Turning away from the spa we had the warning of strong wing-beats before a smiling gray pegasus mare was with us. "Ready for that dinner?" Muffins sounded excited and the mood was contagious, I hadn't had 'junk food' in Equestria yet.
"Sure are!" Both Stick and myself chorused, sending all of us to giggles. Apparently most things were reasonably close by in the middle of Ponyville, so we began the slow walk to the hayburgers.
"So, you get to know every pony who comes to town like this or are we special?" Stick was about as blunt as her namesake frequently is.
Muffins' eyes seemed to swivel in place as she looked back to my friend. "Oh, both!" Her giggle sounded completely innocent but then her face seemed to drain of mirth. "Since Tirek, I don't take chances with strangers in town. I tend to be all over the place, a little literally, but if I see a new pony I offer them dinner." Her direct tone had me blinking again, startling me out of the apparently careful image the mare had crafted around herself.
A memory sprang to mind, of those episodes where Tirek was fighting and draining ponies. "You fought with the Wonderbolts…" I said it before I realized and Muffins gave a nod.
"You think I was always a mail mare? Princess Twilight and her friends are strong, stronger than most ponies, but their friendship with each other sometimes makes them a little blind to ponies that seek to take advantage." She gesture to the castle on the edge of town.
I would never have done it as a human, but I was so far from that life now it felt like a bad dream. I moved closer to Muffins and put a leg over her shoulder. Strong muscles tensed in the pegasus until she felt me squeeze gently. "Friendship indeed." I felt a tight squeeze back but saw a slightly confused expression.
"What brought this on?" Muffins was clearly okay with the sentiment, just unsure the source.
"The princess and her friends defend Ponyville and Equestria, I am just glad she has more good friends that protect her." I pulled my leg back and gestured to the hayburger right in front of us. "We're here!"
With a toss of her blonde mane, Muffins tried to hide her little blush as she led the way inside. I was in a state of wonder, it was almost entirely like a regular fast food place, but there was that feeling of welcome that seemed to be a veneer over every action ponies did.
"Hayburger, how can I help you?" A bored looking young earth pony stallion behind the counter asked, his eyes slightly turned to the air, dark mane hanging down to partly hide one eye. The stereotype almost made me giggle.
"Three quarter pound oatburgers with large fries." Muffins was looking over the menu while she spoke. "Make them a meal, apple juice will be fine for the drinks."
The stallion poked his hoof at what looked like a piece of wood that suddenly glowed with a gentle magic. Clever. "Eat in or would you like it bagged?"
"Eat in." The reply by Muffins revealed how draining these kinds of mindless conversations can be and I couldn't fight my urges.
Leaning to Stick I muttered loud enough for the stallion to hear but clearly pretending to try and keep it a whisper. "Such a hot stallion…"
The change was quick, the formerly distracted worker stood straighter and his eyes perked up. It cost me nothing to say and even if his self esteem boost lasted just five minutes it would be worth it.
Stick looked a little confused but nosed me, actually talking quiet enough not to be overheard. "What? You… what do you mean?"
My whisper back, while pointing slightly toward the stallion likely just enhanced the little deception. "He looked so down, now he thinks two mares are talking about how cute he is, look at him standing straighter, but only make it a glance."
The changeling did just that, looking to him then back to me quickly. I was watching his reaction in the window's reflection. Worth it.
"Uh, here's your order." A wooden tray of meals floated over to us and to my surprise, Stick grasped it in a glowing green bit of magic.
Muffins gave the stallion a nod and turned, leading the way to a booth. "Okay, what game was that?"
Stick and I both giggled, but my friend replied first. "The game was 'make a stallion feel less bored'."
The mail pony lifted a hoof to her face, only making me giggle more at the clear 'face-hoof'.
"Either you two are the most amazingly careful infiltrators of all time, or the most adorable pair of strange ponies. What brought you to Ponyville? Also, I know Stick, but what is your name?" She unfolded one of the burgers, leaning down to take a nibble of it while looking directly at me.
"Penny Farthing, we were here to deliver some stones to Rarity." My reply got a nod from Muffins as she ate. At my side, Stick made sure her flank was pressed to mine while she leaned in and sniffed a burger before taking a bite herself. With both eating I was clearly going to have to keep up the conversation for now. "She had asked me to deliver these in pony, I think she has something planned for tomorrow, for us."
This got another nod from Muffins, but she had finished her bite. "Well, of course. You are just about the most unique pony around. Had a few lunar pegasi through, mostly on official business, but you are the first unicorn." She had been very careful enunciating my species, I was a little lost as to why, was I really that odd? "At least, you would have been, you mention yourself in that invitation, she didn't know about Stick?"
I shook my mane and took a bite of my burger and was surprised. It was a patty made of oats pressed together and cooked, with some quite delicious greenery in among it. Even pony fast food was better than human stuff.
"Well then, I am sure her delight at having such a unique pony to fuss over will double at being the first in Ponyville to welcome a changeling. The princess and her friends should have no love for you, Stick, but your people have had a bit of an impact on them." Muffins' words looked to sadden my friend, but the problem was it was all truth.
"Then," the changeling felt my forehoof move against her own to rub a little, it seemed to make her sit a little straighter, "I will have to make the best impression!"
Muffins grinned and nodded. "Good attitude."
