//------------------------------// // A vacation for a Princess // Story: The Chef's Life // by vincent789 //------------------------------// After Twilight came to terms with her change of position on the pyramid. Twilight finally left her room, after a solid week. She told her parents that she needed more time. And while she thinks, she will start to search for her perfect partner in her cafe. So on the move she went, Twilight didn't do much while she rode it, however she did spot a familiar face on it. "Hey Tour!" Twilight said pleased. "Oh! It seems our paths intertwine once more. How can I help you this time?" Tour asked curious. "Actually I am not sure. I got a title dumped on me a few days ago and it make me, less..." Twilight said as she searched for the word. "Attentive?" Tour offered. "Less certain. Maybe even a bit confused." Twilight explained. "Life has many twists and turns. If you knew what the future held, it would be a very boring life." Tour said knowingly. Twilight sighed, "I guess you are right. So, my favorite tour guide. What can you tell me about the Golden Dragon resort?" she said as she switched gears. "I am happy that, that helped you. So the golden dragon resort used to only belong to kings and queens. Maybe even the very gifted. However lately they seemed to be a lot more willing to accept even nobodies. Those nobodies do pay a lot, but it is more available for outsiders than in the past." Tour explained. "Has the resort fallen on hard times?" Twilight asked. "Maybe. I don't know. They are still very secretive about it. However it does breath new life into the resort." Tour said uncertain. "Hm. I see. Okay. So what are the highlights of the park?" Twilight asked. "Well this is were things are, weird. You see, as guest you have access to everything, besides royal restricted areas. Whatever those are, I don't know. From leaks we hear, you get access to areas that are normally restricted to everyone. Unless one is ranked royal." Tour explained. "So not worth the price, essentially." Twilight noted. "I guess so." Tour said. "Huh. So how do they know that you are royal or not royal?" Twilight asked. "When granted royalty, you gain magic or extra magic usually. However their way is different. They scan you and then they know." Tour explained. "Can you refuse getting scanned?" Twilight asked. "Yes. But I recommend against it. I heard of ponies getting kicked out for it." Tour said. "I am sure that is not the whole story." Twilight said. "I agree. It is probably just a scare Technique." Tour said. "And if I get kicked, it's fine. I got my ticket as a gift. I payed nothing at all." Twilight said, "Wow. How lucky." Tour said somewhat jealous. "What about you?" Twilight asked. "My brother won it, and gave it to me. Since he hate resorts." Tour said. "Let me guess, your brother is a wonderbolt." Twilight guessed. "Exactly." Tour said. "Arriving at Golden Dragon resort. Please don't forget your bags and dragons please be careful not to drag a pony outside with you by accident. Thank you." The intercom said. "Something tells me, that happens a lot." Twilight said with a giggle. "Yeah. Sadly." Tour said. "Did you?" Twilight asked. "Yup." Tour said saddened. "Sorry. Well now you are coming here with purpose." Twilight said. "That is true. Oh! I see my tourist already on the station, I have to go. Have fun Twilight!" Tour said as she swiftly went to her bags. "She is fast." Twilight noted. "Time for a nice vacation." Twilight said to herself. As soon as the train had stopped, Twilight departed the train and walked towards the resort. While walking there, the whole resort reminded her of China and even Japan. It looked pleasant. Twilight liked the decor as she walked towards the reception. "Welcome to Golden Dragon resort. How may I help you?" the receptionist asked Twilight. "I reserved a room for one on behalf of a ticket." Twilight said, "Can I see the ticket?" The receptionist requested. "Sure." Twilight showed the ticket. "Alright. Please follow me." The receptionist asked. As soon as Twilight had arrived the receptionist explained how it works in the resort. After a good while the question that Twilight was going denied had arrived. "Now I wish to scan you, may I?" The receptionist asked. "No." Twilight denied. "If I can't scan you, I will have to restrain you from using certain facilities." The receptionist warned. "Like?" Twilight asked curiously. "Every station that is public besides the restaurant." The receptionist said. "Even the parks and stuff?" Twilight asked. "Also those." The receptionist said. "Hm. Perhaps I should just leave." Twilight hinted. "How about this. If you give me a good reason why you refuse to be scanned, I might be able to polish it off, but explain it to the boss." The receptionist offered. "Very well. I recently gained a rank against my will. I do not wish to receive any special treatment from it. Because of that, I don't want to be scanned. The rank has to stay a secret until I am ready to reveal it to Equestria." Twilight explained. "Hm. Atleast tell me the rank with proof. I can ensure that you rank stays a secret and that you gain no special treatment with it." The receptionist offered. "Hm. Fine. Scan me, but keep the content a secret from everyone besides your boss." Twilight requested. "Understood." The receptionist scanned Twilight. "So a hidden princess. Understood." The receptionist