...who did you plan on asking to go with you this year?"
"Okay, not as salacious of a question as I thought it would be. At least it gives me something else to think about..."
Spike contemplated Sunset's question, unsure if he even had an answer to give. He'd put almost zero thought into this year's prom, much less who he'd eventually ask - if he even did ask anyone. He rubbed his chin, going through the list of date candidates that sprung to mind.
"There's Trixie, I guess. I have to admit, she's always pretty fun to hang out with and lately she's been super insistent on us going out together more often." His thoughts turned to another friend, "Maybe Octavia? We've already been to a few formals together...or maybe Wallflower?" He remembered her confession to him in art class about her hopes of getting to properly enjoy a school dance with someone else's company.
"Earth to Spike! Plan on answering anytime soon?" An agitated sounding Sunset spoke, shifting his attention back to the real world.
Spike looked at the girl and nearly did a double take, her usually confident demeanor appearing to crack as she chewed her lip and twirled a strand of hair. Despite his surprise at the uncharacteristic behavior, he couldn't help but notice the hint of a hopeful expression behind her uneasy body language.
The boy raised his hands in a surrendering gesture, "Give me a sec, Sunset. Hadn't really thought about prom dates till now." Sunset's mouth twitched, her expression turning to one of frustration at the boy's response, but no words escaped her.
Before he could go back to thinking about potential prom dates, he noticed the quietness that had enveloped the entire room. Although not all of his friends were staring directly at him, all of them had gone silent where they were.
Fluttershy stared at a ceiling corner with an intensity that confused him. Twilight went back and forth between staring at her feet and at him. Rainbow Dash looked at him with a blank gaze. Applejack tilted her head in his direction but refused to make eye contact with the boy. Pinkie Pie leaned forward, still sitting cross-legged, and squinted at him. Rarity met him with a smirk that sent a small shiver down his spine.
Spike thought it over for a few more moments before breaking the suspense, "I dunno, Sunset. I'm not sure I wanna go. Maybe if someone asks me, I'll consider it."
The tension in the room dissolved almost immediately with the boy's words. Sunset sighed as her body began to relax back into her seat, "I see. You should go though! It'll be fun, especially if you're with the right person."
Spike raised an eyebrow at the statement, "Real subtle, Sunset. She can't be serious, right?" He cleared his throat, "Is it my turn now or what?"
"Sure is, Greenie. Do your worst." He stared at the Rainbow haired girl, the thought of daring her to be silent for the rest of the night crossing his mind. "Nah, that'd be too mean. Besides, I got a better idea." Spike rubbed his left shoulder and turned to face Fluttershy, "Hey, Fluttershy, I was wondering where you learned how to give massages. You were...really good at it."
The unmistakable sound of palm meeting forehead resounded throughout the room, "Boring." Rainbow Dash moved to lie down, pretending to sleep as she loudly simulated snoring.
Fluttershy ignored her friend and gave the boy a sheepish smile, a dusting of red highlighted her cheeks as she addressed him, "Thank - thank you. I just watched a lot of videos online and stuff."
"It was awesome, your hands are super soft!"
"Oh - thank you, Spike. I -
"Cut!" Rainbow Dash threw an arm into the air, frustration overcoming her, "From now on, if you were given a truth, you need to give a dare!"
"So impatient, Rainbow Dash. How unbecoming of you!"
Rainbow Dash glared at the fashionista across from her, "Whatever, Rarity. I'm trying to have some fun here, not play 20 questions all night!"
Applejack nodded, "I have to agree with Rainbow on this one."
Rarity rolled her eyes, but made no further protest at the rule adjustment.
Twilight similarly agreed, "It'll make the game more interesting, right?" She glanced at the girl to her right, "Are you fine with that, Fluttershy?"
"I think so...but give me a minute to think of one." Her brow furrowed as she thought of a suitable dare, "Twilight, I dare you...to remove your ponytail." A satisfied grin found its way onto Fluttershy's face as Twilight giggled and Rainbow Dash let out another groan.
