Post-Capture Meet-Up At The Clubhouse
"Applejack! Can Ah go play with Scootaloo an' Sweetie Belle now?"
"Have ya finished your chores like you were supposed to?"
"Yup! Chickens fed, room cleaned, dishes done..."
"Okay, okay, Ah'm convinced. Go on ahead, but be back before dark."
Apple Bloom sprung up with glee and raced up the creaky wooden stairs to her bedroom. She flung open her wardrobe and pulled the maroon cloth down from the hook on which it hung, anxious to meet up with the others. The blank-flanked earth pony left her room and bounced down the stairs, struggling to slip on the cape. Once she had, she readjusted the bow in her mane and zoomed out the front door with barely a passing glance to her older sister, making a beeline dash for the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse.
Earlier that day, the trio were exploring the Whitetail Woods outside of Ponyville as part of a project for school on urban legends. The girls read in Twilight's library about a crazed pony who lived in those woods and captured small ponies for his own thrill and amusement. Looking to debunk the myth, the three sat out for the woods, but soon realized the myth was as real as anything else when Sweetie Belle was caught in a classic rope snare. Luckily for them, they were rescued by Spike and Twilight's colt-friend, Tristan Shay - or, to the citizens of Ponyville, Star Skipper - and escaped after a minor run-in with the hunt-obsessed pony himself.
The sun sat low in the sky, giving the atmosphere a pleasant orange glow. The trees that stood tall around it cast long shadows across the grassy earth as Apple Bloom finally arrived at the Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse. Her best friends and fellow Crusaders Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had already arrived and were giddily awaiting her at the top of the walkway.
"Hey, Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle greeted, waving a hoof.
"We wondered if you were gonna make it," added Scootaloo.
"Sorry, girls," Apple Bloom replied as she ascended the walkway, "Had to do some chores around the farm before sis would let me come hang out."
"No worries," said Scootaloo, nodding towards the interior of the clubhouse, "Should we go ahead and get started?"
"Absolutely!" agreed Sweetie Belle. She followed the other two fillies inside and shut the door behind her. "What's our first order of business?"
"Well," began Apple Bloom, "Ah think we're gonna have to find a new subject for our school project."
Scootaloo threw a hoof into the air. "But we saw him! We actually had an encounter with the legendary crazed pony of Whitetail Woods, and you just wanna throw it away?!"
"I agree with Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle replied, "Nopony would believe we actually saw him, and after being caught by him, I'd rather forget the whole thing."
"Come on, not you too," Scootaloo groaned.
"Ah'm just glad we made it out okay," added Apple Bloom, "We probably woulda been done for if Tristan an' Spike hadn't shown up."
Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. "Thank goodness they found us. Tristan was so brave to stand up to Swift Gleam like that."
"We can't forget Spike!" Scootaloo chimed in, "He was just as brave as Tristan was! He was ready to fight, I could tell."
"An' did you see how he climbed up that tree to cut Sweetie Belle down?" Apple Bloom reminded, adding to the group's excitement, "He was so fast! Ya gotta be strong to be able to climb a tree trunk like he did!"
"Did you know," Sweetie Belle began, "That when they were all in Tristan's world, Spike actually asked my sister out?"
The jaws of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo dropped. "What?!" they cried in unison.
"He totally did, but Rarity turned him down. She said it was because he was too young for her and because he's a dragon."
"Are you kidding me?" asked Scootaloo, slightly annoyed with Rarity's decision. "Spike is awesome! Who cares if he's a dragon? Anypony would be lucky to have him, and I mean anypony."
"Yup," Apple Bloom dreamily sighed, "He sure is a swell dragon."
"Hey!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle, "Spike may not be Rarity's age, but he's definitely my age! Maybe I should date him!"
"In your dreams!" retorted Scootaloo, "He'd rather be seeing an awesome pony like me!"
"He had a really big thing for my sister, and I'm a lot more like my sister than you are, so he'd obviously pick me."
"You're both wrong," Apple Bloom interjected, "He'd much rather be with a sweet, and must I say cute, country gal, which would be me."
"Maybe the three of us can share him?" Scootaloo suggested.
Apple Bloom furrowed her brow. "Something tells me that a love rectangle wouldn't end very well at all."
