“Honey Suckle, right?”

“That it is” the white pegasus across from me said. “Lots of ponies say I’m the sweetest mare around.”

“So, why do you want to work at the Carne Den?”

“To bring joy to ponies and make a few bits in the process. And for everypony to love me. Is that last part okay?”

“Sure, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of your job. Speaking of which, you applied for being either a waitress or door greeter. Since there is no door greeter position, that means you’ll be a waitress. Is that alright?”

“That’s fine. All the better for ponies to love me! Bwahahaha!” Honey cleared her throat. “Sorry about that. I don’t know how that slipped out.”

“I’ll give it a pass for now. So, what are your thoughts on meat?”

“I’ve never actually seen the stuff myself, though I do know about it. It shouldn’t take me very long to get used to it.”

“Alright, alright.” I thought about the bright yellow maned and tailed pegasus for a bit. “Go inside and tell Rarity you need an orange Carne Den uniform.”

Honey’s face lit up. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.” That was a pretty short interview.

“Sylvia Morris, I presume?” What an oddly normal name around these parts. She was also one of the few who submitted an application ahead of her arrival.

“That’s me” the tan unicorn mare across from me said. “What can I get you today?”

“That sounded very practiced.”

“I’ve got years of practice.”

“Alright. Can you tell me why you want to work at the Carne Den?”

“I’ve been a waitress for various restaurants in the past, and I love the job. Unfortunately, the pace of life in places like Manehattan got to be a bit much for me. My last waitress job lasted a year at a little place in the Horseshoe Bay area. I had to quit because, well, stallions who are out at sea for weeks at a time tend to get a bit . . . frisky, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. On the way out, I caught a glimpse of the local newspaper and saw that you were hiring for all positions. I’ve heard a bit about you, and I figured it would be fun to work with you.”

“Is that it?” Please let storytime be over.

“That, and I was fresh out of a job. Also, Ponyville seems like a nice, quiet place to live.”

Clearly, she hasn’t met Pinkie yet. Time will fix that. “You applied for the position of head waitress, and nothing else. You have years of experience, but tell me how you would run the position.”

“I’d let the employees under me, as long as they do their jobs well, relax. I’ve been under all kinds of head waiters and waitresses and experienced just as many styles of management. I’ve seen that, when the wait staff are under a more laid back manager that they like, and who likes them, they do much better. I’ve even experienced that shift myself, in both directions. Of course, I’d also lay down a firm hoof when necessary, but not at every little mistake.”

“And you can recognize patterns in other staff as well?”

“Of course. I can tell when an employee who’s made mistakes is doing their best to fix them, or when they just don’t care very much.”

“Always good. And your stance on meat?”

“It’s a thing that comes from animals and is eaten. My time in Horseshoe Bay got me used to the stuff.”

“Have you ever eaten meat?”

“I have been known to partake in the occasional bacon and cheese sandwich.”

“Go inside and tell Rarity you need an orange and purple Carne Den uniform.”

“Your name” I began. “Is it really pronounced the way it’s spelled?”

“Yes, my name is Fuxezz” the female dragon on the other side of the table answered.

“Yeah, I’m going to have a bit of trouble saying your name. It’s got a bit of, well, foul language in it. No offense, but I just can’t bring myself to say it. Can I just call you Fuzz?”

“Sure. It’s not the first time I’ve gotten that nickname for the same reason.”

For a scaly dragon, it sure was an ironic nickname. “Alright Fuzz, I just need you to answer a few questions for me, alright?”

“Sure.”

“What do you want to be at the Carne Den?”

“I want to be a hostess, waitress, bartender, or cook.”

She was versatile. “I can’t give you all of those, especially since there won’t be any hosts, but how about bartender? You’d also double as a waitress for those at the bar.”

“I can do that. I even have a special drink that I’ve perfected.”

“Really?” I probably wouldn’t drink it, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Fireball whiskey.”

“Please tell me there aren’t any actual fireballs involved. Or fire.” I didn’t want the place to burn down because someone had a drink.

