“C’mon Twilight, we’re gonna be late for Pinkie’s party set up!” The impatient pegusus called Rainbow Dash complained again. “She specifically said that we had to be there at 3:00 so we could get ready for the awesome surprise she has planned!”
“Just give me one more second!” A purple unicorn stuck her head out from the loft of the library she lived in with a frustrated expression on her face. “I need to find that spell for Pinkie Pie. She said that without it the whole thing will fall apart and everything will be ruined!” She went back to searching while Rainbow Dash growled and stomped her foot.
“You better hurry it up then!”
After what seemed like an eternity she finally heard Twilight call out,
“Found it!” and come trotting down the steps to where Rainbow was waiting. Together they walked out the front door and hustled to their friend Applejack’s apple orchard, which was where Spikes eighteenth birthday party would be held later that evening. “I can’t wait for Spike to see what you have planned.” Twilight said happily to the bouncing pink pony that was waiting for them at the barn’s front door with her other three friends. “So what DO you have planned Pinkie?”
“OOH!” Pinkie Pie squealed with delight, “I have a super duper extra special surprise for Spike!”
“Yes dear, we know.” Said the elegant white unicorn standing to right of Rainbow Dash. “Twilight is asking what the surprise actually is.”
“Oh yeah Rarity, I knew that!” And with that she kicked open the barn door behind her revealing to five simultaneous gasps several boxes of brightly colored tubes with points at one end and black strings on the other.
“F-f-fireworks?” One yellow pony squeaked. “Where did you get fireworks Pinkie?”
Pinkie Pie began bouncing up and down with excitement.
“I asked Steelforge make the rockets and Flashbang made the actual explody stuff that goes inside!”
“So this is what you needed my Launch spell for.” Twilight chuckled. “How are you going to detonate them in the air?”
Pinkie pointed to the black strings hanging from the bottom of each tube.
“These thingies are fuses! We light it at the end, then Twilight will use her spell sending them shooting off in the air, then when the string burns up the stuff inside goes KABOOM!” She leaped into the air as she said the last word, sending confetti from who knows where all over her friends.
“Sounds d-dangerous.” The timid yellow pony whispered.
“Aww, there’s nothin’ to worry about sugar cube.” Said Applejack, a brilliant orange pony who always wore her faded brown Stetson cowfilly hat, with a heavy southern drawl. “Ah’m sure Pinkies got it all under control.” She gave Pinkie Pie a pointed glance at this to which she responded with a grin and said,
“Don’t you worry one bit Fluttershy! It’s gonna be perfect. Now who wants some cupcakes? I made them this morning!”
The rest of the afternoon was spent putting up decorations, which Rarity supervised, setting out games, which Pinkie Pie took charge of, and making the food, which Applejack happily took care of. The rest of the gathered ponies wandered and helped out with whatever needed doing. After a few hours it was getting dark and Twilight went to get Spike from the library, where he had been doing some chores she had set out for him. She laughed to herself as she thought back to the look on his face when she gave him the huge list that morning. Needless to say, he was not a happy dragon. He will be soon, she thought with a smile.
“There you are!” Spike grumbled as Twilight walked in the front door of the library. “I’ve been waiting forever for you to get back from your ‘errands’. Now, can we-” He stopped suddenly as Twilight shut his mouth with magic.
“Stop.” She commanded. “We have some work to do back at Sweet Apple Acres that Applejack wanted help with.”
“At night?” Spike complained. “But I just got done with the chores you set out.”
“No whining.” Twilight scolded the young dragon. “We have too much to do for you to be running your mouth.” With that she turned and walked out the door, leaving it open for Spike to follow.”
“Jeez,” Spike sighed, “it seems like everypony forgot about my birthday, even Twilight.” He heaved another melodramatic sigh and shuffled dejectedly after his unicorn friend.
“So what is it we have to do?” Spike asked Twilight when they arrived at their destination. “And where’s Applejack anyway?”
“In the barn.” Twilight said, “She’s waiting for us there.” So the two of them set of towards the large red building on the top of the hill.
It didn’t take very long to get there, but to Spike, who was feeling pretty down about nopony remembering his birthday, it felt like forever. However, he completely forgot his sadness as he opened the barn door and was immediately blinded by the bright lights and confetti, and deafened by the “SURPRISE!” that came from inside.
“Wha-“ He started to say as he stumbled backwards, almost bowling Twilight over.
“You didn’t seriously think we would forget the day you became an adult did you?” Twilight laughed.
“Well, honestly I did. And Twilight, I’m not really and adult dragon until I’m fifty.”
Suddenly Rarity was at his side saying, “Oh darling, to us you’ve become quite the mature young dragon, and as an Equestrian citizen you are a legal adult.” Spike looked down at himself and for once realized he really wasn’t a baby anymore. He was now taller than any of the ponies, except maybe Big Mac, and he was starting to fill out. His chest was thicker, his arms and legs were longer and no longer looked like noodles, and his voice had deepened to a much more mature rumble. He could even roar properly now.
He blushed as he said, “I guess I am kind of grown up now.”
“Of course you are dear!” Rarity purred as she sidled up closer to him, causing him to blush even harder. “Which means…” Spike nearly had a heart attack as Rarity planted a solid kiss right on his purple lips. All the other ponies in the barn began cheering and whooping as Rarity laughed and Spike sat down hard on the nearest bench.
“It also means ah can break this puppy out!” Applejack called as she pushed a huge barrel into the middle of the room. “Fresh batch of my world famous Hard Apple Cider, special for the birthday dragon!” The cheering multiplied as mugs were passed around and the party got going for real.
Several hours later the barrel was running dry and Pinkie remembered her big surprise for Spike.
“Oh Spike!” She cried, slightly slurred, as she pulled the blanket off the boxes of fireworks. “Check these babies out!”
Spike’s jaw dropped as he said, “You have fireworks Pinkie? For me? Awesome!” Twilight, who had declined to drink more than two mugs and was the least drunk, trotted over to supervise the setting up of the explosive rockets. When all was ready, Spike lit the fuses with his breath and Twilight launched them into the air with her magic. The gang held their breathe in excitement as the little tubes flew up out of sight and nearly jumped out of their skins as several massive, purple and green explosions, larger than anypony had expected, rocked the night sky. The barn was silent for almost a full minute when…
“THAT WAS SO AWESOME!!!!” Spike roared as his friends began to laugh hysterically at the destructive power they just witnessed.
“P-P-Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash gasped between breathes, “that was freaking sweet!”
“I didn’t even know they be so HUGE!” The pink mare giggled. Even Fluttershy had to agree that the fireworks were pretty amazing, despite having been hiding under the table as she watched.
Another hour or so passed and the party began to wind down. Spike and Rarity were nowhere to be seen and Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were passed out in various places around the barn. Twilight was lying outside on the grass looking up at the stars, letting her slightly buzzed mind wander when Applejack walked outside and sat next to her.
“What’re you doin’ out here all by yourself sugarcube?” She asked Twilight.
“Nothin really, just thinking.”
“’Bout what?”
“You know, just what’s out there. I mean, is there anything besides Equestria?”
Applejack chuckled, “Well of course there is, don’t you remember the story ‘bout when all them unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies fought before they came here and founded Canterlot?”
Twilight sat up to face her friend.
“No, that’s not what I meant Applejack.” She said, “I mean way out there, even beyond that. What I mean is, is anything up there.” As she said this she stuck her hoof into the air, towards the stars.
“Ah don’t know Twilight.” Applejack shook her head, “Ah just don’t know.”