"It's just... every time I look at her, I see her, y'know?"
A pained sigh reverberated throughout Canterlot City's public library as Flash Sentry laid his forehead on the rough, worn surface of the wooden table.
"That's, uh, tough... dude." The green-haired stranger across from him shifted uncomfortably, his chair creaking under the movement.
If Flash noticed the strain in his interlocutor's voice, he paid it no mind. He raised his head, a vacant look in his eyes. His brow furrowed, frustration clear on his face. "But she's not her. She barely even knows my..." Flash's voice hitched, "...name." He dropped his gaze, rocking slightly in his seat.
The stranger ran a hand through his spiky green hair, taking in the sad scene before him. The natural ambience of carpeted footsteps and the tapping of laptop keyboards filled the lull in his new acquaintance’s venting. Everything was set to close in less than thirty minutes, and he still needed to shelve that last shipment of A.K. Yearling books—lest he suffer through another one of Ms. Inkwell's hissy fits. He sighed, knowing full well this was likely a mistake, but the compulsion to respond was too strong to ignore.
"Have... have you tried getting to know her? This, uh, version of... Twilight, I mean—I think?"
To his surprise, the high schooler's face somehow contorted with even more pain than it had already shown.
"She's got a boyfriend—Timber, I think," Flash said, burying his somber expression behind his palms.
"Ah..." Flash's impromptu confidant clicked his teeth, his gaze shifting around the room. He considered simply telling the younger man he needed to leave—after all, he did—but he resonated too deeply with Flash's heartbreak-induced grief to dismiss him for Raven's glorified busy work. Not counting the specifics, with all the portal crossing and interdimensional pony shenanigans, he understood perfectly well what Flash was going through.
"Besides, they're not the same person...what Twilight—my Twilight—and I had was special. They look the same, but this Twilight may as well be a stranger."
"Have you tried...contacting this, uh, Princess Twilight of yours?" his companion spoke, leaning in.
"I'd have to go through the portal to see her again." Flash paused, the pain on his face morphing into something akin to panic. "And, uh, not like I have a problem visiting every now and then, but I kind of, um, like being a human. And I don't wanna leave all my friends and family behind either, y'know?"
"That's understandable." His partner considered his words carefully. "Do you..." He hesitated, cringing slightly. "Do you think this could have really ever worked out? Besides the whole, er, pony thing, didn't you also say she's the ruler of her world? I'm sure she's super busy all the time anyway."
Flash groaned, "I dunno, man. I guess I just thought things would work themselves out. Maybe she'd visit more often or something like that." He clenched his fists, eyes shutting tight. "But I guess you're right. She's a pony princess from a different dimension—how was that ever going to work?"
A slight grin emerged on his companion's face. "At least you don't have to tell your parents you're dating a horse!" He forced a chuckle, hoping to lighten Flash's spirits.
Flash wordlessly raised his head, meeting his gaze. For a moment, the older man faltered, his smile fading as they locked eyes. However, a faint smile crept onto Flash's face, amusement shining through his dark blue orbs.
"Yeah, right. They'd have freaked out, for sure!" Flash's smile faded slightly. "It still stings, though. I don't think I'll ever fully get over her; I really did love her, man."
"That's okay."
Flash raised an eyebrow.
"It's okay to grieve, I mean," his companion said, leaning in. "It's totally normal. I would know! I bet you've imagined a whole life with her—dates, marriage, a family—all that jazz. And now it's all gone."
"Y-yeah..." Flash grumbled, crossing his arms and shifting his gaze to a nearby bookshelf.
"It's totally normal to feel that way," his new acquaintance said. "You just need to give yourself time to process everything—work through those tricky emotions in a healthy way. Make peace with it."
"I guess."
"It's good to talk about things," the stranger continued. "It's okay to feel hurt, but make sure you're not isolating yourself from the people who care about you while you’re going through it. That’ll really drive you nuts, buddy."
Flash nodded, considering the advice. Talking with his new friend had already proven therapeutic, so the advice seemed rang true. Humans were social animals, after all - helping each other was literally in their DNA.
"I know. It just feels so...heavy, especially because I might never have any real closure with her. Like I said earlier, my last conversation with Twilight wasn’t...great. I was possessed, but it doesn’t feel right that her last memory of me is going to be of some jerk who blew her off."
