Hail Mary

by Arby Works

Tired of feeling like a no-talent outcast, Spike decides to join the school football team alongside Applejack and Rainbow Dash, in hopes it may help him deal with his problems with bullies, and gain the courage to speak to the woman of his dreams. A collaboration between Arby Works and Ezreinel.

11. Felix's Number

Spike winced as the sun peaked out from behind the stray cloud, which he had glorified as it covered the light for a mere few seconds. The noises of the school yard grew just as troublesome as he approached it in an exhausted step, and he felt awful walking around in the same clothes he had worn the day before. Of course, he had opted to cover it with a light jacket so no one would recognize it. Judging by how much the party goers had brought to drink last night, he figured he was not alone.

Not that he was hungover, per se, but he was not feeling at his best. He hadn't drank that much wine so quickly before, so it did not sit well with him, but that was not the worst of it. His eyes were bagged and heavy from the lack of sleep, which had been because of a certain two girls who decided to stay in Rarity's guest room just on the other side of a very thin wall. Speaking of the devil incarnate, the revving of an obnoxious motorcycle made him cringe once more, and he glanced over his shoulder to notice the girl pull up and squeal her wheels to a halt only a foot or so away from him.

"Goo-oo-ood morning, kiddo!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she flipped up the visor on her helmet, exposing her bright and glistening eyes.

"That's subjective," Spike merely replied with a frown.

She was right though, there was something about that day that gave him a spring in his step, even if it wasn't adequate sleep. Perhaps it was waking up to Rarity's smiling face, watching her get dressed and leave early, responsible and diligent. She had left him with the key so he could lock the door after him, and had gone around waking up the few stray party guests who had decided to crash on her floor in the boutique. He had heard Applejack's truck start before dawn even cracked, and with it the amorous out-the-second-story-window hollering of a certain football captain promising to see her at school later that day. That was one hell of an alarm clock he wished he could hit the snooze button on.

"Oh, chin up, ya little pipsqueak," Rainbow Dash mused as she grinned wider and winked at him. "The sun is shining, the babes are singing—though not quite as loud as last night, let me tell you."

"Please don't," Spike groaned, after having heard enough of it during the first performance.

"Come on, don't tell me you struck out again," she looked him up and down carefully. "Those are the same duds as yesterday, I can tell—no fooling me, you got lucky, didn't you?!"

"Says the girl who doesn't know tweed from suede," Spike murmured, knowing the lack of fashion knowledge the girl possessed.

"You did too! Fucking awesome! Hit me, bitch!" Rainbow Dash raised her gloved hand and extended it out to him, waiting on a high-five. Spike wasn't sure if it was appropriate to do such a thing after making love to someone he so greatly admired, but Rainbow Dash did not give up. "Don't leave a girl hanging!"

"Okay, fine." He rolled his eyes and pressed his hand against hers, not bothering to put any force into it.

"Fuck yeah!" Rainbow hooted and kicked off the curb, balancing on the motorcycle long enough to flip her visor back down and utter another few words. "Wet and sticky details later; keep pounding pussy, you stud."

And with that, she raced off, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake. Spike coughed lightly and waved it out of his face before shaking his head. She sure wasn't about to change any time soon. Continuing on his way, Spike adjusted the bag on his shoulder absently. He wished that school had been cancelled on that particular day, so perhaps he might have spent the morning in a warm embrace, with the woman of his dreams—though she had emerged from fantasy to reality at last. A wide smile spread across his face as he remembered it.

Even if he wanted to run off and find her right away, the fact remained that he was already almost late for school. He probably wasn't even going to be able to talk to her until maybe lunchtime, except perhaps the odd text here and there from under his desk in class. The sudden memory of Scootaloo's first few texts shook him up a bit, and he was sure they were still saved in his phone. Then again, it felt like it didn't quite bother or tease him like before. Maybe he was growing up.

If Spike was growing up by passing on sexual advances, Rainbow Dash was growing down. Applejack spent most of the first few periods fighting the girl off and brushing off her now much more tempting flirtations. The two had agreed to keep their new status under wraps for the time being, but that did not dissuade Rainbow Dash any more than Applejack's presumed heterosexuality or disinterest had.

By that very lunchtime, Applejack had almost thought she brushed the girl off. However, just as she managed to get her locker open, always having trouble with those fancy twisting combination locks, someone else opened her arms around her. The familiar warmth of the embrace brought a smile to Applejack's face, but she resisted to urge to lean back into it like she might have had they been alone.

"Mmm, you smell delicious enough to eat," Rainbow murmured into Applejack's neck, nibbling on the skin as best as she could reach it.

"Creep," Applejack rolled her shoulder to knock the girl off, but she merely switched sides and continued with the invasive kissing.

Applejack grunted nervously and held the locker door close, covering Rainbow's actions from any by-passers. The sensations were tantalizing, but Applejack was known for her strong will. She tried to shake the girl off again, but her wandering hands proved to be just as real a problem, as they tugged at her blouse earnestly. Applejack moved them immediately, glancing around over and over.

"Rainbow, ease up on that, someone's gonna see," Applejack whispered quietly, resisting the urge to elbow the girl in the gut as a last resort.

"I can't help it, you make me crazy," Rainbow Dash purred over Applejack's bothered skin, which shivered at the welcomed touch.

"You were crazy already," Applejack replied dully, narrowing her eyes at the incessant girl strung around her.

"I know we agreed not to tell anyone," the football captain whined, but made enough of a pause to go so far as lick Applejack's neck teasingly. "But that just makes me want it more."

"You ain't makin' it any easier on me," the farmer's voice trembled in a hush as she tilted her head, providing momentary better access to to area. She feigned a pout and acted indifferent.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" a shrill young voice started the pair suddenly, and they both jumped and nearly fell over as they made space between them.

Rainbow Dash left her arms around Applejack, using her as an anchor so she could lean back and catch a glimpse of the girl who had stalled them. It was none other than her biggest fan, the short and chipper Scootaloo, who was accompanied by Applejack's younger sister. Applejack took the time to reach up and wipe the saliva from her neck, before forcing a friendly and innocent spile as she faced the girls.

"Oh—uh, hey, squirt. And, uh," Rainbow Dash looked at Apple Bloom, trying for a clever nickname but coming up empty. "Other squirt. What's up?"

"You want to have lunch with me?" Scootaloo asked with a hopeful smile, clutching her thin paper-bag lunch in her hands. "I'm going to go go sit out by the field and make fun of the lame fucktards tripping over their feet playing soccer."

"Not that it doesn't sound hilarious," Rainbow Dash grinned at the idea, but shook it off. Scootaloo could hear the rejection in her voice already, and tried to act indifferent though her face fell a ways. "But I have plans with AJ."

"Ah figured we could go out f' lunch today," Applejack cut in simply, closing her locker and stepping back as to break Rainbow off of her.

"What, like a daaate?" Rainbow nearly sang the word, her cheer rising steadily as her hand slipped down her friend's back.

"Ah never said that, keep dreamin'." Applejack reached back and swatted the hand away, pouting her lip in a frown.

"But baby, you know how much I love eating out," the jock leaned back in suggestively, the words coating her lips like she wished Applejack would.

"Oh, stuff it." Applejack's tone dropped, and she glared sternly at her friend, warning her to watch what she said. It fell on blind eyes.

"You know I will." Rainbow Dash winked slyly and went in for a kiss, causing Applejack's eyes to widen and her instincts to kick in. Applejack shoved the girl away and hit the locker with her back as she bolted out of range.

"Rainbow!" Applejack shouted in anxiety, gulping down the pulling grip Rainbow had over her. She suddenly reached out and took the jock's hand, yanking the girl after her as she took off. Applejack didn't even stop to turn and wave goodbye to the younger girls. "Uh, Ah'll see y'later, Apple Bloom."

"Bye sis," Apple Bloom smiled and waved her off, not bothered by their usual antics.

"Yo Apple Bloom," Scootaloo started, watching the two race down the halls with a suspicious look. "You ever notice how Rainbow Dash talks to your sister?"

"Yea', what of it?" the younger farmer wondered, tilting her head and letting her ruby bangs fall over her eyes.

"It's just weird, is all. I've never heard someone be so, like, bluntly suggestive. It's like she's just going to jump right on top of her," Scootaloo explained, and there was something of resentment in her voice.

"She already does that," Apple Bloom reminded her with a chuckle.

"That's not what I meant!" the small athlete barked irritably, trying to think of a better way to put it. "I mean, she's really like... like really sexual and shit. You don't notice?"

"Well, Ah guess I see what you're sayin'," Apple Bloom had to agree, and she scratched her head as she recalled just such instances without even trying. "Ah'm s'prised Applejack lets her talk t'her that way, ain't nobody else gonna get away with that kinda nonsense."

"Exactly." Scootaloo's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed in a frown.

"They've been friends forever, Scoot, ain't nothin' wrong with with 'em bein' close." Apple Bloom brushed off the issue, supportively nudging her friend to get her to lighten up. "B'sides, Ah think it's pretty funny. No one knows how t'tease Applejack like Rainbow does."

