Who made Twi cry?!

Aww so cute

@SpikeSpiegel  
That was a nice little story you wrote there, if you’re planning on writing your own story that is. You make some good points, but still:Spike would never talk that way about twilight (only in fanfiction would he be so brash).
 
Let me give you a quick summary of the two characters: Spike- A young baby dragon who was hatched by twilight sparkle, and given to her by princess celestia. He’s loyal to Twilight, and enjoys working for her. His worst fear is that she no longer needs him, and sends him away. He looks up to her, and cares deeply about her, knowing how to calm her down, and talk to her. He was her first friend in Canterlot, and while she wasn’t quite nice yet, he still stood by her.
 
Twilight- A bit oblivious to friendship and how friends act. Spike was her first real friend in Canterlot, yet only having her brother as a friend, she didn’t know how to act towards others, so she decided to act distant. t wasn’t until ponyville, and the other elements of harmony came by, that she learned to be less cold and distant, especially toward the young dragon. Still oblivious on how to act towards him, she will still try to be a good friend. Realizing her mistake, on how she treated the owl, she rescued spike and apologized. When spike was getting monstrous from greed, she searched frantically around town for someone to help him. When he went on his quest, she and the others, kept a close eye on him, to make sure he stays safe. And later on, embrace him as family. In the crystal empire, she made it clear to him, that she would never send him away, or hurt him. And whenever he offers advice, in the end, she admits that either, he was right to tell her and regrets not listening, or actually takes his advice. She may not be the bestest friend, but she is still learning.

‘Friends? What’re you talking about, Twilight? Of course we’re - oh, wait, no, no, no, no we’re not. Silly me. I mean, being friends implies that we know each other really well; oh, don’t look at me like that, Milady. Of course we aren’t friends. Why would we be? I mean, you don’t even care for me more than you do the owl; sorry, Owliscious, didn’t mean to bring you into this, old chap. Please stop it with that look; it’s pathetic.’
 
‘Princess Sparkle. We are not friends. Actually, I don’t even know what we are. Acquaintances? Roommates who care nothing for one another? No, that last one is a little extreme; I mean, I know everything about you. Everything that made you cry, everything that made you angry and everything that made you happy. The most you know about me is that I eat gems and ice cream and turn into a giant monster.’
 
‘You are selfish, Princess. You are the most self-centred mare I have ever had the privilege to know. You don’t feel like it; of course, I mean, how could the Great Monarch of Friendship be so self-centred? But you are; you and your little clique are so focused on one another, so buried in your own affairs that you fail to take a second glance at those who have been there for you from the start. You’re self-deluded; you’re petty and you’re impatient and quite possibly the dumbest bookworm I know, Your Highness.’
 
‘In that capacity and with that knowledge, I truly do believe you deserve every ounce the title of the Princess of Friendship, because after all this time, all the things you’ve went through, you still don’t know what it is.’
 
‘Enjoy eternity, Your Highness. I wish you nothing but the best.’

IMO, Twilight has shown the more affection towards Spike than any other pony throughout the show. Sometimes it’s more subtle, but it’s definitely there.

@Background Pony  
You’re not the only one who feels that way. I think it’s like this: Twilight doesn’t have favorites (the ticket master kinda touches on this subject), so she didn’t give spike special treatment for that reason.
 
But that doesn’t make him less special. I mean, he’s usually there for her when she needs her spirits lifted, and when she needs to be calmed down. Also the fact that his worst fear is her leaving him. So it is sorta touched on by the show, but very subtly. It’s implied that they do have a special bond, but hasn’t been officially stated.

Am I the only one who finds it really difficult to believe that Spike isn’t her best friend and always has been, considering Twilight herself hatched him? They’ve always been there for each other. I’d imagine they have a very strong bond at this point, but the show doesn’t really touch on the matter.
 
That said though, I was also disappointed in him not being included in Twilight’s speech/group hug.

@Background Pony  
To be fair, he wasn’t there when the group hug commenced. So of course she’s going to say “I love you girls” because they were there to be hugged. Also, the speech was about how the ponies showed her what friendship is, which she thanks them for. Spike, while he was her friend in Canterlot, she didn’t quite know how to treat him. If you notice, she kinda warmed up to him in season 2-3, showing that she really did learn how to treat him like an actual friend. So I wouldn’t say he got the short end of the stick.
 
@dreaper  
Nah, spike’s been her assistant for the longest time. She won’t ignore him like that. If anything, she’ll trust his experience more than anypony else’s.

I think things are going to be worse for Spike, now that Twilight is a princess she will have lots of royal servants with more experience than Spike, making him even less important in her life.

@SpikeSpiegel  
Your preaching to the choir, my friend. The first episode of Season 4 had better be about him helping Twilight out of her first massive jam as a princess and being rewarded with the Dukedom of HotBabelandia for all of this…

@Background Pony
 
Just goes to show how loyal Twilight is to her friends that aren’t, you know, girls. Just once I’d like an episode where Spike ditches Twilight and have fun by himself and actually coming out smelling like a bunch of roses instead littered in poop every time he leaves her side like the writers like to do.
 
I mean, would it kill for an episode where Spike actually retains his competency and has a life outside of Twilight?

@Background Pony
 
Maybe it’s a way to subvert the common notion that guys applies to a group of both males and females, so she’s referring to Spike as a girl too.
 
Over-analyzing ho!

Spike has uniformly been the only character who has ever been with her in her worst moments. He has believed in her and comforted her. From being the first to her side in “Feeling Pinkie Keen” after the hydra, to worrying over her in “Lesson Zero”, to wanting desperately to help her in “Crystal Empire”, he’s always wanted to be there for her and comfort her.
 
His reward for this loyalty?
 
Twilight’s last line in this episode:
 
“I love you… girls!”
 
Poor bastard.

She sulked for so long that Sweet Apple Acres was barren and Carousel Boutique was cobwebbed by the time she went back outside.

Amazing, almost can’t believe it’s a screencap

The shading was amazing in this scene!

/Loved/ the backgrounds in this episode. Look at how often the foreground is bright and sunny with an overcast, rainy background and vice versa.

Nice shadows there!