Chapter 4- First Contact
Emerald sighed to himself, trotting around the tree silently. He was bored, and thankfully it was only almost midnight. Maybe he could walk around a bit. After all, there was a path leading from Zecora’s home, presumably to town. If he left a note, he could make it to town and explore it a little bit. He went back inside, grabbing a parchment and some ink he found, and with a careful hoof, wrote a note for Zecora to read if he didn’t make it back before sunrise.
Smiling to himself, he decided to tape it to the cauldron in the middle of the room, since it was probably among the first things Zecora checked on in the day. Hoping for the best, Emerald went off on his way, carefully treading the dirt road.
Soon, he made it to the edge of the forest, and trotted on as he saw a quaint looking town not that much farther. It only took a few minutes to get there, and he looked around as he approached it. The houses were mostly modest, simple cottages that most ponies lived in. Of course, there were several exceptions, such as the barn he had seen nearby, or the strange building that looked like it was made of gingerbread and other miscellaneous candies. Or the giant tree that seemed to be made out of crystals. If he remembered correctly, this was Ponyville, home to Twilight Sparkle, the Alicorn Princess of Friendship. How you could be a princess ruling over all of friendship, Emerald didn’t know. Maybe it was just a title?
Shaking himself from his musings, he continued to trot around town. It was very quiet, since most ponies were asleep at this hour. Emerald silently took in every detail, each piece of wood, each loose stone on the ground, etc. He wanted to find this other pony who was apparently in a similar situation as he was, so that means they’d be wandering around at night like he was… right?
Emerald continued to walk around. It was so peaceful at night… It was wonderful to move at night, he supposed. It was nice since he didn’t have to deal with all of those crazy ponies during the day. Then again, sometimes it got lonely. Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers, eh?
He was broken from his musings as he bumped into something roughly. He fell on his stone flank with a grunt, rubbing his head. Even if he were stone, it still hurt a little… Emerald looked up as he began to apologize. ¨I’m so sorry about that! I want looking where I was going, and...¨ He trailed off as he got a good look at the pony he had bumped into.
The pony stood back up. She had a short, slightly curly mane that was off to the side. What stood out the most to Emerald, was that not only was the pony an alicorn, but she looked to be made of stone. “No, no. It should be me apologising. I didn’t mean to bump into you, mister…” She also trailed off as she looked at the stallion in front of her. The two ponies just stood there in stunned awe for a few seconds, not quite believing their eyes.
“.... Uh… Hi..?” Emerald said hesitantly. He hadn’t really thought out what he’d say very well… Oh well, he could just wing it. Right?
The mare stood there, silent for a few minutes, and just when he thought that he would need to reiterate himself, she spoke. “Erm… H-Hello…” The two stood there for a few minutes again in awkward silence. “... So, who are you?”
Emerald coughed into his hoof, then put on a smile. “The name’s Emerald Flight, though I prefer to be called Emerald. Might I ask your name as well?” The mare giggled a little.
“Well mannered, I see… Anyway, my name is Emily Heartsworth, but you can call me Emily.” She introduced herself with a grin, causing Emerald to chuckle sheepishly.
“Nice to meet you…” He then stared at her. “...Are you truly like me..?” Emerald asked her, his face becoming serious. Emily hesitated for a moment, but decided to nod, seeing that they were most likely alike. The similarities were just too obvious to skip over. “So… Any idea on what to do now?”
Emily shrugged. “I just wander around town, and look for a spot where I can be a statue and not be bothered in the day. Unless you count that as interesting, the night can be a little dull at times.”
Emerald simply sighed. “Welp, it’s better than nothing… Let’s take a walk.” And with that, the two began to walk around town, side by side.