Please don't cry...
Spike cast his tired eyes down over the unusually-shaped rooftops of Ponyville as Twilight began to make her descent towards her castle, its crystal-like exterior glowing radiantly in the crisp moonlight. Exhaustion had long coursed its way through their each and every limb, and there was little else on their minds but the collective thought of crawling into bed for a peaceful night's sleep.
Their four-day stay in Canterlot to restore long-lost friendships had ended with quite the proverbial bang, and a lengthy day of non-stop partying was chiefly to blame for their growing fatigue. Yet they were still returning home with an air of satisfaction at the success of their mission—Moondancer had embraced friendship again after living as a recluse for the last few years, spending innumerable hours at the Canterlot library when not hidden away in her decaying and dilapidated home. It was a victory hard-achieved, and the rewards reaped were a brand new social life for Moondancer, as well as an additional reason for Twilight and Spike to pay their old hometown a visit every so often.
Much to Twilight's relief, Pinkie Pie had agreed to take the train back to Ponyville, and thus only Spike was perched upon her back, his arms wrapped firmly across her neck just in case he slipped from consciousness as a tranquil nightly breeze attempted to caress him to sleep. But the breeze unexpectedly whipped sharply against his face as Twilight's slow decent suddenly morphed into a downward swoop towards the castle's front doors, forcing the infant dragon to tighten his grip around her. She did not stop to land just outside the doors—instead, she swung them open magically, and with only a slight loss in momentum, she continued gliding her way through the castle's chill and dimly-lit halls, where the beams of moonlight striking through the windows caused the interior to glow nearly as much as the exterior.
Finally, after an intense swerve and a silent landing, the pair found themselves in the castle's sitting room, where their trip to Canterlot had first been initiated by a casual remark from Spike.
"Did I mention that I'm glad I opened my big mouth, too?" Spike asked as he climbed down from Twilight's back. "I didn't realize how much I missed those ponies. We should bring Lyra next time we go visit them. I take it you're going to go pay her visit next, right?"
No answer came from Twilight, who sat herself down on the cold floor as she stared at the pictures on the wall and the small bookshelf, none of which included any of her Canterlot friends as Spike had pointed out to her. The young dragon looked at her with an apologetic frown, assuming that she was possibly lamenting to herself for not snapping any pictures at the party that she could have hung on the wall as a token of their mission's success.
"Well, goodnight, Twi," he said with a yawn.
But before Spike could turn to leave the room, his hazy eyes briefly glimpsed Twilight's face, and the traces of tears sitting in her own eyes caused him instant alarm.
"Twi? Are you okay?" he asked warily, stepping closer to her.
Twilight turned her head away at once, though she knew that trying to shy away from him would be in vain. In that moment, there was far more on her mind than just sleep, and her thoughts buzzed around inside her head like an angry wasp, which painfully stung at her until she was left without any ability to lie down and rest. The concerned dragon frowned at Twilight's attempt to shut him out and he moved back into her line of sight, closing in on her deeply enough so that his nose rested mere inches from her own, preventing her from turning her head again.
"Come on, Twi, talk to me," Spike urged, his exhaustion lessening as his concern increased.
Twilight closed her eyes and became entirely still, once more attempting to avoid sharing her thoughts with the prying dragon. The room fell into a cold, momentary silence as Spike repeatedly ran his hand down Twilight's neck, the tips of his claws unintentionally prickling her skin with each stroke. As the minutes ticked on as slowly as hours, her eyes gradually slid back open and she exhaled a solemn sigh, finally realizing that there was no longer any point in trying to avoid him.
"What's wrong?" he asked again, hopeful that he would finally receive an answer.
"Spike...I..." she said, her voice low. "...I don't deserve to be the Princess of Friendship."
Spike blinked and squinted with confusion, indicating to Twilight that what she had said was not something he had expected to hear.
"What do you mean? Of course you do!" he exclaimed with an optimistic smile, hoping that it would be returned.
But it was not returned, and Twilight shook her head as the tears in her eyes continued to build themselves up, awaiting a release that seemed all but inevitable.
