With the cast iron pan secure in her magical grip, she gave it a firm thrust up, and the half-done pancake within did one flip, coming back down into the pan with a sizzle as she set it back down on the burner.
"Pancakes with strawberries coming right up!" she announced to Pipp, who was standing on the other side of the counter in the castle's dining room. The other kitchen staff were going about their routine in getting the castle inhabitants their breakfast, but Pipp had arranged to get Sunset a small space to work with a sink, stovetop, and a pair of frying pans to make them breakfast. Or as Sunset put it, 'the best darn pancakes on this side of the multiverse.'
Whatever that meant.
"You certainly know your way around a kitchen," Pipp commented, as the unicorn went to grab two plates and set them next to her two pans. Several minutes later, she levitated the two plates piled with mini pancakes, strawberry pieces, and syrup back over to the counter where Pipp waited, then exited the kitchen through the door, and the two mares went over to their table, where a pitcher of orange juice was waiting.
"So, rehearsal today, performance tomorrow night?" Sunset asked after they got seated and began cutting into their breakfast.
"Yep, that's the plan. I'm sorry if that's too short notice for you," Pipp said. "Mmm, these are delicious."
"Thanks, and honestly, this isn't the shortest notice I've performed on, if you can believe it."
"Well, we've pretty much got our music down cold carrot, so we can spend some more time working with you and your music," Pipp told her.
"Well, I mean this in the best possible way, I'm thinking your performers will need more time than me to become familiar with my music. It all came back to me pretty quickly yesterday."
"Well, for now let's just focus on this amazing breakfast."
"So what do you think? How does it handle?" Sprout asked as he sat in the passenger seat of the Scouticus Maximus as Sunny drove for the first time.
"It feels bigger when you're at the controls, I'll say that much," Sunny replied, keeping most of her focus on the forest dirt road ahead of them, being sure to stay in the middle.
The attached trailer behind them was empty, save for the smaller, individual containers that would be slid out and brought closer to the objects that would be loaded into them, which for this trip was likely to be mostly books from the enormous Crystal Empire library that Zipp and Pipp had found.
Sprout's trailer had been finished ahead of schedule, and after quick but rigorous testing of the hitch that connected it to the Scouticus, he and Sunny were off towards Zephyr Heights.
"Are you sure we're going to need that much fuel?" Sunny asked, glancing at the left side mirror, seeing the barrels that now filled up the cargo bed of the all-terrain vehicle.
"Not entirely, but it's better to be safe than sorry. This thing isn't going to be as easy to maneuver with the trailer attached, and when we come back, presumably fully loaded, it's going to be slower going as well."
The red stallion did have a point; the space that the surplus fuel took up in the bed was more than made up for by the trailer that they were now towing. Behind them, the passenger area was largely unchanged, save for the cold weather gear that hung above the seats, including an extra one for Sunset, and Sunny hoped that they had estimated her size closely enough.
The last thing they had done before departing was take a couple practice laps over the hills behind CanterLogic with a simulated full load, and Sprout was correct on that account too; they were going to expend probably half as much fuel getting there as they would coming out. He was hoping they would be able to take advantage of the entire space the trailer gave them and not have to empty anything out if they were unable to climb out of the enormous 'bowl' of snow that surrounded the frozen, abandoned city.
"So, excited to see Zephyr Heights?" Sunny asked Sprout.
"Like you wouldn't believe. I can't remember the last time I was out of Maretime Bay. Well, other than the trip north, and in my opinion, ghost towns don't count. I do hope we'll have time to look around before we have to leave to head north."
"No worries there, we're making good time as it is, and we're staying for one of Pipp's concerts tomorrow evening, so we probably won't be leaving until the next morning at the earliest. And I get what you mean, it'll be nice to actually see Zephyr Heights as a tourist, and not a fugitive."
Sprout smiled at her.
"I always forget that you guys weren't really welcome at the places that you visited. The paranoia and misinformation was everywhere..." Sprout commented.
"Well, what matters is that we're all putting that behind us now."
"So, how are we getting this thing into the city?" Sprout asked.
"We're probably not. We probably have to park it down close to where we did before, then take the trail up on hoof. It's good exercise, and only takes about an hour, but yeah, there's no getting this thing up the mountain."
"Well, if keeping this thing moving as long as possible gets us more time up there, then I'm gonna go back there and try my best to catch some Z's, so I can take over when you get tired. Wake me when you've had enough driving, Sunny," Sprout said. He went to the back and unpacked his sleeping bag, getting it spread out across the back row of seats. He then grabbed a pillow and slid inside, digging inside his saddlebags for a moment and coming out with a sleeping mask, which he put on over his eyes before plopping down on the pillow.
"Sleep well, Sprout."