//------------------------------//
// Happy Birthday Flash 
// Story: Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S3 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

Our story opens in the dry aired desert somewhere between Appaloosa and Dodge Junction. Celestia's sun was barely rising in that horizon, but already, somepony was up and working.

As the tumbleweed was blown along the ground, a single cloaked pony could be seen walking through the dirt. It was a pegasus, noted by the twin bulges that stuck out of his cloak. His head was concealed by the cloak's hood while his mouth and nose were covered by a ragged scarf and his eyes were wearing a pair of old goggles. The only thing you could see of this pony was his blue mane sticking out of his hood along with his orange hooves. Balanced on his back were a pair of plastic bottles, both filled with water.

The pony began to sway in the dusty wind, slowly glancing up to see his destination. It was a small rock formation that was covered in moss, a hole just barely showing inside the green foliage to show that it was actually hollow. The pony pushed the grass aside, soon walking inside the cave to see a cloaked unicorn staring at a dish-like object.

"I'm back," the pegasus said as he placed the water by her side and uncovered his face. He then looked down at the dish, which was showing an image of what looked like a younger version of himself asleep in a bed. "So it's that day again, huh?"

The mare chuckled at his question. "Yes. The only difference is that he actually knows its happening today."

The pegasus let out a long sigh as he took off his cloak and goggles. "Hard to believe its been twenty-two years since that day. Look at how far he's come in all that time."

The mare nodded, not taking her eyes off the dish. "I know. Leaving him was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but I know it was the right choice. He's grown into the stallion I saw he could become, and with many amazing friends by his side."

"And soon, we can hopefully return to his life."

Once again, the mare nodded. "All but two of the events I foresaw have come to pass. All that is left is his most important battle, and returning the Elements. Though I must say, that recent battle he had made me seriously worried about his future." the mare bit her hoof as she muttered her next words. "That Sombra...he was not part of any vision I had and yet he almost killed him!"

"Honey, its fine. He's-"

"It is not fine!" the mare yelled, interrupting the stallion as she slammed her hooves into the ground. "That blasted snake somehow wasn't in any vision I saw!" She slowly rubbed her face with her hoof. "That Sombra...he truly was a monster."

"As I said, he'll be fine dear. He's a part of us after all." The pegasus added as he sat down next to her, taking a drink from one of the water bottles as his left wing hugged the mare. He then raised the bottle high as he stared at the sleeping pony on the dish. "Happy birthday, son."





Ponyville...

It had been a few weeks since the liberation of the Crystal Empire and the defeat of its tyrannical ruler, King Sombra. And so, a new day started as the sun slowly rose above the horizon by Princess Celestia, its light spreading across the land. Eventually, it arrived at the Golden Oaks Library, funneling through one of its open windows. Inside the room that the window was attached to, we find a familiar pegasus sleeping on a bed, drool dripping from his mouth as a volley of snores released themselves to the world. His jakhowl partner Springer was also there, sleeping in a basket on the floor that was covered in blankets.

But sleep is a fleeting thing, especially when the light of the sun began its journey into the room. It hit Flash's face, making his drool disappear as his head scrunched up, his hooves grabbing his pillow and placing it over his head. "No...go away." he moaned, his lips flapping as he continued to mumble. "Leave me alone sun...just five more-"

BANG!

That was the sound of his bedroom door being ripped open, an orange blur zooming through the room as the wooden frame swung open. And before the door could complete its journey to the wall, the orange blur was already on Flash's bed, "Up big bro!" A young female voice cried as it landed onto Flash's body, knocking the wind out of his lungs. "Get up, get up, get up!"

Flash let out a groan, taking the pillow off his head as he looked up at his attacker. It was his little sister Scootaloo, who had a huge grin on her face. He gave her a playful scowl as he asked, "Okay...I'm up sis. Now why was I woken up in such a brutal manner?!"

Scootaloo smirked at this before hopping off the bed, her grin widening, "Blame Twilight. She's the one who told me to wake you up."

"Yes, I did." The two of them turned their heads to see a purple unicorn mare step into the room, a tray of food gripped in a purple aura hovering above her head. She was followed by one purple and green dragon that was still chuckling at the sight of Flash's abuse. That is, till Twilight slapped the drake with her tail as she continued, "But I didn't tell you to jump on him and nearly break his ribs."

Scootaloo and Spike both continued to laugh at this, causing the pup in the basket to groan as his head popped out from under the blankets. Springer rubbed his eyes as he moaned, "Ugh...what's all the noise for? Can't a guy get some sleep around here?"

"I keep asking myself that everyday buddy." Flash groaned in response, placing the pillow behind his head again. "And I have a feeling we're not gonna get that five more minutes of sleep we want."

Twilight began to giggle as she walked over and patted Springer's head. "I'm sorry we woke you up too Springer. You see, we decided to treat Flash to breakfast in bed." She levitated the tray onto Flash's lap, making him sit up to see a pair of freshly cooked waffles and a glass of orange juice.

Flash licked his lips when he saw the food, only to turn and give the trio of Twilight, Scootaloo and Spike a suspicious look with a raised eyebrow, "Not that I don't mind, but uh...what's the occasion?"

Twilight, Scootaloo and Spike smirked at him before all taking a deep breath, then in unison, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Flash's eyes went wide hearing this. He blinked several times as he looked over at the calendar that he hung from his wall, seeing the date was the same date as the one he had first seen on the door at Canterlot Orphanage. Today was his twenty second birthday, the first official birthday he was ever going to celebrate. The pegasus smirked before looking back at his friends. "Thank you." He said before staring back at his breakfast. He quickly scarfed the food down, enjoying every last bite until the tray was completely bare.

Once he was finished, Twilight removed the tray and turned back to him. "Pinkie's preparing everything for your party at Sugarcube Corner. It'll be ready later this afternoon."

"Good." Flash replied as he took his bed covers off, "That'll give me plenty of time to get in my patrol done along with a good workout before devouring as much cake as I want."

"You're gonna be working on your birthday?" Scootaloo asked him, almost backpedaling at his statement.

Flash chuckled at his sister, patting her head. "Of course I am. Bad things don't stop because it's your birthday. I've got responsibilities."

Scootaloo's face morphed into a long frown. "But...I was hoping we could spend the day having fun together. Maybe go to the park, play some games or something before going to the party."

