Slumber Party

by CasualFanDontJudge

Epilogue

"What's that supposed to be?"

"It's a five - are you blind or something, dude?"

"Maybe I'd be able to tell if you didn't write like a damn epileptic!"

"And maybe you wouldn't have to copy Scootaloo's homework if you had done yours."

Applebloom glared at Sweetie Bell. Her homework plans had been frustrated by a particularly busy weekend for produce delivery at the farm. She had accompanied Big Mac the entire day Saturday loading and transporting hundreds of crates packed to the brim with their family's signature apples. The work would have been difficult under the best of circumstances, but the absence of her eldest sister had increased the workload considerably for them; she was too sore and tired to do much of anything for the remainder of the weekend, including her physics homework.

She rubbed a still-aching shoulder, “That's kinda funny, Sweetie. Last I checked, I wasn't the one asking for answers during last week's quiz.”

Scootaloo snickered, “It wasn't even that hard!”

“Oh, whatever.” Sweetie Bell rolled her eyes, more than happy to move on. To her mind, there were far more interesting matters to discuss anyway. She laid her pencil down on the hard plastic surface of her desk, “Hey, Applebloom, notice anything different about your sister when she got back from their sleepover Saturday night?”

Applebloom and Scootaloo angled their desks' clunky wooden chairs in her direction. The redhead quirked her head to the side, “Yeah, now that you mention it, she seemed…giddier than usual, I guess.”

Sweetie Bell perked up, “Yeah, same here! Rarity's been acting like she just scored first place at a fashion competition or something!”

“Ah, to have an older sister. How you two wound me!” Scootaloo clutched her chest, a downtrodden expression on her face as she leaned back into the rickety seat.

Appleboom cracked a grin at her friend's self-deprecating humor, “It ain't all sunshine and rainbows, Scoots. Older siblings can be a real pain sometimes.”

“Tell me about it! Just last week, Rarity had me up till 3 am for a dress fitting!”

“Ha! Lame.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes at the indignant look Sweetie Bell was aiming at her.

“As I was saying, girls, something funny is going on with our sisters. Something to do with that sleepover, I reckon.”

Scootaloo contemplatively rubbed her chin, “What could it be?”

“Maybe…maybe something to do with a boy?” Sweetie Bell mused.

“What makes you say that, Sweetie?” Applebloom asked, an inquisitive glint in her eyes.

“Well, I remember when Rarity was obsessed with that senior boy years ago…Fancy Pants, I think his name was. She always got all giggly and stuff around him. Kinda like she's acting now!”

Applebloom rubbed her forehead, trying to glean from her memory anything to do with her elder sister's love life and the way it impacted her behavior, “Hmm…she used to have this massive crush on the lead singer of a boy band – I forget his name, but she did get all dreamy-eyed and red-faced whenever she'd bring 'em up.”

At once, the trio's attention was captured by the sound of their classroom door opening. The figure of a familiar green-haired boy walked into view as he sauntered into their classroom in his usual purple over-shirt and torn-up jeans combo. Their classmate flashed them a toothy smile when he noticed their presence and made his way toward them to find a seat.

“Hey, girls. What's up?” He spoke as he took the desk adjacent to Sweetie Bell and right behind Applebloom.

“Spike!”

“Good morning, Spike.”

“Hey, Greenie!”

Spike dryly chuckled, “The one and only. What's happening?”

Applebloom adjusted a lock of her red hair as she turned to face the taller boy behind her, “Oh, nothing much. Just talking about our sisters acting weird over the weekend, that's all.”

Spike's grin slightly faded, “Oh, yeah. That's funny. Wonder why?” His voice was noticeably strained, and his smile wilted away.

Scootaloo smirked at him, “You wouldn't happen to know anything about why, Spike? I thought I heard Rainbow Dash say something about inviting you to their sleepover.”

Spike rapidly tapped his pencil across the plastic surface of his desk, not sure of how to respond to Scootaloo's prodding.

“Hey, wait a sec – Spike, what's that spot on your face?”

