind him.

"Long time, no see, my old friend."

Emerald spun around to see Black Flame casually trotting up to them. He was grinning slightly, but his appearance was no less threatening.

"I should have known you'd be involved with this," Emerald snapped.

Black gave him a look of mock-innocence. "Who, me? I've done nothing wrong." He passed Emerald and got up in Storms face. "You damn fool! What were your orders?"

Storm hesitated. "We were to find Emerald and –"

"NOT apprehend him! I made the terms of the mission very clear, but once again, I'm let down. By my most trusted brethren, at that. My orders specifically emphasized not being seen by him. And what did you do? You acted out of your own pathetic arrogance and attacked him. Fools!"

"But he doesn't know anything yet, boss!" Blade protested.

Black gave him a glimmering death-look. "Shut your mouth, weasel. He shouldn't even know you're here in Ponyville, but you can't even follow simple, step by step instructions. I even wrote them out on paper, you worthless pieces of shit! I can see that once again I'm the one who must do everything himself."

Grudge stepped forward. "At least you have Tr-"

A ball of purple fire blasted him in the face before he could finish the word. Everypony looked at the seething Black.

"I don't know what you're problem is Black, but you have your suspects and motives way out of check. I don't know why you flew off the handle, but I had nothing to do with whatever happened that made you mad. So just stop this insanity before somepony gets hurt and you end up regretting it." Emerald said, looking over at Grudge, who was rolling around on the ground holding his face and yelling.

"Is that what you think?" Black asked turning to him. "Of course you must remember your past – activities, right? You know exactly what I'm talking about."

The bushes beside Emerald rustled and Emerald jumped back as Fluttershy came out, galloping up and hugging him..

Black smiled. "Ah, already trying to move on, huh?" He tsked a few times in disappointment. "Unfortunatley, you can't escape this past."

Emerald let go of Fluttershy and looked her in the eyes. "I promise nothing will happen today, okay? I'll protect you."

"There's nothing to protect her from, friend. I was hoping you'd just be a little more honest with your girl, here. That's all. Then I'll leave." Black said with a wicked grin.

Emerald knew what he was referring to. "There isn't anything to tell." He replied through gritted teeth.

"Oh? How about telling her who you really are. Who you were, that is, until you went AWOL."

Fluttershy made him look at her, in the eyes. "What's he talking about, Em?"

Emerald sighed in sadness. "I…I wasn't always the good guy I've been portraying myself to be."

Black laughed in anticipation. "Yes, that's it. Empty your mind."

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked, her eyes glittering from being moistened with tears.

Emerald grew teary-eyed too. "I, used to work…"

"Go on." Black encouraged, an evil grin spreading across his face.

Emeralds face fell. "I…worked for…him." He pointed at Black.

Fluttershy was stunned. "You were…a bad guy?"

He nodded but said nothing, ashamed.

"And there it is. The cat's out of the bag now. I'm so glad you decided to be an open book for your girl here. Maybe she'll forgive you. Or maybe she won't. Okay boys, let's leave these two to their - talk. I've got more important things to do right now. Farewell, Emerald. Enjoy." Black motioned for Blade, Storm and Grudge to follow.

"Eat shit." Emerald spat. He looked back at Fluttershy. The look on her face was of complete despair.

"I thought you said you didn't have a job, and that you were good? But you're…a criminal?"

Emerald sighed. "I wasn't lying. I just, I guess I didn't consider it a job. And I didn't hurt anypony, I just…you understand, right?"

Her expression changed to a mix of hurt and angry. "Oh, I understand…that you're a liar!" She turned away from him and began crying.

Emerald couldn't hold back his own tears anymore. "Please, Fluttershy…I've changed! I left because I didn't want anything to do with him anymore!"

She sniffled. "But that's not the point. You lied to me." She stopped crying. "I thought I could trust you. But now I don't know what you're lying about. I realize now that you're just a liar and a user." She flew away, crying again.

"Fluttershy, please come back! I didn't mean for this! I –" He dropped his head, fighting back his emotions. "I'm sorry." He looked up to the sky. Fluttershy was nowhere in sight. He turned back down the path to the waterfall and continued down, by himself.

________________________________________

"There there, girl. It's okay." Applejack tried to comfort Fluttershy, but she wouldn't stop sobbing into the pillow on her bed. Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash found Fluttershy in her house crying, so they brought her to Applejacks house to try to help her. Rainbow Dash was flying around the house, saying all the things she was going to do to Emerald.

"I'm gonna tie him up, fly him high in the air and drop him. I'm gonna have my flying buddies tie rope to all his limbs and fly in opposite directions at the same time! I'm gonna put him in Carrot Cakes meat grinder! I'm gonna shove scissors down his throat! I'm gonna -"

"Rainbow, you're really not helping." Twilight said.

"I just knew he was a liar! I could smell it! When I get ahold of him…OHHHHH man it's all bad!"

"Okay Rainbow Dash, we all want answers from him, but doin' all that stuff is just gonna make matters worse. We've gotta do this gently and calmly." Applejack told her, patting Fluttershy on the back softly.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" Rainbow Dash asked with a dirty look.

Applejack sighed. "Well, I say we find him later when everyponies all calmed down and talk to him. Fluttershy said she was okay with that."

"No! Forget that! He's a traitor and a liar. I'll go deal with him." Rainbow Dash took off out the window.

"Don't do anything you'll regret!" Twilight called after her.

________________________________________

Emerald walked slowly down the path, not even looking up or around. He was deep in thought and depression. "What have I done?" He whispered to himself. "I should've just told her in the first place that I used to be a villain. But I waited…" He stopped, cursed loudly and continued walking. The sun already fled below the horizon, and the moon was now taking its place.

Emerald came up shortly on the waterfall. It was beautiful, but he just didn't care at the moment. All his thoughts were on his stupidity.

He found a nice little flat rock by the water and sat on it. The river rushed down the precipice and crashed into the water below. It sent clouds of mist in all directions, some wandered by Emerald as he sat on the rock.

He sighed loudly and looked around at he falls and forest. "Can I change this? Could I right my wrongs? I just don't know anymore."

"I'll help you fix your wrongs." A blow from behind knocked him into the water with a splash. He came back up to the surface and gasped.

Rainbow Dash stood on the rock he was just on, glaring down at him.

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"What are you doing?" Emerald hollered. "You could have hurt me!"

Rainbow Dash bared her teeth at him. "Just like you hurt Fluttershy? I think it's only fair if I hurt you." She flew up high over the water and dove straight down onto him, pushing him far under the surface. She came back to the surface herself and flew out into the air, circling the water, waiting for Emerald to come back up.

A few moments passed before that happened, and he was choking and gagging for air. "Stop this madness! I wasn't trying to hurt her. I just didn't want anypony to think less of me!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Yeah that worked out for you. But that's okay…I'll make you wish you never messed with me or my friends." She dive bombed him once again, sending him nearly to the bottom of the river. He came back up, getting weaker from having to swim. His wings were too wet to fly, and he was too tired to swim to the edge of the river to get out. He swam stationary, watching Rainbow Dash carefully.

"Please! I never meant to hurt anypony. I just wanted friends, and happiness, and –" He teared up. "And to love somepony…" He clenched up and waited for Rainbow Dash to push him under the water again, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes and seen her giving him a sorrowful pout. Emerald swam slowly to the bank and struggled to climb out. Once he got out and shook himself off, he went up beside Rainbow Dash. She just gave him the same look again, but with a hint of anger still visible. "Look, I know what I did was wrong, but it was with good intention. I'm sorry. I want to be you guys' friend. And I want Fluttershy back. I was a member of Black Flames gang years ago, but that changed because I changed. I'm not for that violent, snooty arrogance he and his pals have. Can't you tell?"

She sighed and hugged him. He was startled at first but hugged her back. She pushed away after a few seconds and gave him a weak smile. "I can. But I'm also still mad at you. I forgive you, though. If you would have told the truth in the first place, we still would have been your friends."

"But everypony else I tell about my past to ends up refusing to have anything to do with me." He said sadly.

"We're not everypony else. Quit feelin' sorry for yourself. I think you have changed, you just need a little guidance." She turned and flew up toward Ponyville. "Come on! You've got a Fluttershy to apologize to!"

________________________________________

"When are we going for the little punk?" Trixie asked, eager for action.

Black Flame laughed and continued going through his papers and books, looking for anything on the Stone of Magic Chaos.

The Stone of Magic Chaos was a legend – or so everypony thought. A few years ago, some pony explorers found a cave, deep within the Crystal Mountains. The explorers were not looking for the Stone, but for a large deposit of precious gems. They ended up finding the Stone in a separate cave entrance nearby the gems. They attempted to take it, but were all lost when the cave collapsed on them. Nopony ever knew if they actually got the Stone or not because when an expedition recovered the team, the Stone was not in their possession or in the cave where they could see. The Stone was supposed to give the power of a million Alicorns to the wearer. The power type would be generated based on the gender, species, abilities, and intentions of its user. Only once in recorded history was the Stone actually used, and it was none other than Emeralds great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Stone Shield. After he'd established Manehattan in his reign, he'd come across the Stone on a campaign to make peace with the Crystal Empire. After he was killed in battle a few years later, royalty placed the Stone in the safety of the cave in the mountains. They claimed that in the wrong hooves, it could destroy all of Equestria, or worse, the world. All this power from a small green and blue gem mounted on a necklace of gold.

And Black Flame wanted it. He told Trixie about it, who practically drooled about such power. She asked him who would find such a gem. He told her somepony already did and would be selling it to him. Tonight.

"He will be here later tonight. Then, tomorrow, we start the revolution that will destroy all opposition and provide us our new kingdom! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Trixie smiled at him. "That sounds splendid. But do they know about this, Stone of Magic Chaos?"

Black Flame shoved the books he was going through back on the shelf and went to the next. "Of course not, my dearest Trixie. The Stone of Magic Chaos in unknown to all of Equestria, except me, you, and the gentlestallion selling it to me."

She sat down on the couch near the door. "And are you certain you can control it? I mean, a powerful stone like that must be a lot of work to control."

"Darling, stop your worrying. I'm positive I can control the stone – and eventually all of Equestria."

________________________________________

Emerald and Rainbow Dash flew up and landed in front of Applejacks and went in. no sooner than when he got in, Emerald was tackled by Fluttershy in an embrace of forgiveness. He cried and hugged her back tightly.

Twilight and Applejack came in from the other room to greet them.

"So I guess this means it went well?" Applejack asked, looking down at the two hugging.

Rainbow Dash nodded. "I beat the snot out him first. You know – for obvious reasons. But he gave me all his honesty and I believe him when he says he's changed. He hasn't attacked anypony or stolen anything yet, so I think he's a good guy."

"Well, see, besides ya beating the hay outta him first, letting him talk changed your mind about him. See, I told ya kindness works. Fluttershy coulda told ya that." Applejack motioned to her, now getting up still hugging Emerald.

"I really, really, really, really, really, really missed you." She told him, her voice muffled from being buried in his coat.

"I missed you too. I'm sorry I lied to you. It was wrong and I'll never do it again." He replied, not letting go of her.

"Aren't they just the cutest couple ya ever did see?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, they're adorable. But we have to talk now, so they need to come in here." Twilight answered, going back into the living room.

Fluttershy let go of Emerald and smiled meekly at him. He did the same back.

"Alright, lovebirds, let's go." Applejack waved for them to follow and they all went into the living room. Emerald and Fluttershy sat on the new couch, while the other three sat on the older couch.

"So, what's this business with Black Flame being here in Ponyville? I thought you said he wouldn't find out you lived here and definitely wouldn't move here? What's going on that you aren't telling us?" Twilight asked, getting out her scroll and feather for notes.

Emerald sighed heavily. "Well, he was here to try and convince me to come back and work for him, made me confess to Fluttershy, and left. But something doesn't feel right, honestly. I think he may be up to something."

"Yeah, but what? What could he want in Ponyville that Manehattan wouldn't have?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

"Nothing, but me." Emerald said honestly.

Twilight sighed. "I see. Well, the important thing is that he left, as far as we know. But just to be on the safe side, everypony needs to be on the lookout for him or his friends, and I'm going to notify Princess Celestia and ask her what we should do. We could end up with a problem soon."

Emerald silently agreed.

"I think we could all use some sleep." Rainbow Dash said with a yawn.

They all just looked at her.

"What? It's been a long day," She complained.

"I actually feel a bit worn out too. Why don't we all get some rest and we'll deal with this a little more tomorrow." Applejack suggested. Rainbow Dash was gone in seconds, calling out a faint, "See ya tomorrow!"

Twilight followed Emerald and Fluttershy out.

"I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow. Try to stay out of trouble." Twilight flew off toward her home.

Emerald and Fluttershy looked at each other nervously.

"Um, I'll see you tomorrow, I suppose." Emerald spoke up.

"Oh, no. I want to sleep over at your place. You know, for safety reasons." She replied, hugging him again. He smiled happily. They turned and walked to his house and went to bed.

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Hello? Are you gonna do it or not?" Rainbow Dash asked Emerald. They both stood on a cloud far above Ponyville. Rainbow Dash offered him flying lessons so he could learn to fly with his wing injury. He wasn't liking it too much, however.

He gulped. "Uh, no?"

Rainbow Dash gave him the deadpan look. "You said you wanted to learn how to fly. Now come on. You won't learn standing there."

He looked back over the edge, and immediately drew back. "I – I'm not sure this is such a good idea, me being disabled and all."

Rainbow Dash smiled reassuringly and put her arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll be right behind you." She shoved him over the edge.

"Waaahhhh! ARE YOU INSANE?!" He screamed and flapped his wings frantically.

Rainbow Dash came up beside him, laughing idiotically. "I'm right here. If you can't get yourself going, I'll catch you. Try to relax, focus on flapping less and more power."

Emerald obeyed, and started slowing his fall. But he was still going too fast. "Now what?"

She shrugged. "Keep trying."

"WHAT?!" He began flapping wildly again, but with more power. Surprisingly, the flapping worked better. He slowed down to a slightly descending hover. He looked over at Rainbow, who nodded in approval.

"Now, try going forward."

He angled his wings to go forward, but the damaged wing was missing too many feathers to make a difference. He barely inched forward as he continued his slow drop.

"No no no no no no, go forward. More power, less wing speed. Come on, you got this." She encouraged him.

He tried harder flapping. He hovered with no descent, and began moving forward a few feet per second. "Ha! This is awesome! I knew I could do it!"

Rainbow Dash flew circles around him. "Keep going! Don't stop!"

He flapped even harder, straining under the force and growing tired. But he picked up speed to a quick bolt. "Yes! This is incredible! I didn't think I could do this!"

"I did." Rainbow said, flying beside him effortlessly. She continued encouraging him.

His wing suddenly gave out and he tumbled to the ground. Rainbow Dash reacted immediately and dived wings tucked to catch up with him. She caught him just feet from the ground and landed nearby.

Emerald was embarrassed. "Uh, thanks."

Rainbow Dash waved it off. "No problem. But you really need to have more faith and trust in yourself. It's your only problem. We'll try again tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan."

Spike and Twilight came up to them. "What's up, guys? What are you doing?" Spike asked.

Rainbow Dash pointed at Emerald. "Teaching him to fly again."

"That's awfully nice of you, Rainbow Dash. You'll be able to. You taught me and I never flew before." Twilight pointed out.

Rainbow nodded. "Yep. And he's making progress, so I guarantee he'll be flying like a pro by this weekend."

"Oh, well I don't know about that…" He blushed.

"Stop being such a goody-goody. You're doing just fine." Rainbow Dash told him. "I'm a professional. I'll get you flying soon."

"I hope so. I want to be able to fly to some places, not have to walk all the time."

Twilight and Spike started off to their business. "Well good luck, Emerald." Twilight called out to him as she walked away.

"Thanks!" He turned to Rainbow Dash.

"Well I got business to attend to. See ya tomorrow." She flew away.

Emerald waved as she disappeared. He then turned and walked to Fluttershys to see what she was doing.

________________________________________

Trixie and Black Flame gawked at the decorative wooden box that held the Stone of Magic Chaos. It was unopened, and Black Flame waited until morning the next day to open it. He looked over at Trixie, who gave him a taunting smile. He pulled her against him and whispered in her ear, "You and me are going to have a lot of fun…" He let go of her and unlatched the front of the box. He lifted the lid, and they both gasped.

The Stone of Magic Chaos was beautiful. It glowed and glimmered in the light. Black Flame and Trixie smiled at each other.

"So are you going to put it on?" Trixie asked hopefully.

Black Flame closed the box. "No, not until the Day." He said stiffly. He stuck the box in his locked safe next to his and her bed.

She gave him a disappointed sigh. "Well, so much for an exciting day. I was hoping for some death and destruction."

"In due time, my love. In due time." He led her out of the room and closed the door.

________________________________________

"Are you sure everything's fine?" Spike asked for the fifth time that night.

Twilight sighed in annoyance. "Yes, Spike. Emerald said they left. I'm sure they were just looking to get him back but he refused, so they left."

Spike groaned. "Something doesn't seem right. They came all the way out to Ponyville from Manehattan, just to try to convince Emerald to rejoin them, and leave in five minutes? I just don't believe that we've seen the last of them."

Twilight considered that and agreed. "I guess you're right. That doesn't make sense that they'd come all the way out here just for that. Maybe they have other plans but they didn't tell Emerald so he couldn't prepare." She got out her scrolls and quill. "I'm going to write Princess Celestia and tell her all about this. Maybe she'll have an idea."

"Yeah, she'll have something for us. I really think we should tell Emerald this, too. He doesn't seem to have thought that maybe they are up to something else besides what they told him." Spike suggested.

Twilight started writing. "That's a good idea, too. We'll tell him tomorrow. It's getting late and I don't feel like running over to the other side of town for that."

Spike shrugged. "Okay, up to you. I'm going to bed. That's another good idea. Would you look at that? Two good ideas in one day. You should give me a raise."

Twilight frowned at him. "I don't pay you at all."

He laughed. "Just kidding – I think." He wandered off to bed.

Twilight watched him until he was out of site and went back to writing her letter to the Princess.

Dear Princess Celestia, recently we have encountered a problem with a friend and his past. His old friends and now enemies seemed to have followed him out of Manehattan just to antagonize him. He needs help and so do we since we don't know anything about these guys. They haven't really caused any problems except bothering our new friend Emerald. But I fear that they may be up to something more than just petty bullying. Something doesn't seem right about anything Emerald's told us about them. Do you have any suggestions? Your faithful student, Twilight

She rolled the scroll up and left it on the desk for Spike to take care of in the morning. She turned and yawned loudly. "Boy, I am pretty tired. Spike keeps guessing right on stuff."

She shut the light off and went to bed.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"I guess it's just you and me today, Flutters. What do you want to do?" Emerald asked her as they walked back from Twilight's. They had gone over early that morning before they went to town for some groceries so they could have Twilight help them with something, but she was busy with her spell books, learning and trying new spells with Spike, who clearly didn't appear to be enjoying it as much as Twilight was, due to the very fact that he was the test mule.

"I guess so…but we always do what I want. Why don't we do something you want to do today? If you're okay with that…I won't force you." She replied, looking back and smiling briefly at two filly's racing by, playing tag.

Emerald sighed and gave her an understanding smile. "I always let you choose because I'm willing to do whatever you want as opposed to my own desires." He looked away and up at the clouds. "Most of them…"

They rounded a corner and made their way out of the main part of town, heading back home with their few groceries. "Most of them?" Fluttershy asked, overhearing his last comment.

"Oh, nothing, my dear. So, if we're going to do what I want, I can easily loop this back to you…I want to do what you wanted to do today." He gave her a huge innocent grin.

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "…Okay…well…let's go have a picnic. I'll bring some oats and breads and other tasty stuff for us to munch on."

A bird whizzed by overhead, missing the tops of their heads by mere inches and tweeting along the way. Emerald ducked and put a hoof over his head. "Again? Jeez, I'm not hurting her. We're a couple, for goodness sakes. I guess your animal friends don't like me."

Fluttershy giggled. "Oh, they're just jealous. I kinda have been spending more time lately with you than I have with them…not that I'm not okay with that…but I really should give them more attention. Not more than you, of course, but…oh…shoot…"

It was Emeralds turn to laugh now. "It's fine, Shy. I get what you meant. You'll have plenty of time for them, but today it's you and me." He kissed her on the forehead. She smiled back up at him.

"Okay…"

When they got to her cottage, they prepared what they were going to bring and left not long after. Mid-afternoon had come, and it was warm but quiet and still out at the park near the forest. They set up the blanket, food and drinks and sat down next to each other on the same side of the blanket.

"Did you really just make these sandwiches? They're amazing." Emerald hungrily chomped on his third one.

She smiled at the ground. "Thanks…"

He set his sandwich down on a napkin and put a hoof around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. "Oh, don't be so prude, my sweet. You know I love your cooking. And you." He smooched her repeatedly on the top of her head, inciting her to playfully push him away. "Awww…she doesn't like me anymore…"

She took his hoof in hers. "Oh, I couldn't stop liking you for anypony or anything…"

Emerald leaned over and put his face inches from hers. "Aren't you the sweetest little thing…?" He put his other hoof on her cheek and gently caressed it, making her shiver visibly. "And she's cute."

Fluttershy blushed and turned away, looking down at the grass. "Oh, my…do you really think so?"

Emerald leaned closer, and she turned back to face him. He felt her breath on his face and it made him want her so much more. "Yes, of course I do, girl. In fact, a better word is stunning. Or beautiful. Why wouldn't I?"

She didn't move but replied, 'I-I don't know…" She looked him in the eyes, smiling very lightly, barely visible at the corners of her mouth, but Emerald could tell she was just nervous.

He pecked her on the lips, surprising her, but she didn't resist, or pull away, so he did it again, and she seemed to participate that time. He kissed her, longer, with more passion, and they fell back on the blanket, making out, tongues touching every now and then. She suddenly stopped and pushed him up a little off her so she could see around them, and she kept looking back and forth, like she was trying to find somepony. She looked back up at him. "What if somepony sees us out here…doing…this?" Her eyes twinkled with anticipation and her face turned redder.

Emerald shook his head and kissed her again before answering. "Doing what? What are we doing?" Although he already knew what they were leading up to.

She blushed. "Um…well, we were…um…going to…" She didn't finish. She just stared back at him, her eyes portraying both worry and slight lust.

Emerald kissed her once again, keeping his eyes open to see her reaction. She kept hers open as well. "What are you doing, silly filly? You're supposed to close your eyes and imagine things…" He told her.

She grinned back up at him. "Well…why imagine it when it could actually happen…? Oh, sorry, Rainbow Dash told me about this. I'm trying to be a little more, um, well, you see…um…"

Emerald cut her off with another kiss. "Hmmm. I know what you meant, cutie. Whatever you want, I want too. Just say the words." He kept kissing her.

"Ahem!"

They both looked up to see Rainbow Dash on the cloud above them, shaking her head no.

Emerald sighed. "Of course she'd be there." He climbed off Fluttershy and helped her up.

"At least she did that before we were doing anything else…" She said, making a good point.

Emerald looked back up, but she was already gone. "What is she, the police? This is going to get old."

"Oh, it's okay. We can just go back home, if you'd like." Fluttershy said, taking a sip of her tea.

Emerald grumbled and began packing the food and drinks back in the basket. "And do what? We shouldn't have to abandon our plans for her. We can do whatever we want."

Fluttershy finished her tea and put the cup in the basket before Emerald closed it. "Well, we can just have our picnic at home. She won't bother us there." They both headed back towards Ponyville.

"Yeah, but we were already done with the actual picnic and were moving on to something…better." He gave her a sideways smile.

She looked away, smiling and blushing. "Oh, dear…"

Emerald pulled her close, leaning on her and carrying the basket in his other hoof. "Now, now…don't be so shy."

She put her head against his. "I'm trying not to…you're the only pony I've ever been this close with. Or kissed…" She added afterward.

Emerald laughed. "Oh, okay. Then that's good. If you haven't kissed anypony before, then that means you haven't done second or third base yet either, right? It's only logical, I suppose."

Fluttershy looked confused. "Um…second or third base?"

"Yeah, you know, hitting the bases. One, two, three. First base is – never mind. I'll just show you." He said, a knowledgeable smile spreading across his face.

Fluttershy let it go and changed the subject. "Do you think Black Flame left Ponyville like he said he would? I-I mean, what if he didn't? And he has something else planned?"

They came up to her house and went in. "I don't know what to think." He admitted. "Really I'm still shocked he came to Ponyville in the first place. But knowing him, I think it's safe to say we'll be seeing him again."

"Oh, I hope it'll be a friendlier confrontation."

Emerald snorted. "I doubt that. I feel like the last incident was just a front. A diversion. Something tells me he's up to no good again." He set the basket it the kitchen and came back into the living room with Fluttershy.

"Well, at least you're aware of something like that now. Maybe if he does try something again you'll be prepared." She suggested. They both turned went up the stairs, more Fluttershy following Emerald than just the two going upstairs willingly.

"I don't know. Whatever might happen, I think with you guys helping me, we can stop him." They came into her room and Emerald shut the door behind them, turning to her with a smile on his face. "All that aside…where were we…?" He pushed her back on the bed and started kissing her again.

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The sky darkened, growing overcast and dreary in just a few moments. Emerald and Fluttershy were having a picnic in the park, enjoying the day, when the storm clouds rolled in. They got worried and started packing up to go home. As they got their stuff together, they felt the ominous feeling of being watched. Emerald noticed a figure standing in the forest. He squinted to see it better while Fluttershy finished packing the rest of the stuff up. He couldn't make out the identity until it stepped out of the darkness. It was Black Flame. But there was still somepony standing in the forest. They stepped out beside Black. That was Trixie.

"Uh, Fluttershy…we have a problem." Emerald stuttered.

Fluttershy turned and seen what was wrong. "Oh, my…What is Trixie doing with him?" She asked out loud, not to him in particular.

Emerald shook his head, hoping to shake off the image. It didn't work. This was not an illusion.

The pair of evils began walking toward them. As they got closer, Emerald noticed the necklace around Black Flames neck. The gem was green and blue, and seemed to glow, also making Black glow.

"Something's not right, Fluttershy." Emerald said.

"I see that. What's that necklace he has on? He didn't have it last time." She agreed.

Emerald shrugged. "I have no idea, but I have a really bad feeling about this."

"What did I tell you, Emerald?" Black called out to him vociferously. "I'm back, just like I promised. And I brought two things to help me vanquish you." He motioned toward his necklace and Trixie.

Emerald scowled. "What are you talking about? What is that necklace supposed to do to anypony? Give them a sense of fashion?"

Black laughed harshly. "Funny, but no. This stone, along with this lovely lady Trixie is going to ensure my immunity from all power or magic that anypony can muster up."

"I don't understand…I thought you had no more hard feelings?" Emerald asked. Fluttershy got behind him.

"Ha! You're hilarious. But there will always be hard feelings, Emerald Shield." The necklace started glowing brighter, and Black Flames eyes turned green. He levitated a few feet off the ground and mutated to a form that was indescribable. He glared down at Emerald and hollered, "This is the end of all you know." He surged with power.

Emerald and Fluttershy freaked out and turned and ran. Emerald took her hoof and started flying.

"You can never escape me now! I'm the superiority now!" He shot a beam of magic so powerful at them that when it missed and hit the ground below them, it blew up and sent them spinning wildly through the air. They regained their level flight and turned away from Trixie and Black to continue flying away.

"Fluttershy stay close! I don't know what that thing he has on is but it's making him powerful!" Emerald told her as he snatched her hoof up and led her further from the menace.