said. "By the way, If I find out that it has been spread. I will show you my best dragon breath impression onto the park." Twilight warned. "Dully noted. Please have fun the rest of the day. Your secret is a secret with me." The receptionist said as she left. The receptionist walked all the way to the office to her boss. "Boss, Twilight has settled in." The receptionist said. "Anything I should know?" Golden asked. "She wish to keep her currently new rank a secret and wishes no special treatment." The receptionist explained. "Which is?" Golden asked. "If this information gets out, Twilight was going to her best dragon breath impression onto the park." The receptionist warned. Golden blinked, "Alright. Please whisper it then." he said. "Princess." The receptionist whispered. Golden blinking became more intense, "Oh! Well I understand the secrecy. I will go congratulate Twilight personally. Make a thousand percent sure that doesn't leak. Or Twilight is going to ruin someone's day." Golden warned. "Understood." The receptionist said as she walked off. Meanwhile Twilight is unpacking her bags. The room she received had a pretty large kitchen in it. Perfect for Twilight. She was pleased about it. Until some knocking came from the door. Twilight opened the door and sees Orb Golden. Or Golden as he likes it. "Oh! Come on in." Twilight said surprised. "First things first. Congratulations with your rank up." Golden said. "Ugh. Yeah thanks." Twilight said displeased. "What's up?" Golden asked surprised. "I gained that rank against my will. I need a vacation to get my mind together." Twilight admitted. "Ah. Well I already granted you princess levels of access even without the rank. So regardless, you can access everything anyways." Golden explained. "Won't that cause problems?" Twilight asked worried. "Nah. And if it does, I will be responsible for it." Golden said ignorant. "Okay. Say can you help me with something then?" Twilight asked. Golden blinked, "Sure. What is it?" he asked. "I am searching for a partner. I am going to start my own Cafe soon, but I can't do it alone." Twilight admitted. "Ah. I will keep an eye out." Golden said, "Enjoy the rest of your stay, Princess Twilight." he added afterwards, which received him a groan out of Twilight. "Thanks." Twilight said as she used the best fake smile impression she was capable of. "But in all seriousness, I know you will come to terms with it. You always do." Golden said knowingly. "Thanks, now please leave me be." Twilight said annoyed. "Of course." Golden said as he finally left. 'I have already come to terms, its just. I never wanted this. I just want to be a chef. Not a chef princess.' Twilight thought. Sighing, Twilight continued to unpack her bags into the drawers. After she was done, Twilight calmly walked towards the central park. She decided to just sit on a bench next to a lonely tree. She grabbed a cookbook for dragons out of backpack and placed it onto the bench. She then laid down and started to read. Out of the corner of her eye she sees something, interesting, taking place. So she closed her book and listened to an conversation she is probably not supposed to hear. "When will this egg hatch?" A small dragon with a spiky hairdo asked. "My dear, have patience. Besides its a gift to the golden family. What they do with it, is none of my business." The clearly older dragon said. "Does it even contain a dragon? It's so light and when I see through it, I see no one inside it." A small dragon said. "Then perhaps they will use it for baking. Again we are not to question them." The older dragon said. "Which is why I question you." The small dragon said wittily. The older dragon looks annoyed at the smaller dragon, but said nothing. As they walk passed, the smaller dragon spots Twilight, he looks wide-eyed as he hurries back alongside the older dragon. "I thought this resort doesn't accept ponies." The smaller dragon said confused. "They accept the rich, the powerful and royalty." The older dragon wisely said. "Even ponies?" The small dragon asked. "It is unusual to see a pony here. But not impossible, why?" The older dragon said. "I think that pony on that lonely bench over there, overheard our conversation." The small dragon commented worried. The older dragon looks into Twilight's direction and spots her. The older dragon immediately realized who it was, so she simply smiled. Twilight simply looked confused at her reaction. "That is a big shot, Spike. She is welcome to hear whatever we say." The older dragon said. "Who is she?" Spike asked. "She is the shadow of the princesses of Equestria. She has brought forth more change, than princess Celestia has done in a thousand years." The older dragon said proudly. "Is that so? What kind of change?" Spike asked. "She has given ponies the courage to put their hooves down and fight back to the dominant stallions." The older dragon said proudly. "Like a civil war?" Spike asked. "No. Regarding working. Like cooking or even artistry. Ponies are much more willing to rebel than to give in. And its all thanks to her." The older dragon explained. "That is awesome! Can I maybe meet her later?" Spike asked. "Of course my dear. If she doesn't mind that is." The older dragon said as she looked into Twilight's direction. Twilight nodded with permission. "So it would seem that she doesn't mind." The older dragon said. "Awesome~!" Spike shouted, "Lets