//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - September 27th // Story: The Scales of Attraction // by Relaxing Dragon //------------------------------// I’m definitely overthinking this. Scootaloo stared at herself in her bedroom mirror, a shirt in each hand. One: a nice purple long sleeve affair. The other: her black t-shirt with the sleeves ripped ever shorter.  Somewhat classy vs. somewhat trashy… Much as she hated the cliché, she still stood there, holding one shirt up in front of her, then the other, then back again. Thinking a moment longer, she finally tossed the purple shirt onto her bed. She already had on the torn jeans and studded belt, so why not lean into the look. Pulling the black shirt over her head, she reflexively tucked her wings through with practiced ease, then finally got a good look at herself. She nodded. Well, it’s a first date. Gotta make sure he gets a good impression of who I really am. She grinned as she walked to her nightstand. Her alarm clock stared back at her. The time: 6:56PM. Four minutes to go to the prearranged time, when a certain someone was due to appear on her doorstep. Next to that, her phone was plugged into its charger. The screen flashed with one new message.  Must’ve come when I was showering. Hope he’s not about to back out at the last second… nope, different dude, still cool. Rumble: [Hey hey Scoots] [What you doing tonight] Scootaloo wandered from her room to the hall and on towards the staircase while her thumbs did their thing on the tiny keypad. Scootaloo: [Hey hey Rum] [Why do you wanna know] Rumble: [I am a nosey guy] [And feel the need to keep a close eye on those close to me] [Also PowerHour is playing at Trixie’s tonight and my bro said he could get me in] [Wanna tag along?] Someday I’ll need to break it to him that that band kinda sucks. Scootaloo: [Thanks for the offer, but I’m set for tonight] [Got me a date] Rumble: [:O] [At long last] [Is Scoots a girl about town?] [A pony on the prowl?] Scootaloo: [>:)] [You know it] [About time I settled down anyway] [Get some stability back in my life] Rumble: [Is he cute?] Scootaloo: [Wouldn’t you like to know ;P] Rumble: [So rude] [If he’s a dud drop me a line] [I’ll swoop in and save you] Scootaloo: [lol] [Always my hero] [Enjoy your night] Rumble: [Likewise] Scootaloo’s hoof hit the bottom step. She shut her phone and let out a long sigh, when movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Turning, she found her Aunt Holiday relaxing in the living room, leaning back in her favorite chair with her hooves on the table and deeply engrossed in the book in her hands. “Looking lovely as always, Scootaloo,” the red-haired Earth pony said without looking up. “Going out with the girls again tonight?” “I am going out,” Scootaloo said. “Just not with them.” “Ahhh, going out with somepony new then?” “Bound to happen eventually.” “Is he good?” Scootaloo considered the question. “Is he good… yeah, I’d say he is.” I sure hope so. “Wonderful, I like when boys are good.” Aunt Holiday calmly turned a page. “I especially like good boys that get my niece home by nine.” “Well I don’t know if he’s that good. Maybe he’s more of a ten o’clock good.” “Oh no, I’ve got a strong feeling about this one.” “You don’t even know who he is.” “And yet the feeling remains, and that feeling is telling me nine PM, on the dot, not one tick more. Have fun, and see you then.” Aunt Holiday grinned behind her book. Her eyes never left the page. Scootaloo groaned, but could only acquiesce. Even a latchkey kid knows that sometimes it’s better to concede the little battles for more strategic victories down the line. She reached for the front door and stepped out into the cool evening air. Spike stood by her front gate. He was standing in place, one hand on her gate, like he’d frozen in motion as soon as she came out. She smiled and waved. “7:00 exactly. That’s a good start.” She walked over and patted him in the arm. She heard his phone buzz, but he ignored it. He was in his yellow hoodie, freshly washed by the smell of it, and those cargo pants of his with the little purple stripes along one leg. It shouldn’t have worked, but Scootaloo had to admit there was a style to it. She was also willing to bet money that Spike considered them his nicest clothes. “Uh, well, you know… gotta make the right impression.” Spike said with a smile. He indicated down the way with his hand. “Shall we?” “We shall. According to my aunt, you’ve got me for exactly two hours.” “Then there’s not a moment to lose.” The two walked out along the street in front of Scootaloo’s house. It was a quieter part of town, away from the main boulevard, and not many others were out. They moved in silence at an easy pace until the end of the block. “So!” Scootaloo said. “What’s the plan? Whatcha got for me tonight?” “Well, going off our texts the last few days, I thought we could keep things simple,” Spike said. “How about dinner over at Twin Pines? If that works for you, I mean?” Twin Pines Diner was about six blocks away, approaching what could be called Ponyville’s outskirts facing the forest. Cozy lighting, plush booths, quiet without feeling lonely, good dessert options, and occasionally populated by the more offbeat members of the community. In other words, it was Scootaloo’s favorite place to eat in town, a fact she tried not to betray at the moment. Hmmm… good guess, or somepony gave some advice? Works for me either way. “Sounds good. Lead on.” They turned a corner and moved east. It was a lovely early Autumn evening, temperature a few clicks above brisk and some clouds floating lazily in the sky. The kind of night the weather patrol tends to take off entirely. Sometimes nature doesn’t need any help.  