Unnoticed Threats

by smirker

Deli's & Butcher's Poultry Products

Doctor Whooves was eating a rose and tulip sandwich outside on a table with Roseluck,

"Are you working today, dear?" Roseluck asked,

"Yes, I have only one patient today." Doctor Whooves answered,

"Who is it?" Roseluck questioned,

"Deli, he's a unicorn who runs his own food business mostly outside of Equestria, he's had a falling out with his business partner and it's bothered him ever since." Doctor Whooves explained,

"Well, I hope you can help him recover." Roseluck said,

"I hope so, I may have called him, myself when the arrangement of his session was made, but he was very skittish and nervous when I was notifying him." Doctor Whooves replied,

"How did you do that?" Roseluck asked,

"It was simple, I'm well known at my job now, and word of mouth spread, I saw news of him in the newspapers about him closing down his food business for an indefinite amount of time after he had a falling out with his business partner since he now has to run everything on his own, one of my previous patients went to him as a customer and told him I might be able to help him." Doctor Whooves explained,

"That is very kind of you to reach to him like that, darling." Roseluck stated,

"Yes, I am hoping I can help him recover, too." Doctor Whooves spoke,

"Well, let's finish our meals." Roseluck said, and they did,

"I'll be off now, bye, dear." Doctor Whooves stated,

"Goodbye, darling." Roseluck responded, and they kissed one another and Doctor Whooves left.

Doctor Whooves walked to his home and waited, he heard wheels outside and they stopped and a unicorn came in, he had a light purple coat, short white mane and tail with a widow's peak on his head, and gray eyes, his cutie mark was a black booklet with a menu in it,

"Please, sit." Doctor Whooves instructed, the unicorn panted and sweated heavily while he walked to the chair and sat across from Doctor Whooves,

"Are you comfortable?" Doctor Whooves asked, the unicorn looked at him with his mouth a little open and nodded,

"State your name and occupation." Doctor Whooves said,

"D... Deli, I run my own food business, it... it's closed right now, but I... I plan to reopen eventually." Deli spoke nervously,

"I understand you're shaken up by your falling out with Butcher." Doctor Whooves spoke, Deli nodded nervously,

"Well, let us begin." Doctor Whooves spoke, and Deli began to tell his tale.

---

Deli was living in a small village on the western border of Equestria and has just graduated from college with a degree in business finance management and culinary arts, he wondered what he should do with his life, he walked outside and looked for inspiration on what he should do with his degrees. He watched ponies cooking and saw them serving hayburgers and salads to various creatures,

"Here you all go, hayburgers and salads served nice and fresh." a Pegasus waitress said,

"You're still serving this stuff?!" a male griffon fumed,

"Is... is something the matter?" the waitress asked while smiling and sweating,

"We're tired of all of your hay, fruits, vegetables, and grains that are served in this country!" a male dragon thundered,

"Uh, I can give you gems if you want." the waitress said,

"No! We're tired of eating gems, too!" a second male dragon refuted,

"Same with us, griffons! We're tired of eating scones!" a second male griffon added, the dragons and griffons agreed about being tired over eating the same foods,

"Hmm." Deli spoke as he observed,

"What do you guys want then?" the waitress asked,

"Something new." the first dragon replied,

"Yeah, something we never had before." the second dragon answered, the customers agreed angrily while the waitress walked back nervously,

"Something new." Deli said to himself, and he walked away to look elsewhere in hopes of getting inspiration.

Deli walked to the west and looked around but saw nothing of interest or inspiration, he continued walking until he went into the forest near his hometown and out of Equestria's borders. He saw a tribe in the forest and they were all earth ponies with light green coats and dark green manes and tails, they stared at him,

"Wait, I come in peace." Deli said, the tribe got ready to get their spears,

"Please, I'm just looking for inspiration for what to do with my life." Deli spoke,

"What brings you here?" a stallion asked with a heavy accent,

"I was thinking about opening my own food business, and I'm looking around for inspiration in making a theme." Deli explained,

"Begone, foreign ponies are not welcome here." a mare said,

"Okay, okay, I'm going." Deli responded, and he left.

Deli walked back and looked at his surroundings but found nothing of interest, he arrived back in his hometown and saw dragons and griffons protesting for more variety in food, he sighed and went into his home. He looked around and got a pencil and papers, he then began cooking the dishes he learned in culinary arts class in college and then wrote down the prices on the papers with his pencil, he got tape and taped the paper to his dishes, he then got a picnic blanket and headed outside.

He had a light blue aura on his horn and set up everything, he sat while he had his dishes on display and ready to sell,

"What are these?" a unicorn mare asked as she walked to him,

"I'm selling the foods I make." Deli answered,

"What? Like this, your display looks so dull, no theme and no class." the mare stated,

"Well, I just started today." Deli replied,

"Oh, today is your first day?" the mare questioned, Deli nodded,

"My deepest apologies, but if you really want to be successful, you should try to look more fancy, you'll get more customers that way, a theme and colors will work, too." the mare explained,

"I was looking around for inspiration in making a theme a moment ago." Deli responded,

"Did you find anything you like?" the mare asked, Deli shook his head,

"Well, if you're just going to use color, I suggest using the color red, that stimulates creatures' appetites." the mare stated,

"I can't see red very well." Deli responded,

"Well, maybe I can help you with setting up the basics of your shop, here, I'll buy everything." the mare stated, and she did and gave him five hundred bits,

"No need for change, you need to use every bit of that money to get everything to set up." the mare spoke,

"Really? Thank you." Deli said,

"You're welcome, come on, I'll take you to a store where you can get things set up and started." the mare responded and she led him.

---

"Hold on, she bought everything at once?" Doctor Whooves questioned,

"Yes." Deli stated while raising his voice a little,

"I find that a bit hard to believe." Doctor Whooves said,

"I'm not lying! That really happened!" Deli stated angrily, Doctor Whooves looked at Deli carefully and he panted loudly while glaring,

"Please continue." Doctor Whooves spoke, and Deli calmed down and continued his tale.

---

The mare took him to a junkyard and showed him the wagons,

"The ones with the ovens are over there, they would really help you with your business in starting and making your dishes." the mare stated,

"Do they work?" Deli questioned,

"Moving the wagon around and about is doable, but you'll need to fix the oven yourself and repaint it on your own." the mare explained,

"That wagon better not be five hundred bits." Deli remarked,

"No, not at all, it's much cheaper than that." the mare answered,

"Good." Deli spoke,

"Well, it's a suggestion, you can buy whatever you want." the mare said,

"I think your suggestion will work fine once when everything's fixed. Thank you." Deli spoke,

"You're welcome, good luck with your food business." the mare stated, and she walked away, Deli bought the wagon for ten bits and headed home.

Deli began checking everything and used his magic to move everything around, he tested the oven and it did not turn on, so he got another paper with his magic and wrote on it with pencil that he was now hiring anyone who can fix an oven. He waited and watched with boredom until he saw an earth pony stallion walking to him, he had a slightly light yellow coat, short brown mane and tail, and orange eyes, his cutie mark was a meat cleaver,

"You hiring?" the stallion asked,

"Well, I'm waiting for someone to come and fix this oven." Deli answered,

"Can I take a look at it?" the stallion inquired,

"Sure, help yourself." Deli replied, and he stepped aside. The stallion examined the oven and its interior, he looked at it and moved the parts around,

"It's an electric oven." the stallion spoke,

"What? I need a gas oven to cook my dishes." Deli responded,

"How much money do you have?" the stallion questioned,

"Four hundred ninety bits." Deli answered,

"You have enough to buy one then." the stallion stated,

"Might as well then." Deli replied, and he trotted to the store.

