Her coat was damp and her soaked mane was sticking to her face; the more she ran, the wind and rain made her wetter and colder. And she didn’t care one bit.

Starlight ran through the streets of Ponyville, the rain coming down on her and making the trek more than a bit arduous, but the happiness in her overshadowed any discomfort. As she slowed down to take a corner, she looked back at the dragon running behind her. Spike was still almost half a block away from her, but even in spite of the rain, she could clearly make out the smile on his face. In turn, that sight made her smile much wider.

To think that just a couple of years ago, a much younger mare, barely an adult, had given up almost entirely on the thought of ever connecting with people again. How could she have been so blind? No amount of power had ever made her feel as fulfilled as she did at that moment. No magic felt as powerful as the affection she had for Spike. As she ran the last block to Sugarcube Corner, she couldn’t help but appreciate the sheer happiness in which she found herself.

She finally skidded to a halt in front of the colourful building. Just a few seconds later, Spike caught up to her. Neither spoke for a while, busy as they were trying to catch their breath. After a moment, Starlight looked up at him, and felt her breath escape her once more when she saw how the light glistened on Spike’s wet scales, making him look somehow even more handsome than usual.

“Starlight Glimmer…” the dragon said between gasps for breath. “Likes fancy meals, hot dragons, and racing under the rain.”

She blinked for a couple of seconds before putting on a smirk and replied in a way that she hoped would mask her lungs’ own lack of air, “I know, you really lucked out with me, didn’t you?”

“You’re a riot, Star,” Spike said, sounding more calm now that he had rested for a moment. He took a step forward and when he did, the light coming from the inside of the building reflected on his eyes and wet scales, making him shine and feel like a warm spot against the cold rain.

“Let’s get in,” she finished, and turned before the urge to pounce him and kiss him into submission was too strong to resist. She used her magic to remove most of the water from her coat and mane while Spike shook himself like a dog to get rid of the droplets of rain still clinging to his scales. Some habits die hard, she supposed. Without further ado, Starlight opened the door and walked into the bakery, where a happy and bubbly voice greeted her.

“Hi, Starlight!” Pinkie Pie yelled from the counter, waving a hoof at her. When she saw Spike walk in behind her, she started waving her other hoof. ”Hi, Spike!”

“Hi, Pinkie,” they both replied in unison.

Just as Spike closed the door, Pinkie jumped from behind the counter and began scrubbing their bodies with large towels.

“Why did you run into the rain without an umbrella, sillies? That’s how ponies get sick.” Pinkie paused as she pulled one of the towels from Spike’s body and eyed his scales with a frown. “Okay, mister. You get a pass.”

“It’s good to see you, Pinkie,” was Spike’s only reply.

“And it is good to see you two. You know, there haven’t been a lot of customers today. I figured the rain would make some stay at home, but who doesn’t like a hot cup of chocolate and a cake fresh out of the oven on a rainy day?”

Pinkie Pie finally stepped back—the damp towels conspicuously absent—and gave them one of her usual wide smiles. “So!” she said with cheer. “What can I do for you tonight?”

Starlight turned to look at Spike. He returned her gaze for a few seconds before lifting a hand and wrapping his arm around her shoulder, which filled her with reassurance.

“Well, someone’s in a huggy mood. Did you come for hugs? Because I can always make time for hugs.”

“No, Pinkie, we…” Starlight trailed off once more. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to ease the remnants of nervousness from her mind. “We wanted to tell you something.”

Pinkie Pie just kept smiling, tilting her head to one side to show she was listening.

“We’re together!” Spike yelled before Starlight could say anything, his voice dripping with excitement as he spoke. Excitement she noticed was curiously absent from Pinkie.

She had stopped in her tracks, with her front hooves just a hair’s breadth away from touching the floor. Her eyes were wide, her mouth hung open, and her ears swivelled until they were directed at them. Other than that, she made no motion.

“As in, romantically,” Starlight added.

Pinkie Pie, however, remained immobile, much Starlight’s bafflement.

“You know, couples. More than friends,” Spike offered tentatively, as if trying to provoke a reaction out of the earth pony.

“Pinkie? Are you—”Starlight started, but at that moment she noticed Pinkie wasn’t still. On the contrary, she was actually vibrating. Before either of them could mention it, Pinkie Pie exploded. Not literally, at least… not as far as Starlight could tell, but she did let out a loud unidentifiable sound as she jumped high into the air, collided with the ceiling, ricocheted towards them, and threw her arms around their shoulders. She then took in a large gasp of air as Starlight noticed a faint musical accompaniment starting to swell up.

