Obligations

by ArgonMatrix

Rating: everyone
Tags: Spike, Twilight Sparkle, Sad, Main 6, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 11482

Obligations to your friends and family are the most important obligations of all.

Twilight learns the hard way that certain priorities will always outclass others, and the obligations she has to her friends should always come first.

Cover image vector by sharydow.

Published 2012-12-14 14:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-12-15 18:47:00 UTC

Twilight Sparkle

Miss Sparkle,

This message is in regards to the research paper we received from you approximately three months ago entitled “Dreamscape Spell Thesis”.

Our board of directors is very intrigued with your proposed spell and rather impressed by the thoroughly detailed research you provided. No prominent flaws have been identified in your findings, thus no revision of your thesis is required. As such, we are pleased to inform you that your spell has been preliminarily approved for publication.

The final step required before an official publication can be authorized is a full demonstration of the spell in practice. Being the creator of this spell, you are by far the most capable unicorn for the demonstration. As such, your presence is requested at the university at your earliest convenience. We look forward to your visit.

Sincerely, Professor Brittlebeard, Chair of Magical Studies

Department of Magical Studies, Canterlot University

Twilight reread the letter an uncountable number of times, her adrenaline increasing with every pass. “This is unreal,” she thought to herself. “My very own spell is going to become immortalized in a real, actual book! Mine! My spell that I created! Me! Twilight Sparkle! My name will be on the line under the spell next to the word “Creator”! I hope they don’t misspell my name. What if they accidentally spell it Twilight Spackle? Who in the hoof would have the last name Spackle?! No no, they’ll get it right... I’ll make sure of it.”

The Sun was just peeking over the eastern horizon, casting dawn shadows across the train platform. Twilight was adamant about getting to Canterlot as soon as possible. One of her lifelong dreams was about to be realized, and she wasn’t about to waste any more time than she had to, so she had left for the station as soon as she had read the last word of the letter. She hadn’t even bothered telling anypony where she was going—not that many ponies were awake at this hour anyway—and just hoped that the note she had left for Spike would be enough to ease his nerves when he woke up alone.

A bright pastel locomotive trudged to a stop on the train tracks next to her. Five ponies groggily stumbled out of the cars to make way for the three ponies who planned to board. Twilight bounded gleefully for the nearest open door and quickly found a seat right near the same door. Fidgeting helplessly in place, the giddy mare cast a sidelong gaze out the window to a slowly waking Ponyville. Her beaming expression widened.

“I can’t wait to see the looks on my friends’ faces when I tell them about all this. This is going to be the best day ever!”

The final doors closed and the train slowly groaned to life, lurching in the direction of Equestria’s capital. One unicorn on board was leaving a librarian, and returning a published spell-founder.

Pinkie Pie

The base of the evening Sun was just making contact with the western horizon as the Friendship Express rolled into Ponyville. As it screeched to a gentle halt, a modest crowd of ponies made their way onto the platform, among them a particularly ecstatic unicorn.

Twilight’s excursion had gone off without a hitch—despite having taken almost all day due to excessive waiting times—and her wide eyes were now transfixed on a piece of parchment she held in her magical grasp. Unmistakably smeared across the surface of the letter in bold red ink was the word “APPROVED”, stamped in the perfect archetype. Words escaped her as her mind tried to grasp what had just transpired at the university. All she could think to do was to find a friend to share her happiness with.

“I haven’t had much to eat today. I suppose I could stop by Sugarcube Corner to see Pinkie and kill two birds with one stone.” Carefully inserting her certificate into her saddlebag, she cantered unabashedly for the treat shop.

It wasn’t long at all before the lavender blurr came to a sudden stop next to the familiar pink storefront. Twilight smiled more proudly than she thought she could and waltzed into the smog of sugary aromas within the building.

A pink pony with an especially bubbly mane sat behind the counter across the way, but she had her back turned to the door and seemed to be busily counting something. “Pinkie!” exclaimed Twilight as she skipped towards the counter. “I’ve got the best news ever!”

Pinkie stopped abruptly in her idle motions at the sound of her friend’s voice. Wheeling around to face the newcomer revealed that the party pony was wearing an uncharacteristic grimace. Her eyes welled with a mix of anger and disappointment as she stared hard into Twilight’s pupils.

Twilight stopped in her tracks and gained a look of befuddlement as her eyes met with the pink grouch. “Pinkie? Is everything okay?”

Pinkie dropped her gaze to the floor and closed her eyes, releasing a pent up sigh. “Twilight, if you’re here to apologize, I’m not the one you need to apologize to.”

Puzzlement gained a firmer hold on the unicorn’s face. “Apologize? Did I do something wrong?”

Seemingly taken aback, Pinkie returned her friend’s confused expression with an expression of disbelief. “Did you do... Twilight, you did the absolute worst thing you could’ve done! However “great” your news is, it doesn’t excuse what you did today. Nothing could excuse that!”

“But how could I have done anything to upset you today?! I wasn’t even in Ponyville most of the day!”

“Exactly!” The agitated pony threw her forehooves in the air and gave her friend a look of shock and expectation. Silence reigned the scene for a moment as they each tried to understand the other’s thought process.

Twilight finally broke the stare down and changed her expression to one of frustration. “I don’t get it. Can you please tell me what exactly I did to deserve this kind of behavior? Today was one of the best days of my life and your baseless aggression is really starting to irk me!”

Pinkie dropped her hooves hopelessly but maintained her shocked look. “You... you really don’t know?” Giving up, the moping earth pony turned her back on her friend and let out another, more pronounced sigh. “Twilight, if you really don’t know what you did, I’m not gonna be the one to tell you. Figure it out for yourself, and don’t come back here until you’ve apologized for it. I mean it, Twilight.”

Gloomy tension was thick in the air as Twilight stared wordlessly at her friend’s mane. The overbearing joy with which the purple mare had entered the shop not two minutes prior was all but gone, replaced by sheer confusion and frustration. Just as she was about to make a retort, Pinkie began making idle motions again before saying, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a job to do.”

Twilight stood speechless for a moment longer, listening to the rattling of coins coming from the pony behind the counter. She released a defeated sigh and said, “Can I at least buy a cupcake? I’m starving.” Pinkie seemed to wince at the inquiry, but she made the transaction regardless. Twilight could almost see the tension in the air it was so thick.

“Thanks... talk to you later Pinkie.” Slowly she made her way to the exit, cupcake in tow. Half hoping for some sort of reply, Twilight realized it was hopeless and quickly strode out into the street, failing to notice as Pinkie let loose a stream of silent tears.

Rainbow Dash

As darkness continued to slowly overtake the village, Twilight wandered mindlessly through the streets with a thoughtful frown. Her pensive stare bored mercilessly into the ground.