"Yeah but Rainbow Dash, she's different than I remember her. She used to be cool and tough and mean, nobody would mess with her, you know? Now, she's like stuck right under your sister's thumb," the short young girl huffed, avoiding eye contact.

"Ah thought she was still all o' them things?" Apple Bloom blinked curiously.

"Whatever, nevermind." Scootaloo nudged her back, but it was rougher and more violent, and was something of a shoulder hit as she passed the girl and walked away. Apple Bloom was left to wonder if she had said something wrong.

Upon reaching the parking lot, the two girls separated at once, each going around a different side of the truck. Applejack unlocked the driver's side door first, before easily and accurately tossing the keys right over the roof. Catching them without trouble, Rainbow Dash proceeded to open her own door and climb inside. She wiggled her rear over the comfortable seat, raising her eyebrow as she recognized it as Big Mac's truck again.

"You said you went home before coming to school, right? Why'd you switch trucks?" Rainbow asked, raising her eyebrow curiously.

"Mac's at school 'til later, s' he don't need it. We got practice after school, Ah always bring it if Ah can in case anyone needs a ride home." Applejack adjusted the rear view mirror and did up her seat belt, looking around for the keys.

"Aww, you're so sweet," Rainbow said in a cutesy voice, holding out the keys in front of Applejack and reminding her that she still had them.

"Yea', yea', gimme them keys already," Applejack murmured as she tried to snatch them, but Rainbow pulled them away.

"You have to ask nicely, a little sugar wouldn't hurt either," the jock spoke playfully, jingling the keys and puckering her lips.

"Ah done told y'already. We're in th' school parkin' lot, you're gonna get us caught," the farmer growled as she tried for the keys again.

"Mmm, that makes it more exciting," Rainbow Dash grinned, leaning closer again.

Despite her better judgement, Applejack did not move away, and merely watched. Swallowing the increasing saliva in her mouth, which came from the imagined acts that brimmed her brain, Applejack stared at the girl intently. Moving so close their lips were but feuding few inches apart, Rainbow Dash felt around by the steering wheel until she found the ignition. She roughly shoved the keys into the ignition and turned them, her skilfull fingers teasing the farmer all that much more. At last, she pulled back, placing herself in the passenger's seat with a smug and pleased expression.

"You're bad," Applejack muttered in a low tone, glaring at Rainbow out of the side of her eyes before switching into gear.

"Oh, you know it well." Rainbow nestled around in the seat, casting a few more suggestive glances at the girl beside her. "Damn, these seats are too far apart."

"What?" Applejack chuckled and raised an eyebrow, making a weird face to match Rainbow's weird statement. Instead of a response, Rainbow's sinful hand dropped on Applejack's thigh. "Oh." Rainbow leaned in closer and and began sucking and kissing the farmer's neck, causing her body to heat up noticeably. "Ooh."

Applejack let out a slow and calming breath, squeezing her hands on the steering wheel and keeping them firmly at 10 and 2. Rubbing her lips together wantingly, she furrowed her eyebrows and tried desperately to keep her attention on the road. The rainbow-headed jock did not let up, moving lower with her lips and higher with her fingers, undoing her belt from the buckle and knocking it apart. Applejack's eyes shifted from the mirrors to out the windows, hoping the faint tint was enough to keep observers out of view.

Again and again, she rolled her fingers over the steering wheel's grip wishing that something else was in her hands instead. Rainbow's free fingers undid some blouse buttons to permit her kissing to dip further down the shirt, and with her farthest hand, she made her way into Applejack's jeans. Taking a moment to relax as a stop sign gave her some leeway, Applejack's eyes rolled back and a groan breached her lips. Instead of searching for neon signs or restaurants, Applejack's gaze shifted between less inhabited roads and some few vacant lots, finding it difficult not to pull in.

"Uh, where do you wanna, uh, have…. lunch?" Applejack managed to get the words out, though she didn't care if they were in the right order or not.

"We could always just grab takeout on the way back," Rainbow's voice slipped out over her wet tongue, which tickled the skin. "If we pull over soon, we can squeeze in a good half hour of playtime."

"Half… hour?" Applejack imagined the possibilities, getting less and less interested in food the farther Rainbow's hand went down her pants.

"What, you want more?" Rainbow Dash's voice dropped even lower, her smooth tone almost as teasing as the hand that made it's way into Applejack's underwear.

Desperately trying to keep her fluttering eyes from closing in ecstasy, Applejack spread her legs and permitted the invasion once more. Rainbow's other arm slipped down from it's place on her neck to the arch in her back, holding her still in case her seatbelt couldn't do the trick. The lights just a few seconds ahead of her changed from green to orange, and Applejack almost didn't notice in time. Waking up from her desire to give in, the farmer knew that she had to pay attention to the road, even if it killed her.

Daring to continue, Rainbow plunged deeper, bouncing her eyebrows up pruriently. She removed her hand at once, licking the finger or two she had effectively wetted. Applejack stopped at the red light and grabbed Rainbow Dash by the shirt, squeezing it tight around her knuckles. She dragged the girl up from kissing her shoulder, noticing the plumpness of her lips and the saliva still hanging on them, and glared at her. Though there was an intense quarrel between their eyes, Applejack did not fight what was going on inside her pants.

"Get in the back," Applejack demanded at once, squeezing harder at her grip on the girl's shirt. "An' take these damn clothes off."

"Yes ma'am!" Rainbow Dash readily nodded, stumbling over herself as she unbuckled her seatbelt and clammered over the cupholders between the seats towards the back.

Applejack breathed in relief as some personal space was returned, though she wanted to barter it back away again. Taking a look at three potentials, Applejack decided to throw caution to the wind on the fourth and turned into some desolate alley behind a foreclosed building. As she did, she took a brief reconnaissance of the area, before glancing back in the rear view to notice Rainbow removing her jacket. Applejack slowed to a stop before putting the vehicle in park, having to force herself to reach over and turn the ignition off.

"I hope you don't mind me getting started without you," Rainbow Dash grunted as she began to tug at her pants.

"Not at all, Ah got more in mind f' you than a lil' backseat foreplay," Applejack kicked her door open, and Rainbow Dash froze, half naked.

"Wait, what? Where are you going?" Rainbow covered her shivering skin as the cool air blew in.

"Ah didn't leave early jus' t' get th' truck," barely made it to Rainbow's ears before the door was slammed shut, leaving the jock alone in the back seat.

"Applejack? Hey, Applejack! Where the fuck did you go?!" Rainbow Dash tried to follow her figure through the tinted windows, but ducked down to conceal herself at the same time.

Applejack went around the back of the truck, and from what Rainbow could hear, did something back there. She knew better than to doubt the farmer or think she would leave her hanging, but being left alone in a truck mostly nude was a little unnerving, even for her. Rainbow shuffled on the seat, pouting her lips irritably as her bare skin stuck to the old interior.

The passenger's side door opened just slightly down by Rainbow's feet, and she flinched anxiously. The rear door handle was grasped from inside, the front door needing to be opened to permit access. Rainbow tilted her head and sat up as she noticed the Stetson-adorning silhouette through the window. At last, the door swung all the way open, and Applejack stepped one characteristic cowboy boot up onto the floor of the truck. She positioned herself half between climbing in and standing outside, her strong and toned arm raised to grab the roof and hoist her body weight up.

Rainbow's eyes widened as she noticed the crooked smirk between Applejack's freckles, and her body cast a shadow across Rainbow's own. On her particularly muscular arm hung the several loops of something that both terrified and excited Rainbow Dash completely still: a long line of rope. The farmer tipped her hat back and fearlessly ravished Rainbow's body with her gaze.

"Y'said somethin' 'bout bondage?" Applejack asked in a raspy voice, her fingers curling around the ropes.

"Oh, fuck yeah," Rainbow Dash's grin nearly cracked her jaw in half, and she could have sworn she brimmed with climax right then and there.

[*][*][*]

"I know it sounds crazy, but I swear they're fucking or something," Scootaloo bit down on Spike's sandwich, which he hadn't tried to wrestle away from her.

"Why does it matter?" Spike asked dully, more interested in going back to the cafeteria to find Rarity. Scootaloo had found him in there and dragged him unceremoniously out to their usual tree without even asking his opinion.

"Don't play dumb with me, spill it, dragon-boy!" Scootaloo grabbed his shoulder in one hand, holding the peanut butter and jelly in the other. "You know something about it, don't you!?"

"Why the hell would you ask me?" Spike pulled away, frowning as he pulled her hands off of his shirt. "It's not like Applejack and Rainbow Dash just, like, screw in front of me or something. I have no idea if they're together or what."

Not that such a scenario was totally off base, it was quite close to the truth, in fact. But Spike knew better than to go spilling secrets about anyone's personal lives. Besides, Rainbow Dash would probably kick his ass if he did, his own morality aside. Scootaloo released him and frowned, looking back at the dirt.

