Gimme Some Grub

Chapters

The Meat Up
A Sick Problem
That Bites
Come Dine In

The Meat Up

It has been a slow day for the three student journalists: Gus, Emerald, and Sunshine. They were flying and wandering around Ponyville attempting to search for something interesting for their school newspaper, but they weren’t able to find it. After a while of searching, they stopped.

“Hey, Emma, Sunny,” Gus called, “You think we should call it quits for today?”

“Yeah,” Sunshine answered. “We should go back. I’m feeling kind of bored right now. And also, we haven’t found a good story for our newspaper yet, nothing interesting happened here in this town.”

“It’s alright, you two,” Emerald added. “We’ll find it soon or later. Let’s go.”

And so, the trio decided to head back to school. As they’re walking, there is something that caught the attention of the green dragon’s eye. “Hey, check that out!” she called. The griffs both glanced over to where their friend was pointing and can see two griffons struggling to pull up a sign onto the front of a dilapidated building.

“Hey, isn’t that the new restaurant that’ll be opening soon?” Sunshine asked.

“Yea, I’m pretty sure it is,” Gus verified, and then came up with an idea. “Maybe we should give them some advertisements. And… I guess we found something interesting to report, because why not. We’ve got to report about something.”

“Indeed…, you’re right!” Sunshine exclaimed. “Let’s do this!”

“Yeah!” Emerald and Gus replied with enthusiasm.

The three young reporters ran down to where the currently-on-construction restaurant was. The two griffons, who were trying to hang up the sign, were using a pulley system until they could lock them in place and secure the sign.

“Um, excuse us…,” Emerald called. Both griffons looked down at the students.

“Sorry, kids, we’re not open yet!” one called. “This building is still under construction.”

“That’s not what we’re here for. We’re here just looking for a story to report,” Sunshine noted. “It’s a slow day for us.”

“Wait? Like a newspaper.” Both looked at each other, both having the same idea. “Wait here, I’ll call the boss.” The griffon quickly flew inside, leaving Emerald, Sunshine, and Gus outside as she took a picture of the sign. It read “Gimme Some Grub.”

A few seconds later, the doors opened to reveal a female griffon with white and red feathers wearing a blue chef’s hat. “So, where are these reporters you’re talking about?”

“Right there, boss.” She then looked at where the worker was pointing at.

“Okay then. Go back to work.” He did so and the red-and-white female Griffin walked over to them. “So… I see that you’re working for the town’s press, am I correct?” she inquired.

“Actually, madam, we’re reporting for our school’s newspaper,” Emerald noted. “although we’ve been sending a few copies to other ponies in Ponyville.”

“Well, if you guys are reporting to your friends back at school, then I’m all for it. My name’s Gimme Moore.” The griffon held out her talon, which Emerald shook. “Nice to meet you.”

“My pleasure. I’m Emerald, and that’s Sunshine and Gus. We’re from the School of Friendship’s Journalists Club, working for the school newspapers.”

“Alright, another fellow griffon helping to inform other creatures about my new business. Come inside, we’ll have a chat.” Gimme led them into the building, leaving the two griffons to finish up with the sign.

“So, Miss Gimme,” Gus started, “I see that this is your first time here in Ponyville, am I right?”

“Indeed,” Gimme replied. “This place is neat and the ponies living here are sympathetic.”

“I can agree and the same for all of us.” Emerald and Sunshine nodded in agreement. “And the question we wanna ask is: is there a purpose for you to begin opening this restaurant in Ponyville?”

“I do. Recently, I’ve heard about this young chick-cub that has been adopted by a pony couple in a place called Cloudsdale, I think his name is Peter if I’m correct. And some other griffons in Griffonstone are saying they might move elsewhere in Equestria like Ponyville. But… I had a feeling that they’d get stuck eating plants for all their lives since ponies are herbivores and are not prone to eating meat. Griffons like me and you, or a hippogriff or dragon, need to have that source of protein in order to stay strong. That’s where we come in.”

Gimme Moore then led the students past some other griffons, who were struggling to move the furniture. The students were led into the kitchen where they could see some scoops sitting beside some machines there filled with some kind of oil.

“What are those?” Sunshine asked.

“Our deep fryers,” Gimme explained. “It’s one of the ways we’ll have our delicious fried chicken.”

“Cool!” Emerald took a picture of the fryers as she had a question. “And… where are you getting the chicken from?” she asked.

“I know one guy from Griffonstone who now owns a chicken farm. In any case, if we’re low on butchered chicken, I can just pay him a fee to deliver them here and I’ve got food for my business. Of course, we’re not just selling fried chicken, I’m also going to include ham and bacon in our menu to expand.”

“Nice. Thinking about that makes me feel hungry now,” Sunshine said.

“Me too,” Emerald added, “even though I had a little snack a while ago.”

“Another question. Since you’re going to serve meat here, are you going to include seafood as well like lobsters or oysters?”

“Oh yeah… Now that you mentioned it; if this diner becomes successful, I’d love to add seafood to the menu.”

“Oh boy, can’t wait!” Sunshine exclaimed as he licked his beak in delight.

“Continuing on, the deep fryers aren’t the only ones we’re going to be using,” Gimme continued, “we’ve also got our stoves, pots, and pans too.” She pointed to the said appliances that had been set up recently. “We’ve also got beverage dispensers, which they’ll be coming by later today.”

“And uhh… about the menu,” Emerald called, “do you have any information on what’ll be on there?”

“Hmmm… Let me see… we got chicken wings, chicken strips, BLT sandwiches, creamy pot pies, bacon-wrapped bagels, chicken lollipops, chicken nuggets, beef skewers, and others. And of course, I could also include onion rings, potato fries, and stir-fried vegetables to balance the meal.” She then gazed at the students writing down the info onto their notepads with their pencils. “You got all of it?”

“Every last word, madam,” Gus responded.

“Very well, aside from what I’ve shown you, we don’t have much else to show.”

“No need to worry,” Emerald commented. “I think we have everything we need for a good story. Thanks for giving us a quick tour of your new restaurant, Miss. We’ll be looking forward to your opening.”

“Don’t mention it. Make sure that as many creatures hear about this story you’ve made. And feel free to bring some of your friends over for food samples. I’d love to hear their feedback on the dishes I’m going to make.”

“Will do,” Gus said.

“I’d love to try your dishes,” Sunshine added.

“Anytime,” Emerald also added. “We’ll see you later.”

So, Emerald, Sunshine, and Gus left the building, heading back to their school to post the story in the School of Friendship’s newspaper.

The next day, the students heard about the new restaurant and its menu. Many of them like griffons, hippogriffs, and dragons hadn’t had meat since they enrolled at the school. They even had their own opinions on this.

“Boy, every time I look at that menu, it makes me wanna eat all of them down,” Garry said with pleasure.

“Me too,” Gale proclaimed. “I wish I could have a bacon-wrapped bagel right now, that thing looks tasty. How about you guys?”

“I’ve been dying to have chicken again,” Genna said.

“Same here,” Garry agreed. “I’ll have dark meat!”

“Then I get white meat!” Both friends chuckled as Lighthoof walked into the room.

“Uhh… What’s the difference between dark and white meat?” the cheerleader asked.

“Oh, the dark meat comes from the muscles that require more oxygen,” Geena explained. “Garry says it’s chewier than white meat.”

“Uh-huh.” Lighthoof didn’t fully understand a carnivore’s appetite so she just rolled with it. “Do our professors know about this?”

“They’ll find out soon,” Gale guessed. “Emma said that the papers are going into town.”

Speaking of the dragon, Emerald walked into the room and was happy to see the griffons. “Hey there, I’m glad I found you,” she informed, “Miss Gimme said she wanted us to bring some friends to her new restaurant today to taste test some of her treats. Anyone up for it?”

“I’m in,” Geena and Garry proclaimed.

“Can I tag along?” Gale asked.

“Sure thing, Gale. I already have Pearl and my sis, Perri, joining us.”

“Oookay… You guys have fun,” Lighthoof said, “while I’m going to… do something else instead.” Emerald and the griffons left the pony to do her own thing as Lighthoof was still confused about white and dark meat.

Emerald met up with Sunshine and Gus, along with the other two creatures she mentioned. “Okay, I think that five taste testers will work,” Gus commented.

“That’ll be enough, should we get going?” Sunshine asked.

“I’d say yes,” Garry proclaimed. “Can’t wait to have that delicious meat in my beak. Let’s go!” The orange griffon quickly flew out of the school.

“You better save some for us!” Geena shouted, chasing after him with the rest of the students following behind.

Gimme Moore was checking a couple of things around her new business when she could see the students racing towards her. “Hey-hey, you’re back,” she proclaimed. “And I see you’ve brought some of your friends too.”

“Exactly, you said we’d bring back some taste testers, and here they are,” Gus responded. “So where’s the grub we’re gonna taste?”

“I’ve already got some meals ready for your friends inside. Come in before it gets cold.” Gimme opened the doors, letting the students walk into her restaurant, which was looking more complete.

“Well, this place is almost completely furnished,” Emerald commented. “Even more convenient than yesterday.”

“I agree,” Sunshine consented.

A griffon then carried out a tray containing three bagels wrapped in bacon, a chicken hamburger, beef, pork, and chicken skewers, a bowl of soup, and fried chicken. “Wow!” Geena gasped. “They look so good!”

“Very appetizing to my eyes too,” Gleaming Pearl added.

“Is it just me or my mouth is oozing out a waterfall?” Gale said while covering his beak with his claws feeling like his saliva is pouring out.

The students sat at a table with the meat tray standing in front of them. Peridot, Gleaming Pearl, Geena, Garry, and Gale each grabbed some dishes and started digging in. Taking big bites of the meat, the five creatures were enjoying their meal.

“Oh my, this is delicious,” Gale commented through a mouthful of chicken sandwich. “I feel like I’m in paradise now.”

“I’m lovin’ this bagel too,” Geena remarked in full satisfaction.

Peridot took a bite off the pork skewer, trying to savor the flavoring… but something was off. She stood up and walked over to her sister, grabbing a beef skewer. “Hey, sis, try one of these,” she recommended.

Emerald took a bite out of the skewer she was given and started to see why her sister was so impressed by it. “This tastes bland,” she commented.

“I know, right? Even the pork one is bland too.”

“Eh, some of these things can’t be winners,” Gimme scoffed. “Anyhow, how does the rest of the food taste for all of you?”

“Gotta be honest, I’m loving this bacon bagel,” Garry commented before taking another bite of the said meal.

Geena quickly grabbed one of the pieces of fried chicken. When she bit into it, she noticed that the breading peeled off very loosely. “Um… This chicken is fresh, right?” she asked.

“Of course, it is,” Gimme responded. “You can’t expect perfection on the first try. I’ll do my best to tell our chefs to improve before we open. How’s the rest of it?”

“They taste pretty good to me,” Gale commented. “I’ll remember to bring my friends here when this place opens up.”

“Good to hear. The more the merrier.”

Geena showed one of the fried chicken pieces to Gus, who easily managed to peel the breading off of it, like a used sticker. “You know… I think she’s more quantity-over-quality griffon,” Gus whispered, making Geena snicker a little bit.

“By the way, do you think we could get a menu when we come back here?” Gale asked.

“Sure thing. I get them right away.” Gimme walked away to get the menu for them as Emerald decided to talk with her friends about the quality of the food.

“Does any of you think she’s using the best equipment she has?” the dragoness asked.

“Maybe. I’ve heard about Miss Gimme Moore before,” Gus commented, “She often cuts corners wherever she can to get more money out of customers.”

“You thought she’d try pulling that after Her Majesty (Queen Gilda) took charge?” Garry questioned.

“Eh, old habits die hard anyways… and pretend we didn’t talk about her, she’s coming back.” The students dropped the topic as the female griffon returned with a menu.

“Here you go,” Gimme said, handing the menu to Gale. “Remember not to miss the grand opening. I’ll look forward to seeing you there.”

“Will do,” Gale replied while giving a thumbs-up as he was also handed a piece of paper, along with the other taste testers. It was a list of the meals they had been served that had a slash and the number 10 on the right of them.

“What’s this for?” Gleaming Pearl asked.

“I’d just like you guys to rate these meals out of 10, then I’ll know which ones my chefs will enhance on.” She then gave them a red ballpen for each of the 5 students to write down their ranking on the taste of her food. Those they didn’t eat were just left blank.

When Gimme looked at the results, she wasn’t too impressed with some of them. “Is something wrong?” Gale asked.

Gimme just looked at the students and sighed. “I’ll work this out. Go and tell your friends, I’ll see if there are any issues that need fixing. You can leave now.”

“…Right,” Emerald said. “See you later then.” She and her friends soon made their way to the exit and started to talk about their meal on the way back to school.

“They didn’t season that skewer,” Peridot commented. “It lacks salt and pepper too.”

“I know… dull.”

“That fried chicken had something wrong with it, I admit,” Geena added.

“Yea… It’s either something to do with the breading or the fryers they’re using,” Gus guessed. “Since Gimme tries to save bits wherever she can, I bet it’s the fryers themselves.”

“I don’t know about you guys, but the bacon-wrapped bagels were delightful,” Garry commented. “That was something I’ve never tried before.”

“And I’ve got a menu with me,” Gale added. “When we get back, we’ll know what to order in advance. Let me see here.” He opened it up and was amazed at the number of choices there were. “Ahh, there are a lot of choices to choose from.” He then gave the menu to Sunshine for him to see the choices. “Here, have a look.”

The text was relatively small, allowing a lot to be written on one page, such as the prices. One look at them was enough to surprise him. “What!?” Sunshine exclaimed with shock.

“What is it?” Gus asked.

“6 bits for a chicken sandwich?!”

“How much?” Sunshine then show Gus the prices on the menu, which he quickly took a disliking to. “You got to be kidding, these costs are outrageous. Look here, 7 bits for a bowl of chicken soup.”

“A pot pie for 9 bits?” Sunshine added. “That’s a lot!”

Emerald took a look and couldn’t believe what she could see. “Yeesh! There’s no way she would be able to make a good profit with these prices,” she commented.

“Why not?” Garry asked. “Big prices mean more money, right?”

“Garry, would you ever pay for these high prices just for a small meal like this?” The young griffon looked at how much each meal cost.

“Um… Maybe not.”

“You think we should tell her about this?” Sunshine asked.

“Given the quality of her food,” Gus stated, “We should let her learn the hard way.”

“But this restaurant could be the only place in Ponyville where we could have meat,” Geena said.

“She’s right,” Emerald noted. “Plus, if it’s successful, more creatures could move to Ponyville, including dragons or hippogriffs.”

“Gallus’s parents are moving here from what I’ve heard from Gallus himself,” Sunshine noted. “And what about Peter?”

“You’re right,” Gus proclaimed, “He’s also a good example of why that restaurant needs to be successful because every young growing griffon needs fresh meat.”