“Why would Pinkie be so upset with me? Pinkie’s never upset! Unless... did I break a Pinkie Promise somehow? No, if that were the case she would’ve outright told me.” Twilight reached the outskirts of Ponyville but still kept walking, unaware. “There’s something strange going on with that pony... stranger than usual. Maybe one of my other friends will know what’s wrong. But who should I—”

“Twilight!” cried a familiar voiced. The sudden sound broke Twilight’s thought process and she quickly realized where she was. Looking around revealed that she was on the dirt path which led to the Everfree Forest, and a large house made of clouds floated unassumingly to her right. It was this particular site that made her aware of precisely who had called her name.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called, noticing a cyan creature hovering in from of the cumulus structure. “I need to talk to you. I was just talking to Pinkie Pie and she seemed really upset with me, but she wouldn’t—”

As if this sentence had been the gun to signal the start of a race, Rainbow Dash bolted straight towards the ground-bound unicorn and shoved her face against her friend’s. Only now could Twilight see that Rainbow was scowling menacingly.

“You’re darn right she’s upset! Everypony’s angry with you! What you did today was totally un-awesome, un-radical, and uncool. I didn’t even know something could be all three of those at once!” Twilight had backed away slightly during the pegasus’ tirade, but Rainbow made sure to keep close.

Her expression aghast from yet another angry outburst from one of her friends, Twilight stammered, “W-what did I do?! I went to Canterlot for the day! How could everyone be so mad at me when I never even talked to any of them today?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Twi. It’s because you weren’t here that we’re all so mad at you, and you know exactly why!”

Twilight racked her brain as hard as she could. All she had done was go to Canterlot on a day that would’ve otherwise been spent studying and running errands. There was no reason for all this aggression, she was sure of it... but then why were two of her best friends so dead set against her?

“I’m sorry Rainbow, I have no idea why you’re mad at me. Why can’t you just tell me? I’m starting to get upset with you!”

The rage in Rainbow’s features intensified, accentuating the red in her mane. “You’re upset?! Do you even realize how upset—” Some sort of pain seemed to come to the ranting pegasus’ memory as she stopped. She bit her lip and turned her head violently to one side, slamming her eyes shut as if her eyeballs were about to fall out of their sockets. The only sound between the two friends for a moment was that of a summer chinook which whistled gently across the path. Then, just as suddenly as she had stopped her verbal assault, Rainbow turned and slowly flew back towards her cloud home.

“Rainbow...” Twilight called, gentle and desperate. “Please, talk to me. I can’t fix whatever I did unless I know what it is, and the only way I can find out is with the help of a friend. Please don’t just turn away from me...”

The homebound pony paused, the only motion on her body coming from the wind gently tossing her mane. A seemingly eternal moment of silence took hold before she replied. “Loyalty’s a two way street Twi... remember that.” Rainbow let her message sink is as she vanished into the entryway of her sky home, leaving Twilight alone in the gaze of the sunset.

Fluttershy

“There’s no way Fluttershy could be upset with me,” thought Twilight as she approached the little cottage which sat on the border of a vast thicket. “She’s so kind and forgiving, she could never hold a grudge. Maybe I can finally get some answers from her. Who knows, maybe I can let her know about my spell too!” The unicorn smiled as warmly as she could before rapping gently on the door. A faint squeak could be heard from inside and, just a few seconds later, a butter yellow pegasus opened the door and immediately frowned.

“Oh... hi, Twilight,” Fluttershy mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

Picking up on her friend’s adverse reaction, Twilight began, “Fluttershy, please don’t tell me you’re angry at me too. Both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash went ballistic when I tried talking to them, but neither of them would tell me why. Can you please tell me what’s going on?”

Fluttershy shrunk a bit. “I-I’m not really angry with you. I’m just, um...” The timid pony muttered something incoherently.

“You’re what?”

Another collection of shy sounds escaped Fluttershy’s lips.

“Fluttershy, I can’t hear you.”

Sighing, the pegasus finally let loose a single word, “...disappointed.”

Part of Twilight wanted to cry as she heard the sincerity ringing in her friend’s demure voice, but she tried to remain focused on figuring out the enigma at hand. “Why are you disappointed, Fluttershy?”

“I just, um... I didn’t expect this from you. You’re not normally one to play cruel jokes like that. But, um, maybe you had a good excuse... or maybe you didn’t really mean it... I don’t know...” There was so much trepidation in her voice that Twilight struggled to discern what certain words were.

“Cruel jokes? Fluttershy, you know I would never intentionally be cruel, not to you or to anyone else. Please tell me what happened, I really have no idea what I did to make everypony so upset.”

Fluttershy’s eyes grew wide as if something had shocked her profusely. She finally raised her head and made eye contact. “...y-you don’t know? So... you really forgot? But how could you forget something so... special?”

Twilight had run the events of the day through her mind so many times already that she had developed a headache. What could she have possibly forgotten that would elicit this kind of behavior from her most beloved friends? She wasn’t usually a forgetful type of pony. Then again, today hadn’t exactly been a usual day. Regardless, she was almost certain that she couldn’t have forgotten anything this important to her six friends; her friends were always her top priority, no matter what.

...right?

After a long silence, Twilight finally sighed. “Fluttershy, I don’t know what you’re talking about. There was nothing special about today other than... well, I’ll tell you about that later. Please tell me, what did I do wrong? What cruel jokes are you talking about, and what did I forget? I don’t tend to forget things that are important to my friends, so whatever this is all about can’t possibly be that important. Can’t you just—” She stopped as her friend broke into quiet, hiccuping sobs. Something had clearly struck a nerve with her, as she looked just as upset as if one of her animal friends had gone missing.

“...Fluttershy?”

The increasingly upset pegasus averted her eyes again, flipping her rosy mane into a configuration which blocked her face. “I-I’m s-sorry Twilight,” she peeped out in between sobs, “I d-don’t think I can h-help you. Y-you need to figure this out f-for yourself.” She motioned to close the door as she sheepishly backed into her cottage.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight managed, reaching out a hoof to hold the door. Thinking better of herself after looking into her friend’s tear-ridden eyes, the defeated unicorn finished, “have a good night.” She hung her head low and began very slowly back towards Ponyville, part of her heart breaking as she heard the faint *click* of the door as it closed in her wake.

Rarity

By the time Twilight made it back into Ponyville, the Sun was just barely still visible on the horizon. The whole village was cast into a gloomy twilight as it prepared to be inundated with the darkness of night. The lavender unicorn payed no attention to the rapidly changing sky, however, as she still had two friends to talk to. Despite how broken and confused she felt from her first three encounters, Twilight knew that she had to talk to everypony involved if she wanted to understand the situation.

An ornate sign marked “Closed” hung on the door of the Carousel Boutique, but Twilight paid it no mind. She saw that there was still a light on in Rarity’s second floor bedroom and that gave her enough reason to knock steadily on the door. Collecting her thoughts, Twilight did her best to maintain her composure in preparation for the upcoming confrontation. A friendly smile even managed to work itself across her mouth. Maybe Rarity would be different.

