//------------------------------// // Birthdays and Memories // Story: A Birthday Party for Midnight Legend // by Midnight Legend //------------------------------// —At Midnight Legend’s house— Standing in awe at the door’s threshold, Midnight Legend decided to step forward to greet everypony. His path was suddenly blocked by a pink pony. “Surprise!! You should’ve seen your face when you came in. We were like ‘Surprise,’ and you were like *gasp*. I mean, I’ve been planning this thing for weeks and weeks and weeks.” “Yeah, you do know how to throw a party, especially if it’s a surprise party.” He scanned the crowd to view the attendees. Of course, his sister Starry Nights was here along with Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. The group of them, joined by Fluttershy and Pinkie, came toward him. “Happy birthday, Midnight,” the seven said. “So, it was you all who were responsible for the stalling.” “Yes,” said Twilight. “I organized the order of events.” “And I got you t’ help me ‘round the farm.” “And I lied about having a huge order from Canterlot. I sent Sweetie Belle to you so you can stay away from town by watching the girls.” “And I would come in and cover taking care of the girls so you could go help Fluttershy.” “Oh, and the animals really weren’t supposed to get captured, but pretend to be lost so you can find them. But you got injured, which wasn’t supposed to happen.” Jumping into the middle, Pinkie added, “And while you were doing all that, I was putting up the decorations and streamers and confetti and tables and chairs and cups and plates and forks and spoons and cake and ice cream and…” “Alright,” Starr interrupted, after putting her hoof in Pinkie’s mouth, “I think he gets the idea.” Midnight was flustered. All of them had kept him out of town just so they could plan this surprise party for him. He felt touched by their actions. He said, “Well, now I know who did what, but I don’t know whose idea this was in the first place.” “It was my idea. I wanted your first birthday in a new town to be special. This was all for you.” His sister ran and threw her legs around his neck. Midnight acknowledged the action and returned the hug. What seemed like they were linked for hours was only about thirty seconds. The two of them separated and began to socialize amongst the attendees. Twilight then came up to him. “I have a special surprise for you. You are gonna love this present.” “Really now?” “Oh, yes. I’ve been planning it for weeks, but you will have to wait a little bit.” “If it’s as good as you say it is, I can’t wait.” Among the party attendees he knew personally were the Mayor, the Cakes, Cheerilee, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, Spike, Lyra, Time Turner, and Derpy. Others were present he did not know very well, but still knew of them. He socialized for about a half hour until Twilight brought everypony’s attention to the main table where the cake was. The cake itself was three-tiered; it also had several candles on each tier. It was iced with hayseed frosting (hayseed frosting is his favorite icing). Starr joined Midnight as he went forward to blow out his birthday candles. As per tradition, he was to make a wish before blowing the candles out. His mind wandered and wondered on what he should wish. Less than a year ago, he had moved to Ponyville from Canterlot. It had been shortly after his closest friend Princess Cadance’s wedding to Shining Armor. At the time, he had recently stopped being so bitter towards Twilight Sparkle for something that he felt was a dishonor. Twilight, who had joined him on the train ride to Ponyville alone, was told by Midnight that he loved her. Shocked, she listened as he finally poured his heart to somepony other than Cadance. From the time she saw him speak to Cadance in such a kind way (until that time, Twilight had never heard kindness in his speech patterns), she suspected that her former foalsitter meant more to him than just as friends. She asked him about his feelings toward Cadance. Although he still loved her, Midnight was still happy that she felt happy with Twilight’s brother; he had always seen Cadance almost like a sister who, at the time, he had always wanted. His mind dissolved into reality, the hours reminiscing actually around two seconds. He wished that his friend was here to celebrate with him. With that, he blew out the candles. As the candles were forcefully snuffed, a loud knock came to the door of the house. Running to the door, Twilight and Starr made Midnight stay where he was until they returned. He could make out a distinctly male voice, like that of a guard. He heard processional trumpets being played as the door opened to reveal two regal ponies. It was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, Equestria’s co-rulers and Midnight’s former caretakers, come to take part in the festivities. Once the two had entered, the door remained open. Why? Showing hospitality, he went forward toward the princesses, lowered his head, and bowed. He still wondered why they were here; some hidden motive of their being here bothered his mind. Celestia said, “Rise, Midnight. Twilight Sparkle told us of your birthday and how she as well as your sister wished it to be the best day for you.” “Tis true,” Luna added. “Though our shared time in the palace was short, I remember when you told me your enjoyment of admiring my night.” “How rude of us. Leaving our royal guests, who journeyed far to get to Canterlot just to come to this event, outside. Guard, escort her inside.” With a quick bow, the guard left Princess Celestia and went back outside. Another procession, this time from two ponies that looked as if they sparkled underneath the light. They must be the legendary crystal ponies from the recently-rediscovered Crystal Empire. These mysterious guests stepped across the entrance to Midnight’s house, drawing everypony’s eyes to her. Lighting the shadows, two figures emerged from the