"Emerald!" Honeygold cried as she ran up to meet her. "What happened to your head? Are ya alright?"
"I'm fine now," Emerald smiled, instinctively putting a hand to the wrap around her head. "One of the knights, Sir Morn Dread, brought me over to the Mages' Tower. They're the closest thing you have to magic here. I haven't seen any magic."
"Cool!" Honeygold jumped up and down. "Ah've never been in there myself. Ah heard they had hocus pocus powers in there, but from what ya said, Ah guess not… but what happened? Is there anything Ah can do?"
Emerald shook her head as she walked back to the stand with young Honeygold. “Two thieves just tried to steal my armor. They got a good hit in, but Sir Morn Dread showed up just in time, chasing them off and taking me to a healer. I’m fine now.”
“Sounds like ya had an adventure when ya left us today!” Honeygold hopped a step forward. “Looks like your knight in shining armor stepped in to get ya out, huh?”
“Yeah…” Emerald’s cheeks reddened as she remembered the knight that saved her. “He was a kind human. He… also said I was… beautiful. Nopony’s ever told me that before.”
“Nopony?” Honeygold asked, never hearing that strange word before. “But ya are beautiful, Emerald! You’ve got shiny hair and eyes, and a pretty face! Ah wish Ah had a knight out there, just waitin’ to meet me!”
“Don’t worry, Honeygold,” Emerald put a hand on her head. “I’m sure you’ll find that knight one day. By the way, I’m a little hungry. Is there any place we can go to get some food?”
“No need to look, Emerald,” both of them arrived at the apple stand. Most of the apples in the boxes were already cleared out. Golden Nugget and Apple Bean were packing the rest back into their crates, saving them for the next few days. “Ma and pa will be gettin’ us some as soon as we finish packin’ up here.”
“Welcome back, Em- Emerald, dear! What happened to ya?” Apple Bean put down a crate and rushed over, inspecting her head.
“It’s alright,” Emerald gave her a reassuring smile and put a hand to her wrap. “Some humans just tried to steal my armor. One of them reopened my head wound, but a mage at the tower fixed it up for me.”
“Awfully nice o’ them,” the farmer smiled, stepping away.
“Sir Morn Dread saved Emerald from those nasty men!” Honeygold bounced as she explained the story to her mother.
“Sounds like ya had quite the day today,” Apple Bean looked to Emerald. “Ah’m sorry your first impression of Canterlot was less than great, but ya seem to be recoverin’ all right. Maybe ya even remember where you’re really from?”
“What do you mean?” Emerald looked puzzled. “I’m from the Crystal Empire in Equestria!”
“...Right. Sure you are...” the farmer sighed, deciding to drop it for now. "Well, it's been a long day. Honeygold, why don't ya take Emerald to the inn. We'll be there once we're done here."
Emerald was more than happy to follow the young farmgirl away from the apple stand. Honeygold led Emerald down a small slope towards a huge rectangular building straight ahead. A sign hanging from an extension near the doorway read, 'The Drifting Stallion'.
"Why don't your parents believe me like you do?" Emerald pouted. "I really am from Equestria, and I have to save it!"
"They jus' don't believe in fairy tales like Ah do," Honeygold shrugged. "Anythin' out of the ordinary is strange to them, 'specially any talk o’ magic."
"Ugh..." Emerald tried not to sound too irritated.
Honeygold pushed the inn doors open, leading Emerald past the bar counter and hallways to the room they had rented for her. "This one's for ya, Emerald! We'll be next door in the other one." The girl pointed at another door across from Emerald's. After that, she brought the spymaster to a table, both of them sitting down to wait for Honeygold’s parents. Before long, Apple Bean and Golden Nugget walked through the inn doors, looking around for a bit before locating Honeygold and Emerald.
"There you two are," Golden Nugget and Apple Bean joined them at the table. "Ready for some grub?"
Apple Bean signalled one of the serving girls over and placed a quick order for four.