They got far enough away that they couldn't see Black anymore but they could still hear him ranting and raving.

"Emerald, I'm scared. What's going on? Why is he doing this?" Fluttershy cried, burying her face into his chest.

He embraced her and shushed her as she sobbed. "I don't know, but it's awfully quiet now. I think he left."

ZAP!

A blast of power hit them directly and they both tumbled to the ground. Fluttershy and Emerald landed just a few feet apart. Emerald struggled to his hooves and looked over at Fluttershy. She lay motionless. "Fluttershy!" He cried out in horror. He ran up and dropped to his knees, picking her up to see if she was alive.

She wasn't breathing.

"NOOOO!" Emerald screamed.

Black and Trixie came up over the hill and walked right up to Emerald and Fluttershy. Black stepped up to him. "See? I already got one."

Emerald roared in anguish and swung a hoof as hard as he could at Blacks face. It felt like hitting a solid block of lead. "Ow, what the –"

Black struck him back with little effort and sent him sprawling across the grass. Emerald slowly got on his hooves and turned back to Black and Trixie, who were smiling tenebrously. "Done yet? You're not strong enough, not even close. Your power hasn't been discovered yet, so I know I'll have no problems with you. But I'll just kill you to be sure." He raised his hoof and swung down at Emerald.

"AHHHH!" Emerald awoke with a start. His eyes darted back and forth around the darkened room. He saw nothing, and looked down beside him, and saw Fluttershy sleeping peacefully. He smiled appreciatively. "My doll..." But his thoughts immediately fell back on the dream, which clearly meant something, and not something good. He decided to talk to Twilight about it tomorrow, and laid back down to sleep.

________________________________________

Trixie and Black came out of their bedroom, and went down the stairs to the kitchen for a late night snack. They'd been up all night planning their attack on Emerald and Ponyville. And it was going better than expected. With Trixie's knowledge of Ponyville and Black's knowledge of the Stone and battle tactics, they set up the perfect plan that night. And the Day Black spoke of was only two days away now.

They got drinks out and sodas, then went back upstairs to finish the plans.

Emerald would never know what hit him.

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"No, put it in the pan, not the pot sweetheart." Emerald instructed Fluttershy. As he tried to teach her how to cook his favorite meal. They'd spent the last six hours teaching each other recipes to remember for later times.

"I thought you said to put it in the pot earlier." She protested, but did as he asked.

He smiled with understanding. "Yeah, but I messed up. Just put it in there instead."

The food was placed in the oven a few minutes later. Then they went and sat on Fluttershys couch. She lay her head down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "I'm tired. We've been cooking all day. Are we going to be done after this?"

Emerald laughed. "Yes, dear. We'll stop. I want to go on a walk with you anyway. I know you're tired so I'll finish the food myself and you can rest for a little bit if you want."

She nodded and didn't move.

"But I have to get up in a little bit to get the food out of the oven."

She still didn't move.

"Fluttershy, please don't fall asleep on me. I can't let the food burn."

Nothing.

"Hey you, come on now."

She sat up and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm just messing with you." Then she moved over next him on the couch and curled up in a ball to sleep. Emerald smiled and embraced her gently.

He whispered in her ear, "I love you, you silly girl."

"I love you too, you silly guy." She replied, snuggling up to him. He stayed there until he dozed off, but awoke when the smell of smoke jolted him out of his slumber.

"Fire! Fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire!" Emerald screamed and bolted into the kitchen. Fluttershy was awakened by his yelling and flew into the kitchen to see what was going on. The oven was up in flames and Angel and Emerald were running back and forth with a bowl of water from the sink using tap water to try to put it out.

"Ahh! I thought you were going to get it out in a little bit?" She cried, hiding around the corner and watching them.

They finally got it put out after a few dumps of water. Smoke filled the kitchen and they all choked and coughed loudly. They all left the kitchen, opening windows and doors to help air the house out.

They all returned to the living room as the smoke cleared out. Emerald gave a big innocent grin to Fluttershy, who was staring at him with an irritated pout. "I think we should go have our walk now."

________________________________________

That afternoon was really mild, sunny, and quiet. Ponyville wasn't a super active town to begin with, but even less now than it normally was, as everypony was home enjoying the weekend. A scheduled storm was to occur the next day, so Emerald wanted to make sure that he and Fluttershy were out on a walk before then. They went down to The Park, not far from Emeralds house, and right down the road from Fluttershys.

They sat on a park bench enjoying the silence, as they were the only ponies there.

"It's such a wonderful day. I wonder where everypony is on such a nice day." Fluttershy said, looking around at the empty park. A bird whistled as it flew overhead and she smiled up at it.

Emerald shrugged, looking off into the distance. "I don't have the slightest idea, but I do agree. It's exceptionally nice today. Too bad tomorrow has to be a bit rainy."

"Well if the Pegasi don't make it rain at least one week, it'll be too dry and we'll run out of water for ourselves, plants and gardens, and most importantly, our animals."

Emerald cracked up. "Sorry, darling. But you make me laugh when you put animals before yourself. It's so cute. But I admire your enthusiasm. At least you have some, compared to others." He leaned back and put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't you ever stop being you, you understand?"

She gave him a shy smile back. "Oh, I don't ever plan on it." Then she went rigid, staring off directly in front of them. She sat up quickly, her eyes wide with fear. Emeralds' heart sank when he followed her gaze to see Black Flame and Trixie. They both had smug, arrogant smirks on and calmly walked up to Emerald and Fluttershy.

Emerald stood up and confronted them. "What do you want, Black Flame? I thought you said you were going to leave?"

That earned him a mocking laugh from the both of them.

Black Flame stepped forward. "No, my naïve young friend. I said I'd leave for now. But I'm back, and I'm here for you once again."

Fluttershy hopped off the bench and instead of hiding, she joined Emerald by going to his side. Emerald looked over at her then back at Black Flame. "I want nothing to do with you, so leave. I won't bother you if you don't bother me."

Black never wavered. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice this time," He pulled out a necklace from the pack around Trixie's back. As soon as Emerald seen the necklace, he nearly fainted.

It was the necklace from his dream.

"What is this? What's going on?" Emerald demanded, growing worried.

Black didn't answer right away, but instead placed the necklace around his neck. It began glowing brightly, and Black levitated off the ground a few feet up, his eyes a fiery red.

Emerald and Fluttershy took a few steps back, their mouths wide open.

Black Flame was becoming powerful, with a magic Emerald wasn't familiar with. He continued to glow, mutating, his mane getting longer, his body bigger. He flashed momentarily with an incredibly bright orange light. He slowly descended back on the ground, appearing as a male Alicorn would. He glanced mildly at Emerald and Fluttershy as if they were just minor inconvenience. "Now you see, this is why I'm here. To end your pathetic life, to keep you from knowing what your abilities are. That's my goal, along with a few other minor details, and I don't plan on failing." He pointed with his hoof at the necklace. "This is called the Stone of Magic Chaos. It's unknown to everypony else, so I'm the only one who knows how to use it. Me and Trixie are going to rule Equestria with an iron hoof."

Emerald shook his head. "I'm lost – abilities? What are you talking about?"

Black Flame closed his eyes and shook his head in disappointment. "So blissfully unaware of your capabilities. Your father was unable to tell you what you can do, but that doesn't mean you can't figure it out on your own. Think about your father's abilities, and your grandfathers abilities, all the way back to the early days of Equestria. You know what you can do, you just don't believe it yet."

Emerald was confused at first, but he considered what he'd just been told. If it were true, than that would mean… "I'm more powerful than you." He said confidently.

Black laughed in amusement. "You're funny, but no. This Stone has the power output of a thousand Alicorns, you don't have any, remember? You have no cutie mark, thus, you have no power."

Emerald growled in defeat. He was right. He didn't have any power because he couldn't figure out how to get his cutie mark. But he wasn't about to just let Black take over, even with his power. "Well you'll never catch me!" He turned and grabbed Fluttershys hoof and took off at the fastest his wings would take him. The lessons from Rainbow Dash paid off. He was able to go fast enough to get out of Blacks visual range within a few seconds. He was flying towards Twilight's castle.

"What are we going to do?" Fluttershy cried.

Emerald was at a loss. "I don't know, but if we can't find an answer with Twilight, I'll be out of options."

And they flew on.

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

He finally understood what his dad had always been telling him. When he would say, "You'll find out someday what you're truly capable of." It all made sense now. What Black Flame had been saying this whole time. Emerald had the power of this Stone of Magic Chaos within him. So had his father. He was amazed at how it had activated, though. Being in danger and seeing friends in danger had instigated the power to initiate. Now it was time to fight back.

Black Flame climbed out of the debris from the house, and Trixie ran over to help him. He gently waved her off, shook off the debris, and slowly walked toward Emerald, watching him closely.

"I told you to stop this. And now I have some convincing force to help me. I'm not going to let you hurt anypony trying to claim what's not yours to claim." Emerald said sternly.

Black snorted derisively. "Is that what you think? I hope your disillusioned behavior changes soon, otherwise what happens next will be a surprise to you." Black launched himself at Emerald, hitting him and continuing on pushing him back while flying forward. He flew right through homes, using Emerald as a battering ram. As they barreled through wall after wall, Emerald struggled to get a better hold on Black. He finally got ahold of Blacks right arm, and swung around him, changing positions so that Black was now the battering ram.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash got up and dusted themselves off, watching Emerald and Black fight in the distance.

"Where's Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. They both looked over and seen her lying motionless on the ground nearby.

"Oh, no!" Rainbow Dash cried and they both rushed over to see if she was okay. They got close but Trixie cut them off.

"Where do you think you're going, girls?"

"Move out of the way, Trixie! Fluttershy needs help." Rainbow growled.

Trixie shook her head. "I don't think so, fool. This is – " She didn't finish because Rainbow Dash flew up and tackled her to the ground.

She leaned down and whispered in her ear, "If she's dead, you're next."

Trixie gave a faint smile laced with fear.

Rainbow left her lying there and went to go help Twilight with Fluttershy. Twilight lifted her up and checked her breathing.

"Okay, she's breathing, but barely. We need to get her out of here." They picked her up and flew off to Twilight's castle.

Meanwhile, Black and Emerald continued their battle, violently striking each other with punches, kicks, and tossing each other around. Neither seemed to have the upper hand.

They stood facing each other, panting. "It seems we're equal. This is an impasse. How about we just team up? You and I could rule over Equestria together, unstoppable. We could have everything – money, women, and power. I know you'd like that." Black tempted him.

Emerald gave him a cold stare. "No, Black. The difference between you and I is clear – you are greedy, and I'm content with what I have. My friends are more important than having luxuries. I'm just fine with what I have. So, no, I won't join you. But I will make sure you don't hurt anypony else."

Black laughed. "Yes, you always did think you could best me. And what you just said was so cliché. But one fatal fact you've overlooked has been right in front of your face this whole time."

"And what's that?"

Black turned and flew off in the direction of Trixie. "My partner and I have more power than you! Because she has the Alicorn Amulet!"

Alicorn Amulet? Emerald followed him to Trixie.

Black was getting into the pack she was carrying and got out the amulet. It was a grey necklace with a dark red stone set in the center, similar to the one that Black was wearing. It had the upper body of a Pegasus on the top and a red stone set in the middle. He placed it around Trixie's neck, and she leapt in the air with glee.

"I don't know what you thinks going to happen, but I'm sure as hell not going to give up just because you give your partner an amulet as well. I'm not letting you do this."

They both turned to him. "As if you have a choice."

Emerald took a step back, but his eyes never left them. "Don't make this worse than it needs to be, Black. Just take this little fantasy of yours and head overseas with it. We don't need you in Equestria causing problems."

"It's not that simple. I'm not just taking over because I want to. I'm killing you and everypony else acquainted with you, then me and Trixie will eliminate the Alicorns, and then we will rule over Equestria rightfully as we would be the only ones powerful enough to do so. But of course, I must take care of you first, since you are my biggest threat. Your power closely matches my own. But now that Trixie has the Alicorn Amulet, she too has unlimited power. And combined, we should be able to destroy you." Black grabbed her hoof and they looked at each other. They kissed each other, and Emerald took the moment of distraction to flee the area.

"Hey! You can run but you will never be able to hide, Emerald!" Black screamed after him. "I can sense your power from a mile away!"

Without looking back, Emerald mumbled, "I believe that."

He flew to Twilight's hoping that's where they went.

________________________________________

"He has the Alicorn Amulet?!" Twilight exclaimed. Emerald had showed up just as the others were getting there, so all six of them were now up to date on the situation. Emerald had just informed them of the Alicorn Amulets new owner.

"Yes, I guess they figured it would help Trixie be more intimidating. And powerful." Emerald said, sitting on the bed beside Fluttershy, who was awake now but weak and quiet. He held her hoof as he sat there.

"I thought Zecora hid that darned thing?" Applejack asked Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "That's what she said she was going to do with it. I have no idea where it was. Apparently they did."

Twilight was pacing around the middle of her bedroom, the rest of the ponies sitting around wherever a spot was. "This is bad. This is so, so, so, so, so bad. We have two insane ponies running around Ponyville with powerful artifacts, one of which we know nothing about. What to do, what to do, what to do…"

"Stop panicking, Twilight. We need to think of something calmly. Only calmness can keep you focused." Applejack told her.

Twilight stopped in the middle of the room. "It's hard not to. These maniacs tried to kill me and my friends and now they're hurting innocent ponies. This needs to stop."

"Well, dear, calm down. Worry and panic only drag you down." Rarity said.

"We all need to help think of something too." Emerald looked down at Fluttershy. "If we can figure out something as a team, maybe we could overtake them."

"Why don't we use the Elements of Harmony? Has anypony thought of that?" Pinkie Pie said, causing everypony to freeze.

"Of course!" Twilight smacked her own face in disgust. "Why didn't I think of that earlier?" She turned back to everypony. "Let's go take care of this before it gets too far out of hand."

Fluttershy sat up. "I…I wanna go…"

Emerald hugged her. "No, you're not going. You need some rest."

"She may have to, they're called the Elements of Harmony for a reason, I'm guessing." Twilight said, stopping in the doorway.

Emerald sighed and picked Fluttershy and flew over to the others. "Then I'm going too." He looked back at his rear end. He wasn't glowing anymore, but he still felt the power he felt earlier.

"Okay, but make sure you're prepared for what you see. It's pretty amazing." Rainbow Dash informed him. They all piled out the front door.

"I've seen enough that nothing surprises me now." He muttered under his breath as he followed them out. He shut the door behind him and followed them.

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"So what are these 'Elements of Harmony', as you called them?" Emerald asked out loud for anypony to answer as they flew over to the location of the Elements of Harmony. He flew awkwardly due to the fact that he was carrying Fluttershy, which didn't bother him at all.

"They match our cutie marks." Fluttershy said.

"I guess that's one way of saying it." Twilight answered, looking off into the distance, likely for danger. "But really, they help us get our Alicorn forms. They helped us defeat several foes in the past. One recently."

"That crazy Tirek guy." Somepony muttered.

Emerald flew closer to the ground, since they were flying low anyway to stay close to the ponies who couldn't fly.

"I see. And they're more powerful than the Stone of Magic Chaos?" Emerald asked, unsure.

"That's what we're going to figure out." Twilight said.

They came up upon the box that held the Elements. Emerald landed and let Fluttershy stand up on her own. She stayed close.

"This is the Elements? Out in the open?" Emerald asked incredulously. He watched the flyers land nearby and the others come up behind him.

"Yes, nopony bothers them because nopony but us can use them." Rainbow Dash replied.

"Oh, well still. It needs a hiding place."

Rarity sighed. 'Oh, relax. It's perfectly safe out in the middle of town, where everypony can have access to it."

Emerald was speechless. "I'm not quite sure what you were trying to do, but it sure sounded like you were trying to prove me right."

Unexpectedly, all of the ponies but Emerald were enveloped in a bubble of magic. It floated away from the Elements and off to the side, where Black Flame and Trixie stood, smiling fiendishly.

"Black Flame, let them go! I told you they have nothing to do with this!" Emerald yelled.

They walked up to him. "Now, I know you're not stupid enough to think I'd actually believe that this time." Black said, pointing a hoof at the bubble. "They were clearly trying to use the Elements of Harmony against me."

Emerald gave him a dirty look but said nothing.

"As I figured. You lied, just like before. Long before any of this. Before Ponyville, before your dads death, before you left my gang. You lie, all the time." Black said simply.

"That's not true." Emerald grunted.

"Oh, but it is." Black insisted. "You see, what your pony friends don't know is that you like to lie about everything in hopes to make others like you, due to your lack of…ability." He said, pointing at the spot where Emeralds cutie mark should be.

"Stop telling them that! You know it's not true!"

Black and Trixie's eyes met for a moment as Black went on. "Respectively, this deception of yours fooled a lot of poor young do-gooders just looking to help you out, only to be stabbed in the back when you got your fill."

Emerald snarled. "Where's your proof? You're just trying to turn them against me! I know exactly what you're doing and so do they! They won't fall for your stories!"

Black chuckled. "And that temper of yours…my, my. Somepony should teach you to respect others, not scream at them."

"Shut up, Black." Emerald warned him.

"Ha! And if I don't?"

Emerald glared at him.

"Don't let him get to you, Em. He's just trying to get you going. He won't get us to believe him no matter what he says." Fluttershy assured him.

Emerald gave a curt nod, but didn't take his eyes off Black.

"So, the reason I have your friends held captive is because apparently I can absorb energy from any source I choose. I want your power. You give it to me, I give you immunity and your friends. You choose no, I kill them, one by one, once a day until you decide to change your mind. Your decision."

Emerald glanced up at his friends, who looked back down at him, worried. He looked back at Black, his mind running rampant. He finally answered a few moments later.

"No. I can't give you this power. Celestia knows what you'd do once you had it."

"It's okay, Emerald. We'll figure a way out of this." Fluttershy comforted him.

He didn't think so.

"If that's what you want." Black said, turning to Trixie and motioning for her to follow.

"Where are you going?" Emerald demanded.

Black and Trixie kept going, with the bubble in trail.

"Tonight at midnight, right here, the first will die. I'll see you then." They went out of sight.

Emerald sat in the middle of the path and mourned. "What have I done?"

________________________________________

At ten minutes until midnight, Emerald went out to the spot from earlier. Nopony was there, but there was an ominous feel in the air. He dreaded to find out if Black Flame would actually go through with what he had planned. He had every reason to believe that he would actually do it, but hoped that he wouldn't.

At about midnight, just as he said, Black Flame and Trixie showed up – with Twilight detained by magic bonds.

"This is crazy, Black Flame! You can't do this! She didn't do anything!" Emerald griped.

They brought Twilight up to him and stopped, looking at him expectantly.

"Last chance to change your mind." Black said coolly. "I don't have all night. Me and Trixie have plans."

"This isn't funny, Black! This isn't something that you just rush!"

"It is. I have things to do. Make up your mind." He pressed.

Emerald looked at Twilight, who looked to have been crying recently. He felt for her. He really did. "I'm not giving you any more power. You have enough."

Black smiled. "My dear Emerald, you can never have enough power." He turned to Twilight and hit her in the face with a ball of fire. She yelped, but since her mouth was gagged, it didn't amount to much.

Emerald was appalled. "How can you just hurt somepony like that and not feel remorse?"

"Uh, newsflash – nopony but me and Trixie matters to me. Everypony else is expendable. And on that note," He hit Twilight again.

Emerald cringed at the sound of her whimpering.

"It's not too late," Black said in singsong.

Emerald was silent.

"As you wish." Twilight was bombarded. With each hit, Emerald felt worse and worse. Twilights screams filled his ears. Pain, misery, agony…He had enough.

"STOP!"

Black paused, holding a ball of fire. "Yes?"

Emerald grew teary eyed. "I – I'll give you the power. Just – please stop."

Twilight moaned in disagreement.

A huge smile spread across Blacks face. "Really? Who'd of thought it?"

Emerald lowered his head in defeat and humiliation.

Trixie released Twilight. She collapsed on the ground, too weak from pain to stand up. "No…Emerald. Don't…"

Emerald was surprised that Twilight was released.

Black seemed to read his mind and said, "Twilight was released to prove that I am prepared to let your friends go. Now, come with me and we'll get the rest."

Emerald just stared at him, waiting for him to move.

Black turned and motioned for Trixie to go. Emerald picked up Twilight and tossed her over his back. She moaned in pain and protest.

"I know, Twilight. I hope I made the right decision, too."

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Emerald followed the two troublemakers out into the Everfree Forest, going deep into it, so far it was nearly pitch black, and one could only see a few feet in front of their face. He had no idea where they were going, and Twilight couldn't tell him if she did since she was so much in pain. Emerald considered flying her to a safe spot, but decided against it when they seemed to near their destination.

It was a small stone cottage in a clearing near a cliffside. The stone was dark gray, worn but maintained, and it appeared to be quite old. The area surrounding it was sickly and dead. The gloominess was overpowering.

"How can they live here?" Emerald whispered the question to himself.

"Come on, Emerald. This isn't a tour. Just come in and get your friends so I can have your power." Black Flame rushed him. He and Trixie already had the front door open and were going in.

Emerald sighed and went in.

The interior was well designed, furnished, and organized. They'd definitely been living here longer than Emerald knew. He set Twilight down in the living room and stood there. Twilight actually stood up by herself, shaky, but she managed to stay upright. Emerald gave her a hoof to hold on to to stay steady. She gave him a thankful smile.

"Your friends are down there," Black pointed down the stairs that lead to a basement.

Emerald walked up to it with Twilight and glanced uneasily down into the darkness. "How do I know this isn't a trap?"

Black face palmed. "You idiot, I can't kill you, so what would locking you, who is just as powerful as I, in my basement solve? I'll go first. Then Trixie, then you." He went down and Trixie followed. Emerald cautiously came down with Twilight behind him. Black Flame was telling the truth. The bubble of magic that Trixie had encased them in earlier was floating in the middle of the room, his friends talking quietly within. As soon as they saw Emerald and Twilight, they all stood up and began talking rapidly.

"Quiet! The Great and Powerful Trixie needs absolute silence to remove the spell." Trixie said and started with her removal spell. A few seconds later, the group was reunited. The first pony to get to Emerald and Twilight was Fluttershy, who leapt on Emerald happily, kissing him and crying at the same time.

"Why are you here? What's going on? Are we safe? Are they done? Is this the end?" She fired the questions without a breath.

Emerald put a hoof over her mouth and shushed her. "Just get behind me and don't say anything."

She nodded and went back toward the stairs with the others. Emerald returned his attention to Black and Trixie, who were already waiting for him. "Okay, Black. A deal's a deal."

"A deal?" Applejack asked.

Emerald sighed. "I…I told him I'd give him my power for you guys back. I couldn't just let him kill you. Look at Twilight, and you can see he was serious."

"But, this happened before, and it was a pretty bad time for a while until we used the Elements of Harmony on him. It was Tirek. We won that fight, but I'm not sure about this one." Rainbow Dash said, sounding unhappy.

"Well, I have a plan. Just bear with me, okay?" They nodded. Emerald turned back to Black and Trixie. "Okay, go for it."

Black motioned for Trixie to start. She began using magic to transfer Emeralds energy to Black. Black struggled to stand up against the waves of power flowing into him, and Emerald fell to his knees as the power drained from him. He yelled in pain as he felt the energy leave in torrents. It seemed like it would never end, but it did finally, and Emerald wasn't sure he was even still alive. He closed his eyes to clear away the stars he was seeing dance around the room.

"Emerald!" He felt someponies warm body on his, holding him in a tight hug.

Black Flame walked up to Emerald. "Now that I have what I want, you can stay down here." He leapt over the ponies and Trixie joined. They went up the stairs before they could be stopped and they shut the door behind them. Rainbow Dash and Applejack tried to get the door open, but it was a big stone door and it didn't budge.

Emerald opened his eyes to see Fluttershy staring down at him, already about to cry. He hugged her again briefly and stood up, shaky, but Fluttershy helped him. He looked up at the door and seen Rainbow Dash and Applejack trying in vain to get the door open.

"Stop, don't waste your energy. I thought he'd pull some bullshit like this." Emerald told them. They seemed startled by his sudden brashness. They slowly walked back down the stairs. "We need to figure out a strategy for getting out of here without them knowing." Emerald said, glancing around the room.

"Like where? This is underground, in a house built of stone. How could we possibly find a way out of this room without them knowing?" Rainbow Dash asked, frowning and folding her arms across her chest.

Emerald sighed irritatedly. "I don't know, I'm just trying to think of something. The goal is to get out of here without anypony dying, but I just don't see any way that would be possible."

Twilight coughed. "Well we won't get any results just standing around arguing, so everypony look around the room for a way out."

"Good idea." Pinkie Pie said and started rummaging through boxes and shelves. The others followed suit. Emerald and Fluttershy went off to the corner of the room, where it was messy and hard to move in. Boxes littered the floor along with garden tools, various lawn ornaments, and a wood burning fireplace. Random other junk filled the spaces in between.

"You think we'll find a way out?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.

Emerald sighed. "I'm sure we'll find something."

She didn't look too hopeful. "Well, I'm certain we can get out of this. We'll get out of here and use the Elements on them."

Emerald noticed a black square underneath some boxes, slightly visible on one corner where it wasn't covered. He knelt down and moved the boxes out of the way.

It was a door.

"We found – "

Emerald quickly covered Fluttershys mouth before she could finish.

"We found a door." Emerald said quietly.

They all gathered around it.

"Where does it go?" Rarity asked curiously.

"I don't know, but we're about to find out," Emerald said and opened the door.

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The tunnel was long and dark, musty and humid. The walls were made of the same stone as the house, but they were so old and damp that they were rotting away, and the path was littered with parts of softened stone. Sounds of bats and water dripping echoed in the distance. It was dark, so Twilight and Rarity used light spells to help lead their friends out of the house.

"This is taking forever." Rainbow Dash groused. She walked slower than everypony else, thoroughly examining every inch of the walls for an exit.

"So? It's better than having to sit in the messy basement." Pinkie Pie replied.

"Well at least there was something to look at. This wall is completely barren. And we've been walking for half an hour." Rainbow went on.

Everypony sighed in irritation.

"You know, I have a feeling this tunnel isn't going to end for a while." Twilight said casually.

Emerald raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

Twilight looked back at everypony. "I think this used to be a sewer drainage system."

"Wah!" Rarity leapt onto Applejacks back, avoiding the walls and floor.

"Relax, Rarity. I believe this sewage system is from the early days of Ponyville. It should go somewhere downtown. We should be close."

Rarity sluggishly climbed off an annoyed Applejack, who suddenly yelled, "Hurry up, girl!"

Rarity jumped off and smiled innocently.

"Come on, Rarity. I need your light to help me see further down the tunnel." Twilight said.

Rarity joined her and they continued on unabated.

"Is that a rat?" Fluttershy pointed ahead to the small furry grey spot on the floor.

They all stopped and stared closely at it. It went into the wall and disappeared. They all gasped.

"There must be a new tunnel path up there. Come on, everypony, let's go!" Rainbow Dash flew past them and went towards the spot where the rat just was. She, too disappeared.

The others caught up and made the corner, only to fall out into a flatland outside. They all piled up below the exit.

Rainbow Dash laughed at them. "You guys didn't see that coming, did you!"

They all groaned and got up, brushing themselves off.

"Alright, we have a lot of work to do. Let's get to the Elements of Harmony before Black and Trixie realize we're gone." Applejack turned and ran off toward the Spiral Tower, which was barely visible above the trees of the Everfree forest. The others took off after her.

"Are you sure this will be safe? I just have this really bad feeling…" Fluttershy let her voice trail off.

