Spike pulled the tea kettle off of the stove and set it on a cooling pad. He hopped up onto a stool and reached for a cabinet, retrieving a cup from it. Very carefully, he poured the tea into the cup. Then he pulled an oven mitt off of a hook and took the cookie sheet out of the oven. He placed the cup on a tray, along with several biscuits. Voila! A good old fashioned study snack.
Spike picked up the tray and left the kitchen, walking down the halls towards the library. Living in the castle was great, but the worst thing about it was the extended walking distance between the rooms. That, and the dishes. What a nightmare.
Spike wasn't entirely sure what Twilight was working on, but he was pretty sure it had something to do with Griffinstone. Whatever it was, it was exhausting her. On the bright side, only a few more days until she got to go on that vacation to CHS. Celestia knows she needed it.
Spike used his tail to knock on the library door. "Twilight!" he called. "It's break time! Can I come in?" He pressed his ear against the door. After a while, he sighed at the lack of a response, and pushed his way inside.
Twilight, unsurprisingly, had fallen asleep at the center table and was currently drooling onto a book. Spike rolled his eyes, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. He brushed a few papers out of the way to set the tray beside the princess, then approached a bookshelf not far from the main doors. From it he pulled, not a book, but a fluffy lavender pillow. Carefully lifting Twilight's head, he removed the book from under her and replaced it with the pillow. Twilight made a soft utterance about quesadillas and wrapped her hooves around the plushy object, a contented smile crossing her muzzle.
Spike grinned, and made to place the book he now held on the table. That is, until he caught a glimpse of the cover and immediately recognized it. This was the book that Twilight used to communicate with Sunset Shimmer.
The dragon blinked. He knew that Twilight had been talking to Sunset a lot lately as a stress reliever. However, he didn't know exactly what they were talking about. Oh sure, he had guesses. Just the other day he and Starlight had placed bets on it. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to find out which one of them had won...?
Spike shook himself, setting the book on a stack. No, no. If Twilight wanted him to know what she and Sunset were talking about, she would have told him. It wasn't right to read through her private conversations. So Spike began to leave.
Then again... Spike stopped. What if there was a secret Twilight was keeping? A secret that was hurting her, but she didn't want to let Spike and Starlight know about it because she wanted to stay a positive mentor figure? What if this secret was kept held inside of that book? Spike turned around. He walked back to the table. He glanced at Twilight, sleeping soundly. He took the book back off of the stack. He would only look for a second... He just wanted to make sure that... Sunset wasn't... being... mean to Twilight? Sure, why not.
He flipped open to a random page.
... I don't think she understands calculus at all, really. I mean, it's not like that surprises me, but I have no idea how she can seriously expect us to tutor her when she doesn't even have her multiplication tables memorized.
Well, this is Rainbow Dash we're talking about.
I know that, but I don't really care anymore. Really the only thing we can do is cross our fingers that she'll somehow make it through finals. Don't tell anypony I said this, but I'm pretty sure she cheated last year.
How did she do that?
I caught her washing ink off of her arms in the bathroom. She wouldn't tell me what it was when I asked her.
Ugh. Yeah, that sounds like something she would do. Also, what do you mean 'cross our fingers'?
Oh, that's just something that humans do. It's supposed to bring good luck.
Wow, that's really interesting! Do you happen to know from what that originated?
Spike snorted. The rest of this was just them talking about human history. Boring! There must have been something interesting in here. Again checking that Twilight was still asleep, which she was, Spike tried to find the page she had been writing when she fell asleep. He eventually crossed into the blank pages, and flipped back until he found one with writing.
Are you sure It's okay for me to stay the night at your place?
Of course it's okay! It's not like anypony ever comes over here. It's a little messy, but I mean, I can clean up for you.
Wow, Sunset, that's really nice of you.
Are you okay, Twilight? Your writing is really messy.
Sorry, I've just been up for a while doing paperwork for relations between Equestria and Griffinstone.
Don't work yourself too hard.
I don't want you to worrry about me. I'm just tired is all. Speaking of which where am I sleeping? You said you don't own a bed.
Sorry. And yeah, I sleep on the couch. But it folds out, so I'm sure there's room for both of us.
Spike's brow furrowed.
Oh wow Sunset. Okay, that sounds good.
The rest of the page was just Sunset prompting Twilight about the Griffinstone relations untill Twilight's writing dissolved into illegible scribbles and drool stains. Spike slammed the book shut and scurried out of the room as quickly as possible. The guard outside looked at him curiously, and the dragon grinned nervously before heading back to the kitchen.
When Spike returned to the kitchen, he found Starlight pouring herself a mug of the tea he had brewed. The unicorn blinked in recognition of his arrival, but he didn't respond. Instead, Spike walked over to a canister on the counter and removed the lid, then reached inside. Starlight took a swig of her tea, then looked up as five tiny gold coins were slid across the table towards her. She cocked an eyebrow, looking to Spike as he picked a biscuit off of the tray and sat down with it.
"What are these for?" Starlight questioned, pulling up a coaster to set her drink on.
Spike had taken a bite from his biscuit as Starlight spoke, and she waited for him to swallow so to answer. "You won the bet," he replied, before turning his attention back to his biscuit.
Starlight cocked her head. "Bet? What bet?" She tapped her chin, and Spike munched on the treat while she sorted out what he had said. Eventually, Starlight came to a conclusion. "Wait-- You didn't!"