Flash shook his head as he leaned down, patting her with his wing. "That's sweet sis, but you've still got school today. You can't skip that." This statement turned Scootaloo's frown into a pout, her hoof batting away his wing.

Another hoof tapped Scootaloo's shoulder. "Don't worry Scootaloo," Twilight told her as she winked at the filly. "There'll be an hour or two between you getting out of school and the party, so we can all meet up and have some fun in the park then."

"I'm up for that," Springer said with a yawn while stretching his legs out of the basket. "Iron and I can put up an extra tough workout so Flash can finish early."

"Sounds good to me," Flash replied, cricking his hooves. "If I can give Iron a good beating today, that'll be the best birthday gift of them all."

Twilight rolled her eyes at this. "Ugh...is fighting really the only thing you think about meathead?"

"Yes." Flash flatly responded.

Twilight resisted the urge to facehoof as she nodded. "Fine...guess I shouldn't expect anything different today." She then turned around, her horn shining as a magical aura grabbed the doorknob, "Alright then, its settled. So until this evening, it'll just be business as usual."

"Right!" The others all replied in unison.





A few minutes later, Flash and Springer had taken to the sky as they went off for their patrol. As soon as they were gone, Twilight poked her head out to see if they were still in sight. Once she was sure they were gone, she rushed towards Sugarcube Corner, Spike on her tail.

"Wait up!" the drake cried as he hopped onto her fleeing back. "What's the rush?"

"I want to get to Sugarcube Corner before Flash comes back around and sees us heading there!"

"Why? He already knows we're having a party for him and he knows its at Sugarcube Corner. Why the secrecy?"

Twilight rolled her eyes at this. "You know Flash, he never has the patience for a surprise. If he sees me, he'll follow to get a glimpse of the party."

"Oh...yeah, that sounds like him."

The two then arrived at the bakery, only to see Pinkie was already hard at work. The unicorn dragon combo stepped into the building, only to see multicolored party streamers with Flash's cutie mark hanging on the walls along with balloons that had the same lighting shield symbol. There were also boxes scattered around the room, filled with other party stuff that had yet to be put up.

"Wow..." Twilight gasped as she looked around, "This place looks amazing. Good work Pinkie."

"Oh, you're gonna make me blush Twilight. Though to be honest, you haven't seen anything yet." said a certain familiar voice. Twilight and Spike looked around the room for the voice's owner, only to find themselves alone in the room.

"Pinkie?" Spike asked the walls. "Are you in here?"

"Of course silly," Pinkie's detached voice replied. "If I wasn't here, I couldn't talk to you, could I?"

"Then where are you?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm everywhere....woooo..." the voice now 'sounding' like a ghost, only to break out into giggles. "Hee hee hee...just kidding!" Before the two could say anything else, the contents of one of the boxes exploded, revealing the head of everypony's favorite party planner. "SURPRISE!"

The unicorn and dragon both cried out in shock, only to soon start laughing. "Good one Pinkie," Twilight said while still chuckling.

Pinkie shined a massive grin. "Thanks Twi," she then leapt out of the box and moved over to a nearby table. Once there, she reached into her mane and pulled out a bunch of party hats to put on the table, "Anyways, like I was saying, you haven't seen anything yet!" She turned back to Twilight and Spike, showing the most serious face either of them had ever seen the pink pony have. "When I'm done, this'll be the greatest, most amazing-est party Flash has ever seen!" She placed her hoof over her heart. "I vow, on my honor as a party planner, that this will be the most perfect party EVER!"

Twilight and Spike both giggled at Pinkie's determination. "Loving the enthusiasm Pinkie," Twilight told her as she lifted Spike off her back. "Because of that, I decided to come over so we can go over everything. You know, make sure everything is perfect and in order."

Pinkie nodded before pulling a scroll out of her mane, unrolling it until unfolded all the way to Twilight's hooves. Pinkie then gave Twilight a salute as she pointed to the scroll. "Okey-dokey-lokey Twilight! We'll start with this, which is a list of every single invite I could get to Flash's closest friends."

Twilight nodded as her horn lit up, grabbing the scroll in her magic. "Good good...and how many have replied that they're coming?"

Pinkie's smile then turned to a frown. "Well...Soarin's got a Wonderbolts show. Cadance and Shining Armor have business in the Crystal Empire that they couldn't postpone and Grand said he might be able to make it, depending on how the guard's training and train times work. Oh! And Trixie will be coming with Grand, since they're both at the Canterlot Castle and Princess Luna is letting her have a day off."

"What about my parents?" Twilight asked as she continued to scan the scroll, Spike leaning over to start looking at the list as well.

"They said that they could definitely make it." Pinkie replied as she pulled out another party hat from her mane. "I'm really glad about that one. Always good to have family show up for a party."

"That's good," Spike commented as he pointed to a part of the scroll. "And everypony in town is sure to show up, right?"

"That's true," Twilight replied as she began to furl the scroll. "This looks good Pinkie, but I still want to check everything before we get really started."

In that moment, four new ponies stepped into the bakery. It was Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity, who had all arrived to help with the preparations. Fluttershy had even brought some of her birds with her so that they could provide musical entertainment.

"Hey everypony," Rainbow said as she flew around and checked out the decorations. "Not bad Pinkie, not bad at all."

"I must agree." Rarity added as she flipped back her mane. "Pinkie darling, you've really outdone yourself this time."

"Flash is sure to enjoy this little hoedown," Applejack continued, scratching the side of her as she commented.

Fluttershy nodded in response. "I can't wait to see his surprised face, as long as he doesn't find it unpleasant of course."

"Thanks girls," Pinkie replied, slightly blushing.

"Ah, good timing." Twilight told them as she started rereading the scroll. "We were just going over Flash's birthday preparations."

"Awesome," Rainbow remarked out as she landed and patted Twilight with her hoof. "I had Fluffy Cloud check the weather forecast today. Sunny skies all day."

"And my birds are ready to give everypony a lovely show," Fluttershy went on as she motioning to her animal friends. "They've been practicing extra hard to give a great performance." To emphasize the point, the birds let out a lovely little tweeting tune.

Twilight nodded at this. "That's good. Flash, Spike, Scootaloo, Springer and me are going to hang out in the park after Scootaloo finishes school, so that'll be everypony's time limit on this party."

"Yay!" Pinkie cheered, confetti flying out of her mane. "That'll give me tons of time to finish working on the party!"

"And we'll help with whatever ya'll need sugarcube," Applejack told her.