Emerald sighed. "I don't think he knows yet. If he did, we'd have been caught by now. Let's just get the Elements and get this over with. I don't like violence."

Fluttershy smiled. "I know, just like me. It doesn't solve anything."

"No, it just causes more problems."

They reached the edge of Ponyville. The streets were empty due to the current dilemma. It was good everypony was hiding, as the friends didn't want them hurt.

Just as Fluttershy recently announced, Emerald felt a horrible feeling in his gut…like an instinct of impending danger. He opened his mouth to say something, but they'd just come up on the Elements – and they were all shocked.

The Elements were okay – besides the fact that they were encased in a magic force field spell.

"No! I can't believe this!" Rainbow Dash tried ramming the bubble just like she'd done the door earlier, but it was futile. The Elements were completely useless.

"Now what?" Pinkie Pie asked unhappily.

Twilight stepped up to the bubble. "I'm not just going to give up." Her horn began glowing. "I'm going to try every spell I know that could fix this."

Every spell she tried was to no prevail. The bubble remained.

"This is hopeless!" Rarity moaned and collapsed to the ground, her hooves over her eyes.

"No, we don't give up! That's not what we did in the past. We've come up against some bogus problems in the past, and this is no different. We need to find some way to get through this force field!" Rainbow exclaimed, flying around like an angry, buzzing bee.

"If we can't get in, we can't get in. I'm sorry to break it to you, but I think maybe, this time, Black got us." Emerald said, sounding far more negative than he intended. That earned him a few dirty looks. "Look, you misunderstand me. I'm not saying there's nothing we can do, I'm saying there's clearly no options with this force field thingy. We have to go about this from a different angle."

"But I've hit this thing a dozen times! How else can I hit it?" Rainbow complained, throwing her hooves up.

"I don't think that's what he meant, Rainbow Dash." Applejack said.

"What kind of different way?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously.

Emerald started pacing. "I think I may have an idea, but it would require everyponies full cooperation. That means no chickening out."

They gathered around him. "Okay, let's hear it." Rarity said.

________________________________________

Trixie left Black in the bedroom. She was going to bed, but was going downstairs to get a drink and check on the ponies. She got a long gulp of milk and yawned as she walked down the hall to the basement door. She slid the latch over to look inside. It was empty. "WHAT?! NOOOOOOO!"

Black Flame came rushing downstairs. "What's wrong, my love?" He asked urgently as he seen her and ran over.

She pointed a hoof at the door. "They're gone!"

He looked inside and seen the trapdoor open on the floor. He turned and grabbed Trixie's hoof. "I know exactly where they went. Which means that this is their next destination. Why don't we be good hosts and throw them a welcome party?"

She grinned darkly. "Yes, Trixie agrees."

"Good. Let's get started."

________________________________________

The group had split up to infiltrate the house that Black and Trixie were staying at. The plan was to kidnap Trixie and make her undo the shield spell, then use her as bait for Black. They'd thought the plan through pretty well, and prepared for the first and hardest part of the mission.

Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Emerald could fly, so they went up to go through the chimney. Rarity and Twilight went through the back area, near the basement to use their magic from the dark. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were at the front, ready for anypony to come out of the house.

Emerald winked at Twilight.

"Alright gang. This is it! Showtime!"

The three pegasi dropped down the chimney. As they reached the bottom, they stopped to avoid hitting the soot. Emerald was the first down, then Rainbow, then Fluttershy.

The house was silent, but they didn't take any chances.

"Okay," Emerald whispered. "First, we go upstairs, since that's where the bedroom is. We want to just look inside, not get her there, since it's likely that Black will be in there, too. I'll wait in the kitchen for her, you wait in the entry hall for her Rainbow, and Fluttershy, you wait for her in the bathroom. If she comes into your area, take her out quietly and don't let her make any noise. Drag her out to the entry hall if you're not already there. Got it?"

They both nodded.

Emerald looked up the stairs. "Okay, let's get to it."

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The bedroom door was shut, but they could easily hear the noises from the other side.

"I…don't think we should open the door." Rainbow Dash said, reading Fluttershy and Emeralds minds. They went back down the stairs, careful not to make any noise, but trying hard to ignore the ones they heard so clearly.

The split up at the bottom of the stairs. "Stay safe, fellas." Emerald said quietly and went off to the kitchen. The only thing he liked about this was that based on how much Black has grown attached to Trixie, the plan should work safely and flawlessly. But there was that small percentage that Black could be simply using her…

He didn't want to think that. That would completely void all their plans. And possibly put them in even more danger. He let it go and tried to focus on the task at hoof. He went to the back of the kitchen near the refrigerator. On the side facing away from the entrance to the kitchen, a space big enough for him to occupy was between the fridge and the wall, so Emerald squeezed into the spot and waited.

About an hour passed of the nauseating sounds before it went quiet. Emerald thanked Celestia and sat down against the wall. Fluttershy uncovered her hooves as she stood off in the corner of the bathroom right across the hall from the kitchen. She too, was relieved. Rainbow Dash was asleep.

Emerald sighed angrily, but remembered it'd been a long night for all of them, including himself, and everypony must be tired. He waved it off but hoped that she wouldn't get caught. About half an hour later, they heard the door upstairs squeak open. A quick peek by Rainbow, who woke up, revealed it to be Trixie, messy-headed and acting disoriented as she stumbled down the stairs. They all got ready for whichever direction she went. She went left, which meant the bathroom. Fluttershy slid into the darker part of the bathroom and hid behind a curtain.

Trixie walked in and turned on the light. She yawned noisily and looked in the mirror. She turned the faucet on and started straightening her hair. Fluttershy was about to pounce on her, but she heard a noise outside the door. Black walked into the bathroom. Fluttershy freaked and clung to the wall, shivering.

Emerald left the kitchen in a hurry when he didn't hear Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash call out for help, which meant something was wrong. He went to the bathroom door and peeked around the corner and saw Black and Trixie making out on the sink. He nearly puked. "Bleh…" They stopped. Emerald hid back around the corner.

"Did you hear something?" Trixie asked.

"No." He heard Black reply. "But let's go back to the bedroom, gorgeous. I wasn't done with you."

Emerald fled to the kitchen.

"But I think I want a little something to drink first, so you go back upstairs. I'll be there in a minute." Trixie said.

Emerald quickly hid behind the fridge.

"No, I want a drink too." Black said, and they went into the kitchen, flipping the light on. Emerald covered his eyes while they adjusted to the sudden bright light.

He pushed up against the fridge as much as he could to prevent being seen. He heard the door to the fridge open and a bottle being pulled out.

"This should make it more interesting, "Trixie said, and the sound of a glass being filled with liquid followed. The fridge opened up a second time and he heard the bottle get put away. The door shut.

"Well, my darling, let's go finish what we started…" Trixie said provocatively.

"Will do, my beautiful." The kitchen light shut off. A few moments passed after he heard the bedroom door close before he left the kitchen to discuss a plan change with Fluttershy and Rainbow. But when he got out into the hallway, Trixie and Black had Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash unconscious – or worse – in the middle of the floor.

Emerald stopped in his tracks. "Wha…"

Black gave a quick chortle. "Did you really think you could play spy on me and my girl? You made a lethal mistake, my friend. Now you and your friends are going to suffer for it."

Emerald looked down at them on the floor and snarled, "What did you do to them?"

Black pointed at Trixie. "They're out cold due to her magic, and soon to be dead. Now I have to kill you. You broke into the King and Queens home. That's immediate death."

Trixie lifted their bodies with her magic and Black led her to the front door. He opened it and Trixie tossed them outside in the middle of the courtyard.

"What the…?" Pinkie Pie and Applejack exclaimed. They ran up to them and checked to see if they were okay. Trixie turned and used the same magic to roughly remove Emerald from the house.

Twilight and Rarity came rushing up from around the side of the house to see what was going on. The squealed to a stop when they saw Trixie and Black Flame.

Emerald got up from the ground and shook the dirt off of him. He glared hatefully at Black. "What do you mean, 'lethal'?"

Black moved closer to Emerald, while the friends pulled the unconscious two back to tend to them. "I mean exactly what it says. I'm going to kill all of you. Tonight. No more games, I'm getting annoyed."

Emerald wasn't shocked. "I think you're mistaken. It's time for you to stop this madness, or I'm going to end it for you."

Black snorted. "Big talk for somepony who gave up their only chance of beating me."

Emerald didn't say anything, but the rest of his friends, even Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, who Twilight woke up with a spell, joined Emerald, all with determined looks on their faces.

"He doesn't need superpowers." Pinkie Pie said matter-of-factly.

"All he needs is a few good friends, and he can beat you. That's what we're here for." Rainbow seconded.

Black nearly burst into laughter, but he suppressed it. "Is this what you think will stop me? That's the funniest thing I've heard this week! Oh, the irony." He turned and glanced up at the moon. Mockingly, he whispered, "Luna, forgive me for what I'm about to do." He lit up a huge ball of fire suddenly, but Trixie also added her own malicious magic to it, making it multiple shades of purple and black. He swung the ball at them so fast they could barely dodge it in time. It whizzed past them, only inches to spare. But that wasn't all Black was going to do. He flew up and engaged the nearest pony, which happened to be Emerald.

Emerald tried to block the kick Black delivered, but instead he ended up dazed, in a tree nearby. He shook his head and watched the scene unfold.

The ponies engaged Black and Trixie. Trixie, Rarity, and Twilight battled it out with magic, and the rest fought off Black. But the results were clear. They stood no chance against Trixie and Black. They were just too strong. Ponies ended up thrown from the battle, some taking longer and longer to get back into the battle. It seemed that the battle was lost. Emerald kept being the first target for Black, which didn't surprise him at all. Then it happened.

"Ahhh!" He heard the high pitched voice cry. He panicked as he realized who's it was.

Fluttershy was laying on the ground near a tree. Not moving.

Emeralds blood ran cold. "No!" He flew down to her. She was brutally beaten and burned. Emerald started crying. He put his ear down to her heart, and that's where the real waterworks began.

She had no heartbeat.

She was dead.

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The battle came to a standstill upon Emeralds despair. He held Fluttershy close and kept yelling her name. "Fluttershy! Fluttershy, please! No, please…"

The others, hurt but still ready for a fight, backed down to help Emerald. Twilight and Rarity came up to help.

"Is she…?" Twilight asked, her voice trailing off.

Emerald only held her closer, his tears now trickling onto Fluttershy's coat.

Black flew lower nearby, scoffing. "Oh, please. I was trying to kill her the whole time. She's a strong one, I'll give you that."

Emerald screamed in anger, setting Fluttershy down and charging Black. He swung a hoof at his face, knocking Black down, but Black was up in a flash, and the two didn't fight for long, as Emerald was knocked aside easily. He groaned in pain and stood up, using a small plant to pull himself up.

"Emerald, don't get yourself killed! She's already gone!" Applejack called out to him.

He didn't want to let it end like this. "No, if I die, then that's what has to happen." He planted himself firmly right in front of Black and Trixie.

Black wasn't impressed. "Okay, if that's what you think will bring her back." He motioned for Trixie. "Kill him."

Trixie didn't move. She just stood there, looking over at the friends crying over Fluttershy. She actually appeared upset. "No," She said finally. "I can't hurt these ponies. They've never tried to kill me. In fact, I don't know why I'm even here. I can't believe I attacked the ponies who gave me the benefit of the doubt twice, and they could have killed me both times. I'm sorry, but this isn't right. I won't hurt them anymore." She stamped her hoof.

Black was actually surprised. "Wha…what did you just say? Are you…betraying me?"

Trixie walked over to the ponies. "I'm so sorry for all this. I wasn't thinking. He had such a way with words that I didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late. I'm sorry, so very sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

They stared at her for a few seconds. Then Pinkie Pie said, "Of course we can."

She sighed heavily. "Thank you. Can I help you out in some way?"

"I don't believe this!" Black hollered, dismayed. "You didn't want to help me kill them this whole time?"

Trixie shook her head. "That's not what I meant. I wanted to because you were so good in…that's not important. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm changed. And I'm not going to join you while you kill my friends."

Black snorted angrily. "I've heard enough of this nonsense. This will be the last time any of you try to make a fool of me."

Trixie ran up to Emerald. "I know your girl is dead, so avenge her. Here," She took off the Alicorn Amulet and handed it to a stunned Emerald. He took it, unsure of what to say.

"Thank you." Is all he could manage.

She nodded a response and went back over to the other ponies. Emerald put the Alicorn Amulet on, and immediately he felt stronger. But how would he use the magic?

Black Flame started laughing, a low chuckle at first, but it progressed to a bellow, with him rolling around on the ground in a fit of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Applejack asked, irritated by his cackling.

He continued to laugh, but he got quieter, eventually he stood back up, wiping away a tear. "Oh, you ponies should know. Trixie gives him the Alicorn Amulet, and for what? I'll kill him while he's wearing it. It won't make him strong enough to stand a chance against me. Valiant effort, my little ponies, but futile."

Emerald stepped up to Black, an unwavering look on his face. "I'm going to make you pay for this. For hurting my friends, for trying to take over Ponyville, for using Trixie, and for…killing my special pony."

Black narrowed his eyes while giving a challenging smile. "I'm waiting…"

Emerald launched himself at Black, who didn't move, still smiling. Emerald collided with Black and they both went sprawling into some brush. Emerald tried to hit Black in the face multiple times, but only managed a few. Black was a bit more successful, and ended up knocking Emerald off to the side. He leapt high into the air and dived straight down onto Emerald, who rolled out of the way just in time. Emerald jumped up and spun around to go at Black again but he instead got a face full of Blacks' fire. He flew back into a tree, slid down to the ground, and got back up, saying, "Is that all you got?"

Black charged him, throwing fire balls that Emerald barely dodged. They smashed into each other, and then began throwing punches. Black turned and bucked Emerald up into the air. Emerald flapped his wings rapidly to correct his spinning. He had just enough time to see Black coming at him with a few fireballs leading the way. Emerald tried to dodge them while keeping an eye on Black, but one hit him in the chest and he cried out in pain as Black hit him in the midsection flying at full speed. They flew higher and higher, until Emerald managed to get ahold of his horn, and he hit him in the face while switching places so he was pushing Black higher.

"Ahhhhh….You won't win this Emerald! You will…er…fail!" Black stuck his hoof behind him and blasted Emerald in the face at point blank range with a fire ball. Emerald screamed in pain. Black hit Emerald three more times with fire, then flew into him flying down toward the ground, flying faster and faster.

"Oh my Celestia, this is getting bad!" Rarity cried.

Rainbow Dash flew up a little. "We should help him! He's gonna get killed!"

Twilight used her magic to grab her tail and stop her in midair. "No, you'll be killed! We need to get out of here while we can!"

"No! We can't just leave Emerald all by himself with this monster, he'll need us! We should help him!" Applejack countered.

Rarity looked sadly down at Fluttershy. "She has a good point. We need to stay here. We don't need another death."

Black and Emerald hurtled toward the ground at a frightening speed. Emerald tried to get out of the death grip Black had him in, but he was unable to. The ground rushed up at him and he closed his eyes and prepared for the pain. They hit the ground going at nearly enough speed for a sonic boom. The ground shook violently and debris was thrown away from the large blast of fiery magic that engulfed the two brawlers.

The other ponies grabbed Fluttershy and ran into the trees to get shelter from the rain of burning debris.

As the blast subsided, the ponies tried to see who was victorious. Their hearts sank when they saw Black standing at the edge of the pit that was created in the blast.

"No…" Twilight whispered.

Black stood over Emerald, who lay at the bottom of the crater, breathing rapidly and bleeding from his mouth. He lifted his head to see Black standing at the edge. "Do it, you son of a bitch. Kill me!"

Black smiled in amusement. "As you wish," And he powered up a large ball of magic and fire, and blasted Emerald relentlessly. Each hit put Emerald closer and closer to unconsciousness. He held on until the end. Black paused for a moment, to mock Emerald one more time before he killed him. "How does it feel? I mean, we all knew I would be victorious, but now that the time has come, how does it feel? Nopony can match me for power. I'm the new and rightful king of Equestria. I'll have to use one of your pathetic friends as a queen since mine left me. Big surprise. But in all fairness, I will say your efforts weren't in vain, you managed to scratch my horn." He laughed maniacally. Then he lit up a final ball of energy.

The last thing Emerald saw was the ball hurtling down at him.

Then he let go…

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Emerald saw nothing but white for the longest time, then, quite suddenly, he found himself on a large, fluffy white cloud. It was bright and sunny, but he couldn't see anypony else.

"What is this…?" He got up and began cautiously walking toward the large house he saw on the other side of the cloud. It was a big two story, gold and brown themed. The front door didn't match the rest of the home, though. It was a peculiar medium blue. As he got closer, he read an inscription on it, made of gold it appeared. It was the initials, "SS"

Emerald didn't know anypony by the initials "SS", but for some reason, it felt familiar. He kept slowly making his way up to the house, keeping an eye on his surroundings. There was clearly nopony else around but him. The steps up to the front door of the home were tall, and Emerald struggled to get up them. "What kind of pony has stairs like these?" He complained as he reached the top. The door was intimidating, but he stepped up to it and knocked.

He heard shuffling inside, them the door swung open.

Emerald gasped.

His father stood there, smiling back at him jovially. "Glad you could make it, son."

Emerald began babbling incoherently.

Sapphire shushed him. "Just come in. Somepony else is wanting to see you."

Emerald shook his head violently and hugged his dad. "Is this real? Where am I? What's going on?"

Sapphire looked down at him frankly. "You're dead. But I have a remedy for that. Now, you really should come in. You don't want to keep her waiting."

Emerald let go of his father and followed him in. The house was entirely made of gold on the inside. And the first thing he noticed is that something on the couch wasn't gold. It was Fluttershy.

"Emerald!" She cried and leapt into his arms when she ran up to him. They both fell on the floor, laughing and crying simultaneously. She kissed him repeatedly, muttering, "Oh, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you…"

"Okay, young lovers, let's talk real quick before I send you back."

They both stood up suddenly.

"Send…us back?" Emerald asked, confused.

Sapphire looked out the window in the distance. "Yes, I can send you back. But I must tell you something first."

Emerald and Fluttershy listened carefully as he explained what he wanted done.

"First, I want you to know that when you return, you'll have your power back. But it will not be yours in that sense. I will be giving you mine, since I don't need it anymore. But this time, do not give it to Black Flame, for he is deceitful, and he will do anything to get this power from you as well. If he obtains this power as well, I won't be able to help you any further. Now, if you want to get the better of Black Flame, you need to be near water. Have you ever noticed that he never comes out in the rain? Or goes near you while you were near a body of water?"

"But I had a prophetic dream where he chased me in the rain, in Manehattan." Emerald argued.

"Exactly. A dream. He would never hang around water. Just heed my advice, young Shield. You're going to need it. I don't want to see either of you up here again for a long time." Sapphire said, putting a hoof on each of their shoulders. "Now, are you ready?"

"No, I have so many questions, so many things I want to know…like, where's mom?" Emerald asked, looking around.

"Son, she was busy and couldn't make it. But you'll see her, I promise. You need to go back now, your friends need you."

Emerald sighed and looked at Fluttershy. "Okay, I guess we're ready."

Sapphire put his hooves on Emeralds head and closed his eyes. Emerald felt a powerful energy flowing into him like a river. It made him gasp. A few seconds later, Sapphire took his hooves off and smiled warmly. "You should now be more powerful than him. I will send you two back with what little energy I have left. Remember, don't give him the power, and go to a source of water."

Emerald hugged his dad again. Sapphire embraced him back. "I love you, son. Don't let me down."

A tear streaked down Emeralds face as he answered, "I love you too, dad. I won't ever let you down."

"Alright, let's get you guys back down there." He said gently. Emerald pulled away and stood next to Fluttershy, who took his hoof.

Sapphire put his hoof up, and immediately a bright light shone from it, drenching them. Then everything was black…

________________________________________

Emeralds eyes fluttered open. He was looking up from the bottom of the pit. He sat up and groaned, rubbing his head. "Ugh, that was a weird dream." He drew his hoof back suddenly when he noticed it glowing. Green. "What the…" The weakness inside him faded away, and he flew up over the edge of the crater. He saw Black Flame teasing the ponies with fireballs. "Hey you! You aren't done with me!"

Black spun around, an angry pout on his face. Then it changed to bewilderment when he seen Emerald was the speaker. "This is impossible. I just killed you!"

Emerald flew down and landed in front of them. They all were astonished by this revelation. "No, but I'm going to make sure that you are by the end of the night. That's a promise."

Black shook off the shock and glared at him, getting in a fighting stance. "I'd love to see you try."

Emerald decided to try out his father's strength. He flew at Black and hit him in the midsection, aiming to go through a line of trees behind him. The trees snapped as Black hit every one of them. They finally hit the ground and gouged a mark for about 40 feet. Black shoved Emerald off and got up.

"You piece of shit, how do you have power again? You must not have given it all to me."

"Oh, you'll get all of it, alright. In the face!" Emerald struck him as hard as he could in the chin with an uppercut. Black sailed through the air and crashed into the ground near the other ponies.

"Whoa, someponies getting whooped." Rainbow Dash said.

"Ugh, what happened…?" Fluttershy said and sat up.

They others turned and yelled, "Fluttershy!" She was instantly smothered in hugs.

"Oh, glad to see you girls too."

Black fought to get back on his hooves, but he was dazed. "This is…unacceptable." He huffed loudly, trying to catch his breath. He looked up just in time to see a large boulder falling down on him. "Son of a bi-" The boulder landed on him with a loud thud.

Emerald came flying through the trees, a determined look glued to his face. He kicked the rock over, and Black slowly crawled away from the spot where he was just crushed. He turned and flicked a fireball at Emerald, and hit his mark. Emerald wiped the soot from his face and went after Black, who was attempting to fly away.

"Oh, no you don't." Emerald caught up with him and tried to grab him, but Black hit him again with a fire ball. Black flew off while Emerald was shaking off the fire on his wing.

Meanwhile, Black tried to escape so he could think of a better plan.

"This is madness! I cannot believe that little bastard got more powerful than before I killed him! I have to rethink my strategy if I want to – " He flew right into a pony. "Hey, you want to watch where you're going?" He looked to see who it was.

Emerald was flying right in front of him, arching an eyebrow. "Going somewhere?"

Blacks jaw dropped and he slowly backed away. "Stop following me you cretin!" He turned and flew deeper into the Everfree forest.

Emerald had no trouble keeping up, although when Black noticed him, he began throwing more fire at him.

Emerald simply dodged them, going left and right.

Black flew lower, going through trees in an effort to shake off Emerald, but Emerald actually caught up even closer.

"How the hell are you doing that?" Black raged, flying faster.

Emerald continued to trail him through the forest and a blinding speed. Suddenly, a tree grazed Blacks left wing and he went spiraling out of control. He rolled until he dropped off into a river. Gasping for air, he tried to keep his head above the surface. "I – I can't swim! P-please help me!" He coughed and sputtered.

Emerald flew up and landed on the river bank. He stared down at Black as he struggled with swimming.

"Please – don't just let me die! Y-you can't do this t-to me!" He went under for a second and came back up, spitting water.

Emerald just watched him, his emotions conflicting. He finally turned the blind eye on him.

Black's heart sank. "Y-you're just going t-to let m-me die?" He sank under again, but barely managed to come back up.

Emerald remained silent.

Black was horrified. "N-no! Don't – leave me – " He went under for the last time.

When he didn't come back up, Emerald shook his head and turned and flew back to the others.

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The others were tending to Fluttershy's injuries when Emerald flew up and landed in the clearing with them.

They all looked up at him curiously.

"Where is he?" Twilight asked.

Emerald shook his head. "Not a threat anymore, that's for sure. All that power and it couldn't help him swim. That was his downfall."

"Wow. You killed him with water?"" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "That's awesome!"

"No, I didn't kill him with water." Emerald hesitated. "I simply ignored his cries for help, that's all. The point is, he won't be bothering anypony ever again."

"So where's the Stone of Magic Chaos? We need to hide that thing."

"Crap. It should still – be on him." He turned and prepared to fly off. "I'll be back in a few."

"Make sure you get rid of him, too." Twilight called after him. "Nopony needs to find that out here."

Emerald flew back to the riverbank and followed it. He scanned the waters, looking for any signs of Black. After about a mile of flying, he found Black on a riverbank on a curve in the direction of the river. He flew down and walked up to the body. "What a shame, Black. I would have forgiven you if you just would have let go of your grudge. But look at you now…" He bent down and pulled the Stone off of Black, trying to avoid touching him. He put the Stone on the ground next to him and went off to find a few good vines to use as rope. He found some and a large rock and went back to Black and tied him to the rock before pushing it into the river. "That should hold him." Then he grabbed the Stone and went back to the others.

When he returned, they were getting ready to leave.

"Did you get it? And hide his body?" Twilight asked as he handed her the Stone.

"Yes, and I never want to talk about this again." He answered, walking with them back down towards the path. "Ever."

"Well, we all have to report to Princess Celestia tomorrow to tell her about this, but after that, I promise this will never come up in a conversation again." Twilight assured him.

"Why don't you ever want to talk about this again? You straight up whooped his a-"

Emerald cut Rainbow Dash off with a loud intentional sigh.

"Okay, I get it. But just to be clear, the rest of us can talk about it when you're not around?" She asked hopefully.

Emerald shrugged. "I couldn't care less. Like I said, make sure I don't hear it. I need a break from all this stress."

Fluttershy walked closer to him, so their bodies were touching. "Don't worry, I'll keep you occupied. I mean…I'll keep you busy…oh, my…I meant…"

Emerald put an arm around her. "It's okay, I get your point. Don't say something to embarrass yourself."

"Too late. I think I know what she meant…" Rainbow Dash started.

Twilight elbowed her in the ribs. "Cut it out."

Rainbow Dash rubbed her ribs and muttered quietly to herself.

"Yeah, watch what you say, or your new name will be Headgo Bash." Emerald warned her.

Pinkie Pie burst out laughing.

"Hey, that really wasn't funny. Clever, but not funny." Rainbow said.

The path cleared to the one that led to Ponyville, and they started walking a little faster. The moon was full, so it provided some light for them.

"Hey, does anypony have a flashlight?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Everypony looked at her.

"Why do you need a flashlight?" Applejack asked inquiringly.

"Oh, Gummy lost my old one and I planned on camping tonight." She replied.

"Camping? Where?" Rarity asked, looking around at the forest.

"Why, at home of course. Where else would I camp, the forest?" Pinkie laughed.

Emerald shook his head. "I don't understand what just happened."

Trixie cleared her throat. "Um…speaking of places…Trixie, er, I mean, I, need a place to stay…"

"Twilight has some extra room." Rainbow said. Twilight turned and gave her the evil eye.

Trixie walked closer to Twilight. "Is this true? If so, I really would like a place to stay. Just until, you know, I get my business back up and running."

Twilight sighed. "Yes, I have some extra room. Rainbow Dash, I should kill you, but I won't, because I can't."

"Yep, I'm that awesome." She replied.

"No need to rant and rave about ourselves, we've already heard enough of that in the past few days to last us a lifetime."

"I totally agree with that." Trixie said with a nervous laugh. "Does this mean you guys are holding my past against me?"

"Of course not. Otherwise we would have just killed you." Emerald said simply.

Fluttershy gave him a dirty look.

"Oh, that's – good. So, am I staying with you, Twilight?"

Twilight sighed yet again. "Yes."

"Excellent! I'll get my stuff from Blacks old –" She didn't finish. Everypony looked at her to see what was wrong. She was looking down at the ground and pouting.

"What's wrong, Trixie?" Emerald asked after Fluttershy told him to.

