May 29 [Sunday Evening]
May 29
When we got back to campus, it was dinnertime. Both of us were pretty hungry, 'cause we hadn't had anything for lunch, so we all went to the dining hall together, but when we got there I remembered that I'd promised to introduce Aquamarine to Leon and Trevor and Cedric, so after we got our food we went over to their table.
It was a bit more crowded with an extra pony there, but not too much. I'd told her that Leon had said he wanted to hoof-wrestle, so when she sat down she put her right foreleg on the table and he looked at it and asked if she was serious, then Cedric said if the pony wanted to wrestle he'd better do it. But there was too much food on the table and it would have gone everywhere, so they didn't, although I could see that the two of them were kind of sizing each other up.
Then they started talking to her, asking her all sorts of questions about what she did and whether we'd known each other before, and told her a little about themselves, which wasn't new to me. She was pretty impressed that they were both on the football team, and disappointed that none of them knew anything about botany.
After that, we pretty much fell into our normal dinnertime conversation, which I don't think she was prepared for. Both Cedric and Leon bragged about themselves and put each other down, and Trevor didn't say too much to either of them, but he did talk with me a little bit about poetry.
When she was eating her dinner roll, Cedric noticed that she had shoes, and all of a sudden that became a topic of great interest to them. Both Cedric and Leon convinced her to put her foreleg on the table so that they could get a closer look, and they leaned down to examine it.
Leon was the first to notice that her shoes were nailed on, and he told her that was pretty hardcore. She'd kind of figured them out by then, so she shrugged and said it wasn't a big deal; it hardly hurt at all. And then they wanted to know everything about being shod, so she told them how when it was time the farrier cut the old nails out, then used files to level her hooves, a knife to trim her frog, and then hammered the new shoe on. And Cedric kind of paled and ran his finger across the little stubs of nail that were in her hoof wall, then he just sat back in his seat and shook his head.
Once everyone was done with dinner, Aquamarine asked Leon if he still wanted to hoof-wrestle, and he had trouble deciding if he wanted to or not, until Cedric told him that he couldn't wimp out.
Cedric decided to take charge, and took everyone's trays to the vacant table next to us. Then, when it was all clear, we all moved far enough away to give them room, and she put her hooves on the table. There was a little discussion about whether to go by pony rules or human rules, and they finally decided that pony rules was fairest. Plus I think that Leon wanted an excuse in case he lost.
And he did. I could have told him that earth ponies were stronger than they looked, but they wouldn't have believed me. Leon was straining for about ten seconds before she beat him, and he tipped an imaginary hat.
Cedric decided he ought to have a try, too, so he and Leon changed places. It was more of a contest this time, 'cause Cedric probably weighed twice as much as Leon, but Aquamarine won again. Cedric took her hoof in his hand and lifted it up and kissed it then got a really funny look on his face, and Leon just shook his head.
Then Trevor said he was curious about the little bare white patches around her barrel, and she said that was from wearing a harness—she'd worn one that wasn't sized right one year, and it had wound up pulling out some of her coat and damaging it to where it wouldn't grow back. So that sparked a whole new round of conversation where Leon said that the man was putting her down, and then he had to explain who the man was.
She told him that most farmponies she knew had strap-scars, and Cedric just shook his head sadly and said she was too pretty for that, which was kind of an odd thing to say. I could see by the way she turned her ears that she didn't know what to make of that, either, and luckily Leon managed to say something stupid before things got really weird.
Cedric took away all the trays that he'd moved to the other table, and when he was doing that, Leon leaned over and dared Aquamarine to hug him when he came back. I told her that he was a good hugger, so she said that she would.
He came back with a whole pie and he set it in the middle of the table and said that it was there if we wanted any dessert, so we each had a piece (he had two) and then Aquamarine went around the table and wrapped her hooves around him and he sort of sat for a moment, then he dropped his fork and twisted until he could get his arms around her and lowered his head until his chin was resting on her mane and whispered something in her ear. Then she leaned in and nuzzled his chest and that was really cute. Leon just watched with his mouth hanging open and I stuck my tongue out at him.
When Aquamarine sat back down on my side, Trevor said that neither of them were going to have any street cred after this weekend, and Cedric said that he didn't care.
