Spike grunted as he felt his joints aching. The science teacher rambled on as she passed out an assignment meant to be done in pairs. He silently prayed that he wasn’t partnered up with Felix, hoping he’d go solo as per the presence of odd-numbered students. He let out a sigh with relief as Felix was partnered up with someone else; Spike denied the teacher’s proposition to work with him and felt good. He glanced his assignment over briefly before feeling a vibration in his pocket. He pulled out the mobile and hiding it from the teacher’s view, since she had a 'if I can’t see it, it’s fine' rule.

He saw what was presumably an eighty-thousand word novel in the form of a text message from Twilight and he briefly skimmed it before sighing, a small grin flashing on his face as he tapped in his response.

‘tl;dr, shorten it, Twilight,’ was his simple reply.

Hitting send, Spike managed to read through the assignment rubric before another response came in. Spike briefly glanced around to see the teacher busy marking something and the rest of the class chatting quietly to their partners. Subtly under his desk, Spike checked his messages again.

‘Spike, I was thinking after the somewhat-disaster that was yesterday’s game, would you like me to talk to Shining Armour for you? Maybe bug Applejack to get Big McIntosh in? They’re college Football players. Or at lesat Big Mac is since Shining Armour graduated last year, but he still plays practises. They can help out a bit, if you like,’ the message read.

Spike felt his face reddening a bit as he imagined himself resorting to asking for help; embarrassment after she brought up their first, awful game, but she had a point. Apple Bloom was good for strength training, Applejack and Rainbow were good for running plays and getting things down, but the team needed more than that. They needed a coach, and if anybody was viable, it’d be Shining Armour. Big Mac, still being in college for another year, would have to be on a schedule; Shining could drop by any moment.

Spike found himself smiling as he realized that Twilight was just looking out for him and he rolled his eyes, punching in a response.

‘Okay, thanks. You do that,’ he typed in.

Spike put the phone back in his pocket before he almost flipped the desk, aggravated when he felt another vibration so soon. Quickly, it subsided as Spike realized that it was far too fast for Twilight. Curiously, he pulled out his phone and saw one of the first texts that he had gotten from someone who wasn’t Twilight. Sure, he’d gotten one or two from Fluttershy and a plethora from Applejack and Rainbow Dash regarding practise, but nobody else.

SCOOTALOO

Curiously, Spike opened it up to see what she said.

‘hey spike. how r u??’

Spike wasn’t sure how to respond given that socializing wasn’t really his thing, but he did his best.

‘Pretty good. Really sore given the game and all,’ he typed in a reply.

Spike hit the send button and this time found himself waiting a little while longer for a response. He managed to write a paragraph down on preliminary questions before he had gotten a response from the small athlete.

‘ya that sux...im so sore from the game. rainbow dash sed aj was givin her massags’

Spike shrugged, imagining how much a massage would truly help, while wondering if he should point out Scootaloo texted like an 11-year-old girl. Resisting the urge, he scribbled down several more answers before sending a response. The prospect of a massage did seem soothing to him, and he decided to share the thought with Scootaloo.

‘Maybe I’ll ask Twilight to give me one. Lord knows she’s probably read about all the master tricks from her books. Like, I really took an impact from you and Rainbow Dash. Left a nice bruise just under my armpit,’ he responded, taking note of the time.

Glancing to his left, he spotted Felix looking at him from across the room as he spoke with three others rather than his own partner. One of them pointed at Spike. If he focused, Spike could hear Felix describing how Spike was ‘beaten by little girls’ the previous night. Spike knew that he was most likely going to hear from Felix within the next few days, and he sighed audibly. Taking his mind off it, he began scribbling down several more answers, his mind wandering to the previous night.

Every time he glanced over, he saw her cheering wildly and loudly. Prim and proper yet there was something else that struck him. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that she wasn’t cheering on the whole team. She wasn’t motivating the defense.

“You can do it, Spike!”

“Give them a reason to remember your name!”

“Don’t give up, Spike!”

“Spike, show them why you’re tight end!”

They were all directed at him. She was singling him out. Her… Rarity was cheering for him, not the Manehatten Manticores. Feeling his face flush and grow red, he found himself dumbly grinning as he stared up at the ceiling with glee.

'Today’s going to be a good da—'

His thought was interrupted by a pencil hitting him in the side of the head. His happy thought derailed, and he turned to face his aggressor. Felix was chuckling, eyes glancing to his buddies. Spike felt a rage swelling up but he let it out with a sharp hiss of air between his teeth, glancing back to his page. He’d really love a stress-reliever at the moment, and as if on cue, his phone chose to vibrate at that moment. Mentally thanking nobody, he pulled out his phone and glanced at the text.

‘yea wel massags r 2 girly. if u want we can fuck 2 relax or somethin’

'I’m sorry, what?' Spike thought in shock, finding himself completely blindsided by the text. He reread it several times to make sure that, yes, Scootaloo had sent that message. The air seemed to grow heavy and he felt his heartbeat increasing and his face flush red. Vivid images flooded his mind consisting of him and Scootaloo aggressively grinding against one another, no clothes or objects between it; common thoughts for a boy his age. He shook his head to blank out the thoughts and started to think about someone else, or something else.

In what must be the mobile form of stuttering, Spike found himself retyping his response numerous times, unsatisfied even when he finally sent it.

‘Sorry, I think I’m gonna pass. I mean, I really don’t know you that well so it’d be weird, right?’ Spike was hoping that his words would be far lighter than outright rejecting her. Almost immediately, he realized that he doomed himself.

‘well i gess well hav 2 jus get 2 no each othr kk………? lol ;)’

The response was exactly what Spike feared... but he didn’t think it was too bad; after all, he would be actually hanging out with someone, and it would be with someone he knew, and someone his friends trusted. He still sat alone at lunches, having been to his group’s lunch table maybe twice in the three weeks of school; a change of pace may be exactly what he needed. Sighing, Spike let his embarrassment subside for a moment as he punched in his response.

‘Sure. Where and when?’

And that’s how Spike found himself struggling to maintain his basic male instincts. Numerous times at lunch, Spike found himself glancing towards Scootaloo only for the girl to be bending forward to fix her shoe, stretching her arms or even just eating… just to notice that she wasn’t wearing a bra. Larger, natural breasts in an extremely clingy shirt that seemed a size too small. He saw her in all her glory and grit his teeth, reminding him of what his prize was supposed to be… and the worst part?

“Hey, Spike, What’re you staring at?” Scootaloo would say with an edge to her voice.

She knew that he saw. Scootaloo winked at him and made zero effort to hide her less-than-modest chest. Thing is, though, Spike didn’t wanna leave. Scootaloo, when not flirting or flashing Spike, was actually saying things Spike could agree with.