My two friends got together
Because they’re so in love
May you two last forever
And have delight in troves

There is no greater feeling
Than when you feel in love
Your heart shots through the ceiling
Flying like a big dove

You two are now a couple
I wish you all the best
Now all your joys are doubled
As is everything… else?

Suddenly, just as it had started, the music stopped and Pinkie slumped. With a huff she let go of them and took out a small notebook and a pencil out of her mane and started scribbling in it. “Best and else? Ugh… What was I thinking?”

Starlight blinked. She then blinked again. She blinked one more time and realised the wetness of her eyes wouldn’t bring her any closer to understanding what just happened.

“Did she just…” she trailed off.

“Huh… It’s been a while since she last jumped into song,” Spike said, somewhat impressed as he rubbed his chin.

It’s not that she wasn’t used to randomly bursting into song from time to time, but Pinkie’s spontaneous little number had caught her off guard. It was, however, possibly the most positive outcome of having told her about their relationship.

As if sensing their confusion, which was probably the case, Pinkie turned around and gasped again, holding her hooves together as her eyes grew wider to the point it started to creep Starlight.

“You’re a couple!” she squealed as she ran back towards them, stopping less than a stride away, and leaned forwards, going back and forth between Spike and her, getting closer and closer to their faces. “This is amazing! I’m so happy for you two. You’ve got to tell me everything!”

Taking a step back, Starlight looked at Spike and smiled. “There’s not much to tell, really. It just… Happened. And I couldn’t be happier it did. I’m glad to be Spike’s marefriend.”

She wasn’t sure if the squeaky sounds were coming from Pinkie Pie, Spike, or herself, but she didn’t care. It felt so good to take this off her chest and be able to openly tell ponies Spike was her special some… body? Yeah, that worked for now. Just as she was about to speak again, Spike’s stomach grumbled loudly, making him blush, and making her smirk.

“Hungry, Spike?” Starlight asked with a sardonic edge to her voice.

“Ha ha. As if you’re not hungry after today’s workout,” Spike replied before lifting a claw and gently poking her snout. Out of the corner of her eyes, Starlight saw Pinkie Pie giving her a smug look.

Yeah, if anyone would take the opportunity to tease her, it would be Pinkie Pie. Maybe Rainbow Dash, if she got over the “mushy” aspects.

“Don’t get any ideas, we were just dancing,” Starlight said, waving her hoof in Pinkie’s general direction.

“I didn’t say anything,” Pinkie Pie said as her smugness grew. It only lasted for a few seconds more before it her face changed to her usual happy state. “Wait, I have an idea!”

With that, Pinkie turned around and jumped back towards the counter, and somersaulted the rest of the way before landing behind the cash register with her front hooves outstretched, somehow avoiding to hit anything on her way.

“As my way of saying congratulations for your relationship, you can have any cake you’d like! It’s on Pinkie!”

That piqued Starlight’s interest. She had to admit she was a bit hungry after the dancing. Eager as they were, they’d only had a quick lunch before they started to clear the main hall for their little activity, and such—ahem—strenuous activities had made her work up an appetite. Just as she was about to thank Pinkie and ask which cakes paired well with strawberries and ice cream, Spike spoke.

“Actually, Pinkie,” he said with a raised claw, “I was wondering if you could let us bake something ourselves.”

Starlight leaned back, giving him an amused but approving look. She wouldn’t deny she enjoyed cooking with him, and it seemed like a fun way to spend the afternoon until the rain waned. She never stopped marveling at how she’d come to find enjoyment in doing otherwise mundane things with him, and yet here she was, excited about the idea of baking something just because it would mean doing it with him. Of course, that would only be possible if Pinkie agreed to—

Her train of thought was derailed by Pinkie Pie letting out a weird sound that made her think of someone making a squealing noise while gasping at the same time. When she turned around, she saw Pinkie Pie bouncing in place while squeezing her cheeks. Her eyes were wide open, and glistened under the room’s light.

“That’s such a great idea!” Pinkie yelled just as her odd high pitched noises started to reach uncomfortable levels. “You can make a cake for each other, that would be so fun! And romantic! But mostly fun! And tasty!”

Starlight smiled at the sight of their overjoyed friend. She had a good point, though. Baking alongside each other would be fun. They’d been doing that a lot lately, after all.

“If we’re not imposing,” she said, offering some bit of token resistance to mask her eagerness. “Are you sure the Cakes won’t mind?”

