>You wake up to a pleasant, familiar aroma wafting up from the kitchen into your bedroom.
>It's amazing that it can travel all the way through a house this big.
>Then again, most of the rooms are empty.
>Rousing yourself, you check the mirror on your bedside table, running a hand through your hair until it looks almost presentable.
>You shuffle through the winding maze of narrow corridors, still in your pajamas, cracking your neck.
"Whatcha got cookin'?"
>You call down the stairs, already having a good idea what the answer would be.
>"Hot fresh pancakes, just the way you like 'em!"
>Sundae's cooking was improving in leaps and bounds, and she already had skill working a myriad of dishes, mostly baked sweets, but pancakes remained her failsafe breakfast item.
>You step slowly down the creaky stairs, careful to avoid the two broken steps.
>You guys had only just begun your remodeling of this big old place, and there was still much to be done.
>The table has been set for six, bathed in the warm sunlight pouring in through the big window. It had been a real pain scraping all the paint off of it, but it was worth it to be able to enjoy meals in the sunlight.
>You take a seat, watching Sundae Sprinkles busy herself over breakfast.
>As is typical of her, she's created a huge mess of batter, powdered sugar, and chocolate.
>Celestia help any diabetics that had Sundae as their chef.
>"Good morning, you big snoozerbug! I'm surprised I didn't wake you up."
"I've been getting better at that deep sleep therapy stuff."
>She hums cheerfully as she works, ignoring the mess she's making all over herself.
>Fortunately for her, she actually tends to look good covered in candy and sugar.
>The bright colors match her vibrant, messy pink-and-blue mane and creamy white coat.
>With all the sugar pumping through her, an outsider might think it odd how she looked so incredibly thin.
>"Ana and Othella are around here somewhere. I dunno about Dolly and Emily."
>She flips a pancake high into the air, almost missing it, but managing to catch it on the edge of a plate balanced on her head.
>She slides your breakfast in front of you, then proceeds to swamp it with butter and syrup despite all the candy you knew was already baked into it.
>"Aaaaaand for the finishing touch..."
>With a squelching, tearing noise, the vertical slit running from Sundae's neck, down her throat to just above her forelegs splits open.
>Bright pink goop slowly drips along the sharp fangs that embed her throat maw, and she leans over your plate.
>"Say when!"
"Just a little bit today. That toothache has been starting to come back."
>Rivulets of the sweet-smelling slime drip from her neck onto your meal.
>She leans back and her maw re-seals once she's satisfied that your plate has just 'a little' (is totally drenched.)
>Small streams of the sticky sap trickle out along her chest, mixing with the baking ingredients clinging to her matted fur.
>She might have to get her daily bath a little early, as she usually did when she made breakfast.
>You eat in earnest, starving after having skipped dessert last night (Sundae had been appalled.)
>You've always had a huge sweet tooth, but even you have to take your time with her over-the-top sugary delights, or else your stomach punishes you later.
"Mmm... as good as always."
>"Of course it is~!"
>She sets back to work, satisfied with your response.
>After eating as much of the overly-sweet breakfast as your teeth will allow without threatening to dissolve right out of your mouth, you set out to find the others.
"Thanks again, Sundae."
>"No prob'm sugarplum!"
>She's begun squirting chocolate sauce and caramel all over a towering stack of pancakes, some of it landing on the walls or in her mane.
>It's a good thing candy was so cheap in Equestria.
>It was all those cleaning supplies that actually drained your wallet.
>Thudding back up the stairs, you think you have a pretty good idea where to find the sisters.
>A stranger would have easily lost their way maneuvering this place, and there were corridors even you found yourself getting lost in, but the way to the library was a trip you'd made enough times that it was ingrained in your memory.
>The big double-doors are open when you get there.
>Peeking inside, you confirm that Othella is once again plopped down in her favorite velvet-lined armchair with her face buried in a book.
>The library'd had only a few works remaining in readable condition when you'd first pried the doors open, but thanks to a generous donation from the Princess over in Ponyville, Othella had access to a decent collection of novels.
"Sundae's making breakfast."
>"Oh, good. For a second I thought I'd have to go through the morning without adding to my cavity collection."
>Walking right up to her, you yank the book from her hooves.
>"H-hey! Gimme that!"
>She brushes her lank black hair out of her face so she can stare at you angrily.
>Her normal, red right eye glares at you, while the circular black orb on the left pierces you unblinkingly, strikingly haunting against her dark grey coat.
>The numerous smaller black spider eyes dotting her face do likewise, glistening up at you.
>That trick may have worked on strangers, but you weren't startled by her appearance anymore.
>You glance at the cover of the book, holding it just out of her reach.
"'That First Friday.' Isn't this...a romance?"