For the second time in two days, Spike had lost everything. First his home. Now Twilight’s hospitality.
He walked down the city streets, mulling over the cause of all of his misfortune so far. Garble was the one who cost him everything. Nothing he could do would ever restore what he lost, which was the worst part of what Garble had done.
“Spike!” a voice called from across the street.
Spike stopped and looked, and saw Discord running toward him.
“Where’d you go, Spike? I was looking for you at the beach all day yesterday,” Discord said.
Spike didn’t say anything, and resumed walking forward.
Nothing needed to be said for Discord to see that something had drastically changed from the boy he met only yesterday. He didn’t know what it could possibly be, but knew it was something horrible. For that reason, he thought it necessary to keep a close watch on the boy.
Spike’s walk took him to one of Canterlot’s malls, just as the sun was setting. He reached into his pocket, and found a mere twenty dollars inside. However, for what he needed, twenty dollars would be plenty.
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Twenty dollars later, Spike had only a pillow and a blanket for his purchases (along with a meager dinner). When he left the mall, he unknowingly passed by a familiar group.
Twilight was sitting with her friends at a table in the restaurant Spike had left. Six of the girls were happily chatting, while Twilight remained silent over her salad.
“Twilight, the croutons won’t start talking, no matter how hard you stare,” Pinkie said, through a mouthful of turkey sandwich.
Twilight sighed, and slumped her shoulders.
“Twilight, dear, whatever is the matter?” Rarity asked.
“It’s Spike,” Twilight said.
“Now, don’t tell me yer still thinkin’ about that little punk,” Applejack said, before eating a handful of onion rings.
“You remember what he did to my sister,” Rarity added.
“I know. But, I can’t help but think what I did was wrong,” Twilight answered.
Dash took an enormous bite of her corned beef on rye, and said, “Give it a rest, Twi. We’re not here to talk about Spike. We’re here to see the new Daring Do movie.” She swallowed her food, and looked at the time on her phone. Fifteen minutes to showtime. “Besides, that little thug got what he deserved.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.
“You didn’t hear?” Dash said, “Turns out Scootaloo and her friends are in the same class as Spike. She and Apple Bloom cornered him at lunchtime, and kicked the snot out of him.”
Dash felt momentarily proud of Scootaloo’s actions, but that pride quickly faded when she saw the faces of her friends. Each of them were staring, mortified at what they had heard.
In that moment, Twilight abruptly stood up and left the table.
“I have to go now,” Twilight said.
For what had been happening in the boy’s life, she felt it was now her responsibility to look for Spike.
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Spike didn’t go far from the mall to find shelter. He walked into one of the dark alleyways he was so familiar with, and pulled a large box from beside a dumpster. This would be his dwelling for the night.
He laid down his pillow, set out his blanket, and settled down for the night.
As he closed his eyes, he remained ever vigilant for the sounds of approaching danger. He knew Garble was still out there, and could come to him at any second.
The sound of steps alerted him, and he peered out of his box.
It was too dark to see who else was in the alley with him, but they were too small to be Garble.
“You know, it’s dangerous to be walking in alleys like this at night,” Spike called.
The other person jerked to alertness, rising into the light to reveal themself to be a girl around Spike’s age.
“Well, if you you’re the kind of people who hang out in alleyways, I think I can manage,” the girl answered.
“How do you know that? For all you know, I could be a violent robber, waiting to attack you.”
“Well, if you are, you’re doing a bad job by announcing yourself first.”
Spike rolled his eyes. Were he still in his criminal days, he would have shown this girl what she was provoking.
“Name’s Spike,” Spike said, not knowing what else to say.
“Smolder. I guess it’s nice meeting you. What are you doing here anyway,” the girl asked.
“Just looking for a place to stay.”
“Well, I know a better place, if you want to come with.”
“Yeah? Where?”
“Not far. Just the other side of town.”
Spike rolled his eyes again. That was about as far as it got. Still, any place had to be better than the alley.
“Alright. Who are we staying with?” Spike asked.
“Just some guy I know. His name’s Garble,” Smolder answered.
Rage and fear flooded Spike. He didn’t recognize this girl from his gang days. He realized that she may well have been going down the same path he once did.
“Smolder!” Spike said, as he clutched the girl’s shoulders, “Whatever you do: stay away from Garble! No good can ever come from being with him! He’ll kill your family if he has to!”
“What are you talking about? He took me in after my family died! Let go of me!” Smolder said.
A flurry of rage rushed over Spike. Was Garble responsible for Smolder’s dead family too?
“Hey, I think I recognize you. Isn’t your name actually Slayer?” Smolder asked.
“No! It’s Spike,” Spike vehemently asserted.
Spike left at that moment, carrying his pillow and blanket with him. Smolder left, going down the dark alley she had come from. Shortly after, Twilight appeared, and crossed the street to look for Spike. After her came Discord from the alleyway. He looked left and right for Spike, and walked off in the opposite direction the boy had gone.
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There was nowhere else to go. Spike went back to the beach, where all his woes began.
He laid down his blanket and pillow, and watched the sun disappear completely behind the horizon. Here was the exact spot that he had bumped into Twilight, and recalled the short time he spent with her there.
He was so engrossed in his rumination that he didn’t even notice when someone sat down beside him.
“Hello?” a quiet voice said.
Spike jumped slightly, and saw the girl from earlier. The one he had burned when he robbed her before. Currently, the sleeveless top she was wearing bared her scarred bicep, which faced Spike like a vicious animal.
“Hey,” was all Spike said. “I’m Spike.”
“Sweetie Belle,” the girl answered, slightly frightened to be so close to the boy who scarred her. “Why didn’t you do anything?”
“What do you mean?”
“You just laid there and let my friends attack you. Any other boy would have fought back, but you just took it.”
“I don’t know. I guess I just needed to take it. I owed it to them, after all.”
“What do you mean?” Sweetie asked, confused by the answered.
Spike turned to face Sweetie Belle, and glanced at her burned arm, before answering.
“Well, it was just my way of saying sorry to you. I know it’s hard to think about, but it was when I attacked you that I started realizing what I was doing was wrong. I started thinking long and hard about where my life was going if I kept doing things like that. And what my mom would think if she knew the kinds of things I was doing…”
Spike was silent again.
Sweetie Belle saw the same thing as all the others: something about Spike had broken, and needed someone to mend it.
“You’d better get home. Your family’s probably worried about you,” Spike said.
“No, I...I think I want to stay,” Sweetie Belle said.
Spike didn’t know what to think as Sweetie Belle laid down on the blanket and rested her head on the edge of the pillow. But, in that moment, he had found the companionship he had been seeking. Slowly, he laid his head down on the other edge of the pillow, and felt Sweetie’s hand slide over his.
“I know it’s kind of weird, but: can we be friends?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Sure,” was all Spike said.
The two children slowly drifted off to sleep under the stars. Things were not easy for either of them, but for now, they could ease one another’s burden with a newly forged bond between them