“I must say, Twilight, as glad as I am that you invited me to join you, I’m surprised you’d visit a vorestaurant at all.” Rarity said, as she strolled down Ponyville’s streets with her friend.

“Why is that, Rarity?”

“Well, you’re normally extremely careful about anything that might potentially reflect even remotely negatively on Princess Celestia.”

“Well, of course. She’s my mentor and practically a second mother to me. Though I have gotten better about that.” Twilight said, turning a confused look on Rarity. “But what’s that got to do with this?”

“I know that many ponies…partake of vore, but it just seemed to me to be the kind of thing you would avoid, so as not to risk embarrassing yourself or the princess.”

“Princess Celestia and I both practice vore regularly.” Twilight told her, putting some emphasis on the correct term.

“Really? I mean, I’d figured out it isn’t new to you, from how casual you’re being about this, but I didn’t know the princess was a practitioner, too.” Rarity said.

“Yeah, she eats one, sometimes two ponies a week. How do you think she got so big?” Twilight said, watching the unicorn carefully.

“WHAT?!” Rarity shouted, missing a step and nearly falling. “You…You’re not serious, are you?”

“No, I just thought I’d tell you the same joke she told me, the first time I saw her eat a pony.” Twilight admitted with a smile. That had probably been the reaction Princess Celestia had expected when she’d told her, years ago. But Twilight, after a moment of near-disbelief, had merely started trying to calculate how much size each pony added.

“And when was that?” Rarity inquired, shaking off the shock. It was mostly from Twilight making a joke about the princess, which was something Rarity couldn’t remember her ever doing before. And despite having met Princess Celestia several times, and knowing that her sense of humor ran to pranks, it still surprised her every time she was subject to one.

“I’d been her student for a couple weeks. The castle’s party planner, Holly Jolly, was having a bad day, and asked the princess to help.” Twilight explained. There was silence for several seconds, as Rarity considered what she'd learned. And how to ask her next question. Eventually, she decided to just ask it.

“Am I correct then, in believing that Princess Celestia has eaten you?”

“Of course. Once a moon, ever since I became her student.”

“Really? I thought you said she didn’t usually take such young lovers?” Rarity asked.

“She normally doesn’t. She doesn’t want to pressure them or influence them.” Twilight confirmed. “But my parents had been out of town for a week and a half, and I was feeling homesick. And after Holly and Cadance both described how much comfort being eaten could provide, I asked her, and she agreed.”

“And you rather liked it, it sounds like.”

“Actually, I wasn’t all that into it. It was okay, but too many things about it were just too intense.” Twilight admitted. “I figured it was more of an acquired taste, so I tried it a couple more times. Before I knew it, I was enjoying it as much as the princess.”

“Too intense, you say?” Rarity worried.

“Oh, don’t worry, Rarity. It was like my first time doing anal. It just took a little getting used to. Besides, you’ve already decided to be a pred, and it’s usually not as intense for them as it is for the prey. Unless you’re an extreme carnal-vore, like the princess.”

“I’m sorry, dear, but I must have misunderstood what you said.” Rarity said a second later. “Because it sounded like you just called Princess Celestia a carnivore.”

“Not carnivore, Rarity. A carnal-vore. Most practitioners of vore—something like sixty-five, seventy percent—only do it for the emotional and physical intimacy it provides. Like Pinkie, who treats it like hugging or cuddling, just taken to the next level. They’re referred to as vorists. The rest of us, including the princess and myself, actually get a sexual—or carnal—thrill out of it, so we’re called carnal-vorists.”

“So did you invite Pinkie, too?” Rarity asked. Pinkie was the only one of their circle that she knew to be into vore. At least until Twilight’s invitation the night before.

“I invited all you girls, but no one else could make it.” Twilight said. “Pinkie is busy foalsitting the twins, Starlight is performing in Manehattan with Trixie, and Applejack and Apple Bloom went with them, to visit Babs’ family. And Fluttershy stopped by earlier to let me know that Harry’s coming down with something, but she’s not sure what yet. She was looking for Dr. Fauna to see if she could help. She also told me she asked Rainbow to fetch Zecora. Not that she’d have come, anyways. When I invited her, she told me she doesn’t like what vore does to her figure.”