“I’m a bit surprised, honestly. I didn’t think you’d know so much about… or just be so insightful on things like psychology, or anything,” Spike admitted, leaning against an old tree in a field next to the school. “I mean, things we do for love is a little bit of a mature concept. Sure, you can find yourself prompted to shoot someone in a desperate situation if it means pleasing someone, but… finding a mutual attraction because both initially liked the thrill? I’ve heard of Stockholm syndrome, but falling in love with a murderer, simply because he doesn’t treat you poorly?”

Scootaloo snorted in response, downing the rest of her cola before chucking the can across the field.

“It’s happened; that was the case with Patrick Bateman and his secretary. It’s farfetched and shit, but chances are if you thought of it, it has happened. A lot of people will do things like that if prompted. People will act according to how much they think they deserve love, even if the one providing it is an absolute cunt. Bitches are the complete opposite. They fuck ‘n smoke ‘n shit just because they can. It’s substance abuse versus substance dependence.”

Scootaloo chose this particular moment to pull out a cigarette, offering one to Spike. Spike, frowning, contemplated it for a moment. Of all the things that became popular among high school kids these days, this was one of the ‘no’s’ for many people. Gritting his teeth, he sighed as he took the cigarette, shakily holding it. Scootaloo had a small smile adorn her face as she pulled out a lighter.

“I’ve never smoked before,” Spike muttered bashfully.

“I’ll help you if you need training wheels,” Scootaloo said with a grin.

Spike nervously glanced around, having never done something like this before… more specifically, in a place where he shouldn’t. But everything that has occurred within the last few weeks had started to weigh down, and here was someone openly conversing with him and trying to introduce him to something.

Scootaloo took Spike’s cigarette, placing it in her mouth as she brought the lighter up, flame bursting to life with a single flick. She inhaled several light puffs as the end glowed orange; afterwards, Scootaloo knocked the ash off the tip into the dirt between her legs. She took another, longer draw as Spike wondered if he was getting out of smoking. Scootaloo put the lighter in her pocket as she gave a tiny glance over to Spike, forcing the boy to gulp as her expression softened into an alluring gaze with a subtle smile.

Before Spike could process it, a tiny, warm hand gently wrapped around his head, pulling him closer. Scootaloo removed the cigarette from her mouth, pressing her lips against Spike’s own. Spike’s mind was flashing all sorts of sirens; telling him to stop because it wasn’t right… because they barely knew each other, and there was someone else on his mind. Yet he found himself drawn to this influential motion, this girl that was openly willing to kiss or have sex or let him into her life… even if it seemed to be more than what he thought.

Spike let the tension slide away as he relished the feeling of her soft lips against his own. His hands moved up and rested on Scootaloo’s shoulders as he lightly tugged, the girl leaning into the kiss. Scootaloo was close enough that Spike could feel two larger objects pressing against his chest, the soft flesh squishing against him. The whole scenario was alien and Spike was loving it.

Their lips opened up and Spike could feel the puff of smoke entering his mouth and immediately, he retched back from the taste and from the toxic air entering his lungs. He started coughing hard and pressed himself against the tree, clutching his chest as he violently spat out the air. Scootaloo was laughing loudly, doing her best not to tip over as she did. Spike leaned forward, feeling his coughing coming down from the initial intrusion of toxins as Scootaloo began to slap his back to assist. After he stopped, he leaned back against the tree with watery eyes and lazily glanced over at Scootaloo. She had a devilish little smirk that was also a toothy grin from the way her lips parted on the side of her mouth where the cigarette was held. She raised her eyebrows in mock condescend, causing Spike to chuckle a bit at the situation, blushing as he realized what had happened.

“Man, I am never smoking again,” Spike muttered, trying to avoid bringing up what occurred.

“Was the kiss that bad?” she bluntly stated, removing the cigarette to knock some more ash off.

Spike almost choked on his breath as she outright said what he wanted to ignore. Pushing the thought back, he glanced up to the leaves of the sky that provided shade before looking straight forward; there were members on the lacrosse team playing for fun. Spike watched the six guys and five girls simply have fun, laughing at what was presumably a joke. Lip twitching, Spike felt a tightening around his chest.

“Sorry, this game is for humans, not iguana’s. We’re not playing tag with a lizard.”

“Sucks, doesn’t it?” Scootaloo’s voice broke louder than his memory. Glancing over, Spike saw a look of contempt directed towards those playing lacrosse. She ground her teeth as she dropped the cigarette, seemingly having finished it during Spike’s moment of absent thought.

“People like them? They never knew struggles. Y’know? Makes me resent the shit out of them.” Scootaloo cleared her throat a bit. “They’d never know what it’s like to go to school and wonder if someone’s gonna fuck you over because you’re different or your opinion is different. Little cunts, I should go over there and shank one. Really give ‘em a reason to hate people like me.”

Spike found himself worrying more than anything. “I don’t think we should shank them, but you know, in the end, it makes us smarter and better people. We know what it’s like to feel low, so we can be confident knowing that we’re the better man.”

Scoffing, Scootaloo let out a coarse groan. “There are no better men or women. Just those who know what it’s like, and those who don’t.”

Spike’s eyes turned away from Scootaloo as he brought his knees closer, hugging himself as the words sunk in.

“Some people just have it easy. Life sucks, and people like us can’t do anything without being blamed, ya know?” Spike added, shaking his head as his voice trembled.

“Ma’am, Spike was the one who attacked me.”

“Yeah, Felix was trying to open his snack and Spike just jumped him.”

“Spike, is this true?”

“What!? No, it’s not.”

“Spike, don’t lie. Four boys said they saw you jump him.”

Shaking his head, Spike couldn’t stop tears from flowing as the thoughts continued to bombard his mind. He did his best to hide them, of course, and tried to blink them back inside. Scootaloo’s words had some merit and right now, even if it didn’t feel right, he felt like he didn’t even deserve Scootaloo’s affection.

“Spike, what have I told you about picking fights? I—Twilight, go to your room, your younger brother is in trouble! Spike, do we have to baby you? Pack your lunches, dress you and send you off to school with a supervisor?”

“N-n-no, I d-didn’t do anyt-thing.”

Spike’s thoughts were cut short as he felt an arm wrap around him once more, although a little more rough than the tender first time. Scootaloo wasn’t overly strong, but she managed to drag Spike over a few centimetres before comfortably resting her arm over his shoulder, patting him gently. Spike did his best to wipe away the tears pricking his eyes as the events of the last few days sunk in more. Even if it seemed weird and unexpected, and even though she was different from the Scootaloo he once knew, she was still opening up to him so fast.

“Thanks, Scootaloo,” Spike murmured, sitting upright as he draped an arm over her shoulder as well.

“Don’t mention it. Rainbow Dash says you should always hear out your friends, and the true ones will listen right back,” she quoted admiringly, relishing in the warm contact.

