"All right; so no impending megalomaniacs bent on domination?" Spike asked as he walked into the living room, carrying a large cardboard box.
"Nope."
"No monsters put on a rampage, either on accident, intentional, or otherwise?"
"Uh-uh."
"And no general purpose trouble, like Celestia and Luna's argument over that mocha cream donut?"
"No, thankfully." The newest Equestrian Princess shuddered slightly at the memory. It was weeks before she could look at coffee-flavored confections again.
"No underwear tonight?"
"N...Spike!" Twilight shot the dragon a halfhearted glare after she managed to catch herself, cheeks pinking a tad in the process.
Spike simply chuckled, "Well then. I'd say that means everything is a go."
"Yep!" she chirped, quickly regaining her composure and watching him unpack soda, chips, pretzels, cookies, candy bars, and even a bag of amethysts from the box. "Movie Night, here we come! First to get changed gets first pick!" with that, she grinned cheekily at her friend and promptly teleported up to her room.
"Foul! Red card, Twi!" Spike protested as he ran up the stairs to his own room, throwing in a 'Five-yard penalty!" for good measure.
Movie Night; a ritual as old as time...as far as they were concerned, at least. Ever since Celestia and Twilight's parents had agreed they were old enough, weekend nights were reserved for a marathon of munchies and film. Starting out as mostly cartoons and flicks for kids before moving up to comedy, sci-fi, action, and the occasional horror. Unfortunately, after moving to Ponyville, this event became a somewhat less common occurrence thanks to the constant interruptions.
Which made free moments like this all the more enjoyable for them.
-----------Ten Minutes Later-----------
"And you called foul on me." Twilight pouted slightly as she stared at Spike who was currently lounging on the couch.
He gave a cheeky grin of his own. "The benefits of not needing a shirt." he gestured to the gemstone-patterned pajama pants he was wearing, compared to the somewhat modest shorts and t-shirt she had donned. "Or a hairbrush."
Twilight responded in a mature, reasonable fashion: by sticking her tongue out and blowing a raspberry before hopping onto the couch beside him. "So, what's first on the agenda?"
He promptly snagged a video off the pile on the coffee table. "Got just the one!"
She eyed the movie in question. "'Samurai Stallion Vs. The Robo Mane'?" her gaze slowly shifted to him, a slightly deadpan expression. "Really, Spike?"
"Don't knock it, Twi. This is a cult classic." he answered before popping it in the player.
Half an hour later and the pair were laughing themselves sick.
"You're kidding me! 'Bite the pillow, 'cause justice is coming in'??" Twilight gasped before squealing in laughter again.
"Didn't say it was a classic 'cause it was good." Spike managed to get out between cackles. "Granted, the fight scenes are good, but I think whoever wrote the script was definitely on something."
It took them a few minutes to settle down enough to continue watching, though they still got hit by bouts of snorts, giggles, and snickering through the rest of the movie. By the time the credits started rolling, they were both wore out by laughing.
"All right, Spike. I'll admit it; that wasn't a bad movie." Twilight wiped her eyes. "Cheesier than Mrs. Cake's cheddar souffle, but not bad. Now, I believe it's my turn." she smirked and picked up another video. "I believe this'll work."
Spike bit back a groan when he saw the name: You Belong With Me. The description on the back was enough to tell him it was a 'guy chases girl' high school comedy/romance. Not really a genre he was a fan of, but it was an unwritten rule that both would watch what either of them picked out. "Ok. Put it on."
The play button was hit, and the movie started with the loud beeping of an alarm. They watched as it was knocked off the bedside table and the film's male protagonist sat up, introducing himself via internal monologue.
"And the unnecessarily cheerful romance pop song starts." Spike muttered. "Like we need to be reminded it's that kinda flick."
"Come on, Spike, it's not that bad." Twilight danced a little in the seat with the music. "It's kinda catchy."
"Ah...a little, but my point stands." he replied, head bouncing to the beat.
They listened as the guy gave a little bit of background on his way out to school, basically he was your typical B-average sophomore. Soon he was joined by the female protagonist.
"I'm guessing she's the best friend." Twilight watched the two chat.
"Cute, with an air of nerdiness, and hits of sarcasm." Spike cocked his head to the side, not noticing the look she gave him. "Yeah. I'd say so. So...she the love interest in this?"
They watched for a couple more minutes before she shook her head. "I..don't think so. Look." She pointed to who could only be described as 'the popular girl'. "Pretty, has a group of friends and/or admirers around her, and if the pom-poms sticking out of her bag are any indication, cheerleader."
"Considering how he's looking at her, I guess it's supposed to be a long-standing attraction." Spike added. Both winced slightly when the guy made his declaration. "Yeah...claiming you'll finally 'get the girl' before the week is over...I don't think this is going to end well. Especially with how the friend is looking at him after that. That's being exasperated if I ever saw it."
"Maybe." Twilight responded, though it didn't quite look like simple exasperation to her.
---------------------------------
"Ok, the cheerleader gets points for being pleasant." Spike said as they watched the guy try a forward approach and ask her before classes began.
"Her 'friends', on the other hand." Twilight snorted, watching disdainfully at how the group with her distracted the girl and told him to get lost.