Twilight slid the ponytail band off her hair and onto her wrist, more than happy to complete Fluttershy's dare without an ounce of hesitation. Her eyes scanned the crowd as she decided on who would make for the best target. She briefly considered everyone, but her gaze settled on the seated form of Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset nervously shifted under Twilight's mischievous eye, knowing full well how vindictive her friend could be under the right circumstances.
"Sunset, how about explaining, for everyone, your choice of attire for the night?"
The question was directed at Sunset, but Twilight understood the impact it would have on the entire room. She had known about her friends' plan, orchestrated by Sunset, to entice her assistant by appealing to his baser desires with their bodies. An informal contest for Spike's affection had been proposed by Rainbow Dash weeks ago - a contest she refused to take part in, at least, not directly. Besides the fact that they were treating Spike more as an object to be won as opposed to a person with emotions and desires, the boy was hers. He was her rock, her ever-faithful companion. None of them knew Spike the way she did, they were practically already dating with how often they were in each other's presence!
She could grant the legitimacy of her friends' feelings for their mutual love interest - without knowing the particulars, she knew them well enough to know that none of them were so shallow as to pursue their junior merely for his boyish good looks. But it was inconceivable that any of them felt the same level of depth in love and devotion for Spike as she did, how could they? Their friends would have to deal with it. Now it was only a matter of finding an opportune moment to reveal her feelings to her old friend - feelings which she suspected were partially reciprocated. The little looks he would give her, the way he would insist on walking her home every time they stayed out late, it all betrayed that faux aloof attitude of his.
Sunset and the others fretted about; nervous glances were shared and collars were tugged while Twilight reveled in their panic. Their short sightedness in choosing to play Truth or Dare had been to her gain.
The red-headed girl rubbed her neck, mumbling something under her breath.
"Come again, Sunset?' Twilight spoke, her voice tinged with smugness.
Sunset glared at her, not appreciating the invisible smirk on Twilight's face, but resigned herself to answering the question.
"I just thought someone here might appreciate it," she paused, staring directly at the self-satisfied provocateur, before turning toward the young man in question.
"And from the looks of it, I think he does." Sunset spoke, purposely stretching backward to accentuate her already exposed midriff even further, as Spike reflexively stole a glance at her figure.
Confusion clouded Spike's thoughts as he took in the implications of Sunset's revelation. The admission that her outfit had been deliberately chosen to garner his attention answered a few of his questions while inspiring even more about the girl's motivations. The boy gave the group another once over, his suspicions growing at the fact that their outfits were no more or less revealing than Sunset's. "I wonder..."
"Anything else you'd like add to that, Sunset?" Twilight pried, seeking to expose the bothersome little half-truth for the sake of her green haired friend.
"She answered the question already, darling."
Twilight and Rarity momentarily locked eyes. The former Crystal Prep student searched for a response, but she knew that the question had been answered on a technicality. The smug fashionista grinned as Twilight worldlessly conceded the point with a bow of the head.
"Movin' on, then! Sunset, you're up again! But from now on, you can't pick someone who's already gone unless everyone's had a turn. When that happens, we reset! It'll be like a round system."
"Good idea, Dash!" Rainbow Dash leaped in panic as the resident party master appeared behind her, causing a few giggles to emanate from the crowd. The girl rolled her eyes at the scene, but she couldn't resist releasing a few of her own chuckles as Pinkie lightly prodded her side.
The group calmed down, but a devilish idea had implanted itself into the mind of Sunset Shimmer. She still had one more turn before the new rule went into effect, something she was absolutely going to take advantage of. A smirk threatened to betray her intentions, but the girl willed it down. The redhead spoke, a fake innocence lacing her every word, "Well, since I still can, I feel like it's only fair if I return the favor. Right, Twilight?"
Twilight began to sweat, not looking forward to what was in store for her. Everyone waited with bated breath as Sunset gazed at her nails and hummed a short tune to herself. The nondescript expression on her face kept the entire room on edge.
"I was thinking..." Sunset broke the silence, the corners of her lips beginning to curve upward, "Wouldn't you prefer to sit on Spike's lap for the rest of the game? It looks a lot more comfortable than that old cushion you're sitting on."
