Summer was beginning. Boltsinger was back home in Ponyville, and life was getting back to normal. The morning sun rose along with the ponies living in the castle, save for one. Twilight turned to see the Pegasus next to her, seeing him sleeping like a foal and smiling. She decided not to wake him up just yet, given what day it was. She had a lot to do, and not much time in which to do it. But with her friends on the case with her, she knew it would get done quickly and without any issues.
“Okay,” the Princess started, getting up and floating over a checklist. “First, we need to get to Canterlot to finish preparations. Pinkie should have everything there, and everypony else is helping with decorations today.” She moved to her mirror, beginning her morning routine as she kept reading through. “We’ve got DJ PON-3 and Octavia for music, and both the Apples and Sugar Belle are providing catering.” She looked back at the sleeping Pegasus. “I just need to keep him occupied.” Boltsinger let out a loud snore. “That shouldn’t be too hard!”
A loud yawn permeated the walls of the castle, Boltsinger rose from the bed and looked out a nearby window. The breeze rolled in, and the day felt like it was going to be an interesting one. He had been living in Ponyville for quite some time, and he was feeling nostalgic.
Twilight walked by the open door to the bedroom, humming to herself as she spotted the orange pony moving around. “Oh! Good morning, Bolt!” She greeted, walking into the room. “How did you sleep?”
Boltsinger yawned, stretching his wings. “‘Bout as well as usual.” He looked fondly at the smiling Princess. She had a twinkle in her eye that he had come to understand as her having some kind of project in the works. “So, whatcha got planned for today?” Twilight tilted her head, trying to feign confusion. Boltsinger laughed and walked by, placing a wing around her to pull her with him as he went. “Maybe it’s just cause I’ve been living with you for a long time, but something about you tells me you’ve got a plan for today.”
Twilight giggled as they walked. “Okay, you got me. We’re going to Canterlot, and you and I are going to spend the day together! There’s still a few places and ponies you haven’t seen, after all.”
Boltsinger smiled and nodded, looking ahead. “Sounds good. I’ll be ready to fly after breakfast.”
“Actually,” the Alicorn interjected. “I think I want to take the train today. It takes longer, but it’s more comfortable, too. I want us to take our time with things today.”
Boltsinger was slightly perplexed by the suggestion, but gave an understanding nod. “All right. It is your schedule, after all.”
The two ponies continued through their morning normally, having a quick breakfast and making their way to the train station with little deviation. Boltsinger noticed a distinct absence all day, as if Spike and Starlight hadn’t been home, and none of his other friends were in town. Not even the Cutie Mark Crusaders or his musician friends. It felt off. After a long ride, they got off the train in Canterlot. Twilight trotted ahead with Boltsinger soon following suit into the town.
“So, there are a few friends of mine here in Canterlot that I haven’t introduced you to yet.” Twilight began, moving down the street. “I’ve known them since I was in school, and I think you’d like them!”
The two of them came to a recently fixed up ramshackle cottage. Twilight walked up to the door and knocked on it sharply. It opened to reveal a white-coated Unicorn mare with a red mane that bore purple streaks similar to Twilight’s, but pulled up above her horn and tied with pink beads. She wore a pair of large, black-framed glasses over her purple eyes, and a loose-fitting black sweater with pink buttons, and had a Cutie Mark of a purple crescent moon with red stars around it. Her nose was buried in a book that floated in front of her, looking up from it slightly with a surprised smile.
“Twilight!” The mare started, putting her book aside to hug the Alicorn. “What brings you over today?”
Twilight reciprocated the embrace, then took a step back, pulling Boltsinger close with her wing. “We’re spending the day in Canterlot today, and I thought it would be a good idea to introduce everypony!”
The mare looked intriguingly at the Pegasus, scrunching her face as if she were analyzing him. “And this is…?”
“Moon Dancer, I’d like you to meet Boltsinger!” Twilight announced, gesturing to the pony next to her. The stallion raised his free wing.
Moon Dancer stepped up to the Pegasus, examining him. “Is this that stallion who showed up last year you were talking about?” She asked, looking him in the eye.
Boltsinger nodded to her. “Yes, I am.” He told her. Realization struck as he looked back at Twilight. “Wait, you told everypony here about me, too?”
