The country is generally thought of as a peaceful enviroment and it certainly can be a relaxing getaway from the noise of industrial life. But the country can also be home to aggressive and unforgiving fauna but for some, it's more favorable to deal with natural natures of the country as opposed to the frustrations of the city. This was certainly the case for a lone stallion that bore the name of Cosmo. He never cared for the things that the city had to offer, too much noise and not even nature. Not to mention being able to gaze at Princess Luna's beautiful night sky and see the stars that were breathtaking to look at. It was something that city was unable to offer and Cosmo preferred it by a substantial margin. He loved his humble abode that resided on the outskirts of the town of Ponyville. And he had visited Sweet Apple Acres tens of times. He had a high level of respect for the Apple family. The level of care and passion they placed into their work was truly special and their apples were a direct result of their work ethic. He also took great pleasure in raising a cat and dog that got along surprisingly well. Little did he know, his preference for the peaceful country would bring about another blessing in his life.
As for the fierce yet graceful mare, Ondrea, her life growing up had her residing deep in woods in a secluded village. She always loved her home but as she grew older, Ondrea desired to leave her tribe one day to seek life outside of the village. Once she was old enough and knew that she would be able to leave without her father knowing the deed, she took her leave of the village completely undetected and set her course on all of the sites and settings of Equestria. As she expected, trotting through Equestria got her a lot of strange looks from the citizens due to the skull that she proudly bore in her mane. It was a part of her identity and played a significant role in her upbringing. So the glances and the gazes of confusion didn't sully her in anyway. Just in the first few weeks of her presence in Equestria, she visited Neighagra Falls, Manehattan, Phillydelphia, Baltimare, and Appleloosa. She spent a conservative amount of time in each place and met a fair number of new faces that she was definitely interested in. But she wanted to explore all of Equestria before she made any further decisions on what she wanted to do next. Her next destination was the country town of Ponyville and she knew this would have similar vibes to her time in the village, so she expected this to be nostalgic in some ways.
Cosmo never really cared much for bars but he would still make an effort to go to them every once in a while to meet new friends. He had some regulars that he would make small talk with but nothing real substantial in the long run to satisfy a long term relationship. As for Ondrea, the bar was somewhere that she found to be a very comfortable place for her to relax and she more than loved it when stallions and sometimes mares would offer her drinks. Most of the time it was ponies that were just curious in her unique appearance. She even had a couple fun nights and she was enjoying herself to the fullest with her new life outside of the village. One night in particular had Cosmo associating with the regulars and was having an amusing conversation with a frequent mare, Berry Punch. She was on one of her drunken ramblings when Cosmo noticed a newcomer enter the bar that he had never seen in town before. What instantly caught his attention was the skull in her mane and just how long it was. He had never seen any mare's mane that long before.
There were plenty of cute mares in Ponyville but none of them ever captured Cosmo's attention quite like this mare did. She didn't look like she was from Equestria but she was still a pony. So her appearance only made him even more curious as he wished to learn about where she came from. If the skull in her mane wasn't a dead giveaway, the necklace she wore looked delicate and also looked to hold significance to her identity. Her face markings were also a giveaway that signified that she wasn't from Equestria. He had heard of tribes that resided on the outskirts of Equestria but he didn't know any of them were actually real. It didn't make much sense to him that there were still ponies that chose to live outside of Equestria, in isolated locations, disconnected from the resources that the internal society of Equestria offered. He thought of how he preferred to live in the countryside as opposed to the more heavily industrialized cities of the country. Maybe if she was from a tribe, that kind of mindset may be why they choose not to integrate themselves in internal Equestria. He had convinced himself further at this point to intialize something with this mare.
Upon Ondrea entering the bar, she could already feel the stares from the locals at her distinctive appearance. She couldn't help but give a little smirk as she did like the attention, not to mention the pride she took in representing her tribe. She always started her visits at the bar itself, everypony up until this point had always offered her a drink that intialized any new interactions and tonight wasn't going to be any different. After Cosmo noticed this stunning mare enter the bar, he knew he needed to shoot his shot with her. By the time he turned back to Berry Punch, she had already left to get more drinks for herself. So this seemed like a golden oppurtunity for him to make the first move with this new mare.
Cosmo belines from the table he was sitting at and snags a spot right next the new mare. His confidence was unwavered up until this point, but when he opened his mouth to speak, he found himself unable to say anything. It had been a long time since he felt nervous talking to any mares. He thought he had gotten over that hurdle years ago, but this mare had a different effect on him. He sat there in stasis for what felt like a really long time...
"I would ask if the cat got your tongue but there is no cat around here."
Cosmo was rattled from that statement as he didn't know that this mare knew how awkward he was being. She turned to face him and he was able to see her clearly and all of the fine details of her appearance. Everything about this mare's appearance was intriguing to him, her face markings, the way she had her mane braided, the skull in her mane, her necklace. Cosmo actually had to snap himself out of his own trance because not only was he being awkward, he was unintentionally being creepy as well by just staring at this mare, dumbfounded. He shakes his head and regained his focus...
*ahem* "Excuse me, forgive me for my lack of speech. I have just never seen you around here before..."
Ondrea thought that this stallion was being a bit silly but this isn't the first time she had stunted stallions from being able to act normal for their first interaction. The first few times it happened, it did weird her out but overtime, she figured that there were more ponies in Equestria that were uneducated of the tribes outside of the country than she originally anticipated. At the same time, she liked that her appearance was able to make ponies look like an artist that wants to start drawing but freezes the second they place their quill to the paper. It was more dramatic at certain times more than others and this interaction almost reached palpable levels. Fortunately the stallion across from her said something before it reached to that extent...
"I'll forgive you this time, but you almost didn't recover there."
