Renewal

Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony, nor am I profiting off this literary venture.

----

Spike stared at the portal. Really looked at it for what felt like the first time.

A horse, not a pony, rearing back. Strength, triumph, determination.

Resolution.

He wasn't sure about those first three, but he felt the last.

As well as fear, trepidation... Disappointment.

The clouds overhead parted, revealing the light of the full moon.

Spike shuddered, trying to shake away the feeling that he was being watched. He knew it was just paranoia but there was something about the way this moon looked.

Like there was a face, staring straight down at him.

He shook his head, pushing away the fleeting fancy. One hand raised, he stepped forward.

And met solid stone.

His other hand pushed against stone as well, frantic scrambling became ineffective pounding.

"No!" He cried, his fists slamming into the rock. "No no no no no! Come on! Please..."

He sank down on his knees, his head pressed against his arms while the fabric of his jacket slid roughly against the monument.

He was so tired of crying, so tired of panicking.

"I just want to go home."

So tired of feeling lost.

----

He returned home at nearly three in the morning, failing to get any rest.

A few hours later, Marley did her rounds around the house, waking up the numerous children and pushing them to start getting ready for school.

He had a head start, though just a small one. Showered and dressed before the girls had finished breakfast and started fighting over who got which bathroom first.

He'd spent most of the night just sitting on his bed, his hands tapping, folding and unfolding the glasses he'd gotten earlier that day.

Yesterday.

He hadn't worn them yet. He hadn't wanted to really accept what they meant.

How would he accept that he'd missed... Missed so much of the world because he could only focus on one little thing at a time?

How would he see his friends now? Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and...

And Rarity?

Were there flaws he'd never seen? Couldn't see? Would they...?

Spike slipped his glasses on, his room gained details, the details gained edges and lines.

They were his friends. They were always his friends. Just because he could see them clearly now, didn't mean he hadn't seen them clearly before.

And he would see them again. Portal or not.

"Spike?" Marley was speaking through the door. "I'll drive you to school. We need to talk."

"Alright. I'm good to go." He got up and opened the door, Marley glaring at him from the other side.

"Come on." She lead him out the front door, past the other kids. The twins looked worried for some reason.

She opened her door first, a hideous green vehicle with an oblong covered back end, it looked like someone tried to stick a covered wagon on the body of a car. He got in through the passenger door after she leaned over to unlock it.

"Alright." She broke their silence at the first stop light. "Where were you last night?"

Oh... He'd thought she hadn't noticed. He shrugged internally, doubtful she would glean much from the truth.

"I went to the statue at Canterlot High School." She glanced at him as they took a turn, puzzled.

"Why there? I know kids don't... hang out there after dark." He wondered what that pause in her speech was supposed to imply.

"You know how I was sent to the hospital with busted ribs and burns all over me?" She nodded, though she didn't speak. "That's where I was found."

"What? You think you're gonna find the guys who did that to you?" They turned a corner, probably a little sharper than she'd intended.

"I know who did it to me." I have no idea how it did it to me. "I'm just, I kind of want an answer."

"Things like that, people don't do it for a good reason, Spike. If you know who did that, you need to tell someone. Me, the police, geeze, tell Beaming Wings if you feel comfortable. You can't just let that go!" He drummed his fingers along the plastic on this side of the door.

"It's not that simple. The (pony) person responsible is gone. Been gone for a long time. But he left a lot of things lying around without any instructions on what they did or how to use them." That was true enough. Starswirl the Bearded had more incomplete spells lying around than just his Final Spell, and nopony, Celestia included, could really make heads or tails of his notes.

Starswirl triumphing over the Sirens had been recorded by someone else, the tale of his banish...ing.

His forehead met cool glass.

The tale of Starswirl Banishing the sirens had been recorded by somepony else. It mentioned the mirror as the means, but never the method.

Or why they had never just come back through.

"You alright?"

"Yeah." No. He wasn't. At least with Crystal Prep coming into view he'd have all day to think about it.

----

Twilight Sparkle, Alicorn, Princess of Friendship, stared in horror at what lay before her.

Ponies.

Almost a dozen of them, maybe more!

And they all wanted her attention. And her bits.

"This is perfectly normal, Twilight." Rarity sat beside her, eagerly gazing at the various ponies all vying for a job.

All eager to have a job serving the Princess Twilight.

"I know, but I wasn't expecting this many! I though maybe five or six would answer the ad I put in the paper, not-" She waved a purple hoof at the throng of equines. "-all of this!"

"I know it can seem a touch out of hoof dear, but as an employer you have to expect these things. Besides, just think of how much more glamorous your castle will be once it's been polished and waxed back to almost like new?" Purple pony princess was not impressed. "Oh be that way. You must admit that it would be nice to walk into a room without having a sneezing fit."

"I know, alright Rarity? Um... Can I tell you a secret?" Rarity glanced at her, curiosity peaked. "I actually went and found the contracts that Spike made for those three ponies he hired. I was hoping they'd be willing to come back, so I wrote a letter to each of them."

"Darling, not to sound too, well, crass but... You did fire them. It sounded like they were hardly a coordinated bunch to begin with."

"I'd prolly take offense to that." A tall black stallion said from nearby, his orange fringe covering his eyes. "But you ain't wrong."

Author's Notes:

Before too many folks comment, I just want to say that upon reading it in native format instead of just editing format, I found the problem where I bolded everything.
I put the commands in while I'm typing, I found that I'd failed to close off the command where I intended to.
It's since been fixed.
Anything I missed, please feel free to comment.