//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4(Revised) 
// Story: Emerald Chronicles 
// by Dandereshy 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 4

As the night wore on, Emerald opened up a little more, and began laughing and joking with the other ponies. They noticed it too and began doing the same with him. Trust built up as he began acting the way he truly was.
"You couldn't beat me in a flying contest. I seriously doubt it," Rainbow Dash was saying. He'd told them he could beat her despite his wing injury.
"Oh, I'm certain I can. I was a street racer in Manehattan," he challenged her, a smile spreading across his face.
"Uh, oh…" Fluttershy uttered.
"We'll see about that tomorrow," Rainbow Dash said hastily.
"Yer gonna to regret trying to beat her," Applejack told Emerald.
He snorted. "Ha! I laugh at competition."
"No, Applejack's right. You're not going to beat her," Twilight agreed with her.
"Well, we'll find out tomorrow for sure. Place your bets, folks," Emerald half-joked, stretching in his seat.
"So what are your hobbies? What do you like to do on your own time?" Pinkie Pie asked him, leaning forward from her chair in interest.
Emerald considered what to say. "Well, I enjoy books, I like interacting with animals, I like walks in the woods and flying, I like food and I like games."
They all stared at him, mouths open and eyes wide.
"The best of all worlds, huh?" Spike said humorously.
"Well, a few things that seem to be more popular, yes," Emerald looked at them. "Is there something wrong? Did I say something offensive?"
They snapped out of it. "No, no no no no no. It's just nice to hear you have such a wide variety of interests," Twilight told him, looking at the others and back at him.
"He certainly does have a variety of hobbies," Rarity agreed. "But none that I'm interested in."
"What are you interested in?" Emerald asked, turning to her and catching her off guard.
She blinked a few times. "I am a pony of style and fashion. I'm very sophisticated and I like collecting and making outfits for desirable customers."
"Desirable?" Emerald cocked his head to the side.
"Careful, Rarity," Applejack warned her.
"What? I'm telling him my hobbies. He asked, after all."
"How about you, then, Applejack?" Emerald asked, changing ponies. "You look like a country pony. And sound like one, too."
Applejack smiled. "Ya guessed right. I like farmin' and apple harvestin'. I do it all fer Ponyville, and the Apple family, of course. It's my favorite thing to do." She pointed a hoof at her cutie mark. "And it's my special ability."
"Special ability? What are you, an action figure?" Spike said and laughed at his own joke.
"Ok, why don't you tell me about yours, Fluttershy?" Emerald turned his attention to her. She drew back in nervousness. "Um, well, you don't have to answer if you don't feel comfortable."
"Oh, don't mind her, she's just a bit shy toward strangers," Twilight informed Emerald.
He nodded. "It's fine. She can take her time."
"Um...you...you like w-what I like..." She stammered and let her mane fall in front of her face to conceal it. Her embarrassment and timidness clearly got the best of her.
"Fluttershy, you don't have to be so shy. He's not scary or anything," Rainbow Dash said to her.
Fluttershy kept silent.
"Um, Fluttershy, are you alright?" Twilight asked her, concerned.
She nodded very slowly. "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry for being so quiet..."
"Oh, that's okay. Did you have more to say?" Emerald encouraged her.
She sighed. "Um, I like cooking, animals, and trees."
Emerald smiled. "Trees?"
"Yes, I'm afraid she's very fond of her trees," Twilight answered.
"That's adorable."
Fluttershy blushed and smiled, hiding her face with her mane again.
"Awww, nuts. We're out of cheese again," Rainbow Dash whined. She tossed the empty can across the room into the trash can.
"So, Twilight, you like…what now?" Emerald asked her.
"As if it wasn't obvious..." Rainbow muttered.
She gave Rainbow Dash her evil eye.. "Me? Oh, I like reading, writing, and learning new spells."
"Yeah, she's the best in the land," Pinkie Pie said loudly. "Just like I'm the party pony. Need a party? Come to me!"
"She's had competition twice, but we made her competition change her ways," Applejack said, referring to Twilight.
"What do you mean?" Emerald asked attentively.
Twilight stood and went over to her bookshelf, looking for something. "There was a pony named Trixie, and she came into town one day, claiming to be the 'The Great and Powerful Trixie'. It was annoying and not true. She tried to use a spell she couldn't, and almost got hurt by an Ursa Minor. After I took care of the Ursa, Trixie showed no remorse for being arrogant. She ended up coming back and using the Alicorn Amulet to take over Ponyville, and she kind of did, but we stopped her. She was apologetic and changed her name to 'The Great and Apologetic Trixie'."
"So she changed? Where is she now?" Emerald wanted to know, just for good measure.
