February 1
Peggy still wasn't back when I woke up, so I was happy for her although it felt a little bit lonely in our room without her there.
I decided that since I'd gotten in a good flight last night, I was gonna trot around the neighborhood a little bit, and I'd get back in plenty of time for class, so I stretched out and then when I got outside I stretched again and then bounded through the snow towards the road instead of taking the sidewalk, 'cause it was more fun.
I went west along Academy Street, and then I remembered as I got to where it curved to the right that if I followed the curve around, the road took me to Grove Street, which had a big dip in it. So when I got to the top of the dip, instead of following the sidewalk, I flew straight across. I had to be a little bit careful, because the electricity wires dipped down to follow the road, and I didn't want to crash into them and get tangled up.
When I got to the other side, I decided to turn around and do it again, just for fun, but this time I glided down the hill and used my momentum to get most of the way back up. I could have flown the rest of the way to the top, but I landed instead and trotted up to the top and then I went back across Arlington street to Academy Street and then back to my dorm.
I hadn't exercised enough to get very lathered, so it didn't take me too long to shower, and then I went back to my room and after I'd dried off and groomed myself, I wrote a little bit in my journal before I went to breakfast.
Peggy wasn't at breakfast and I hoped that she hadn't had so much fun that she forgot about class.
The professor was kind of distracted in Climate Science class, 'cause he'd spent all weekend thinking about the cloud I'd brought down, and he tried to teach us the lesson he'd planned but everyone could tell that he was a little bit distracted and he kept looking at me, which was kinda embarrassing. And then at the end of class he finally decided to spend the last few minutes asking me some questions about clouds. They were really basic questions, but humans don't really know that stuff, like knowing that a lot of storm clouds have electricity in them from the sky, and if you touch them you can get zapped when you touch the ground again.
Peggy was at lunch, and she was in a really good mood. I got there a little bit early 'cause the climate science professor had forgotten to give us any homework, and it was really nice to just sit around together and not feel rushed at all over our meal. Sometimes I feel like if I'm taking too much time at lunch, I might miss my next class, or I'm wasting time when I should be doing homework.
In Equestrian class today, Meghan invited me on a road trip! That's something humans do: since they have cars, they drive them places to go see things.
She said that Lisa and Becky were going, and that they thought I'd like to go with them, too. It would give me a chance to see some of the country, and that it was for an important cultural event.
I thought she was kind of stringing me along, like you might wiggle a lure in front of a fish to make sure that it got the point, but truth be told, I was sold as soon as she invited me. I didn't really care where we were going, or what we were going to see. Besides learning, we were supposed to explore new things and I could explore a lot further in a car than I could on hoof or wing.
But of course there was a catch. We'd be leaving after dinner tonight, and I'd have to miss class tomorrow.
I'd have to skip class. Like a bad pony.
So I told her that I wasn't sure, and maybe it was something that could be postponed until the weekend, and she said no, it had to happen today. She told me that it was an important part of human weather forecasting: tomorrow was called Groundhog Day, and that the people of Pennsylvania (which is a state) relied on a groundhog to tell them when winter would end.
Well, that got my interest right back. Even the climate science professor had mentioned it in class. So I told her that I would have to call my poetry professor and make sure it was all right, and she said that she understood, and if I wanted to come, I had to be at their room by 7pm sharp, and to bring whatever I needed for a two-day trip.
I wrote a computer letter to Conrad Hillberry, and he said that it was okay if I missed class; he said that he was young once, too, and while he would miss my glowing presence in class, he knew that I would make the most of the experience. And then he asked if the mood struck, if I might write him a poem about it!
I hadn't expected him to be so supportive! So I told Peggy where I was going, and I packed what I thought I might need, which wasn't very much, and she suggested that I could take my portable telephone with me as well, and to make sure that I had some money too and be careful and to call her whenever I had time and have fun and then I nuzzled her goodbye and headed out of the dorm.
Then I turned back and got my poetry book, in case I had time to read it in the car. I didn't know how long the trip would take.
It didn't take us too long to make our way to Becky's car (neither Meghan nor Lisa have one). It's a bright red Focus, which she called a station wagon.
They asked me where I wanted to sit, and I said that the back was fine, so Meghan got in one side and I got in the other, and we set off down the road.
