//------------------------------// // Emerald Mist // Story: Two Emerald Hearts // by Crystalis McCloud //------------------------------// "Now approaching our next stop. All departing at Ponyville Station please ready your belongings."   Light gray ears perked at the announcement over the speaker, the passenger stallion on the express train slowly shaking off the weariness of a long ride. Ponyville, huh? A little podunk town compared to the mean streets of Manehattan. Brushing some of his dark jade mane out of his face, he glanced out the window at the scenery rushing by. Off to his left, all he could see was the infamous Everfree Forest, its dark woods encompassing his view. Looking back and across to the other side of the train car, he could see the great mountain city of Canterlot fading back into the distance.   The same voice repeated over the speakers, "Again. We are now approaching the next stop in Ponyville. Everypony departing please ready your belongings."   Well, it was his stop. It would definitely be a change from his previous stint in Baltimare, that was for sure. That city had been nearly as big as his hometown, so it hadn't been that drastic of a change in atmosphere. The port city still had a certain bustling atmosphere that resembled the cramped streets of Manehattan, albiet a less harsh and abrasive one. He really did not know what to expect from such a small little village near the heart of Equestria, but he could reasonably think that it would be nothing like back home.   Setting his thoughts aside, the stallion got out of his seat with a stretch. A sharp groan of protest followed soon after as blood rushed back through his tingling limbs. Yup, sitting and stewing in your own thoughts for an entire train ride was definitely not something your body was going to agree with six hours later. He pressed through the unpleasant feeling anyway, and glanced upward at a pair of hefty saddlebags from the overhead rack. With a simple thought, the bags were wrapped in the gentle chartreuse glow of his magic and brought down to his sides. Strapping them tightly to his back, he lugged his way over to the front of the car. Glancing out of the window again, he saw the dense forests of the Everfree give way to open plains, and past that he could see his destination, Ponyville. All of the small buildings close together in the distance were really quite quaint compared to the skyscrapers and warehouses he was used to seeing.   A sharp screeching rang out as the train came to a stop, pulling into the station at the edge of town with one last little halting jerk. Swinging the door open with one hoof, he was greeted by sudden blast of cold air. Immediately after that though, he was hit by a wave of intense heat. What in the name of Tartarus was going on?   Stepping out of the train car, the stallion shuddered as another rush of cold air blew over his body, chilling him to his core in an instant. His horn instinctively glowed as he tried to guard against the elements. With some effort, a faint green sphere of swirling winds formed around him that fortunately managed to lessen the following wave of heat. What the heck was the Ponyville Weather Team doing? Not only would this kind of volatile weather be damaging to the health of everypony in town, but it could seriously damage the local crops. One of the reasons for the weather problems was made apparent when he looked upward. The sky was a checkerboard of clouds and sky, an unusual and apparently disastrous condition given the waves of hot and cold.   "Umm, e-excuse me, s-s-sir," a small voice rang out shakily.   Looking down and to his right, he saw three little fillies standing on the train platform next to him. One was a bright tan-yellow earth pony with a bright red mane and tail, adorned with  a large pink bow on her head. Another one, a pegasus with stunted wings, bore an orange coat and a dark magenta mane. The last one, the one that had spoken to him, was an alabaster white unicorn filly with a curly two-tone mane of dark purple and soft pink. All three of the fillies were huddled together and shaking as a new wave of frigid air passed by outside of his small barrier, and they looked up to him with a soft, pleading look.   "Ya'll look like your magic is keeping ya safe. Reckon ya could let us in?" the bow-topped, red-maned filly asked in a country-pony drawl. That accent... seemed very familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.   He didn't even get a chance to say yes or no before he was hit with the dirtiest trick in the little pony handbook. Eyes open wide in a look of desparate pleading, the ultimate begging look that bored into any decent pony's soul until they finally relented. Their eyes dragged him down into submission, woe be to any that tried to deny the power these fillies wielded. He really had wanted to go to the town hall to try to arrange a living space for his stay here, but it looked like he'd be playing foalsitter for a little bit.   "Gah! Totally unfair giving that look!" he groaned with just a hint of extra drama in his tone. He smiled to assure them that he was not really bothered and walked over to them, putting a bit more focus into his spell so that it expanded around the little fillies. The look of relief on their faces was worth the inconvenience, he guessed. Back home nopony trusted a stranger enough to ask even a small favor, always suspecting some ulterior motive. It was actually a very pleasant first experience in this small town, so he really didn't have any reason to complain now, did he?   "Wow, this is awesome!" the little pegasus filly exclaimed, sighing happily. "You must have pretty awesome magic to be able to keep out that crazy weather, Mister... Uh, Mister Unicorn!"   "Haha, no need for the 'mister' part, little ones. My name is Emerald Mist, but you can just call me Emerl for short," he chuckled. "And my magic isn't all that strong. It's just a simple wind spell that keeps the the air inside normalized and keeps the air outside from affecting the inside. It is very low power since it involves nothing but winds; it couldn't block so much as a pebble thrown at it."   "I think I get it, Mister - I mean, Emerl! I don't know much magic yet, but I think I have the basic idea of what you mean," the unicorn filly chimed in.   "Well however it works, it sure is useful! I thought we were gonna die of composure!" the orange pegasus flitted her tiny wings and flung her hooves into the air.   "Ah think ya mean exposure, Scootaloo," the redhead corrected.   "Whatever," the one named Scootaloo puffed dismissively.   Chuckling at their rather cute antics, Emerl noticed that all three of them were wearing a familiar crimson cape with distinct emblem on them. He had seen them before back home; they were actually quite popular among a certain group of fillies and colts. That definitely caught his interest, and he had to ask, "What are a couple of Cutie Mark Crusaders doing at the train station?"   The fillies' expressions lit up. He found himself regretting the question as the three of them shouted at the top of their lungs, "Cutie Mark Crusaders: Train Conductors!"   Clasping his hooves over his ears, Emerl winced at the piercing shout that rang in his ears. He really should have expected that, shouldn't he? The Manehattan Crusaders were just as... excitable... as these little fillies were. "I see," he said, shaking the ringing out of his ears. "I take it that didn't go so well?"   Their expressions soured in unison, and Scootaloo grumbled, "We thought we could get our Cutie Marks, and get out of this crazy weather for a bit too, but the conductor said we were too young to ride the train without a grownup. On top of that, he said being conductors was completely out of the question."   "That's tough luck," Emerl nodded sympathetically. "I definitely understand the yearning for a Cutie Mark. It felt like it took me forever to get mine." Noticing the little earth pony staring at him quizically, he asked, "Something wrong?"   Shaking her head, the filly answered, "Not at all! Just a might curious as to what that weird Cutie Mark you've got is."   She pointed a hoof at the mark in question, a cluster of whispy green lines striping horizontally over his flank, melting into his pale gray hide. He couldn't blame her for her confusion, it was a rather ambiguous symbolism that few would understand at first glance. Smiling to each of the three fillies, his horn glowed brighter and he watched as misty green magic gathered behind them, coalescing into a replica image of himself. He spoke, but the spell he cast made it seem as  though his voice came from the duplicate behind them. "My Cutie Mark is just as my name describes, an emerald mist." He laughed heartilly as all three of them jumped a good two feet straight up in fright, whirling about to look at the other him. "Mist has illusive and obscuring properties. To put it simply, my greatest talent is in illusion magic."  As his explanation trailed off, the illusion evaporated into a dense fog that quickly vanished, leaving just him and the three fillies on the station platform.   The girls looked back to him with a touch of wonder in their eyes. He couldn't blame them really, since he doubted many unicorns with that particular skill set lived here or passed through. Most illusionists were showponies, or special effects experts, and as such usually lived in the big cities where theaters and other performances garnered bigger crowds. He really didn't have such desires though.   Turning to look back at the town, Emerl noticed that very few ponies were out right now, most likely staying inside and out of the elements. Looking back to the fillies, he motioned towards town with his head. "Want me to take each of you home? It is a good opportunity for me to learn my way around town. Don't want to get lost during my stay here."   "Sure!  Thank you, Mister Emerl!" the girls rang together. He grinned and rolled his eyes a bit at them calling him 'Mister', but let it go fairly quickly. They were only being polite, after all.   A few more introductions later, Emerl learned that the unicorn filly's name was Sweetie Belle, and that the earth pony was named Applebloom. With that, they were on their way.  As the four of them made their way into town, the filly with that naggingly familiar drawl in her voice asked, "So how in tarnation did ya know we were Cutie Mark Crusaders, Mister Emerl? You definitely aren't from around here."   Keeping his eyes where he was walking, he answered simply, "A few months ago, before I left my home in Manehattan, a group of younglings around your age started to spring up, with the same name and capes. They're probably running around trying to find their marks as we speak."   "Oh wow! Sounds like my cuz really did a great job settin' up that Manehattan branch! Before you know it, there'll be Crusader branches in every town and city in Equestria!" Applebloom giggled.   "Celestia have mercy on us all," the stallion muttered behind a wry grin.   "What was that?" Scootaloo cast a questioning glare up at him.   "Nothing," he lied casually.   Suddenly a powerful gust of wind blew by, and a streak of cerulean blue and rainbow colors darted back and forth across the sky. What was obviously a very talented pegasus was clearing the offending weather patterns, leaving the sky a brilliant, beautiful blue, without a speck of gray to be seen. Air temperatures turned back to normal not long after. The onlooking unicorn stopped and watched, lowering the wind spell, and saying aloud, "Wow, that's one fast and talented pegasus. Back home I've only seen weather control like this from a team of five."   Scootaloo bolted in front of him to watch the skies intently, exclaiming, "That's the one and only Rainbow Dash! She's the best flier in all of Equestria! She's so great that she's the only one in charge of all of Ponyville's weather on her shifts!"   Well her talent was evident, as he watched the blur of a pony trace a line into the distance, weather control complete. He couldn't help but question, "Well then how did the weather get in such a mess anyway?"   "Crazy stuff is happenin' today," Applebloom mused. "Earlier I saw Sweetie Belle's sis, Rarity, trying to do the weather. Never thought I'd see anything quite as strange as that."   "You want weird?" Scootaloo almost seemed to brag, " I saw Rainbow Dash trying to take care of all of Fluttershy's animals!"   Emerl just stopped and waited for the downward spiral of discussion-turned-competition to resolve itself, unable to keep a small smile from spreading on his face. He didn't really understand what was so strange, but it sounded pretty amusing.   "Ha!" Sweetie Belle puffed indignantly, "That's nothing! When I stopped by my sister's shop this morning, I saw Applejack trying to make dresses!"   Wait... what?   Applebloom and Scootaloo gave their friend the most incredulous look at her declaration before all three fell over onto their sides hooting and hollering with laughter. Emerl's ears twitched, and his eyes snapped wide open. A fluttering he'd not felt in a long time ran through his stomach, and he turned to the fillies in an instant.   "Did you just say.... Applejack?"   Sharp as a whip, Applebloom asked, "Do ya know mah sister, Mister Emerl?"   The stallion nodded wordlessly, retreating into his own head a bit as he began walking down the path. He was suddenly slapped in the face with a hefty feeling of nostalgia as old memories rushed back to him. How had he forgotten so easily? Ponyville, he’s heard her talk about it so many times before, and he felt like an idiot for not making the connection with Applebloom and her accent. Applebloom. Applejack. Of course they were sisters. How did he not see it? Then again, he did have a lot on his mind these last few months. Given everything that had happened… he could hardly blame himself too much for being a bit slow on recollection.   “How do you know Applejack?” Scootaloo asked eagerly as the fillies quickly caught up with him and lined up beside him. Their gazes were riveted on him, their interest now ten times greater than before.   Their stares made Emerl a bit uncomfortable, but they really meant no harm. While he didn’t feel like spilling personal history so readily, he could at least say a bit out of kindness. “I met her way back when I was a little colt. Just around your ages,” he began, averting his eyes from their boring gazes of curiosity as he kept the explanation brief. “I made friends with her when she was staying in Manehattan. She was only there for a couple of weeks.”   “Ah remember that story!” Applebloom beamed. “That was when mah sis got her Cutie Mark! Soon as she got home, she finally got it!”   “Oh really? I’m very happy to hear that,” Emerl smiled, happy to turn the subject away. “How come mah sis never mentioned you before?”   Drat, that avenue was foiled. Maybe he could still steer the conversation away. “I don’t know, really. To be honest, I forgot about her for a long while when things in my life piled up. Maybe it was the same for her,” he proposed. It was a good enough reason; enough to settle the question. Now it was time for the diversion. “So where should I take you girls?”   Much to his relief, they took the bait, Sweetie Belle suggesting, “How about back to Sweet Apple Acres? Our clubhouse is tucked away in the orchard.”   Smiling down at the little fillies, he gestured with a hoof, “Well then, lead the way.” He wondered to himself whom was watching over whom at this point. He wasn’t needed to protect them from the weather anymore, and now he was basically following them to get an idea of the town layout. Oh how the tables had turned.   And so they went off, the little fillies talking his ear off as they passed through town. They showed him many of the places on the way, such as town hall. That location was quickly memorized. There were several other interesting places, such as a spa, and a large house the fillies called Sugarcube Corner. The odd building looked as though it were made of gingerbread, cupcakes, and other sweet treats. Unsurprisingly, he was told it was the ultimate stop in Ponyville for anypony seeking a sweet confection. A mental note was filed away to see just how good they were compared to the bakeries back home. The town really was small compared to the big city, remarkably small. It didn’t take long at all before they had passed through the whole town and reached the trail leading to the farmland on the other side. He knew they’d reached their destination when he saw the apple-adorned archway with the overhanging sign portraying a large apple. The acres upon acres of apple trees stretching beyond sight were probably a pretty good indicator too.   