Chapter 3 begins:

Emerald listens in on the conversation the best he can from his position on the couch.

"-your part in all of this anyway? You just found him in Trotton and that's it?" Joyride says, bemused.

"He was the first unfortunate soul I came across on my very first outing with Ponycare. He was escaping from a terrible life, he needed help! It was like… Fate. I have to help him, something just… I just can't leave him be, the poor child. It's almost destiny."

"I don't know, sounds like a coincidence to me."

After a few seconds, Hope pipes up.

"Another thing… When the soldiers came up to the camp at Trotton… The were waving the Jewel Family Crest."

"Ohhh~!" Joyride says, "Suddenly it all makes sense. Wanna make daddy angry by messing with his ol' pal, eh? Pretty petty, Hopey Dope."

"N-no, it's nothing like that ! I was just mentioning it because I think… I think Emerald might be a bit over his head here…"

"Oh yeah, almost certainly." Joyride says, unconcerned.

Emerald doesn't hear anything for a while after that, and decides to get up and greets the two of them sitting at the dining room table. He is passed a plate of… Something, and he starts eating.

"Sleep well, Lil' Perv?" Joyride says, raising and lowering her eyebrows knowingly.

"Yes." Emerald says suddenly feeling hot in the face and then adds, "Yes, um… Thank you…"

"Well, I have a question for you." Joyride says, waving her fork around a little, "What is your plan exactly? I mean, you aren't going to keep running forever right? Hope has to go back to her post eventually…"

Joyride then points at the moving box near the door and continues, "…And I have to take that over to the big city. We all got a life. What are your plans now that you are free to live'em?"

Emerald hadn't thought too much about that. He's mostly just been living day to day, but perhaps he should come up with some sort of plan or purpose.

What does Emerald do?