“That doesn’t sound like Rainbow Dash,” Spike prodded with a weak smirk.

“It does when you see her getting all mushy and gross about Applejack,” Scootaloo explained with a scrunched up expression, and Spike nodded as he realized it was likely true.

“Well… I definitely don’t need a massage anymore. That little talk did wonders for my stress.” Spike grinned wider, sitting up more.

“I take it a good fuck is out of the question?” Scootaloo asked, rubbing her head against Spike’s larger shoulder. “Pipsqueak may be taken.”

“No, no, you need to take me out to dinner for that,” Spike muttered nervously, though he added several laughs to make it seem less awkward. After clearing his throat, he decided to tell her the real reason, “Seriously though, thing is, I’ve got my eyes on someone.”

“Apologies,” Scootaloo said quickly as the realization kicked in. “Guess I was a little forward with that kiss then, huh?”

“Nah, you didn’t know. Plus, at least it was with someone who wants to talk to me. I liked it.”

Scootaloo smiled to hear him be so understanding and kind. She didn’t have a lot of people in her life like that. Encouraged by his good nature, she squeezed him tightly once more.

“You coming to practise after school today, Spike?” Scootaloo asked cheerily.

“Uh, yeah, I was planning on it.” He nodded shyly as she finally let him go.

“Good, I might hang around for it then,” she confirmed as she beamed, leaning back against the rigid bark of the tree. She shot him a wink. “Y’know, you really don’t have to be dating someone to experiment a bit.”

Spike raised an eyebrow as Scootaloo stood up and hastily pulled Spike to his feet. He was confused as Scootaloo pulled him through some of the trees until they were mostly obstructed and she let out a chortle.

“I-I-I’m not sure how I’m supposed to react,” Spike stuttered out, his eyes wandering all over.

Scootaloo’s hands rested on his back and she gave him a light tug, pulling Spike to nervously step forward. He maintained distance still before a forceful yank from Scootaloo forced him to press up against her. Spike took in a sharp breath as he felt her chest press against his own and her own pelvis brushing against his. His eyes glanced down until they locked with Scootaloo, just as her arms wrapped around his build.

“I’m not gonna say you’re a pussy for backing out now, but,” she paused, leaning in closer until her lips were inches from his. “I’d like to ‘teach you some plays’.”

Spike could feel her hands come off him and he simply waited, his eyes accidentally glancing down at the cleavage that poked out from her shirt. She grabbed the trim of her shirt and tugged down, causing her breasts, squished against Spike’s chest, to reveal more. Spike had to close his eyes as his heartbeat raced. He had nothing against Scootaloo… and she certainly had nothing against him, besides her bust. Part of him wanted to slap his hands against her rear and bury his face in her cleavage… but his rational part of his brain kicked in and he let out a deep breath, making sure when he opened his eyes, they’d be facing away from the goods. Opening them, he stared directly into Scootaloo’s purple eyes as they seemed to flutter. He stepped back and felt a sigh of relief as her smile faded; not because he disappointed her, but she seemed to be doing exactly as she said and not taking it personally.

“Sorry, but… maybe another time, when I’m used to this,” Spike responded in a stern voice. “And… maybe not, if the girl I want is… well, y’know.”

Spike’s eyes turned elsewhere, just in time for a pair of arms to wrap around his neck. He found himself pulled into a chokehold and let out a grunt as his flustered excitement faded.

“Haha, alright, but don’t be surprised if I have your dick in my mouth by the end of the week,” she told him with an edge to her voice.

Rainbow Dash groaned as she leaned down to lay out the other end of the high-step training ropes, Applejack placing the other end down across from her. Her body still ached from the game, and she never hesitated to whine about it. Applejack however, remained silent about the bruises or aches she had received in the same game.

“Man, AJ, I’m dying over here, can we cancel practice and just go lay down?” Rainbow Dash complained grouchily, rubbing her shoulder.

“Ah gave y’that massage already, what more d’you want?” Applejack argued simply, having been talked into rubbing her captain’s aches more than once.

“Oh, so much more,” Rainbow Dash grinned as she stepped in closer to the farmer, tilting her head and speaking provocatively. “Come on, let’s just skip practice today. I can make it well worth your while.”

“Skippin’ practice?” The pair flinched to hear a third, deeper voice. “Just what Ah’d expect from a lazy halfback.” Rainbow Dash twitched as she recognized the voice she was not particularly fond of listening to, though the accent was familiarly echoed in her best friend’s own tone.

“Lazy? Clearly somebody didn’t see my awesome touchdown in that game last night,” Rainbow Dash denied the accusation promptly, peering over Applejack’s shoulder as the tall, broad man approached them.

“Well that sure wasn't the kinda game Ah expected,” the older boy taunted as he chuckled lightly, while Applejack turned around to look at him. “Shoot, that wasn't much of a match at all, f'ya ask me.”

“No one asked you,” Rainbow Dash snapped back as her temper flared. “How about we try a match of my fist against your face?”

“You sure haven't changed.” The orange-haired boy stopped merely a foot behind Applejack and snorted at the shorter, rainbow-headed girl who he never really liked.

“What're y'doin' here, Mac?” Applejack asked curiously as she put her hand on Rainbow’s shoulder, calming her down with the simple gesture.

“Ran into an ol’ buddy o’mine at the field yesterday. Ah sure wasn't 'bout t'miss you an' Apple Bloom's first loss, now was Ah?” Big Mac smiled at his younger sister fondly.

“First and last,” Rainbow Dash corrected irritably.

”Ah hope so, seein' as how Ah'm around now,” Mac suggested, and the two girls exchanged odd expressions.

“Beg Pardon?” Applejack finally asked, noticing that he was trying to get something across that she was not picking up on.

“Y'heard me,” he nodded sternly as he revealed his intentions. “Ah was told y'still need an assistant coach.”

“Are y’volunteerin'?” his younger sister wondered curiously.

“Shoot me now, we’ve actually become desperate enough to have some blue-collar has-been take an interest. Good God, we’re a feel-good family movie! I repeat, shoot me now.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and grumbled.

“That might be the best idea y'ever did have,” Big Mac looked down at her dully. “We'd be better off without a big-mouthed liability as captain.”

“What'd you say?! Those are some big words for a simple farm boy,” Rainbow proved his point by snapping at him aggressively, her voice breaking once in her higher pitched voice.

“Easy now, you two,” Applejack inserted herself between the two as they stepped forwards and glared at each other.

“Ah think Ah said it real clear like,” the oldest Apple sibling puffed out his chest. “From what Ah r’member, you’re a no-good, yella’-bellied—”

“I’ll have you know, my belly is white as a sheet,” Rainbow Dash growled, leaning closer and grabbing the bottom hem of her shirt roughly. “Besides the hicky your little sister left on it last night, wanna see?!”