Pinkie smiled. "Thanks. I could use some help with Flash's birthday cake." Once again, she reached into her mane and pulled out another scroll. They then looked at the image on the scroll, showing a picture of Flash with Lightbringer shining.

"Whoa!" The five girls and one dragon said as they saw the picture.

"What is it?" Spike then asked.

Pinkie giggled, waving her hoof. "Oh silly Spike, that's the cake image. I'm gonna put it on the cake using icing."

"You can really make an image like this out of icing?" Rainbow asked, blinking.

"Of course," Pinkie said with a nod, only for her face to turn serious. "But its gonna take time and an incredible amount of concentration. As such, I'll need to start work on it right away. Applejack, can you help me?"

"Then you and Applejack better get to work." Twilight commanded before turning to her friends, "Meanwhile, we'll finish up the decorations. Got it girls?" They all nodded as Pinkie and the farm pony moved to the kitchen. "Ready to get to work?"

"Yes!" They replied in unison.





Meanwhile...

Over in their canyon training ground, Flash and Iron Core were sparing. The two apprentice knights rushed at each other, slamming their Celestic Gear with a mighty clang. Flash swung his blade while spinning like a top, Iron blocking the attack as his gear turned into a shield. As the dance of slashes continued as Iron stood his ground, standing firm as Flash started to slow down.

"Stop hiding behind that shield Iron!" Flash yelled as he swung his blade once more.

"Not a chance wuss!" Iron barked back, pushing the shield forward. The dash made Flash leap backwards, only to duck as a morphed spearhead flew over his head.

Seeing this, Flash cocked his blade back, the sword now shining in pure light magic. "Flash Cutter!" a single energy blade shot out of the weapon, only to disperse as it hit Iron's shield. Two more followed, only for them to hit the shield once more.

After this, there was a pause of silence, causing Iron to look out from behind his shield, soon seeing Flash land while panting. Iron laughed at the sight, "Don't think I'm going easy on you birthday boy. I'm still gonna go all out, ya wimp."

Flash, still panting, smirked. "This is you going all out? And here I was about to ask you to not hold back."

"Laugh it up fly boy." Iron's shield changed to a lance, which glowed as he pointed at the pegasus. "Iron Lance Fury!"

He unleashed a flurry of metal projectiles, only for the pegasi to shut his eyes. But it wasn't a flinch or an act of being scared, instead, he opened them up and they were now blank. "Theta Mode!" As those words left his mouth, Flash's sword swung around like the wind, knocking every dart out of the sky in an instant.

No sooner had he done this, Iron charged at him, spear changing into a sword as he attacked the defender. As the bum-rush happened, Flash quickly blocked the attack, his body spinning as the two metals clashes. The two then took a step back, only to blitz at each other as several clangs embraced the air around them. Their swords continued to clash in those next few seconds, only for Flash to suddenly spin around, his back hooves kicking Iron in the face.

"Puwaugh!" Iron blurted as he knocked back, his body rolling on the ground as Piecemaker flew out of his hooves. Flash then tried to slash down at the earth pony that was now on his back, only to hit dirt as Iron quickly dodged to the side.

And as the sword hit the ground, a blow of dust soon blasting his face. But as the dust cleared, Flash looked down and he saw that half of his blade was now stuck in the ground. "Oops..." he said before trying to pull it out.

He then heard Iron chuckle, making him turn and see the earth pony cricking his hooves. "Hoof to hoof, you can't win bird boy." He charged forwards, both hooves swinging. However, before he his first punch could connect, Flash was already in the air.

"Neither can you if you can't hit me." Flash retorted, sticking his tongue out. "Try and get me, metalhead."

"Its on, ya wuss!"

Meanwhile, Springer was further in the canyon. He was standing at the bottom of a ramp like cliff, multiple rocks above him. He slowly stepped from left to right, like he was trying to get in the right position to take a picture. "Let's see...no. No, that won't....ah! Perfect!" he told himself as he clapped his hooves. Aura began to flow in his paws as he aimed at the top of the cliff. "Here we go! Aura Blast!"

BOOM!

The rocks on the top exploded off the cliff, the rubble flinging themselves down the slope. The jakhowl smiled at oncoming boulders, his feet already rushing him up the slope. And as the first rock got close to him, he held up his paws, only for a familiar trio of shining claws to appear. "Metal Paw!" he yelled, slicing the boulder in half with one clean swipe. "Ah yeah! I'm on fire!"

As the jakhowl kept running towards the rolling rubble, Metal Paw faded as a new aura weapon appeared in the young pup's paws. "Bone Breaker!" He took the staff in paw, spinning it as swung the weapon in a horizontal manner. The swing collided with a boulder, only for it to go airborne, instantly hitting the rock behind it. Both shattered into dust at the collision, kicking up a dust cloud. But Springer wasn't intimidated, for he ran right through the dust like it was nothing. He continued running, seeing one final big boulder coming his way that was too big to break. But he knew he couldn't stop his sprint, so he started to look around, only to see a small rock stuck in the ground infront of him. An idea popping into his head, the jakhowl slammed his aura weapon into the rock, quickly pole-vaulting him over the boulder.

After that, it was smooth-sailing to the top. Before he knew it, Springer reached the top of the slope, cheering as he raised both paws into the air. "Oh yeah! Who's the jakhowl? I'm the-whoa!" As Springer continued to celebrate, he didn't realize his feet were just a little too close to the edge of the slope's cliff, causing him to slip back onto the slope. "Wha-aaahhhh!!"

As he started to tumble down the hill, his body becoming like a rolling blue ball while Flash and Iron continued to fight hoof to hoof. Iron was on the defensive, as Flash kept getting away thanks to his wings. Flash would repeatedly shoot down and throw one or two punches, only to take to the air again. But as Flash tried this three times, the third gave the opening Iron needed. Before Flash could fly back up from his one-two punch, Iron used his teeth to grab his tail and swing him back into the ground.

"Augh!" Flash let out as he hit the gravel.

"Gotcha, ya feather-brain."

"Like Tartarus, you have!" Flash barked before swiping his hooves under Iron's, knocking the defender's off-balance. Using this moment, Flash spun his body, quickly getting back up, only for Iron to get up as well. The two raised their hooves for another round, but....

"GANGWAY!"

They both looked in the same direction for the voice's owner, only to see a blue ball rolling towards them. The duo took a step backwards, allowing the ball to roll past them as it smashed into a large rock. Flash and Iron then saw that the ball was Springer, who was currently plastered against the rock, his eyes now replaced with spirals.