“Of course!” She confirmed, confidently raising her head. “I told all of my friends about you!” She walked over to Moon Dancer, leaning in close. “I thought meeting everypony here would be a good way to pass the time before the party tonight. You’re welcome to come if you like.”
Moon Dancer looked at her foalhood friend, a knowing look behind her glasses. “Does he know about this party?” Twilight shook her head. “What kind of party is this?”
“Pinkie calls it his ‘crash-a-versary’.” she explained. “He has no idea what day it is, and she wants to keep it a surprise.”
Moon Dancer smirked, looking back at Boltsinger. “I see. You wanna get Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkleshine in on this?”
“Of course!” Twilight exclaimed, trotting onward. She swished her tail against Boltsinger’s muzzle as she went, turning on his goofy smile as he turned to follow her.
Twilight and Moon Dancer led Boltsinger through the streets of Canterlot, introducing him to three other Unicorn mares. One was a blue-coated mare with a mane and tail with two shades of blue, and an hourglass as a Cutie Mark. The other two had the same mane and tail style. The first had a yellow coat, hot pink eyes, and blue hair with a Cutie Mark of three hearts of blue and green, while the other had a white coat, blue eyes, pink hair, and a Cutie Mark of three twinkling blue stars. They were, by far, the friendliest ponies he had ever met in Canterlot, save for the Royal Sisters. They went to some of Twilight’s favorite museums, where he learned more of the history of Equestria from a more nuanced perspective. Before long, evening had come. Boltsinger was excited to head back home. Something told him that Twilight had other plans, though.
“Before we go home, I want to pay a visit to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna at the castle.” Twilight informed him. “Is that alright?”
Boltsinger smirked, knowing that she had something in the works. “No problems here.” He stated. They waved goodbye to Twilight’s Canterlot friends, making their way towards the residence of Canterlot’s royal element.
“So, do you know how long it’s been since you first moved to Ponyville?” Twilight asked as they walked through the halls.
Boltsinger tilted his head, thinking back on all the time that had passed. “Well, it was pretty early in summer when I first met Princess Luna. And right now it’s… Wait a minute…”
Twilight looked at him eagerly, navigating the halls without a second thought. “Yes…?”
“Has it really been a whole year?” He wondered, putting his wing up to his muzzle.
Twilight let out an excited giggle as the two stopped walking. She stepped aside to reveal that they had walked into the castle ballroom, decorated with streamers, balloons, with a large table in the center of the room that had a cake sitting on top of it, with orange frosting and electric blue lightning patterns lining the corners.
“SURPRISE!” Came a plethora of voices all around. Boltsinger reared back a few steps, looking all around the room. There stood the Apple Siblings, Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom, along with Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Starlight, Sunburst, Sugar Belle, Trixie, Spike, and two ponies he never thought he’d see at a party like this one.
“Well met, Boltsinger!” Luna called from the center of the room, walking towards him. “I trust you didn’t slam into any walls today?”
Boltsinger looked at the Princess of the Night, who was joined by her sister, then back at Twilight. “You invited the Princesses?” He asked her, looking between the Alicorns rapidly. “And they came?!” He directed his attention at the Royal Sisters. “Don’t you two have major duties to attend to?”
Celestia laughed, walking over to the Pegasus. “Twilight invited us as soon as Pinkie put the guest list together, and that was months ago!” Pinkie nodded profusely. “So we’ve had this time set aside.”
Boltsinger’s mouth hung open, looking around at all of the ponies in the room. “All because I crashed into a wall…”
Pinkie Pie sped over to Boltsinger, putting her hoof around him as she walked him over to the cake. “Actually… There’s more to it than that!” She directed his attention to the top of the cake. “Yes, it’s your crash-a-versary, but… You remember how right when spring started, you said you didn’t know when your birthday was and that the only pony in Equestria that might know what day that is was your brother Brightling?”
Boltsinger nodded. “Yeah, I remember you got one of your ‘I-just-got-the-best-idea-ever’ gasps and suddenly left when I told you.”
“I went all the way to Vanhoover!” the party pony continued. “And then I tracked down your brother, and I got the information out of him!” She turned his head, getting him to look closely at the cake and read the top of it. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!” She shouted, the other ponies in the room joining in.