Spike felt a wave of relief wash over him at Sweetie Bell's momentary diversion from the question, “Ah, right. It's just a little bit of iron gall ink I whipped up earlier today. It got a little messy – must have missed a spot during clean up!”

“I guess that's why your hands are more stained than usual?” Applebloom asked as she gently poked at the darkened skin of his right hand.

“Yeah! I just ran out of ink a few weeks ago. It took me longer than usual to get my hands on some iron sulfate.” Spike let out, eyeing up the ink splotches on his hands. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Sweetie Bell begin to reach her arm toward his face. Her hand was carrying a small white cloth that she directed at the inkblot between his chin and lower lip. Sweetie Bell gently patted away at the stain, cleaning the boy's face as best she could with the simple cloth.

“There you go.”

“T-Thanks, Sweetie.”

The two classmates shared a glance, their faces lightly dusted with red. Spike silently flinched, while Sweetie Bell shyly smiled at the older boy. More female attention was not something he needed right now.

Applebloom coughed, an unamused expression on her face as she stared down Sweetie Bell, “What was it you were saying about Rainbow Dash again, Scootaloo?”

Scootaloo blinked, the ink cleaning scene still playing on repeat in her mind. “Uh, right. Spike, you were at their sleepover, right?”

Spike fidgeted in his seat. “Where the heck is our teacher, anyway?” He tugged at the faded purple collar of his overshirt, trying to remain cool as he thought over what he should disclose from the events of the weekend. He forced a laugh, “Y-Yeah, I stuck around for the night. They invited me.”

Scootaloo persisted, mischief in her eyes, “Continue.” The other two silently nodded.

“Nothing weird happened, promise! We just hung out, I swear. Played some games; ate pizza, the usual!” Spike spoke as he began to flare his hands around, sweat starting to accumulate on his brow as he did so.

Sweetie Bell lightly squinted at him, “No one insinuated otherwise?”

“Yeah, yeah – of course! Just a nice old-time hanging out; no funny business.” Spike strained out, a painful smile etched on his face.

Applebloom rested her chin on her palm, “Right. That doesn't explain why our sisters are acting funny though.”

“You sure about that “no funny business” stuff, Green?” Scootaloo smirked, “Just one guy hanging out with his seven best girl friends for an entire night; completely innocent, right?”

Spike looked at his hands once more, avoiding eye contact with the purple-haired girl, “W-Well…”

Applebloom raised an eyebrow. Sweetie Bell wordlessly leaned in. Scootaloo's grin sharpened.

Once more, the teens were diverted by the sound of someone walking through their class's doorway. The form of Scootaloo's athletic idol, Rainbow Dash, emerged from the hallway of Canterlot High. She casually strolled toward the group, hands in her pockets, with a slight slink to her step as she walked.

“Hey, Scootaloo!”

“Rainbow!”

She fist-bumped her young friend, and greeted her friends' younger sisters with a smile and slight nod, before taking a seat on Spike's desk. She chuckled at the green-haired boy's reddened cheeks, savoring the ease it took to rile him up.

“What's the matter, Spike? Not happy to see your girlfriend?”

Spike could only recoil at the sound of a pencil snapping and three jaws dropping.

Spike took a breath, “I…no, Rainbow Dash, I'm perfectly happy to see you.” He stared up at her, obvious annoyance in his eyes at the unexpected public reveal.

Rainbow Dash laughed and hopped off the boy's desk; she rummaged through the pockets of her blue hoodie before pulling out a thin black piece of metal. She tossed it at the now wide-eyed junior, “Found it in my car. Thought you might need it. I'd put it away before you're caught with a knife on school grounds…wherever it is you put stuff away.”

Spike clutched the small pocket knife in his hand for a moment, a look of fear in his eyes as he rapidly checked the room for adult supervision. He quickly tucked his knife away in his right jean pocket, nestled closely with his lighter and pack of cigarettes.

“Seriously, how do you even carry anything for school without a backpack?”

Spike sighed, “Easy, don't carry anything.”

