//------------------------------// // Past is in the Past // Story: Summer of Spike // by Wildcard25 //------------------------------// One afternoon, Spike, the girls, and Twistin' were in the park relaxing, while Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, and Spike were skipping rocks across the pond. Rainbow threw hers resulting in a five skip. "Oh, yeah! Beat that, chumps!" she challenged the others. Suddenly Pinkie threw her rock as it skipped all the way across the pond beating Rainbow's record, "Beaten." Pinkie grinned, leaving Rainbow Dash slack jawed. "Burn." Spike whispered to Applejack, who chuckled with him. "Hey, guys, come and get it!" Twilight called, as the group went over and had their picnic lunch. "This stuff you packed is good, Fluttershy." Spike said, as he had a sandwich. "Thanks, Spike." she smiled. "Hey, thanks for inviting me to join you." Twistin' thanked them. "Of course, Twistin'." Twilight replied. "GUYS!" Puck cried, as he came running over before stopping. "Whoa, Puck, what's the rush?" Applejack. "It's Dante, he's in the hospital." Puck explained, while panting. "Hospital?!" the group asked in shock. "Is he all right?" Pinkie asked, only to receive looks, "Right, stupid question." "I don't know for sure if he is," Puck answered, "I got a call from the hospital and told me he was there. They wouldn't give me any details." "This is big. We better get over there." Spike suggested. "I'll call the rest of the guys." Puck said, as the group packed up their picnic. "Better let Sonata and the girls know as well." Twistin' said, as he called Adagio. And with that the group made their way to the hospital. After entering, they found Featherweight, Koda, Adagio, Pipsqueak, Sonata, and Aria were already there. "Thank goodness you guys made it." Koda said in relief. "We came here as fast as we could." Spike explained. "Did you talk with anyone here?" Twistin' asked Adagio. "Yeah. They said we can see him now," she explained, "He's in room 205." "Then let's go." Spike said, as the group walked through the hall as a nurse escorted them. When they arrived at the door, the nurse opened the door, "Dante, you have guests." Everyone entered and saw Dante lying in the hospital bed. His body had some bruises and a black eye, along with a bandage on his cheek, "Welcome." Dante greeted them sarcastically. "What happened to you?" Rainbow asked. "Gang fight." he answered. "A gang fight?" Twilight asked. "That's right. But I'm alive as you can see." "You're lucky to be alive." the nurse chided him. "Anything serious?" Fluttershy asked the nurse. "Just a couple of bruises and a black eye, nothing broken thank goodness." the nurse said in relief. "When can he get out of here?" Sonata asked in worry. "He can leave as soon as he feels ready." she answered. "Thank you for helping him." Spike thanked her. "It's what we do around here," she reminded him, and continued, "I'll give you all a moment." she stepped out of the room. Sonata went to Dante's side and hugged him tightly, "Oh, Dante, you had me worried so..." Dante groaned, "Easy, Sonata. The ribs!" The girl released him, and spoke in concern, "Oh, no did I hurt you more?" "Not that much, just ease up on the bear hugs." he joked. "Dante, which gang did you get into a fight with?" Twistin' inquired. "The Changeling Gang." "Them again?" the boys gasped. "How did this happen?" Featherweight asked in confusion. "They jumped me while I was out, said they wanted to teach me a lesson about abandoning the swarm." he explained. "Abandoning the swarm?" Rarity was puzzled. "What does that mean?" Pipsqueak asked. "The truth is... I was once part of their gang." he confessed. "WHAT?!" they cried, only for the nurse to pop in and shush them. They quieted down, and Dante continued, "Yeah. I once rolled with them, until they were going to start doing stuff I was not comfortable with doing." "Robbing and murdering?" Pinkie guessed, and the girls gasped wondering if that was it. "Just robbing. Mostly shoplifting," Dante explained, and the girls were relieved it wasn't anything too big, "But it could've gone that way eventually if I stuck around." "How did you come to join a group like them?" Aria asked. "More importantly, why aren't your parents here?" Twilight inquired. "Yeah, shouldn't they be here to check on their own son?" Rarity asked. "You're right, they should," Dante agreed, before looking down, "If they were still alive." "What do you mean?" Spike asked. "My parents are dead," he explained, resulting in the group looking horrified, "They've been that way since I was eleven." "That long ago?" Twistin' asked. "Yeah." "Why didn't you tell us?" Koda asked. "Because part of it felt like it was my fault." he answered. "I don't understand." Sonata said puzzled. "That's a surprise." Aria replied sarcastically, only to get elbowed by Adagio. "Let's just say something happened years ago which started me on a path