Why is it so hard to say I Love You?: A Twipie Love Story

Chapter 19

Twilight,

You have failed to visit us recently. This isn't acceptable and we expect to see you soon. If you don't come on your own terms, we will come to you. Don't disappoint us again.

-Velvet

Twilight's heart rate shot up very fast. She grew more and more anxious as she finished reading the letter. She'd made her parents angry again. It wasn't exactly hard to do, but she still had to deal with them. With how much had been going on recently, she'd been avoiding seeing them, but didn't plan to forget entirely. Spike saw the look on Twilight's face. He knew why she was nervous.

During Twilight's childhood, Spike was her responsibility, and her responsibility alone from the moment she received him from Celestia. Velvet and Night Light had a huge argument with their daughter over this. They refused to include Spike at all as one of their kids. They expected Twilight, and Twilight alone, to take care of a baby dragon all day every day, all while being occupied with magic school. Thankfully, she was able to sometimes get some help from Celestia or Shining Armor, but it had to be kept hidden from her parents. They made it very clear that Spike was nothing but a burden in their eyes, and if she wanted him, she should be overwhelmed because it's just what she deserved for not following their decision. Because of this, Twilight tried to shield Spike from them as much as she could when they still lived at home. They were always rude to him, and never made him feel like he belonged or like he was apart of the family. But Spike still got his fair share of Twilight crying, because of their mistreatment, or them yelling at her over a lower grade. Nothing she did was met with praise from them, ever. He knew how they would feel about her dating Pinkie too. He was hesitant to bring it up, because he didn't wanna worry her further. But by her recent behavior, he had been trying to figure out how to approach asking what was up. Starlight seemed worried too when he asked her about it, but had said she could never get anywhere with the conversation without Twilight shutting it down. Spike wasn't even sure what Twilight had shared with Starlight on her parents.

"Spike, I'm gonna head to Canterlot to see Celestia. I'll be back later today."

"Oh ok. Shouldn't you go see them first? They seem to be pretty annoyed."

Twilight took a deep, anxious breath.

"I'll go soon. I just need to ask her about something."

Twilight packed her saddlebag, and flew off to Canterlot. She was hoping Celestia wasn't too busy today to see her. Although, Celestia always tried her hardest to make room for Twilight. She was basically her daughter.

As Twilight landed, the guards recognized her presence. They quickly let her into the castle, and escorted her to Celestia, who was reading a scroll at her throne.

"Your highness, Princess Twilight is here to see you."

Celestia looked up with great joy. Nothing made her happier than a visit from Twilight. Things got so dull in Canterlot without her around, and she missed her just as much every day. She was very pleased to have her around any chance she got.

"Twilight!! What a nice surprise. How are you?" Celestia said, as she quickly rose to embrace Twilight in a warm hug. Twilight smiled. She didn't realize how badly she'd needed that lately.

"I've been better, but I'm holding up. How are you?"

"Same old thing here. Sun goes up, sun goes down, I attend tons of meetings, you know how it goes."

Twilight gave a giggle with a slight smile, before her look or worry returned once more. Celestia knew that look. It meant that Twilight was stressed. She had to approach this carefully, so as to not force anything out of her.

"You don't seem at your best, anything troubling you?"

"Well, yeah"

Celestia patted Luna's throne next to her with a hoof as she spoke. "Come sit, child. I'm here to listen."

Twilight was relieved in the slightest just to hear someone say that. Celestia always knew how to approach something with her without making her feel uncomfortable, or even more stressed. She'd practically raised her. She was always more understanding and knew Twilight better than her parents ever had. That created the feeling of safety that Twilight so desperately needed from her. And she was happy to fulfill it.

Twilight sat on the throne, and took a deep breath before approaching the subject.

"Well, I'm dating Pinkie Pie."

Celestia was shocked, but quickly grew with excitement. She was always so enthusiastic and supportive. "Pinkie? Oh I'm so happy for you two! I didn't know you were into each other!" She nudged Twilight's shoulder playfully, as Twilight giggled a bit at Celestia's response.

But her face quickly fell back to worry, which made Celestia realize what the problem was.

"Oh. Twilight I-"

"Yeah. It's about them. That's the problem."

"Twilight, please don't buy into their opinions. They're too cruel to even understand what love is. If you're happy, that's all that matters. You two deserve to be together if that's what you want."

"But that's not what my parents want."

"It doesn't matter."

"They're asking to see me! I can't keep avoiding them. They won't stop sending letters until I show up, or they'll angrily come visit me without warning."

"Do they not know yet?"

"I can't tell them! They'd disown me."

"Twilight, think about this. If they won't accept you because of who you love, do you really want to continue forcing yourself to see them and do what they say and want? They've always been too hard on you. It hurts me to see how deeply it's still affecting you now."

Celestia held immense guilt for how badly Twilight, Shining Armor, and Spike were treated during their childhoods, but she felt so helpless. It was very hard for her to intervene, for as soon as Velvet and Night Light found out Celestia was trying to undo their damage that they thought was justifiable, they made it clear that if she continued to mess with their parenting, she wouldn't see them anymore. So she did her best to protect them, while also making sure she wasn't taken away from the fillies and dragon she was so worried for.

Twilight remained silent. Deep down she knew Celestia was right. But facing her parents was one thing. Telling them about Pinkie was another. Pinkie would be opened up to being criticized by these monsters, not to mention the fact that Pinkie didn't even know anything about Twilight's parents. Everything felt scary. She felt like any movement she made was one hoof away from a panic attack or a nightmare. She couldn't go five seconds without her parents getting in her head.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Celestia's kind, motherly voice.

"Twilight, I don't want to tell you what to do. You're free to do whatever feels right. Just please, promise me you won't make choices that only end up hurting yourself. I know this is hard. But it's not good to keep this all in. What does Pinkie think?"

A knot twisted in Twilight's stomach.

"She doesn't know."

"Do you believe it's best for her to not know right now?"

"It shouldn't be her problem."

"You're not making it her problem. In a relationship you're meant to work through things together. It's healthy to do that."

Twilight put her head down and stared at the floor.

"I of all ponies should know that. You had me write entire essays on this stuff."

Celestia giggled.

"Stress can cloud your judgment. But I hope that even when you're stressed like this, you remember that no matter what, I'm always here for you."

Twilight put her head back up, and jumped up to give Celestia another hug.

"What would I do without you."