“Rainbow is worried about her figure?”

“A belly-bulge isn’t aerodynamic.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” Rarity agreed, nodding. She was unsurprised, but mildly disappointed that it wasn’t romance related.

“Plus, she said that the couple times she tried it, it left her feeling bloated and logy for days, but that’s got to be just in her head. You shouldn’t feel any effects more than a couple hours after digestion has finished.” Twilight explained. “And there it is.” she added, as the pair turned a corner.

Half a block down stood their destination. The front was painted with five evergreens, making the large, two-story building unmistakeable. And as the mares approached, they spotted several bird silhouettes painted in different colors, the largest being a gray phoenix. Twilight counted more than a dozen before Rarity spoke up again.

“What about Spike?”

“The vore reagents don’t work on dragons.” Twilight answered. “He accidentally got ahold of the prey pill once, a couple moons before I moved here. Nothing too bad happened to him, but it did give him the hiccups for a few hours.”

“Oh no, the poor thing.” Rarity chuckled.

“And not long after his molt, he came along on one of my visits with Princess Celestia, and we experimented with both reagents. His natural draconic magics burned away the active ingredients. Except for the breath freshener, which it somehow strengthened. We’ve been using that ever since.”

“I had noticed his breath smelling better lately, but I didn’t want to be so uncouth as to ask about it.” Rarity said, as she opened the wooden door with her magic. After following Twilight in, she was surprised by what she saw when she looked around. Not only by the decor, which was about as upscale as any place in Ponyville—except Twilight’s castle, but that had been grown, instead of built, so it didn’t really count—but also by the pony who was standing in the waiting area.

“Fleur?” she said to herself, surprised, as a purple flash to her left indicated Twilight changing to her bipedal form, to match the tall model, who spent most of her time as a biped.

“Fleur!” Twilight called, sounding quite happy to see the white mare.

“Twilight!” Fleur replied brightly, when she turned and spotted Twilight. As the smaller mare approached, the taller one sank to her knees. She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss just above the purple pubic mound. “L’honneur soit à vous, ma princesse.”1 she murmured respectfully, before placing another kiss on the head of Twilight’s dangling cock.

“Fleur.” Twilight almost whined, as she looked around uncomfortably. Seeing only a confused Rarity, she quickly leaned down and pressed her lips to the unicorn’s forehead, just below her horn. “L’harmonie vous bénisse.”2 she muttered quickly, awkwardly mangling the pronunciation.

“Merci, ma princesse.”3 Fleur answered, bowing deeply.

“Fleur, how many times do I have to tell you you don’t have to do that.” Twilight said, helping the other mare back to her hooves. Then she hugged her warmly. Even with the extra couple hands of height that’d come with her wings, she was still head and horn shorter than Fleur.

“But it’s important to show proper respect to a princess.” Fleur insisted, before whispering into Twilight’s ear, “Besides, you’re completely adorable, the way it makes you blush, ma petite bouchée.”4 Then she kissed the blushing cheeks, before turning to the other mare.

“And Rarity. Such a pleasant surprise.” she gushed, kneeling to hug the seamstress in turn, pressing the quadruped’s head between her breasts. After a few seconds of snuggling, Fleur kissed Rarity’s cheeks, before moving to a convenient bench. “I didn’t think you were into vore. Tell me, are you a carnal-vorist, like us? Ah, but surely a mare of refined tastes, such as yourself, must be.”

“Honestly, this will be my first time trying vore.” Rarity admitted slowly.

“Truly? I’d thought everypony I knew had at least tried it by now.” Fleur said, before looking at Rarity consideringly. “Predator or prey? Or undecided?”

“Predator.” Rarity answered quickly, the look she was receiving making her ears swivel backwards uneasily.

“Are you sure? You look like you’d be positively delicious.” Fleur asked, pouting enticingly, even as her cock twitched, starting to stiffen at the thought.

“Quite sure.”

“A pity. Perhaps the next time you visit Canterlot, then?”

“Perhaps, but we’ll have to see how tonight goes, first.” Rarity allowed, still a bit uneasy. Even presented with clear evidence in the form of Fleur’s rising erection, she didn’t understand how anypony could find swallowing someone else whole sexual.

