//------------------------------// // What makes a Man // Story: A Spike of Remorse // by TheGildedHeroPrice //------------------------------// In spite of Scootaloo’s ‘help’ the birdhouse was coming along nicely in Spike’s opinion. Well, as nicely as he could expect given the situation. He had just finished sanding the top of the wooden roof, making sure it was smooth and without knicks. They would be spending tomorrow getting to paint it so for now he just wanted to make sure it was perfect. This is coming along great! Maybe Shining Armor will help me hang it up in the backyard and Twilight can help me make some homemade birdfood. I wonder how Scoots is doing. Spike glanced over at his companion and immediately knew it was a mistake. Scootaloo had already busted out every color imaginable, her once white paint palette was now completely a mess of rainbows. Which wasn’t the surprising part. That was the fact that she was covered in a distinct rainbow pattern herself. “Uh Scoots, you got a little something,” Spike went to gesture to his face with a finger but then opened his hand waved it down his body. “Everywhere…” “Yeah, I got bored. Painting this thing isn’t going to be as much fun as I thought it would be.” Scootaloo’s tongue poked out of her mouth to the side as her brow dipped in thought. Her hands, covered in bright red and blue—in some spots smudging into a darkish purple—were currently holding a very fragile, unstable, birdhouse-esque half painted box.   “You do know we weren’t supposed to start painting till tomorrow, right?” Spike bit his lip, his eyes shifting from her face to down her body and back up. “Did you honestly expect me to wait?” She asked, glancing over at him with a smirk. The young boy swallowed slowly, his eyes refocusing on her face. Wait for what? We can— Spike’s eyes widened and he shook his head roughly. He quickly faced forward, his back ramrod straight as he reeled back in his thoughts. His small hands clenched the black fabric on his shorts. What am I thinking! I’m dating Sweetie Belle and I’m sitting here checking out her best friend? What the hell is wrong with me? “Uh, Spike, you alright there bud? You’re breathing kinda heavy and you’re shaking.” “I’m fine,” Spike managed to say, a bit more forcefully than he intended, which caused the young girl to lean away from him. “Uh alright, class is almost over anyways. I-I’m probably gonna go see if Mr. Dust will let me wash up.” Scootaloo hopped down from her stool and walked around the young boy, giving him one last glance, she hesitantly patted his shoulder with the side of her arm so her painted hands wouldn't stain his white shirt before swiftly making her way to the front of the room. The young boy sighed, his body relaxing from its rigid state. He laid his cheek on the smooth worktable, his eyes locked onto the sunlit world just outside the window to his left. What am I doing. Do I like Scootaloo now too? Sure she’s pretty, in a rough-and-tumble tomboy way. But Sweetie Belle, oh Sweetie. She’s beautiful, gorgeous really. Her smile, her shy and girlish mannerisms, the way her uniform fits her body perfectly making her look like an angel, and oh her…  Not that Scootaloo doesn’t have a nice… and then there’s Rarity. Oh Celestia do I still love Rarity? I think she’ll always have a place in my heart. No matter what girl comes into my life, she will always be my first real… The bell rung then, breaking Spike out of his thoughts. Scootaloo came running around him, hurriedly picking up her ‘birdhouse’ and her bag before disappearing out the door as quick as she came. “Miss Scootaloo! You come back here and clean up your mess! At least leave the— oh forget it.” Mr. Dust waved his hand off in the direction she left before sitting back in his chair, grumbling.   The young boy glanced around the room, noting that the other students were writing their names on a slip of paper and nailing it to the top of their projects. Spike quickly followed in their lead, scribbling his name on a paint splattered strip and using a small nail to pin it to the top of his own birdhouse. Together, under the direction of the instructor, they all placed their projects in a backroom of the woodshop. With a sigh, Spike returned to his work desk, his eyes surveying the mess his friend left before lifting his head to watch the other students leave. What would Twilight say if I just left this mess? He thought. As the other kids left, he walked over to the wash station and started grabbing paper towels. First one, two, then a whole dozen. It wasn’t like he was in any rush, he had a long walk home today and class was over. “Here, take this.” Spike looked up to see the instructor hand him an entire case of paper towels. “Thanks for cleaning up after her.” Mr. Dust said. “She’s not so bad… well, not when you get to know her,” Spike replied, smiling. “You might be underestimating your influence on that girl. She settled down a lot when you arrived.” “You saying she likes me or something,” Spike chuckled at the joke. “She might.” “W-what?” Spike asked, but the teacher was already walking away. The green-haired boy went back to his station, confused beyond belief as he busied himself in the task at hand. Cleaning paint off the table proved to be just as difficult as it sounds. What really baffled the eleven-year-old though was how Scootaloo managed to get paint on the underside of the table in what looked like shoe-print patterns. Spike stood back frowning at the table, his eyes lifting to look at the rest of the desks in the room. Most did have old paint splatters on them, some had nicks and scratches from previous encounters with the work tools, but none of them were nearly as bad as the chaos storm the young sports girl had brought to their desk.   “Scootaloo, when I get my hands on you I’m going to—” he paused in that sentence. At the mention of putting his hands on her, he thought of putting his hands on rather… inappropriate places. Memories of her bouncing up and down after getting the splinter came back to mind, as did her kissing him on the cheek. Suddenly his shorts felt a little tight again. Sighing, he glanced around and quickly adjusted his shorts. Spike made a mental note to talk with Shining about it as he went back to cleaning the table. His dad had given him the birds and the bees talk last year, but that didn’t answer how to deal with this sort of problem on—what was becoming—an hourly bases. “Alright son, that’s enough for now. If anything I’ll just have her stay back after class tomorrow and try to get the rest off,” Mr. Dust called out from the front of the room, waving his hand in a gesture for the young boy to go. “You go on and get outta here, I’m sure your ride is waiting for you.” “Yes sir,” Spike said softly, his hands grabbed all the used paper towels and threw them away before he picked up his bag and headed out of the room. Walking down the hall, he quickly realized his issue wasn’t going away anytime soon and the walk home wasn’t going to be as fun as he thought. His mind was now filled with images that he wasn’t sure made him uncomfortable or beyond excited. The thoughts of seeing the girls once again before he left for home did him no favors in that regard either. I wonder if they’re still here waiting outside for me. I’m sure their sisters aren’t coming to pick them up today, Twilight had said Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow would be attending the party with her anyways.   If they were waiting for him, it wasn’t by his locker. Spike walked down the mostly empty hallway, his eyes locked onto a certain side noticing that his own and Sweetie’s locker were practically deserted. That—not seeing Sweetie again—made him a little sad. He didn’t know why, but he did really want to see her again, even if it was just to apologize for what he did in gym class. But… Scootaloo said she… was flattered? That thought did him no favors, not in his head, or down below. He sighed and hit his head on his locker door before putting in the combination. Grabbing the books he needed—and a few extra that might be fun to read that night—Spike threw his bag back over his shoulder and made for the door to leave the best-worst first day of school he had ever had in his entire life behind him. With a sigh, and one last adjustment of his shorts—he hoped—he began to once again make his way down the hall towards the exit. The bright light of the sun shined through the glass window wall of the front of the school blinding the young boy momentarily.  As he had been adjusted to the dull fluorescent light the school used to illuminate the rooms, the sunlight felt like it was burning his retinas. Grabbing the handle to the door, Spike pushed it open. He made his way slowly down the sixteen-step staircase he had conquered this morning—well, that his three friends forced him to face, but that was besides the point—and paused at the bottom. He tossed one last glance at the building behind him.   Glad that’s over. At least now I can go home and tell everyone how I had ‘such a wonderful day’. Spike scowled, turning back around. Quickly he glanced around for his friends, his eyes made their way down the concrete path towards the sidewalk that would take him home if they weren’t still waiting for him. If he thought his day of hell was over, he was in for a shock. “Give it back!” Spike’s head snapped to the right so quickly one might have thought he had broken his neck. The young boy gasped as she saw Strife, Bask, and Buck surrounding a pale girl with a distinctive purple and pink hair style. One that Spike recognized, one he’d never forget. “Sweetie!” Spike yelled as he dropped his backpack and ran to the girl. Sweetie turned to look at him, “Spike!” “Oh, the gallant knight is here,” Bask said with a laugh as he held up a small stuffed doll away from the girl. Sweetie was tall, but not as tall as the eighth grader. Spike couldn’t make out what it was they had taken from her, but that it was Sweetie’s was beyond obvious. “Give that back to her!” He shouted as he quickly closed the distance. “Uh oh boys, he’s pissed we’re messing with his little girlfriend,” Strife teased. “We’re going to get it now. I'm scared.” “Spike, it’s okay, it doesn’t matter,” Sweetie tried to say, but after everything he had been through, Spike just didn’t care anymore. He was tired of this, tired of them using their size to bully him, to knock him out of his chair, to say mean things about his friends, and for dunking his head in a toilet in gym. Them taking something from Sweetie was the last straw. He ran right in front of her, putting