“You silly filly, of course they won’t! This is a gift from aunt Pinkie Pie for you two lovebirds. I can’t imagine a better way for a couple to spend an hour or so!” Pinkie assured her, and was quick to push them through the kitchen doors before Starlight could properly process what the baker had just said.

Soon enough they found themselves in the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner, each with a nice apron of their own. Starlight noted that Spike looked better in frills, but saved the thought for later. She looked around the kitchen with fondness, remembering the time Mrs. Cake had banned her from the bakery for daring to create a cake with magic. She had initially thought the older mare was just exaggerating, but then she had tasted her own cake. While it hadn’t been bad, it lacked that special something that made the Cake’s cakes so good. And she wouldn’t dream of changing Spike’s cooking for anything magically generated.

Besides, cooking was fun in and of itself.

“Do you have any idea of what you want to do?” Spike asked her as he started taking out pots and whisks.

Starlight shrugged. “I thought I could look through the recipe books around here and see what caught my eye.” Turning around, she looked at the shelf near the corner, as removed from the hustle and bustle of the daily routine as it could be while remaining in the same room. She pulled a few with her magic and brought them towards her, opening them as they floated so they showed the index. Her eyes scanned the table of contents, looking for something that caught her interest.

Ideally, she would’ve crushed a few gems and added that to the dough of any cake, but seeing how this was a spontaneous thing, she didn’t think it would be appropriate to ask if the Cakes had any gems to spare. Therefore, she’d have to make do with a plain old recipe and make it the best she could possibly do to satisfy Spike.

That was easier said than done.

All the recipes looked interesting, and she was sure they’d all be delicious once done, but none caught her eye that much. She wanted something simple, but eye-catching. Something elegant, but that wouldn’t be too complex. Something that felt meaningful, but that didn’t make it seem as if she had spent a long time trying to think what she should do.

Again, easier said than done.

Her eyes trailed the rows of desserts with foreign names, none of which she could recognise. Though Zabaglione sounded funny, she’d have to try that some other time.

You’re wasting time, Starlight, she heard her conscience or whatever it was say, and let out a sigh as she realised it was speaking the truth. As she looked up, she saw Spike was already taking out ingredients and portioning them.

“You seem like a dragon with a plan,” Starlight said as she closed the first cookbook, deeming it too extravagant.

Spike didn’t reply right away. He didn’t even look at her. He simply swayed his head from one side to another as he hummed. “Perhaps,” he finally said. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to try, and it won’t need too many ingredients. I think I can pull it off, and I hope you”—he stopped himself once he looked up at her, his happy expression morphing into a questioning look. “Starlight are you pouting?”

“I’m not…” she replied while pouting.

“Are you alright?” he asked her as she took a few steps closer. “Are you sure you want to do one on your own? We could always bake something together.”

Though her first instinct was to say yes—and her vocal chords had already started voicing her agreement—she stopped herself and looked back at the remaining cook book.

“I’m sure, Spike. I want to bake something for you,” she said with finality.

Spike looked at her with an inscrutable air to his gaze. After a few seconds, a smile crept up his lips and he nodded. “I look forward to it.”

Starlight was quick to give him a smile of her own before once more looking down and reading through the list of cakes and other pastries, hoping to find something that felt right. Her best bet was to go for something familiar, something that felt safe while still letting her try new things. There’d be time for more daring experimenting later.

Thinking back to the last couple of days, and to the things they’d cooked together, she had played the role of the assistant every time, so anything too complex was immediately out of the picture. The tartine had been simple and delicious, that was just a toast with toppings. Perhaps she could apply the same principle to what she would end up baking. If she did a simple but tasty base cake, she could add some fruits, or fudge, maybe even—

Her eyes widened at one recipe near the end of one page. It was exactly what she wanted, it wasn’t too complicated to make, it gave her freedom to try different things on top of it, and she had been kind of fantasising about it for a while now.

“Strawberry Shortcake…” she murmured. The dough was simple and there was no way she could mess up the strawberries. It was perfect. With a smile and renewed spirits, she smiled and looked up at Spike, who was already picking out his ingredients, and she set out to do the same.

One bowl, a measuring cup, a pan, and a wooden spoon later, Starlight was ready to start working on the shortcake. The dough didn’t require much. Fortunately, the Cakes had self-rising flour, so that saved her the effort of having to measure the salt and the baking powder. She’d just have to add the sugar.

