"Afraid of getting to see a few girls in their PJs, Greenie?" his short, Rainbow-haired friend teased as the group of eight walked down the sidewalk which lead to the road most of them lived on.
"Yeah, right. More like I'll never live it down if Garble and his crew get wind of this! I get enough crap from them as is just hanging out with you girls at school, and I'm not feeding that fire even more!" Spike let out in a huff as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and gazed down at the pavement beneath his feet.
The lanky teen let out a frustrated sigh.
"Besides, why do you even want a guy at your slumber party?"
Rainbow had begun to open her mouth for some more bantering but was interrupted by Twilight before she could continue.
"Because you're our friend, Spike. It's not right if you get excluded from something we do together regularly."
"I concur! What would it say about us if we continually left out one of our friends just because he happened to be a man!" Spike perked up at Rarity's comments, his resolve starting to fade at the insistence of both his best friend and crush.
Spike nervously rubbed the back of his head as the group neared Twilight's house, a place he knew well from all the times he had visited to hang out with Twilight. He could have done without some of the experiments involving his person, but they were a small price to pay for the accomodations he had been given by the entire family.
"C'mon Spike, what else could you be doing that's better than hanging out with friends on a Friday afternoon! Reading comics?"
Spike regarded Sunset with a curious glance, somewhat surprised the leather-toting girl would join in on their badgering of him for his presence, as they were the least closest pair among their friend group.
The group arrived at Twilight's house. Spike looked at the building as he silently mulled over the idea of participating in their slumber party. He could tell they were waiting for his answer with the expectant glances being cast at him.
"It'll be super duper awesome, Spike! We always have the most fun at our sleepovers! We'll eat pizza, play games, watch movies, egg Principle Celestia's house, plan a heist, jump off the house in our underwear, and even destroy that -" Pinkie Pie was cut off by an exasperated groan from Twilight, who offered a sheepish look at the now slightly confused Spike.
"We won't be doing those things - well, most of those things, but it's definitely going to be a fun time!"
Spike gave her a slight grin, ready to give an answer until he felt a hand touch his shoulder, "It's okay if you don't want to stay with us, Spike. Do what you're comfortable with," Fluttershy offered support to her friend's agency, politely ignoring the irritated look Rainbow Dash was aiming in her direction, who seemed about ready to drag the young man into the house.
Spike offered his demur friend a smile, which she quickly turned away from to hide the redness of her cheeks, and he turned to Sunset to give his response.
"You know what, Sunset? You're right. I don't have anything better going on for the weekend." The sounds of approval from his friends surrounded him. Spike let out a slight chuckle, "Besides, I'm not going to let that jerk or anyone else dictate where and when I hang out with my friends." Sure, it would probably hurt the old social credit if word got out that he was slumber partying it up, but he could deal with that. Just so long as they didn't try and do anything too girly to him.
"That's the spirit, partner!" Spike jumped at the firm back slap he received from the blonde farm girl, and Sunset seconded her friend, "You won't regret it, Spike. Pinkie Pie is right, we're going to have lots of fun together." There was something off about the way Sunset emphasized "fun" but he didn't have much time to think about it before Dash grabbed ahold of him, "C'mon, let's go, Greenie!" Before he could protest, Rainbow Dash had dragged him into the house, hoping to prevent any second thoughts from her green haired friend about ditching them for comics or video games.
Spike could see the amused and excited looks of his friends as they walked in behind the duo, and he couldn't help but begin to feel a little excited himself! Hanging out with Rarity in such an intimate setting was amazing already, but it had been a while since everyone hung out together as a group outside the walls of Canterlot High. He missed that.
Spike gave one last glance at the closed door, but his decision to stay had already been settled. He looked around Twilight's living room, idly wondering when the last time he had been here purely for fun instead of work - which admittedly were often combined with Twilight, but he couldn't remember. The boy temporarily broke from his inner monologue to find a spot on the couch with everyone else.
Spike settled on a spot to the right of Applejack and leaned back into the sofa's soft embrace. He felt far more comfortable here at the Sparkle residence than in his own "home," if it could even be called that.
Twilight and the others were talking about the activities they had planned for the night, but Spike paid more attention to them than their words. As his gaze jumped from girl to girl, he couldn't help another smile from tracing his face. He had certainly lucked out meeting them. It was because of his relationship with Twilight that he had come to know these six, and although he wouldn't have been keen to openly admit it, he was incredibly grateful for their friendship and willingness to include him in everything they did.