himself between her and the three bullies. “Last chance, give. It. Back!” “Or what?” “Spike, AB and Scoots aren’t here, they had to go, I don’t… I….” “Just stay back, I got this,” Spike said as he raised his fists. “This is funny, what exactly do you have, Spikey-boy?” Strife said with a laugh. “What are you going to do against the three of us? And more importantly, how you going to stop us from doing what we want to her?” Strife crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes. It had happened so fast, so quick, that none of the other two boys even saw it. In one swift kick, Spike struck Strife as hard as he could, right in the nuts. “Spike…” Sweetie said, shocked. That was the last easy hit he got. Both Bask and Buck lurched forward and grabbed the green-haired boy’s arms. He fought, he kicked, and swung with all his might, but he simply didn’t have a chance. “I’m going… to… hurt you…so bad…” Strife grunted between loosened tears as he rolled on the ground and tried to stand. “Hah, it was worth it!” Spike shouted. Bask nailed him in the side of his stomach, hard. “Spike!” Sweetie cried. He tried not to cry, he tried, and failed. The blow hurt, a lot. His resistance slacked, allowing the two boys to get a tighter hold on his arms. To his horror, he saw Strife starting to rise. “Leave him alone!” Sweetie yelled, only to be pushed back into the dirt when she tried to intervene. “Stay out of it!” Buck yelled after pushing her on the ground. “Don’t you touch her again!” Spike shouted as he headbutted the black-haired boy in the face. “Fuck, this kids got a temper,” Bask said, nailing him once more in the side. “Yeah, let’s beat it out of him,” Strife said as he rared his right fist back. The next thing Spike knew, he was on the ground. His hands hurt from where he hit the concrete, but it was nothing compared to how much his face hurt. He was crying, that much he knew, almost sobbing. His left eye felt blistered, hard to see out of. Sweetie had ran up to him, her hands on his back, her tears falling just as quickly as his own. “Just what I thought, all talk,” Strife said as he rubbed his nuts. “But for that shit, I think him and his grilfriend need to be taught a lesson, don’t you boys?” “No!” Spike yelled as he got to his hands and knees. “I won’t let you lay one hand on her.” They watched as he got to his feet, it took the youth a minute, but to his credit, he did. There was red bruising all over his left eye, tears falling freely from his right, but he raised his fists one more time. “Is… is he for real?” Bask asked, somewhat shocked. “Pft, it’s just a pathetic show of resistance, we’ll see how much he’s got left in him after I make his other eye mat—” Strife trailed off, his jaw going slack. “You can tease me, push me down, dunk my head in a toilet, but the moment you mess with my friends you’ve stepped over the line,” Spike said, he held a hand behind him, keeping Sweetie back, “I won’t let you touch any of them, regardless what it cost me.” “W-w-w-we weren’t going to do anything, promise,” Bask stammered. “Yeah, it was just a joke… hehe,” Buck said. Spike was taken aback by their sudden one-eighty. Strife looked yellow, a color that ran down his leg and onto the ground as he gazed up at something directly behind Spike, or to be more accurate, someone. “Run?” Buck asked. “Run,” Bask replied. At that all three boys took off straight away from Spike and Sweetie. It was at that moment that Spike turned around and saw the real cause of their fear. He looked up to see a seventeen-year-old linebacker training to join the marines after High School, someone he was proud to call his big brother. “S-S-Shining Armor?” Shining Armor uncrossed his arms from around his chest. His gaze fell down to his younger brother, who, even now, was starting to cry in his girlfriend’s arms. The six-foot five, two-hundred fifty-five pound athlete lowered himself to one knee and placed an arm around Spike. “You did good, little bro. You did damn good.” “He’s… he’s hurt,” Sweetie cried as she held him. Shining Armor lifted his brother’s face to get a good look at his eye. Gingerly, he ran his thumb around the bruise, something that caused Spike to tense up in even more pain and earned him some scowls from Sweetie. “Hmm, it’s bruised, but nothing broken. Anywhere else?” “His side,” Sweetie said. Spike moved around and lifted his shirt, something that caused Sweetie to blush a little. Again Shining ran his fingers across the bruise. “Well, this’ll hurt for a while, and you’ll have quite the shiner for a few days, but nothing’s broken.” “T-thanks,” Spike sniffled. Shining chuckled. “I didn’t do anything, this was all you little man, I just showed up right at the end.” “T-they would have k-kept beating me without you.” “Most likely, but that’s life. Sometimes you get knocked down, sometimes you get your butt kicked, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you stand up, that you face down those who do wrong to others and let them know that they will have to face you if they want to continue. You taught those bullies the length they’ll have to go to in order to defeat you.” “And that I have a big brother,” Spike said, smiling through his sniffles. “That helps too,” Shining smiled back, running his finger though Spike’s hair. “C’mon, let’s get you