Rarity's POV
Warmth. All she felt was warmth. She was surprised at this. Twilight said that she ended up on a sidewalk when she woke up here. I can't imagine any sidewalk feeling warm. Rarity thought to herself. She slowly opened her eyes to see where she and her friends had landed. When she opened them up, she instantly was confused. For instead of lying on the sidewalk in front of the school that Twilight had talked about, she found that she was lying on a large wooden canopy bed in one of the most grand bedrooms she had ever seen.
Rarity sat up and looked around the room. There were two large windows covered by yellow curtains that let in faint rays of sunlight into the room. Beside the bed was an candle that flickered and danced with a slight breeze. Rarity then looked at herself and was amazed. She had indeed turned into a human, from what Twilight had described. Her alabaster fur was gone and she only saw pale skin on her body. She saw that across the room was a mirror, and she decided to make her way over to it to look at herself fully. She slowly got of the bed and swung her new feet over the edge and cautiously set them down on the floor. Her "feet" as Twilight had called them, were strange to her, but she surprisingly seemed to be able to balance herself on them with relative ease. She slowly walked over to the mirror and when she finally saw her reflection, she gasped in amazement.
She was beautiful! Her face was perfectly shaped and her hair was still as grand and fine as usual, if not better. It was pulled back and tied up in a bun that pointed down from her head. She wore a gorgeous long white night gown that had lace around the collar and the cuffs of the sleeves. She was already starting to get inspiration for future projects.
Knock Knock
Rarity turned around sharply as she heard the knock and saw that it came from a large wooden door at the far end of the room.
"Missus? Are you awake? Are you alright?" A female voice came from the other side of the door. Rarity contemplated whether or not to answer. But then she realized that she had not been harmed and must have been brought here by whoever was at the door.
"Um yes I am fine." She answered. "Do come in."
The door clicked and then creaked open. Rarity saw that the figure was indeed female. She wore a pretty but simple ensemble of a long, round green skirt with the upper portion of the dress being light tan in color with white trim around the neck. Around her she wore a sort of white cloth hat that seemed to cover her entire head. The woman also wore a white apron over her dress, This led Rarity to believe that this was a maid of some sort.
"Good morning Miss." The lady said smiling, dipping slightly in greeting. "My name is Clarabelle, and Mister Davids asked me to bring you these." She held out a bundle of clothes, which Rarity grabbed from her. Rarity then unfurled the bundle to see it fully and nearly gasped in amazement.
The dress was stunning. It was made out of powder blue silk and was pleated in the back. A crimson red ribbon was tied at the front on the chest and the sleeves fluffed out at the ends.
"Do you like the dress Missus?" Rarity was snapped out of gazing in awe at the dress when she was reminded that she wasn't the only one in the room.
"Like it? I love it!" She exclaimed while hugging the dress tightly in her arms. "I simply must thank this Mister Davids you speak of when I see him."
"Well that is another reason that I am here Miss." Clarabelle smiled. "Mister Davids wants to meet you and Miss Fluttershy in the parlor room and he sent Florence and I to assist you in dressing."
Rarity's eyes went wide. "Wait. Fluttershy is here as well?" She asked excitingly.
Clarabelle nodded. "Yes ma'am. She is in the room down the hall being dressed by Florence."
Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't alone here. She simply had to go make sure Fluttershy was alright, but she decided it would be best to get dressed herself. It seemed hardly appropriate to go wandering around a house in nothing but a nightgown.
"Thank you very much Clarabelle. And please call me Rarity."
Clarabelle nodded. "Of course Miss Rarity."
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Fluttershy's POV
Fluttershy was blushing redder then a tomato. She had never thought herself as being attractive before and she had always been too shy to try and make herself attractive to others. So when Florence had finished helping her into the butter yellow dress and tied up her hair with ribbons and bows, and showed Fluttershy herself in a mirror after all was finished, she was astonished. She looked like she was member of the Canterlot elite in human form. She could hardly believe her eyes.
"You look absolutely stunning Madame Fluttershy." Florence said as she put some finishing touches on her hair. "Très bien."
Fluttershy giggled lightly. She liked Florence already. She had been a little frightened when she woke up to see that she was in her room. However her calm demeanor took away that nervousness and had coaxed Fluttershy out of bed. Now she was just nervous about meeting this "Mister Davids" that Florence said wanted to see her. She had always had trouble talking to stallions back in Equestria and she feared that it would be the same situation here.
"Madame Fluttershy." Fluttershy looked behind her and now saw that Florence was standing by the door. "It is almost time to meet Mister Davids." She then opened the door to the main upper hallway. "If you will please follow me."
