Rose took a big bite out of the roast beef on the stick, 'Sure is a strange way to sell it. Let's see how it tastes...' she chewed slowly. The flavor was like nothing she had ever tried before and the texture was so strange, 'It's... stringy. Like the little strings in a piece of celery, except they're from an animal... and they're nowhere as crunchy. Hmm, meat seems to completely lack the crunch of fresh vegetables, but the texture and consistency is close to steamed brussel sprouts. It's... very different, but not bad.'

Razor Wit watched Rose's expression intensely. She was debating getting a serving of meat herself. The turkey drums seemed to be popular with the Humans. The two mares had yet to meet up with the rest of their herd. Rose wanted to try the roast beef to see if she would want to get something else, or if the meat would be good enough.

Neither mare at first noticed that a rich couple of Unicorns trotted by and saw what Rose was doing, "I say, what is that you're eating there?"

Razor Wit turned her head toward the couple while Rose swallowed her mouthful of meat, "It's roast beef." She admitted, examining the stick, "It's not bad. I doubt I'll ever acquire a longing for it, but it's better than I thought it would be."

The rich couple exchanged a confused look. The stallion lifted his right forehoof to his chin in thought, "I was not going to try it. It seemed... unnatural. However, if you say it is actually edible... I may have to try some myself." He smiled, "Might as well go for the full experience, eh?"

The mare at his side blinked in surprise, "A-are you sure?"

The stallion nodded, "This is not exactly an every day opportunity. I say we really get into the spirit of the festival."

The mare shuddered, "You can if you want. I think I'll stay with more average foods... although I might try a bit if you say it's good."

The two turned and headed for the vendor from which Rose had bought the roast beef. She decided to hold off on another bite, "This'll do for lunch. Why don't you get something for yourself and we'll meet back with the others. I'll wait here for you."

Razor smiled, "An idea I agree with." She turned and trotted up to the line for the same vendor. The line moved quickly and before long, the two rich Unicorns were at the front. She could overhear the stallion ordering, "I would like to try the... what is the pork chop sandwich?"

The vendor, a young Latina woman with dark hair replied in a proud manner, "It's a strip of Gryphonvale raised pork, baked to perfection on a lightly toasted all wheat, heavy roll with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and our special zesty mayonnaise."

The stallion sounded quite pleased, "A fine pitch my good Human. You have yourself a sale. One pork chop sandwich please."

* * *

Razor ended up buying one of the massive turkey drums for herself. She carried her drum and Rose's roast beef as it would have been difficult and awkward for Rose to carry her food and walk at the same time. They reached the stage seating area and looked around. A white and black striped hoof waved at them from the back of the area.

They made their way over to where Oriana waved from. Artex was already seated on one of the cushions. He had a sandwich on a paper napkin laid out in front of him while Oriana had a paper cup filled with some sort of small fried tidbits. Vaiawa had a small array of multicolored cubes in front of her on a napkin. Rose and Razor sat down, Rose next to Vaiawa and Razor next to Oriana.

"So," Artex began, "What did everybody get for lunch?"

Vaiawa was the first to reply, "The Fried Vegetable Sampler looked too good to pass up."

"Baked Crickets." Oriana said. She shrugged at the odd looks she received from her herdmates, "They smelled good and I've heard that they're a delicacy invented by Changelings."

Vaiawa nodded, "They are. They're very good, too. Lots of protein and fat, though grubworms have more fat on them. They smell kind of like bacon."

"I decided to try roast beef." Rose bluntly stated.

Artex shot her an odd look and his eyes widened even more when he saw what Razor had, "Wait, three of the four of you got MEAT!?"

Each of the three mentioned mares chimed in:
"Insect."
"Mammal."
"Fowl."

The disfigured man laughed heartily, "I guess Vaiawa is the only one who didn't get meat."

Razor looked at his sandwich, "What meat did you get?"

Artex smiled hugely and held up the sandwich, "Bacon, lettuce, and tomato with mayonnaise on thick cut rye bread." His smile widened, "Ten strips of bacon on this baby." He closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again and taking a big bite. He chewed only for a second before he moaned in ecstasy, "Oh my god, this is so good!" He mumbled. The herd all began eating their lunch while the actors on the stage performed A Midsummer Night's Dream.

* * *

After finishing his sandwich, Artex excused himself, "I need to go find a bathroom."

Rose saw her opportunity and decided to act. She set her roast beef down on Razor's napkin, "I need to go, too."

She caught up with Artex quickly and walked beside him. Rose was not a mare prone to beating around the proverbial bush, so she spoke with all the subtlety of a thunderclap, "Hey Artex?" She asked.

Artex turned his head, "Oh, sorry Rose. I didn't notice you there." He saw her expression and the posture of her ears, "Is... something wrong?"

"I made a joke about how fat you used to be. I'm sorry about that. I know how upset I'd be if somepony commented on how bulky and tall I am. I just didn't think about it at the time. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I'm sorry." Rose said honestly.

Artex stopped walking and turned his whole body toward the muscular Earth Pony mare, "Thanks for apologizing, Rose." He scuffed his right foot against the cobblestones and looked down, "I was pretty upset about that." He looked back up at her, "I'm surprised you noticed. I know I'm hard to read. My ears don't move and all that jazz."

Rose looked away, rubbing her left foreleg against her right one, "Razor noticed. I was completely oblivious until she told me. Once she said something about it... I don't know how I could have missed it. She made it sound so obvious..."

Artex reached his right hand down and caressed her cheek, turning her head back to him, "Don't worry about it, I forgive you." He planted a small kiss on her forehead, "Now, no more sad muscle-mare."

Rose blushed, "I guess that makes us even huh?" She cracked a small smile.

Artex let go of her cheek and grinned like a cat that had just eaten a canary, "No. I already forgave you. We were 'even' then. I was just commenting on how you might be able to out-wrestle Big Macintosh."

He turned and ran when he saw her expression, "What!?" She chased after him giggling all the while, "I'll get you for that! Get back here, mister!"

Artex yelled over his shoulder, "You'll have to catch me first!" He punctuated the statement by blowing a raspberry at Rose. They ran through the streets of New Humansville, both laughing like there was no tomorrow.

Author's Notes:

As always, we adore comments, and please be sure to mention it if we missed any typos.