//------------------------------// // Emerald // Story: Life is What You Make It, Or How You Happen To Have It Thrown At You // by Pegasus Lightning //------------------------------// The cottage near the woods where lived the quietest pony in all of Ponyville was never one of much suspicion. Neither was the house's only resident. Well, the only pony resident. All seemed to be happy. All of the land around the cottage seemed to be in an eternal state of happiness. Seeing as Fluttershy's caring and love for each and every living creature never attracted much evil or harm. Usually. One afternoon while Fluttershy was assisting a bird repair its nest that had fallen during a storm, (Due to Rainbow Dash, of course) this all changed. She was just about to reach for a small branch when, out of the green flora of the Everfree Forest, popped a strange face. It was dirty. Fluttershy gasped, and shrieked to herself. The creature popped out from its cover, and, as it turned out, was a pony. A small, light red stallion. He popped his head up. Fluttershy noticed the saddlebag he was carrying was ripped. She skimmed over its contents.It was almost empty except for a sleeping bag, an almost flat pillow, and a few scraps of food morsels- a few dropped apples, a bruised orange, two plant roots, a piece of (probably) stale bread. He looked at her. For the first time in the mare's life, she wasn't frightened of a stranger. Instead, she looked back at him. He gazed upon her small figure with starry, sparkling eyes and his scraped, boyish face. She couldn't help but grin. He grinned back, and began walking toward her. “Hi.” He broke the ice. “H-hi.” Fluttershy cursed under her breath for stuttering. She wasn't normally one for talking, but this was different. He was different. He didn't tower over her. Almost equal in height, he matched her. “I'm Fluttershy.” “I'm Emerald.” “That's funny,” she giggled, similar to Rarity, “you're not emerald colored.” “Yeah, I've heard that a hundred times.” he chuckled. They laughed together for a time. “What is somepony like you doing alone in the Everfree Forest anyways?” “Wandering.” “You must be really brave to go out there alone.” “I gues you could say that.” “So, you hungry?” “Well, I think you know the answer to THAT question.” “I guess,” she giggled, “How about a bite to eat?” “That'd be great.” “My treat.” “No, that's fine. Where?” “Sugarcube Corner, a little bakery just a little ways away.” Without hesitation, the pair of ponies left the cottage yard and headed over to the residence of the eccentric pony. Upon their arrival, the Cakes looked up. “Oh, Fluttershy, hello dear. Who's your friend?” “Oh, uhm” “I'm Emerald. Fluttershy was just showing me to the best place to eat in Ponyville.” “Oh, well then you've come to the right place! Take a seat where you'd like and I'll be around n a moment.” said Mrs. Cake with a smile. “Thank you.” said Emerald. The pair sat down in a small booth, furthest from the Cakes' counter. Sitting across from each other, Emerald initiated the conversation. “She was nice. Does she own this store?” “Yes. Her and Mr. Cake. I guess Pinkie Pie does, too.” “Pinkie Pie?” Just as he finished speaking, the party pony came bouncing around the corner. She took one look at him and, just as she'd done upon seeing Twilight Sparkle for the first time, gasped and turned to run away. “Pinkie!” Fluttershy quipped, “Stop!” Emerald and Fluttershy stood up to talk to the pink pony. “Okie dokie lokie. Who's your friend? Is he lonely? Does he have any friends? Is he a spy? Has he had a chimmy cherry chonga?” Pinkie inquired in rapid succession. “I'm Emerald.” “Hi Emerald!” “Hi, Pinkie.” An awkward silence arose. “Well?” “Aren't you gonna answer my questions?” “Oh, sure. I've never had a chimmy cherry chonga, I'm not a spy, and I have a few friends.” “And?” “What?” “Well, are you lonely?” “I was, until I found Fluttershy.” He put his hoof around Fluttershy's shoulders. She blushed and playfully pushed his hoof off of her. She hung her head a bit lower than usual. Pinkie-Pie, thinking she'd just now realized something gasped again, rather loudly. “Are you two- DATING?!?” Pinkie exclaimed and inquired at the same time. The shy pony and beaming stallion looked at each other. They hadn't even thought of dating yet. Consdering they'd just met, the possibility had been eliminated. Or so they thought. They both knew they wanted to, but neither was bold enough to ask the other. “Yes. Yes we are.” Fluttershy said. She felt hot, but she couldn't hold it in anymore. She'd been so lonely since her brother died, she needed somepony to love as much as she loved him. Emerald needed somepony to comfort him. Somepony to shield his secrets. Somepony like his previous filly-friend. He turned and smiled at Fluttershy. She returned the smile. He leaned over to kiss her. Just after their lips met, The door opened and Rainbow Dash entered into SugarCube Corner. “Hey Pinkie-Pie, you ready for the prank on Twili-” she was interrupted by the eccentric pony, “Hey Dashie? Fluttershy's got a colt-friend!” “Don't make me laugh, Pinkie! Fluttershy is too shy to even talk to a stallion.” “Seriously, Dashie. Look!” The cyan mare turned to look at her fellow Pegasus friend. Her mouth dropped. “No way. Fluttershy could NEVER get a colt-friend!” “Excuse me?” Emerald interjected. “What for?” Rainbow challenged. “For insulting this mare.” “It's only true. I mean really, who wants to go out with the pony who hardly talks to her friends, let alone to dudes!” “I do. She is sweet, kind, loving, caring, gentile, intelligent, and best of all, beautiful. What stallion doesn't want to have all that in a filly-friend?” Rainbow just stared, trying to take it all in. With this, she said goodbye. She looked back. She saw the Cakes sharing a piece of pie. She watched as Fluttershy kissed Emerald. Pinkie-Pie just watched Dashie leave the bakery, and returned to making baked goods in the kitchen. Rainbow Dash flew up to her cloud home. Face in pillow, she began to think how sweet Emerald had been to his girlfriend. How much love there was between them. How much SHE wanted that. And what she'd give to have that. But she knew she never could. Her prevention, she suddenly remembered. The only thing that she had to hide from her friends. Because it could ruin her relationships with them in a heartbeat. She wished she could say because she's a Pegasus, but then Fluttershy is, too. Her color wasn't a factor either. Nor was her attitude, or her different element she represented. No, it was because she was a...