Deli entered the home improvement store and looked for an oven, he went to the ovens section and looked for a gas oven, he found several and looked at each one carefully,

"Can I help you?" a storepony stallion asked, Deli got startled,

"Yes, I'm looking for a gas stove to install into my wagon." Deli explained,

"What kind of gas do you wish to use?" the storepony questioned,

"Propane." Deli answered,

"Can I take a look at your wagon?" the storepony asked,

"Sure." Deli replied, and he teleported his wagon into the store. The stallion in the wagon stepped out while the storepony measured the size of the oven in the wagon,

"I think I know one that would fit." the storepony stated and he got an oven,

"Here, try this one." the storepony spoke, and Deli and the storepony brought it into the wagon and the stallion hooked it up,

"It's ready." the stallion said, and Deli turned the oven on and it worked,

"Yes! Thank you." Deli spoke,

"You're welcome." the storepony responded,

"How much does it cost?" the stallion asked,

"Eighty bits." the storepony revealed, and Deli paid him and teleported himself, the wagon, and the stallion back.

---

"You had a home improvement store where you lived?" Doctor Whooves questioned,

"You're doubting me again?!" Deli asked angrily,

"It's not that, it's where you said you're from, that's mostly forest and village, home improvement stores like that are usually not found in that kind of area." Doctor Whooves explained,

"The town I'm from had one!" Deli responded quickly and angrily,

"Alright, no need to get mad, this session is to help you come to terms with the events bothering you." Doctor Whooves spoke,

"Sorry, I've been high strung ever since my partner and I had a fight and we split." Deli replied in a monotone,

"It's alright, go ahead and continue." Doctor Whooves said, and Deli continued his tale.

---

Deli arrived back at his home and lit up the gas oven and began cooking,

"I think we can work well together, you cook, and I serve the food and handle the customers." the stallion spoke,

"Sounds good, I'm Deli, by the way, and you?" Deli asked,

"Butcher." the stallion answered,

"Is there anything you can do?" Deli questioned,

"Yeah, turns out I'm good at cutting things apart and making certain cuts with dishes." Butcher replied,

"I can use that, culinary arts class taught me that how the food looks is important, including being cut cleanly and neatly." Deli said,

"Leave it to me." Butcher replied,

"*chuckle* Well, let's get started, I'll begin cooking, I leave the cutting to you." Deli spoke,

"Yes, sir." Butcher chirped, and they began working. Deli cooked fruits, vegetables, and grains while Butcher cut them with a kitchen knife in a specific ways to make the food look like art, the first customers came soon, it was a male dragon and a male griffon,

"Hi, welcome." Deli said,

"What are you selling?" the griffon asked,

"Everything on display." Deli replied,

"Where's the menu?" the dragon inquired,

"I haven't made one yet." Deli answered,

"Well, you should." the griffon remarked,

"I just started this today, I'm making sure everything works before I make the menu and theme." Deli responded,

"Should've done that before you opened business." the dragon spoke,

"I'll get to it soon, are you two here to buy or not?" Deli questioned,

"How much do the meals cost?" the griffon asked,

"Five bits each." Deli answered,

"No free sample?" the dragon inquired,

"Maybe later down the road when I open officially." Deli answered,

"Well, I guess they wouldn't hurt to try." the griffon spoke, and they bought everything. The dragon and griffon tried every food while Deli and Butcher watched anxiously,

"Bleh! This is the same hay, fruits, and vegetables as everything else in Equestria!" the griffon complained,

"Yeah, don't you guys have any variety?!" the dragon added,

"This is just what I was taught to cook in culinary arts class." Deli explained,

"You ponies are taught to cook with the same ingredients for every dish?" the griffon inquired,

"Uh, I can give you two scones and gems if you two wish." Butcher suggested,

"No! No scones, I'm tired of scones!" the griffon fumed,

"I'm tired of eating gems!" the dragon thundered,

"Okay, hold on, we'll try to find something new to serve." Butcher answered,

"Good! Because you all have no variety in your cuisine!" the dragon stated,

"Whatever you two serve better be good." the griffon said, and they left. Deli and Butcher watched them leave while Deli looked at his dishes,

"You gonna quit?" Butcher questioned,

"No, I'm gonna try to get something different to serve." Deli responded,

"What do you have in mind?" Butcher asked,

"Well, I was thinking bugs, I know Equestria teaches us to respect all life and befriend all animals, but I might have to make an exception this case, if I don't find anything that my customers like, I'm going to go out of business." Deli explained,

"You have a degree in business finance, right?" Butcher asked,

"Yeah." Deli replied,

"You could be a financial advisor to companies that are struggling financially." Butcher suggested,

"No, I can't, I need a license and certificates, too to get that job." Deli spoke,

"Oh." Butcher said,

"What about you, why did you join?" Deli asked,

"I just needed a job, and you looked like you were hiring, I just want to make a living and was a bit desperate for any job." Butcher explained,

---

"Desperate for a job?" Doctor Whooves asked,

"That's what he said." Deli replied,

"Was he dirty, poorly groomed, or dressed in rags when he came to see you?" Doctor Whooves questioned,

"No." Deli answered,

"Hmm, strange, thought he was a beggar." Doctor Whooves commented,

"He didn't look like one." Deli remarked,

"Did he at least have a home?" Doctor Whooves asked,

"Yeah, we teleported out of Equestria for our business but came back at the end of the day, so he slept in his house." Deli explained,

"Ah, go on then." Doctor Whooves instructed, and Deli continued his tale.

---

"That's it? You don't have any dreams on what you want to do with your life?" Deli questioned,

"I do, I want to work in the culinary industry as one who cuts and shapes food, I think I can do it through you." Butcher explained,

"Oh, okay, go ahead and head on home, Butcher, I'll try to see if I can get some ingredients." Deli spoke,

"Okay, good luck, I'll try and see if I can find something as well." Butcher stated, and he walked home.

Deli walked into the forest and began gathering honey with his magic from the forest's bees, he made a glass jar appear from his home and put the honey in them, he stopped when arrows were shot at him, he saw the tribe around him,

"What are you doing stealing our honey?" a stallion inquired,

"I'm just gathering ingredients for my food business." Deli explained,

"You actually have pompous and snobbish civil ponies who want to eat honey?" a mare asked,

"No, my customers are dragons and griffons, and they're tired of our cuisines containing the same ingredients." Deli responded,

"Wait, did you say dragons?" another stallion asked,

"Griffons?" another mare exclaimed,

"Quick! Quickly! Head back home and secure your stuff before they come and try to destroy and steal everything!" a third stallion ordered and the tribe quickly ran home. Deli resumed collecting honey and kept the bees away with his magic, he eventually filled five jars and teleported home.

Deli began cooking more and put honey on them, he then remembered honey being pretty common in dishes when he was in culinary arts class, so he teleported bees into his house and put them in his cast iron, he cooked them and made dishes of fried bees with honey on them, he finished and went outside. He put the fried bees covered in honey on display and wrote on paper that each dish was five bits, the ponies gasped at seeing what he served,

"Sorry, everypony, but my customers said they're tired of every dish in Equestria having the same ingredients." Deli explained,

"Pony customers?" a stallion questioned,

"No, dragons and griffons." Deli answered,

"Ah, yeah, they have been troublesome around here." the stallion commented,

"You shouldn't let Fluttershy find out you're serving bugs as food." a mare suggested,

"Don't worry, I don't plan to." Deli replied,

"Normally, we would disapprove, but since your customers are not ponies, we'll leave you be, dragon and griffon tongues are completely different to pony tongues." the stallion said,

"I'm sorry, everypony, I really am." Deli commented,

"It's alright, good luck with your dishes." the mare spoke, and everybody got on with their days.

---

"You weren't reported?" Doctor Whooves questioned,

"Is something the matter?" Deli questioned defensively,

"Normally, you would've been reported to the authorities regardless of reason if you served bugs as food in Equestria." Doctor Whooves explained,

"What? I don't recall that being a law." Deli said while sweating profusely,

"Technically, it isn't, but Princess Twilight and her friends' lessons in friendship have made serving bugs or animals as food highly frowned upon in Equestria." Doctor Whooves replied,

"So I haven't broken any laws, have I?" Deli questioned,

"No, but doing that is greatly looked down upon, you would normally be ostracized by ponies for it." Doctor Whooves answered,

"Oh." Deli said,

"Well, let's resume." Doctor Whooves spoke, and Deli continued his tale.