Leon cleared the empty pie-tray and our plates off the table and took them to the return window, then we all got up and said our goodbyes. Aquamarine hugged everyone—Leon said he didn't need a hug but I knew he did, so we both hugged him—and then we went back to my dorm room while they went back to theirs.
I checked my telephone, and saw that Aric had sent me a telegram saying that he was still busy with his work, but that he would meet us tomorrow morning to go to the parade.
We went over to Meghan's room, and I asked her if tonight was a good night to go visit the hot tub, and she said it was. So she called for an Uber-car, and while we were waiting for it to arrive, Lisa and Becky came over and we talked for a little bit.
This driver took a slightly different route, but we got there just the same, and after he dropped us off out front, we went around to the backyard.
Aquamarine didn't go right for the hot tub; she wanted to look at all the plants around the yard, so we followed her and Meghan tried to answer what kind some of the plants were but she wasn't really sure, and so she promised she'd find out from her aunt and then tell me so I could include it in a letter. And that left both of us with dirty hooves, so Meghan had us rinse them off before we got into the tub.
Instead of getting undressed right away, Meghan sat down on one of the benches and we talked for a little bit—I think she needed to get more comfortable with Aquamarine. So we just sat there and talked for a little bit, and finally Meghan asked if we were ready to go in, and we both nodded. She was still kind of slow, and I thought about trying to help but I didn't think she'd like that. So I told Aquamarine that she could get in the tub now, 'cause that would take some of the pressure off Meghan, and that was what she'd wanted, I guess; she got the rest of the way undressed while Aquamarine was climbing into the tub and then she went in herself, and I got in last.
Meghan wanted to know more about life in Equestria, so Aquamarine told her about Ponyville, and what it was like living there and growing up on a farm. I don't know when it happened, but we just sort of naturally slipped into speaking Equestrian, and for a while I forgot where I was—there were just the three of us in the hot tub, looking at the stream and woods behind the house, and we really could have been almost anywhere.
It was a beautiful night out. The moon was half-full, and you could see some of the brighter stars. They're really washed-out most places on Earth, 'cause of all the lights, and I think that's too bad. The night sky's really pretty. Aric said that if you go far enough north in Michigan, you can see a zillion stars.
It must have been nearly midnight when we got out of the hot tub and dried ourselves off. Meghan got a little bit mad when Aquamarine shook herself off without thinking, but only 'cause she'd dried off her stomach and then had to do it again.
The night was kind of chilly, especially after having been in hot water for so long, so we got back on the bench and snuggled together until another Uber-car came to take us back to campus.
Aquamarine dozed off on the way back, and Meghan had to shake her awake when we got back to campus. I asked her if we could spend the night with her, and she said that would be okay, so we went to her room together and she got back undressed. This time she wasn't as reluctant to take off her clothes, but maybe that was in part because Aquamarine had climbed up on her bed and fallen back asleep.
Meghan and I helped push Aquamarine to the side, then I said that she could have the middle if she wanted it, so she got in and scooted right next to Aquamarine and I got in on the other side of her and curled up against her chest.
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So now we do have someone lucky enough to snuggle with two ponies!
And is it just me or is Cedric falling in love?
Damm, Aquamarine work fast!
At it?
Move quick man. Aric already claimed one pony, if you aren't quick Megs will get the other!
Meghan in a pony sandwich is a happy Meghan.
BTW, could you point me to any images of Aqua that you like? I've searched but can't find much out there.
The calendar says otherwise but here in the USA we consider Summer to run from Memorial Day (last weekend in May) until Labor Day (1st weekend in September). All of June counts as Summer, all of September is Autumn.
7439662
A good way to piss off the rednecks who still think miscegenation is a thing.
Also,
And everyone present, Black and White, cringes inside.
Cedric's reaction and Aquamarine's reaction mirror a cultural divide that's fascinating. Generally, in post-industrial societies, there's an ambivalence to hard, physical labor that just wouldn't not exist in a more agricultural and technologically inferior (wish there was a less loaded word coming to mind) society. To ponies (probably mostly pegasi and earth ponies) hard physical labor is good and honest and moreover just another thing that happens. One can easily imagine how the "you're too pretty for that" would be bewildering to an individual from a culture that sees physical labor as useful, good, and an unquestionably perfect pursuit--because, for them, Aquamarine's farmwork would be more attractive. Any slight deformity coming from that, such as those ragged little marks from her harness, would be signs of her commitment and reliability, and would probably be seen as positive things. (or just neutral.)