She kept walking with her head down and answered, "I – kind of miss him…"

"Oh, that's normal. I'm sure we could have kept him alive if he would have surrendered. Actually, we probably would have had to put him in prison or exile." Twilight explained.

"That didn't seem to be helpful, Twilight." Applejack pointed out. The path finally reached Ponyville and they all stopped. "Well, I don't know about y'all, but I'm pooped. I'll see y'all tomorrow." Applejack left for her house.

"She's right – I'm tired. I'm gonna go hit the clouds. Later." Rainbow Dash flew off.

Emerald looked at Trixie and Twilight. "So, is she staying with you?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes, but if she tries anything stupid, she'll be out on the street in a heartbeat."

Trixie's ears folded. "I suppose that's fair."

"Well, ta ta. I've got to get some beauty rest after all this fighting. I'm looking rather trashy." Rarity started for her house.

"I guess we'll be going home, too. I don't want Spike to freak out since I haven't been home all night. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Oh my gosh, I'm late for my camping trip!" Pinkie Pie sped away.

"Okay, later guys." Emerald and Fluttershy turned and began walking home.

"Oh, I'm so glad this is all over. I was beginning to think it would end up being another Tirek thing." Fluttershy said.

Emerald nodded his agreement. "From what Twilight told me about that, Blacks plan seemed very similar. It wouldn't have surprised me if it did end up like that."

"But it didn't, which is good."

"Yes it is. I just wish I didn't have to kill him. I really wanted him to just let this go and go home." He replied.

"I know you did. So did I."

"He was evil, so I don't think he could have been changed." Emerald said firmly.

"But Discord was evil and I changed him." She pointed out.

Emerald nodded. "Did you change Tirek?"

She hesitated. "Uh…no."

"Not everypony who is evil can be changed, my love. Like Tirek, he was too obsessed with himself to be even considering what anypony else had to say. It's just who he was. Who he's always been."

They rounded the corner and headed toward Fluttershys house, going past Emeralds.

"So, I guess this means you're staying the night at my place?" She asked.

"Yes. We have things to do."

She considered that. "Like what? It's late, and I'm really kinda tired."

Emerald laughed. "Oh, don't worry. You won't be tired when you find out what it is."

She thought about it for a moment, then went wide-eyed. "I may already have an idea…"

"Good. Then you know it's not that bad. Come on, it's been too long since it was just me and you at your place. By the way, Angel might have to sleep in a different part of the house." Emerald suggested. They got to her house and opened the door. Fluttershy rushed in and jumped on the couch, laying down.

"You'll have to carry me upstairs. I'm just too tired to move." She told him, smiling.

Emerald returned the smile and said, "That's okay with me. You're not too heavy for me. I'd carry you a thousand miles if I had to."

"Aww…you're just the sweetest."

He went over and picked her up like a baby. "Come on you, I'm a bit tired too. Let's go."

Angel hopped up behind them, ranting and raving.

"Oh, Angel. I'm sorry, but you'll have to sleep down here tonight. Emerald and I need our privacy."

Angel threw a fit.

Fluttershy gave Emerald a worried look.

"He'll be fine." Emerald assured her.

They got to her bedroom and he laid her down on the bed, on her side. Then he climbed into bed with her, pulling the covers over them.

"Oh, my. I'm a bit nervous." Fluttershy said quietly.

Emerald climbed on top of her. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Then let me do the work."

Part II: Chapter 1

Part II: Elements of Disharmony

Chapter 1: The Box

Emerald woke up that morning feeling slightly under the weather. It was likely that he was getting sick again, as the job he worked required long outside hours, and it was late fall, so the much cooler temperatures had already crept into Ponyville. Emerald had landed a job as a contractor for a landlord in Ponyville a month ago, and he was enjoying it, besides the cold he got the first week and the one he might be getting again. He yawned and looked over at Fluttershy's side of the bed. It was empty, signaling that she was probably making breakfast. He smiled and hopped out of bed, his hooves thudding on the floor. He glanced out the window and noticed it was overcast, which meant snow was likely, as cold as it had been lately. He made his way downstairs and went into the kitchen. It was empty. "Hey, Flutters, where are you?" He called out to her. He stopped to listen and heard mild whimpering upstairs. He turned and went back up the stairs to the bathroom, muttering to himself along the way. When he approached it, the light was on but the door was shut, and he could hear the whimpering louder from within. He pushed the door open to see Fluttershy by the toilet, holding her stomach and making the whimpering noises he'd heard earlier. He rushed over to her. "Oh, sweetie… not again." He knelt down beside her and hugged her gently. She stopped whimpering and meekly smiled back at him.

"Yes, again…"

Emerald let go and looked into the toilet, which indeed held quite a bit of puke. He winced and looked back at her. "This is like, the fifth morning in the past two weeks I've awoke to find you in here. I'm getting worried about you. Maybe you've caught something."

She leaned over the toilet and puked, causing Emerald to wince again. "Oh, I'm sure it's nothing…"

Emerald shook his head. "It's definitely something. Look, I have to work in a little bit, but I want you to go to the doctor today while I'm gone, okay? Promise me you'll go."

She tried to stand up and Emerald put an arm around her to help her. "Oh, okay. If it'll make you feel better…"

"No, it'll make you feel better. Now I'm going to get ready. Try to feel better, okay gorgeous?" Emerald stood up and kissed her on the forehead, then he brushed his teeth, went and put on his uniform jacket and left for work.

________________________________________

His boss was in his office when Emerald finally got there. The office was actually just an old barn modified to be for the landlords' purposes. The older stallion earth pony barely even gave Emerald the chance to come in before he blasted him with the day's job.

"Alright Emerald, we have somepony, one of our clients, that wants the home being built near the town hall to be built with a special tree wood, but unfortunately, that tree only exists in the Everfree forest, so getting it is the dilemma. Luckily I have you, so I'm going to need you to grab the cart in the back and the axe in the shed and go get me some trees, got it?"

Emerald just stood there, his mouth agape. He finally shook off the shock and replied, "You want me to go into the Everfree forest, alone… for trees?"

"Well, Filthy Rich is the buyer, and he's paying good money for it, so yes, you're going out there if you want that raise." He sipped his coffee nonchalantly.

Emerald sighed. "How about some danger pay, too?" He half joked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll pay you 1.5 times the normal rate. Just get out there, I need that wood by sundown." He waved Emerald out of his office.

Emerald retrieved the cart and axe and headed out to the forest. The landlord provided him with a picture of the tree so he could find it, so he had a pretty good idea that it was likely deep within the forest. One look at the sky and anypony could tell that it was about to snow, and in fact, hardly anypony was out period. "Just fabulous. I'm out chopping down trees in the Everfree forest in this kind of weather. Just great…" He reached the edge of the forest and trudged in.

________________________________________

Fluttershy cleaned up the bathroom later that morning after she started to feel better. Remembering what Emerald had asked her to do, she fed the animals, got her saddlebag, and headed off to the hospital. When she got there, it was actually quite empty, as it was cold outside, and spitting snowflakes, so clearly everypony was staying home if they could help it. She trotted up to the receptionist behind the desk. "Um, excuse me. I'd like to see a doctor, if that's okay…"

The unicorn smiled back at her. "Of course it's okay, sweetheart. Just sit down right over there, the doc will be with you in just a moment." She pointed over at the few chairs across from the desk, and Fluttershy sat in the one nearest the desk.

"Oh, I hope everything's okay." She murmured, looking at the stack of newspapers and magazines on the table beside her. The newspaper was the Ponyville Express announcing that, "Winter is Here". And the few magazines were on fashion and gardening. She was just about to grab the gardening magazine when the doctor came out through the double doors next to the front desk and called her back. She followed the friendly doctor to a small room, where he asked her to have a seat and explain what the problem was.

"Go ahead and tell me what's been bothering you, dear." He asked, smiling kindly at her.

"Oh, okay, well… you see, the past two weeks, I've been waking up feeling sick, sometimes I throw up. And I've been hungry late at night sometimes for no reason. I guess maybe I'm sick or something…" She explained, not making eye contact with him until she was done.

He scratched his chin thoughtfully for a moment before replying, "Oh, you're not sick. Let me run a few tests, just to be sure my diagnosis is correct. I'll be right back, young lady." He turned to leave the room in a hurry.

"Wait, what's your – " He'd already fled the room. She sighed. "Diagnosis…"

________________________________________

Emerald stumbled through the overgrown brush that made traveling the path just as treacherous as going through the forest itself. "I can't believe I'm out here doing this! What was I thinking?" His back left hoof caught on a root and he face planted in some freezing cold mud. He groaned and picked himself up. "Last time I go on an adventure like this…" He wiped as much of the mud off his face as he could and pulled out the picture of the tree. It was a small, wide trunked tree with deep purple bark and dark green leaves shaped like arrowheads. He sighed and stuck the picture back in his saddlebag, and that's when he saw it. The corner of what appeared to be a small wooden chest just a few strides to his left, near a tree that looked just like the one in the picture. He went over and examined the box closer. It was mostly buried, with just what he guessed was about a third above the ground. It had definitely been there a while, as it was heavily weathered and worn. A glance at the tree near it confirmed that it was indeed the correct tree, but there was only one to his despair. He turned his attention back to the box. After a moment's hesitation, he decided to unbury it. As he dug around it with the axe, he joked, "Maybe it's buried treasure."

A snowflake fluttered down in front of his face and he gasped. "I knew it! It was only a matter of time." The box was fully exposed a moments later, and when Emerald pulled it out, he sat and stared at it for a few seconds, trying to make out the strange inscription on the side with a keyhole. "Hmm…" He picked up the box and set it down in the cart, then he got the axe and started chopping down the tree.

________________________________________

The doctor came back into the room moments later… with a needle and syringe. Fluttershy's heart skipped a beat when her eyes fell upon the needle.

"Um…I-I don't like needles…" She stammered, not taking hers eyes off of it as the doctor approached her.

The doctor smiled reassuringly. "It will only hurt for a second, and I'll be all done. I'll take the sample back there and test it and be back with the results soon. Just hold still for one moment."

Fluttershy gulped. "Oh… okay." She stuck out her arm and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. She started shaking and clenched her teeth in an effort to suppress it.

The doctor stuck the needle in her arm gently and filled it. He took it out and gave her a Band-Aid, in which she promptly stuck on her needle mark. The doctor turned and left, saying, "I'll be right back. Just hang tight, young lady."

She sighed and glanced around the room, seeing all the medical information posters depicting different pony body systems – the heart, the brain, muscular system, and the like. She then noticed how cold it was and shivered violently. She rubbed the spot on her arm where the needle had been stuck tenderly. The poster to her left, on the wall near the door caught her eye. She curiously examined it. It was a diagram of the stages of pregnancy.

________________________________________

Emerald had tracked several miles into the forest and found three more trees, but after that he could find no more, and now he was growing increasingly frustrated, as the picture demanded ten, not four. The snow started coming down harder, the flakes growing larger. It got colder, and at this point the suit Emerald wore offered little warmth. "This is stupid," He muttered unhappily as he pushed the cart over an area of fallen trees into a clearing. It was no more than twice the size of the cart, but he wanted some space away from all the trees. So far he'd come across nothing dangerous, but then again, it was daylight. From the looks of it, he thought, not for much longer. He sighed and scanned his surroundings carefully. To his surprise, a large cluster of the tree he needed were on the opposite end of the clearing. With a giddy grin on his face, he dropped the cart and snatched up the axe, plowing through the trees until he'd counted the other six he needed. After he loaded them up, he turned and followed the pink ribbon trail on the trees back to Ponyville as the snowflakes grew larger yet again.

________________________________________

The doctor startled Fluttershy when he came back in about half an hour later. "Sorry for the wait. I got the results here for you. They were just as I expected." He handed the paper to her.

She took it from him and read the results. "Oh… my…"

Part II: Chapter 2

Chapter 2: News

"Well, it doesn't give off any negative energy, so I can't determine anything until we open it." Twilight was telling him as she examined the box. He'd brought the box over to her castle immediately after work later that evening, and she'd been enthralled by it. She'd blown through a hundred books trying to figure out what it was, and came up empty hooved. Pinkie Pie and Rarity were there as well on a whole different matter, but grew curious of the box when Emerald brought it in.

Emerald snatched it off the table and held it over his head. "Whatever's inside, I can hear it move around when I move the box. Maybe it's some really nice gems or tons of bits."

Twilight used her magic and took it from him, giving him a brief dirty look. "Or maybe it's an important piece of Ponyville history. After all, you said you found it half buried, right?" She set it down on the table again, looking closely at the keyhole.

Emerald walked up behind her. "Well, yeah, but I don't see how being an important piece of Ponyville history would be beneficial to me." After receiving another death glare from her, he added, "But it could be for all of us. Hehe."

"Or maybe it's some designs from ages ago on some marvelous fashion. Oh, that would be lovely, wouldn't you say, dear?" Rarity asked, looking up at Emerald and smiling while batting her eyes rapidly.

"Uh, I wouldn't know. Hey Twilight, you should totally open it. I'm really curious now." Emerald said watching her try numerous spells.

"That's odd… it's resisting all my opening spells. But I'm not sensing any magic at all from it. Maybe I should – "

Emerald cut her off by swiping the chest off the table and making his way toward the door. "Thanks for the help, Twilight, but not everything can be solved with magic, sometimes just some hard, physical labor is all you need to figure things out. Ask Applejack. She'll back me up on that matter. Anyway, see you all later."

"Be careful with that, Emerald!" Twilight warned him as he left. "Oh, something doesn't feel right…" She added under her breath.

________________________________________

When Emerald got home, he could smell dinner as he came in the front door, shaking off the cold and snow and shivering. No sooner than when he set his suit on the coat hanger and the chest on the floor did he get tackled by Fluttershy in a warm embrace and get smothered in kisses. "Was I gone that long?" He asked with a chuckle. She climbed off of him and stood by as he got back up.

"What's that?" She pointed at the chest on the floor.

Emerald pushed it further out of the way against the wall. "Hopefully something cool. I found it in the Everfree forest today. It was half buried in the mud."

"What in Equestria were you doing in the Everfree forest? You know it's dangerous out there." She said sternly, giving him the same look.

They both went towards the kitchen. "The boss had me doing something. That's beside the point, hon. The point is we need to find out what's in that chest. It could be loaded with gems of great value. Or maybe some rare artifacts." He grinned widely. "Oh, I'm getting psyched just thinking about it!" When they got in the kitchen, Emerald nearly had a heart attack. "What the – what are you doing in here? Cooking for the whole town? That's an awful lot of food."

She ran over and began cleaning up some of the food left on the counters. There were two pots on the stove. "Sorry, I was teaching Discord how to cook today. It didn't go as well as I planned."

Emerald smiled, amused. "I can see that. What do you have cooking for us good lookin'?"

She looked in the pot to see how it was doing. "Nothing fancy, since Discord used just about everything I had earlier." She turned to him. "I'm just glad you're home. I, went to the doctors like you asked…"

Emerald came up to her and put a hoof on her shoulder gently. "…And?"

She looked away, blushing. "I really should tell you later. We should eat first." She pulled away to get the food off the stove. "So, how was work, besides the trip to the Everfree forest?"

Emerald shook his head and took the pot from her. "Nice try, sweetcakes. I want to know how your trip to the doctors went. You have me clinging on in suspense." He set the pot down on the counter and pulled some plates down out of the cabinet and put them onto the counter, looking into the pot and frowning.

She scratched the back of her head and chuckled nervously. "I kinda just mixed some stuff together. I'm sure it'll be good. I know how you like to eat just about everything, so I figured I could just put something together – " She stopped when she seen the look on his face that said, "Just tell me how the doctors trip went. You're stalling again." She sighed and took his hoof, leading him into the living room and sitting him on the couch beside her.

"Please don't tell me you're dying. If you tell me you're dying, I'm going to cry." He said, rubbing his hooves together nervously.

"Heavens, no!" She said loudly, appalled. She took a deep breath and continued. "The doctors ran a few tests and they determined that I'm not sick."

Emerald nodded but said nothing.

Fluttershy went on. "Now, he did mention to me after I told him how I was feeling that he already knew what was wrong, but he didn't tell me, or show me, rather, until after he did the tests."

"Of course, go on," Emerald urged her.

She took another deep breath, feeling her heart beating faster. "Well, the paper he gave me when he came back… said… that…I'm…well…pregnant."

Emeralds face remained impassive for a moment before the news he'd just received hit him like a freight train. "You're… pregnant…? Oh…" He nearly fell off the couch, but Fluttershy grabbed him and kept him on the couch.

"Are you okay?" She asked, concerned.

Emerald wiped the sweat that was now dripping down his face with a hoof and nodded. "Yeah… it's just… wow… this is incredible!" He hugged her suddenly, carefully. When he pulled away, he began babbling. "So, what are we going to name it? I mean, if it's a girl, I want to name it something after your name. If it's a boy, something along the lines of both are names together, you know? Something manly, though. I don't want the other colts think he's soft when he gets into grade school. Of course, I've seen names worse, but I don't our son to be named that. And if – " Fluttershy covered his mouth with a hoof and giggled.

"I'm glad you're so excited about one, but… it's… twins…" She told him, causing him to fall silent.

"…Twins? Oh, this is just… so… fast. So, do you know if they're two boys? Girls? One of each?" He shot the questions at her rapidly. She laughed and hugged him.

"He told me that I was far enough along to say that he's pretty sure it's one of each."

Emerald screeched, startling her. "Sorry, I'm just so excited. I can't believe this. It's everything I've ever dreamed of…" He looked down into her eyes and nearly fell apart, seeing her eyes glitter, her cute little smirk, feeling her holding him. "I love you…" He leaned down and kissed her with a brand new sense of passion. Something entirely new, something that sent a shiver up his spine.

She pulled away to smile at him. "Can we have dinner now?" They both broke out into laughter.

"Sure, my love. What exactly is dinner, by the way?" He helped her off the couch and she stretched her legs out, inciting Emerald to growl at her like a cat. She winked at him.

"Well, like I said, I just threw some veggies in the pots for us from the garden. Discord used everything else I had. He's trying so hard, but at least he's making progress." She led him into the kitchen and dished out some food for the two of them.

Emerald took his plate from her and they both started upstairs. "If anypony can make that nut a better person it's you. You made me a better pony without even trying."

"Better? How so?" She asked interestedly as they got into the bedroom. Emerald helped her into bed and held her plate while she climbed under the covers. He hopped in after her, pulling the covers up to their chests and handing her back her plate.

"Well, I don't like dwelling on it, but you do remember our walk through the woods that one windy afternoon, when we encountered Black Flame? You called me a liar, mostly because I kind of was. Anyway, because of your hurtful words, albeit true ones, I decided to never hide anything like that from my friends ever again. See? Changed." He explained. All he got back from her was a blank stare. "Um…"

"I remember that. But how did I change you? You changed on your own." She said, taking a bite and chewing it slowly.

"Well, you see, because of… oh, never mind. It isn't that important. Have you told anypony else about this yet?" Emerald asked casually. He took a bite of his food and gagged. "Blech. What's in this?"

Fluttershy smiled. "Garden vegetables, remember? But I guess too many." She took his bowl from him. "No, only Discord knows because he found my papers. But he promised not to tell anypony. I believe he won't. I'd like until I'm closer to actually showing before we tell everypony."

He coughed, trying to get over what he'd just tasted. "I agree. But I doubt Discord will keep that a secret." He reached over and flicked out the lamp when she set her bowl down on her nightstand. "Now, let's go to bed. I'm beat." She snuggled up against him, spooning him.

"Okay."

"Sleep well, my angel." Emerald whispered and kissed the back of her head.

________________________________________

Emerald tossed and turned most of the night, so he got up, careful not to wake Fluttershy. He quietly went down the stairs and over to where the chest sat up against the wall.

He looked left and right to see if anypony was watching him, then he took the box into the kitchen, tripping over a half-eaten carrot and nearly dropping the chest as he went in. "Angel, I presume." He muttered, setting the chest on the kitchen counter and fumbling for the light switch. He flicked it on and dug around the kitchen for a knife. He found the chef's knife in the sink and rinsed it off. "This should do the trick." He said to himself, bringing it over and jamming it into the lock space. He jiggled it around for a while until he heard a satisfying metal "clink".

He quickly set the knife down and forced the lid open. A cloud of dust blew up in his face, causing him to cough loudly, so he shoved his face into his arm to muffle it. When he looked inside, to his disappointment, it was just seven stones, carved into random shapes.

A balloon, an apple, a diamond, a star, a butterfly, a lightning bolt, and a 5-sided polygon.

"Hmmm…" They had no color besides grey, and looked slightly worn. They meant nothing to him, except the polygon. For some reason he felt drawn to it. Taking a quick look around, he took it out of the box and looked at it closer under the light. A strange inscription ran across every side of it. Not a language he knew, either. "Eh, I'll keep it and show Twilight tomorrow."

He closed the chest and went back upstairs. Fluttershy was still asleep, so he climbed into bed and stuck the stone under his pillow. "Man, I'm tired all of a sudden…" He whispered and cuddled with Fluttershy again.

He fell asleep moments later.

Part II: Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Seven Elements

Emerald woke up late that morning. He guessed that getting up the night before after tossing and turning had something to do with it. He yawned loudly and looked over to see that Fluttershy was once again not present. "That poor girl's probably in the bathroom filling the toilet again." He told himself as he got out of bed. He went down the hall to the bathroom, but to his surprise, she wasn't in it as he'd expected. He curiously crept down the stairs, trying to see into the kitchen, seeing that the lights were on. When he got to the bottom and poked his head around the corner into the kitchen, he saw Fluttershy standing in the middle, the chest open, and she was fiddling with one as far as he could see. "Caught your interest, didn't it?"

She jumped, nearly dropping the stone on the floor. She looked down at him, hovering over the table and smiling innocently. "Oh, hey Emerald. I was just… seeing what was in here."

He nodded. "I knew you'd want to see what was inside." He noticed that the stone in her hooves was the butterfly shaped one. "Any particular reason you picked out the butterfly?"

She flew down and landed in front of him. "Well, for one, it resembles my element, and for some reason, I felt a strange feeling when I picked it up, but not with the others. They all look like the Elements of Harmony, actually."

Emerald peered down into the chest and silently agreed with her. They did indeed resemble the elements – but then what was the one he had under his pillow upstairs? He suddenly flew upstairs and retrieved the stone and returned to an interested Fluttershy. "If these stones are meant to resemble the Elements of Harmony, then what is this?" He held it up so she could see it better.

She gave it a hard stare and shrugged. "Why don't we take these to Twilight, maybe she could help us figure out what these things are."

"Good idea." He shut the chest and grabbed it, leading Fluttershy out the front door. Overnight the snow had clearly picked up, and now the snow was rump-level, inciting them to fly instead of walk. Twilight was busy with something when they got there, but when she seen the chest was now open, she immediately redirected her attention to it.

"So you got it open? What was in it?" She asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.

Emerald allowed her to look inside. "Whatever these are, they are very close to being the old Elements of Harmony. Except one thing, literally," He held up the polygon-shaped stone. "If these are meant to represent the Elements of Harmony, then what's this one for?"

"I have not the slightest clue, but I'm going to try to find out." Twilight spun around and began digging around through her books. "Spike? Come help me find a book about Ponyville relics." She called out to him.

He rushed in a few moments later. "Again? But I thought you found them all last night after Emerald – oh. You came back with the chest opened, huh?" He started climbing the bookcase, looking for what Twilight requested.

"If these truly are Elements of Harmony, or copies, maybe this one's a long lost or forgotten Element. Know anypony with a cutie mark shaped like this?" Emerald pointed at the polygon.

Twilight leapt off the ladder with a book in front of her. "I'm going to say no, but my brother's cutie mark is a shield, but not that exact shape. Who knows?" She set the book down on the nearest table and opened it, flipping through the pages for something about the stones. "So I found something, but it's heavily worn, the page. I can't read it and I can hardly see what the picture shows but I can tell by what I can see that it's them."

"But we need to find out what exactly they're for. I don't think they have a purpose from the looks of it, but I could be wrong." Emerald noted his own past mistakes in his mind. He held up the polygon-shaped stone and tried to read what was written on it in the light. It was like watermarks, only visible when he tilted it and light glimmered off the writing, but he didn't know the language, so he gave up. "Maybe we should let everyone have the stone that matches their cutie mark."

Twilight scratched her chin thoughtfully, looking down at the chest with a doubtful gaze. "I don't know, we have no idea what these stones do, or what they're for, so we should be careful."

"I thought about that too, but you said you don't sense any magic from them, right?" Emerald pointed out.

"True… okay, fine, but if weird stuff starts happening, they go back into the chest and we get rid of it." Twilight gave in, taking the star-shaped stone out and staring at it.

The doors to the room swung open and Rainbow Dash came flying in. "Hey, Twilight, can you – what the heck are those?" She immediately flew over and stuck her head nosily down into the chest, coming back out with the lightning bolt one. "Why do these look like the Elements of Harmony?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Twilight replied, turning the stone she had over and over in the light. "I wonder what this writing means… Spike? Find that book on ancient languages!"

He immediately went back to the shelf and mumbled, "If I have to dig for that thing… oh look, here it is." He pulled it off the shelf and brought it to Twilight, who promptly opened it, searching for a matching language, but was apparently unsuccessful, as she slammed the book shut and gave Emerald an exhausted sigh. "Why do you always find things that I can't identify? It's like it's on purpose." She groused.

The other three came in a few minutes later, arguing about something until they saw the others standing near the chest, staring awkwardly at them.

"Uh… are we interrupting something?" Rarity asked, noticing them holding the stones in their hooves. "Oh my… what are those drab pieces of dirt you're holding? They're oddly shaped like the Elements of Harmony."

"Ooh, it looks like they're having a meeting about something super important!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, hopping up and down gleefully.

"Well, it is in a sense, but not like, that important. Why don't you guys come over and get the stones for your cutie marks. Everypony else has." Emerald offered, looking back down into the box with interest.

The others came over and were given the stones that matched their cutie marks. Curiosity was lost as they discovered that the stones did nothing. They were grey, ugly but well carved stones, replicas that did nothing at all. After a few minutes, they all seemed to lose interest and started several separate conversations. Twilight and Fluttershy approached Emerald with concerned looks on their faces.

"Emerald, I just don't feel anything good about this. These things are so strange…I've never seen anything like them." Twilight said, clutching hers tightly with one hoof. "If these do something, what will we do? What will they do? Everypony needs to stay in touch now. I just have the weirdest feeling about these."

Emerald sighed and watched the others talking for a moment before replying, "I understand. Okay, we'll keep in touch, but how? Do we just like, meet up every so often? I mean, what are we going to do in the event these stones, 'do something'?"

All three of them turned to the others. "Just come by the library every day by sundown, if you don't, I'll assume the worst. I'll have the others do the same." Twilight told him, walking toward the others and joining in the conversation.

Emerald held up the stone he had and studied it once more. If only he could read the language…

"So, um, what are we going to do if these are, well…bad? I mean, dangerous?" Fluttershy asked nervously, coming up beside him and looking at the stone in his hooves.

Emerald turned to her. "I don't think they'll be a problem. They haven't done anything yet, and I've had them for the past two days. If they would've done something, it would have happened by now."

Fluttershy didn't look so convinced. "Oh, I don't know…" She said, unsure.

Emerald told Twilight and the others that he and Fluttershy were heading out and led Fluttershy to the doors. "I don't think we'll have any problems," He repeated, opening the door for her. "But just to be on the safe side, we'll do what Twilight suggested. Not taking chances anymore."

They left the castle and headed off back to their cabin. "Oh, I know. I hope we don't, though."