Fluttershy hesitated before slowly making her way to the door and into the hallway. When she entered the hallway she saw coming out of a door further down the hallway, a lady in a gorgeous blue dress with violet hair. At first she didn't recognize the woman, but then she remembered what Florence had told her earlier.
"Rarity? Is that you?" She asked.
"Fluttershy darling!" Rarity ran up to her dear friend and wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace. Fluttershy could feel tears start to form in her eyes as she hugged Rarity back. She had been so worried that her friends had been hurt and were alone somewhere dangerous. It was a relief to hear that Rarity was alright.
Rarity soon pulled out of her embrace and looked at her friend. Her eyes went wide as she got a full look at her. "My goodness dear Fluttershy! You look absolutely stunning!"
Fluttershy blushed and looked down at the floor at this compliment. "I'm not that pretty." She whispered.
"Oh but you are my dear." Rarity insisted. "That dress compliments you perfectly. You simply must allow me to make you a similar one when we get back home."
Fluttershy looked up at Rarity with a small smile. "That okay, if you want to that is."
"Ahem." Fluttershy looked behind them to see that Florence and Clarabelle were standing at the top of a large staircase. "Mister Davids is expecting you." Florence reminded them. Fluttershy and Rarity looked at each other and smiled. They then quickly made their way down to the stairs behind the two maids.
When they reached the bottom of the steps, they directed by Florence and Clarabelle towards a large dining hall. Inside the dining hall, they found a large wooden table with lavish decorations, tablecloths and fine china adorning it. Towards the far end of the table were two wooden chairs facing each other on opposite sides. What caught their attention the most however, was the human male sitting at the head of the table near the chairs.
As Fluttershy and Rarity entered the room, the man immediately got up from his chair and made his way towards them. Fluttershy saw that the man was about 2 inches taller then her. His hair was jet black and was tied in the back in a ponytail. He wore an open green brown coat that had gold braiding around the buttons and edges of the coat and collar. A vest of the same color was worn underneath with the same gold braiding. His pants were a lighter shade of brown and were connected to white stockings at the calves. The mans face was slightly square shaped and his nose had a slight point to it. His eyes were emerald green and they seemed sparkle with the morning light that shone through the windows of the dining room.
The man reached the pair of women with a bright smile on his face. He then grabbed each of their hands one at a time and planted a kiss on top of them. Fluttershy blushed even bright than before at this gesture, but she could tell that the man was just trying to be polite. The man looked at the two, continuing to smile a bright smile that Fluttershy could see was a smile of relief.
"Glad to see that you two are alright." He said with a smooth deep voice that reminded Fluttershy of Fancy Pants. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Andrew George Davids. I welcome you both to my estate. You both gave us quite a scare."
Fluttershy was confused. But she didn't have the courage to ask questions. Rarity did however. "What do you mean sir? What happened to us while we were asleep?" She asked.
Mister Davids gestured to the chairs at the table. "Why don't we sit down first?" He suggested.
"Thank you sir." Rarity replied.
"Um thank you." Fluttershy whispered.
Soon the two ladies had taken their places in the chairs on either side of the table. Fluttershy sat to the left of Mister Davids's chair, with Rarity sitting to the right. Mister Davids sat down at the head and began to explain.
"You see ladies, the reason you are here is because we found you alone out in the swamps to the west." He began.
"Who's we?" Rarity inquired.
"Myself and my fellow members of the South Carolina militia." Mr. Davids answered. "We were out riding along the road that runs through the swamp when we saw a flash of light coming from the trees. We stopped to investigate and we found you two lying face down in the leaves and brush. Well we couldn't leave two innocent women lying alone in the swamps now could we? So we carried you back here to my estate and I have had Florence and Clarabelle look after you ever since."
Fluttershy smiled. She was grateful that this man had helped her and Rarity. "Th-thank you for helping us." she whispered.
Davids leaned in towards her slightly. "I'm sorry dear, what was that?" He asked.
"Thank you."
Davids heard it this time and smiled. "My dear. You have no need to thank me. I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I left you two out there now would I? It's a good thing that those bloody Tories didn't find you first. God knows what they would've done to you."
"Tories?" Rarity asked questioningly.
Davids took a sip from his glass of water before answering. "The Loyalists. The bloody traitors who are fighting against us Patriots." He looked at the two women who wore confused expressions on their faces. "You two aren't from around here are you?" Both Fluttershy and Rarity shook their heads. Rarity then began to go into an explanation that was similar to one being told further north. In return Davids explained the current situation in North America. Both of the girls listened with growing concern.
"And now Washington's Army has been driven clean out of both New York and New Jersey." Davids continued with a frown. "People are saying that Philadelphia will fall soon as well." He quickly then put on a face of determination. "But I have confidence. I believe that if we all just stay the course, we will prevail over our oppressors."