“Sure thing, Greenie. Anyway, have a nice day!” She leaned down to press her lips against his, surprising the boy. After a brief moment of shock, he attempted to reciprocate the kiss but was foiled as Rainbow Dash moved her face away. He chased her lips with his for a brief moment, but stopped after opening his eyes to the sight of her smirking down at him.

“Let's finish that later!” Rainbow Dash turned to leave, “See you girls later!” The rest of the classroom stared silently as the senior girl walked out the room as confidently as she had walked in.

Spike stopped himself from touching his lips, but he couldn't stop himself from noticing the stares currently being directed at him by his classmates. He nervously chuckled, “W-Well, a few things happened at our slumber party…”

Applebloom's jaw still hung wide open, and Sweetie Bell was clutching her chest, but Scootaloo's left eye furiously twitched. She rapidly looked between Spike and the doorway of the classroom where Rainbow Dash had just been, still processing what had just happened. Her mouth began to tremble, “What the fu-

---

Spike walked down the hallways of CHS with his line of sight firmly fixed on the ground. As he expected, explaining to three friends that he was now dating their older sisters had been a stressful endeavor, to say the least. He had taken the time between periods to explain to them, in as concise of a way as possible, the events of the preceding weekend. He couldn't cover all the details, but he had been able to effectively communicate the general outline of what happened – including whose idea it had been to start the multi-union affair to begin with. After learning that it was Sunset's plan, they had taken relatively well to it, but there was an unmistakable air of sadness around the trio that Spike couldn't help but notice.

“That was pretty weird, but I'm glad they aren't mad at me. Sucks I'm gonna be late though.” Spike briskly continued his walk to the other side of the school where his art class lay. The room came into view, and he continued his trek with a jog for the remainder of the distance. He pushed the door open, hoping Ms. Bellweather wouldn't give him a hard time over his tardiness.

“Mr. Spike! Glad you could join us today. Please, take a seat.”

Spike nodded at the short, blonde-haired woman before making his way to the back of the larger-than-average classroom. He found the familiar sight of his fellow green-haired student and friend, Wallflower Blush, sitting on one of the class's many metallic stools sketching away on her drawing pad.

“Hey, Wallflower! Whatcha drawing?” Spike sat to the girl's right, taking his own space on the large communal desk that could comfortably fit several students.

Wallflower's eyes flickered to the source of the sudden interruption, her focus on the rough outline of the woodland landscape she was working on breaking. She smiled at him, “Hey, Spike. How are you?”

Spike hummed as he brought out a quill pen that he had stripped of its feathers, “Could be worse.” He held the pen close to his eyes to inspect for any damage from carrying it in his pocket, “Just itching to draw s’more.” He lightly poked the tip of his finger with the pen before looking at her, “Speaking of which, got the stuff?”

Wallflower nodded and drew her chair closer to his. She flung her backpack onto the table and dug out a small vial filled with black liquid. She ripped another piece of art paper from her pad and brought it between them, “There we go. Although, shouldn't you already have some more of your own?”

Spike held up his hands, “I whipped some up earlier, but I wanted to see if you could get the hang of it by yourself!” He held the vial up to get a better look at it, “And from the looks of it, I think you did!”

Wallflower sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, “Yeah, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.” She held up her own stained hands, “Kind of a messy process though.”

“You'll get used to it. Besides, how much messier is it than gardening?”

She laughed, “Good point.”

Spike tapped his pen against the small glass vial and opened the container, “Let's get on with it!” He dipped his pen in the ink for a few seconds, “Just watch and learn…”

Spike's right hand swirled across the paper with quick and precise strokes, simultaneously captivating Wallflower and inspiring mild envy in her. The junior's skills in calligraphy were impressive. She had to admit, that was what primarily drew her to the boy in the first place; his rough around-the-edges attire and sarcastic personality notwithstanding, she knew artistic talent when she saw it. It didn't hurt that his smile made her knees weak, but, oh well.

“Your turn.” Spike held out the homemade pen to his friend, “C'mon, you can do it, Wallflower. Easy!”

