"...and that was an ear flop, eye flutter, knee twitch and a knee pinch all together! So I figured something scary was about to blow a door open, and whaddya know it did!"
Spike did his best not to meet Twilight's disapproving glare, instead watching Pinkie's animated description of the mishap. Which was pretty unnecessary since they'd all been there for it, but he took his distractions where he could find them. Rather than the deadpan stare from Twilight, he could watch Pinkie's mane bouncing with ever-infectious joy... Joy even in the aftermath of a huge gout of flame shocking them all out of their work. To his credit it was more of a mass deflagration than a proper detonation, and that had to count for something!
"So what did we learn here today Spike?"
"Artificially-stabilized magical fire is still entirely capable of fueling destabilized fire unless I go out of my way to prevent it?"
"...I was hoping for something related to personal safety, but I guess a dragon is the wrong type of creature to ask in this situation."
Spike looked up and down his (still flawless) scales and shrugged.
"I mean, it did pop up a new skill, but... Oh! I confirmed one of your theories from last night."
Twilight begrudgingly stepped back, lighting up her horn in order to double-check the fireproofing.
"I'm going to chalk that up as a lesson just so we can stay on schedule."
He was more than willing to take that. Pinkie had already gotten back to whipping her cream and straining her sauce, so he went back to the heat-partitioned section of the kitchen. Twilight gave him the nod to confirm the defenses were still in place, so he lit up the fire... A little more assured of his success this time around. Well, maybe not success but at least safety!
A skill has been created through a special action! By exposing yourself to the conditions of your homeland, a skill to survive your heritage, [Utter Fire Resistance], has been created!
This has been consumed by [Dragon's Bones]
Like he told Twilight, this confirmed one of her theories: Natural features of him just 'being a dragon' would only become skills for The Gamer once he actually exerted them. His Dragon's Breath hadn't codified itself until he used it a few times, and now after taking several would-be-burns he'd gained a skill for ignoring flame and heat. The same seemed to be true for any talents or abilities he had before The Gamer as well: His cleaning-related skills, Cooking, those came naturally after the first uses as well.
New skill aside, the problem stood: Using Stagnet on his fire had (pardon the pun) backfired. He'd breathed out several sizable portions and stabilized them using the skill, then broken them apart. Using resūmō on just a single part had worked to an extent: That single piece, and only that single piece, became active again. Unfortunately the newly-reactivated fire treated the still-stabilized pieces as fuel and the whole thing quickly conflagrated into a real mess.
This time he'd be more cautious: Start with a smaller, cooler chunk for one thing. Regular fire, a solid earthy orange that felt stable on a conceptual level. Rather than break it apart, he'd focus on the moment when he actually got a new keyword for this power in the first place. He'd been deep in meditation, entirely focused on his subject. After bringing everything to stillness he'd had a moment of clarity, a sudden revelatory breakthrough about how to make it... not still.
But that wasn't what he wanted now: The phase-shift from 'stilled' to 'active' was too complicated. He needed either a slow partial release, or a process of release that had more control. From A to C without the intermediaries, no side processes or extra consumption. He didn't want it to melt, he wasn't looking for a thaw. It had to be gradual but not gratuitously slow, the magical solid becoming a vaporous reaction again without consuming itself. Solid, straight to gas...
"Sublīmō."
A new Command has been added to Stagnet: Sublīmō, to elevate and uplift.
The point at the very top of the crystallized fireball, the spot where his eyes focused? It unfolded like a flower, blooming out into living fire without consuming the stable magic beneath. His focus remained unwavering, and the change gradually made its way down as each previous bit burned away. Spike barely felt the change in temperature as the entire thing burned away in his palm, distracted by how hard he was grinning into the blank space.
"Alright: Take two!"
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The take-away after all that was simple: Take two was the only other one he needed. The stir-fry turned out fantastically well, and all of them plowed through it (and Twilight's rice and toppings) with speed and focused intent. None of them even took the time to try and hold a conversation while eating it: They were only opening their mouths for more air, more food, or a drink to clear the way.