“But with the quality of the ingredients, I don’t think that place is going to last long,” Emerald commented.

“What about the ponies?” Peridot asked. “They’d not be happy about us eating animals since they are caring for small creatures.”

“Yeah…, they kind of overreact sometimes,” Geena commented. “Even the tiniest of things occasionally.”

“They do,” Gleaming Pearl agreed. “Our pony classmates did the same most of the time, especially Princess Twilight being afraid of ladybugs, which I don’t understand why.”

“Maybe it’s best for us to linger for a while until Miss Gimmie offers us more info,” Emerald thought, “…or until the grand opening arrives. We’ll see.” Everyone nodded. With the only real option being able to play the waiting game, the students walked off to do their own activities.

Later that day, Emerald went around the school to find her friends and ask their opinion about the restaurant, Gimme Some Grub. They sounded excited about it, but some of them changed their opinion once they were told about the experience by the test tasters. Many of them were skeptical, especially when they were given a preview of the menu’s prices. Sunshine, meanwhile, decided to speak with Gallus’s parents, Glynn & Gadget, since they were the first non-pony creatures moving into Ponyville.

Outside, the hippogriff had to wander around Ponyville for a little bit to look for them, until suddenly, he could hear disgruntled voices trying to talk over one another. Knowing something was wrong, he followed the voice since it was clamorous enough for him to hear. To his surprise, after reaching the scene, he can see Gallus and his parents being hounded by a bunch of ponies.

“We eat meat all the time, it’s natural!” Gadget screamed.

“Would you eat a dog too?” one stallion blurted.

“They’re predators too, they don’t have that much meat on them!” The family of three tried flying away, only to be met by a group of pegasi. Gadget was losing her patient so Glynn quickly decided to step in.

“Hear me out, I apologize if this offends you,” he spoke, “eating meat is a natural part of life. Animals like manticores and timberwolves eat meat all the time.”

“You want my son to know about creatures eating animals?” a mare questioned.

“Then you should tell him how life works,” Gallus retorted bluntly.

“Gallus,” Glynn groaned.

“What? They need a reality check.”

“He has a point,” Gadget commented. “You’ve got to know how the real world works.” They both heard the sound of a hippogriff trying to clear their throat. The griffon family looked over to Sunshine, who was holding his notepad and pencil.

“Do you guys have a minute for an interview?” he asked while tapping the lead of the pencil onto his notepad indicating that he wanted to interview him.

“If you can get us away from them, I’ll give you my life story,” Gallus explained. Gallus and his family tried flying away again, but the pegasi wouldn’t let them leave.

Eventually, Gadget had enough. “BUGBEAR!” she cried pointing behind the pegasi. The moment they looked to see where the creature was, the griffons flew away with Sunshine flying away to get away from them.

Once they were somewhere alone, Sunshine began interviewing the family about not just the new restaurant, but also the ponies’ treatment of them. “So… did they start acting like that after the news was posted about that newly established restaurant that serves freshly-cut meat?” the hippogriff asked.

“Probably,” Gallus responded. “I don’t get why they’re upset. I mean, they’ve got cats and dogs, so they had to be eating some kind of meat.”

“I haven’t been in this town for long,” Glynn noted, “though I think they have their own methods of making food for their pets.”

“Regardless, there’s a chance of other creatures that could move to Ponyville or other pony cities and towns like Canterlot,” Gadget added. “It baffles me that the school has been here for two years, and these creatures are surprised that other creatures eat meat.”

“You know, that does raise a question I’ve been worried about,” Gallus added. “Does Professor Fluttershy know about this?”

Sunshine stopped writing as he thought about this question. “I don’t think so,” he commented. “It’d be a bad thing if she did.”

“No kidding.”

“It would be better if she finds out now instead of having the truth hidden longer from her,” Glynn stated.

“And yet, that does not mean telling her that reality will be easy.”

“I know it won’t, but it’s for the best.” Sunshine knew they were right and felt concerned like Gallus. Not to mention, the current backlash of the ponies was another factor they would have to worry about. Just then, the griffs saw a blurred figure flash past them in a second, before turning around a corner as an angry mob ran past them. From behind the corner, Gabby the mail griffon poked her head out before leaving her hiding spot. She looked and saw Gallus waving over to her.

“Oh, hey there,” she said. “Have you been treated like that too?”

“Sadly, yes,” Gadget sighed. “They know how life works, right?”

“Nah,” Gallus replied with a nod. “Maybe some.”

“I was delivering the mail from Griffonstone to Ponyville,” Gabby explained. “I didn’t even know about this new meat restaurant here.”

“Let’s hope that Mayor Mare has more common sense than other ponies,” Glynn noted. “Gabby, do you need any help with your mail runs?”

“No, I’ve got all the letters I need to bring to Griffonstone,” Gabby responded.

“Tell the queen about this,” Gadget noted, “We need somebody to make these ponies see sense.” The mail griffon nodded and took off to get back home. Sunshine and the griffon family were now concerned about this new business.

At the new restaurant, Gimme Moore was checking over all of the equipment. The stoves had been hooked up and were frying some bacon. They were doing fine, unlike the fryers. The deep fryers were bubbly like mad and the chicken that was pulled out didn’t look like it was finished. One of the griffons got a knife and cut one of the chicken pieces in half, seeing some pinkness inside of it.

“Um, boss,” he reported, “This chicken is still raw.”

“Then toss it back and cook it a little longer,” Gimme ordered.

“Hey, Ms. Moore,” called a voice, “The drink dispenser’s here!” The restaurant owner flew over to where her new machine was, hoping to get it set up immediately, only to find it was outside with a crowd of angry ponies.

The stallion delivering the drink dispenser was being held back by the other ponies and was getting angry. “Hey, I’m no fan of meat either, but could you let me do my job?!” he cried.

Gimme opened the door and instructed the delivery pony to get inside. The stallion did so, having to help push some of the ponies back to do so. “Geez, what is wrong with these ponies?” Gimme appallingly uttered.

“It’s an ordinary Saturday in Ponyville when everypony overreacts.” He quickly helped unload the machine and then asked for his payment. Gimme rolled her eyes and handed over the bits. The stallion then made his way outside, struggling to get past the mob of ponies.

“Can’t believe I had to pay for the delivery fee.” Gimme groaned as she went to install her new equipment.

Outside, Sunshine was flying alongside Gallus’s family, who had Mayor Mare with them. Ponyville’s mayor saw the mob of ponies talking over each trying to get the griffons to come outside. “Everypony, quiet down!” she boomed. The ponies stopped speaking and looked toward Mayor Mare, allowing the stallion to walk away and continue with his work. “Now, tell me. What’s the meaning of this?”

“What do you think? They’re serving bloody meat inside,” Carrot Top cried.

“Good to know,” Gallus remarked. “In other news, I’m blue.” A quick glance from both of the griffon’s parents made him stay quiet.

“I understand your concerns,” Mayor Mare spoke, “But from what I can tell, creatures such as griffons and dragons are natural carnivores. Meat is a part of their diet.”

“But we can’t have a business that involves eating animals,” Berry Punch proclaimed.

“If I were to suggest a solution,” Glynn proclaimed, “Perhaps a town meeting would be in order to help resolve this.”

“Hmm, that’s a great idea,” Mayor Mare commented. “First thing tomorrow, we’ll all discuss this new restaurant and the carnivores.” The ponies conversed with each other for a minute before they all started agreeing to this meeting. “I’ll have a letter sent to Princess Twilight, so she can help give her opinion.”

“I have a suspicion that Queen Gilda might also get involved,” Glynn added.

“Hopefully, this conflict will be sorted out shortly.” The griffons looked at the ponies’ expressions, feeling that a couple of them were going to become sticks in the mud.

Gimme had overheard what was spoken and got annoyed. “I’m not going to delay my business because some creatures can’t accept changes,” she grumbled. She went back to work to finish setting up the new drink dispenser, picking up the pace in case she would be forced to join the meeting.

Later that day, in Griffonstone, Queen Gilda was in The Great Geque Castle sitting on her throne, checking a couple of names off a list. “Okay, so I doubt Ember would be available,” she said to herself. “Hmm, maybe I could ask Thorax if he can…”

“Your Highness,” interpreted a voice.

Looking up from her list, she can see her royal advisor, Greta, entering the room. “Greta?”

“Pardon me for the intrusion,” she apologized, “Gabby has stopped by to report on a new restaurant in Ponyville that is going to be serving meat.”

“Meat, you say? Huh, I say it’s about time.”

“Yeah, I’m excited too. Can’t say the same about the ponies.”

Gilda placed her list down and crossed her arms with an aggrieved sigh. “Let me guess… they’re overreacting?”

“If by that, you mean them chasing Gabby, Gallus, and his parents, then yes. They said they want you to help them put an end to this conflict. Glynn and Gadget can’t live in Ponyville like that with all of the war-like commotions happening.”

“Hmmm… That’ll be difficult. Right now, I’m still figuring out how to keep Griffonstone onto its feet,” the queen said as she stood up from her throne and walked towards her royal advisor. “and yet this is my first week as ruler.”

“If that’s the case, Your Majesty, I’ll go. Those ponies need to learn something this basic isn’t worth your time.”

“I appreciate it. By the way, do you have an idea of who the owner of that new eatery is?”

“Gabby said she didn’t know, but what she does knows is that restaurant is named Gimme Some Grub.” The name Gimme sounded familiar to the queen.

“Gimme, huh?” Queen Gilda said in her mind. “That sounded familiar to me.” She then came back to her senses and spoke to Greta. “Hmm, if we’re going to be dealing with edibles, I have a feeling we must bring the assistant along.”

“And who do you have in mind, Your Majesty?”

The next day, Fluttershy was having her breakfast at her cottage as she talked with Angel. “Discord was acting strangely yesterday,” the yellow pegasus commented. She handed her pet rabbit some carrots, which Angel quickly started chewing. “He wanted to see some of the new trainees at the Wonderbolt Headquarters. He said I’d be his moral support, but we were hiding most of the time.”

When the pegasus went to pick up a tea kettle when a certain draconequus popped his head out of the top. “Good morning,” he proclaimed. Fluttershy just set the kettle down and rose an eyebrow. “What? I’m feeling like doing some more activities today.” Discord snapped his fingers and returned to his normal size, now wearing a diving suit. “How about we head to Mount Aris for a swim in the sea, and see how the seaponies are doing?”

“Discord, I know you want to have fun, but I need to head into town later today. I ought to buy more food and supplies for the animal sanctuary.” Fluttershy filled her teapot with water before grabbing some teabags.

“Oh, forget about the sanctuary, I can take care of it.”

“Discord, the last time you were left in charge, the beavers flooded Rarity’s home with chocolate milk.”

“...Oh. Right. Still have no idea how they got a hold of one of my clouds.” Just then, Rainbow Dash flew in and saw Fluttershy. She was just placing the tea kettle as Discord looked to be in a panicked state. Dash quickly started to play along once Fluttershy turned to see her.

“Rainbow Dash, what are you doing here so early?” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh… I’m…” Dash tried to think of something fast as Discord was looking for something to mess with and add a couple of seconds to Fluttershy’s time. “Um… Spitfire said I had the day off and I thought… I help you bring supplies for your animal sanctuary.”

“I appreciate that, Rainbow Dash, but it won’t be that hard.” Fluttershy tried to get her breakfast made, but it seemed that her friends were doing everything they could to make her day longer.

“Say, Dashy,” Discord spoke, “How about you come with us to Seaquestria? I’m sure the princess would love to have a race with someone like you.”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea!” Rainbow Dash commented. “Say, Fluttershy, you…?”

“I feel like you two aren’t telling me something,” Fluttershy interrupted. She took the kettle off the stove and grabbed her saddlebags. “Why don’t you want me going into town?” Dashie and Discord both glanced at each other, not too sure how to tell their friend the truth.

“There’s… a crazed pony in town,” Dash fibbed. “Yeah, he’s… he’s causing a lot of trouble.”

“What kind of trouble you’re talking about?”

“He’s running around and taking bites out all of the ponies’ produce,” Discord informed. “Those poor cabbages.”

Fluttershy gave a low brow and simply walked outside of the cottage. Her friends followed her, trying to convince the pegasus to just stay at home. Fluttershy didn’t listen and just kept walking. Discord looked around and saw a mare pulling a cart loaded with cabbages. Wanting to keep up with their first plan, Discord flew over to the cart and took a bite out of each cabbage.

When the mare stopped to check on what the crunching noises were and looked back to see each one of her cabbages had a bite mark on them. “…AHH! My cabbages!” she cried in horror.

Fluttershy looked back and saw the ruined produce and the distraught mare. “See, we told you!” DIscord cried pointing at the cabbages. “The mad stallion is still on the loose!”

Fluttershy looked up at the draconequus and simply said, “You have a cabbage leaf between your teeth.” Discord paused and picked his teeth, seeing that his friend was right.

“...I’m living a double life.”

“Why are you lying?” Fluttershy doubted. “Please be honest.”

Dash and Discord both glanced at each other and knew the beans would have to be spilled now.

“There’s… a good reason for this…” Discord sighed and summoned a newspaper that had been printed yesterday with a snap of his claw, handing it to Fluttershy. “Here. This was from your school’s newspaper. Read the headline, you’ll find out why.”

She grabbed the tabloid from him and read the headline. The mare read the paper and was horrified with what she read. “WHAAA!? The new building is going to serve meat?”

“I’m afraid so,” Dash sighed. “You can see why didn’t want to tell you.”

Fluttershy’s ears drooped as Discord kept trying to think of a way to cheer her up. “Look, there’s a way we can make this work,” he said. “Like this one idea where I could use my magic so you wouldn’t even see the place. I just had to use some memory magic and…”

“No, Discord,” Fluttershy said. “I can… Deal with this.” The pegasus sighed as she walked away with this thought now stuck on her mind.

Dash and Discord looked at each, feeling disappointed. “You can’t say we didn’t try,” the draconequus shrugged. Dash could only agree with a nod.

“I should get going,” the mare admitted. “There’s a meeting going on at Town Hall.” With that, Rainbow Dash flew away, leaving Discord to ponder how he’d cheer Fluttershy up.

Dash was thinking about the meeting they would be attending. She didn’t tell Fluttershy because of the fact of the meeting, since the topic she was trying to keep secret, but now that the cat was out of the bag, she might as well bring her along.

Flying down, the pegasus flew alongside her friend. “Hey, there’s a meeting downtown,” Dash informed. “You think you should attend it?”

Fluttershy thought about this for about a minute before she responded. “I guess so,” she sighed. The two pegasi continued into town now to where the meeting was being held.

At the town hall, practically every pony in Ponyville was there debating whether or not the meat restaurant, or meat for that matter, would be allowed in town. While some ponies tried to see the reason for the other creature’s carnivore diets, others were standing their ground about the food being vegetarian. There was a bit of chaos as Spike flew in from Canterlot.