Cedric X Aqua forevs, etc
Meghan has officially gone native without leaving home. She's in a pony pile. Like, an honest to god pony pile.
Eeeep. I had the misconception that the frog was living tissue and had no idea it could be trimmed. But on looking it up, it's also just keratin, just a bit softer and rubbery.
I ship it.
one of the benefits of living in the boondocks. Stars are really nice
One of the differences I've noticed about kalamazo and my school is that people at kalamazo are way more willing to go to the dining halls. At my school, if your not a freshman (and even then) you don't go to them. If I had a friend visiting, no way we'd be going to a dining hall. In fact, i'd probably go off campus.
7439813
...Industrially Fundamentalist, perhaps?
7439983 eh. Fundamentalist is basically a borderline nonsense word at this point and has a bunch of needless connotative garbage.
7440000
Well, how else would you describe the Amish?
7440015 it's not what you're looking for, but the first alternative would be "anabaptists" and the second would be "ethically/religious selective luddites"
I wonder what's up with funny look on Cedric's face?
7439778 Well, yeah. Pony sandwich is best sandwich.
she shrugged
Also, I want to know what Cedric whispered to Aquamarine.
The SG and the boys must have been one of the strangest situations Aquamarine has found herself in so far, but as I kind of expected the earthpony dealt really well with it. The SG's concern was unfounded, quite the opposite happened.
This. Perfect.
Cedric checking out the nails in her hoof, wrestling her and chivalrously (heh) accepting defeat by a worthy opponent, strap scars... well, he found just the, uhm, female he can respect in a somewhat deeper way than just a friend. Cedric not caring about street cred! I have a suspicion that his plans for the summer break just changed. Beautifully written.
Oh and pony pile (after needing two people to shift the earth pony).
7439782
As usual, that depends on where in the U.S. you live. Around here, the weather tends to line up nicely with the actual seasons, so everyone I know considers summer to start on the June solstice, fall to start on the September equinox, etc. You might see some exceptions for, say, people who start/end school right at the start of September/June, but even that's not super-common.
Look like Cedric has a bit of an Amazon thing going on, I will only date the pony who can beat me at hoofwrestling!
I think silver mentioned her magic was weaker on earth, I wonder if the same thing applies to earth ponies and this is aquamarine being weaker than normal?
Both of my grandfathers had scars on their waist from a belt and chain contraption called the Gus and crook they'd had to use as teenagers to pull carts of coal from the mine face to the lift and that would have been in the 1930's so that kind of things still easily in human memory even in developed countries. One of them got his ear torn off by falling rocks, he got its sown back on (once he finished his shift) but he always had black lines around his face from where the coal dust got into the wounds.
Mspiper You're right, the part of the USA I grew up in, that was roughly when school was out. There is a tendency to assume that the way you grow up is normal. Still, AFAIK, the USA government counts Summer driving that way.
As to hard work, it probably varies by tribe. In 1900 the population of the USA, about 40℅ lived on farms. For Ponies, this likely means most (but by no means all) Earth Ponies live on farms & most farmers are Earth Ponies.
Unicorns are mainly urban & for them, there are class distinctions about hard work.
Nobles say an Earth Pony is made out of mud.
I say it's bone, muscle, and blood.
Live a life of sorrow and pain.
Working for some Noble's gain.
You dig 16 tons and what do you get?
Copy right infringement.
This was a great chapter. It gave me that warm fuzzy feeling.
Whats the best dessert after a dinner and hot tub with freinds
Ponoreo.
Cediric and Leon egg each other on far more than they would go if they were by themselves.
7440082 Probably he realized that he is attracted to Aquamarine and before he did not give any thought to dating a pony. Lots a what ifs going through his head right then.
7438221
Kalamazoo has nothing on St. Olaf, dontcha'know.
Especially the music programs.
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Skald_(3.5e_Prestige_Class)
Go for it Aquamarine!
It'd be funny if Cedric starts asking Silver for dating advice. In a roundabout, manly way, of course. (Yo, don't be blowin' up my spot, SG. Gotta' do this right.).
7440466
Just the one?
Some things are more important than street cred. Like pony cuddles.
