The Sparkle Dash Family
Prompt # 341: Labour of Love- Cooking Mama
Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
The tantalizing smell of freshly made pancakes filled the Golden Oaks Library as Scootaloo stumbled out of her bed. She yawned tiredly, letting the scent of fried dough fill her as she did. She could almost taste the wonderful morsels. Feeling more awake from the smell alone, Scootaloo hurried down the stairs.
She walked into the kitchen to see Twilight Sparkle sitting at the table nursing a cup of coffee. It was a sight Scootaloo had quickly gotten used to seeing in the first few days since Twilight and Rainbow Dash had adopted her. It seemed that despite Twilight’s insistence of waking up early every morning she was clearly not a morning pony.
The other sight that she had quickly gotten used to was that of Spike; standing on a stool near the stove and wearing a pink frilled apron as he cooked. Thinking back on it, Scootaloo had yet to see Twilight or Rainbow Dash cook a meal since Scootaloo had moved into the library/house. If they weren’t going out to eat at the local cafe’ or grabbing take-out somewhere, than the meals were made by Spike.
“Mornin’ Scoots, breakfast will be ready in just a second!” Spike called cheerfully from his post at the stove.
“Thanks Spike, it smells delicious!” Scootaloo said as she sat down at the table.
Nothing else was said, the sizzling sound of pancake batter in a hot pan was all that could be heard. Spike continued flipping pancakes, while Twilight seemed to be staring into her cup of coffee as though it may hold the answers to the universe.
Scootaloo watched Spike expertly flip another pancake from the frying pan onto a plate. It was a strange thing to watch, considering that Spike was (comparatively) just as old as Scootaloo. Shouldn’t Twilight or Rainbow Dash be the one taking care of the cooking?
“Something wrong Scoots?” Spike asked as he sat a plate of pancakes down before the orange filly.
Scootaloo shook her head. “No, nothing’s wrong it’s just...” She trailed off, not sure how to bring up what she was thinking.
“What’s up Scootaloo?” Twilight asked. She looked up at Scootaloo with eyes that seemed slightly more awake than when Scootaloo had first entered the kitchen.
“Well, I was just kinda wondering... why do you make Spike do all the cooking?” Scootaloo asked.
Twilight’s eyes widened as she and Spike exchanged a look, before the unicorn and dragon burst out laughing. Scootaloo watched in confusion as the two almost fell over, their laughter just short of cackling like mad ponies. Twilight wiped a tear from her eye, not noticing Scootaloo’s growing annoyance at their reaction.
“Th-that’s a good one Scoots!” Spike said, a few chuckle escaping from him as he settled down.
“What’s so funny? I was being serious!” Scootaloo asked.
Twilight and Spike exchanged another look, though this time they did not begin laughing like a couple of foals who’d heard a dirty word.
“I guess you wouldn’t know since living with us is still kind of new huh?” Twilight mused, “The thing is Scootaloo... uh, well, when it comes to me being in the kitchen” The mare trailed off awkwardly, trying to find a way to word her thoughts.
“Twilight can’t boil a pot of water without burning it.” Spike said teasingly.
Twilight opened her mouth to refute Spike’s claim, but simply hung her head. “He’s right. I can’t even seem to make a daisy sandwich without almost sending somepony to the hospital.” She said.
Spike nodded. “It’s true, I’m still not sure how you managed to make mayonnaise an explosive substance.” Spike said with a shudder.
Scootaloo looked between the dubiously. “Seriously? Nopony could be that bad at cooking.”
“Oh but she is!” Spike said, before leaning close to whisper conspiratorially in Scootaloo’s ear, “Remember that time Rainbow Dash was sick with the ‘feather flu’?”
“Yeah?” Scootaloo said, not sure where this was going.
Spike chuckled evily. “She didn’t have the feather flu at all. She just ate one of Twilight’s cooking attempts. We almost thought she’d need to go to the hospital!”
Scootaloo looked in shock at Twilight, who had heard the whole thing despite Spike’s attempt at subltety. Twilight glared at her draconic friend.
“Oh Ha hah Spike! I thought we promised not to talk about that ever again!”
Spike just laughed. “Oh c’mon Twi, you know I’m just teasing you!” He said, before patting the unicorn on the shoulder.
Scootaloo watched the two interact, still not satisfied with what she had discovered. “But... isn’t that a little unfair?” She asked.
“What do you mean Scootaloo?” Twilight was in the middle of ruffling Spike’s spines as she responded.
“I mean, that means Spike is stuck with all the cooking! How’s that fair to him?”
Spike waved off her concerns with a smile. “It’s not a big deal Scootaloo, I don’t mind cooking for everypony.”
“But that’s not fair!” Scootaloo repeated. Why should Spike, somepony who was her age, be stuck with that kind of responsibility?
Spike gave Scootaloo a smile, but not his normal joking smile. There was something about this smile that made him seem older, more like an adult than a child.
“Really Scootaloo, it’s alright. I love cooking for Twilight and Rainbow Dash... and you too now!” He waved his hand towards the kitchen, “This is something I can do for my family. It’s my own little way of showing that I care for all of you.”
Scootaloo simply stared at the dragon. That was it? He didn’t mind doing this because... because they were family?
“Awwww Spike, that’s so sweet!” Twilight said as she scooped the dragon up in a hug. Spike pretended to fight against the embrace, even as he let Twilight nuzzle up against him.
After Twilight set him down, Spike turned back to Scootaloo. “You see Scoots, Twilight’s done a lot for me. She’s basically my big sister! So if I can help her out by doing the cooking, I figure it’s the least I can do. Now that you and Rainbow Dash are here, it just means there’s more ponies that I can care for by cooking.”
Scootaloo was getting annoyed by how often she felt lumps forming in her throat since she’d been adopted. She was supposed to be cool and unshakeable like Rainbow Dash! Ever since that manticore attack it felt like she’d been constantly crying.
Spike sat at the table figuring that the conversation was over. “Now then, since that’s taken care of, let’s dig in!” He said, grabbing a plate of pancakes covered in gem dust.
“Ohhh man, did Spike make pancakes?” Rainbow Dash’s excited voice came from the main room of the library. The two ponies and dragon sitting at the table looked at the plates sitting before them. Spike sighed and rolled his eyes in exasperation.
“The things I do for love...” He muttered under his breath as he made his way back to the stove, grabbing his pink apron.