"I wasn't even part of the swarm that attacked Canterlot, well, I was part of the hive, but I took care of the breeders. Was it really that awful? We missed a lot of drones after that…"
"It wasn't good, from what I heard they had infiltrated a fair number into the city before the main attack, a lot of ponies had their new friends suddenly revealed as enemies." The blonde pegasus looked a little sad, had she suffered just that fate? "There is a new hive, in Canterlot, or so I hear?"
Stick nodded and smiled. "We have a new queen and everything, she used to be a pony, Queen Fast is her name." Muffins looked to ponder this, but no recognition showed. "We are not allowed to mimic any pony directly, when we do look like a random pony, we have to keep a changeling cutie mark, but I prefer not to, I like being me. When I was in the hive I never had to disguise myself."
This was apparently interesting to both myself and Muffins and we listened while eating.
"So when somepony came up with the idea for us to work and get paid in food, I dived on it." She hoovered up some fries, but easily talked around them. "We didn't bring any breeders with us, when we left Chrysalis, it was amazing, one minute I was cleaning one and doing my duty, the next a clear voice shattered the fog the nasty queen kept me in, telling me there was something better."
Her voice betrayed her feelings about the two queens she had lived under. "Then I found someone who needed me as much as those breeders, but who was a whole lot nicer than them." I was wrapped in her forelegs suddenly and blood rushed to my face. It really wasn't fair, dark fur should totally hide a blush better than it actually does.
Finished with her burger, Muffins smiled at us and my blush got worse because of it. "You are a cute couple, if you don't mind me saying."
I didn't think I could blush more but clearly I could. Were we a couple? Was that an okay thing in Equestria? Was it okay between our species? Was it… Both Muffins and Stick were looking at me.
"Psst, you spaced out on us?" Stick poked me in the shoulder and I blinked.
"Uh, sorry, must have been thinking about tomorrow…" It was just about the lamest reply, considering my thoughts.
Muffins repeated what she had obviously asked. "When did you get into making gemstones?"
My relief that the question wasn't further down the previous line of conversation was almost covering my worry of how far the conversation had gone, between Muffins and Stick, while I had been out of it. "Oh, uh, about a week ago, I had moved to Canterlot from a fair way out, needed something to do to make bits and some new friends I was helping complained that the stones in their foal's mobile were marred. I polished them up with some rough cloth and they were delighted."
I shrugged at it but Stick replied. "Apparently nopony was doing things like that, they would just throw away broken gems." She shrugged.
Muffins gave a nod. "It is a good pony indeed that can make a living helping their fellow ponies."
My mind was still a little distracted. Were female pairings, or male even, discriminated against? The show had a few cases of mares living together, but it was hardly a fit medium to explore such things. Then it hit me about my uniqueness and the implication of what human nature had been toward such things. "Is… does…" I halted with the asking, rallying my nerve. "I am new to Equestria and regular society. Is two mares together odd?"
Stick looked unsure but Muffins shook her head. "Hardly, we outnumber the stallions after all. But… you may get a little heat about being a lunar, forgive the phrase but 'bat pony' is the most common, and worst, thing to call you." If I had wings they would flare up in surprise. "Probably not as noticeable, not with a changeling walking beside you. Ponies tend to rally against the unknown and while you are different, you are still a regular pony."
It made sense in a horrible way. Was Stick really a foil against racism pointed to me? Would I get more ponies railing over my association with her than me being different?
The mare at my side, however, needed a hug and I did just that, leaning in and daring a nibble at one ear. It felt right to do and I had embraced 'right' as much as I could of late. "Let 'em think what they want, we are ponies just as much as they."
Muffins gave a nod, grabbing up the last of her fries and chewing on them.
"Thanks." The word was soft but the emotion Stick put behind it was not. She hugged back every bit as tight. In a louder voice she announced our need for sleep. "We should go settle in, don't want to keep Miss Aloe up too late waiting for us to return."
"For what it is worth, I trust you." Muffins declaration was heart-warming. "But be aware the ponies of Ponyville are a little less cosmopolitan than those from Canterlot. Where there might have been hidden dislike for either lunar ponies or changelings, here it will be out in the open."
"We will do our best to make a good impression and let people judge us on our actions, not our fur." I meant every word of it as we stood up. "Hay, Stick, you can use your horn, why don't you do it more often?"
She finished taking our tray back, in her mouth, before replying. "Uses more energy. More energy out means I need more in. I don't want to stress my friends."
Muffins nodded and looked to me. "Sound reason, what about you?" It was blunt as all get-out, but she clearly wanted to know and my cover was sound, if only a half-truth.
"Not learned that yet. When I said I was from far away, I meant it. My family couldn't teach me to use horn… oh dammit." My curse brought a surprised movement from Muffins' eyes. "Look, I am not sure if you know about humans…" A nod from both ponies surprised me. "Well, I used to be one. I was sick… dying really. Celestia and Luna agreed after some checking, that making me a pony was probably the best way to make me healthy."
Stick just grinned, having heard about all this already. Muffins tilted her head a moment. "You didn't lie, really. You are a long way from home. You are a good pony, I must admit."
We said our goodbyes and parted ways. "Why don't you tell others?" Stick asked, away from Muffins' hearing now we were alone.
"I didn't want to stick out so much, be a, you know, a freak." My shoulders seemed to hunch up a little as we walked.
"Silly pony," she kissed my nose, shattering any hope I had of continuing to feel sullen, "just be yourself with me."
I leaned against her, so our flanks and shoulders kept brushing as we walked, quietly, back to find where we could sleep.