//------------------------------// // Week I Part I // Story: The Long Run // by Excy //------------------------------// A few days have passed since I was released from the hospital, and I start the group today. I really don't want to. Being in a room with a bunch of sad people including myself is not how i want to spend my Saturday. Twilight said it would be good for me, that being in an environment with people with similar problems to mine would help me or whatever. I think it's stupid. At least it's better than being forced to talk with a stranger. Anyway, it's pretty early right now. We don't meet until 10 o'clock, and it's 7 a.m. right now. Since I was up so early, I thought I'd do some cleaning for Twilight. It's something I like to do if I'm upset. It gets my mind off of things. I started with the bookshelf and began taking down each book and placed it on the floor near me. I began dusting off the shelves and started putting the books back by genre in alphabetical order. Some time passed, and when I was just about finished, Twilight came downstairs and saw me. "What are you doing?" She asked, wiping her eyes. "Just doing some reorganizing. I think I'm done, though." "How long have you been doing this?" "Uh, I'm not quite sure," I looked at the clock. 9:32. Jeez, how long was I doing this? "About two hours, two and a half maybe?" "Wow Spike, usually it's you telling me to take a break, but I think you need to take one and go get ready." I sighed, got up, and went upstairs to get ready. About ten minutes later, I come back down, ready to leave. When I come back down, I see Twilight in the kitchen fixing up some breakfast. I glance at the clock again. 9:43. Shoot, I need to leave soon. I make my way to the door, and as I'm just about to leave, I hear Twilight say something. "Spike," I turn to her, but she doesn't look away from her breakfast. "I know you're not looking forward to going, but please, make an effort to keep going. You don't realize how much you mean to others." I don't immediately reply. "Alright." "Oh, and Spike? Make some friends, will ya?" She looked at me and smiled. I smiled back, and left. Boy, do I really not want to do this. I'm standing right outside of the building, which appears to be a small chapel. I take a deep breath, and knock. I get no answer. I'm not late, right? I knock again, this time a little harder and louder. No answer. I'm getting frustrated now. I have to waste my time just for no one to be here? I knock one more time. Nothing. "Pff. Forget this." I mumble to myself and turn around to leave. Just as I'm about to leave, the door opens behind me. I turn back around, and look at them. I hear them chuckle. "Spike! Glad you could join us, today. You're just in time, we're about to start. Come on in!" Discord said, levitating towards me and pushing me inside. When I'm inside, I hear the door shut behind me. Guess there's no turning back now. He takes the lead and directs me to follow him. We go down a set of stairs into the basement of the chapel. When we make it to the bottom, I freeze. I really can't believe what I'm seeing. There are about 12 chairs in a circle in the middle of the basement. Discord levitates himself to his seat besides someone I don't recognize. I don't know what I'm more afraid of: the amount of people here I don't know, or the people here I do. I see Scootaloo leaning back in her chair, which seems like it could fall any minute. Beside her is Rumble, laughing with Scootaloo. A few seats away from them is Silver Spoon, which I'm most surprised about. I wouldn't expect her to be here. She's rich, has Diamond Tiara, she has it all. "Come, sit, relax." Discord says, poofing up a chair with a snap, fitting it into the circle near Silver Spoon and another boy. I walk slowly towards it, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. I take a seat and sink down into my chair, pulling my hood up over my head. "I hate to do this to you, Spike, but I'm afraid you're going to have to introduce yourself to the others. You can just say your name, I won't pressure you to say anything you don't want to." I stare at him for a moment, before standing up, putting my hands in my pockets. "Hi. I'm Spike." And I sit back down. I get a few odd stares, but they don't seem to care. I also got a few smiles from others, which felt oddly comforting. "So, in honour of our new recruit, shall we recite the quote?" A few groans emerge from the others. "The quote?" I ask, to no answer, but them beginning. "We've all been through hardships We've all been through hell But we know The Long Run Will serve us well." Some of them had bored faces while reciting it, others looked happy. It was bittersweet to see that some people could actually find happiness here. I gave me a bit of hope. When they sat down, Discord the small crowd before him. He noticed some people seemed bored. "Alright everyone, we're gonna do something a little new. Everyone, find a partner." Discord announced, making everyone look around. Everyone mostly just paired up with the person next to them. I saw Silver Spoon pair up with Rumble, which took me by surprise; I didn't even notice she moved. I sat there, weighing my options. Just then, I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Hey, I noticed you don't have a partner, would you mind if I paired up with you?" They barely spoke above a whisper. I turned to see Scootaloo, rubbing her arm. She looked at the floor. "S-Sure." I stuttered. Stuttered? "G-Good. Because you didn't have a choice." She was putting up a tough front. I couldn't tell if she was being serious or joking, but I think it was the latter. I chuckled nervously and waited for Discord. "So today, we're gonna take it slow. Since I doubt most of you know each other, we're going to take time to. Get to know each other. Heck, who knows? you might make a new friend." He finished. "So," she pulled out a chair and sat back-to-front. "What brings you here?" What a way to start off. "Getting straight to the point, huh?" I chuckled, and so did she. "Really though, I'm curious." I sighed. I really did not feel like venting to someone like Scootaloo on my first day here. "The same thing that brings everyone else here." I sunk back into my chair and crossed my arms. "Not everyone here tried to kill themselves, you know." What? "How did you-" "I overheard Rainbow talking about it. Don't worry, though, your secret's safe with me." She winked, which didn't feel any better. "Well, what about you?" I spoke up. She blushed and looked away. I can tell I made her uncomfortable. "I-I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to." I feel bad. She kinda looks like she's about to cry. She takes a deep breath, and looks back at me. I can tell she's trying to keep her composure. "Long story short, I did the same as you. I'd like to keep it that way." She said brashly, turning her head. When she looked back at me, I could tell she felt bad as well. "F-For now. I guess it's better like that, right? I mean, I barely know about your secret, and you mine." She rubbed her arm. "Yeah, at least until we get to know each other better," I said, comforting her. "Hopefully." I mumbled, slouching back into my chair. She giggled. "What was that last part?" She leaned forward, closing the space between us. Jeez, she heard that? For some reason, I began blushing. "Uh, N-Nothing." I chuckled nervously. She smirked at me. "Hm. Fine then," She sat back in her chair. I could tell she heard me, and wasn't gonna go on with it. Just then, Discord spoke up once again.