Sweetie Belle Serves Lunch

by David Silver

4 - Meeting the Top

The older mare sat beside the small table of the break room. "My name's Fair Shake. A pleasure to meet you, Sweetie Belle." She seemed to remember something. "You're Rarity's daughter, aren't you?"

Sweetie blinked widely. "Rarity's my sister!" she squeaked defensively.

Fair raised a hoof. "My apologies. I just saw you two together so often and made a poor guess. You two must be very close."

At that, Sweetie bobbed her head. "Uh huh. We're best sisters, except maybe Apple Bloom and AJ." She tapped her chin. "But it's not a contest, usually." She sat back down, feeling a little less on-edge around the mare. "Do you have a sister?"

Fair gave a gentle smile. "No such luck. I have a brother. He's a good stallion, retired now."

Sweetie's eyes wandered over her boss mare. How old was she, exactly? It seemed quite rude to outright ask, considering how Rarity acted whenever the topic was broached. Her eyes darted to the hanging clock on the wall. "I should get back to work, Miss Shake."

Fair rose to her own hooves. "Mom will do just fine. I heard you've tried the register, but have you had a spin around the kitchen yet?"

Sweetie managed to pale in even her already white fur. "I'm not sure that's a good idea..."

Fair nudged Sweetie along towards the dreaded kitchen. "You learn by doing. I'll give a hoof to get you started. If it really doesn't fit, we'll get you back out front, I promise."

Sweetie swallowed audibly as she took uncertain steps into the intimidatingly large fry kitchen. She could hear the fryers softly bubbling and feel the heat rolling off of them, to say nothing of the open grills awaiting the chance to cook a patty.

The older mare grabbed a stool in her mouth and pulled it over. "Here we are, hop up." After Sweetie made the bound to it, Fair began pointing out what the various things in the kitchen did. "But I could ramble all day and you'd probably forget most of it, so let's get started by making something."

She reached out with her neck and snatched one of those receipts from a hanging spinning rack, the same she'd feed from the front of the store. She set it down and nodded. "Alright, one order of hay fries and a basic burger. We can do this."

Sweetie began looking around manically and spotted a bag that had a big horseshoe on it that looked kind of like a hay fry. She tried to lift it with her magic, but it was a bit too heavy for her developing skill.

Fair gave a soft laugh. "There I go, forgetting you're a unicorn." She crouched a little and grabbed the bag in her teeth. "You found it, dearie. Now you just have to open it." She showed how the bag could be peeled open. It seemed to have a sealing top if the flaps were pressed together. She pointed at one of the fryers. "Now, be careful with this. I wouldn't want a single hair on your little body being singed." She set the bag just beside the fyer. "Tip it over, gently."

Sweetie stuck out her tongue a little with intense focus and her magic wrapped around the top of the bag, slowly pulling it over until the horseshoe-shaped contents began to spill out into the waiting basket.

"Stop," called Fair, and nudged the bag upright. "Now we just lower it in." She grabbed the handle and lifted it off its hook before lowering it into the bath of hot oil. It hissed and began bubbling fiercely. "It'll make a little ringing sound when it's done. While that's going, let's make that burger."

Sweetie had to smile. She was cooking! She was really cooking, and nothing had caught fire yet. Maybe it wouldn't be so awful. Filled with timid hope, she turned to follow Fair as she moved to begin the process of making a hay burger. Sweetie had never seen one actually made before and leaned forward off her stool to see the process.

"Don't look like you're ready to watch a show," chided Fair gently. "You're the one that's going to make it. I'm just here to help."

Author's Note:

I felt the itch, so the story continued!

Do typos burn in oil or just turn a golden brown?

Comments

[Flisky]

Welp. That's a cliffhanger.

[PonyDragon]

Do typos burn in oil or just turn a golden brown?

They burn the oil itself. It's always best to keep them out of the kitchen.

Sweetie cooking...
I just hope there will be a Hay Burger left when she finally finished.

[Daremo]

Nothing left that I could find. Darn, I really wanted to try Prench-fried typos too.

This is such a sweet little story.

[tsaukpaetra]

Heh, we know Sweetie is prone to error when doing things from memory, let's see what happens when directed...
Keep going! ;)

[Aprion]

oh dear, I have a sense of foreboding I hope it turns out better than her attempt to make toast.

[VikingOtaku6]

Watch everything look fine, but taste like her cooking usually looks...

[Inferno demon Dash]

I find it suspicious that she was given no interview, no application, not told how much she would be getting paid for hour, or even told how long her break would last or her shift for that matter, how old do you have to be to work in Equestria? But I suppose trying to explain all of that in a story that's supposed to be for laughs would just be boring to some. Still very much love this story, wish there was more. Wonder what her sister and parents will think when they find out, along with her other friends of course...this is going to be awesome.