“Rainbow!” Applejack nearly yelped.

Applejack hurriedly leapt in front of her and grabbed her hands, holding her shirt down and blushing bright red, though Big Mac couldn’t quite see since her back was facing him. Not only did Applejack not want Rainbow Dash pulling her shirt up for all to see, though she probably wouldn’t pull it up too high (probably being the most questionable word), but if she still had that bruise on her stomach, it might make her teasing seem all the more truthful.

“You talkin’ bad about Apple Bloom?” her older brother asked protectively.

“Naw, she meant me,” Applejack admitted sheepishly as she felt Rainbow Dash’s hands slip around her own as a dirty little smile crossed her lips. Big Mac grunted in question as he leaned closer, and Applejack realized what she had made it sound like. “N-not that it’s true! That’s just the way she—!”

Applejack gulped as her hands were guided under her captain’s shirt, where she could feel Rainbow’s hot, toned stomach. Applejack’s face lit up even brighter as if steam would come out of her ears, and she instinctively stepped back against Big Mac’s chest. Rainbow Dash followed without hesitation and moved devilishly closer, forcing Applejack’s hands higher until her fingertips touched the bottom of Rainbow’s bra.

“—Jokes,” Applejack thoughtlessly managed to finish her hanging sentence with a breathy exhale. She closed her eyes to calm to erratic heartbeat and forced her curiously shaking hands out of her best friend’s shirt, much to the girl’s disappointment.

“Ah don’t think that’s funny,” Big Mac said honestly, looking down at his sister as she gathered herself.

“Duh, you’re a big monotonous hulk.” Rainbow shrugged with a smirk, before returning to the topic, “Besides, Applejack loves it.”

“AJ ain’t like that,” Big Mac refuted instantly.

“Are you sure of that? Who are you to say how she is?” Rainbow snorted to hear Applejack’s brother talking like he knew her so well.

“Her big brother,” Big Mac replied bluntly.

“Oh, really? Well, thanks for clearing that up! What a revelation!” Rainbow Dash threw her arms up, and Applejack felt caught in the middle, though she was still too flustered to speak. “Trust me, buddy, Applejack is totally smitten with me, and how could she not be?”

“Sounds like you done made up somethin’ that ain’t never gonna come true,” Big Mac shook his finger at the girl and glared at her. “AJ would never be in’erested in a smart-ass dolt like you.”

“What’s with all the hostility? You haven’t even seen me much in like, what, the last several years? You should be a little nicer to your future sister-in-law,” Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at the more threatening boy.

“Your future’s gettin’ shorter with each word there, missy,” Big Mac warned as his voice dropped lower.

“Al’right, that’s enough!” Applejack shoved them apart at last. “Now Ah don’t wanna hear one more sharp-ended word from either of you, y’hear? Mac, if you’re gonna be part’a the team, y’gotta put up with Rainbow, she’s captain for a reason. An’ Rainbow, Mac’s a good player an’ he’s selfless enough t’come down an’ help us out. Both o’you better learn to deal with each other, ‘cause Ah ain’t gonna put up with y’bickerin’ and fightin’ on the field. No bickerin’, no fightin’!”

“Okay Applejack, you’re right,” Rainbow Dash agreed with a nod, bowing her head and playing the role of the bigger man. “You have my word.”

“What, just like that?” Applejack blinked in surprise.

“Of course, baby, so long as I can keep bickering with you,” she said as her voice dipped back into that seductive tone Applejack knew too well. “And by bickering, I mean shamelessly flirting.”

“Oh good lord,” the older of the two Apple siblings rolled his eyes and grumbled.

“Mac, y’said that y’ran into an old buddy o’yours at the game?” Applejack directed the attention back to Big Mac’s presence. “Who were y’talkin’ about?”

“Oh, right. Yer still friend’s with his lil’ sister, and he tells me his brother’s on the team with y’all t’boot,” Big Mac began to explain as the tension in the air lifted. “Y’remember Shining Armour, don’tcha?”

“Jeez Mac, I didn’t need an introduction,” another, lighter and smoother voice chimed in as the man in question approached them.

“There y’are, did y’talk with th’ sports department?” Big Mac asked as he turned to face his friend.

“Of course I did, they said it was no problem at all if we help out, since the team doesn’t have much of a permanent coach or faculty supervisor.” Shining Armour stopped a few feet away from the group as he spoke.

“Right, well Ah’ll be around s’much as Ah can, but you gotta take the lead on this one, partner,” the farmer boy admitted.

“Don’t think that means you have any less say around here, I’ll need my right hand man,” Shining Armour smiled warmly and patted his friend on the shoulder.

“I don’t know if I’m comfortable with the amount of sausage joining this team and staff,” Rainbow Dash crossed her arms grouchily and glared at the older boys. “But if it means I’ll get to spend less time getting this team’s shit together and more time ogling and fondling Applejack’s body, I guess I’m in.”

“How selfless of you,” Applejack grumbled with a smirk as she evaded a wandering hand and playfully shoved her friend a foot farther away.

“What can I say? I do it for the kids,” Rainbow shrugged lazily but swung behind Applejack and, without warning, grabbed at her breasts and squeezed fondly one by one, “Gala and Jazz.”

“Hey!” Applejack yelped as blush graced her face, and Big Mac’s eyebrows dropped low to watch his sister be felt up like that. Shining Armour sort of chuckled a bit, but only to himself, knowing Mac would likely konk him on the head.

“And don't forget the Sweetangoes.” Rainbow’s hands dropped down her body and rounded her rear, feeling the hidden treasure adoringly.

“Why am Ah more surprised b’how many kinds'a apples y'can name rather than th’ inappropriate touchin’?” Applejack murmured questioningly as she raised a twitching eyebrow at her friend, whose smile grew larger.

“Because you crave it,” the amorous captain dragged out her words as her arms wrapped around the farmer’s waist, embracing her warmly.

“Ah know y'can handle yourself, AJ, but if y'don't stop her Ah will,” Big Mac’s deep and sonorous voice boomed dangerously.

“She’s harmless,” Applejack brushed the topic away as she wriggled out of the hold. “Any who, the rest o’ the team’ll be out shortly, we usually meet b’ th’ bleachers, c’mon Ah’ll introduce y’all.”

Applejack gestured for the older boys to follow after her, and without question they did. Along the way, Applejack finished setting up a few quick training areas as some of the team members came out onto the field.

Big Mac kept his eye on the short rainbow-headed captain, concerned about what her influence might have done to the team. He was certain that it sure would be difficult to follow somebody quite so eccentric and unpredictable. Besides that, he was somewhat surprised that Applejack had remained such close friends with the girl, he hardly saw any reason or appeal. Even though he had not seen much of Rainbow Dash lately, what he did know of her from when she was younger was enough to keep him on his toes. He knew that Applejack could take care of herself and make her own decisions, but Mac never had much of a liking for her choice of best friend. In his head, Rainbow Dash was still an aggressive little delinquent.