“Of course. But even if you don’t enjoy being the predator, you shouldn’t be afraid to give the other side a try. Actually, especially if you don’t. But in any case, since your friend is off the menu, Princesse Twilight, would you care to join me for dinner?”

“Normally I’d be happy to, but I’m actually feeling hungry, tonight.”

“Really?” Fleur asked, pale purple eyes going wide. “That is unusual. It’s just too bad Fancy and I promised each other never to be eaten by anypony else, without the other’s permission.”

“Oh, is Fancypants not here, tonight?” Twilight questioned.

“Alas, no. One of the committees he’s on had an emergency meeting he couldn’t avoid. So I came here by myself, to try this new place.”

“You mean you haven’t been here yet?” Twilight asked, surprised.

“This place hasn’t been open for two full weeks, Twilight.” Rarity reminded her, making what she thought was a solid point.

“Rarity, Fleur and Fancypants are probably the most prolific vorists in Equestria. They eat out at least once a week, they’ve been to nearly every vorestaurant in Equestria, and this is the first time I’ve even heard of them missing an opening night this close to Canterlot. I think they eat someone every day, just about.”

“Oh, Princess, don’t exaggerate.” Fleur objected, with a laugh. “It’s every other day, at most.”

”How did I not know this?” Rarity wondered to herself, reeling internally. ”Fleur and Fancypants are two of my closest friends in Canterlot, after Sassy. Does she…is she a vorist, too?” Rarity was so wrapped up in the revelation of her own ignorance that she nearly missed Twilight’s response.

“Right. Every other day, then.” the purple mare chuckled, rolling her eyes. “That’s still two to three times as much as anypony else I know. Including Princess Celestia.”

“And you’re wrong about ‘nearly every’ vorestaurant, too.” Fleur continued, with a smirk. “This is the only one we haven’t been to, yet. We would’ve been here for opening night if I wasn’t working in the Crystal Empire. Fancy didn’t want to come without me, so we planned to wait until I returned. But then the emergency meeting came up. I was willing to wait for another night, when we’d both be free, but he insisted I come anyways, since we had a reservation. Besides, we do have our reputation as Equestria’s most prolific vorists to maintain, after all.” Fleur finished with a wink. Then she noticed that Rarity looked upset.

“Rarity, ma chérie5, are you okay?” she asked.

“Oh, I’m fine, darling.” Rarity answered, waving a hoof dismissively. “I’m just realizing I don’t know you nearly as well as I thought, since this is the first I’m hearing about what’s apparently a major part of your lives.”

“Don’t feel bad, ma petite.”6 Fleur said kindly, reaching out to pet her friend’s neck. “Fancy and I know that not everypony shares all our interests, and we try not to talk about those things we don’t have in common. Which is why, after you didn’t respond to our overtures when we first met, we simply didn’t bring it up when you were with us.”

“You made overtures?” Rarity asked, embarrassment painting her cheeks at the thought that she’d been so oblivious.

“Oui, we flirted a bit, in ways that anypony experienced in vore would respond to in certain ways. And when you didn’t respond that way, we came to the conclusion that you weren’t interested. Of course, had we realized you’d never even tried it before, we would have been much more straightforward about it.”

“Still, I feel rather foolish for not noticing anything out of the ordinary.”

“Oh non, non, non.”7 Fleur said quickly. “Rarity, non. We were the foolish ones, Fancy and I. Even as we got to know you better, we held on to too many of our early misconceptions.”

“Yes, well.” Rarity muttered, her face remaining pink. She had mostly come to terms with her behavior during her first solo trip to Canterlot in the years since, but some embarrassment would always remain.

“And now I’ve embarrassed you. To apologize, I insist you join me at my table. I will even pay for both your meals.” Fleur said.

“That’s not necessary.” Rarity said, as Twilight also tried to demur.

“Please. I must insist. If I didn’t, and Fancy found out, he’d paddle me so. I wouldn’t be able to sit for a week.” Fleur said, with a little giggle.

“Well.” Twilight said slowly, looking at Rarity to gauge her opinion.

“In that case, we’d be honored.” the shorter unicorn agreed with a smile.

“So a table for three, then?”

The three mares turned to look at the podium, where a yellow pegasus stood on all fours.