Her deadpan expression spoke for itself.

Spike ran a hand through his hair, “Well, maybe not as good as mine but…practice makes perfect!”

Wallflower sighed, “No, probably not. But that's what you're here for anyway. To help me get better.” She grasped the pen, “Still got to get you out to the garden though.”

The teens smiled at one another, but Wallflower forced herself to break gazes with the younger boy sooner than she would have liked before she completely melted in front of him. She stared at a blank portion of their shared paper, a few inches down from where Spike had finished painting their names in cursive. Wallflower held her hand centimeters above the paper, quivering as she readied herself for her attempt.

With some trepidation, Wallflower began to press her ink-filled pen onto the surface of the paper. She began to trace out her own name first, in standard font, for practice. The girl began to experiment more after completing a few words in the same plain style as her name, but her progress was quickly frustrated as she attempted to chain together the letters of Spike's name for proper calligraphy. Her letters smudged together into a gangly mess of lines and dots that vaguely resembled a spider web.

Spike observed, amusement evident on his face. He reached over to grab her wrist, “The angle's all off. And you're applying too much pressure on the nib. Let me show you!” He manually adjusted the girl's grip to fix her writing angle, much to her horror. Wallflower began to sweat, and her face burned, “Spike, I don't think this is –
“There you go!” He lowered her angle to the proper 45° necessary for his type of pen, and gripped her hand to apply the amount of pressure required for demonstration, “See? Not so hard. Let the pen and gravity do the work for you.”

Wallflower closed her eyes. She could feel his upper chest and arms press into her, and his coconut-mixed-with-a-dash-of-smoke scent filtered through her nostrils. She felt her legs go weak at the smooth but surprisingly firm grip of his hands, “Spike, thank you. I think I get the point; you can let go of my hand now…unless, you don’t want to?”

Wallflower's eyes sprung wide open as she realized what she had just said, and Spike appeared similarly bewildered at the suggestion, but before she could retract the offer a familiar voice approached them from behind, “Um, hi…guys.” The still hand-holding pair turned to meet the face of their friend, Fluttershy. The new arrival stared at the grip Spike had on her wrist, confusion apparent on her face. The two were fast to separate and turned to face Fluttershy. “Hey, Fluttershy!” Their voices morphed into one in their mutual panic and their faces burned the same shade of red.

Fluttershy stared the pair down for a moment, with an eyebrow raised toward the green-haired boy she now called a boyfriend. The girl wasn't sure whether to laugh or sigh at Spike's inability to maintain a poker face, so she opted to simply shake her head and take a seat next to him.

Spike scrambled his body in her direction, “Hey, why so late? Did you miss the bus?”

She gently placed the two textbooks she had been carrying against her chest onto the desk, “Fortunately not. I had an animal science test I needed to finish.” She brushed a lock of pink hair from her eyes, “I'm glad that's over with.” She leaned closer in his direction, “And I'm glad you're here.”

Spike couldn't help himself from moving forward to embrace her. Every fiber of his being practically cried out for her touch whenever she was around. There was something about her gentle spirit and feminine presence that had an intoxicating effect on him – he always felt like holding her and never letting go to shield her from the cruelties of the world.

“As if - I'd be the one needing saving with her.” He thought, an undertone of melancholy seeping through his mind.

The couple held each other closely. Spike ran a hand through her soft pink hair and breathed in her floral aroma. Fluttershy nuzzled his neck, her face full of pure content.

“Uh, are you two…okay?”

Spike craned his neck at the source of the monotonous interruption, but made no effort to remove himself from the hug, “Who…?”

Wallflower's blank expression met his.

“Wallflower!” He pulled away from his girlfriend to explain himself, “Sorry for, um, just throwing that at you like that. I should have told you earlier, Fluttershy and I are dating now!”

Fluttershy walked forward to join the conversation, “Y-Yeah. Spike and I are t-together!”

Wallflower's expression remained neutral.

Fluttershy continued, “The story's a little…complicated, but…” She pivoted her neck to peer into his emerald eyes, “We love each other, and that's what matters.”