“It only feels like it when you drink it. It heats up your belly and makes your breath really hot. Sometimes, it even turns your breath into steam.”

“Well, as long as that’s it, that’s fine. So, why are you applying?”

“I’m trying to figure out what friendship is. Princess Ember did that some time ago, and I want to see what it’s like and what it’s about. I figured that getting a job here in Equestria would allow me to find those answers. Everyone seems friendly, and that’s part of friendship, right?”

“Sure.” I couldn’t completely understand her logic though. “Now, the Carne Den will be serving meat and things with meat in them. Are you fine with that?”

“How can anyone not like meat? It’s good stuff.”

“I’ll take that as a yes. Now go inside and tell Rarity you need a blue Carne Den uniform.”

“Hello” I greeted. “Are you here for an interview, miss?”

“I’m actually a stallion” the silver pegasus corrected as he sat down across from me. “Don’t worry, that mistake happens all the time.”

“Oh. Sorry. You are here for an interview though, right?”

“Yes. May I say something though?”

“Go ahead.”

“I’ve heard things about you, but you don’t seem like what I’ve heard.”

Huh? “What have you heard?”

“I heard your hair was made of fire, for one thing.”

“My hair’s made of hair. It’s normal.” Except for when it ignites. Avoiding sharp stuff and combat helps keep it from lighting up.

“I also heard you have a bit of a temper.”

Slightly sensitive topic there. “It’s happened occasionally, but it usually takes a lot to push me that far.”

“You’re strong enough to topple a house by yourself.”

“I might be, but I’ve never done that.”

“You routinely hit things with your face.”

“Other way around. Hey, you’re here to be interviewed by me, not to interview me. First question: what’s your name and why do you want to work at the Carne Den?”

“Well, my name is Silver and I want a new job. I’m a talented acrobat, it’s even my cutie mark, and I’ve made a lot of bits off of it, but I don’t really like doing that. I heard you were building a new restaurant and figured it would be a good change of pace. That, and I’m incredibly curious about you, but couldn’t think of a way to approach you that wasn’t weird.”

“All you’d have to do is catch my attention and start talking. Next question: what positions are you after?”

“I want to be a waiter, host, or chef. I would have also gone for bartender, but I had a bad experience doing that once.”

“Hm? Sounds like there’s a story there.”

Silver looked a bit uncomfortable, but he told me anyways. “Let’s just say there was a big drunk stallion and, well, almost everypony mistakes me for a mare at first sight when sober. It was a very close call.”

He didn’t need to say anything else. “Yikes. No bartending for you until you think you can handle it at the Carne Den then. Anyways, last question: how do you feel about meat?”

“Blegh. I don’t like the idea of eating that stuff. I mean, I could get used to being around it, but I won’t eat the stuff.”

Hmm. “So you don’t like meat, yet you applied to be one of the cooks?”

“I can get used to it!”

“Alright, let me think.” I didn’t want him hosting or waiting, since there might be a repeat of his previous experience, even though he was willing to put himself out there again. He couldn’t be a good cook off the bat either since he seemed to be disgusted by meat. How could I work him into the position of a good cook? “Okay, I have an idea.”

“Yes?”

“You can start off as a dishwasher so you can watch the meat being prepared and get some exposure to it there. During a slow period, I or one of the other cooks can give you a hands-on experience with prepping and cooking the stuff. We can start on that before the place opens. Sound good?”

Silver thought it over a bit. “Yes, yes it does sound good. The idea, not the meat.”

“Good thing there’s going to be options. Go inside and tell Rarity you need a red Carne Den uniform and a white armband.”

Ever since I started the Carne Den idea with Gilda, I always thought I would be the tallest one to work there, being a human and all that. Gilda and I were very, very close to each other’s height, but I edged her out by just a tiny bit. The gray minotaur across from me was easily over a foot taller than I was, and the red eyes and hair did not contribute towards a friendly look. “Uh, hello” I greeted.

“Hello, Miss, uh, how do you pronounce your name?” the minotaur asked. “Newspapers don’t exactly come with pronunciation guides.”

“Yang Xiao Long. I take it you’re here for an interview, Mister, uh, what’s your name?”

