//------------------------------// // An Acquired Taste // Story: The Ties that Bind // by the7Saviors //------------------------------// Twilight was in absolute awe. She had seen some of the town from the window, but trotting down the streets, surrounded by all the ponies and other races she had never seen was an entirely different experience altogether. Upon the lavender filly's request for food, Ancient Scroll had suggested they head outside and sample some of the exotic foods from the various stalls lining the roads. Everypony else had whole-heartedly agreed and with a cheerful goodbye and one last thank you to Rouge, Twilight now found herself surrounded by sights, sounds, and smells that baffled and intrigued her. Many of the citizens and visitors wore odd clothing Twilight had never seen before, but she could tell from the bright and flamboyant colors and whimsical design that they were most likely worn in honor of the festival itself. Her ears swiveled this way and that as she tried to pick apart the various songs that were playing throughout the village -- many of them strange and foreign to the slightly overwhelmed filly, but no less pleasant. Any lingering sadness she had been feeling was slowly starting to ebb as Twilight took in her surroundings -- not to mention the growing hunger she was feeling from the several delicious smells assaulting her nostrils. "So what do you think, Twilight?" Sunset asked, nudging the filly in the shoulder, "pretty crazy right?" Twilight nodded absently her head swiveled about, trying to take everything in at once. "It's incredible..." she muttered, "this town is a far cry from any other place I've visited in Equestria..." "I've no doubt, little filly," Ancient Scroll added as he eyed one of the food stalls, "I don't think you'll see a more culturally diverse town in all of Equestria." He motioned for the fillies to follow him to one particular food stall run by a large female griffon in a strange black chef's hat. "The fact that it's right on the border of Equestria, coupled with centuries of trade and tourism, made this town what it is today," he explained, "you meet all sorts of interesting creatures out here -- each one with their own stories to tell." "You sound like you really like this place, Uncle Scroll," Twilight observed. Ancient Scroll nodded with a small smile. "That I do, little filly," he answered, "one of the reasons I decided to settle down where I did." "But if you like it so much, why not just live in the town?" Sunset asked with a bemused tilt of her head. "Ah well," Ancient Scroll replied with a chuckle, "I like my solitude a little too much to actually move here, but I do like to visit from time to time, and there's a good market for cartographers like myself to sell their maps here." Twilight nodded in understanding before turning to Trixie with a raised eyebrow. "Trixie?" The blue filly jumped slightly and whipped her head around to face Twilight. "Huh?" Trixie answered distractedly, "did you say something, Twilight Sparkle?" "Well I just noticed you've been pretty quiet," Twilight replied with a frown, "is everything okay?" "She's also been pretty jumpy too," Sunset added looking over to Trixie with her own worried frown, "what's up, Trixie?" "T-Trixie has no idea what you two are t-talking about," the clearly nervous blue filly stammered, "she's... perfectly f-fine." Ancient Scroll stopped in front of the food stall and bent down to put a reassuring hoof on Trixie's head. "It's alright to be nervous, Trixie," he said softly, "from what you've told us about your life, you've hardly ever been around other ponies let alone all these new creatures you've never seen before." He rubbed her head before rising once more, "I know it might be a nerve-wracking experience for you right now, but just give it some time and you'll get used to it, trust me, little filly." Twilight and Sunset exchange sad, knowing looks before looking back to Trixie. The blue filly visibly swallowed and gave a small nod. "There you go," Ancient Scroll said with a kind smile before turning to the griffon chef leaning on the counter of the stall with a knowing smirk. "Sorry about that, Dahlia," Ancient Scroll said with a sheepish smile, "been saddled with the task of taking care of these three since you and I last met and this is their first time in the village -- well first time for two of them technically." The large black and brown griffon eyed the three fillies with some interest before letting out a deep chuckle and turning back to the old stallion with a friendly grin. "Well I've gotta say, Scroll," the griffon said in a rather gruff voice, "I wasn't expecting ya to take in anymore kids, but now I see you've got three of em'." Twilight furrowed her brow in confusion and turned to Ancient Scroll. "Anymore?" she asked, "what's she talking about, Uncle Scroll?" Ancient Scroll shot the bemused grffon a look before giving a resigned sigh. "Ask Sunset for the details if you want, little filly," he said with a shake of his head, "don't quite feel up to talking about it myself at the moment." Twilight and Trixie turned to the