//------------------------------// // Differences in Diet // Story: Cultural Differences // by Highlord Langslock //------------------------------// Author's Note: This is a series of short stories about ponies and humans learning about each other's unique cultures. There is no overall plot. There will be some humor, but most of the discussions will be treated seriously. Some chapters will discuss sensitive issues such as religion and sexuality. It is not my intention to offend anyone and I'll be trying my best to avoid it, but if I end up doing so anyways, then I apologize in advance. Ever since she met her human counterpart, Princess Twilight Sparkle had been curious about her life. So when she received an invitation to have dinner with Twilight’s family, she was quick to accept. “And this is our family room,” said Twilight as she led the Princess into a large and cozy room with some comfortable looking couches and chairs, a ornate fireplace and a plasma screen TV mounted on the wall. “We use rooms like this for playing and relaxing, but I’m sure you have them in your world.” “We do if the house is big enough,” said Princess Twilight as she looked around. Her gaze fell on a portrait hanging over the mantle. On the left was a motherly woman with light grey skin and long hair alternating between purple and an even lighter grey, wearing a formal dress with three embroidered blue stars. On the right was a man with light blue skin and dark blue hair wearing a suit with a small white waning crescent moon inside a larger yellow waxing crescent moon on the chest. Standing in front of them were younger versions of human Twilight and Shining Armor. All of them were smiling happily. “So those are your parents,” said Princess Twilight. Twilight nodded. “We hung that up in here just after the funeral,” she said. “It helps us feel like they're watching over us.” “I still can’t believe that they’re dead in this world,” Princess Twilight said softly. “I can’t believe that they’re alive in yours’,” said Twilight. She started to twiddle her thumbs. “Do you think…could Shining Armor and I visit them sometime?” she asked shyly. There was a look of desperate hope in her eyes. Princess Twilight had actually been considering that for awhile now. She knew that if she were in the other girl's position, she would want a chance to see her parents again more than anything. Even if they weren’t actually her parents, being able to meet some version of them could provide a bit of closure. She had talked about it with Princess Celestia, and while her mentor thought it was a wonderful idea, she cautioned Twilight to think carefully about the potential consequences before making a decision. Of course, now that her counterpart had actually requested it, Princess Twilight realized that she couldn’t possibly refuse. “Well, I have to talk to them about it, but I’m sure it can be arranged,” she promised. Twilight’s face beamed with happiness. “Girls, dinner’s ready!” Shining Armor’s voice called out. “We’ll be right there Shiny!” Twilight shouted back. She turned back to Princess Twilight. “Come on! You are going to love Cadance’s cooking.” Princess Twilight followed her counterpart through the house into the dining room. Everyone else was already there. The table was set with two big steaming bowls of food in the center. Both Spikes were already seated, bowls of dog food set in front of them. While Puppy Spike was licking his chops eagerly, Dragon Spike, who wore a collar with a dragon shaped tag to distinguish him from his counterpart, looked uncertain. As much as he loved doggie biscuits, he wasn’t all that eager to try other canine foods. Fortunately, Cadance had promised him that he could have human food if he didn’t like it. “I hope you girls are hungry,” said Cadance. “I’ve made my special beef and broccoli.” “Cadance!” Twilight cried indignantly. “What did I do?” asked Cadance, taken aback. “She’s a pony, remember? That means she's a herbivore.” Cadance gasped and slapped her forehead. “Oh, I am so stupid! I’m so sorry, Princess. If you'd like I can pick all of the meat out, or…” Grabbing a fork, Princess Twilight speared a piece of beef out of the bowl and stuck it in her mouth. While everyone watched in surprise, she chewed the meat carefully, savoring its taste, and then swallowed. “This is delicious!” she exclaimed. “The Cadance in my world can't cook like this.” “Why, thank you,” said Cadance. “So Equestrian ponies eat meat?” asked Twilight. “I’m so sorry, I just assumed…” “It’s okay, you’re not wrong actually,” Princess Twilight assured her. “I only eat meat when I’m in this world, and while the average Equestrian’s diet is very similar to a human’s, it's mostly plant based, save for the inclusion of eggs and dairy. We actually use hay to