Even through Cosmo's dark blue coat, you could still see the blush from embarassment that he just exhibited. Not only was this mare enticing to him, she also had a sassy attitude which easily capitalized on moments like these...
"Yes well, I'll make sure it won't happen again."
He motioned a hoof over to the bartender to bring them both drinks and the bartender acknowledged him. Cosmo took a deep breath and gathered his composure...
"What is your name? If I may ask."
"My name is Ondrea. What's yours?"
Ondrea extends a hoof out to shake hooves with...
"My name's Cosmo, it a pleasure to meet you."
He reaches his own hoof out to shake hers...
"Well since I know you aren't from around here, where are you coming from and what made you want to visit the humble town of Ponyville?"
"I come from outside the land of Equestria, just a little ways beyond its borders. I am actually surprised at how little everypony is aware of the tribes existences."
Cosmo nodded as she confirmed that the tribes he had heard about were actually real...
"I was aware of the tribes that dwell outside of the country but I never knew they actually existed."
Ondrea motioned a hoof from the top of her head to her hind legs as if she were displaying herself as an exhibit...
"As you can see, we very much do exist."
Cosmo couldn't help but give a chuckle to her attitude...
"That does seem to be the case. But why are you here and not with your tribe?"
Ondrea faced forward to recall how she went against her father's wishes...
"Don't get me wrong, I love my family and my pony folk, but I wanted to do more with myself. I wanted to go and see the world. I wanted to meet new ponies. I wanted to experience other cultures. I wanted to experience life outside of the tribe..."
She turned to look back at Cosmo...
"And I have been enjoying myself in ways I never had back in my tribe."
Cosmo gave a satisfying nod to her response...
"I am not sure of the traditions that ya'll have, but at the end of the day, you are your ownself. No one should force you to be someone you aren't."
In that moment, the bartender brought them their drinks and set them in front of the pair...
"I don't shun my roots and heritage, I am still proud of who I truly am..."
She placed a hoof on the skull in her mane and then moved it to the necklace she wore...
"But the life I am leading outside of the tribe is also my true self and I don't want my father or anyone else to tell me to not be someone that I clearly am."
Cosmo gave her a compassionate look as he could tell it was a point of contention to an extent...
"I understand and respect your decision, I would behave in the same way. I love my parents too but they can't dictate what I do with myself as a stallion. I make my own decisions for my life and I put up with the consequences whether they are good or bad."
Cosmo takes a swig of his drink as Ondrea does the same...
"I am glad you agree with me. Our interactions going forward will be much easier."
Cosmo can't help but give a slight smirk as he was pleased things were going well...
"So have you just been traveling around Equestria with no immediate place to stay?"
Ondrea nods...
"Mhm, I have been making my rounds with the nation and been finding my way around."
"Are you going to need a place to stay while you are here in Ponyville?"
"You're silly for thinking I NEED somewhere to lodge while I am here. Did you already forget that I hail from a tribe? We are well accustomed to living and communing with nature and are quite capable."
Cosmo looks away to his drink...
"I never doubted your capability, my intent was to offer a place to reside temporarily until you moved onto your next destination..."
Ondrea gave him a light bap on the shoulder...
"You're definitely one of the more serious ones aren't you? I have been half teasing you up till this point and you take everything so seriously."
She couldn't help but give a giggle to Cosmo's attitude while Cosmo gives a laugh through his muzzle and shrugs...
"It's how I tend to be with ponies whom I am becoming familiar with."
Ondrea gives him a smug look...
"So you're saying if I get to know you more, you'll show me more of how you really are?"
Ondrea and Cosmo both finish their drinks at the same time and Cosmo gives his own smug reply back to her...
"I don't know, that's if I get the oppurtunity to continue to interact with the capable tribe mare."
Ondrea gives him a slightly drunken smile...
"You aren't exhibiting any more of that dorkish behavior you initially hit me up with so I don't think that will be a problem at all."
Cosmo gives her a smirk...
"Hey what's up with the skull in your mane and the other parts of your appearance that represent your tribe? I am actually curious to know"
Ondrea leans towards him to show off the skull...
"Why don't you ask me out and maybe I'll tell you next time?"
"Heh, is that all I gotta do?"
Ondrea nodded, clearly showing the signs of a drinky mare...
"Well I would be more than happy to take you out to the Hay Burger. Do you know where that is?"
"Yes, I know where the Hay Burger is."
"Perfect, does the time of 6 PM sound like a good meetup time?"
"Sounds good to me."
"It's settled then, I'll meet you tomorrow there at the designated time."
Cosmo pays the bartender the tab for both drinks and hops out of his seat...
"Hey Cosmic, I could have paid for my own drink."
Ondrea purposefully teases him by getting his name wrong...
"It's Cosmo first of all and I know you are real capable but I can hardly imagine that ya'll up there in the tribes need to worry about currency. Either way I would have offered to pay for the drinks anyway so it doesn't matter."
Ondrea playfully spits at him...
"Aw you got me, I was pretty confident that I'd be able to get away with it. Especially when you are so niiiiice."
Cosmo shakes his head...
"Your confidence isn't unfounded, I'll give you that. Let's not go assuming things going forward okay? Sound good enough?"
Ondrea gives him a goofy nod...
"Of course Cosmic, I'll see you at the Hay Burger tomorrow."
Cosmo chuckles at her and gives her a nod of approval...
"I'll see you then Ondrea."
Cosmo takes his leave for the night and couldn't help but be thoroughly amused at Ondrea's behavior. It was quite cute and adorable and she was even more eccentric when she was drinky, which was a common thing amongst most mares. And while Ondrea was finishing up at the bar, she could tell she was going to have a lot of fun with Cosmo. He was exactly the type of stallion that she loved to tease at little to no end. Things were definitely going to be interesting going forward.
