YOU EAT MEAT?!?, Part one- the parade of costumes
This is set during the events of the story 'Classroom of the future'
"Cheerilee, may I speak to you for a minute?"
Having just finished grading her classes' math tests, the Dream Castle school mare looked up from her desk, to see a blue mare with a yellow and pink mane standing in the classroom doorway.
"Yes, Sky Rocket, what is it?" Putting the stack of papers in her desk, the pink earth pony trotted over to where the pony with the Fireworks cutie mark stood. "What can I do for you?"
The castle's master pyrotechincian, Skyrocket prepared all of the castle's fireworks displays for holidays and special events, as well as all of the gunpowder-loaded defenses built into the palace's walls. Cheerilee had the misfortune of meeting her, when her daughter Sparkle Rocket, one of the classroom's students, tried to light the teacher's tail bow on fire.
"Well, Glory and I were busy planning this year's parade of costumes, and we were just starting to put the guest list together." She stared at Cheerilee with a pair of eerie jewel eyes. "Glory sent me to see if you and a stallion would be attending the event tomorrow night?"
""The Parade of costumes?" Cheerilee cocked an ear, staring at Sky Rocket curiously. "What in the name of Celestia is that?"
"Oh, that's right, you're new to the Castle!" Sky Rocket cleared her throat. "You've heard of the grand Galloping gala, haven't you?"
"Oh yes! The royal ball that used to be held at Canterlot castle!" Cheerilee replied with a sigh. "I used to dream of going when I was a filly!"
"Well... it's kinda like that, but only for Dream Valley!" Sky Rocket whinnied. "Everybody wears costumes, and there's dancing and music!"
"Ohhh, that sounds like a lot of fun!" The earth pony teacher smiled. "And I think I know just the stallion to take..."
"So, I can count on you and a date to be there, then?" Sky Rocket asked hopefully.
"N-e-e-e-e-e-i-i-i-g-g-g-h!" Cheerilee bleated out, before her eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth with her hoof. Rushing back to her desk, she grabbed a bottle of yellow liquid- marked "Translation potion"- and downed a teaspoon of it.
"There, that's better!" The earth pony teacher said with a sigh. "If Glory hadn't given me this serum Zigzag had mixed up, I wouldn't be able to understand anypony here, or vice versa!"
"You're really lucky AJ and Glory both spoke the old Equestrian whinny when they got you out of that book." Sky Rocket replied with a sigh. "You know, you really should learn to speak English, Cheerilee! That way, you won't need that potion anymore!"
"I still can't believe ponykind gave up whinnying to adopt the language of the human settlers!" Cheerilee shook her mane. "In any case, I need to go and start getting ready! If it tomorrow night, I only have a day and a half!"
Cheerilee galloped out the door, leaving a bewildered Sky Rocket what the hay had just happened.
...
"The Parade of costumes?" A surprised Wigwam snorted. "Why in the name of the horsemaster would you want to go to that boring old-"
"I always wanted to go to the grand galloping gala, but I never got a chance to!" The teacher frowned. "This could be my only opportunity to have a best night ever!"
The two were having a milkshake at the Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe, when Cheerilee revealed her unusual request. The tribal pony had no interest in going to the event, but the earth pony teacher seemed not to take no for an answer.
"Look, Cheerilee, the Parade of Costumes just isn't my kind of thing." Wigwam snorted. "I really don't think I'd enjoy it!"
"Oh, I see...." The teacher frowned, and looked down at her milkshake. "I understand."
Looking at her unhappy face, a defeated Wigwam let out a sigh. "All right, I'll escort you to the gala!"
"Horray! Thank you so much, Wiggy!" She hugged him, and galloped away. "I need to go and get buttons to make me a last minute costume!"
As she galloped out the door, several other ponies in the room looked up at Wigwam, who nodded towards all of them.
"All right, she's gone." He sighed. "Go ahead and bring your meat out of hiding!"
At Wigwam's words, several ponies pulled pizzas, cheeseburgers, and fish sandwiches out from beneath their tables. As Wigwam pulled his own barbecue pork sandwich out, a white stallion with a blue mane and fire hose cutie mark trotted up.
"Top ah the mornin to ya, Wigwam!" The big earth pony greeted his friend, taking a seat beside him. "And how are ye on this fine day?"
"Hello, Chief!" The buffalo pony replied with a sigh. "Not bad, I suppose. How are your wife and children doing?"
The head of Dream Valley's fire department, this stallion was always ready with a joke and a smile. Chief was one of the few stallions who could actually call Wigwam friend.
"Begorah! Ye know Wind Whistler, me boy! Always on me back about something or another!" The stallion chuckled in his thick brogue accent. "And the laddies and lasses be fine, as well! Are are things with ye an that fine teacher filly, hm?"
"Eh, not so good, my old friend." Wigwam took a bite of his sandwich. "She's got me taking her to the parade of costumes tomorrow night, and you know what that means!"
"Wigwam, Lad..." Chief shook his mane. "Ye can't hide our little secret here at Dream Valley from her forever!"
"Queen Majesty has instructed the ponies in the castle, to refrain from telling Cheerilee about the fact Dream Valley ponies are omnivorous! We've even ordered the youths in her class to remain silent!" Wigwam snorted. "We have no idea how she will react, so we are withholding that information until the time is right!"
"Well, at least ye won't have anything ta worry about tomorrow night!" Chief whinnied. "With all o' those foreign guests at the ball tomorrow night, there won't be a bit o' meat in sight!"
"Well, that's one thing I can be glad of!" Wigwam snorted, downing the last of his chocolate milkshake.
