Wielder of the Orb: Of Magic and Ponies

by TheMajorTechie

Chapter 4: Twilight explores McDonald's food

Twilight and the others piled up in front of the portal, catching the eyes of many passing students.

Who are those other teens she brought with her this time?

I don't know, but it seems like every time Twilight comes through the portal, it's because something really bad has or will happen soon...

Yeah, good point. I hope she's just visiting or something.
Sammy stood up and brushed himself off, glad to be in his old body again. He turned around and helped up Zoey, while Twilight ran to the two students who were talking nearby.

Do you know where Sunset Shimmer or any of my friends are right now?

Uh, no. This school is k-12, remember? High schoolers are in class right now. We're in middle school, and we're on our lunch break.
Sammy chimed in.

Hey! I just barely came out of middle school last year!

Sammy! Can you be a little quieter for now? I'm trying to find my friends' counterparts.
Suddenly, a hand set down on Twilight's shoulders. She quickly spun around, going face to face with Principal Celestia.

I overheard you talking to these middle schoolers about trying to find your friends. Is there something wrong? Also, why did you bring others with you this time?
Twilight hesitated for a moment, but began telling the entire story until Brodie's stomach interrupted.

I'm hungry, we didn't really eat anything yesterday besides some sandwiches that Spike gave us during the meeting.
Sammy pulled out a granola bar from his backpack and tossed it at Brodie.

Yeah, I think that we all should go find some food. Twilight, can you ask the Principal for directions to a fast food place or something? I'm pretty sure that US currency isn't accepted here.

US? What does that stand for?

Oh, right. In my home universe, I live in a country called "The United States of America".

Ooooook, then. but I guess I've never told you where you ended up in either. So welcome to Equestria, I guess...
Principal Celestia facepalmed at the thought of having to deal with even more issues happening between not only two, but three different dimensions/universes at once. Twilight turned back around from her quick explanation of how politics are in Equestria back to Principal Celestia.

So, are there any restaurants nearby or something?

Yes, there are. There's a McDonald's around the corner over there.
Caleb's eyes widened.

There's McDonald's here! Awesome!
Principal Celestia stared at Caleb, who was now running towards the street corner she pointed at.

Well, I guess you're gonna have to catch him now.
The group nodded, and began to run after Caleb.

They arrived several minutes after Caleb, considering the fact that he was a highly athletic kid back on Earth. As Twilight followed after Sammy, she gazed around the insides of the restaurant of the golden arches. She took a deep breath, taking in the new smells, familiar, yet so new. There was something... different about this place. It seemed a lot like the Hayburger back at Equestria, but it still seemed so different. Sammy was already at the counter, ordering four McDoubles. He insisted that they accept the paper money that he placed on the counter. Unfortunately, the middle-aged man operating the cash register refused to accept it every time.

I'm sorry, kid. We only accept bits here. These don't look like any sort of currency I've ever seen before around here. You're going to have to find a bank or something to exchange those bills.
Sammy looked back at Twilight, who was still standing in the center of the line, sniffing the air.

Twilight, did you bring any bits with you?
Twilight nodded and took out a small bag of bits from her backpack.

Thanks, Twilight.
Sammy emptied out the bag, and counted out what he guessed should be enough to pay for the food, plus tax, of course.

Here you go sir.
The man gawked at the solid gold bits on the counter. He was previously used to the usual coinage and paper currency, but he had never seen anything like this before.

Uh, where did you get this?

Twilight responded to his question.

I got these coins from running my library back at home, obviously. Do you think that I would steal that?

At first I thought so. Do you have any proof of your earnings, though?

Yeah. here's a receipt from one of the poni- er, humans...
Sammy tapped Twilight on the shoulder and whispered "people" into her ear.

uh... PEOPLE, that payed a late fee. They payed nearly the same amount as what I just payed you.

Oh. So, over where you're from, gold is pretty common, eh?

Yeah, so are gems. Real gems are often used in fashion where I live.
Sammy grunts at the same time as poking Twilight on the back.

Oh yeah, and I feel a bit hungry too. I guess I'll have one more of those "McDoubles".
The cashier nodded as he took another handfull of bits from Twilight.

Sure thing, miss.
After a few minutes of waiting, they finally received their food, and sat down at a table.

Twilight watched as the four other teens happily munched on the food that she just bought. She looked back down at the burger that she ordered for herself.

Uh, guys, I'm just wondering, what are the patties in these "hamburgers" made from?
Sammy looked up from the now empty wrapper.

Oh that? It's just beef. Are you a vegetarian or something?

Yeah, but I have another question, what's beef?

Caleb practically spit his root beer all over Twilight.

You don't know what BEEF is?

No, what is it?

Duh, it's cow meat. You seriously didn't know that? It's like the best thing EVER. It's good in barbecue sauce, ketchup, honey...
Brodie shot a glare at Caleb, who looked up from his rambling to find Twilight's face, frozen in fear.

Y-you mean, that I'm eating Bovines? Isn't that like, illegal or something?
Zoey looked at Twilight.

What do you mean? There's cattle farms everywhere. I don't understand where you got that idea from.

Well, back in Equestria, cows are intelligent, just like you and me. It would kind of be extremist to go as far as killing and eating them. It's kind of like cannibalism in a way, considering their genetic relation to ponies in Equestria.
Sammy began speaking.

Well, don't worry. It's perfectly legal here, just don't think about it or anything if you don't want to.

Twilight nodded, closed her eyes, and took a bite.

GROSS! THIS TASTES LIKE CARDBOARD.
Zoey shrugged.

Well, that's kinda typical of McDonald's food. You either love it or hate it. Either way, you can just have a salad or something instead, you know.
Sammy leaned over and whispered to Twilight.

Just don't forget that the amount of calories and sugar in their salad is nearly the same as how much is in Caleb's root beer.
Twilight stood up and led the four out of McDonald's.

I don't think I like this place. Besides, I've already eaten a bit before we left. What do you want to do now?
Sammy stopped in front of the portal.

Hey Twilight, do you think it's possible to transfer your magic into an object to be able to use it here? It might not be as powerful as the orb, but it might come in handy.

Good point, Sammy. You never can be sure about what to find wherever you go.

Author's Note:

I got the idea of Twilight trying food containing meat from http://www.fimfiction.net/story/291859/sunset-shimmer-is-an-omnivore

It's a pretty funny idea to use in a fanfic.