"Twilight! Over here!" Fluttershy, beckoning her to the table with an uncharacteristically enthusiastic wave, gave Twilight a tight hug upon her approach. "I know it's only been a week but I missed you so much! I'm glad you're able to come more than once every... what was it, two and a half years? Oh my, that would have been horrible!"
"Yep! Fixing the mirror up to let me enter to deal with the Dazzlings just means I can come whenever I wish!" Twilight smiled as the two friends plonked themselves down in a quiet corner of the café. "And hopefully, we can just hang out instead of having to fix some grand problem. Not that I don't like showing our friendship to malicious powers, but it's nice to have some time to ourselves."
The two of them descended into a comfortable silence as they perused the menu.
There aren't many things here that I really recognise, Twilight mused to herself, maybe I should try something new? Oh wait, I do recognise 'Istallion', that's one of the cultures in a nation reasonaly far to the east of Equestria. They were renowned for making great food back home, I'm sure that'll work. So, it's a bagel - I know that one. Mozzarella - yes, we have that. Rocket leaves, tomatoes, basil pesto, uh huh. What's prosciuto? I feel like I should know what that is. Twilight scratched her head in thought. I know prosecco, that's an alcoholic grape juice. I know panettone, that's some kind of Istallion cakey-bread. Come on, Twilight! You're a princess, you're supposed to be cognizant of other cultures. I just don't know. Oh! Oh wait! It's a cheese. Of course!
"I think I'll go for the Istallion bagel, what about you, Fluttershy?" Twilight said, eyes pointing towards the confounding word.
"Oh! Erm, I was, uh... thinking... well, there isn't really much choice for me, so, the avocado one it is." Unbeknownst to Twilight, who still had her face buried in the menu, Fluttershy raised her eyebrow at Twilight, before shrugging it off.
Not much choice? But the menu is huge. Is she allergic to something? I don't think my home's version of Fluttershy is allergic to anything. Or, at least, I hope not.
After giving their order to the owner-waiter, Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy engaged in idle chatter.
"Sorry that it's just me here," Fluttershy started, "I'm the only one with a free period at this time. Normally I go to the animal shelter, but... I couldn't decline an offer like this! It really does feel like the first time we've properly talked. The first time we met, it was all about Sunset, and, um... well, you know. And then as soon as that was over, you had to leave. The second time, it was the Dazzlings, and you were so caught up in writing your counterspell I didn't want to bother you." Fluttershy's eyes dropped. "I am sorry that I didn't check in on you. I thought, since you're royalty over in your world, you'd have the answers. I didn't realise you were going through it as much as we were. And, I guess, by the time I did notice, I was too caught up in being angry at Rainbow Dash to say anything."
"Don't worry, Fluttershy. We all made mistakes on that day, and the fact that I may be a Princess in Equestria doesn't mean I'm infallible. Even Celestia - er, my Celestia is the oldest living Princess - makes mistakes." Twilight grasped Fluttershy's fidgeting hands firmly and finally broke contact with the menu to stare deep into her eyes, Fluttershy being unable to not notice the regal aura Twilight's gaze and tone seemed to emanate. "And it's okay. We are, after all, having a sleepover at Applejack's after the rest are done."
This highly emotional moment was unceremoniously interrupted by a shout of "One Istallion, on avocado bagel and a pot of herbal tea!" Fluttershy jumped ten feet into the air at the sudden noise and invasion into her personal space as Twilight cleared the table for their meals. Twilight almost thanked the waiter in a royal Canterlot voice before swiftly returning to a more casual tone, while Fluttershy whispered a small thanks of her own.
Twilight began to lower her head to feast upon the rounded meal like a pony, before remembering she had hands that are used for picking up objects and items and finally took a normal, human-like bite out of the food. "Mmm! I've never had anything like this before in my life!"
After a few greedy bites and swallows, Twilight slowed down and opened her eyes, noticing a pink sliver inside her half-eaten bagel. Huh. Is that what prosciuto is? Not knowing quite why, she started to feel a little queasy. "Umm. Fluttershy? What, er, actually is prosciuto?"
"Oh gosh. You don't know?" The colour in Fluttershy's... Fur? No, skin. The colour in Fluttershy's skin had started to vanish, and she dropped her bagel to grab Twilight's hands firmly. "Twilight... I'm sorry, I thought you knew. But that's made from pigs."
"You mean..." Now it was Twilight's turn to lose all colour from her skin.
"Yes, Twilight. Ponies are herbivores, aren't they? Humans... and that means you in this world... eat meat. Made from pigs. Also cows, chickens, other birds... um, some cultures eat deer, buffalo, game birds, dogs... And, again, I'm sorry to say it, some humans eat... horses." Shaking her head quickly, Fluttershy clarified, "N-not that I do! I'm what some humans call a vegetarian. I don't eat meat. I... think most of the girls don't either. Definitely not Sunset, Pinkie just eats cakes, um, I don't think Rarity does? I'm sorry, again, I should have thought about it. Twilight?"
No answer came. Twilight simply looked at the remains of her food, wide-eyed, starting to sweat, that pale colour beginning to turn slightly greenish.
"Oh Celestia... I think I'm going to be sick." Twilight turned to run to the Café bathroom, knocking over the rest of the bagel onto the floor in the process, unceremoniously splattering it onto the floor. Fluttershy walked after her, making sure not to tread on any of the mess that used to be a toroidal loaf or bump into any of the shocked and concerned customers littering the path between herself and her ailing friend.
