Dissertation of Affections

by Baby Seal Burritos

Initial Reaction

Spike blinked the bleariness from his eyes, yawned, and stretched his arms out as far as they would go. Morning had come as always and sunlight had filtered through the slightly parted curtains to let rays dance upon his face. It was odd, he thought, to wake up this way instead of being awoken in some manner or another by Twilight. He peered over at the unicorn’s bed and noticed that it was empty; the comforter hadn’t even been disturbed since he had stumbled off to bed the night before.

Another yawn forced its way from his mouth and he climbed slowly out of his basket to stretch his legs. He would probably find Twilight downstairs, asleep with her nose in a book, passed out in the middle of an all-night study session. It would be his job to wake her up, but all he really wanted was more sleep.

Spike made his way to the door out into the outer portion of the library; when he opened it he heard Twilight’s voice drifting up from the floor below. She was awake? And talking to herself?

Spike inched towards the edge of the stairs to peer down into the main room.

“… but all that was revolutionized by Starswirl the Bearded. His work contains volumes upon volumes on all sorts of techniques and formulas that are invaluable to what we know about magic today. Without him we wouldn’t be able to use basic teleportation spells, or hair growing spells, or spells to conjure things, or many many other kinds of spells we use every day.”

Below, Twilight stood in the middle of the floor, levitating four different books in a circle around her and reading them at various intervals while taking notes. Pinkie Pie sat in front of her, apparently listening attentively to the lecture Twilight was giving about obscure unicorn history.

Spike blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing things correctly. Pinkie Pie? Why would that mare of all ponies be in the library so early in the morning? And why in the world would she be paying such rapt attention to Twilight’s prattling?

Pinkie’s gaze wandered upwards and she smiled when she saw the little dragon, “Good morning Spike!”

Twilight turned to face him as well, “Oh. Hello Spike. Did you sleep well?”

Spike made his way down the stairs, “I slept great! Um… Why is Pinkie here? No offense, Pinkie.”

“None taken!”

Twilight shot a nervous glance over to the pink pony who locked eyes with her and nodded.

Pinkie trotted towards the kitchen, cheerfully exclaiming, “I’m going to make breakfast! I hope everypony likes pancakes!”

Twilight called after her, “There are crushed gem pieces in the cupboard for Spike and blueberries in the fridge for us, Pinkie!”

“Ooh! I love blueberry pancakes!”

Twilight turned to Spike and gestured back towards the bedroom, “We need to talk.”

That couldn’t be good.

Spike followed Twilight up the stairs without saying anything, but he became even more nervous with each step. Had Twilight found out he had been sneaking extra emeralds after dinner? Or maybe she was replacing him as her assistant with Pinkie? Or maybe she had discovered a virus that was turning ponies into zombies and only she and Pinkie Pie knew the cure?

Twilight crossed the threshold into the upper room and Spike followed closely behind. She turned to face him and he was frightened to see that she was wearing a really anxious expression.

“Spike,” she began, tracing little circles on the floor with a hoof, “I need to tell you something really important.”

Spike could feel his heart thudding in his chest; the anticipation was killing him, “Okay Twilight. What is it?”

Twilight began pacing back and forth, “I just don’t really know how to say this. I mean, it’s not really such a big deal is it? I should probably just state it outright and not beat around the bush.”

Spike nodded slowly, “Yeah. Probably.”

Silence blanketed the room for a few long moments as Twilight stared at the wood grain of the wall and Spike waited impatiently for Twilight to spit it out.

Finally, he couldn’t contain his uneasiness a second longer, “What is it, Twilight?”

Twilight jolted to attention, “I’m in love with Pinkie Pie!”

Twilight’s eyes became round as saucers and she put a hoof to her mouth as if she couldn’t believe she had just said that.

Spike blinked a few times before laughing, “You’ve got to be kidding me! Is this some kind of joke? Pinkie Pie? Aw, that is hilarious!”

Twilight frowned, “No Spike, this is serious.”

Spike sobered up, “You mean… You and Pinkie Pie?”

Twilight nodded.