"I think we're good. But now I'm curious as to what the writing on the side of the stones means. They all have it. Including this unknown stone." He looked back at his saddlebag and back at her. "I'm going to do my own research sometime, when I get the chance. But today 'm off of work, so we have to go to the park today. You promised me a picnic."

She smiled back at him. "I did, didn't I? Okay, let's get the stuff and go to our favorite spot. The one where we had our first one."

"Over there? Near the Everfree forest?" He asked, confused. "I thought you hated that spot."

"No, it was just a little bit scary when we started hearing those weird noises. Besides, it's really secluded back there…" She said in an alluring tone.

Emerald cocked an eyebrow at her. "This is going somewhere, and I think I might like it."

She simply smiled coyly at him, but said nothing.

When they got home, Emerald went straight into the kitchen to gather up the food. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me what you want to bring food wise?" He opened the fridge and peered in. There wasn't much to bring on a picnic, as far as he could see.

Fluttershy was in the other room, but she called out, "I made some sandwiches, they're in the fridge on the bottom shelf. I was actually planning on this, to be honest." She came back in the kitchen toting around a picnic blanket and basket.

Emerald took out the platter and realized that it was too big to fit in the basket. "Um, how exactly do we plan on bringing this?"

Fluttershy swiped all the wrapped sandwiches into the basket off the plate and smiled up at him.

"Oh." He spun around back to the fridge and got out the pitcher of tea Fluttershy made the other day and put it on the table. "Are we bringing those teacups?" He asked, looking in the cabinet.

She flew up to the top shelf and pulled them out. "Yes, of course. How else would we drink the tea?" She flew back down and put them in the basket.

Emerald got the silverware out of the drawer and put it in his saddleback, smiling to himself. "Right out of the pitcher."

"No, silly. Oh," She grabbed the fruits out of the little fruit basket in the middle of the table and stuck those in the basket as well. "We don't want to forget the healthy stuff." She closed the basket up and took it off the table. Emerald took his and her sunglasses off the table in the living room. Just before they got out the door, Emerald felt a very ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach, causing him to shiver violently.

"Ooh…that was weird." He murmured, stopping in the doorway. Fluttershy turned back to him as he handed her her sunglasses and she put them on.

"What's wrong?"

Emerald shook his head and gave her a quick smile. "Oh, sorry. Nothing, I just got cold there for a second. Let's go before it gets too late." He rushed her out the door and closed it.

"But it's only noon." She protested as he pushed her along. Not long later, they were setting up the picnic and preparing to eat, laying out in a field near the Everfree forest. It was much warmer today, even though it'd snowed the other day, it got much warmer and nearly all the snow was gone already, and it was above freezing and sunny, with a slight breeze. The animals seemed to know about Fluttershy's presence and swarmed the picnic.

"Not again!" Emerald cried, waving away the birds dive-bombing him.

Fluttershy giggled and got them to calm down, eventually getting them to leave them alone. "Sorry, it's been a while since I've been out here to be with them. They've missed me." She explained, flying back over and landing next to Emerald. "They should leave us be now."

Emerald rubbed his head where a bird had found its mark. "Yeah, really…" He got into the basket and got out a sandwich for the two of them and poured them some tea. "I think we're missing some sandwiches." He muttered.

She took the sandwich and tea from him. "Oh, don't be silly. They wont take food from me without asking first."

"You taught them manners? You have too much time on your hooves, darling." Emerald said, sipping his tea like Rarity.

Fluttershy laughed at his impersonation. "When you're not home, I have to tend to the animals. They need me. Also it keeps me from missing you so much."

Emerald set his tea down and put an arm around her shoulders, taking her cup from her and setting it next to his. He leaned back and they both fell on the blanket. "Aww, aren't you just the sweetest little thing…" He smooched her cheek a few times, making her giggle again.

"Stop, the animals can see us." She put her hooves up to block him, but he still managed to get around them.

He kept kissing her all the way to her mouth, giving her a final kiss on the lips and looking down at her amorously. "Let them." At the corner of his eye he noticed his tipped over saddlebag had spilled and the stone was the furthest out. He gave it a long, thoughtful stare before returning his attention to Fluttershy. But deep in his mind, he thought, something isn't right.

Part II: Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Progenitor

"Thanks." Emerald said to the bank teller after he'd received his bits for his paycheck. He also pulled out his savings. Emerald was excited for the raise, and he'd run all the way to the bank after work just to get the money. He left the bank with his saddlebag full of jingling bits and a grin on his face. "Oh, how I just love payday." He went to the local jeweler. The unicorn greeted him as he came in, turning friendlier when she heard the bits he was lugging around.

"What can I do you for today, good sir?" She asked, her eyes glued to his saddlebag.

He walked casually over to the glass displays. "Well, I plan on proposing to my marefriend, but I don't know what to get her as far as the proposal ring, since she has no horn. She's a Pegasus, like me. And I don't know what kind of gems she likes. I'm not sure if I can do this…"

The jeweler steered him towards the proposal section. "Nonsense. I have plenty of other options." They came up to a huge display of tiaras and crowns. "Will one of these do?"

Emerald scratched his head. "I-I don't think she'd be up for wearing a crown…"

"Okay, how about these?" She pointed him in the direction of the bracelets and bangles.

"Well, I suppose that would be better than a crown." He began looking at each one, carefully scrutinizing each and every one silently, until he came upon the perfect one – a pink butterfly on gold. "Yes! That's it! That one! It's…1,500 bits?" He pouted. "I don't have that much…"

The jeweler saw his sorrow and offered him a better deal. "Okay, well, how much would you be willing to pay?"

He opened his saddlebag and looked back into it, still pouting. "For her…every bit. And I have 1,000."

"Deal." She said expeditiously, carefully removing the bangle from its place amongst the others. "I'll let it go for that low just because she's the luckiest Pegasus alive if you're willing to spend all your money on one piece for her. I sincerely hope all goes well for you."

He gave her all the bits he had, breaking a sweat thinking about if she doesn't say yes. "I do too." He took the bangle and set it in his now empty saddlebag. With a final heavy sigh, he left and headed home to hide the bangle and think of a way, place, and time to set up the proposal.

On the way home, he ran into Rainbow Dash, who was boldly and sternly admonishing Scootaloo for some silly dangerous stunt she'd just pulled on her scooter.

"So next time, make sure you do that a little further from town, okay?" Rainbow Dash said, pointing away from town towards the Everfree forest.

"So the Everfree forest is somehow safer?" Emerald criticized her, coming up beside the two and grinning.

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo both swung their heads in his direction.

"Oh, hey Emerald." Rainbow greeted him, suddenly sounding a bit more benign. "Watcha up to?"

Emerald shrugged. "Same old, same old. What happened here?" He asked, seeing the ponies behind them in the distance cleaning up debris.

Rainbow Dash redirected her stare to Scootaloo once again. "Scootaloo happened, that's all. We got it sorted out. Run along now, and be careful."

Scootaloo saluted. "Yes ma'am!" She sped off on her scooter.

"Kinda motherly, don't you think?" Emerald said as the two of them started walking in the direction Emerald was previously going.

Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. "Pfff…I keep an eye on her, that's all. She's like me, admittedly. Always needing some watchful eyes to keep her out of trouble, or get her out of it."

"Rainbow Dash admitting to needing help? Where's the real Rainbow Dash?" He joked.

"Hey, that's what friends are for, huh? When you need help, right?" She countered, elbowing him in the ribs.

Emerald nodded. "Good point. You're absolutely right. You guys have helped me out of so many situations, I've lost count. But like you said, that's what friends are for."

"Yep. And the best part is, when a friend helps you out, you get the chance to help them, you know, cause you kind of owe them?" She replied, smiling strangely.

Emerald gave her a sideways look and raised an eyebrow. "I don't think I know where this is going, frankly."

Rainbow Dash sighed. "I won these two tickets to the Wonderbolts show and nopony else can go. They're all too busy with something. And I did kinda teach you to fly again, so…"

"Oh, I see. You're guilt tripping me and bribing me." Emerald said.

"Yes…I mean no! Well, kind of… so you'll go?" She asked hopefully, fluttering in the air in front of him and giving him puppy eyes and the duck lip.

"Me and Flutters have plans, Rainbow. You know I can't just ditch her." Emerald said, trying not to look at her face. He was feeling a bit guilty. "Are you sure the others won't go?"

Rainbows' face fell and she pouted. "No. It's all good." She turned and started fluttering away. "I guess I won't go at all…"

"Sorry!" He called out to her, but she kept flying. "Dang."

He turned and continued on home.

Fluttershy was feeding the animals lunch when he came in the door. "Hey, Emerald. How was work? You're home early." She noticed, giving him a hug.

"It was okay. I got off early for something entirely different. Not important, but anyway. Hey, Rainbow Dash asked me to go with her to the Wonderbolts show tonight. I told her you and I had plans. The poor girl can't find someone to go with her."

"We didn't have any plans, actually. At least, you didn't tell me if we did. Why don't you go with her?"

Emerald followed her into the kitchen as she continued tending to the animals. "Because… it'd feel like a date. And that would be weird."

Fluttershy smiled amiably at him. "Oh, silly. I know you wouldn't do that to me. I'm okay with you going to the Wonderbolts show with her. I trust you."

Emerald sighed. "…I don't know…"

"Go with her as a friend. You are her friend, you know." Fluttershy told him, getting fresh water for the animals eating in the living room.

"Yeah, but I feel awkward taking her. It's what couples do." Emerald went on, looking out the window at the forest just out of reach of the cabin.

"Emerald, me and Rainbow Dash have done many things together, and we still do. Does that mean we're a couple?" She asked, giving him a thoughtful stare.

"I hope not," He responded, worried. "I can't be replaced."

Fluttershy moped at him. "I think you're being unreasonable. Just go with her, Emerald. I trust you. I know you and Rainbow Dash wouldn't do anything. She doesn't like you like that, anyway. Just go with her. I don't want to see her all sad again."

Emerald sighed. "Are you sure?"

She put a hoof on his cheek and kissed him, then pulled away and looked him in the eyes. "Yes. I'll be fine. I have to help Discord at his new place, anyway. He got his first real house! I'm so excited for him."

Emerald smiled faintly. "Okay. And I'll assume you and Discord won't do anything?"

"Emerald! How could you?"

He threw his hooves up. "Just making sure. Sorry."

"Now, go find her and tell her you've changed your mind. I promise it'll be okay." Fluttershy told him, returning to her daily animal routine.

"Sure. Hold on." He rushed upstairs to the bedroom. He pulled the bangle out and admired it. "Boy, she'll love this…" He hid it in his work chest, since Fluttershy never went in it. Before he shut it, though, the stone caught his eye once again. He gave it a few seconds of his time before he made a decision. He grabbed his drill and made a hole near the top going all the way through. Then he ran a string through the hole and made a necklace out of it. "Don't know why, but I think I'll keep you with me from now on." Then he turned and left.

________________________________________

"I can't believe Fluttershy forced you to go to the Wonderbolts show with me. That's so awesome." Rainbow Dash said excitedly for the fifteenth time. They were at the Cloudeseum in Cloudsdale, making their way to their up front seats. Emerald was keeping his distance, but Rainbow Dash kept flying closer to him every time he flew further away.

Emerald sighed with distaste. "She didn't force me, for the fifteenth time. She suggested it."

"That's not what you told me the first time, lover boy. You said she booted you out so she could help Discord." Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"Ugh."

"Hey, at least we got the best seats in the house. Am I right?" She asked as they got to the closest seats to the airfield.

"Yeah, they're friggin' wonderful." Emerald said sarcastically.

Rainbow Dash noticed this and called him out on it. "Ya know, you didn't seem this unhappy when we left for Cloudsdale earlier. What's your problem?"

"Nothing." He said quickly, looking away from her.

"Oh, I know that look. Something's bothering you. Come on," She put an arm around his shoulder. "Tell Dash what's up."

Emerald rolled his eyes but gave in. "Well, if you must pester me profusely for my biggest fear, I'm worried about Fluttershy."

Rainbow was silent for a moment while she considered her next response. "Uh, what do you mean? Discord ain't gonna hurt her."

"That's not what I mean. Fluttershy and Discord, at his house… alone? I'm just concerned, that's all."

"You're joking, right? You think Discord would make a move on Flutters? Get real, dude. She loves you, not him." Rainbow said, punching him lightly in the shoulder.

He rubbed it where she just hit him. "You say that, but how do you know? I mean, you're not actually there, so how do you know?"

Rainbow sighed with mental exhaustion. "Just ease up, Emerald. Try to enjoy this. The Wonderbolts will make you forget all about your silly worries."

"I doubt that…" He muttered under his breath.

It wasn't long before the Wonderbolts were streaking across the sky, performing spectacular aerial displays, cause everyone in the stadium to cheer – except Emerald.

With every passing moment, his paranoia grew, bigger and more spectacular than the show the Wonderbolts were putting on. He couldn't help but think about it.

Maybe I'm just being too protective, he told himself finally. I'm just going to stop thinking about it.

The show was over not long after, so Emerald didn't hesitate to make his way out of the stadium. Rainbow Dash rushed up beside him. "Hey, you're leaving? There's an after party. You should totally stay and join me at it."

"No. I'm going to check on those two." So much for not thinking about it.

"Seriously? For once, you hang out with me and you still can't keep your mind off Fluttershy? Come on." She said, irritated.

Emerald shook his head as she flew in front of him and cut him off. "I said no. I'm going home. I came here with you, what more do you want from me?"

She pointed a hoof at his necklace. "Hey, I did that, too!" She showed him that she was wearing a necklace of hers as well.

"Why?" Was all Emerald had to say.

"It shows we think alike. Now we definitely should go to that party."

Emerald stomped a hoof, startling her. "For the last time, no! I'm going home." He started to fly off but Rainbow Dash blocked him.

"Wait! Please, just one more thing…"

Emerald tried to go around her, but she kept him at bay. "Dash? Move. Right now."

"Just… please…" She grabbed him roughly and kissed him on the mouth.

Emerald shoved her away. "What the hell Rainbow Dash?!"

She looked sorry. "I'm just…"

"Now I know why I'm here." He turned and flew away as fast as he could, leaving a confused and broken Rainbow Dash all alone.

When Emerald finally made it home, he was surprised to see all the lights out, and thoughts that he didn't want to think crossed his mind as he hurried upstairs. Upon opening the bedroom door, he discovered Fluttershy already asleep under the covers. All of the stress from earlier melted away at that very sight, and he couldn't stop a smile from forming on his face. He quietly climbed into bed beside her and removed the necklace, setting it on the nightstand.

"You're back? That's good…" Fluttershy murmured and snuggled up to him.

He turned back to her and kissed her forehead. "Don't mind me, just lay your pretty little head back down and go back to sleep, girl. I'm going to do it myself."

"…mmmhmm….okay…"

But as he put his head on the pillow, he kept thinking about the Cloudeseum incident, until his thoughts faded away as he drifted off to sleep.

Part II: Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Copycats

"And, so what I'm hearing is that you just happened to have the same idea as me and Rainbow Dash? Ugh, this is weird." Emerald was complaining when he discovered Fluttershy wearing her stone around her neck. They were just getting ready to head on into town for a few errands when he'd come into the bathroom and seen her putting it on.

"Oh, did she really? I mean, are we copying off of you? I'm sorry."

Emerald face palmed. "Fluttershy, don't apologize. I think we should go see Twilight about this." He said, fiddling with his own necklace. "I swear, if I see one more pony with a necklace of their stone on I'm gonna lose my marbles."

"What's so bad about everypony wearing their stone? I think it's lovely." She said, now toying with hers and smiling.

"It's not that they aren't good accessories, although, I don't do accessories like that anyway, but the point being, it's the fact that one by one, my friends are having the same idea about how to accessorize their stone. Doesn't that seem even just a little strange to you?" He asked worriedly.

She shook her head and walked out of the bathroom with Emerald on her tail. "You really can't do anything else with them. But if you really think we should go talk to Twilight, then I agree with you."

"Well, it's not a priority, but we should definitely drop by and tell her about it. Maybe it's just a new fashion trend. And if that's the case, we should see Rarity, too." Emerald was saying as they headed out the front door. It was a bright and sunny day, again, warmer than the day before.

"Sure. Whatever you believe to be necessary."

"Fluttershy, I'm not saying it's a necessity, I'm saying that it just seems a little odd that everypony has started copying me." He said walking up beside her as they made their way downtown.

"I know. But I was planning on doing this with my necklace before you did that with yours." She revealed to him.

"So? It's still weird that Rainbow Dash did it, too. So we'll go see Twilight later. First, we get those ingredients you needed." Emerald said, pulling out her list from her saddlebag and opening it. "Wow. Discord really did clean you out, didn't he? That's a lot of stuff."

"I know. I knew it'd be like that, though. I made this list the day before he came over."

"Good anticipation." Emerald complimented her. He ran into somepony while he was reading the list. "Oops, sorry."

But lo and behold, it was Rainbow Dash, getting something from the sweets stand. She turned and blushed when she seen him. "Oh… hi, Emerald…"

He immediately scowled at her. "Rainbow Dash."

"Hey, Rainbow Dash. What are you doing today?" Fluttershy asked her with a friendly, high-pitched voice. She gently retrieved the list from Emerald and bought something from the stand as well.

Her eyes never left Emerald and he continued to give her an evil look. "Well, I was stocking up on some food for Tank, since, you know…"

"Uh huh. Cool story. Let's go Fluttershy. We're very busy today and don't have time to chat." Emerald grabbed Fluttershy and began steering her away.

"Wwwait! But aren't we going to talk to Twi – "

"Shh. Our daily plans are classified, Shy." He gave Rainbow a curt nod and kept pushing Fluttershy in the opposite direction.

Rainbow Dash sighed sadly. "Yeah. Cool… see ya later…"

"What was that about?" Fluttershy asked him when he finally stopped pushing her.

"Nothing, we're just busy and can't chit chat right now." He said simply.

"But all we're doing is shopping. We can stop and talk for a few moments. It's barely noon."

"Not the point. I don't feel like talking about it right now." He said, growing agitated as thoughts of yesterday flooded his mind.

Fluttershy didn't take the hint. "But the way you looked at her seemed pretty – "

"Look, nothing happened okay? Get off my back!" He raised his voice, startling her. They kept walking, but Fluttershy began slowing down as her eyes fell to the ground.

"Okay…"

As they continued walking, Fluttershy was silent, and Emerald immediately began feeling guilty. He put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her as they kept walking. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. It's just… yesterday, the trip with her didn't go so well, as I figured. I'm still upset about it and I guess I unintentionally took it out on you. Can you forgive me?"

She smiled up at him through her mane. "Of course." She hugged him back. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened that made you so upset?"

He frowned. "Don't push it, girl." Then he smiled brightly and kissed her on the forehead.

"Oh… my… well, since you have the list again, what's next?" She asked, peeking over his shoulder as he opened it up and looked.

"Apples… that's gonna be a hard one, grapes, wheat, flour, salt, oats, tea, eggs, milk, butter, lettuce, tomatoes, good gracious, you do need a lot of stuff. Did we even bring enough bits? I mean, I have close to a hundred, but still, will that be enough for all this?" Emerald folded the list up and looked fretfully back at her.

"I think we'll be fine, actually." She got the list from him and began trotting to the next item on the list. "Um, are we going to stop and eat when we're done? I don't know how long we'll be shopping, but I'm a little bit hungry." She blushed when her stomach rumbled.

Emerald scratched his chin. "We should probably eat first, you know. It's better for you to shop for food while you're full so you don't spend money on the food you don't need. But, once again, do we have enough bits?"

Fluttershy seemed to be thinking for a moment before she suddenly perked up. "Oh, I bet we can go to Sweet Apple Acres and get some food for free as well as the apples we needed."

Emerald nodded. "Great idea. Let's go now before we end up spending on what we don't need." He was giving the special fruit cakes on the stand to his left a hungry stare.

________________________________________

They went off to the farm, where surprisingly, Twilight was there talking to Applejack and helping her find an old cookbook for Granny Smith for an old apple recipe. "Oh, hey you two. What are you guys doing today?" Twilight asked them.

"We thought we'd stop by and grab a bite to eat with the Apples for a bit before we finished restocking. I guess you're helping Applejack with something?" He returned a question upon seeing all the older cookbooks on the counters.

"Yup. And yer welcome to stay an' help if ya want. I'll fix y'all something' up real quick after me an' Twilight finish sortin' these cookbooks out. Whew! There's a ton of 'em." Applejack offered and continued taking books from one counter to the other. Many of the books were heavily worn or very dusty, which definitely proved them to be old.

"I guess we can help, if it'll help move you along a little faster. Me and Flutters are kinda in a hurry." Emerald said, picking up a book and blowing the dust off the cover to reveal its identity.

"Oh, there's no rush," Fluttershy gave Emerald a disproving look and he smiled innocently. "Emerald just likes getting stuff done quickly. But we'd be more than happy to help."

"Great. The sooner we get done, the sooner she can cook one of those old recipes she's looking for. Maybe for you guys." Twilight said to them as they joined.

"So, uh… what exactly are we doing?" Emerald asked, holding a different book up now and squinting to read the title.

Applejack walked by balancing a few books on her snout. She set them on the counter that now had the most books on it. "Well, it's a book Granny Smith used to use for her cookin' in her younger days. Guess she wants to break it out fer some stuff."

Emerald turned to her. "Alright then. I guess we can – " He froze mid-sentence when a mark on the front of her hat caught his attention. It was her apple stone, somehow woven into the fabric. His jaw dropped.

Applejack frowned. "Uh, somethin' wrong?"

Emerald shook his head and snapped out of hit. "When did you do that?" He pointed at her hat.

"What? Put the stone on it? Had Rarity do it this mornin'. Why do ya ask?" She replied, pulling her hat off and looking at it.

Emerald fell on the floor, covering his face. "Oh… this is bad. So, so bad…"

Fluttershy came up to him and put a hoof on his shoulder, giving the others concerned looks, in which they returned. "He's been pointing this out all day. First Rainbow Dash, himself, me, and now you." She said, looking at Applejack.

Applejack was clearly lost. "But what 'bout this is bad?"

"Everything! Don't you see? Everypony that got a stone that I've talked to today and yesterday is wearing their stone. They're hideous! Why would anypony want to wear them?" Emerald bellyached, getting back up and looking back and forth between Applejack and Twilight. He stared at Twilights' crown in disbelief. "What… the…HELL?! What is going on around here? Am I in crazy town?"

"Emerald please calm down." Fluttershy pleaded.

Twilight turned pink with embarrassment and took her crown off, which was a replica of her real crown, only the grey stone was in its place. "Haha… about this…"

"Well, if they're so ugly, why in Equestria are ya wearin' yers?" Applejack asked, interested now.

He froze. "Oh… well… for some reason, I just felt obligated and intrigued to keep it on me. Nothing wrong with that."

"Well, so did I." Fluttershy added.

Applejack nodded. "Same here."

They all turned to Twilight expectantly.

"Okay, so maybe this is a bit on the peculiar side. But it doesn't seem to be causing any problems, so I see no reason to ask everypony to take them off. And Pinkie Pie and Rarity might not be wearing theirs, so not everypony is doing this. But on the safe side, we all need to be on high alert for any signs of abnormality. Something evil could be brewing."

"Actually, Rarity was wearing hers as a ring when I went over this mornin'…" Applejack informed her.

"Nonetheless, this is a little strange, so keep an eye and ear out." Twilight replied.

Emerald sighed and turned to Fluttershy in surrender. "I guess you were right after all, these thing are turning out to be trouble."

"Let's not be hasty, they haven't actually caused anything yet." Twilight reminded him. "But like I said, something could, so now we have to be on the tips of our hooves."

"Great… as if I wasn't already easily paranoid, now this…" Emerald crouched, folding his arms across his chest.

"Well, it seems we're good fer now, but Twilight's right. We gotta keep an eye out fer trouble." Applejack reiterated what they'd already discussed to soothe Emeralds' extreme anxiety.

"I know… but still. I have this feeling, and it's telling this isn't over."

Twilight agreed. "Let's just hope it is."

I do… Emerald thought. But I feel it's not…

Part II: Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Only A Dream

Fluttershy and Emerald were enjoying his day off, the first one in nearly a month. Emerald had been working more often, skipping days off and working instead to help make more money to have for their fillies when they come. Emerald hadn’t told Fluttershy about him draining the savings account, so he’d worked overtime to help build it back up. A few days had passed since they’d gone to Sweet Apple Acres and discussed the new problem that seemed to be manifesting before them, and unlike before, where everyone else was worried about these strange stones he’d found in the Everfree Forest, the roles have reversed, and now he was the only one stressing over it constantly. Fluttershy was having a hard time keeping him sane, and so today, she made a suggestion that didn’t quite appeal to him.

“So, a pet? You want to help me get a pet? Why?” Emerald asked inquisitively. He and Fluttershy were at home, ironically, tending to the others’ pets, bathing and grooming them. Fluttershy was teaching Emerald how she grooms her friends’ pets when they ask for her assistance.

“Well, a pet is a wonderful companion. Plus, when we all go together and have our little pet day, you can come too. Don’t you want one?” She explained, finishing up with Opalescence.

“Uh, we already have a pet. Angel,” He pointed to the bunny on the couch reading the paper. Angel glanced up and frowned at him.

Fluttershy finished combing Opalescence’s hair and smiled at her job well done. Opalescence seemed to smile too. “I know, but I figured you’d want your own pet. Maybe one that can be like an assistant at work.”

Emerald sighed with surrender. “Alright, fine. You win. What do you have in mind?”

“Well, that’s the best part. You get to pick! Isn’t it wonderful?” She exclaimed, fluttering in the air in front of him excitedly.

“Um, okay…” He paused to think, with Fluttershy growing ever more excited as she anticipated his answer. He took a deep breath to respond.     “I’m open to suggestions.”

She sulked. “Sure. Do you want something that flies? Swims? Digs? Crawls? Chirps? Purrs? What tickles your fancy?”

“Hmm…I really never thought about that…I’m not sure what I want. If it’s going to help me at work, it has to be able to deal with the stress I go through. And I go through an awful lot. How about something tough?” He asked warily. He went over to the couch and plopped his plot in the middle after he finished scrubbing and drying off Tank, who was shortly going to be entering his yearly deep sleep, so Rainbow Dash had asked Fluttershy to clean him up before he did.

Fluttershy hummed while she considered his options. She suddenly perked up with an idea. “I know! How about an Ocelot? They’re beautiful, smart, and very strong. Plus, they have a lot of patience, having to wait for their next meal all the time.”

Emerald chuckled. “So they’re doctors?”

Fluttershy frowned. “What?”

“Because you said they…have a lot of…patience…oh, never mind. But yeah, I suppose that would be fine. As long as it doesn’t rebel and rip my face off.”

It was her turn to chortle now. “Oh, don’t be silly. They’re the sweetest little wild cats you’ll ever meet. I’ll get one for you later. They’re all out hunting right now…I think.” She then smiled enthusiastically at him.

Emerald tried to resist the adorableness, but it was futile. He broke into an intentionally muffled laughter for a few seconds before he stopped and wiped the tear from his eye. “My, my…you are just the cutest.”

“Why? What’d I say?” She was utterly lost now, as the expression on her face conveyed.

Emerald hopped up off the couch. “Just accept it and move on. Hey, you ready to bring everypony their pets back?”

She looked around at all the finished animals and nodded slightly. “I suppose so.” So they gathered them up and headed out. It was warming up even further, now too warm even at night for it to snow. But based on the weather patterns and the busyness of the pegasi, it would return to the fall-like weather very soon, and this time, unabated.