Also, talk about a full immersion experience for a foreign language. And not just because of the hot tub.
Oh Cedric.
"I don't need street credit if I have her, Leon! You don't understand. Don't be the man dragging me down!"
I laughed for a solid minute at Cedric realising he was attracted to Aquamarine.
This fic finally grabbed my attention a couple of days ago, and I've just finished binge-reading it to catch up. I'm rarely a fan of human/pony crossover works, but this one gets it so very right. The diary format really works for it, and I'm fond of how the cultural differences play a big part in the story, but for the most part aren't shoved to the forefront.
7439662
Moral of the story: if you play your cards right, you can snuggle with all the ponies.
Maybe just a little bit.
Correction made; thank you!
7439716
7439778
Yes, she is.
There really isn't much out there. Obviously, none of her as an adult.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/11/1/1013726__safe_screencap_cake_twist_candle_the+one+where+pinkie+pie+knows_spoiler-colon-s05e19_birthday+cake_candy+mane_shady+daze.png
I like this one, but honestly it's more for the cake on the boat.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2016/6/29/1189583__safe_crossover_button+mash_liquid+button_aquamarine_cia+%28batman%29_for+you.png
This one's cute, too.
7439782
That sounds about right. In Michigan, at least, spring and fall are highly variable though. Spring is from when it stops snowing until Memorial Day, and fall is from Labor Day until it starts snowing.
7439788
One of the downsides to working on a farm. (Actually, besides just little scars, a surprising number of our customers are missing fingers or parts of fingers. Modern farm machinery is merciless.)
7439813
If Rarity wasn't a seamstress, and thus providing a valuable service to Ponyville, I doubt anypony there would give her the time of day.
You're right, though--to the earth ponies and (to a lesser extent) the pegasi, hard physical labor is rewarded, and proof of such makes you more attractive, not less. I think our society has in many ways started to think like that, so a person who's a mechanic, for example, is viewed as such because he couldn't get a 'real' job. And that is a strange turnaround, and one which the ponies undoubtedly can't understand. (Well, maybe some of the Canterlot elites.)
7439864
And she didn't even mention hot shoeing.
7439901
It's actually not too bad where I live. Not great, but not too bad.
There wasn't a lot off-campus that was close, and Kalamazoo wasn't a commuter school, so most people had meal plans and ate at the dining hall. We complained bitterly about the food, of course, but we ate it anyway.
7440082
His whole tough-guy persona is shattering and he is realizing that he doesn't care.
7440088
7440237
It's always humbling to find a girl who's more badass than you are.
Thank you!
Meghan's dreams are coming true.
7440116
Correction made; thank you!
It's a secret.
7440289
Well, that's one kind of way to earn respect.
It does, and she is. Although it's less noticeable, since muscle mass is still muscle mass. FWIW, Shetland ponies have one of the highest power-to-weight ratios of all the equines.
Damn, that's badass.
That's one thing these damn kids don't get these days (apologies to all those damn kids who do get it): what they think of as the distant past isn't all that distant. My grandfather remembered the end of WW1, remembered seeing Civil War veterans marching in parades, worked for the post office when postal carriers had to have guns in case someone tried to steal the mail, and when he was in the ROTC, he was responsible for a mule team that pulled the artillery piece. During the WWII, part of his commute to work involved a rowboat to cross the Severn River.
All the modern convenience we take for granted didn't just appear everywhere once they were invented. Even when I was in high school, the local phone exchange still had party lines, and some of my fellow students didn't have a home phone. And I think I remember from conversations before that you're older than I am.
I've got one scar on my thumb that's got dirt embedded into it, but nothing like that.
7440304
I'd guess virtually all farmers are earth ponies--being magically connected to the land would give them a massive advantage over any other tribe. And I'd probably figure that sixty to seventy percent of earth ponies are farmers, and probably eighty to ninety percent were raised on farms.
I would also guess that the vast majority of non-earth ponies who farm are the offspring of a farm pony. We saw in the Apple Family Reunion episode that some of her kin were pegasi and unicorns; I would assume that such a pony is very likely to get a cutie mark somehow related to farming.
This is a work of genius.
7440466
Thank you!
7440479
It is.
7440545
They do. That's what happens when you've got two alpha males eating dinner together.