A charmingly melodic voice called out “Just a moment!” as Twilight’s knock came to an end. Some abrupt sounds of clanging and cluttering later, the door opened to reveal a majestic white unicorn with a perfectly style purple coif. She has a warm and calm expression about her until her eyes fell upon who stood across the threshold.

“Hi Rarity,” Twilight said with a jubilance that even surprised herself, “I need to—”

*SLAM*

A very stunned purple unicorn suddenly found herself in a stare-off with a door. Not knowing how to react, Twilight just stood with her mouth agape for several moments trying to process what had just happened as darkness continued to shroud her. Her lower lip quivered ever so slightly before she sighed deeply and began to walk away, her muzzle almost scraping the ground.

As she began to make her way towards Sweet Apple Acres, however, a golden rectangle of light suddenly overtook the shadows she trudged through. Craning her head backwards to see the source, Twilight saw the silhouette of one of her best friends in the entryway which had been slammed not thirty seconds prior. Raising her head back to an appropriate level, Twilight wheeled around and trotted cautiously towards the building.

Rarity stared down at her with an unmistakably deadpan expression. “I apologize, Twilight. I got caught up in the heat of the moment and... regardless, that was very unladylike of me. Please, do come in.”

Her previous sense of optimism all but gone, Twilight entered the building and mindlessly made her way to a nearby velvet couch where she collapsed on her haunches and cast her helpless eyes towards the ground. Rarity soon took a seat next to her, assuming a similar posture. Tense was the only word that could describe the atmosphere of the room as the two friends sat silently by each other, very different thoughts racing through both of their minds. The abrupt clang of a pin colliding with the floor somewhere in the house caused Twilight to finally remember her sense of obligation.

“I don’t know what’s going on, Rarity. Everypony’s upset with me and no one wants to tell me why. If I knew what I did wrong then maybe we could work together to fix it. Being shunned by all my closest friends... it makes me feel so lonely. Please, talk to me.”

The regal unicorn seemed to be deep in thought. Another era of silence veiled the scene before she finally replied. “Where were you today, Twilight?” Her voice seemed frail, but managed to maintain a warm tone.

“I went to Canterlot first thing in the morning. I got a letter from Canterlot University and had to go up there to... finalize something.”

“I see.” The tension of the room seemed to ease a bit, but it still felt like an overbearing smog. “Was it absolutely necessary that you made your trip to the university today?”

Twilight thought back to the letter she had been so giddy about for most of the day. “...at your earliest convenience...” she recalled. “No, I suppose it wasn’t.”

Rarity fidgeted in place, but retained her calm aura. “And so you thought that this trip to Canterlot was more important than...” Her voice trailed off into a slight whimper. Twilight didn’t notice as her friend bit her lip.

“More important than what, Rarity? I keep getting the sense that something important happened today, but I can’t figure out what could be so important as to warrant this treatment from my best friends.”

Puzzlement suddenly plagued Rarity’s face and she finally turned her head up to look Twilight in the eyes. The lavender unicorn recalled having seen the same feelings of shock and confusion in the eyes of a yellow pegasus not too long ago. She found the look unbearable and returned her gaze to her hooves.

“Twilight, you truly mean to tell me that you’ve forgotten what day this is?”

Hesitating to think for a moment, Twilight replied, “I guess so.”

A sudden flare worked itself into Rarity’s voice as it increased in volume and force. “You mean to tell me that you were so enraptured by some silly little academic pursuit that you failed to remember such a significant milestone as this?! For goodness sake Twilight Sparkle, I would expect you of all ponies to remember this day for what it is! Today was more important for you than for almost anyone else, for more reasons that just one! How could you be so narrow minded as to lose sight of such a significant celebration over your... your studies?! I know your studies are to you as my dresses are to me, but this is positively absurd! Haven’t you learned by now that the obligations of friendship should always have a monopoly on your time?! Never should it come as an afterthought! Never!”

Twilight was cowering against the armrest of the couch as her friend’s words pounded into her like daggers. She felt like a filly being scolded by her mother, completely alone and helpless. Normally she would have retorted against such a slander of insults and accusations, but she felt like the whole world was against her and nothing she could say would prevent the penance she was receiving. Unwillingly she shivered in place, making no attempt to hide her sudden influx of silent tears.

Rarity suddenly realized that she had been gesticulating violently during her entire tirade and was now frozen in place, leaning over one of her best friends with a merciless scowl. She quickly reassumed her initial posture and allowed some time to pass before she spoke again. Twilight calmed down slightly and went back to a sitting pose in the allotted silence.

“I can’t help you realize your fault, Twilight. That’s not my place. After all, it’s not truly me that you need to apologize to. Just know that I’m rather disappointed by your choice of actions today, and I’m sure you’ll understand why soon enough. All will be forgiven in time, of course, but for now I think it would be best for us to go our separate ways. I still have quite a lot of work to do and this drama isn’t going to help either of us. I appreciate your coming by, but I believe it’s time for you to go.”

Without a word, Twilight nodded and followed her friend to the door. As she made her way out into the black of night, however, she thought to say something. “Rarity?”

“Yes?”

“I’m no less confused that I was when I got here. In fact, I’m only more confused, and I can’t think straight right now. But, whatever it is that I did to make you feel this awful, I’ll find a way to make it better... I promise.”

“I know you will darling, you always were one for problem solving.” For a fleeting moment, Twilight and Rarity genuinely smiled at one another, their eyes brimming with hope. The door to the boutique slowly shut with a soft thud, and the night air enveloped Twilight as she trotted on to her final destination.

Applejack

The farmstead glowed welcomingly in the crisp, cool night as Twilight approached the door. Most of the time when she arrived at Sweet Apple Acres she found the whole Apple family working hard outside. This was one of the few times she’d ever been there after sunset, and it was clear that the family took to the confines of their house once it was too dark to work productively. Despite the lack of any familiar faces, the house still maintained the friendly air of the ponies who dwelled within.

Under the gaze of the moon, Twilight knocked politely on the door. She wasn’t sure if speaking with Applejack would help her solve this riddle, but she knew that she needed to talk with all of her friends if she wanted the full picture.

Several thoughtful moments later, an orange mare wearing her defining Stetson opened the door. A sudden nervousness seemed to come over her as she saw Twilight staring back at her. “Oh, uh... hi there Twilight.”

“Hey Applejack. I know it’s late, but I really need to talk to you. Do you mind?”

“Er, sure Twi, we can talk.” Applejack closed the door behind her and motioned to the swinging bench which sat on the porch to her left. The two friends sat side by side, wordless.

“You probably know what I’m here to talk about, don’t you?”

Applejack stared off into the night sky. “I reckon I do.”

“So, are you upset with me over... whatever’s going on, too?”

“‘Course I’m upset, but it ain’t so much for the same reason as the others.”

