Emerald Chronicles

by Dandereshy

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."

Author's Note:

Edited for the second time...

Comments

[Fluffy-Boi]

Black Flame... I do not like you. You made Trixie evil!!