into joining the Changeling gang," Dante explained, "When I was eleven I had a happy life with my parents, and my seven year old brother, Mikey." "You have a brother too?" Puck asked, only to get shushed by Sonata and Spike. "I did," Dante continued, "When were younger, my brother and I were having a bike race. My bro was determined to keep up with me, so he kept peddling faster and faster. When we rode our bikes across the street, a speeding car barreled in and knocked my brother sending him flying off his bike and onto the pavement." "Oh, dear." Fluttershy gasped, with a hand over her mouth. "I panicked, but managed to get a hold of my parents. We took him to the hospital, but apparently we weren't fast enough. The combination of both my brother getting hit by the car and the head injury he received from hitting the pavement got to him. The doctor declared him D.O.A." "D.O.A?" Pinkie was confused. "Dead On Arrival." Twilight enlightened her. "Oh." "My brother died at only seven years old, I couldn't have done anything for him. Plus I felt responsible for what happened to him. If we weren't racing he wouldn't have gotten hit," Dante sighed, "After the funeral, we tried to move on, but my parents couldn't. Through some stupid point in an argument they began blaming each other for his death, and in the end both of them took each others lives. And worse of all, I watched them do it." "Whoa." the group gasped. "They were taken away by the paramedics, and child services took me as well. I had no other family member willing to take me in so I was brought to the orphanage." "Someone did adopt you, right?" Twilight hoped. "No. Every time a couple or a single parent was brought in they never did choose me. Sometimes they'd take glances at me as if I was all they had to offer, but ended up choosing someone else. When I was thirteen, they let me go to make room for some new arriving orphans. I didn't care however, I was determined to make it on my own. I had to be stronger and toughen up for whatever out there would cross my path. I eventually found my way under the Changeling Gang." "Yikes." Sonata gasped. "While under their guidance I was toughened up and taught a lot about life and surviving. I thought it was the only place I belonged. When I discovered we were going to be doing more than shoplifting I bailed on them leaving a majority of them to be taken in by the police. I knew to cleanse myself of what I did, I had to make a real life for myself. I took some small time jobs, until I could afford my own place." "So you live alone?" Rarity asked. "Yeah." "So how do you get an education?" Twilight asked in confusion. "I take online courses." "No wonder you were so closed off when we first met you." Rainbow said. "Yeah. Now you know." Dante said. "So what happened to the Changeling gang?" Adagio inquired. "They were busted by some bystanders who called the cops who took them into custody. Luckily an ambulance was with them and they rushed me straight here." "Well, those varmints can't hurt ya no more now that they're locked up." Applejack said. "I know, but sometimes I feel I should be in there with them." Dante sighed. "Why would you think that?" Spike asked. "Because I still did bad things when I was with them, and I haven't atoned for them." he looked to the side. "Dante," Spike began, "Sure you've done things in the past, but you have made up for them by making yourself a better life. You think you need to show everyone you've atoned for you past sins? The truth is the only one you need to show you've atoned for them is yourself." "Spike's right, man." Twistin' agreed. "We may not have known what you were like back then, but that doesn't matter." Koda said. "You are who you are now." Puck added. "Guys," Dante gasped, seeing everyone around him smiling in confirmation. He smiled, "Thanks, guys. I'm glad I met you all." "So are we." Spike said, as the two fist bumped. Hours later, Dante walked out of the hospital with all his friends. He was back in his clothing but still had the bandage on his cheek. He spoke, "I'm glad to be out of that hospital. I don't think I could take the smell anymore." "Quite so." Rarity agreed with a shudder. "So now that we're out, what do we do now?" Sonata asked. "Well, we never did finish our picnic." Twilight said. "So how about we all go out and grab a bite?" Twistin' suggested. Aria shrugged, "Whatever works." "I'd be up for that." Pipsqueak said. "Then let's go!" Pinkie cheered, as they all headed off, while Dante walked behind with Sonata. "How're your ribs, do they hurt still?" she asked. "No. They're good now. Just needed some time to strengthen up." he answered. "Good." Sonata said, as she embraced him tightly. "Ooh, this feels good." Dante admitted. Sonata released him, and firmly pokes him in the chest, "But don't ever scare me like that again!" Dante smiled sheepishly, as the two embraced again, before following their friends.