"I really can't thank you enough, Spike," she said suddenly, her moist eyes staring at him with genuine sincerity.
"Huh? For what?" Spike asked with equally genuine curiosity.
"If you had never said anything about what a horrible friend I was back in Canterlot, nothing would be different now," Twilight said, turning her head back to the framed photos on the wall and bookshelf. "I'd be sleeping soundly tonight, completely unaware of how much I left my old friends behind....completely unaware of how much I hurt Moondancer..."
"Oh, come on, Twilight," Spike said dismissively. "That's what you're so upset about? I told you before that you may have been a bad friend back then, but you're a great one now. And that's really all that matters."
"No, Spike, it's not all that matters!" Twilight replied, startling the dumbfounded dragon with her raised voice. "I wasn't just a bad friend, I was a terrible one! What kind of friend just completely leaves her friends behind without a second thought, never coming back to pay them a visit or anything?"
Spike frowned with discomfort at the sharper tone in her voice, knowing at once that he had underestimated just how upset she was.
"Okay, yeah, you were a terrible friend back then. But—"
"Oh my gosh!" Twilight cried, staring hard into Spike's face once again. "Are you saying that I was I a terrible friend to you, too?! Did I really treat you as poorly as I treated them?!"
Spike immediately shook his head. "No, Twi, that's not what—"
"Oh, my gosh!" she repeated, trembling as an entirely new wave of sorrow washed over her. "Spike, I want you to tell me every single horrible thing I did to you back then—every single time I ever neglected you or ignored your feelings. Just lay it all on me!"
Spike blinked. "Uhhh...you mean, like, now?"
"Yes, now. Right now!" Twilight answered immediately. "Tell me everything!"
Spike shook his head again. "You didn't treat me badly, Twilight. I don't really have anything—"
"No, Spike, I want to know!" Twilight cried. "Just name something, please! Any moment where you felt I was terrible to you!"
Spike sighed, falling subsequently into a brief pause during which he thought back to his life with Twilight in Canterlot. It was a life he had enjoyed, and he was certain there was no one else he would have rather been living with. Twilight had graced him a familial love sufficient enough to lessen his desire for a traditional mother, and punished him only when it was appropriate. While he had not been subjected to the neglect and disinterest that she had displayed towards her other friends, he certainly could not say that he never felt that she did not pay him enough attention from time to time.
Twilight continued to stare at him intensely as she waited for him to speak, the light in the room reflecting brightly off of her water-filled eyes. Spike stared hesitantly back at her, knowing that she was not going to stop waiting until he said something. With a sigh, he recounted the first instance that came to mind.
"Well, on the day of Moondancer's party, I bought her a teddy bear with my own money and I gift wrapped it myself. But just as I was about to leave home to make my way over there, you flung the door open and knocked me to the ground, which made me fall on the bear and ruin it. And...you didn't apologize for that."
Twilight offered no reply and instead remained staring at him with the same level of concern. Spike bit his lip with dread before going on.
"And then, when you were looking for Predictions and Prophecies, I had climbed up a ladder to the top of the bookshelf to get it for you. I was just about to bring it back down, but you levitated it out of my hand which made me lose my balance and fall off the ladder, flat on my face. And again, you didn't apologize."
Spike paused again, though shorter than he had the first time. Twilight still failed to utter a word.
"And...well...you also didn't let me go to Moondancer's party," he said with a finish.
Twilight sat in her ongoing silence for several more tension-heavy seconds, then her bottom lip trembled and curled up with a deep, visible regret.
"You're right, Spike," she said silently, nodding with affirmation. "I really did do all those things..."
At once, she magically lifted Spike off his feet and pulled him into a smothering hug, pressing his cheek firmly and uncomfortably against her barrel.
"I'm so sorry for causing you to ruin your bear, for knocking you off the ladder, and for not letting you go to Moon Dancer's party, Spike. And I'm sorry that this apology is so late. Can you ever forgive me?"
