Painted Horses

by Alaborn

Chapter 4: Lunch

Painted Horses

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 4: Lunch

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We retreated from my grandparents’ neighborhood, stopping at the first parking lot we found. “John, get the diary from my bag,” Jason told me.

“Are you going to write to Twilight Sparkle now?” I said.

“No, you are,” he replied. “Tell her what happened. Get the magical details from Minuette. Meanwhile, I’m going to find a restaurant.”

I opened Jason’s diary to the next blank page. I wrote down the details of how we rescued Lyra. Minuette described the spells she used; I recognized maybe one of every three words she used, from my own basic magic education. I then asked how we would be able to get her home.

I am very relieved to hear that you have rescued Lyra Heartstrings. I will prepare to open another portal this evening. We can work out the details later; I will need to know how many ponies will be going through the portal. Do you have any leads on the others?

I read her response and looked at Minuette. “Can you cast a spell or something, now that you know what the magic is like?”

She shook her head. “Not at this distance, not by myself, and not in a world without its own magic. We’ll have to be closer to inspect these statues to find which are being used as prisons.”

I replied to Twilight Sparkle that we would have to search, and that it would take time.

At this point, Jason started up the car. “Where are we going?” I asked.

“Some place with something for everyone,” he replied.

Ten minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. It was one of those chain buffet restaurants, one that my parents liked to visit for lunch on Sunday. It was a good choice, if a bit pricey for a group of eight.

Jason turned to face the group. “Okay, this is a buffet restaurant, which I know isn’t common in Equestria. There are stations with all kinds of cooked food resting in pans. You take a plate and take whatever food you want. It’s all you can eat, but don’t waste food. If you’re doubtful about something, take just a little; you can come back for more later.”

“A lot of the entrees will have meat in them; you won’t always see it,” I added. “The vegetarian dishes should be marked, or you can ask someone working there.”

“Please, don’t make a scene,” Rose said.

“I think we can handle that,” Lightning Shield said.

Lightning Shield’s words stayed true for only a short time. I paid for our meals, and we were escorted to a group of four tables pushed together in the back of the restaurant. Most of the other guests were older couples, with a few larger tables holding extended families. We all took our plates and trays, and headed to the food stations.

Greta found the carving station, where a beef roast and ham waited to be carved. She ran up to the station. “Where have you been all my life?”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” I said. I nudged her, and continued in a harsh whisper. “Play it cool!”

“Whatever,” she replied.

Fortunately, the others showed a little more sense. It wasn’t that hard to observe the other patrons, and figure out what to do. Once I was sure we weren’t going to be judged any worse than a table of college kids, I got my lunch, starting with chicken, mixed vegetables, and cornbread.

I returned to the table last, and saw what everyone else got. Jason’s plate looked a lot like mine. The Equestrians, for the most part, had salads, bread, and vegetables. And then there was Greta, whose plate was piled up with what had to be every kind of meat in the restaurant. And she had this huge predatory grin on her face.

“You do realize that we all studied your biology in school, right?” Sweetie Drops said. “You’re not shocking us.”

“And it’s not that rare for a pony to eat flesh. I enjoy fish, like many pegasi,” Lightning Shield said.

Minuette just shrugged, and held up her spoon. She was eating chicken and dumplings.

“You do know that’s not vegetarian, right?” Jason said.

“I know. It reminded me of a meal my mother used to make, and it smelled good to this body. Those huge hunks of meat Greta has on her plate aren’t appealing to me, but this I wanted to try. What we have is a rare opportunity, and I for one won’t let it pass by.”

“What do you think?” Rose asked.

“There’s this savory taste, very rarely found in our cuisine. I like it. The question remains, though, how would this taste in our own bodies?”

“Tastes just as good to me,” Greta said, just before stripping a chicken leg of its flesh.

“I can’t believe you’re tasting anything, with the speed at which you’re eating,” Sweetie Drops said.

“Enough,” Lightning Shield said. “We need to use this time to plan our strategy going forward. Lyra, are you able to talk about what happened to you?”

Our new arrival, who was picking at a salad disinterestedly, looked up. “It wasn’t pleasant.”

Sweetie Drops embraced her. “You’re a strong mare. You can do this,” she said quietly.

“I don’t remember how I was taken,” Lyra started. “I was just going about my day, and then there was a gap in my memory. When I came to, I realized I couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, couldn’t feel. I had only the vaguest sense of existing. Worse of all, I was cut off from my magic. I could only feel the barest trace of magic, and when I tried to access it, I felt a terrible pain.

“Every time I tried to grab a hold of this magic, I was punished. I observed, and deduced what was happening. My spirit was being used to attract and collect magic, but somepony else was stealing the collected magic. And without magic of my own, I couldn’t do anything about it. I tried various approaches, but the only success I had in collecting magic was to syphon a small bit when I felt this collection process start. And all I could do with the magic was sending off a plea for help when I felt a magically aware creature approach.”

“That was me,” I said.

“It happened a second time, but I couldn’t project much beyond a slight feeling. I didn’t know what was happening, but I held out hope. And then, you rescued me.” She squeezed Sweetie Drops tightly.

“Your experience is consistent with what I observed magically,” Minuette said.

“Magic?” Lyra inquired.

“Wands and mana crystals work here,” Minuette explained.

“That makes so much sense!” Lyra exclaimed. “Star Swirl the Bearded was known to have been a master of wands, despite being a unicorn reputed to have never found a spell he couldn’t cast, save for the ones he tried to create himself. That doesn’t make any sense, unless the rumors are true, and he traveled to worlds without magic. Maybe even this one!”

