Twilight decides the best plan is to fill Rarity in on the way to dinner. She briefly considers eating at the bar, but thanks to Dash's social media escapades providing their electronics, she's still got a fair bit of money, and she knows Rarity will appreciate something a bit fancier. So the three ponies walk to Harvard Square proper.
Throughout the walk, she can see Rarity's eyes darting to the buildings and people, her mouth slightly open. She's polite, of course, and listens attentively to Twilight's story, but Twilight can almost see the questions and excitement building up. She finishes just as they're approaching the square itself.
"Well Twilight," Rarity says, "that's quite a lot to take in. I don't know what to say."
"You looked like you had plenty of ideas on the way over," Rainbow says.
"Well, yes, but that's not about anything important. Not about Twilight's - our - situation here. But this whole place, a world where everyone wears clothes all the time--"
She stops as they turn the corner into Harvard Square proper. It's full dark now, but this early in the evening, everything is still open and lit up, and crowds of people still fill the sidewalks and lawns. The benches surrounding the paved square outside the subway station are similarly packed, and street performers and vendors fill it.
"Oh my," Rarity whispers. The square seems to agree. Assorted clumps of humans can see them now, and pause just long enough to make their surprise clear, before moving on about their business. "Oh, turning heads already, and I haven't even made us outfits! Now, where were you taking us, Twilight?"
They walk across the busy square, and Twilight nearly laughs aloud at Rarity's obvious inner conflict. Her eyes dart constantly from human to human. Even Twilight noticed early on in her stay how many different kinds of outfits humans here wear, and her research into their names gave her some glimpse into the incredibly complicated messages they send to others, though she found herself too involved in other projects to really work it out. She also quickly noticed that for all their similarities in coloration, human bodies vary far more than ponies in type - height, weight, and proportion. She can only imagine what Rarity's trained eyes and mind make of the dizzying variety on display in the square.
Despite her curiosity, though, Rarity holds her head high and face aloft, steady, proud, and beautiful, looking for all the world like she's on a runway. And the attention they get warrants it. Where Twilight alone drew glances, and Twilight and Rainbow drew attention, Rarity seems to command it. Twilight remembers that Rachel claimed, and her own research substantiated, that Americans don't have nobility, but something in Rarity's stance seems to have translated even across species lines. Where people politely tried not to look too long or point at Rainbow and Twilight, now they whisper excitedly, or stare after the ponies as they pass. Twilight knows rarity well enough to tell that she's pleased.
Soon they arrive at the heart of the square, a rectangular lawn contained by wooden fences and surrounded on all sides by shops and restaurants. It's always reminded Twilight of some of the commons on the edges of Ponyville, and the humans sitting or lying on the grass of the ponies there. She has a soft spot for it for this reason. Also, Rosie knows the owner of one of the nicer restaurants here, one that has some tables on the edge of the green. She leads the group there, and luckily there's an open outside table, perfect for watching the crowd and enjoying the evening.
"Well, this is lovely," Rarity says, and picks up the menu. She frowns. "Oh dear, there's quite a lot of...flesh, in these dishes."
"You get used to it," Rainbow says.
"Used to eating meat? For shame, Rainbow Dash."
"Of course not," Rainbow rolls her eyes, "used to ignoring it on the menu. I'm not going to eat it, that's gross."
"Apparently horses and ponies here eat it sometimes," Twilight says, "but it doesn't seem to be very good for them either."
"They have ponies here?" Rarity and Dash ask, basically simultaneously.
"Not like you think," Twilight says, "they can't talk. They're certainly not nearly as smart as we are, and seem like they might not even be self-aware."
"That's bucked up," Rainbow says.
"You have no idea. I saw some out on Annie-Jane's farm while I was recovering there. It was...really strange."
They spend a moment looking at the menu.
"I must say," Rarity says after a moment, "I know some Prench, but either it's different here, or I've forgotten more than I thought, because I have no idea what most of these dishes are."
"Tell me about it," Rainbow says.
"Let's look it up," Twilight pulls out her phone and stylus, and begins prodding at it as Rarity looks on, eyes wide.
"Darling, what is that?"
"Oh,' Twilight says, and quickly explains.
"Well. When you told me they had machines that could do things our magic can't, I have to admit I didn't quite understand. That's quite remarkable."
"I know! Don't worry, we'll get you one tomorrow, that store is already closed. I've only used the phone function once, but even just that is incredible. It's such a simple thing to be able to do at heart - send a voice from one object to another - but it changes so much. It's so much more powerful and versatile than Spike's letters. Can you imagine if we'd had something like this in Ponyville?"
"I think Pinkie would die of happiness when she figured out how to send group texts," Rainbow chuckled, "she could invite everyone to a party at any time."
"At this rate, it seems like she will," Twilight says, "I can't imagine it'll just be us three that end up here."
The three stare at their menus for a moment.
"Twilight," Rarity says, "I know you're a bit worried about, ah, what you should and shouldn't do with your princess powers here but...do you think this world is prepared for Pinkie Pie?"
"Is anyone?"
"Fair point."