hurry and deliver this, yeah?" he said excited as he picks up his eggs and the older dragon eggs. "Calm down, I am sure we can find her later." The older dragon said, but it was too late. Spike was already carrying all the eggs by himself towards the delivery point. "Huh. You are stronger than you look." The older dragon said surprised. She was smiling however. She then hurries up to catch up to spike. "Spike, huh?" Twilight said as she went back to her book. After an hour of reading, Twilight started to get bored. She had gotten used to adventuring and constant dangers that anything less would bore the crap out of her. And just as soon as she got bored, she heard screaming in the distance. Out of the direction of where Spike went. Alerted, Twilight closed her book and teleported it to her room. She stood up and ran towards the direction of the screaming. After a good one hour of running later, Twilight had arrived at the source of the screaming. It seems one of kitchen staff was angry about the dragon eggs for some reason. And he was blaming Spike. Twilight might protect girls, she wasn't one to back down for those she liked or is interested in. Like Spike. So Twilight carefully listened to the conversation. "I ordered golden dragon eggs! These aren't golden eggs!" The staff shouted. Twilight looked at the eggs and disagreed. These eggs were in fact golden dragon eggs. As she read in a book it said the following: 'You have two types of dragon eggs. Normal dragon eggs which is generally smaller but rich in flavor. They are cheap and can even be used by the commoner. And then you have golden dragon eggs, these are large edible eggs. They aren't colored golden, but they are expensive and has extreme flavors. What makes these eggs special is that they are the size of an ordinary breeding egg, but is primarily used in cooking. They are extremely high in demand, which also reflects on the price. That is also why they are nicknamed Golden Dragon eggs. Due to its price being worth in gold.' "Madam. We have no other golden dragon eggs. These are golden dragon eggs." The older dragon tried to explain. "These are not golden dragon eggs!" The staff screamed as she threw one at Spike with her magic. Twilight however picked it out of the sky and placed it back onto the ground. Spike looked grateful into Twilight's direction. The staff than looked into the direction of the intervention and saw Twilight. But either he didn't know Twilight or was oblivious. Enraged he threw the rest in her direction. Twilight shrugged it off by levitating all the eggs at the same time and placing them behind the older dragon for safe keeping. "What!?" The staff looked shocked. He threw them one by one and Twilight just pick them all up at the same time. "First things first, Either you don't know what a golden dragon egg is or you are incompetent. But these are in fact golden dragon eggs. They aren't made of gold, they are simply that expensive that they gained the status, "Golden" dragon eggs." Twilight explained. Twilight proceeds to pick one up, "In fact these are of decently high quality then the norm." she said. The older dragon smiled, she was impressed with Twilight's sheer knowledge. "I needed Golden dragon eggs, not these!" the staff screamed ignorant. "Enough!" Twilight shouted with the royal Canterlot voice. The staff shrank to the ground in fear, even the older dragon got pushed away by the shout. "If you refuse them. Then tell me right now. Seeing as they are a gift, I will gladly take them off your hooves. However if you start screaming then we are going to have problems." Twilight explained annoyed. "I- We- I- Fine! Take them. I don't want them." The kitchen staff member said annoyed as he gave up. Which caused him to leave the area and head back to the kitchen. "Very good. Why don't you two join me for some lunch at my room. I am sure we need to talk about this anyways." Twilight calmly asked the older dragon. "Thanks. I would appreciated." She said. "Very good. To avoid suspicious I will teleport us back with the eggs." Twilight explained as her horn lit up and she teleported, with the eggs and dragons and all. After a successful teleportation session, Spike and the older dragon sat down at Twilight's couch. Twilight meanwhile placed most of the eggs near them and only took three eggs from the pile. "I will only need three eggs. Please take the rest back home." Twilight requested. "Sure. Thanks!" The older dragon said. "What are you going to make?" Spike asked curious. "Eggs Benedict." Twilight said. "Ooh?" Spike said curious. "What is that, if I may ask?" The older dragon asked. "It's an egg muffin. It contains poached eggs with bacon and toast." Twilight explained. "How are you going to poach these big eggs?" Spike asked curious. "I will use the biggest soup pan this kitchen has." Twilight explained. Twilight started by filling the pot with water and placing a large and heavy bowl on the bottom. She then heated the water up to about boiling point. She cracked the egg in a large bowl and swirled the water as she placed the egg into the water. The eggs lowered onto the bottom into the bowl, which caused the sides to close over the egg yolk. Turning it into a poached egg. While she was doing that on the side and waiting five minutes for each to softly boil. She started to make the sauce and placed some bread in a toaster. The sauce was made in a sauce