Spike and Fluttershy stood side by side, bashful smiles aimed at their friend. Wallflower took in the sight of the duo and looked down at her feet, but remained motionless otherwise. Spike took a step toward her, “Wallflower?” Concern laced his voice.

Wallflower, as if breaking out of a trance, calmly but suddenly held up her arm, “It's fine. I'm happy for you two. I bet you'll make a really amazing couple.” Her words were sincere, but there was a sadness beneath her eyes that Fluttershy could just barely make out.

If Spike noticed it, he said nothing about it. He grinned at the girl, “Thanks! I think so too. Should we get back to work?”

Wallflower could only silently nod in response, with all but the faintest traces of gloom visible on her features as they returned to their earlier seating positions. Fluttershy looked at the other girl, pity in her eyes. The soft-spoken teen could feel the pain radiate off her friend, and her heart broke for Wallflower. She had felt similarly after hearing Spike's public confession about his feelings for Twilight, so she more than well understood the pain Wallflower was experiencing.

Fluttershy rested her head against her palm; an idea was already taking shape – a plan to cure Wallflower's lonesome woes – but she'd need the go ahead from the others first. She chewed on her inner cheek, silently observing the green-headed duo, and – to her slight shame - thoughts of little green-haired babies flashed through her mind.

---

Spike's day had started off relatively rocky, but it had been an easygoing last few periods – Fluttershy had helped with that. It was not quite lunch, but he was free for the next period. The boy would normally make his way to the library or computer lab – Mr. Discord was always fun to hang out with – but he felt the urge to work on his piano skills today. It had been too long since he had played.

Spike found the music room empty. He smiled to himself, happy to have the time and space to practice privately. Within moments, Spike located the school's piano. The boy sat on the small wooden stool that accompanied the instrument, staring at the old piano, “Good to see you too, buddy.” Spike cracked his knuckles, “Guess it's time. Hope no one's around to hear this.” He began to play, trying to remember the right chord progression of his favorite song as he tapped away at the familiar black and white keys, “Okay, this is gonna take awhile.” Before he even realized it, the boy was playing time away, song after song, lost in his own personal world of sound and sensation.

Spike's unbeknownst performance for two slowed to a halt as he felt his hands quake with a dull pain and beads of sweat dripped onto the keys of the piano. He stopped, closing his eyes to enjoy the silence.

A loud clap jolted the boy back into full alert. He spun around, trying to locate the origin of the clap. A pair of purple eyes met his from across the room. His friend Octavia was sitting cross-legged on a stool, coolly observing him. She stood and offered a bow, “Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of hearing such a marvelous routine?” She raised herself, meeting his surprised gaze with a teasing grin, “It's been far too long since you've graced the music room with your presence, Spike.”

Octavia glided toward him with a grace that would have put most ballerinas to shame. Spike could only wipe his brow as his friend neared him to sit. He shrank into himself as Octavia took her seat next to him on the brown stool meant for the user of the piano, and he wanted to positively sink into a pit when she crossed her legs. She smirked at him, “It's been far too long since we've made music together, amongst other things…”

Spike shot up from the stool and moved to make distance between himself and the violin-playing girl. He glared at her, “O-Octavia, please! We are not a thing. Not like that! We're just f-friends!” The girl's smirk didn't waver as she inspected her nails, “You certainly didn't treat me like just a friend the last time we –

“Octavia!”

She raised an eyebrow at him, “What? Can't a girl dream?” She stood, her smirk softening, “I'm not foolish enough to mistake passion for love, but I'd like to think we're still friends at least.”

Spike regarded her with a nervous glance, “Y-Yeah, sure thing.”

She walked closer to him, her eyes scanning his body, “However, I wouldn't mind an encore.” He could smell something akin to a mix of roses and pine as she drew near, “You know what they say, Spike…practice makes perfect.” Octavia had cornered the boy; she slowly lifted his face by the chin with her index finger, “In fact, I think there's an old broom closet down the hallway no one ever uses, well, not for holding brooms anyways.”

