"This is delicious!" she stared down at the nibbled on slice of pizza. She'd immediately tried to pop it into her mouth as soon as I'd set the plate in front of her, but the temperature had been way too much for her to handle.
"You should probably blow on it a little," I suggested, doing so to my own piece. "I'm glad you like it though."
"Oh! Right!" She emulated me, though to a manic degree, blowing as hard as she could. I couldn't hold the laughter in, spitting out some of the soda I'd been drinking.
"Soooo... about those chicken wings," she looked up at me with curious eyes. I'd told her we could talk about more important things once we started eating. That had come a lot sooner than I thought, the delivery arriving in half the projected time.
Well, no point in trying to hide it...
"Lots of humans... eat chicken wings," I took a bite of my pizza, looking directly at her to gauge just how disgusted she would be.
"Hu-mans..." she looked contemplative for a second before grinning. "That's what you are? A human?"
I nodded before swallowing the mouthful of pizza and taking a swig of my drink.
"Humans are the dominant species here on earth," I explained.
"I see," she looked pleased, taking a bite of her slice. "And you're all omnivores?" She spoke with a filled mouth, but it was more endearing than repulsive.
"Most of us," I took another bite as well, swallowing before continuing. "Some are vegetarians. Others decide to take it even further than that."
"So you don't have to eat meat?" she took a drink of her soda, her eyes widening in glee. "Oooohhhhh! I like this a lot!" she took another drink with such gusto she nearly finished the entire cup.
I wasn't sure how badly so much sugar from my world would effect her, but she was way too happy for me to ask her to slow down. "Can I have some more?"
"Sure, just finish what you have there, okay?" I stood up to grab her another can.
"O-kay!" she went back to eating her food. "I've never been friends with someone who eats meat. Ponies only eat veggies... mostly."
"Mostly?" I reached into the fridge, grabbing another soda and walking back to the living room.
"Old mares tales," she lit up when I opened the can and placed it next to her cup on the table. "Stories about ponies that eat other ponies have been used to scare foals for years. I never believed them, but they're there."
"You're taking it awfully well," I polished off my first piece, grabbing another from the box containing my pie. "Honestly, I was a little worried you'd freak out."
"Hmph?" she kept her mouth closed, tilting her head while chewing.
"The fact that I eat meat," I answered. My reply brought understanding to her. She nodded a few times before she swallowed.
"It's natural, isn't it?" she asked once she'd finished her first soda. She lifted the second can and poured the drink into the cup. "Oooh bubbles..." she stared as the carbonation slowly fizzed away. "Being mad at you or grossed out would be the same as you doing the same to me for what I eat."
That's... true.
It's not like Equestria had the same rules and laws as pretty much any country on Earth. Euthanizing a horse wasn't exactly a crime, as far as I knew. Hell, horses that broke a leg or got too old were put down constantly.
That would never happen in Equestria.
"I'm glad," I chuckled, putting away another slice. "Thanks, Izzy."
"No need for gratitude," she giggled, already halfway done with her second soda. "That's what friends are for, right?" her head drifted downwards, a vivid sadness coming to her features.
"Izzy?" I softened my demeanor, hoping I might be able to help her with whatever was bothering her.
"It's nothing," she prodded her second piece with a hoof. "It's just, I hope you don't think I'm weird. Because I don't eat meat."
Seeing her like this was the last thing I wanted. I wiped my hands clean with a napkin and booped her on the nose with my finger.
"We're friends, Izzy." She smiled as she looked up at me. "You don't have to worry about stuff like that." I scratched my face lightly with a fonger, a little embarrassed that I'd done something like that. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with being weird," I chuckled. "Weird is fun."
"If that's really the case," she was absolutely glowing as she looked down at the napkins, grabbing one with a hoof. She rubbed it vigorously, cleaning her hooves much better than she needed to. She booped my nose with her hoof, her grin growing. It was surprisingly soft. "Around me, you don't have to worry about being yourself either." She lowered her foreleg. "Thanks... Jon."