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.