He landed next to Mayor Mare, who had just gotten a gavel ready. “Oh, good,” she sighed with relief, “You made it.”

“Twilight said since dragons are carnivores and I’m a dragon that hasn't eaten meat before,” Spike noted, “I’d probably be a good choice for finding a middle ground. You said in your letter that Gilda would be here.”

“That was a possibility. Though I wasn’t going to hold my breath.” The two then looked up to see three griffons flying toward them. The griffons were Gabby, Greta, and surprising Gustave le Grand. Greta landed beside Spike and Mayor Mare.

“Miss Mayor Mare, The Majesty Queen Gilda has sent me here as her representative,” Greta explained. “She can’t come because she is busy at the moment back at her kingdom. She still has her other duties to do.”

“Understandable,” Mayor Mare commented, “But why is he here?” She pointed to Gustave, who was looking around for somebody.

“Gustave le Grand? I see. The Majesty said because of his skilled cooking, he would be a good choice to make sure the restaurant is successful. That is… if ponies will allow it to run long enough.” Greta looked at the crowd of angry ponies, who weren’t looking very kind to griffons.

“This is very unsettling…” Gabby, who sat beside Gustave, murmured while shivering in discomfort and unease.

“Well, you’re here now,” Spike noted, “Hopefully we can explain to them why other creatures need meat. Although the concern I have is…” Spike paused when he saw Fluttershy enter the crowd. She didn’t look happy at all, and Rainbow Dash looked. “Oh boy. This might not go well.”

“There’s no time like the present,” Mayor Mare proclaimed. She banged down her gavel, drawing the attention of the crowd of creatures. “Order! Order!” she cried and then cleared her throat. “As you all know, that new restaurant called ‘Gimme Some Grub’, which will be opening soon, has caused a stir from ponies around this town. The reason… is that the restaurant is serving fresh meat. I am aware that there will be creatures from The Beyond planning to move to cities and towns like ours, and most creatures that might be moving here are carnivores, of which meat is part of their diet, like griffons and dragons, even hippogriffs. You may be asking yourself: why do they eat them? For explaining the significance, I may now bring your attention to the representative of Griffonstone and royal advisor of Queen Gilda, Miss Greta.” The mayor then faced her. “Miss Greta, the floor is yours.”

“Thank you very much,” Griffonstone’s royal advisor responded, and began her speech. “Now then, for those who aren’t aware, meat is very important to species like us, especially to other carnivores in nature like snakes and vultures. An average griffon like me can eat wheat, fruits, and vegetables like you, but a growing griff at a very young age needs good and fresh meat for its muscles to grow and develop properly. Although I’m no scientist or anything, trying my best not to be a full egghead now, in Health Science, from what I’ve learned, meat from any animal… NOT YOU NOR YOUR PETS LIKE CATS AND DOGS… or sometimes rabbits… is one of the main sources of Vitamin B-12, which helps keep the blood and nerve cells healthy, and can also help create DNA, you know… these curly ladder-shaped things that make up your appearance. Not just Vitamin B-12, it also has Iron and Zinc which is good for the growth, development, and care of the immune system. That makes meat a great source of protein for a young griffon or any other young carnivore. That goes without saying, without meat, a griffon would be weak and frail, and likely wouldn’t have a prolonged lifespan. I, Gabby, and Gustave wouldn’t be here alive if we don’t eat meat at a young age. You can’t force us to eat only plants because it’s unpleasing for your eyes. It’s like a dragon forcing a young mare to eat a big fish because they wanted it to be like them.” She then finished her speech. “That is all. I may now pass it back to Mayor Mare.”

“Thank you for the remarkably informative speech you made.” Upon hearing this, several of the ponies started murmuring among one another. Still, some of them were still sticking their ground. “Now, would anypony here like to say anything about this?” Mayor Mare asked.

“I do,” called a voice. A young filly known as Scottaloo stepped forward. “My parents are very daring when it comes to wild animals, they often hunt them before they can harm anypony. From what my dad said, some creatures ate non-meat foods, but this was often rare and the plants weren’t as filling as meat gained from hunted animals.”

“Thank you for pointing that out, young one,” Greta said to Scootaloo. “That’s another reason why meat is important to our biology,” Greta noted. “I know you all don’t feel too good about eating it, but it is part of life.”

Gus, who was on the balcony of the town hall hearing the gathering together with the other student journalists, including Emerald and Sunshine, who are writing down everything they’ve heard, leaned closer to Emerald so he could whisper to her. “Should I bring out my circle of life report, Emma?” the griffon asked.

“Not yet, Gus,” Emerald responded. “I’ll let you know when’s a good time to do that.” Gus held up his report along with a couple of sketches he had made.

“If I can’t use them here, remind me to turn these in for an extra credit assignment.” Emerald just nodded as she and Sunshine paid attention to the meeting, writing information down for the school’s news report.

“If these creatures could eat plants, what’s stopping them from living off that?” a pony questioned.

Greta was about to respond before Spike spoke up. “How about we put it into a perspective?” he asked. “Let’s say you have a pony who makes a living delivering products. She got two products she can choose to deliver; flowers and rocks. The rocks are what are usually used in town, but the flowers have given her better profit. The only trouble is that there are some creatures that are annoyed with the flowers the mare has picked that ruin the scene of wild nature. So the ponies get annoyed and start only delivering rocks, but after some time, the rocks aren’t making enough of a profit. What do they do?”

“Ignore what the crowd says and pick the flowers!” Gus cried. While most creatures couldn’t hear it, Emerald hit the griffon hard right in the gut with her elbow, trying to him his beak shut, making him yelp in pain.

“...Well, yes, kinda. What I’m saying here is that if meat is part of their diet, then they’ll need it to be healthy. And trust me, that’s coming from a dragon that’s been on the vegetarian diet his whole life.” The ponies had seen Spike in pupils before he moved back to Canterlot, and not once did they see him eat any meat.

“A very valid argument,” Mayor Mare commented.

“I agree,” Greta added. “Have you ever seen a griffon who hadn’t eaten meat? It’s not a pretty sight.”

“I think we’re okay not knowing,” Spike whispered.

While the meeting carried on, there was some whispering going on in the crowd. A mare known as Daisy looked over to Fluttershy and decided to get her opinion on meat. “Psst, Fluttershy,” Daisy whispered. “How do you feel knowing these creatures eat animals?”

Fluttershy was still unsure of what to think since just found out about what was going on. “Um…. I’ve dealt with some animals that…. that are predators,” she explained. “I try to convince them to be vegetarian but… it’s harder than it sounds.”

“I’m guessing they’re right,” Rainbow Dash commented while pointing to Spike and Greta. “I mean, forcing a predator to be a vegetarian is like giving a plant chocolate milk to grow.”

Fluttershy had a feeling that her friend was right, but Daisy, like most of the ponies, was still being a little stubborn. She looked to Roseluck, who was a little conflicted with what she was hearing. “Rose, what do you think will happen with those meat eaters around that new restaurant?” Daisy asked.

“I mean…. I don’t think it’ll be that bad,” Roseluck admitted. “I won’t be eating there, so it doesn’t sound like a bad thing.” Daisy was still fairly annoyed. She then thought about Fluttershy’s claim about putting animals on a vegetarian diet. She saw Carrot Top and whispered what she had heard. The ponies were starting to put a plan into action.

After the discussion carried on for a little bit longer, Mayor Mare came to a conclusion. “I like to conclude that we’re all creatures with common sense,” she proclaimed. “Thus, we can agree to keep the restaurant in business after it opens. Thank you to everypony here who gave their opinion. The meeting is now adjourned.” With that, Mayor Mare banged her gavel, ending the meeting.

Ponies started walking away to do other things, some were still mad that meat was going to be around. Spike walked over to where Dash and Fluttershy were, seeing the yellow pegasus looking upset. “How are you guys handling this?” the dragon asked.

Dash looked at Fluttershy, who was still a bit upset. “I don’t think I have a real answer to this,” Dash admitted.

“Um, right,” Spike commented. “Well, it’ll be nice for the other students to have a variety of meals.”

“True.” Both looked at Fluttershy, who was still feeling uneasy.

“I… I think I’ll just get supplies for the animal sanctuary,” she stated. The kind mare walked away, leaving her friends to talk among themselves.

“This is really upsetting her,” Dash commented.

“I was afraid of something like this,” Spike admitted. He held his claws as he was looking for something to change the subject. “Oh, look there’s Smolder. I’m going to ask what she thinks about this.” The dragon walked off to his friend trying to avoid any awkwardness.

While he did that, Greta flew around as she was looking for someone. However, that someone wasn’t there. She landed to talk with Glynn, who had stopped to adjust his wings when he saw the royal advisor. “Hello, Greta,” he spoke, “How’s Gilda doing right now?”

“Doing alright,” Greta responded. “Griffonstone’s getting better since she took the throne. Just a quick question, I’m looking for a griffon by the name of Gimme, have you seen her?”

“Oh, I don’t think she’s here.”

“Wait, why? That meeting at the town hall happened because of her business.”

“If you’re looking for her, she might be at her building still setting things up for her grand opening.”

Greta held her claw to her face and sighed. “She’s still in her old ways,” she groaned. “Okay, show me where that restaurant is. Queen Gilda said she had somebody who would likely help get that place set up properly.”

“Will do.” The two griffons then found Gustave, who was busy making himself known to the other ponies before they left for Gimme Some Grub.

A Sick Problem

At the said restaurant, Gimme Moore was still meandering around her place, trying to get everything set up. “You guys got the oil buckets ready in case?”

“They’re in the back,” a griffon responded.

“And the ham?”

“In the fridge.”

“Perfect!”

A younger-looking griffon flew over to the owner, looking a little concerned. “Um, boss… The fryer is leaking out oil,” she explained.

“Whaaat!?” Gimme cried. She was taken over to the broken fryer, which was leaking hot cooking oil onto the floor. “You got to be kidding me! Drain the tank, get a mop, and patch that hole up.”

The younger griffon nodded and flew away to get a bucket. Gimme was now annoyed and then heard some knocking on the front door. Looking out the windows, she saw three griffons waiting outside. “Excuse me, we’re not open yet! Come back soon!”

“We were sent here by The Majesty Queen Gilda,” Greta said behind the glass. “Let us in on her behalf!” Knowing that the new queen had laid down a couple of new laws, Gimme walked over and unlocked the door to let the griffons inside.

“I’ll leave you two to do whatever’s needed,” Glynn spoke. “I’ll be on my way.” He left as Gustave le Grand looked around the place. The interior of the dining room looked very dull. It just had brown wooden floors and beige-painted walls.

“This isn’t all that impressive to look at,” the griffon chef commented. He didn’t sound very impressed.

“Beige was the cheapest color I can afford,” Gimme shrugged. “The rest were more than 5 bits.”

“Well, I suppose that’ll work. If this place is more function over form, then I’ll be more impressed.”

Gimme looked over to the kitchen and shared a bit of information. “Oh yeah, one of the deep fryers is out of order, so… that’s an issue I need to sort out for now.”

“Pas bien parti.” Gimme didn’t understand what he said and just showed a menu of what her restaurant would have to offer.

“Here’s the menu of what we’re going to serve,” she said, handing it to Gustave. The menu looked to have a lot of choices, perhaps too many choices.

“Are you going to be serving all of these?”

“Of course. We’ve got to have a lot of choices.”

“Yeah, but the quality of the products is going to slip if you have too many of them. Also, if you had fewer options, you wouldn’t have to make your prices high.” Gustave showed Greta how much the meals cost and she was appalled.

“Who do you think would pay that much for a small meal like this?” the royal advisor asked. “Not to mention some of the only carnivores in town right now are the students from the School of Friendship.”

“Yeah, so what?” Gimme asked. “More creatures are going to move here.”

Gustave and Greta looked at each other, feeling that the female griffon in front of them was displaying some mental gymnastics. “Relax, we’ve dealt with creatures like her before,” Gustave whispered. He looked at the menu again to see what he could pick. “I’ll try the chicken tacos. Greta, would you like something?”

“Hmm… I think I’ll take the Meat Lover’s Stew,” Greta commented.

“Good choice. That dish got ham, bacon, and chicken in it,” Gimme explained. “Your meal will be ready in a while.” She was given the menu back as the two visiting griffons sat down at one of the nearby tables.

“So, how good do you think the quality of the food is going to be?” Greta asked.

“That depends on how long that meat has been cut,” Gustave responded. “Livestock meat doesn’t have a very long shelf life. Plus, she says one of the fryers isn’t working.”

“Right. It’s not looking good.” The two sat and waited for their meal which took a while. After about half an hour, both griffons were still waiting for their meals. “I guess that fryer was more important than I thought.” Just as Gustave was about to get up and head into the kitchen, one of the waiters finally arrived and served the meals he and Greta had ordered. Both griffons looked at the tacos and meat stew.

“Order up!” The waiter said as he placed the food on the table and left them alone for them to eat.

“Well then, this looks appetizing. I better take a sip before it gets cold.” Greta grabbed her spoon and begin eating her stew.

As she ate, Gustave then noticed something wrong with his chicken tacos. There looked to be a puddle of grease oozing out from the tortilla. Picking one of the tacos up, he saw the grease starting to drip down into his plate. Concerned, the griffon chef took a bite of the taco and chew it longer than he would need to do. Feeling a gag reflex happen, he grabbed a napkin and spat out his food.

“Qu’est-ce qu’ils ont mis là-dedans?!” he cried. Greta thought he was overreacting, but then again, the stew did taste a little off.

“How long does meat go before it turns rotten?” she asked.

“A few weeks at best. Is something wrong with the stew?”

“I don’t know how to describe it. It tasted… tangy?” She ate another spoonful before Gustave called for the waiter.

When one came out, he looked concerned. “Yes sir,” he asked. “Anything?”

“Can you tell Miss Gimme that there might be something wrong with her food?” Gustave asked.

“Right away,” the waiter nodded and flew back to the kitchen to find his boss.

Gimme was overseeing the repairs of the fryer when the waiter walked in. “What is it?”

“The customer said that there is something wrong with the food they ate.”

“Tell him that the chefs are getting the hang of these recipes,” Gimme responded rudely. The waiter nodded and walked back to Gustave and Greta.

“Gimme said that they’re still getting used to the new recipes,” the waiter explained.

“Yes, can we have your name?” Gustave asked.

“It’s… it’s Gil, sir.”

“Thank you, please tell her we’d like to know about her way of keeping her food stored.” Gil did so and flew back to the kitchen to explain what he was told.

“Tell him that’s classified,” Gimme spoke.

“Classified?”

“He’s no guard, so tell him to mind his own damn business.” Gil didn’t feel very comfortable with this, but went back to explain what he was told to say.