pan, she poured some white wine with vinegar into it. With some peppercorns and a single laurel leaf to taste. And a small pinch of salt. She then grabbed some medium sized eggs out of the fridge and separate the egg yolk with the egg white. She put the egg yolk with in the bowl and strained the wine sauce over it. Twilight mixed it well and the sauce was made. At this point the toast was ready and so was the sauce. Two out of three eggs were done, so Twilight plated it for her two guests. First a double slice of toast on the plate, she then placed the egg over it and the sauce. And as last some bacon that Twilight brought with her as she normally ate it as snack. And placed it to the side as decor. After plating them both Twilight gave them the plates. And about a minute later, Twilight had her own plate. "Three eggs Benedict as lunch." Twilight said, "Thanks for the food." The two dragons said at the same time. Twilight took a bit and immediately tasted the overwhelmingly delicious taste of the golden dragon eggs, the toast and bacon managed to cancel the taste a little, but the sauce completed the dish. It was delicious. Which is also why the dragons were done much faster than Twilight. "My god. That was delicious." Spike said as he laid down. "I must admit. You are as good as they say you are." The older dragon also said impressed. "Thanks. I actually never worked with this ingredient. So I am happy that it was tasty." Twilight said as finished her lunch. "The ability to adapt on demand. That takes skill!" Spike commented impressed. "Not to mention. Using ingredients that aren't normally meant for such a dish and make it work regardless. Sure is impressive." The older dragon said. "Thanks. It took a long time to get here." Twilight said. "How long?" The older dragon asked. "Hm. Six years." Twilight said. "That is fast!" Spike said. "Yeah. I am a master chef and it took twenty-five years to get there. But being able to do this? I have yet to gain that skill." The older dragon admitted. "Oh. I guess that is impressive too." Twilight said somewhat shocked at the revelation. "Anyways. I think we should head back. I am sure our king wants to know what happened." The older dragon said. "But I thought I was going to hang out with Twilight some more." Spike said saddened. "I did say that. I don't know. These eggs can't stay here though." The older dragon said. "I am staying here for 14 nights. I am sure we will meet again within it." Twilight said. "Yeah! Next time we can talk about my cooking skills." Spike said happily. "I don't know if your father will allow it." The older dragon said. "What do you mean?" Twilight asked. "Spike is the heir to the crown within the dragon kingdom. He is normally name Prince Spike." The older dragon admits. "Oh? Well let me in you on a secret then." Twilight said happily. "What is it?" Spike asked. "Do not share it, or I will punch your father to the moon." Twilight warned. "Dully noted." The older dragon gulped. "I recently got crowned to the sister of the royal crown." Twilight said. "Which means?" Spike asked. "I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. From the house of Sparkle and crowned by the three princesses." Twilight reintroduced. "OH?!" The older dragon said surprised. "Which means he comes to visit me as Prince and Princess." Twilight said. "I see. Which makes it easier for me to visit you." Spike said nodding. "But do me one favor. Never use the Princess title." Twilight pleaded. "If you ignore my Prince status. Then sure." Spike said in agreement. Twilight and Spike smiled at their similarities. "Huh." The older dragon said uncertain. "But. Do not report this to your father. About my title that is. It is a secret. Or I will really punch your father." Twilight warned. "Deal!" Spike said happily. Twilight looked at the older dragon, however the older dragon shook her head. "I can't. He will fire me if I refuse to tell the truth." The older dragon said. "Then put your claw down." Twilight simply said with a smile. The older dragon looked wide-eyed at Twilight, she than smiled. "Okay." "Perhaps we will meet again, Spike." Twilight said. "Thanks, Twilight." He said hugging Twilight. Spike and Twilight released the hug and Spike waved goodbye before grabbing the eggs and leaving. Leaving Twilight alone to clean up the kitchen. Which was fine in her eyes, it gave her time to think. Then a stupid yet interesting idea popped in her mind. 'What if I hire Spike as my partner? But would he want to, that is a bigger question.' Twilight thought uncertain. Twilight spend the rest of the day wondering that before going to bed. As she snacked on some bacon and looked outside. She saw Golden looked mighty confused. But Twilight was more tired than she thought as she fell asleep on her extremely comfy bed. Meanwhile outside of the hotel, Golden was indeed quite a bit confused. Apparently he was the real stallion that ordered the golden dragon eggs, not that Twilight or Spike knew that. And he was confused as to where the order went. And after a single visit to the kitchen, he was immediately aware of the cause. The stallion that told Twilight and Spike off was fired that same day. And Golden had to deal with a pissed off father dragon. As Spike's father was less than pleased about the ordeal. Luckily for Golden, thanks to the ordeal. Spike had made a new friend and he was very willing to talk about it.