The stallion read the words on the cake, which said ‘Happy birthday and crash-a-versary’, completely dumbfounded. His rump hit the floor as he looked at the gathering of his friends. “Do you mean to tell me that the day that led to the biggest and best change of my whole life… The one that led me to meeting all of the ponies I care about most… Was my own birthday?”
“Yes, indeed-y!” Pinkie Pie confirmed. Boltsinger brought his wings forward, looking hard at them. A moment later, a wide smile formed on his muzzle, and he burst into laughter.
“I guess that means yer wings ain’t always workin’ against ya, huh?” Applejack noted.
Boltsinger’s laughter continued for one more minute, where he stood and turned to Pinkie Pie. “You seriously got this from Brightling?” He wondered.
“You bet your bundt cake I did!” She stated. “He’s silly. I think he may be even more excitable than you used to be! But he did ask how you were doing.”
“Well, that’s a bit of a surprise.” Boltsinger joked, heading over to the larger group.
“I was surprised, too. But he said…” Pinkie shook her head, her mane turning into a pink version of Brightling’s. “‘I may not like him, but he’s still my brother, after all.’” She blew into her hoof, the frizzy mane popping back into place. “And then when I told him about you, he looked pretty confused.”
Boltsinger scoffed, turning to face everypony. “Well, enough about that. I’d rather focus on the ponies that are here.” He cleared his throat. “So… I wasn’t really… expecting a party of any kind today. And I definitely wouldn’t have expected a turnout like this one! So… Thank you!”
As the stallion finished, Pinkie jumped onto his back to stand on her hind legs. “Cue the music!!!” She cried, pointing at the back of the room. A fog rolled in, multicolored lights turning on to reveal a familiar speaker setup. DJ PON-3 spun a record in her hoof, putting it into place as the sound of a cello reverberated through the room. Octavia sat atop one of the speakers, instrument at the ready as the beat took shape. Twilight ran to her special somepony, putting a wing around him and taking him to the dance floor where the two began dancing in the goofiest manner imaginable. They were soon joined by Pinkie, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Big Mac, Sugar Belle, and, much to everypony’s surprise, Princess Celestia, who danced in much the same manner as her student.
After several songs had finished, Boltsinger left the dance floor, taking a seat beside one of many food-covered tables. He looked at the ponies strewn throughout the room, several of them coming over and offering congratulations or birthday wishes. Rarity gave the stallion a big hug, while Fluttershy meekly offered a wing. Rainbow Dash stood beside him and gave him a hard hoof to the back, sending him to the floor where Applejack helped him back up. After Spike handed him a special mint condition variant cover of his favorite Power Ponies issue, Princess Luna finally stepped forward again.
“Best wishes to you on this day, Boltsinger.” she said, sitting beside him. “I am pleased to see that the idea I had so long ago would bear such fruit.”
“It really did change my life for the better.” the stallion agreed. He looked to the Princess next to him, smiling. “Thank you.”
“I must confess, I did have an ulterior motive for attending.” Luna continued. Boltsinger looked at her perplexingly. “I was wondering if the presence in your dreams had returned. I have not been able to return to your dreams ever since that night.”
“Really?” he wondered, putting his hoof up to his face. “Well, I’ve had my share of weird dreams, but I haven’t directly seen her. Maybe little signs? Something like a silhouette every now and then. But nothing harmful.”
Luna’s head sank. She knew what this implied, and it was not good. “I see… If her presence has, indeed, returned, then there is a chance its influence may grow in power once more. I will endeavor to aid you as much as I can, but I can make no guarantees as long as the walls around your dreams are so thick.”
Boltsinger put his wing on the Princess’ back. “Thank you. But, please, don’t let it get in the way of helping anypony else. I’m just one pony, after all.”
“Very well.” Luna agreed, standing at her full height. “For now, though, let us enjoy the party. Pinkie Pie put forth a lot of effort to make it happen.” Boltsinger nodded in agreement, standing up and flying over to Twilight, where the two of them mingled with everypony else. Looking at the two ponies, Luna smiled to herself as she noted the lilac Alicorn. “Perhaps… I have been approaching the problem in the wrong manner…”