//------------------------------//
// Happy Anniversary? 
// Story: A Ray of Dusk 
// by AlphatheGriffin17 
//------------------------------//

Sat under a shade beneath Rainbow Dash's home, Dusk leaned against Twilight whilst idly making his colours dance around. They were all waiting by her mailbox for her letter to see if she'd been accepted into or denied from attending the Wonderbolts Academy. Since they didn't know how long exactly they'd be waiting, they'd decided to make a picnic out of the affair and get comfy while they did. Since it was a rare warm day in October, no less, they had to take advantage of it while they could.

Twilight was reading a book on illusion spells, with Dusk occasionally glancing over her shoulder at it. Rarity sipped a glass of water while wearing her shades with Spike standing by to keep her topped up. Applejack munched on an apple and sat next to a peaceful Fluttershy resting against a very happy Ray. Rainbow stood casually without any display of discomfort in contrast to Pinkie, who bounced around nervously.

"Ooooh, I wish the mailpony would just come already!" she squealed. "I can't wait another minute to find out if Rainbow Dash got in or not!"

"Pinkie Pie, you're more nervous than Rainbow Dash," noted Twilight.

"I'm not nervous at all," she bragged. "When I get into the Wonderbolt Academy..."

"IF you get in!" corrected Pinkie. "If you get in! Don't jinx it!"

"I'm telling you, it's in the bag."

"Don't jinx it!"

"She is the best flyer in Ponyville," said Applejack.

"In Ponyville?" Rainbow zoomed off into the sky and created a slide from a cloud by whizzing around it. "I'm probably the best flyer in all of Equestria. I wouldn't be surprised if they just went ahead and made me a Wonderbolt on the first day."

While she was flying backwards, she bumped into the mail pony.

"Got a letter here for you, Rainbow Dash!" Derpy said chirpily. "Hi guys! Have a great day!"

Dusk tipped his hat to the mail mare and she tipped hers in kind before flying off. Rainbow tore through the envelope and whipped out the letter. As she read it, her face fell.

"I... didn't get in," she finally said.

Dusk stood up out of shock. The others all looked horrified and Pinkie gasped. Ray yelped and teleported behind her.

"No way! Lemme see that!"

"Gotcha!" Rainbow grinned and showed the letter with a big green tick on a badge. "Ha, you guys are so gullible. Like I wasn't gonna get in!"

She managed to smirk at a bewildered Ray just as Pinkie tackled her in a massive bear hug.

"I'm just sooooooooooo happy for you!"

"Uh... thanks?" Rainbow said unsurely. Pinkie squealed and hugged her tighter. "Pinkie Pie? I kinda need to get going."

She queezed her for a few more seconds, to the point where her eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head. Finally, she let go.

"Okay. I'm done!" And off she pranced.

"The sooner I get there, the sooner I get to show my stuff!" She took off and zoomed past Applejack and Rarity, who were holding her bag for her. "See you guys in a week!"

"Good luck!" called Applejack.

"Won't need it!" she called back.

But Pinkie wasn't quite done yet. She galloped after her, pulled out the largest megaphone Dusk had ever seen and screeched into it with a volume that made the very mountains around them shake.

"DON'T FORGET TO WRITE!" The echo must have carried on for miles. "Do you think she heard me?"

"I'd be surprised if the Princesses in Canterlot didn't hear you," remarked Dusk, picking up his hat which had been blown off and dusting it off. "I'm sure she won't, Pinkie."

"Yeah, of course. Of course she won't forget to write, why would she?" She laughed nervously. "Well, I'm gonna go wait by my mailbox for a letter when she gets to the Academy. Bye, guys!"

Faster than even Rainbow had been, she dashed off, leaving them looking after her in a bewildered manner.

"Well, on the subject of leaving," Rarity said, "Fluttershy, Twilight and I had better get going. I've booked a spa appointment for us and it's Seaweed and Sauna Saturday!"

"And Ray, Dusk and I are off into town!" Spike wrapped his arms around the stallions and pulled them together. "Guys day out! Woo!"

"Not sure I'm comfortable with this much contact," muttered Ray.

"Just let him have it," replied Dusk.

"Don't get into any trouble, boys," Rarity giggled. "It's a shame you can't join us, Applejack."

"Sorry, but with Ray taking some time off, somepony's gotta pick up his slack on the farm." She looked pointedly at him. "Remember, make sure ya work double hard tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am," he saluted.

Twilight kissed Dusk's cheek. "Have fun, dear. See you back at the library."

"You too, love," he wished.

"Um…" Fluttershy stood nervously before Ray. "Uh… have a good day, um, Ray."

"Y-you too, Flutters," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

Finally plucking up a little courage, she planted a swift kiss on his lips. She giggled faintly while Ray was momentarily stunned but was grinning too. While he walked off with Spike and Dusk, he glared at them sharply.

"Not a word. Either of you."

Dusk looked to Spike. "Do you know what he's talking about?"

"Not a clue," he shrugged.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, practically skipped to Twilight and Rarity, who gave her exchanged knowing looks.

