With the sun now in Discord's hands -which he knows better to leave in the sky-, Equestria could finally start off their day as normal. They would spend the rest of the morning conversing about what could have caused the delay in the sun rising, but they trust the princesses to such a degree that they believe they have a reason for everything.
Celestia felt it was best to get the dresses out of the way. Soon she'll be safe to do whatever she desired, even go outside and mingle. Hard at work inspecting the finalized products as they sat displayed on the mannequins, she lifts and fondles the materials to get every detail down perfectly. Her littler-than-before sister watches impatiently from the bedroom door. "You sure you don't want to start off with breakfast first, sister?"
"Neither of us are adept cooks." Celestia replied as she continued scanning the dresses. "I'm afraid of even making my own toast, lest the castle burns down."
"As if an 'all-powerful demi-goddess of the sun' would allow that to happen." Luna replies slyly. "But if you're so timid about having your sorry sunny flank scorched by pancake batter or whatnot, I suppose I'll have to prepare breakfast myself." She closes the door behind her and heads downstairs.
Celestia had still not broken her concentration. She kept the first dress of Rarity's line suspended in the air as she levitated over the very pieces of fabric, string, and sequins to commence her duplication.
She focused on the finished dress and caused the magical field around it to stretch out an arm of sorts that reached out and engulfed the materials. They got sucked in like a vacuum up the arm and disappearing into the dress like a black hole. The dress started becoming a more and more opaque shade of white as it absorbed more of the materials. Soon enough, it began to shine brightly to the point of leaving the colours of the dress completely indistinguishable. Celestia set the fabrics down and stared at the glowing white dress. One spark and the dress split into two, with the white shine completely fading away. Celestia's method had proven to be successful, as well as not as straining as she may have thought. "Oh, splendid! Not too much of a headache either." She takes the replica and lays it on Rarity's bed. "I should make a note to teach her that technique once we switch back."
After setting the first dress back on the mannequin for the time being, she starts heading down to the dining area. Upon opening the door, she was quickly greeted by the smell of smoke; smoke which was so obviously coming from the kitchen, and had to have been caused by certain pseudo-filly. She bolts downstairs to her sister's aid. "Luna!"
Luna was backed away from the counter and pressed her back up against one of the dining chairs. A small ceramic bowl was expelling an alarmingly sized flame from the top. Whatever Luna tried to do, she had apparently gotten it burned. She turned to her sister and let out a squeak for help, "I need an adult!"
Acting quickly to prevent the house from burning down and getting either of them hurt, Celestia turns on the kitchen faucet from where she stood and directed a splash of water to where the bowl still sat extinguishing the flames before the fire spread to the wooden cabinets.
She rushed over to Luna and held her in a panicked embrace. "Oh my goodness! Please tell me you're not hurt! We're vulnerable in these bodies, remember?!"
"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Luna pushed her away. "I just need to get used to using this filly's magic." She tries to lift the bowl off the counter and over to the table. It wobbles about as Luna struggles to keep it airborne. But despite her apparent best efforts, her magic faltered from exhaustion and the bowl crashed to tiled floor and shattered. Luna growled. "It's so unpredictable! I was able to open the cabinets and cereal box with ease just a moment ago!" She groans as she buries her face in her hooves. "Perhaps I shouldn't even be trying while Sweetie's magic is still in a stage of immaturity."
Celestia seemed confused. "Wait. What were you trying to make?"
Luna drooped her ears down in embarrassment. "Cereal and milk..."
Celestia shook off the events that had just transpired and went over to comfort her sister. "Cheer up. We can't let one little slip ruin our vacation. Things can only get better. It's only our first hour after all." She looks out the window. "I wonder how our friends are doing for their breakfast."
Rarity and Sweetie Belle were sitting hunched over the royal dining table putting their new god-like appetites and stomachs to good use. While Rarity managed to maintain a slight form of regalness and proper etiquette as she used her fork to shovel in everything in front of her while keeping her mouth clean, Sweetie had forgone manners altogether and opted to simply use her front hooves and ignore all the crumbs she was dropping around her. They were both absolutely gorging themselves on cakes, pie, pastries and all other sorts of treats like it was nopony's business. But that didn't stop a small group of confused and frankly concerned guards from watching from around the kitchen door.