The two moved over to the jakhowl. "Springer! You okay bud?!"

"Don't take me out coach. I can still play..." Springer replied, his head shaking back and forth. "I mean it coach. Don't replace me with the yellow mouse..."

Flash and Iron both chuckled at the sight before pulling Springer off the rock, quickly dusting the poor jakhowl off. "I think that's enough training for today," Flash said as he sat down next to his partner. "You okay buddy? Looks like you bit off more than you can chew."

"I'm okay..." Springer responded, his paw now rubbing his forehead. "Just feel....loopy."

Flash patted his partner's back with a smirk. "You'll be fine buddy."

Iron nodded in agreement as he sat down across from the two before taking out a canteen, taking a swig of water from it. "So...enjoying your birthday so far, wuss? Don't image training is what you had in mind for your birthday morning."

Flash just shrugged at the comment. "Eh, its the same as any other day, aside from the breakfast in bed. Sides, today I'll be spending the rest of the day in the park with Scoots, Twi, Spike and Springer." He looked over at his partner, who still looked a little unfocused. "Then its off to the party."

Iron rolled his eyes, "I'm sure that'll be fun."

Flash glared back at him, frowning. "Just because you don't celebrate your birthday doesn't mean the rest of us have to have no fun."

Iron mimicked his facial expression. "I celebrate my birthday."

"You do?" Flash asked in a surprised tone.

The earth pony apprentice knight rolled his eyes again. "I'm hard-boiled, not heartless ya moron." the defender began to grind his teeth as he began to explain, "Skybreaker would always celebrate my birthday with me, giving us both the day off and enjoying whatever fun things there were to do wherever we were. It was one of the few times I felt like a normal colt, not having to worry about being tough...even if I did find it annoying."

"Wow," Flash replied, his eyes slightly widening. "Growing up, I always imagined Skybreaker was some kind of tough, no nonsense pony. I wouldn't think he'd do stuff like that."

"He is tough and no nonsense," Iron barked back, taking another swig in slight frustration. "But he was only ever like that around his enemies or those who needed him to be that. When he's not, he's...kind and caring."

"And yet you turned out to be such a stick in the mud." Flash said with a smirk, leaning back with his hooves behind his head. "Though that does probably explain why you and her are like that..."

Iron growled at his fellow defender of the peace. "Shouldn't you be heading to school? You know, to pick up a member of a third of the disasters that happen to this town?!"

"You don't have to be such a jerk about it Iron. I was just saying..." Flash replied as he looked up at the sun, the sphere telling him that school would be getting out in the next hour or so. "Right. Welp, I'd better get going." He stood up and grabbed his still dizzy partner, putting him on his back before walking off. "See you later. Drop by Sugarcube Corner later if you wanna have some fun."

"Like I'd do that, ya wuss!" Iron's voice called back as Flash left the canyon and walked back into town.

As he did, his mind wandered back to his very first 'birthday'. The one year mark celebrating his living with Twilight's family.





The Past...

"Ooohhh...it hurts. Why does it hurt so much?!" a young Flash Sentry groaned as he walked down the streets of Canterlot. He was alone, as Grand Hoof had kept him back for extra training that day and Twilight had already left by the time he was done. "What was with Grand today? I know he wants me to be tough, but...my aching hooves..."

The colt then looked up, only to see his destination in sight. It was a cream colored spruce wood house, complete with a red roof. The sight made him let out a sigh of relief, his hooves slightly shaking as he walked up to the door. "Maybe I can ask mom for some ice cream and-huh?" his rant stopped as he opened the wooden frame, only to be greeted with a pitch black room. "What the..."

He placed his hooves inside, slowly closing the door behind him. He started to blink at the darkness, making his way to the dining room as he called out, "Um...hello? Anypony home?"

No response.

"Ooookay. This is weird. Where is every-"

"SURPRISE!" yelled a series of voices, light suddenly flooding the room. Flash let out a yelp before going into an offensive stance, Grand Hoof's training over the last year already showing itself. That is, till the colt began to look around the room. There, he saw Twilight, Shining, their parents, Cadance and the infant Spike staring at him. His eyes started to go wide as he then saw the dining table, its entirety filled with party food and a large cake in the center.

Flash then turned to the ponies smiling at him. "What the-what's all this?"

"It's a special celebration we decided to have for you dear," Twilight Velvet explained as she went up and patted his head.

"Special celebration?" Flash questioned, looking back at the table again. "What for?"

Night Light chuckled at the question. "Don't you know what today is Flash?" He saw the young pegasus shake his head. "This is the day we first met. The day you came to live with us."

"One whole year of you being part of our family," Velvet told him as she leaned down and gave him a hug. "We knew we needed to celebrate that."

"And...well," Shining added as he scratched the side of his head. "Since we don't know when your birthday is, we kinda decided to use this to day to uh-"

"We decided to treat today as your birthday," Cadance continued as she walked up and gave Flash a hug as well.

"Exactly," Shining completed as he trotted up and patted Flash's head. "So uh...happy birthday and all that, champ."

Flash was stiff as a statue, surprise consuming his being as shock covered his face. He had just now realized that it had now been a whole year since he had stopped living on the streets. "Wow...it's really been a year? Feels like its been a month."

Cadance just giggled at the comment. "Just goes to show how happy you are. After all, they say time flies when your having fun."

Flash's face morphed into the biggest smile possible. The colt could only nod at Cadance's statement, knowing it was true as he remembered the past year. He remembered all the good times, which were ten times the amount he had back on those years on the streets. And as he thought about this, tears began to form and flow down his face.

Everypony went wide-eyed at this, Twilight rushing over to him. "What's wrong Flash? Don't you like it?"

Flash, still crying, shook his head no. "No, I...I love it. It's just...I don't know. I'm really happy, but I can't...I can't stop crying."

The older ponies all smiled at this, Night Light patting him on the head again. "That's called tears of joy son."

Velvet nodded in agreement. "He's right. It's natural to cry when you're happy."

"Though it's not very stallionly," Shining joked, only to be dealt a swift jab to the ribs by Cadance. "Ow!"

Flash laughed at the sight, wiping away his tears. "Thank you. Thank you all for letting me into your lives. I don't know what my life would be like if you hadn't."

"Well, you don't have to think about it," Twilight said as she hugged him, only to then pull him towards the table. "Now come on. I want to have some cake."