Twilight's eyes widened; a breath caught in her throat. Gasps echoed around her. Spike visibly wobbled in shock at the risque dare. The color drained from the boy's face as he imagined Twilight's shorter frame pressed so closely onto his.
This is not what I need right now...
"No- No, it's okay- I'm fine- I..." the girl managed to choke out as her eyes wildly darted around the room.
"Are you backing out of the dare, Twilight?"
"No! I mean, yes. No. Yes...no!?"
Rainbow Dash shook her head, trying to ease the Sunset induced shock out of her system. "You gotta..." she trailed off as she addressed Twilight, unsure of how she felt about the prospect of Twilight's backside and Spike's lap making each other's acquaintance.
"Complete the dare, it's tha' rules." Applejack spoke as she stoically assessed the boy to her right, her eyes drawn to his soon-to-be sat upon lap. No off facial twitches or vocal inflections betrayed the farm girl's feelings on the matter, which couldn't have contrasted even more sharply with her friends' attitude toward the whole ordeal. On either side of Twilight, the reactions displayed exactly what her friends thought about her soon-to-be precarious position. Fluttershy had grown tense, but an unmistakable look of disappointment etched itself onto her face as she yearnedly looked at their shared love interest, while Pinkie jittered with barely contained excitement to her right.
"You- you don't have to, Twilight." Spike forced out, hoping to avoid the guaranteed awkwardness the dare would bring if fulfilled. The girl sat in silence, staring at her feet as she contemplated the dare. Redness painted her cheeks, but no refusals were forthcoming. Spike couldn't help but take in his friend's soft, feminine form and how it would feel against him as stray thoughts flooded his head. "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad?"
"Unless, you want to..." Spike wanted to slap himself as the words left his mouth, but a jolt of excitement coursed its way through his body as the girl slowly nodded an affirmation in his direction. The teen involuntarily shuddered; self-loathing and arousal flowed through him in equal part. Spike desperately wanted to find the will to refuse his part in the dare, but as Twilight stood to move his way, he couldn't even bring himself to offer a token veto anymore. He grasped the carpeted floor, hoping he could at least keep certain bodily reactions under control at the quickly approaching...stimulation.
"Very gentlemanly of you, Spike." Sunset laughed, "But I don't think Twilight minds."
Twilight slowly walked toward her young assistant. Spike could only stare at her bare feet as she crossed the distance between them in a matter of seconds. Twilight stood before him, tugging at the hem of her navy blue tank top. He tentatively lifted his head to face her, "You sure about this, Twilight?" The pair met each other's gaze, both feeling a tension unlike anything they had ever experienced with one another before. Twilight gave a slight nod, "It's...just a dare, Spike. Besides, you've already sat in my lap more than a few times. It'll be like the old days."
Spike would have otherwise laughed at the fond memories he had of all the times Velvet and Nightlight crammed him into their family car for an outing, but he could barely think of anything other than the way Twilight's black shorts hugged her bottom. He gave his friend a thumbs up, still not fully believing what was about to happen.
Twilight lowered herself onto her knees, coming face to face with the taller boy. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, the friends exchanged smiles with one another. Twilight spoke, "There's only one way this is going to work with us sitting on the ground..." Spike watched the girl knee-walk toward him, before elevating herself to straddle his center. Her breath tickled his neck as she settled into him, and the boy hissed as Twilight eased her body weight onto him.
Spike tensed, unsure of how to respond to the contact; his body couldn't ignore the soft, snug feel of Twilight's bottom against his core. His arms briefly flailed around, but he forced them to remain glued to his sides. Twilight rested her arms on Spike's shoulders, her face burning with color at the intimate positioning. From the heat coming off of her assistant's body, she could tell he was feeling similarly.
Twilight leaned her head back a few inches to go nose to nose with Spike, "It's only natural your body reacts in certain ways to this kind of touch. Don't think you're weird for...y'know." Spike's eyes closed, but he forced a quick nod in acknowledgment of Twilight's coolness with the situation. Twilight smiled, "Maybe you'd be more comfortable if you wrapped your arms around my waist..."