Eventually Pinkie's fork clattered into the empty bowl with a sigh and she leaned back, a second before Spike followed suit. Twilight had always been a slower, more thorough eater (where fast food wasn't involved), so she still had a bit left at that point. Spike was content, doubly so to see Pinkie smiling across the table: It felt nice to make food that others appreciated.
It felt a little less nice to have the food produce unexpected results, however. A failure he could have brushed off, given that he'd paired the gem with the sauce and not the main bulk of the food. A success, of course he'd be happy. But this...
This dish was unable to reach its full potential. A reduced effect has been granted.
Your Vitality has temporarily increased by two points.
Checking the Dragon's Kitchen... no recipe listed, foggy result at the intersection of the meal and the gemstone. Layer... No buff acquired, no new option available. He'd managed to half-fail and half-succeed, opening up even more questions about how the Gamer functioned. It really drove home why this past day and a half had felt so long: Everything he did raised more questions than it could possibly answer! Even when he was resolving his issue with Rarity, he managed to trip headfirst into a skill that redefined his potential...
"That was fantastic, Spike!"
"I know right? I'm a liiiittle worried that my trifle won't be able to stand up."
He waved his claw at Pinkie to dismiss her worry.
"Eeeh, don't sweat it: I've been staring at that dish this whole time!"
Pinkie giggled and portioned out the diced trifle to the three of them: The powdered carnelian in the whipped cream just barely created a shining sparkle, enough to offset the pale white as it cascaded and melded into the yellow cake and orange fruits.
"Dig in everypony! Well, singlepony and singledragon. And me!"
His fork (a fresh one for dessert, no sense crossing the streams) slid cleanly through the layers and came back with a little bit of everything: Cream, cake, kumquat, a sliver of gem and a slight coating of syrup. The first bite was incredible, and he knew this was going to be a hands-down winner for one of his favorite desserts of all time. The fruits were bright and sweet with a bracingly tart center, the cake was thick and buttery, the cream was soft and melted on his tongue...
"WOW! I mean... Wow. That is something else, Pinkie Pie!"
Pinkie blushed, and Twilight seemed like she was going to comment as well but lowered her hoof.
"Awww Spike! It's nothin' super-special, just a little idea I've been sitting on. I should be thanking you, if anything: The gemmy bits take this to another level! I didn't think I'd be able to taste 'em but they sort of pop and shiver like little seeds! But way tastier than most seeds because I'm going to be honest even the best seeds usually need a lot of roasting before they're very tasty."
"Well, you did way too much of the work for this to be a team effort: I'd just be a contributing advisor or something with the amount of input I made."
"Close enough for government work! Although come to think of it despite his reputation Government Work is a really strict stallion."
Twilight looked like she wanted to raise an objection there, except again she stayed silent.
Spike began wolfing down his dish, trying to balance the desire to make it last with just how dang delicious the whole thing was. The fruit had been cooked, roasted and soaked in all sorts of flavors... He'd never thought of it before, but now the idea was running wild through his memories of old standbys and foods-less-eaten. Griddled pineapple on ice cream, slow-cooked lemon jelly, bananas burnt through their skins...
"Spike?"
Twilight had finally said something, and her voice was surprisingly affected: Maybe she was just as fond of this dish as he was!
"Yeah Twilight?"
There was a surprisingly long pause before she finished asking her question.
"Can you tell me exactly what this combination is doing, according to your system?"
Dang, the effect of it had totally slipped his mind! He'd been so lost in the flavor forest that he'd failed to see the statistical trees, or some other fitting malaphor...
"Oh! Sorry, one second..."
He looked at the pop-up and recited it verbatim. Twilight, in response... sat up like a bolt with eyes wide. Her horn flickered and then flared as she teleported away from the table, and they could immediately hear frantic movements from upstairs. Pinkie looked at Spike with concern but he could only shrug: He had no clue why was she so worked up over such a small detail.
Carnelian-Kumquat Diced Trifle: Increased maximum mana, 4 hours.
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