She measured two cups of flour and added a quarter cup of sugar, using her magic to make sure it mixed properly. Setting it aside, she focused on the butter. The book said she needed to melt the butter before adding it to the dry ingredients alongside the sugar. Simple enough. She turned around to face the stove, holding the stick of butter and a pan with her magic, and started to work. She separated the rough equivalent of four tablespoons of butter and threw it into the pan. As she started to hear the sizzling noise of the hot pan doing its magic, she smiled in satisfaction and brought the cooking book towards her.

She gave the pan a shake as she read the book. Even though she had added the sugar to the flour straight away, the book said the sugar had to be added alongside “the rest of the wet ingredients”. Now, Starlight was well aware of her limitations as a cook, but that didn’t sound right to her. Sugar was distinctly not wet, after all. It’s not as if the recipe asked for a sweetener. Honey, molasses, that weird liquid stevia thing that got popular for a while… Those were liquids, so they were wet. Sugar, however, were rocks—in spite of Maud’s passionate arguments to the contrary—and by their very nature they were not wet. Was this another case of a misnomer? She hadn’t gotten around checking what was the deal with pegasus and near misses. Either way, although she was sure there was a reason why they were called that, if she couldn’t drown in it, then she didn’t see how it was “wet”. If anything, it only made sense to—Wait, what’s that smell?

Starlight tore her gaze from the book and did a double take as her butter had gone from molten to a slightly dark brown. She whipped her head from side to side in panic. Without thinking, she grabbed the bottle of heavy cream she’d taken from the fridge and poured its cold contents into the pan. That seemed to do the trick, or at least she hoped it had. A sidelong glance told her that Spike hadn’t noticed a thing, and was busy mixing something on a double boiler.

Quickly, she took the wooden spoon and poured the butter and cream mixture into the flour and sugar and started mixing. It was only after she was done that she noticed the rest of the butter sitting on a little plate next to the stove and had to fight the urge to groan in frustration.

It’s okay, she thought, it’s not like the butter burned. It was probably just toasted… Just toasted. No need to panic.

WIth deep breaths, Starlight managed to calm herself down. She could still pull through and make a delicious cake for Spike. She kept mixing and mixing until the batter became a solid, pliable mass which would hopefully become a rich shortcake. As she took the dough, she realised she may have made a teensy bit too much for just one dragon. Or one dragon and one pony. In hindsight, she probably should’ve checked the portions of the recipe before she started this whole thing. Maybe the Cakes would appreciate four or five additional shortcakes for tomorrow, who knows.

Either way, Starlight finished rolling the dough and cut it into six generous portions. She brushed them with more heavy cream and gave them a dusting of sugar as the book instructed, and placed them on a buttered tray.

“Ready for the oven?” Spike asked her.

Starlight looked up and saw him holding a circular mold filled with a dark brown mixture. Chocolate? Probably.

“Yeah. I need the oven at…” she trailed off as she checked the recipe book once more, “two hundred and twenty degrees Celsius! Wait, I didn’t heat the oven.”

“What a coincidence, same temperature as mine,” he added with a smile.

“How long until—”

“It’s already at the perfect temperature,” he assured her. After a second of silence, he rolled his eyes innocently and added, “I may have used my fire to help speed things up.”

She cracked a smirk at that. “And here I was doing my best to not use too much magic.”

“And I’m very proud of you for that, Starlight.” He marked his words with a thumbs up and a wink.

“Oh, stuff it.”

“Gladly!” Spike said, and picked up Starlight’s tray. “Interesting… Don’t tell me what they are just yet. I want to see the finished product.”

With that, he turned around—Starlight noted he definitely looked cuter on the frilly apron—and walked towards the oven. Opening it with his tail, he leaned forwards to put the trays in just as Starlight leaned to the right.

Even though it lasted only a few seconds, she got a good glimpse of Spike’s toned backside. It took every shred of self-control not to whistle at the sight of his buns, but she managed to keep her composure and looked away once he stood up.

“How long do yours have to be in?” He asked.

“Uh, hold on… Let’s see, eighteen minutes.”

With deft fingers, Spike picked up a timer and set it to the appropriate time. As soon as he was done, he picked up another one and cranked it, too. “Mine only needs fifteen minutes. I’ll get to work on my raspberry sauce.”

Starlight blinked. “Oh! Yeah, I have to do my strawberries!”