Flash laughed again, but did as he was told and jumped up into his usual seat as Velvet levitated a party hat onto his head. But before he could even lick his lips at the cake, there was a knock at the house's door. Shining quickly answered it, only for one Grand Hoof to walk in the house with a giant grin on his face. "Hey kiddo," he told his apprentice, a big box in his hooves. "Sorry I kept you back. Twilight asked me to so they could get everything set up."

Flash shined a big smile at his mentor. "That's fine Grand. I'm just happy you're here to celebrate."

"Of course I am kiddo," the older pony replied before turning to the cake. "Now let's pointlessly light these candles just so you can blow them out."

Everypony laughed as Night used a simple fire spell to do so. Everypony then began to sing the traditional birthday song and the second it was over, Flash blew out the candles.





The Present...

"Those were the days..." Flash chuckled to himself as he walked to the outskirts of Ponyville, the memory still playing in his head. "And there's still plenty more to come."

In this moment, he had finally arrived at the edge of Ponyville, but decided to walk around the town to get to the school. He didn't trust himself with going near Sugarcube Corner, he knew his curiosity would get the better of him. So instead, he walked the edge, soon looking back to see his still recovering partner. "You okay there bud?"

"I'm getting there," Springer replied as he sat up, still holding his head with his paws. "Still a little dizzy though."

Flash frowned at hearing this. "Maybe I should take you to get checked out at the vets, or see if Fluttershy can take a look at you."

Springer shook his head. "No. I don't want you to waste your birthday doing that."

"I'm not gonna be able to enjoy anything if I think you're hurt buddy."

"I'm fine." Springer grumbled back, aura now enflaming his paws as he rubbed his head. "If anything, I'll just get Twilight to use some of her magic to make me feel better. Until then, I can use my aura to heal myself, okay? I'll be fine."

Once again, Flash rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. But if you don't get better, I'm-"

"Oh, hello Flash." The pegasus turned around at the voice, only to see Lyra and Bon-Bon walking up to him. Lyra then continued to speak, "I hear somepony's having a birthday today."

"Yeah," Flash blushed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well, happy birthday." Bon-Bon told him.

"Thanks."

Lyra hopped in front of Bon-Bon with a big grin. "Oh yeah, we saw what Pinkie's doing for your birthday and its amazing! She has-"

"Ah! Don't tell me, don't tell me!" Flash shoved his hooves in his ears. "I want it to be a surprise!"

The girls giggled at this, Bon-Bon putting her hoof in Lyra's mouth. "Sorry! Don't worry Flash, our lips are sealed." Bon-Bon then removed the hoof as she winked at him before glaring at Lyra. "We need to be going now anyway, right Lyra?" The green unicorn gave a slow nod. "Good. We'll be seeing you later Flash."

"Got it." Flash replied as he walked past them, continuing his trek on the outskirts of town. As he did this, more and more of the townsponies passed by him, all wishing him a happy birthday. He thanked each of them in turn, soon arriving at the schoolyard as he made his way. Just as the school building came into sight, a sound of the school bell could be heard. The school day was now officially over, the fillies and colts bursting out of the building in a mad rush.

"Flash!" He looked at the crown of young ponies, only to see his sister running up to him. "Hey big bro!"

"Hey sis. Ready to go?" the pegasus asked as he gave her a quick hug. "Twilight's supposed to be meeting us at the park."

"Great," Scootaloo said as she let go of the hug and went up to her parked scooter by the school. Hopping on, she gave him a determined glare. "Race ya!" With that, she shot off and raced down the street. Flash laughed at this and took to the skies, Springer having to quickly grab his mane so he wouldn't fall off.





Meanwhile...

Back at Sugarcube Corner, Twilight and the rest of the girls were putting the finishing touches to the decorations. Since it was scheduled to be such a beautiful day, they had decided to have some of the party outside. As such, Twilight and Rarity were using their magic to levitate some tables outside while Rainbow was gathering the table cloth for the tables. Fluttershy and Spike were finishing up the decorations inside the bakery, using the floor plan Pinkie had provided.

"Little higher," Spike said as he looked up from the scroll, pointing at the wall for Fluttershy. "Little to the left...perfect."

Fluttershy landed as she pinned the last poster to the wall, so giving the drake a nod before moving over to the perch where her bird friends were practicing their song. "Oh, that's lovely," she told them happily. "Now remember to drink plenty of water. We wouldn't want your throats going dry while the party is happening."

The birds nodded and flew over to a nearby bowl of water, all soon dipping in to quench their throats. Seeing this, Fluttershy and Spike made their way outside, just in time to see Applejack and Pinkie also exiting the building while pushing a large cart. On that cart was Flash's cake, which looked even better than the image had shown. It was a three layered cake with orange marzipan and a blue icing trim. On the top layer was the image Pinkie had shown them earlier.

"That looks amazing Pinkie," Twilight praised the baking pony. She looked over the cake in amazement, checking every inch of it and not finding a single flaw. "In fact, I think it looks better than the drawing."

Pinkie blushed as she pointed to the earth pony beside her. "Thanks Twilight, but you better compliment Applejack too. She helped a lot."

"Aw shucks Pinkie, It was nothing." She turned to the unicorn. "Think you and Rarity can help get it on the table sugarcube? It's a mite heavy."

"No problem," Twilight said as her and Rarity's horns began to shine, a magic aura covering the cake as it was slowly lifted onto the table. "There we go. Perfect."

"I'll say," Spike said as his tongue rolled out of his mouth, his claws slowly reaching out at the treat. That is, till a magic aura covered him and levitated him away.

"Don't even think about it. That cake's not being touched until Flash blows out the candles."

Spike pouted at this. That is, till another voice rang out.

"Hey!" They all turned to the voice's owner, seeing it was Wild Smile with his puppets. "Did I hear that there was a party going on?"

"Party, party!" The puppets cried out.

"You sure did," Pinkie replied as she bounced over to him. "And you're just in time. We could use another unicorn since Twilight and Spike need to get going."

"Oh, that's right! I need to get to the park!" Twilight gasped before grabbing Spike in her magic and placing him on her back. "I'll see you girls later."

"Have fun," Rainbow told her as she put her hooves behind her head. "And don't worry, we've got this thing in the bag."

"I know you do," the unicorn replied before turning and beginning her sprint through town. As she did, her ears perked up as she suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Twilight."

