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Chapter 14: The Conversation

Twilight awoke to the smell of jasmine that was coming from Rarity’s mane. The sun was already well into the sky, meaning she had slept in later than usual. Hard not to when she had slept so well the night before.

She was still in some disbelief about what happened, though she was growing accustomed to the idea of her and Rarity being together. It took her a moment to remember there was a third player involved here, the one who had passed out on the couch downstairs.

Twilight’s stomach fluttered. How would she break the news to Spike? He had been so good about supporting her before, but now that she and Rarity seemed to be an item, Twilight could only imagine the disappointment that Spike would go through. With Rarity having stayed the night, she worried that he might jump to conclusions and end up very upset.

Accepting the inevitable discomfort of telling him what happened, Twilight returned her attention to the lovely mare beside her. Rarity was apparently a very sound sleeper; Twilight hadn’t felt her move all night. She looked at her peaceful face and could tell that she was still deeply asleep. Twilight had half a mind to wake her with a kiss, but she decided that it might be an uncomfortable thing to wake up to.

Twilight slowly got out of bed and walked to the bathroom, turning and taking another look at Rarity before she entered and closed the door. She turned on the shower and used her magic to heat the water faster, a trick she had been using for years to save some time getting ready in the morning. Once the water had reached the perfect temperature she stepped in and relished the pleasant feeling of the water coursing through her fur.

Now that she had time to think about it, she wondered what it would have been like if Rarity had gotten up and kissed her awake. She would have enjoyed it immensely. She decided that if Rarity was still asleep when she got up she would kiss her.

But right now, in the heat of the shower, it was all too easy for Twilight to imagine Rarity joining her, scrubbing her with soap and lavishing her with wet kisses. Oh, the things they could do while bathing each other. We’d be getting dirty while we’re getting clean, Twilight thought, and the pun amused her. She didn’t want to fantasize too much, however, not with the sobering thought of her imminent conversation with Spike.

It would be better if she and Rarity could discuss their newfound relationship with Spike together. That way if the conversation trailed off into an awkward silence, one could pick up where the other left off. It wouldn’t do for Twilight to sit alone with Spike and watch him try to be happy for her when they both knew how disappointed he was.

The shower came to its inevitable end, and Twilight stepped out to towel off. This she did as slowly as possible in a futile attempt to delay her conversation with Spike. But once she had dried herself off and left the bathroom, she found that Rarity was no longer in her bed.

Now Twilight didn’t know what to do. Rarity had clearly gone downstairs and most likely woken up Spike. What if they were in a deep conversation and Twilight interrupted it? Wouldn’t that make things more awkward? What if she walked in on Spike bawling his eyes out and Rarity trying her best to console him. Well, in that case, she was sure Rarity would want backup, and the possibility of interrupting a conversation was worth it if it meant she could be helping Rarity mend Spike’s broken heart. As quickly as she could, she rushed down the stairs.

She was surprised to see Spike in the kitchen flipping pancakes while Rarity was setting the table for three and pouring everypony orange juice. They looked so congenial that it was as if there hadn’t been a problem at all. Having expected the worst, Twilight was taken aback.

“Oh, good morning, Twilight!” Rarity said, galloping over to her and giving her a strong hug. “Did you sleep well?”

“I slept great,” Twilight said. “Um, good morning, Spike.”

“Hey, Twilight. Hope you like oat pancakes.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Twilight said before turning to Rarity and lowering her voice to a whisper. “What’s going on?”

“The dear was absolutely delighted to see me and immediately suggested the three of us have breakfast,” Rarity said. “He looked so excited.”

“Maybe a little too excited,” Twilight suggested, taking a careful look at Spike. There was something about his demeanor that seemed forced, like he was trying to compensate for some inner sadness. Or maybe she was just imagining things.

“I don’t quite see what you mean,” Rarity said. “He looks positively chipper, the happiest I’ve seen him in a while.”

“I know Spike,” Twilight said, “and I know how...possessive he can get about what he loves. Have you told him why you stayed the night?”

“Well...” Rarity said, pondering the question carefully, “to be honest, he didn’t really give me a chance to explain. He just rushed into the kitchen after greeting me and immediately started preparing the pancakes. Oh...now I think I see your point.”

“We’re going to have to coax him into expressing his true feelings,” Twilight said. “I think the best way would be to calmly explain what happened the other night and see how he reacts. I know he’s hurting, and we have to let it out so he can start to feel better.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Rarity said, “but I hate to see the poor thing so upset. However, I understand it’s for the best, so let’s do it.”

“Okay,” Twilight said, before calling out to Spike. “Do you need help with anything?”

“Nah, I’m good,” Spike said. “You two lovebirds just sit down and enjoy yourselves. Let ol’ Spike handle the grub.”

Lovebirds? Twilight thought nervously. Rarity gave her a look, and Twilight knew she was thinking the exact same thing. They sat down on opposite ends of the table and decided to wait for the meal to start before trying to talk to Spike.

Somehow that made her sad.

Realizing that now was the best time to start talking, Twilight set her silverware down and cleared her throat. Spike looked at her, chewing an enormous bite of pancakes. Rarity warily waited for Twilight to start talking.

“Spike,” Twilight said, trying her best not to talk down to him. “You know why Rarity’s here this morning, right?”

Spike held up a finger and continued to chew on the pancakes. He finally swallowed them in a big gulp and took a swig of orange juice before answering. “Well, I guess you two had kind of a sleepover. So I’m guessing the talk went well...?”