She turned around and trotted to the fridge, where she found a small bowl with several strawberries. Enough for a few portions, she noted. With a smile, she floated the bowl out and walked back to the counter. As she set them on a cutting board and started quartering them, she started humming. She hadn’t meant to do so, she just started. Perhaps Pinkie’s impromptu song had stuck with her, or perhaps she was just that happy. Either way, questioning it wouldn’t make her happier. Actually, it may even have the opposite effect. So she focused on cutting the strawberries while humming all the way. Once she was done, she put them back in the bowl and took another look at the recipe book.

“Add a quarter cup of sugar and let them rest in the fridge for an hour. This will help draw water from the strawberries… Wait, is that why sugar is considered a wet ingredient?”

“What was that, Star?” Spike asked from across the counter.

“Uh, nothing,” she replied meekly as she hid behind the book and read that last part once more.

The book said that the sugar was supposed to be added with the rest of the wet ingredients, and it later explained that adding sugar to the strawberries served to draw out the water. So did that mean that sugar was a wet ingredient because it made things wet? But that can’t be right. Something wasn’t wet because it made other things wet, they can’t attribute a property of something to the one that caused its state. Just because adding sugar to something made it wet, it didn’t mean sugar itself was wet.

Just like Spike isn’t wet just because he makes you wet.

Starlight blinked as she processed what her mind had just said. It’s not that it was wrong, far from the truth. It was just that… that was probably the first time she openly acknowledged to herself how much she desired Spike on a sexual level, and it was brought out by sugar.

Sugar.

She looked down as her ears drooped. She probably shouldn’t feel so bad about finally being able to admit her own desires, but there was something so galling about the whole thing.

With a shake of her head, she threw those thoughts aside and focused on the strawberries. The recipe said they had to rest in the fridge for an hour or so to let the sweet strawberry juices out. That way it would mix with the shortcake and create a better tasting experience. That was nice and all, but she didn’t have an hour.

As she sneaked a glance towards Spike, she wondered if she could speed up the process with her magic. Well, of course she could, but should she?

Well, that vexing voice in her mind said, if Spike could use his dragon fire to bring the oven to temperature, then there’s no reason you shouldn’t use your magic to help cool down the strawberries.

Smiling once more at her mind voice being helpful for once, she channelled her magic into a freezing spell, cooling down the bowl of sugared strawberries while stirring occasionally. Soon enough, she started to see the bottom of the bowl filling with the strawberry’s juices. Glee filled her as she saw her hard work bear fruit.

“Heh…”

“What was that?” Spike asked. When had he gotten so close to her?

“Ah, no. It’s nothing. Are you done with your raspberries?”

Chuckling, Spike held out a jar with a reddish liquid inside. “The Cakes had some fresh raspberry sauce, so I thought I’d use that.”

“Oh, is that so?” Starlight asked as she poured more magic into her freezing spell.

“Yup! Oh, your cake should be out of the oven in a couple of minutes, I’ll bring it once it’s done,” he said with his annoyingly cute voice. “Do you want me to lend you a hand?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty much done. Once the cake’s done, I just have to serve it over the sauce,” Spike said nonchalantly as he set the jar aside.

Starlight slowed down her stirring of the strawberries. The recipe asked to finish the dessert with a huge dollop of whipped cream, and ever since she’s tried fresh whipped cream, she could never go back to the store-bought kind. Why would she? The taste was okay at best, but it left her mouth with a greasy aftertaste. Not to mention that the ingredient list was a bit terrifying. If she had to ask Twilight how to pronounce the ingredients in her food, she took it as a sign she shouldn’t eat it. Besides the real stuff was so easy to make!

“Could you make some whipped cream?”

“On it, babe,” Spike replied with a smile and a snap of his fingers that froze her in place. She had heard him correctly, right? He had just called her—her—babe.

And she found she didn’t hate it.

She wasn’t sure if she completely liked it, but she was sure she didn’t hate it. Though perhaps her enjoyment also came from Spike’s incredibly uncomfortable expression. He was doing an obvious effort to keep his smile, but that only resulted in him looking stiff. He must have been thinking about calling her that for a while now and finally mustered up the courage to actually call her babe. She wouldn’t be a good marefriend if she wasn’t considerate to his feelings.

Besides, two could play that game.

“Thanks, stud,” she shot back, giving Spike a wink before turning around.

Her own cheeks started burning up at her own compliment, though she knew it was also because of the way Spike’s smile went from stiff and forced, to goofy and embarrassed. It felt good to know she could make him feel like that.