The three fillies exhaled a breath of defeat sat on the clubhouse floor in thought. Here were three ponies who each had their own school-filly crush on the town's only baby dragon. How could they decide who gets to be his marefriend? Their young minds wandered for a minute or two before Scootaloo bounced back up, wings aflutter with excitement.
"We could make a game out of it!" she beamed, finally breaking the silence.
"What do ya mean, a game?" asked Apple Bloom, tilting her head.
"Whoever can get a kiss from Spike first gets to be his marefriend!"
"Rarity said that throwing yourself at someone for attention is 'simply uncouth'," Sweetie Belle stated, hanging on to her sister's moral code.
"Then we won't! We'll just be really subtle about it, and it's perfectly fair since it's Spike's decision as far as who he kisses, so we're not really throwing ourselves at him."
"Ah don't know," said Apple Bloom. The tone of her voice was one of doubt and concern. "That sounds pretty deceitful, Scootaloo."
"Well, obviously you two don't like him as much as I do, so this'll be a piece of cake."
"As if!" Sweetie Belle protested.
"There's no way you of all ponies could be subtle about somethin' like this," Apple Bloom added, "Ah could easily get Spike if Ah wanted to."
"Then it's settled!" Scootaloo declared, "The game is on! The prize is the right to date Spike! May the best Crusader win!"
"Don't worry, I will," teased Sweetie Belle, giving a playful wink.
"We'll just see about that!" said Apple Bloom. She glanced out of the window and gasped. The sun had sunk lower into the sky and was beginning to disappear behind the horizon. She quickly stood up. "It's almost sundown! Ah gotta get home or Applejack will scold me somethin' fierce!"
"Yeah, I should be getting home, too," replied Scootaloo, who was making her way to the door of the clubhouse.
"Same here," added Sweetie Belle. She got up and followed her friends outside, down the walkway, and onto the grass. "I'm sure Rarity won't be too happy if I stayed out any later."
Scootaloo strapped on her helmet and stood atop her trusty scooter. "The game starts tomorrow! Rest up, girls! You're gonna need it if you wanna beat me!"
The fillies laughed and went their separate ways. They kept a calm pace until they were out of each other's sight, then kicked themselves into high gear.
"Ah've got this in the bag," Apple Bloom told herself, "Just gotta put a little down-home charm on him and he'll be putty in mah hooves!"
"Those two are delusional," Sweetie Belle whispered, "If I can show Spike that I'm just as elegant as Rarity, he'll practically beg me to date him!"
"They have no clue what they're up against," said Scootaloo, flapping her wings faster to gain more speed, "Spike wants to be with a pony that's just as awesome as him, if not more awesome, and that pony is me!"
The three fillies each smirked and, with determined mindsets, made their bold declaration for victory.
"I'm gonna win, and Spike will be all mine!"
Author's Note
"Spazzy Says!"
Well, guys, here we go again! The start of a new story! I'm really excited to be bringing this to you and I hope you guys really enjoy it! There's plenty of shenanigans ahead, as you probably already guessed, and there may even be a surprise or two in store!
I realize that this is a pretty short chapter, but the others will be a little more lengthy, so please stick around! I'm sure you don't wanna miss what lies ahead!
Don't forget to leave your comments in the nifty little space below and, as always, keep being awesome!
~Spazzy Jamz
Enter The Clueless Target
"I shouldn't be gone for too long," Tristan said, making his way from the kitchen.
Spike stood on a stool at the kitchen sink, scrubbing away at the last plate from this morning's breakfast. Spike glanced back and gave a quick nod and wave before returning to his work. After a quick rinse, he picked up the blue towel just off to his right and dried up the excess soap water. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the now-spotless dish and let out a disheartened sigh. Regardless of Tristan's advice, Spike still couldn't shake the heartbreak he experienced back in the human world. Rarity's rejection was softly worded, and backed with kind remarks, but it didn't make it hurt any less.
Spike stacked the plate with the rest of the finished dishes dried his claws with the same blue towel. He hopped down from his stool and proceeded through the kitchen to begin the rest of his work that Twilight had assigned to him. The baby dragon made his way into the main room of his library home and took the long to-do list from the large table positioned in the middle.
"Dishes," Spike read. He took the quill on the table, dipped it in the ink, and scratched a check mark in its respective box on the list. "Check"
He read further down the list, letting a sigh escape him. Spike had yet to place the returned books back on their shelves, set the new books out for the regular customers, document the changes, and an entire day's worth of other chores. Placing the list back up on the table, he carefully lowered one of the stacks of returned books down to a comfortable carrying level and began around the room, matching the books to categories, then to shelf before finally setting them in their proper place. A few minutes had passed, and he had just started the first stack before the front door was shoved open.