---

Deli put the fried bees covered in honey on display and a female dragon and a female griffon came forward,

"You're serving bugs now?" the griffon questioned,

"Just trying something new." Deli responded,

"Well, I do see honey often in pony food, but never bees, I say we give them a try." the dragon suggested, the griffon nodded,

"Five bits for twenty bees." Deli said,

"That's not bad, I'll try them." the griffon spoke, the dragon nodded and they bought them. They ate the bees while Deli watched anxiously,

"Hmm, not too bad, but it doesn't really suit my tastes." the griffon spoke,

"Mine neither, but it's an improvement over the fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, and plants and flowers we've been eating a lot of in this country." the dragon added,

"So am I on the right track?" Deli questioned, the griffon and dragon nodded while smiling,

"Okay, I'll see what else I can make." Deli spoke, and the two customers left. He began using his magic to gather wild bugs from around the town and cooked them in his gas oven, he also got a pot from inside his house and filled it with water, he then carried it out and put it on top of his stove and boiled some of the bugs, he cooked all evening and finished when it was dark, he teleported everything into his house's refrigerator and slept.

The next morning came and Deli heated up the food he cooked and went out to his wagon with plates and bowls from his house,

"Oh, good morning, I couldn't find anything yet on my end, so I decided to clean the wagon and polish the wagon before you open." Butcher spoke, Deli looked and saw everything was clean and shiny,

"Hmm, I see, thanks." Deli said, and he put his new dishes on display and wrote the price of each one on them. Deli and Butcher watched the ponies react with disgust at them serving bugs in their dishes while a male dragon, a female griffon, and a female yak came to them, they bought one of each dish and paid five bits for each one. They tried to the new dishes and they spat out the soup,

"Yuck! Yak demand real soup!" the yak hollered,

"Is it the bugs or the soup?" Deli asked,

"Both!" the griffon answered,

"These sautéed spiders don't taste good, either." the dragon added,

"Looks like pony bugs taste bad, too." the yak said,

"If you want, we can keep trying different bugs." Butcher suggested,

"No, don't bother, especially if they taste this bad." the dragon responded,

"Yeah, especially if they taste like these deep fried centipedes, they're awful." the griffon added,

"What do you all suggest then?" Deli questioned,

"Yak want something exotic and new." the yak declared,

"Uh..." Deli said,

"Wait, Deli, I got an idea, leave it to me." Butcher spoke,

"Well, I heard about you guys from other griffons and dragons, but it looks like you all are a work in progress." the dragon said,

"You two are on the right track, though, we'll come back and give you all another try when you two get everything figured out." the griffon stated, and they walked away. Butcher trotted away before Deli could ask him what he had in mind, so he put all of his dishes in his refrigerator and closed for the day.

The next day came and Deli heard sizzling at his wagon, he trotted there and saw Butcher cooking,

"What are you making?" Deli questioned, he smelled the cooking and it smelled pleasant. Butcher opened his pot and Deli got alarmed when he saw Butcher cooking mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks, and gerbils,

"Don't worry, they're all wild, I promise you they're nopony's pets." Butcher spoke,

"I'm... not comfortable serving animals as food, Butcher." Deli said,

"I want to give it a try at least once, I'll stop if it proves to be a failure." Butcher responded,

"Well... okay, since everything else we've tried so far has failed." Deli spoke, and Butcher continued cooking. He finished after about an hour and Deli opened for the day, a male dragon, a male griffon, a male yak, and a male hippogriff came, they each bought a rodent and paid five bits each,

"Hmm, say, this is actually pretty good." the griffon said,

"Yeah, it's nice to have protein again in so long." the hippogriff stated,

"Yaks usually don't eat meat, but yak like taste." the yak added,

"Finally, something different from the usual stuff." the dragon chirped,

"You all like protein?" Deli questioned,

"Yeah, meat is a staple in griffon diet." the griffon stated,

"Dragons eat meat, too." the dragon added,

"Well, us hippogriffs don't eat land animal meat, but we do eat fish sometimes." the hippogriff spoke,

"I'll see if we can get those in." Butcher said,

"Okay, we got a business that serves meat in Equestria." the griffon spoke, the dragon, yak, and hippogriff replied happily and ate all of Butcher's cooking and left,

"Wow, I gotta hoof it to you, Butcher, you found something that works." Deli said,

"Yeah, we can serve meat, the other creatures and travelers like it, now we can focus on things like making a theme, a menu, and naming our business." Butcher responded,

"Well, come on, let's get a theme on and decorate the wagon." Deli spoke, and he teleported supplies from inside his house into the wagon. They went through the colors and tried to decide what colors to use,

"Any colors you have in mind on wanting to use?" Butcher questioned,

"Uh, well considering that we might end up serving bugs, I was thinking maybe brown and trying to put a wood pattern." Deli replied,

"We're probably better off getting actual wood for that." Butcher suggested,

"Yeah, you're probably right, I'd like to get a grill and some charcoal for cooking, too." Deli said,

"Well, do you still want to paint?" Butcher asked,

"Yeah, I think we can get started, I was thinking black would go good with wood." Deli responded,

"Hmm, I mean, it depends on the type of wood you're planning to use, too." Butcher spoke,

"I'm thinking of using wood of a pretty light color, so there would be a light and dark contrast." Deli explained,

"Sounds good, one question though, where are you going to get the wood?" Butcher questioned,

"I'll have to travel to another town for that." Deli responded,

"Oh, well, I'll go ahead and start painting." Butcher spoke, and they did. They painted everything black and Deli painted the higher and hard to reach parts while Butcher painted the lower parts,

"You decided on a name for our business, yet?" Deli asked,

"Nope, how about you?" Butcher asked,

"Not yet." Deli replied, and they painted until they finished in the evening,

"There, it's done, I'll let it dry now, I'll go to another town and buy wood tomorrow." Deli said,

"Alright, I'll look for a grill." Butcher responded,

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Butcher." Deli stated, and they went to their homes and slept.

The next day came and Deli went to his wagon and saw the paint was dry, he saddled it onto himself and trotted out of town. He went to the nearest town and looked for a lumber store but did not find one, so he floated into the air with his magic and looked around. He saw the nearest lumber store was in the town to the west of Ponyville, he sighed while moving his wagon up with his telekinesis, he grunted and strained due to its weight but got it saddled onto himself, he then teleported to the store. He looked at the wood and bought big wooden boards of the lightest color and paid two hundred bits for them, he carried them with his telekinesis and put them on the wagon, he then teleported himself and his stuff back to his home.

Deli appeared outside his house and saw Butcher standing by with a grill, hammers, pencils, tape measures, wrenches, electric drills, black metallic legs, an electric saw, nails, nuts, and sandpaper,

"There you are, I found a grill." Butcher said, Deli looked at it,

"It's a bit small, but I think it'll do." Deli stated, Butcher smiled,

"Well, come on, let's start making benches for the customers." Deli instructed, and they started working. Deli and Butcher measured everything twice with their tape measures and marked everything before they began cutting, they cut the wood into thick boards with the electric saws and then sanded them, they then began hammering and drilling nails and tightening nuts to connect the metallic curved legs to the front of the wagon and then connected the wood to them and made the benches,

"There, it's done." Butcher spoke,

"Next, the menu." Deli stated, and they began. Butcher cut the leftover wood into a rectangle and Deli drilled nails into it to hang it behind the serving counter, he then used black paint to put the names and prices of the foods he and Butcher served,

"Okay, that's done, we'll update it as we go along, now, to cut the woods into small shapes so they can be used as charcoal." Deli said, and they did,

"Alright, everything's set up, all that's left is the name." Deli spoke,

"I haven't gotten anything yet." Butcher said,

"Me neither, let's rest for today, Butcher, we'll try to come up with something tomorrow." Deli stated, and they went to their homes and slept.

---

"You two got all of that done in one day?" Doctor Whooves questioned,

"Yeah." Deli answered,

"That's a lot of work for two people." Doctor Whooves remarked,

"Well, we did start early, but it was still almost dark by the time we finished." Deli spoke,

"How fast did you two work?" Doctor Whooves inquired,

"We... tried to work as fast as we could and as carefully as we could." Deli responded nervously while tightening up his muscles and sweating profusely,

"I see, go ahead and continue." Doctor Whooves stated, Deli sighed with relief and continued his tale.

