The Incantation

I honestly don't even know why I wasted my time after the first two times I was rejected.

I was trotting on my way back to the cottage, defeated and utterly tired of all the trotting around town. The sun was nearly at the horizon, hovering just above, like it was hung there. The temperature had fallen slightly, making it actually cool outside, but pleasant. I might even run it by Fluttershy when I got home that we might go stargazing later that night.

What I was still having trouble getting a grip on, what still didn't make sense to me yet, was how eight times I was denied payment for the crown. Eight ponies rejected it, claiming it was evil. Maybe there was some truth behind what Discord had told me about how it was so evil he wouldn't touch it.

Only one pony offered me anything for it, though. I found some mystic who wanted it as a decoration, and was willing to pay me - get this - one bit for it.

Whoa.

So here I am, heading home for the day, with the crown still dragging me down. Maybe everypony was right - maybe I should just pitch it into the woods somewhere and be done with this charade.

I made my way across one of the two bridges I'd cross over to get to Fluttershy's cottage. There were hardly anypony around, I guess this time of day was when the streets began clearing as everypony went home for the day. I didn't blame them, especially if they had a day like mine.

As I trotted down the path, something started bothering me. I felt as if I was being followed.

I looked around from the corners of my eyes. Just for an instant, I caught somepony ducking behind a large barrel beside a nearby house.

My first thought was that it was one of my wonderful helpers watching me.

So I went over to the barrel to pay my protector a visit.

I hopped over to it, a grin on my face. "You're not very good at hiding, you know. I seen you go behind this barrel," I said, peeking behind it.

There was nothing.

"Okay..." I turned and stood still, scanning the area. "Something's not right..."

"Whatever gave you that idea?"

I spun around and found a pegasus stallion grinning strangely at me from the middle of the pathway. He had a silverish coat and dark gray mane, with the most eerie, piercing blue eyes I've ever seen. He wore a brown cloak that concealed most of his body.

"Who are you? Are you one of the people supposed to be watching me?" I asked cautiously.

He laughed. "What a great choice of words. As a matter of fact, I am supposed to be watching you - just, not for your benefit."

I took a step back, in the direction of the cottage. "Okay then...if you'll excuse me, I'll be going home now. I don't converse with, uh...with stalkers."

"Actually, you won't be going anywhere," the guy said darkly. "Not unless you give me that crown."

I snorted. "That's why you stalk me? For a silly crown? Don't you have anything better to do with your time?"

"You and I both know that's not a silly crown, Emerald Rain."

A shiver ran up my spine at the mention of my real name. I don't like this, I don't like it at all... "I don't think you need it. It's not safe."

He chuckled and took a step toward me. "You see - that's the best part. I don't need the crown, I'm just retrieving it for somepony else." He started walking around me in a circle. "You have quite the record, Emerald. And you're quite the thief."

I faced him constantly as he circled me. "So? What's that to you?"

"Why, it's everything. I like a guy who isn't afraid to take what's his. It's the way one should be, you know? Why doesn't everypony else take what's theirs as much as you do?"

"I don't take for selfish desire, I take - used to take - for money to survive," I scoffed.

"But you just never were the best liar." He stopped and smiled at me. "Emerald Mist? That's real funny. Not so subtle, but funny."

I felt my face grow hot. "Okay, so maybe I'm a bad liar, but what does any of this have to do with the crown?"

He resumed circling me as he replied. "You don't want to know, my friend. If I told you, I'd have to kill you," he said, pulling out a dagger that glimmered in the light of the sunset. "But I'm going to tell you - because I want to kill you."

My heart skipped a beat and I glanced around, searching for one of my friends. Where were they?

"Now - I would really appreciate if you would surrender the crown to me. It'd make my job so much easier." He took another step toward me.

"Shove it," I replied, looking for an escape route.

"Now, now...let's not stop cooperating now. You were doing so well," he said, then grinned cruelly.

In that moment, I flapped my wings as hard as I could, sending up a cloud of dirt and dust in his direction, and I flew off toward the cottage.

No more than a few seconds later, I felt a sharp pain strike my left hind leg. I glanced back to find the pony flying behind me, waving the dagger. A cut ran along the length of my leg, shallow, but bleeding nonetheless.

I banked hard toward the Everfree Forest, which was not a good place to be fighting, but I figured it'd be a good place to hide.

I felt a slash at my saddlebag, and I dropped altitude quickly to avoid him cutting me again. Unfortunately, he had the same idea, and almost impaled me from above, but my quick thinking saved me once more.

We finally came upon the forest, and the first thing I did was dive deep into the trees. The branches whipped and whacked me on the way in, but it was better than being hacked to death with a kitchen knife.

Behind me, I heard the guy following me through the trees, somehow keeping up.

This guy doesn't give up, does he? I thought as I reached the ground, panting. I wasted no time attempting to flee on hoof, though after a few moments, I realized I was just biding my time. So I hopped up and clambered to the top of a tree, spying for the cottage. When I spotted it, I went back down the the forest floor and resumed running from the dagger-wielding maniac.

Suddenly, the ground came rushing up and my face smacked into the mud. Hard.

I sat up, dazed, but otherwise okay.

And that's when he emerged from the nearby bushes, holding the dagger in my direction. "Tired yet?" he said with a smile.

I growled at him. "Leave me alone! You're not getting this crown!"

He laughed dryly. "Yeah, I'm fairly certain I will get that crown." He jumped on me with the dagger.

We collapsed on the ground, with him on top, attempting to plunge the blade into my chest. I held him back as best as I could, but he was stronger than me, and the blade slowly inched its way toward my heart.

With a quick jerk, I allowed the blade to come down, but I shoved it off to the side, so the thing sank deep into the soft Everfree soil. I kicked him off into the bushes in the moment of confusion, and broke into a panicked gallop towards the smoke rising in the distance from the cottage. I kept going until I came into a clearing: I was out of the forest.

I stopped and glanced back into the forest as I panted, but I didn't see the pony following me, so I made my way up the path to the cottage and hurried inside.

Fluttershy was standing in the living room, tending to a beaver with a hurt tail wrapped in bandages. When she heard me come in, she turned around and rushed toward me to greet me. "Oh, hey Emerald! I'm glad you're - " She paused mid-sentence and gasped, putting a hoof over her mouth. "Oh, dear..."

The little bastard thinks he can just run off? He thinks he can kick me and run off and be done with it? Steelwing cursed himself as he extracted his blade from the ground and flew off toward town. We shall see.

He flew into town, went to his motel, gathered his things, and headed to the train station. He had to end this game of cat and mouse.

He had to get Storm.