“It did,” Rarity said. “Twilight and I are...well, what would you call it, Twilight?”

“Um, we’re...I guess you could say we’re an item now,” Twilight said.

“Does that mean you’re marefriends?” Spike asked.

Twilight and Rarity looked at each other uneasily. It was a simple question, really, but delivering the answer was not so simple. Twilight decided to take the mantle on this one.

“Yes, Spike,” she said, looking him straight in the eye. “Rarity and I are marefriends.”

“I thought so,” Spike said, and then there was silence. It lasted only a few seconds, but felt much longer. “Well, I’m...I’m happy for you.”

Twilight looked at Spike carefully. He seemed to have deflated quite a bit from his cheery nature when he was making pancakes, so she knew they were getting closer to getting his feelings out in the open.

“Spike,” Rarity said, “it’s no secret that you’ve had quite the affection for me ever since we met.”

“That obvious, huh?” Spike asked, his tone growing ever duller. Twilight looked at Rarity in alarm; she hadn’t expected her to cut to the chase quite that much.

“Well...yes,” Rarity said. “Twilight and I were just wondering how you felt about all this. It’s happened overnight and I’d think it might be a big deal for you.”

“What do you mean?” Spike asked. Rarity looked at Twilight uneasily.

“I think what Rarity means is that you might be upset about her being with someone else,” Twilight said, eager to have some input before the conversation turned south.

“Upset?” Spike asked. “I’m not upset. I’m happy for you two. I mean, if I couldn’t be with Rarity, at least she’s with somepony who loves her...”

The conversation died off again. Spike was looking noticeably more downtrodden now, and Twilight knew the facade was about to end.

“I mean...that’s what I’m supposed to feel, right?” Spike asked. “I should be happy for my two best friends, that they found each other...”

“That sounds to me like you’re feeling something else,” Rarity offered. “What are you truly feeling, Spike?”

“Um...” Spike said, now looking quite nervous. It hurt Twilight to see him staring at the floor, flipping his fork back and forth on the table. “Disappointed, I guess...” he finally said, and a single tear fell down his cheek.

At that moment Rarity wanted to get up and give Spike a hug, but she thought the close proximity might be confusing for him, so she remained seated. Spike sniffled and straightened up in his chair.

“But that’s no big deal,” he said. “What matters is that my two best friends are happy, so I should be happy, too, right?”

“Spike...” Twilight said, and she hated the sound of her voice. She didn’t want to come across as pitying him, as she thought that would be too condescending. “Your feelings are important, too. You were so good about supporting me when I told you how I felt about Rarity. I feel like you put me ahead of yourself, but it’s important for you to take care of you, too. It’s okay for you to feel disappointed, or sad, or even angry. We just want to help you work through it.”

“Oh, so that’s it, huh?” Spike said, his voice suddenly rising in volume. “You thought, ‘Oh, Spike loves Rarity, he’s going to be so upset when he finds out she’s with Twilight now. Let’s help him get over his disappointment so we don’t have to feel guilty anymore.’ Is that it?”

“Of course not, Spike,” Rarity started to say. “That’s not it at all...”

“What do you think I am, some kind of baby? Sure, I’m a little upset Rarity doesn’t like me the way I like her, but you assumed I was going to be all jealous and whiny when I found out she was dating somepony else. And not just somepony else, but my closest friend, who’s like a big sister to me. Well, I’m not angry! I’m not pouting or acting like a baby about it. I’m happy for you two, so why don’t you stop pitying me and just LEAVE ME ALONE?”

Those last three words echoed across the kitchen in the silence that followed. Twilight had dreaded something like this happening, and she didn’t know what to do to alleviate the situation. She looked at Rarity and could tell she didn’t have a clue either. They both turned to Spike and he looked crestfallen. Apparently all that anger had left him void of any energy. He pushed his seat back and stood up before walking towards the stairs.

“I’m not hungry anymore,” he said as he walked past.

“Where are you going?” Rarity asked.

“I wanna be alone,” Spike said as he began to climb the stairs. Twilight had every intention to ignore that request and try to help her friend—her little brother, even. She stood up and made to follow Spike. Rarity gave her a stern look and shook her head, and Twilight sat back down.

“We need to give him some space,” Rarity said. “He needs time to think about things. Then he’ll be ready to talk.”

“I want to help him, though,” Twilight said. She looked at her pancakes and realized she wasn’t hungry anymore, either.

“As do I,” Rarity said, “but we are helping him right now. This is what he needs. When he’s ready to talk, he will, and then we’ll start to help him feel better. But there’s nothing we can do now.”

“I guess you’re right,” Twilight said, staring at the pancakes in front of her. They really had been delicious, too, but she didn’t have the heart to continue eating.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Rarity asked. “It might be best if we left the library at this point.”

“I don’t want to waste the pancakes,” Twilight said, wishing she could just enjoy them. Spike had clearly worked hard to make them taste as good as they did. But she knew any bite of them she could take would taste like guilt.

Twilight opened a drawer and brought out some plastic wrap. She wrapped each stack of pancakes up tightly and put them in the fridge, to hopefully be heated up later. The syrup stuck to the wrap quite badly, but it was the best she could do.

“I guess we can go for a walk now,” Twilight said. She and Rarity walked side-by-side as they exited the library. Twilight dearly wished she had kissed Rarity awake now, as it might have ended up being the only good thing about the day.