---

The next day came and Deli and Butcher opened for business, Butcher brought more wild rodents and bugs and Deli began cooking them in different methods and taste tested them, they added the foods they liked to the menu. They saw their customers coming and saw a male dragon, a male griffon, and a female hippogriff coming, they all had food with them,

"Are you two taking requests?" the griffon asked,

"What's this?" Deli questioned,

"Well, since you all are serving meat as dishes, we were wondering if you would also cook the meat of other animals, I brought fish for you two to cook and serve." the hippogriff explained,

"What I have here is rabbit meat." the griffon spoke,

"And my meat is ichneumon meat." the dragon said,

"Come on, Deli, let's try, they'll get tired of eating bugs eventually, too." Butcher stated, Deli nodded and he took the meats with his telekinesis while the three customers smiled. Butcher cut the meats into the shapes Deli instructed and he cooked them different ways, he fried, sautéed, boiled, and grilled the pieces of meat and put salt and pepper on them. Deli served the meats and each customer paid ten bits for each piece, they tried them and liked all of his cooking,

"Wow, these are delicious." the griffon chirped,

"Yum, you're a good cook, you should serve more meat and fish." the hippogriff suggested,

"Yeah, it's better than all of this herbivore dishes all around the country." the dragon added, the griffon and hippogriff agreed and they left while Deli and Butcher smiled,

"Well, I guess serving meat will be our focus." Butcher suggested,

"Agreed, it's the only thing they like besides bugs." Deli responded,

"Plus, we have to find more types of meat, they'll get tired of our current ones and the bugs eventually." Butcher remarked,

"True, getting new meats won't be easy, though, Equestria has dangerous animals, we might earn the wrath of our country's heroes as well." Deli reminded,

"As long as Fluttershy doesn't find out." Butcher stated,

"Tell you what, let's gather animals from outside Equestria, I don't think we'll get in trouble for that." Deli said,

"Sounds good, I'll leave that to you since you're the one who has the magic, I'll try to catch more stuff in the forest." Butcher stated,

"Alright, it's a deal, good luck." Deli spoke, and Butcher trotted away.

Deli used his magic to float up into the sky and watched the other countries' natives to see what they ate, he saw the dragons eating gems and meat, the griffons ate meat, fish, and scones, the changelings ate fruits and vegetables, the yaks ate grass and vegetables, the hippogriffs ate kelp and fish, and the kirins ate plants and fruits. He decided that he would have the best business in the Dragon Lands, Griffonstone, and Mount Aris, he teleported to them and introduced himself to them and got caught off guard when he heard that word of his food business has already reached their countries. He asked what meats and bugs they liked the best and which fauna were protected by the countries' laws, he finished after a while and teleported back home. He arrived home and counted his bits, he decided that he should get a freezer and waited for Butcher to return but he did not, it got dark and he went into his house and slept.

The next day came and he went out to his wagon but Butcher was not there, he got ready to look for him but heard running,

"I'm here, sorry I'm late." Butcher said while running, he stopped and panted,

"Did you get anything?" Deli asked,

"Yes, I managed to get a lot of meat yesterday, but it took all day, I already cut them into pieces and put them in my house's freezer." Butcher explained,

"I'm thinking of getting a freezer today, I need your help installing it." Deli stated,

"Sure." Butcher remarked, Deli smiled and they walked to the home improvement store.

They arrived and looked around,

"Hey, there, it's you two again, what are you two looking for this time?" the storepony asked,

"A freezer." Deli answered,

"Ah, what type, one to install, or a portable one?" the storepony questioned,

"I was hoping for one I can install onto my wagon." Deli replied,

"I think I know one that would work." the storepony stated, and he trotted away. He came back with a short but wide freezer,

"I think this will do the trick." the storepony spoke,

"Let's check it." Butcher stated, and they went outside. They measured the freezer and saw it would fit in the wagon and Deli wanted it across the oven, the three stallions worked together and installed it,

"There, it's ready." the storepony said,

"Thanks as always." Deli responded,

"You're welcome, price is seventy five bits." the storepony spoke, and Deli paid him and he went back to the store.

Deli and Butcher went back by Deli's house and they began cooking the animals Butcher caught yesterday,

"That reminds me, Butcher, we should teach one another our skills in case we can't work one day, I'll teach you how to cook, and you teach me on cutting meat and what the cuts are called." Deli suggested,

"Great idea." Butcher answered, and Deli taught Butcher how to cook different methods while Butcher taught Deli how to cut meat properly and what each cut was called, they practiced cooking and cutting and taught one another their respective skills,

"Okay, I think you got the hang of it." Deli spoke,

"You too, I'll start cooking the meat I got yesterday tomorrow." Butcher replied,

"Alright, see you tomorrow." Deli stated, and they went to their homes and slept.

Deli woke up the next morning when he smelled meat cooking and heard sizzling, he trotted outside and saw Butcher cooking meat that he has never seen before and a female dragon and a female hippogriff were waiting,

"Here you two go, thank you for waiting." Butcher spoke, the customers tasted the well done meat,

"Hmm, this is good." the hippogriff spoke,

"Wow, this meat's fantastic." the dragon said,

"Thank you, this is a meat I can't serve very often." Butcher stated,

"What creature is this meat from?" the hippogriff asked,

"I can't tell you that, it wouldn't be called secret meat if I told you the answer." Butcher answered,

"Well, it's great, one of the best foods I ever tasted." the dragon stated, and they paid him fifteen bits,

"Thank you, come again." Butcher said, and the dragon and hippogriff left. Deli walked over and Butcher looked at him with a smile,

"You're up early." Deli said,

"Yeah, I put all the meat I got the other day in our freezer." Butcher replied, Deli opened it and saw ten small piles of the meat he just served, he closed the freezer afterwards,

"Well, I don't know what that meat is, but it's a hit, we got everything all set for our business, but we still need a name." Deli suggested, they thought for a few seconds and they got their ideas,

"Deli's and Butcher's Poultry Products." Deli and Butcher said together and pointed at one another, they chuckled together,

"I'll put it on the wagon." Deli spoke, and he got the black paint and painted 'Deli's & Butcher's Poultry Products' on the wagon's top,

"There, we're ready to travel abroad." Deli said,

"I agree, do you have any family or friends to say goodbye to?" Butcher asked,

"Nope, my parents passed away a few years ago and I'm an only child, I don't have any other relatives, either, I also kind of grew up friendless, how about you?" Deli questioned,

"Nope, same, my parents are gone, I'm an only child, and I have no other relatives, I don't really have any friends here, either." Butcher responded,

"It's settled then, we leave Equestria, first stop, Mount Aris, I don't think anyone's going to miss us here, either, and we won't be gone all day, Butcher, I'll teleport us back here at the end of the day." Deli remarked,

"Oh, okay, and as for people missing us, probably not, let's go." Butcher spoke, and Deli teleported himself, Butcher, and the wagon.

They appeared on Mount Aris and the hippogriffs looked at them,

"Oh, it's you two, my daughter wrote to me about you two." a male hippogriff spoke,

"My son, too, he said your foods are fantastic." a female hippogriff added,

"Thank you, getting the meat we serve in high quantity's not easy." Butcher replied,

"Do you all have any rodents or vermin in your homes that you guys want gone?" Deli asked, the hippogriffs spoke with agreement and told them the pests in their houses. Deli rounded up all of the wild mice, rats, flies, spiders, ants, and cockroaches that invaded the hippogriff's homes and he and Butcher began cooking them, they finished after about forty five minutes and the hippogriffs ordered their foods. They served them quickly and the hippogriffs ate happily,

"What's the special meat?" a female hippogriff asked,

"Oh, that's the meat preserved in the freezer, what type of meat it is is a secret." Butcher explained,

"I wanna try." a male hippogriff answered, a few more agreed and Butcher cooked them by how many each hippogriff wanted and how they wanted the meat cooked. He finished about two hours later and served the meat to the customers,

"Hmm, this is fantastic." the female hippogriff said with her mouth full,

"Best meat ever!" another female hippogriff hollered, the hippogriffs enjoyed the meat while Deli got a bad feeling about the meat, they got many customers in the afternoon and it slowed down in the evening and they closed when the sun began to set,

"Are you two going to be staying here?" a male hippogriff questioned,

"Sorry, but we'll be here again three days from now, we have griffon and dragon customers, too." Deli explained,

"Yeah, we have to work in the Dragon Lands and Griffonstone, too." Butcher added,

"Okay." the male hippogriff said sadly,

"Well, we'll be going now, see you all in three days." Deli stated, and he teleported himself, Butcher, and the wagon while the hippogriffs said bye to them.