Spike’s eyebrows knitted together, “How?”

“I’m not entirely sure myself,” Twilight locked her gaze once more on the wooden flooring, “She’s been visiting me more and more often when I’m up late studying, and I guess I came to really appreciate her company.”

Spike rolled his eyes, “Sure. But “appreciating her company” is not the same as loving her! I appreciate Applejack’s company, but you don’t see me confessing my undying love.”

Twilight grinned, “What about that one time when we were about to jump into the Diamond Dog’s lair?”

Spike flushed, “Hey! That was an accident and you know it!”

“Suuuuure it was.”

Spike crossed his arms in a huff, “You’re avoiding the question.”

Twilight sighed, “I am not. We’ve spent a lot of time together lately, and she’s really fun to be around and I like it when she smiles at me because I get this really nice feeling in my chest and she’s a really amazing kisser…”

“Gross! Stop!” Spike stuck his tongue out with a scowl, “Too much information!”

Twilight smiled sheepishly, “Sorry.”

Spike paused in thought, tapping his chin with a scaly claw, before finally shrugging. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

Twilight opened and shut her mouth once or twice before sound actually came out, “What do you mean “okay”?”

Spike rolled his eyes, “I mean that it’s none of my business who you’re with. If you somehow wound up with the oddest pony you could have possibly picked in all of Equestria then that’s your deal.”

Twilight seemed unconvinced.

“I mean, hey!” Spike continued with a grin, “If you’ve got a chance with Pinkie then I’ve definitely got a chance with Rarity!”

Twilight chuckled, “You’re probably right.”

Spike made a show of flexing his little biceps, “One day Rarity’s sure to notice these babies! Oh yeah, that’ll impress her.”

Relief flooded over Twilight, “You really don’t mind?”

“Why should I mind as long as you’re happy?” He grinned, “And as long as I get pancakes too!”

Twilight scooped the baby dragon up in a giant hug, “Oh Spike! You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that!”

Spike wrapped his arms around the unicorn’s neck in an embrace, “Yeah yeah. Enough mushy stuff. Can we eat breakfast now?”

Twilight nuzzled the baby dragon fondly, “I was so worried… I don’t really know what I thought would happen, but I had no idea how you would react and I didn’t want this to somehow hurt our relationship. Because you really mean a whole lot to me, Spike. And…”

“Woah! Easy! You’re crushing me!”

Twilight let him slide back down to the floor, “Sorry.”

Spike shook his head, “Honestly, why would something like this hurt our relationship?”

“Doesn’t this change things?”

“How? You’re still you and Pinkie’s still Pinkie, aren’t you?”

Twilight hadn’t thought of it that way, but Spike had a point. Maybe this whole thing was less of an ordeal than she was making it out to be.

“I suppose you’re right.”

Spike gazed longingly down the stairs as the scent of pancakes wafted up from below, “Can we please go have breakfast now?”

Twilight swung Spike onto her back and practically pranced back down into the kitchen where Pinkie had found a white apron trimmed with lace and all the materials needed to make breakfast.

She was flipping pancakes onto a plate as the pair walked in, “Perfect timing! I just finished!”

On the counter were three plates piled high with fluffy pancakes practically oozing with fresh blueberries and—in Spike’s case— shiny gems of various colors; Pinkie had also found syrup which she had warmed in a cup, butter, lemons which she had sliced into quarters, powdered sugar, and honey. Twilight wasn’t positive that those things had been in the kitchen earlier, but she wasn’t complaining.

Pinkie whirled around the kitchen, depositing a plate in front of Twilight and Spike, respectively, and pouring two mugs full of steaming hot liquid.

“I hope you like hot chocolate! Who am I kidding? Nopony doesn’t like hot chocolate! What’s not to like?” She set a mug in front of each of her two friends with a smile, “Now what does everypony like on their pancakes? Sugar and lemon, Twilight? Butter and syrup, Spike?”

Spike nodded enthusiastically, “Oh yeah! That sounds great!”

