The cool children

by therandomone95

1. The usual trio

It was a lovely morning in Ponyville, and Spike was just opening one eye at a time since that was how energetic he felt when it was a school day, he looked at the clock, and he realized he was going to be late to his first class.

"What the-! Twilight! Have you looked at the time?! Why didn't you wake me up?!" Shouted Spike as he was looking for his backpack.

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz- Wha?!" He heard from down the stairs, when Spike found his backpack and put his notebooks in it, he rushed down to see a lavender alicorn almost passed out on top of a pile of books and scrolls. "Sorry, Spike! I was up all night researching about this magic potion the princesses told me about and I guess I oversle-"

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it." Spike interrupted as he rushed to the kitchen. "I know that since you became a princess you don't have as much time as you had before, but I think you should still try and take it slow."

"Says the dragon who is literally rushing to school." Replied Twilight with a small smile on her face.

"Oh, man. Twilight! Is there any cereal left in here?" Asked Spike from the kitchen.

"Nope, you ate it all when you came back the other day and-"

"And I didn't even realize because I was really tired, right?" Spike poked his head out of the kitchen to see Twilight nodding slowly. "UGHHH! Why is it so hard to be in time for class?!"

"Calm down, Spike, I'm sure Miss Cheerilee will understand." Reassured Twilight.

"You don't understand, if I'm late again she will lower down my grades!"

"Aren't you always on time though?"

"No! This my third time!"

"Oh wow, then I guess you should just get going while I research this thing the princesses asked me to. See you after 2!" Said Twilight while she walked to the library with a noticeable laziness in her posture.

'Great, now if you're late you'll probably get expelled; maybe I can run to the school? Nah, if I do that then I'll reek when I arrive, or maybe I can ask some pegasus for a ride! No, they'll think I'm just taking advantage of them. Gosh, why can't I just be more chilled out?! I can already feel my face getting red and my stomach revolting. I'll just run to the school, I think I can make it in time.' Thought Spike as he was leaving the castle. 'I wonder how Button and Pipsqueak are doing right now.'

"Button!"

The brown colt known as Button Mash jumped out of his bed when he heard his mom yelling from his door. "WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Button shouted when he fell from the bed. "Wha- what's going on?!"

"You're going to be late, that's 'what's going on' mister." He heard his mother reply with annoyance on her voice. "And for the record, if you're late again, then I'll have to-"

"Take away my consoles?! Okay, okay!!! I'm going!" Button Mash cut her off as he searched for his saddlebags in his room; and when he found them he rushed to the door not even checking if his stuff was in the bags. "See you later, mom!"

"I was going to say 'cancel cookie fridays' but I guess that sounds better." Said Button's mom to herself as she went over to the kitchen to eat all the cookies by herself.

'Button, you've done it now, if you're late you'll bring dishonor to your kingdom, and your mom will kick your butt like Chun-li when she finds out. But that's fine because you're not late, right?' Button thought to himself before looking at the clock tower. 'I'm so dead... No! I can make it if I run like Sonic!' And with that, Button dashed off to the school as fast as his legs could carry him. 'I wonder if the guys have as much problem waking up as me.'

Spike was just arriving at the school, and to his surprise the door was still open like if someone was waiting for him, and when he fully processed it, he made one final sprint towards the school. When he was at the door, he saw a brown-ish blur pass in front of him before crashing straight into it; when Spike recovered from the initial crash and he got his head straight he realized he had just bumped into Button Mash, who was also recovering from the collision.

"Whoah! Sorry, Button! I was just..."

"Late?" Interrupted Button, "Yeah, I know that feeling..." Button said with no amusement in his facial features. When the two kids got up and entered the school they saw that everypony was already in there, and there was a little white colt with brown spots waving at them and motioning for them to sit at his sides.

"Pip? How did he get here so fast?" Asked Button to no one in particular. As they approached their seats they gave each other a subtle brohoof.

"What took you guys so long? I was afraid I was gonna be alone again." Said Pipsqueak with a small glare.

"Waking up." Said Spike and Button at the same time. Just as they were taking their seats Miss Cheerilee walked in with a couple of saddlebags that looked stocked.

"Uh-oh, you guys recognize those saddlebags?" Asked Button quietly to his friends.