Just as Applejack had said, the rest of the team made their way out to the field in a matter of moments. Being the first practice after their first game, and first loss for that matter, the majority of the players were in something of a funk. And though he had come out of the game with a better understanding of his own abilities, Spike was no exception.

He moseyed onto the field shortly after most of the other players, staring at his feet the whole while. If he looked up, he’d have to recognize the acquaintances around him, and if he did that, it would be awkward since he really had nothing worthwhile to talk about. He wasn’t sure if Scootaloo was actually going to practice anyway, and if she did, she was usually later than most of the team.

One thing that struck Spike as odd was that Rainbow Dash was not screaming at him, or anyone for that matter. Usually as they shuffled out she would have a thing or two to say about anyone who didn’t immediately race over to her for instruction, but she did none of those things. Spike followed Pipsqueak’s heels over to the usual bleachers and found somewhere to stand that was out of the way, shuffling about still getting used to wearing an actual uniform that fit him.

“Hey, little buddy,” Spike perked up to her the more than familiar, masculine tone, one he hadn’t heard in quite some time. “You sure look sharp in that Manticore red.”

“Shining Armour?” the younger boy spoke his name with surprise, looking up at his brother.

“Hey look at that, you remember me.” Shining Armour reached down and patted him on the shoulder. “And here I thought you didn’t call because you forgot about me.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Spike looked away uncomfortably, though he knew better than to be shy in front of his brother. “I didn’t know your number.”

“I lived in residence, not Vanhoover, you could have just asked Twilie.” Shining Armour smiled at his brother, but noticing his less than enthusiastic expression, he dropped the subject. “You’re growing up fast there, aren’t you? Last I saw you were up to my elbow, now you’re just a head below me.”

“It helps with the whole football thing,” Spike shrugged nonchalantly and fidgeted with the hem of his still fresh uniform shirt. “Speaking of which, did Twilight call you down here?”

“Well, she did, but she was a bit late on it.” He chuckled a bit as he ran his hand through his dark hair. “I had already planned on stopping by to see if I could lend some expertise.”

“So, you’re just stopping by, then?” Spike asked, feeling somehow disappointed by the idea that his brother might leave so soon.

“Not exactly, I brought Big Mac along with me, and together we’re going to coach and supervise your team.” Shining Armour looked back at his old friend, who was glaring something awful at the girl who made faces behind his back. “That is, if he can learn to get along with your captain.”

“Don’t hold your breath.” Spike huffed a laugh at the prospect, as he himself was still trying to cope with the obnoxious girl. In fact, she didn’t seem too personable with most of the team, besides Applejack of course.

“Well, we should all gather up I guess, we’ve got a lot planned for this practise.” Shining Armour tugged on his little brother’s sleeve, pulling him close after.

“You do?” Spike wondered as he followed, watching as the other players fell in around them. Except for Rainbow Dash, she yanked on Applejack’s arm and stopped her from going on ahead. Shining Armour looked back as if to call after them, but this time Spike put his hand on the taller boy and kept him moving. “Don’t bother, they’ll come along eventually.”

“Whadd’ya want?” Applejack grumbled grouchily as she was dragged another few paces away from the rest of the team. “Somethin’ botherin’ you?”

“Well, I was just wondering... why does your brother not like me? Did I do something to piss him off?” Rainbow Dash asked suddenly, wrapping her arm around her friend and leaning in close as if keeping the conversation from any eavesdroppers.

“I dunno, he ain't told me nothin'. But for a man o' few words, he sure has a choice few for you.” Applejack shrugged dully.

“Is it because I got him stung by a dozen bees when I made him chase us through the orchard a few years ago?” she wondered, puckering her lips as she tried to think of another reason. “Is it because I said he looked bad in skinny jeans when he tried to pull those off?”

“Shoot, y'should have seen him actually pull those off.” Applejack laughed at the thought, remembering how frazzled and frustrated Big Mac had been. “He had t'hold up his boxers while Ah pulled 'em down by the ankles.”

“Is it because I took his porn collection and taped pictures of Granny Smith and Apple Bloom's faces on all the naked girls?” Rainbow Dash gasped as she remembered such an instance.

“No Ah don't—wait, that was you?!” Applejack spun around and glared at her captain accusingly, pointing her finger between them. “He blamed me 'cause mine was th' only face that wasn't used!”

“Duh, I kept those for myself.” Rainbow grinned deviously as Applejack pouted and blushed about the whole thing. The captain gasped again as she thought up another reason, and grabbed Applejack by the shoulders suddenly. “Wait, is it because he's secretly in love with you, but you are clearly already submissively devoted to me?!”

“There are s'many things wrong with what'chu just said,” Applejack grumbled blankly, knowing to take Rainbow with a grain of salt. Sighing, she took her friend’s hands and spoke frankly to her. “Listen honey, Ah don't think Ah'm the one t'tell you why there's bad blood between y'two. That sounds like somethin' you should answer.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Rainbow nodded slowly, but got a better idea, “Or I could just answer the question that's plaguing your mind.”

“And what might that be?” the farmer murmured as she raised her eyebrow in question.

“What I did with those pictures,” Rainbow winked and grinned wider, loving Applejack's blushing reaction. “Or what I plan to do to you?”

“Ah don't think Ah wanna know,” she squeaked out, more affected by the idea than she wanted to let on.

“Oh? Do you prefer surprises?” Rainbow Dash's eyes dropped down to her friend's body, and her fingers followed soon after. “I'll be gentle, I swear.”

“Ah don't believe that for a second!” Applejack pulled away and smacked her somewhat soft and tender hands away, trying to drop the subject.

“Well, if you’re done chatting, the team’s waiting,” Rainbow smirked and took Applejack’s hand, leading her to the rest of the players.

“Me, chattin’?” Applejack scoffed as she pulled her hand back and followed her captain to the team, catching the end of some kind of introduction.

“So one of us will be here almost every practice,” Shining Armour finished explaining the situation to the rest of the team, who were still rather despondent. “We already talked to coach Snowflake about it, and he’s fine with letting us come and take over.”

“Of course he is, he’s never shown up to practice once,” Rainbow Dash spoke up, which was true after all. “He’s too busy with his own fitness to give a crap about ours.”

“Whatever the case, it’s clear that most of you have not had proper training, especially the linemen,” he continued, and heard Rainbow Dash grumble something aggressive under her breath. “Your captain’s been taking over most of the training, but considering she’s not usually right in the line with the rest of you, I don’t expect her to have much knowledge of it. Hence why we’re here.”