Spike flicked her hand away and sidestepped the girl. His glare returned with a passion, “What's gotten into you, Octavia?”

Octavia laughed and adjusted her bowtie, “Just feeling a bit randy, that's all. It's all in good fun though.” She smoothed out her purple vest, “Maybe some other time?”

Spike's glare faded, and he sighed, “No, Octavia. I have a…a girlfriend. It's been fun, but I can't be with you anymore – not like that.”

Octavia shook her head, “Oh, well. I suppose I can't be too upset, I have no one but myself to blame for not claiming you earlier.” She sat down on the piano stool, tilting her head back to continue her address, “Who's the lucky girl?”

Spike stuffed his hands into his pockets and awkwardly twisted his body around at the waist, “She's…a close friend.”

“As close as us?”

“Not exactly.”

“Pity.”

“Hey –

“Spike, are you in here?” The voice of Sunset Shimmer rang out as she approached the half-open doorway.

Octavia's smirk had returned.

Spike could barely finish turning his head before Sunset entered the room. He greeted her with a weary grin, “Hey, Sunset. How'd you know where to find me?”

She leaned against one of the many tables scattered throughout the room, hands casually crossed across her chest, “Just a hunch.” She noticed the third occupant of the room behind her boyfriend, “Hi, Octavia. What brings you here?”

“Spike insisted on telling me all about his new girlfriend in private; he hasn't stopped talking about her ever since we got here!”

“Nothing bad, I hope.”

“No, but he still hasn't told me who the mystery girl is!”

Spike looked between his girlfriend and former lover with trepidation. Sunset raised an eyebrow at him.

“Wonder why that keeps happening?”

Sunset chuckled to herself and rolled her eyes, “Sounds like him. This one's a real enigma sometimes.”

Spike brushed one of his spiky bangs aside; he was growing weary of the innuendo, “It's Sunset. We're dating, Octavia.”

Sunset pouted at him, “Spoilsport!”

He rubbed the back of his neck as he turned to Octavia once more, “Listen, since you've been one of my, er, closest friends since I transferred to Canterlot High, I'm going to let you in on our little not-so-secret secret.”

“I'm listening.”

Sunset remained silent, tacitly giving her approval.

Spike felt the urge to recede into himself and drop the topic, but he persisted, “Sunset and I are dating, but it's way more complicated than that.”

“I prefer the term interesting.”

Spike ignored her, “But I'm also dating my other friends. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and, uh, Twilight.” He waited for a response, but Octavia merely rubbed her chin in silence.

“It was all Sunset's idea. It's weird, and kind of crazy, and I don't know if it'll work out, but we're going to try anyway.” He stopped, hoping his friend would finally voice her thoughts on the unconventional arraignment.

Octavia nodded her head, as if she were fully coming to terms with the news, “How…unexpectedly expected.” She shrugged at the couple, “I would call you a womanizer, but that would imply you had the intent to do any womanizing in that ignorant little brain of yours!”

“Hey, I'm not an idi –

“If you ever feel inclined to add an eighth member to your party, feel free to give me a call.”

“I don't think that'll be likely, Octavia. I think we're going to be keeping him more than a little occupied as is.” Sunset's voice remained neutral, but her eyes cautiously scanned her would-be rival.

Octavia smirked as she turned to face the piano, “We'll see about that.”

Sunset straightened herself out and motioned to her companion to follow, “C'mon, Spike - we're leaving.”

“But it's still not –

“We're leaving.”

Figuring it was best to not argue, the boy followed Sunset out without further complaint.

“Don't be a stranger now, Spike.” A wink and sultry smile were the last things Spike saw before he was pulled through the doorway.

---

“Derpy totally screwed it up for the entire class!”

“In hindsight, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to give her fire watch.”