Twilight gave up and went back over to where she was sitting. "She left town, but I'm sure she's truly sorry and won't ever try again."
"She did seem pretty different after the second incident," Rarity added.
Emerald reached for the bag of chips near his seat on the floor.
"Did you make any friends in Manehattan?" Pinkie Pie asked him.
"I like flying, thanks for asking," Rainbow Dash said with a hint of attitude.
"Oh, please. Like he couldn't figure that out already," Spike waved his claw.
"Hey, he asked everypony else but me. I had to say it."
"I wasn't done asking, but to answer your question Pinkie Pie, I had one friend for most of my life, but we had problems, so he and I don't hang out anymore," he thought back on the assassination attempt and shivered.
"What kind of problems?" Pinkie Pie poked.
"Pinkie Pie, that's not our business." Rarity admonished her.
"No, no...It's fine." Emerald said. "He and I were friends all our lives, but around my 19th birthday, he began acting strangely. He was belligerent and argumentative. He blamed my being made fun of on me, like it was my fault I couldn't find my purpose or get my cutie mark. He and I got into a fight one day, and he vowed to come back and 'make me pay' someday, whatever that meant."
"Sounds like he may have a grudge now. Maybe he's blaming ya for something else and he's not telling ya for some reason." Applejack suggested.
"Or he's mad at himself for something and took it out on you." Twilight offered too.
Emerald shrugged. "Whatever it is, he seems pretty mad about it. I don't want to confront him about it any time soon. He's a bit violent."
"Well, doesn't he live in Manehattan?" Rainbow Dash asked him, lounging out so far down in her seat she was almost on the floor.
Emerald nodded. "Yes. He still lives a few blocks from where I used to live. At least, I think he still lives there."
"Any chance he'd move here?" Twilight asked in worry.
He shook his head. "I strongly doubt it. He'd never shown interest in Ponyville, mainly because neither of us ever knew it existed. And when I moved, I made sure he didn't move. Besides, Black Flame is a city colt. He'd die out here from lack of population and fun. He's the kind that likes gambling."
"Sounds like a jerk." Spike muttered.
"He didn't used to be, but yes, he is." Emerald confirmed.
"So, what do you plan on doing here in Ponyville? What made you choose Ponyville out of all towns?" Rainbow Dash asked, sipping a soda.
"Get my cutie mark, stay away from the city life, make friends, keep friends, and not get attacked." He replied nonchalantly.
"Attacked?" Twilight repeated with a frown.
"Nothing. It's not important."
"So are ya' gonna sleep over here tonight? We have some board games we can play and tell stories," Applejack asked expectantly.
Emerald shook his head. "Sorry, but I've got to be at my house for tonight until tomorrow morning for my stuff coming in. I'll have to leave here in a few minutes. But tomorrow I've got nothing to do, so, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like a tour of Ponyville."
"I'll walk him back home!" Fluttershy offered suddenly. "Of course, that's because I have to go feed Angel dinner and come back." She smiled innocently.
"Okay, well, thanks for coming over, and we'll help you unpack tomorrow if you want. After that, we'll give you that tour you wanted. You're going to love Ponyville," Twilight said warmly.
"Sounds good. Thank you guys for your help."
"Don't mention it," Applejack replied kindly.
"See you guys tomorrow," He got up and took the chips over to Rainbow Dash. "You kept eyeing them, so I assume that means you want them. Here."
"Alright!" She exclaimed happily. She immediately began eating them noisily, sending bits and pieces everywhere.
Emerald turned to leave. Fluttershy quickly followed him.
When he stepped outside, Fluttershy got beside him.
"So what made you want to walk with me, Ms. Shy?" He asked with a curious smile on his face.
She looked away and blushed. "I…I figured I'd give you somepony to talk to while you walked home because I had to go home to feed Angel anyway."
"Who's Angel?"
She looked over at him excitedly. "He's my adorable pet bunny. He's cute, and funny and smart. I don't know what I'd do without him."
"Sounds like a good friend."
She nodded. "He is. All my friends are."
They got on the street their houses were on.
"Well, if you want to be my friend, I'll be a good one too," he proposed with a smile.
She smiled back timidly. "Oh…of course. I thought we already were..."
"Good. I'm doing better than I thought I would."
They approached his house. "This is my stop." They stopped in front of it and faced each other.
"Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Fluttershy said softly.
"Hopefully. Thanks for walking me home. It was very kind of you. You're a sweetheart."
She blushed again. "Yeah, that's what my friends say."
"I should hope so. It's true." He said. "Anyway, be safe and goodnight." He turned and went to his door.
"Goodnight." She still stood there after Emerald went in. She was there for a few moments, then turned to go to her house.