"I did!" Spike shrugged, and Starlight gaped at him. "I couldn't help myself! You know how it is."
He took another bite out of his biscuit, Starlight scowling at him. "You shouldn't have done that," she scolded.
"And you shouldn't have thrown Pinkie out a window."
Starlight stomped her hoof on the table. "That's different!" she exclaimed. "You betrayed Twilight's trust by reading that book!"
Spike scratched behind his head guiltily. "Well, technically she never told us not to read the book..."
"Spike!"
"Okay! Okay!" Spike held up his hands defensively. "I know it wasn't right, but you would have done the same thing if you had been there."
Starlight's ears flattened, and she took another sip of her tea, taking the five bits from the table and levitating them into a neat stack. "So..." Spike licked his claws, glancing sideways at the unicorn when she spoke. "What... did it say in there?" Spike smirked. "I mean, it can't have been anything too exciting if I won..."
"Meh. It was mostly just Sunset complaining that Rainbow Dash can't do math," Spike responded. He stood up on his chair, looking Starlight in the eyes with enthusiasm. "But! I wasn't completely wrong!"
"How so?"
Spike motioned for Starlight to come closer, which she did. Then he whispered to her, "Sunset wants them to sleep in the same bed!"
Starlight's ear twitched, and she retracted her head. "Seriously?" Spike nodded. Starlight stared at the floor for a second, before picking up her mug again. "That doesn't mean anything," she returned. "Ponies can sleep in the same bed without being romantically interested in each other, Spike."
"But Starlight!" Spike cried, hopping out of his seat. "It's so obvious! Sunset is totally coming onto her!"
"You're reading too much into this."
"You're not reading enough into this!"
Starlight trotted out of the kitchen, Spike following.
"Okay," Starlight said, "let's assume that Sunset is coming onto Twilight. What does that mean to us, or more importantly, to Twilight?"
Spike scratched his head. "Well, Twilight really likes Sunset, and she could use someone around to help with her work..."
Starlight's brow lowered. "Sunset lives in another dimension."
"She could move here after she graduates."
"But what if she doesn't?"
"I don't know. I mean, I don't think she would have anything to do in the human world after she leaves school, so why wouldn't she come here?"
Starlight sighed. "Okay, so Sunset moves into the castle. Then what?"
"Then..." Spike racked his brain for a follow-up. Then he came up with one. "Then Twilight and Sunset could get married!"
Starlight looked down at Spike with an expression that made him suspect she wasn't enjoying this conversation. "Why would that happen?"
"Well, that's what happens when two ponies love each other," Spike explained. "They get married so they can spend the rest of their life together and be happy." He paused. "At least, that's what's supposed to happen."
Starlight snorted. "Look, Spike," she said. "I want Twilight to be happy just as much as you do, and I know that talking to Sunset is one of the only things keeping her sane right now."
"Well, I don't know about that--"
"...but that doesn't mean that they're in love!" Starlight cut him off. "Or that they should get married! They've never even gone on a date!" She flicked her tail impatiently, starting up the main staircase. "Besides, Twilight is a princess. Do you really think she has time for a relationship?"
"I don't see why she wouldn't," Spike responded. "I mean, it's not like she's constantly traveling or anything. And it's like you said, it would make Twilight happy! Isn't that the most important thing?"
"Well, yes." Starlight glanced away. "But that's the thing. Princess Twilight can still be happy without being in a relationship." As they reached the top of the stairs, she stopped walking and turned to face Spike. "Now, let's just say that she and Sunset do start going out. Or, you know, get married."
"Alright."
"Okay. Now let's say that Sunset leaves her."
Spike flinched. What? Sunset wouldn't do that! Well, Spike knew Sunset better than Starlight did, and she was just trying to come up with a worst case scenario... and that would definitely be bad. "Well, Twilight would be heartbroken..." the dragon admitted.
Starlight nodded briskly. "Exactly. And then she wouldn't be able to bring herself to go back to her work. She wouldn't be able to do her job."
Spike scowled. "But Sunset wouldn't do that. She's a good pony, she wouldn't hurt Twilight!"
"Maybe not intentionally," Starlight said, "but you can never trust a pony not to do something unintentionally."
"Well, I trust Sunset," Spike declared. "I think she would take great care of Twilight. Maybe even better than we do!"
"Well, it's not like it really matters, since we won't have anything to do with what ultimately happens." Starlight approached the door to her study. "When it comes down to it, the only ones who can decide what will happen are Twilight and Sunset. So I don't even know why we're talking about this. Good day to you, Spike."
"But Starlight--"
"I said, 'good day'!!" Starlight slammed the door to her study closed, locking Spike outside. Afterward he could hear a muffled, "And thank you for the tea!!"
Spike sighed. He didn't know why Starlight was so uncomfortable with the concept of Twilight finding a fillyfriend. The first thought that crossed his mind was that she was jealous, but he quickly decided that that was silly. What would she even have to be jealous of? Oh, well. It was like she said, it wasn't like they would ultimately end up having anything to do with it. But Spike could fantasize. He liked Sunset, and he'd like her to be around more often. He truly believed that she would do great things for Twilight if they were together. But he did have to acknowledge that Starlight had a point about how unlikely it was, and all of the things that could go wrong. Maybe he was reading too much into things.
Oh well. For now, he had to go clean up the kitchen.