"Twilight, I forgave you for that a long time ago," Spike said, struggling to pry himself from the force of her grasp.
"Well, you shouldn't have. Not until I properly apologized," she replied as she released him. "I just can't believe how horribly I treated you that day!"
"Well, that wasn't how you usually—"
"I just can't believe any of this!" Twilight cried, raising back up on all fours to begin pacing around the room. "I knew I never cared much about friendship back in Canterlot, but I never realized just how horrible I was back then! How could I have been so blind, thinking that I actually had good friendships?! Friendships that I left behind without a second thought!"
"Twilight..."
"I don't even want to think about what would have happened if Princess Celestia had never sent me here!" she continued. "Would I still be such a terrible pony? Would I have ever changed? Or would I have remained so uncaring towards the friends who clearly deserved a better friend than me...?"
"Twilight, stop it!" Spike cried, shouting loud enough to cause her to jolt in shock, ceasing her pace instantly. "You're not a terrible pony! You never were a terrible pony! There's no need for you to get all worked up like this!"
Twilight stared silently into the deep emerald irises of her little dragon's concerned and frenzied eyes.
"Spike, I feel like I've just stepped into light after walking blind in the dark for years," she replied, calm restored in her voice. "I don't think I'll ever be able to forget the way Moondancer looked at me....the things she said about how I made her feel. And if you had never mentioned what a bad friend I was, she would still be there....in her dark house....without any friends....blaming me..."
She turned her head away again as she uttered her final words, her tears instantly returning to build up once more. Frowning, Spike instinctively placed a comforting hand on her side, but a numbness that had gradually engulfed her body left her almost incapable of sensing the familiarity of his touch. He almost instantly felt her body trembling from underneath his fingertips, and he realized that it was likely only a matter of time before she succumbed to her grief and gave up holding back her tears. An icy chill shook him to the bone as he began to realize just how distraught she truly was—how much a searing, emotional pain was ripping at her from the inside, and how that pain was quickly transferring over to him simply by the mere sight of her grief.
"It's alright, Twi," Spike said weakly, unable to think of anything else to say.
"It's not alright," Twilight replied, shaking her head. "She didn't even think that she had value, Spike! She didn't think she was important because of me! And with nopony ever acknowledging her existence, it's no wonder she felt that way!"
"Twilight, I—"
"She was going to waste herself away all because I couldn't have been bothered to come to her party. I didn't care about her enough even though she considered me her friend. And yet, I'm the Princess of Friendship?! How could I even deserve such a title?!"
"Just let it go, Twi," Spike said meekly, his insides stinging sharply at her self-loathing words. "You made a mistake, but you've made up for it, and you're forgiven now. Please just let it go..."
"No, Spike, I can't just let it go!" Twilight cried, a distinct anger rising in her voice. "Moondancer didn't have any kind of life these last few years! And that's all because of me! Because I was the one who made her believe that friendship wasn't worth it! What if she had lived the rest of her life in loneliness, remaining invisible in a town where nopony ever takes time to notice you if you aren't somepony important? I would have been to blame, just like I'm to blame for the years she missed out on friendship while I've been here in Ponyville, living happily with entirely new friends whom I completely replaced my Canterlot friends with. I've been having the time of my life while she's been living in solitude, never able to understand why I wasn't a good friend to her, or why she meant so little to me that I could just leave her behind without even batting an eyelash..."
And in that moment, it happened at last. The tears sitting impatiently in Twilight's eyes finally made their exodus, sliding down her face in rapid succession. The stinging Spike felt from inside intensified as he watched each tear run down her face as if in slow motion, and an overwhelming sorrow instantly spread across his body, from the top of his foremost spine to the arrowhead tip of his tail. Twilight never cried unless something had utterly devastated her, and whenever he saw her eyes leaking, he was instantaneously struck with the very sorrow that now overtook his body. But this sorrow was not borne purely out of pity for his dearest friend, but also out of a sense of failure on his own part. He had long believed that one of his primary duties as Twilight's assistant was to keep her from shedding tears...