"Those saddlebags can only mean one thing." Followed Spike with fear in his voice.

"May Princess Celestia have mercy on our souls." Said Pipsqueak trying to remain calm.

"It's a Pop quiz." Said the three of them at the same time with dread in their voices...

It was lunch time, meaning that it was finally time for these poor kids to relax and at last put their minds at ease from their morning, which almost cost them their grades. Button Mash, Pipsqueak and Spike all were used to hang together when it was recess, even if it was just to discuss on music, girls and their mutual love for videogames and comic books. All three of them gathered in their usual place; just below the shade of a tree in the playground.

"Whoah, I can't believe we did it." Said Spike with a noticeable weariness in his voice.

"Hah! Was it really hard for you?" Asked Button Mash with a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"Yeah! Don't you live with the princess of friendship? Who also happened to own a library before? Who also is OBSESSED with books?!" Asked Pipsqueak, who also was tired.

"Well yes, but just because I live with Twilight Sparkle doesn't mean that I can't still be afraid of a Pop quiz!" Replied Spike, embarassed.

"Spike, you usually get an A+ in Pop quizes, the lowest grade I've seen you get in one of those is a B-, and that day you were almost dying because you were sick!" Said Button, jealous of his friend. "Besides, I didn't even get a chance to study! I was up all night completing Majora's mask!"

"Wait, didn't you complete it like 3 times already?" Asked Pip.

"Well... Yes but those times I wasn't trying to speedrun it!" Replied Button.

"Oh come on, Button, don't be so angry at me. Believe me, living with Twilight can be a royal pain sometimes, and because of it sometimes I don't even get to sleep, or even worse, a new villain may be coming for us!" Said Spike, only getting raised eyebrows from his friends. "Okay, maybe it's not as bad but you get the point."

"I'm not angry at you, I'm more mad at myself for not preparing for something like this. I don't want to be like you, but I wish I wasn't so unprepared." Said Button, calming down to speak.

"Well, at least you and me have an excuse; we overslept, unlike another colt we know." Said Spike, to which both him and Button looked at Pipsqueak with a small glare.

"Don't look at me! I always sleep on time to be awake early! But I have a lot of trouble studying, some of the stuff we are learning just doesn't stick to me." Said Pipsqueak, trying to not get all the attention.

"Man, we are a bit lame, aren't we?" Said Spike, to which no one replied and the three of them stayed quiet for some moments, all lost on their own thoughts.

"Well, yes, but does it matter?" Button said finally, Spike and Pip looked at him. "We are a team, right, guys?"

"Yes!" Said the three of them in unison. "To the end."

"Yeah..." They heard Spike reply with not much excitement in his voice.

"Hey, what's wrong, Spike?" Pip asked, noticing that Spike was looking somewhere else.

"Oh, nothing, I was just looking at Rumble over there."

"Rumble? What's with him?" Asked back Button Mash genuinely curious.

"Well, just look at him! He is like the most popular guy in the whole school! He is always looking like he owns the world, he has a girlfriend, lots and lots of friends and he could disappear from school for an entire week and Miss Cheerilee would think that it's okay!" Said Spike, pointing at Rumble. Spike wasn't wrong, Rumble was always talking with someone. he always had company and everypony wouldn't be the same if he left for a single day.

"So? We are true friends! Who needs all that when you can have a squad like us and videogames to play?" Replied Button Mash, with lots of pride in his voice.

"Yes, I know, but just think about our situation for a minute, okay? We just come here everyday to pass the tests, hope that no one akes fun of us and basically just survive school while it lasts. I just thought that maybe we can do more than just stay alive." Said Spike witha dreamy tone in the last part of his statement.

"But what do you mean exactly? We already have friendship, we got each other to count on, what else do you want?" Asked Pipsqueak, confused by Spike's sudden outburst of emotions.

"We could have girlfriends for one." The instant Spike said that his friends blushed and looked everywhere avoiding eye contact.

"W-w-what are you talking about? I don't have a crush and I'm perfectly fine the way that I am, so thanks!" Said Button, still avoiding eye contact.

"Y-yeah, what he said!" Reaffirmed Pip.

"Guys, you're just as terrible at hiding it as I was when I had that crush on Rarity." Said Spike, unamused.