Sunset coughed.
Twilight, to the best of her limited ability, turned her head to meet Sunset and the others. Naturally, their reactions varied. Sunset looked vaguely amused. Rainbow Dash could only stare in shock. A perverse grin found its way on Pinkie Pie's face. Fluttershy bit her lip in envy. Applejack remained stoic. Rarity's face flashed through several different emotions within the span of a few seconds, but she watched on with interest.
"It's-it's my turn again. I..." Twilight slightly adjusted her posture, only earning another hiss from the boy she was straddling. "Sorry! I, I...choose you, Pinkie Pie."
"Pinkie Pie!"
The group stared at the cury-haired girl in confusion, not understanding the girl's repetition of her own name. Twilight shook her head, "I dare you to not eat any desserts for the next hour."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "Ouch."
"Such cruelty, Twilight. Although I suppose it could have been the entire night?" Rarity looked at Twilight, a devilish glint in her eyes as Pinkie began to frantically rock herself back and forth on the couch.
Fluttershy rubbed her frantic friend on the back to soothe her, "Wait, wasn't Twilight supposed to ask a truth?"
Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin, "Hmm...rule suspended. This is too good to pass on."
Pinkie stopped, one of her hands grabbing her chest, the other gripping the couch, before bellowing, "NOOOOOOOOOO!"
Twilight laughed at Pinkie's over-dramatic outburst, but the slight gyrations that came with her laughter caused the boy she was sitting on to start shaking.
"This shouldn't feel as good as it does..."
"Well, if I can't eat sweets for the next hour, I'm not going to be the only one who suffers! Rainbow Dash, you can't make fun of anyone for the rest of the night!"
Rainbow Dash coughed out a laugh, again rolling her eyes.
"Whatever...softies."
"Rainbow!"
"Sorry, sorry; I'll play nice."
The athlete looked around the room, trying to pick out the remaining candidates for her turn. Her eyes flickered between Rarity and Applejack, the last pair still available for the round. As tempted as she was to dare Applejack to run a lap around Twilight's neighborhood, she couldn't resist poking at the fashionista a bit. She grinned, "Hey Rarity, I dare you to give me twenty push-ups."
Rarity recoiled at the dare, but begrudgingly made her way into position for the exercise. She looked up at Rainbow Dash, "Do they-"
"Real push-ups, yes."
Rarity groaned, already dreading the inevitable push up induced perspiration.
"Sooner you get the started, the sooner you finish, Rares'."
Resigned to her fate, Rarity began the mini-workout. To the mild surprise of everyone else, the push-ups were not overly difficult for the amateur fashion designer to get through. They were not the cleanest form Rainbow Dash had ever seen, and the girl began to noticeably struggle after the fifteenth one, but she gritted the last five out.
Rainbow Dash clapped as Rarity wiped some sweat off her forehead, "Great job Rarity! You're not as noodle armed as I thought you were!"
"Oh, please. You don't maintain this figure without the occasional workout!"
"And what a figure it is," Spike internally mused, but as he felt another weight shift from Twilight, he had to confess that Rarity had plenty of competition. He was starting to really enjoy the feel of Twilight's body wrapped around his; the girl felt so soft and the way she fit onto him just felt right. He felt the call to wrap his arms around her waist, but that was a line he wasn't ready to cross - it was too intimate, even if she was already clinging onto him like a second skin.
"Very well then, it seems like you're the last pick, Applejack."
The girl in question grunted, casually leaning back to await whatever Rarity had in store for her.
Rarity studied the girl; Applejack's legendary honesty would surely need to be taken advantage of, but how so? More than a few revealing questions came to mind, but there was one that would certainly make her squirm.
She smiled, "Applejack, I'm sure a girl as lovely as you must be constantly dealing with suitors of the romantic persuasion, but are there any that have caught your eye? What about that one boy you're always talking about? Who is he again? You said he was cute, a little on the tall side; not to mention, brave, loyal to a fault, and has a delightfully adorable stutter when nervous."
