The music playing in the living room became awkward, not matching the panic on Sugar’s face and tone. It was supposed to be relaxing, but the thestral was anything but that.
“And what’s she doing here?!” Sugar cried at Pinkie Pie, her pupils thin with worry and frustration. “Have you been asking them questions you shouldn’t?!”
Pinkie Pie had flashbacks from the previous day, recalling the shame she felt when Sugar hysterically shamed her for not wanting to unearth the truth. And with both of Sugar’s friends in the same room, they would no doubt turn on Pinkie if they were unhappy with hearing the thestral’s treatment.
“Sugar, relax!” Mineral begged, standing in front of her to block out anything else she might have seen. “I need you to close your eyes!”
“But Pinkie Pie’s here! And Saradiamond is…”
Saradiamond stopped using the couch as a visible shield and revealed her entire blue self. “Sugar, relax. I know you might get a wrong idea with…. whatever Pinkie Pie did, but isn’t this a good thing?”
Sugar’s eyes fell to the ground, but nodded, “I mean, I don’t know what happened this morning, but it’s nice to see you two regardless. You and Mini are my friends.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Saradiamond smiled.
“But you know me,” Sugar sighed. “I worry about everything.”
“I think the only thing you should concern yourself with is what I have prepared for breakfast,” Mineral suggested.
Good save, Mineral, Pinkie Pie cheered internally. Change the mood for now. No need to be so serious in the morning.
Sugar sniffed the air and tried to look past Mineral. However, both Saradiamond and Mineral blockaded her view. From where Pinkie Pie was standing, she could see Sugar smiling. “What are you two up to?” Sugar asked.
“Close your eyes and be a kind blind bat,” Saradiamond requested. “Otherwise, you will ruin the surprise.”
“Fine!” Sugar playfully pouted. “I’ll play your game! But don’t expect me to not sniff the air.”
A wide smile bloomed on Pinkie Pie’s lips. Another spontaneous game strikes again!
“Trust me, Sugar,” Mineral said, taking Sugar’s hoof in his own, “It will be a taste of nostalgia.”
The thestral blushed, her eyes daring to crack open. “Am I expecting a good morning kiss?”
Saradiamond smirked at Mineral and rose a brow. “Is she?”
“We kissed at the door,” Mineral said, rolling his eyes. He gently pulled Sugar toward the living room, the mare slowly following the direction he went.
“Then a second good morning kiss?” Sugar giggled. Without warning, she lunged forward, her lips pursed and ready to kiss the pony she loved.
“Careful! You don’t want to trip or run into something!” Mineral placed a hoof on Sugar’s chest and gently pushed. “Just back up and sit on the couch.”
Despite Sugar’s potentially hazardous endeavor, Saradiamond sided with the lovestruck pony. “Just let her kiss you.”
“What if I don’t?”
Sugar’s flank touched the back of the couch. She slowly climbed onto it, her nose gandering left and right. “If you don’t kiss me, I will be a sad mare.”
Saradiamond followed up with, “And I will be a very… concerned friend if her boyfriend isn’t making Sugar happy.”
“Should I also bring up my sister?” Sugar grinned.
Saradiamond climbed up with Sugar, the two laughing at their playful threats. Mineral just shook his head, not giving in to Sugar’s wishes. “We will kiss again, Sugar Crystal. Don’t you forget that.”
Like a disobeying child, Sugar opened her eyes but didn’t look toward the kitchen area. She and Mineral stared at one another, the two flushed in unison. “I’ll be waiting, Mini.”
Once again, Sugar continued to play the game, but did something different; she placed her hooves over her eyes. “There! Now you don’t have to worry.”
Because of Sugar’s blindness, she was oblivious to Saradiamond’s relaxed smile angled at Mineral. “I’m glad to see you make her happy.”
“Thanks,” was all Mineral said with a casual grin. “Now let’s get this surprise finished!”
***
With two mares talking on the couch, Mineral and Pinkie Pie were busy meticulously crafting what they called “A Thief’s Nostalgia.” Several plates were already complete with one more left to finish.
“Hey, Pinkie Pie?” Mineral asked quietly, gandering at the back of Sugar’s head.
“What’s up?”
“What can you assess from this situation?”
Pinkie placed the final strawberry on the pancake. “That this is going to be the best breakfast ever! I still cannot believe you came up with this!”
Sugar made another attempt to look back, but Saradiamond pulled her overzealous friend close. “You won’t win with cheating.”
“I know you have strawberries!” Sugar cried, struggling in vain.
“You sure?” Mineral asked. “Because I know you won’t find them.” He returned to speaking low to Pinkie Pie. “But no, that’s not what I meant. I mean our… friendship evaluation?”
“Hmm…” Pinkie Pie licked her lips as she carefully placed the second pancake on top of the first. “I can easily say you and Sugar make a cute couple.”
“And I think Saradiamond agrees.”
The mentioned mare craned her neck and looked at Mineral for a few moments before having to continue restraining Sugar.
“You and Saradiamond are also getting along quite well,” Pinkie Pie continued. She got close to him and whispered, “Are you still angry with her?”
“I’m sure if I recall all the pain she caused me, I will easily lose my good mood,” Mineral grumbled.
“S-sorry!” A frustrated snort escaped Pinkie. “Everything seems so good right now, and I‘m not referring to breakfast.”
“Right now, everything is okay.” Mineral turned his head to look at the mares on the sofa, but gave it a second thought and refused to do so. “But you can’t expect everything to change in just one hour, no matter how badly you want it to.”