"I don't know, just seems like you guys are close or something," the young girl said she she chewed on another massive bite of the lunch.

"Rainbow Dash and I don't really get along, most of the time," Spike laughed a bit to think of it, but a certain evening stood out for him. "Well, there was this one night that the three of us hung out, that was all right."

"What?!" Scootaloo nearly jumped back on him, her eyes lighting up. "Tell me more! Tell me, tell me, tell meee!"

"There's not much to say!" Spike raised his tone to match hers, trying to get his voice heard. He sighed as he straightened himself out again. "We just like, hung out and talked. It was fun."

"Rainbow Dash never hangs out with me," Scootaloo murmured as her head fell once more. "Even you seem to have better things to do."

"It's not that..." Spike's voice faded a bit as he tried to comfort the girl. He didn't want to lie or anything, but he had been busy lately. He let out a slow and steady breath as he gathered himself. "Look, I've been busy with training and stuff, I mean look at me? It's paying off, don't you think? This kind of body doesn't just build itself."

"I guess not." Scootaloo's eyes shifted to him and ran him over several times as he flexed his newly formed arms and pressed down on his thin shirt.

"Just relax, I'm sure Rainbow Dash isn't avoiding you on purpose," Spike shrugged casually. "The lunch bell's about to ring though, I'll see you at practice after school, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Scootaloo forced a smile and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, nibbling on the sandwich and biting the soft bread with her lips and the tips of her teeth.

Spike sprinted forward, a more controlled and powerful dash than his previous attempts; he threw his foot back before launching it into the side of the pigskin that Rainbow held on the tee. The sound clicked in his mind and everyone watching observed as the football had a perfect, clear arc through the goalposts. Grinning, he wiped his chin and set his fists on his hips.

"Not bad. Better than your first," Rainbow said, jogging towards the football's landing spot.

"I'm sure it will be," Spike muttered.

"Haha, what was that?" Rainbow shouted, slowing to a jog as she twisted her body until she was facing Spike, giving him a wink and a thumbs up.

Shrugging, Spike walked off the field and sat down on the bench, looking for his drink. Rarity held the bottle pointed at him and he had to stop a grin to open his mouth as she squirted the liquid into his mouth. Swishing it around briefly, he swallowed it and sighed, removing his helmet. Running his fingers through his hair, he watched Scootaloo zip by them on the track.

The Dumbbells were running the track once more, taking the inside over the out to shorten the distance they had to run. Something ran from behind, separating two of the Dumbbells. Hoops stumbled to the right, Score to the left as Scootaloo pushed the two aside, seemingly growling as she did. The three watched her bolt by.

"Whatever, bitch," Dumbbell muttered.

Scootaloo still managed to hear him, raising her middle finger back at them as she continued running. To their right, they saw Pipsqueak pass by the trio with a look of confusion as he observed the scene. Shrugging, Pipsqueak maintained his usual pace that was always faster than the trio. Not wanting to be left behind, the Dumbbells sped up and circled Pipsqueak, muttering vulgarities at him briefly. Pipsqueak merely grinned as the three attempted to shove him to pass time.

"GIVE ME A P!" Pinkie Pie shouted, throwing her hands into the air.

"P!" shouted Sweetie Belle, shaking her pompoms as she did.

"Uh… P," Fluttershy whispered, tossing her hands into the air, accidentally throwing the pompoms.

"Perfect! Except that was a little quiet, Fluttershy," Pinkie said, shuffling over the grass to catch the falling pompom.

"Quiet? I didn't even hear her," Sweetie Belle said, turning towards the shy girl.

"S-sorry," she responded, falling to her knees with a deep sigh.

"Oh, cheer up, Fluttershy! That wasn't too bad! Besides, everybody's gotta start from somewhere, right?" Pinkie said, leaping once before crouching down next to the girl.

"Nobody starts from nowhere, Pinkie," Fluttershy whispered, burying her face in her arms.

"Well how did Spikey and Rarity start?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head in confusion as she set it on her shoulder.

Back at the bench, Rarity, Spike and Snips and Snails turned towards the bleachers after hearing a loud groan as well as a shrill cry. Twilight was laid on the wooden seat, clutching her head as one hand grabbed out a bottle of pills.

"You a'ight there?" Apple Bloom asked as she jogged from seemingly nowhere to comfort Twilight.

"Oh my god, I'm right here, stop shouting," Twilight said, ending with a shout of her own.

"But… Ah didn't?" Apple Bloom whispered, turning away as she remained oblivious to Twilight's current state.

"Not like you don't do it all the friggen' time," Twilight muttered, swallowing several pills.

Chuckling briefly, Spike and Rarity turned away from the duo as Snips and Snails continued to watch. Spike rubbed his knees, groaning as he moved his legs. Rarity observed for a second, sitting down next to him on the bench.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Legs are sore, pelvis is sore, arms are exhausted but otherwise okay," Spike said.

"Isn't that the signs of a good fuckin'?" Snails asked, glancing towards the clouds.

"No, you numbskull. That's the sign that he's workin' harder than you are," Snips said, shoving the lanky boy off the end of the bed.

Spike turned away as did Rarity, the two of the blushing as Spike let out a sigh. Craning his neck until he heard a crack, he briefly stretched his limbs, cracking numerous bones until he felt it did something. Scootaloo zipped by, roughly bumping into Rainbow as she crossed the track. Immediately, Scootaloo slid to a stop, her face full of worry and fear as Rainbow briefly checked her side, the ball rolling away having been knocked out of her grasp. Applejack ran from the inside building while her brother chose to jog towards the field.

"O-oh my god, I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash! Are you okay!?" Scootaloo shrieked, running over to her.

"Huh? Yeah, you just bumped into me. What's got you so worked up?" Rainbow asked, picking up the football.

"Fuck," Scootaloo shouted, clenching her teeth. "Messed up an… oh, no, nothing's wrong, I just wanted to make sure my speedy impact didn't do any damage," Scootaloo said, chuckling sheepishly as she turned away, grimacing. Only Spike, Rarity and Applejack were close enough or in a position to see her frustration as Scootaloo sprinted away. "Haha, j-just call me when we got a play to try."

"Geez, what's with her?" Rainbow muttered as she tossed the ball at Applejack without looking.

The ball fell down, hitting Spike in the crotch. He groaned briefly, glad he was wearing a cup as the ball rolled towards Applejack's feet. She picked it up, glancing at Spike briefly with subtle concern before focusing on Rainbow.

"Well?"

Rainbow rubbed her chin, turning towards the field just in time to watch Scootaloo violently shove by the Dumbbells and Pipsqueak again. She shrugged it off as her rough demeanor, spinning on the spot before stopping, crouched and rubbing her chin.

"We need to do another drill. This last few days have been wild and I think I had 'too much' at lunch. We need to break some shins," Rainbow said, grinning.

"Fair 'nough. Our next game is in a few days against the Cloudsdale Griffons, we're gonna need some more coordinated teams and tougher men out 'ere," Applejack said, not realizing the horror-struck face Scootaloo wore as she bolted by.

Spike did catch it, being the only one that did as Rarity gently massaged his arms and Big Macintosh, the only other option, was too busy thinking about what Rainbow said. Glancing away, Spike grit his teeth.

"Who is it we're going to be crushing first on the Griffons?" Spike asked towards the administrative trio.

"Crush? Man, that's certainly aggressive for you, Spike. I like it. You should watch me crush AJ in bed later," Rainbow shouted, springing to her feet as she threw an arm around Applejack's neck, tightly hugging her.

"R-Rainbow! Stop 'at," Applejack shouted, forcing Rainbow's arm from around her neck.

"C'mon, y'know you like it!" Rainbow responded, throwing one arm to the side and swinging her other arm around Applejack.

A larger hand grabbed onto Rainbow's wrist before she could get a better grip on Applejack. Wincing, Rainbow felt Big Macintosh's grip on her arm force her arm off Applejack and with his far superior strength, shove her back a few feet as he let go of her arm. Rainbow merely stared daggers at the larger farm boy, rubbing her wrist.

"She said stop," Big Macintosh declared in a deep yet loud voice.

"Eat a dick, I was only playing," Rainbow responded, gritting her teeth.

"How about we stop eating dicks and play a fucking mock game!?" Spike shouted, much to the surprise of everyone, including the Dumbbells, Pipsqueak and Scootaloo as they just passed the area, slowing to a stop.

"Spike?" Twilight asked, regardless of the noise ringing in her head as she sat up.

"Sorry, Twilight. I'm just sick of this." Turning to Rainbow, Spike ignored all eyes on him. "How about we go out there and actually improve what we can do instead of this internal struggle crap. C'mon, people have skills to show off and improve, I can't be waiting for Rainbow to finish bickering with Big Mac before I have a chance to actually play the game I signed on for," Spike shouted, gently removing Rarity's hand from his arm before standing up, throwing his helmet on. "So, let's go, goddammit!"

Spike ran off onto the field to start clearing off several of the equipment used. The entire group watched in brief shock at his outburst before Rainbow broke the silence.