"Heya, Spike!" said Scootaloo, who bounced in his direction.
"Hey, Scoots," Spike replied, keeping focused on his work. He placed another book on the shelf in front of him. "If you're looking for Twilight, she's out for a little bit."
"That's okay," Scootaloo assured, "I came to see you anyway. I was thinking we could hang out or something."
Spike paused his work long enough to glance back towards Scootaloo with a look of confusion. "Hang out?"
"Yeah!" Scootaloo beamed, "I was thinking yesterday that we don't really hang out as much as we should."
"You think we need to hang out more often?" Spike asked, his suspicion only growing.
Scootaloo smirked. "Of course! I mean, I'm cool, you're cool, it only makes sense that two cool people should hang out right?"
Spike stared for a moment in hopes of trying to figure out what Scootaloo was up to, but could come up with no ulterior motives. He returned his attention to the books and began searching for the next shelf. "Riiight. Well, I'm a little busy at the moment. Twilight left a lot for me to do."
Scootaloo grinned. "I can help you!"
"No offense, but it would probably be best if I took care of this by myself." Spike replied, an unintentional harshness coated his words.
Scootaloo's smile slowly turned into a frown and she hung her head. "Oh. Okay. Sorry to bother you."
Spike looked over his shoulder and discovered the filly's change in attitude as she began back for the door. He thought for a second and let out a sigh. "If you want, we can hang out later today once I get everything done. Cool?"
Scootaloo perked back up, doing a mid-air twist to face Spike. "Yeah! That'd be awesome! I'll see you later then!"
Spike watched as Scootaloo happily trotted to the front door. Before she could leave he caught her talking under her breath.
"I'm so totally gonna win!"
Spike scratched his head. What was she talking about winning? He shrugged it off, thinking it was some silly game that involved the other Cutie Mark Crusaders. He sent his sympathies to whatever poor pony was to be caught in the middle of their shenanigans as he went back to work on the returned books. It was only a little later that the library door was opened once again.
Must be Noteworthy coming to pick up those song books, Spike thought. He picked up the stack labeled for Noteworthy and made his way around the table, where a pony much shorter met him with a huge smile.
"Hi, Spike!" Sweetie Belle chirped.
Spike jumped, causing him to toss the stack of books he had been carrying. The pages flapped against each other in the air before the volumes landed on the wooden floor. Spike groaned as he bent down to retrieve the books.
"Oh! I'm sorry! Let me help you get those!"
"It's okay," Spike replied, "I've got it. What are you up to?"
"Oh, just came by to see how you were holding up."
"What do you mean by that?" Spike asked, setting the books back on the table while keeping eye contact with the filly.
"Well," Sweetie Belle began, "Rarity told me about what happened back in Tristan's world. You know, about how you confessed your feelings for her?"
Spike let his eyes drift to the space on the floor between them. "Oh, yeah. That."
"I'm really sorry," said Sweetie Belle, her eyes focused on the same place as Spike's, "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything about it."
The dragon shrugged. "It's cool. I'm not that broken up about it," he lied.
"Well" - Sweetie Belle placed a hoof onto Spike's shoulder - "If you ever need anything, like somepony to talk to or just anything at all, I'm here for you."
Spike looked back up to see Sweetie Belle's big green eyes staring back at him and a warm smile on her face. He forced a smile himself out of awkwardness. "Uh, thanks?"
Sweetie Belle removed her hoof from Spike's shoulder. "It's no trouble at all. It's honestly the very least I can do for you."
Spike raised an eye. "What do you mean by that, exactly?"
The filly began to blush and looked away. "You did save me yesterday..."
Spike's eyes widened, remembering the previous day's train wreck of events involving Swift Gleam. He quickly shook his head, hoping the memory would fall out of his head. "I didn't do it alone, you know. Tristan was there, too."
"Still," Sweetie Belle pressed on, "It was you who scaled the tree and and cut me down. I really appreciate you getting me out of that mess."
Spike rubbed the back of his head. "No thanks needed, really. I was just worried. I'm really glad you're okay, Sweetie Belle."
