Once upon a time, chores were the worst part of Sour Silvia Sweet's routine. But her walk home from summer school had become a more dreadful task than scrubbing the toilet because she had to walk by Twilight's house on the way home.
The beautiful purple mansion was a haunted house to the Crystal Prep student. A reminder of what she missed out on by being mean to someone she barely knew.
Despite going to the same school, she never knew Twilight lived so close to her. Not that she bothered to find out and before the Friendship Games, she wouldn't have cared. Twilight was the school loser and the sister of her proximity to avoid her at all costs.
Now, the proximity she had to her missing classmates' home added to the sense of longing she felt as she approached the stately manor. If she had been Twilight's friend, she could've had a place to stop by on the way home. And she knew it was an excellent place to stop by.
From the small amount of time she had spent in the house, she could tell that Dean Cadence and Shining (on a good day) were gracious hosts. She could picture Dean Cadence cooking them a meal the way her own mom did whenever she brought friends over. And she could tell Shining was a good guy who would've welcomed them too. Twilight's family would've good family friends, and she pissed that away by being a bully.
The small glimpse of hospitality she got from the pink-skinned woman only made getting barred from the house by Shining even worse. She understood Shining banned her from the home because he was thinking about the feelings of his missing sister, but it still hurt. She'd never been banned from anywhere in her life.
(Well, she'd been banned from Clownie's Pizza after she punched the clown, but clowns were evil, so there were no regrets.)
But she never had been banned from a place she wanted to be in. Specifically, she wanted to be a part of Twilight's life. Not just out of pity or remorse, she realized that aside from a welcoming family, the nerd had a lot of good about her. Dean Cadence showed her all the cool things Twilight built with her intelligence and realized the lavender-skinned girl could've helped her with her homework and kept her out of summer school.
In a way, Twilight being alive but stranded in some other world made the hurt feel worse than if she was actually dead. She knew it was idiotic to think that, but the possibility of the teen genius being alive added to her longing.
"Would I be going to summer school if I-" Sour began, only to see two figures near the house. She usually walked around the house out of guilt, but morbid curiosity drew her to it.
Fluttershy kneeled on the ground, playing fetch with an excited Spike. Sour scurried behind a tree that allowed her to be hidden while being close enough that she could hear. While she didn't think Fluttershy or the dog would rat her out, Shining was still not completely cool with them yet, and she didn't want to risk his wrath by being seen near his dead parents' house when he didn't want them near it. Still, she sat by and watched the two play silently. Seeing them play was something that brought her self-loathing and longing to the surface again.
"That could've been me playing with the little doggy," Sour thought sadly.
"That was a really good catch, Spike!" Fluttershy gushed once Spike returned the ball for the 30th time. Ever since Sunny and her friends became Sunset's lab assistants, Fluttershy had been hired by Cadence to be Spike's petsitter; however, the yellow-skinned girl thought "babysitter" was a more appropriate title. The dog had the intelligence of a ten-year-old boy.
"Really, really, really," Spike said excitedly running around like he was a kid in a candy store, his tail wagging all the same.
Fluttershy cooed at this adorable sight. Since she fell in love with animals, Fluttershy always wondered what it would be like if animals could talk. Spike answered that: having a boy's brain, and the instincts of a happy dog made the puppy one of the cutest things in existence. "For doing such a good job, I'm gonna get you a nice treat."
"Can it be the peanut butter," the sapient canine asked with even greater enthusiasm. "Can it, can it, can it, can it, can it!"
"Of course, Spikey-Wikey," Fluttershy said as she walked toward the house. "Just wait right there, and I'll be right back." As soon as the yellow-skinned teenager walked into the house, the dog's excited expression became morose.
"Oh, who am I kidding," the puppy miserably moaned, "It's not the same." He knew Fluttershy, Shining, and Cadence had given him time and attention to fill the void in his soul. It was why he would put on a brave face for them to pay them back, but none of them could take the place of his original owner. It didn't matter how often he was told they would find her. Twilight, the girl who rescued him from the pound and gave him a home, wasn't there. Once he knew the pink-haired girl was in the house and couldn't hear him, he began whimpering over his missing owner.
Seeing the dog in quiet agony felt like a knife to the young Shadowbolt's heart. Dean Cadence described the dog as a little boy who watched his older sister die in front of him. Seeing the now-sapient animal look so heartbroken, Sour could see it wasn't an exaggeration. The self-pity from getting barred from the house faded into sympathy for the poor puppy. The agony of the poor dog was a testament to the pain she caused by being mean to Twilight.
