//------------------------------// // Birthday Surprise // Story: Quill // by Pinkieappleflutter //------------------------------// The library in Twilight's castle soon became a second home to me. I used to spend hours upon hours in that library. Often helping Twilight finding certain spells in books for her projects. She would explain what they were, but she always used scientific words that I could never understand. I have never read so many books before, in that short amount of time. And Twilight was always so accommodating to me. I never wrote in that library, I was too happy all the time! That is if I wasn't reading a dramatic story or something. I'd often bring a notebook too, rereading my works and making notes on how I could have done better, you're always your worst critic. I was lying before, I did write a lot while in the library, I wrote to Lilac a lot in those moments. She was always a little jealous that I became such fast friends with the Princess of Friendship, but she was happy for me. After the whole debacle with Carrot Top, Thunderlane and I have become really close friends. I was so excited for him to meet Honey Dew and Heather, and especially Lilac because they were both really sporty. Him and me were like two peas in a pod. He never stopped doubting me. Neither did Chocolate, Honey Dew, Velvet, or Rainbow Dash. Luckily for me, everyone was coming to Ponyville for my birthday! All but Velvet, of course, because she had an orphanage to run. "Not going to lie, I'm a little nervous," Thunder admitted. "About meeting my friends? Why? Because their unicorns?" I asked, teasing. "No, because they've known you longer. They might get all protective of you," he explained. "Ha! You're making it seem like I'm your marefriend or something, ease up, would you?" I told him. We were lying in my bed our heads staring up at the ceiling, I had just told him my birthday plans. "Besides, Lil is the protective one," I added. "Oh geez, what if they don't like me!? What if I make a huge fool of myself?" he asked, freaking out. He jumped off my bed and started pacing the floor. "Why are you so stressed out, Thunder?" I asked, leaning on a foreleg looking at him. "I don't know, I just want their approval I guess,I just don't want them to have the wrong impression of me!" "Thunder, chill. Now are we meeting Rainbow in the park or what?" I said, changing the subject. He was a real drama queen back then. Little did I know, that moment was the start of my new life. If only there was some way to reverse it. We met Rainbow in the park, a full twenty minutes after we said we would be there, and Rainbow was not happy. "Late. I can't believe you're late!" she complained. "Sorry, we had a situation that we had to deal with, Dash," I explained. "Yeah, sorry," Thunder added. "C'mon, let's just do this!" Rainbow said, forgiving us. Thunder and Dash were having a race, I was to be the one who called the winner. "Ready, set, go!" I called, and watched them speed off. In the corner of my eye, I spotted something green and something beige. I turned and saw Bonbon and Lyra. "Oh, hey, Lyra!" I called, waving my hoof at her. "Hey, Quill!" she responded, Bonbon in minor shock. "What's up?" I asked, walking towards them. "We were planning on having a picnic," Lyra explained, showing my the picnic basket in her magic. I noticed Bonbon's shyness and decided to do something about it. "Hi," I said, holding out my hoof. "I'm Quill Bird. But, I guess you already knew that," I explained. "I'm Bonbon," she squeaked. "Hey!" Shouted an annoyed Rainbow Dash. "What?" I asked. "You were supposed to tell us who won! What happened?" Rainbow asked. "Sorry, I saw Lyra and walked over to see her," I explained, Rainbow walking towards me. "Oh hey, Bonbon, Lyra! What's up?" Thunder greeted. "We're having a picnic," Bonbon explained, sheepishly because I was still there. "Cool, well, we should get going. Red Heart promised to make lunch and is expecting everyone to be there," Thunder explained, grabbing my foreleg. "See you Lyra! Nice meeting you, Bonbon!" I called. Back at home, Note and Bulk were waiting. "Hey, you two!" Note greeted, seeing us walk in. "Hey! Is Red in the kitchen?" I asked. "No, she's still at the hospital. She told me she'd be late but promised to be home before 2:00," Note explained. "That's fine, I'm not hungry yet anyway," Thunder explained. "In the meantime, why don't you two come join us in the dining room! We're just talking," Bulk added. He was never good at keeping secrets and he looked particularly suspicious. "Bulk, did you take the candy I was saving for Honey Dew in my room?" I asked, like a mother to a child. "No," he said, avoiding my eyes. "Awe, you bought me candies!?" I heard behind me, coming from the kitchen. I turned and saw both Honey Dew and Heather standing behind me. I screamed I was so excited to see them. "Oh my Celestia! Why are you here? My birthday isn't until another three days!" I exclaim. "We wanted to surprise you!!" Heather explained, as I wrapped