Emerl followed as the fillies charged through the gate, looking about at the charming setting. A dirt path wound its way to a bright red barn-house hybrid with a curious image of a pink mare’s face and a bright sun painted across its side. To his left, a small field of corn stalks grew, and some grape vines beyond them. Following after the fillies, he decided to make sure that the little ones were all set before he headed back into town. Well, that was half of the reason, really. The other half was that he wanted to see more of his old friend’s home. He could vaguely recall tales he’d been told about the farm, and the apple-bucking that took place. Just being in the place that he’d heard about from her so much filled him with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. A sense of serenity flowed through his being, a calmness he had been sorely missing. It felt… nice.   Looking ahead, he saw Applebloom veer off from her friends and gallop up to a large red stallion of imposing stature. That could only be… what was the name? It was so long ago, he could hardly remember, but he was fairly certain the big guy’s name was Big Macintosh. The other two Crusaders took a branching path and bolted into the orchard, probably heading for that clubhouse they mentioned. After speaking with Applebloom, the large stallion looked up and made eye contact with their visitor. A tense feeling passed through the unicorn... He couldn’t read the large red stallion’s expression at all. What did he think about a stranger walking his little sister home? He was about to find out, as he saw the stallion start walking up to him. Resisting the urge to cringe at the thought of being scolded for whatever reason, he stood patiently and waited for the big guy to come to him. Turns out he was worried for nothing though, when the stallion held out a hoof and smiled.   “Thank ya kindly for lookin’ after mah little sister and her friends,” he thanked Emerl as the colts’ hooves met and exchanged a vigorous shake. It felt like the huge stallion was going to shake his poor arm clear off. “Mah name is Big Macintosh, and welcome to Sweet Apple Acres.”   Oh nice, he had actually remembered the name right. Rubbing his ‘wounded’ shoulder, Emerl graciously accepted the thanks, “It was no problem. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”   “Applebloom tells me yer from Manehattan, and that you’re an old friend of Applejack’s. If’n that’s true, then why don’t you stick around for a spell?” Big Mac offered. “There may be some weird stuff goin’ on, what with Pinkie Pie having Applejack’s Cutie Mark, but ah won’t let that get in the way of showing ya some hospitality. ‘Sides, it’s bound to be sorted out anytime now by Twilight Sparkle and her friends.”   Twilight Sparkle?   “Ahh!” Emerl gasped as a twinge of pain shot through his brain. That name… it sounded familiar, but not in the same way as Applejack. He knew he’d never heard that name before, but the thought brought a twinge of pain through his brain. He had no idea who Twilight Sparkle was, but why did the name stir up this familiarity and lancing agony?   “Ya okay there?” Big Mac asked worriedly.   “I-I’m fine,” Emerl assured him. It was halfway a lie. The pain was still throbbing in the back of his head, but it was slowly ebbing away. “I really appreciate the offer, but I think I am gonna head back into town and try to see about setting up living arrangements for myself. I think I just need to take a break. I’ll happily take up your offer another time though, promise.”   “Well alright then, don’t wanna push yah too hard if your head’s buggin’ ya. Won’t do no good to make it any worse,” Big Macintosh nodded in understanding. “Thank ya kindly again for watching over Applebloom, and ah hope to see ya again soon so I can return the favor.” His words were immediately followed by a loud crash on the other side of the barn, out of sight. Big Macintosh turned about and said to Applebloom, “Come on, let’s go try and help Pinkie Pie until Twilight shows up.”   Emerl smiled weakly at the kind gesture, nodding quietly and turning to walk back the way he’d come. As he neared the gate, he was surprised to see five mares and what appeared to be a baby dragon carrying a chest as big as it was. At the lead of their group was somepony he could never mistake seeing. Though she was grown from the little filly in his memory, and she wore a wide-brimmed Stetson hat he’d never seen on her before, her pale golden mane, orange coat, and cute white freckles were unmistakable. It was Applejack leading the pack and heading right towards him, though she didn’t seem to notice him yet.   The jade-maned unicorn panicked, nervousness and anxiety immediately taking hold at the idea of so abruptly meeting her again. From the sounds of things she was dealing with something important, and the last thing he wanted to do was get in the way. His horn immediately flashed with bright green light, and his body was enveloped in foggy magic. he shrouded himself and made himself invisible to the eyes of anypony as he bolted out of the way and stood aside to watch. As the group passed by him, hiding in his illusions, he heard a white unicorn mare with a deep purple mane start to sing out.   