They manage to figure out at least which of the dishes on the menu contain dead animals, and when the waiter returns they have their orders ready. Twilight also orders the table a pot of tea, to a smile from Rarity.
"Well, I must say," the unicorn begins, "this is a charming place, Twilight. And so many outfits! We must look terribly out of place without them. Will I have time tomorrow to throw a little something together for us? It seems like there's so much going on here, but I'm afraid in all your story I didn't quite pick up what you plan to do next, and when."
Twilight blushes. "I actually don't have a full plan."
Rarity gasps. "No checklist detailing every waking moment? Are you sure you're my Twilight, not one from a very close mirror world?"
"Ever since I woke up in that farmhouse, I haven't been able to keep more than a rough schedule," Twilight admits, "there's just too much I don't know. It feels like I've been in reaction mode. I have a work schedule, and that's about it."
"Well, perhaps that's just what you need, then! Can that machine make a schedule?"
"Of course."
"Then let's get to it! When do you work tomorrow?"
"I start at four. It's an exciting day tomorrow, actually! We have a special monthly 'club night' where we take down most of the tables and set up a dance floor. You two should come and dance!"
"Oh, I do love a good dance, even if it seems there are no handsome stallions in this world," Rarity says.
"Could be pretty cool, I guess," Rainbow's tone doesn't really match her words, but then she perks up, "oh, hey, 'club night'? You mean like, dance club?"
"I guess? I haven't worked one yet."
"Rares, I think that's like Vinyl's kind of dancing," Rainbow chuckles, "not really your scene."
"Oh. Well, I shall make do. I suppose at least there will be some exciting clothing to look at." Rainbow rolls her eyes.
"In any case. Anything else, Twilight?"
"Not unless Rachel calls about that witness we pulled out of the fire. I suppose the pony bill might go to vote tomorrow too, but there's nothing we can do about that one."
"Perfect! Then you should mark your schedule from noon to four. We're going shopping! And then I'm going to make you girls fabulous again."
"I can't wait," Rainbow deadpans.
Despite the pegasus's grousing, it turns out to be a successful afternoon of shopping and sewing. Rainbow's good reputation at the Verizon store persists, so they're able to get Rarity a phone and tablet without hassle or excessive spending. The manager, a recent Harvard grad named Mary, even agrees to come to the bar after her shift. And while Twilight is quite confident that Dash won't be making much use of the outfits Rarity made for her, the princess herself feels much better about going on shift in one of her own new outfits, a dapper black and white affair modeled after the suits the wait staff wore at the restaurant the night before. At her request, the seamstress even included pants. She'd asked why Twilight felt so strongly about covering her hindquarters, but dropped the issue at her warning glance.
Twilight's shift begins equally well. Rosie finally has her replace the sign, and club night doubles as a celebration of the new name. Still despite the success of the day so far, Twilight feels tense, and only as the first customers come trickling in, talking about the news, does she realize it's because of the upcoming vote. As of four-thirty, though, it becomes clear that the slow-moving congress won't get to the vote today.
Speculation runs wild among the early patrons, still more interested in food than the dancing that will come later in the evening, and Twilight can't help but overhear enough to piece the situation together. Both the upper and lower houses seem bitterly divided, mostly along partisan lines, and debate raged throughout the afternoon, but most agree that the vote will come soon, probably tomorrow morning. Whether out of genuine support or regard for her presence, all of the patrons seem to support the bill, but many worry it is doomed, and cite the lack of filibuster as evidence that the opposition know it can't pass a straight-up vote.
Her stomach knots up at that, and Twilight refocuses on her work. Rarity and Rainbow - Twilight notes to her surprise that the latter is, in fact, wearing one of her new outfits - are sitting at a table on the edge of the dance floor. Rarity sips from a glass of white wine, while Dash is grinning into a mug of hard cider. They both smile and nod vigorously at her in greeting, and Rarity levitates her glass in a toast. Twilight smiles back, but her stomach churns again.
It isn't long before the bar fills up, and loud music - as suspected, more of Vinyl's style than Octavia's - begins pounding through the bar. It's incredibly busy, and serving a milling crowd of dancers is a totally different experience than table service, so Twilight's shift flies by in a whirlwind of duty and stress.
It ends at eleven, but club night keeps the bar open until two, adding an extra closing shift. By the time she's done, though, Twilight's body aches, and her head and stomach feel like two great balls of stress and fatigue. She sees Rarity sitting primly on a bar stool, sipping another wine and chatting with several well-dressed humans. Her friend smiles, and the blue glow of her magic engulfs one of their sleeves, gently pulling it up for her to examine.
Rainbow Dash is occasionally visible above the dance floor, flitting into the air in some absurd move, usually shortly followed by a cheer or whistle. Twilight can't help but smile, and briefly thinks of joining one of her friends, but her eyes are drooping, and she still can't entirely avoid the thought of the vote, coming so soon. Shaking her head to clear it, she turns and heads upstairs to their room.
Her plan is to do some research on the day's debate, look up what a 'filibuster' is, and perhaps look for some blogs speculating about the likely outcome of the vote. The reality is that she passes out almost as soon as she lies down.