“She said the methods are classified, and you need to mind…”

“I’m going to stop you right there, sir,” Greta interrupted. “If Chef Gimme has something to say to us, tell her to say it to our faces. YOU’RE NOT A MESSENGER!”

“And ask her how can she run a restaurant if she can’t talk to her own customers,” Gustave asked, showing a cheeky smile. Gil shared in the laugh and walked back to the kitchen to tell Gimme what he was told. A few moments later, Gimme stormed out and sat down at the table with her customers.

“What did you say about me and customers?” she angrily asked.

“We’re saying if you have that since you have your waiters sending messages for you, then your business is in hot water,” Gustave stated. A loud growl was heard and Greta held her stomach. “Are you alright?”

“I think there was something wrong with that stew,” Greta responded. She groaned as she held her stomach. “Please tell me you have a restroom.”

“Right there.” Gimme just pointed to two doors that each had a different gender symbol, one boy and one girl. Greta simply stood up and quickly ran into the women's restroom.

“I’d like to see how the kitchen runs. Starting with your fridge.” The sound of vomiting was suddenly heard from the restroom, with the griffons starting to get concerned.

“Uhh… Was she like that when she left Griffonstone?” Gimme asked.

“No, she was fine until she ate your stew.” Gustave got up and walked over to the restroom and knocked on the door. “Are you okay in there?”

“I…” Greta couldn’t speak as she could be heard throwing up again, motivating Gustave to walk inside and check on her. Greta was leaning against a wall while she held her stomach. Gustave ran over to her, concerned.

“Glynn said he was a medic, right?” Griffonstone’s royal messenger only groaned giving a sad nod. “Then let’s see how he’s doing. I need his help.” He helped carry the sick griffon out of the restaurant, but not before scowling at Gimme and saying, “We’ll talk later.”

With that, he and Greta left to see if they could find Glynn or any medical professional. Gimme didn’t seem to be phased by Greta being sick, instead, she was more annoyed with the food going to waste. She picked up the plate and bowl before dumping their meals into the trash.

“Yo! We’ve got some dishes to clean,” she called to the workers in the kitchen.

Greta was later lying down on a bed in Twilight’s old castle with Glynn checking over her like checking her body temperature. After a little while, he came to a conclusion. “I see.”

“How was she, Doc?” Gustave asked.

“Still ain’t fine. She’s experiencing food poisoning,” he proclaimed. “Infectious bacteria in contaminated food can cause vomiting like a while ago you’ve said. Not just that, it can also cause fever, nausea, and very watery and/or bloody diarrhea.” He then turned to Greta. “You’re saying that you felt like this because of that stew you’ve eaten?”

“Yep…” Greta groaned. “...How does she think she’s going to succeed if the customers end up like me?”

Just then, Gallus flew into the room, seeing the sick royal advisor. “What going on here?” he questioned.

“Bad stew… Don’t eat at Gimme’s.”

“Gallus, help me grab a bottle of ginger ale that was inside my bag,” Glynn asked his son. “It helps soothes her stomach.”

“Uhh… Yeah, about that, dad,” Gallus spoke, “Some of the students are feeling sick too.”

“...Oh dear,” Glynn commented. He and Gallus looked at the royal advisor, who was just as worried as they were.

“Just get me the drink and I’ll be fine,” she proclaimed. “Those kids are likely sick because of Gimme’s place.” Glynn nodded as he flew to the school while Gallus went to get Greta something to drink.

In the nurse’s office, Garry, Gale, and Gleaming Pearl were all lying down with their stomachs causing them pain. Sunshine was there with the school nurse as Glynn showed up. “What’s going on here?” he asked.

“Food poisoning,” the nurse explained. “They said they started feeling that after they taste-tested the new place’s meals.”

“I knew I thought the bacon tasted funny,” Garry groaned.

Glynn looked at Sunshine, who looked fine. “Sunshine, did you eat anything at Gimme’s?” the older griffon asked.

“No, I just helped report what went on there,” the hippogriff responded. “I think I might know what the issue’s story is.”

“New restaurant causes food poisoning?” Gale asked.

“Sounds pretty likely.”

“Greta’s gotten sick too,” Glynn informed.

“Then that restaurant can’t run if it happens again.”

“That’s what Gustave is planning on stopping.”

Glynn was right. After leaving Greta with the medic, Gustave went straight back to the restaurant to find the root of the problem, along with another creature. The griffon opened the door and led Mayor Mare to the kitchen. Gimme was there checking the last of the equipment was set up properly when Gustave made himself known.

“Écoutez ici, propriétaire inutile!” he called. The second language confused Gimme until she noticed who said it.

“Hey, you’re not supposed to be back here!” she proclaimed. “It’s for employees only!”

“And you can’t serve hazardous food to customers!” Gustave retorted. “It’s not just Greta who’s gotten sick now. I’ve seen one of the students get taken to the nurse’s office, and I think you know what I’m talking about. You’re going to contaminate the whole town!”

“Sir, settle down,” Mayor Mare begged. “Now, Gustave, I said I will have a professional take a close inspection at this place.”

“That won’t be necessary. If a health inspector came in here, this place would be automatically shut down. It’s making creatures sick and I’m putting a stop to it.” He stared daggers into Gimme’s eyes and simply said, “Where do you keep your meat.”

She pushed him back as she was trying ot stand her ground. “If you get your beak out of my face, then I’ll show you,” Gimme responded.

She took him to the back of the kitchen, where they had their walk in the fridge. Opening it up, Gustave looked at the stored meat, with the chicken being placed on the shelf above the bacon. The big red flag that Gustave saw was some liquid dripping down into the bacon tray.

“What in Tartarus is this?” Gustave looked at the container of chicken and could see there was a small crack in the bottom, having chicken juice leaking out. “Inexcusable!” he cried. He grabbed the money-hungry female griffon and made her look at the crack in the tray. “You see this, yea?!”

“Yeah, so what?”

“So what!? Vous allez contaminer toute la ville! Do you think it’ll be healthy to have toilet water leaking into your lemonade?”

“No, that’s…”

“Then why do you think it’s good to infect bacon with Salmonella?! Who’s the chef that’s cooking this?!”

“His name is Garret. He’s testing out the fryer right now.”

“I’m going to talk to him. Throw out that contaminated chicken now.” Gustave walked away as Gimme just moved the bacon out of the way to stop catching chicken juice.

Garret was busy pouring some cooking oil, spilling some of it on the floor. He just rolled his eyes as Mayor Mare wasn’t impressed. Neither was Gustave. “Is there a mop somewhere?” Mayor Mare asked.

“Do I look like a janitor to you, ma’am?” Garret asked. He went to find some meat to test the fryer out as Gustave looked at the mess he made. He looked at the mare beside her opinion.

“Judging by tone, I don’t think he cares.”

“Most likely,” Gustave agreed. “What’s worse, they’ve got a leaking tray of chicken contaminating bacon. You see, there’s this bacterium known as Salmonella, which is found in raw chicken…” As Gustave explained what was going on, Garret came back with some raw chicken. He just picked up a few pieces and dunked them into a tray then placed that said tray into the fryer.

Before he was about to fiddle around with the drink dispenser, Gustave stopped him by grabbing his arm tightly. “Hey, man, what are you doing?” Garret questioned.

“Wash your claws,” Gustave ordered.

“What?”

“You heard me. You’ve got raw chicken all over your talons. You’re going to cross-contaminate the kitchen. Are you trying to make your customers sick!?”

“Let me do my job, sir!”

“You’re job is to cook, not infect creatures.” The bubbling from the fryer was getting concerning as the bottom started to drip oil. The dripping started to get faster as Gustave saw what was going to happen. “Descendre!” He yanked Mayor Mare’s back as the bottom of the fryer broke open and spray hot cooking oil all over the floor. Griffons flew and ran to cover, with one unlucky griff getting his leg splashed by the oil.

He crash-landed a few feet away from the kitchen and held his leg in pain. Gil was one of the first to think fast and flew over to the sink to grab some cold water to help pour off the hot oil. Gustave, Mayor Mare, and Gimme Moore gazed at the scene of the disaster.

“You know,” Mayor Mare spoke, “I was willing to give this place a chance. More creatures would enjoy having different meals to eat if they moved here, but not if it’s being run like this.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Gustave commented. “Get a health and safety inspector. This place cannot run in this state!”

“It’s my business!” Gimme cried trying to defend herself. “You can’t just say that…”

“Then you’re going to be responsible for sick customers, those griffons you’ve hired will lose their jobs, and legal consequences will occur. If you don’t want to make yourself at home in the Canterlot prisons, get your head out of your flank!” They looked over to Gil, who was looking frantic.

“He needs to go to the hospital!” he cried, looking back to the burnt leg of an injured griffon. “His burns were almost severe!”

“Stay here and put some ice on his burns. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Gustave flew away to get help, while Ponyville’s mayor went to get an inspector. Gil just gave a disappointed scowl at Gimme, who was starting to realize she might be in hot water.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was walking to her animal sanctuary. She got the supplies she needed but she was still feeling mixed about the meat restaurant. While she did want the students and other visiting creatures to have a proper diet, it was still upsetting knowing what animals had to be sacrificed to get the meat.

Fluttershy just sighed as she made it to her sanctuary. Angel hopped over to and quickly noticed the Pegasus’s sad expression. “Sorry, Angel,” Fluttershy said sadly, “I’m not feeling too cheerful today.” The pegasus didn’t say anything else and just went to work checking on her animals and giving them their food.

Discord soon appeared and was determined to cheer her friend up. “Say, Fluttershy,” he said, “How about I convince the boys to bring you to our next guys’ night?” Discord even completed this offer by putting on his Captain Wuzz outfit

“That’s nice of you Discord,” Fluttershy sighed, “But I don’t think I’d be up for learning everything about Ogres & Oubliettes.” Fluttershy went to put a couple of her supplies away as Discord chucked his O&O persona outfit.

“Okay, so you’re not up for a ten-hour board game. How about a trip to Las Pegasus?”

“No, Discord. I don’t want to lose my bits. I know you’re trying to cheer me up, but… I don’t know how to feel about this.” The pegasus sighed as she closed the closet door before walking away to check on some of the animals.

“Listen, I could ask Rarity if she could meet up for some ice cream. Would that help cheer you up?” Fluttershy just shook her head as she tried to do some of her work. “Then what would make you feel better?”

“Discord, I would just like some alone. We can have fun later, I just need to take care of the animals for now.” The draconequus sighed before teleporting away, leaving his friend to her privacy.

Fluttershy helped set out some food for her animal friends until she got to the wolf, who Fluttershy named her Sandra. Sandra had a bit of an issue when it came to what she could eat. There were a couple of times she had been caught trying to eat some animals like Angel, but Fluttershy always managed to catch her before she could get a bite.

“Hello, Sandra,” the kind pegasus spoke. “I managed to find some of the kibble that Applejack recommended and…”. Fluttershy was interrupted by the wolf growling. “What’s that? You heard about that place too?” The wolf nodded and looked rather unhappy. “You… You want some food from there?” Once again, Sandra nodded.

The wolf tried to walk away, much to Fluttershy’s confusion. “Where are you going?” the mare asked. The wolf suddenly ran around her and started heading into town, much to her concern. “HEY! Sandra, come back here!” Fluttershy flew after the wolf, who was heading straight into town.

Meanwhile, Sunshine, Gus, and Emerald were heading back to Gimme Some Grub. They were a little concerned about how the food was making their friends sick. “You sure they’re going to let us in?” Emerald asked.

“We got evidence about our friends being sick, and now Gilda’s royal advisor got food poisoning,” Gus stated. “We could have her arrested for doing this. You wouldn’t keep serving curdled milk, would you?”

“Definitely not,” Sunshine commented. When they were approaching Ponyville’s new restaurant, they could hear some commotion going on inside.

“This place is still under construction!” Gimme cried. “How can you expect us to be completely safe?”

“That doesn’t excuse one of the reasons I’ve been called here,” said a stallion. The three student reporters looked inside the restaurant from the window and can see Gimme Moore having an argument with a pony, who had a clipboard.

“Who’s that guy?” Sunshine asked.

“I think he’s a health & safety inspector,” Emerald guessed. The trio listened to what they were saying inside. “He’s there to check this place out and improve it.”

“Listen here, Ms. Moore” the unicorn inspector spoke, “I’ve been given orders by Mayor Mare to make sure this place is safe for the public. If I recall, you made some of your taste testers sick because of food poisoning in your sample dishes.”

“Well…. I guess…” Gimme stuttered.

“The way you’re talking like that sounds like you want to go out of business.” The inspector soon walked into the kitchen, where he found Gil mopping the cooking oil. “What happened here?”

Gil was about to explain what truly happened until he saw his boss staring daggers at him. “We… overfilled one of the fryers,” he fibbed. “That’s all.”

The inspector looked at the fryer and noticed the large crack in it. “If you overfilled your fryers unintentionally, how did that crack get there?”

“I had to cut our budget somewhere,” Gimme explained, “So I brought these fryers from Griffonstone. I cleaned them out and put them to good use.”

“This fryer shouldn’t be in service, Ms. Moore. In fact, it looks like you tried to plug that crack up.”

“How else are we supposed to save money?”

“If you spend more money you’d have better quality ingredients!” cried a voice. Out came Gustave, who was carrying a ham in his claws. “I found this along with your other products.” He showed how slimy the ham was much to his and Gil’s disgust.

“Sir, I don’t have that much experience with meat,” the inspector admitted. “What’s the problem here?”

“When ham like this starts going bad, it starts to get slimy. Look at this.” He showed a big gray spot of mold on the piece of meat. “See how much mold is on that?”

“That… mold builds character for ham,” Gimme responded, sounding desperate.

Gustave flew over to the restaurant owner and looked her dead in the eye. “Why do you have your head up your flank, Gimme? I’ve been trying to not only save your business but also keeping you out of jail!”

“Mr. Gustave,” the inspector said, “It’ll be best for all of us if you console yourself.”

The griffon took a minute to take a breath before he responded. “My apologies, sir. I can’t expect someone to defend this and serve it to customers.”

“I comprehend. That’s a major reason why I’m here. Do you mind if you show me the fridge?” Gustave nodded and led the inspector to where the food was being kept. The pony could feel that it was a bit warmer than necessary. He checked the temperature gauge to see it was nearly above 30. “Mr. Gustave, what temperature is dangerous for meat to be at?”

“40℉.” He then looked at the temperature gauge as well, seeing that it was almost above 30. “Is this fridge not working properly?”

“I’m not sure. If that’s the case, we’ll have to add this to her violations.” He wrote this town as some growling and barks could be heard.

“I’ll check it out,” Gustave proclaimed. He left the inspector to check on the food as he followed the noise towards the front of the building. Outside, he could see Emerald holding Sandra the wolf, while the animal was trying to break free.