“All right big shot, what makes you think that you can do better?” the captain crossed her arms.

“Easy, I myself am a defensive lineman,” Shining Armour explained. “I’m sure you know a whole lot more than I do about plays and handoffs, but the rest of your players probably won’t need to know any of that stuff. The line makes up the backbone of the team, they’re the ones who keep you from getting caught and protect your quarterback from getting sacked.”

“He’s got a point,” Applejack shrugged passively.

“I don’t know a lot of linemen who join the debate club, so how about you quit yapping and start training these knuckleheads?” Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrow.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Shining Armour cleared his throat and gestured for everyone to come in closer. “Before I get into the meat of it, I have a little exercise for you all.”

“Do we have to do that crazy circuit again?” Hoops whined loudly, and some of the others shared the lack of enthusiasm.

“Ah ain’t runnin’ this practise,” Apple Bloom cut in, frowning at their laziness. “But y’all could sure benefit from it.”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that. This is about team building and trust, it’s important that as a group you know you can lean on your fellow players. Besides that, it’s best to get any personal shyness out of the way, it won’t help you on the field.” Shining Armour looked out at the team, who all seemed untrusting and stood good distances apart. “I want you to turn to each of your fellow players, and I want you to hug them.”

“Hug them?” several uneasy whispers were heard as the group looked around at each other.

“That’s what I said. I want you to put your arms around each other, I want you to grab your teammate’s jersey, and I want you to squeeze.” Shining Armour noticed the awkward uncertainty between the players, and that was exactly what he wanted to get rid of. “Look, you’re going to have to touch each other when you tackle. These people around you, they’re your only allies out on the field, you have to trust them and be okay with getting close. So do it.”

Spike gulped nervously as he watched some of the guys grumble and put their arms around each other. At first, it was stiff and difficult, and no one would look at each other. But as the hugs spread around, they got somewhat more playful and rough, and some would squeeze harder as some kind of competition. Still, the anxious young boy stood still and watched. That is, until he was nearly knocked over by a set of arms that flew around him.

Feeling the two firm rounds of flesh stuffed under a fitting jersey against his back, he knew immediately who it was. That, and the obnoxious giggle that came along and the faint scent of tobacco. Spike peered back at his attacker, whose bright pink hair framed her grinning face.

“Why’s everyone hugging? We turning into some girl scout troup, selling candy to afford our jerseys?” Scootaloo asked as she looked around at the rest of the team, clinging to Spike’s neck.

“It’s a trust exercise or something,” Spike explained simply.

Scootaloo looked over at Apple Bloom, who was trying her best to get her hands all the way around Pipsqueak’s body. It was even funnier once he picked the little girl up, and she squirmed in his big arms. As an interesting idea came to mind, Scootaloo dragged the protesting Spike over to her childhood friend.

While Pipsqueak still held Apple Bloom up in the air in an embrace, Scootaloo threw one arm around the both of them and pulled Spike into the group hug. With his size, Pipsqueak easily accepted the others into his arms and likely could have picked them all up off the ground. Spike tensed up as arms surrounded him, and he felt rather embarrassed even if everyone around them was doing the same thing. But though he was uncomfortable, he did feel a bit better about being in such close vicinity to the others. Maybe Shining Armour actually knew what he was talking about.

“Aww, ain’t that cute?” Applejack smiled as she watched the younger kids squeeze each other, laugh and complain. It especially made her happy to see both Spike and her little sister engaged in the exercise.

“Our turn!” Rainbow Dash jumped onto Applejack and latched her arms around her.

“Rainbow, we ain’t gotta do it!” Applejack struggled a bit but eventually succumbed to the familiar feeling of her best friend draped over her. For a girl who claimed was never much for hugs, Rainbow Dash sure loved to put her arms around the farmer.

“Who’s touchin’ me there?” Apple Bloom squeaked as she was caught in the middle of the group hug.

“Count yourself lucky! Nobody's even tried to grope me yet!” Scootaloo whined as they all squeezed once more before letting go and stepping away.

“Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way,” Shining Armour cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention once more. “Let me tell you a little story about myself when I first started playing football.”

Spike perked up to hear such a thing. Ever since he was a little boy, Shining Armour had always been into football, and he had never been told any stories about the beginnings. Stories like that were before his time; well, before his time around Shining Armour.

“I was quite a bit younger than most of you, I was still in middle school at the time. My little sister Twilight used to come out and see some of my games, even though she didn’t really understand it,” Shining Armour began to explain. “I remember pretty clearly this one question she asked, she said, ‘Shining Armour, why do you guys all crouch on the grass like that? Don’t your hands get dirty?’ and yeah, it sounded pretty funny to me too.”

Several of the boys laughed, and Spike hoped that they weren’t laughing at Twilight. But the more he himself thought about the question, the more he couldn’t think up an answer. It was just the way it was done, it was easier to get a grip from there and a better way to get a running start if you needed.

“But honestly, I didn’t have an answer. I mean, we all understand it by doing it, it gets us closer to the enemy and from there we can secure a better hold for a tackle. But that did not really satisfy someone like her, who was not much for action.” The team looked around at each other, wondering where he was going with this. “You probably know that we train linemen to stay low with things like trap chutes, but why is that? I mean, after a while we all get tired, our backs begin to ache and bending down like that can be a bit of a pain. So, why do we do it?”

“It’s a solid stance?” Pipsqueak raised his hand, and Shining Armour pointed to him and nodded.

“Exactly. Do you know why?” the older man asked, and with an awkward shuffle, most of the linemen shook their heads.

“Because we’re closer to the ground, right?” Spike ventured a guess, and again, his brother nodded agreeably.

“Yes. When we get lower to the ground, we can use it for support. It also gives us the ability to shuffle sideways easier and provides an effective way to hold the line. Can you imagine playing football on a field made of soap?” Shining Armour asked, and most of the players chuckled at the idea. “But my sister took it upon herself to try and understand exactly what was so beneficial about it. Do you know what the answer was?” He peered around, but no guesses came up. “Geometry.”

“You’re joking, right?” Scootaloo proposed with an incredulous scoff, but this did not deter the older man.

“Not at all. Tell me, what happens when you apply a great deal of force to, say, a rectangle or a square? Like when a wrecking ball hits a building. It comes crashing down, right?” Shining told them, and they all agreed that would be the case, “Now say, you apply force to a circle. Like, you kick a ball. It’s just going to roll with very little resistance, isn’t it?”

“What does this have to do with football?” one of the linemen picked his ear with his pinky finger boredly.

“More than you’d think. All right, now what happens when you try to apply force to a triangle? Can anyone tell me?” Shining Armour looked around, but no one was really certain. “That one’s a bit tricky, isn’t it? Because not only is it more difficult to decide where to grip, but when you apply force, it actually works against you. If you try and push it over, what you’re really doing is driving the opposite corner deeper into the ground.”

