The smile strained her cheeks, but Twilight bore it as best she could when the juvenile dragon landed on the balcony of her private study. “Spike! It feels like ages since you last came to visit.”

Now standing head and shoulders taller than her, Spike offered no response. His emerald eyes gleamed with the inner fire she’d long grown accustomed to, but today there was something else in his gaze. He wielded it like a sword, piercing her with a hard expression before advancing his study to the rooms behind her. She felt her heart sink at his behavior, but dared to say nothing for fear of—

His once childlike voice now had the auditory resemblance of crunching gravel. “You have the letter.”

Twilight could only be glad his eyes weren’t swords; her heart hurt enough as it was. “L-letter? What letter?”

His brow furrowed. His claws balled into fists.

With tail between her legs and wings plastered to her sides, Twilight retreated. Her words sputtered as she slowly backed away. “Don’t give me that look! I’m a princess, Spike. I’m r-really busy. I can maybe squeeze in a few hours next week, but right now is just—”

“She’s got a day.” His words were like ice. “Maybe two. This can’t wait.”

Twilight’s hind legs collapsed as the reality of his words sank in. “Th-that soon? But… But I can’t—”

Spike approached, the emerald fires raging in his glare. “You can’t what, Twilight? What? She’s the last, and you can’t be bothered to even see her?”

“I can’t do this again!”

She turned away, covering her face with her wings as the tears finally broke free. “I c-can’t. Don’t make me watch, please. I can’t stand it.”

She’d barely begun sobbing when a strong claw grasped her shoulder and spun her around. Spike had dropped to all fours. He shoved his face into hers with a snarl. “Spare me your self-pity. Fluttershy is dying.”

“I know she is!” Twilight pulled away from him, banging into her desk as she did. “They’re all gone and I’m just… I just keep…” The tears pushed their way through once more. She made no attempt to stop them. His angry face blurred, and she was glad for it. Those blazing eyes hurt almost as much as the truth he wanted her to face.

After a moment of quiet, Spike heaved a long sigh. “She’s my friend too, Twilight. This hurts me no less than it does you. It hurts Celestia. It hurts Luna. I can’t imagine what Discord’s going through right now, but he refuses to leave her side. The only one acting like a foal about this is you.”

She wiped furiously at her eyes. “But I—”

“No.” He raised a single claw before her muzzle. “There are no excuses. You’re supposed to be the Princess of Friendship. Your friend is about to die. Celestia coddles you. Luna respects you too much to interfere. Cadance can’t bring herself to do anything. None of them are gonna say it, so I will: get your selfish rump to the cottage. Now.”

He turned and stomped for the balcony. “If you can’t do that, you should give up your crown. Friendship isn’t just about the good times.”

You have to be there through the bad times, too.

She watched as he disappeared in the night sky, the old lesson echoing through her mind. The castle felt cold without his burning eyes. After a while, she turned away. The letter sat unopened on her desk, stamped with a familiar trio of butterflies. Time slipped past, and all she could do was stare.

Stare and think.

After what seemed an eternity, she let out a weak chuckle. “You always were the best, Spike.”

She trotted for the balcony, wings spreading wide. There was no need of the letter.

Fluttershy could tell her in person.

Author's Notes:

This story annoys me. It was my first idea for this writeoff round, and definitely the lesser of the two. Ticks and Tocks was superior in every way, and I knew it. So imagine my frustration when, for five straight days, everyone wanted to discuss this story and debate its faults while Ticks and Tocks went almost completely ignored. I was climbing the walls. It's like having the story you wrote on a whim and posted in an hour get all the accolades and 10,000 views while the meaningful epic you spent months perfecting sits ignored in the corner with a measly 200. Although when Ticks and Tocks finally did get noticed, the Writeoff forum all but exploded, so I suppose it was worth the wait.

That's not to say I don't like this story in a general sense, and it did make it into the final round. It also allowed me to finally tackle a topic that I've long held disdain for, meaning I can scratch it off my list and never have to face it again. Hallelujah!