Bewilderment struck Twilight’s face for the umpteenth time that day. She turned to face her friend, cocking an eyebrow at her as she asked, “How so?”

Applejack sighed and didn’t meet the unicorn’s gaze. “I reckon you had a pretty darn good reason for doin’ whatcha did. Knowin’ you, you wouldn’t ‘ve missed somethin’ this important for anythin’ short of Princess Celestia herself commandin’ you to miss it. Even then I doubt you would. I dunno what reason you had for not bein’ there, but I’m positive it’s a fine reason.”

“What I don’t get is why in tarnation you wrote what you did on that note. At first I didn’t even believe you’d written that, but your writin’ is plum unmistakable.” After what had felt like an eternity of stargazing, Applejack, finally locked eyes with her desperate friend. “I know you don’t feel that way, Twi... I just know it. So why didja write those hurtful words?”

Twilight felt more confused than she had all day, and all she could do was stare blankly in response to her friend’s question. Thoughts raced through her mind at the speed of light, but she couldn’t seem to make sense of what Applejack had just said. Maybe her raging torrent of emotions was clouding her judgment, but nothing that Applejack had told her made much sense.

“Applejack, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t write any hurtful words to anypony. I would never do that! Why would you—”

“Exactly!” cried Applejack, both confusion and frustration ringing in her voice. “I know you would never do that, but you did do it, Twi. An’ don’t even think o’ lyin’ to me sayin’ that you didn’t. I know your writin’ when I see it.”

“Applejack, I swear I didn’t—”

Applejack cut her off abruptly. “D’you think I’d even be makin’ this accusation at all if I wasn’t one hundred ‘n ten percent sure of what I was sayin’?! All I wanna hear is why, Twilight. Why’d you do this?”

Twilight felt as though her bungee cord had been cut as she hung over an eternal, black abyss. She was confused, frustrated, and at a complete loss for how to proceed or react anymore. All of her friends—the ones who had given her life meaning beyond just academics—were suddenly against her and she had no idea why. The world crumbled before her eyes and all she could do was break down and weep. Her face collapsed into her hooves as wave after wave of helpless tears surged from her closed eyes. Nothing made sense to her anymore and all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and disappear forever.

Taken aback by the sudden meltdown, Applejack instinctively took her friend in a loving embrace and said nothing. Time was no object as she let Twilight relieve her pent up emotions in the only way that made sense. The world seemed to stop around the duo as the familial scene played out.

After countless minutes of nonstop bawling, Twilight exhausted herself and managed to regain some semblance of composure. Applejack released her hug but remained close in case her friend needed comforting again. A long silence ensued as the broken unicorn wiped the last of her tears away from her puffy red eyes.

“I don’t understand,” Twilight managed in a raspy tone, “I really, really don’t understand. I can’t think of anything that I did to any of you to make you all so upset with me. No matter how hard I rack my brain, I just can’t put the pieces together. What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I figure this out?”

Applejack took a long, wise sigh before making her reply. “I don’t think it’s my place to tell you what’s goin’ on; it’s best for you to figure it out on your own. What I will tell you though is that maybe you oughta think more clearly about the situation. Don’t just focus on the five of us who’re disappointed in you. The fact o’ the matter is that this hardly even involves us at all. Go home ‘n think about all this on a bigger scale, Twi. Once you realize what’s goin’ on, I know you’ll make it right.”

Twilight sniffled. “But what if I can’t figure this out? What if I can’t fix this? What if—”

“Twilight Sparkle, you are without a doubt the smartest pony I’ve ever met. You can overcome anythin’ if you really set your mind to it. It might take some pain ‘n sufferin’ to get you to learn, but you’ll always come out on top, Twi. Always.”

Earnest hung on her every word and Twilight considered them all carefully. She looked into the earth pony’s warm, welcoming expression, and smiled. The two friends then joined in a quick, meaningful embrace which marked the end of their conversation.

“Thank you Applejack. I promise I’ll figure this out.”

Memory

“Surprise!”

Spike jumped at the sudden sight of Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack. He had woken up just a few minutes earlier—alone, surprisingly—only to find the library overwhelmed with party decor, including Pinkie’s signature party cannon which had served to fully wake him up..

“Happy birthday Spike!” cried Pinkie as she cartwheeled over to him, dropping a box wrapped in fuchsia paper in front of him. The four remaining mares followed suit—minus the cartwheeling—and each greeting made his beaming expression wider.

“Wow, this party looks even better than last year! Thanks guys!” Spike scanned the room in anticipation before turning to his friends with a questioning look. “Do you guys know where Twilight is?”

The five ponies exchanged quick looks, shrugging to one another. “Wasn’t she up there with you?” Rainbow inquired.

“No, I just woke up and she wasn’t there. She’s been getting up earlier than usual lately, but she’s still always been around somewhere by time I wake up.” Spike twiddled his claws in worry. “I hope she’s okay...”

“Oh, wait!” Pinkie quickly raced to the table in the center of the room and bounced back with a small scrap of parchment in her mouth, spitting it out at Spike’s feet. “I found this when we were setting up the party, and it’s addressed to you! I didn’t read it since that would’ve been super rude, but maybe it’s from Twilight!”

“Thanks Pinkie,” Spike replied as he reached down for the note.

He scanned his eyeballs across every word of the note, taking in the message that they carried. Certain phrases stuck out to him “...it’s not like it matters too much...”, “...I’ve got nothing better to do today...”, “...your day’s probably going to be pretty boring...”. He reread each line carefully, looking for anything he might’ve missed. He tried reading between the lines, looking for some hidden context. Nothing stood out, but the offending words just became imprinted deeper and deeper into his mind with every pass. He barely noticed as tears started dropping onto the paper while he stared down at it, perplexed.

“What’s wrong Spike?” Fluttershy asked urgently, noticing his sudden mood swing to sorrow.

“I... I don’t understand...” Spike dropped the note and rushed upstairs, hoping to find his best friend hiding up there secretly waiting to surprise him. She had to be there, she just had to.

Rainbow Dash quickly swooped down to pick up the note as Fluttershy followed shortly behind Spike. The cyan pegasus read through the message, gaining a scowling expression with each passing line. “‘Nothing better to do’? What in the hay is this supposed to be?! A joke?!”

“A joke? Yay! Lemme see!” Pinkie swiped the note from Dash’s hooves and skimmed through it with an expectant, cheery grin. Her grin faded to a sullen frown as she finished reading. “That wasn’t funny at all! ‘Pretty boring’? Why would Twilight say those things about Spike’s birthday? I thought she loved him... and birthdays...”

“And why isn’t she here?! It’s bad enough that she taunted him with that note, but then to leave him clueless on his big day? What’s that unicorn thinking?!” Rainbow’s pouty mannerisms spoke volumes about her frustration.

“What in tarnation are y’all talkin’ about? Gimme that.” Copying the actions and sudden change of expression as the previous two ponies, Applejack finished her reading with a flummoxed look about her. “This can’t be from Twi, she wouldn’t insult his birthday like this. There’s no way that’s from her... it can’t be...”