darkness: an alicorn mare and a unicorn stallion. The unicorn had a white coat and blue mane; a shield emblazoned with the symbol for magic was upon his flank. Although noticing the unicorn, Midnight’s eyes were focused upon the alicorn. She had a pink coat with a rose and violet mane. Her cutie mark was a crystal heart with golden lace surrounding it. Save for Midnight, Twilight, and the princesses, all in the room showed their respect to the rulers of the Crystal Empire: Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. Celestia and Luna turned to Midnight and Twilight and gestured to go to the new guests. Midnight took off toward Cadance; he then embraced her, having not seen her since she left for the Crystal Empire several months ago. She returned the action as they conversed. “Cadance, I’m so glad you could make it.” “I would never miss such an occasion: your first birthday in this new chapter of your life.” “Yeah, so how are things up in the Crystal Empire since you’ve taken over?” “You know how it is to rule over many ponies: it isn’t as easy as it sounds. At least I’m not ruling Equestria like Aunt Celestia did during Luna’s banishment.” “I can only imagine such a burden. As Head of Safety here, I’m responsible for everypony’s safety. I’m working on getting a more efficient communication system between Ponyville and Canterlot in case of disasters like Nightmare Moon or Discord.” “That is actually a great idea. I’d run that by my aunts as soon as you can, but tonight, it’s all about you.” Concurrently, Twilight was speaking to her BBBFF Shining Armor. “So, Twily, how’s Midnight been treating you since…” “Oh, that. Well, we’re no longer together, but still on speaking terms.” “Still, at least you had some romantic interaction with another pony, especially a stallion as good as Midnight.” “Aside from my life, how’s co-ruling the Crystal Empire been?” “Though Cadance does more of the actual ‘ruling,’ I still have the Canterlot Royal Guard to run. I go down once a month to check up on them.” “Is that why you’re here, Shining Armor?” Midnight queried. “Yes; it’s a pain to leave Cadance alone, but I trust nothing will happen as long as my sister has her friends.” Twilight then went to Cadance and talked about her adventures since the Sombra attack: reforming Discord, battling a corrupted Trixie, and even combating an army of Pinkie Pies. The night went on as the guests dwindled in number. The only ones left in the room were the princesses, Shining Armor, the Element bearers, Starry Nights, and Midnight. “So, now that everypony’s gone, whose idea was it to bring Cadance here?” Starr ran up to her brother and threw her legs around his neck. When that happened, it was as if the two of them were bound together as one. “This was your idea?” “Yes. I knew you would want Princess Cadance to be here, so I asked Twilight to coordinate getting her here at the proper time. I even asked to bring Princess Celestia and Princess Luna into this plan and invite her and Shining Armor as royal guests.” “You even had the princesses lie to get them here?” “Of course not, Midnight,” Celestia answered. “We actually did have some business to discuss about the Crystal Empire’s autonomy; the meeting finished earlier than expected. So, we just chatted about other matters, personal and royal.” “My sister, we must be leaving soon. You need your rest; I will guard the night.” “Very well, Luna. We bid you all farewell.” In unison, the sisters said, “And happy birthday, Midnight.” He smiled as they left in their personal carriage to Canterlot. The Element bearers, save for Twilight, returned to their own homes. Cadance then said, “It’s time that we return to Canterlot. We will be leaving for the Crystal Empire the day after tomorrow, and we need the rest.” “Yeah, but it was good seeing you, Midnight.” Shining Armor added. “And it’s always good to see you again, Twily.” “And you too, BBBFF.” Midnight went to Cadance spoke; “Cadance, thank you for making my birthday one I’ll remember for all my days.” “I’m glad I could be a part of your life again. Every time I’ve seen you, you are coming farther along than when you first came to the palace. Although your soul has been hurt, you’ve left that pain in Canterlot and started anew in Ponyville.” Starr then replied, “And he hasn’t regretted it since he has me.” Twilight then added, “You know, Midnight, you’re lucky that you have such a loving little sister.” “And I’m lucky to have such good friends as you all.” Everypony said their goodbyes to the co-rulers of the Crystal Empire as they left. Twilight then returned to her library, where Spike had probably fallen asleep waiting for her. After cleaning up a little bit, Midnight said, “I guess it’s time we go to bed.” “You’re right, Midnight.” Starr then went to her bedroom, but she turned around and went to her brother. She once again embraced him as he reciprocated her embrace. “I’m glad you liked your birthday.” After a moment of silence, she resumed, “Midnight, I love you.” Those final three words brought a smile to his face as he tightened his hug, pulling the two of them closer. Since she came back to his life, Starr had brought joy back in his life; that was something no amount of “I love yous” could ever repay. “I love you too, Starr.” He had to fight a tear from coming out of his eye; that moment he was in was the one he would remember more than Cadance. She was family, someone he could be a role model for. He kissed her on the head, showing his love for his sister. She returned to her room as Midnight stood there taking in the moment. He then lied down on his bed, pulled the sheets over his body, and closed his eyes. Today had truly been a remarkable day. It had been his birthday: one he would never ever forget. What made it special was not the cake, the decorations, or the presents. It was the love and friendship that was in that room during those few hours. And those relationships could never be undone.