"Feh, I'd eat as many dicks as I want, if I liked dicks," she muttered before following him onto the field.

"That was… strange," Rarity muttered. "Where did that come from?"

"Pretty sure you have a dick from birth," Snails said, stretching his arms out.

"You numbskull, she was asking where Spike's came from," Snips shouted, shoving him forward as the two ran onto the field. "Or did she mean Rainbow's?"

Rarity briefly adjusted her hair curl so it covered the visible part of her face, letting out a dejected sigh. Twilight's groaning was the next thing to break the silence as the Dumbbells, Scootaloo and Pipsqueak ran to the benches to grab their gear and helmets before jogging onto the field.

"Alright, girls. After begging, and by begging I mean threatening the Rugby team, we now have the chance to practise our plays without being split into teams of four or five," Rainbow shouted into a megaphone. "First play is simple since it's gonna be offense. We're playing offense against the Rugby team which is defense."

Spike shifted uncomfortably as he stared at the Rugby team which seemed just as small as the Football team. Most students flocked to the less mainstream sports such as golf. High schools have had football or basketball or soccer teams mainly to the point where less people flocked to them due to a misconception that they'll always have a team… which almost didn't happen that year. Rugby suffered the same fate, being seen as a Football knockoff. Shifting his eyes back to Rainbow, Spike adjusted his mouthguard and waited for Rainbow's speech to finish. He mostly tuned her out, his eyes darting towards Rarity. Rarity clapped her hands, giving him a thumbs up and he did his best to smile, regardless of the plastic chunk in his lips. Rainbow whistled once, catching his attention and the two teams ran into the field to prepare.

After a quick coin toss, Spike found himself huffing as he bolted forward in a mad dash towards the pigskin. As per the usual routine, his foot connected with a sound that still satisfied him as the ball launched into the air. The teams charged one another as the Rugby team's dedicated wide receiver caught it. They darted forward, Rainbow's eyes unable to spot who their running back would be. Determined to latch onto him or her, she assumed the running back was the one at the back of the pack. Unexpectedly to the Rugby team, she darted by the one with the ball and lunged in the air to tackle someone slender and seemingly jogging.

Her judgement was right as the receiver had intended to pass it back to the one that was the running back. Some of the rugby team hesitated to proceed and immediately attempted to surround the receiver to protect him. Pipsqueak, Spike and Apple Bloom immediately decided to forego their initial plan just to cement that they aren't going to go down as easy as the rugby team. The three tackled a literal wall of Rugby players and managed to take down five of them; their entire offensive line excluding the receiver. Applejack leapt forward, catching onto the fact Rainbow was forsaking their plan for one play. The receiver was taken down by the brute farmer and immediately, the pseudo-referee, Twilight, blew the whistle. Upon yanking the rugby team up, the football team prepared to take their places once more as the rugby team now had a reason to treat them as a threat.

"Hopefully now, you can give us a reason to utilize our strategies," Rainbow shouted with a grin as the rugby team captain glared at her. "We have actual muscle on this team for once. Don't take us so lightly."

"Fair enough," the boy said, grunting as their temporary centre gripped the ball.

Spike took his place on the tight end spot and briefly glanced to the sidelines. Rarity was shouting cheers he couldn't hear but somehow understood clearly. Off to the side, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle stood, utilizing mock-pompoms made from newspaper until Rarity had crafted real ones. They didn't have a routine yet but Spike didn't think they really cared. Glancing forward as the rugby team called out plays, he turned his head towards Rainbow as she motioned with her fingers. The team subtly nodded and glanced forward as the quarterback shouted hut.

The ball snapped and Spike found himself immediately slamming into the wide receiver as the oddly lanky woman lunged forward, jumping as she caught Spike before he managed to stand up straight. His hunched position, the "triangle" as Shining Armour had explained, crumbled as he was pushed down by the girl. The rest of the line slammed into each other as the team managed to halt any progression before the quarterback attempted to run. Applejack and Scootaloo darted forward while Rainbow flanked the mass of people slamming into each other before the wide receiver that got Spike blindsided her. Grunting, Rainbow tumbled briefly, mentally shouting at Spike for flunking his position. A half back darted by the position, the very person Rainbow was attempting to stop. Glancing up as the wide receiver pinned her down, oddly enough, Rainbow watched the half back slam into Applejack, tackling her as well which only served to infuriate Rainbow. Anger swelled through her mind and she began to struggle to lift the girl off her.

Applejack tumbled to the ground, grunting as well yet one thing resonated well with each of the downed players; the defense was holding extremely well. They had one more problem; who had the ball? In response, the second wide receiver and presumably the running back darted forward, the quarterback standing behind them. Scootaloo charged them down, a game of chicken initiating. She saw them all with their arms positioned to look like they were carrying and briefly, she felt confusion flow through her mind. But it took just an extra half second to spot the ball carrier. The running back and wide receiver split off to different sides, the wide receiver darting dangerously close to the sidelines while the running back darted into the wide open field. The quarterback leaned forward, making it harder to see her arms but that didn't do anything.

Scootaloo planted her foot briefly and slowed her momentum down before pushing off, darting in the opposite direction she ran. The quarterback and the running back realized that she spotted where the ball went and she charged down the significantly slower wide receiver that now held the pigskin. Her peripheral vision revealed Spike to come from the side and take down her one threat, the running back who was darting towards her. Grinning, she closed the distance and lunged her arm towards the wide receiver's arm. With a well-placed slap, Scootaloo knocked the ball out of the receiver's arms as she didn't expect it.

"Take that, you stupid bitch," Scootaloo said with a smirk.

The rest of the rugby team save for the quarterback, were being pinned by the Manticores as this was one play they accidentally started. Rainbow still relished that it was working, even if it wasn't planned.

Scooping the ball up, Scootaloo briefly thanked nobody for her shorter height before turning to the left in a wide arc. Luckily for her, the only one faster than her on the field was Rainbow Dash and maybe Applejack. It was a dangerous arc but it allowed her to get a lot of distance between her and the quarterback and luckily for her, the defensive line still managed to hold off the rugby team. She strolled by as the rugby team was all but stopped entirely as she sprinted towards the rugby team endzone.

"Touchdown!" Twilight shouted from a megaphone.

Spike glanced towards Scootaloo as the football team and rugby team separated, watching her roughly shove a rugby lineman down to the ground. She muttered an insult as well as gave him the finger. Spike raised his brow in confusion.

"What's her problem?" he muttered as they prepared to kick the ball once more.

The game ended quickly, being only played until the end of practise rather than full game time. They had almost flawlessly defeated the rugby team, scoring over forty points to their six. Spike felt a bit of pride, almost doing the same thing Scootaloo did except to a rather pissed off rugby team player. He mentally chastised himself but one thing rung in his mind.

"Scootaloo was a bit… rude or shovey, wasn't she?" Spike asked towards Pipsqueak.

"Oi, you spotted 'at too?" Pipsqueak asked as the duo observed Scootaloo seemingly glaring at Rainbow Dash from across the field.

The captain was yet again arguing with the opposing team captain, Rainbow having to be held back by Applejack as the two captains were almost getting violent. A quick once-over of the field showed that nothing was really different except for Scootaloo's attitude. Typically, she'd be right up there with Rainbow, but today was different. Twilight jogged up from behind along with Rarity whom described the movements as "elegant struts".

"Great game!" Twilight said, gently elbowing Spike once more.

"The team was awful," Spike said.

"Wha?" Rarity and Twilight said in unison.

Shaking his head, Spike removed his helmet as he and Pipsqueak sat on the bench. "Sorry, was thinking out loud. The rugby team really seemed to fumble quite a bit. They can't handle this," Spike responded, chuckling.

"That's… rather egotistical, but I suppose some gloating is permitted after a successful victory like that," Rarity said, sitting down next to Spike.

"Well, either way, you did good, little brother," Twilight said, patting him on the shoulders from behind.

"Sure, brother," Spike mumbled incoherently.

Before Twilight, Rarity or Pipsqueak could ask what he said, an annoying voice shouted from behind.

"Yo, you're moving up in the world, Iguana. Two bitches at your beck and call… oh wait, three bitches. I didn't see the fashionista next to you," Felix's voice called out.

Twilight, Rarity and Pipsqueak felt a flare of anger towards the bully but attempted to ignore it. Unfortunately, Spike immediately stood up, shocking the two of them. He discarded his helmet to the side and spotted Felix up on the bleachers along with his two usual friends. Wordlessly, he walked towards the bleachers angrily, stomping if he could as Rarity and Twilight immediately started to panic. Pipsqueak merely stood up and jogged towards Spike. Spike chose to run towards the bleachers, stepping up the benches as he only registered rage at the moment.

"You stupid little fucking piece of shit, why don't you stop shouting from so far and say it to my goddamn face, you pussy," Spike shouted, his voice taking on an odd quality that sounded almost like a feral beast growling.