“Right away, madam,” the girl smiled and hopped away.
As they waited for their dinner to arrive, Emerald clandestinely maneuvered her chair so that her back was facing the wall. Her eyes jumped in their sockets like roulette balls, taking in every detail of the tavern in case it should come to a fight. The place certainly smelled of enough alcohol to start one.
“Honeygold,” Emerald nudged the girl to get her attention. “What’s that thing they’re roasting over the fire? It’s like no plant I’ve ever seen in Equestria before.”
“That ain’t no plant,” Golden Nugget looked at the fire. “It’s beef.”
“Beef?” Emerald stared at the object curiously. It smelled somewhat familiar, though she couldn’t place what. “I’ve never heard of this beef. What is it?”
“Really?” Golden Nugget raised an eyebrow. “Ya never had beef, and ya don’t even know what it is?”
“Beef is from cows!” Honeygold grinned at her. “Ya have cows in Equestria?”
Emerald nodded. “Sure we do. They’re good friends, if a bit liable to panic over small things. But I still don’t see what that has to do with…”
At this point, several things happened simultaneously. First, Honeygold clapped a hand over her own mouth, wishing more than anything to take back her last few words. Second, all the color drained out of Emerald’s face as her brain processed just what her friend had said. Third, Apple Bean and Golden Nugget, who had been casually listening to this, noticed where this was going and as only a married couple can do, facepalmed at the same time.
“How could you do this?!” Emerald stood off her chair, nearby patrons looking round at the disturbance. “What did the cows ever do to you?!”
“Now, look Emerald,” Golden Nugget sighed, wiping a hand down his face. “Don’t ya think this has gone on long enough? It’s not funny anymore. Ah mean, Ah really don’t wanna call ya crazy or anythin’, but… that’s what it all looks like to us.”
“I’m not lying nor am I crazy!” Emerald shouted back. “And don’t change the subject! Why eat the cows? Do you not have enough food that you must feast off others?”
"It's what we do," Apple Bean tried to quieten her, glancing at the other patrons. "We eat what we cultivate. Crops, livestock, all that.Why don't ya know that?"
"It's not right!" Emerald tried to get her head over it. "Aren't these cows like your horses? They help you and you eat them?"
“Emerald, Ah’m so sorry! Ah forgot you were a pony!” Honeygold began sobbing. “It’s just… we’ve been eatin’ meat for as long as we’ve been alive. Ah’m sorry…”
The sight of the crying girl calmed the spymaster. She cleared her throat and sat back down, sweeping some hair out of her face before putting her arms around Honeygold. “I’m sorry, Honeygold. I… lost my temper..." Emerald got up again, making her way past the Apple family. "I'm sorry. I need some air."
Emerald threw the front door open, the sky already dark. She headed to one of the inn's wooden supports and rested her back against it as she looked up at the starry sky. This world almost looked the same from the outside, but inside it was a brutish, dangerous world, filled with greedy humans and monsters. Emerald slid down the post, faintly registering that there were tears running down her face. She hid her face in her palms, longing to be back home in Equestria with her friends among her, looking to a time where everything had been peaceful; Sombra still nothing but a young colt, enjoying his time with Radiant Hope, the thoughts of conquering the Empire far from his mind.
How did it turn out like this...? Why did Sombra have to do all that?
Emerald missed them. Missed all her friends, and she knew she would never see them again. Princess Amore, Jade Crystal, Spring Amber, Spirit Flicker, Dash Spiral, Crystal Flare, and Light Speckle.
Light Speckle…
Where are you? Emerald let herself fall to the side and onto the grass. You said you’d see me on the other side. Why haven’t you come to find me?
Emerald had always known what it was like to be alone, being the royal spymaster and all. At times, she had to stay out of sight for months, all alone, tracking targets or gathering information, but this was entirely different. Emerald curled up into a ball, drawing on every last ounce of strength, but there was no denying the truth. She had no one left. Emerald clenched her teeth down as her voice threatened to escape, tears dripping down onto the soft grass. Was there any reason to go on?