“What is this mutt’s deal?” Gus questioned.

“Did any of you do anything that would make her mad?”

“Not intentionally.”

“I think it might be this place,” Emerald guessed. She and the wolf looked up at the restaurant’s sign. Sandra kept trying to break, failing to do so due to Emerald’s strength.

Soon, Fluttershy came flying up, giving a quick angry look at the wolf that ran away. “Thank you for catching her, you three,” the Pegasus said to the students.

“You’re welcome, Professor Fluttershy.” Emerald handed Sandra to Fluttershy, while the wolf kept on struggling to get to the restaurant’s door.

Gustave opened the door to see what was going on. “How long has that wolf been out here?” he asked.

“She showed up instantly,” Emerald explained to him. “She tried scratching at the door to get inside until we tried holding her back.”

“Yeah, and she put up a tough fight,” Gus added. He showed the scratches and even the bite mark on his arm from trying to keep the wolf back. “Can we have an update on this place? Because I’m going to be ticked if this is all I get here.”

“We’re in the middle of an inspection,” Gustave explained. “Though I think we’re just about finished.”

“We were concerned about this place after the food made some of our friends sick,” Sunshine explained.

“I see. Well, that’s why I convinced the mayor to send an inspector here.”

“Then… What’s the cause of the sickness?”

“Salmonella and improper storage.” There was a mix of emotions from the three students showing concern about their friends’ health and annoyance that Gimme would allow this kind of quality food to be sold. “Don’t worry, I’m doing my best to set her straight and make this restaurant a success.”

“That’s good to hear,” Sunshine commented.

“You do what you have to,” Fluttershy said. “I’m taking Sandra back to the sanctuary.” With that, the Pegasus flew away, while telling Sandra what a bad wolf she was.

Back inside, the inspector had finished examining the restaurant and was giving his report to Gimme Moore. “You’re lucky the mayor has told me to give you another chance,” the inspector said. “If she didn’t, your business would be shut down right away.” He handed the list of violations that the restaurant had, much to Gimme’s fear. “I hope you’ll learn from this, otherwise you and your employees will be in trouble.”

“Good day to you sir,” Gustave said, “And thank you for your assistance.”

“Anytime.” The inspector smiled and walked out of the restaurant, leaving the two griffons to talk with each other. Gimme kept looking at the list, showing concern when she looked at Gustave.

“Now, do you see all of the problems now?”

“Y… Yes,” Gimme sighed in defeat.

“You see how much these are going to cost you?” Gimme didn’t respond, she just double-checked the price and felt defeated. “And not only that, getting your customers to fall ill counts as their own fine and could land you in prison.” Gimme once again said nothing. “Hear me out, I’m going to take the royal advisor back to Griffonstone. I’ll be back tomorrow… and hopefully, you’ve cleaned them up by then.”

With that, Gustave walked out of the building, leaving the owner to clean up her mess. She looked at the three students standing outside with their equipment. Gimme frowned as she looked at them. “No comment!” she ordered. She went to find her employees to start a clean-up.

“Boy, that was a waste of time,” Gus groaned. “Let’s go to the nurse’s office and see if I have rabies or not.” Gus flew away, with his friends following him.

“I’m pretty sure Sandra wouldn’t have rabies,” Sunshine noted. “She’s not infected or anything.”

“I’m still going to bite that li’l mutt back.”

“Please don’t start a fight with a wolf,” Emerald pleaded.

“No promises.” The students went back to the school while Gus complained about his injuries.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Sandra were just passing the town square on the way back to the sanctuary, when Roseluck and Carrot Top stopped her. “Excuse us, Fluttershy,” Roseluck said, “Sorry for stopping your tracks, but do you have any advice for catching a wild animal like that wolf you’re walking with?”

“Is there a problem?” Fluttershy asked.

“Nothing that requires your attention yet,” Carrot Top noted. “What advice would you give us if you find a lost wild animal?”

Fluttershy thought for a moment. “If that happens, I’d approach it carefully and not make myself look like a threat. Some animals are more scared of you than you are of them.”

“Uh-huh, sounds good. Would you recommend a net or something?”

“Only if the animal is acting violently. Once everything settles, I set it free.”

“Sounds good. Thank you for that advice! C’mon, Rose!” Carrot Top ran off with Roseluck following her, looking a little worried. Fluttershy and Sandra looked at each other in confusion.

“I wish we could see what they were doing, but I’ve got to get you back to the sanctuary and do other stuff there.” With that, the pegasus walked away with the wolf, wondering what the townsponies were up to.

That Bites

On the following morning at Griffonstone, Gustave le Grand took the train heading towards Ponyville to help Gimme Moore succeed with her new restaurant. There were a few passengers on the train since it was pretty early. He was still startled by what Gilda had said last night about Greta getting sick from food poisoning. He could’ve sworn his ears were still ringing from her outburst. He hoped that Gimme had learned her lesson and things could be set back on track.

After a long trip, Gustave arrived at Ponyville’s train station. When he got out, he was admittedly happy and relieved not to see ponies hounding him for eating meat. Thank goodness for that. He then made his way to Gimme Some Grub without any interferences whatsoever. When he reached his destination, he noticed that the place was all silent. He went to the doors and tried to open them but they won’t budge since they were locked. Gustave looked through one of the windows and scanned the dining room. He saw Gimme Moore sleeping on the table, making him feel surprised. So he knocked on the door as hard as he can to make enough noise for her to wake up. And she did, freaking out from the noise while falling from her chair and bumping her head. With that, she quickly gets up, grabs her cap, and unlocks the doors to allow him inside.

“Did you sleep here for the whole night?” he asked.

“Looks like it,” Gimme replied groggily. She rubbed her eyes as she still looked pretty tired. “Did you bring a cup of hot coffee or something?”

“Um… no. I didn’t bring any.” Gimme groaned as they looked to the front door, which was opened to find Gil walking inside.

“Oh, Mr. Gustave, you’re here,” he commented. “I wasn’t expecting you to be here this early.”

“Sorry, I’m wanting to give this place a chance to become a success. Anyways, Gil, have you fixed all the problems the inspector found?”

“Everything that was reported, sir. Though most of us weren’t wanting to cooperate.”

“What do you mean?”

“Some left when they were being told to do extra work,” Gimme reported, “Since they thought these fines were going to cut their pay, they jumped off the ship. Ugh, the one time I try to do something for the community.” Gimme rubbed her eyes with a frustrated groan.

“Hey, things like this are tough,” Gustave proclaimed, “It’ll be better in the long run if we begin fixing those mistakes rather than doing nothing and watching them getting sick.”

“Yeah, I know. You want to remind me of what caused it again?”

Gustave wasn’t liking the tone he was given. “You know, I’d just walk out that door right now and leave you to fend for yourself.” Gustave turned to face the door, quickly making Gimme panic.

“No, hold on hold on hold on…! Sorry sorry sorry sorry! I’ll stop I’ll stop… PLEASE!” Gustave smirked before he turned around to face the restaurant owner.

“Are we done playing smart?” Gimme just nodded, too tired to argue. “Alright.” The chef turned his focus to Gil. “Are there any employees that are showing up?”

“Not too many,” Gil responded. “They should be here by now.”

“Right, then let’s take a look at another issue we should fix while we have the chance. That includes the menu, the food to choose from, and the price.”

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was taking a walk downtown, since she was curious to see what the ponies were up to. If there is a wild animal on the loose in Ponyville, she would likely be the first to be called to assist. Not to mention, since this was happen right after Carrot Top told her about her advice on catching them, something didn’t feel right.

The pegasus looked around until she found a stallion named Meadow Song, who looked a little roughed up. “Oh, my,” Fluttershy gasped, “Are you alright?”

Meadow Song sighed. “Yeah. Thanks for asking.”

“What happened to you?”

“I… might’ve gotten a little frustrated with Daisy’s new pet.”

“A new pet? What did she get?”

“Believe it or not, a manticore.”

“Manticore!?” Fluttershy couldn’t believe what she had heard.

“A manticore cub, to be precise.”

“Ohh. And where is she.”

“At home with her friends, trying her best to tame it.”

“Yeesh… I better check it out. Thanks a lot.”

“You’re welcome.” Fluttershy quickly flew off, hoping that things would be alright.

Nearing Daisy’s house, Fluttershy heard some growling and hissing coming from the back. Looking around the corner, she gasped when she saw a manticore cub chained to a post. Daisy was with Roseluck and Lily Valley, who stepped back from the cub, with the size of an average dog, trying to escape.

“Hey!” Fluttershy cried. Daisy, Lily, and Rose looked up to see her land down. “What are you doing to that poor thing?!

“Fluttershy!” Daisy cried. “Good thing you’re here, we need an expert on wild animals right now.”

“Why and how do you have a manticore cub?”

“We found him near the outskirts of the town,” Daisy explained. “We’re just doing what you’re doing… by putting an animal on the vegetarian diet.”

“But I only do that for animals in…” She was interrupted by the manticore’s roar of frustration, which Fluttershy could sense some fear in it. The pegasus bent down so she could look at the cub at eye level. “Don’t worry, little guy, I’m not going to hurt you.”

The manticore cub soothed down, still feeling a little scared at its position. However, with Fluttershy showing she wanted to help, it gave a quiet purr. Daisy then placed a bowl of vegetables beside the wild animal. “There, now we can feed it with vegetables.”

The cub was able to walk over to the bowl and sniffed the carrots, lettuce, and radishes. A sniff of this food just made the animal stick its tongue out and lie down next to Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, I’m thinking that this is a bad idea looking at it now,” Rose admitted. “I was concerned when Carrot Top brought it up, but seeing it now… I have a bad feeling that it’s not going to work.”

“You’re telling me,” Fluttershy commented. She would try to unhook the young cub from its leash, only to be stopped by Daisy.

“Just a sec, don’t you feed animals fruits and vegetables at your sanctuary?” Daisy asked.

“I do, only if they want to stay there. Not to mention, most of the animals there are fully grown…” As Fluttershy explains how her sanctuary worked, the manticore cub kept pulling its leash until the peg popped out of the soil. Before anyone knew it, the cub was making a run for it. “Oh no! Come back here!”

Fluttershy gave chase, leaving the three earth ponies behind. “I told you, girls, that this was a bad idea!” Rose proclaimed. The other two ponies didn’t say anything, releasing they practically had a wild animal on the loose.

Back at Gimme Some Grub, the employees that stayed with the business had arrived for a staff meeting. There weren’t that many, which Gustave felt that was going to affect the business. “Hmm, well, we should address the elephant in the room,” he said.

“The low staff?” Gimme questioned.

“Yes, not just that…” He showed the multiple pages of the menu, which were overpriced and would lead to having too many ingredients being stored and have a higher chance of going rotten. “We need to cut down on the choices too. With that, I’ve stopped by the school recently, asking the young ones what they’d prefer. They’d be required to pick three meals on the menu, and the top 3 selected ones will stay on the menu.”

“That was a good idea,” Gil commented. “I like where you’re going.”

“I appreciated it, Gil. Now, hopefully, with this place tidied up, we’ll be able to get accurate votes.” Gustave then reveal a white ballot box that had been picked up, then took it outside with the menu, and placed it beside the door. Right on time, the students show up. Griffons, hippogriffs, changelings, dragons, and even ponies and yaks who wanted to show support to the restaurant, had shown up to cast their vote, including the news trio.

“Excuse us, Mr. Gustave,” Sunshine called. “I hope you don’t mind. Ever since 5 of our friends got food poisoning last time, have you been helping out Miss Gimme clearing out the issues with the food?”

“Yes, I have,” the griffon chef answered. “We’ve taken care of that and we’ll take care of any creature that’s responsible for that negligence.” A couple of the students looked inside the restaurant to see Gimme trying to cover her face with her wing.

“Do you have any idea how much my stomach ached?!” Garry cried. “I have to use the restroom like 4-5 times!”

“Garry, take it easy,” Sandbar cried. “Just like what Professor Fluttershy said last time, you shouldn’t just be mad at others because of what they did before. She has been showing her mistakes, and the fact she has cleaned up after herself is the proof that she’s willing to learn.”

“Thank you, young colt,” Gustave said, “Now, here’s the menu, there’s the ballot box, and here’s some pen and paper. Remember, pick three meals that you’d prefer the most, and those 3 chosen ones will stay while the rest will be booted off.” He placed down the box, pens, and papers. Each student grabbed some paper and looked at the menu to pick what they wanted to keep, while Gustave walked back inside.

“So… now what?” Gimme questioned. “The fewer items on the menu means we’ll cut down on costs?”

“That’s right. It also means your chefs won’t have to memorize so many recipes. Now, on another note, I’d like to talk about the blandness of this dining room.” The griffons looked around and could agree this room looked pretty boring.

“What colors would look good?” Gil asked.

“Perhaps… something cheerful… like light yellow or aquamarine.”

“How about red and white… like my feathers?” Gimme said. A couple of her staff thought that she was trying to inflate her ego, but Gustave could see that she was genuinely making an effort to suggest a better idea.

“It sounds alright. I was able to get a hold of a few painters that can give this place a makeover. They should be here any moment.”

“How much of this did you plan?”

“I had help from here and there. Presumably due to luck after one griff bought a bakery from someone who became queen.” Gustave le Grand chuckled a bit as he looked around with Gimme to see what the color scheme would look like.

Outside, some of the students filled in their votes and waited with their friends. “So… you want to keep the Spaghetti & Meatballs?” Sunshine asked.

“That’ll be a good choice for ponies to have,” Gus answered. “Just save the meatballs for your friend, and you got yourself a good meal.”

“Yeah, I like that, I like that.” Suddenly they heard a frightened hiss before seeing the manticore cub running towards them in fright. It maneuvered around the students’ legs, making some of them tumble. They were all shocked to see a wild animal running.

“What was that?” Ravi asked.

“I think that was a manticore,” Tanzanite answered.

“Where is it going?” Pate queried.

Things started to get worrying once Fluttershy flew around the corner. She approached the students, a little confused about why they were grouped up there. “What are you doing here?” the pegasus asked.

“They’re holding a vote for the most preferred dishes, which will later be staying on the menu,” Emerald explained. “Also… did you know about the manticore cub that’s on the loose?”

“Yes! I’m chasing it right now. Where’d it go!?”

Emerald and the other students pointed to the direction where the cub ran off in response. Fluttershy thanked them and took off. Sunshine stepped up to Emerald, feeling a little worried.

“Uhh… Should we help her?” Sunshine asked.

“Probably,” Emerald suggested. “Manticores can be dangerous, especially with that scorpion tail, their stings are super painful.”

“What is that cub even doing here?” Gus asked. “Do you think a pony did this?”

“Maybe…, they’ve done some stupid things before,” Moss commented.

“Never mind how, let’s search for that cub before it causes anyone or itself harm,” Emerald proclaimed. She, Sunshine, and Gus ran off after Fluttershy to see if they could help.