"Twilight, it's not your fault," he squeaked silently, struggling to find adequate words to say to end her grief, but knowing that those would not be sufficient enough.
"Yes, it is! It's no one's fault but mine!"
"You may have been a really bad friend," Spike repeated, "but you're not a terrible pony. Especially not now."
"Well, that's exactly how I feel," Twilight said, watching her tears splash upon the floor. "Not once have I ever even thought about my Canterlot friends after we moved here. Not even once! How could I have been so willfully blind, so unaware of how poorly I treated them?!"
The speed of her teardrops seemed to increase as several fresh tears were produced to replace the ones slipping off her face. Spike felt his legs wobble—the strength to stand was almost completely sapped out of them as the weight of Twilight's grief remained upon his tiny shoulders.
"But, Twilight....Minuette, Twinkle Shine, and Lemon Hearts weren't that upset that you left," he attempted again. "They were—"
"They thought I moved on....and I did!" Twilight interrupted, her voice again filled with contempt at herself. "Without even so much as a goodbye, without giving them any indication that they mattered to me at all!"
Helplessness overwhelmed Spike as he came to the realization that there was likely nothing he could do or say to eradicate her grief, no words he could say that she would not simply twist against herself. The sound of her self-loathing remarks mingled together with the sound of her high-pitched sobs was as an encompassing screech passing through his ears, causing him a discomfort unlike almost anything he had ever known. Without anything left to say, and with his legs no longer able to support his exhausted body, Spike finally collapsed onto his equally weak knees.
"Please don't cry, Twilight," he pleaded, as tears of his own formed in his eyes and were subsequently released. "Please don't cry..."
Twilight's sobs paused for a moment and she rubbed the tears from her eyes to look at her dragon, his head hung solemnly as he also allowed his tears to stain the floor alongside hers. She lowered herself to the floor and lifted his head up so that their eyes were fixed upon each other through the blurriness of their tear-filled vision.
"I'm sorry, Spike," she replied in a soft voice, "but I'm just too upset right now, and I don't think I could stop crying even if I tried. So I just need you to let me cry, okay?"
Spike slowly wiped his liquefied eyes as he felt his stomach drop at her words. He then rose back up to his feet and wrapped his arms firmly across her neck, tight enough to display his faithful affection, though not so tight that he inadvertently restricted her ability to breathe.
"You can cry, Twilight," he whispered into her ear. "You can cry. But I'm going to hold you until you're done. And I'm not letting go, even if I fall asleep."
Twilight smiled, his words sweeping the numbness in her body away so that she was able to feel her little dragon's affectionate touch. "Thank you, Spike."
Spike's stomach churned uncomfortably, unable to suppress his intense desire to put an end her sorrow while also still feeling an inescapable sense of failure for being unable to do so. Twilight's sobs soon continued on, her tears just narrowly avoiding splashing upon the infant dragon's feet. The sound of her sobbing caused his ears so much discomfort that he greatly wished to unwrap his arms from her neck and use his hands to cover them. But in that moment, there was nothing that was going to get him to release his embrace—not before the final droplet loosed itself from her eye, ran down her cheek and added itself to the tiny puddle collecting on the floor. If letting her tears loose was truly what Twilight needed, he would see to it that it was what she received.
"I'm sorry, Twilight," he whispered. "If I had just told you about what a bad friend you were sooner, we could have gone back to Canterlot sooner....and maybe you wouldn't feel as guilty."
"It's not your fault, Spike," Twilight said, shaking her head as she wiped her eyes. "I don't want you to feel guilty."
"But I don't want you to feel guilty either, Twi," Spike replied. "I want you to forgive yourself. I want you to just put it behind you and not dwell on it anymore."
"I know Spike," Twilight replied softly. "I know. But I can't just put it behind me. I....I'm not ready yet."
Spike tightened his grip upon Twilight's neck and prepared his body for an exceedingly long and sleepless night...