“I’m sure you’re all making a big huff about nothing,” inserted Rarity indignantly, grabbing the note in her telekinesis. “There’s no need to jump to conclusions. I’m sure it’s all a mis—” her voice trailed off as she continued through the incriminating note. She stared at the words for a long while, aghast. “What in the... is she trying to make a mockery of this day? She has to realize how much this whole celebration means to him... how much it means to everyone. Why would she write such... such insulting words?!”

“Why aren’t you here?! Where are you?!”

“Spike, please calm down! Spike!”

An air shredding roar came from the upstairs bedroom along with a flash of lime green light. Several seconds passed without any more sound or action as everypony just stared up at the source of the chaotic outburst. Suddenly, a smoking black blur careened out of the doorway and slammed into the wall across the library, falling to a standstill on the floor next to the front entrance.

A yellow and pink ball of trepidation quickly soared out from the second floor and landed timidly behind her friends. Not one second later, the upstairs door slammed with enough force to splinter the door frame, walling the confused equines away from the furious reptile.

Fluttershy calmed herself very slightly with a quick relieving breath. “I-I think it’s best if we leave him alone for a bit. He’s, um, really upset.”

“He should be!” cried Rainbow Dash, shocking her fellow pegasus back into her fearful crouch. “Today was supposed a time for him to have a bit of fun with his friends. But for whatever reason, Twilight thought it would be funny to mock him with that note and then not even show up for the party! What kind of behavior is that from his best friend?!”

“C-can I see the n-note?” inquired a still shaken Fluttershy. Rarity levitated it towards her friend with a look of repulsion on her face. Fluttershy quietly read the note to herself, clasping a hoof over her mouth partway through. “Maybe she forgot it was his birthday...”

“Yeah right,” continued Rainbow, happy to rant as much as possible. “This is Twilight Sparkle we’re talking about: the mare who plans out her breakfast a month in advance. You’re trying to tell me that in her crazy amount of scheduling she just happened to forget the birthday of her lifelong friend? What a joke.”

“But Dashie, jokes are supposed to be funny!” Pinkie insisted. “None of this is funny at all. It’s... it’s...”

“An insult!”

“A mistake...”

“A mockery!”

“Impossible.”

“Sad.”

All five of them spoke at the same time. Rainbow motioned to continue, but Applejack beat her to it.

“It’s like you said, Rainbow. This is Twilight Sparkle we’re talkin’ ‘bout: the Element o’ Magic who’s studyin’ the magic o’ friendship under Princess Celestia herself! You know as well as I do that she wouldn’t miss somethin’ like this without good reason. An’ as far as that note goes, we can’t even be sure that it came from her! I ain’t trustin’ nothing like that unless it comes straight from the horse’s mouth.”

Rainbow whisked the note out of Fluttershy’s grasp and slammed it blatantly in Applejack’s face. “Look at this writing, Applejack! The curl on the T, the dot of the i... we’ve all seen how unique her writing style is, and this matches it one hundred percent!” The orange mare shot daggers at the imposing pegasus and snatched the note from her, beginning to analyze it thoroughly.

“And you can’t possibly tell me she has a good reason for not being here right this second. There’s no reason good enough.”

“I’m afraid I must agree with Rainbow Dash,” inserted Rarity. “We all saw how upset little Spikey-wikey was when he realized she wasn’t here. I don’t care how well-crafted of an excuse there is, anything that elicits such emotions from the ones you live is most unforgivable.”

“Exactly! Thank you Rarity.”

A brooding silence overtook the group as everyone seemed to fall into deep thought. Rarity was scowling at the floor to her right, glancing up at the shut bedroom door every so often. Pinkie Pie was toying with a purple streamer in her hooves, pouting. Applejack was still determinedly pouring over the note which had triggered everything. Fluttershy was crouched down on her side, frowning gently at the ground. Rainbow Dash was hovering back and forth, front legs crossed and with a bitter look on her face. It completely escaped them that they were surrounded by brightly coloured party decorations on all sides.

Pinkie was the first to break the silence. “Maybe we should go try and cheer Spike up. We can pout over Twilight all we want, but he’s the one who it matters to most of all. It’s still his birthday, with or without Twilight, and he deserves to have fun. Let’s see if we can still salvage this party.” The rest of them seemed slightly taken aback by the party pony’s sudden display of wisdom, but they all nodded in agreement and made their way up the stairs.

Very faint sobbing could be heard coming from the other side of the bedroom door. Rarity took the lead and tapped gently against the wood. “Spike, darling? Do you mind if we come in?”

No answer.

They waited in anticipation for a moment, hoping for some kind of reaction. Then, just as Rarity motioned for the doorknob, the door swung inward to reveal a very depressed purple dragon. He hung his head low, partially due to sadness, partially because he was staring at a piece of paper in his claws. No one made a sound.

Spike limply swung his limb—paper in tow—in Rarity’s direction. She hesitantly took it in her blue aura, gazed down at it, and promptly clasped a hoof over her mouth.

It was a sepia photo. It portrayed a young filly who bore an uncanny resemblance to one of her friends, sleeping with the most innocent smile on her face next to a small, scaly creature who had a claw in its mouth as it slumbered. Snuggled tightly together, they were draped with a blanket which was far too large for their bodies. A fireplace marked the background along with a lidless box and a bit of shredded paper. Sprawled across the bottom photo in a complementary black ink was the message “Best Friends Forever”.

Spike spoke as Rarity passed along the photo to the rest of her friends, trying to keep tears from coming to her eyes. “That was my first birthday. I don’t remember it much, but apparently it was just me and Twilight, sleeping in a common room. No party, nothing special, it was just me and her. I wish I could remember it, but this photo is the best I’ll ever have. I think that was my best birthday ever... and I just wish I could experience it again...”

All of the mares did their best to withhold their tears as they listened and looked, but all of them failed save for Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who both sniffled and turned their heads away. They all swarmed to hug the sad little creature, and held him in that embrace for what could’ve been an eternity. No one said anything, the only sound was the gentle sobs of the mares. Spike had already exhausted all his sobs.

They finally disbanded after a while, and Pinkie chimed in. “I know we can’t make this your best birthday ever, but we can still try to have fun, right? There’s a whole lot of party to be had down there, and we can let one missing guest spoil all the fun!”

Spike turned his head up to see five of his closest friends giving him happy, expectant looks. He gave as sincere of a smile as he could and replied, “Yeah, I think I’d like that.” All five mares gave him warm expressions, ushering him down to the party which waited below.

Dreamscape

The morning Sun cast its intrusive light across the bedroom in bright lances. As one of the sunbeams landed on his face, Spike could only resist waking up for so long. His eyes opened slowly, but he reflexively snapped them shut as the glare from the window attacked him. He still had a headache from all the events of yesterday and he just wanted to be away from the world for a little bit longer.