The guards watched in awe as their once elegant bosses feasted like wild animals on a smorgasbord of dishes that are unfit to have so early in the day, let alone for breakfast. One bravely entered the room and approached the disguised Sweetie Belle. "Your Highnesses. I hate to be a worrywart. But I must advise you to take it easy on these sweets."
Sweetie Belle lifted her head and froze. She turns to face him with her mouth full of raspberry tart and responds. "Ah dun thee--" She spits some crumbs onto the guard's face before catching herself and swallowing. "I don't see what the problem is." She gestures with her dirty hooves and mouth. "It's not like Celestia and I will get sick from all this, right?"
The guard answers back with a momentarily chippy tone of voice. "Oh, we all know that very well, Your Highness." He promptly shifts back to sounding concerned. "I'm speaking more on the behalf that... at this rate, there will be nothing left for any of us." He swings his hoof back to his posse back at the door.
"Oh!" Rarity exclaims as she lets down her fork and wipes her mouth with a handkerchief. "How insensitive of us!" She sounded genuinely sarcastic. Though not at the guards' expense, but rather to go along with a little joke and over-dramatize the situation. "I shall see to it that this is rectified immediately!" She leaps off of her chair and trots over to the window between the dining area and kitchen. The cooks were already standing in attention as she arrived. "Clear your schedule!" Rarity declared with a smile. "For the rest of the day, you are to prepare enough strawberry shortcake for the entire castle staff!"
The cooks were taken aback by this request. The younger stallion was especially shaken. "The- the... th-th-- All of the guards?!"
Rarity tried to inquire and quell their worries. "Oh, we only need a slice each. One cake for every dozen should do the trick. I'm sure you can accomplish this with the ingredients and equipment available."
The elder chef responds with a level tone. "I'm sure it's feasible, Princess. I always make sure we're practically overstocked with any given material. But... by sundown?"
"There's only two of us after all." The younger sous-chef added. "And I'm still fairly new."
"Aw, Now you know I don't like to hear my royal workers doubt themselves." She leans in through the window and gives a quick kiss on his cheek. "I have faith in you."
The sous-chef stands stunned for several seconds staring into space. He soon quickly turns to his boss and gives an overly dramatized and stiff military salute with the utmost confidence. "Let's get to work, Chef!!"
The chef too stood frozen at the shock of seeing the solar princess take time to show such affection. But he also received a shot of adrenaline when he felt the same happen to him just afterwards. Turning to give a similar gesture, he inadvertently shouts into his bosses face. "We'll bake enough shortcake to blot out your sun, Your Highness!" He calms himself down as he sees Rarity recede away from him with a slight look of discomfort on her face. "...If you don't mind my phrasing, that is."
Rarity fans the air in front of her away with her hoof; the chef didn't have the best morning breath. She quickly slaps her smile back on as she answers, "oh, not all. It's nice to see you two so willing and zealous." As she backed away from the window she bore witness to the cooks zipping away to the back closet area to dig out all the ingredients. She could have sworn she heard saws and jackhammers on her way back to her seat.
Sweetie Belle and the guard who was still standing at her side were noticeably confused. The guard continued to look dumbfounded as he let out an audible "uuuuuuhhhhh..." When Sweetie angled her head down to him, he began to feel slightly nervous. "I-I... We can leave now, if there's nothing else."
Sweetie Belle took a quick glance at her sister sitting at the other end of the table, then back at the guard. Maintaining a straight face, she put a new theory to the test and planted a quick peck of her own on his cheek.
The guard immediately went stiff and felt his mane stand on end for a moment. He then turned around and charged at his unexpecting squad. "Get back to your posts! Now!! We have tedious positions to tend to!" He knocked through them and toppled them over like bowling pins. Not wanting to disobey their commander, they disregarded the princesses' strange tactics and scrambled away to leave them to their meal.
Sweetie Belle couldn't help but smile. "Well... Looks like we won't have any trouble getting their attention." She states to her sister.
Rarity chuckles in response. "Oh, like they had trouble before so. I just found a way to make them not be such sticks in the mud."
"Speaking of which..." Sweetie licks her hooves and lips clean and gets up from her seat. "I'm going to see what kind of fun I can have with Luna's 'sticks'."
"Are they even up this time of day?"
"Oh, they will be..." Sweetie shoots back a cheeky smile as she rears the corner and heads down the hall. With a small spring in her step, she proceeds down towards the main throne room, thinking it would be a good place to start. "Now where can I find them anyway?" She mutters to herself.