****
Several silent minutes passed by, eventually stretching on into two full hours. Twilight was unsure exactly when her teardrops eventually stopped falling, but she had since transitioned into a lengthy period of silent reflection while Spike's arms remained tied across her neck. It was half past midnight when her exhaustion finally took dominance over her grief, and no longer did she feel that obtaining sleep was impossible as the thoughts on her mind had settled enough to allow it.
"Spike?" Twilight whispered to no reply.
She slowly titled her head to the side to look into the young dragon's face, instantly noticing that his eyelids were drooped while drool leaked from his mouth, directly into a puddle that collected right in between his feet. Just as he had promised, his arms had never parted from Twilight's neck, even as he succumbed to fatigue and slipped from consciousness.
"Oh, Spike..." Twilight said with a smile, a final tear managing to escape her eye at the gesture.
She magically lifted her little dragon onto her back and walked slowly up the stairs to his room, careful not to allow him to slip off her back. She meticulously tucked him into his filly-sized bed, watching with a smile as he stirred in his sleep once she released the magical grip around him. Once more, she found herself immensely thankful for his unwavering loyalty to her—for refusing to leave her side while she was in distress, even though it meant fighting his exhaustion with every bit of strength he could muster.
"Thank you, my faithful little assistant," she whispered, leaning down to plant a kiss upon his forehead.
Spike stirred in his sleep again, his mouth appearing to curl into a smile. Twilight lowered herself down to her barrel and remained stroking her infant dragon's head until she eventually slipped from consciousness herself and found her sleep.
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The feels are too much for me
(This is a great story keep it up)
I definitely know how Spike feels to see a loved one cry. It tears right into you and you can't help but feel the same emotional pain that their experiencing
.
Urgh!
Heart palpitations...
Left arm numb...
Visions blurry, slight head ache, loss of appetite...
I think I'm dying from feels over dose...
emotibot.net/pix/8387.jpg
Speaking of Lyra, Twilight and Spike should visit her.
img08.deviantart.net/c2cc/i/2015/105/0/9/i_lost_it_by_hillbe-d8ptaov.jpg
HOLY SHNITZEL, DUH FEELZ (Dont question my spelling...)
Well done, you get an upvote and a favorite for this work!
I don't really like how Twilight says that one does not have a proper life if they don't have friends.
I'd give this an 8/10 for feels, but 5/10 for word choice. Specifically, you use "instantly" a lot and almost every time it was unnecessary or another word would have worked better.
I thought this was a little overwrought. It wasn't bad, but it was super emotional for a situation that didn't quite seem to warrant it.
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Aaaaaaaaaaaand feels. I think the other users above me kinda did a nice job describing the feels in this, so I won't go into too much detail on that.
You've got an upvote.
6557530
This is pretty much how I felt throughout the story. I felt that Twilight's emotional response was much too excessive for what she was beating herself up over. The whole crying for two hours straight thing kinda made me roll my eyes a bit.
This was wonderful! Have a like and a fave!
First of all, let me say, "WOW." Your writing style! It
— is 
— GREAT! 
I read this whole thing out loud and, even though there were a few words you forgot to add, the story read like a magical wave of pure joy! You call yourself "jkbrony"; let me say, this style reminds me a lot of JK Rowling's style of writing. It hooks you from the moment you start reading with its smooth syntax and its poetic diction (that's a fancy word for word choice). I felt I was right up there with Spike and Twilight as they descended from Canterlot and returned home. Every transition between action, thought, dialogue, and description was near perfect. Each and every word (except for the ones you accidentally forgot to include) is well placed and rolls off the tongue beautifully.
Next, the description really hits home. Twilight's misery and intense feeling of guilt really makes you feel sorry for her. And Spike's progression into equal sadness is heart wrenching. You have the most faithful of all Twilight's friends trying to comfort her and make her feel better, but you watch and read in despair as he fails. You are down on your knees with Spike and all you want to do is hold onto the friend who means the world to you. It's the same as watching your own loved ones suffer; it is the worst sort of pain — the kind that both feel and is without a means to cure. All you can do is cry and comfort each other, and slowly let the love you share take its course.
