//------------------------------// // Short: "Diplomacy" // Story: Domain of Friendship // by Cold Bolt //------------------------------// Scarlet Starbeam’s eyes glazed over as she stared at the book propped open before her; she was hardly accustomed to spending such long stretches of time reading, and the unfamiliar script of these pony books wasn’t helping matters much. Granted, she did find herself thankful she could even read it in the first place… but after having spent the better part of the day cooped up in the library, this wasn’t much consolation. After a moment’s stretch, she glanced at the clock to find that several hours had gone by without her noticing. “Whew… Twilight, might we have a rest soon? This is proving far more tiring than I anticipated…” “Sure! Spike should be almost finished making dinner anyway.” With a flourish, Twilight Sparkle snatched up a nearby bookmark and laid it in the book she’d been reading as she closed it. “Actually… now that we have a moment, there’s something I wanted to ask you about.” Scarlet blinked. “Oh? What might that be?” “Well…” An eager grin slowly spread across Twilight’s face as she spun around to face Scarlet. “I was hoping you could tell me a few things about humans! I’d love to hear anything and everything you know. No detail is irrelevant!” After a moment’s pause, Scarlet giggled softly. “Well, I doubt I could do the whole of human history and culture justice off the top of my head…” She paused a moment more to gather her thoughts. “…but perhaps I could offer serviceable answers if you had any particular questions in mind.” Twilight’s gaze trailed along the ceiling as she pondered what to ask about first, her mind drifting from science to architecture, government to trade, art to music… when an earlier conversation suddenly resurfaced in her memory. “Oh, I remember now! There was something I wanted to ask first.” Scarlet nodded. “By all means.” Twilight cleared her throat. “Okay, so… the other day, I remember Tank Buster saying something about needing to ‘get used to’ being a herbivore. What did he mean by that, exactly?” “Humans are omnivores,” Scarlet explained. “Our diet consists of a balance of plant and meat products. The idea of subsisting exclusively on fruits and vegetables - also including hay, it would seem - is a rather… uncomfortably foreign one.” “You, um… you eat meat, huh?” Twilight rubbed her neck and glanced away briefly. “Uh… so where does your meat come from, then?” Scarlet rested her chin on her hoof. “Well, fishing must certainly be the most predominant segment of the industry, but farming of poultry and cattle is also fairly widespread…” Twilight’s heart tripped on a beat. “Wait. Cattle? Does… does that mean you eat cows?” “Why, of course!” Scarlet offered a pleasant smile. “I was always fond of a good rib eye steak myself.” “I, that’s…” Twilight raised a hoof to her forehead. “Oh dear…” Scarlet quirked an eyebrow. “Er, Twilight? Are you feeling alright? You suddenly look rather unwell…” “I… think I need to go lie down.” Twilight stood up slowly. “Um… thanks for offering me some insight into what humans are like, Scarlet. I’ll think of… something else to ask about later.” With that, she made for the stairs to the upper floor. “Dinner’s ready!” Emerging from the kitchen carrying two large plates piled high with spaghetti, Spike watched as Twilight disappeared up the steps toward the bedroom and gave Scarlet a quizzical look. Scarlet stared blankly after Twilight for a few seconds before finally meeting Spike’s gaze. “Was it something I said…?”