Fluttershy calmly led the pets and Emerald to the owners. She held back a little to be walking beside him. “Um, what else do we have planned today, because, you know, the kitchen’s a little dirty, and our room is getting a little disorganized as well. I’m just suggesting these, if you want to do them later.”

As they continued on, Emerald didn’t even consider these. He had other things on his mind. “You know what, I’d actually like us to go to that movie theater in Canterlot. I know we’d be getting there late, but I’m off for the rest of the week, and I want to hit the movies with you. I think you’d like it.” After a few moments, an even better idea forced its way into his mind and excited him tenfold. “Actually, I think we’ll go to Manehattan. As much as I wanted to steer clear of that place for obvious reasons, I love you more, and I know a few very romantic spots there. If you think about it, we haven’t done anything truly romantic. And I believe we can do it there.”

“Sure. That sounds lovely. I can’t believe you’re willing to go back there after what happened with Bla – “

“Not going there, sweetheart.” He cut her off, sounding less upset because he was trying to be kind. “The conversation, I mean. But as for what you’re not believing, yes, I’m serious. I care more about you than my own feelings. Although, my feelings are what causes me to care, and so I guess I care about both equally. But then, that’s not true, because I’d rather…” Fluttershy cut him off now with a kiss and a chuckle.

“I get what you mean.” She said humorously. She turned back to her precious trailing animals and resumed guiding them to their first destination, walking backwards to keep an eye on them, even though Emerald was now behind them all, trailing along.

“When we get done with this, we should get our stuff packed. You know, to leave?” He recommended, looking to the sky and seeing that it was getting later.

Fluttershy hummed her reply. She was really focused on keeping the pets together as they neared the castle. “I’ll take Owlicious to Twilight if you’ll just wait out here for me with the other pets.”

Emerald gave a slight shrug. “Sure.”

When they got to the castle, Fluttershy went in and Emerald sat down near the front doors, looking around and deep in thought. Tomorrow’s the day. I’m gonna ask her. Oh, I hope she says yes… He shook his head. Of course she’ll marry you, genius. She’s having your kids. Why would she not? He sighed aloud. I really need to stop worrying so much…

“Hey Emerald? Can we talk…?” Rainbow Dash sailed up and landed in front of him, breaking into his thoughts.

He glared at her. “About what, Rainbow Dash? About you’re crazy actions that night we went to the Wonderbolts show? I’d rather not talk to you at all.” He turned away from her and folded his arms.

Rainbow Dash sighed with guilt. “I know. But I’m here to apologize. I was just…so jealous. Of you and Fluttershy. I want to admit, I had a crush on you ever since I first met you. But you got Fluttershy before me. And I guess I was just…letting off some steam. I’m sorry…”

Emerald turned to her. “Okay, that I understand. But seriously, you could have told me about your feelings in a less awkward way.”

“But it was just a peck. It wasn’t that bad.” She protested.

Emerald rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Okay.”

Rainbow threw her hooves up. “Hey, it was a friendly kiss.”

“Dash, that wasn’t friendliness, it was straight debauchery. You can call a kiss anything but that, especially if it’s coming from a friend.”

“But it wasn’t a kiss-kiss, it was a quick peck. In all fairness, there wasn’t even any tongue…” She said, her voice intentionally trailing off.

“For Celestias’ sake, Rainbow Dash, you grabbed my face and forced your lips on mine. A kiss is a kiss. But it already happened, I can’t change that. However, I can say, there will be no more of …that… in the future. Am I correct?” He asked, although it was more of a command.

She grinned innocuously. “Hehe…yeah…”

At that moment, Fluttershy was coming back out of the castle. She smiled when she seen her blue Pegasus friend. “Hey, Dashie! What are you doing here?”

She returned the friendly smile. “Oh, nothing. I was just saying hi to Emerald. I’ll take Tank with me.” She grabbed Tank by his shell. “See ya later, guys.” She flew off before Fluttershy could say anything else.

Fluttershy looked confused for a split second before she turned to Emerald. “Ready to go take Gummy to Pinkie? She loves it when he’s fresh from a grooming.”

Emerald nodded and herded along the animals with her. “Then we really should get our stuff packed. There’s a travelling zoo headed to Manehattan tomorrow evening and the day after and I didn’t want you to miss it. I set this up a while ago just for this cause.”

She tilted her head and smiled appreciatively. ”That sounds amazing! Where did they come from? What kind of animals do they have? I’m so excited now. Let’s hurry up and bring the rest of these pets back.” She began hovering now, moving faster, so Emerald had to do the same to keep up.

“I’m glad you’re as excited as I am.” He said, relieved to hear her tone change. She hadn’t sounded so enthusiastic earlier.  Too bad I can’t tell you the best part until we’re actually there…

After they’d finished delivering the pets, they rushed home to get ready to leave. Emerald told her they’d be getting up real early, perhaps around five in the morning, to catch the train there. It was hard for Emerald to pack the bangle, because Fluttershy was in the room, and they were packing all of their stuff into one bag. So he decided to just carry it around on him in his saddlebag. He’d need to have quick access to it anyway.

Angel watched them carefully, seeming unhappy that they were leaving him there alone.

“It’s only for a few days,” Fluttershy assured him, hugging him briefly before hopping in the shower.

Emerald sought this opportunity to go over his proposal lines. They sounded cheesy, but he didn’t think Fluttershy would care. If it was romantic, she’d love it.

When Fluttershy finished, Emerald went next. After that, they went to bed early to make up for lost sleep in the morning. Emerald kissed her goodnight and soon drifted off to sleep.

“How could you Emerald? I thought you loved me?” Fluttershy shouted at him. She was furious when she learned about the kiss he and Rainbow Dash shared at the Wonderbolts show.

“I already told you, it was an accident.” He said defensively.

Fluttershy turned away from him. “That’s not what Dashie said. She told me you kissed her on purpose.”

Emerald couldn’t believe his ears. “What? What are you talking about?” He grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. “Clearly she’s lying to get you and me to argue. She’s just trying to get us worked up. You know I love you.”

“Huh. I don’t think you do. Not anymore. Apparently my friend is sexier than me.” She said defiantly.

Emerald drew a blank on that last comment, not knowing how to respond to such crazy talk. Just then, Rainbow Dash showed up, looking smug. Emerald immediately confronted her, poking her violently in the chest with his hoof.  “You did this! I should have known you’d try to break us up.”

She looked around and shrugged innocently. “I didn’t do anything. You shouldn’t have kissed me.” She then turned to Fluttershy. “Come on. Let’s leave this lying cheater to do what he does best.”

“Oh, no you don’t, you traitor!” He attempted to grab her arm, but his hoof went right through, like she was a ghost. He went pale.

“Bye, Emerald. Too bad you never loved me…” Fluttershy called out to him as they faded away into the darkness. He tried to chase them, but somehow they were still faster. They disappeared into the oblivion. Emerald fell to his knees and began sobbing…and that’s when he woke up.

“Emerald, are you okay sweetie?” Fluttershy was leaning over him, an alarmed look on her face. She gently placed a hoof on his cheek when she realized he was crying.

He sniffled and wiped the tears away. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bad dream again…” He took her hoof in his as she lay back down. She turned over and they lay there, spooning. “Come on. Back to sleep. We’ve only got two hours before we have to get up and go.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? I worry about you. This isn’t the first time I’ve shaken you awake because you were screaming or crying, you know. You must be having some awful dreams…” She asked, not convinced that he was okay.

He nuzzled the back of her neck, sending a chill up her spine and she giggled quietly. “I’m fine, honey. Now get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.”

“Okay…”

But as he lay there, closing his eyes to head back to sleep, he knew this dream wasn’t a dream.

It was a warning.

Part II: Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Manehattan Romance

Early the next morning, while it was still dark and chilly, Emerald and Fluttershy hurried off to the train station to leave. It would take until the next morning just to get there, at that point they’d be in the city looking for a hotel. Emerald promised her a nice one, but Fluttershy didn’t like him spending so much on anything unimportant if they could help it, and so his excuse was, “I can’t help it.”

As they arrived, Emerald couldn’t stop the wave of unpleasant memories from rushing into his mind like an enraged bull. Thoughts of school, his dad, and Black Flame lingered even after they got off the train and headed deeper into the labyrinth of architectural genius, searching for their hotel. Emerald tried to hide his stress from Fluttershy, but she knew when something was bothering him. It was uncanny how accurate she was, too.

“Emerald, are you having some bad memories?” She asked gently, but louder to overcome the noise from the hustle and bustle of the city.

He put a hoof around her and pulled her close as they walked past an old unicorn stallion who eyed them unusually long. “Maybe a few…but it’s no big deal, hon. I’ll get over it.” He took a quick look around, noticing that they were surrounded by food…they were in the restaurant district of downtown. “Wanna get a bite to eat before we start our wonderful day?”

She grinned brilliantly, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Oh, yes. I’m starving!”

He laughed and led her around until they found something they liked. A small, but classy diner, not fancy, but definitely classy. It was barely after sunup, and the restaurants were all just opening their doors to the early birds. Emerald and Fluttershy had no trouble getting a good table and receiving fast service. Food was layering the table in minutes. They’d both ordered heaping piles of haycakes, doused in far too much syrup.

“I’m not sure I can finish all this…” Emerald said, staring down his stack of cakes, wide eyed.

Fluttershy gave a muffled, “Mmhmm,” as she was already digging in. She swallowed after a lengthy chew. “I’m sorry, I was just so hungry…”

Emerald took his first bite. “Oh, I understand. Right there with you.” It didn’t take long for the both of them to nearly polish their plates, stuffed to the brim.

“Oh, my Celestia…I may have been a bit gluttonous…” Fluttershy groaned, stifling a burp and blushing.

Emerald struggled just to keep himself in his chair. “Nonsense. There’s a difference between gluttony and hunger. We are not the latter.”

She stumbled out of her chair. “Let’s go. I’m too excited to sit here. What do we do next?”

Emerald left the appropriate amount of bits and carefully lowered himself out of his chair, moving slowly to the door with her. “Oh, well, we still need a place, so hotel it is.”

“Okay then.” She replied.

They began walking down the street, towards all the buildings that clearly were for staying the night in.

“Looks like we need a big room.” Emerald commented, staring up into the windows of the high-rise buildings around them.

Fluttershy tilted her head with curiosity. “Why? It’s only us two.”

“I don’t know, our love is big enough to be a whole other pony…” He smiled at his own funny.

She rolled her eyes, although smiling as well. “Ha ha.” They both glanced over to their left at the same time to see a hotel that was very familiar to Fluttershy. “Oh, wonderful! The Mane Fair Hotel! This is the hotel we stayed in we me and the others came here with Rarity for Fashion Week. It’s such a nice place.”

Emerald started leading her to the door. “Then we’re staying here. Rates good?”

She tried to remember. “Um, well, see, I don’t quite remember. Nothing outrageous, for sure.”

They trotted in and went to the receptionist, getting a room and heading off to it.

“You’re going to love what I have planned, sweetie,” he said elatedly as they made their way to their floor. “We’ve got a lot to do today and tomorrow. I just hope you can handle all the fun.” They got to the fifth floor and went through the door to the halls containing all the rooms.

“Oh, I can, I’m sure. I can’t wait to visit the Halter Park Zoo. Or Equines’ Square…Oh, I’m so excited!” She began hovering above him, holding her cheeks and grinning ecstatically.

Emerald chuckled. “Okay, easy does it, girl. We still have to get our stuff to our room.”

Their room was only four doors down from the stairway, making it easier for them to get in and out when they needed. It was just a single bedroom suite, one that had an excellent view of most of downtown. A marvelous thing, but nothing compared to what he had planned.

Fluttershy must have noticed his thinking, because he was smiling, and now she looked interested. “Um, what’s funny?”

Emerald shook his head and went over to her. She was sitting on the end of the bed, and so he sat down beside her. The bed was bouncy, so she went up and down a few times before she settled. They both laughed at this, taking each other’s hoof. “I was just thinking how amazing this is going to be. You, me, and the Big M. There’s things I have planned I know you’ll like, and others I can only hope. But as long as I get to spend every minute I’m here with you, it’ll all be worth it.”

She smiled, an irresistible expression, and Emerald sought the opportunity to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around him, and he wrapped his around her in a tight embrace as they continued to exchange romance. After a few moments, Fluttershy pulled away to look him in the eyes.

“This is so amazing…I love this. I love you…”

Emerald grinned again, but only momentarily before he pressed his lips against hers a second time. This time, it would last a little longer.

In the early afternoon hours, the couple travelled by carriage to Halter Park, where the town-to-town zoo was just opening to visitors, but heavily crowded.

“Oh, my.” Fluttershy murmured. “There’s so many ponies here. How will we ever get in?”

Emerald took her hoof to guide her out of the carriage. “Fluttershy, we’re pagasi. We have wings.” He pointed to hers, which she looked back at and opened.

“But that’s cutting.” She protested. “They got here first.”

Emerald snorted. “We aren’t cutting, we’re using our biological abilities to our advantage. There’s a difference, you know.” He took off, prompting her to flap her wing as well to balance herself.

“Oh, this feels wrong…” She complained, looking down at the irritated ponies below.

“Ease up, girl. Have a little fun.” They flew down to the front of the line near the ticket booths. When they landed in front of somepony, he began berating them for cutting.

Emerald didn’t even look back at him, but Fluttershy gave the guy an apologetic smile.

Emerald handed enough bits over for three tickets. “I’m buying his,” he said, pointing to the now shocked pony.

As they went in, Fluttershy commended him for his act of kindness. “That was awfully nice of you.” She said.

He shrugged. “We cut him, so I bought his ticket. That’s how you do it, Shy.”

Their attention was immediately drawn to the vast array of exotic animals from around the world. Cages everywhere, animal noises, and the smell of nature dominated everywhere.

“Lions, tigers, bears…” Fluttershy said in awe as her head swung back and forth, looking at all the animals with a thrilled toothy grin glued to her face.

“Oh, my,” Emerald added humorously, earning a deadpan look from her.

“And look, there’s an ocelot!” She pointed a hoof, but before Emerald could spot what she was pointing at, she was off to see it closer.

“Wait up!” He called after her, using his wings to zip over in her direction. He landed near her and the cage, and lightly pressed up against the glass to see inside better. The cat was indeed beautiful, and thankfully, not very big, either. “So, this is what mine would look like?” He asked her.

“Oh, yes! Isn’t he amazing? Oh, this is just so exciting!” She took off for the next cage.

Emerald sighed and shook his head. “It’s going to be a long day…” Then he trailed after her.

After they’d seen every animal in the whole zoo at least twice, Fluttershy had had her fill. They left on hoof this time, to first go eat, then later, take her by the sea, where he’d planned on asking the question.

The eatery was nothing short of exemplary. The food, the atmosphere, even the waiters and waitresses were a big contribution to the obviously romantic setting. The name of the restaurant was Lover’s Corner, ironically the restaurant was not on a corner.

“This has been such an amazing day, Emerald.” She said happily, sipping her drink from the fancy glass it was provided in.

Emerald nodded in agreement. “You’re the one that made it amazing. For me, at least,” He finished off the last of his vegetable casserole.

“Oh, don’t be silly. We came here together to make it magical for the both of us. We made each other’s day wonderful.” She told him, smiling across the table at him. The lighting made her pupils wide, and for some reason, attractive.

“You know what, I agree, sweetie.” He took a long sip of his drink now wash the food down. “But to me, it was you that made my day best, nothing else. You’re the light of my life, girl.” He smiled with just the corners of his mouth.

She continued to smile back at him. “Oh, Emerald, you’re so sweet…” She looked off at the band playing soft jazz in the corner.

“So you enjoyed the food?” He asked, trying to keep the conversation alive.

“Of course I did, silly. It was really good. I hope we didn’t spend too much here…” She said, worried.

“You know, you’ve said something like that before, and I think this time I’ll tell you that you are worth every bit, every time.” He replied, leaning forward for effect.

She beamed at him. “Oh, my…”

“I can’t believe it. We’ve been together six months. Six whole months. Honestly, this is the only relationship I’ve ever been in, too.” He went on, running the tip of his hoof around the rim of his glass.

“It’s the best relationship I’ve ever had.” She said honestly. “I had a coltfriend in Cloudsdale, but that didn’t last long and was nothing like this.” She looked him in the eyes. “Or like you. I really didn’t think we’d come this far, but we have. I’m glad you came to Ponyville, or I would have never met you.”

Emerald held back the tears he felt coming on. He could tell she was. “I feel the same about you. You changed my life, girl. I wanna change yours.” He waved for a waiter and got the bill. When he paid, he stood up and offered Fluttershy his hoof. “Let’s go for a walk before we head home, shall we?”

They walked all the way down near the harbor, around the countless docks and piers of lower Manehattan.

“It sure is lovely out here,” Fluttershy was saying as they paralleled the water, watching the sun hug the horizon.

“It sure is.” Emerald agreed. That’s when his heartbeat picked up. And it’s about to get lovelier…

Part II: Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Popping The Question

Manehattan was approaching dusk, as the sun sank even further below the horizon, spilling a barrage of pastel reds, oranges and yellows across the sky. It began getting a bit chilly, but not uncomfortable. Even as populous as Manehattan was, only one couple grazed the bayside, slowly making their way along the crystal blue sea, holding hooves, actually breaking into a song, and talking about anything while they went from dock to dock. Emerald and Fluttershy were enjoying this day more than any day they’d enjoyed before. The painful and horrid memories of Manehattan no longer bothered Emerald, but a whole new matter was putting him in an uneasy position.

They reached a point where the Mare of Liberty was straight across the bay from them and stopped to watch the sun surrender to the night. As peaceful as it was, Emerald was in no way at peace. Nervousness and anxiety were now eating him alive, and even with it being chilly, he began perspiring noticeably.

“Are you okay, Emerald? You look worried.” Fluttershy asked, looking away from the statue and at him.

He nodded vigorously. “Yeah, of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be okay? I’m okay, okay? Okay.” He blurted quickly, smiling innocently.

Fluttershy stared at him for a moment, obviously not convinced. “Um…okay…”

Emerald laughed tensely, scratching the back of his head. Get it together, Emerald. You’ve gotta get this right the first time. He leaned over the railing with her, now looking out over the ocean and listening to the waves crash into the docks. He took a deep breath. “So…how romantic is this?”

Fluttershy took his hoof and moved closer to him, so that they were touching, feeling the warmth of each other’s bodies. Emerald smirked, loving how comfortable she’d grown with touching, especially in public. She still wouldn’t kiss him in front of others, but holding hooves and hugging were much easier for her. She put her head on his shoulder. “It’s so beautiful…I’ve never seen a sunset on the water before.”

“Well then tonight’s your night, girl. Because we’ll be here until dark.” He looked over at the sun. It was just barely peeking up over the horizon, about to succumb to the inevitable night that was now marching from the east. “Also I have one more gift for you.”

She lifted her head to look him in the eyes. “More? Oh, Emerald, you’ve given more than I ever could wish for already. What else could you possibly have to top this?”

He gave a quick chuckle. “Well, um…” He looked back over the water. Alright, Emerald…start with the flattery. The memories… He gulped. “You remember the first night we met?”

She nodded slightly. “Of course, what about it?” Her eyes glittered from the setting sun.

“I’m just reminiscing on the good times, you know…like the time we first met.” He explained, his pulse rising again. “I remember how adorably shy you were towards me. How you walked me home.”

She blushed and looked away with only her eyes. “Oh, yeah…I do remember that…” She looked back at him, her cheeks staying pink. “But I really didn’t fall for you until you took me out to eat. You were so sweet, and on the way home, I’d never laughed so much in my life…although, your sense of humor was a bit dirty…”

He laughed heartily. “Yeah, I always did have a naughty joke up my sleeve. I made a few of them in reference to you, if you didn’t notice. At least, you didn’t act like you did.”

She smiled up at him. “I did, and I still thought they were funny.”

“Or, you remember, the night after, well, you know…we got rid of…him? That was a wild night.” He said, hinting at their lovemaking that night.

Now she blushed harder, looking around to see if anypony was within earshot. She looked back at him. “Yes, well, that was um…fun, I suppose.”

“Hmmm…fun? Wow,” he said with a laugh. “You actually said that. I’m surprised.” He gently moved her head back onto his shoulder, so that they were both looking out at the bay. “I’m now remembering our first kiss. How it felt to finally touch you…”

She kissed his cheek. “It was so passionate…I didn’t think we’d even kiss so soon in our relationship. You make me feel so good, though…I couldn’t resist…”

He felt his cheeks grow warm. “How I feel about you is more than words can ever describe. That night, I was just so infatuated with you, the only thing on mind was how to actually kiss you without startling you. But I guess you were ready sooner than I imagined.”

“Well, I was expecting it, to be honest…” She admitted, hugging him tighter.

He leaned down and kissed her head, feeling her soft warm coat on his lips…”I love you, beyond words…they cannot express…do you have any idea what you do to me? How many times I’ve lay awake at night, just watching you sleep, wondering what you’re dreaming about…? How many times I’d been at work, slacking off because I was daydreaming of your pretty face? My heart aches for you when you’re not around. It burns for you. Your love is addicting, girl. It’s a really good addiction…one I’ll never get enough of.”

For a moment, he didn’t hear a peep from her, but then, a quiet sniffle. “That was…I-I can’t even…oh my Celestia…” She peered up at him through her mane, and he looked down at her. It was easy to see the tears glimmering in her eyes, all while she had the most tantalizing smile on she’d ever given him.

“And it’s all true,” He went on, moving back a little and taking her hooves in his. “Everything I do is done for you, hon. I wake up every day with you on my mind. You are the only thing that keeps me sane. And I want to make something else clear…” He lowered his voice, so Fluttershy, still teary-eyed, leaned closer to hear. “When I say that I love you, it’s not because I have to, or to make conversation…it’s because you are the sweetest thing, that ever walked into my life…”

Tears of joy now streamed down her face like little rivers. But before she could say anything, Emerald went on even further.

“You are my everything, all that I’ve ever wanted, all that I’ll ever need. We’re going to be a family, Flutters.” He said, his heart rate now jumping to its highest for the impending question. He got down on his knees, reaching back into his saddlebag and taking out the bangle. Fluttershy gasped. Emerald held it up to her. “Fluttershy? Will you be mine…til the end of time?”

She could not contain the waterworks any more. She had planted both hooves over her mouth in surprise, her eyes portraying the extreme joy that could not be withheld. “Oh, Emerald…of course I will!”

At the same time, they ran into each other’s arms hugging tightly, both of them now sobbing with bliss. Never in his life had he cried like this. The emotion was overbearing. After holding each other for a good ten minutes, they finally pulled apart to look each other in the eyes.

Fluttershy wiped the tears from her face and sniffled. “Okay, I did not expect this…”

Emerald chuckled and delicately lifted her chin. He kissed her, passionately, amorously, and she did the same. In public. He stopped to see her face again. Her smile was only the beginning of what she was expressing. “Why don’t we head back to our room, it’s getting dark.” He looked over just in time to see the sun finally fade away and dusk set in.

“Good idea.” She replied, still sniffling.

Emerald lifted her hoof and slipped the bangle on just above it while she gawked. “There, you look so pretty with it.” He said, smiling at her.

She held it up and studied it closely. “It’s amazing…” She glanced up at him. “How much was this? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Uh, well, you see…we’ll talk about that later. Let’s just get home before all the crazies come out.” He took her hoof once again and started taking her back to the hotel.

They lay in bed that night, spooning, just feeling each other’s warmth, listening to each other breathe, thinking about this new event in their life, how it would affect them.

“Do you think we should tell the others?” Fluttershy asked in an adorable whisper.

Emerald laughed quietly. “They’re going to know the next time they see you. The bangle?” He stroked the arm that was wearing it.

“Oh.”

“But just in case, we’ll just tell them next time we’re all hanging out. I’m sure they’re going to be excited.” Emerald said.

“I’m sure they will be.” She agreed. “Pinkie will definitely be throwing a party over this.”

He snuggled up to her a little more, so his muzzle was resting on the side of her head. “Oh, that will probably be the best party I’ll ever go to…until we get married. And you have our foals.”

“Yeah, that too. Oh, I’m so excited, I don’t think I can fall asleep tonight…” She said, resting a hoof on his cheek.

He smiled. “Well, tomorrow we can go see the other zoo and get something to eat before we head back to Ponyville, so you might want to at least try.” He then kissed the back of her head, making her give a little “Eeep!” She pushed herself against him to be a little snugger.

“Okay…”

“I love you sweetheart. So very much.” Emerald whispered to her.

“I love you too. You’re my hero…” And with that, she was asleep in moments. But Emerald didn’t fall asleep until a few hours later, thinking about nothing but her.

Part II: Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Revelation

After they left Manehattan and returned home, they formulated a plan for the wedding. Determining whom to throw it with wasn’t difficult whatsoever, however, it was when that had the two stymied.

“Considering the fact that you’ll soon be giving birth, we should have it before then.” Emerald suggested, lounging out on the couch with Fluttershy as they went through some of Emeralds old paperwork from when he lived in Manehattan. The box of papers was taking up too much room and Fluttershy asked him to go through it, which is what they were both doing now.

  “I suppose that makes sense," She replied, giving a paper she’d just pulled out and odd stare before tossing it in the trash bin beside them. “But that would mean we’d have to explain my pregnancy.”

Emerald tossed a paper away without even looking at it. “Um, why? Won’t they see pretty soon, at least, in the next few months, the evidence without our explanation? I’d prefer to just let them figure it out on their own. They’re pretty good at it.”

“That’s true.” She rubbed her stomach, smiling gladly.

Emerald leaned over and put his hoof on her stomach next to hers, and she looked up at him. “All I can say, is it’s going to be a busy year.” He stopped and thought for a second. “Next year.”

She hugged him. “I’m so happy.”

Emerald pulled away, digging in the box. “I know. But let’s get back to this before we have a repeat of the last time we got distracted during home improvement.”

She scratched the back of her head, blushing lightly. “Can’t say anything bad about that…”

“Except that we didn’t finish what we started.” And after careful thought, “The cleaning, I meant…”

Somepony knocked on the door.

“Come in!” Fluttershy shouted. The door opened and Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack came waltzing in.

“Well how y’all doin’? How was the trip?” Applejack in a friendly tone.

“Swell.” Emerald replied, immediately shoving his head in the box to prevent having to see Rainbow Dash. The events that night at the Wonderbolts show still bothered him, despite having forgiven her.

“That’s good to hear. We were really hoping you guys would have spent a little more time together there, though.” Twilight said, walking up to them.

Emerald jerked his head out of the box, a confused look on his face. “What?”

“Well, ya see, we were anticipatin’ what we can already see happened,” Applejack pointed hoof at the bangle on Fluttershy’s front right leg. “So we could throw y’all a party. But y’all came home early. Somethin’ go wrong?”

Fluttershy looked away, embarrassed. Emerald was, too, but maintained the conversation.

“No, but you guys weren’t supposed to know that I planned on proposing to her…” Emerald said, somewhat disappointed. So much for surprise…

“Ah, we knew it would happen sooner or later. That’s a nice bangle, by the way. Looks like you went all out on it, huh?” Dash folded her arms across her chest.

“Uh, yes…well, that’s not all that important at the moment…” He stuttered.

Fluttershy held her hoof up, allowing the pink butterfly stone to glitter in the sunlight streaming through the window. “That reminds me, how much did you pay for this? You never did tell me.”

Emeralds eyes darted back and forth between his friends and Fluttershy. “It was, well…um…1000 bits.” The number he said so quietly they didn’t understand him.

“What was that?” Twilight asked, rubbing her ear.

“It was…1000 bits.”

They all shouted, surprised.

