Rediscovery

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

----

"Thanks for your help, but keep away from me you magic-addled freak."

Sunset Shimmer's parting words had left him feeling conflicted, even months after they had been said.

She was vicious, mean-spirited and selfish in the extreme. She'd been cast out as Celestia's student for demanding results from the princess that she, in a fit of short-sightedness, refused to work for.

No, that wasn't quite right.

She was willing to work for it, but she wanted results now because she felt she deserved them now, regardless of reality.

On the other hand, he wanted to help her. He wanted to retain some kind of connection to his world. He wanted to be able to drag her off the path of self-imposed isolation and cruelty.

And having no company was better than the alternative. He didn't know where to find the trio that Starswirl had banished and he wasn't about to go looking.

So instead he continued the course.

He felt manipulative for doing so, knowing that Sunset would eventually go on to steal the crown but he didn't know what else to do.

Not without putting a metaphorical noose around his own neck.

More time would pass, his grades inching their way up and connections, if not friendships forming with his classmates, his housemates.

Though some others would take turns he most certainly was not expecting.

----

Yesterday had been interesting.

He never thought it would happen, but Twilight had actually stopped him between classes to tell him something.

She was cancelling his tutoring session tomorrow, now today.

One of the football players had asked her out. One of the American football players, not one of the rest of the world's football players.

She mentioned it to her mom and was practically pushed into accepting a day later.

He'd smiled, said he was happy for her, not to worry about it.

Though it definitely made the hour he'd spent in the library after school a lot more lonely today.

His homework done, he'd left. While a lot of the books were interesting, he had other plans to make of today.

Getting nearly bowled over by a purple blur on his way home hadn't been one of those plans.

He stumbled when she clipped him, turning around in time to see her turn a corner.

It took his brain a few precious seconds to make sense of what he'd seen.

Dark purple hair. Pink stripe.

He took off running.

He followed as she passed almost two city blocks before she disappeared. Traffick was going strong at the intersection and he couldn't see her through it anyway so he slowed down, trying to catch his breath.

Physical Education was doing him some good at least.

He backtracked a little ways, head angling from left to right. In frustration he flipped up his eye-patch, hissing as it was exposed to Cele... The sun.

Still, he nearly missed her.

He only caught sight of her shoes peaking out from behind a trash can down down an alleyway. As he got closer he could see she was sitting down on the ground, arms around her knees with her forehead sitting against them.

Choking back sobs.

He sat down next to her, rough brick scratching at his blazer, and waited.

Twilight, his Twilight, wasn't very big on contact. She tried, a lot, but it wasn't until well into her stay in Ponyville that she started to really give or accept hugs.

Before that he'd just been there, and he tried, but during one of her meltdowns he'd just been there, and he tried talking to her.

And he just didn't know what to do.

He raised his left arm hesitantly and set it across her shoulders. She flinched, but she didn't pull away.

He wasn't that Spike anymore. He didn't want to just be there.

He wanted to make things better, but he couldn't do that if he just stood there.

"What happened, Twilight?" He asked softly.

"He- Pristine Shield, he-" She choked down a sob and looked at him, her eyes puffy and red. "He didn't want to go out with me. He didn't want to-to be my friend!"

He started to rub her back in small, soothing circles. He pinched his blazer sleeve on his right arm forward a bit and dabbed at her tears.

It didn't do any good, they were pouring out too fast.

"He just wanted me to do his homework! Said some 'Plain-Jane Brain like you should feel flattered I even asked'. And he was- he was so mean!" She buried her face in his chest, crying even harder.

Spike wished he could be surprised. Crystal Prep Academy had a long winning streak in a lot of things.

The more important you were to the team, the more important you were to the school and that meant there was a lot more you could get away with.

Handing in a homework assignment in someone elses handwriting wouldn't even be noticed for a football star.

"Then he's a jerk." Spike was referring to more than just this instance regarding Pristine, but saying 'I could have told you this yesterday' wouldn't help. "He should know that's not how you treat a girl. A gorgeous girl like you especially."

"You mean it?" He couldn't see her face but he knew she was confused. It wasn't until his Twilight had come to this world, among humans who didn't know her, that she was recognized for more than just her status and academic inclinations.

This Twilight may have had the latter of those traits, but she didn't have the benefit of being Student to the Princess of the Sun to shield herself with.

"'Course I do." She didn't have someone big or important to hide behind. No titan to shelter her while she grew into her own.

"...Thank you, Spike. I-I want to go home." She pulled away from him, her face was a mess of tears and snot. He reached down to the backpack he'd dropped earlier, pulling out a small, foil wrapped square. It tore open easily and he pulled out a small cloth, coated in alcohol.

"Sure Twilight, I'll walk you home as soon as we get you cleaned up, alright?" He gently pressed against her cheeks with it, wiping away tears, wiping away snot.

He stood up first, offering her his hand and pulling her to her feet when she took it. He slid his hand with the soiled glasses wipe into a dumpster as they walked together out of the alley.

She didn't have some great titan to protect her from the world as she grew into her own.

So Spike would have to do.