Deli and Butcher appeared back in their hometown and Butcher began counting the money,

"Here's your half." Butcher said as he gave the bits to Deli and he began to walk home,

"Butcher." Deli called out, Butcher stopped walking,

"What creature is the meat in the freezer from?" Deli questioned,

"Just some inferior breed of us." Butcher answered,

"What do you mean inferior breed?" Deli asked,

"Exactly what I mean, and look around you, nopony cares they're gone." Butcher responded, Deli raised an eyebrow,

"I'll be heading to bed now, I got to think of what drinks to serve our customers, see you in the morning, Deli." Butcher said, and he headed home.

Deli looked at the forest to the west and then at his wagon's freezer, he walked and headed there. He looked at the forest and saw all of the bugs and animals were gone, he headed farther into the forest and stopped when he saw all of the tribe's homes were destroyed and they were missing. He ran into their village and looked for any clues on their whereabouts but found nothing, he floated into the air with his magic and looked around and saw a big circle on the ground with no grass farther into the forest and teleported there. Deli began digging frantically while also tossing soil and dirt out, he soon got all of the dirt and ground out and his eyes widened and he panted heavily when he saw pony skeletons.

---

"How many ponies made up this tribe?" Doctor Whooves asked,

"About maybe thirty or forty earth ponies." Deli answered,

"I find that Butcher was able to overpower and take down thirty or forty earth ponies at once all by himself to be rather hard to believe." Doctor Whooves spoke after being silent for a few seconds,

"But he did." Deli retorted while raising his voice,

"Then how did he do it?" Doctor Whooves questioned,

"I don't know! I wasn't there!" Deli replied angrily,

"Deli, I need you to calm down and try to think it through, and if possible, deduce how you think he managed to take them all down." Doctor Whooves instructed, Deli took a deep breath,

"I still don't know, they were all skeletons when I found them." Deli commented,

"Were they cut and broken into pieces." Doctor Whooves questioned,

"Yes." Deli replied,

"Hmm, I guess he cut them apart with a blade or something, but continue, we only have a limited time for your session." Doctor Whooves said, and Deli continued his tale.

---

Deli panted heavily and struggled to process what he was seeing, he began to recollect himself after a few minutes and then reburied the skeletons and paid his respects to the tribe. He then walked back into the town and looked into Butcher's home, he saw him cooking bugs and animal meat in different ways and putting different seasonings on them, he taste tested each one and decided on what he should serve while also trying out different drinks and mixing them together, Deli walked back to his home and slept.

Deli woke up early the next day and teleported to his wagon, he waited for Butcher to arrive and soon heard him coming, he arrived and saw Deli standing in front of the freezer,

"Butcher, we need to talk." Deli said, and Butcher looked at him,

"You didn't say you were serving pony meat to our customers." Deli remarked,

"Well, our previous stuff didn't meet much success, so I had to go to other sources for food to serve." Butcher explained,

"It's still not right." Deli reminded,

"I'd rather try something morally questionable than going out of business and becoming broke and homeless." Butcher retorted,

"Don't you know what you've done, Butcher? You've committed a crime, our business will be endangered if Equestria's authorities find out." Deli explained,

"Look around you, Deli, nopony here seems to notice, pretty much no one went into that forest anyway as well, so I doubt anybody will notice, it seems like the natives and tourists here never knew that tribe existed in the first place." Butcher responded,

"It's still not right." Deli retorted,

"Well, they brought it onto themselves as well, they were hostile when you and I were in the forest and threatened us." Butcher reminded,

"We were in their territory, Butcher, they were defending their home." Deli said,

"It didn't look like that to me." Butcher responded,

"What do you mean?" Deli asked,

"I was heading back home after exploring the forest once and they attacked me from behind." Butcher answered,

"When?" Deli inquired,

"Shortly before you hired me." Butcher replied,

"I still don't appreciate you serving them as food to other creatures." Deli stated,

"Well, it's the most popular ingredient we have now, we'll lose a lot of customers if we take it off the menu." Butcher reminded,

"I also don't appreciate you making changes to the menu without my knowledge and without letting the customers decide." Deli said,

"What I've done so far has worked, and I do let the customers decide, them liking or disliking dishes is what makes me decide what to keep on the menu or take off." Butcher explained,

"If you're going to add or take anything off the menu, I would like to know beforehoof." Deli stated,

"Sure, I can do that, and as of now, I'm thinking about introducing drinks to our customers, mainly soft drinks." Butcher spoke,

"I guess it wouldn't hurt, go ahead and put it in the refrigerator, and I'm reluctant to say this, but keep the pony meat for now, but once when we find something just as or more popular and liked, I'm getting rid of it." Deli remarked,

"Oh, Deli, you really should rethink it through." Butcher replied, and he put the soft drinks in the refrigerator and Deli then teleported himself, Butcher, and the wagon.

They appeared in the Dragon Lands and the children ran to them while cheering, Deli and Butcher asked if there were any pests in their homes they wanted gone and they were told. Deli rounded up the pests with his telekinesis and he and Butcher began cooking them, the dragons also helped them cook with their fire breaths, they served the cooked pests and pony meat and the dragons cheered. Deli watched while frowning and Butcher entertained the kids by cutting food and meat in midair and making the fire rise on the oven and grill, the dragons cheered and they soon gave them ichneumon meat and they cooked and served them,

"Yum! This is better than the meat in the freezer." a male child dragon stated,

"I agree, this is delicious." a female child dragon added,

"I'll go ahead and store the rest in the freezer then." Butcher stated, and he did, the sun began to set and Deli teleported himself, Butcher, and the wagon while the dragons said bye to them. They arrived back at home and Deli saw the pony meat in the refrigerator was almost gone, he smiled while Butcher counted the bits and gave Deli half,

"Well, that's all we made today, see you tomorrow, Deli." Butcher said, and he went home while Deli went into his house and slept.

The next day came and Deli and Butcher set up everything for the day and Deli teleported to Griffonstone, the griffons cheered while running to their wagon. They cooked while the griffons fought for seats,

"Guys, no fighting, line up in a straight line, you all will get your turns." Deli instructed, and they did but the griffons began fighting and arguing for their places in line while several skipped others,

"Oh, it's hopeless." Deli said while shaking his head,

"I'm getting a feeling that something bad will happen when we serve the dish." Butcher remarked, and they cooked and cut their foods and served the first dish. The griffons began fighting one another for the food while Deli and Butcher reeled back,

"Guys, one customer at a time." Deli stated, but the griffons continued fighting and broke the plate,

"ENOUGH!!" Deli screamed, the griffons stopped fighting and looked at him while he held the pieces of the broken plate with his telekinesis,

"Look at what you all just did. You guys have just broke company property, I needed this plate to serve food to you all, until you all get me a replacement plate bought with your money, my wagon is closed." Deli responded, the griffons complained angrily while Deli put shutters down. He and Butcher looked at the broken plate and saw it could not be fixed,

"Can you believe this, Butcher? I've never had customers like this." Deli said,

"I know, I knew the griffons were greedy and unfriendly, but I didn't think they would be this bad." Butcher replied,

"They better get me a replacement plate, and a good quality one, I'm not serving them until I do." Deli declared,

"Agreed, but I wouldn't be surprised if they try something to avoid spending money." Butcher spoke, knocking was heard at the wagon and they opened the shutters. They saw an old male griffon with a white plate,

"Here you go, Grampa Gruff bought this with his own money." the griffon stated, Deli examined the plate and saw it was a high quality plate,

"How much did it cost?" Deli asked,

"Fifty bits." the griffon answered,

"Okay, that's actually more expensive than my current plates, good, business is now reopen." Deli announced and the griffons ran to them while cheering. They served the griffons pony meat and Deli gathered rodents from their homes and cooked them, the griffons ate and drank slovenly while Deli watched uncomfortably,

"Sorry, everyone, but we're sold out of the special meat." Butcher announced, the griffons groaned, but they ate whatever else they could make,

"Well, sun's setting, so we have to close everything now, see you all in three days." Deli spoke, and he teleported himself, Butcher, and the wagon while the griffons said bye to them. Deli and Butcher arrived home and Butcher gave Deli his half of the bits,

"Pretty bad business today, but better than nothing, see you tomorrow, Deli." Butcher spoke, and he walked home. Deli looked at the freezer and smiled when he saw all of the pony meat was gone, he put a lock on the freezer and then went into his house and slept in his bed.

