The sun dawned on a new day. And what a day it was.
Spike had awoken early that morning to prepare for what was to be his thirteenth birthday. For many hours, the boy passed the time by reading whatever books he could on his bookshelf, but only ended up skimming a few pages, before switching to a new one. The excitement of what was to come was simply too much than what a simple passage in a book could take his mind off of.
He looked at the clock. 10:09. That was long enough for him. Spike put his book back on his shelf and went downstairs to greet his parents that morning. However, when he arrived, he found an unusual sight.
His parents were nowhere to be seen. Not even the noises of their footsteps sounded through the house. Not even the television in the next room sounded off with the usual morning newscast.
“Weird. Where’d they go so early in the day?” Spike wondered to himself.
Of all the days for his parents not to be home, his birthday was the one he didn’t think they’d go anywhere. Then again, he hadn’t had a birthday with his parents since he was a little boy. As far as he knew, things could still have changed during all the years that he had missed out on, before he magically altered his reality.
But, as long as his parents were out, he still had Sweetie Belle to spend his birthday with. After the day they had at the beach, maybe she would want to do it again. With Sweetie on mind, he reached into his pocket for his phone.
Before his fingers even passed the hem of his pocket, his phone started to ring. When he took it from his pocket and looked at the screen, there was just the name he hoped he would see.
“Hey, Sweetie,” Spike said.
“Hey, Spike. Happy birthday,” came the cheerful greeting on the other end of the phone.
“You remembered. That’s been the best part of my day so far,” Spike said.
“So far. There’s still the chance things can look up,” Sweetie’s voice said, rather provocatively.
“What’d you have in mind?” Spike said.
“Nothing too crazy. I thought it would be nice if the two of us would spend the day together, doing something fun,” Sweetie giggled.
“I see. And just what kind of fun did you have in mind?”
“Anything that you want to do today, birthday boy.”
“Well…” Spike took a moment to think about what to do, though he had the exact thing in mind, “How about if we went to the beach again?”
“Ah, anything but that,” Sweetie Belle said.
“What? But, you love the beach,” Spike replied.
“I do. But, it seems like that’s the only thing we do together. I kind of feel like I want to do something else today,” Sweetie said.
“Alright,” Spike said. He tried to think of something else that there was to do around the city. His eyes fell to his father’s laptop on the coffee table in the living room. “How about a movie?” Spike asked, as he booted up the device.
“Sure. We haven’t done that yet. What’s playing at the Canterlot Cinema?” Sweetie asked.
After a moment of searching for showtimes, Spike was able to bring up the list for Canterlot Cinema. His eyes traveled down the list of films, and he tried to pick the ones that seemed couple-y.
“Let me see...There’s ‘The Lovers of Misery Mire’... ‘Lost Without Love’... ‘Roots of the Heart’...”
“Is that all? Like, do you really want to watch any of those ones?” Sweetie Belle asked.
That was a little disheartening for Spike, who had wanted a romantic movie for their first date to the cinema. He went back to the beginning of the list, and read the title at the top. The one that was marked ‘Hot Ticket.’
“Well, there’s the sequel to ‘Witchcraft is Magic.’ But, I don’t know if you like--” Spike began, before he was cut off by a shrill--
“*SQUEEEE!!!* They made a sequel to ‘Witchcraft is Magic!!?’ Oh my god! That’s, like, one of my favorite movies ever!! We have to go see this one!!” Sweetie said.
“You really want to see that?” Spike said.
“Yes! Yes! If we do nothing else as a couple, it has to be seeing this movie!! Unless you can’t handle the scary ones,” Sweetie said provocatively.
“Sweetie, I’ve seen scarier stuff than you can imagine,” Spike said, recalling his burnt home, meeting his murderous father in prison, and Discord going mad with power, only to name a few.
“Alright, dragon-slayer. I’ll see you at--When’s the showtime?” Sweetie asked.
“Next show’s at eleven.”
“Great. We can make it just in time, if we catch a tram. Meet me at the theater?”
“You know it.”
“Great. Love you. Bye.”
“Love you, Sweetie Belle.”
Sweetie hung up first, leaving Spike suddenly alone in his house. The first major event on his thirteenth birthday, and he was taking his new girlfriend to a scary movie. This was turning out to be quite the interesting day. He hoped that by the end it would turn out even better.
Sweetie Belle waited patiently outside the cinema for Spike to arrive. It had only been some minutes since she herself arrived, but the wait was intolerable. Every time she glanced over at the poster of the movie she wanted to see, she felt as if time had gone backwards, and Spike was no closer to getting into the theater with her.
“Sweetie! Over here!” called a familiar voice.
Sweetie Belle looked down the concrete path, and saw the familiar green-haired head of her boyfriend poking through the crowd of pedestrians. With a smile, she stood up to receive him with a warm embrace.
“I didn’t keep you waiting long, did I?” Spike asked.