A few snickers echoed throughout the room; Applejack's crush on the junior had been well known for sometime - she barely bothered to hide it, even in front of the boy himself.
Applejack thought of a way out, but outside of lying to her friends - a lie they would all instantly detect - there was no way out. She cursed her honesty and lack of emotional intelligence, but with some trepidation began to face the music.
"There's one guy..."
Rainbow Dash leaned in, a smug look in her eyes, "And?"
Spike watched on, interested in finding out who the mystery guy that captured Applejack's attention was.
Applejack balled her fists, her stoic resolve finally cracking. She looked down at her knees, finding the courage to push through it.
"Oh, darn it. It's Spike. I have a little crush on Spike! There, you harpies happy yet?"
"A what!?"
Spike and Applejack locked eyes, their faces sharing a mutual shade of red. Applejack waved her arms around, "I, uh, think you're pretty cute, Spike. And, uh, the way you're always helping us out is really, um, sweet and kind of you. And, uh..."
"Spike and Applejack sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G in a tree!" Pinkie Pie shouted at the top of her lungs, enjoying the chaotic energy of the scene before her.
"Aw, man, Twilight - you're gonna need to find yourself a new seat 'cuz Greenie's got a new squeeze!" Rainbow Dash teased, similarly reveling in the chaos.
Spike was confused. Mentally and physically. He was confused at the way Twilight made him felt, sure, and his body was more than a little confused - among other things - at their physical contact. But he was just as, if not moreso, confused at the revelation that he was Applejack's mystery guy. Him? The scrawny, orphan kid who liked to smoke and read comics in his free time that had no amazing talents or abilities to speak of. How?
"Me? She likes me? Like that?" The boy was on the verge of hyperventilating, "She's so much cooler than me, she's literally a superhero! And she wants to be, like, my girlfriend?" Sheer, unadultered happiness ran through his veins, "Applejack wants to be my girlfriend! But what about Rarity?" His thoughts darkened, "What about...Twilight? I...like her too." He turned his head to the side and stared at his oldest friend; yes, it was true, he liked Twilight as more than a friend. He had decided as much as he grew accustomed to her straddling his lap, a feeling he could and wanted to get used to. It made sense; the jealousy, the stray looks - what wasn't to like about Twilight? She was gorgeous, intelligent, and she had been with him threw everything.
Spike's face darkened more, "I guess it doesn't matter. Applejack likes me. I should...try and do something about that. She doesn't deserve anything less."
Applejack stared at the boy with concern, not enjoying the frown that materialized on the boy's face at the news of her confession.
"Spike? You...okay?"
The boy's face instantly perked up, "Yeah, of course. I...think it's cool you think of me like that. We can talk about it later, I guess?"
Applejack, now relieved, offered her friend a grin. A sense of hope bubbled up within her. The finish line was so close she could almost reach out to grab it. Twilight was wrong; she loved Spike just as much as anyone else. He was so brave, almost dangerously so, and he was always willing to lend her or anyone in need a helping hand. She admired his sense of honor and loyalty, something lacking among many of her male peers. And he was pretty easy on the eyes...
Twilight's mind clouded with anger and frustration. She was not a fan of how things were playing out. She was so close, but remained so far from her goal. There she sat, literally pressed up against him like they were already a couple, but Applejack threatened to ruin everything. She needed to act soon, but the ideas escaped her. She shook her head, trying to calm her mind. Spike was hers.
As Pinkie moved to respin the wheel with all their names on it for the next round, Sunset leaned onto her side, cooly taking in everything. Things were not going precisely as planned, but she was glad Rarity had helped speed things along. The way Twilight was pouting was just adorable. And Applejack's nervous excitement was incredibly heartwarming.
Yes, her plan was coming along nicely. No one was losing on her watch. Twilight wouldn't have to suffer for too much longer, just so long as everyone took to her resolution. She looked at her junior, the source of all this hormone fueled angst, and lightly chuckled. Yeah, he was worth it. After all of this was over, Spike was going to be eternally grateful to her - a gratitude she was sure he could find many ways of showing.