Both of Pinkie’s ears retreated in shame. “Sorry if I ruined the mood with my stupid question…”
“Hey, hey, don’t beat yourself up! You’re helping me and everypony involved out of the kindness of your heart! Just let the morning go through the motions, okay?”
Pinkie Pie’s mood perked right up. “I can see why Sugar likes you so much.”
“You getting any ideas about Mini?” Sugar barked, trying to get a good look at the potential flirter. Saradiamond still prevented Sugar from moving, but she made sure to give Mineral a short-lived glare.
“There’s nothing wrong with a compliment,” Mineral defended.
“Well- Keep it a compliment!”
Through his teeth, Mineral whispered to Pinkie Pie, “I never knew she was the jealous type…”
“Hmm…” Pinkie hummed to herself. The mare stiffened, “Could this be another friendship problem branching off the primary issue?!”
“Let’s not get ahead of yourself,” Mineral laughed as he began levitating all four plates from the counter. Each one gently reached the table right beside a small glass of milk. He grinned as he said, “You may release the prisoner!”
Sugar pushed herself off of Saradiamond and scrambled over to the table. Finally! I get to see what Mini prepared for me!
But instead of being met with pancakes and strawberries, Sugar only a large pancake with a bulge at the center. “Where are the strawberries?” The thestral looked around the room, curious if anypony would give her the answer.
The chair beside Sugar glowed purple and slowly moved away from the table. “Take a seat, Sugar. Breakfast is served.”
While everypony took their sweet time getting to the table, Sugar wasted no time at all and prepared to slice at the mound of pancakes. She didn’t care about where the strawberries went. She was hungry.
“Whoa, slow down!” Mineral grinned, sliding the hungry pony’s plate away from her.
Sugar gripped her butter knife, trying to bend it with one hoof. “You know, starving your guest shouldn’t be part of your surprise…”
Saradiamond and Pinkie Pie got in their chairs beside each other opposite of Sugar. The two were entertained by Sugar’s struggle to eat the pancakes. “Just wait for Mineral. He wants to see your reaction,” Saradiamond said.
“Besides,” Pinkie Pie jumped in, pointing to the syrup at the table’s center, “don’t you want some of that before you start? I’m sure Sugar likes sugar after all.”
“Well, I do like myself,” Sugar grinned, flashing her teeth as if to threaten the observers.
A body of purple climbed beside Sugar. “I would hope so,” Mineral said. He turned himself and fully faced the thestral. The blush in his cheeks was the first thing Sugar noticed.
“Are you okay, Mini?” Sugar asked.
The stallion levitated his own silverware, drifting the knife and fork over to Sugar’s pancake. When she looked back at her meal, a nice even amount of syrup was already applied. “Close your eyes one more time, then you can eat.”
Sugar did what she was told. Once again, her view was obstructed by her eyelids. Something made her heartbeat thump in her ears. Maybe it was the anticipation of Mineral’s meal. Or perhaps she was just flustered with his all-out breakfast. It could have been both, but Sugar didn’t care about which she felt.
All that mattered was the surprise.
Sugar’s ears twitched as she heard the knife scrape at the plate. “Let me get a nice portion for you,” she heard Mineral say.
“Now open your mouth.”
Again, Sugar did as instructed. Her heartbeat started to increase along with the rising heat in her face.
Something sweet touched her tongue.
“Now close.”
Sugar sealed her lips around the utensil expecting a nice simple flavor. She was wrong!
Sugar gasped, the taste of strawberries, pancake, syrup, and… frosting registered in her brain. Both her eyes slowly opened just as Mineral retracted the fork. She slowly chewed, each unique ingredient becoming one fantastic flavor.
“Do you like it?” Mineral asked.
Instead of answering, Sugar looked to her plate, curious as to where the flavor of strawberry and frosting came from. Out of the small slice Mineral took, Sugar understood exactly what he did. The large pancake on top was layered on another pancake, smaller than the former. In between the cakes was a slather of frosting that oozed through the thin crack. Some of the frosting was dyed red, though Sugar could assume there were strawberries buried deep within her meal.
“I love it!” Sugar spoke softly after she swallowed.
Mineral let out a heavy held sigh. “I’m glad you do.”
The company on the other side of the table refused to eat their breakfast, only anticipating the next moment Sugar and Mineral were having.
“Hehe, why do you sound so relieved?” Sugar giggled.
“Because I wanted to impress you. Just like the morning you showed me your Mineral Milk Cookie.”
The mare gasped, taken aback by the statement. “Last night, when I came home,” Mineral continued, “I was reminiscing about the day we became friends and how you impressed me with your well-received cookie. And… And I wanted to show you that you’ve helped me move so far away from the pony I once was through this meal as a testament to our friendship.”
Tears started to prick at the corners of Sugar’s eyes. She could not only see Mineral’s absolute truth in his eyes and on his cheeks, but Sugar could somehow feel the stallion’s emotion.
“Oh Mini!”
Consumed with fluttering feelings, Sugar kissed Mineral on the lips and hummed a sweet tune. It was a small, intimate moment, but enough to make the mare want to leap from her chair and embrace the stallion. However, despite the urge, Sugar kept herself still. Wouldn’t want to injure Mineral or herself after such a loving instance.
“Thank you,” Sugar whispered.
“You’re welcome, Sugar Crystal.”
Pinkie Pie sighed at the other end of the table. “Finally, a chapter that ends on a good note for once!”