Twilight moved to join Pinkie behind the counter, “Let me help you…”

Pinkie shook her head and handed Spike his toppings, “Nu-uh! This is my breakfast! I get to be the waitress pony today!”

“Are you sure?” Twilight took a step closer, “I really don’t mind.”

Pinkie hopped over to Twilight and steered her back towards her chair, “Sit back. Relax! Let good old Pinkie Pie take care of you!”

Spike chimed in through a mouthful of pancake, “Yeah Twilight. Just sit down.” He swallowed and grinned at Pinkie, “This is amazing, Pinkie! We never have anything fancier than cereal for breakfast.”

Twilight accepted the lemon slice and powdered sugar from Pinkie, “That’s not true!”

Spike twirled his fork between his claws and raised an eyebrow, “I guess you’re right.” He speared another chunk of pancake, “Sometimes we don’t even have breakfast at all.”

Twilight lowered her head meekly and focused on dressing up her pancakes; there needed to be about a three to five ratio of lemon to sugar on each pancake, taking into account that the lemon that would soak into the pancake above it on the stack and that sugar melted quickly…

“What are you doing?”

Twilight jolted up to see Pinkie looking at her with a quizzical expression and an affectionate smile.

“I’m just…,” Twilight drew small patterns on the counter in front of her, “The lemon tends to overpower the sugar and I like them a little sweeter rather than tart…”

Pinkie giggled, “You’re sooo cute!”

Twilight’s ears flicked back and she felt heat rise into her cheeks, “I-”

Pinkie leaned forward and pecked Twilight on the cheek, effectively silencing whatever she had been about to say.

Spike made gagging noises, “I’m trying to eat over here!”

Pinkie spun around to grab her own plate, scooping up a container of chocolate sauce Twilight knew for a fact hadn’t been there earlier, “Whoopsie! Sorry Spike!” She swung around the counter, scootching into the chair right next to Twilight, “It’s so so hard to keep my hooves to myself this morning!”

Twilight flushed as Pinkie nuzzled her behind her ear, “Pinkie… Not with Spike here.”

Pinkie shrugged and poured copious amounts of chocolate sauce on her pancakes with wild abandon.

Spike scoffed, “No no. Don’t stop on my account.”

“Okay!” Pinkie wrapped Twilight in an enthusiastic hug, causing the unicorn to drop the fork she had been levitating with her magic. Pinkie paused to let Twilight make eye contact, “You want to taste the chocolate sauce? It's super yummy!”

Their kiss was brief but rather interesting with the flavors of lemon, sugar, blueberries, and chocolate mixed in. Twilight had to admit she was a shade disappointed when Pinkie turned back to her pancakes.

Spike muttered, “The things I put up with for breakfast.”

From there, their meal was smooth sailing. The pancakes were fantastic, as was expected from Pinkie Pie, and halfway through finishing, Pinkie and Spike got into an intense discussion about the pros and cons of different toppings as well as what was appropriate to cook inside the batter. Twilight didn’t feel the need to add anything to the discussion, but the back and forth between her oldest friend and her new marefriend filled her with a warm, satisfied feeling. Maybe, she thought, just maybe things will turn out alright.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Pinkie exclaimed, “Gummy worms are amazing in pancakes!”

Spike rolled his eyes, “No you’ve got to be kidding me! Who wants something that looks like a worm and is chewy like a worm in their pancakes? Gross!”

Pinkie slammed a hoof on the counter with a gasp, “Because you get to pretend you’re a thing that eats worms! Like a mole or an ostrich!”

“Do ostriches even eat worms?”

Pinkie blinked slowly, “I think so. And if they don’t: why not? They’re birds aren’t they?”

Spike laughed, “Stupid birds. They can’t even fly! How lame is that?”

“Hey!” Pinkie frowned, “That’s not very nice!”

“It’s nothing personal. It’s not their fault they’re bad at being birds.”

“But they’re sooo good at other things!”

Spike nodded, “They’re the best at sticking their heads in the ground.”

Pinkie smiled, “They are, aren’t they! How’s about a toast for the ostriches! Best at sticking their heads in the ground ever!”