“Strawberry Sunrise, I didn’t know you were working here.” Rarity said.

“Part-time, to help make ends meet a little more securely. Better pay and better hours than Berry’s Pub. Besides, I’ve been a fan of vore since I was a filly. But anyway! Welcome to The Stuffed Pony. As Rarity said, my name is Strawberry Sunrise, and I’ll be your waitress-slash-maitre d’ this evening.” she said, directing her words mostly towards the tall out-of-towner. “I apologize for the wait, but our usual maitre d’ was just eaten, and I was asked to take part. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to the Princess Table.”

“There’s a Princess Table?” Rarity asked, surprised. Only the top dozen or so restaurants in Canterlot kept a table specifically reserved for the princess’s use only. And less than half that many outside the capitol, with Manehatten being the only other city to boast more than one.

“Of course. There is a princess living in town, isn’t there?” Strawberry Sunrise teased, smiling at Twilight. “And the other three are known to visit, on occasion.” she added, scooping up three menus with her wing. “Four princesses.” she added to herself. “What an age we live in.” Then she turned to lead the three patrons through the dining area. In the back, there was a single, large table on an almost knee-high dais.

Upon reaching their destination, Strawberry turned a discreetly placed dial, and the extra-tall legs sank into the floor a few hoof-widths. She then quickly moved to pull out Twilight’s chair for her. And while Rarity changed to her bipedal form, to better fit at the table, Twilight awkwardly sat down. While she was used to sitting at a Princess Table—having done so many times with Cadance, a few times with Celestia, and even once with Luna—being the princess it was meant for was entirely new for her. Strawberry then got Fleur’s chair, the tall pony having already done the same for Rarity.

“Now, here’s your menus, ladies. Take your time to read over them completely, and I’ll be back in a few minutes to take your drink orders. Probably. Unless you already know what you want.”

“Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea what I’m going to have.” Fleur said, staring intently at the pegasus. “You look good enough to eat, after all.”

“That’s why I’m here.” Strawberry giggled, returning the sultry smile. “But you should give the rest of the staff a look-see, just in case someone else piques your interest. In either case, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” With that, she turned and left. But as she did, she tossed a quick wink over her shoulder, and hiked her tail high, for her predator’s viewing pleasure.

A second or two later, Rarity pulled her eyes from Strawberry’s glistening pussy to look at the menu. It was a very strange menu, that actually looked more like a contract. It read,

As a customer of The Stuffed Pony…

• You have the RIGHT to eat as much as you want.
• You have the RESPONSIBILITY to pay 45 Bits for your Predator Potion, and 30 Bits for each prey consumed. (Tips Optional)
• You have the RIGHT to ask anyone present, including your fellow diners, to be your prey.
• You have the RIGHT to refuse any such requests made of you.
• You have the RESPONSIBILITY to treat any offers and/or refusals politely. Making a scene is completely unnecessary, and may be punishable by banning, temporary or permanent.
• You have the RIGHT to request any staff member provide entertainment, and to help prepare your chosen prey for consumption.
• You have the RESPONSIBILITY to be considerate of other diners, and not inconvenience them by monopolizing the staff for entertainment/preparation purposes, or cause a scene of excess debauchery.

“Please forgive my ignorance, but what does this part mean, about entertainment and preparation?” Rarity asked, once she finished the front cover.

“Most ponies who frequent vorestaurants are carnal-vorists, and—apologies, Rarity, but do you know what a carnal-vorist is?” Fleur interrupted her explanation to ask.

“Yes, Twilight enlightened me as to just how little I knew about this…sub-culture, I guess one could call it…on the walk over. Including the fact that some ponies enjoy it sexually.”

“I hope I did not offend. I simply wanted to make sure, since this is your first time.” Fleur said apologetically. “But for carnal-vorists, such as Fancy and myself, there is as much fun to be had in playing with our food, as in the actual eating. Plus, it’s only polite to make sure your prey enjoys it at least as much as you do.”

“Think of it like a dom-sub encounter.” Twilight added. “The actual consumption is the climax of the scene. So everything that comes before is pretty much scene-setting and foreplay.”

“Okay, that explains the part about entertainment, but what about preparation?”