...
The next evening, Wigwam arrived at Cheerilee's apartment in the castle to escort her to the ball, as he knocked on the door, a pony in costume opened it to greet him.
"So Wigwam..." Cheerilee asked, trotting in a circle to show off her new costume. "How do I look?"
She was clad in a white dress and cap, with a red cross on it- the garb of a nurse.
"You look lovely, miss Cheerilee." Wigwam simply smiled. "You'll be the belle of the ball!"
"Oh, quit teasing me, you!" She snorted, looking him over. "I must say, you do look rather handsome in your feather headdress, though."
"Most ponies from outside the kingdom don't know I actually am a Buffalo pony, so it works as a most effective costume." He offered her a hoof. "Shall we go?"
"I'd love to!" She smiled, taking his hoof.
The two trotted down towards the grand ballroom, where hundreds of ponies were all gathered, all laughing and talking with each other. As she and Wigwam trotted down the red carpeted stairs, the pink earth mare couldn't help but admire the ribbons and lace hanging everywhere, and the many colorful costumes all the ponies were wearing.
"This...this is so wonderful...." She muttered breathlessly.
"Cheerilee! So glad you could make it!" Glory trotted up to her, wearing a witches costume. "So glad you could make it! And great costume, by the way!"
"Thank you, so very much!" Cheerilee replied warmly. "And I'm glad to see you and Fireball here, as well!"
The two mares looked over to the cider table, where Glory's stallion was downing glass after glass, laughing it up with the other boys. The two mare simply shook their manes.
"Boys will be boys!" The white unicorn chuckled.
"Wow, there are so many ponies here!" Cheerilee whinnied, looking around."It's like having an entire town's population in one room."
"Equine dignitaries from every corner of Ponyland!" Wigwam agreed. "We get more visitors here at the ball than any other time of year!"
"Speaking of which..." Glory trotted over to where three chatting mares stood, and got their attention. "Cheerilee, I'd like you to meet Sweet Suds, Red Roses and Sweet Lily. They're from the Perfume Puff clan- the best family of spa ponies in Fort Rainbow Dash!"
"Hello, Miss Cheerilee, it's nice to meet you!" Red Roses, the yellow unicorn with the pink mane, greeted her.
"Hiya, Miss Cheerilee! We've sure heard a lot about you!" Sweet Suds, the pink earth pony with the blue mane, greeted her.
"Indeed! It is an honor to meet de time-lost teacher from Ponyville!" Sweet Lily, the elder pink mare with a white mane, finished. "Our family once came from dat place, as our ancestors severed the Harmony bearers at their spa!"
"A pleasure to meet you three!" Cheerilee shook each of the three's hooves. Looking at their oddly poofy manes, the earth pony teacher suddenly noticed something familiar about these mares, and thier odd accents.
"Don't tell me... their names were Lotus and Aloe, Correct?" Cheerilee replied with a smirk.
The three ponies stared at her, and Blinked. "Why miss Cheerilee? Did you know de two spa mares of Ponyville?"
"I used to visit their spa in Ponyville all the time!" The pink mare nodded. "Oh, the stories I could tell you!"
"Uh, Cheerilee?" Wigwam told her, getting her attention. "I'm going over to the cider table while you four talk, alright?"
"Huh? Oh, go ahead." She told him. "But you be back over later, I want a few dances out of you before the night is through!"
"Looking forward to it." He smiled at her, before trotting off.
The evening went spectacularly, far better than Cheerilee could have imagined. She talked and danced all through the night, despite the fact Wigwam kept stepping on her hooves.
"Sorry, I seem to have four left feet, as the humans say." He whinnied in the middle of a dance.
"You're a pony, you doofus!" She teased him. "You don't have any feet!"
After they had finished their third dance, the pink earth mare went back to chat with her three new friends.
"Whoa, you sure know how to dance out dere, Cheerilee!" Red Roses chortled. "Me date and I weren't nearly so talented!"
"Oh, it was nothing!" An embarrassed teacher replied bashfully. "I just remembered a few moves from my youth is all!"
"So tell me, miss Cheerilee...." Sweet Suds asked coyly. "What dis goin' on wit you an' de Wigwam, huh?"
"Oh, he and I are jest friends, at the moment." She replied, blushing. "It was very nice of him to bring me to the Parade of Costumes, though!"
"Have you tried cooking him a good dish- say, a nice steak, or side a' rib?" Sweet Lily asked. "Dey say de way to a man's heart is trough his stomach, don't ya know?"
"Steak? Rib?" Cheerile's eyes went wide with horror. "B-but that's meat! Dead animals!"
"Dream Valley's Ponies eat meat, don't ya know!" Red Roses replied. "What, did I say somethin wrong?"
"Eat.... meat..." A look of disgust and revulsion crossed her face, and she galloped over to where Wigwam was drinking a glass of punch with his friends.
"Is it true? Do dream Valley ponies eat other animals?!?!" She demanded of him. "Please, please tell me that it isn't true!"
Wigwam spit his punch out when he heard her words. "Well... that is... I really don't..."
"DREAM VALLEY PONIES DO EAT MEAT?!?" Cheerilee went hysterical. "BUTCHERS! BARBARIANS! HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING SO HORRIBLE!?!"
Tears streaming down her face, Cheerilee galloped from the room in a hurry.
"Oh no...." Wigwam sighed, burying his face in his hooves.
"Lad, ye better go after her!" Chief replied with a sigh. "Ye have a lot o' splanin' ta do!"
Continued in part 2!