"Here here." Rarity said with enthusiasm. "I hope that these English brutes learn there lessons."
"Well said madame." Davids said.
Fluttershy stayed quiet. She didn't like that these people from England were being so harsh to their own people, but at the same time she didn't like fighting.
Davids set down his glass and pushed his chair back from the table. "Now then. Today is a very special day in that I am to go and meet with the officials in Charleston about enlisting my militia company into the Continental army as regulars. Washington will need all the troops that he can get after these setbacks. I must begin my trip today and I was wondering if you two ladies would like to join me?"
Fluttershy was a little hesitant. She was nervous about being in a new world, but in one like this. But when she looked at her friend Rarity, she was met with a look that said to her "it will be alright". With this in mind, she nodded her agreement to Rarity.
"We would be honored Mister Davids.
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Rarity POV
Rarity could only marvel at the sight before her eyes. After traveling across some of the most beautiful country that she had seen in a while with Fluttershy and Mr Davids in a horse drawn coach fit for royalty, they had arrived in the city of Charleston, Mr. Davids had said was the capital of South Carolina.
The city was beautiful. From the hilltop leading into the city, Rarity could see the masts of dozens of ships in the harbor. As they entered the city Rarity saw that it was bustling with life. Women walked around in beautiful dresses and hats while the men wore their capes and coats with great poise. The fashion and style could be compared with that of Canterlot. Rarity also saw traces of the conflict that Mr Davids had informed them of.
In certain place she could see what she recognized as cannons being pulled behind teams of horses across the street. They were followed by men in dirty earth tone clothing with bags and other various pouches hanging off of them. She could also see a group of about 20 men dressed in
blue coats with red facings and wearing black hats with a silver upside down crescent moon on them, marching towards them in a column four across carrying strange long sticks on their shoulders. Davids explained that they were weapons called muskets. Davids then had the driver of the coach pull over next to them.
"Excuse me Lieutenant." He called leaning out of the coach window. One of the soldiers, one who carried a sword at his side instead of a musket and had a silver epaulette on his right shoulder turned around and walked up towards the coach.
"Pardon me Lieutenant, but could you tell me where the 2nd South Carolina Regiment would be located?" Davids asked the young officer.
The man pointed back down the road from where the soldiers had been coming from. "The rest of the regiment is down at the docks receiving arms sir." He said. "Just head straight down this road."
Davids nodded to the officer. "Thank you very much lieutenant." He then turned up to his driver. "Straight down the road Mr Percival please."
"Yes sir." The driver replied and called to the horses and drove forward.
Soon the coach arrived at the docks, which appeared to be even busier than the city. Everywhere she looked Rarity could see soldiers and sailors carrying muskets, crates and barrels on and off ships and around the piers. Officers were shouting orders to their men and ships bells rang in the air.
The coach came to a stop in front of a ship with two masts. Davids exited the coach first, then extended his hand and helped Rarity and Fluttershy exit.
"Excuse me Ladies." Davids said and proceeded to walk over to another officer who was directing a group of soldiers in the unloading of supplies.
"Pardon me Lieutenant Davids." He said with a smile, "But I couldn't help admiring the way you move your men so efficiently."
The officer turned around after hearing this. Rarity looked on and saw that the man was young. He had dark black hair and bright blue eyes. A smile was also starting to spread across his face. He then wrapped his arms around Mister Davids, who returned the embrace.
"It is good to see you father." The officer said.
"It is good to see you as well Matthew son." Mr Davids smiled. He then turned around and walked his son towards Rarity and Fluttershy. "Son, I would like you to meet these two lovely ladies. Miss Rarity and Miss Fluttershy. They are staying as guests at the estate. They were found not four miles from it in the swamps."
Matthew bowed when he reached the two women who returned the greeting. "A pleasure to meet you ladies." He said kindly. "Now how in God's name did you wind up in those ghastly swamps?"
"Well you see." Rarity chuckled. "It is quite a story." She then explained the situation, about Twilight, the rest of her friends, Equestria, and how they had arrived. All the while Matthews eyes grew wide with wonder and amazement.
"Well that is quite a tale ma'am." Matthew said. He then scratched his chin in thought. "Come to think of it, that sounds very similar to what Lieutenant Jenkins said he heard from a woman he found wandering into his camp 2 days ago."
"Really?" Rarity was startled when Fluttershy suddenly spoke up. "Did he say what the name of the woman was?"
Matthew continued to rub his chin as he tried to remember. Suddenly after a few moments he snapped his fingers and smiled. "Yes! Uh he said her name was uh Applejack."
"APPLEJACK!" Both Rarity and Fluttershy exclaimed.