“Some ponies like to do specific things to their prey before eating them.” Twilight said.

“Such as?”

“My Fancy prefers his prey to be cream-filled when he eats them.” Fleur said, smiling lasciviously.

“Oh.” Rarity said softly. “Oh!” she suddenly repeated, as she figured out exactly what Fleur meant.

“One night, one of our maids decided to see what our limits were. We managed four times, each, before the little nympho passed out and stopped asking for more. She looked like she was more cum than mare when Fancy swallowed her.”

“That’s…impressive.” Rarity managed, before turning back to the menu. After the front cover, she wasn’t sure what to expect, so was a little surprised to find each page was dedicated to a different member of the waitstaff. In addition to some basic info, like height, weight, and typical work schedule, there were pictures, too. Of humans and ponies—in both quadrupedal and bipedal forms—in poses ranging from suggestive to erotic, to outright pornographic. She flipped through the pages slowly, looking for anyone who might catch her eye. While there were many she’d happily have sex with, none of them really stood out as…edible.

After flipping through the entire menu, Rarity was surprised to find the back cover was again different. There was a list of flavors the predator potion came in, as well as a list of drinks. While it was recommended that a pony not eat solid food for two or three hours before eating someone else, most liquids were okay, since they would get converted into predator potion upon contact with it.

“Can I get you mares anything to drink?”

The words caught Rarity by surprise, and she looked up from the menu to find Strawberry Sunrise had returned.

“I’ll have the house red, please.” Twilight said. “And the orange potion.”

Fleur ordered next. “I’d like a watermelon soda, and the watermelon potion.”

“And you, Rarity?” Sunrise asked after a second, as Rarity continued looking over the menu.

“Um, I believe I shall have the house red, as well.” she said, deciding to follow Twilight’s lead.

“And for the potion?”

“Does it make any difference?” she asked, biting the bolt* and revealing her ignorance.

“Flavor is the only difference.”

“Then I shall go with the pineapple flavor. Not something I get to enjoy often.”

“I’ll be back in a minute with your drinks, and to take your orders. Unless you’ve already decided?”

“Another couple minutes would be appreciated.” Twilight answered.

“I’ll wait until they’re ready, but I haven’t changed my mind.” Fleur said.

“In that case…” Strawberry Sunrise said, before touching the badge around her neck. It changed color, from white to red. “This is to let other patrons know I’ve been claimed.” she explained, somewhat unnecessarily. Since Twilight and Fleur had seen similar things in other vorestaurants, and Rarity had figured it out on her own. Strawberry then left to get their drinks, once more flagging her tail as high as it would go.

“So, Twilight.” Rarity spoke up, a few seconds later. “Is there anything I should know about ordering? Specifically, in regards to what goes with the red wine we ordered?”

“It really doesn’t matter.” Twilight answered. “Some ponies say you should pair reds with humans, and whites with ponies.”

“Others say you should pair wine according to gender, but it’s split pretty evenly, which goes with which.” Fleur added. “Speaking from experience, it really does boil down to personal taste, more than anything else.”

“Hmm, that’s not much help.” Rarity thought, flipping through the menu again.

“You haven’t decided who to have, huh?” Twilight asked.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Do you at least have an idea of who you want? Human or pony? Male or female?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea. Honestly, no one in this menu…whets my appetite, as it were.”

“Oh, well don’t think about it like that, Rarity.” Fleur told her.

“Yeah, just pick someone you want to fuck.” Twilight added. “The eating is the final step, like I said earlier. The real fun, especially in your case, will probably be the stuff before it.”

“In that case…” Rarity murmured, looking back through the menu. “Ooh, he’s quite handsome, but he only works Mondays through Thursdays.”

“You should ask Strawberry about that, when she gets back.” Fleur said. “These schedules aren’t absolutes. Workers may trade shifts sometimes, or work extra shifts.”

“They may also get called in on a day off, if someone has to cancel because they’re sick, or for some other reason.” Twilight added.

”It’s always best to have a list of at least three or four choices, just in case your first choices have already been eaten.” Fleur finished.