"Heh, you're right. It's still kinda hard to believe you're not crazy over her anymore." Said Button, to which Spike rolled his eyes.

"What happened to that crush of yours, by the way?" Asked Pip.

"Well, I just realized that it was more of a childish crush than love, and I guess I just grew out of it." Answered Spike, shrugging.

"Well, if you know so much about 'love' why don't you tell me who I'm-"

"Sweetie Belle." Spike cut off Button Mash in the middle of his sentence, who just blushed and looked away at the mention of his crush's name.

"WHAT?! HOW?!" Asked Button, looking very nervous.

"It's very simple, really; you get really sweaty and red when she is around, you can't say her name without smiling and I can practically see the hearts in your eyes when you look at her! I don't know how that's scientifically possible but you're all kinds of special, just like me when I fell for Rarity." Replied Spike smugly.

"That's not true, look: Sweetie Belle." Said Button, his cheeks turning pink and his frown turned into a smile when he said her name. "Dang it!"

"Well, you're practically an open book Button, but Spike can't guess who I-"

"Dinky Hooves." Spike interrupted Pipsqueak this time, who also blushed and looked away.

"HOW IN THE-?!"

"You're not that different from Button, you also get all red and nervous when she is around, and you practically drew your wedding in that creative homework he had last week!" Exclaimed Spike.

"Th-that's not true!" Pip tried to explain himself but Spike interrupted him again.

"Oh really? Then why did that mare look a lot like her? And why did you drew you two on an altar? And how do you explain the fancy clothes you were wearing? And what about-?"

"Alright, alright I get it!" Exclaimed Pipsqueak with a softer voice. "Just don't be so loud! We're in public!"

"How did you figure all that out anyway, dude?" Asked Button.

"As you said, I live with freakin' Twilight Sparkle. But also because anyone with common sense can see it in your faces." Replied Spike with a small smile.

"Uh-huh." Replied Pipsqueak and Button completely not amused.

"Well, are you gunna tell us yours?" Asked Pip.

"Fine, it's Apple Bloom."

"WHAT?!" His friends exclaimed surprised.

"Not so loud!" Said Spike, trying to calm them down.

"Really? You like Apple Bloom now? Why?" Asked Button Mash, very curious about his friend's motives.

"Well... She is not like Rarity at all; she is not a drama queen who wants to be treated like a princess, she tries very hard to help her sister and family with whatever they need, she is pretty much the leading voice of the CMC when they search for their cutie marks! Also she is a hard-working pony with a good attitude, she likes challenges and she is just the best looking filly in Ponyville! She has this cowgirl-like charm that is just everything, her accent, the way she behaves, the way she treats her friends, not to mention that bow! It's gorgeous." Said Spike, getting more and more lost in his own thoughts as he kept thinking about Apple Bloom.

"Equestria to Spike! Are you with us or not?" Asked Button Mash, waving his hoof in front of Spike's face.

"Wha-? Oh! Right!" Said Spike, snapping back to reality. "And why do you guys like them??" Asked the nervous dragon, trying to get out of the spolight.

"I like Sweetie Belle because she is just the most beautiful filly in Equestria! She has the voice of an angel and she is the light of the party. Also she is a ton of fun to be around with, she was the first filly I met when we entered school and since then I knew that she was also the nicest filly out of every girl in here! Also, the other day I saw her inside the comic book store, so maybe she is a little bit nerdy like me! She is always the one that doesn't laugh at things that hurt others and helps whoever needs it. " Said Button, also getting lost in his thoughts.

"Ooo-kay..." Said Spike, who snapped his fingers to bring Button back to reality. "And what about you, Pip? Why do you like Dinky?" Spike asked to their third member, who suddenly froze for an instant before starting.

"W-w-well, when I first met Dinky she was really nice to me, so I started to see who she really was, and I saw the most perfect girl in tha whole universe! She is a strong, sensitive, smart and kind girl! I mean, her mom is always in some trouble but she has tha best intentions despite of the trouble, I guess she got that from Derpy! She is always looking to brighten up someone's day! I just wish she was into me." Said Pipsqueak who was just as lost as his friends when they described their crushes, but they noticed he lost his dreamy tone at the end of his speech.