The two clanked their mugs together, nearly busting a gut laughing at some joke Twilight didn’t quite understand.

Twilight smiled. She had been worried about nothing after all. How typical.

This mutual affection that she and Pinkie shared wasn’t something she should be afraid of or something she should try to hide away. Spike made it clear that nothing had to change; this was just another step on the road of friendship that Twilight was traversing, nothing more or less. The prospect of opening up to the rest of their friends seemed exciting now rather than daunting. She couldn’t wait to let everypony know that she had fallen in love with the most amazing pony in Equestria.

Pinkie’s mouth darted in and stole a chunk of pancake off Twilight’s fork, “You snooze you lose, Twilight!”

Twilight smiled, "I guess you're right."

--Author's Note--

I'm not planning on having author's notes for every chapter, but this chapter was a bit of a doozy to write due to personal life stressors and the fact that the part that I really wanted to write is the part immediately following this one. This was an exercise in discipline, and, while I believe it serves its purpose, there are portions that do not please me. As such I would be grateful for any critique you would be willing to offer.

Thank you again for reading, and I hope you'll be excited for the next portion because I am pretty excited to write it.

Comments

[Ariamaki]

I dunno-- I think this was pretty solid all through. Only arguable weak point was the Spike-Twilight conversation, and that's just because it was very heavily back-and-forth with minimal reactions.

[Huntermjiolnir]

MAOR! i am now tracking this love it

[Baby Seal Burritos]

379380
That was my biggest issue. Spike needs a bit more something because he's pretty flat as of right now.
Thanks for the feedback.

[The Incredible Werekitty]

It wasn't bad, I have to admit. Very enjoyable, and quite cute.

[Tealove]

You seem to have a really good handle on the voices of the individual characters. I don't think there needs to be a lot of narration in conversations when the author writes them so well that you can distinguish between the two just by the way something is said.

[Lloxie]

I can't see anything to criticize here. Very cute, loving the story so far!

[Casper B. Wordsmith]

This fic needs more views - once again a cute, enjoyable and promising story from yourself.

[Donnys Boy]

Spike made his way down the stairs, “I slept great! Um… Why is Pinkie here? No offense, Pinkie.”

“None taken!”

Ha! I love Spike's bluntness--such a little kid thing--and Pinkie's cheerful lack of offense. That's perfect for both of these characters.

Spike blinked a few times before laughing, “You’ve got to be kidding me! Is this some kind of joke? Pinkie Pie? Aw, that is hilarious!”

This is great. I could HEAR Spike saying that, that's how perfect this dialogue is. I do think there should have been a bit more in between this and his "Okay," though--like maybe him peppering Twi with questions, "How? When? Where? ... WHY?" 'Cause from his perspective, this must've seemed quite sudden.

Spike gazed longingly down the stairs as the scent of pancakes wafted up from below, “Can we please go have breakfast now?”

"Enough of this mushy stuff! There is a PROFESSIONAL COOK down in that kitchen making us breakfast. Let's GO."

Pinkie spun around to grab her own plate, scooping up a container of chocolate sauce Twilight knew for a fact hadn’t been there earlier, “Whoopsie! Sorry Spike!” She swung around the counter, scootching into the chair right next to Twilight, “It’s so so hard to keep my hooves to myself these days!”

First, I really liked "... Twilight knew for a fact hadn't been there earlier." Hee. I was confused by Pinkie's reference to "these days," though. I'd assumed this was the morning after Pinkie's confession and their first kiss, but that statement seems to suggest they've been together a little while.

Pinkie’s mouth darted in and stole a chunk of pancake off Twilight’s fork, “You snooze you lose, Twilight!”

Twilight smiled, "I guess you're right."

MEANINGS. I dig it. Really love the way this closed out the chapter.

One point of possible improvement: I found the pacing in this chapter a bit fast. I would've liked to have seen things slowed down a bit, so we could get more internal monologue, more insights into the thoughts and the emotions of all three characters during this chapter. In particular, I would've loved a bit more of the Pinkie 'n Spike bonding towards the end.