Rarity stood on the back porch of the cabin, watching the rain fall over the lake. The awning above her head pattered softly with the raindrops. The day had already been a long, difficult one and it wasn’t even dinner time yet. It was on the upswing, however.
None of the body armor she had access to fit perfectly. Rarity had expected crafted metal plates like the Royal Guard in Canterlot wore. Instead, most human armor was made with ceramics and a strange cloth called Kevlar. It was a synthetic fiber—made from chemicals. Morgan commented, “A triumph of science over magic. And it’s fucking wonderful.”
Rarity had never encountered a woven fabric that was literally stronger than steel. Bear informed her that when it was tooled into a vest with strategically placed ceramic plates it would stop most of the largest bullets available. The whole set was lighter than metal, as well.
Unfortunately, there was no material available for Rarity to begin work crafting her own personal armor. It could be ordered easily enough, however. She excitedly requested everything that could be obtained from the equipment supplier. She didn’t recognize the names of some of it, but was sure she could find a use for everything.
Veronica stepped outside, joining Rarity on the porch. She stood for a moment, looking at the landscape.
“It’s lovely scenery,” commented Rarity, “even in the rain.”
Veronica nodded. “It’s interesting the different landscapes you can see just traveling across the country. I’m from Utah, which has some forests too, but most people think of red rocks and desert.”
“Do all of you have diverse backgrounds?” asked Rarity.
“Sure. Morgan and Rob are both from Indianapolis, but couldn’t be more different. Where you’re from might have a small impact on who you are, but it’s not really important. What you do with yourself isn’t limited by where you were born.”
Rarity knew that well. From humble beginnings in Ponyville, her designs had become noted in the highest circles of Canterlot. Similarly, Twilight had become the mare she was by experiencing a much different place.
Of course, those thoughts led her to contemplate Earth. There was certainly nothing stopping her from living like the people around her, but did she want to? Could she?
When in Roam… Rarity frowned. Of course, humans spelled it Rome, but clearly the expression was universal. While everypony was taught from foalhood to always be themselves, was there a limit?
“We thought it might be nice to find a restaurant this evening and explore the area a little,” commented Veronica.
“Sounds lovely,” agreed Rarity. “Perhaps we could go sightseeing soon. The mountain looks like a good place for a picnic.”
“Oh, that’s Mount St. Helens,” said Veronica. “It’s a volcano.”
“Wha…and you thought it would be a good idea to come here?” demanded Rarity.
“Perfect place for a secret base. Besides, it hasn’t had a real eruption for thirty years or so.”
Rarity shook her head. “I’m going to go get ready for dinner.” She turned, accidentally catching her boot on an uneven porch board that threw her off balance. A convenient mud puddle was waiting to catch her fall.
Her displeased shout was muffled by the rain and damp forest. Veronica stepped off the porch and helped Rarity to get up. It seemed that her spell was keeping her clothing clean, but there was mud on the rest of her.
“This isn’t going to be easy to get out of your hair,” commented Veronica. “I’d suggest cutting it, but I wouldn’t want you to go full G.I. Jane.”
Rarity groaned and went inside to clean up. At least smooth human skin was easier to clean than her usual pelt. After coming out of the shower for the second time that day, Rarity borrowed some clothing that vaguely fit her in order to blend in more successfully with the local population. It was her understanding that there were few military bases in this part of the country and on top of that, the uniform she’d crafted was not regulation at all. What an irony—camouflage would get her noticed.
The six of them got into the SUV. It was a little early for dinner, and Jenny pointed the vehicle along a scenic route. Despite the rain, Rarity appreciated the tour.
There was a town called Ridgefield to the south and west of the cabin. It was not their ultimate destination, and they kept driving. Rarity looked out the window. The buildings were unlike anything that could be found in Equestria, but it had the same small-town feel as Ponyville. It looked like there was quite a bit of agricultural industry.
Swinging her gaze to a fenced pasture, Rarity’s eyes went wide. “Stop!”
“The fuck?” Morgan demanded as his head bounced off the seat in front of him.
Rarity was free of her seatbelt and out the door as soon as the vehicle stopped. She ran across the road and skidded to a halt in front of a barbed wire fence.
“Hello!”
A brown and black equine creature glanced up from the grassy pasture.
“I’m so glad to meet you. Pardon my appearance, I’m not really one of them.” Rarity gesticulated over her shoulder. “Do you know how unpleasant it is to get used to an entirely new body? I must say—”
Rarity paused, considering the blank look on the horse’s face. “Terribly sorry! It’s this spell that makes me speak the local language. Let’s see…”
Digging into her memory, Rarity managed to come up with her native tongue. She repeated her introduction, polished somewhat now that she’d had a chance to revise. There was still no comprehension from her conversation partner. In fact, the horse ignored her and went back to munching grass.
Shocking realization hit Rarity so hard that she took a step back from the fence and tripped, landing in the wet grass. She sat for several seconds, trying to process her jumbled thoughts. The animal in front of her didn’t look exactly like a pony, but the resemblance was close enough that wishful thinking had bridged the gap.
Rarity slowly got up, feeling like a fool, but also even more isolated than before. This was not Equestria. She was not a pony.