"That sucks, dude. But I'm sure you'll see her again—at least once more, right? You can apologize then. From what you've told me about her, I’m sure she'll be more than understanding."
"I...yeah. Hopefully."
"Just hang in there, dude. You seem like a resilient guy, and sometimes all we can do is just...put one foot forward and move along with our heads held high. Life sucks sometimes, but I like to think all the obstacles it throws at us are just opportunities for us to grow—learn from our mistakes, you know? Get stronger."
The two men sat in silence once more. Flash wasn’t sure he was fully prepared to put all of the stranger’s advice into practice just yet, but there was a certain soothing effect brought on by simply being in his presence. He no longer felt so alone.
Flash stood up, shaking his head with a half-smile. "I, uh, appreciate it, man. I really do. You’ve given me a lot to think about. But I should probably be getting home soon, though." As he said his farewell, Flash took one last, careful look at the man in front of him. His listener couldn’t have been much older than him, judging by his youthful yet somewhat haggard appearance. Something about the man triggered a vague sense of familiarity, as if he had already known him, however distant the relationship was. It wasn’t impossible he had seen him before—he encountered dozens of people every day, not counting his concerts, which brought that number into the hundreds. But he doubted the man was the rock concert-going type. Maybe he’d been an upperclassman at CHS?
"Hey, uh, this is gonna sound a little weird, but have we met before? You look familiar."
"I’ve never seen you once in my entire life," he replied dryly, with a light grin.
Flash paused, silently taking in the man's figure, "Oh, uh, nice meeting you then, dude." He flung his backpack over his shoulder, preparing to leave. "Thanks again for listening. I’m sure you had better things to be doing than listening to a high schooler's girl problems."
The man nodded. "Don’t mention it. All my friends say I’m pretty good at listening. Except Starlight. She’s always saying I’m too easily distracted, but a guy can only take so much political ranting before losing interest."
Flash laughed. "Yeah, I get what you mean. I hate politics. But, uh, one last thing." His face suddenly turned red. "What was your name again? I know you mentioned it earlier, but I was kind of out of it when you first came by, sorry."
The man chuckled. "I should have worn my nametag; it’s kind of a mouthful. It’s Kenbroath Kilspotten Heathspike, but everybody just calls me Spike!"
Flash stopped, tilting his head. "Spike? That’s kind of funny. I think Twilight’s dog is named that too. And you’re both green! How weird." Flash’s mind briefly considered how unlikely this was all some big cosmic coincidence, but he opted to pursue that train of thought at a later, more suitable date. Preferably when he could find the energy and mental bandwidth to think about anything more convoluted than his love life.
“Hm…” Spike rubbed his chin, lightly bobbing his head back and forth in thought. “That’s interesting. Probably just a coincidence, though.”
“Probably,” Flash said, hoping he sounded less skeptical than he felt.
“I’ll be on my way, I guess. See ya around, Spike!” Flash waved and began to leave the library. Spike watched him go, observing as the boy wove through the shelves and corridors. It had been a long day, far more emotionally taxing than he had expected, but a decent one nonetheless. Raven was probably going to be upset about the unshelved stacks in the back, assuming Moondancer hadn't finished the job off for him, but the satisfaction of helping the younger man decompress made up for it.
He had a feeling he’d be seeing this Flash kid around again. As he gathered the few books still scattered on the table, he couldn’t help but wonder what this new friendship might have in store for him. Though the life of a part-time library worker was usually monotonous and thankless, the library had a knack for drawing in some of Canterlot’s oddest and most interesting denizens, and maybe he’d even meet one of those girls with the magical rocks Flash had mentioned. Whatever the case, he hoped Flash would return soon. He was eager to learn more about this land of Equestria, where ponies bearing the names and personalities of people in this world apparently lived.
Spike began his own trek through the library, hands tucked in his pockets, grinning. “I’m definitely a unicorn.”
Author's Note
Y'know when you have an idea in your head that just won't go away and you need to do something with it right away? Yeah that's this story in a nutshell. This was supposed to be almost 100% comedic when I first started writing it, but it morphed into something more heartfelt somewhere along the way, and I felt like it just made sense to keep it like that.
There's not much Spike-Flash Sentry fiction out there, but I thought this idea was kind of neat. The male leads of their respective series' being bros and looking out for each other makes sense to me! Hope you enjoyed the story!