The next day came and Deli went out to his wagon, he stopped when he saw the lock on the freezer was on the ground broken and Butcher putting more pony meat in the freezer,

"Good news, Deli, I got more special meat, we can continue keeping our customers satisfied." Butcher stated,

---

"Whose meat was that he was putting in the freezer." Doctor Whooves asked,

"I don't know, I think it could've been some random pony I never met or heard of since we already sold all of the tribe's meat to the others." Deli answered,

"Did you ever find out who that pony was?" Doctor Whooves questioned,

"No." Deli replied,

"Hmm, maybe I can do some digging in my free time." Doctor Whooves suggested,

"I would appreciate that, I don't think that pony's family and friends know what happened, so I would like to give them closure. I'll go ahead and continue." Deli said, and he continued his tale.

---

Deli trotted to Butcher and slammed the freezer closed,

"What's wrong, Deli?" Butcher asked,

"This needs to stop." Deli demanded,

"You should be grateful that I came up with this idea since it's making your business a success." Butcher retorted,

"Get rid of the pony meat, or I report you to the authorities." Deli spoke,

"Like they're going to do anything, the royal guards will just tell you to forgive me and offer me your friendship just like how Princess Twilight and her friends do." Butcher remarked,

"I'll take matters into my own hoofs if that happens." Deli said,

"A scrawny and bony unicorn like you against a big and muscular earth pony like me, I'm going to wreck you." Butcher boasted while smiling smugly,

"Butcher, I will overpower you with my magic if you don't stand down, you're on the verge of being fired, too." Deli spoke calmly,

"What?" Butcher exclaimed,

"You heard me, if you don't stop threatening me, you're fired." Deli declared,

"FIRED?! I'M THE ONE WHO MADE YOU SUCCESSFUL!! GETTING RID OF ME IS THE LAST THING YOU WANNA DO!! I AM THE LAST PERSON YOU WANNA FIRE!!" Butcher screamed,

"I will if you don't calm down." Deli retorted, Butcher huffed and puffed while gnarling his teeth and he calmed down,

"Sorry I got riled up, but making money and becoming famous in the food industry is everything to me." Butcher stated,

"It's okay, let's get rid of the pony meat now." Deli instructed,

"We can't do that, it's our most popular ingredient, we'll lose customers if we do." Butcher said,

"Really?" Deli inquired,

"Really, I don't know if you paid attention, but we got customers who come to us just to eat that meat." Butcher explained,

"How many customers is that?" Deli questioned,

"About sixty to seventy percent." Butcher answered, Deli's eyes widened,

"Exactly, the business will be much less successful if we take it off the menu." Butcher spoke,

"Well, let's open early, we got customers to serve in this town as well." Deli suggested, and they did. Deli and Butcher cooked and served dishes to the dragons, griffons, and hippogriffs, they watched as the customers ate and drank happily and Deli hid his discomfort, a few ponies came and looked at the meat and left, the customers left and the pony meat was all eaten and sold out,

"Darn, we're already out of the meat, hold on, I'll go get more." Butcher announced,

"Oh, no, Butcher, we've already opened, we'll have to think of something after we close for today." Deli spoke,

"Well, okay, we did promise Mount Aris we would be back today." Butcher stated, and Deli teleported himself, Butcher, and the wagon.

They arrived at Mount Aris and the hippogriffs trotted to them,

"Hold on, everygriff, I have an important announcement to make." Butcher said, and they stopped,

"We are sold out of the special meat that many of our customers have loved." Butcher announced, the hippogriffs groaned,

"We'll try to see if we can find something just as tasty since that meat of ours is not easy to get." Deli added,

"Oh." the hippogriffs said with realization, and they ordered their other dishes and drinks. Butcher carried Deli to the back of the wagon,

"What are you doing?" Butcher whispered,

"I'm just telling them the truth." Deli whispered,

"No, you're not, getting that meat is easy, it's getting a lot to feed every customer that's hard." Butcher whispered,

"What will you serve when we run out of meat and we're the only ponies left in existence?" Deli whispered,

"Simple, we move on to other creatures, granted, some of them will be hard to catch and cut up, but it's worth trying." Butcher whispered,

"Are you crazy? You're going to make us criminals in other countries." Deli whispered,

"Whatever it takes to keep our business afloat." Butcher whispered,

"We'll be closed down for good if you do that and have criminal records." Deli whispered, Butcher became speechless,

"Just out of curiosity, which creature's meat were you going to serve after we were out of pony meat?" Deli whispered,

"I was thinking changeling." Butcher whispered,

"What? We can't do that, we're close allies with the changelings now, Princess Celestia would be furious, same if she found out about us serving pony meat, and even if you did, I don't think it'd be popular, I bet those changelings taste like bug meat, and our customers don't like those very much." Deli whispered, Butcher's eyes widened,

"Ahem." a male hippogriff said,

"Oh, sorry, come on, Butcher, let's get back to work." Deli stated, and they did. They served their bugs to the hippogriffs and they chewed them slowly, Deli also noticed that he had a lot less customers, the hippogriffs left and business stopped before closing time,

"See, told you that meat of ours is what draws in customers." Butcher remarked,

"I see that, I'll try to make an alternative if possible." Deli spoke,

"Have you ever tasted that meat yourself?" Butcher asked,

"No." Deli replied,

"Then how do you plan to replicate it?" Butcher questioned,

"Can you get me a piece of it, Butcher?" Deli requested,

"Sure, if we can mass produce the meat, then great." Butcher replied, they watched and saw no customers come, closing time came and Deli teleported back home, he and Butcher left the wagon and Deli went home and slept.

Deli woke up the next morning when he heard knocking at his door and he opened it and saw Butcher,

"Here you go as promised, I already cooked it, and good luck replicating it." Butcher said as he handed a piece of pony meat to him and left. Deli carried the meat with his telekinesis and hovered it above his table, he then got his seasonings and a plate, he then put tofu on his plate. He braced himself and moved the pony meat to himself slowly and put the tip of his tongue on it while barely not vomiting, he took his tongue off after he got a taste of it and then broke apart the tofu. He then began experimenting by putting different seasonings on each piece and mixed them together to try to replicate the meat's taste, he heard sizzling outside several minutes later and Butcher serving customers. He continued working and got startled when he heard knocking at his door,

"It's time for us to go to the Dragon Lands." Butcher said on the other side of the door and Deli teleported him and the wagon to himself and then teleported everything.

They arrived at the Dragon Lands and the dragons ran to them while cheering but stopped when they saw Deli in the back of the wagon and working,

"What's Deli doing?" a male dragon child asked,

"Working, since our most popular dish is hard to supply in large quantities, Deli is trying to replicate its taste in hopes of mass producing it ourselves." Butcher explained,

"Oh." the dragons said, and Butcher began cooking and serving food. Deli continued experimenting with the tofu and seasonings and his eyes began to get a bit tired, he tried one combination of seasonings and it tasted close to the meat,

"Hmm." Deli stated, and he kept experimenting while using the combination of seasonings as the base. He added different seasonings in various amounts but they made the tofu taste less like the meat, he kept trying until he found a combination of seasonings in various amounts made the tofu taste more like the meat,

"Hey, Deli, I'm getting kind of overwhelmed, a little help here?" Butcher requested, Deli put his things down and trotted over to help. They served the dragons and Deli noticed he had less customers again, things slowed down and he got back to experimenting and Butcher served the customers. Deli experimented and tasted the tofu pieces all day and the sun began to set,

"Deli, the sun's setting." Butcher remarked, and Deli teleported them back home. They arrived home and Butcher gave Deli half of the bits,

"Any luck?" Butcher asked,

"I almost got it." Deli answered,

"Oh, okay, hope you'll be done by the time I come here tomorrow." Butcher stated, and he went home. Deli continued working all night and looked up when he heard ponies conversing and a mare sobbing, he saw a royal guard comforting the sobbing mare and a missing pony poster put up. He looked more carefully and his eyes widened when he saw it was the storepony who installed his oven and freezer, he seethed and glared at Butcher's house, he decided to finish experimenting for the night and went into his house, he put the tofu in the refrigerator and his seasonings back on their shelves and slept.