“Shall we help them too?” Silverstream said to Ocellus.

“Yeah, that thing could be in danger.”

“I guess we’ll all split out then,” Smolder asserted. “I’ve just finished voting.”

“So do we,” Gallus said. “Let’s go help them if we can.” The Young Six then followed the trio to catch the cub. Other students that filled in their votes left to see what they could to help. They started splitting up around town to see if they could catch it, though there didn’t seem to be any sight of it. Gus felt like they were wasting their time.

“Maybe we should go back to school,” the griffon complained. “I mean, my marks still feel sore.”

“Gus, Sandra didn’t draw blood,” Emerald reminded. “If she did, you’d be in the hospital already.”

Sunshine would speak up as he was a little frustrated at not finding the young manticore. “I feel that we should’ve found the cub or at least Fluttershy by… Gah!” He quickly pulled his friends with him and flew behind a building.

“What the heck, Sunny!?” Gus questioned.

“Shhhhhhh…!” He asserted with his index finger in front of his beak. Sunshine then pointed around the corner to the giant manticore that was prowling around, looking for something.

“Okay, how about we get out of here?”

“Agreed,” Emerald commented. The trio then flew away without the manticore noticing them. “This is bad!”

“No kidding,” Sunshine added. “We have to warn the others!”

“Right, I’ll keep an eye on the manticore. You two find everyone else and tell them to get to safety because the danger is coming.”

“Roger!” Gus responded. The two griffs flew away as Emerald flew back to where the manticore was, making sure it didn’t hurt anypony.

Needless to say, when ponies heard and saw a manticore wandering around, they went into a complete panic, running around like chickens with their heads cut off as they tried to get to safety. Fluttershy could sense the panicking and then had a feeling that the restaurant, Gimme Some Grub, would be a big target for the wild animal.

She glided towards the restaurant and went inside to warn the griffons, being surprised to find a couple of painters redecorating the dining room. “Sorry, madam,” said one of the painters, “You have to come back some other time, we’re in the middle of…”

“There’s a manticore on the loose!” Fluttershy proclaimed. “You have to go somewhere safe right now!”

“Did you say… Manticore!?”

“Oh heck no!” cried a stallion sliding down the ladder in panic. “I’m out of here! I ain’t going to be the first one to die! I’m telling you right now!” With that, he legged it through the front door, much to his coworker’s concern.

“Strip! Wait!” she cried.

“Well, if there’s danger, we’re getting outta here!” another one exclaimed.

“So do I,” blurted the other. “Hurry!” The painters were all in a panic and ran out of the door, just as Gimme came out to see how the progress was doing.

“Hey, where are they going?” she inquired. Gustave came out of the kitchen to see what the matter was, confused why only Fluttershy was in the unfinished dining room.

“I’m sorry about this,” the pegasus apologized, “But there’s a wild manticore roaming around town, and I have a feeling that your place might be in danger.”

“We threw out all of our meat last night,” Gimme proclaimed. “It’s all in the dumpster in the back… Oh, crud!” The sound of munching could be heard out in the back, much to the concern of the creatures. “…Please tell me this town has a raccoon problem.”

“No raccoon munches that loud,” Fluttershy noted.

“What shall we do?” Gustave asked.

“Just relax. I’ll take a look and see if I can talk to it. You go warn your staff as well.” With that, Fluttershy bravely went outside while Gimme and Gustave went to warn the staff to take shelter. When Fluttershy found the dumpster at the back, she could see the manticore munching away the rotten meat. Emerald was also there, right behind the tail, not too sure what to do until she saw her.

“Professor Fluttershy,” Emerald spoke, “Um… Could you help me, please?”

“What are you doing here, Emma?”

“I’m keeping an eye on that thing. Sunshine and Gus are finding the other classmates and warning them about this thing.”

“Are you sure that’s safe?”

“I’m a dragon. Perri and I have faced a lot worse creatures back home. Have you found the cub yet?”

“Not yet, I’ve lost track after ponies started to run around panicking and…” The munching stopped when the manticore looked at the yellow pony and green dragon that were talking. Fluttershy thought fast and flew up to look the manticore in the eye. “Listen here, I’m certain you’re very worried about your cub, but we have been looking for it since it ran off.”

The manticore appeared to be listening until it saw something flying by. It looked to be Gabby and another griffon that was Garret, both carrying a cart that looked to be very heavy. “Why was I chosen to help you with this?” Gabby asked, fairly tired.

“It’s because I needed another griffon and you’re the nicest and first one I found,” Garret said. “Now, I need to get this delivered so I can get some bits… Wait, what is that?” The two delivery griffons saw the manticore, who could smell their cargo. It pounced with great height, just scraping the back of their cart, making the ice and meat fall out.

“Our cargo!” Gabby cried.

“Screw the cargo, I’m outta here!” Garret cried. He unhooked himself from the cart and flew away, leaving all the weight for Gabby to hold. The griffon started falling to the ground, frantically flapping her wings to try and keep in the air. Lucky for her, two other griffs were flying by. Gus flew up, unhooked Gabby from her cart, and carried her with his arms, which plummeted to the ground, where Emerald caught it, coating her in the remaining meat in the cart.

“Ew, great,” she groaned. After Emerald realized what she was covered in when she looked in the cart and saw the manticore looking at her. “Uh oh.” Seeing what was going to happen, Emerald flew away before the manticore could pounce on her.

“No!” Fluttershy cried. “Bad boy!” She flew right in front of the manticore, annoying it until she hit him with the stare. The moment she stared into his soul, the manticore froze like a kitten taking shelter from a rainstorm. “It’s one thing to be eating food, but it’s another thing to attack other creatures! I understand that you’re worried about your cub, but that doesn’t excuse you from hurting others! Now, I’ll be taking you to my sanctuary and you’re going to stay there, out of trouble, until we find your cub! Understand?” The manticore just nodded and followed the angry pegasus out of town.

Emerald and the griffs looked down from above, amazed at what they saw. “I guess everyone has their breaking point,” Sunshine commented. He looked over to Gabby, who was still being carried by Gus, being surprised by that. “Are you alright?”

“A little shaken, but I’ll be okay,” the mail griffon answered, and got off of Gus.

“And we don’t have to worry about that thing anymore,” Gus said. He looked at Emerald, who was dripping with meat juice. “What about you?”

“Yeah, I’m fine as well,” Emerald sighed. “I just need a shower later.”

“What was that manticore doing here?” Gabby asked.

“It’s looking for its cub,” Sunshine explained. “The problem is we can’t find it.”

Gus thought of how they could find the cub, until he looked over to Emerald, still covered in meat juice. “Maybe… we could let the cub come to us.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Gus then pointed to Emerald, who’s puzzled. She gave a low brow and then immediately realized what he was planning. “Fine!” Emerald sighed. “I’ll do this, but it’s only because we don’t have that many options.”

Down on the streets, several ponies stuck their heads out of their homes to see if the manticore was still free. When they saw Fluttershy taking it away, like a kitten that made a mess on the carpet. After they saw them walk past them, the ponies stepped outside, feeling much safer.

Roseluck gave an angry look at Lily and Daisy. “This is your fault,” Rose proclaimed.

“How?” both ponies uttered.

“If you hadn’t taken that little cub, none of this would’ve happened.”

“Well… It was Carrot Top’s idea to make a creature into a vegetarian,” Lily stated.

“You didn’t do anything about it,” Daisy added.

“I wasn’t sure that it would work,” Rose said. “I was still surprised we’re getting a place that serves meat.” Just then, the ponies got a whiff of an unfamiliar smell as Emerald passed by with Gus and Sunshine.

“Gus, are you sure this idea of yours is gonna work?” Emerald said with a disapproving look.

“Predators have a great sense of smell,” Gus noted, “So it can smell the meat it likes to eat. And… if it tries biting you, your scales will protect you.”

“He’s right.” Sunshine nodded.

Emerald rolled her eyes just before she noticed a big scorpion's tail hanging from a tree branch.

“I think we found it,” Emerald declared, and she, together with the griffs, sneakingly fluttered towards the tree. Looking over the tree, they found the manticore cub clinging to a branch.

“He looks so scared,” Sunshine said.

“Looks like we need to be gentle,” Gus implied. “Do your thing, Emma.”

Emerald nodded and approached slowly the scared cub. It quickly smelled the scent of meat juice on Emerald’s body. When it sees her, it leaped at her, who managed to catch it before the wild animal started licking her scales. “See, I told you it would work,” Gus proclaimed.

“Okay, you’re right,” Emerald responded. “Let’s get this back to its parent.” The trio flew away with the cub still trying to lick the juice off of Emerald’s scales.

Fluttershy sat the manticore down in her sanctuary and had Harry the bear keep him in place. Though the stare would be enough to have the wild animal behave. “I know you’re worried for your cub, but you can’t just attack random creatures who had nothing to do with your child going missing,” Fluttershy stated.

The manticore just gave an upset growl. Its ears perked up when they heard noises that sounded familiar. Noises that sound like a cub. They looked and saw the news trio flying towards them with Emerald carrying the cub. Gus and Sunshine stayed in the air as their dragon friend approached the adult manticore.

“You’re looking for this?” Emerald called. She then land down and placed the cub down in front of him. “Here you go. Your child is here.”

The adult manticore looked down at its offspring, sniffing it to make sure it was its child. When it recognizes the smell, it licks its head and cuddles with it, indicating that it finally reunites with its child. The adult manticore was now happy, and so does the cub.

“We did it?” Sunshine asked.

“Yes, we did,” Gus declared. “I can tell that it can recognize its child by its scent.”

It then approached Emerald and then sniffed her. She knew where this was going and was about to make a run for it until the manticore hugged her and licked her face. Emerald chuckled a little. “Y… You’re welcome.” The manticore then let go of Emerald and then used its mouth to pick his cub up by the nip of its neck, then ambled back to the Everfree Forest. “I could’ve lived without that,” Emerald muttered.

Fluttershy walked over to her as the dragon was looking forward to her shower. “How did you find the cub?” the mare asked while covering her nose because of the smell.

“Gus came up with the idea to use the meat juice I was showered in to lure the cub out. You can ask him for more details. Now better excuse me, I’m going to take a shower.” With that, Emerald flew back to the school’s shower room as the two griffs approached their professor.

“So, I can assume ponies were the reason that all of this happen, is it?” Gus asked.

She sighed with frustration. “Indeed,” Fluttershy answered. “I should’ve spoken up about my opinion on this in the first place.”

“You mean about your problem with meat?” Sunshine asked.

“I mean, how the meat would work in my animal sanctuary. Normally, I don’t have an issue with animals eating meat, I know that it’s a part of their diet.”

“That’s what I said,” Gus agreed. “It’s the circle of life.”

“Right. But if there’s a carnivore like a wolf that wants to stay here, they can’t eat that.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” Sunshine commented.

“It was just so… surprising to know that meat’s going to be a new regular part of Ponyville.”

“…You’ve got to admit, ponies didn’t act very smart to the new place being the main stay. They overreact a lot” Fluttershy knew Gus was straight to the point, the ponies could have acted better than this. Then she remembered the damaged delivery.

“Oh, the owner isn’t going to be happy about that.” The boys were a bit confused until they were reminded of the cart.

“Yeah… Come on, Sunny! We’re going back.”

“Why?”

“It looks like we got something to post on our papers.” Sunshine then understands what he’s talking about.

“Right, I’m coming!” They flew back to school to get their new equipment, knowing that they were going to get a good story.

After grabbing their equipment, Sunshine and Gus immediately returned to the newly established restaurant, where a heated argument could be heard. They saw Gimme Moore standing outside with Carrot Top and a couple of ponies fuming about all her money going down the drain due to the meat being unsalvagable.

“Do you not know how much that amount of meat costs me alone?!” Gimme questioned.

“Explain how it’s our fault?” Carrot Top asked.

“How? Maybe it has something to do with the fact you brought a fierce manticore to my restaurant! Let me remind you, it’s not a buffet!”

Gus took a picture of the meat and damaged cart on the ground. Sunshine flew down to Gimme and the ponies to have an interview. “Excuse me,” the hippogriff spoke, “Do you have a minute?”

“Give me a second kid,” Gimme responded, “I’ve got to break reasoning into their thick skulls.” The restaurant owner turned her attention back to the ponies. “Look, I want compensation for your bad idea costing me a lot of money.”

“We understand,” Rose spoke. “I’ve only got five bits with me right now, but I’m sure if we each pitched in to cover the cost and new order.”

“That would be nice, thank you.” They heard a flash and looked up to see Gus flying above them.

“Pay no attention to the griffon with a camera,” he requested.

“No pictures allowed!” Daisy cried.

“Why not? This was your fault.”

“Just saying it now,” Rose spoke, “I thought this was a bad idea once they made the plan to catch a cub.”

“You should’ve stopped them at that point,” Gimme commented. “I won’t have any authorities involved as long you help pay for the cost of replacing my meat.” Rose handed her some money as the rest of the ponies who realized their idea was foolish stepped forward and handed some money over.

“I’m not going to change my mind,” Carrot Top spoke.

“And my restaurant is getting its second chance tomorrow, and I don’t want it to be ruined by something that wasn’t my fault!”

Soon, Gustave walked outside as he was getting tired of hearing the arguments. “Assez!” he cried. He stormed out of the exit and walked alongside Gimme. “What’s going on?”

“These ponies have to pay for the damages since they brought a wild manticore to our business.”

“Ah, yes. Gabby has told us before.”

“You mean the one who delivers the mail?” Rose asked.

“Correct, and I say she is lucky to be alive. If you hadn’t been so careless, she wouldn’t have had a near-death experience!

“You said it. You think Her Majesty and the Princess of Equestria will be happy to hear that?” Gimme asked.

“Certainly not.” The ponies were starting to get nervous once Princess Twilight was mentioned. Some started backing down, but a couple of them were still stubborn.

“Do you expect ponies to accept meat is here now?” Carrot Top asked.

“Yes, we do!” called a voice. The creatures looked to see Fluttershy entering the conversation, ready to state her opinion. “I’ll admit, I’m a little iffy with meat, but I understand that when something is essential, it needs to be used for good! Plus, you are at fault for taking a creature’s child and force-feeding it something it doesn’t like.”

“Then what about your sanctuary?” Lily asked.

“That’s for animals who want to stay there. If they can’t follow the rules, they can’t stay. Now, because of the incident, not only the delivery services were put in danger, but so were the students from the School of Friendship. Didn’t you realize that there are hippogriffs, changelings, dragons, and griffons studying there? Even I can’t force them to eat all vegetables. I’m pretty convinced that their parents would like to know who is responsible for putting them in danger. Now, do you want to argue with a fully-grown dragon?”

All of the ponies that were sticks in the mud were finally out. They caved, said nothing, and paid to Gimme their share of the cost for her next order. In fact, she had a bit extra. “Looks like I can pay for express shipping.”