orange filly in question and Sunset looked to Ancient Scroll before shaking her head. "I'll tell you girls later." The two confused fillies looked at each other before giving a shrug. They let the matter drop for now, choosing to focus on the griffon before them. "Ah, geez, sorry about that, Scroll," Dahlia said, rubbing the back of her neck with an apologetic frown, "shoulda realized that woulda been a sore subject." "It's fine, Dollie," Ancient Scroll said with a dismissive wave of her hoof, "it's all in the past now. Setting that aside though," he smirked an turned a mischievous eye towards the three fillies, "we came here to get the girls something to eat, and I figured this would be a good chance for them to get a taste of some traditional griffon style cuisine." The three fillies looked between each other nervously before Twilight and Sunset's eyes widened in horrified realization. "Uncle Scroll," Twilight said incredulously, "you can't seriously be talking about... I mean that's just... what?" Trixie looked between Twilight and Sunset with a confused frown. "What?" she asked, "What's the big deal?" "Trixie," Sunset explained -- her face turning a slight shade of green, "the primary diet of a griffon consists of meat." "Trixie is aware," the blue filly said with a bemused raise of her brow, "but she still doesn't see the big deal." The other two fillies stared at Trixie. "...What?" Trixie cried. "Trixie," Sunset asked tentatively, "have you... eaten meat before?" "Trixie's eaten meat, yes," the blue replied casually, "fa... Luciano brought one of his griffon friends over once and they made Trixie eat something the griffon called a 'medium rare steak'." Trixie stared off in a random direction -- her gaze turning wistful. "I hadn't eaten anything in two days and that was the first thing Luciano and the griffon gave me to eat. I still don't understand why they found it so funny -- it was one of the most delicious things I had ever eaten back then." She turned and swept her eyes across some of the other stalls somewhat hungrily. "Actually, Trixie thinks she can smell some of that 'medium rare steak' right now. Can we--" She turned back to see everypony wearing horrified looks and blinked. "Um... did Trixie say something wrong?" she asked worriedly. After a moment, Ancient Scroll shook his head and gave the blue filly a sad smile. "No, filly," he replied, "you didn't say anything wrong -- just surprised us, that's all." Dahlia furrowed her brow in anger. "What kind of clucked up son of a--" "Don't worry about it, Dahlia," the old stallion interjected, "it's clear Trixie knows what to expect -- though I wish she had experienced it under... better circumstances." He turned to Twilight and Sunset with a reassuring smile. "Despite, Trixie's... situation," he grimaced momentarily before putting on another smile, "she has a point regarding meat." "But Uncle Scroll," Twilight argued turning to the stallion, "ponies aren't supposed to eat meat! My mom said it could kill us!" "What?!" Trixie cried recoiling in shock. "Yeah," Sunset added, "not to mention that a majority of animals in Equestria are at least somewhat sapient," she shook her head, "it's just wrong on every level." "I-It is?" Trixie whimpered, "I... I didn't..." "Now, now, calm yourself, little filly," Ancient Scroll said leaning down to give the crying blue filly a hug. He and Dahlia looked to each and Ancient Scroll nodded before turning to the other two fillies with a sigh. "I'm sorry, girls," he said with an apologetic smile, "you'll have to forgive an old stallion. I forget that you fillies haven't experienced the world like I have. The thing you have to understand, and I'm sure you're parents didn't want you to know this, but ponies actually can and do eat meat." "What?" "Seriously?" "R-Really?" Ancient Scroll nodded to each of them. "It's not very common -- and too much of it is very detrimental to a pony's health -- but it's possible to ingest meat and some ponies -- like myself even find it palatable, thought it might be a bit of an acquired taste for some." "And besides," Dahila added with a small smile, "the animals in Equestria are unique. Most critters outside of this country don't behave the same way, and the only thing guiding them is pure instinct." The griffon walked over to and behind a large black curtain behind the stand as she spoke. "Your Princess forbade the hunt of any sapient creatures by other sapients ages ago, so all meat served in Equestria is imported. I brought the meat I use from a city in the Griffonian Kingdom myself." Twilight and Sunset sat on their haunches, contemplating what they had just been told. Trixie sniffed and stepped away from Ancient Scroll as she wiped her eyes. "S-So..." she looked at the stallion hopefully, "Trixie's not some kind of freak?" Ancient Scroll shook his head and patted her on the shoulder. "Not even close, Trixie," he said with a small chuckle, "you and I just have just... expanded our horizons when it comes to food, that's all." Trixie smiled and turned to where the griffon was. "What are you doing back there anyway?" "I'm a chef," the griffon