---

"You don't know how Butcher took him down, either?" Doctor Whooves inquired,

"I can easily see Butcher overpowering him with just his strength, that storepony was short and scrawny, Butcher's pretty tall and muscular for an earth pony." Deli replied,

"Hmm, I can see that happening, too." Doctor Whooves remarked, Deli smiled,

"Can you hurry up a bit, we're almost out of time on your session." Doctor Whooves stated,

"Sure, I'm kind of close to the end, too." Deli responded, and he continued his tale.

---

Deli woke up the next morning and quickly got back to experimenting, he tried as many seasonings as he could and found one combination that tasted almost exactly like the meat, he got a paper and wrote down the seasonings, what order to apply them, and how much of each seasoning, he smiled and began putting the combination on the tofu, he then put brown food coloring in the tofu to make it almost the same color as the meat when cooked and headed out. He put the tofu in the refrigerator and Butcher soon came,

"Did you replicate the taste?" Butcher asked,

"Not completely, but a formula I just found tasted extremely close to it, so I decided to go with it since every other combination I've tried hasn't come close to what I put in the refrigerator." Deli answered,

"Wow, good job, I hope our customers will be satisfied." Butcher said, and they opened business. They watched dragons, griffons, and hippogriffs come and they tried Deli's tofu,

"What's this?" a male griffon asked,

"I'm trying to replicate the taste of the meat you all love since getting it is a hassle." Deli explained,

"Should've guessed, you all have been low on it recently." a female dragon remarked,

"Well, let's give it a try." a male hippogriff said, and they did,

"Well?" Deli asked,

"Hmm, it does taste almost exactly the same as the meat, but it doesn't have the texture." the dragon answered,

"We don't serve meat here in Equestria, I don't eat it, myself, and what you're eating is tofu, completely different." Deli explained,

"Then how did you know how it tastes?" the hippogriff asked,

"I gave him a piece and he tasted a little so he can replicate it." Butcher replied,

"Yeah, I put the tip of my tongue on it and got an idea." Deli added,

"Do you have any cooking credentials, Deli?" the griffon questioned,

"Yes, I was a culinary arts student in college, the different cooking methods and seasonings I used to replicate the meat's tastes are all a result of what I learned." Deli responded,

"Well, gotta hand it to you, the tofu's taste is almost spot on, but why tofu?" the hippogriff asked,

"Because it has no taste, it makes it very versatile in adding flavors to it, I can basically make it any flavor I wish." Deli explained,

"Hmm, that's pretty interesting." the hippogriff commented, and they ate the tofu,

"Do you three like it?" Deli inquired,

"Well, it's not as good as the meat, but I'm satisfied." the griffon responded,

"Me too." the dragon added,

"So am I." the hippogriff said, Deli smiled and they finished and left. They got ready to serve food in Griffonstone and they got everything prepared,

"Wow, you've come a long way." a familiar voice said, Deli looked and saw the mare who gave him bits to start his business coming,

"I knew you'd be successful." the mare spoke,

"Yeah, I owe it all to you, I got the wagon cleaned, everything installed, a menu, a theme, and a coworker." Deli responded,

"Say, out of curiosity, what is that meat you two are serving?" the mare inquired,

"Oh, uh..." Deli said,

"Cockatrice." Butcher answered,

"Oh, that's very impressive that you two are catching them, those are some nasty critters, and I know Equestria teaches us to be friends to all animals, but I think you two are doing us a favor by getting rid of them, those things are pests." the mare stated,

"I agree, I think we can all agree that there are circumstances where Princess Twilight's friendship lessons don't work." Butcher remarked, all three agreed,

"Well, if you two are serving anything other than meat, I'd like to have it." the mare spoke,

"Sure, I'll get the ingredients out of my house." Deli replied, and he teleported.

Deli appeared in his home and got his fruits, vegetables, dairy, and grains, he began making a dish he was taught to make in culinary arts class, he sharpened his knives and began cutting the food,

"So, why did you two decide on cockatrice meat?" the mare asked, Deli stopped working and listened,

"Deli and I were just trying any meat for the tourists here and they have liked cockatrice meat the best so far." Butcher answered, Deli continued working while he listened,

"Which part of their body is the meat from?" the mare questioned,

"Their backs." Butcher responded, Deli finished cutting and began seasoning,

"Really? The meats seem awfully too big to be from a cockatrice's back." the mare stated, Deli's eyes widened and he sweated,

"Deli and I are going for the biggest ones, there are some big cockatrices out there, but they're rare, that's why our special meat is low in quantity." Butcher explained,

"Ah, gotcha, an oversized cockatrice is always possible to see." the mare commented, Deli sighed with relief and finished seasoning and began cooking, he focused while blocking out the mare's and Butcher's conversation, he finished cooking and teleported outside.

Deli appeared and gave the mare the meal,

"Here you go, cooked fruit and vegetable salad with a side dish of toast with cheese." Deli said,

"Oh, why, thank you, it looks very appetizing." the mare replied, and she ate it with a fork,

"You want a drink, ma'am?" Butcher suggested,

"No, it's fine, thank you." the mare responded, and she finished the food after about twenty minutes,

"Thank you, it was delicious." the mare commented, and Deli teleported the plate into his house's sink,

"I'm proud of you, Deli, but maybe you shouldn't sell meat, you got ponies here, too, and since the ponies have been curious about the kind of meat you're serving, I'll go ahead and start telling them to relieve their minds." the mare announced, Deli's and Butcher's eyes' widened,

"I'll be going now, and thank you." the mare said, and she walked away,

"We have to keep her quiet." Butcher stated,

"Relax, just let her say it's cockatrice meat and I think we'll be fine." Deli remarked,

"But it'll unveil the mystery of our special meat." Butcher reminded,

"Let her, Butcher, I think keeping it a secret has worn its welcome." Deli said,

"That's part of its attraction, Butcher, if it's unveiled, we might have slower business." Butcher spoke,

"I'm okay with that, serving many customers each day is tiring for both of us, we could use a break." Deli stated,

"I think we're fine with our current flow." Butcher commented,

"We'll see how this develops, time to go out of town." Deli said, and he teleported himself, Butcher, and the wagon.

They arrived in Griffonstone and served the customers, the griffons tasted Deli's tofu and chewed slowly, they ate it and Deli noticed less customers than usual. They served one griffon at a time and watched them carefully in case they get violent, they also served the pony meat but the griffons refused to share, they soon sold out of the pony meat and everything slowed down. Deli watched the griffons eat messily and he washed the plates at the sink in the back of the wagon, closing time soon came and Deli teleported back home, Butcher gave him half of the bits and they went to their homes and slept.

The next day came and Deli went to the wagon and stopped when he saw Butcher putting more pony meat in the freezer, he heard a mare crying and his eyes widened when he saw a missing poster of the mare who gave him the bits to start his business,

"Butcher!" Deli called out, Butcher looked at him,

"What were you thinking?! I can replicate the meat's taste now!" Deli reminded,

"Even then, the customers still don't like it as much as the real thing, they will eventually get tired of your tofu and demand the meat to make a comeback." Butcher remarked,

"My point is there is no need to go after other ponies anymore!" Deli said,

"She was very close to unveiling the secret of our meat with a lie, that would've made the meat lose part of its attraction, so she had to be stopped." Butcher replied, Deli's facial muscles twitched and contorted while his rage skyrocketed,

"Pack up your things and go. You're fired, Butcher." Deli stated, Butcher's eyes widened with shock but he soon glared and gritted his teeth, he jumped onto Deli and tackled him down while snarling.