“Actually, your timing couldn’t be more perfect. We can get our tickets, go to the concessions, and still have time to find a seat,” Sweetie answered.
“Works for me. Let’s hop in the queue, before the tickets sell out,” Spike said.
The two of them got their tickets to their movie, and made a quick stop at the concessions for popcorn and drinks. When they got to their theater, they were amazed to see how full it was there.
“Damn. I was hoping for a seat at the front,” Sweetie said.
“That’s alright. There’s plenty of seats in the back,” Spike said.
“The back? But, that’s so far away from the show. And that’s where people sit when they just want to make out--Ohhh,” Sweetie Belle said, as a light dawned in her mind.
Her hand taken by Spike, Sweetie Belle found herself led up to the back of the theater, past one passionately kissing couple that looked an awful lot like another couple they knew. Once they found their seats and settled in, Spike had a few things about the movie he wondered.
“So, I looked up this movie before we came here, since I know absolutely nothing about the series,” Spike said.
“Yeah. And…?” Sweetie asked.
“Nothing really. Just, since when is a cartoon a horror movie?”
“First of all: it’s not a horror movie. It’s a gothic mystery set in a fantasy world that’s based on Victorian horror fiction,” said a familiar voice from the kissing couple nearby.
“Twilight?” Spike asked.
There she was. Just one seat over sat Twilight and Thorax, locked in one another’s arms.
“Don’t tell me you guys are in the coven too,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Me and Twilight have been fans since we saw the original movie,” Thorax said, before he resumed kissing Twilight.
“‘Coven?’ What’s that, some code word for ‘group of nerdy fans?’” Spike wondered aloud.
“No. It’s just what the fans of the film call themselves,” Thorax answered, as Twilight kissed his neck.
“So, you actually mean ‘yes?’” Spike answered.
Twilight, Thorax and Sweetie Belle all rolled their eyes. It seemed that Spike would never understand such a wonderful thing as this movie he was about to experience.
“What are you all groaning about? I just don’t see what the big deal with a cartoon is,” Spike said.
“Let me make this simple, Spike: this is not just a cartoon. A cartoon is made by nerds with hyperactive disorders. This is an animation. An animation is made by thinking, literate, mature adults,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Especially in the country this movie was made. Over there, animation is considered an art form, and is taken very seriously,” Twilight added.
“It’s a foreign movie? Am I going to have to read subtitles now?” Spike asked.
“I don’t think so. The first movie was dubbed into english. But, even if this one’s not, you can read. Can’t you?” Thorax asked.
This birthday date was not at all turning out the way Spike had envisioned. Already he was sitting in a theater he didn’t want to be in, watching a movie he didn’t choose. Still, seeing Sweetie Belle’s excitement blossom onto her face as the lights dimmed made that date seem like it may have been worthwhile after all.
The film had been an interesting experience for Spike. There were many sociological and philosophical concepts put to such subtlety that Spike felt them permeating nearly every scene, but in a good way. Not only that, but the moral ambiguities of the characters were put into such a grey area that he didn’t know who was supposed to be the hero or the villain of the story. Even though he didn’t understand half the concepts in the film, it had thankfully been dubbed from its original language. Otherwise, he would have been completely lost.
“So, what’d you think of the movie?” Sweetie asked, as she skipped alongside Spike.
“It was pretty alright. I didn’t really understand the christmas time setting, though,” Spike said.
“It wasn’t christmas. It was yule. And it was set during that time as a symbol of the change in the characters, and the hopes that things would go back to normal,” Sweetie said.
“How do you get that from a pagan holiday?”
“Because, the origins of the holiday are to celebrate the change of seasons, and the reason for the evergreen tree in their house was to represent the hope of the return of things they way they used to be after the snow passed. Haven’t you ever read a book?” Twilight said.
“Yes. Tons,” Spike answered.
“Besides ‘Hook Jaw’ and ‘The Phantom’ comics?” Twilight said.
“Not just those. Tons of other comics too,” Spike proclaimed.
“You’re incorrigible,” Twilight sighed.
“Thank you.”
Twilight didn’t bother reacting this time. She was beyond reactions at this point. Besides, she and Thorax had another engagement to attend to. One that she had to get to promptly, in order to make sure things turned out exactly perfect.
“Well, it was really nice running into you guys here,” Twilight said, as she led Thorax away by his hand, “Come on, Thorax.”
“Wait. Aren’t you going to say ‘hap--’” Thorax began, before he was abruptly pulled away.
“Later, honey,” Twilight said tersely, before leaving.
“What was wrong with those two?” Spike wondered.
“They seemed normal to me,” Sweetie dismissively said.
“That sounded normal to you?” Spike said.
“I have an idea. Why don’t we go to the beach now?” Sweetie Belle said.
“You mean what I wanted to do in the first place?”
