You look at Moondancer with amusement. She pouts and looks down at the small basket filled with taiyaki, a single one missing a bite-sized piece.
"Well? How was it?"
"Sh-shut up."
"I tried to warn ya."
"Well can you blame me for being excited?!"
Moondancer makes a show of throwing the basket into the trash and looking away from you, the adorable pout never leaving her face. Meanwhile, the stallion standing behind the taiyaki stand (which was apparently set up by class 1-C) visibly takes offense.
"Why don't we find something else to do? Something that doesn't involve mush-food?"
"Sure, though we'd better get a move on. Not only are we on the clock, this is a pretty big school. Also, darn near every single stall I saw on the way in was a food stall."
"Let's try a different floor, then."
You share a nod before heading to a nearby staircase. It's difficult to navigate the halls, what with all of the stuff and the sheer number of visitors, but you eventually manage to make it up to the second floor.
"You know, just once I'd like to see a high school where the second floor is for the third years."
"I imagine that would get confusing for the readers. It's intuitive to have the grades match up with the floor they're on."
"It might be intuitive, but it's not very original."
"Originality might be nice, but tropes are tropes for a reason. They work. No need to break away from the norm if it makes things harder on the reader."
"Perhaps. I just like seeing something different every once in a while, you know? I mean, come on. Look at this." You pat a stallion walking past you, and he doesn't even register it. You do the same for a mare walking behind him, and she too doesn't react. Another stallion, this one being one of the "classmates" of yours from earlier, starts to walk by. You give him a hearty smack on the back, and he doesn't even look in your direction. "Nopony here besides us matters. They're no different than set dressing until it's time for the plot to make them relevant for the sake of a joke."
"What, do you expect every single background character to have an in-depth backstory?"
"That's how real life works."
"And this isn't real life. Do you know the names and backstories of every single pony in Ponyville?"
"...I refuse to answer that."
Cough.
"Anyway, as riveting as this discussion is, I'm not seeing much more up here beyond food either."
"That is usually how it goes in manga, isn't it? The food is usually a big draw. There might be a montage of some other stuff, but usually the only other major plot point to happen during the cultural festival is the part where-"
"Ah, Anon! There you are!"
"H-huh?"
You find yourself getting interrupted by a short mare wearing what seems to be a French maid outfit.
"It's almost time for your shift! Come on!"
The mare grabs you and starts to pull with much more strength than she appears to be capable of. The next thing you know, you've been yanked into Class 2-A. The whole room appears to be this class's designated space instead of having a stall outside. Somehow, despite the fact that it's a classroom, it seems to have been completely transformed into a dining space. Several small tables are set up around the room, and about a third of the room in the back is screened off. The walls have been covered in posters and iconography of mares dressed up as maids, many of which are clumsily serving food.
...Oh. Oh dear.
"Wh-what exactly do you mean by 'my shift?'"
"Everypony in 2-A has to participate, Anon! That includes you! And since you didn't want to help out the other stallions with setting up the classroom last night, you get to be one of the servers!"
"But we're the only ones here."
"Yeah, and my shift is up! So get changed!"
Your "classmate" produces a small bundle of black-and-white clothing from seemingly nowhere and throws it at you before forcefully shoving you behind the screened-off section of the room. You sigh as you look at the bundle in your arms.
You're not getting out of this, are you?
A few minutes later, you step out from behind the screen. Your classmate has already left, but that doesn't mean you're alone in here. In fact, it's quite the opposite. While mere minutes ago this room was empty in terms of visitors, now every single table is filled with ponies waiting impatiently for their waiter. Which... you suppose is you.
You look down at yourself. As demeaning as it is to be dressed as a maid, at least they had the courtesy to give you one made for your human body. You can feel your face becoming more and more flushed as all eyes in the room turn to you, a few small giggles and snickers audible in the otherwise quiet room. With a sigh, you grab some menus from a nearby stack and begin visiting the tables one by one. Some ponies order drinks and the sort, but thankfully, all you have to offer is tasteless tap water, so it's easy to remember what they want.
Finally, you reach the last table. It's a smaller table, and a single mare sits there all on her own. Moondancer does her utmost to contain her laughter, but she is having a very difficult time doing that.
"You know what, Nonny? Getting stuck in this manga was worth it for this moment alone!"
"..."
"I mean seriously, look at you! They didn't even bother to give you a butler's outfit or anything! Haha!"