home. I’ll give you a ride too if you want, Sweetie.” “O-okay,” Sweetie said as she stood up and went to retrieve Spike’s backback and the doll they had tried to steal from her. As soon as she was gone, Spike immediately lamented her absence. Not just for the physical support either, there was something about her holding him that just made him feel… at home. “Got yourself a girlfriend there, champ?” Shining teased as he kept kneeling by the boy. “Yeah,” Spike replied as he watched her, smiling as the last tears fell. He turned to his brother as a thought occurred to him. “What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were with Cadance today?” “Mom called, asked me to pick you up, said something about the principal calling? You want to tell me what happened today?” Spike shook his head, trying to wipe his face clear in the process. Shining grabbing the hem of his own shirt, pulled Spike close to himself and wiped off the young boy’s face, ignoring the water spots and dirt smudges he received. “Well, I won’t press the issue. Mom, Dad, and Twily? That’s another story. But for now we gotta get you looking better for your girl.” Spike hissed a little as Shining touched the bruise around his eye. “And they’re definitely going to want to know about that little shiner,” Shining continued. “Y-you ready to go home, Spike?” Sweetie asked as she walked back to him, his bookbag in her right hand and a little doll in her left. I wish I didn’t look so weak right now, especially not in front of you, Sweetie Belle. “O-okay,” Spike said, his feelings anything but reflected in his words. However when Sweetie wrapped an arm around his own, he felt a lot better about it as they made their way to Shining’s sports car. *** The car ride to Sweetie Belle’s house was relatively quiet. The two middle schoolers sat close to each other in the backseat while Shining Armor drove, the radio quietly playing a soft rock tune. Spike was in more pain—more physical pain then he ever remembered being in before in his entire life. Still there was something about the way Sweetie was leaning up against him, the way her hand was wrapped around him, lightly touching the bruise on his side that the bullies had left. It just made it… better. “Are you okay, Spike?” Sweetie asked. He looked into her green eyes and said the first thing that came to mind. “Yeah, I will be.” She smiled at him. In the front seat, Shining Armor chuckled a little as he adjusted the rearview mirror so he could better watch his brother, just in case he got into a jam. “How come you were still at the school by yourself anyways, Sweetie Belle?” Spike asked, his left hand reaching up to pull hers away from his side to clasp their hands together. “Well I was supposed to go home with Scootaloo but something came up and when I tried to call my sister she said she couldn’t come get me. So I just waited to see if you were walking home or whatever and then, well, you saw what happened.” Sweetie frowned, her hand squeezing him tighter. “But what were they trying to take from you?” Spike asked. “Oh! Yeah, while Scoots and you were in shop class, I had home ec. They let us experiment at the end of the day and well… I made you this,” Sweetie said proudly as she reached into her bag with her free hand and pulled out the very object that the bullies had tried to take from her. She frowned, using the skirt of her white uniform dress to dust off some of the dirt and grass from it. “I wanted to give it to you tomorrow, but after that…” “Sweetie?” “You should have it now,” Sweetie said as she pressed the doll into Spike’s chest. Shining Armor saw the look upon her face. The girl was worried, scared that Spike wouldn’t like her gift. He could see it, to her giving Spike that doll was like her giving him her heart. What Spike did next would determine more than the young boy could ever know. Shining was just about to say something but Spike beat him to it. “Sweetie Belle… you shouldn’t have. It’s amazing! You stitched this yourself?” Spike asked, gently pulling his hand from hers and taking the offered stuffed animal between his shaking fingers. He admired it with a grateful smile, his eyes teared up slightly. It was small, about six inches in height. Made of purple cloth, the doll resembled a small little baby dragon with green eyes and spines running down from the top of his head down to his tail. His mouth was slightly open and had little sharp white teeth inside. “Well, I had a little help with color choices, but yeah. My sister taught me all about sewing and I was able to put those skills to—” She was cut off when Spike hugged her. He threw his arms around the girl and squeezed her tightly. His side protested, and his face lit up in pain, but he didn’t care. The smell of the girl’s perfume wafted into his nostrils, making him… happy. “Thank you, thank you so much.” Taken aback, Sweetie quickly recovered and moved her hands around the boy as well. He was so small, and yet… “You’re welcome, Spike.” In their hug, the two youths felt the car coming to a stop and Shining putting it into park. “We’re here, Sweetie.” Sweetie Belle looked over Spike’s shoulder out the window. The sight of the white two-story house of her parent’s place was both a heartwarming feeling and a heartbreaking moment for the young girl. The young