I'd never been driven around at night before, and that was kind of weird. All the businesses have big glowing signs so you can find them at night, and there are some lights above the road in towns to help you see, but once you get out on the highway, there mostly aren't any lights at all.
All cars have a pair of spotlights in the front so that you can see where you're going, and then they have smaller signal lights all around them, so that other drivers can see what you're planning to do. There were some big trucks which Meghan said were semi-trucks that had lots of lights, and they were very pretty to see. There were also police cars that had flashing red and blue lights. Those stayed at the side of the road behind other cars that had misbehaved.
Looking outside wasn't quite as exciting as I had imagined it might be, since it was dark, and after a while, the blackness outside of the window started to look mostly the same and even the big advertising signs got repetitive.
But that was offset with a lot of lively conversation inside the car. All three of the girls had all sorts of questions for me, and I had all sorts of questions for them, and so we just talked and talked.
When we were passing through a town called Dundee, Becky asked if any of us wanted to get something to eat. I wasn't really hungry; it doesn't take a lot of energy to just sit in a seat, but the other girls were, so we went to a Taco Bell! They have what is called a drive-through, so you don't even have to get out of your car to get your food (which was a bit of a disappointment; I wanted to see what the inside of a Taco Bell was like).
I got a bean and rice burrito. It was kind of difficult to eat in the car, but Meghan helped me with it. Becky ate while she was driving; her car had little recesses that the drink cups could fit in.
I was really excited when we got to Ohio. It was a new state, and at first it looked kind of the same, except that the roads had a lot more lights around them, and the pavement was much better. You also had to drive more slowly and maybe that's why the pavement was better.
Then we had to go through another drive-through and pay money to get on the Turnpike. Becky got a little slip of paper and tucked it above her visor, and we continued on our way.
Unlike in Michigan, there weren't all that many exits, and they were very far apart. I guess there aren't that many places to go in Ohio. But they did have oasises, which were really neat. We stopped at the first one, because everyone needed a bathroom break and a chance to stretch their legs, and the car needed to be fed more gas.
Gas is really stinky. I didn't like it, but it made the car go, so it was important to have.
I'd love to say that I stayed awake and alert for the whole trip, but I didn't. Not too long after we left the oasis, I started to doze off.
It wasn't just that it was past my bedtime, but the swishing noise of the wheels on the pavement and the air passing over the car, plus the slightly overheated inside all worked together to tire me out. Maybe if the windows had been down it would have been better for me (there is a little button on my door I can push to make the window go down but I can't make it go back up because I can't get my hoof under the button and Becky had to help after I accidentally pushed it). I could feel my head drooping and got that kind of funny loose feeling in my body when I'm on the edge of exhaustion. The sounds of their voices kind of rose and fell, and my eyelids were really heavy, and Meghan said it was okay if I wanted to nap, so I stretched out across the seat with my head in her lap and closed my eyes.
I never really fell fully asleep, but I drifted in and out as Becky kept on driving. Sometimes the car would make a sudden movement, and I'd wake up briefly. One time I did, Meghan was running her hand along my back, and that felt really good and I leaned into her stomach. Another time was when we stopped at another oasis, and the sudden rush of cold air into the car woke me. Becky said that we were in Pennsylvania now.
My eyes were used to the dark, and it looked a lot hillier than Ohio had been.
I looked up at the sky when we got out of the car, and my eyes were drawn to all the different stars. It wasn't anything like the Equestrian sky had been. Meghan pointed out a few constellations for me; there was the big dipper and the little dipper and that was all the ones she knew, and there was also the Milky Way, which was a whole wide band of stars. She said that that was our galaxy, and we were looking towards the center of it.
There were also moving blinking lights in the sky, and she said that those were airplanes. Like the car, they had lights on them so that they could be seen at night. I knew about those from getting my pilot's license.
I was invigorated for a little bit after stopping at the rest area—the cold air and the chance to be on my hooves for a bit woke me back up—but we weren't back in the car for all that long before I fell asleep in Meghan's lap again.
yeeeeeh road trip
It wouldn't be a real college story without a road trip. I just hope she doesn't wind up in a time loop...
And I wonder how she will react when someone introduces her to their BMW 320i...