Pinkie Pie is in trouble. We need to get there by her side. We can try to do what we can now. For together we can be her guide.   Wow, it had been a long time since he’d heard open singing like that, and so melodious too. It was tiring to keep comparing back to home, but such outbursts of song were genuinely rare in the big city, and usually were composed for organized theatre or making records. He thought for a moment about leaving, but found his curiosity about Applejack and her friends was gradually overcoming his desire to go back into town. Still cloaked in magic, he watched from beyond the farm's fence as the mares went to help a brilliantly pink mare, who was having a rough time with farm work. All the while, the song continued to ring out across the area.   A true, true friend helps a friend in need. A friend will be there to help them see. A true, true friend helps a friend in need To see the light that shines from a true, true friend.   The stallion felt a stirring inside him at the lyrics. A true friend, huh? It made him think back on his reason for coming to Ponyville, and what he should do when he finally found the one he was looking for. What should he do?   No. He shook his head, clearing the thoughts from his mind. He could think about that later. As he watched, the mares gathered together once more and headed back towards town, the pink pony with a flat mane riding on Applejack's back. Trailing behind the group, he listened on as the song continued. A small smile spread across his face as he realized it was Applejack singing now.   The townspeople need you, they’ve been sad for a while. They march around, faces frown and never seem to smile. And if you feel like helping, we’d appreciate a lot! If you’d get up there and spread some cheer from here to Canterlot!   As she sang, Applejack swung the pink mare from her back out into the town square where everypony looked to her expectantly. A necklace placed on her glowed brightly and her mane poofed out into a curly mass, followed by her yelling out, “Come on everypony, I want to see you smile!”   The cheer of happiness from everypony around was deafening as they cried out, “Pinkie!”   As everypony started marching down the street in a jubilant continuation of the song, Emerl found himself infected by the spirit of the moment and let his illusions fall. He trotted into the crowd and blended in as he sang along, letting the simple happiness he felt in that moment fill him up.   A true, true friend helps a friend in need. A friend will be there to help them see. A true, true friend helps a friend in need To see the light (To see the light!) That shines (That shines!) From a true, true friend!   This town… maybe he wouldn’t just be passing through here. He’d never really thought that a place as simple and happy as this existed. The ponies all seemed wonderful, trusting, and kind, something he felt he sorely needed. With the song finished, and the crowd slowly starting to disperse, he saw Applejack and her friends running off somewhere once more. He felt a little disappointed. He had hoped he might be able to find a good time to formally meet her again after so long, but there was no harm in waiting for a better time for it. Heck, she’d probably be expecting him if she heard about him from Applebloom or Big Macintosh. They had a lot of catching up to do, but he was patient. He could wait.   He had come to Ponyville only expecting to stay a short time, but on his first day here, he had already found two reasons to love this town and never want to leave. Smiling to himself and putting any negative thoughts aside for the time being, he made his way towards the town hall. Hopefully the mayor would be able to help him find some arrangements for housing, or even help him find a job here in Ponyville.   “From all of us together, together we are friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there’s magic without end!”   Pain. Blinding pain. Caught mid-step, the sudden explosion in his head made Emerl fall forward into the middle of the road. What was this sensation?! His mind felt like it was being overloaded. It felt as though a drill were piercing into his skull and scrambling his brain. He could barely even think at all. Then there was the noise. From deep in the depths of his pain-addled mind, a long, piercing noise rang out. It slowly filled every corner of his head until all he could think about was the pain and the noise. The mental storm caused him to scream out in agony. It felt like his head was about to split in two, his horn flashing violently on his head as enchanted winds kicked up around his collapsed, writhing body. Clutching his hooves to his head, only one new feeling began to dominate his mind: This was wrong. He wanted it out. He wanted it gone.   “Get out of my head!” he screamed at incessant noise, feeling his consciousness slipping away bit by bit until finally the droning gave way to silent darkness.     In the blackness, the figure of a pony stood before him. Its features were masked in the shadows all around.   “Who are you?” Emerl demanded.   The voice that returned… it was…   “I’m Emerald Mist. I’m you.”