But the world stops for no one, and he eventually managed to pull himself from his tiny bed, groggily rubbing his eyes.

Casting a sidelong glance at the other bed in the room—one which dwarfed his own—revealed that it was empty and seemingly untouched, just as it had been the night previous. The little dragon frowned. “Maybe I was too rough on her,” he considered. “I didn’t even give her a chance to talk, let alone explain anything.” But as soon as his conscience began to get the best of him, a sharp memory cut into his mind, showing him Twilight’s note and making him recall all the feelings that came along with it. He clutched at his head as the aching intensified. “I don’t know what to think,” he groaned.

Turning his attention to the bedroom door, Spike took a deep, resigned breath and trudged towards it. “I have a feeling this is gonna be a long day.” He reached for the doorknob and cautiously swung the door open...

...and he shot backwards to the wall when he saw what was on the other side.

Space. That wasn’t quite the word for it, but it was the most appropriate thing to think. It was an imposing black void dotted with tiny pinpricks of light which added a sort of ethereal beauty to the scene. Every so often Spike could see a wisp of green, purple, or blue light swirl by only to vanish into the oblivion. His mind couldn’t fully process what he was seeing. What had once been the library he knew like the back of his hand was now an impossible painting of the universe. It encapsulated all of his emotions and he didn’t know whether to respect of fear the void.

“Spike?”

The sudden voice snapped him back to the moment. He whipped his head in every direction, looking for the source of the voice. It wasn’t until his eyes fell back upon the entryway where he saw a lavender unicorn standing out in the void, smiling sheepishly in his direction. He did a double take to make sure that he was seeing things right. None of this was helping with his headache.

“T-twilight? What’s...”

“It’s okay Spike, don’t be scared. I promise it’s safe.” Clearly she had anticipated his shock. Despite her reassuring words, Spike didn’t budge from his spot against the wall. Whether it was out of his residual spite for the mare beckoning him or just out of his sheer fear of the imposing scene, he couldn’t be sure.

“Here, I’ll ease you into it.” With that, Twilight blinked her eyes shut and vanished like a shadow, blending with the backdrop.

Before Spike could react, the walls of the room began to deteriorate along with the contents they shelved. He scuttled towards the center of the room where he became paralyzed as he saw the void beginning to overtake the space around him. The ceiling flew off into one of the hundreds of light specks, the last of the walls crumbled to nothing, and the edges of the floor drew towards him slowly. There was nothing the vulnerable reptile could do but watch in a combination of terror and awe as the last of his comfortable chamber disappeared beneath his feet, leaving him alone in the scene.

It was an odd sensation. There seemed to be a floor beneath him since he was still standing, but there was nothing visibly supporting him. Looking around, he felt like he could go anywhere without bound. No motion could be seen other than the constantly fading luminescent ghosts. Assessing himself, he found that he was completely safe and unharmed, but he had no idea where he was or how this was happening, so shock was still the main thing that gripped his mind.

Something gently nudged his shoulder and her spun on a dime to see what it was. He saw the same purple pony who had been in the doorway earlier, now standing right next to him and grinning at him, hesitantly but endearingly.

“What’s going on?,” was the only thing that made sense for Spike to ask.

“This is called a Dreamscape,” Twilight answered, motioning to the area which encapsulated them. “It’s the product of a spell I created. It’s a world where we have complete control over what happens. We can go anywhere we want, leave whenever we want, and make anything at all happen, just by thinking about it. Pretty much like a lucid dream.”

Spike scanned his eyes all around, seeing the strange world differently after having heard all this. “So, this place isn’t real?”

“Oh no, it’s very real. It’s just that it doesn’t follow the rules of our world since it’s a world solely composed of magic. We can see, hear, taste, smell, touch, and think just like normal, so it is, by definition, a reality. It’s just a reality that will cease to exist once the spell ends.”

Spike thought about it for a minute. “I think I get it, but... why are we here?”

Twilight frowned and averted her gaze. “Spike, I really want to make it up to you for missing your birthday. I know that I really hurt your feelings, and for that I’m truly sorry. I would never intentionally hurt you. Never.”

Spike didn’t reply. He just stared off into the distance, focusing his gaze on a distant spot of light. His eyes teared up slightly at the memory of the previous day’s events, but he stayed calm.

“... I know there’s nothing I can do or say that’ll make you forgive me, but I want to at least try to fix this.”

Spike twiddled his thumbs. “I dunno Twilight...”

“Please, Spike. At least let me try something. I don’t want this rift to separate us, and I really think this’ll help both of us.”

A defeated sigh escaped from the dragon. “She deserves a chance.” He didn’t turn to look at her as he replied, “Okay...”

Twilight beamed a tiny bit. “Thanks Spike. And remember that you’re free to leave this place whenever you want if you don’t like what’s going on. All you have to do is think about leaving and the spell will stop.”

With that, Twilight closed her eyes and focused just the way she had when the bedroom had disappeared earlier. Instead of things fading away, however, this time something began to materialize around the duo.

First a plush, red carpet spread beneath their feet, forming into a wide rectangle which they stood in the center of. An ornate gold and red couch apparated behind Spike and a dark mahogany coffee table grew from the ground behind Twilight. Next, walls began to rise at the edges of the carpet. They bore modest brown wallpaper with thin, sparkling gold stripes every few inches. A door which matched the coffee table chiseled itself into one wall as lanterns began jutting from all the others, filling the room with a dim, soothing yellow glow. A wood paneled ceiling had taken form at some point, and from it a chandelier of shimmering crystals hung directly above their heads. As a final touch, an unobtrusive stone fireplace formed and lit next to them, watching them with its warm, humbling gaze. The entire scene felt comfortable, safe, and familiar.

Spike couldn’t seem to pinpoint it but, for some reason, he recognized the room. It was as though he was seeing it for the first time in eons, his memory of it shrouded in the fogs of time. He brushed his claw along the velvet couch behind him, and looked around in wonderment.

“C’mon Spike.”

Twilight’s voice drew the dragon’s numb gaze in her direction. He hadn’t even noticed, but she had lay down on her side next to the fireplace, a large beige blanket covering her lower half. Suddenly his memory flashed and he saw a familiar, heartwarming sepia photograph. Realization struck and he couldn’t help but smile. Twilight returned his expression, and their two souls seemed to connect firmly at that moment.

Spike quietly waddled over and joined his friend under the blanket. “How’d you know?”

“You didn’t think I would forget something so memorable, did you?” The unicorn conjured up a familiar photograph and gazed longingly at it. “We spent that whole day together. Princess Celestia even gave me the day off from my studies so we could be together. I wanted to make you happy, and the only things that seemed to make you happy back then were sleeping and being close to me.” She giggled lightly. “Not much has changed, has it?”

