//------------------------------// // Come Dine In // Story: Gimme Some Grub // by PonyPixel //------------------------------// 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.