"Come on, girls!" she sang. "The spa is calling!"

"About time, don't you think?" murmured Rarity.

"On this, you and I are agreed," nodded Twilight.



Dusk sat quietly sipping his tea while Spike and Ray continued their heated debate. It was on a matter so critical, so world breaking, of such vital importance that he doubted that it may ever really come to an end.

"I'm telling you, mind powers are the best superpower!" Spike insisted. "Taking over somepony's mind, telepathy, telekinesis! What's not to like?"

Ray rolled his eyes in response. "Yeah yeah, you do realize that you're talking to a unicorn, right? I already have telekinesis pretty much, and I'M telling YOU that it's the big impressive ACTUALLY super aspects that make a good superpower. You wanna lift something with your mind and throw it? Well I say why bother when you can just pick something up and throw it yourself with super strength? Or just look at the problem and burn it away with heat vision? Anything mentally based is completely inferior."

"Sure it's flashy, but is it safe?" countered Spike. "You have strength, but can you control it? Look at Saddle Ranger. She gets awesome strength, but only when she's angry and then she's a danger to pretty much anything in her way! You can look at a problem and burn it away, but what's the guarantee nothing else'll burn with it if it gets out of control?"

"You're really gonna pull the 'danger of superpowers' card on me? And try advocating mental superpowers at the same time? Dude, do you realize how many instances there are, in the world of superheroes, of mental powers backfiring on their user and pretty much everypony and everyone else in the vicinity? If you don't have perfect concentration, which is probably pretty hard to do in the middle of a superpowered battle, ninety-nine times out of one hundred you're gonna fry the brains of everypony in a mile radius. At least with the physical superpowers you know what you're getting into."

"Yeah, but with mental powers you could end a fight before it even has to start! Just get inside their heads and tell their brain to go to sleep! Or read their minds to find out what they're going to do, anticipate their every move or track them down if they're hiding and if you're powerful enough-!"

"Gentlecolts, please," Dusk finally said. "This is clearly not going anywhere, so why not postpone for now and agree that both forms of power have both their own strengths and weaknesses?"

Ray and Spike glared at each other for a few moments before both of them smiled and relaxed… just slightly.

"Yeah, alright fine. We'll settle this later, little guy," Ray said while grinning a bit.

"Count on it." Despite himself, Spike smiled. "You know, I gotta ask why we haven't done this 'all-guys gathering' thing before."

"Possibly to avoid spectacles like the one I just witnessed," remarked Dusk.

"Oh come on, Dusk. You gotta admit it was entertaining. Don't think I didn't see you trying to stop yourself from grinning while you were sipping that tea of yours," Ray said, raising an eyebrow at Dusk in the process.

"Even when you're so intently focused on something, it is rather remarkable how much your observational skills prevail," said Dusk.

"It's a gift," Ray shrugged. "Besides, debates help sharpen our minds and learn more about each other! No matter what the topic is. Even if it's something completely stupid and irrelevant."

"So what you're saying is, I'm getting smarter just by arguing about superpowers?" Spike pumped a fist in the air. "Sweet! Maybe I should try and convince Twilight to try it."

"I wish you luck in that endeavor, Spike." Ray raised one of his hooves for a bump, which Spike gladly returned. Then he returned his gaze to Dusk. "See? The dragon gets it," he stated smugly before taking a sip out of his soda.

"Then perhaps our positions ought to be reversed. I should be the one writing the novel, a far more intellectual activity, and you should be with Spike in the library, arguing away to your heart's content," he said, with a small smirk.

Unfortunately, that smirk didn't last long, as it quickly became visible on Ray's face in the wake of what was said next.

"So you're saying you want me to be the one dating Twilight and spending every day with her in the library?"

Dusk glared. "Actually, I think we're fine as we are."

"Thought so. And thus, Ray Strike wins one of his first contests of wit against the famed Dusk Noir… by pulling out an extremely cheap one-shot tactic." Ray grinned. "Chin up, Dusk. You'll probably win the next one."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he remarked. "Remember though, Ray: minor victory, short term satisfaction."

"Against you, Dusk, any satisfaction gained in this regard in a feat in and of itself. Hey Spike, how many times has Dusk outwitted you in conversation?"

"Uh… I dunno. I… lost track. Besides, uh," he stammered, "I just let him think he's won! Yeah, that's it. But really, it was, uh, me. Heh… you're not buying this, are you?"

"Not even for a second. It was a nice try though."

"Heh… anyway," he said quickly, "you've got a mare of your own, Ray, and I don't think she'd be happy if you started chasing after Twilight."

Ray, who'd been sipping more of his drink, immediately had a massive spit-take upon hearing this, which Dusk actually had to duck in order to avoid. Ray was wide-eyed for a second, then awkwardly grinning the next, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Uh… heheh… yeah… that would be bad… and something tells me Dusk wouldn't be happy with that either… I mean, I wouldn't want to go chasing after Twilight anyways, though… not that Twilight is a bad mare! Not at all! It's just… I'm… uh… umm…" Ray fell silent, then allowed his head to fall onto the table as he groaned in exasperation. "Man… I used to be so confident. Now… this still feels so weird, you know?"