The photograph vanished and the two snuggled closer together, smiling all the while. A long silence took hold, punctuated by the crackling of the fire next to them. Yet despite the blissful warmth of the scene, a dull awkwardness still hung in the air. They both knew that there were still words to be said, and Twilight was the first to break the ice.

“Spike?”

“Yeah?”

“I want you to know how much I love you, and how much I care about you. Way back in Canterlot, when Shining Armor left home, you were the only real friend I had. Whenever I needed help with anything or got sad, you were there to help and cheer me up. I can’t even imagine how much different... how much worse my life would’ve been if I didn’t have you by my side all these years.”

Spike said nothing, he just listened attentively.

“I’ve never had a friend like you, and I don’t think I ever will have another friend like you. We’ve been through so much together, and I’ll never forget everything that you’ve done for me. You always know exactly what to say and how to help me, and you’ve never once given up on me even when I’m on the verge of catastrophe.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you for how much you’ve helped me grow in my life, Spike, but I just want you to know that I appreciate it. I really, really do. You’re more important to me than any book or project could ever be, and there’s no replacement for something that valuable. You really are like family to me and I don’t ever want to lose what we have. I don’t ever want to make you feel like I don’t appreciate you... or love you.”

Spike shifted beneath the blanket. Twilight’s voice was growing noticeably sadder.

“What you said last night... about me not caring about you or your happiness... none of it’s true. Seeing how much hurt there was in your eyes yesterday made me hurt just as much, and I hated myself more than ever when you told me how you felt. I failed you yesterday, Spike, and I can’t change that. Just like how this memory we’re in right now will always make us happy, the memories of what happened yesterday will always make us sad. The most important thing to realize, though, is that I never meant to hurt you. I would never intentionally do anything to jeopardize your happiness or our friendship, because there’s nothing that matters to me more than those two things.”

Spike sniffled. “Nothing?”

“Nothing.”

The innocent little dragon wiped a forearm at his eye, and frowned. “Then what happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you really mean all those things you said... then why weren’t you there yesterday? Why didn’t you show up and just left me that terrible note instead?”

Twilight took a small, thoughtful moment of silence. “...I forgot.”

Spike stared at her incredulously. “You forgot?”

She nodded, frowning.

“But... how?”

Twilight thought for a second before answering. “Have you noticed that I’ve been waking up earlier than usual for the past few months?”

“How could I not? You’re not usually one to break a schedule.” Spike’s frown deepened as he considered what he’d just said.

“I know. It’s because I’ve been so on edge ever since I sent out my spell thesis all those months ago.”

Sudden puzzlement filled Spike’s expression. “Spell thesis?”

“I was keeping it a secret since I wanted to surprise everypony. You know how much I’ve always wanted to make a difference in magical history, and this spell thesis was my chance to do that. I sent it in to Canterlot University three months ago and it’s been in the back of my mind ever since, making me constantly nervous. I didn’t know how long it would take for them to get back to me, and I couldn’t stop worrying about whether or not they would like it or if they’d just pass it off as nothing; you know how paranoid I can get when I’m worried about things. Because of that, it was hard to focus on anything else and little things kept slipping my mind. Turns out it just happened to make one big thing slip my mind too.”

Spike considered her explanation for a bit. “I guess that makes sense.”

“But that still doesn’t excuse anything. My obligations to my friends should always be top priority, regardless of whatever else tempts me to say otherwise. But even I can’t be the perfect prioritizer all the time. I let my own selfish desires get in the way of what really mattered, and that caused me to hurt the friend I care about most of all. I’m sorry Spike. I’m so, so sorry.”

It took Spike a minute to get over his emotions. When he finally did, he grinned and replied, “Why do you always have to learn lessons the hard way?”

Twilight chuckled softly and then took him into a warm embrace, one which he happily returned. They stayed frozen in their timeless, loving embrace for what could’ve been years. Neither of them wanted to let the moment end as the warmth of the room fueled their emotions, keeping the two best friends safe with each other.

When the hug finally came to an end, Spike looked up at the purple unicorn, one last question nagging at his mind. “What about that note?”

Twilight giggled timidly. “That was just poor word choice on my part. I didn’t mean to diminish the value of your day, I just wanted to tell you that I was gonna be gone all day since I got called up to Canterlot University to finalize the publication of my spell.”

At this, Spike beamed. “They’re gonna publish your spell?! Twilight that’s fantastic! When do I get to see it?! What book is it gonna be in? What—”

A lavender hoof had been placed over his mouth, silencing him. “Shh,” Twilight told him soothingly, “We can talk about all that later. For now, let’s just forget everything else and enjoy our time here. Just you, and me.”

Spike smiled the warmest smile he could manage and snuggled in even closer to his friend. They rekindled their quiet embrace, closed their eyes, and fell into a deep, friendly slumber. The logs of the fireplace burned brightly at their side, never dimming, never breaking, never dying.

Epilogue

Twilight backed away from Rainbow Dash slowly, the aura around her horn fading as she collapsed on her haunches. The pegasus’ eyes snapped open as she came back to her senses.

“That was awesome! I’ve never felt so alive! And you had wings too, and we were flying together and... and... just, wow! I never expected that Dream Escape thing to be so wicked!”

“Dreamscape,” Twilight corrected, “and I’m glad you liked it.

“Liked it?! It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen! Seriously Twi, you deserved to get that published.”

Four other mares sat around them in the grassy field along with a tiny purple dragon. All of them were recounting their own Dreamscape experiences as they munched on the cucumber sandwiches from Rarity as well as the sugary cupcakes from Pinkie Pie.

“So y’all managed to work things out in the end?” inquired an orange earth pony, reaching for another sandwich.

“Yeah, I think it’ll all be okay,” Spike said gleefully.

“I’m just glad all of you managed to forgive me too,” said Twilight. “You all seemed really upset with me, more upset than I actually thought you would be about this.

“I do believe we owe you an apology as well,” Rarity offered, wiping her muzzle with a napkin. “We all should’ve allowed you to explain your actions instead of merely attacking you without any explanation. We were all so distraught that we couldn’t see how much we were hurting you in return, and two wrongs don’t make a right.”

“Yeah, I was pretty nasty,” Pinkie added. “I just couldn’t think straight. I don’t think I’d had enough cupcakes yesterday and it got me even more frazzled!”

“I really should’ve let you tell me why you did what you did,” Fluttershy said sincerely. “I hope you can forgive me.”

“Yeah, I guess I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions either,” continued Rainbow. “Everypony deserves a fair chance, no matter how ridiculous they’re being.

“Shoot, I reckon I should apologize too,” noted Applejack, rounding off the apologies. “I was so dead set on figurin’ out what was goin’ on with you that I didn’t even give you the chance to tell me for yourself. Sorry Twi.”

“It’s okay, you guys,” assured Twilight, “I’m actually kinda glad you were so upset. It showed me how much you all really care about Spike. Not that I ever doubted you, it’s just reassuring to know. It really makes us all feel more like a family.”