"I'm a monster. A horrible monster" Twilight softly repeated to herself as Fluttershy entered the bathroom too, gently squeezing the Equestrian Princess. Tears flowed down her face and her normally straight hair was all over the place.
"No, Twilight. You just made a mistake. You said it yourself, you didn't know what it was you ate. It's okay. Mistakes can be forgiven. Remember Sunset? You, myself, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash; we all decided that her mistakes were forgivable. That we would work on forgiving her. That we would help her forgive herself. Everyone makes mistakes, Twilight. You did not harm anybody by eating that. We're here for you, okay?" Tears also fell from Fluttershy and onto Twilight's dress, but neither of them paid any notice.
"...Okay. I... Thank you." Finally turning around to face her friend, Twilight once again looked into the brightly-coloured girl's eyes, both of their makeups showing streaks across their faces. "We, um, kind of look a mess, huh?"
Fluttershy's gaze softened, understanding it was best to perhaps keep her friend's mind off the situation. "It's okay, I always carry a few kits for occasions such as these," the kind girl giggled, "Let's wash off all of this, then."
After a comforting age, the two women left the bathroom, having applied only a light amount of makeup in preparation of the inevitable second coming of tears once the situation was explained to the rest of the friend group. Settling back down at the table, Fluttershy offered to pay the establishment for the inconvenience and for a new, this time vegetarian meal for Twilight, one she reluctantly accepted. As she was slowly making her way through the new, leafy burger, the Alicorn-turned-human finally spoke up in a coarse voice: "Thank you again, Fluttershy. You really are this world's shining beacon of kindness." After a reasonably long pause, she continued: "Back home... in Equestria... pigs, sheep, cows, and chicken all exist. Chickens are... much the same as the ones here, if I remember Sweet Apple Acres correctly, but the rest are all equally as smart as us ponies. Most pigs don't talk, but we offer them a place to stay, and they help us in finding truffles. They're smart. Cows and sheep are basically... and I do hate to say it, and it is something I'm campaigning against, but I've only been in sovereign power for a short while... they're second-class citizens in Equestria. They are just as smart and capable as any pony; they simply lack magic, and occasionally also act on instincts to stampede or herd up. But they still talk! While only few, there have been examples of these creatures in the higher levels of Equestrian society."
Taking a napkin and borrowing a pen from Fluttershy, Twilight continued, taking a few notes as she went: "The philosophers Aristrotle and Sheepenhauer were a cow and a sheep, respectively, and became highly influential, despite the systemic obstacles in their paths. More recently, the pop star Brian Enoink revolutionised the production of music from the barn he was given to stay in as a pig. And I... ate one. And you know what's worst? I liked the taste. I guess it's just those human taste buds. You're omnivores, right? I should have studied harder. I should have known."
Fluttershy moved in for another hug, which Twilight accepted, though saying, "Don't worry, friend, I won't cry this time. The first time I ate here it was lunch at the CHS cafeteria. I just copied whatever you took. I guess that was a 'vegetarian' burger? There were meat ones there too, right?" Fluttershy only nodded. "And the second time against the Dazzlings, we slept over at Pinkie's place. Her fridge only, ha ha, contained whipped cream!" Twilight started to giggle, but her smile faded. "I had no idea."
The plinks of the café doorway's bell interrupted the two friends' conversation abruptly, as five familiar faces entered the building.
"Howdy. Um, Fluttershy, we got yer message so decided to come on down earlier than normal. Is everything alright?" Applejack's distinctive accent and the knowledge that not only did her friend contact the rest of the group, but that they also dropped their work for her, was at the same time a source of comfort and guilt for Twilight.
"Sorry for calling you girls, but Twilight is in... kind of a bad place at the moment. She, uh..." Fluttershy lowered her voice for a second, "ate pork without knowing."
"Wait, what's the big - oh." Rainbow Dash started, but quickly realised why it might be a point of quite serious issue. "Oh. I guess Twilight really needs us to be there for her. I get it! Come on, let's all get down to Sweet Apple Acres and show her how great friends we can be! Twi, if you don't want to talk about it, just say so, yeah?" A curt nod in response was all she needed. "Okay, and is it alright if Flutters tells us about it?" Another nod. "Let's walk and talk back to the cars, then. Twi, you get in Pinkie's... uh... thing, and the rest of us can meet there when we arrive. Okay? Okay!"
"It's not just a thing! It's a Daihorsetsu Copen! The cutest and happiest little car on the streets! Oh, you'll love it, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie helped the Princess up and bounded over to her little machine as the rest of them went towards their own modes of transport. Twilight couldn't help but notice the knowing, yet shy, gaze that Sunset was giving her as they left the café. The bright pink Copen really did look like a ray of sunshine on the drab street, and its smiling face of a grille, alongside Pinkie's general demeanour, really did lift her spirits as they motored off towards Sweet Apple Acres for that promised sleepover.
Twilight really did have the best friends in both worlds.
Author's Note
Thanks for reading! I kind of just had this spur of the moment idea after I had the same experience, being a vegetarian myself. No, I'm not trying to convert you to veganism or vegetarianism, darling reader, I simply wish to explore the unique perspective of a herbivore entering an omnivore society in an omnivore's body, eating what she knew of as sapient creatures. If there is demand I may do a second chapter, but at the moment it's just a oneshot.
And yes, this is my first story on here. It's not my first time writing fiction or fanfiction, but I am still inexperienced. Hope this was all grand.
