//------------------------------// // That Bites // Story: Gimme Some Grub // by PonyPixel //------------------------------// 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.