A number of years after the success of Food Avenue Express, a young stallion was ordering food at the original Food Avenue Express in Ponyville, when he asked a question of one of the cashiers.
"I was wondering something. I know that on top of this restaurant is a small apartment where the Founder, Mr. Scar Fox used to live while Food Avenue Express was still getting off the ground, but he moved out of that apartment a long time ago, so why's there a lamp in the window that's sometimes on, like it is now?"
The cashier, a mare named Mint Jubilee, smiled at him.
"Ah, that is a very good question, Young Colt. You see, that lamp has a very special meaning when its on. Even after Mr. Fox moved out of that apartment, he ordered the staff here to keep the apartment clean, as he planned to return to it every now and again. And he also gave us permission to allow people and Ponies to see the apartment, as it was now something historical, though he still wanted to keep it safe, hence the Plexiglas barriers that allow guests to walk through the apartment, but not touch anything. But I digress.
Every now and again, Mr. Fox will take a tour around Equestria, and beyond, visiting all of his Food Avenue Express Restaurants, and sometimes he'll stay for a few days in a town or city that has more than one Food Avenue Express Restaurant, and when that happens here in Ponyville, he'll stay in his old apartment on top of this restaurant. And when he does, he'll turn that lamp in the window on to let everypony know that he's in-residence, and returning to his old roots."
The young stallion, Black Sheen, thought about this. "That's really cool that he'll still stay here every now and again. It reminds me of a story that I heard about a theme park back on Earth called 'Disneyland' where the founder, Walt Disney, had an apartment on top of the Disneyland Firehouse, and he too would turn a lamp in the window on to let everyone know that he was staying there, and after his death, the staff kept that lamp on in his memory. Is that what inspired Mr. Fox to do the same?"
Mint Jubilee nodded. "It's believed so, yes. Mr. Fox drew a lot of inspiration from Walt Disney for making his dream of bringing back the Food Avenue Express, and its believed that he did the same lamp in the window that Walt Disney did to show that he's in-house."
"So that means that Mr. Fox is up in his apartment right now?"
"Oh yes. Mr. Fox and his wife Kaylee arrived in Ponyville earlier today, and will be meeting with patrons at the 3 Ponyville locations over the next few days. They decided to stay in Mr. Fox's old apartment like they often do, and upon their arrival, Mr. Fox switched on the lamp upstairs to show that he was in-house, and that the apartment was now off-limits to guests, and the Plexiglas barriers were going down for a while."
Black Sheen looked up at the ceiling, and actually heard a few noises indicating that someone was walking around in the apartment. "It's still amazing what Mr. Fox was able to do. He started with a dream, and that dream became a single restaurant, which became a few more, which eventually began to snowball into the Food Avenue Express Empire it is today, 35 years after this first location opened, still the 3rd largest fast food empire in Equestria, and still very popular back on Earth in America where more Food Avenue Express's have since opened."
Mint Jubilee smiled. "Well, as Mr. Fox likes to say, 'Everything starts with a dream, or an idea. I was inspired by my dream of bringing back my childhood nostalgia, just as Walt Disney was inspired by his dream of bringing joy and entertainment to millions of people. He started with just a pencil and a piece of paper, and I started with the contents of a Target Cafe that I bought from the closing sale of the Target in my hometown. And slowly our dreams grew, with great care and nurturing, into the vast empires that they are today. As Walt Disney once said, "If you can dream it, you can do it", and with Food Avenue Express, I proved that this is more than just a statement.' He's truly been an inspiration for 2 generations of dreamers now, and even after he's passed on, whenever that will be, I know that he'll continue to be an inspiration for many more generations to come."
"Well, he certainly inspired me. His talks about pursuing personal dreams inspired me to pursue my dream of opening my own guitar store, and now 5 years later, it's doing quite well."
"Wow, that's really great, Black Sheen."
"Yeah, it is."
Moments later, Black Sheen's food was ready, and he took it, after thinking Mint Jubilee for her information she gave him, and then went over to an empty table, and sat down to eat. He was very thankful for Scar Fox, and his inspiring him to fulfill his own dream, and that he still returned to Ponyville every now and again to check up on things.
"And I also thank him for making the best comfort food around."
Black Sheen then went back to his food, while all around him, various other customers enjoyed their food too
THE END