Having never driven though Ohio I am going to assume this is a rest stop/gas station. Or do they actually have something called oasises? Or is Silver just projecting her term onto what she sees?
Pretty standard for most people I know. You can find the two dippers, the North Star, and maybe Orion and his belt. For anything more you need an astronomer or some poor fool who took astronomy in college and hoped it would be an easy A. Also how bad is the light pollution in western Pennsylvania? I wouldn't expect them to be able to see the stars if they're following a major roadway.
Sleepy pony is sleepy
Heh. I can't tell if ponies are just way more lawful good than we are generally or if she's just a goody two (four?) shoes about school. I was kinda that way as a freshman in college. By junior year? Man I'd skip on a nice day just to pipe or take a nap. I would skip and go sleep in the grass on the hill. Class was just like, an opinion man
Only on earth a month and already humanity is corrupting her.
7070625
My guess is that Equestria sends it's best on these exchange trips and obviously a more studious pony is more likely to make the cut.
7070612
I wonder what she'll end up doing for spring break?
7070634 That's pretty reasonable.
And obviously she's gonna go to Panama City and be buck wild for spring break. It's the only logical outcome
Did I saw Dundee?!
This will certainly go a long way towards Silver getting the full college cultural experience. Definitely looking forward to her reaction to Punxsutawney Phil. Not sure if she's going to be disappointed or delighted. Or both.
Considering she is there to experience a new culture in a different place, I'd say that going on the road trip is just as formative if not more then any of the class she have. It is something to live that will stay with her far more then a reading of a poem.
7070622 The Ohio Turnpike has a handful of rest plazas where you can get gas, fast food and use the toilets without leaving the turnpike; most state toll road systems have these. And the Ohio turnpike is vastly nicer than Indiana's decrept extension. You leave the Ohio turnpike east of Cleveland to take the untolled l-80 through Western Pennsylvania to get to Punxsutawney, those rest stops are basically a set of toilets with some vending machines. I've never stopped in one of those after hours, but there are generally a big lawn for walking dogs, that might get out from under the big glaring floodlights around the parking lot, but it wouldn't be great for stargazing, no. Away from the interstate that part of the country's heavily wooded without much light pollution.
I've worked with a number of meteo grads over the years, and yes, the young ones do go off to party at Puxty on Groundhog Day. I've never been, but then I was the office liberal arts dork...
7070661 My guess is that she'll find it fascinating, until she learns that it's just a tradition with no basis in reality. Then her friends had better hide.
Wow, nice to see Silver going out of state with some friends to experience other parts of American culture. Can't wait to see what happens next.
College professors are way cooler than high school teachers.
I remember once seeing a guy wearing jeans and a suit jacket over a Thundercats t-shirt. He was working in his office in front of a sweet dual-monitor setup. From that point, I've always considered teaching as a potential second career.
The difference between grade school and college: one expels you for having a knife. In the other, the professor says, "Who's got a knife I can borrow? Watch this!" (personal experience)
7070641 wat.
Well, awww she's so precious
As to Spring Break, Florida or Mexico is traditional (all those 60s Beach Movies. The 1st was Where The Boys Are. It was Connie Francis' 1st movie & wasn't half bad). Wait until she sees Burning Man.
However, on the culture shock side of things. American's inability to go anywhere without a car. I remember one job, I was a dishwasher at a diner. I had to get something from a grocery store (IIRC, a couple bags of sugar). My car broke down at the store, I called the store to tell them I'd be awhile getting back. It was the dinner rush, so they said they couldn't send anyone. I said it was only a mile, I could walk it in 15 minutes, no big deal. They were freaked out that anyone could walk that far carrying a package.
Ponies don't have many motor vehicles, they would walk everywhere & would be amazed how much humans depend on cars.
I remember being very confused about that custom when I first saw the Groundhog Day movie, since by my calendar they were already on the second day of Spring, and were for some reason asking the groundhog whether Spring would come early...
From what she's mentioned of Equestrian seasons, I expect we'll get to see similar confusion from Silver when they're talking about it.
Silver Glow. You can't stop being adorable for even a day
I had to be at there room
You mean 'their' here, because the room belongs to them.
7070847 huh didn't think they way we used cars was THAT different. ('Murican here)
Sleepy Silver Glow is adorable.