7440720
With one exception: K-College has change ringers, and I don't think St. Olaf does.
7440780
"Just give her a bouquet of flowers, and if she starts eating it, lean down and nip at her fetlocks. If she doesn't kick at you, nip at her neck. If she moves her tail off to the side, that's a good sign."
7441450
Wow, those draft horses are big. Sixteen hands high he is, three of me or more indeed.
7440844
Wise words.
That's the best way to do it. I'm sure one day Berlitz is going to offer that learning tip.
Actually--and this is true--part of the way my mom familiarized herself with multiple foreign languages was listening to foreign radio. Where it got bizarre was when she'd forget that none of us spoke that language, and ask us to translate something to English.
7440875
... oh, I somehow got distracted after the hoof-wrestling and never read the rest!
Did I already say I ship it? Well, now I ship it even harder. And I'm getting the suspicion that so does Silver.
ponypile
(I envy Meghan)
7441537
Silver: "Actually, Cedric, scratch that. It would probably be too hard for you to get your face down by her hooves. Maybe just grab at them with your fingers. Since that's going to be a bit different than she knows, make sure to prance... er, high step around her a bit since you're not a pony. Make she sees you doing it when you go for her fetlocks."
"If you want to be absolutely certain before those more intimate neck nips, give her back a few good sniffs. You could even lick her a few times there if you're feeling bold! She'll definitely get the message!"
"Just be prepared. If she likes the grooming, she'll probably ask for it again. I dunno' how human males feel about that kind of thing."
Cedric: "I what now...?"
7441473 Makes sense.
Oh do I see Cedric beginning to have feelings for Aquamarine?
I think I do.
This aught to be interesting. 
Oh yeah one more thing. I can't seem to visualize Aquamarine. I totally forgot what she looks like and there aren't any definitive pictures I can find. Would you care to link me a picture of Aquamarine?
7441450
My city where my college is has a fairly restaurant/bar/club heavy downtown. One of the benefits of being in a tourist town I guess. My college is also fairly light on dining halls, there's only two (i guess one now, but I'm not entirely sure what they're doing with it) for 21,000 students. But there's a few school owned restaurants on campus (they're not great but it's better than dining halls) as well as several non school owned places (subway, chick Fil A, etc).
7441450
I remember that smell!
When my father first joined the RAVC back in the 60's, he was, at least for a while, a farrier.
7441515
In the early 70's, we were stationed, as a family, in Hong Kong, where my father led mule teams loaded with supplies up into the mountains for the border patrols, China still being under Mao at the time.
After a couple of years some fool in the UK government decided mules were old-fashioned and should be replaced with cargo helicopters. Of course whoever it was, failed to take into account the tropical nature of rain around the south china sea, with the consequence that the choppers were often grounded, leaving the men on the peaks hungry and unsupplied. Ultimately they had to go back to mule teams.
In these high-tech times people forget that there is nothing on earth that can walk up a damn near vertical surface like a mule.
He tells me that on one occasion they were traversing a pass in heavy fog with a team loaded with radio equipment. Half way across one of the mules goes over the edge, nearly taking his chinese muleteer with him. Well, you can imagine the state of the poor bloke, losing a mule is very bad business. Then out of the fog they see the mule, unharmed, pop up over the ridge, sans pack. My dad says it looked at the dozen stunned soldiers as if to say "What, you thought you could get rid of me that easily"?
So... Silly question time again! Is Aquamarine's earth-pony magic less than it would be in Equestria?
Oops, I see now that this has already been discussed. Never mind!
If you think about it, it's no worse than a body piercing
Q Why did the chicken cross the road?
A To get to the other side
Q Why did the Punk Rocker cross the road
A He had his lip safety pinned to the chicken
8731140
Sorta half and half, in my opinion. Goes through something less sensitive than a body piercing typically does; on the other hand (or hoof), the shoes have to be re-done multiple times per year.
Darn punk rockers.
My brother has a picture of a roadrunner that crossed the runway to sit in the cockpit of a business jet (that actually happened at the company he worked for).
Wah ha HA!
11214734
The two of them are made for each other.
i.imgur.com/U3LeV.gif
11312923
c.tenor.com/MGtJvjdtPvsAAAAC/my-little-pony-come-on.gif
11312929
I know how it all turns out, I just couldn't resist.