“Aegir. Before we start, there’s something I have to show you.” Before I could ask what it was, Aegir briefly burst into green flames, and a moment later, had turned into a gray and red bug pony. “I’m actually a changeling.”

“Okay then.” I was more than a little confounded. “What’s a changeling?”

Now Aegir looked a bit confounded. “You’ve never heard of changelings? Well, to simplify it, changelings are shapeshifters and we feed off of emotions. There was an incident in Canterlot some years ago involving a changeling invasion, which was thwarted. I was in Manehattan at the time, and the changelings that attacked Canterlot were unrelated to me.” after finishing the brief explanation, Aegir changed back to his minotaur form. “I’m actually a rogue changeling. I neither have nor want to be part of a hive.”

I’ll have to look into that. Too bad there’s no internet here. “Alright. Putting history aside for now, let’s get started. Why do you want to work at the Carne Den?”

“I heard about you in the paper, and then I saw that you were looking for employees for the Carne Den, and I decided to try for a job. I’ve also wanted to meet you and decided that this would be a good opportunity to do that.”

All he’d have to do was find me and strike up a conversation if he just wanted to meet me and talk to me. “And what positions are you applying for?”

“I can be a bartender or security guard. I have experience and skills for both areas.”

Sounds useful. “That’s pretty good. Of course, as a bartender, you will be doing a bit of waiting on customers.”

“As would be expected.”

“Finally, and this is very important, can you tolerate meat?”

“Yes.”

“Well, in that case, go in and tell Rarity you need a blue Carne Den Uniform.”

Across from me was a small gray mare with a puffy red mane and matching tail. Or maybe she was a filly? Either way, she had specks of dirt across her body. “I’m here for an interview.”

“Aren’t you a bit young to be looking for a job?” She seemed more like a filly to me.

“I’m an adult, thank you very much. I just happen to be rather short and small.”

“Really? You certainly fooled me.” I couldn’t tell if she was telling the truth or not. Her size also seemed like a bit of a sore spot for her. I made a mental note to not bring it up unless neccessary. “So, let’s start. What’s your name and why do you want to work at the Carne Den?”

“My name is Ají Ajo. I've travelled across the world for a long time, and I’m looking to settle down somewhere. Before I can do that though, I need a job, and I saw an ad in a newspaper while I was on a train for here. You know how it is, right?”

“I understand.” Not the globetrotting part, but she didn’t need to know that. “So, what positions are you going for?”

“I can be a waitress, bartender, or even a cook. I’m really good at cooking with hot spices, and I like spicy food. I even won a pepper eating contest once.”

Hmm. “I might ask you to make something spicy for me at some point. There’s something I want to test at some point. However, you won’t be a cook.”

“Why not?”

“To put it simply, you’re short. You’d have to stand on your rear hooves to even see what’s cooking, and having stepstools everywhere for you is not a viable or safe option. For this same reason, I must also say no to bartending. That leaves you with being a waitress out of what you want. I’m willing to give you a chance at that.”

“Why just a chance?”

“Because you’re short, it might be difficult for you to do that job. If you do have difficulty that gets in the way of your work there, I do have a backup option.”

“What’s the backup?”

“Dishwasher. It’s not as glorious as, well, anything else, but it is a vital job. Speaking of cleaning things, what’s with all the dirt on you?”

“I like digging, finding gems, and just the feel of earth in my coat. I can clean up easily enough though. My fur actually has a bit of a natural sparkle to it when it’s clean.”

That sounded pretty cool. “That’s good to know. Now, the Carne Den will have meat products regularly. Can you tolerate being around that?”

“Yes. In fact, meat is really good at holding onto spices.”

“That’s interesting. Now go inside and tell Rarity you need an orange Carne Den uniform.” I hoped I wouldn’t have to tell her to get a white one in the future.

“You’re Yang Xiao Long, aren’t you?” the green unicorn across from me asked.

“Yes” I confirmed. “And you are?”

“I’m Cloverleaf, and I’d like to apply for a job at the Carne Den.”