“So, a lineman’s stance is supposed to be a triangle?” Spike deciphered, and the rest of the team seemed to see what he was getting at.

“You got it. With your legs spread wide and your body hunched low, you’re at a much more advantageous position. And when you touch the grass with your hands, that gives you another sturdy point on the ground.” He went on gesturing with his body. “So when you’re up there in the line, remember to position yourself low and wide to the ground, letting your opponent use his own force against him. Push his body up or away to break his shape into something more like a rectangle, which is easily overcome.”

“That does sound like an eggheaded explanation that Twilight would give,” Rainbow Dash lazily yawned until Applejack smacked her on the back and interrupted it.

“But if you’re anything like me, you’re probably not really into math or science,” Shining Armour chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. “I was always more interested in the good stuff, like history and war. Anyone else like that kind of thing?”

“Sure, I’m down for a bit of carnage,” Dumbbell and his friends agreed with a few laughs and high fives.

“Great. See the linemen here are kind of like infantry, foot soldiers. We have the unfortunate and often unrewarded duty of protecting our generals,” Shining Armour explained as he looked through the group, spotting the linemen easily enough. “Think of it like this: thousands of years ago, Greek soldiers fought in what was known as a phalanx. It’s a formation in which soldiers stood tightly packed against one another to hold off their enemies. You were equipped with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, but the shield was not to protect yourself.”

“Then why carry it around?” Hoops asked obliviously.

“Because you used it to protect the man beside you, while you were protected by the man on your other side. It’s a great analogy for teamwork: having to rely on the man at your side not to turn tail and leave you defenseless.” While the team exchanged more uncertain looks, Shining Armour went on, “The line is one of the most important aspects of a good football team. And we need every man to be willing to stand beside his fellow player and protect him if need be.”

“We didn’t come here for a lecture,” Rainbow Dash reminded him, but he brushed it off with a simple nod.

“How about a demonstration, then?” He smiled as he looked out at the makeshift bunch. “Who’s my centre?”

“Me,” Dumbbell nodded firmly as his position was called.

“Oh?” Shining Armour looked at his size and less than motivated stature. “And why is that, exactly?”

“‘cause he can actually snap th ’ball into m’hands.” Applejack blankly answered for him, and the other linemen nervously snickered.

“Fair enough.” He understood how necessary that was. “All right, I’ll need the linemen to set up around their centre on the line here.”

“What about the rest of us?” Scootaloo boredly asked.

“At one time or another you’ll be facing a lineman on the field or having to perform like one, understanding their abilities is only going to help you when that happens,” Shining Armour told the girl, who rolled her eyes. “Now, each lineman has to be both confident in their own stopping and tackling ability and reliant on their team mates for support. If you’re already caught in the scrimmage and you see an enemy passing the line, you have to be aware of your own limits as well as your team’s to make a valid call.”

“Let’s just get to the action already, I want to see Dumbbell fall on his ass,” Rainbow Dash snickered as she watched him glare over at her.

“From what I saw at the game yesterday, you clearly haven’t played together for very long. And for most of you, football is a relatively new sport. So, to make things interesting...” Shining Armour gestured for Big Mac to come stand next to him opposite the line. “If you guys can hold the line against me and Mac here, we’ll skip practise for today.”

“Scratch that, don’t you dare fall, Dumbbell!” Rainbow Dash threatened, changing her tune if it meant skipping practice.

The rest of the linemen seemed to like the idea just as much, and shared determined grins. Big Mac and Shining Armour looked over at each other knowingly, and got down into position opposite the younger boys. Shining Armour called for them to start, and immediately the lines collided.

Starting with one good heave, the line of players wrapped their arms around the two older boys, grasping for comfortable grips. Forcing their weight against only two opponents meant that their bodies were much closer together than they were accustomed to, and they staggered as arms and legs entwined. With hardly much effort, the two more experienced linemen exerted rising force in unison with each other, forcing the line back and into less sturdy stances.

Though he tried to hold himself and the rest of the group up, Pipsqueak could feel feet stepping on his own and arms around him tugging his jersey down. Though large enough to have possibly taken on one of the larger men who stood opposite him, he was not quite comfortable enough in his own sizable body to know how to use it correctly. Besides that, the mass of his team mates was much more than he had anticipated, and unfortunately their mass was used against him instead of alongside him.

With another skilled heave from Mac and Shining, the line of players toppled over like dominoes.

Pipsqueak groaned, yanking himself off the ground. He didn’t notice the other lineman atop his gut as he stood up, Hoops sliding off his lap and into the turf. The rest of the linemen were laid out, grumbling, with Pipsqueak being the only one to stand up immediately. Big Macintosh and Shining Armour were the closest to truly matching Pipsqueak in build, yet the rest of the team’s weakness dragged him down. They had attempted the triangle formation, failing to understand the concept.

Rainbow Dash and Apple Bloom stood from the side, both furious, yet the younger girl fuming. Rainbow was struggling not to break her clipboard; Apple Bloom broke hers a long time prior. A curious glance from Rainbow’s part worried her a bit as Apple Bloom’s face was seemingly going red, if not blue. She grit her teeth in frustration and stomped towards Pipsqueak. Big Macintosh noticed this and stepped into talk.

“Now sis, Ah don’t want ya—”

“Can it!” Apple Bloom nearly bit his head right off.

Surprisingly, Big Macintosh nodded his head, turning away while Pipsqueak nervously looked around him as the Dumbbells stood up. Stepping forward, Apple Bloom threw a fist forward, hitting Pipsqueak right in the gut. Surprising everyone, he stumbled back, collapsing to the ground.

“Out of all y’all, Ah expected them t’ fall, but you, Pipsqueak? Ah don’t think yer tryin’ very hard, are ya?” she howled.

Applejack, Twilight, Spike and the rest watched on, feeling a bit of pity as Pipsqueak stumbled to his feet, the butt-end of Apple Bloom’s lecture. Applejack started moving towards her sister regardless, not afraid of that savage temper.

“What’s all that muscle for? Lookin’ pretty?” Apple Bloom shouted merely inches from his face. “Well y’better drop that attitude ‘cause if ya don’t you’ll be lookin’ like Frankenstein's parents after the other teams beat th’ hell outta ya!”

“S-sorry,” Pipsqueak muttered, his voice breaking back to a far thicker accent regardless of his years immersed in the culture.

“Sorry? Oh, y’will be once—” Apple Bloom was cut off by the arm that wrapped around her head and covered her mouth.

“Don’t take it too hard,” Applejack chimed in, much less angry than her younger sister who she held still, despite her squeaky muffled struggles. “All it means is w’gotta improve on a couple things, right? A hard day’s work is good for th’soul, ain’t it?”