After another block of silence, Spike clapped his hands together. “So! Scootaloo! Do you like… stuff?” Scootaloo paused for a moment mid-step, then broke into a strong fit of giggles. “Did you, like, look up the dorkiest way to start a conversation on a date?” Scootaloo asked when she got her voice back. Spike grinned. “Would you believe me if I said yes?” “For you, absolutely. I can’t think of a more, what’s the word… studious individual than you.” “Thanks, I think?” Scootaloo laughed again. “It’s a compliment, I swear. You put in the work. We all see it.” “Yeah, well, I kinda gotta, you know?” Spike’s phone buzzed again, and again he ignored it. “True, true. I can probably guess at the pressure you’re under, but I’m not sure I could fully understand it.” “Eh,” Spike waggled his hand back and forth. “Twilight isn’t nearly as tough as everyone seems to think she is. If anything she kinda… gives me a lot of freedom?” “Freedom, which you use to… pour your life into a ton of hard classes and lots of extra studying?” “Mmmm, well…” Spike trailed off. Scootaloo watched his face and the slight smile he had, his eyes suddenly off in thought. I wonder what he keeps trying to distract himself from. They reached the end of the lane. At the corner, under a streetlight that hadn’t yet snapped on, the diner could be seen not too far away. It wasn’t too crowded on this end of town, even for a Friday night. A few groups of ponies ambled along the wide street in the opposite direction, headed for the more packed streets of Ponyville’s small approximation of a downtown. Up in the sky, a small gaggle of griffons were swooping back and forth in no particular direction at all. The two continued along, sidestepping adults with ease. Spike’s phone continued to buzz intermittently.  “Soooo, not to pry, but is somepony, like, really trying to reach you right now?” Scootaloo finally asked. Spike rolled his eyes and grabbed his phone, quickly switching it to silent. “It’s nothing. I just… maaaaay have mentioned to Button what I’m doing tonight, and he is a tad eager for updates.” “Awwwwwwwwwww,” Scootaloo’s face broke into a wide grin. “He cares about you so much!” “Yeah, that’s gotta be it.” “What did Twilight say?” Scootaloo asked. “What did Sweetie and Apple Bloom say?” Spike countered with a grin of his own. Scootaloo frowned. “Hey, which one of them talked to you? I specifically told them not to-” “It’s nothing like that,” Spike waved her off, smiling. “Neither said anything. It’s just… I don’t know if you know this, but it’s been generally accepted for years now that anything anyone says to one of you, is gonna filter to the other two within about a day.” Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “What? Who says that?” “Literally everyone.” “...yeah, fair.” Scootaloo could only shrug. “I think I knew that already.” “We generally like it. If we ever need help or support, we can get three times as much from you girls compared to anyone else.” “You know us, always giving back to the community.” Scootaloo laughed and gave Spike a small punch in the arm. They arrived at the diner. The clear glass door jingled with a small bell as Spike pushed it open. It looked to be a light evening, with plenty of free tables and booths to be had. Scootaloo wasn’t surprised. She wasn’t sure she had ever seen this place more than half-full. She always felt it added to the charm, though also wondered how they could stay in business for so long like that. Stepping away from Scootaloo for a moment, Spike headed to the waitress and whispered something in her ear. She glanced back, nodded, and grabbed a few menus before leading the two of them to a booth by the rear windows. “What did you ask her?” Scootaloo asked quietly. “Well, my tail tends to stick out a bit more, uh, firmly, than most ponies, and I don’t wanna trip anyone, so…” “Ah…” Scootaloo nodded, then frowned. “Uh… have you tripped anypony before?” “Let’s just say I very nearly got banned from the Waterfall Grill after a series of unfortunate events.” “Wild.” They got to their booth and slipped into the plump vinyl seats.  Scootaloo noted Spike adjusting his tail through the seat slots in a manner so as to make it as unobtrusive as possible along the back wall.  The waitress had already hurried away to deal with a customer calling her over, leaving them alone with their menus. Spike awkwardly studied the specials. Scootaloo glanced out the large windows to their right, half covered by large red curtains but still leaving a pretty view. It truly was the edge of town. Before her lay a long stretch of open fields and then the edge of the Everfree Forest, looking wild and tangled as ever.  They really never are gonna build anything near those woods, are they? Thank goodness. Looks better this way. She looked back to Spike. He had been looking at her, only to suddenly turned away at her gaze. Scootaloo studied him closely. The green spines running along his head and down his back had a nice shine to them in the light, as did the purple scales coating the rest of his body.  