Man, I thought I had it good in college. A road trip with a pony who likes talking about her own world and who falls asleep with her head in your lap sounds to die for.
D'awwww! What a cute little chapter! <3
7070641
Whew! All caught up!
I think Silver would find a polytheistic religion a lot easier to wrap her head around. Thor and Zeus get drunk and put their pants on one leg at a time, just like everyone else. Well, okay, Zeus probably didn't wear pants, because that's be an impediment to his frisky nature, but you get the idea.
There's been some talk about Silver being childish, which I don't really get. She's earnest and willing to learn, and lacks any real cynicism. That she hasn't been ground to the bone by the crushing weight of adulthood on Earth is a good thing.
This story is so engaging that I'm jealous my alma mater wasn't chosen.
7071092
Think about it. The only motor vehicle ICR is the one the Flim Flam Brothers had in Season 2. The Mane 6 want to go to Sweet Apple Acres, The Castle of the 2 Sisters, or Zecora's hut they walk there. We 'Muricans would definitely take a car & probably take a car to go hang out at Sugarcube Corners.
Even in Manehatten they have only pony pulled cabs (like humans pulling a rickshaw, I suppose). This need to drive everywhere would almost certainly strike a pony as weird. Other weird human customs would be smoking (There was 1 pony smoking a cigar in Feeling Pinkie Keen & Pinkie has a pipe when playing detective. Otherwise, nothing) Nicotine was used as an insecticide before DDT was invented. The idea that people would voluntarily addict themselves to smoking bug killer would almost certainly strike an outsider as WEIRD. Also, we Americans are the most overweight people on Earth, in part because we ride too much. I think there are some plump ponies, like Pinkie & Mrs. Cake but I've only ever seen the 1 really fat pony (season 5).
I've played Euchre, it's not too hard. (Right & left bower is really the only complexity). You want complicated, try bridge (playing isn't so hard, it's bidding & understanding what the bids mean) or the collectable card games like Yu Gi O or Pokémon.
D'aww! Silver Glow is getting closer to Peggy.
Nice story so far.
I liked how you kept her with pony attributes we see in the show, like her playing in the snow.
the FAA is a bag of dicks. Hopefully they come up with a better set of rules for Pegasus flight. Since, unless near an airport she should be able to at least fly a little higher than just rooftop without clearance. And only really needing clearance if flying up moderately to really high. Not like a plane is going to sneak up on a pegasus. The light is a good thing they added, though probably should only be required for night time flying.
edit: Someone that works for the FAA must not like my comment.
I hope Silver Glow gets to see some human cities, that's where the action is.
7070298 Daring Doo was real.
hoof bitingly cute.
7071837
they mentioned an incident at one time, maybe the rules weren't so strict before ,but they just don't want to risk another incident since the last rules didn't protect enough in the last incident (and what is a little talk in a walkie-talkie compared to a visit to the hospital). plus, you never know when a rich man or the police flying their helicopters will decide to pass near the school.
7072112 You are correct, but a pegasus also has much better flight ability than any of our stuff. The one incident mentioned was probably some hot shot pegasus screwing around near and airport and trying to mess with planes or race them. That's why I said better rules, not no rules. Like the light being worn is a good rule, but should only be required at night/low light conditions since is sure as hell isn't going to help during the day. To have to call for flight clearance every time you want to fly more then 60'-100' off the ground as a pegasus is just dumb, unless you are next to an airport.
Plus what's the point of the clearance if they are still limited to so low? A clearance for them should be for using the higher altitudes (2000-3000'+ or so) for extended times, or in places near where airport traffic is, and then have them have to have the radio when up there. The mention about the ultralights not having nearly as many restrictions was a good point. Even those quadcopter drone things and radio controlled airplanes have less restrictions than she does.
7071534 You're certainly right that cars would be odd, which is why this bit with Silver Glow on a road trip is kind of a big deal. And also that Americans are very reliant on them. I never had a car when I lived in Japan; just used a bike or walked, and it was no big deal. Then my family came to visit and complained when I had them walk to a location for dinner one night. They affectionately refer to it as "The Bataan Death March."
I don't recall a pony smoking in Feeling Pinkie Keen, and Pinkie's pipe had bubbles. Pretty sure you can't depict characters smoking tobacco in a kids' show any more.