“Uh, right,” Pipqueak was uncertain if he should agree, considering it might make Apple Bloom madder.

“Nothin’ worth gettin’ is ever got for free,” Applejack smiled as she restrained her sister a little tighter, though her hands were now on Applejack’s arm, pinching it. “C’mon sis, y’can’t shout at th’ apples t’ ripen, can you?”

Spike watched the conversation from well outside of the danger zone, listening carefully. He had to agree with Applejack, you sure can’t just yell and hope things get better, and surely nothing good ever comes without trial. Apple Bloom stopped wrestling with her sister’s arm at last, and leaned back to look up at her from their slim height difference. Noticing her less that furious expression, Applejack released her.

“Why y’always gotta be so smart?” Apple Bloom asked in a pout, irritated that most of her anger had dissipated without much of a satisfying scream.

“Smart? Tell that t’my math teacher!” Applejack laughed as she messed her sister’s hair up a little bit.

Pipsqueak was relieved as he noticed Apple Bloom’s usual cute exterior return. Spike continued to observe: the way Big Mac smirked smugly at his younger sisters’ relationship, the way the Dumbbells seemed to finally understand how much they had left to learn, the way Rainbow Dash clutched her clipboard to her chest and gawked, starry-eyed at Applejack. Spike broke a smile at the last one, his captain for once not seeming so intimidating or obnoxious.

“Still,” Apple Bloom started as she looked back at the poor excuses for linemen. “That sure was one pitiful p’formance! We got a lotta stuff t’work on. Mac, y’couldn’t have come at a better time.”

“Ah see that,” Big Mac chuckled in his low voice. “How d’yer practises usually go?”

“Oh, oh!” Apple Bloom bounced up and down giddily, surprising the whole group before running over to the remains of her clipboard and sifting through the scattered pages. “These ‘re m’notes and circuits n’ stuff.”

She handed the sheets over to Big Mac, whose usually dull eyes widened to see what was written on them. He flipped through them speedily then showed them to Shining Armour, who also seemed surprised.

“It‘s like your breeding a whole group o’ Pipsqueaks,” Big Mac looked over at the large boy, who sheepishly laughed. “Well, this is sure a good start.”

“Start?” Rainbow Dash repeated as her expression fell. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Lemme see here...” Big Mac’s eyes ran down the sheet, and his eyes jumped up to players as he read their names, “We got Dumbbell as our centre, Pipsqueak an’ Score as guards, an’ Hoops an’ Snips as our tackles. That right?”

“Sounds like it,” Applejack nodded as the named boys perked up.

“Then, our receivers ‘re Scootaloo and Featherweight,” Big Mac continued to read as Applejack walked up behind him.

“An’ we got Snails as a relief, he’s a fine receiver too,” Applejack told her brother as she pointed to the name on the clipboard.

“Right, then Spike’s our tight end an’ kicker; both, really?” Mac looked up at the boy, and approved of what he saw. “Right, then we got you as quarterback AJ, ‘course, Apple Bloom’s our fullback an’... uh, halfback’s that lil’ punk Dash.”

“Be nice, Mac,” Applejack swatted him on the arm, though he didn’t give any indication to show it bothered him.

“Yea’, yea’, al’right then. Shining Armour, y’wanna gimme a hand here layin’ out the training schedule?” Mac turned to his friend.

“You don’t even have to ask,” he agreed readily as he patted Mac on the shoulder supportively.

It wasn’t as carefree or goofy as the practices were back when Rainbow Dash and Applejack were in charge, but it certainly was more focused. Each player received specifically modified training that best suited their position, but they were all forced into most of the agility and stamina building techniques.

Everything was a little more organized now that Big Mac and Shining Armour were around, and that was beneficial to the whole team. Besides that, Big Mac got to spend a little more time with his little sisters, which he hadn’t been able to since he went off to college. Shining Armour also got to see Spike, and he could already tell just how alike he was to his sister, even if the two weren’t as close as it seemed.

Spike fiddled with his fingers in his pockets as he watched Scootaloo and Apple Bloom playfully reminiscing by the fence after practice. He distantly wished that he could have had that kind of connection, that kind of long-standing relationship that could be reignited just like that. But that was a silly idea. Shining Armour came up behind him and noticed where the young boy’s attention laid. With a familiar smile, he placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“You should go over there,” Shining Armour told Spike, but received no immediate answer. “They seem like good kids.”

“I’d just bum them out.”

Spike knew better than to force himself into groups like that, with his poor self esteem and attitude he always dragged the mood down. That was just the way it was. Still, Shining Armour just lightly laughed at the sentiment, shaking his head.

“You're just like Twilie was when she was young,” his older brother told him surely, remembering having just the same trouble trying to get Twilight to open up.

“Twilight's got plenty of friends,” Spike argued with a frown, crossing his arms defiantly and tensing up his shoulders.

“Now she does, yeah,” Shining Armour nodded in agreement, as indeed she had made some truly good friends. “But she didn't always. There was a time when she thought friends were silly, when books were enough for her.”

Spike scoffed, knowing there sure was something appealing about objects rather than people, “Books don't mock you or tease you.”

“They don't do much at all,” Shining Armour reminded his brother carefully. He cracked a smile as he thought up something else, “They sure can't drag you senselessly into a group hug.”

“I don't like hugs,” Spike was adamant on that point.

“Not yet.” His older brother pushed him gently on the back, guiding him towards the others. “Go on, Spike. Looks like they want you just as much as you want them, even if you won't admit it.” Noticing such resistance from the young boy, his expression became sterner. “Do you want me to make you do the hug exercise again?”

“No, no, I get it.” Spike bolted away from the threat and took a few quick steps towards Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.

“Oh, and you might need this.” Shining Armour held out the small electronic object, and Spike’s eyes widened.

“When did you take that?!” Spike snatched his cell phone back from his older brother’s hands, shoving it deep into his pocket.

“I programed my number into it, and Big Mac’s too, so now you have no reason not to call.” Shining Armour placed his own hands into his pockets, casually turning away with a smug smirk. “Later, little bro.”

“Yeah,” Spike watched the taller boy walk over to Big Mac, and swallowed a bit of his anxiety. “Bye.”

With that, he took what little advice his older brother gave him and turned back towards his could-be friends. They were still laughing about something, though Apple Bloom looked a little uncertain. Scootaloo caught sight of Spike approaching them, and eagerly waved him over, her other hand tugging down on her jersey as she shot him a knowing wink.

Author's Notes:

Oooookay, it seems the longer chapters are becoming common. That's likely because I've had a larger role in the last few chapters, moreso than the first few anyway. But yeah, hope you enjoy where this is going, by now Arby and I have a good plotline mostly untangled. And though he has been something of a background pony on these last couple chapters, worry not, Arby fans! He shall (hopefully) return!