make a lot of the same products you make out of meat—hay bacon, hay burgers, and hay dogs, just to name a few.” “So hay is basically tofu in your world,” said Shining Armor. “What’s tofu?” asked Princess Twilight. “It’s a vegetarian food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the curds,” Cadance explained. “It’s then often shaped and flavored to imitate meat.” “That sounds…kind of disgusting actually,” said Princess Twilight, grimacing. “It really is,” Shining Armor agreed. “Well of course it is, if you’re a barbarian who doesn’t care about his own health,” Cadance replied snidely. “So how did you start eating meat anyways?” asked Twilight. “It’s kind of a funny story actually,” said Princess Twilight. “When I first came to this world, I didn’t know a single thing about humans, let alone what they ate. I had never even seen meat before, so for awhile I thought that the stuff I was eating was just some sort of plant or root that only grew in this world. Then, just before the Fall Formal, Applejack treated us all to some fried chicken wings. I figured out the truth pretty quickly after that.” “How did you react?” asked Twilight. “Well, once the initial shock wore off, I was perfectly fine. I even helped myself to an extra chicken wing just because they were that good.” Twilight blinked in surprise. “Really? Your culture doesn’t have any sort of taboo against eating meat?” “Not so much nowadays, but in older times, Equestria did have a strong stigma against it,” said Princess Twilight. “Unfortunately, a couple of our neighbors—such as the griffons and the Diamond Dogs—are meat eaters, and there is even a sort of “sub-species” of pony called thestrals living right in Equestria who are omnivores. In the old days, a lot of conflicts were started over the matter thanks to bigoted ponies, but nowadays we’re taught to be tolerant of meat-eaters, which is probably what helped me deal with it myself. The fact that none of the animals in this world are sapient doesn’t hurt either.” “Animals are sapient in your world?” Twilight inquired. “Only a very small percentage of them,” said Princess Twilight. “About one-tenth of any given species, I think.” “Can they talk like Spike can?” “I am not an animal!” Dragon Spike growled. “Settle down Spike, she didn’t mean anything by it,” Princess Twilight said gently. “As I told you before, Spike is actually a dragon, and while their civilization is so primitive by our standards that a lot of ponies mistake them for animals, they are in fact a wholly sapient race. Sapient animals have all the higher brain functions we do, but not the ability to speak our language. While eating regular animals is perfectly acceptable, eating a sapient animal makes you a monster, even in a carnivore’s society.” “It all sounds really complicated,” said Shining Armor. “It kind of is,” admitted Princess Twilight. “How are sapient animals produced in your world?” Twilight asked eagerly. “Is it genetic? Does at least one parent have to be sapient? Do two sapient parents increase the odds? Or is it an effect of their environment?” “I’m sure the Princess can tell us all about it while we eat, which we should probably start doing before the food gets cold,” said Cadance. Everyone sat down and passed the dishes around, loading up their plates with savory beef and broccoli while scooping rice into smaller side dishes. “So Princess, do you like meat?” asked Shining Armor. Princess Twilight’s fork froze halfway to her mouth. “It’s okay,” she said hesitantly. Spike snorted. “Ask her what she ate the first time she was here.” Princess Twilight chuckled nervously. “Now Spike, I’m sure they’re not interested in…” “What did you eat, Princess?” Shining Armor asked. Princess Twilight sighed, and then took a deep breath. “Some bacon, some sausages, some breakfast ham, a cheeseburger, a double cheeseburger, a bacon cheeseburger, two hot dogs, a chicken patty, a four-meat pizza, a turkey sandwich, some spaghetti and meatballs, a roast beef sandwich with gravy, some bratwurst, three beef tacos, three beef burritos, a T-bone steak, some roast duck, some sweet-and-sour chicken, some Mongolian beef, some barbecue ribs, some chicken tenders, and some bologna, although I’m not entirely sure that last one was actually meat. Three jaws dropped with audible clunks, while Dragon Spike just giggled. Puppy Spike, meanwhile, was staring at Princess Twilight with something akin to awe. “All those poor farm animals,” Shining Armor muttered. “Have you checked your cholesterol lately?” asked Cadande. “I thought you only stayed two days in this world,” said Twilight. “I know, but it was all just so GOOD!” cried Princess Twilight, throwing her hands up in the air. Grabbing her fork, she shoved more meat into her mouth, moaning in delight.