She came to a stop and turned to look towards the source of the voice, only to gasp at who she saw.





Meanwhile...again.

Over in the park, Flash watched as Scootaloo and Springer played a game a Blastball.

It was a game the Ponyville children had invented, and had a set of simple rules. There were two squares that they had to stand in, one for each player, that were right next to one another. Around those two squares were ten smaller squares of varying size, five around each one. The aim of the game was to hit a ball and try and blast it into one of the smaller squares on their opponents side, earning points depending on which square you hit. There were two one point zones, which were the two biggest. Two three point zones, that were the middle sized ones and finally one ten point zone, which was right at the back and was so small, it was almost impossible to hit.

Currently, the score was five to seven in favor of Springer.

Said jakhowl had recovered from his earlier injury and was now about to serve. "You ready?" Springer asked Scootaloo as he spun the ball on the end on his claw.

"Bring it!" Scootaloo replied, hopping left and right with a huge grin.

Springer smirked before throwing the ball in the air, "Its...BROUGHT!" With all his might, he spiked the ball at one of Scootaloo's three point zones. The filly was prepared, leaping to the area before spinning around, hitting the ball with her tail. The ball shot towards the jakhowl, only for him to kick it back with a quick horizontal swipe. But as the ball flew back to the filly, she spun again, bucking the ball a second later.

From the sidelines, Flash watched while leaning against a large rock they were using as a score board. He also had a timer in his hoof, which he was glancing at every few minutes. But as he took another glance, he then saw Springer deflect the ball back again, only to see Scootaloo sprint forward. There, she leapt in the air, using her tiny wings to do just a tiny hover before headbutting the ball. The sphere felt her forceful forehead, knocking the ball into Springer's three point zone.

"Point!" Flash called out before putting a mark down on the rock with chalk. As he marked this, the timer went off, showing the game was over. "Scootaloo wins."

The orange filly immediately started dancing at the announcement. "Oh yeah! I'm awesome! I'm the best! Aw yeah!"

"You're a cheater!" Springer pouted, walking up and pressing his face up to hers. "We agreed to no flying!"

"I didn't fly," Scootaloo told him smugly, sticking her tongue out. "I jumped up and used my wings to keep me up long enough for me to hit the ball. I can't fly, remember?!"

"She's got you there bud," Flash guffawed, patting his partner on the back. Springer just continued to pout at this, making the pegasus siblings both laugh even more.

"Having fun without us?"

The trio heard this and turned around, only to see Twilight and Spike. But they weren't alone, as there were also a pair of older unicorns.

"Night Light, Velvet!" Flash cried as he quickly ran over to them. When he got within hooves reach, Velvet pulled him into a hug. "I'm so glad to see you could make it! I thought you wouldn't be here until later."

Night laughed as he patted Flash on the back. "We wanted to surprise you. We ran into Twilight on the way through town and she told us you were going to meet up here."

Velvet continued to hug Flash. "Oh, it's so good to see you again son." She then pulled away and looked him over, frowning when she saw the scar on his chest. "That doesn't hurt, does it?"

Flash rubbed the scar with his hoof, giving her a small smile. "Not anymore. Granted, when I first got it, it hurt like heck, but now I'm fine."

"You can thank the Crystal Heart for that," Twilight told them as she smacked Flash with her tail, a disgruntled look on her face. "Don't bother giving him the reckless speech. I've done it enough times to see it doesn't work."

Flash rolled his eyes while Night Light chuckled at her remark, "Maybe he's not being reckless Twily. They say being reckless is acting without thought. Maybe Flash is just thinking about his action so fast that it looks like he's not thinking about the action at all."

"Yeah!" Flash said with a smug look, "That's exactly what I'm doing Twi."

Twilight just gave him a flat stare, her horn ready to light and magically pull his ear. "Oh really?! So you thought about all the idiotic things you've done in the past, and still chose to do them despite knowing what would happen?!"

Flash did a slight gulp as he darted his eyes away from the purple unicorn for a second. "Errr...yes? But that's why-ow!"

"Then you're an even bigger idiot than I thought," Twilight replied, her magic now pulling his ear. "Do you need another lecture?!"

"No!" Flash yelped, covering his ear with his hoof. "Please stop Twi!"

"Yeah yeah..." Twilight moaned as her horn stopped glowing, the others now laughing at their interaction. She then glared at them, "Anything you all want to say?"

"Nope." Twilight Velvet replied before slinging her hoof over Flash's shoulder. "Happy birthday sweetheart."

"Thanks," Flash shined a grin as he began hugging her again.

But before anypony else could say anything else, something new caught their attention. A large drop of water fell onto Springer's head. "Hey!" He cried out as he rubbed his head, only to look up and see a group of black clouds. "Uhhh...that's not-"

FWOOSH!

A torrent of water followed the sound, the group yelping as the liquid slammed into their body. That is, till Twilight created an anti-water bubble around them. "What the heck?!" the unicorn yelped as she continued to maintain the bubble. "Why is it raining?! We weren't scheduled to have rain today!"

"Obviously, there was a mix-up," Flash told her flatly, only to then dodge a tail-smack.

"But this is gonna ruin the party Flash!" Twilight whined, growling at the defender. "Most of it was gonna be outside! Now everything will be ruined!"

"I'm sure Pinkie will be able to save it."

Velvet nodded in agreement. "Indeed. If she's as good a party planner as you say, I'm sure she'll have a backup plan."





Meanwhile...one more time!

"No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" Pinkie was currently having a panic attack after seeing almost all the outside party flavors getting water logged. Luckily, they had managed to get the food tables inside before the rain started, Rarity and Wild having to be extra careful with the cake since Applejack had left to go meet Grand and Trixie at the train station, but everything else was not so lucky. Several groups of ponies had already arrived for the party, and now had rushed inside the bakery once the rain had started, causing the place to get a little crowded.

"How did this happen?!" Pinkie yelled as she looked over the large crowd of ponies.

Rainbow was figuring this out right now, speaking with the weather pony she had sent to check the weather for that day. "You said it would be nothing but beautiful skies today!"

"That's what I was told!" Fluffy replied, pulling out a piece of paper from his saddlebag. "I asked the Cloudsdale weather office for the whole week's weather and this is what they gave me! You'll clearly see Ponyville was scheduled for sun today!"

Rainbow took the paper and looked it over, only to quickly see what had happened. "Augh!" She cried with a facehoof. "When did you get this report?!"

