Living in the Crystal Empire

Emerald Peach walked down the road with baskets of berries in a careful but steady pace with his new hooves as he learned how to walk every day. The life that he had accepted was a daily struggle of trial and error but as the day went by, the peachy rust pony felt deep down that it was all worth it. It was a weird feeling, a sensation he had rarely felt in his life, something in the aurora painted sky of the empire reminded him of the wonderful things in the past and oddly, something more. Deep inside, Emerald Peach felt the nagging feeling that something beautiful was out there that called out to him and it was that feeling that reminded him to fight on.

Knowing that he had started a brand new life, a fresh start in a land he strangely loved also helped despite the odd feeling of his new body. Each hardworking day, he felt oddly changed inwardly as he had been physically and he felt he was losing his past self but somehow that felt fine. Somehow.

Whistling to a tune he had herd the day before in the market, Ballad of the Crystal Empire he believed the locals called it, Emerald Peach carried his harvest to the market. Having a straight path ahead of him, the Latino pony loved to stare at the sky as it was lit day and night by the love and cheer harnessed and focused throughout Equestria by the Crystal Heart. Having unbelievable luck in applying for work in the middle of one of the best crop harvests in the empire made enjoying the sights mid work a true pleasure.

Even with all of the wonders of the Crystal Empire, Emerald Peach felt something beckoning him further beyond so he planned to set off and explore when he had enough bits. The earth pony could not take further advantage of his gracious hosts and there was nowhere else to live so he had to go as soon as possible either way. What ever happened, it seemed best to go with the flow and follow the winds of destiny.

It was amazing how lost in thought one could get when running an errand to the city down a calm and silent road.

…..

The empire’s market corner graced the castle square were most of the day to day activities occurred in the city. Food and clothing stands surrounded the crystal castle and tourists from all over Equestria enjoyed the fascinating sights and the authentic crystal pony food.

Emerald Peach enjoyed the sights and made his way towards the castle square where he finally unloaded his cargo near the fruit stands. Setting one of the four bushels on a stand, a crystal pony with an apron approached Emerald with a wide grin before looking at the merchandise “for an odd stallion that can barely trot, you sure make up for it with pure raw strength and determination don’t ya kid?”

“Hey there senor Berry Polish, I just like to put my out-most effort in the work you so graciously gave me” the working earth pony responded as he moved as efficiently as he could to set the fruit neatly in the stand.

“Even for the reduced wage you asked for me, you’re still enthusiastic about the job, your something special kid. Tell you what, once you get a better grip of your legs, ill normalize your rate” Berry Polish kindly offered his Latino worker because he enjoyed his enthusiasm.

Emerald could not agree more although being blessed with a job was good enough. Agreeing to the suggestion, he vowed to work harder for his boss and friend “you've got yourself a deal senor Polish, I assure you that I will not let you down” the rusty peach colored pony proclaimed as he finished unloading the bushels.

As Emerald Stretched his legs to get ready for the long trek back to the orchards, Berry Polish wandered if he could ask his worker were he came from “I don’t mean to intrude in your personal affairs but it’s been nagging me ever since I hired you. Just where you are from Emerald, I sure know you are not from the empire and you have a rather peculiar accent.”

Looking back at his boss, the Latino stallion knew the whole truth would sound outlandish but there was no sense in lying “it’s no problem at all senor, I pretty much stumbled into the Crystal Empire when I wanted to have a fresh start in my life and decided stay a bit. I had no were to sleep so Prince Shining Armor has graciously allowed me to stay in the castle but that was more than enough for me so I cook my own meals” Emerald Peach spoke rather calmly for someone not telling the whole truth as Berry Polish looked on with a face of surprise

“I am very grateful so I have been paying the crown for my stay whether it’s accepted or not, just those not feel right when something is free” Emerald answered truthfully as he started to jump lightly on his hooves to warm up his legs and keep them active.

“Being a foreigner, how do you like the empire so far? I know it may not seem so but everyone here is much older than what we appear” Berry Polish stated, a little intrigued about his story.

“My stay has been amazing so far, everything looks so beautiful and everyone is actually rather kind to me which is weird considering where I come from” the rusty peach colored pony commented with a single wag of his eye brows and a simple chuckle to emphasize the drastic contrast.

“Was it really so bad were you come from? And you came here to get away?”