There are tears in her eyes now as she lightly stomps her hooves on the floor below in delight. You just stare at her, doing your best to retain what little pride you have left.
"Can I take your order?" You slide her a menu as you ask your question through gritted teeth.
"Ahahaha, haaaaaaa... alright, let's see what you've got here."
Moondancer looks down at the menu. Apart from the complete lack of beverages, there are a few different food options available. They are, of course, all microwavable behind that screen over there, but it's technically food nonetheless. Besides, the food isn't really the draw of this place, is it?
You are.
"I think I'll have the takoyaki."
"Sure, I'll go get that for you."
You begin to turn around, but you're stopped in place by Moondancer's magic.
"Bup bup bup! That's not how a maid is supposed to respond to their master~!"
You turn back to look at Moondancer. She visibly winces when she sees the expression on your face.
"...I'll go get your takoyaki." Your turn around completely, not backing down from Moondancer's gaze as you look her directly in the eyes. If looks could kill, she'd probably die. "Master."
Your voice is cold. Moondancer breaks eye contact first, a cold sweat starting to appear on her brow... and a slight redness starting to appear on her cheeks, for some reason? You take that as your queue to retreat behind the screen. You didn't even bother taking anypony else's orders. After all, they aren't real, and you doubt they're important to the plot that you're oh-so-desperate to wrap up, both because you need to escape from the enchantment and because you want to take this ridiculous getup off.
You find a frozen pack of takoyaki and unenthusiastically pop it into the microwave. As you do so, you notice that there is a limited assortment of other ingredients next to the microwave. You aren't really one for mischief, but you start to get an idea.
A few minutes later, the microwave dings. You remove the takoyaki and get to work. After a few moments, you feel satisfied with what you've made. You step out from behind the screen and start to make your way towards Moondancer's table. Some other patrons start to object, but you ignore them completely.
When you arrive at the table, Moondancer looks up at you with excitement. You give her an ominous smile.
"Here is your takoyaki, master. I worked really hard on it, so I hope I didn't mess anything up."
You place the finely decorated food in front of Moondancer, who seems shocked at your demeanor. However, this shock quickly changes focus, as she is thrown through a loop by how appetizing you ended up making her microwaved meal look.
"Wow, this actually looks delicious!"
"Nothing less than perfection for my master."
"...You're starting to creep me out, not gonna lie. Still, it'd be a waste to not try out the fruits of your labor!"
With a smile, Moondancer excitedly grabs a piece of takoyaki and bites into it.
She promptly spits it out onto the floor, causing you to erupt in boisterous laughter.
"I can't believe you fell for that!"
Moondancer blushes once again in embarrassment.
"How do I keep forgetting?!"
"Probably because I did everything in my power to make you forget that it's not real food!" As you laugh, you confidently turn around and dip behind the screen one more time. When you reemerge a little while later, you're back in your normal outfit. "Now come on, I think we're done here."
"Ugh, fiiiiiine."
With that, the two of you depart from the classroom. However, you're both caught completely off guard by what awaits you outside. No longer is there a cultural festival going on around you. No longer is the air filled with interesting smells or the sound of laughter. No longer are you even inside of Ponetsu High School. No, instead, you seem to have emerged into the open air of a small mountain village.
Snow gently begins to fall onto the two of you, and you're immediately hit by an intense, frigid wind. It seems kind of unfair that the food doesn't taste real but the uncomfortable weather gets to feel real, but you digress. The sun has already set, and the moon hangs brightly in the sky above you. Mountains surround you on all sides, and although there are a few small houses darted around here and there, the main draw of this setting is obviously the long, single-story building directly in front of you. A quick glance to your right reveals a well-maintained sign that's only somewhat obscured by the snow.
Pokkaido Inn - Hot Springs Available
"...Ah," the two of you say in unison. "The hot springs arc."
You share a glance before turning back towards the building.
"As much as I would like to argue," you mumble, "it's really freaking cold out here."
"Agreed. These arcs tend to bore the heck out of me, but if we have to do it, we have to do it. If I had to guess, I'd say we have maybe an hour until the end of the Princess Procession."
"Yeah, let's get a move on." The two of you begin to quickly make your way towards the building, doing your best to hide how uncomfortable the cold is making you. "Though I'll admit, I've always wanted to visit a hot spring."
"Same here. Hopefully we'll actually be able to feel the not-real water."
With a mixture of time-limit-induced anxiety and hot-spring-fueled excitement, you and your marefriend prepare yourselves for the next leg of this strange, rushed journey.