Spike passively listened to Applejack and Rainbow Dash regale the table with their tales of classroom misfortune, nestled in between Twilight to his right and Sunset to his left. He picked at the bowl of salad he had chosen in the lunch line, simply happy to be among his friends again. Both Twilight and Sunset had wrapped an arm around each of his, not caring about the odd stares their fellow students were occasionally giving them as they passed. For his part, there were certainly worse things to be doing in a lunchroom than being held by two of the most attractive women he had ever known, even if it did restrict his upper body movement a bit.

Twilight gently squeezed his right arm, “I heard Rainbow Dash came by one of your classes earlier. She didn't do anything to make you uncomfortable, did she?”

Spike bobbed his head back and forth, contemplating how to answer his oldest friend, “Just a little bit of PDA; it threw me off guard, but I'll live. I think it freaked out Applebloom and the girls more than it did me.”

Rainbow Dash, overhearing the remark, grinned, “You're welcome, babe.”

“Let's be a little more tactful about public displays of affection, Rainbow. Just because we're all dating Spike doesn't excuse gross behavior. That goes for everyone, girls.” Twilight directed at her boisterous friend, a stern look on her face.

“Whatever you say, mom.”

“It's okay, Twilight. I wasn't grossed out by it, just shocked. This whole girlfriend thing is still…new to me.”

Sunset leaned her head into the crook of his neck, “You'll get used to it.”

Spike gave her one of his signature toothy grins, “Used to cuddling a bunch of hot girls? No way, Sunny!”

Sunset giggled into his shoulder, “We're at the 'pet name' phase now, eh?”

“But Spike is already a pet's name!”

A snort escaped Spike's mouth at Pinkie's comment, “You're kinda right, Pinkie. I dunno what my mom was thinking when she gave me a dog's name.”

Rarity tapped her chin, “Perhaps she had always wanted one?”

Pinkie Pie slammed her milk cartoon onto the table, “Spike was meant to be a dog! I just know it!” Her eyes flickered to his seated form, a seductive glint in them, “Bark for me, baby!”

“Woof.”

“That's what momma's talking 'bout.”

Twilight face palmed, “What did I just say, Pinkie!”

Fluttershy interjected, “I just know that Spike would have been the cutest dog in the world!”

After a moment of silence, the group burst into a collective laugh. As the laughing subsided, Rarity silently slid a piece of her sandwich toward Spike, wordlessly offering it to the boy. He nodded and took the piece, just as Fluttershy moved to hold out an apple-pierced fork to him. He hesitated, but a quick look at her expectant face convinced him to take the apple slice.

Applejack laughed as she cut off a piece of an apple-based confectionary and similarly passed it down to their shared boyfriend, “And here I thought I was clever for bringing food to share with Spike.”

Rainbow Dash grabbed the flaky dessert and brought it up to her face for inspection, “Looks good, Applejack. What is it?”

Applejack side-eyed the girl as she watched her take a small bite, “Not your's, for starters.”

The athlete rolled her eyes, “Just a bite, dude.” Applejack motioned for her to continue passing it to its intended destination, “It's some type of pie thing Granny is working on.” Rainbow Dash nodded and passed the remaining piece to Twilight, “If Spike wants more he knows where to find it, don't ya, Greenie?” The girl spoke, licking her lips.

Twilight gripped the apple treat between her thumb and index finger, “I'm not sure if I should be impressed or disgusted at how fast it took for you to get so comfortable with this.”

Rainbow Dash smirked.

“In fairness, what did you expect, Twilight?” Rarity asked her friend.

Sunset lifted her head from Spike's shoulder, “It's not that hard when you just stop caring about what other people think, trust me.”

Twilight rubbed her forehead with her free hand, “Y-Yes, I get that, girls. Still, I…I hope we can manage to avoid unnecessary conflict with our other friends and families over this.”

Pinkie Pie nearly leaped out of her seat with excitement, “My family already knows! They took the news well! Mom and Dad are already planning the wedding!” Spike began to choke on a flaky pie morsel, fear imprinted on his face.

Sunset and Twilight patted his back, helping him cough up the stray bite of dessert. He thumped his chest to dislodge any remaining particles of food, “Thanks, girls. But, uh, what did you just say about a wedding, Pinkie?!?”