He does a good job keeping himself neat. I don’t think I’ve ever really looked at him this closely before… I think I like what I see. Spike drummed the table a few times with his fingers, claws making tiny *ting* sounds. “So…” he started. “So…” she continued. A beat in the moment. Then Spike forced a small laugh. “Sorry… I am! I just, uh… you know…” Scootaloo tilted her head and grinned. “Spike, be honest: is this your first date?” Spike could only nod. “Am I the first girl you ever even asked out?” Another nod. “Well then good news dude: hardest parts are kinda over.” She gave him a thumbs up, though she could see he was still pretty tense. Hmmm… gonna have to really take point tonight. Okay, let’s just dive on in. “In fact, here’s some more good news.” Scootaloo shifted up in her seat, getting her elbows on the table as she leaned forward. “First dates are awkward for everypony. That’s, like, the nature of the thing. But we already got some hurdles out of the way. We know each other, and have for a long time. We’re moderately close friends, I’d like to say.” Spike nodded. “Yeah, I’d like to say that, too.” “Perfect. So that’s a lot of boring small talk out of the way. The who are you, how are you, what are you, all that jazz. Which means we can skip to the deeper stuff, really jumpstart things.” “The boring small talk seems safer.” “Safe is a dead-end street. Gotta take chances in life. And you already did!” She indicated towards Spike with enthusiasm. “Like, you asked me! Unprompted! How’d that feel?” “Like my head was gonna explode,” Spike blurted out, then immediately looked a little embarrassed. Scootaloo pressed onward. “No, that’s normal, it’s all good. But, begs the question… why me? Because since you asked, that’s what Apple Bloom and Sweetie were trying to figure out. What’s the angle here? What makes you want to take a crack at all of this?” Scootaloo dramatically waved her hands around her face and torso. Spike snorted and let out a few small laughs, his shoulders relaxing in the process. Scootaloo’s smile widened. Hey, finally getting something here. Good thing, his shoulders were so tense it seemed like he was gonna snap in half. “It’s… kinda hard to describe…” Spike said.  “I mean, yeah, this stuff is. But like…” Scootaloo searched for the words. “I have known you for, what, basically always?” “Oooh, pretty much? I know I knew you before elementary school, but I dunno how well back then. Memory gets fuzzy.” “Right, but like, we’ve been around each other for so many years now. And you’ve never really, well, seemed particularly interested in me, like this. Or anypony ever… except for Rarity, of course.”  Spike immediately blushed and put his hands over his eyes at the mention of his boyhood crush. Many a small paper valentine had found their way from his desk to her mailbox, and many a classmate had laughed when they found out about it. The years of teasing that followed were good-natured but still wearing. “Yeah, that… I got nothing, really. Just some baby dragon infatuation I guess…” He grinned sheepishly, cheeks red as roses. “Emotions are weird when you’re six, that’s all I remember.” I wonder if he knows that his scales make it more obvious when he’s blushing. “For the record, Rarity always thought it was cute,” Scootaloo said reassuringly. “And yeah, little boys be like that. I’m pretty sure like half our first grade class had a thing for Miss Cheerilee.” “Oh yeah, big time. And let me tell you,” Spike leaned in, speaking in a tight whisper, “now that she’s the high school principal, those same boys are, shall we say, having some real conflicted feelings.” Now it was Scootaloo’s turn to blush. The two teens were still giggling when the waitress returned to take their order.  Once food was safely on the way, Scootaloo got things back on track. “But okay, so you’re growing up, but not into anypony else, so… what’s the deal there?” Spike shrugged. Scootaloo watched his wings rise and fall with his shoulders in a strange grace. “I’m really not sure, just… got quieter and geekier as I got older I guess. Spend a lot of time studying, playing video games, hanging with Button and Button’s friends, that kind of insulates me a bit, you know? Apple Bloom getting into gaming probably did a bit to help keep me in you girls’ lives for a while there.” “Yeah, we really kinda stopped hanging out a lot back in middle school, but I mean, you still did stuff around school, especially once we got to high school,” Scootaloo said. “I saw you at parties here and there. Plus you did soccer for a few years. And were good at it! Hardly that geeky, especially compared to, you know, Button.” “Well, soccer is the geekiest of the sports,” Spike said. “Nothing like softball. Which you crush everyone at, by the way.” Scootaloo beamed. “Thank you for noticing! Always nice to meet a fan.” Spike nodded. “You know it. I, uh… I made sure to be at all your home games last year. When I was still around, I mean.” “Really? I’m not sure I ever saw you in the stands.” “Well, a lot of the time I was up in the announcer booth.” “Ooooh, watching me from afar in secret. That’s good creeper energy there,” Scootaloo grinned. Spike shook his head. “No, no, not like that, uh… Featherweight runs the AV equipment for all the school’s sporting events, so I’d just hang with him while he kept things going. And since I’m up there, I got to watch the games, and that was, well, kinda fun. The team’s good and you’re really good and you all play really hard. And then the game would be over and you’d be busy with your teammates or friends or… whoever, and I just… I dunno. Didn’t want to bug you I guess.” Spike’s face fell slightly, and Scootaloo frowned in turn. Hmmm, probably shouldn’t have made the creeper remark. “I would’ve been glad to see you.” Scootaloo made a small motion with her hand towards Spike’s hands, but he pulled them off the table. He did it without looking, almost a reflex. She wondered if he did it consciously.  