---------------------------------
When they reached the part where the guy was considering changing his image to get her attention, Twilight almost facepalmed. "Please tell me he isn't really going to try that." she pointed to how the friend tried to tell him it was a horrible idea. "See? She agrees with me."
"Usually tends to be plan B; if you don't get the girl's attention first try, dress up in a way that will. But even when it works, it's only for a short while. He's just gonna either look like an idiot or hurt himself in the end. And, is it just me or does the friend seem a little angry there?"
"I noticed too. You don't think...?"
---------------------------------
"Holy crap, I was right." Twilight's eyes widened when they saw the friend watch the guy run off. A noticeable look of longing and hurt on her face.
"About what?"
"The best friend. She's got a thing for the guy, but the schlub's so focused on the cheerleader he doesn't even notice! Heck, their supposed to be pals but he's barely paid her any attention aside from talking about his plans to hook up with the cheerleader." She sighed, "Why doesn't she just come out and say it?"
"Probably because she's hoping he'll finally take the blinders off and see it himself." Spike looked away, "Kinda felt the same those times I tried wooing Rarity."
"Spike?"
"Remember, Twi? Lost count of how many attempts I made to get her to look at me like something besides a friend." he chuckled ruefully. "Guess I was a lot like the guy too."
"Come on, Spike." Twilight wrapped her arms around him, "You weren't that bad."
"Not by much." he put an arm around her in return.
---------------------------------
"Oh, no. No. Nononono. Don't do it man." Spike pleaded when the guy finally saw a chance and asked her out, inadvertently blowing his friend off in the process. "Noooo..."
"Tell me that didn't just happen." Twilight almost whispered as they saw the friend fight back tears, her wings twitching irately. "He just left her in the lurch! I don't believe this! That schlub still can't see how his friend feels about him, or that he just hurt her!"
"This is going to end in tears. For who, I'm not sure yet."
---------------------------------
"Well, that answers that." Spike muttered, watching as it went into a musical highlight segment over what they guessed was a couple of weeks. Mostly from the friend's point of view.
"Wait, that...that doesn't looks right." Twilight pointed out. "He's with the girl he wants, so why isn't he looking thrilled?"
"I know..." Spike answered her. "Look at him. Those dates; there's no real connection, neither of them click. He's so far out of his comfort zone with her, it's not even funny." his voice was tinged with pity. "Probably shouldn't call him this, but the poor guy's tearing himself up just trying to have something in common with that girl, even if it's not real. And his friend can see it."
Twilight looked at him wide-eyed. "How can you tell that's what's happening?"
"You remember Rarity and me only went out on about three dates?"
"Yeah?" she recalled the two had finally began dating a couple of years ago, but they ended it rather quickly, and amicably since neither of them were upset over the split. Though they never really explained why.
He nodded to the screen. "Granted, it was nowhere near as bad as that, but..." he sighed. "We found out we didn't exactly mesh like I thought we would. I mean, she's shopping, ballgowns and galas, garments and being pampered at the spa; I'm comics and kicking back with a cold drink, goofing off and binging on flicks with my oldest friend. There's enough for us to be close friends, but as a couple...just didn't pan out."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Spike. I..." Twilight started, but was cut off by him chuckling.
"You know, now that I'm thinking about it, his friend reminds me of you a lot, Twi."
"M-me?" She asked, not sure if she should be touched by that or not.
"Well, you did try hard to warn me that it wouldn't work out, especially after I starting putting myself through the wringer. From what we've seen she's a straight-A student, like you were. She was willing to help him, even though it meant him going with another girl. You've been known to go out of your way to help somepony even if you ended up paying for it." He smirked, "And you both have the 'adorkable' feature down pat."
"S-Spike!" she squeaked, blushing brightly and using a wing to shove him a little. Thankfully for her, she caught the scene following the song and was able to get back to the subject at hand. "Is he...he is!"
"Huh? Who what?" His head whipped around to see what she meant.
"Look, he's calling it off with the cheerleader! YES!" she let out a victory whoop.
"'Bout time. And she's taking it rather well. Ah, there we go." he relaxed back into the couch. "He's finally realizing what all this...cost him. Yeah..." he trailed off as he finished.
The pair watched with baited breath as the guy, after a bit of searching, managed to find his friend who was understandably cross with him.
"And the apology begins. Bonus points for the sincerity, and admitting that forgiveness more than likely left the station for him." Twilight watched intently when she grabbed the guy by his collar and smirked slightly. "FINALLY!" Twilight cried out in elation. "The schlub's finally seeing what's been in front of him from the start!"
"Yeah. But, Twi?"
"Hm?" She turned to face Spike, noticing the thoughtful expression on his face.
"How about the schlub that's right beside you?"
"Hoo...a-awha?" she asked, caught a little off guard by the question.
"I think I found something else me and that guy had in common."
"W-what...?" she gulped slightly, feeling her face rapidly heat up at the way he was looking at her. And the face they were significantly closer.
"We're both finally seeing what's been in front of us for a while."
"Yo-you mean--?" she stopped abruptly when their lips met. Her eyes widened briefly before coming to a slow close.
The rest of the film was soon forgotten.
Author's Note
Just trying at a one-shot.