Pinkie laughed, “Just kidding!” She smiled at him, refusing to break eye contact, “…or am I?”

Sunset's thoughts had drifted to a certain violin-playing girl during the commotion. She now knew the girl pined for Spike's affection, but that had not been factored into her plans at all. Octavia spelled trouble for them, she just knew it. She shook her head, those were worries for later.

Fluttershy likewise thought about another one of their friends. It had been fairly obvious to her that Wallflower desired Spike, and her heart went out to the other girl, but she was unsure of how to proceed with that situation. It would have to wait for another time; they still needed time themselves to fully adjust to their newfound relationship.

“I still have my worries as well, Twilight. I'm not sure if my family will take the news of my joining…an octet as well as Pinkie's apparently has.” Rarity checked her hair in the reflection of her phone's screen, “By the way, Spike – for your sake, I'd avoid telling any of our siblings about our…relationships before we did.”

Spike looked down at the bowl of half-eaten salad, “Funny you mention that…”

“Go on.”

He sighed, “Sweetie and I have class together, remember? She was there when Dash, uh, kissed me in front of the entire class. I explained to them what happened over the weekend.”

Rarity shook her head, “I see. I'll…talk to her about it later.”

“So I'm guessing Applebloom knows too, right?”

Spike offered a nod in response.

“Well, I'd probably avoid Big Mac for the foreseeable future, cuz' I'm sure word's gonna get around pretty quick with those three in the loop.”

Spike frowned at the thought, “Big Mac is my friend. I…hope he doesn't take the news too poorly.”

“Hey, the way I see it, this was gonna happen sooner or later. Better to the rip the bandage right off than wait around till something happens!” Rainbow Dash asserted, looking around at her friends.

“Regardless of whoever does or doesn't hear about it, we'll be here for each other – for you, Spike. We won't let anything happen to you.” Twilight firmly reassured the boy she was holding; the others nodded in agreement, resolve in all of their eyes.

Spike held Twilight and Sunset closer to him, savoring their touch, “Thanks, girls.”

---

Trixie's fists balled as she walked the halls of CHS. Her eye twitched in frustration as she recalled her disastrous lunch period. Students walking towards her swerved to avoid crossing her path; anger and frustration aggressively radiated off of her. She walked without a purpose, completely beside herself.

This would not do. She was not going to allow Shimmer and her gang of sirens to just take Spike away from her. Not without a fight. Trixie had no contempt for any of them on a personal level, but this meant war. In truth, she was actually quite fond of Sunset, but this bothersome little eight-some they had going on was an affront to her honor. Seeing those seven just throw themselves all over their junior during lunch drove her mad; it was completely unacceptable without Trixie in the picture!

She was not going to be benched, especially not for Sparkle of all people. Spike would be hers. She would be the one feeding him and petting his perfect green locks soon enough.

Without even fully realizing it, Trixie had made her way to the front entrance of the school – she was taking her leave, there was much to do after all.

Author's Note:

So, here it is! The final installment of my story. I honestly had a lot of fun writing it ! Hopefully, it was to your guys' satisfaction as well.

I don't know when I'll get around to writing sequel stories, but I already have a few ideas for some more stories about this world. I plan on writing unrelated stories as well, like about the actual pony characters, at some point too!

Thanks again for all the likes and kind words! This story has been something of a passion project for me, so I really do appreciate all the support its received. I can only hope my stories just get better and better from here on out!

Comments

[Magic135]

Looks like there are other girls that have an interest in Spike.

[Megapanda25]

This was a really fun story! Very cute, I'm quite pleased with the happy ending, and eager to see any sequels if you do feel up to writing them!

10/10, will likely read again.

[CasualFanDontJudge]

11840856
Thank you for the kind words! This really has been a huge passion project for me, as it's essentially the culmination of a decade's worth of MLP-related ideas. That's why I hope I've been able to deliver something that's done some justice to them. I'll for sure get around to writing sequel stories at some point - sooner rather than later, hopefully.