While Spike composed himself, Scootaloo let her eyes drift along the back-and-white zig zag patterns on the floor. She’d always been entranced by them as a kid, though had to make sure she didn’t stare too long. She was convinced the floor would hypnotize her that way. “Uh, anyway…” Spike perked himself up. “I see you at games and at parties and in the halls and, well… I dunno how to put it, I just… got to like seeing you. I mean, it made me feel good to see you and be around you… wait, okay, that sounded weird, I mean… it’s this feeling that I don’t get elsewhere, it’s not like when I’m around my friends, or the other girls, or anyone else, it’s just, like, you, and… ugh, this is hard to put into words…” Spike’s face flushed red again. Scootaloo smiled. “Dude, I get it, crushes are just… like that. Somepony catches your eye, a wire in your brain hits the right spot, and you can just… feel it in your gut.” “Yeah, well… I’m better with things I can wrap my head around, really, like, fundamentally understand. All of this…” Spike waved his hands around over the table. “Real new to me.” “Gotta start somewhere. And, just so you know…” Scootaloo shifted a little in her seat. “I feel a little good when I’m around you, too.” Spike’s eyes widened. Scootaloo blushed.  “I’m not saying, like, to what extent or anything like that,” she said. “But I think you should know, I agreed to be here because I wanted to be here. So, you know… think on that.” For a quick beat, the pairs’ eyes met across the table. They each smiled, a smile similar but just different enough from everything prior. A small smile of relaxed recognition and of newfound possibilities.  Right on cue, their food arrived on two large plates. For Scootaloo, a tofu burger with extra pickles and a side salad, with a big glass of cherry coke. For Spike, the house soup special with a slight gem dusting and extra bread, root beer to drink. They thanked their waitress and dug in. “So, you know,” Spike said as he stirred his spoon. “There actually is something specific I can point to about you that, uh, made you catch my eye. Something that makes you stand out from the other girls. Scootaloo took a large bite and raised an eyebrow.  “Oh yeah?” She asked after swallowing. “Do tell.” Spike gestured down to Scootaloo’s chest. She blinked. Wow, getting bold here buddy. “Your shirts,” he said nonchalantly.  Scootaloo blinked again and looked down. There didn’t seem to be anything new on her shirt since she’d picked it out. “Uhhhh…” “Sorry, sorry, that was smoother in my head, since you’re usually… what I mean is: you usually wear all those horror shirts.” “Oh… oh! Yeah, I got a ton of those.” “And the pins on your backpack. The little Silent Grove hockey mask and what I’m pretty sure is the pendant from Braindead.” Scootaloo was impressed. The iconic killer’s mask of the Camp Crystal Lake franchise was a gimmie, but not many ponies would recognize the other one. “I do enjoy the occasional scary movie. What of it? Do you…?” Scootaloo tilted her head. Spike glanced around, then casually lifted up his hoodie, revealing his shirt underneath. Drawn across the front was a large graphic of a gruesome looking character wielding an enormous blood-soaked sawblade. The title The Appleoosa Buzz Saw Massacre was spelled out in big block letters underneath. “Scootaloo, I love scary movies. Like, a lot,” Spike answered with a smile. Scootaloo lifted her hands to her mouth and squealed in delight. “Dude! Why are you just telling me this now? Do you know how long I’ve been trying to find a good horror buddy? I feel like I’m alone out there!” “Tell me about it,” Spike said, lowering his hoodie back down. “Button and Feartherweight and I watch a ton of stuff together, but they want action movies, sci-fi, comedies, basically anything but horror.” “Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom are the same. Can barely even drag them to an Apparition sequel, and those are some of the lightest horror movies around. Anypony could get through them, but they just ain’t having it.” “Wait, didn’t Sweetie Belle have a whole goth phase for like over a year?” “Yeah, and the most I could get into her was werewolf romance movies. Not exactly what I’m after.” Spike laughed, almost spilling his soup from his spoon.  “Well okay, now we’re really getting somewhere,” Scootaloo said. She leaned in. “Now we can start to really forge some new connections. But tell me: what are your favorites?” “My favorites… wow, where to start?” Now it was Scootaloo’s turn to point to Spike’s chest. “You got Rawhide on you right now, so I can only assume he’s a favorite of yours.” “Oh yeah, the ABM movies are great. First one is as good as horror gets.” “Well, first one’s a classic, sure, but the sequels?” “You look me in the eye and tell me you don’t like the buzzsaw duel in the abandoned amusement park at the end of Part II.” “Fair point, that shit rocks. Anything else?” “Uhhh… I mean, Who Goes There is probably my out and out favorite horror movie, but also love stuff like the Book of the Dead movies, Overlook, Psycho Cop II, uh, 7 Doors of Death if I feel like getting weird… too many to list, really.” “All great stuff, love them all. Me, I love Nightmare Night, Stab, Day of the Flesh Eaters, Dawn of the Flesh Eaters… all the Flesh Eater movies, really… but when you get down to it, I’m a Nightmare on Cherry Lane gal at heart. Shreddy Shears is the best!. Love his jokes, love his blade gloves, and love the