They kept their work, Spike whipped some cold cream while she focused on stirring the cold strawberries, all in companionable silence. If she had known she would find this much peace and comfort in a relationship with Spike… Well, it’s not like she would have known to confess sooner. Hell, when she bid Twilight farewell earlier that week she didn’t imagine she’d end up in a relationship with her mentor’s sort of little brother and… Wait, where was she going with this?

At that moment, the first timer rang. Spike seemed to be a bit dazed afterwards, but quickly set down the bowl with perfectly whipped cream on the counter and headed for the oven. Kneeling down—and giving Starlight another chance to sneak a quick glimpse of his derriére—he took out his round mold with his bare hands, his thick scales working better than any gloves, and set it on the counter before closing the oven with his tail.

“Do you need me to help you with something else?” Spike asked her, to which she just shook her head in denial. ”Then I’m going to start setting these up. Yours should be out in a couple of minutes.”

With that, Spike turned around and walked to the other end of the counter, where he started working on his cake. She was mostly done, too. The book showed the shortcake covered with the juicy strawberries and a generous dollop of whipped cream, and that was her aim. She passed the time thinking about the best way of presenting the dessert. She had cut the shortcakes in somewhat rectangular shapes, so she could put one at the bottom of the bowl and arrange the strawberries around it, a scoop of the whipped cream on top, and the strawberry syrup drizzled all over it.

She smirked as she envisioned the final result. The sweet cake taking in the juices and the whipped cream were such an enticing prospect, Starlight couldn’t help but start salivating.

“Spiiiike...” Starlight said as she scooted closer to the dragon. The shortcake mattress would normally make it a bit hard, but she was lathered in so much strawberry juice she could slide all the way towards him. Spike was waiting for her with open arms, ready to catch her as he laid against a cushy pile of whipped cream.

“Yes, Starlight, dear?” He asked, his voice a deep, rumbling thunder that made her quiver with each word.

Starlight bit her lip as she looked at Spike with half lidded eyes. Her left hoof held him by his neck while the other one was free to caress his firm chest. “Do you like the cake I made for you?” she asked, putting on her most innocent tone.

“I adore it, babe,” he replied as she enveloped her with his strong arms.

For her part, Starlight melted into the embrace. Rubbing her body against Spike’s scales, and feeling how his hard scales gave way to the softness of his body.

With a squeal of delight, Starlight levitated one comically large strawberry towards them, holding it between their muzzles.

“Let’s dig in, shall we?” she said as she leaned forward, closing her eyes and opening her mouth to take a large bite out of that juicy—

At that moment, the second timer started ringing, pulling Starlight back from her hot and sweet daydream.

“Bwuh?” Starlight said, lamely.

“Your cakes are done!” Spike said as he pulled out the tray with the shortcakes out of the oven.

Starlight blinked a couple of times before frowning and looking down in silence. Outwardly, at least. Inside her mind, she was once again screaming nonstop.

Get a grip, Starlight! She finally managed to say to herself, barely keeping it together. Venturing a glance, she looked at Spike, who was standing next to her holding her tray of shortcakes.

“Here you go!” He said, smiling with such innocence and happiness it almost made her want to pin him down on the Cake’s counter.

“Thanks, Spike,” she replied, painfully aware of how meek she sounded.

Oh, please. How is this any worse than the little fantasies you’ve been having all week?

As worrying as saying it out loud was, the voice in her head made a good point. She had… entertained the thought of intimacy with Spike a few times. Perhaps she even had to take a few cold showers every now and then because of it, much to her dismay. Why was she reacting like this, then? Was it because she was so close to Spike at the moment? Was she just reaching her breaking point? She’d have to do some serious thinking later. For the time being, she had a strawberry shortcake to put together.

She let out a soft sigh and got to work, assembling the dessert while doing her Celestia-damned best to keep her thoughts family friendly. The shortcakes were rather thick, and she’d probably had a hard time fitting them in the bowl, though perhaps she could use the juices from the fruit to help them slide in place and—She slammed her hoof on the table. Not so loud as for Spike to notice, but just enough to break her train of thought.

Focus you… you horny little goof, Starlight chastised herself, and proceeded to levitate the recipe book towards her, deciding that there was no way her mind could wander down more erotic paths if she just focused on copying the image from the pictures.

Shortcake. Trim the corners so it better fits at the bottom of the bowl. Strawberries. Drizzle plenty of juice over it. More strawberries. Move the strawberries a bit so the other shortcake can be over them. Shortcake. A few more strawberries on the side. A spoonful of whipped cream on top. Finish with some of the strawberry juice over the whole thing.