It was lucky that Rarity had also applied the waterproofing spell to this set of clothes, but her hair would be wet. She climbed back into the vehicle. The rest studiously pretended that they hadn’t seen her little episode.
It was silent for a few minutes. Rarity was deep in thought, but not so much that she failed to comment on a sign that read Now entering Battleground. “What a dreadful name for a town.”
There was a historical plaque barely visible through the rain. They stopped to read it. The name turned out to be an ironic one, denoting the lack of a battle in the area. That didn’t make any sense to Rarity either, but she supposed that it was better than the alternative.
They continued on to a restaurant that looked promising. The night’s special dish was on display near the door. The sign read Alaskan Halibut Caprese. It contained layers of tomato, basil leaves, and mozzarella cheese, seasoned with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Everything was artfully arranged atop a neat fillet of white fish. It smelled fantastic.
Rarity felt saliva begin to trickle into her mouth, but she quickly pulled her gaze from the dish and followed the group into the interior of the restaurant. They were soon seated by the hostess and given menus.
The selection was not large, Rarity discovered. Better restaurants strove for quality over quantity. Running her eyes over the list of vegetarian dishes failed to turn up anything she couldn’t get in Ponyville.
Her stomach growled. A salad might be filling, but Rarity was unsure if it would satisfy her. Her thoughts strayed back to the special. She could feel what her body wanted.
Rarity folded her hands carefully. They seemed to be subtlly trembling as her nerves twitched in anticpation of the decision that lay in front of her. Instincts existed for a reason. Was it wrong—morally or physically—to go against them? The answer was clearly not a simple yes or no.
The waitress came over. “Are you all ready to order?”
It was a good thing the restaurant was quiet so Rarity could be heard. She wasn’t sure she had the courage to repeat herself. At almost a whisper she said, “I’ll have the halibut special.”
After filling her notepad with orders, the waitress departed. Several minutes passed while Rarity stared at the table. She had little interest in the conversation around her, thinking about what would be delivered to her place setting. The broiled fillet had an interesting aroma, much better than the dead fish Fluttershy fed to some of her animals. But I don’t have to eat it. The garnish looked lovely by itself. That raised an interesting point. Which was worse—tasting meat for the first time or being so impolite to order something she didn’t intend to eat?
Rarity didn’t have much time to ponder. The special dish came out of the kitchen quickly, delivered by the waitress. “Enjoy!”
Rarity nodded and smiled, turning to her dish. She looked up, but the rest of the table carefully ignored her. For that, she silently thanked them. An audience would only make this more difficult.
She picked up her fork and held it for a moment, trying to decide on a target. The grain of the fillet was spaced almost perfectly for bite-size pieces. She poked at it, somewhat surprised that the meat separated easily. It didn’t look like it required any ripping or tearing on her part.
Carefully lifting a small piece of the fish with her fork, Rarity gave it a closer look. It was white and accented with a seasoned brunette mixture of vinegar and olive oil. It did not look like meat at all. She swallowed hard and put it in her mouth.
The deep taste was that of the sour vinegar, but beneath it and the other seasonings was a light flavor that correlated with the scent of the fare. Rarity chewed. Even her flat molars made quick work of the tender meat. She swallowed.
Finished with the first bite, Rarity paused. She didn’t feel any different. If anything, somewhat relieved. She lowered the fork again. I can do this.
She did not eat hurriedly. That would have been unladylike. Diverting her attention, to the people around her, Rarity let her focus shift to the rest of dinner, rather than merely what was on her plate. She thought that a few questioning looks might have come her way, but was somewhat glad that there was no grand Pinkie-style party for her induction into the carnivore club.
The conversation began to pick up. Most of it was fielded by Jenny, who only had a glass of water and no food to occupy her mouth.
“Maybe we could explore the town a little,” she suggested. “We might be here for a while.”
“Maybe find something with a high alcohol content to drink,” suggested Morgan.
“Most ponies just use it for fuel or antiseptic,” commented Rarity.
“Well, that’s humanity for you,” said Rob. “Always discovering some sort of mood-altering substance to imbibe.”
Veronica nodded. “Exactly. And it’s awesome.”
“All right, but I want you all to be responsible,” said Bear, sounding like a mother. “Try to limit yourselves to less than a dozen each.”
“But that’s not going to get me drunk,” argued Veronica, sounding serious.
Bear put the car keys in her hand. “That’s the point, someone has to stay sober-ish.”
“One of these days I’m not going to be the new kid anymore,” Veronica grumbled.
“That’s not why we pick on you,” commented Rob. “You just have the highest tolerance.”
Veronica grumbled something unintelligible about body mass. Rarity cleared her throat. “I volunteer to stay sober.” Trying two new things in one evening might be just a little more adventure than she could handle.
“You can’t drive,” Jenny reminded her.
“What about you?” asked Rarity. “I thought you could only have blood.”
Jenny shrugged. “I’ll be sick, but too drunk to care.”
The waitress delivered the check. As it was being handled, Rob shot Morgan a look in reply to an errant thought. “I appreciate the attempt, but the ‘walks into bar’ jokes aren’t any funnier when you add a unicorn.”