“That’s good,” Gustave commented. “This place needs to serve something.” He looked at the ballot box, which was still intact and filled with the student’s votes. “Let’s check what we should cook before we send in that new order.” He and Gimme walked inside to count the votes as ponies started dispersing.

Gus and Sunshine were impressed with what their professor did. “Do you have anything to say for the school’s newspaper?” the hippogriff asked.

“Yes, I do. All I have to say is that I wish I spoke up sooner,” Fluttershy said. “I know there are things that happen that we don’t like. However, things like this happen, and we just need to accept it.”

“Took those words out of my mouth,” Gus commented. “Okay, Sunny, I think we’ve got enough for a story here. A few actually.” The boy flew away to the school to work on their report as Discord looked at the restaurant. He sighed, put on a smile, then walked away back home.

That evening, Tarsi, Dotta, Grace, and Gregoria were returning to the school. “So you heard anything else aside from that manticore attack?” Gregoria asked.

“Pyther and Coral said they’ve been improving in ballet,” Grace said. “They’ve even showed me some of their moves. And… I gotta admit, they did very well.”

“Dotta wants to see other creatures learn Yakyakistan Stomp too,” the yak proclaimed. “Ponies love Yakyakistan Stomp.”

“Dotta, you know that if we allowed that, the school would fall apart,” Gregoria stated. “Tarsi, what do you think about this?” When there wasn’t a response, the griffon looked to see that the changeling wasn’t with them now. “Tarsi?” They stopped and looked around to see the changeling had flown up to Gimme, who was carrying a few small containers.

“Hey there,” Gimme spoke, “You go to the school here?”

“Always,” the changeling responded. “What are you doing with those containers?”

“They’re something to be taste-tested. Hopefully, they go better than the last time.”

“Good luck with that, I’ll tell my friends about it.” Tarsi flew back to her friends about this as Gimme looked at the food she was carrying. She was wanting this to be a success and hoped that Gustave’s advice would be enough. She and the students got back to school just before dinner arrived.

“Do you know where can I meet the head of the school?” Gimme asked. “It’ll be nice of you to lead me to her office.”

“Allow me,” Dotta said. “Dotta knows way.”

“Go ahead. I’ll follow. Thank you for helping me.” She and Dotta then left, leaving Tarsi, Grace, and Gregoria behind.

With Dotta leading the way to the headmare’s office, Gimme Moore can see students doing their group projects, hanging out with each other, and sometimes slacking off. Some didn’t seem to notice her. Gimme and Dotta reached the office and then thanked the yak for her help. Approaching the door, she knocks on it.

“Come in,” called a voice.

The restaurant owner walked inside and met with Headmare Starlight, who was currently fidgeting with her plaything with her magic. “Hello, is this the headmare?”

“Yes I am,” Starlight replied as she recognized the griffon. “And you… must be the owner of the new restaurant, Gimme Moore. I see that your place will be open soon.”

“Yes…,” Gimme sighed, “the one who’s also responsible for causing your beloved juniors to get…”

“I heard. You don’t have to say that since those students before are already feeling better. There’s no problem.”

“Thank you, I’ve been given another chance.” Gimme then took a seat on a sofa in front of Headmare Starlight and placed the containers beside her. “Now then… with the recent voting from your little pupils a while ago, I bought these containers with me, they’re filled with 3 of the most preferred dishes from the old menu I had. With that, I must give these to them for taste-testing, so I can have their feedback. And I promise you… I’ll not make them sick this time as I’ve learned from last time.”

“I see, and I’m glad you do,” Starlight smiled. “Since it’s almost dinner time, you’re taking those containers to the cafeteria, am I right?”

“Certainly,” she replied. “I was about to ask you for directions.”

“I’ll lead you there.”

“Thank you very much,” she said. “Lead the way.” Starlight then stood up from her desk and lead the griffon the way to the cafeteria.

As supper arrived, some of the students have entered the canteen and were ready to eat their meal when they saw Gimme Moore opening the containers to reveal three separate meals: a set of grilled pork hamburgers, chicken salad with sesame seeds dressing, and slices of bacon-wrapped meat pie. They looked super delicious from the looks, even the aroma makes it more appetizing.

“What are those?” Sandbar asked.

“Three meals that my chefs have made for you to taste-test,” Gimme explained. “This time, they’ve been more improved than last time. There are grilled pork burgers that came straight out from the grill, a healthy chicken salad with sweet sesame dressing and bite-sized peaches, and slices of meat pie all wrapped in bacon strips. Anyone wanna try?”

Sandbar looked over at Gallus and Smolder, who were still a little controversial about how Gimme’s food caused most of them to get sick. “Gallus? Smolder?”

“I would,” Smolder replied, “but I am still concerned if it’s going to happen again to me like Garry or Geena.”

“Me too,” Gallus added, “I’m not going to let this happen to me as well.”

However, Tarsi stepped forward and picked up one hamburger from the container to give it a taste. “This looks juicy,” she muttered. “It’s gonna be good, right?”

“Good luck getting diarrhea,” Gale murmured and was being bumped by an unamused Kelpie with his elbow. “Sorry…”

With no one stopping her, she took a big bite out of that patty. Her eyes became widen as she was so amused with the flavor of the patty itself that goes well with the soft buns and the lettuces and tomatoes. “Wow! This is amazing!” she commented.

“How was it?” Grace asked.

“Try one! You’re going to love it!”

“If your friend likes it, it’s worth a shot,” Gimme commented. “Go ahead.”

Grace listened, grabbed one burger from the container, and took a mouthful into it. Just like Tarsi, her eyes widen with the taste and flavor of the burger. “Whoa! You’re right. I never expect it to be that savory and juicy, so yummy!”

Gregoria was curious about the food too and decided that she would try the chicken salad. Gimme saw it coming, so she pulled out a plastic bowl to scoop some of the salad for Gregoria to try.

“Here you go,” Gimme said, handing her a bowl of salad. “You’ll enjoy it.”

“Thank you,” Gregoria said. “How do you I’m going for the salad?” She took the bowl from her claws and took a spoonful of the salad. And again, her eyes became widen being impressed with the taste. “Oh my! This is delicious! The chicken is so well-cooked, the sweetness of the peach and the dressing makes it more flavorful.”

Gimme got some more bowls for the salad to be taste-tested as Flare, a rather chubby dragon, took a look at the bacon pie.

“Go ahead, kid,” Gimme chuckled. “No one’s stoppin’ ya. Grab a slice.” Flare smiled as he quickly grabbed a slice out of the box and took a bite.

“Wow!” Flare exclaimed, delighted with the taste. “They’ve splendidly done it! You’re amazing!”

“Thank you, it’s going so well.” She then faces the juniors. “Just so you guys know, these were some of the most voted items from our old menu. Our next one’s going to be much simpler and less expensive.”

Emerald stepped forward to the restaurant owner, now that she was clean from the slimy and pungent meat juice and drool of the manticore. “Excuse me, Miss Gimme, do you have anything else you’d like to add about your restaurant’s overhaul?”

“I would, but at the same time, I want to keep it a surprise, giving the customers something to look forward to. Not just that, we’ve put more of our budget into our equipment to avoid oil burns and other similar incidents.”

“Mhmm, yes…” Emerald wrote some of this information as Gimme felt worried.

“I get it, the stuff that happened before Gustave stepped in was something you’d call…. Old habits die hard. I enjoy getting a bit anyway I can, and I’m guessing my cheap plans caught up with me.”

“It should be better than it’s catching up with you now rather than later in your business.”

“Right.” She then turned to the students who were enjoying her food. “Anyways, you guys can give ratings on this stuff, that’ll be awesome.”

“I say… it’s a straight 10/10,” Tarsi proclaimed finishing the last of her burger. Flare just nodded as he had the same feeling for the bacon pie, which he was licking off his claws.

This gave Gimme hope as she had heard that most of the food that didn’t make creatures sick tasted bland. “I fully agree,” Gregoria said, “This is incredible. Did Gustave make it?”

“No. Some of my chefs wanted to improve, so Gustave allow them to cook how they wanted. Although… he helped them out through the process.”

“His work paid off, I say,” Grace commented. “Can we have more?”

“Sure, you can. Everything you see here is on the house.” Every carnivorous student happily helped themselves with the appetite, including Silverstream, Ocellus, Smolder, and Gallus.

“Shall we go for it?” Silverstream said to Ocellus. “I’m already starving.”

“Let’s go! Save me a bowl of salad, will ya?” Silverstream nodded and join with the others to have their dinner.

“Looks like we don’t have to be so concerned anymore,” Gallus said to Smolder, who nods in agreement. “It’s a good thing she deserves another chance. Wanna meat pie?”

“How do you know what I was thinking?” Smolder chuckled. “Yes, please!” Soon, Gallus and Smolder joined with the rest, enjoying the meals made by Gimme Moore. Starlight Glimmer then heads toward the restaurant owner.

“So, are we still going with that other plan?”

“Yes,” Starlight confirmed. “Until more carnivores move into Ponyville, we’ll pay you to serve meals here at the school for our students.”

“Alright, that should keep us afloat for a while. I’m going to head back to my place and close up for the night. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

“Then from all of us here, we wish you good luck,” she smiled.

“Thank you,” Gimme said giving her a thumbs up before making her way to the exit of the school. She took a small glance back at the students, seeing them feeling satisfied with the cooking, even some herbivorous students were happy with them as well. She quickly walks off back to her restaurant.

When she got back to her restaurant, Gimme saw Gustave getting ready to leave. “Ah, Chef Gustave,” Gimme sighed, “I’m glad I caught you.”

“Gimme, you’re back. How are the test meals?”

“Selling like hotcakes. They’re loving it. I’m hoping that tomorrow is a success.”

“Just relax, and remember to respect your employees too. Gil is the one who’s wanting to try his hardest, and his attitude is what would be good for our species’ appearance, considering our track record… and other crimes.”

“Actually, that’s what I wanted to ask you. Is that why you wanted to give my place another chance?”

The griffon chef nodded. “Queen Gilda is someone who is looking for changes. And changes include places like this. If you had a system like you did before I stepped in, we’d be in a worse position. Creatures getting sick from food poisoning, or worse, landing you and your employees behind bars.”

“Yeah, that’s not the life of luxury I would think of.”

“Well, I also have to give you credit, because you made a bright idea of having a restaurant serving meat in one of Equestria most known locations. A lot of creatures might move here, and that’s brilliant.” Gimme smiled a little, feeling appreciated. “You need to focus on the details in the long run. As a fellow chef, I wish you good luck. Now then, I shall go back. Tomorrow, I’m bringing a special visitor with me.”

“Special visitor? Who would that be?”

Gustave smirked as he just turned his head to look at Gimme. “Wait and see.” With that, he hurried away to catch the last train to Griffonstone. Gimme would be thinking about this all night as she closed up her restaurant for the special day tomorrow.

Come Dine In

At last, the big day has arrived. It is time for the grand opening of the new diner after countless major and minor mishaps recently. Now it is here! Gimme Moore was getting prepared by helping her employers set up a big light red and white banner reading “Grand Opening.” She went back inside to help with the final touches as several ponies glanced at the banner. They’ve now accepted this place that was going to stay for a while, whether some liked it or not.

Back at the School of Friendship, the new diner, Gimme Some Grub, was the main topic of a conversation. The juniors, who are carnivores, were very thrilled and excited about the grand opening that was going to happen today, even ponies or yaks were glad to see them filled with enthusiasm too, especially for the Young Six.

“Man, I’m excited right now,” Smolder professed.

“Me too,” Ocellus added. “I can’t wait to see the grand opening.”

“Speaking of which, do you think that place will succeed?” Silverstream queried.

“With the way Gustave ripped into her,” Gallus said, “I’m positive that she’s going to make it work.”

“Absolutely. Also, none of our friends that ate the free samples had any health issues,” Ocellus said and Smolder nodded. “So I guess they’ve cleared that problem up.”

“Just wish we could be there to dine,” Silverstream sighed. “Sunny said they’d serve seafood if the place’s successful.”

As if on cue, the school’s P.A. system came on. “Good morning, juniors,” Sunburst announced, “I hope you’re doing fine with your studies. And… for the announcement, I’m happy to declare that we’re going to have a special lunch today as the School of Friendship will be paying for lunches at the newly established diner, Gimme Some Grub. It’ll be open this afternoon, and I hope I can see you all there. Enjoy your day!”

When the system shut off, the students were excited. “Alright! Now, we’re talking,” Gallus smiled. “So, what did you girls have voted for the menu yesterday?”

“I voted for the chicken salad we had last night,” Ocellus responded. “That was a good combination of sweet and savory.”

“I’m still waiting for fish to be added,” Silverstream added.

“You don’t have to rush them for that, you know,” Smolder sassed.

“I’m hoping they have something for vegetarians to eat there,” Sandbar said. “I know we ponies have overreacted, but having something for herbivores would be nice.” Yona nodded.

“I also hope we’ll get to see Peter there,” Gallus noted. “I bet he’s tired of all of that fish he had.” Smolder chuckled.

Meanwhile, on the first train leaving Griffonstone, Gustave le Grand was riding on it together with a couple of others of his kind. They were riding in normal coaches, but the carriage behind the locomotive, where Gustave rested, was different. It’s bigger than the other, and it looked to be made of shiny crystals, like something that would be used for royalty. The other griffons who were at the normal coaches were the ones eager to see and dine at the new diner for themselves. Grandpa Gruff was also there together with two younglings, Gavin and Graff. Some parents of the students were there too.

Gustave le Grand stepped out of the crystal coach and joined the rest of the griffons at the normal one. “So… how is every griffon doing?” he asked.

He looked at Gloria, a female griffon that has a head of a bluejay, and Geena’s single mother. “Doing alright,” she replied. “I’m going to be happy to see Geena again.”

“I’ll be happy to see Grace and Gregoria too,” said Granny Goldie. She was sitting beside Gloria, wanting to take a nap for their long journey.

“Well, good luck to you both. I hope that Gimme has taken my advice,” Gustave admitted.

“Don’t hold your breath,” Grandpa Gruff noted. He was sitting with Gavin and Graff, two fledglings who were getting hungry.

“Patience, young ones, we’ll be in Ponyville eventually.”

“The trip better be worth it,” Gruff complained.

“You decided to come along.”

“Only because these two wanted to have lunch there.” Gavin and Graff both smirked at each other knowing this was half true. Gustave just decided to sit down and read the book he brought with him to help pass the time. The train would take a while to get to Ponyville so everyone on board would have time to anticipate what they would get to eat, especially the VIP.

It was almost lunchtime, and it is time for everyone to get ready. Gimme Moore had summoned a staff meeting before they were all put to work. After the checking of attendance to make sure they were complete, Gimme made her word.