And you know what? Spike's acceptance that Twilight has to be sad is beautiful. Spike learns that we sometimes have to let our loved ones feel sadness so that they can heal. Spike is sad along with her. They both hold each other — the best of friends — and cry together. They let it out so they can let it go. The final scene where Twilight tucks Spike in and strokes his head is really fitting for the end. It's almost as though she's thanking him for being there.
Your description of Spike being Twilight's "little dragon" is just adorable. I always loved that phrase, and by luck, you used it in your story.
The only thing I have to nitpick about is Twilight's insistence on her neglect of Moondancer. Yes, I know she feels bad about it, and, by all means, Twilight's actions did leave a negative impact, but she did make up for it in the episode "Mending Fences." But . . . I know that guilt can follow you even after the harm is over and done. Twilight has been forgiven by Moondancer, but she can't forgive herself. That will take time. In the meantime, she can rest knowing that she's not alone. Spike will stick by her side, just as he always does, because he is her most faithful friend and because he loves her.
I know you didn't use the phrase "I love you" once in your fanfic, but after everything I've read on the interaction between Twilight and Spike, the phrase is unnecessary, and that is a fantastic plus. You showed their affection, and you did it wonderfully.
Thank you for writing this, and may all your other stories, MLP related or not, hold the same amount of devotion you put into this one. You have a marvelous talent.
May all your pages hold meaning and magic,
Mr. Page
Didn't the show ALREADY thrash all this out with the episode? Twilight already took that guilt trip, nothing is gained by having her buy a second round-trip ticket.
When you cry at very little, sometimes something seemingly small can lead to a lot of crying. that has been my personal experience anyway. That and anytime you deal with a pony and failing in their talent/job their emotional response tends to be magnified (which is true for humans too but perhaps not as dramatic, as I have never had a spontaneous mood induced change of hairstyle). So the level of tears seems high but not inexplicably so.
You gotta embrace the simple things in life.
anyway, I did enjoy it though in places it seemed to go in circles.
Like 6557530 said, a little melodramatic for my tastes, but still very well-written.
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6557186
Cadence would likely say the same thing about the love of a spouse. It may not be true but they're flawed beings with obvious biases. Makes her seem more real in that sense.
6559233
I feel that there's a certain magnitude to this that the episode didn't really cover. Twilight skipping Moondancer's party and leaving without a goodbye was the single, solitary act that changed her life for the worse, utterly destroying any sense of self-worth she had and leaving her with a life of loneliness and solitude. Meanwhile, of course, Twilight is living a magnificent social life with entirely new friends, has become a princess on the merit of friendship, and has barely given her old Canterlot friends any thought at all since she left them. Yet somehow, she managed to delude herself into believing that she had good friendships in Canterlot, despite not bothering keeping in touch with any of them, and even worse, forgetting their names.
Furthermore, I find it interesting that Moondancer replied "no" when asked if she was studying to become a professor. That almost makes it seem as though studying was nothing more than a way for her to fill time until her eventual death. And honestly, how far from death was she, exactly? I definitely got the feeling that she likely didn't eat nearly as much as she should have, given that we know that for three days straight, she only traveled back in forth from her house and the library, apparently not bothering to go to any marketplace to buy food. And I highly doubt she bothered storing food well in her run-down home, so what food she did have probably wasn't in the best condition. I don't particularly feel that she was suicidal, but I definitely do feel that she didn't care about herself nearly enough to bother with keeping herself properly nourished. And were it not from Spike's casual remark, she clearly would have remained that way.
Anyway, I just felt that the implications here were enough to make Twilight's guilt soar through the roof once she eventually took a step back and realized it all.
6559897
While I understand how Twilight felt upset and felt that it was her fault, I don’t think she can really be blamed for Moondancer’s situation. If Twilight couldn’t remember the names of her old friends, than she just wasn’t very close to them and drifted apart from them because of moving to another town. People drift apart all the time in real life because of moving. I even had a small group of friends in high school and after moving we never really talked to each other again. This would be even more justified in Equestrian since they don’t have things such as the internet and social media to keep in touch as easily.