A look flashed across Felix's face briefly before he handed his cigarette to his friend next to him and stepped forward, preparing to fight Spike. Pipsqueak managed to grab Spike's arms much to his annoyance and Felix laughed in response.

"Have to make sure your boyfriends keep you in check? I can understand. Lord knows that you'd get your face stomped in without him," Felix said, taking his cigarette once more.

Pipsqueak's grip loosened slightly as everyone seemed to momentarily consider letting Spike go, but Pipsqueak quickly turned them away, letting Spike go once his eyes set on Rarity and Twilight who sat on the bottom. They had managed to catch the attention of most of the football team as well, the Dumbbells gone and Rainbow and Applejack having finished nearly fighting the rugby team. His eyes flashed on the rest of the team before dropping. Scootaloo was now the one looking at Spike, sharing his thoughts from earlier.

"What's…?" she started, stopping shortly after.

"Fuckin' girl," Felix said as he flicked his cigarette butt at Spike as the trio walked away.

"I suggest you watch yourself ya pleb," Pipsqueak spoke in Felix's general direction.

Felix merely scoffed as they stepped down the bleachers, Rarity and Twilight quickly shifting over to avoid the boy as he left the field. Spike sat down on the bench and let out a long, drawn out sigh. Applejack stepped forward along with Rainbow, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Snips and Snails following. The three cheerleaders merely watched the scene unfold.

"Are ya alright, Spike?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, I get it now!" Rainbow said, pounding her fist into her palm. Several eyes turned to her briefly before ignoring her. "Spike, that asshole is bullying you."

Immediately, all eyes went on her once more as Rainbow said the one thing that wasn't supposed to be said. Those same eyes slowly turned towards Spike with an edge to them. Twilight's mind instantly began to reel and was with right concern. Spike stood up just a second after Rainbow said that and he wordlessly stepped down the bleachers.

"Hey kid, wait a second!" Rainbow called out as Spike walked towards the school. Applejack's hand set on her abdomen as Rainbow attempted to chase after him. She glanced down at the farmer. "What?"

"Jesus, Rainbow, ya jus' can't keep yer damn trap shut, can you?" Applejack said, holding off on projecting hostility.

Twilight merely sighed, covering her face with her hand. Rarity walked to the side of the bleachers and leaned over the edge, watching Spike walk towards the gymnasium. The response from most people mimicked Twilight's as the area was now awkward. Realizing what she said, Rainbow stepped forward towards Twilight, her words already fumbling before they came out.

"Jeez, I, uh… I'm sorry, I guess?" she said to no one in particular.

"It's not your fault, mate," Pipsqueak said in response immediately.

"It's a sore topic for him. I never bring it up or get involved since he always gets mad when I 'fight his battles'." Twilight sat down on the bench as Rarity did. "It's something I just can't seem to help with but I do my best to try… and I have been trying for the last seven years."

"I-it has been seven years?" Fluttershy meekly asked.

"Oh wowie," Pinkie started, "It totally makes sense in context since Spike always tenses up when we talk about more violent topics or glares at that Felix punk and why he's always beating up Spike before and after school every day, but it doesn't explain why Spike just doesn't go home with Twilight who uses Miss Velvet's car."

"Wait, what do you mean 'every day'!?" Rarity asked, seemingly panicking.

"Ooh, not every day, but most days for several years I've seen it happen but I always thought it was some form of hugs or male signs of friendship. It slowed once the Manticores won a game and Spike started to lift." Pinkie Pie shrugged before proceeding to run in circles out of some presumed sense of 'fun'.

Twilight had a sad smile as she thought about it. "Heh… he's doing this for a certain someone, and inadvertently scares off his pursuer." She chuckled. "Shining Armour, my parents and I have known about his issue but he always had this one problem that seemed even worse."

"Are you able to talk about it or…?" Rarity asked.

Most of the team listened in quietly instead of directly heading for the showers, relishing in more info about a friend.

"Yeah… I guess. He always had this problem with others standing up for him. Some sort of sense of heroism he felt for standing up for himself, or at least not having others get involved with his problems. Comes home one day after saving some girl from being beaten up and he seemed so proud… that died off shortly after Felix started bothering him. Whenever my parents would talk to his parents, or whenever Shining Armour and I attempted to do something, Spike would get mad and shout at us and declare we weren't family… so I took to subtly supporting him, offering him rides or someone to talk to, anything to let him know I was there and he acknowledged it and very rarely does he use it… but he's never taken to me or Shining Armour in that department."

Leaning back, Twilight looked at the sky as she sighed. "Some nights, when we were younger, I'd wake up to him crying in the next room over and if he was ever crying, he'd do his best to hide it or pretend he was fine and get angry if I persisted. Luckily, he's taken to us more. I even heard my dad talking to him the night of his date a week ago. Lucky punk somehow got trusted with the Mercedes," Twilight laughed once more, relishing in the memory.

"If Ah recall, outta you three siblings, Spike didn't rear-end the exact same cop when you got yer license," Applejack responded with a chuckle.

"Wait, seriously!? Hah, we're not alone, Snips," Snails said to the chubbier boy.

"Whaddaya know," Snips said, slapping his knee.

"I once hit a cop. It was on purpose because he called me a bitch after I zipped by him on my bike. Got me two stars and I wound up wasted," Rainbow said.

"Likely story," Scootaloo mumbled aggressively.

"Jeez, squirt, what's with you lately?" Rainbow asked, glancing towards the skinnier girl.

"Just loving this… company," Scootaloo responded, turning away towards the field.

"Are you sure? You haven't been having the most immaculate attitude these past few solar cycles," Sweetie Belle responded.

"Are ya fer real?" Apple Bloom asked, face palming after Sweetie Belle beamed at her.

"M… maybe it's sexual… tension," Fluttershy whispered.

The whole group went silent once more before several laughs erupted, Rainbow being the loudest.

"Jeez, we can tell what Fluttershy has on her mind," Rainbow responded.

"Is it drugs, still? I still haven't eaten that strange green stuff yet," Pinkie Pie said, squinting at the shy girl.

"W-what!? N-no, I'm just—" Fluttershy attempted to say.

"I think Twilight's parents were on to something about us when they mentioned masturbating and shooting up," Pinkie continued said, rubbing her chin.

"That's preposterous!" Rarity responded, seemingly huffy.

"I dunno, Spike has been getting buff rather fast. He must be shooting up to help with lifting," Pipsqueak said, unable to keep the sarcastic smile on his face.

"Or maybe he's having a ton of rough sex and it's how he's got so much stamina," Snips said.

"Spike would pro'lly be too busy goofin' around to gain any muscle, numbskull," Snails responded, slapping Snips on the back.

"Oh my god, why are we talking about this!?" Twilight shouted, gripping her hair.

"What is this?" Spike asked as he stood at the bottom of the bleachers.

Once more, eyes turned to him as he was completely showered with slightly damp hair in his usual style as he wore his normal clothes. The group went quiet and immediately Twilight stammered to speak.

"Never mind. Twilight, let's go. I wanna go to Donut Joe's and the mall; I'll pay for gas," Spike said.

"W-what?" Twilight asked, surprised.

"I'm asking for a ride. Or actually, let me drive. I don't trust your driving," Spike responded.

"What? Fine," Twilight said, unable to fight a grin from appearing on her face.

Spike's eyes turned to Rarity as the tension seemingly vanished. Spike wore a huge smile on his face much to the relief of many.

"Rarity, I gotta stop by the boutique later. There's a commission I'm gonna make," he said.

"Lovely," Rarity said, clapping her hands together.

Spike responded with a wink as Twilight hurriedly checked to make sure she had everything. Realizing she set her belongings in the car prior to the practise, she spun around and bowed, giving an exaggerated farewell to the rest of the group.

"See you later," Spike said towards Rarity.

"See ya, spoopy-poopy," Rainbow responded with an exaggerated lovey-dovey accent.

Spike's chipper mood seemed to die for an instant as he glared at Rainbow but as quick as it started, his face shifted back into a more calm one as he waved goodbye to Rarity. Applejack was, fortunately, sitting right there to catch the glare as Spike and Twilight turned away. Quickly stepping to the side, he scooped up his helmet and held onto it by the cage as the two left the area.

[*][*][*]

With a frown, Scootaloo squeezed her fingers tighter on the tray she gripped. Usually she went about stealing lunch from Spike, but she wasn't even sure he was going to show up to their usual spot that day. Looking down at the lame excuse for a lunch, some pasta and an infuriatingly red apple, Scootaloo absently stepped with the moving line.

She heard it again, another loud and amused laugh from a familiar idol of hers. What bothered her about it, though, was that it was not directed to her or some lewd comment, it was, as seemingly always, directed at Applejack. Scootaloo glared over her shoulder menacingly as she caught sight of Rainbow Dash, sitting at a table right beside Applejack, no surprise, and across from a couple others Scootaloo couldn't care to focus on or name. Her narrowed and suspicious gaze dropped below the tabletop to the visible legs of the girls sitting on the other side, and her teeth ground together.