"Hey, buddy, don't be sad! I'm sure she is into you just as much as you're into her!" Reassured Button, putting a hoof in his friend's shoulder.

"Is she, though? Spike is right, just look at us! We can barely survive in here! We're like the invisible ones or the laughing stock of the whole school!" Replied Pipsqueak, with sadness in his voice.

"Yes, but we're still a team, right? I'm sure that as long as we stick together we can find a way to become popular!" Said Spike, trying to cheer up his friend.

"Well, I guess you're right." Pipsqueak nodded slowly.

"No! I'm Spike!" That pun got a laugh out of the three of them. Just as they stopped laughing, the school bell ringed, signalling for all the students to get back inside. Pipsqueak and Button Mash got up and rushed to the door, but when Spike was about to do the same, he was pushed aside to a nearby bush.

"Hey! What are you-" When Spike saw who pushed him, he was shocked. "Rumble? Why did you push me over here?"

"You and your friends really need to learn to not be so loud." Said Rumble, letting Spike get back on his feet. "Look, man, we need to talk after school."

"About what?" Replied Spike.

"Doesn't matter right now, just see me at the back of the school at the exit, and don't let anypony, specially Miss Cheerilee follow you. Got it?" Asked Rumble, looking unsure about something.

"Umm, okay." And with that, Rumble nodded and rushed to the school, Spike followed him shortly wondering about what Rumble wanted to talk to him about.

Everyone was now inside the classroom, and Miss Cheerilee had just entered the classroom, this time with wat seemed to be a poster of some kind in her hoof. Once she reached her desk, she made a gesture with her hoof so that the class would listen to her:

"Okay class, look what I have here with me, can you guess what it is?" Asked Cheerilee, to which nopony answered, of course. "This is a sign up sheet for the talent show!" This time, the entire class flipped over, some fillies were excited, some were scared, and some were disgusted. "Now, now, I know that not everypony here likes the idea, but don't worry about it! The talent show will be just two days after Nightmare Night, and it's not something mandatory! But if you decide to sign up, you'll get some extra credits! It would be a total salvation for some of you, and maybe the time to shine for some others! But just remember that if you're doing this then just do something that you like."

Afterwards, Miss Cheerilee posted the signup sheet next to the door, and much to her surprise, a lot of her students got up from their seats with pencils to write their names on it. In this situation, Spike asked his friends:

"Guys! I think this could be it! With this we could prove to everyone that we are not losers!"

"No way, dude! If we sign up and we fail it'll be the ultimate form of embarassment!"

"But maybe this way tha girls will like us! Look! They're signing up too!" Said Pipsqueak, pointing at the line so his friends could see that Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Dinky were going to sign up for the show.

"Okay, I'm going to sign up, if you guys feel like it you can do it too." Said Spike before standing up, grabbing a pen and getting in line to sign his name.

"Well I'm going ta sign up too. Are you sure you don't want to do it too?" Said Pipsqueak, standing up.

"Nah, I'm completely fine this way." Said Button as Pip nodded and joined Spike in the line. 'Maybe I could've done it for Math... Nah, I'll be fine.' Thought Button as he internally rolled his eyes.

It was finally time to leave the school, and our three boys were exhausted from today's pressure. Luckily for them it was Friday, meaning that there was no pressure about going home early or prepare something for tomorrow, and Button knew this fact too well.

"Hey, Spike, Pip, wanna go to my place? We'll play some Smash to forget about today's horrible Pop quiz!" Said Button with a smile, but he knew that he and his friends were dead inside.

"Of course I'll go! What about you, Spike?" Said Pipsqueak.

"Well, Rumble said that he wanted to talk to me about something and he didn't want anyone around... But after that I'll crash your place!" Said Spike.

"Oh, okay! See ya later, then!" Replied Pipsqueak, and he turned around with Button Mash, who waved goodbye at Spike. Spike made his way back to the school, and he made sure that there was nopony following him just like Rumble said. When Spike reached the back of the school, he saw that Rumble was waiting for him just next to a tree. Spike approached Rumble, who didn't move from his position.

"Were you followed?" Asked Rumble without hesitation.

"No, why?" Replied Spike.

"Because no one must know about this." Replied Rumble.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, I heard your little conversation earlier today."

"What? Were you eavesdropping?"

"It's not my fault you guys can't be quiet."