The unicorn filly froze, her eyes darting about and her face becoming even redder than before. She quickly turned away and was fumbling with her words before a coherent sentence finally came out in the form of a whisper. "I can't act like this in front of him or I'll surely lose..."
"Lose?" Spike asked, "Lose what?"
Sweetie Belle gasped and gave one final glance back to Spike before making a break for the door. Luckily for her, the door opened on its own, and she dashed through the door's frame, narrowly dodging a returning Twilight and Tristan. Spike kept his confused gaze fixed on Sweetie Belle until she disappeared from sight.
Tristan looked behind him, then to Spike. "You okay, buddy?"
After having breakfast with the rest of the Apple family, Apple Bloom made an early start on her chores. In her mind, the earlier she got done with her daily duties, the more time she would have to figure out a way to win the game, and ultimately, Spike. As Apple Bloom worked, however, she discovered that she was subconsciously thinking about her strategy anyway, even to the point where she was fumbling at tasks she had already been doing for years. Applejack took notice of this and joined her sister outside at the chicken pen to ensure that she at least fed them correctly. Apple Bloom failed at this, too.
"Apple Bloom, ya know ya can't give chickens Oatie O's," said Applejack, finally stepping in. One of the chickens inspected a piece of the cereal before crossing its wings and turning up its beak in refusal.
"What?" Apple Bloom replied, observing the mistake she made, "Ah mean, Ah knew that. Ah was just testin' ya. Good job, sis!"
Applejack rolled her eyes at the filly. "You've sure been actin' strange since ya got back home from your Crusader meeting. Is there somethin' I should know about?"
"Well, it's just that we're workin' on somthin' really important, and I'm tryin' to figure out the best way to go about it," Apple Bloom replied, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Well, maybe big sis can help ya!" said Applejack. Her suspicions took a back seat as she gave a big grin to the filly. "What are y'all workin' on?"
Apple Bloom shook her head. "Sorry, Applejack. Top secret Crusader business."
The older Apple furrowed her brow at this, her grin gone and her mind working. Nevertheless, she resisted the urge to interrogate her little sister for now. "Well, okay. Just feed the chickens and you can be on your way."
Apple Bloom reared and quickly went back to work, replacing the Oatie O's with the corn that they were normally fed, and kicked up dust leaving the farm. Applejack watched her sister disappear from her sight, making a mental note to figure out the reason behind the filly's sudden onset of strange actions.
Tristan and Twilight had just left for their date and Spike was once again put in charge of the library. He kept a watchful eye on Apple Bloom - who was carefully mulling over the shelves - makinh sure she didn't mess up the books he had just put back. He considered the likelihood of all three Cutie Mark Crusaders showing up in the same day, but separately. His eyes narrowed as he watched Apple Bloom, hoping to gain some superpower that would allow him to see her intentions. He finally gave up after a couple minutes of silence and approached the filly.
"What kind of book is Big Mac looking for?" Spike asked.
Apple Bloom glanced over. "Oh, uh, he was lookin' for a book on, um..."
"You're not here looking for a book, are you?" Spike interrupted.
The filly shot a glare to Spike, as if she were offended. "Ah am here for a book! I just don't remember what book Big Mac wanted."
"Then why didn't he come get it himself?"
"Ah told him I was gonna come by anyway to thank ya for savin' us from that crazy pony yesterday."
Spike crossed his arms and sighed. "I'll tell you what I told Sweetie Belle. I didn't act alone. Tristan was there, too."
"Wait," Apple Bloom replied, raising an eyebrow, "Sweetie Belle was here?"
"Well, yeah," Spike shrugged, "So was Scootaloo."
"Scootaloo, too?!"
"Yeah-"
"Did she say anything? What did Sweetie Belle say? Did either of them do anything?"
Spike started backing away, his arms stretched out in front of him. "Hold on, Apple Bloom, what do you mean-"
"Did you do anything to them? Or with them?" - Apple Bloom began to close the distance between them - "Tell me, Spike!"
"I gotta get out of here!" Spike cried, throwing his claws in the air. He bolted for the door, flung it open, and ran outside, slamming the door back behind him.
Spike ran for a few minutes but eventally became fatigued and slowed to a stop. He panted as he looked around and saw that he had ended up in the middle of town, more specifically, right at the door of Sugarcube Corner. Twilight may be angry with him leaving the library unattended, but he wasn't about to deal with the hostile Apple Bloom. If she was anything like her older sister, things would have gotten scary.