Under the table, she could see Rainbow's hand rest on Applejack's knee, her thumb fondly rubbing against the farmer's jeans. This was a usual occurrence between the pair, Scootaloo had come to terms with that, but what had her so unsettled was that Applejack did not respond in the normal way. That being, the usual slap and scold or nervous flinch and recoil. No, this time, the girl met Rainbow's eyes with a casual smirk, and the two made nothing of it at all. That is, until she started climbing higher, at which point Applejack instinctively moved her hand back down and left it in place. Scootaloo hated what that could have meant, and nearly bit the head off of the boy behind her in line who urged her to keep moving.

Scootaloo yanked her tray off the cafeteria line, not feeling all that hungry anymore, and made her way towards the trash can at the end. With a loud and violent scoff, she nearly threw the whole damn thing into the trash. To her irritable dismay, the apple she had placed on the tray bounced out, and landed by her foot. Grabbing it with a mutter of curses, she proceeded to leave the cafeteria, tossing the bruised fruit up and down roughly.

Irritated by the way Spike had begun to keep her waiting longer and longer each promised lunch time, Scootaloo busied herself by throwing the detestable apple above her laid-back position. None of this was what she wanted when she returned to school with Rainbow Dash and her friends, not any of it at all. Even Spike, the supposed outcast she had befriended, ignored her when something better came around. Her mind just reeled with bitter thoughts like that.

"Hey," said boy's voice rolled over the breeze in the grass and caught on her thorny mood.

"Nice of you to show," Scootaloo growled, not bothering to even look over at Spike as he approached her.

"You okay? You've been really snappy lately," Spike asked carefully, kneeling down beside her before fully sitting down in his usual place, plus a pace or two.

"Probably just my damn period or some shit," Scootaloo murmured with a deeper frown, tossing the apple so high it hit the branches of the tree above her.

"What's with the apple? Are you going to eat it, or just throw it?" Spike asked, watching the thing fly up and down before him.

"Jeez! What is the big deal with these fucking apples, anyway?!" Scootaloo snapped as she chucked the fruit in question far across the field, glaring at it as it landed in the grass in a less than satisfying way. She had wanted it to smash.

"O-okay," Spike scootched a little farther away.

"Sorry, I'm just kidding," the small girl lied behind a shrug. She feigned a more innocent and approachable face as she looked back over at Spike. "You've been really cool at practice, you know. Team really needs you."

"I guess I have been pretty involved with it, and it's paying off," Spike agreed, leaning easier against the tree.

Scootaloo tentatively eyed Spike, biting her lip as she sat down next to him. "Yeah, I'll say."

Spike was relishing in the ability to eat his lunch with Scootaloo without her stealing it but briefly wondered why she didn't have one. Instinctively, he offered her the other half of his sandwich.

"Huh?" she responded, a bit dumbfounded.

"Here, you just threw away what I presumed was your lunch," he said, holding the half out to her. She hesitated, eying it as if she were looking for deception. "Come on, it's chicken."

"It'd be cannibalism, then," she muttered, turning away.

"Hah, w-what?" Spike said, utterly confused.

"Cannibalism. Eating your own kind. Chicken," Scootaloo responded, more dejected.

"So… you're a chicken. Seems legit," Spike muttered, finishing off his half of the sandwich while practically shoving the sandwich into Scootaloo's hands.

"It's what they said… and me and my dumbass bitch self decided to chase after the old version, and now I'm here dealing with… them again," Scootaloo said bitterly.

"Them?" Spike said.

"Doesn't matter. What does matter is that… for once, someone is here for me, openly and regardless," Scootaloo said, finding a smile work to her face as she bit into the sandwich.

"It is nice having people to rely on… but you should open up a bit. I wanna hear more about you, y'know? I don't know what you've been up to since you left to Cloudsdale… and even before that, we didn't really hang out, so to speak," Spike responded, dipping a spoon into more homemade pudding.

"I don't wanna talk about Cloudsdale. It's not worth it," Scootaloo responded in a bitter tone once more.

Spike let the silence hang momentarily before coughing, continuing. "Okay, that's fine. I won't prod, but if you feel like talking about it, since it may be a source of animosity for you, I'm here." Spike punctuated his words with a warm smile as Scootaloo stared directly at him.

Without much warning, Scootaloo dipped forward and pressed her lips against Spike, wiggling her tongue into his mouth. After a second, he realized what was occurring and shoved her away in protest. Scootaloo stared at him, utterly shocked at his reaction and she shifted back, her face contorting into various looks of anguish. Spike grit his teeth, feeling his face flush as well as rage and confusion bubble up

"What the hell has gotten into you?! You know that I'm with Rarity, why did you do that?!" Spike barked, shoving her away with his mere words and getting into a more defensive stance.

"What, suddenly I'm not good enough for you?!" Scootaloo yelled back, her voice cracking with volume and pitch.

"That's not it, Scootaloo," Spike exhaled loudly as he tried to get ahold of himself. "Look, I love Rarity, okay? Nothing personal, but I'm in a relationship now. I can't just fool around. And why are you even doing that, anyway? Who the hell responds to those kinds of advances?"

"I don't know, but Rainbow Dash does it, doesn't she?!" Scootaloo argued without thinking, but her eyes widened as she realized she had revealed her motives. "Look, it's just something that I think Rainbow Dash would do; fight for something, you know?"

"Rainbow Dash? Wait, you think she would just jump on someone like that?" Spike asked questioningly, though the idea didn't seem too far-fetched.

"She would with Applejack, I bet," Scootaloo grunted, crossing her arms grouchily and looking away. "She doesn't give one shit what people think of her, yeah, the Rainbow Dash I knew takes what she wants, no matter what!"

"Though I can't totally disagree with you there, and I may not be too fond of the girl myself," Spike began, trying to think of a good thing to say about Rainbow Dash at all. "I don't think she's like that. Not any more, at least."

Scootaloo slumped against the tree, dejectedly staring at the grass as she lazily sat on the ground. Spike cautiously watched her for a moment before returning to his pudding, gritting his teeth as he thought back to the kiss.

"So it's true then," Scootaloo muttered, her voice breaking. Spike paused to glance at her as she seemed to wear a lost face. "She's not Rainbow Dash."

Spike gulped in a panic and coughed to clear his throat quickly. "W-wait, she's still Rainbow Dash. Just changed, for the better."

"Fuck off, she isn't better. She mellowed out." Scootaloo clenched her fingers, her eyes watering up slightly as she shivered. "S-she's not the same Rainbow Dash."

"Why does that have to be a bad thing? From what little I saw of her and what Twilight told me, Rainbow Dash used to be even more of a bitch than she is now," Spike spoke like it was any consolation.

"She never was fond of labels, either. Yeah, you could call her a bitch, if you want," Scootaloo shook her head passively, knowing better. "But to me? She was like a sister. She was the only one who saw me, who accepted whatever I wanted to be."

Sighing, Scootaloo's body loosened up and she went almost limp against the tree, not even minding the sandwich she let sit on her lap. In the pause she took to think about retelling the story, she listened to the oblivious laughter of the kinds several yards away. Spike said nothing at first, noticing that she was not finished yet.

"Back in elementary school, before my parents transferred me to fucking Cloudsdale Academy, me and Rainbow Dash used to be friends. She was a couple years older than me, but that hardly mattered." Her eyes shifted towards one part of the yard where most of the self-proclaimed 'hardasses' gathered. "We used to get into a lot of trouble, back when she was a badass like that."

Spike shifted his gaze away from Scootaloo, his mind wandering to his own troubling problem. "What kind of trouble?" he managed to ask.

"Anything really: vandalizing, trespassing, fighting, stealing," Scootaloo said, a drunken smile on her face as she reminisced. "She was good friends with Applejack even back then, but she never came along with us. She was clearly disappointed in us for doing that shit, but she didn't snitch or anything. But Rainbow? She was the coolest girl around, and I wanted to be just like her."

"Why?" Spike asked, not asking out of curiosity but merely to hear her words.

Scootaloo chuckled, staring up at the school. Her mouth hung open for a moment before she gulped. "She was awesome, she didn't care what people thought about her or anything. My parents weren't exactly very supportive or nurturing, so I clung to Rainbow Dash like she was my big sister." Glancing over, she just happened to spot Apple Bloom running into the school, causing Scootaloo to wince as it brought a certain farmer to mind. "I remember this one time, there was this corner store around the street from the school, with one of those stupid fucking signs that says like, only three kids allowed in at once, you know?"

Spike slammed his fists into his knees, groaning at the thought, shaking his head. "I hate that, like all kids are loud and mischievous. It's so ageist."

Scootaloo seemed to perk up in response, pointing directly at him, her eyes following suit. "Exactly! So, Dash and I wanted to really stick it to this asshole, right? So we go in there, and when he's not looking, we stuff our pockets with anything we could get our hands on. Candy, mostly."

Spike paused, his eyes squinting as his mouth made an O shape. He turned towards Scootaloo, raising an eyebrow. "It… uh, kind of sounds like you're proving his point."