called back, "what do you think I'm doing?" Trixie and the others turned to Ancient Scroll for an explanation. "While it's perfectly okay to eat meat in moderation, it's still frowned upon in Equestria," Ancient Scroll explained, "even here in the village, there's still some ponies and other herbivore races who find it distasteful, so the griffons and other meat eating races do all their cooking behind those curtains so as not to offend." The three 'oh'd' in realization. "So what do you think, girls?" Ancient Scroll asked, straightening up, "you willing to give it a try?" "I... I'm gonna pass this time," Sunset replied uncomfortably, "maybe at some point in the future when I've had more time to think about it, but not right now." "Fair enough," Ancient Scroll responded with a nod, "as I said, it's not for everypony and I'm sure many wouldn't be on board," he turned to Twilight with a raised eyebrow, "what about you, little filly?" Twilight chewed on her lip for a moment in indecision. She glanced at the black curtain where she could see the smoke now rising from behind it. She inhaled the scent wafting overhead and swallowed -- finding the smell not unpleasant. Giving in to her curiosity, she turned back to Ancient Scroll. "I think... I'll give it a try," she said with a hesitant nod. Ancient Scroll smiled and turned to Trixie. "And I'm sure you've already decided?" Trixie nodded absently, not having taken her eyes off the black curtain. The four ponies sat at the stand patiently for another few minutes as the griffon cooked -- the smell of grilled something becoming more potent by the second. Twilight's stomach growled and she found herself inhaling through her nostrils much more deeply without realizing it. Trixie was practically shivering with anticipation, and even Sunset looked a bit interested, though she still kept her distance. After a moment, the griffon stepped out from behind the curtain holding a large tray. "Alright," Dahlia exclaimed, "for those of you feelin' a bit more carnivorous today, I got your fix right here," she set the tray down on the stand counter, "Lamkyck Kebabs with green peppers, onions, and olives." Ancient Scroll levitated one of the kebabs down to Twilight and Trixie. Twilight didn't know what the meat consisted of and turned to the griffon with an inquisitive frown. Dahlia chuckled and gave the lavender filly a smirk. "Do you really wanna know, kid?" Twilight was about to answer yes, when she turned to Sunset who was shifting nervously. "Please don't, Twilight," Sunset pleaded, "I really don't want to know." Twilight then turned to Trixie who was already almost done with her first kebab and reaching out to the tray with her magic for another. She turned back to her own kebab and gave it another curious sniff before biting into it. "Well?" Ancient Scroll asked after a few moments, polishing off his own kebab, "how is it?" Twilight didn't answer for a moment, instead adjusting to the wildly unfamiliar taste on her tongue. "I... don't know," she said swallowing and taking another bite, "I don't have a frame of reference for the taste since I've never eaten meat before, but..." She took in the soft consistency of the meat and the spiciness of the green pepper and found that, while she couldn't really place the taste at all, she enjoyed it... immensely. "It's good," she decided, finishing the kebab and grabbing another, "really good!" Dahlia nodded with a self-satisfied smirk. "Of course it is, little lady," she gloated, "I just might be the only griffon in town who can turn a pony into a carnivore with her cookin'." Ancient Scroll chuckled and yanked a third kekbab away from Trixie just as she was about to take a bite. "Hey!" Trixie whined "Trixie wasn't done with that!" "Sorry, filly," the old stallion said putting it back on the tray, "I think that's enough for now. Remember, too much meat isn't good for a pony and we don't want you getting sick do we?" "Trixie supposes that's fair," the blue filly said with a pout, "she's still hungry though." "Not me," Sunset replied eyeing a Twilight with a grimace as the lavender filly devoured her second kebab, "I don't think my appetite survived this experience." "Well, then," Ancient announced with a crack of his neck, "I believe we'd best be moving on then," he turned and gave the griffon a nod, "it was good to see you again, Dollie." Dahlia nodded in turned. "Don't be a stranger, Scroll," she replied with a wave, "come back into town sometime and we'll see about getting these fillies somethin' with a bit more bite." Ancient Scroll chuckled and led the fillies away from the stand. Twilight waved back to the grffon and turned to Sunset with a contented smile. "I think you should've tried at least one, Sunset," she said to the orange filly, "they really were amazing." "Trixie agrees," the blue filly added trotting next to the other two, "that was way better than the 'steak' Trixie had before." "Yeeaahh... no," Sunset answered with a small shake of her head, "I think I'll stick to a strictly herbivore diet for the time being." Twilight looked to Trixie and they both shrugged. "Suit yourself."