Spike figured that since he was at Sugarcube Corner, he'd might as well pop in and see what the special treats were today. After the day he had so far, he felt he deserved something sweet, although he would much rather have a gem or two, but sweets would suffice. He started for the door when out walked a pink earth pony and a white unicorn. The mares were giggling and the pink one sported binoculars around her neck.
"Hi, Spike!" Pinkie Pie chirped, "Wanna join us for some super secret espionage?!"
Spike looked over and noticed the unicorn was Rarity. He felt a twinge inside of him, but for the sake of saving face, acted against it. Rarity, too, felt a sudden onset of awkwardness and sadness, yet forced a broken smile to the young dragon. Pinkie Pie remained unfazed by the unspoken two and bounced slightly where she stood. Spike took his attention away from Rarity and looked in Pinkie Pie's direction not exactly sure if he wanted to know what she meant. His curiosity once again bested him.
"What are you talking about?" Spike asked.
"We're gonna go spy on Tristan and Twilight's date!"
"They're leaving! Everypony run!"
The day had progressed into the late afternoon and, upon hearing Pinkie Pie's warning, the group quickly, yet stealthily, went their separate ways. Applejack had agreed to give Spike a lift back to the library, figuring the company would be worth the task. The two spent most of their trip passing time by reminiscing of their days spent back in Tristan's world, from the day they arrived to their trips about the city. The caffeine incident served to be the main source of laughter. Once that conversation ran dry, Applejack changed the subject to a much more recent string of events.
"Do you have any clue what Apple Bloom and the other fillies are up to?" she asked uneasily, "Ah'd find out for myself, but she's being pretty darn secretive about it."
"Your guess is just as good as mine," Spike replied with a shrug, "All I know is that it could all be part of some kind of game."
"A game, huh?"
"Yeah," Spike continued, "I don't know what that means, but I head Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle mention it to themselves before they left. I figure that Apple Bloom is in on it, too. She got pretty upset when I told her that Sweetie and Scoots had already shown up before her. She almost cornered me in my own house."
"She was that upset?" Applejack asked. She thought for a moment. "Sounds like jealousy to me."
Spike scratched his head. "What would she have to be jealous about? Me interacting with her two best friends?"
"Ah don't know a single thing that can spark jealousy like that, but I'd bet my hind two legs it has somethin' to do with that game."
"Maybe," spike replied, "I don't know. I'll have to just be careful around those three for the time being."
"A very wise decision," Applejack agreed.
The two reached the doors of the library and Spike slowly climbed off of Applejack's back. He turned around to her and placed a claw on the back of his head.
"I've got a couple hours until Twilight and Tristan get back," Spike informed, "I need to get the rest of the chores done before they do."
"Need any help?' Applejack offered, "The folks aren't expectin' me back for a little while."
"Nah, it's okay. It's not too much, just some small, simple stuff. I can handle it."
"Well, alrighty then," Applejack replied, "Ah'll try to keep an eye on Apple Bloom for ya, and have Rarity do the same for Sweetie Belle. Maybe Ah can convince Rainbow Dash to keep tabs on Scootaloo as well."
"You don't gotta do that," said Spike, giving a weak chuckle.
"Well, Apple Bloom's mah responsibility, so it's a given that Ah do anyway. Besides, maybe one of the others may have better luck figuring all this out. Just let me know if you find out anythin', and Ah'll do the same for you."
"Okay, AJ, deal," Spike said with a more genuine smile. He started for the library door and waved back to Applejack. "Thanks for the lift! See ya!"
Applejack turned away, keeping an eye on the young dragon until he made it inside, then let a smile of her own form. "See ya, Spike. You're a good kid."
Author's Note
"Spazzy Says!"
There we go, a decently-lengthed chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it! I really enjoyed writing this as it was Spike's first time interacting with the CMC since the game's start. I think the poor dude has no clue what's coming to him 
. But that's okay! All will eventually be revealed and maybe he can get out of this mess with his scales intact.
I just got home from work a couple hours ago to finish and proofread this chapter, and I have another five days of work ahead of me, so I'll do my best to try and work on then next chapter while I can. In the meantime, throw some comments/questions/concerns/~~answers~~ down there in the nifty space below this and, as always, keep being awesome!
~Spazzy Jamz