Fluffy looked confused as he replied, "Friday. Why do you ask?"

"I see what they did," Rainbow said as she slowly dragged her hoof down her face. "They thought you were asking for the weather for the rest of the week, so they gave you last week's time schedule."

Fluffy's eyes went wide, "Oh...sorry Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow let out a sigh before handing the paper back. "It's not your fault. Just...next time ask for the weather on the exact dates you want." Fluffy nodded before walking off, leaving Rainbow to move over to her friends and explain the problem.

"That makes sense," Wild said while crossing his hooves.

"Makes sense, makes sense." the puppets repeated.

Rarity was the first to ask the obvious. "Can't you make a hole in the cloud covering Sugarcube Corner? Let the rest of the town be rained on, but let this area stay dry?"

Rainbow shook her head. "If the wind was still, I might be able to. But there's a gust out there, making it much harder. There's also the case of the hole, which would need to be big and the head office would not like."

"So what do we do?"

They turned to Pinkie, who was obviously trying to think on the spot over a new party plan. "That's okay, I got this. We might not be allowed to play outside, but there's plenty of fun things to do inside." She turned to Fluttershy. "Looks like your birds are going from side event to a main one."

"Oh?" Fluttershy said before glancing at her bird friends. "Um...okay. We'll try our best." The birds all gave her a tweet. But before they could start the very first note, one of them let out a high pitch squeak that made the rest stop. "Oh dear, are you alright?"

The bird seemed to do a quick check of itself and was about to tweet yes, until it let out another squeak. This was followed by another bird doing the same thing, then another and another until they were all doing it.

"What's wrong with them?" Rainbow asked Fluttershy.

"I think they have the hiccups," the yellow pegasus mare replied, blinking at the sight.

"What?!" Pinkie cried in horror. "How'd they get hiccups?!"

Fluttershy quickly conversed with the birds, asking them to tell her everything they had done that day. She soon got her answer as she then moved over to the bowl they had been drinking from, taking a sip of the remaining liquid. "Oh dear."

"What is it?" Rarity asked her.

"They thought they were drinking flavoured water, but this is lemonade. They've drunk so much that they got the hiccups."

"Well, that's just great," Rainbow yelled as she pointed at the birds. "They can't sing with hiccups."

"That's okay," Pinkie quickly said, her face trying every way to hide her inner panic spell. "I've got this. Its not like anything else bad can happen."

"Bad news ya'll." They turned to see Applejack, soaking wet as she walked into the crowd. "Seems some accident caused Grand and Trixie's train to be stopped. They might not get here for a while."

The ponies all turned to Pinkie, seeing her eye beginning to twitch.

"You okay?" Wild asked her, slowly moving over to her. "You uh..."

"I'm...fine." Pinkie replied in a manner that reminded them of the time she thought they didn't care about her even though they were just trying to surprise her for her birthday. "I'm okay Wild."

"You sure?"

Pinkie nodded. "Of course. I got this." She moved over to the table where Flash's cake was resting. "We've still got this amazing cake, and as long as we have it, we're good."

She then tapped the table in pure confidence. Unfortunately, the table they had placed the cake on was a foldable one, made for easy storage. And also unfortunately, when Rarity and Wild had moved it and the cake inside, one for the legs had not be properly set into place. So when Pinkie tapped the table, that leg snapped pack into it, causing the table to tip over.

Everything seemed to slow down as the cake began to slide towards the edge, everypony in the group seeing the incoming disaster. They all gasped at the sight as they all cried, "NOOOO!"

The ponies all leapt at the spot where it would have landed, creating a dog pile that caused the sliding cake to knock over, launching it into the air. The pony pile was suddenly ripped apart, as Pinkie leapt out from the bottom and screamed, "Somepony grab that cake!"

But it was too late. The giant treat flew through the air, its destination being one door to the bakery. That is, till the door opened as somepony said, "Hey everypony! Who's ready to par-"

SPLAT!

Everyone gasped at seeing who the cake had hit. It was Flash, who was standing in the doorway with wide eyes as his face was now covered in frosting. Icing soon began to fall down his entire body, his eyes blinking as he felt the smushed treat sink into his fur. Everypony cringed at this, expecting him to be upset by being attacked by food on his birthday.

Twilight and the rest of the ponies, along with a dragon and jakhowl, all let out a gulp as Twilight asked, "Flash? You okay?"

Flash didn't answer, instead opening his mouth as his tongue scooped up the cake on his face. He soon took several bites into the cake before swallowing, letting out an approving hum. "Mmmmm...strawberry sponge cake. My favorite."

Everypony sighed in relief, with the exception of one pink party pony. She had her head turned away from the defender, tears dropping down her face. That is, till Flash walked up to her and tapped her shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong Pinkie?" Pinkie opened her eyes and looked up, seeing Flash looking down at her with a worried expression on his face. He offered her a hoof, wanting to help her up. "Come on, its not like you to cry at a party."

Pinkie sniffed and wiped her eyes with her leg. "This isn't a party, its a disaster."

Flash raised an eyebrow at this. "It is? But it looks like a great party."

Pinkie continued to sniffle. "No it isn't. The weather ruined half the party favors and stopped us from partying outside. Fluttershy's birds got hiccups and can't sing. Grand Hoof's stuck on a train and the cake I made you was thrown into your face and ruined. Nothing's gone right."

Flash looked around the room, seeing everypony had a frown on their faces. All they wanted to do was celebrate Flash, a pony who was always helping them even if he was not asked to. But now everything was ruined and Flash would most likely tell them to go home. "We're sorry Flash," Twilight said as she and the others looked down.

Flash's face seemed to be unreadable in that moment. He just blinked at the sight with a blank stare, only for his mouth to start moving. Then, he did the one thing nopony was expecting. He started laughing. "Heh heh heh...HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You thought I...AHAHAHAHA!"

Everyone started to frown and glare at him, Rainbow flying up to his face with face full of anger, "Hey! All our hard work was destroyed and you're laughing at us?! What gives, ya jerk!?!"

Flash continued to chuckle, only to put his hoof over Rainbow's mouth. His chuckles turned to giggles as he said, "Hee hee hee...I'm not laughing at you Rainbow, I'm laughing at the situation. You think just because we've got some bad weather, no music and a busted cake, that the party's ruined?" He started laughing again, falling onto his back as he did. "Ahahaha! And I thought Pinkie was the party pony here in town!"

