Twilight Time
As Sam pushed open the doors to the restaurant, holding them for the three young fillies to follow him in soon afterward, he could already hear a tirade coming from the counter.
"Look, I think I have a right to know what's in these burgers!"
"...Sir, our restaurant is called Hayburgers. Our burgers are made of hay."
"Alright, then let me go behind the counter and see this alleged 'hay' that you have piled up back there. Perhaps you have a little man spinning it into beef, hmm?"
Sam sighed as he looked away from it and to a nearby table. "Carl, keep it down. I'm teaching a lesson today." He soon walked over and sat down in a chair. "Girls, have a seat. I know you just 'learned your lesson' from the princess, but I think you missed one that you still have to know about."
In response, the three girls slowly, and a bit uncertainly and uneasily, took their seats around the table. Once they were all situated, Sam leaned forward, crossed his hooves, tried to ignore Carl yelling about the "special sauce" formula, and then faced them. Afterward, he pointed to the counter.
"If you would be so kind as to ignore that green, ranting, raving stallion...look down and see that guy on the end. You see him? The one bagging Hayburgers and Horseshoestring fries into bags?"
The girls looked over to him, and soon nodded. "Uh...yeah..."
"That, dear fillies, is the lowliest position in Equestrian society. Even lower and more underpayed and overworked than janitors. It's called a 'Sch-Bag', and their job is simply to bag up food and ship it out. Boring, repetative, and unrewarding. But everypony has to do it. Unless you come from some rich and privileged background where things are 'handed to you', that's all anypony can do if they want to make their own bits. Now...look up at that line of employee-of-the-months on the wall. See how one photo is missing?
"Once, there was a worker here named Deuce Wild. He got his start doing that same job. And he was the best at it. He always smiled. He put in a touch of flair and got out the orders quickly. One might even say he managed to make a real art form or profession out of his job. And all of his peers loved him because they knew they could always count on him, and that he could always make them laugh or put a smile on their faces. In fact, the only ponies who didn't like him were the junior managers. And that was because they had never gotten anywhere in their own lives based on their own talent or merit or character. They got everything "passed down" to them without having to work for it or needing to impress people or make connecions, and they considered it a pain and a nightmare to have to work 'so hard' for where they were. And since they knew no one would ever like them enough to promote them or hang out with them otherwise, they began to boast of their own status while pooh-poohing everypony else. In a demented way, they figured if they made everyone else unhappier than them, that they would "still win". And so, they constantly put everypony down, bragged about how much better they were than everypony else, and made everypony's lives a living hell, always looking for new reasons to insult and hate ponies, no matter how deep it cut or how painful it was.
"Yet one day, his popularity grew so much that even those managers who tormented him wanted to work with him. They actually admired his attitude, his way to command the attention of people, and, most importantly, his ability to make money. Yet they never changed in regard to anyone else with him, whether it be his parents or friends, just as hateful and snobbish as ever. Eventually, the time came for Deuce to be offered a higher position. He had said when he started that he was perfectly fine working the service counter...but he had obviously changed. He ended up abandoning not only the position he loved, but he catered straight to the managers, all because they had more wealth and clout in the work environment, and he saw that as a key to allowing himself to get rich...and even eventually more famous. He abandoned his own friends and paired with the same snide, cruel individuals.
"He did well too. Eventually he went all the way to president. Made a lot of bits...more than any other president in Hayburgers history. But as you can see...his image is gone from the all time Sch-Bags. That's because he forsook everything...especially those who stood behind him even when he had nothing. And, in return, he got abandoned by them. Because he so easily turned aside a friend when it became something that wasn't a stepping stone. And now...he's a curse and a byword among ponies. I'm sure your mothers have told you not to repeat it when you hear: 'What a Deuce Sch-Bag'. So...keep in mind his story next time you think you're doing well getting the admiration of a certain two fillies at school, won't you?"
The girls, however, merely stared back incredulously in response.
"...Uh, was that supposed to be a lesson?" The one with wings asked.
"If he became so rich, couldn't he just buy people willing to be his friend?" The one with a bow asked.
"And who really needs friends when you have that much money and things? Ponies will just flock to you whenever you want." The curly-maned one added. "I mean, look how popular we got in just a few days. Everypony in school was eating out of our hooves just because we let them know we were friends with a princess."
Sam held a moment, then frowned, realizing he wasn't much good at these "moral stories"...just in time to hear Carl in the background demanding to see the nutrition information sheet to ensure the Horseshoe-String fries didn't contain bits of actual horseshoes in them. Yet as he thought of this, he heard a child muttering nearby in a cross tone.
"...I've got a fable for you..."
Sam and the CMCs turned their heads, just in time to see a baby purple dragon go up to the condiments counter to get some packets.
"Once upon a time there was this unicorn who had a dragon as her assistant. One day she became an alicorn, and ever since then, the alicorn and her five friends started treating the dragon with less and less respect and more and more like a thankless slave. Even the one he was in love with wouldn't give him the time of day anymore. He put up with it for months, but eventually it got to be too much, and he was tired of never getting any respect or concern. So he started looking for a way in which he could serve them all industrial-strength laxatives mixed in with their tea or salsa next time they asked for it. The moral of the story is to not treat your assistants like doormats."
All four stared blankly for a moment.
"...I don't get it." The one with the bow stated.
"What's that have to do with anything?" The one with the wings asked.
"Are we talking about the same thing?" The one with a curly mane asked.
In response, the dragon merely sighed, got his condiments, then turned and began to walk out.
Carl, at this point, turned his head slightly back with a frown. "You want a moral? How about this. Just because one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders does more talking than the others doesn't make it a Sweetie Belle episode. It's still a CMC episode."
Now, everypony, Sam included, looked more confused than ever as they looked to Carl. The green stallion grimaced a bit, but was silent as he looked back to them. A moment later, he looked confused, and pointed to the one with a naturally curly mane.
"...You know, in four years, I've only seen you and your older sister together, like, once?"
---
…Shouldn’t ‘grilled hay’ light on fire, Sam?
And that is why everyone in Equestria cooks food over griddles instead of open flames, Carl.
Oh yeah… Now that you mention it, that reminds me of what happened to the Hayburger Tsar in Ponyville five years back when they tried making flame-broiled hayburgers… 17 ponies dead…not to mention if you thought that Tsar was creepy-looking when he was just a plastic face mask, everyone in town is still trying to stop seeing his half-melted, flaming face in their nightmares… I don’t think even Luna will ever get rid of those.
…Moving on yet again…