“Right, thank you.” She nodded at both her friends, and returned her attention to the menu once more. But as she did, something caught her eye. Looking at one of the other tables, she saw a blue-skinned, curly haired man on his knees. He was busy kissing the hooves of some brown pony, in their bipedal form. Rarity couldn’t tell who the pony was, since they were in the process of being eaten by one of the pegasi from the weather team. Rarity didn’t know the predatorial mare’s name, only recognizing her by her colors.

As Rarity watched, the prey-pony’s breasts slipped inside their predator’s mouth. The pale-coated pegasus shivered slightly, her extended wings quivering from the strain. All of a sudden, another pony Rarity only knew by sight leaned over and took the prey’s cock into her mouth. The earth pony mare angled her head somewhat awkwardly, to stare into her dinner partner’s eyes, as she slowly fellated the hard cock.

All the while, the human kept worshipping the brown hooves. When he switched from one hoof to the other, Rarity caught a glimpse of shaggy fetlock, and realized the prey was a stallion. After watching for a bit longer, Rarity opened her menu, to try and figure out who she was watching. She found the human, Curly Winds, easily enough, but even after flipping from cover to cover twice, she still couldn’t find a stallion that shade of brown. A quick glance at the front cover reminded her that one diner could request that another be their prey, and she figured that was the case here.

She looked up in time to see the stallion’s hips start bucking, as he came in the earth pony mare’s mouth. She swallowed it all easily, before pulling her mouth off him. Then, the pegasus mare started swallowing him again. Rarity watched as the stallion disappeared into the pale muzzle, a few inches at a time. It was almost like some of Discord’s stranger tricks. Weird and a little disturbing, but oddly fascinating and strangely hard to look away from.

Curly Winds kept up his hoof-worship until the hooves disappeared into the pegasus’s mouth, leaving him lip-to-lip with the pale mare. She pulled him into a kiss so quickly, so eagerly, that Rarity thought for a moment that she was going to eat him, too.

That was not to be, however, and the two merely made out for a bit, as the other mare at the table leaned over and…did something to her dinner companion. At first, Rarity thought she was jerking the pegasus off, but she soon realized that she was rubbing the belly-bulge, like one would with a pregnant mare.

After a few seconds more, the couple stopped kissing, and the man turned to talk to the other mare. Rarity figured it was his turn to be eaten, but again, she was wrong. There was some back-and-forth that she didn’t understand—thanks to an enchantment around the Princess Table, meant to keep the princess and her guests from being bothered by the other patrons—and after only a few more seconds, both mares got up from the table. The pegasus did indeed look massively pregnant, with the way her belly stretched out in front of her. In fact, she looked 11 months pregnant, if not more.

As the pair made their way to the front, Rarity turned her attention back to Curly Winds, taking in his body as he tidied up the table. He was on the tall side, and pretty muscular. And while he was turned away from her, his pictures in the menu showed that he was handsome, too. Just thinking about the fun she could have with him was making Rarity aroused.

“See someone you like?” Fleur asked teasingly.

“As a matter of fact…” Rarity responded in kind.

“Well, he wouldn’t be my first choice, but I do prefer to eat ponies. And he does look like he’d be fun to play with.”

“Oh, while I’m thinking of it, what was that thing you did earlier, kissing Twilight’s belly and cock?”

“It’s just an old Prench tradition, for when we meet royalty. So long as they’re in their bipedal form, you kneel and kiss both their womb and their cock. We’ve been doing it for over a century.”

“Actually, the tradition is a lot older than that. It’s ancient, in fact.” Twilight said.

“Ancient, as in before Luna became Nightmare Moon?” Rarity asked.

“As in before Celestia was even born.”

“Really? That old?”

“It’s actually from the Astral Dynasty.”

“The Astral Dynasty?” Rarity and Fleur both questioned.

“They ruled Old Unicornia before Princess Platinum’s Mineral Dynasty.”

“Sweet Celestia!”

“Actually, according to Princess Celestia, the original tradition is even older than that, but the Astral Dynasty changed it to what we know now.”

“And how did she learn about it?” Rarity asked.

“She learned it from Princess Platinum, who learned it as part of her history studies. According to what the princess told me, before the Astral Dynasty, when somepony met a member of the royal family, if they were in their bipedal form, they were to show fealty by kissing the stallion’s cock, or the mare’s womb. Since royalty were considered the mother and father of the nation, the king’s cock represented his status as protector of the nation, and the queen’s womb represented her status as nurturer. Those ideas supposedly dated back to prehistory, and the earliest days of the pony species, but those gender roles were outdated, even then.