The matter of Twilight missing Moondancer’s party isn’t really Twilight’s fault either, in that Twilight had to save the world, which is much more important than a party. If Moondancer decided to cut herself off from the world despite the other friends she had besides Twilight who still cared about her, then Moondancer can’t really blame anyone but herself. You can only blame others so much. You have to be responsible for your own actions too. So yeah, like I said, while I understand someone beating themselves up over this, I don’t think it’s really fair to blame them too much.
That’s just my two cents. Otherwise, I still think your story is well written despite the problem I have with Twilight being a bit too over the top in her emotional reaction.
The urge to just reach in and hold Twilight was very, very real.
6559799 I know, I didn't mean to imply that she shouldn't have said that, just that I disagree.
I wish her argument/angst amounted to more than: i was saving the world, and my friend who was too emotionaly attached grew depressed and socially catatonic because I didnt want to go to a party how could i not have predicted the future of someone I only hung out with at school, I'm a bad person for saving the world and paying attention to my new friends!
Goddamit feels, my only weakness. Great work
6560029
The point you raise is Spike's exact argument throughout this entire piece, from what I see. Unfortunately, if there's one thing Twilight is known for throughout the series, it's blaming herself for things going wrong. She feels compelled to save everyone. And the idea of how much damage she wrought - even if, yes, there was no logical or illogical way she could have known - would be emotionally crippling to her once she stepped back.
Having experienced my own version of Twilight's worry spirals over things beyond my control - to the point I actively avoid hearing about world news to prevent another one - I found this to be an accurate presentation of someone in this situation. This piece was...rather cathartic for me in that regard.
6560904
Oh, I understand how Twilight feels the way she does about what happened. I'd probably even feel guilty myself if I were in a similar position, but probably not to the point of crying for two hours. I was mostly talking about judging the situation as an outsider looking in. You can't heap all the blame on Twilight when Moondancer also needs to take responsibilities for her own actions.
Also, one thing that I disagree with Spike in this story on is that Twilight used to be a terrible friend. Yeah, maybe she could have been a better friend, but I feel like calling her terrible is going a bit too far in my opinion.
I guess I mostly just felt like sharing my opinion on the original episode itself.
Has anyone else mentioned that despite appearances, it's actually being almost surely less than two years since Twilight moved to poniville?
It's the first thing that I notice in every Moondancer fic I read, it's easier to identify the picture as being several years apart but considering that at the season 4 premier it was mentioned to be an exact year it's probably not being too much more time from there to Amending Fences.
~Leonzilla
I'm surprised Twilight didn't smack him in the face and tell him to mind his own business.
Oh, I get it; it's a comedy.
If I could retcon one thing about FiM, I'd have Twilight learn to mind her own damn business. Moondancer was doing just fucking fine.
While I think Twilight went a bit overboard here even for her, I really liked the way Spike was handled and wish he got this kind of respect more often in the show. This story really did a great job of showing how he supports her and how essential he is to her instead of just making him the but of cheap jokes.
6561131
I not sure why you're so angry about this. What do you mean Moondancer was doing just fine? Did you see her run down house? She was barely taking care of herself. And did you not see the emotional breakdown Moondancer had? She was clearly bottling up a lot of negative emotions.
6561193 And I see myself in Moondancer; even moreso than in Spike, Maud, and Fluttershy. The biggest differences: I'm male, and I grew the fuck up.
6561212
Not everyone is able to handle situations exactly the same way. Just because you were able to move past your own obstacle in life by yourself, doesn't mean others can. Some people need some extra help from others just like Moondancer needed. She most likely would not have been fine if left to her own devices, and in the end she got the help she needed to move on with her life.
It's better to say they were Twilight's friends, but Twilight was never their friend. Is it ANY WONDER Celestia was worried Twilight Sparkle was going to turn into Sunset Shimmer 2.0?
6561234 My point is she was fine when the episode started. Let me be clearer about the difference: I don't whine about it or blame anyone else.