crazy stuff they do in all the dream sequences.” “That’s a solid series, definitely. Like, I love the Camp Crystal Lake movies, but they’re mostly just a lot of choppy fun. Basic, if you will, and I say that with affection. The Cherry Lane movies have a lot better, like, actual production design put in, you know?” Scootaloo took a sip of coke. “Totally get what you mean. Though that’s probably why there’s twice as many Camp movies, they could really pump those things out.” “Whatever helps gives Grove his body count.” “Absolutely. When he tears through the train car in Part VIII? First time I saw that I had nightmares for a week and I still went back for more.” “Yeah, same, that bit messed me up. Of course, I was waaaaay too young when I saw that movie for the first time.” “Also same.” They laughed together, then took a moment to eat more of their food. “So… you got into horror when you were younger?” Spike asked, wiping his mouth clean. Scootaloo nodded. “Mmm-hmm. Because of my Dad, actually. He also really likes scary stuff, he has his whole life, and he has this enormous stash of Beta tapes of all his favorites. Seriously, it’s like a whole bookshelf in our house.” Spike let out a low whistle. “Wow, I’d be hard pressed to even find a tape player these days.” “Ours still works,” Scotoaloo shrugged. “Anyway, you probably know this, but my parents aren’t… around that much. Busy work lives, it’s a whole thing, we make it work, whatever. Point is, I try to really make my time with them count. And for my Dad, ever since I was little, that would mean I’d stay up late with him to watch whatever he was watching. At first it was just an excuse to, you know, spend more time with him and stay up past my bedtime.” Spike nodded. “Seems win-win.” “Bingo. Over time, though, I just, well, really started to enjoy what I was seeing, and then started watching them on my own.  First I went through his collection, then I realized that a lot of them were the TV versions he’d recorded years ago so I went to the video store-” “The one over at the Moxie?” “Bingo again, that theater rocks. Anyway, I went to rent the full uncut movies, and at that point it’s like, wow, there’s this whole bloody world out there I’m missing. I gotta get in on this. Because these things are cool! Some are violent and some are scary and some are goofy and some are downright mean and it all, like, just works for me. It’s… look, you know this, it’s hard to put it into words, and everypony looks at you weird when you dive into it, but it just really connects with me. At a gut level. It just… feels right.” Spike nodded. “I getcha, I really do.” “Plus, hey: it’s fun! Gets the blood pumping, so to speak. So now here I am a solid decade later and it’s just, well, my main jam.” “I can see that, yeah. Do you and your Dad still watch stuff together?” “When he’s able to, yeah. Less so these days, but, yeah… he tries,” Scootaloo’s voice trailed off for a moment.  He really does try, doesn’t he? Spike slurped his soup, somewhat awkwardly. Scootaloo quickly regained herself.  “What about you?” She asked. “Don’t tell me Twilight is secretly a gorehound.” “Not a chance.” Spike shook his head. “She hates this stuff. For me, it’s more like… when I was little there were a lot of nights where I was on my own. Not, like, literally alone, since Twilight was home, she was just really busy and distracted in her lab or her study and I just… didn’t want to bug her, I guess.” Scootaloo frowned. “Do you really think you bother your mom by being around her?” “No, no, nothing like that, I just, like, she’d spend all day with me and then she needed quiet time to get her work done in the evening or at night. I picked up early that it’s better if I… entertained myself around those times.” “Mmm.” Still seems a bit lonely at home. “So anyway, one time I’m around… I wanna say seven, it was really late, I didn’t want to go to sleep, and I got bored, so after I’d read all my books and wandered around the library for the hundredth time I finally ended up in our little living room that we never seemed to use and just… turned on the TV. And kinda by chance, the late night station I ended up on was one that did a lot of horror marathons, over and over and over again, all night long. So I just… started watching, first that night, then the next, watching a lot of them, all the time.” “That scare you much?” “Big time. I ended up hiding under my covers every night and having lots of nightmares, which Twilight was always trying to figure out, since she never saw what I was watching. But still, I kept going back. It’s like… I dunno, it was scary, but Twilight had taught me young about ‘facing your fears’ and all that, and how things get less scary when you can understand them, so I wanted to figure them out. I think what really made things click was… you ever see The Hellbound Heart?” “Hell yeah, that one’s awesome. Nailhead’s the man.” “Yes he is. But what I’m talking about is, in that movie, there’s that scene where the guy in the attic, like, reforms himself from a few drops of blood. First the skeleton, the the organs, the flesh, all that, right?” “Also a super cool scene. And wait, they showed that on TV? Man, you guys get way better channels than we did.” “It really was, and yeah, no idea what they were thinking, but there it was at like one in the morning and I’m just this third grader and… and I was just… fascinated by it, because like, I knew it wasn’t real, Twilight had done a real good job explaining to me how movies are fake and made-up and just actors and all