“You and your conspiracy theories,” Sweetie Drops harrumphed.

“Maybe not. Earth mythology is filled with tales of magic, including the use of wands,” I observed. “For all we know, we have been visited by Equestrians before.”

“Focus, everyone,” Lightning Shield said. “How do we progress from here?”

“We use a detection spell on any other painted horse we find, and hope to get lucky,” Minuette said.

“How far can the detection spell work?” Lightning Shield asked.

“Not far. We’ll need to see them,” she replied.

“Fortunately, most of the painted horses are in the downtown area,” I said.

“And the others, we can probably look it up online,” Jason added.

Lightning Shield tilted his head. “Online?”

“It’s like doing research in a library, but we can access it using our technology,” I said, taking out my phone. Sure enough, a Google search provided me with several links about Ocala’s painted horses.

Minuette looked over at my phone. “I want one.”

“Sorry, I don’t see that level of technological change in our lifetime,” Jason said. “Of course, you could always try to get Twilight Sparkle to create a spell that worked like that.”

Minuette scratched her chin. “That could work.”

“Okay, we have a plan. Any concerns?” Lightning Shield asked.

“We’re going to look suspicious,” I said. After getting some strange looks, I continued. “I get the feeling that these painted horses aren’t exactly a big tourist attraction for young people like us. And searching them with wands will just look strange. We don’t want to attract attention.”

“Maybe we come back after dark?” Rose suggested.

“Waiting isn’t a good option either,” Lightning Shield said. “Every hour spent here risks discovery, and we still don’t know what Malice is doing with all this magic.”

“I’ve got it,” Jason said. “We just need a reason to be doing what we’re doing. Like... paranormal researchers!”

I raised an eyebrow. I was curious where he was going with this.

“So, like, these statues are rumored to be haunted? And we’re investigating. For our YouTube channel. We’ve got my iPad and our phones to film it. And so we may be noticed, but it won’t be anything particularly unusual.”

“I don’t know what several of those words are, but let’s hear more about this plan,” Lightning Shield said.

“After we get some more food,” Sweetie Drops added.

A few minutes later, we were back at the table with more plates of food. Sweetie Drops focused on the dessert bar, while the others brought other foods they wanted to try, even some of the dishes with meat. Greta, having failed at her task of shocking the others, came back with a plate of vegetables and cornbread.

The Equestrians treated the meal more socially than us humans. They eagerly shared plates, tasting forkfuls of each others’ meals, trying all of the strange culinary creations of our world. Lightning Shield declined to participate; he was more eager to learn more about Jason’s plan, which he did over coffee and cake.

“I don’t get it. Everyone knows there is no magic, everyone knows anyone claiming to have magic is a charlatan, yet people watch shows about magic?” Lightning Shield asked.

Jason shrugged. “We even have a term for it, the supernatural. Some people want to believe, but for most, it’s just fun. Same thing with people who talk about aliens. Of course, that will change, once we officially learn of your world.”

“I hardly think we’re aliens,” he replied.

“You’re not what we picture as aliens either.”

“So when do we start?” Lightning Shield asked.

“We need to do some research first. Look to see what other paranormal researchers do, and create a concept that combines elements from all of them.”

“Shouldn’t you be creating something new?”

“You’ve obviously never seen our television shows,” Jason stated.

“Be that as it may, it sounds like you’re asking us to act. And I don’t see that as this group’s strong point,” Lightning Shield said, motioning to the table.

“I’m okay with hamming it up,” Jason said.

“I’ll do it,” Minuette said. “I was in drama club at Celestia’s School; I even played the lead on occasion.”

“Where are we going to get movie cameras?” Lightning Shield asked.

“We don’t need any,” I interjected. “Our phones and Jason’s iPad all can record video, and a bunch of young people making recordings using only their phones sounds like something young people with a YouTube channel would do.”

“Let’s talk about that back in the room,” Jason said. “Who’s up for some dessert?”

“Pass. The desserts here are terrible,” Sweetie Drops said.

“We didn’t pay for quality,” I said.

We returned to the buffet and came back with a few plates of desserts to share. As we ate, though, I could sense a feeling of anticipation from most of the Equestrians. They were ready to get back to work, and so was I. With any luck, we’d find a way to rescue the other Equestrians, and the three of us could actually start our vacation.

Author's Note:

Given the choice, do you go to this kind of buffet restaurant, or a Chinese buffet?

Comments

[Seeking Dusk]

For some reason the sharing of each other's meals just struck me as the nicest part of this chapter. I don't know what. Maybe the bit of society building it does? Lyra's description, on the other hand, not so much.

[Boulder]

“Pass. The desserts here are terrible,” Sweetie Drops said.

The bona fide bon-bon bon-viveur would say that!

One buffet joint near us has only a soft serve machine with a toppings selection, including crushed nuts, sprinkles, etc, for desserts.

[Alaborn]

8127146 Pfft. A real buffet has cakes, pies, cookies, and hot desserts like cobblers and chocolate lava cake.

[FortunateKitsune]

If I was given the options of two places with relatively equal reputations, I pick Chinese. It's my favourite kind of take out, so I never pass up a chance for more.

[Eroraf86]

I am a bit of a sucker for Panda Express, so unless the other buffet has something really good, I'd pick Chinese.

[Silentwoodfire]

Throw a bag of Kisses at Sweetie Drops and see how she reacts

[Herald of Opera]

Honestly, the "paranormal researcher" angle is hilarious because of how close it is to the truth. The only difference is that they have complete verification instead of rumors.