“It wasn't really my choice to come here, I…err, practically stumbled into town but so far I am really enjoying my stay. I guess you can call it the best accident of my life and I don’t really mind starting literally from zero in a hospitable place like this” Emerald spoke of taking his situation in stride and rolling with what he had even when it was bitter work. Having lost everything was ironically the best thing that happened to him but he did feel a little guilty about something that he left behind.

He had to look into the Crystal Mirror and set things right with those he left behind as soon as he could.

“Well senor, I better get back to work. It was wonderful talking to you but the fields aren't going to take care of themselves” Emerald declared after a good stretch before the conversation could have gotten too hard to manipulate. If he needed to keep a secret right now, it was the place of origin because no one needed to know just yet if ever at all.

Escaping a rather awkward conversation, the Latino stallion began to whistle his way back to the berry fields.

…..

After a long hard day in the fields followed by his daily end of the day reading in the library, Emerald made his way to the Crystal Castle to finally settle down for the next day. Arriving at one of the four gates of the castle with his duffle bag on his back, the Latino earth pony walked up to his escort to get settled.

“Hola, how are you doing man? You know, I really appreciate how careful you guys are about guests and I really don’t mind being ‘escorted’ around because the bedding is worth it” the Latino pony began a friendly one way chat just to brake the usual silence as he was escorted through the crystalline halls. The guard simply kept quiet as the farm hand rambled on.

“I mean, who am I to question having someone making sure I am up to anything? You guys are doing it because you care, aside from your pay but I am cool with this. Really I am”

“You don’t mind being watch because of suspicion?” the guard finally broke the silence as they continued to make their way down the brightly lit halls.

“I am thankful; allowing me to crash in one of your guest rooms is more than enough!” Emerald responded as he started to whistle a jazzy tune he listened to in the plaza.

The guard raised a questioning eye brow “For some one that is not fully trusted, you are rather trusting. I am also supposed to remind you that you don’t have to pay Princess Cadence for your stay but you’re going to do it either way.”

“I don’t like being given anything free without paying it back because it those not feel right” Emerald commented as he stopped to set down his bag and pull out a bag of bits to pay for his stay.

“You know you don’t have to do it, the Princess is more than happy to help out someone in need. We don’t even feed you and you pay the crown.”

Having just started working, Emerald was living on just 2 meals a day by skipping diner as he saved his money. Still he did his best to meet his needs and pay for his stay “You can call me mule but I am not taking anything I can’t work for so if you would be so kindly” Emerald said as he pulled out half of his hard earned money for the guard to deliver to the Princess “tip included good sir.”

Having arrived at the room, the guard gave a defeated sigh and accepted the money before taking his leave. Alone, Emerald grinned at the unbelievably comfortable bed and jumped into it after dropping his bad on the side following up with a joint crackling stretch.

Silently enjoying the feeling of his fluffy bed after a long and hard day, Emerald could not help but think how strange things were becoming. It wasn't long ago that he first stumbled into this magical new world in a strange new body but he had been slowly changing as he adapted. Every day that went by was another day that felt less like his past self. Every hour that went by, the only lie he had spoken in this land was slowly becoming a reality as he felt less like Giuseppe.

It somehow felt right that he was losing himself to Emerald Peach and this new world but it did not make it all any less thought provoking. It had been challenging enough to adapt to this world although everything seemed friendly and simple enough, but was it worth to leave it behind once he had the chance? And how did he know he would be the same once he went back to his realm? Maybe it was destiny that he stumbled into the mystical wooden stallion framed mirror and fate had done him a solid one.

Maybe it was time he lost himself to find his new, promising life as Emerald Peach the friendly hard working and friendly farm hand. It had a nice ring to it and with such a wonderful world before him, he just had to explore it once he had enough bits. With his motor skills improving, a few extra jobs were ideal to keep him busy and make even more money for his plans.

The decision to stay and live in a world of magic and friendliness was rather liberating, it almost seemed he really disliked his old complex life. Still, there was one thing left to do about his old life that he needed to do before finally settling in in peace.

“Mama….I am sorry” Emerald whispered silently to himself as his eyelids were becoming unbelievably heavy. Due to the day’s hard work or the bed’s fluffiness, the Latino earth pony soon fell into a deep slumber were he had landed as his mind trailed to the world of dreams.