A Pony a Day

by OfTheIronwilled

Cycle (1/18/2017)

Author's Note:

This story is a continuation of Tradition.

Twilight Sparkle curled up onto her bed, fat tears streaming silently from her cheeks. Her wings were shivering and agitated, her head hurt, and- and she didn't know what to do. What had she done?! What in Equestria had the other Princesses allowed her to do? Did... did Celestia really value her opinion in these matters so highly? And if she did, what would she think later, to learn that her opinion shouldn't have been valued, and that now... her pupil, her friend had been hurt so very badly. Beyond words.

Twilight croaked a sob into the crook of her foreleg. As soon as she did, Spike came charging into her room, a somber look on his face, and slowly padded over to her side of the bed. Hesitantly reaching a claw out to her back while she coughed some more tears into her hoof, he softly patted her and looked up at her with a wince.

Twilight almost wanted to jerk away from his touch; did she deserve to be consoled, after what she'd done? She didn't, though, and nether of them said anything for a while.

Eventually, Spike gave a fragile smile and said, "Aw, c'mon, Twilight. She's calmed down now. And, I mean, you couldn't have known--"

"Yes, I could have, Spike! I should have!" Twilight shouted. She threw her hooves over her head and yanked at her mane while she screamed. "She was my student and my friend; as a Princess and a responsible friend, I should have known how terrible this would be for her! She was terrified to throw a party, Spike! And now..."

Twilight buried her face in her hooves. She shivered. How could she have been so blind and terrible, to possibly force this onto some pony just because-- because of--

"I knew Starlight wasn't prepared for this, and now I've-- forced it on her anyway. This isn't like Starswirl's spell, Spike. I could never believe that this was just a test. There's no spell to reverse this; Starlight is stuck like this... f-forever. She'll never forgive me, and I don't think I want her to. I ruined her, Spike."

Spike hummed in his throat, like he always did when he was nervous. The next time he patted Twilight, he wasn't smiling.

"Alright, Twilight. So you messed up and hurt Starlight. And okay, maybe she won't ever forgive you--"

Twilight flinched, but he kept going.

"But just because you made her an alicorn when you shouldn't have doesn't make her a Princess. Like, maybe there's some laws or something I don't know about, but as far as I'm concerned, Starlight Glimmer is just Starlight Glimmer. Nopony is going to make her a Princess if that's not what she wants, or I'll have something to say about it. Twilight, you may have made a mistake, but this doesn't ruin her whole life."

Twilight just sniffed and lifted her head. That was supposed to make her feel better, but... but Twilight knew what she had done. Why she had done it. And... and what Spike had said about defending Starlight, it--

She wasn't sure what she was feeling. All she knew was that her chest was hot. She forced a smile onto her face anyway. Brought Spike into a small half-hug, because she knew in her heart that that's what she would have done if his words hadn't inadvertently hurt her.

"Thank you Spike," she whispered. "I'm so sorry for what I've done. I know that you must be angry at me, but you're so prepared to protect both Starlight and me. You're a good friend, Spike."

After that, there was another lapse. Twilight gently nuzzled Spike, and tried not to wince when she realized that he wasn't doing the same to her (It wasn't his fault. It was her who had hurt another one of his friends). When she let go and leaned back, her eyes still blurry with tears, Spike just stared at her for a while. His green eyes bore into hers, and she didn't dare look away from him.

So Twilight saw the exact moment his expression turned from hesitant to hurt and slightly angry.

"There's just one thing I don't get, Twilight," Spike said, and Twilight's heart dropped at the same time Spike narrowed his eyes at her. "You never even said anything to me or your friends about Starlight's ascension-- only Princess Celestia. And-- and earlier, you said that you knew that Starlight wasn't ready, but you did it anyway."

Twilight could feel herself spiraling. Her head spun and her stomach churned.

Spike narrowed his eyes further, but held out his claws in a placating gesture.

"I wanna help and defend you and everything, Twilight, but... but why did you do it? And why didn't you talk to me or your friends... or hay, especially Starlight?"

And there it was.

Twilight's throat constricted as her entire body locked up. A chill went down her back and a new wave of guilt washed over her. She nearly broke down again-- but she forced herself not to. She wanted insist that she had simply misspoken earlier, or teleport away to hide-- but she forced herself not to. No. Even if... She shivered and fought the urge to vomit. Even if what she had done was abhorrent, even if it felt to hurtful to confess...

She looked at Spike. He and Starlight had gotten close. Of course he would ask, and of course so would her friends, eventually. Starlight would. And they all deserved to know why she made such a horrible choice. She owed that much to them.

So she blinked away her tears, sighed, and looked Spike in the eyes.

"Because Celestia did the same thing to me," she said.