Caffeine is an insecticide. No, really, it's toxic to bugs, but essentially harmless to us (you'd have to take a very large amount to die from it). Besides, both the ponies (in MLP at least) and humans like spicy things, though pretty much no other animals do. (Plants evolved spicy fruit to deter most animals from eating them except birds, as birds cannot taste spice.)
It's probably partly that, but also that our proportions have gotten larger and we make a habit of eating between meals. The French eat a lot of food with sugar, butter, etc, but they eat less of it in a sitting and not often between meals. Also, we're not the most overweight (though we are on the chubby side). That distinction goes to Tonga or Samoa. In fact, even Iceland is fatter than us! We Americans are only 27th on the list!
Anyway, great chapter as always, Admiral. Silver Glow continues to be adorable in her discoveries (and in her interactions with Peggy [nuzzles !]), and her poetry teacher is pretty chill. I try to cut my students some slack on such things as well, provided they notify me beforehand, just like Silver did.
-sleeping Silver-
Okay, we get it. She's adorable, stop weaponizing cuteness so much in one chapter, you're killing me here.Please continue
I worked at a New Jersey gas station for three months. That was more than two decades ago and I think the smell is still on me.
The Bog of Eternal Stench was probably a near-surface petroleum deposit or something.
7070690
Huh, that's pretty neat. I live in Oregon and our state has never (to my knowledge) had any toll roads. Our highways do have Rest Stops, but they usually aren't a one stop for food/gas/toilet. The last one I remember stopping at was just a bathroom with a picnic area to stretch your legs.
The bit about Michigan's bad roads made me laugh. As a native Michigander I know how that goes. >_>
7072278 I used to live down wind of a refinery.
Of course nothing compares to Emporia Kansas. The stock yards there, I'll just say there is a reason it was featured (a rendering plant) on Dirty Jobs.
The plural of oasis is actually "oases", but we can chalk that up to English not being Silver Glow's first language.
7072197
She is next to an airport; her college is within the Class D airspace of Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International. The dashed teal circle shows where the Class D goes from the surface to 3400 MSL.
Planes don't require radio contact if you're not flying within controlled airspace. If you're taking off from an airport without a tower and intending to fly VFR, you can take out the screws holding in the radio, throw that shit in the garbage, and take off without talking to a soul. For obvious reasons, this is not recommended.
7072304
On toll roads, they have concession areas to purchase gas and food so you don't have to go through toll points off and back on when you need either. It's typical of all the toll roads I've been on. (Kansas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio.)
7070720 It's a tradition that's rooted in reality. Observing animals to figure out when to plant crops has been going on for longer than Greece had an empire. It's not a perfect predictor, but it works fairly well.
their
I freaking love Taco Bell
She's really acclimating to Earth if she can eat Taco Bell and not be unhappy with the food.
I wonder if the police would ticket them for having an un-seat-belted equine in the car?
I found this entire passage adorable.
7070601
Road trip are the best!
7070612
I never did on any of my road trips. Closest I ever came was the Mystery Spot.
7070625
They're generally more lawful good. Rules exist for a reason!
7070634
College in general is like that.
7070639
If she goes to Mardi Gras, she'll get so many beads.
7070641
Wrong Dundee. Dundee, Michigan is home to Cabelas. They also have a Taco Bell.
7071240
Also the wrong Dundee.
7070665
Well, Silver Glow likes poems more than your average bear, so maybe that's not a fair comparison. It'll certainly stick with her better than a lecture on atmospheric pressure by a professor who, until recently, had never even touched a cloud.
But otherwise I agree; my college road trips were all memorable. Really, a lot of the stuff that happened outside class was just as important as what happened in class.
7070690
I would have gone, but I'd already skipped too many classes. Several of my friends went one year, just on a whim. Then they got lost on the way back, and wound up in West Virginia (this was before GPS).
7070755
One of the professors at K would take smoke breaks during class. He'd go outside, and then shout questions up to the open window of his classroom. It was a pretty common sight to see at least one student leaning out the window, talking to him.
7070847
I've got a couple of ideas on where she'll go for Spring Break. Most likely it will be a road trip, and it won't be to a normal touristy destination.
7070919