them both in a hug. "Well you did a great job! I wasn't expecting either of you so soon!" I said, beaming. "Is Lil here too?" I asked, eagerly. Both of them looked disappointed. "No, she couldn't make it out this early, she promised to be here by your birthday though!" Heather explained hopefully. "Yeah, she was really upset she couldn't make it today," Honey Dew added. "It's fine, a life of a referee is always busy," I said, a little disappointed. Some pony cleared their throat behind me. I turned and saw Noteworthy pointing his hoof discretely to Thunder. "Oh yeah! Girls, I'd love for you to meet my new best friend Thunderlane!" I said, guiding him over. "And of course you know Noteworthy and Bulk Biceps. They let you in!" "Actually, I did, Noteworthy was at work," Bulk pointed out. No pony heard but me. The girls were all over poor Thunder in an instant, he had no chance of escape. "Wow Thunderlane! You look fit!" Heather commented. "And your eyes are gorgeous!" Honey Dew added. "Have you been taking care of Quill?" Heather questioned. "You better have been, or else you'll be hearing from my lawyers!" Honey Dew threatened. "Okay, girls! For the love of Celestia, let the poor boy breathe!" I insisted. "We just want to make sure that he has been nice to you in our absence. I got the letter about Carrot Top and I wanted to be thorough about this one," Heather complained. "Hush, you're scaring him!" I pointed out, pointing at him. His face filled with fear and the rest of him shaking and eyes facing forward. "Now apologize to him," I instructed. "Sorry, Thunderlane. We were only trying to protect Quill," Honey Dew said. "Yeah, we really didn't mean any of it, I swear," Heather added. "Okay, c'mon, I want to show you guys around!" I said, leading the unicorns out the door. I showed them everything! And as I did, we caught up. Heather was promoted to manager of the bridal store, and Honey Dew's business was booming in Manehattan. I was so proud, still am. I saved the best for last. Twilight's castle. They stood there, gawking at the beauty and massiveness of it. I just looked at them, smirking. "I know, right? It's amazing!" I say, walking up to the doors. "Wait! Hold on, what are you doing?" Heather asked, a bit nervous. "Well, I was about to knock on the door until you stopped me," I explained. "You mean, those letters that said that you're friends with Princess Twilight weren't just to make us feel jealous?" Honey Dew asked. "When have I ever lied to you to make you feel jealous?" I asked, a bit hurt. "Remember your sixteenth birthday party?" Heather said, blatantly. I giggled, "Oh yeah, forgot about that." I knocked on the door three times before Spike answered. "Oh hey, Quill!" he said, as he forgave me for flirting with his mother figure a while before. "Hey, Spike! Is it alright if I take my friends on a little tour around the place?" I asked, sweetly. Spike looked behind me and noticed the two nervous ponies behind me. "Are you sure they will be alright with it?" he asked, a little concerned. "Oh yeah, Heather and Honey Dew will be fine! Once they warm up to the fact that they are in the Friendship Castle," I explained, somewhat unsure. "Uh-huh, well, Twilight is busy in her room, so as long as you don't in there, I'm sure it'll be fine," Spike explained. "Thanks, Spike! You're a real pal! C'mon, girls, we're losing daylight!" I announced, and the two unicorns walked cautiously, but excited towards the castle as I trotted with a casual bounce through the doors. I've got to say, I miss those moments. The moments of pure joy, the moments of perfection. Those are the moments I remember most. I don't care about the fame, I don't care about the books, all I've ever cared about was moments like this. And now that it's gone, these are what I miss the most. I showed them everything. Every corner, every crevice, anything that they wanted to see, I showed them. As predicted Heather liked the throne room with the table and the chairs, and Honey Dew really enjoyed the kitchen. It reminded me of the first day we became friends, and I showed them all around my house and the diner. It was so long ago, and it still is. A lot has changed. "Oh hey, Quill! Are these your friends?" I heard. Turning I saw Twilight standing behind me. "Yeah, Spike said it was okay if I gave them a tour, you're not mad, are you?" I explained. "I was just about to show them the balcony," I explained further. "Of course it's okay. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine!" Twilight replied. "Though, can I just say that your friends really don't have to bow in my presence," she said. I turned to see that Heather and Honey Dew were both getting up from a bow. "Sorry, Princess," Honey Dew said, a bit sheepishly. "It's alright, and please, just call me Twilight," Twilight explained. "Sure, we can do that Prin- I mean, Twilight," Heather said, nodding her head nervously. Twilight nods back and continues her way through the castle. After the tour, my friends and I went to Sugar Cube Corner. At first I was nervous because I was afraid that we'd run into Pinkie, but as we walked in, I over heard Mr. Cake talking about Pinkie Pie on her deliveries. I pointed to one of the tables and said, "Meet me over there, I'll take the order." "But you don't know what we want," Honey Dew protested. "Trust me, you're going to love it! And besides, you really think after all these years I wouldn't know what you like?" I asked. "Prove me wrong," Honey Dew said. I rolled my eyes. "Heather likes sweet and fruity things. Her favorite treat at home was a strawberry banana and blueberry smoothie. You, on the other hoof, likes tangy sweet things. You always got lemon tarts and, when we got older, a margarita," I explained. "Okay, I trust you," Honey Dew explained. "Ouch, I love your ever flowing fountain of trust," I said sarcastically. Heather giggled and covered her mouth. I walked over to the counter and I got greeted by Mrs. Cake. "Hello, Quill! Who were those ponies you were talking to?" "Hey, Mrs. Cake! Those are my friends from Canterlot, they are here because my birthday is in a few days," I explained. "Oh! Happy early birthday, Quill! What can I get for you?" Mrs. Cake said, and I took our order. I walked over to them, or at least Honey Dew, as Heather was at the table next to ours flirting with an Earth Pony Stallion. I knew it wouldn't end the way she wanted because that pony was what ponies here called 'The Doctor' but his name was Time Turner. And it wouldn't work because he is very famous around there for being single and not knowing how to mingle. He and Derpy, a mailmare, are pretty close friends, but that's it. "How's it going, Doc?" I asked, sitting down next to Honey Dew. "Splendid! I am on the breakthrough of another experiment! I'm just here killing time before I go back to see if my hypothesis was correct!" He explained, excitedly. "I'm very excited for you, how long do you have to wait?" I continued, Heather giving me a glare that I was interrupting her flirting. "Well that's easy!" He explained, while glancing at the clock in the shop. "Why I had to leave two minutes ago," he stated resolutely. "Great whickering stallions! Two minutes ago?! My experiment!! Gotta run ladies!" he said, panicking out the door. "Awe, Quill, why'd you do that?" Heather complained, getting up from the table and sitting next to me. "Trust me, you weren't getting anywhere with him," I explained. "Why? Is he gay?" she questioned. "Not that I know of, he's just mostly oblivious to most romantic interactions. I did hear that he and Rose, a local gardener, had a thing at one point though," I explained, and Heather grumbled. "Awe, it's okay, Heather, you still got us!" Honey Dew chimed in. "Honey Dew, Quill has a marefriend and you own a business. Plus, both of you are mares. And I love you both, just not in that way," Heather explained. I started to snicker and said, "What about the last time we hung out? Didn't you and Hun-" I got cut off with Heather, almost violently, covering my mouth with her hoof. "We were all drunk, you dared me to kiss her, and I thought we agreed never to mention it again!" Heather hissed through her teeth. "Geez, Heather, it was just a kiss on the mouth, and you barely used tongue," Honey Dew said, before being shushed by Heather. As if on cue, Mrs. Cake came to give us our treats. "One Pinkie Pie Puff, one Cocoa Shake , and one Very Berry Muffin!" She announces. "The cupcake goes to her," I said, pointing to Honey Dew. And the blueberry and raspberry muffin goes to her," I said, pointing to Heather. "Which makes the chocolate shake yours," Mrs. Cake said, giving each of us what I ordered. "Enjoy!" She said, excitedly. "What is this?" Honey Dew said, levitating the cupcake. "You'll love it!" I explained. "It's pink with white frosting and what looks to be a yellow balloon stirring straw as a decoration," She said, spinning it slightly in her magic. "Just take a bite," I insisted. She did. "Mmm! It's lemonade!" "See, told you," I said. "And mine?" Heather asked, more cautious than anything. "Exactly what I said it was, a blueberry raspberry muffin," I said, a bit annoyed at her tentativeness. I go ahead and start sipping my chocolate milkshake. They happily nibbled at their new favorite treats as I thought about my birthday, narcissistic, I know. "So, what are we doing for my birthday?" I asked. "Not sure, is there a good bar here?" Heather asked. "Yeah, The Salt Lick, but you know I don't fancy going to the bars as much as you and Honey Dew," I explained. "Oh! What if, we get you drunk somewhere else!" Honey Dew suggested. "Wow! You two are really keen on getting me drunk, aren't you?" I asked, giggling. "Oh, come on, when was the last time you got hammered drunk?" Honey Dew asked, and I got flashbacks to my 'Welcome to Ponyville' party. "It's been a while," I explained, trying not to cringe remembering that night. "Then that settles it. We are going to get you so drunk that you won't even remember your age!" Heather said, resalutly.