Tears began forming in some of the group’s eyes and immovable smiles crossed their faces. They all looked to each other in turn.

“Group hug!!” cried Pinkie as she immediately smothered the seven friends into a big ball creating a happy embrace. As the hug dispersed and the group fell backwards, they all released hearty laughs which echoed through the sky, filling the air with glee.

Spike

The Moon was just about to reach its zenith overhead when Twilight arrived back in front of her home she had left so many long hours ago. It was hard to believe that the same unicorn who had been bouncing giddily out the door like a schoolfilly earlier this morning was now dragging her somber body to the door with a perpetual frown adorning her face. Noting that the lights were still on inside the library’s lower floor, Twilight sighed and groggily forced the door open, wholly unprepared for what awaited on the other side.

Balloons and streamers of every colour covered the walls of the room in a joyful mosaic, motionless as the books on the shelves. A round table draped with a lavender tablecloth sat as the centerpiece of the room with a virtually untouched array of treats arranged on top of it. Small bits of what appeared to be wrapping paper littered the floor and a phonograph sat unassumingly off to the side of the room. It was clear that a party had occurred at some point in the day, but there was a distinct lack of mess... at least in terms of how wild parties normally got in Ponyville.

Twilight wandered over to the table, completely perplexed as she took in her surroundings. “Does this have something to do with—” Her thought process stopped abruptly as she noticed something in the air that she hadn’t previously: the odor of burnt parchment. She glanced around the library in a frenzy for the source before her eyes fell upon the charred husk of a book which lay on the ground by the front entrance. Confusion continued to riddle the exhausted unicorn’s mind as she discovered so many oddities. What had happened today?

Looking down at the table, she noticed something indiscriminate sitting among all the party favors. A small scrap of parchment bearing her own distinct writing was sprawled out blatantly on the table, completely separate from everything else. Picking it up in her telekinetic grasp and bringing it nearer, Twilight noticed several circular spots on the page where the parchment was darker and the ink was smeared. Putting the observation in the back of her mind, she read the note quietly to herself.

Spike,

Don’t panic, I didn’t get foalnapped in the middle of the night or anything. I just had to get an early start so I left before you woke up; I know you won’t mind. I’ll probably be gone most of the day, but it’s not like it matters too much, it would’ve been a pretty boring day otherwise. I’ve got nothing better to do today so I figured I’d take the chance to run this study errand now that the opportunity presents itself! I know you won’t have much to do today either, so could you please run to the grocery store for some more celery. Maybe pick up some quills and parchment too, it’s not like you won’t have the time! I know your day’s probably going to be pretty boring, but rest assured that mine won’t be! I’ll tell you all about it once I’m back.

Twilight

She remembered writing the note haphazardly as she had left for the train station in the morning, but thinking about it more carefully now, she was surprised at how much her words came off as a taunt of sorts. Secretly she had just been subtly hinting that her day was going to be really exciting by juxtaposing it against the general mundanity of Ponyville, but it didn’t seem to come off that way at all on paper.

Focusing now on the darker splotches which covered the paper, Twilight thought about them carefully. She had worked with parchment long enough to recognized those marks as liquid stains, most likely water. But why would water have been dripped in such a random pattern as this instead of just having spilled outright and ruined the parchment? Unless...

...were they tears?

Twilight looked up from the note at the scattered party scene. As she took in the room, all of the events of her tragic evening came to her mind—along with all the words of her upset friends—and she slowly put the pieces into place.

“...the absolute worst thing you could’ve done...”

“...nothing could excuse that...”

“...it’s because you weren’t here...”

“...loyalty’s a two way street...”

“...not normally one to play cruel jokes...”

“...you really forgot...”

“...such a significant milestone...”

“...obligations of friendship...”

“...hurtful words...”

“...hardly involves us at all...”

Twilight’s eyes grew wider with each passing memory and her gaze spun all around the colorfully decorated room. She caught sight of the heavily burnt book in the corner, paused, and looked back down at the note that had triggered her mental spiral,

“...nothing better to do today...”

Her eyes began to water, but she still stood in complete shock at the realization that was bearing down on her relentlessly. One final piece was all she needed to complete this puzzle, and her watery vision caught sight of it as she glanced down at the ground directly in front of her. Attached to a scrap of emerald and amethyst wrapping paper was an ornate gift tag with three, soul-crushing words emblazoned on it.

“Happy Birthday Spike”

“Oh, look who finally showed up.”

A completely heartbroken, speechless Twilight craned her head to the source of the voice. At the top of the stairs stood her closest, lifelong friend. The one who had stood by her side for so long, helping her in ways no one else could. The one who marked her first ever tight-knit friendship and had stayed loyal to her in so many ways that she could never hope to repay. The one who was her balance, her guide, her second half.

The one she had completely neglected in the pursuit of glory.

Spike stared down at her pitiful form, an indefinable expression of anger, disappointment, confusion, and hurt crossing his face. Throughout all her encounters with her friends tonight, Twilight had never felt more alone, helpless, or guilty than she did at that moment. An invisible barrier of extreme tension filled the void between the two creatures, their eyes locked in a silent struggle.

“Spike... I... I...” was all Twilight could squeak out before her throat failed her.

“Save it,” Spike replied ferociously. “I trusted you Twilight, I thought we could always depend on each other. I’ve devoted my whole life to making you happy, doing whatever you asked without ever asking for anything more than your friendship in return. That’s all I’ve ever wanted... and I thought I had that.”

Twilight could do nothing but stare through weeping eyes as the dragon tore at her soul.

“And then you go and completely throw all that away, passing off my birthday—the one day of the year that I just want to spend with my best friend without worrying about anything—as just another boring pointless day?!” Spike’s tone had developed a raspy edge and tears were beginning to well from his eyes as well. Twilight just sat, motionless.

“After everything we’ve been through together, do you still think of me as nothing more than a worthless assistant?! A second-rate friend?! Less important than a study errand?!” Whatever Spike had planned on saying next seemed to die in his throat as his lips began to quiver and he curled up into a sobbing mass of solitude.

“I... I thought you l-loved me. I loved you as more than just a best friend. You were like a m-m-m...” he clenched his eyes as he struggled for the word, “m-mother to me. How could you neglect me so easily? Do you not n-need me anymore?”

Every word hit Twilight with the force of an asteroid, punching holes in her heart and leaving her at a complete lack for what to do. Her mind hoped that everything was just a bad dream. She wanted to wake up and celebrate her best friend’s birthday with him and let him know how much she cared about him. How much she needed him. More than anything she just wanted to find a way to make everything better. To fix her mistake.

But she had done the unforgivable, and made the worst of a bad situation.

Still a blubbering mess, Spike got to his feet and gave Twilight a look that could freeze fire. Trembling steadily, he waddled off into the darkness of the bedroom, leaving a completely shattered Twilight alone with her compendium of thoughts.