“Where in Equestria did you get the money for that?” Twilight exclaimed, shocked.

“Forget that!” Dash said. “Why did you buy something so expensive? Wouldn’t a regular bangle have done the job just the same?”

Fluttershy put a hoof on Emeralds shoulder, giving him a consoling look. “It was a thoughtful gesture, but if I’m not mistaken, you had money saved up in your savings. You told me it was for emergencies…but, was this what it was for?”

Emerald gulped and nodded.

“Wow, secret after secret revealed. What’s next?” Applejack noted, looking around at them. Emerald and Fluttershy got off the couch and stood with the others.

“Nothing,” Emerald said quickly, making sure Rainbow Dash knew it was more directed towards her than anypony else. “Did you guys not finish setting up the party you had planned for us?”

“Nah, but Pinkie can throw a party on a whim, so I’m sure we could jus’ head on over there an’ she’ll surely hook y’all up.” Applejack said, already heading out.

Fluttershy and Emerald looked back behind them at the box on the floor.

“You know, we should definitely finish this – “

“Screw this, let’s go.” Emerald cut her off.

“Okay, good idea.” Fluttershy followed them all outside.

The evening was young, so the sun was low on the horizon, already changing from yellow to orange, and it was much colder, cold enough to warrant the use of scarves and coats, which everypony was wearing. Fluttershy had her favorite sweater and ear muffs on, whereas Emerald wore his only jacket, the one he’d owned for years: his black leather blazer.

Fluttershy frowned at it. “You really should get something different to wear when it’s cold. You look…bad with that one, to say the least.”

He glanced down at it, pulling it closed. “How so?” They were walking down to Sugarcube Corner, hoping Pinkie was there to initiate the party they were not even finished setting up. If anypony could pull it off, it was her.

Fluttershy fell back from the others, who didn’t seem to notice, as they were chatting excitedly. “I just think that it looks more like something…you know…that, um, well…you-know-who would wear.”

Emerald stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes were wide, surprised at her comparison. Fluttershy stopped as well, concerned she may have crossed some sort of line. Emerald took the jacket off and tossed it into the nearby bushes, then nonchalantly continued walking, as if nothing happened. Fluttershy joined him, still concerned, but now also confused.

“Anyway, what’s this party gonna be like? Crazy? I like crazy.” Emerald said, pretending nothing happened.

“I’m not sure…aren’t you cold?” She asked, shivering even though she was wearing her sweater.

He shook his head. “Nah, we’ll be at Sugarcube corner soon, anyway. I’ll be fine.” He looked up at the sky, which was growing increasingly overcast from the east. “You think we should tell them about…you being, um, pregnant? It wouldn’t be hard.”

Fluttershy followed his gaze to the clouds. “I’m not sure. I kind of don’t want to, actually. Part of me wants them to figure it out on their own. You know, for effect?”

“I guess you’re right. After all, they guessed right on me proposing to you, which was disappointing, but then again, it was kind of obvious. Me and you, alone in the Big City, all sorts of stuff you like doing, nothing I liked?” He froze, seeing how he’d just hurt her feelings. “Damn, I didn’t mean it like that. I meant, things I like doing, as in, my preferences…”

Fluttershy still looked hurt. “You didn’t want to go to all those things with me?”

“That’s not what I’m saying!” He said, panicking. “I was just doing all the things I knew you like doing. I was trying to focus on you and not me. I enjoyed everything we did, I didn’t mean that I don’t like what you like.”

She pouted. “I think maybe you should word things a little better next time…”

Emerald sighed, feeling guilty. He hugged her, and at first she didn’t do it back, but it wasn’t long before she did. “I’m sorry. I have a habit of wording things in a way that’s offensive.”

“It’s okay. I forgive you.”

The others fell back with them. “Hey, y’all, Pinkie Pie just walked in, we just seen her go in.” Applejack reported.

“Great. Me and Fluttershy will be in there in just a few moments. You all go on ahead.” Emerald told them, still holding her.

“Okay then.” They left the two of them behind and headed in. Fluttershy and Emerald stayed outside, in front of the door.

“Why are we staying out here?” She asked, looking around.

Emerald sat down, and she did the same after he patted the ground next to him. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke. “Fluttershy, somethings been bothering me. And I haven’t told you out of my own fears. I think that it’ll come out today, at this party, and it won’t come from me, so you’ll take it wrong. I figured I might as well let you know what it is before somepony else does.”

Fluttershy leaned closer, as he was talking so quietly, so gently. “What do you mean?”

Emerald took a deep breath. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

Fluttershy’s demeanor changed instantly. She seemed worried. “W-what do you mean? Are you…seeing somepony else? Are you l-leaving me?”

“What? No! Hell no! I just,” He sighed once again, trying to make sure he worded things right this time. “Something happened at the Wonderbolts show. I told you something did, but I never told you what, and it’s been bothering me ever since, so I think I should tell you.”

Fluttershy seemed relieved as she wrapped her hooves around his waist in a tight embrace. For a moment, Emerald couldn’t speak. He didn’t want to ruin the moment, feeling her holding him.

“It’s something I’m not proud of,” He went on. “But it happened, so I think you should know.”

“Whatever it is, it won’t affect the way I feel about you.” She said, still holding him.

“I hope so.” He took another deep breath, growing nervous. “Fluttershy, I – “

The door behind them swung open, and Pinkie Pie came barreling out. “Hey guys! You should totally come in! This party’s gonna be nothing without our two special guests. Come on in, the party’s fine!” She started shoving them inside.

“Pinkie, wait! We were talking!” Emerald protested, annoyed.

The whole place was loaded with ponies from all over town. Everything was set up, including drinks, music, food, party décor and other stuff. “How in the name of Princess Celestia did everypony get in here? We were sitting at the front door!”

Fluttershy was already heading out into the party, and Emerald decided to just find a moment to tell her here, so he followed her. The two of them were confronted by Rarity, who looked rather well dressed for such an occasion.

“Well, if it isn’t the soon-to-be Mister and Misses? How are you two doing on this splendid day? How was Manehattan? Oh, was Coco Pommel doing well? How is her career going?” Rarity shot the questions all too quickly, excited for them, and apparently for the fact that they went to Manehattan.

“It was great. We, uh, did plenty of things. Fun things.” Emerald replied, wishing he could share her enthusiasm. “But I have no idea about Coco. We didn’t see or hear about her. Sorry.”

“That’s quite alright, dear. You two must be sooo excited to be getting married, right? I can only imagine the joy you’re experiencing. I have to say, I’m a bit jealous. I had no idea you would be getting interested in a stallion so quickly.” She said, talking more to Fluttershy.

She rubbed her arm shyly. “Yeah… I guess he does have a way with words…”

“Yeah, sometimes good, sometimes bad…” Emerald said under his breath.

Rarity finished her drink. “Well, I hope you two get married real soon. I have some gorgeous designs in mind for your outfits.”

“That sounds lovely,” Fluttershy said, grabbing herself and Emerald a cup of the punch off the table they were standing near. Emerald took his and polished it off, causing the other two to give him strange looks.

“Um, Emerald, dear, is something wrong? Is something bothering you?” Rarity asked, looking concerned for her friend.

Emerald cleared his throat. “Yes, I really need to speak to Fluttershy. In private.”

Rarity looked surprised by his boldness, but replied, “Okay, well, it was good talking to you two.”

Emerald led Fluttershy away without a word. He brought her to the kitchen, where they were alone.

“Emerald, what is the matter with you? That was rude!” Fluttershy admonished him.

“Yes, well, see, I’ve been trying to tell you something, but others keep getting in the way.” He replied, as if that was any reason to be acting the way he was.

She shook her head. “That’s not a good enough reason to act like that to them. I want to be out there, enjoying the party with you. Tell me what’s on your mind later, okay? I’ll be more than happy to listen.”

“Please, Fluttershy…I have to tell you now before – “ She put a hoof over his mouth.

“Tell me later, okay sweetie?” Then she smiled, turning away and going back out into the party.

He looked down at the floor. “There might not be later…” Then he followed her out.

The party had picked up, and now everypony was having too much fun, it appeared. It was getting messy, as drinks, food, and party streamers layered the floor. Emerald followed her into the crowd, where they ran into Pinkie, Twilight and Rainbow Dash.

“Hey guys, enjoying the party? I worked hard on it. Isn’t it sooo cool? I just love the cake, too! Mrs. Cake made it specially for this party! It’s got chocolate, and icing, and red velvet – “

“It’s wonderful,” Emerald cut her off.

“Emerald.” Fluttershy gave him her best motherly look.

“Sorry.”

Rainbow Dash had this strangely unhappy look on her face, not making eye contact with him or Fluttershy, which worried him.

Twilight chuckled. “You two having fun? Sorry it’s not like we planned, you guys caught us off guard, coming home a day early.”

“Oh, it’s still a great party. I love it.” Fluttershy said, her usual cheery attitude returning. “I’m just trying to keep Emerald out of trouble for now.” She gave him the look again, in which he smiled innocently to.

“Looks like you got him under control.” Pinkie said with laugh.

Fluttershy hugged Emerald again, like she did outside. “But I wouldn’t change who he is for the world. He’s the most handsome, honest, faithful stallion I’ve ever met.”

And that’s when Rainbow dash, who’d been silent the whole time, lost it. “Me and Emerald kissed!” She yelled, loud enough to overcome the music, which promptly stopped. Everypony within a few feet had their mouths wide open. Emerald closed his eyes for a second, hoping that when he opened them, this would be a dream. He opened his eyes…and it wasn’t.

Fluttershy pulled away from Emerald, narrowing her eyes at him. “What?”

Part II: Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Lies

The party had definitely taken a turn for the worse. Everypony was staring at the five ponies standing face to face in the center of the room.  Twilight and Pinkie Pie were very upset, as the expressions of disgust on their faces depicted. Rainbow Dash looked like she’d lost her marbles, and Fluttershy just looked pissed.

“What?” Fluttershy repeated, sounding angrier, sounding betrayed.

Emerald gulped. “It’s not what it sounds like, I swear it wasn’t mutual.” His defense seemed to change nothing. Fluttershy did not look convinced whatsoever.

“You kissed my friend? That’s what’s been bothering you all this time? You cheated on me, and didn’t bother to tell me? How could you?”

Rainbow Dash burst into tears, flying into the kitchen. Twilight and Pinkie gave Emerald one last look of discontent and headed off to the kitchen to comfort her.

“I didn’t kiss her, she kissed me, I promise! I didn’t share a moment with her, she was jealous of you and me – “

“Now you’re blaming it all on her?” Fluttershy asked, glaring at him. “So you did nothing? She just did all this on her own? She made you keep this to yourself until today? I can’t believe you…”

This was going badly. “Fluttershy, you know I wouldn’t cheat on you. What does she have that you don’t?” Fluttershy looked away from him, at nopony in particular, just away from him. Emerald sighed heavily. “I didn’t kiss her, honest. I couldn’t do that to you…”

“Well, it’s apparent you did, so there’s no excuses.” She said sternly, but her voice was cracking. She was about to cry.

Emerald walked up to her, putting a hoof on her shoulder, which she startled him by shoving off. “Fluttershy, I – “

She looked back at him, tears in her eyes. “Rainbow Dash wouldn’t lie, to me or anypony else. She’s not like that. But you’ve lied before, and I’m sorry…I just don’t believe that you didn’t like it, or want it.”

“I told you I would never lie to you again, and I meant it.” He insisted, trying to defuse the situation. He was losing the battle, and fast. Nopony around him seemed to care about his reasons. It was easier to believe that the ex-liar was still a liar. “She kissed me, and I didn’t want it or like it, I promise! How am I supposed to prove it?” He thought for a moment. “Ask her, Fluttershy. Ask Rainbow if it was her kissing me or us kissing each other. She’ll tell you the truth, since that’s what you said. She wouldn’t lie.”

For a moment, she didn’t say anything or move, but then she turned towards the kitchen when Twilight, Pinkie and Rainbow came out. Rainbow dash was being comforted by her friends, and they came up to Emerald and Fluttershy.

“Okay, Emerald. I’ll ask her.” Fluttershy said to him, sounding a little calmer now. Emerald breathed a sigh of relief. “Dashie, did you kiss Emerald out of jealousy of me and him?”

Emerald felt a strange, uneasy feeling in his gut as Rainbow opened her mouth to reply. “No, he grabbed me and kissed me, saying that I was his original crush!”

“What?!” Emerald hollered, horrified. “No, no no no! That’s not what happened and you know it!”

The others mean-mugged him, not at all believing him.

“I’ve known Dashie all my life, Emerald. She wouldn’t lie about something like this. If you had feelings for her, why didn’t you just tell me before all these plans, before we got engaged? Before I got…pregnant?”

More gasps from the audience.

“You’re…pregnant?” Twilight asked incredulously.

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes. But now I’m not so sure it was a good idea for it to be his.” She gave Emerald a cold stare.

Emerald felt his heart sink. “No…you couldn’t possibly believe this. This is madness, I would never cheat on you, you know that!”

“No I don’t, Emerald! Stop saying that! I don’t know what you lie to me about anymore. You do it all the time, I’m sure. Is this the first time you’ve kissed somepony else since we’ve been together? Or are there more victims of your infidelity?” She asked, tears in her eyes.

Emerald was slow to answer, only because he was in shock at how fast this escaladed. It got out of hand too quickly, like it was…staged…”No, I swear by my father’s grave that I have never cheated on you, not with Rainbow Dash, or anypony else. Why won’t you believe me? Just because you’ve known her all your life doesn’t mean she’s never lied to you or anypony about something. Everypony does.”

“There you go again, calling her a liar. She’s never lied to me. But you have. I’m sorry, but I just don’t believe you, Emerald. You…you…” She started crying, hard. “You’ve broken my heart!” She hurried out of the room, going into the kitchen.

Emerald’s heart was broken too, at that moment. The first time he’d made her cry like that in a long time. And once again, it was not his fault. He glared at Rainbow Dash. “What the hell is wrong with you? Telling them something like that? I know you like me and you’re jealous of what me and Fluttershy have, but lying to your friends, manipulating their emotions to get me and Fluttershy to leave each other? That’s just evil. We have two little foals coming, and all you can think about is you!” He pointed an accusatory hoof at her, causing her to draw back in surprise. “It’s not right to lie to others, especially if it’s only to benefit yourself. And look what you’ve done, you’ve managed to make my only love hate me! You are selfish, manipulative, and a liar! And it’s ponies like you that deserve to be alone!” Those last words hit home. He knew this because Rainbow Dash burst into tears, flying back into the kitchen with Fluttershy.

A quick glance around revealed that nopony was on his side still, just by seeing their facial expressions. Applejack stepped up to him. “I know its bin’ a bit rough the past few months fer’ ya, but blamin’ other ponies for your insubordination is jus’ wrong. You should be ashamed of yerself.”

“But…but…” He stuttered.

Applejack shook her head and left him standing there. Within a few minutes, the room had cleared, as everypony had left. Fluttershy and the others went Celestia knows where, and it was now only Emerald, left in solitude. The lights had been turned off, leaving him in the dark to cry his pain away.

He abandoned Sugarcube corner an hour later, his face moist from all the tears he’d shed while sobbing in misery. He didn’t know what was going on, but it sure felt like he was going to lose Fluttershy. He walked all the way to the outskirts of town, near the Everfree forest. The spot he made his way to was the very first picnic he and Fluttershy ever shared. It was not far from the river, as Fluttershy liked to come here with Discord on occasions so they could discuss new problems he was having. She’d eventually made this her and Emeralds spot, due to its isolation. And its beauty. There was a small bridge over the river, and Emerald decided to just stay here for a while. Maybe he could think of a way to convince Fluttershy that he was telling the truth. And that would mean proving that Rainbow Dash was lying.

But why did she lie, anyway? What did she hope to achieve by lying to her own friends? Jealousy is a cruel mistress, but not cruel enough to warrant the use of manipulation, especially of one’s own friends. If she wanted Emerald, lying and getting everypony mad was not the best plan of action. Was she deliberately trying to destroy their relationship? Was her motive, if she couldn’t have him, nopony could? Did she have something far more sinister in mind? He rubbed the side of his head, wincing. He was getting a headache from all this. He just needed to let Fluttershy calm down, go to her, and explain things a little more in detail. But what was that feeling he’d gotten just seconds before Rainbow lied? For some odd reason, he remembered his eyes being drawn to her stone draped around her neck.

Out of curiosity, he held his up to the light of the moon…and gasped.

The inscriptions that were engraved into the stone were glowing a vivid green. “What the hell…?” On top of that, the stone felt…warm. Things were getting weird, he thought. Maybe it was time to get serious about these innocent little rocks. He turned and headed back to Fluttershy’s cottage, hoping that she would be there and willing to listen to him.

“So, you expect me to believe rocks are to blame for all this? That’s low even for you, Emerald.” Fluttershy said, folding her arms. Emerald had gone back to find her crying on the couch, and he’d somehow convinced her to let him explain himself, which now didn’t seem to be going as well as he’d imagined.

“Fluttershy, please. I’m not lying to you. Look, you see that yours is glowing as well, correct? So there’s evidence that I’m not lying right there.” He said, pointing at hers.

She looked down at it, grabbing it gently and holding it up for a better view. “Even so, how are these responsible for you kissing Rainbow Dash? Are you trying to blame something else again, instead of just admitting the truth to me? I would forgive you if you’d just tell the truth.”

He sighed in frustration. “I’m not talking about that, I’m talking about how she lied at the party. That’s not what happened, and she knew that. She admitted to me the other day that she was jealous of you and me, and that she was just letting off some steam she’d been building up since you and I got together. I think these stones had something to do with it, though. I just feel it.”

Fluttershy was clearly losing patience with him. “Emerald, how can these be in any way responsible for that? Even if she was lying, how in Equestria could they make her do it?”

“I’m not saying they made her lie, I’m saying maybe they had a hoof in it. Can’t you see? These things are bad news. But for some reason, I don’t want to get rid of mine.” He said, feeling ashamed.

“Okay, well neither do I. And blaming your mistake on them and Rainbow Dash is just too much for me to handle right now. Why can’t you just tell the truth?”

“Because it is the truth!” He yelled, louder than he intended. Fluttershy was alarmed by his anger. “I mean…I’m trying to tell you that I’m not lying to you. I haven’t been. But for some reason, you won’t believe me. I have this feeling that these stones are the culprits. But I don’t know why…or how. But please…you have to believe me. What do I have to lose?”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “Um…everything? You said it before…I’m everything you’ve got. So if you actually meant that, maybe you should tell me the truth and stop playing games. And blaming inanimate objects for what you’ve done.”

Her coldness was abnormal. Emerald could sense that something was definitely fishy about these stones. “Okay, that’s what I’m trying to do, but every time I offer up my explanation, you bite my head off about how I’m lying. If you’d just consider for a moment that maybe I’m not lying, but that maybe there’s more behind these stones than we see. Maybe – “

“Would you stop with these stones!” She shouted, making it Emeralds turn to be surprised. She’d never raised her voice, not at him or anypony. “I’m not buying that some silly stones are what’s causing all this, except maybe that they’re your excuse for everything lately. If you want me, fine. But you aren’t going to lie to me ever again. If you don’t love me, than…just…leave. Because my heart can’t take anymore.” She stood up, leaving him sitting there with a muddled look on his face. “You can sleep down here tonight. I need to think.” Then she went up the stairs without another word.

Emerald buried his face in his hooves and started crying. “What’s going on…? Why is this happening to me?” He murmured, sniffling constantly. Wiping away his tears, he lay back on the couch and closed his eyes. He didn’t fall asleep that night, but instead formulated a way to prove that these stones were the cause behind all this trouble. He would do that the next day. For now, he would wallow in self-pity, as he’d done many times before.

Part II: Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Believe

Breakfast the next morning was cold and quiet.

Fluttershy made her own breakfast, leaving Emerald to his own. She’d also been silent the whole morning, which concerned Emerald, who had hoped she’d forgiven him, or at least let him off with a warning.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. They sat across from each other at the table, only the sounds of their eating audible besides the birds chirping outside.

Nearly done with his food, he pushed the plate away and sighed deeply. “Fluttershy, you can’t keep this silence up. Sooner or later you’re just going to have to either believe me or hate me, whether you want to or not. I’m not guilty, and I know that. Convincing you didn’t work, so now it’s really just up to you.”

She stopped chewing and swallowed, closing her eyes. “I know. I’m just so disappointed in you.”

Emerald rested his head on his hoof, putting that arm’s elbow on the table. “Seriously, you have to let this go. I can’t begin to describe how pointless yesterday’s events were. How immature ponies acted, and how it literally got us nowhere. I’m sorry, but I didn’t do anything, and I refuse to be held accountable for anything. Except maybe holding back information, of which you would have found out anyway, despite Rainbow Dash’s twisted story.”

“I don’t want to believe her, Emerald, but your story just seems…like it was fabricated to save yourself. It sounds like you have more to tell about this incident,” Fluttershy said quietly, putting her fork on her plate.

“What needed to be said has been said, Fluttershy,” Emerald said flatly. “Enough of this nonsense, please. I love you, I want you, and I need you. Only you. Nopony else – you got that?” He reached across the table and took her hooves, but she didn’t look up at him, she just stared at her plate with a morose look on her face. Emerald could see that he was not getting the point across. “Okay, what do I have to do, huh?”

She finally glanced up at him, her expression unchanged. “What do you mean?

“Exactly what it says. What can I do to prove I love you and only you? What do I have to do to prove I’m worthy of your love? I’ll do anything, just name it,” he said, growing anxious. This was his last resort. If she didn’t want him to prove his love, or didn’t know what to have him do, he would be at a loss.

She sighed, seeing that there was no way out. “I can think of only one thing.”

Emerald leaned forward with interest. “Yes? What is it? Name it.”

She hesitated. “Tell me the truth. About what happened at the Wonderbolts show. I don’t want to hear any lies, Emerald. Just tell me and we can move on. I promise I’ll forgive you.”

Emerald dropped his head in disappointment. “Of course…but remember - you asked.”

She nodded. “Okay. I’m listening.”

Emerald took a deep breath. “What happened is exactly what I’ve been telling you happened. I’m not changing my story. I’m sorry, but I won’t lie to make you feel like I’m telling the truth, Fluttershy. You’re just going to have to pick. Me, or Rainbow Dash. Who do you believe?”

Fluttershy sighed sadly and closed her eyes. “I knew you were going to say that…but, I’m sorry. Rainbow Dash has never lied to me, and I don’t see any reason for her to start now.” She stood up from the table, her chair sliding across the floor as she pushed it out, making a low-pitched screeching noise. “I’ll be upstairs crying if you need me.” She turned and trudged up the stairs and out of site.

Emerald buried his hooves in his arms and sobbed softly.

Later that day, Emerald was downtown, walking around and thinking again of what he could do to save his relationship.

He knew, back when he’d first begun this journey called love, that there was hurt along the way. But he wasn’t expecting something like this. This wasn’t hurt – it was straight heartbreak. He loved Fluttershy, with a fiery passion, but he was still losing her. He was losing her to this petty lie from somepony he thought he could trust. Rainbow Dash must have let her jealously get the best of her.

Or was it the stones? He held the stone up to his face, at eye level. It looked innocent, but was still glowing like the night before.

Could it be that these stones were the culprit? The reason he everypony was acting so strange? Were they somehow linked to the outlandish attitudes and emotions that were running rampant through his friends?

Really, so far, it was only Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy that were so out of line, but he still had a hunch that the others weren’t far behind. However, he determined that bringing up this situation with anyone of them probably wouldn’t do him any harm, considering what had already happened.

Applejack was always willing to listen to a pony in need, and offered bluntly honest opinions and advice. So, he turned away from town and in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. It was there that he hoped he could get some valuable insight from a pony who hadn’t done him any wrong yet.

When he got there, Applejack and Big Mac were outside in the orchard, gathering apples, of course. Emerald approached Applejack from the side as she headed toward the barn with a bushel of apples on her back. “Hey, Applejack? Can I please talk to you? If you’re not too busy?"

She stopped and sighed, looking down at the ground in front of her. “I figured you’d be comin’ here sometime. Yeah, gimme a moment to put these apples up. Wait fer me out here.”

Emerald stood there and glanced around at the farm and orchard as he waited for her to return. They were clearing out the apples again, getting ready for some kind of country folk contest coming up in Appleloosa, he presumed. Applejack and her family were always participating in some crazy contest or event, sponsored and held by the Apple family.

Applejack came back, passing him and jerking her head in a way that said, “Follow me”.

They began walking through the rows of trees in the orchard, side by side.

“So, what’s on yer mind? If I don’t already know, that is,” she asked, chewing a piece of hay in her mouth.

Emerald lowered his head. “Same thing that’s always on my mind – Fluttershy,” he replied, with unmistakable solemnity.

Applejack nodded. “Mmhm…just as I suspected. Feelin’ guilty?

Emerald was appalled. “No! I feel…lost. I can’t think, not without thoughts of her running through and trampling anything else on my mind. I want her to believe me, that I wouldn’t do something like that to her. I couldn’t cheat on her. But she won’t believe me…”

They turned onto another path. “Obviously she don’t believe ya, but I’m not gonna say everypony else doesn’t,” Applejack told him.

Emerald’s ears, which were folded previously, perked up as he did. “What do you mean? Are you saying…you believe me?”

Applejack sighed heavily. “I’m not sayin’ I believe either of ya. Rainbow Dash does seem like the pony to act out of jealousy, but you also been a liar yerself…I’m not sure who to believe, honestly.”

“But if it came down to choice, you’d believe me, right? I mean, Fluttershy is having our foals. Would anypony abandon their own kin over something so – irrefutably insignificant? Like Rainbow Dash is so much better than Fluttershy…She can’t even understand the love that me and Fluttershy share,” he pouted again. “Or at least, did share…”

“Darlin’, it’s not that Fluttershy doesn’t love ya anymore. She told us last night she still loves ya so much…but she can’t deal with stuff like this. Her feelin’s are easily hurt, ya oughta know that by now. Anything that even seems like it’s against her makes her cry. I’ve seen it too many times,” Applejack explained, leading him onto another path.

Emerald shook his head, trying to rid himself of the miserable sorrow that was attempting to overtake him. “But it’s not like that. I wouldn’t do anything on purpose to hurt her. In fact, usually, when she cries, I cry. Be honest, Applejack, do you really believe that I would hurt her like this intentionally?”

She shrugged. “I already done told ya, can’t pick one 'cuz I don’t want to think either of ya are lyin’.”

Emerald turned away, unsure what to say next, when he remembered the stones. “These stones,” he held his up for her to see, “you think they might have something to do with all this? I mean, think about it. All this drama didn’t start until after I found these stones. And ever since everypony put theirs on their body, things have gotten worse.”

She stopped in the middle of the path, deep in thought, prompting Emerald to stop as well. “I know what you mean, but there’s jus’ not enough evidence to really blame it all on ‘em. If it were the stones, why ain’t you, Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, and I actin’ up?”

“That’s a good point, but maybe they just haven’t affected us yet…?” He suggested as they continued walking again.

“It seems like that might be the case. I suggest ya talk to Twilight. Maybe she’ll have an answer. She does go to the Castle of the Two Sisters pretty often. Maybe there’s a book there that’ll have an answer fer ya,” Applejack suggested, leading him onto a path that led back to the farm.

He nodded. “Yeah, that seems like a reasonable idea.” But then he thought of Fluttershy not wanting to talk to him. “What about Fluttershy? I really want her to stop crying, it hurts me so bad to hear and see it…do you think you could talk to her? Tell her that you agree with me about these stones?”