“Done!” she cried out, sounding more relieved than happy.

Spike didn’t seem to have noticed her tone, seeing how he was carrying a little plate of his own as she walked towards her. “Great. I just finished mine, too. Or I guess I should say yours.”

Spike set down the plate in front of her, showing one of the most peculiar sights Starlight had witnessed, which was a lot to say since she had been privy to Pinkie Pie’s Taste Testing Tuesday.

The triangular cut of cake rested atop a pool of raspberry sauce and had a light dusting of powder sugar on top of it. The cake itself however, did not appear to have the consistency of a normal cake. It almost seemed to be a dense piece of chocolate fudge compressed into the shape of a slice of cake.

She wanted nothing more than to dig in and eat it.

“It’s called Chocolate Decadence. Do you like what you see?” Spike asked with a playful tone.

She looked past the cake, seizing up his strong frame. “I can’t wait to get some,” she said, just as he pushed her bowl towards Spike.

“Yours looks quite enticing as well. Strawberry Shortcake, huh?”

“Yeah, I, uh… I thought it would be nice,” she said with a shrug. “I didn’t want to go for something too complicated and mess it up.”

Spike smiled and scooted closer to her. Before she could say anything else, he raised a finger and pressed it against her muzzle. “I would’ve eaten anything you made for me regardless of how it turned out.”

Starlight’s lips curved into a goofy grin. She knew she shouldn’t be so easy to please, but on the other hoof, she was happy and that was all that mattered.

“Let’s dig in, shall we?” she managed to say as she levitated a fork for Spike and one for herself. “You first.”

He actually appeared to be disappointed at that. Starlight wondered if he would pout.

“I wanted to see you react to my cake,” he said, sounding a bit dejected.

“Oh, you’ll get to see it. I just want to see yours first.”

“How is that fair?” Spike asked with a shrug.

“Well, I know yours is going to be delicious no matter what, so I don’t want to feel like I’m competing with it since the shortcake may not be that good…” Starlight trailed off, realising she probably should’ve tasted a piece of the shortcakes to make sure she had served the best ones to him. Then she remembered she had almost burned the butter and quickly added, “Or if I messed up the recipe.”

Perhaps she had been too lost on her inner turmoil to realise Spike had gotten closer. So close, in fact he had crossed necks with her and was holding her in place with one of his claws, gently scratching the back of her head.

“Hey, Star. Don’t worry. I don’t have to have tried it to know it’ll taste good,” he said in a calming tone. “You put effort in it, and that alone will make it tasty.”

“You’re just saying that…” Starlight trailed off, not even bothering to hide her pout as she leaned into the embrace.

“Hey, do you remember the baked bads incident I talked about?”

“The ones Applejack made years ago?” Starlight asked, trying to think back to the tales of the times before she had arrived to Ponyville.

“Yeah, I ate them all. So there’s no way you can mess up in a way that will make me dislike it.” He drew back after saying it, but before the embrace was completely broken, he poked her snout once more. “Or you for that matter.”

“That was terrible reassurance,” Starlight said.

“Tell that to that smile of yours,” he shot back.

Starlight mumbled an “I’m not smiling” as she turned around to hide her smile.

“If it makes you happy though, I’ll gladly eat this delicious looking cake,” Spike said as he picked up his fork, and without another word, dug in. The fork sunk into the shortcake, tearing a piece away as he mixed it with the strawberry juices and the whipped cream, and lifted it to his mouth. He worked his jaw as he chewed, and Starlight’s heart made a little leap when she saw him smile.

“Judging from your expression, I’ll go on a limb and say you like it,” she said.

“You know,” he said after swallowing, “you usually mix room temperature butter with the flour and sugar. It makes the cake feel lighter and gives it a more delicate texture. You used melted butter, though, didn’t you?”

Starlight didn’t know where Spike was going with that, and not knowing made her nervous, and being nervous led to minor mental breakdowns.

And we all know where those lead.

Hush it, head voice!

“But I think it works better this way.”

“Hah?”

“Yeah, I mean, those light and airy shortcakes are nice if you’re eating them alone, but if they’re a bit denser it pairs better with the strawberry juice because it can soak it all up and not get soggy,” Spike said before taking another sizeable bite.

“I… see,” Starlight replied lamely.

“Did you toast the butter? The shortcake has a nice nutty flavour.”

“Uh, yeah. I meant to do that.”

Spike chuckled as he stirred the cream with the rest of the dessert. Before she noticed it, half of the shortcake was gone. Knowing that he liked her work so much ignited a small flicker of pride in her. She continued to watch him eat, not saying anything, and smiling until he finished.