Much better than, and a welcome break from, all of the spike edgelord fics about Twilight mistreating Spike.
You done good.
6561298
In what ways was she fine? The condition of her house and her attitude toward others didn't seem very healthy to me. She was much better off at the end of the episode.
6561350 Her house needed some fixing, but I found her personality 100% identifiable.
6561450
Just because you find something identifiable, it does not automatically mean that it is fine or healthy. The fact that she was so engrossed in her studies that she let her house end up in such a terrible state in addition to shutting out all social interaction tells me that she was not fine or healthy at all. She clearly needed some help getting out of that self destructive lifestyle and into a much healthier one.
6561485 So you're saying that being an introvert and getting your fill of social interaction just doing what you have to do to fulfill your needs is unhealthy?
I don't recall them ever showing anything inside her house that was in a terrible and/or unlivable state. I'll go check the episode to make sure though.
6561939
Moondancer's door was apparently in a bad enough state that knocking on it was anough to create a hole, and her front garden looked pretty wild:
[image]
I suppose there may be a few people who would be fine with both the lack of cleanliness and the things the 'abandoned' house might say about them, but Moondancer doesn't seem like the type that would be okay with a lack of cleanliness. The fact that she let the outside of her house come to look so horrible doesn't say anything good about her state of mind.
Edit: Personally, that sort of lack of clearnliness from a usually tidy individual seems... well it reminds me of some of the worst times in my life. If anything it seems like Moondancer is doing less than what is necessary to fulfill her needs.
6562086 I'll give you the door bit but everything else about the house was perfectly fine as far as I can see. The yard and exterior of the house were still structurally sound and thus merely say "I don't give a
what the neighbors think about my house/yard." The interior looked completely normal for an area currently in use for studying. Hells, Twilight's studying area has been FAR messier when we've seen her on a studying binge.
What proof do we have that she's normally a "clean freak" anyways? The interior of her house looks exactly the same in the end of the episode when we see a clip of her getting ready to go out with her friends, though I'm pretty sure the door HAD been replaced.
6562138
Also, the shutter to the front window is hanging off the hinges, some roof tiles are missing, there's moss growing on the roof, there are cracks running all over her walls, there are some boards sticking out in the back, and that rock wall thing in front of her house is missing some rocks.
I'd say that house is one monsoon season away from a roof collapse, as well as a possible wall collapse.
Actually, I'm not a "clean freak" and her house still makes me fear for its inhabitants. Besides, a lot of people who are into studying as much as she is, and who tend to stay in one place for long periods of time, tend to want to enjoy staying in the places they'll be staying in for several hours. It doesn't look like she'll be able to look out a window without noticing something that needs to be repaired.
However, I shouldn't go into too much depth about personality and cleanliness, because the writers of that episode certainly didn't. I'll just say that it's a common trope for someone out of touch with society to have a wild yard and rotting home. (I couldn't really find the trope, but I'm sure it is one.) That doesn't always mean theres a problem, but that might depend on the genre of the story. In real life though, that kind of isolation can be damaging.
In Moondancer's case, she's shown playing some game with her old friends after Twilight leaves, and she basically cried about Twilight leaving her behind, so it seems like she wants to be around other ponies more often.
Edit: had to change a link.
6562138
OMG so many feels i almost cry plz continue it.....it is amazing
I LOVE IT!
6561131 You know, other than becoming a complete recluse and shutting herself off from her friends.
6562730 What?
Man! She should have asked about what she did to her Ponyville friends to! I know that I'm not the only one that feels that the whole Mare Do Well thing was just low...
6563073 Screw you. I'm not talking about Spike here at all.
6563220
Just a suggestion, but you should probably go to the local park and play soccer or something. Or you could join a local meetup.
Moondancer does it:
vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/3/3b/Moon_Dancer_joins_her_friends_for_a_game_S5E12.png/revision/latest?cb=20150706133014
(Holy crap look at that mold and those spiderwebs and that dead plant...)