“Okay, is everyone here ready?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the staff confirmed.

“Very well. Remember what Chef le Grand has taught us: wash our claws and talon after handling the meat to prevent the spread of germs; serve meals as quick as you can but not too fast; the quality of ingredients must be excellent that can satisfy the customers’ tongue. I know it’s going to be a big challenge for all of us, but today, we’re gonna be way better than we were before.” She turned away from her staff before taking a deep breath. “Prepare yourselves, I’m going to be out front to see if they arrive.”

“Yes, ma’am!” The staff disburse to their stations while the owner stepped outside to have a look at the red ribbon in front of the entrance, and the customers, they’re not there yet. She stood still and wait for them, but she felt a little concerned that no one would show up. Eventually, she heard a whistle coming from the train station and can see a couple of griffons coming in from the said location. Gustave was ahead of the group and landed in front of Gimme.

“Chef Gustave,” Gimme gasped, “you’re here!”

“Yes, I am,” Gustave smiled. “So, are you ready for your grand opening?”

“Yeah… Hoping it goes well.” She looked at all of the visitors from Griffonstone and recognized a couple of familiar faces. “Umm… Last night, you said that you’d brought a special visitor. Is it here already?”

“Certainly, she’s coming towards you right now.” On cue, a familiar female griff came out of the crowd. It was Queen Gilda who was in her normal attire like an average griffon but without a crown. Beside her is her royal advisor, Greta, who still looked very untrustful to Gimme after being food-poisoned by the stew she ate. Gimme was shocked to see them coming toward her. It would probably be the reason for the red ribbon.

“Uh… Your Majesty.” Gimme bowed. “I… didn’t expect you to be here.”

“Hello there, Miss Gimme Moore. I didn’t think I’d be here opening a restaurant that serves meat in a place that normally doesn’t,” Gilda admitted. “How were you before the opening?”

“Uhh… well…”

“I get it, cases of food poisoning have happened before to the young ones and my royal assistant.” Gimme felt the guilt and fear coming out of her face. “But I’m glad you’ve changed. If it wasn’t for Gustave le Grand there, you wouldn’t be here, since I was the one who require him to do so.” Gimme then looked at him, and he nodded with satisfaction. Gimme was then relieved, knowing that the queen was forgiving. “Looks like we can order some meals for our future meeting in Canterlot some other time.”

They soon saw a crowd starting to form, most of it consisting of the students from the School of Friendship. Gimme took a deep breath as she anticipated what would happen next. “It’s time,” Gimme muttered to herself.

Mayor Mare then stood in front of the crowd to speak up. “Good afternoon, everycreature,” she proclaimed. “Today is the day that this diner here will be having its grand opening, being the first in Equestria, and the first in Ponyville, to serve food only for carnivores. I know that we had a conflict about this new restaurant before, but now that we got them sorted out, such as the ones we’re dealing with later on.” She glanced over at Daisy, Lily Valley, and Carrot Top, who weren’t feeling clever with their original idea. “Before we do, I may now ask Griffonstone’s Queen Gilda to make her statement.”

Mayor Mare moved back and allowed the queen to stepped forward.

“Thank you, Ms. Mare,” Gilda spoke. The queen cleared her throat. “First of all, I genuinely didn’t believe I’d be your monarch at all, nor did I believe that one of my first ceremonies would be announcing the grand opening of a small business here in Ponyville established by one of my beloved citizens of my kingdom. Speaking of small, it’s best to start small, am I right?” A couple of laughs were heard from the crowd. “But in all seriousness, I’m delighted that this town has gotten a business like this, allowing more creatures from all corners than just ponies to live here. Despite the shaky start this place had, I’m glad to see it open for the first time in public. Miss Gimme Moore, you have made a very reasonable decision to raise this business, and if it wasn’t for that, any other species wouldn’t be here like the ones from the School of Friendship, which… they’re here now. Thanks a lot.” She glanced at the school’s students presented and gave them a wink.

With that being said, Gilda moved over to the red ribbon, where a young colt handed over a giant golden pair of scissors. She rejected it, but instead will be using her claws to slash it instead if cutting it. “And now, with great honor,” Queen Gilda declared. “I now declare this new restaurant, Gimme Some Grub, as officially open!” With a giant slash from her claws, cutting through the ribbon, the crowd gave a good cheer.

Gimme Moore then opened the doors to let them in. “Please, come in and enjoy!” Several creatures sat down at the tables, which were soon met by a couple of waiters. They handed out menus and went to get the drinks the customers ordered. In the kitchen, the chefs were preparing themselves for what would be ordered. Gimme walked into the kitchen, ready to help if needed, swapping her cap out for a chef’s hat. “Alright, Gimme,” she murmured to herself, “let’s do this!”

A few moments after drinks were served, the first set of orders started going in. “Alright, chicken pot pie for Table #3,” a chef announced.

“Okay, start preparing the dough, I’ll get the vegetables,” Gimme proclaimed. She headed to the fridge to get the required ingredients, including the chicken, the meat her restaurant had a spotty record with. She decided to cut the vegetables first and then work on the chicken to avoid contamination.

Later, in the dining room, Gustave sat with Gilda and Greta, the latter of which wasn’t feeling too hopeful about this place. “My stomach still feels like it got burnt when I threw up,” Greta moaned.

“Fear not,” Gustave reassured. “I made sure that the staff is ready and will take things seriously.” He looked at all of the tables that had the students and Griffonstone visitors were patiently waiting for their meals while some were being served their drinks. Gustave decided to get up and walk to the kitchen to see if things were improving just as the first set of orders came out.

“Table 3, coming right up!” Gimme cried, ringing the bell. Gil flew up and picked up the order that included the chicken pot pie. He carried it over to Table 3, where Geena and her mother was sitting. Geena was the one who ordered the pot pie.

“Enjoy your meal,” Gil declared.

“Wow, that looks delicious,” Gloria gasped in amazement.

“It does, mom,” Geena said. She grabbed her knife and cut the top open to let the steam out. She then grabbed her fork next and stuck it into the cream filling of the pot pie and blew on it to make it less hot. “It does smell good.” She then ate the meal and chew, which made her eyes wide open.

“So, how does it taste?” Gloria asked.

The smile on Geena’s face told her it must’ve tasted delectable. “Give it a try.” Gloria nodded and stuck her fork to have a bit of her daughter’s meal. After chewing and swallowing, she enjoyed it.

“Ooh! They did a good job. This is delicious!” She turned her attention to her meal as Gustave watched from afar, looking impressed. He looked in the kitchen to see Gimme and her staff hard at work.

“Sir, the kitchen is for…” Gimme stopped when she realized who she was talking to. “Oh, Chef Gustave. Any problems?”

“Nothing that I see so far,” the griffon responded. He heard the bubbly of the fryer, seeing one of the chefs placing some chicken into a basket before placing it into boiling oil. “How many tickets do we have out?”

Gimme looked to the window where they placed food. “This is our 7th meal we’ve cooked. Gia, we need those bacon strips!”

“Almost ready, boss!” the chef named Gia responded. She used the tongs to take the strips of bacon off of the pan.

“I know you’d like to observe what’s happening, but we need to concentrate,” Gimme proclaimed.

“Very well,” Gustave responded, “I’ll just be with the queen until our meals are served.”

“We’ll be with you momentarily.” Gustave left Gimme to her work as the owner was determined to make this business a success.

In the dining room, the creatures that had been served their meals were enjoying their experience. Rusty was sitting with Gale, Moss, Kelpie, and Trud. “So, how long do you think it’ll take for our meal to be ready?” Gale asked.

“Not too sure,” Rusty admitted. “Maybe it depends.”

Moss looked over to Trud and had to get something off his chest. “Trud, I haven’t said this because we were trying to be friends and I didn’t want to offend you much,” the changeling spoke, “But do you just not see?”

“…What?” Trud asked, confused.

“Your eyes have been covered by your hair. How do you see out of it?” Before the yak could answer, a waiter flew up to their table with a pizza, which had sausage and pepperoni on one half and mushrooms and olives on the other.

“Oh boy, our pizza’s here,” Kelpie proclaimed.

“Alright!” Gale cheered. “Can’t wait to try it!” He quickly picked off a slice of the meat pizza while Rusty picked up a slice of the mushroom side. The colt took a bite out of his slice and was enjoying the flavoring.

“Wow! Amazing!” Rusty excalimed. “Kelpie, what do you think?”

The hippogriff ate a little bit of the mushroom and olive pizza. “I like it,” he commented. “Kind of wished they had anchovies.”

“Is that type of fish?” Trud asked.

“Oh, exactly. They’re delicious.” The friends enjoyed their pizza as another family walked in, one that consisted of four pegasi and one small griffon.

Gallus saw them and waved to the young griffon, who was named Peter. The young griffon flew over to Gallus and his parents. “Gallus, hello again,” the father, Bronze Box spoke. “We’ve heard about this place, and we thought it would be an easy way of getting meat for Peter.”

“That’s got to be easier than constantly fishing,” Gallus commented.

“Tell me about it,” Summer Bloom, the mother admitted. “Fish spoils real fast in the freezer. Not to mention spending money on the bait and the chances of not getting fish. We think this will be much easier. Peter, our table is over here.” The young griffon nodded and followed his family over to another table.

Once they ordered their drinks, Gil reported who was now in the restaurant. “We’ve got Cloudsdale’s griffon getting an order,” the waiter reported.

“The adopted fledgling?” Gimme questioned. “Got it. How’s the queen’s order?”

“Three more minutes!” Chef Gia called.

“Alright. Brace yourself for little Peter’s order. He’s one of the first permanent residents in a pony town. He’s gotta have a good first impression.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Gil responded. He returned to Peter’s table with his family’s drinks. “Welcome. What’d you like to order?”

“Um, we’ve noticed there’s a bit of a lack of vegetarian meals,” Bronze Box commented.

“They were at the end of the menu. I apologize for that, we’ve had our menu streamlined recently in order to save cost. We’ve been considering adding more vegetarian options to the menu. I can ask our chefs if they’d exclude the chicken in the salad.

“Thank you, that would be nice. Peter, have you decided on what you wanted?”

“I’ll have chicken nuggets,” he asked Gil.

“Okay, chicken nuggets it is,” Gil responded. He wrote down Peter’s order as well as the rest of his family, making sure to add notes to them so Peter would be the only one getting meat.

When Gil showed this ticket to Gimme, she took a deep breath before she explained the issue. “Okay, chefs,” she called. “No meat for the ponies except for the little griff.”

“Yes, chef,” called the chefs. They had placed a tray of food which was soon being taken over to where Gustave, Greta, and Queen Gilda were sitting. The Queen had ordered a stew, to which her royal adviser wasn’t so confident.

“Gilda, you know I got sick from eating this,” Greta reminded.

“Don’t worry,” Gustave reassured. “Ms. Moore had taste testers tasting her improved food and we haven’t gotten any calls of them being sick.”

“That’s a good sign,” Gilda commented. “It proves that she changed.” She looked at the bowl of stew in front of her and picked up her spoon. She glanced between the two griffons she was sitting with, both of their faces telling her different ideas. Greta was hoping that she wouldn’t eat it while Gustave encouraged her to have a bite.

Gilda took a sigh before she scoops the stew into her spoon and shoved it into her mouth. Gimme was watching from the kitchen, looking at her swallowing her meal. “So, how does it taste?” Greta asked. She was just as nervous as the restaurant owner at this moment.

“To be honest… that’s… the best stew I’ve ever had.” This comment made a smile grow on Gimme’s beak. “All the flavors are there, it’s amazing!”

“Yes!!! And we are golden!” she cheered to herself. She focused her attention back on the rest of the orders, still happy that the queen of Griffonstone enjoyed her meal.

Aside from that, the rest of the lunch rush was uneventful. Just a few slow orders getting out, but it was nothing major. The equipment they used had no budget cuts, so they wouldn’t spill boiling oil on the chefs. Eventually, things calmed down and creatures started leaving after paying their bills.

Soon, the only customers left were Gilda, Greta, and Gustave. The staff began cleaning up the place after lunch as Gustave called Gimme Moore over to their table. “So, how was the service?” the owner asked.

“It was a better improvement than previously,” Gustave commented. “Though let’s be honest, that wasn’t such a hard task.” Gimme snickered a little bit as Greta didn’t find it all that funny.

“In all earnesty, you have proven yourself well,” Gilda commented. “You had great quality, reliable serving times, and… just for a personal opinion, that was a stew to die for, but in a good way.” She looked towards her royal advisor, who felt that they were making jokes at her expense.

“I’m glad I pulled through in the end,” Gimme admitted.

“You should be proud of yourself,” Gustave said. “The fact you stayed up to help clean up this place showed that you cared about this place. And if I’m correct, so did you staff. They seem to have full respect for you.”

“I guess so. I originally thought it was because of their paychecks.”

“You’d be surprised how much a little respect can go,” Gilda noted. “Also… whoever chef made that stew, tell him or her that he or she did a outstanding job.”

“Right. Her name is Gia. I’ll tell her about it. I’m confident that she’ll be happy to hear this.”

“And we’re happy that you managed to get this place turned around. Creatures from around Equestria and beyond are going to be happy to have a place that doesn’t just serve fruits and vegetables. Especially if their diets require it.”

“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed your meal. If you’re planning on eating here again, I’ll be sure to get the red carpet out for you.”

“We’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, Miss Gimme. We hope your business does well in the near future.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” With that, Gilda, Greta, and Gustave made their way to the exit of the restaurant to catch their train home. Gimme smiled at her business impressing royalty as she went to help clean up after the lunch rush.

The news trio watched as Queen Gilda walked back to the train station. “I guess this business is going to stay,” Gus commented.

“It sure does,” Sunshine agreed. “I hope they get seafood soon.”

“Let’s see how they walk first before they run,” Emerald suggested. They were about to head back to school until they noticed Fluttershy looking at the restaurant. “Oh, hey there, Professor Fluttershy. What are you doing here?”

“Just seeing how service went,” the pegasus responded. “How did lunch taste?”

“It’s amazing,” Sunshine answered. “I’m probably going to be eating here again on the weekends.”

“Me too. Plus, I heard they were going to start serving meat at the school,” Gus added.

“Then I hope you enjoy it,” Fluttershy commented. “It’s nice to see you feeling satisfied after the meal.”

“I’m still surprised that you’re okay with this,” Emerald admitted, “despite the love of animals.”

“It’s jarring, but I know it’s for the best for Equestria’s future. If you are happy, I’m happy as well.” Fluttershy smiled.

“Glad to hear. We’ll see you in the next class, Professor.”

“Take care.” Fluttershy waved goodbye to the students who flew back to the school as the mare looked at Gimme Some Grub again. She didn’t like the thought of eating animals, but if it was for a creature’s health, she would allow it. She took a breath and smiled before walking away to let the restaurant run its business.