Shrugging, twisting her lips as she did, she continued. "Yeah, we kinda were. Anyway, we take off, and he sees us, chases us down the street like a block or two. The whole time, Rainbow Dash is just hollering and laughing at him, making faces and cussing. She was just so cool, and so carefree. No one told her what to do, no one."

"What happened next?" Spike asked, eating a spoonful of pudding.

"Well, that was one of the last times we hung out. I remember that we finally got away from that storekeeper, and we hid behind city hall when we emptied our pockets. She had a lot more than I did, she was always better at it than me." She paused briefly. "Usually we shared the loot anyway, but I remember that time, there was one thing she would not even let me touch." Scootaloo's body seemed to tense up as she said this.

Swallowing the pudding, Spike asked, "What was it?"

Taking in a sharp breath, her fists shook as she spat out each word. "It was this bag of candies, and they were all shaped like little apples. Little red apples. I never liked them much anyway, and I told her that. She said that she didn't really like them either, but then why would she take them, right? Why would she bother, right?"

"Right," Spike responded, finishing his pudding.

"She said they reminded her of someone. She wouldn't tell me anything else, and she started blushing and got this big goofy grin on her face, even sat there staring at those stupid apple candies while I stuffed my stupid face." Scootaloo didn't seem angry anymore, more or less just physically drained. "She never really wanted to do that shit much after that, and soon enough I transferred away."

Spike's eyebrow raised. "Apples, you say?"

Scootaloo didn't stop several tears from sliding down her cheeks as her body seemed to go limp once more. "Yeah, turns out she was hopeless even back then." She sniffled, letting out a breath that got stuck in her throat. "I haven't seen her in a few years, but man, she's really gotten lame. I blame that Applejack, she's always been so honest and goodie-goodie and shit."

Spike's sense of protection kicked in immediately and he responded a bit more aggressive than he liked. "Applejack's not all like that, you know. I think there's more to her than you realize."

Scootaloo merely scoffed, turning away from Spike. Her voice was still extremely weak. "Whatever, Rainbow Dash has always chosen her over me, and now she's a lame, bitch-ass nobody. Like, what the fuck."

"Do you… do you hate Applejack, or something?" Spike chose his words wisely.

"What? Fuck, like," Scootaloo pressed her hand over her eyes as she tried to articulate. "I've known her for a long time, as my best friend's sister and the-girl-I-consider-my-big-sister's best friend, but… maybe I do hate her, I resent her, anyway. Apple Bloom's always talking, like, 'my sister says' this, or 'my sister would' that, and Rainbow Dash is just fucking obsessed with her, always doing stuff with her, and turning into this lame… whatever. Like, Rainbow is supposed to make time for me now that I'm back, right? It still feels like I'm stuck at fucking Cloudsdale, Goddamn."

Spike didn't respond to an outburst like that, merely sighing as Scootaloo quickly wiped her tears away. Spike's eyes examined Scootaloo's body, scanning for signs of abuse of any sort. Finding nothing other than probably scrapes from scooter wipeouts, he sighed again and reached an arm over, resting it on Scootaloo's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Spike bitterly said, unsure of why he should be.

"Please… just, don't patronize me, alright?" she responded, her voice pleading far more than she would have liked.

"What… is the real reason you came to Manehatten?" Spike asked.

Scootaloo gulped, gritting her teeth. She looked like she wanted to tell Spike. She really wanted to, as well. Part of her was spiking her adrenaline and part of her was numbing her thoughts and she could have even blurted out the truth. Taking a deep breath, Scootaloo stood up, glancing at the chicken sandwich before taking a bite. After swallowing, she glanced down to Spike.

"We're not exactly different in the cause for our motives, Spike," she said.

Scootaloo began trudging towards the school, her shoulders slumping more than they were earlier. Spike's mind solved her implication almost immediately. He almost asked her outright, but he let his mind ask the question.

'Who's bullying her?' Spike thought.

Though the plans had been made days in advance, Spike wasn't sure Scootaloo was going to show up to dinner that evening, based on her attitude from earlier. He took another bite of his cream-filled donut before he even swallowed the last bite, mindlessly chewing it and squishing it to the roof of his mouth. It was probably best if she didn't show up anyway, Spike realized, as he moved his hand around Rarity's waist and returned the smile she had given him. If she had tried anything like that kiss around Rarity, it would not have ended well.

"Cruller!" Spike flinched as the voices of the two boys across from him rose steadily. It made him wonder why they were invited at all.

"Jelly!" the other shouted back, Hoops as Spike knew him.

"Cruller!" the first, Dumbbell, repeated in a more violent tone, standing up and screeching his chair across the freshly mopped floor.

"This is not an argument," Rainbow Dash murmured as she just stuffed any random donut into her mouth, ignoring their excuse for a fight.

"She's right, for once," Hoops agreed, and Rainbow Dash did nothing but shrug like she had known it all along. "Crullers can't even compare with Jelly, they have no filling, you tard."

"Filling is for old ladies who can't chew," Dumbbell snorted, glaring at the type of donut in question as one or two sat in the box in the middle of the table.

"Chew on this!" Hoops snatched up the donut and chucked it at his friend, who ducked and avoided the hit.

"Please stop fighting!" Fluttershy squeaked from her place in the far corner, shrinking as more projectile sweets cleared the table.

"Throw them my way!" Pinkie Pie chirped up, throwing her arms into the air to try and snag any ammunition out of the air and lodge it into her cheeks.

"This is so typical," Rarity sighed as Spike blocked a donut from hitting her.

"No it's not," Rainbow Dash denied over the sounds of the scuffle, though for once she sat this one out. Tipping back on the hind legs of her chair, her arm spread out over the back of her chair and overlapped behind Applejack, who was blankly watching the spectacle, she went on, "I didn't start this one!"

"Only because you have something else on your mind," Spike murmured in an accusing tone, and Rainbow Dash turned from checking out the girl at her arm to glare at him.

"What was that?" the captain raised her eyebrow threateningly, and Spike just rolled his eyes. "Come out and say it next time, bub, I won't keep it locked up in my mind for long, trust me."

Applejack flinched as she felt the girl's hand drop onto her rear, and her face contorted into a flush red rage. "Throw away th' key," Applejack growled as she slapped the girl's hands away.

Rainbow Dash just grunted and let the insubordination slide, though she'd pay for it later, surely. The captain knew better than to press too hard while there were spectators, and instead shifted the subject, "Hey, where's little Hymen at, anyway?"

"Please quit callin' her that," Applejack covered her eyes in embarrassment.

"I don't know," Spike spoke up, flicking a sprinkle across the table and nearly hitting his own sister, who frowned at him. "She wasn't feeling well at lunch, she didn't eat much."

"Who are we talking about?" Rarity asked politely, casting a momentary glance at the boys who Pipsqueak finally managed to get a hold of and settle down.

"Scootaloo," Spike spoke her name, noticing the vacant chair between himself and Twilight, though there wasn't much space for it considering they had all crammed around two little round tables pulled together.

"Meh, if the kid's anything like me, she's tough," Rainbow Dash just scratched her ear boredly, tipping back and forth on her chair again.

"Would you say three tough, Rainbow?" Rarity asked, prodding Spike with her elbow.

"Hah, what?" Rainbow asked, chuckling before realizing she didn't get the inside joke.

"Ignore her, she's just being Pinkie Pie," Spike said.

"What?" Twilight asked, cocking her head to the side.

"I-I mean, uh, cruller," Spike responded, nervously shifting his gaze to his half-eaten donut.

Dumbbell let out a loud 'ha' as he punched Hoops in the shoulder before Spike bit into his donut once more. He chuckled as the two Dumbbells almost escalated the punch into a fight. Sipping a milkshake slowly, Spike's eyes were fixiated on the group as they conversed. A tug on his hand made him look to his side, to see Rarity smiling at him. Returning the smile, he leaned back against the booth as he grinned at the scene. A squelch and a glob of jelly landing in front of him on the table got his attention as he glanced up.

"Oi, what's got you so smiley? Usually, I'd have to whallop you on the field to get a response from you," Pipsqueak said, messily eating a jelly donut.

"Oh, y'know… life. Stuff like that. Maybe things finally looking up for once in my life. It's like, suddenly, I'm not just thinking I should 'get the walk over' when I go to or leave school or put up with things because I have to. I just feel a lot more positive and more like my years of attempting to be a good guy are paying off, even if I am a little unaccustomed to this kind of outings," Spike said, glancing down at the donut as he seemed to be giving it bedroom eyes before cramming it in his mouth.

Spike realized that there was little sound. Glancing up, he was just in time to see everybody at the table turn away from him and attempt to pretend they were talking. Spike felt his face flush as the attention still resonated with him strangely. Even if he didn't want to, or pretended he never noticed whenever it occurred, he couldn't stop himself from spotting Twilight's subtle gaze as her eyes darted towards him for even a split second. He always spotted it since the school year started. He wondered if it would be as easy once the snow started as the fall season was heading into its final stages.