“Then the Astral Dynasty came along, and they were a little different than the rulers who came before. They lived almost their entire lives in their bipedal forms, only ever returning to four hooves when in private. None but the most trusted servants were ever allowed to see them as quadrupeds, and the children weren’t presented to the public until they were old enough to change forms. So, since nopony knew which gender they were, they would kiss both womb and cock.”

“And what about Princess Platinum’s line?” Rarity asked.

“They phased the practice out, and after three or four generations, it was almost entirely forgotten by all but scholars, and the royals they educated.”

“Then how did the Prench learn to do it?”

“No idea.” Twilight admitted. “Princess Celestia has wondered about that ever since the first time somepony did it to her. She figures somepony must have found some ancient tome or scroll, or something, somewhere.” Seconds later, Strawberry Sunrise hurried back to their table, a tray on her back.

“I’m so sorry I took so long.” she apologized. “I had to sit two parties, being the replacement maitre d’.”

“And what will they do after you’ve been eaten?” Rarity asked.

“Well, my replacement will take over, once she’s done helping at another table.” Strawberry explained. “So have you decided what you want?”

“I think I’ll go for Micro Chips, if he’s still available. If not, then Wiz Kid looks like he’d be fun.”

“Micro Chips has been eaten already tonight. He was the one I was helping with when you ladies came in. But I saw Wiz Kid a few minutes ago, so he should be available.” Strawberry said, nodding. “And you, Rarity?”

“I’m thinking Curly Winds.”

“Okay, but I think I saw him at a table a minute ago, so he might have been claimed.”

“Actually, it looked to me like he was just entertaining.” Twilight spoke up.

Strawberry looked over her shoulder. “Huh, you might be right.” she agreed, catching a glimpse of the dark blue curls. “He’s pretty popular, though. Especially with one of the stallions who just came in. Do you have a second choice?”

“Um, is,” Rarity flipped through the menu again quickly, “Emerald Shadow working tonight, by any chance? I know he’s not scheduled to, but according to my friends, those aren’t set in stone.”

“They aren’t, but no, he’s not.”

“In that case, um, I guess…oh, just surprise me, I suppose. If it’s just for fun, I’m not that picky.”

“Then I’ll be back in a minute with your orders.” she said, before hurrying away, her tail still flagged, but she didn’t make any sort of show of it, this time.

“I have a quick question.” Rarity said, a second or two later, as something occurred to her.

“What is it?”

“I know that not every pegasus gets a wingboner every time they get aroused, but if they do get one, how do you, um, deal with it?”

“The prey pill makes their wings more flexible, like a unicorn’s horn.” Twilight explained. After that, the conversation moved to more casual topics, mostly the goings-on in Canterlot. At least for the minute or so that it took for Strawberry Sunrise to return with Wiz Kid and Curly Winds.

“You’re in luck. The stallion who likes Curly was invited to another table, so he’s all yours.” she said, as the three of them took their prey pills out of the badges they wore around their necks, and dropped them in the appropriate potion bottles. A few seconds later, the three diners drank the potions, leaving a mouthful or two behind. The three prey then emptied the bottles, swallowing the prey pills in the process.

Author's Note

Like Carousel Carousing, there’s a reference in the text. The first reader to identify it gets a .

French Translations:

1. Honor be unto you, my princess.
2. Harmony bless you.
3. Thank you, my princess.
4. my little morsel/mouthful.
5. my dear
6. this is a general term of endearment, the literal translation of which I’m not confident of.
7. no, no, no. (I realize this one should be obvious, but it’s better to be sure, so I’m listing it for completion’s sake.)

I freely admit to using Google Translate, so Twilight’s pronunciation probably isn’t the only thing awkwardly mangled. Hopefully, it’s at least close. If not, and if there are any French speakers willing to share the proper phrases/translations, feel free to tell me, and I’ll swap them out, giving you full credit here.

*Since I don’t remember anything suggesting guns are a thing in Equestria, but bows and arrows definitely are, I went with crossbow bolt, instead of bullets.