She hesitated before answering, “Yeah, I’ll help ya out. Only cuz I think ya deserve it, seein’ how much Fluttershy means to ya. I’ll go talk to her now, you go see Twilight, ya hear?”

Emerald collapsed on his face at her hooves, kissing them repeatedly, and saying, “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you…”

Applejack stepped out of his reach. “Stop that, no need fer it. I’m jus’ a friend helpin’ a friend. Go on, now, shoo.”

Emerald hopped up and scrambled away to Twilight’s castle, hoping that she’d be able to help him out. It was a reach, knowing how Twilight had already admitted not knowing anything about the stones, but maybe the Castle of the Two Sisters contained the knowledge he sought.

Luckily for him, Twilight was not at the castle, but heading down the path to the farm.

“Emerald?” She asked, surprised to see him. “Why are you here at the Apple farm?”

Emerald put his hooves on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes, frantic. “We must go to the Castle of the Two Sisters. I believe we might find out more about these innocent little stones that seem, to me, to be causing so much trouble.”

“And I’m goin’ to talk with Fluttershy,” Applejack called out from behind Emerald as she approached him and Twilight. “Maybe I can convince her to have an open mind about these stones.”

“I see,” Twilight replied, looking back and forth at the two of them. “In that case, we should go now, because it’s not a short trip. I was going to stop by here for a bit to talk to Applejack about something, but since the castle is pretty far into the forest, we need to be there and back before sundown.”

“I can imagine. But I’d walk a thousand miles for Fluttershy. I’m not doing this for myself – I’m doing it for her,” Emerald said, feeling a pang of grief as he thought of Fluttershy at home, still upstairs and crying, most likely.

“Alright, let’s go.” Twilight turned and flew off with Emerald not far behind.

“Oh, I hope this helps…” He said out loud to himself.

Part II: Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Surprise

Twilight and Emerald flew quickly to the Castle of the Two Sisters, deep in the Everfree forest. By the time they’d gotten there, it was already late afternoon, approaching evening hours.

Twilight led Emerald through the hallways to the library, which itself seemed to take forever. He’d never been to the castle before, so all this was new to him. He was expecting the castle to be big, but not this. Is was deceptively large, as the outside did not do it justice. It seemed like some halls and staircases would go on forever.

Finally, they entered a very large room with a high ceiling. It had shelf-after-shelf along its walls filled with books.

“Well,” Twilight said with a cough. “This is it. The library of the Two Sisters.”

Emerald gawked at the huge number of books. “Um…not trying to sound negative, but I’m almost sure that we won’t be able to find anything in one visit here. I mean, there must be over a million books here, and any one of them could contain knowledge of these stones.”

“That’s not a good attitude, Emerald. You said earlier that you’d walk a thousand miles for Fluttershy, so can’t you go through a million books for her?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

Emerald sighed and lowered his head. “Yeah, I did say that.” He looked back up at all the books. “Okay, let’s do this.”

Emerald started on one side of the library, while Twilight started on the opposite side, across from him.

“What exactly should I be looking for?” Emerald asked, pulling each and every book off the shelf and flipping through the pages.

Twilight was going through books about twice the rate he was, only because she was using her horn to assist herself getting books down and going through the pages, although, unlike Emerald, she was being selective. “Anything about history of the Everfree forest, history of magical artifacts, and anything to do with stones.”

“Seems easy enough. Still, there are tons of books under those subjects, how are we ever to find something before nightfall?” Emerald’s diffidence was beginning to pester Twilight.

Twilight sighed heavily, with a bit of attitude mingled within. “Emerald, have some patience. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to be in here searching through many of these books to find something we needed. Just keep looking. Do it for Fluttershy.”

“I know,” he said with humility. “But what if I’m doing all this in vain? What if…what if…” His voice trailed off as the horrible thought took him hostage.

“What if…?” Twilight asked, encouraging him to continue.

Emerald turned around with a book open in his hooves, a look of concern on his face. “What if she doesn’t want me anymore?” he asked poignantly.

Twilight closed a book she was going through and stuck it back on the shelf, turning to him. “Don’t be ridiculous, Emerald. You’re all she ever talks about anymore, even recently. She loves you more than you know. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and do what it takes to fix this, okay? I’m here to help you.”

Emerald sniffled. “Okay, yeah…thanks Twilight.”

“No problem,” she replied, returning to the books.

Emerald went back to his shelf as well. “So, you guys aren’t mad at me for yesterday?” he asked. “I mean, you didn’t look too happy when Rainbow Dash said what she said…”

Twilight moved down to the next shelf, taking the ladder with her. “Obviously we aren’t happy about any of this. But I think I might believe you more than Rainbow Dash right now. She did admit to me one time that she liked you.”

Emerald stopped cold. “Wait – you knew that she liked me this whole time? And never bothered to say anything? What about yesterday, when Rainbow pulled that crap at the party? Did you know about it then?”

Twilight sighed. “I’ve known about it since shortly after you and Fluttershy started dating,” she admitted. “But at the moment, I actually believed you made a move on her. Now I realize that she may just be very jealous.”

“This is nuts,” Emerald said with disbelief. “This whole time, the princess of friendship knew that Rainbow Dash was secretly jealous of me and Fluttershy and had no intention of telling me. Why?”

Twilight scratched the back of her head nervously. “Well, at the time, I didn’t think it was relevant. She didn’t act anything like yesterday, so I figured you and Fluttershy were better off not knowing about it.”

“And that turned out so well, didn’t it?” Emerald said in an accusatory tone, putting his hooves on his hips.

“Okay, I get it, I should have told you, but honestly, I didn’t for the best of reasons. It would have caused problems in a time that had plenty already,” she said, making a valid point.

Emerald gave up, nodding and turning back to the bookshelf. “Sorry I just lashed out at you like that. I’m just so stressed out right now.”

Twilight hummed her understanding. “It’s okay. We should really get going on these books, though. It’s getting darker out, and once the sun goes down, we have to leave.”

Emerald nodded, even though she wasn’t facing him to see it. “I know.” He went back to the task at hoof. After a few moments of silence, only the sounds of books being reshelved and flipped through, Emerald came across an article in a book named, “Everfree Myths and Legends”.

“Hey Twi, I found something,” he called her over. Within seconds, she was at his side, looking at the book over his shoulder.

“Let’s see,” she said.

Emerald cleared his throat and began reading the paragraph that was the article. “The story of the Elements of Disharmony has been passed down for generations, remaining little more than a sentence or two about stones that can ‘alter the world’. The truth behind these stones is that they are not Elements of Disharmony, but rather tools for powerful unicorns to use to their advantage. The stones were fabricated from opaque smoky quartz, since quartz is known for being very useful in magic. The first recorded use of the stones was over two thousand years ago, in early Equestria. The stones were left alone, buried in the Everfree forest for centuries, until a young unicorn mage found them, using them to control the most powerful and influential ponies in the society. He was too young, however, to be successful, and was soon apprehended. The townsfolk buried the stones in a chest in the Everfree forest, content that they would never be found again. The stones are used to control the host, and tend to cause the host to become emotionally attached to them. They can change shape to resemble important objects in the host’s life. Once the stones are on the host(s), only the wearer can remove them. Only the pony in control of the stones can manipulate the host(s) with his or her magic. Once the host(s) have been ultimately controlled, having no conscious control of their bodies, they are completely at the mercy of the controller…” Emerald gasped and clutched his stone. He stared down at it, watching it glow its eerie green color. After a few moments hesitation, he tore the necklace off and tossed it on the floor with a grunt.

Twilight backed away, looking down at the stone on the floor. “You shouldn’t have taken that off,” she said mysteriously.

“What?” Emerald asked fearfully. “You need to take that off, Twilight. You need to take that off now.”

Twilight smirked devilishly. “It’s too bad you found that book Emerald. Otherwise, we could have kept you around.”

Emerald’s heart sank. “Oh…oh, no…you’re…you’re under control, aren’t you? You're being controlled!”

Twilight’s eyes were glowing the same green color as the stone on the floor and the one she was wearing. “Good job, you’re smarter than you look. But now you know too much, so I can’t let you leave this castle. At least, not alive.”

Emerald spun around and flew towards the doorway, but he was caught by Twilight in a magic bond. She pulled him back over in front of her, keeping him contained in a bubble of energy. “Let me go, Twilight!” he yelled.

Twilight laughed vilely. “I’m afraid that’s not going to happen. I need my plan to go on without interruption, and that is all you will be, now that you have removed your stone.” She pulled a book out of a shelf nearby, causing the bookcase to slide over, revealing a room with iron bars for a door, much like a dungeon cell. She tossed him inside and slammed the door before he could get out. “Don’t go anywhere.”

“What are you planning on? Who are you?” Emerald demanded, gripping the bars with his hooves.

“Ha!” she gave a mocking laugh. “If only you knew. Haven’t you learned anything since you encountered Black Flame? It’s no coincidence that you found that chest, fool. Nothing happens by chance. Black Flame knew you were moving to Ponyville, but you didn’t know until he was already here. This time, you didn’t know these stones are simply amulets to control the hosts. And now, once again, it’s too late.”

“What in Equestria are you talking about? Twilight, the real you is in there! Fight it! Fight the controller!” Emerald tried to get ahold of Twilight, but it was useless.

“She cannot even hear you, she is unconscious within my control, you fool. All your friends are under my control, and I’ve been turning them against you little by little. And once I get the others together, I will use the power of the Elements of Harmony to destroy all of the princesses, and use your power to control Equestria!” Twilight threw back her head and laughed maniacally.

“It’ll never work! They will defeat you, whoever you are! You have no idea who you’re messing with! They’ll – “

“Oh, save it!” Twilight, or more appropriately, the controller, snapped. “They’ve been playing you the whole time! The moment they put the stones on, they were under my control. They just didn’t know it.”

Emerald shook the bars, trying to be intimidating, although he was sure it wasn’t working. “Let me out of here! You’ll be sorry for this!” But then a thought came to mind. “How did you know when everypony had their stones on? And why didn’t I get controlled?”

Twilight turned away, looking up at the windows. “I’ve had a few of my minions around, watching you. Believe me, they were right in your face the whole time,” she said. “As for you, the plan was to control you, but I was having trouble, for some odd reason. But it is irrelevant now, you are out of the way, and that is all I need! My plan can be carried out without any interruption!” She spun around and flew out of the library and down the hall to leave.

"Hey! Come back here and let me out! Twilight!” Emerald hollered after her, but it was no use. She was gone. He collapsed on the floor, sobbing. “I can’t believe this is happening…”

It wasn’t long before he’d gotten tired of sitting there. It’d grown dark, with only the light of the gibbous moon filtering through the skylights in the library. Alone, scared, and now hungry and thirsty, he started shaking and kicking the bars, trying to get out. The inside of the cell was devoid of any relief – it was just a large, empty cube. The only way he was getting out was through the bars, but they were much too thick for him to break, and with each kick he delivered, he grew ever weaker.

“I need a way out!” he screamed, listening to it echo a few times before plopping down on the concrete floor, giving up. He thought about his friends, being controlled like puppets by this malevolent being, whoever they were. Then he thought of Fluttershy…

That was enough to get him on his hooves again. His friends, his future wife, his children were out there, in danger. And he was in here, using this as excuse to give up.

He walked around the cell once again, looking for anything that might help him out. Near the far right corner of the cell, the bars were loose where the concrete was cracked. It was possible that if he kicked it enough, it would give out and he could bend the bars out to escape.

But his hooves were sore from all the bucking earlier. This didn’t stop him, though. He clenched his teeth and kicked repeatedly, ignoring the searing pain from kicking the metal bars. Suddenly, he heard a loud crack, and a chunk of concrete fell off, revealing much of the bars alone the corner, and making them easy to push out. He made just enough space and slipped through.

“Alright, time to stop this before it goes too far.”

Chapter 1(Revised)

Part I: The Pursuit

Chapter 1

Emerald Shield fled the apartment he and his father had shared for the past eight years.

He took one last glance into the place that held so many memories. Tears stung his eyes as those memories, both joyful and sorrowful, flooded his mind. Instead of shutting the door to leave, he went back in, to have a moment of silence.

This was the living room. The very room where his ex-prince father, Sapphire Shield, died unexpectedly from an accidental ingestion of a poisonous plant seed. The emotions Emerald battled with so often won him over, and he allowed the tears to flow as he remembered the visit to the coroner’s office.

“It was an accident,” they’d explained to Emerald, who, at the time, had no intention on believing. The sorrow had put him into spiraling depression, and he’d soon sought the help from therapy. This wasn’t so long ago, just a few months, but he was getting better. He wiped the tears from his eyes, telling himself that he needed to be strong. For Sapphire, and for himself. He turned to the door and slowly carried himself out.

As he dropped the key off with the landlord, he bid him a farewell. The earth pony had understood what Emerald was going through, and so had no problem with his choice to relocate, although he still made him an offer to keep Emerald around. "You sure you want to leave? I mean, maybe I could lower the rent..."

Emerald sighed heavily. "Sorry, but I do. It's for the best. My dad would want me to move on..." Once again, memories tried to force their way into his mind, seemingly trying to distract him. No, Emerald told himself. This is for the best…

Finally taking a step outside, he scanned the area nervously, being extra cautious after the recent incident. He shot his damaged left wing a knowing glimpse. In light of a recent attack, an attempt to take his life, he wasn’t taking any more chances. An old school friend, Black Flame, was the culprit. Emerald cringed at the thought of having ever associated with such a monster.

Black Flame and Emerald had met as colts in school, and had easily became friends. In fact, Black was his only friend. Ever. They’d become friends so easily due to the very fact that they had both been bullied in school. Emerald lacked a cutie mark, and Black was a mixed breed, as he was both Pegasus and unicorn. Although he wasn't an Alicorn - his horn was limited on capabilities - Black had still been called "Princess" by the very same bullies that Emerald had faced.

After Black and Emerald had left school, their friendship had hit a barrier. Black Flame was a criminal, and Emerald was not. The friendship had taken a violent turn, resulting in Emerald being a target ever since. And he had reason to believe Black was responsible for his father’s death as well. Emerald's sadness made way for anger and regret. If only I’d been there when my father needed me…

It was typical for Emerald to blame himself. But that was about to change. After coming up with a well-considered plan, he was going to carry it out. Ponyville was his destination, and nopony here needed or wanted to care. And he was okay with that.

As he made his way down the still-dim streets of Manehattan, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss. This was his home, his birthplace, the only place he’d ever known.

A bus carriage sailed past him down the road, splashing up a puddle from a recent rain onto his pure white coat. He sighed unhappily and stopped to wipe it off. At least his ebony mane and tail didn’t get dirty nearly as easily. Seeing his flank, he couldn’t help but notice the void where a cutie mark should be.

Dolefulness quickly changed to determination. He would get his cutie mark. No doubt about it. And as he turned and continued on to the bus stop, his pride resurfaced, and he felt a brand new commitment to his life-changing decision.

"Would you mind helping me, Spike?" Twilight Sparkle asked her dragon friend.

He sighed heavily from his bed. "With what? It's seven in the morning!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "You got up at six yesterday for the food parade downtown."

"Oh yeah," Spike remembered. "But still - for what?"

It was Twilight's turn to sigh now. "Spike, I already told you," She began reorganizing books on her shelf. "There's gonna be a sleepover tonight. All of our friends."

Spike groaned. "Oh no..."

"Cut it out and help me. We've got to hide all my breakables. I'm expecting a wild night."

"Can I sleep for five more minutes?" Spike pleaded.

"How can you sleep for five more minutes?"

Spike rolled over and pulled his blanket over his head. "Easy. I'll show you."

A sharp knock came from the front door.

"For crying out loud!" Spike complained, throwing his covers back.

"I wonder who that could be this early in the morning," Twilight wondered and went to find out.

When she opened the door, Pinkie Pie stood eye to eye with her holding her blanket and pillow.

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. "Pinkie Pie, the sleepover isn't until tonight. It's barely eight in the morning."

Pinkie Pie smiled. "I know. I had to get a head start, ya know? On the competition."

"There is no competition, Pinkie Pie. Just me and Spike."

"Of course there is!" she exclaimed. "The pillow fight!"

"No, no pillow fights - hopefully," Twilight said, her pupils growing small as she remembered the last pillow fight she'd encountered.

"Well," Pinkie Pie started, "I gotta hunker down." She tried to come in.

"Oh no you don't," Twilight stopped her. "I've got a lot of cleaning to do."

"Awwww, come on!" Pinkie whined. "You're killing me."

"Can you keep it down?" Rainbow Dash called down from her cloud. "I'm trying to sleep!"

"Seconded!" Spike called out.

Twilight frowned.

"I'll be back," Pinkie Pie warned her. Then she took off.

"Already," Twilight grumbled and slammed her door shut.

The train barreled into the station right on schedule. Emerald was fascinated with the way the town looked so simple and small. It was the only city or town outside Manehattan he'd ever seen.

"Everypony, we've arrived at Ponyville. Please find the nearest exit to leave, take all your belongings, and enjoy your stay in Ponyville. Thanks for using Equestria Rails," the conductor said over the intercom.

Emerald got his only bag and got off the train. Ponyville was beautiful. It even smelled better than Manehattan. He couldn't help but smile as he left the station to go find a place to stay.

Today, he would start again.

Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"So, he said it's called the what now?" Twilight asked, looking through her book of amulets and power stones. Emerald and Fluttershy stood nearby, watching her as she flipped through the pages.

"He called it the Stone of Magic Chaos. I guess it supposed to be a secret. He claimed it gave him the power of a thousand Alicorns, which is kind of disturbing if it's true. I personally hope it isn't."

"It can't be. Such a stone must've been known by plenty of ponies." Fluttershy suggested.

"I'm not seeing it. And if he's telling the truth and he is more powerful than a thousand Alicorns, we'd be in grave danger. Princess Celestia must be informed. This could end up being a potentially dangerous situation." Twilight slammed the book shut and put it back on the shelf with her magic. "Where is he – I mean where are they right now?"

Emerald shrugged. "I last seen them down at the park. They could've followed me and Flutters here, but I'm sure they didn't. I took off pretty fast."

Twilight shook her head. "This can't get any worse. I thought you said he was leaving?"

Emerald threw his hooves up. "I thought he said he was going to leave. I guess not."

"Okay, you said he had Trixie with him?" Twilight asked, leading them downstairs to leave.

"Yes, if that's who that blue pony was." Emerald answered. They all went out the front door and followed her as she went down the street toward Sweet Apple Acres. The streets were still eerily calm and empty.

"Yes, it was." Fluttershy confirmed.

"That's not good at all. It means double trouble for us now. How'd he meet her anyway? I'm curious about this whole thing now. We need answers." Twilight got in a stance to fly. "We'll get to Applejack's faster if we fly." Then she flew off, with Emerald and Fluttershy right behind her.

"Guys, guys!" Rainbow Dash glided up to them, her voice urgent.

"What's the matter, Rainbow?" Twilight asked her, returning the urgency.

Rainbow Dash was panting and answering between breaths. "There's two ponies…one's Trixie…they're at the park…destroying everything…they just shot…like ten ponies…and killed them…in a big blast…"

"WHAT?!" They all yelled. It startled Rainbow Dash.

"It's Black Flame, for sure. He's probably looking for me. Killing everypony until he finds me." Emerald said. They all began flying toward Applejack's farm. They heard screams of terror from the direction of the park.

"This is horrible! We have to stop him! He'll kill everypony in Ponyville looking for you!" Twilight said in anger.

"Well what do you want me to do, turn myself in? Twilight, he wants to fight me, to kill me. I'm going to avoid him as best I can. I don't have any ideas as to what we can do yet, but I'm trying to think, so just have patience." Emerald replied.

"I wasn't implying that you should just give yourself up to him, but maybe a confrontation between the two of you wouldn't be so bad. Maybe you can convince him to calm down."

Emerald snorted. "That would be a waste of time. Once he's made up his mind, there's no going back. Not for anypony or anything. Plus now he's got a partner."

"Oh, he's that aggressive, huh? Darn. I guess we just wait until Princess Celestia responds to my letter. She doesn't know about this Stone of Magic Chaos. I'll have to tell her what you told me Black Flame said about it being so powerful." Twilight turned a little to correct her course, and the rest of them followed.

Fluttershy flew closer to Emerald to whisper something in his ear. He leaned in to hear better. "I don't hear the screaming anymore." She took note of.

Emerald nodded, realizing that she was right. He flew up closer to Twilight and Rainbow Dash. "Hey, it got quiet. I wonder if – "

A blast of purple fire sent him sailing toward the ground.

"Emerald!" Fluttershy shouted in worry.

They all stopped and flew down toward him, where he lay on the ground. They landed and Fluttershy ran over to him, lifting him up to see if he was okay.

His eyes were going around in circles but he moaned an, "I'm okay." She let him stand on his own and rub his head. "What was that?" He asked, looking around.

"It was some sort of ball of fire." Rainbow Dash said, giving the area a scan as well.

Emerald froze. "A…ball of…fire?" He stammered. "That means…" He looked over in the direction in which the assault came from. There was Black Flame and Trixie coming up over the rooftops. Black had Trixie in his arms as he flew up and landed near the group of friends as they watched in horror. Black Flame just grinned back at them, smug and entertained.

"So, you thought you could just fly off and I wouldn't find you? Ha! You could only hope for such luck." He glanced around at Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Twilight. "And it seems you brought me an audience – or my form of bribery."

Emerald walked up to Black and glared at him. "No, they have nothing to do with this. Just leave them out of it."

"I want you, so yes, you're right on one thing. But as to your request to leave them out of it – sorry, I'll have to decline you're generous offer." He paused. "Unless of course you're willing to just let me destroy you right now."

Emeralds stare grew harder. "What is the point of all this, Black? What are you trying to gain?"

Black took a step forward, making Emerald draw back his head. "I want you out of the way, so I can take care of all your little friends, then the princesses, and me and my lovely lady Trixie can rule over all of Equestria as we rightfully deserve."

"You know, I don't believe you want to just kill me. Because you would have already done it." Emerald pointed out. That made Black give a nasty frown. His eye twitched.

After a lengthy hesitation complete with the earlier frown, he replied, "Yes, this is true. And the reason is because I've recently discovered that I cannot attack you quite yet." Black admitted unhappily.

Emerald looked back at his friends, who simply shrugged back at him. He looked back at Black. "What do you mean?"

Black shook his head. "You still don't know." He turned and walked over to Trixie, going around her to look back at the distant Everfree Forest. "It seems that I cannot just attack you because it wouldn't kill you, but your ability would surface, giving you your cutie mark, most likely. I can't allow that. Your ability is the only ability that even has the chance to stop me."

Emerald didn't understand. "What the hell are you talking about? What 'ability'?"

Black spun around. "Your power, you idiot! The power all the colts in your family acquired from your Great-Great-Great-Great-Great grandfather, Stone Shield. He was the King of what is now Manehattan back in the early days of Equestria. He somehow laced his genes with the power from the Stone, making all the colts in your family have the same power as anypony who wears the Stone. If I attack you, the power will activate, keeping you from death. But as science says, these genes may be a little different due to mutation, thus weaker, than your earlier descendants, making it very likely that I could just end you right now."

Emerald leaned forward and held his ground. "Noponys getting hurt. You just need to let this silly dream of yours go. You and your girlfriend. This is unrealistic and nopony's just going to let you take over Equestria without a fight."

Black turned around and trotted up into his face. "Does that include you?" He asked coldly.

Emerald looked back at his friends. At Fluttershy. He saw the fear in their eyes, the worry…

He turned back to Black. "Yes, me."

Black didn't move, but the corner of his mouth turned up in a slight smile, then he lashed out and struck Emerald under the chin with a punch lit with his now far more powerful black fire.

The three behind Emerald gasped as he flew up in the air a few feet and crashed to the ground with a heavy thud. Fluttershy went to go help him but Rainbow Dash and Twilight held her back.

"No, Fluttershy, it's too dangerous! Let Emerald handle it!"

"He's gonna kill him!" She cried, her tears flowing down her face in streams.

Emerald got back up, rubbing his chin. "That's it? You're just going to hit me?"

Black stepped forward and hit him again, this time in the face with a ball of powerful fire. Emerald sailed back into the side of a house. He stuck to it for a second, then fell to the ground, groaning with pain. Black Flame flew up and smashed him from above with his front hooves, both of them on fire. The blast left Emerald at the bottom of a several foot wide and deep hole.

Black landed on the edge and looked down at Emerald, who barely moved and looked about dead. "Come on, activate, you piece of crap!" He lit a ball of fire, and kept adding to it, nursing it to the size of a small carriage. Then he slammed it on Emerald, blowing the nearby house to bits and pushing Emerald deeper into the pit, making it twice as big.

"Nooooo!" Fluttershy sobbed as Twilight and Rainbow Dash held her back.

"This is getting out of hand. We need to stop him." Rainbow said, watching Black prepare an even bigger ball of energy.

Twilight nodded in agreement. "He's going to get killed by that. We need to distract Black. Get his attention. I'll get his attention, then you go get Emerald."

"No! I want to get him!" Fluttershy wiped her tears away, a determined look on her face.

"Okay, you get him. Get ready." Twilight shot a spear of magic at Black, hitting him and causing the powerful bomb of flames to explode in his hooves, throwing him back onto the ground.

"Oh, no you don't!" Trixie shouted and ran up behind them. She enveloped them in a ball of energy to keep them from running off.

"Stop!" Twilight yelled angrily. "This is wrong! You're just going to make us watch him kill our friend? How could you? I thought you were sorry for your behavior last time!"

Trixie laughed mockingly. "I'm surprised, you're not a stupid as you look. You used past tense – were. You're right. The Great and Powerful Trixie was sorry – until she met this handsome young stallion named Black. He showed the Great and Powerful Trixie that she could better you any day. And everypony else for that matter."

Black Flame roared from his place over on the ground. He jumped up and flew over to Trixie and the three friends. "You fools! Attacking me was the biggest mistake you ever made!" He looked at Trixie. "Release them, my dear."

Trixie nodded and let the bubble go. The friends fell on the ground in a heap. They looked up at Black as he stepped up to them. "It seems you think you can just attack me, without punishment. But I can assure you that there will be consequences. And as the new rightful King of Equestria, I think that is punishable by death."

They stood up, backing away from him slowly.

Emerald heard what was going on, but was far too weak to get up. He grew teary-eyed as he wished he could just get up and comfort his friends.

"I believe the first to receive justice should be…you." He pointed at Fluttershy. She drew back, hiding her face behind her mane. Twilight and Rainbow Dash got in front of her.

Black laughed uncontrollably. "Is this supposed to stop me?"

They said nothing, but didn't move.

Black Flame frowned. "Very well." He swept the two out of the way with his hoof, knocking them off to the side. He walked up to a trembling Fluttershy and ignited a ball of fire. "And so it begins." He socked her in the face with it, knocking her back onto the ground with a cry of pain.

Emerald heard it and clenched his teeth, yelling, "No! Leave her alone!" As loud as he could muster.

But Black ignored him. He made another fireball and hit Fluttershy again.

Emerald struggled to get out of the hole. He climbed all the way up to the edge and looked over at Black and Fluttershy. "Stop, or I'll make you!" He shouted weakly.

Black continued ignoring him. He lit yet another globe of energy and struck Fluttershy a third time. She flew a few feet away, but now her eyes were closed and she didn't move.

Emeralds heart sank. "No…" His anger skyrocketed and he leapt out of the hole. He charged at a startled Black, who didn't react in time to stop Emerald from smacking into him and knocking him into a nearby home, straight through the wall.

Emerald felt a tingling sensation, one that sent a shiver up his spine. He felt – stronger. Faster. Better. He peered back at his rump and gasped.

He was glowing.