that, but I was watching this and it’s like how did they do this. Because at first I thought it was just magic, but then, I’ve been around Twilight enough to have a pretty good eye for what’s magic and what’s not, and this seemed… different.” “It’s kinda crazy how much stuff in movies isn’t done with magic.” “Right! Because like, illusion spells aren’t really that common or work the way everyone seems to think they do, and… well, whatever, off topic. Anyway, not long after I saw that, I was looking through the magazine section of the library and just found this huge stack of Chopped Monthly and one had a whole article about that very scene, and then more behind the scenes stuff, makeup and special effects and all that, and I just got real into it. There’s so much artistry they put into those movies, even the crummy ones have a lot to love. So much strange effort put in by weird artists just to scare you and me. It’s… great! I wonder if I still have those issues…” Scootaloo sat back in her seat and studied Spike. He was staring off into space now, head lost in recollection.  This is the most animated and talkative I’ve seen him in… years? When he cares about something, he really gets invested into it. Good thing to keep in mind. “So anyway,” Spike said, snapping himself out of his mini-stupor, “It’s like, yeah, kinda like you. I got older and watched more and more, usually on my own because none of my friends ever seemed into it, and now I’ve got a room full of horror posters and a shelf full of little scary action figures and even a small drawer full of freaky t-shirts. Though I’ll be honest, a lot I end up hiding under my hoodies. Don’t ask me why, I just… I dunno, I feel like I’d get too many weird looks? Am I too self-conscious? Probably.” “Hey, don’t be embarrassed for repping the bloody side of things,” Scootaloo said, pointing firmly at Spike’s face. “Embrace what you love and all that.” “I know, I know,” he said. “I do envy you. You just wear whatever and make it work.” Scootaloo beamed at him. “I own my style! Can’t ever back down... Although I did take that a bit too far that one time when I wore a Cannibal Destruction shirt to school.” Spike nearly spit out his drink. “A shirt for that movie would be nuts.” “It’s pretty gnarly. Found it online on a forum I go to a lot. I think that day I made it midway through Geometry before Ms. Waterlily really looked at it and sent me to the principal’s office. I had to wear my gym shirt the rest of the day.” “See, mine are, uh, calmer. I think the bloodiest one I have is the one I’m wearing now.” Scootaloo laughed. “Gotta up your game then. Alright, you mentioned posters, lay it on me, list them off. Because I got a few myself, even some originals.” Their conversation grew more and more animated as the evening wore on. Comparisons of memorabilia, more talk about big franchises and obscure titles, some that one hadn’t seen and some new to the other. Layers of anxiety stripped away as Spike spoke freely and easily, and Scootaloo happily indulged in a side she rarely got to speak to anyone about.  The clock ticked on. Dinner passed slowly, neither in any great hurry to rush things, but still, before they knew it, there was a half-finished slice of cherry pie sitting between them and a modest-looking bill. Spike paid it. He was clever. He’d slipped the hostess his debit card before they’d even sat down. Scootaloo protested, but there was nothing she could do about it. Still, she insisted on leaving the tip herself as they headed out the door and into the cool nighttime air.  They walked slowly towards Scootaloo’s house. The streetlights were on and the sidewalks clear. A few bikes moved through the large lanes at the center of the street, their headlamps flashing along the neighboring houses.  A chill was building in the air, and even though Spike shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets, Scootaloo didn’t seem to notice. She stretched her arms out, resting them both behind her head, cracking her knuckles loudly. Going well, going well… maybe I can get things a little further along. “So, Spike… why did you stop playing soccer?” Scootaloo asked.  Spike seemed surprised at the question. “What do you mean?” “I mean, you played it all through middle school, and your first two years of high school you were crushing it in JV. Could’ve made varsity, no problem. Why’d you stop? Didn’t you like it?” Spike thought for a long moment. “Yeah, I… I liked it a lot. Had a great time out there, all my teammates were really cool, and like you said, I was kinda, well, good at it. Thing is, and I’m sure you know this, there is a lot of stress the more into a sport one gets.” Scootaloo had to concede that one. “Definitely true. I know I’ve lost sleep before some big games. And the training, it just never ends sometimes.” “Yeah, and I talked to the guys on Varsity about what to expect and what came next and I just… didn’t like that, and it was more than I wanted to deal with at a certain point. So I stopped it. Put all my energy into classes and schoolwork, all that stuff, and just moved on.” “And what are you after now?” “What am I after…” Spike murmured. “Well, there’s the obvious answer to that, which is it’s just me trying to get into a good college. Good grades, some extra curricular stuff, nice well-rounded application, and I can go anywhere I want. But I’ll admit, at this point it’s probably a bit of overkill.” Having Twilight Sparkle for a mom probably doesn’t hurt much, either.  “School doesn’t stress you out, though? However bad softball gets to me, I can handle that a lot better than I can the night before a test I’m not ready for.” “That’s the thing, though, I… I just like doing school stuff. I’m in these advanced classes and learning this stuff and I can just get it, kinda without much effort? I mean, I study hard, and I know that everyone jokes about Twilight rubbing off on me and that’s probably at least a little true, but still, I see others around me struggling a lot and on stuff that I really just snap to and all that hard studying I just said I do? It’s not actually that hard for me. I do it and I just find myself in a nice little space where I just… got a good bead on everything. Good sense of control over everything and myself. And I think I need that.” Spike looked off, his eyes gliding over random houses as they walked along. Scootaloo kept her eyes right on him. Wow, this guy is really trying to keep himself together.  “So you obsess over your schoolwork and you do real good at it and it makes you feel good, but also…” Scootaloo thought for a moment. “There’s less of you around as a result. I mean, for the rest of us.” “True. And look,” Spike stopped suddenly. The two stood on the dark sidewalk, illuminated only by the bright light from a nearby porch. “I’m a pretty oblivious guy a lot of the time, I know that. But this past summer when I was off on my own in a basement across the country cataloging old magic scrolls and honestly having a real nice time down in the dark I had this sudden, like, moment of pure clarity. Out of nowhere. A genuine epiphany.” Scootaloo watched expectantly. “I was quiet and calm and nice and happy and suddenly it seemed that not only was I finding a weird way to take the easy way out, I was doing it and… I was so alone in the process. I’d found the ultimate easy comfort in being alone.” Spike stared for a long moment. “And that, I didn’t like. I was… coasting into a lonely void.” “Nopony wants to be lonely,” Scootaloo said. “So… isolated, like that.” “Right. But I also thought about all the time I’d been with friends over the last years as I got more wrapped into my studies and even with them I was feeling, well, alone. Like I was drifting away in the same room. And I wanna be clear, this isn’t something anyone else was causing, none of you did anything wrong. It was me, I was… I wasn’t engaging. I was detaching myself.” Scootaloo had a momentary flashback to Spike over recent times. Seeing him glide through parties and school hallways, rarely getting more than small talk out of him, him always leaving something early, never really connecting like she did with her other friends. Not like when they were younger. “You know, I do get you here.” Scootaloo inched a little closer to Spike. “I mentioned the stress of softball already, but seriously, that really takes a lot out of me, and I honestly just do, like, fine when it comes to my normal grades. And then at home… I love my aunts, they love me. I love my parents, they love me. But… I dunno, I look at all my friends and feel like I’m this nearly untethered thing just kinda floating nearby. I pass myself between them to stay connected, otherwise I’ll, like you said, drift away.” “Gotta try and stay grounded, yeah, I hear you.” Spike moved closer himself. He was watching her intently, and Scootaloo got the impression he really wanted to ask more questions, but held back. “It does get lonely sometimes,” she said. “Even surrounded by ponies, just… feels off.” “Right. So, I had my little moment of clarity and looked at my life and thought, okay, can I keep doing this? Can I be proactive and change something, make that effort to not be stuck in the dark, even if I liked it there?” “So can you?” “Well…” Spike motioned a hand towards Scootaloo. “I’m certainly trying.” Scootaloo’s mouth turned to a small smile. She reached out and firmly grasped Spike’s hand in hers. He gulped, caught off guard by the action but not pulling away either. For a moment the two basked in the silence, feeling the warmth emanating from each other’s grip.  Softer hand than I was expecting. Colder, but smooth. Trims his claws too, very nice. “We’re, uh…” Spike tried to start. “We’re almost to my place, and I’m almost late,” Scootaloo said. She resumed her pace, and the two walked along, hand in hand. “You dodged a question from me earlier,” she said. “I did?” “Yup. I asked what Twilight said about you doing this with me. Didn’t get an answer.” “Probably because I didn’t tell her. Not, like out of embarrassment or anything like that, I just…wasn’t even sure what to tell her. You know what, this whole thing just didn’t seem real to me until I saw you earlier tonight, coming out of your house.” “Awwwwww.” “Still doesn’t, to be honest.” ‘I repeat, awwwww.” Scootaloo’s teasing got some extra blushing out of Spike’s cheeks.  “And your aunts? What do they think?” Spike asked back. “They know I’m out with a good dude, they just don’t know the specific dude.” “That’s something.” “Though at this point, I’m kinda curious what Button’s thoughts are gonna be.” Spike reached into his pocket and glanced at his phone. “Judging by the number of messages I have, I’m guessing he’s gonna be interrogating me all night.” “We have got to get you boys out more. This kind of thing should not be that great a mystery.” “Such is the curse of the perpetually geeky.” “Hey, that’s just an attitude thing. He can overcome it. You did.” “I’m trying to. Though I’ll say, I don’t know how Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom haven’t been pestering you with texts all night, either.” “They can show real restraint sometimes. Not one buzz out of them all night.” “...you put your phone on silent earlier, didn’t you.” “Like the second I stepped out of my house, there’s probably at least 50 texts waiting for me.” Spike could only laugh. Scootaloo joined him. They walked on.  