“It was delicious, Star,” he said as he set the bowl down, and that smile never left his lips. “It all came together nicely, and it made me want to keep going.”

“I’m glad you liked it, Spike.” She then brought Spike’s dessert forward. “What did you say this was called?”

“Chocolate Decadence,” Spike said, carefully enunciating every syllable. “And yes, Cadence is the one who taught me the recipe.”

Starlight eyed the chocolate cake, which hadn’t gotten any less enticing in the last couple of minutes. Sparing a glance towards Spike, she lifted the fork and cut a piece. She did a double take at the ease with which the cake came apart. It felt like taking a spoonful of fudge rather than cutting through dough.

“Interesting…” she whispered as she stabbed the piece of cake with her fork.

Spike was quick to point at the dish. “Be sure to eat it with some of the raspberry sauce.”

Starlight did as instructed. Rubbing the piece of fudgy cake against the pool of sauce. She finally lifted it and put it in her mouth. Her eyes opened wide as the mass of cake melted away on her tongue and all she knew was chocolate. Just before the flavour started to get overwhelming, the raspberry sauce kicked in and cut through the thick chocolate, leaving her without a heavy aftertaste.

No offense to Pinkie Pie or the Cakes, but that was one of the most delicious cakes she’d ever eaten. Not that she’d ever tell them that.

“The name is quite fitting,” she said as she broke off another piece.

Spike smiled. Leaning on the table, he rested his head on his open palm and gave her a wide smirk “Isn’t it? Cadence taught me this recipe a couple of years ago. She said it was a joint effort by the best scientists and pastry chefs of the Crystal Empire.”

Starlight didn’t vocalise a reply. She hoped the little grunts and satisfied moans were enough to let Spike know she wanted him to keep going.

“Apparently the whole thing was a disaster, Cadence doesn’t like to talk much about it, but they managed to create this cake and she was satisfied with it. I don’t think she’s a hundred percent in love with the name, but it kinda fits the idea behind the cake.”

“And what is that idea?” Starlight asked after finishing another bite and doing her best effort not to gulf down the remainder of the cake.

Spike’s face lit up and his body went stiff as he tried to avoid eye contact. His smile wavered before returning as an awkward and somewhat uncomfortable visage that only served to make him look more absurd.

“Ah. It’s, uh… Cadence said I should learn this recipe because it’s meant to evoke—” Spike coughed.“—Feelings of, you know, like, strong affection and things like that.”

Starlight blinked a couple of times to get rid of the spell-like haze that had fallen over her as a result of the cake and registered the meaning behind his rambling. She felt a comfortable warmth spread through her chest that had probably very little to do with the chocolate decadence. And she thought the cake was loaded with just butter…

“It’s a bit of a silly thing, isn’t it?” He said, but while his tone sounded playful, his expression was very serious.

Cadence had probably taught him the recipe with this very scenario in mind, and Spike must have been thinking about it since he picked the recipe and set out to bake it. Had he been nervous this whole time and she just didn’t notice it? Whatever the case, if Spike had put his heart into this cake, it just wouldn’t do to not treat it with seriousness.

But if he wanted to play silly…

“Well…” Starlight started, looking down at the plate as she cut the cake in half, picked one with her magic, lathered it in raspberry juice, and made it float towards her. “If that’s silly, then I guess I’m silly, too.” She then floated the piece of cake towards Spike and gave him a wide smile. “There’s nothing wrong with being silly.”

“Damn straight!” Came Pinkie’s muffled voice from somewhere in the kitchen. “Uh… I mean, ignore the voice coming from the cabinets!”

They both stared at the conspicuously shaking cabinets before slowly turning to face each other again.

Starlight’s smile returned as she saw the blushing face of her dragon. Maybe neither could say it out loud at the moment, but perhaps actions could speak louder than words. She levitated the other half towards herself, and once it was right in front of her, she pushed the first half towards Spike.

“Open up!”

She pushed in each piece of cake, and both chewed at the same time. Although it was the same cake she had been eating, Starlight felt it tasted much better at that moment.

Author's Note

Double recipe to make up for the last chapter!

Try it yourself!
I like this because it's simple. Also, you can't mess up strawberries and cream.

This is the part where I'd tell you to try it yourself, but I feel I should add a disclaimer that eating more than one of these a month would make your body give up in a couple of years because damn, that's a lot of butter. Save it for very special occasions.