His thoughts drifted to a certain magical dragon who bore his name and appearance - somewhat, apparently. That Spike, him in the other world, had been living with Twilight for his entire life. Other Spike was also pony Twilight's assistant, which sounded familiar to him. Spike tilted his head, wondering if it would be completely accurate to call himself his Twilight's assistant, because that sounded way too formal for what the relationship was. He helped her out with experiments and other work, sure, but it was more out of a sense of obligation than anything else. And it certainly wasn't a job.
Did the other Spike feel similarly? What was their relationship like, exactly? What were Spike's relationships like with the other ponies that bore the likeness of his friends? Well, whatever the case, he'd probably not have his questions answered anytime soon. It had been a while since the other Twilight and her Spike had visited their world, and almost everything he knew about the pony world was through second hand knowledge. Maybe he could borrow that magic book Sunset carried around with her...
"-isn't that right, Spike?"
"Huh? Oh, right. They were talking about something."
"Uh...yeah?"
A chorus of giggles emerged from the crowd of seven, and Spike's face flushed a light red.
Rainbow laughed. "He's probably already fantasizing about sexy pillow fights and our night clothes, right, Greenie?" Spike rolled his eyes, "I was thinking about what I'm going to change into." He looked at Twilight, "Sorry, what was it you were saying?"
Twilight flashed him an understanding look, "No, it's fine. Just talking about pizza orders. You don't have a favorite topping, right?"
"Yeah, not really. Whatever is cool with me."
Rarity walked over to Spike's side of the couch and sat on the armrest the boy was using, "You know, I'm sure Twilight's father would be happy to lend you a shirt for the night, darling." Spike uncomfortably shifted on the couch but didn't dare remove his arm from such close proximity to Rarity's bare leg.
"Right." Twilight nodded. "They just left to go visit some relatives out of town, but he wouldn't mind if you borrowed some of his clothes, Spike." Spike silently agreed, Nightlight and Velvet had always been more than willing to help him out, but would they have approved of him staying over for a sleepover with their daughter? Maybe when they were still little kids, but it wasn't hard to imagine why they might have reservations with a teen boy such as himself sleeping with their equally teenaged daughter and friends. "Guess that's why they felt so comfortable inviting me to stay the night."
Twilight volunteered to order their food, so she headed toward the kitchen to place their order. Spike couldn't help but steal a look at his friend as she walked away, not understanding where the urge to stare had even come from. The boy had to admit, Twilight was objectively pretty attractive, despite her nerdiness, and she maintained her cute librarian appareance well. "Cute librarian? That's a new one. Those glasses are pretty cute though." Before he could fully take in the implications of his analysis of Twilight's cuteness and what that said about him, the boy's introspection was cut short.
"Or you could just take your shirt off. It's not like we - or, uh, I would mind." Spike looked across the room at the source of the scandalous comment, and was met head-on by one Sunset Shimmer, currently splayed out on the carpeted floor with a mischievous look in her eyes.
"Uh, I don't - I'm not, I can't do -"
"Sunset! Quit it. Spike, don't listen to her." Twilight called out from the adjacent room, sounding agitated. Spike tried to find comfort in the words of his old friend, but he noticed the...eager expressions of the others?
Rainbow licked her lips as she shamelessly ogled him. Fluttershy's face had gone completely red, and she hid behind her arms as Spike looked in her direction. Applejack gave him a glance that could best be described as predatory. Pinkie Pie was squinting at him, holding her hands up in the form of a finger camera, presumably trying to visualize the younger male without a shirt. Rarity cast down a contemplative look at his now rigid form on the couch. Sunset smirked.
Spike suddenly felt like buttoning up his blazer.
"Is this how zoo animals feel?"
"Don't - don't be ridiculous, Sunset," the boy choked out through his suddenly dried throat.
"Oh, big deal." Her expression quickly shifted to one of amusement, "You're a guy, Spike. Isn't that what you do at home anyway when you're getting ready to sleep?"
"Sure. When I'm alone!" Spike crossed his arms, "I don't usually go around stripping my clothes off for just anyone, y'know. Hard to relate, I'm sure."
Sunset flipped a middle finger at him, much to his obvious amusement. Even Fluttershy couldn't help a few snorts from escaping her as the group laughed at Sunset's expense.
"I bet Twilight's seen you take it off, Greenie."
Spike's eyes narrowed at Dash, but the boy was quick to relax back into his seat, "I didn't take you to be the jealous type, Rainbow."
Rainbow Dash sputtered where she lay, "No I'm not - you - where - I never said -" Her stammering tirade was mercifully ended by Fluttershy wrapping an arm around her best friend's shoulders. "It's okay to like boys, Dashie."
Even Sunset had to join in on the laughter again as Dash deflated into herself.