At last, they arrived at the small fence in front of Scootaloo’s house. The lights were all on, and she could barely make out the outline of her Aunt sitting inside the living room through the drawn curtains. Scootaloo pulled out her own phone. Five minutes to nine and a whole boatload of messages to check. “Well, this is me,” she said, almost immediately regretting the hackneyed remark.  “So I can see.” Spike said. After a moment of hesitation, she finally let go of Spike’s hand. It quickly retreated to the familiar comfort of his hoodie pocket in a move that made her suppress a giggle. This is all so wonderfully new for him. An awkward pause hit the air. “So…” Scootaloo said. “What’s your plan next time?” Spike blinked at her. “My… what?” Scootaloo half-rolled her eyes. “Well, this was the first date. What about the second date? There’s an order to these things, you know. A natural progression.” “I, uh…” Spike stammered. Oh, don’t say it, don’t say it… “I didn’t think I’d make it this far…” Spike said. Okay, gotta work on increasing this dragon’s confidence. “We just held hands for over two blocks. By the ancient laws and customs of the land, that means you’re duty bound to take me out again.” Scootaloo folded her arms and nodded in satisfaction at her argument. Spike nodded to himself. “I do like to obey laws…” He stood pondering, his mind racing. Scootaloo rolled her eyes again. “Spike, what movie opens next Friday?” “The Book of the Dead remake,” he quickly answered. “Why?” Why are the smart ones always so slow? After a beat, the penny dropped and Spike’s eyes widened.  “...ah! So uh, hey Scootaloo, I just thought of something, if you’re free next Friday night…” “Yeah, I’ll bet you did.” Scootaloo spun on her hooves with a smile on her face. She opened her gate and moved down the walkway to her porch. “I expect good seats!” she called out over her shoulder. “I… yes. Yes!” Spike’s body jolted, a spark of life roaring into him and his animation returning in force. “Yeah, that… that sounds great! I’ll, uh, go order some right now.” “My man,” Scootaloo raised her hand with a thumbs up, then reached for her doorknob. “Text me!” The door opened, closed, and she was gone. Spike stood alone on an empty sidewalk. He stared at nothing in particular. He felt his heart pounding through his hoodie. Eventually, after a few rough steps forward, he let his wings stretch, took a quick running start, and flew off towards the main square.  There were two movie theaters in town, the large multiplex at the mall and the smaller single screen not too far from the library. Spike had a pretty good hunch which one Scootaloo would like more, and it was open for a few more hours that night. Perfect time to score some opening night tickets. Inside her house, Scootaloo leaned against the front door, fingers drumming against the wood. So let’s recap: Nice boy, awkward as hell, some extra bits of lonely depth, actual good taste in movies, kinda cuter than I thought up close… yeah, I think he’s worth pursuing. “My my… back with three minutes to go.” Aunt Holiday sat in her chair, looking for all the world like she hadn’t moved a muscle since Scootaloo had left. The only evidence of change was a fresh cup of tea on the table next to her and a lot fewer pages to go in her book. “You must’ve been eager to get away from this one.” “Hardly,” Scootaloo grinned. She walked towards the living room and leaned against the entryway. “He was just the sort who knew it was wise to obey an Aunt’s curfew.” “A good boy, just like I predicted.” She smiled and looked up at Scootaloo. “He certainly looked polite out there. Familiar, too, though I can’t say I’ve seen you hang around many dragons in your life.” “He stands out in a crowd,” Scootaloo said. “And yeah… good one, I’d say.” Holiday raised an eyebrow. “Good enough for seconds?” Scootaloo nodded. “Very much so. Now, I think I’m gonna retreat to my room and catch up on the rest of my social world.” Holiday nodded and looked back to her book. “Sounds like a plan. And remember, Lofty needs you up early tomorrow, she doesn’t want to miss her train.” Through it all, Scootaloo had nearly forgotten she had an overnight trip that weekend with her other Aunt to Canterlot. Aunt Lofty’s love of quilting was legend in the town, and she was not one to miss the annual expo that happened every year. Scootaloo was less sure how she’d gotten roped into things, though a trip to the city usually meant a chance to wander off and around, and she could always go for more of that. Upstairs in her room, Scootaloo flopped on her bed. Flipping open her phone, she scrolled through a long series of different messages. Rumble poked her a few times, the group chat with Sweetie and Apple Bloom was exploding with questions and speculations, and even Button had sent her a quick message. Button: [Please be good to him] [or else]  Spike, your friend is probably too sweet for his own good. She tossed her phone aside. Everything could be answered in due time. Right now, she just wanted to lie back and stare at the ceiling and think over the night. She had hoped for a nice time. She got something much more engaging. And with butterflies perking up in her stomach, she suddenly realized just how much she wanted more of it.