“Sounds good. First question, why do you want to work at the Carne Den?”

“I just finished an extended trip through the Griffon Empire and I was thinking of looking for a place to settle when I saw that you were hiring. I got on the next boat to the Horseshoe Bay, then took the first train I could to get to Ponyville.”

“Wait, so there are ads out in the Griffon Empire?”

“Yes. I thought you’d know that?”

“No, I left it to a friend.” Twilight really went above and beyond.

“Sounds like a good friend.”

“She is. So, what positions do you want?”

“I can be a waiter. I can also be a kitchen aid. Just basic food prep and organizing, not actually cooking it.”

I’m sure he could learn how to cook if he was in the kitchen long enough. “That’s good. So, one more question: what do you think of meat?”

“I’ve never had it before. I am curious about what it’s like. I never got a chance to try it during my travels.”

Interesting. “Alright. I’ll make you a waiter. Go inside and tell Rarity you need an orange Carne Den uniform.”

“Uh, hello, everybody” I said to the small flock of griffons in front of me, led by none other than Gilda. “Gilda, what’s going on?”

“They’re all looking for a job at the Carne Den” Gilda explained. “I’ve already interviewed each of the griffons behind me. I’ve got one who’s got experience behind a bar, a few who can wait on tables, and a few more that can cook.”

Alright. “Are any of these griffons related to each other?”

“No. I wasn’t about to let a family have multiple members apply. There are a few more families looking for jobs around here.” As I thought over what positions were filled, Gilda continued. “Is that the Carne Den uniform you’ve got on? It looks nice.”

“Hm? Oh, yes. The colors actually mean different things. Hey, could you go find the other families? We don’t have any dishwashers yet.”

“Sure. how many?”

“Three should do.”

“I’m on it.” Gilda took off, leaving me with the flock.

“So, who’s the bartender out of you all? Just raise a foreleg.” One griffon, I couldn’t tell if they were male or female, raised a foreleg. “Go inside and tell Rarity you need a blue uniform.

“Cooks next?” A few talons went up. “You’ll need red uniforms. And the rest of you, the wait staff, you’ll need orange uniforms.”

“You’re not going to interview us?” one griffon asked.

“Gilda already did that, and I trust her judgement for this.” I looked in through the window and saw Rarity doing her thing with the tape measure. I’ve never seen her get so many customers at once. All these uniforms were going to be expensive, but Rarity would be making quite a bit once it’s all done. I could almost see the bits gleaming in her eyes.

I made a mental note to tell Gilda she was going to have a yellow and purple uniform like mine.

Construction was done under budget and two days ahead of schedule, everyone had their uniforms properly and fully fitted, and all the deals with the food suppliers were in place. All that was left was for everyone to practice and get familiar with everything.

I was busy admiring the work that went into the office when Brew walked in. “Pardon me, Yang.”

“Yes?” I tore my gaze away from the shiny desk to look at the accountant pegasus.

“I think I’d like to work here.”

“Really? Don’t you have a life back in Canterlot?”

“Yes, but the quieter pace of life in Ponyville has really grown on me since I’ve been here. Besides, I’m sure you could use an accountant to help manage the Carne Den’s finances, and I’ve been here with you from the start.”

I thought his offer over and was struck by an idea. “Brew, go to Carousel Boutique and tell Rarity that you need a green and purple Carne Den uniform.”

“Thank you. If I may ask, why green?”

“I associate that color with money.”

“Bits are gold though.”

“Back where I’m from, we had paper money. It was green.”

“Ah. Oh, how much time will you allow for me to actually move here, since I probably won’t be able to work while I’m relocating?”

“Until we’ve been open for a week. I can probably manage the finances until then.”

“That should be more than enough time. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. And if you see Fancy, could you say ‘thanks’ for me?”

“Sure.” Brew left the Carne Den to take care of his stuff. I could only wish him luck surviving the surprise party that was bound to happen to him once he’d moved in.

Author's Notes:

I'd list all the people who contributed the OCs that were interviewed, but I'm lazy and you know who you are.

I'm hoping to get the next chapter out on July 4th.