"Since when did Rainbow Dash do that!" Rainbow glared at Pinkie as the peanut gallery laughed even harder, but the girl had gone back to sipping on a...milkshake before she could notice Rainbow's hostility. Dash shook her head at the sight, trying to remember where Pinkie Pie got a milkshake.
"Oh, you shoulda seen Spike at the lake, gals. He's a little thin, but still easy on the eyes." She side-eyed the boy to her right, "I've always liked my men on the delicate side."
Nervous laughter emanated from Spike as he ran a hand through his green tuffs, "Don't be silly, Applejack. I've only been to the lake with Big Mac and Applebloom that one time, you weren't there."
"That's what you think." The grin the farmgirl gave him sent shivers down his back.
"I bet he doesn't have any chest hair!" Pinkie once again broke from her milkshake to insert herself into the discussion, but this time she aimed a small portion of the dessert drink at her green friend's white undershirt.
Pinkie slipped away from the ottoman she was sitting on and began crawling toward the ice cream covered boy a few feet away from her, "Oh, boy! Looks like you got some of my cream on you, Spike! Let me take your shirt off so I can clean it!"
Spike began to fidget again; he could feel a cold sweat starting to break out. The "oohs" and "ahs" from the crowd didn't help much either. Fluttershy hid her face away again, but she was not so subtly peaking from behind her arms at the unfolding scene.
Much to his appreciation, Rarity intervened by blocking Pinkie's path when she left the armrest to dap away the ice cream smudge with a handkerchief. "There we go," Rarity finished patting him dry, never breaking eye contact with the boy as she did so. She gave him a wink before turning back to the instigator, "And you can go back to your seat!" Pinkie pouted and rolled her way back to the milkshake, "You're no fun."
Rarity sat back down, but the slow and deliberate way she crossed her legs so close to him made his head hurt. "Spike is too much of a gentleman to ever willingly expose himself in front of us, isn't that right, Spikey?"
Spike gulped. The attention being cast his way was bad enough, but the nickname always made him weak. He looked up at Rarity, "Y-yeah."
To the boy's dismay, the girls let out some more giggles at his flustered behavior, but before the teasing could continue they were interrupted by Twilight walking back into the room to reclaim her position next to Applejack. Her unamused expression chilled the rambunctious crowd almost instantly.
"Anyway." She spoke in an unusually...venomous tone. "The pizza should be here in about twenty minutes or so. We should get changed out of our school clothes already. Spike, after we're done with that, I'll find you something to wear. Sound good to you?" Her tone had softened as she addressed her childhood friend.
"Sure thing." He watched as the group made their way upstairs until the last of them, Fluttershy, had disappeared from view. The little wink Sunset had given him on their way up didn't escape notice, nor the little smirks Rainbow and Applejack had thrown his way. Spike leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, already feeling the anxiety from earlier returning in full swing. The boy wiped away the layer of sweat that had accumulated on his forehead over the past few minutes and moved to get water from the Sparkle house's tap.
Spike quickly downed the water he had helped himself to. "Wonder what's up with them? Hopefully, that's the end of that - whatever that was." This wasn't normal behavior for the group. He had been teased by most of them before, but never at this level of frequency and aggression.
Whatever had gotten into them notwithstanding, Spike did not need seven lightly dressed, older girls teasing him for the entire night. No thanks. He did not care for being labeled as some pervert by his friends. As is, he had to deal with much grief from pretty much everyone in his life over the fact that he hung out with a group of girls, and the outrageous insinuations and comments he dealt with from his peers were bad enough. But that would be nothing compared to his closest friends thinking he was just some weirdo who hung around to hit on and gawk at them. He briefly wondered if other Spike had to deal with the same worries...
"No. That can't happen. I won't mess everything up because of some dumb hormones." Spike began to steel his nerves as he put the glass in the sink and looked over at the stairway. He heard a door shut, followed by the sound of footsteps and excited whispering approaching from the stairs. Spike rubbed his left temple to help ease his tension; the food would be here in a few minutes, so maybe that and some idle chit-chat would calm everyone down for the remainder of the night.
He hoped so, but something told him he was in for a long night. The boy let out a sigh and fiddled with his bowtie, "Maybe I should just leave. Pretend that something just came up." Spike looked at his phone, several excuses already coming to mind. He closed his eyes; no, that wouldn't do. Not after he already told them he would stay. Spike wasn't one to go back on his word.
"Eh, I'm sure it'll be fine. I bet they got the teasing out of their systems." Spike went to meet them as the group entered the living room and...it was not even close to being out of their systems judging by their pajama choices. Spike stopped in his tracks and took in his increasingly precarious situation, "Yeah, it's going to be a long night."