"And what did you hear?"

"Basically everything, it was really easy to sneak up behind the tree you guys were sitting under, you were just so focused on your crushes to notice."

"What?!"

"Calm down, Spike, I'm not going to make fun of you."

"And what does that have to do with this?"

"Well, I wanted to say to you that I can help you guys with your troubles." Said Rumble, his eyes had a little glow, but Spike hadn't noticed it.

"Huh, yeah, how can you help some hopeless cases like us? And more importantly, why?"

"Because you remind me of myself." Rumble looked away when he said that, Spike noticed that Rumble looked like he was remembering something.

"What do you mean? You're like the best colt in school! No one makes fun of you, you have tons of friends, Miss Cheerilee thinks you're cool. Heck! You're even hooked up with Scootaloo!" Replied Spike, not believing Rumble.

"But I wasn't always like this. Spike, do you remember when we entered school?"

"Me and Twilight came to Ponyville a long time ago, but you weren't there when I entered this school."

"Hah! You're wrong! I WAS in here since day one! You just didn't notice! Nopony did!" Exclaimed Rumble suddenly, startling Spike.

"What? Really?"

"Yes, you see, I was the shyest, nastiest, worst looking colt in Equestria back then; I didn't even try to talk to Scootaloo because I knew that she wouldn't like me. Believe me, I was really starting to consider some REALLY BAD stuff to end the pain of going to school everyday." Explained Rumble, Spike was surprised that Rumble would have a phase like that. It sounded like a completely different colt than Rumble, the complete opposite, actually.

"And how did you become so popular?"

"Simple, I took a Super Helpful Intervening Potion." Said Rumble calmly, looking directly at Spike, who had absolutely no idea what Rumble was talking about.

"Wait... So... You basically took a-" Spike sarted to say, between wheezes, but was cut off by Rumble.

"You don't have the right to say its acronym!" Yelled Rumble before calming down again.

"Sorry, sorry, I've just never heard of something like that before." Replied Spike, also calming down.

"That's the whole point, nopony in school, or even Ponyville knows about it, and you're not supposed to reveal it to anypony! Ever! Okay?"

"Okay, but what exactly is that?"

"It's a potion that has existed since practically forever, a dark-colored liquid that contains the most amazing magic in Equestria. Its magic will flow through your entire body until it reaches your brain. Then you'll have the most loyal servant ever alongside you! And it will give you advice to be the best version of yourself you can be." Spike now noticed the small glow in Rumble's eyes, but he decided not to dwell on the matter.

"Wait, so it's like a drug?"

"Drugs are stupid and pointless! This is a hundred times better than drugs. This is from ponies who actually care about us! They care about pitiful kids like us and it helps us be... cool guys!" Said Rumble with pride.

"Uh-huh, and how do you make the potion?" Asked Spike.

"You don't make it. The potion is so complicated to create that the producers can only make so many per year and sell them."

"Sell them? And how much do they cost?"

"One bottle for one pony costs 100 bits."

"100 bits?! I could buy myself some good gemstones with that!" Replied Spike, thinking about his gemstones and how much money he had to spend to buy some.

"Trust me, it will be completely worth it. I know a guy who sells them at the back of Sugarcube Corner, I'll tell him to be there tomorrow, just bring the money and your whole life will change when you buy one." With that said, Rumble started to walk away, but he stopped when he heard Spike call out behind him.

"Wait! Can you ask your friend if he could bring three bottles?"

"You're going to tell your friends about it?" Spike simply nodded. "Can you promise me that none of you will EVER, EVER, EVER say anything about it to anyone?" Asked Rumble in a completely serious tone.

"I promise you Rumble, we won't tell anyone about this or our heads will roll." Said Spike firmly.

"Fine, but if you DO tell someone, I'll have your heads for sure." Said Rumble before walking away.

Spike also left to see Button Mash and Pipsqueak, and as he went to their place, his mind had many thoughts about it. 'Huh, I never would've guessed Rumble felt pity towards us, or maybe it's just me. That would explain the fact that he only wanted to see me. But why would he tell me about something THIS big? Ugh, you know what? I'll just go to Button's place and discuss this with them.' And so, Spike ran off to Button's house to tell his friends about it and see what they had to say about it.