“Emerald?”
The spymaster slightly turned her head, watching Golden Nugget as he slowly made his way towards her. She turned her head back and closed her eyes. “Please… Leave me alone...”
Emerald heard Nugget’s footsteps on the grass before something heavy sat down beside her. “Look, Emerald… We’ve had a talk about all this as a family, and… well… Ah wanna apologize. On behalf of my wife and daughter too.”
Emerald stayed unmoving. Did they really want to apologize? Emerald knew Honeygold was truly sorry, but she wasn’t so sure about her parents. The spymaster didn’t know what to think of anyone anymore and in a way, she didn’t care anymore. Nothing really mattered anymore; this entire world was upside down.
“Ah’m sorry for the way we treated ya, Emerald,” she heard Nugget say next to her, his big, strong voice now surprisingly gentle. “It’s a family trait, Ah guess. We’re all honest to a fault. Sometimes we jus’ don’t realize what we’re doin’, and, well… Ah’m sorry that we hurt your feelings.”
The conviction in Golden Nugget’s voice sounded real. Emerald slowly got up into a sitting position, wiping her tears away with the back of a hand. “So… you believe me now?”
“Well...” Golden Nugget scratched at his hair. “Let’s not say believe… but… we’re willin’ to listen to what ya have to say without rebuffin’ ya.”
Emerald nodded numbly. That was a start at least, but that only solved one problem. She still missed her friends, and nothing she did could bring them back. "Thank you, Golden Nugget... but it wasn't the conversation really... Talking about home... I miss mine. Equestria. My friends... They sacrificed themselves to get me here... And... And..." Emerald just couldn't talk about them without tearing up.
Golden Nugget hesitantly placed an arm around Emerald’s shoulder. “Ya don’t have to talk about it if ya don’t wanna, Emerald. And it’s okay to cry if ya miss someone.”
“I’m tired of crying,” the farmer heard Emerald whisper. “I’m the last hope for my friends, for my empire, for my princess. I want… need to be brave for them. But all I feel is scared.”
This caught Golden Nugget’s attention. “Hey,” he said. “Look at me.” It took a moment, but Emerald’s lavender eyes met his blue ones. “Ah don’t know much about no empire or nothin’, but my old granddad used to say to me, any ol’ guy can be brave when everything’s fine, but it takes someone special to be brave when the world’s comin’ down around ya. And Ah think yer the most special person Ah’ve-we’ve met in a long, long time.”
Emerald didn’t say anything, but Golden Nugget felt a tiny bit of the tension leave and he persevered.
“Ya know, when Ah was a little boy, Ah used to think that the grown ups had all the answers. My ma always knew what to say to calm me down when Ah was scared, and Ah could always count on my pa to be there if Ah needed someone to stand by me.” Golden Nugget closed his eyes. It had been almost twenty years since he had last seen his parents. “But when ma and pa passed on, Ah was so lost, Ah didn’t think Ah’d last a week. Whole world seemed like it was all wrong. Ma and pa weren’t around anymore to give me the answers.”
The woman in his arms mumbled something unintelligible.
“Took me a while, and Ah screwed up a lot in the process, but Ah eventually realized that, well, ma and pa never had all the answers. ‘Cause that’s how livin’ is, Emerald. It ain’t about knowin’ how to deal with things perfectly, or knowing all the answers. Ah don’t reckon there’s a soul alive that does. Livin’s about takin’ what life throws your way and comin’ out of it with cuts and bruises, but stronger. Ah did it, and my folks did it, and Ah know you can do it too.”
Golden Nugget finished his speech and opened his eyes, only to find that Emerald Edge had at some point, drifted off to sleep. Poor gal, he thought. She must be plumb tuckered out.
As gently as he could, Golden Nugget scooped up Emerald in his arms and carried her back inside, noting the faint smile on her face. Maybe he had gotten through to her after all.