green-haired boy gently broke their embrace and placed his hand on the seat handle in front of him. His eyes shifting from his girlfriend to his big brother as he took a breath, “Um… can I?” “Go ahead, walk her to the door, little man. I’ll be right here waiting for ya.” Shiny shot the little boy a thumbs up before turning to smile at the little girl. “It was nice seeing you too, kiddo. Tell your sister I said hi.” The older boy winked causing his little brother to punch him playfully in the arm. Sweetie Belle giggled and nodded, “Will do, Shiny.” Both of the middle schoolers made to shift forward but were immediately held back to their seats by a strong force. Blinking back their surprise, they glanced down to a black seatbelt holding them snug and tight to the backseat. Shining Armor snorted, covering his mouth with one hand. He mumbled something incoherently as every time he moved his hand away to talk he’d choke on a laugh. Spike glared down at the black belt as his small fingers made to unlock it. “The sad part is this isn’t even the first time this happened to me today.” Sweetie Belle frowned as she slipped her own seatbelt off, her eyes locked onto her boyfriend’s face. Spike gently pushed the seat forward, opened the car door and stepped out. He then turned around extending his hand towards the young girl to help Sweetie out as well. His free hand immediately reaching out to grab her bag from her hand so he could carry it. Sweetie smiled as she passed the boy her bag and grasped his hand with her own. Her smile was mirrored on his own lips, and even with the large red bruise on his face, he still looked cute to her. Turning away from the car they made their way to her front door, their clasped hands never parting. “Spike, I just wanted to say, you were my hero today,” Sweetie whispered. “I didn’t do anything special.” Spike responded softly, a blush blending in with the red mark on his face. The young boy nervously kicked the toe of his shoe on the brick steps, as he tried and failed to make eye contact with her. “It was special to me,” Sweetie said as she grasped his hand tighter, pulling him with her up the steps. The action caused the boy to shiver in nervouscitement. Okay Spike, keep it together. She’s just… your girlfriend. Be cool, be cool! The pair reached the door, hand-in-hand as Sweetie paused before opening it. “I… I think this year will be a lot of fun, with you I mean.” Spike shifted her bag up on his shoulder and ran his free hand through messy green hair. He didn’t have the heart to tell her just how bad his day was. Or… was it that bad? This can’t be my worst day ever or why else would I be standing here with… “I… umm… can’t wait to see you again—tomorrow I mean,” Spike said. Sweetie Belle giggled, smiling brightly at the boy in front of her, making him blush even harder. For a few moments they stood quietly in front of the young girl’s house, each shifting their feet awkwardly and avoiding each other's eyes. Shining Armor playfully honked the horn on his car, causing both kids to jump. Spike sent a glare in the direction of the sound but quickly turned back to his girlfriend as she spoke. “Until then?” Sweetie asked as she gestured for Spike to pass her back her backpack. “Y-yeah,” Spike said, sliding the purple and pink bag off his own shoulder. She gently slid the strap up her arm and let it rest on her shoulder. Sweetie smiled softly as she released his other hand to pull her arm through the other strap of her bag. The backpack now strapped securely to her back, she once again reclaimed his hand. Spike couldn’t help but see the way it pressed her shirt tighter against her chest, causing her curves to be ever more pronounced. He quickly lost track of that with Sweetie’s next action. In the time it took to blink, Sweetie Belle pressed her lips against his, stealing their first kiss. Spike’s mind went totally blank at that. His body barely registered the warm hand releasing his own, the cold air biting at his fingertips without it. “Okay, bye. See you tomorrow!” Sweetie quickly waved at the car and shoved open the door, smiling once more at Spike before closing it behind her. “Bye…” Spike said dreamily, his feet felt numb, his body no longer under his control as he forgot how to walk. Everything just felt surreal. The next thing that the little boy noticed was when he was lifted up into the air and placed on someone’s shoulder. He looked down to see that Shining had picked him up. The older boy just laughed. “Not bad, your first kiss, little man! And she’s a little cutie too!” Spike blushed, but said nothing as Shining took him back to his car, opened the passenger side door, and placed him inside. Shining Armor quickly made his way around the front of the sports car, his closed fist bouncing along the hood as he smiled brightly. He opened the driver's side and climbed in, starting the car and turning to his little brother. “So…” “So what?” Spike avoided the older boy’s eyes, his feet shifting as he fidgeted nervously. “Are you going to put your belt on or do I need to go get your girlfriend to do it for you?” Spike quickly looked to his brother with a glare. The older boy just laughed once more, slipped on his own belt and waited for Spike to get his own buckled in before taking off down the road towards home.