As soon as Fluttershy opened the door, Spike's mood shifted, and he forced a smile onto his face. It hurt Sour even more that the dog felt the need to wear a mask so he wouldn't worry others. Seeing the misery of a canine, Sour Sweet's own misery and despair gave way to a new emotion: determination. "I have to do something for him," Sour thought to herself in a serious tone. Sour realized she couldn't leave a poor soul to suffer alone anymore. She'd let that happen with Twilight, and by Vida she would never let that happen again.
The Next day
"I have a surprise for your Spike," Fluttershy said kindly as she pulled something out of her backpack. With her visit coming to an end, it was time to give him his daily treat.
"Another Peanut Butter Bone," the small dog asked hopefully.
"Even better," Fluttershy said happily. "Two whole boxes of Peanut Butter Bones." The dog thanked the animal shelter volunteer and took the boxes into his doghouse with his mouth. With that, Fluttershy decided to go home, knowing Shining Armor would return in about a half-hour.
Spike was breaking open his box of treats when he heard footsteps. "Spike," a small voice muttered. The dog's somewhat good mood immediately deteriorated as he knew who it was. He stormed out of the doghouse, a furious expression on his face.
Sour Sweet's composure nearly slipped seeing the dog give her such a piercing look, but Sour, for once, kept her emotions under control. "What are you doing here?" Spike said in a cold, angry tone, not happy to see his owner's tormentor showing their faces. "Shining said he didn't want you here." Sour just closed her eyes and let out a tiny sigh.
"Spike," Sour began in a patient tone, "I know you hate me, but I feel bad about-,"
"You felt bad?" Spike interrupted incredulously, his tone becoming even more chilly. "You know who felt worse? Shining when Cadence had to tell him his sister died."
Sour Sweet let out another sad sigh. Self-pity wasn't going to get her anywhere with Spike. "Spike, I am so sorry for what I did," she said, barely holding back tears. She held up a plastic bag labeled "Pet City." "I want to make it up to you, so I bought you-,"
"Is Twilight in the bag?" Spike asked coldly, his teeth almost grinding together. Sour didn't reply, knowing it was a rhetorical question. "Then go way."
"Spike," Sour said desperately, trying to regain control over her temper. "I got you some toys," she held up a plastic chew toy in the shape of a steak. She squeezed it, causing it to let out an adorable squeak sound. "Isn't that fun?" Sour replied with a fake smile.
"I don't need your stupid toys," Spike said, his tone becoming as sharp a knife, "and I especially don't need you. In fact, I can't think of anyone who could-,"
"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST GIVE ME ANOTHER CHANCE?!" Sour yelled angrily, finally losing her temper, "CADENCE GAVE ME-,"
"Cadence didn't give you another chance!" Spike bellowed, his fake calm giving way to blistering anger. "She's stuck with you!"
Sour looked at the dog with shock and hurt."What, what are you-,"
"You think Cadence's gave you a chance?!" Spike asked with a spiteful hiss. "No! She was lying to you. I was listening to what they were saying after. Shining wanted you expelled from school because of what you did. You know why Cadence didn't?"
"Why?" Sour asked with a whimper.
"Because you knew Cadence lied to get Cinch fired, and she was afraid you were gonna tell on her." Sour Sweet looked at the dog. "She never forgave you, you were just the lesser evil she had to put up with to get rid of Cinch, and if Cadence punished you, she knew you could get her fired." He let out another growl. "If wasn't for Cinch, Cadence wouldn't have anything to do with you! She doesn't like you! She is stuck with you!"
"She really-," Sour began, tears forming at the edges of her eyes.
"You think anybody really likes you and your stupid little friends!" Spike hissed. "You're an angry meanie nutcase who ruins everything with your stupid little voice! You ruined Twilight's life, you got her killed, and you hurt her family and me! As far as I can tell, Twilight was the coolest person ever, and you're the loser screw-up everybody has to put up with!" Sour began to cry, but Spike wasn't the least bit sympathetic. "I don't need your stupid toys or your little face near me! Leave!" The dog was clearly red in the face. "If you don't get out, I'm gonna tell Shining you were here!"
"But-"
"GET OUT!" With that, Sour ran away, tears flowing down her face. Spike watched this with cruel satisfaction.
Once she got as far away as possible from the dog, the fuschia-haired girl ran behind a tree. She angrily threw the dog toys she got to the ground. Once she saw no one was looking, she fell to the ground weeping. She cried while clutching her knees to her chest like a sad kindergartner.
Spike stormed back into his doghouse with a massive headache, muttering about how much he hated Twilight's bullies. He began munching on his dog treats, but not out of joy. He was trying to eat his stress away. Once his rage died, he didn't feel any joy from making Sour cry: just a sad and empty feeling.
"Was I too mean?" Spike asked himself with a hint of remorse in his voice.