“Yeah. That’s right,” Sweetie Belle said, partly muttering to herself when she heard her boyfriend’s despondent tone. “Spike, did you not have fun at the movie?”
“I had fun. Just a different kind of fun that what I’m normally used to,” Spike said. “I just thought that on my birthday, I could do the things that I like to do.”
“And that’s exactly what we’re going to do now. I’m going to make up for not paying enough attention to you on your birthday by taking you for the best day at the beach you’ve ever had,” Sweetie Belle declared.
“How do you plan to do that?” Spike said, hoping for a fun answer.
“There’s this one place on the beach. It’s a little out of the way, but it’s a good spot for ‘private get-togethers,’” Sweetie said.
Not knowing precisely what Sweetie Belle had in mind for their clandestine rendezvous, Spike was still excited for it. It was probably the aspect of not knowing what he was in for that made it so thrilling for him.
After a quick hop onto a tram, the two were underway to their destination.
“How much further, Sweetie Belle?” Spike panted, as he walked behind her on the sandy shore.
“I told you that it was a bit out of the way, didn’t I? I just don’t remember it being quite this out of the way,” Sweetie answered, between heavy breaths.
The two of them had been walking on the beach for what felt like hours, between the crashing waves, baking sun, squawking seabirds and the deep sand, it felt like they were castaways on some distant shore.
“Wait. There it is. Just around that rock,” Sweetie said, pointing ahead.
“That rock that’s practically on the horizon?” Spike asked, noting the distance.
“Don’t be such a whiner. You could use the exercise.”
“I won’t take this from the girl who had a chocolate bar, a box of candy, two sodas, and more than half of the popcorn at the movie today. I’m just glad I’m not walking behind you to see where all that went.”
“Did you just call me fat!!?” Sweetie shrieked.
“No. I’m just saying you probably need this walk more than I do,” Spike answered.
“Spike, you’re the worst!” Sweetie Belle said, as she reached to shove Spike.
The boy nimbly dodged Sweetie’s attack, and ran forward as fast as he could through the sand, with Sweetie Belle in hot pursuit.
There was an extra element of fun to the long walk now. One that made it seem much shorter than it would have before.
In what seemed no time at all, Spike rounded the large rock, and was greeted by an unusual sight. There was a table set up with food, and Spike was only able to just conceive the many people who were around it.
“Surprise!” they all shouted at once.
Sweetie Belle leapt from around the rock and tackled Spike to the ground.
“Call me ‘fat,’ will you, saddlebags!? Well, I--I…” Sweetie gradually let up her assault on Spike, when it dawned on her that there were others present. “Uh...Surprise. I got him here,” Sweetie said, as she helped Spike up and brushed the sand off of him.
“Got me here for what?” Spike wondered.
It was then that Spike saw who was present. His parents were both there, along with every one of his other friends from school.
“Nice job keeping him busy for the day. Even if loverboy here almost blew it,” Discord said, motioning to Thorax.
Thorax only grinned and shrugged at the implication.
“Happy birthday, son. Sorry for the deception, but we needed Sweetie to keep you busy while we set this up,” Sombra said, slapping his hand around Spike’s shoulder.
It was a feeling Spike had all but forgotten. Before he magically altered the course of his own life, his father had been in jail for attempting to murder his mum, and was never there for special occasions such as this. The surge of joy was too much for Spike to contain, and he reached out and hugged his father tightly.
“Spike? I didn’t think you’d be this happy for a birthday party,” Sombra said.
“Sorry, dad. Just...It’s perfect. Everything’s perfect,” Spike said, as he looked over the crowd before him. What were once dead or estranged parents, ambiguous friends and mortal enemies were now the most precious people in his life. And they all corroborated together for the day to celebrate his birthday.
“I think I speak for everyone when I say I’m glad you think so,” Ember said. “But, before the festivities start, I think Twilight has one particularly special gift for you.”
Twilight smiled as she stepped forward with her hands behind her back. When she showed her hands, she revealed she was holding a tiny box. One that was too small to be the expected gift of a book, and carefully tied up with string.
“Here. I got you this,” Twilight said.
Spike wondered what was so special that Twilight wanted to give it to him first thing. Rather than stare at the box, he started to open it.
Within, Spike found a golden, heart-shaped necklace with a message engraved on the front.
To my best friend, forever and always
--Twilight Sparkle
“Twilight…” Spike said.
“Read the back,” Twilight said, unable to contain her smile.
Spike turned the necklace over, and saw another engraving
Spike
+
Sweetie Belle
Spike was beyond words. What he had been given was a testament to what he was afraid to have lost before. Now, it was promised to him that it would be his for all time.
“Alright. Enough of this mushy stuff. Let’s have us a party!” Pinkie Pie shouted, before she loosed a loud blast of a party blower.
No sentence was agreed with more readily, as all the others began to celebrate the birthday festivities that were prepared.