Ever since Twilight had asked me to take part in that play she wrote, I knew first hand that my lack of acting experience was going to be a problem. In fact, after the rehearsals I had done, I was beginning to see that Twilight was not telling me something.
In other words, she was keeping something from me, something important that she should have told me at the very beginning.
"I can't take it anymore! It was supposed to be a simple play! Just one simple play! And then everything goes wrong, from the stage to the props, right down to the worst! Lead! Actress! In Equestria!"
It was at that moment that I began to feel shock, disappointment, you name it as I stood backstage behind a curtain that fell to the ground. If Twilight felt I was a bad actress, she should have told me and for her to do this was just unacceptable.
"Twilight," I cried in a shocked voice as I approached her. "If you honestly thought I was a bad actress, why didn't you tell me?"
"I-I'm so sorry!" Twilight cried. "I didn't mean to insult your acting! It's just, I-I got so stressed!"
But, I wasn't buying this excuse. Twilight had committed the unthinkable, the worst low she had stepped to in our relationship.
"But... that's no excuse for what I said," Twilight sighed. "You have every right to be upset with me."
"I'm not upset because you insulted my acting," I retorted, the pain in my voice clearly evident.
"You're not?"
"I'm upset," I snapped. "Because in all the time we knew each other, I thought I taught you about the importance of friendship, trust and honesty!"
I knew that I needed to get out of there and fast. I couldn't bring myself to being around Twilight for she, my most faithful student, the pony I had trained to become the Princess of Friendship, had lied to me.
"Celestia, wait!" she pleaded, but I wasn't going to stop. No one could imagine the hurt and the anger that was inside of me.
Twilight, why would you just lie to me like that? You knew I couldn't act and it was up to you to approach me and say that I shouldn't be in the lead role of your play. There are plenty of ponies who could portray me on stage just as well.
All I can tell you is that you stabbed me in the back after all I have done for you from the moment I took you under my wing as my own personal protégé to your crowning as a Princess of Equestria.
All of that now seems it was all for nothing.
You stabbed me in the back, Twilight. You were nothing worse than when Luna turned her back on me and turned into Nightmare Moon or when Discord turned his back on me and joined forces with Tirek or even when Sunset Shimmer ran away to the other world just because she didn't get what she wanted as patiently as she should have been.
I was hurt when those events happened and I never could have imagined you following in their footsteps.
Whatever you say now, it won't matter to me because you lied to me.
How can I ever trust you again? You'd better have a good reason for what you did and perhaps then, I can forgive you, but not right now.
…
"Princess Celestia, wait!" I hear Twilight call out to me. "Can't we talk?"
"I'm afraid I haven't much to say, Twilight," I answered bluntly, trying to ignore her.
"All right then, just listen," she pleaded. "You've guided me since I was a filly. You've given me knowledge and advice and friendship. Just once, I wanted to be able to give something back to you."
Give something back to me? Why don't you just tell me the truth, Twilight? That would be giving something back to me after all I have done to you.
"I know what I did was wrong," Twilight continued. "I should've told you the truth. But I promised you could be in our play. I had to make it work. Nothing would make me feel worse than knowing I disappointed you."
At that moment, I began to feel my anger lower a little. Twilight seemed sincere in her words and perhaps, just perhaps, I should forgive her a little.
"You really mean that?" I asked, further letting my guard down as we sat on a cloud beneath the moon.
"Of course! I look up to you more than any pony I've ever met! I hate to let you down, like I did."
All I could do was sigh quietly at this. Twilight is mature enough to at least apologize. She knows now that when all is said and done, that it will take more than a simple "I'm sorry" to truly apologize for what she has done. Still, that is no excuse for what she did to me tonight.
"You had good intentions, Twilight," I finally said. "But you know that the truth is always better than a well-meant lie. Didn't Applejack remind you?"
"About a hundred times," Twilight answered as I draped a wing over her. "And now, because I didn't listen to her, I've ruined your whole onesversary."
As Twilight spoke, I could feel the knife being pulled out of my back. Like I said, she had good intentions, but that the truth is indeed always better than a well-meant lie. Twilight wasn't like Sunset Shimmer, who simply turned her back on me just because she didn't get what she wanted. Twilight knows better and it took a simple apology to make me believe what she was saying was true.
"Well... I don't know about that. Isn't there an old saying? 'The show must go on'? There may be a way for us to save the play yet."
"But how? I mean, if I'm being completely honest... you're not an actress," Twilight answered nervously.
"No. But I am a princess," I remarked, slyly as we returned to the performance that I was now going to save, thanks to Twilight's actions.
So, Twilight matured and finally owned up to lying to me. Still, she needed to remember that I am not going to tolerate her doing this to me again. Next time, I might not be so forgiving.
…
THE END