However, as of to taunt him, the doors swung open on Donut Joe's and in stepped the girl Spike hadn't counted on seeing tonight… along with a guest.

"Hey, Iguana, fancy meeting you here," Felix said with a grin as he stepped forward, Scootaloo following.

Spike watched as his heart started to rapidly beat, his eyes focused on Felix. He hadn't noticed Scootaloo seemingly hiding behind Felix with a rather forced smile. Scootaloo attempted to walk in what one could call an 'elegant strut' as Rarity put it before, but one could see her shaky stance. And to top it off, Scootaloo seemed to be wearing an extremely thin tank top without a bra, as evidenced by certain things prodding from the chest of her shirt. However, upon closer inspection, one could reveal it to not only not be Scootaloo's tank top, but Felix's A-shirt. Spike's eye twitched as he realized what this meant.

As he rounded towards the table, Scootaloo seemed to slingshot around him each time, Felix clearly leading her around towards the empty spot that was saved for her.

"Here, let me pull up another chair," Scootaloo mused as she grabbed a nearby vacant chair and made room beside the one saver for her, forcing Spike and Twilight to separate farther apart down the table.

"Yeah, make room," Felix snarled as he made some extra room for himself, plopping down in the seat beside Spike as Scootaloo took the one next to Twilight.

Lazily slinking in his chair, Felix raised a smirk. Rarity and Twilight exchanged uncertain glances, but Spike made no noise at all. His eyes, however, were glued to the boy next to him like he wished they could set him on fire.

Almost everyone in the room remained staring at the pair, silent. Twilight frowned and shifted further from Felix and the girl on his arm, uncomfortable even being in the same room with him. Scootaloo didn't seem to notice, or perhaps relished in the attention, displaying a smug and confident smile on her face the whole while that seemed just as real as it was forced. The only other person in the room who was so oblivious was Rainbow Dash, who took a bite of another donut and hummed her delight.

"Mmm, AJ, try this fritter, babe," Rainbow murmured through her full mouth, spitting little bits out and she pushed the bitten treat towards Applejack.

"Rainbow!" Applejack pushed her away and tried to gesture towards the boy seated beside Scootaloo.

"I'm not saying it's as good as yours! But it's yummy, c'mon, just lick it," Rainbow teased with a grin, and Applejack sighed in humiliation. "Lick it, you know you're good at tha—!"

Applejack clamped a hand over the girl's mouth hurriedly. Glaring into Rainbow's eyes, Applejack silently told her to shut up, her eyes darting to Felix once or twice. The captain narrowed her eyes over Applejack's hands and took a better look at the boy, finally realizing who he was. Luckily, he was not paying attention to their antics, as she was selecting his favourite donut before Scootaloo even got the chance.

Though irritated by Rainbow's lack of concern or interest in her choice of escort, Scootaloo said nothing on the matter. The tension was rather hard to miss, as Spike nearly bit right through his lip while glaring out the side of his eye at Felix, even if it might have amused the boy more than anything. Felix just sort of snorted in the silence, devouring a donut and getting some sugar on his mouth.

"Leave it to the reptile to have such lame friends," Felix cracked, and the rest of the room remained silent. "Come on, it's a joke. Laugh."

Scootaloo was the only one to comply, snickering at his side and taking the insult. She was careful with it though, not wanting to bother him with the volume of it. Spike let out a slow breath, trying to retain what little remnant of self control he had left. It wasn't as if he could tackle the guy and beat his face in, there were people around.

"Sooo," Pinkie Pie chimed in, her usual light-hearted charisma fighting with the awkward tension. "How long have you two been together?"

"Together?" Felix snorted at the prospect, but Scootaloo remained silent, her eyes dropping down a bit. "Yeah right, we're just screwing around."

"Guess I can't call her Hymen any more, then," Rainbow Dash whispered to Applejack, who smacked her in the gut.

"Speaking of which," Felix threw his arm around Spike, immediately causing the boy to tense up and squeeze his fingers into his palms. The bully placed his hand over to his mouth, but spoke in a voice loud enough to be overheard anyway, "You got any spare condoms? I know you're not using them or anything."

"No," Spike murmured angrily, finding no better response than that. He did, actually, but there was no way he would give any to the boy who seemed interested in nothing else about Scootaloo but her femininity, what little of that there was.

"Probably for the best anyway, I'd stretch them out or break them if they're meant for your size," Felix shoved Spike roughly and leaned back into his seat.

That time, Rainbow Dash cracked a snorted laugh, and everyone glared at her. With a defensive hush, she spoke, "What? Come on, that was funny!"

"How do you two even know each other, anyway?" Twilight spoke up, trying to be the bigger woman and a role model for Spike by taking the high road.

"We went to elementary school together, actually," Scootaloo answered in a cheery voice, though the boy next to her made a face.

"We did? Shit, I don't remember that," he blurted without remorse. "I just thought you were kinda hot, and you seemed down to fuck, so."

Rainbow Dash started laughing even harder, though everyone glared at her even harder. Applejack pinched her, interrupting her laughs for a pained yelp, though she continued while speaking, "Hah! Priceless!"

"I bet it was real hard trying to set a price for Spike after his mommy got rid of the Iguana egg she didn't fucking want," Felix went on, elbowing Spike while the verbal wound cut fresh. "Then again, orphans aren't worth much; cheap pet for the egghead family, eh Sparkle?"

Spike nearly knocked the table right over as he stood up, grabbing Felix by his shirt collar and yanking the boy to his feet. Managing to get control of himself before it escalated to fists, Spike sighed a raspy growl and glared at the smug little jerk in his hands, the mere size of which dwarfed the smaller boy. For a moment, there was nothing but volatile quietude, and even the surrounding tables were hushed.

Even Rainbow Dash's laughs were silent that time, her expression hard and serious. This, this was no joke. As she looked over at the girl beside her, who she knew all too well had just the same void of parents as Spike did, the farmer turned away, her eyes casting down introspectively. Rainbow didn't hesitate to snatch up Applejack's hand and squeeze it, holding it firmly and waiting for the girl to look back at her. No one else dared utter a word either, but everyone knew that a line had been crossed, no, stomped upon, with that quip.

His fists closing tighter over Felix's shirt, Spike aggressively held eye contact. The girls around them watched on helplessly, neither wanting to stand up and potentially reignite the fuse. Felix glanced over at the tables, weighing his popularity with the other guests. He wasn't a complete dolt, he knew when he was outmatched. Cracking a jesting smile, the boy shrugged until Spike released him, trying to follow Twilight's example by taking the high road and returning to his seat.

"What' that's it?" Felix may not have wanted an all-out brawl, but he wasn't above a few more teasing remarks. "If you wouldn't make such an ugly girl, I'd almost rather fuck your tight little pussy."

Again, there was little response at all. Twilight, Scootaloo and Rarity were intent on watching Spike, making sure he wasn't about to attack the boy again. Fluttershy and Pinkie just remained quiet, not knowing enough about the situation to be much help anyway. While Rainbow Dash resisted her initial urge to jump up and get in on the action to remain by Applejack's side, the Dumbbells glanced at each other, recognizing something familiar in Spike and Felix's interaction.

"Well, I'm about done here," Felix said as he grabbed another couple of donuts. "My parents are gone for the next week or so, babe, if you wanna… hang out."

"We're leaving already?" she asked quietly, but Felix's glare told her so. "Um, yeah, that sounds fun."

"Sweet," Felix grinned deviously and grabbed her around the shoulders almost violently. As he went to leave, though, he caught sight of Rarity sitting on the other side of Spike. He tilted his head a bit and crooked his smile, looking her up and down as he spoke, "There's room for one more, you know."

"Um," Rarity politely cleared her throat, frowning as she slinked closer to Spike and his arm gently draped around her. "I think I'll pass."

"Your loss." Felix shrugged and yanked Scootaloo up from her seat, forcing her to nearly stumble between the chairs as she followed him. "Oh, wait a second."

"Forget your pitch-fork?" Rainbow Dash growled, gasping Applejack's hand harder to keep herself grounded.

"Nah, just thought I'd give you something, Iguana," Felix reached into Spike's jacket pocket, as it had been left hanging over the back of his chair, and revealed his phone. "I guess since we may be seeing a little more of each other, I should give you my number. You know, that way if you ever want to reach bare-boobs back here while she's… indisposed, well, you know who to call."

"I don't want your number," Spike told him flatly, glaring at the boy's grubby, sugary fingers as he toyed with the phone heedlessly.

"Too late," Felix tossed it through the air, and Spike barely managed to catch it before it hit the ground due to the awful throw. "Thank me later."

Felix took off at once, casting but a lazy wave over his shoulder as Scootaloo followed him closely. She looked back once or twice, satisfied with the looks on her friend's faces. That sure would show them for ever ignoring her, she was certain of that. Spike waited until the two had disappeared back through the door before turning back around, though still, silence hung heavy above their heads. Of course, someone had to break it.

"What a dick," Rainbow Dash snidely scoffed, pouting her irritated lip like she wanted to deck the guy.