//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: Differences and Friends 
// Story: The Dusk of Troubled Views 
// by ScorchingFlamesInc 
//------------------------------//

When I went into the house to warn the trio about my friends stopping by, they didn't hesitate. I grabbed the remote and shut off the television. 

Instead of leaving the garage door, we left via the FRONT door.

"Why THAT one?" asked Cozy.

"I'll explain later," I said.

The three of us got out of the house and darted to the shed. Despite the fact it would leave suspicions, I let the trio into the shed and then went in with them. I closed the door, but I couldn't lock it. Since, you know, I can only lock the shed from the outside. As long as nobody sees the missing lock, we should be fine.

I turned on the flashlight setting on my phone for some light.

"Who are your friends?" Chrysalis asked when I settled in.

I sat down, before the trio followed suit.

"Well..." I began. "Their names are Eddie and Dave. I met them in College."

"Do they know anything about us?" asked Cozy.

"Well... yes. But they're not fans of you like I am. They don't hate you, but they prefer to be interested in things unrelated to colorful ponies."

"Oh..."

"And I'd rather not start have them find out or anything," I continued.. "If I was younger, I'd tell them, but with a risk of consequence... not a chance.."

"Do you have trust issues with them or something?" asked Tirek.

"No..." I shook my head. "No I don't. If they were to find out, I'd rather have it be through warning them first."

"I see..." Chrysalis mumbled. "Onto another subject... how did that black box work?... That 'television'?..."

"That TV you saw was technology. I am aware that you had things like projectors, but that stuff wasn't as advanced as what we have today! We have devices that have video games, and respond to anything with the tap of a finger. As for food we eat... eat..."

My voice started to falter.

"Well? You can say it," Chrysalis said.

I finally said it.

"Meat."

Their expressions became a mixture of horrified, and the type that express the words "say WHAT?!?!" Strangely, Chrysalis finds it odd I eat meat too. I guess the "changelings eat meat" thing really is a myth. Either that, or her reformation made her against meat-eating.

"Don't worry, I won't eat you. I may not eat meat AGAIN after this..." I muttered. Whelp, goodbye bacon cheeseburgers with a side of fries. Goodbye chicken. Goodbye... BACON!!!

Anyway, they seemed to have calmed down after I said that last sentence.

"Well, I gotta go," I said getting up.

"Why?" asked Cozy.

"Didn't I just tell you my friends were going to be here?"

"Oh, yeah..."

"Wait... are you going to introduce your friends to us, or not?" asked Tirek. "You're kind of making the situation hard to read."

"I may tell them. I was probably overreacting because it was unexpected and I didn't want to cause chaos. But I may if I feel like it's safe."

"Very well..." Chrysalis said.

"Plus, if I did tell them, it would be a good time to mess with them. I'm the kind of guy who LOVES to mess with his friends. Anyways, I won't be long. They're just coming for a short visit."

With that, I got up, opened the shed door, and closed it. I placed on the lock in case someone got home and checked on it.

Then, I headed for the garage.

I opened the back door that was behind the garage. I entered, and my two friends were standing nearby next to my car.

While they were here, I might as well describe them.

Eddie's a tall man, somewhat around my weight, and he's one of those guys that enjoys being humorous, which I really dig. He's also a huge video game nerd, but he's not too interested in some of the stuff I like. We have middle ground though, and do it anyway, and we end up having a good time. Also, he's married (lucky guy).

Dave was five years older than us. He had scruffy stubble like what I had, but unlike me, he keeps it tidy. He's a laid-back kind of guy, which gets kind of annoying at times. He's also not as into screens as me or Eddie, but if there's something on TV, he'd watch it. 

Eddie, Dave, and I were all on good terms. They were already friends by the time I met them, but I was able to hit it off with both of them when we first met, which worked well. They also don't live too far, which was convenient.

My friends turned to look at me.

"THERE you are," Eddie said. "Judging from the door you were in, you snuck out without us. What's the big deal"

I scratched the back of my head and chuckled.

"Heh. No. Come on inside. Are you guys hungry, or anything?"

"I had lunch before I left, so no thanks," Eddie said.

"I could eat," Dave shrugged. "What do you have?"

"Not much," I replied. "Just some leftovers, soup, sandwich stuff, snacks... I need to go out to the store or something..."

"I'll take a look."

So I led my friends inside, and we settled down. Dave decided to help himself to some leftover lasagna, which I was fine with. Eddie filled us in on his growing family life, saying that his wife was going to have a baby, which was fun. He asked us for some name suggestions, which the three of us started playfully arguing and laughing about.

The whole time we chatted, I kept thinking about Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow. I knew they were fine, but I kept having this nagging feeling that I wanted to check on them. Maybe it was the fact that some favorite cartoon characters of mine were real now. Or maybe it was something else. Either way, it was pretty cool. I was also curious about how much they knew about Friendship... did they know enough, or were there maybe a few things I could teach them?

I probably doubt I'd teach them anything, but whether I teach them or not, it's safe to say that their fate is finally in good hooves.