Butcher held Deli down and began choking him while growling angrily, Deli shot a zap to get him off but Butcher quickly got back up and ran to him. Deli tried to hold Butcher back with his telekinesis but he rammed him down and began jumping and stomping on him, Deli teleported elsewhere and shot beams out of his horn. Butcher strafed while running and dodged the beams and Deli shot a big blast out, Butcher jumped over it and was about to land on Deli's back but he teleported. He reappeared behind him and tried to restrain Butcher with his telekinesis, he kicked the ground up with his hind legs and some of the dirt got in Deli's eyes, he grunted while looking back and Butcher ran to him and then bucked him, Deli grunted while he hit his wagon and his kitchen appliances fell.

Deli stood up and saw Butcher running to him with a scowl on his face, he used his telekinesis to throw his cutting board at his head but it did not stop him, he saw Butcher was close to him and picked up his cast iron with his telekinesis and bashed Butcher's head, he grunted and growled. He ran forward and Deli tried to hit him on his head with the cast iron again but Butcher smacked it away and went behind the oven, he got his kitchen knife and Deli's eyes widened. Butcher ran to him and tried to slash him and Deli teleported around and blocked every attack with the cast iron, he panted heavily while having thoughts of getting cut. Butcher continued trying to slash him with the knife while Deli moved the cast iron around to block Butcher's attacks and bashed his head when he saw an opening, he got stunned and Deli used his telekinesis to break the knife.

Butcher lunged forward while snarling and knocked Deli down and began bashing his head on ground and punching his face, Deli teleported out of his grip and held Butcher up with his telekinesis. Butcher spat in Deli's eye and he got distracted while losing his grip, Butcher jumped on his back and wrapped his front legs around Deli's neck. Deli gagged and struggled to breathe and he tried to teleport but Butcher tightened his grip, Deli moved his neck back a little and shot a zap at Butcher and got him off. Deli stood up and gasped for air while Butcher quickly got back up and jumped on Deli's back, they rolled around and ended up in the wagon.

Deli held Butcher's front legs back while Butcher looked to his left and reached to the side, he got a cleaver and Deli's eyes widened, Butcher swung it down and Deli quickly threw Butcher over himself and stood up. Butcher stood up and swung his cleaver around and damaged everything, Deli ducked and swayed back to dodge each swing while he panted heavily; Butcher jumped forward and swung his cleaver down at Deli's horn, he quickly put up a magic shield and blocked it while the force pushed him back and made him fall. Butcher jumped forward again and swung his cleaver down but Deli put his legs up to hold him back and grabbed his front legs, they wrestled one another and Butcher overpowered him easily, Deli saw the cleaver coming near him and he quickly used his telekinesis to shatter the blade into pieces. They wrestled one another and soon rolled out of the wagon, they stood up and began punching one another in their faces with Butcher striking harder, Deli noticed him getting tired and used his telekinesis to choke him, Butcher gasped for air and fell and soon became unconscious.

Deli panted while he watched Butcher and he did not respond, he thought about reporting him to the authorities but had thoughts about the guards telling him to forgive Butcher and offer him his friendship, he decided not to and then got all of the meat in the freezer with his telekinesis and cast a spell to burn them to bits. He looked at his damaged wagon and checked everything, he sighed with relief when everything still worked and made plans to buy new kitchenware. He looked at Butcher and saw he was still unconscious, he sat in his wagon while watching him and eventually fell asleep.

The next morning came and he saw Butcher was up,

"I'm sorry, Deli, I lost control of myself." Butcher said,

"No, you are done, Butcher, you're fired, you don't work for me anymore." Deli remarked, Butcher's eyes widened and he began walking away but soon turned around,

"Just you wait, Deli, I'll open my own business and show you I'm better at this than you, just you wait." Butcher declared, and he walked out of sight. Deli got a wet towel from his house and wiped the business' name off, he then teleported to Mount Aris,

"Huh? Where's Butcher?" a female hippogriff asked,

"About that, he and I had a falling out and we're not working together anymore, also, I'm going to be closed for a while, I have to replace my damaged stuff and I'm not selling that meat anymore, I got a lot of changes to do as well." Deli explained, the hippogriffs groaned with disappointment,

"I know, but please be patient, I'll try to make a comeback after I get everything fixed, goodbye, everygriff." Deli stated, and he teleported to the Dragon Lands and Griffonstone and said the same thing. He arrived home and closed the shutters on his wagon, he then put a closed sign on one shutter and went in his home. Deli sat in a chair and put his head on the table while clutching it,

"I knew I should've just stuck to serving ponies." Deli said, and he kept his head on the table until he fell asleep in his chair. A week passed and Deli reopened his business, he served fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, and the tofu, business was very slow and he did not make much money,

"Not in high spirits now, are you?" a male unicorn asked, Deli looked at him,

"Are you familiar with the therapist Doctor Whooves?" the unicorn questioned,

"Yeah, he's been quite popular recently." Deli replied,

"I'm Joker, one of his previous patients, I think you should go see him, I felt much better after talking with him." Joker remarked,

"Now that you mention it, I am having bad dreams recently about what had transpired, tell you what, I'll give it a go." Deli spoke,

"Great, I'll let him know and I'll teleport him to you and he'll say when your appointment is." Joker said,

"Okay, thanks." Deli responded, and Joker paid for his meal and teleported away, Deli closed his business later in the day and went to sleep.

---

Deli was sitting across from Doctor Whooves and sweating profusely,

"I didn't work again and I'm still closed, but after talking with you, I do feel a bit better and more willing to reopen my food business." Deli said,

"That's good, just don't push yourself, and remember, if you're still bothered by your experiences with Butcher, my door is always open." Doctor Whooves replied, Deli smiled,

"Price is ten bits, and I might stop by your business one day to order something." Doctor Whooves commented,

"I would appreciate that." Deli stated with a smile, Doctor Whooves smiled back,

"You're not going to tell Fluttershy that I served animals and bugs as food, right?" Deli questioned,

"Oh, Celestia, no, she would be devastated if she found out." Doctor Whooves responded,

"Good, I'm very relieved to hear that, well, I'll be going now, thanks for everything." Deli spoke, and he paid him ten bits and left, he sighed with relief and teleported himself and the wagon out of Ponyville.

Doctor Whooves continued sitting at his desk and reached under it and took out various newspapers and posters, he looked at them and saw reports of a wagon, an oven, a freezer, a sink, and lumber all being stolen, missing posters of a mare, a tourist pony, and a storepony, a newspaper of Deli opening his food business and already serving a mysterious meat immediately, another newspaper with Deli and Butcher working together with Deli smiling and serving meat with his telekinesis and Butcher in the back of the wagon looking unhappy, a newspaper from Mount Aris with Deli and Butcher arguing about the meat, a newspaper from the Dragon Lands on Deli getting angry at Butcher for serving tofu that has been seasoned to taste like the meat, a newspaper from Griffonstone with Deli and Butcher arguing and the article saying Butcher being angry about his salary, a newspaper on Deli's food business being reported by Butcher to a royal guard about what he was serving and the royal guard going missing the next day, and a newspaper on Butcher quitting his job after getting into a fight with Deli and going missing the next day. Doctor Whooves walked to the back of the room and to a crystal,

"Demonicus." Doctor Whooves said, Demonicus' face appeared,

"What is it?" Demonicus asked,

"I got someone for you to send Daylight Dimmer and Starburn to hunt down, my patient is a liar and a criminal." Doctor Whooves revealed,

"Thought so, I'm still surprised the authorities haven't discovered him, I'll make the arrangements for his assassination now." Demonicus spoke,

"Thank you, I'll go ahead and try to contact his victims' families and relatives and give them closure." Doctor Whooves responded,

"Okay, good luck on your side." Demonicus stated, and his image disappeared and Doctor Whooves walked out of his house.

Deli appeared in the Dragon Lands and dragons ran to him while cheering, he opened the freezer and got three pieces of meat out, he looked at Butcher's skeleton in the back and smirked and then closed the freezer.