"But it is ruined," Scootaloo told him as she tilted her head in confusion.

"Yeah," Pinkie added. "Why don't you think it is?"

Once again, Flash kept laughing, only for him to put a hoof on his chest. A few deep breaths later, he got up, "You know why I love my birthday parties so much?" Everypony shook their heads no. "It wasn't the games or the presents or the cake. Though I would be lying if I did say the presents aren't something I love, I do like them, but who doesn't?" This made everyone do a slight chuckle as he continued. "But it wasn't that. It was because all my friends are here with me." He took a deep breath again. "You all know that I used to live on the streets, spending every single one of my birthdays alone. Heck, I didn't even know when my birthday back then. So...on the day everyone made my birthday, the day I first went to live with Twilight and her parents, I always remember what I have compared to before and I'm thankful for it."

Everyone started to realise what he was getting at. A birthday was a day to celebrate the pony, which included everything and everypony who's lives they made better because of their birth. Flash looked down at Pinkie, giving her a happy smile. "You see? I don't need a big party to enjoy my birthday. Having all my friends here is already making it a great party."

"But not all your friends are here," Pinkie told him, her lips quivering from her crying. "Soarin, Shining, Cadance and Grand. They're not going make it."

"And I might not make it to their next birthday. That doesn't mean it'll ruin their birthdays. As long as they know I care about them and that they care about me, it's okay that they're not here." He once again offered his hoof. "Come on Pinkie, turn that frown upside down. I'm sure Ponyville's number one party pony can make this a great party, even with everything that's happened."

Pinkie's face still showed a frown, but as his words sunk in, her face began to morph. There, it shined into a bright smile as he took his hoof, slowly standing up. And as she did, she blew into her hoof, causing her mane to somehow re-inflate. As it turned into its normal poofiness, she raised her hooves in the air and yelled, "ALRIGHT EVERYPONY! Let's enjoy this party, even if it kills us!"

"YEAH!" Everypony cheered.

And so, the party started. Everypony soon began celebrating, feasting on what was left of the party food while Flash began talking to everypony he could meet in Ponyville. Fluttershy's birds once again tried singing and everypony got to laugh whenever they hiccuped, making the tunes they played rather enjoyable. Wild Smile entertained the younger ponies with a puppet show, which Pinkie and a few other older ponies also enjoyed. Even Iron showed up, though he said it was just to get himself out of the rain.

"This really is a great party," Twilight said halfway through it.

"One of the best I've been to," Flash replied, only to feel a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, a smile soon forming on his face. "Grand!" He threw his hoof around his mentor's shoulder. "You made it!"

"Of course I did," Grand guffawed as he then patted Flash's back, "Happy birthday kiddo."

"Thanks. I'm glad you could-"

"And he's not the only one here." interrupted another voice, which made Flash look over Grand's shoulder. There, he saw a certain light blue unicorn wearing a star-patterned hat. "Trixie is here to celebrate as well."

"Trixie!" Flash and Twilight cried, both soon embracing her in a hug. "You made it too!"

With that, the party soon came to a close. Trixie announced she would do a small show for everyone, which was the last event before the final part of the party began. As it did, it came time for Flash to open the presents everypony had gotten him. Each one was just as good as the last. Twilight had gotten him a newly published book on different sword fighting styles. Rainbow had gotten him a poster with different pegasus workout movements while Applejack had gotten him a case of apple cider and some apple scented body spray. Fluttershy had gotten him a new set of bed sheets that had wolves and other canine animals, Flash's favourite type, on them. Rarity had made him a black zip up jacket with his cutie mark on the shoulder. Pinkie had gotten him a board game she felt he would enjoy along with Spike and Springer, who had gotten him several new issues of his favourite comic series. Twilight's parents had gotten him a box of Joe's Donuts along with a wing brush, which was used to comb out loose feathers. Trixie got him some hair spray, a special kind she found in Canterlot. Finally, Grand had gotten him a sword treatment kit, saying that even magical weapons needed to be kept in pristine condition.

Oh, and Iron had gotten him some dumbbells, which he didn't wrap as he just gave them to the defender, saying, "Can't have a Royal Knight with such puny muscles." Flash rolled his eyes at this, but accepted it nonetheless.

And last but not least, Scootaloo and her Crusader friends had made him a photo album. It was full of a bunch of different pictures of Flash, either on his own or with his friends while he training, helping ponies or simply enjoying life. The pictures made him almost want to cry tears of joy.

"Thanks everypony," Flash told them, the biggest smile possible gracing his face as he said that.

"There's just one more thing left to do," they heard Pinkie say. They then saw her enter the room carrying a new cake. It wasn't as big as the first, nor did it have any fancy icing decorations. It was also unfortunately lemon and not strawberry, but it didn't matter to Flash. Pinkie placed it on the table in front of Flash before placing twenty two birthday candles in it. Spike did the honors of lighting the candles before everypony started singing. By the time they had finished, Flash took a deep breath and blew out the candles.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY FLASH!"

Flash looked around at all the ponies who had come to celebrate him, making him once again remember all the years he had lived on the streets. He glanced at Twilight, remembering at how she had taken him out of that life and into something new, something worth living for. And as those memories faded, he looked back at his friends and repeated what he had said before.

"Thanks everypony."

The party continued well into the night, only ending after Luna's moon started to shine directly over the town. There, everypony left with full stomachs and giant smiles. With that, Twilight's parents and Grand Hoof headed back to Canterlot, all three catching the last train of the day. They all said their goodbyes and Flash now found himself in bed after tucking Scootaloo in. His bed was now adorned in the wolf sheets he had gotten, and he then looked over to his partner Springer getting into his bed. "Night bud."

"Good night," Springer replied as he buried himself in blankets. "Was your first real birthday all you thought it'd be?"

"Nope." Flash replied before shining a huge grin. "It was a hundred times better."

Springer chuckled at this. "Heh...wish I could have a birthday like that."

Flash gave him a look of pure confusion. "You're kidding, right? Of course you're getting a birthday and it'll be on the day we met. Pinkie's already marked it on her calendar."

Springer blinked at this. "She has?" Flash nodded. "Awesome..."

"See? You'll get your birthday. You just need to wait first, mister impatient." Flash remarked, causing Springer to stick his tongue out. "Heh...night buddy."

"Night partner."

And with that, the defender went to sleep, putting an end to a great day and an even greater birthday.