"Hey, look at that. I beat Ray!" Spike said proudly, taking a satisfactory swig of his hayshake.

Dusk patted his shoulder. "It's always a bit of a shock when long harboured feelings are realised fully. You'll get used to it and when you do, I can promise there's no feeling quite like it."

"I'll bet." Ray smiled up at Dusk appreciatively, before frowning again. "You know, I get that I've asked this before, but… was it really that obvious? How I felt, I mean?"

"Yes," they both answered at the same time. Spike added, "Like really, really obvious."

"For a pony who can practically read emotions, you're not that adept at concealing your own," put in Dusk.

Ray brought himself back up and looked at both of them with amusement. "Hey, don't blame me. I spent most of my life trying to keep others from noticing…" he trailed off, simply tapping his own head for emphasis, as they were in a public area. "Didn't exactly have time to work on something like concealing romantic interest."

"So, you can conceal you have… that," Spike said, rapping his head, "locked away inside you, but not that a mare gives you butterflies?"

"Shut your face. I'm inexperienced in this area of life," Ray laughed. "Besides, you're not one to talk. Who was it that ran off to try and enact some crackpot scheme to transform himself into a pony just recently?"

"Oh, that's nothing," said Dusk. "You should have seen him when he was wearing a top hat and twirling a moustache trying to get Owlowicious into trouble on an act of jealousy."

"Shut up about that!" Spike shouted at Dusk. "And yeah that thing with the mirror wasn't… uh… the greatest idea I've ever had… but it sounded good at the time!"

"Most stupid ideas do," Ray replied, propping one of his legs on the table and resting his head in his hoof. "Then you're supposed to stop and actually think about what's going through your head. Maybe even repeat your plans out loud to yourself. Sometimes you don't realize how stupid something sounds until you hear it with your ears, not your inner voice. More often than not, your inner voice will tell you that something is right, and the next thing you know you're on top of the park fountain levitating a bottle next to you, shouting obscenities at passerby who look a lot like chickens at the time."

"That's an oddly specific example," noted Dusk.

Ray blinked, as though just realizing what he'd said. "Um… there's a… pretty long story behind that one. Maybe I'll tell you about it later… probably not though," he added at the end with a flush of his cheeks.

Dusk chuckled. "I often wonder how we, of all stallion, managed to find marefriends."

"You two just wait, I'll catch up one of these days." Spike pumped out his chest. "Mares dig the scars."

"One of the few, few things my not-so-friend can even remotely be thanked for," Ray smiled grimly, before taking on a serious look and looking at the drake. "Still… Spike, I know I taught you well, and I am proud of this, but remember what happened last time you said that out loud in front of a bunch of mares."

Spike cringed. "Yeah, right… sorry."

"No problem. Not my pain, after all." Ray looked up as though watching the clouds pass overhead. "As for me… well, I'd love to say that it's because of my charisma or something, but really, I'm just as astounded. Seriously…" Ray gently touched his head again. "Who would've thought…"

"I would," said Dusk sincerely. "She's lucky to have you, Ray, as you are to have her."

Ray looked back down at Dusk. "Yeah… thanks bro." He smiled again. "So what about you? I mean, I know that you really weren't the most confident of ponies when we first met, but you and Twilight still seemed like a perfect match even back then. Couldn't have been that difficult to pick her up, right?"

Dusk shook his head. "You think you were waiting a long time for Fluttershy? Try spending twelve years desperately attempting to find the courage to even speak to the one pony who might understand you, but still never managing it."

Ray stared for several long moments before speaking, very slowly. "So… you're saying that… you were a stalker..?"

Spike heard this and started laughing. Dusk, on the other hoof, had quite a different reaction.

"No! No, by Celestia, no!" His insistence was so loud, a few ponies turned their heads in bewilderment. "I was… I was just… extremely self conscious with crippling self-esteem issues. Not the most charming of combinations."

Ray put up his hooves placatingly. "Alright, no problem. To be honest, I can see how you were like that. You know, hearing about different things. Meeting your folks too. That kinda helps to explain it."

"Indeed," murmured Dusk. "If I could meet myself from back then, I'm not sure he'd even recognise we're the same pony."

"Well I'd like to meet the you from way back then also, you know?" Ray grinned mischievously. Out of nowhere, a bright yellow flash appeared next to him, and in its place a moment later was the pipe he'd grown so fond of, levitating in place. "My poor pipe has been getting rusty lately… if only we could meet the Dusk of the past… Hey, didn't Twilight tell us once about that time travel spell she found in the Canterlot archives..?"

"It only works once," reminded Dusk. "Besides, if you were to go back into the past with the intent to use the pipe to bolster my self esteem from back then, that would further eliminate the need for the pipe and the need for you to travel back in time to use it in the first place, thus creating a temporal paradox that would blow a hole in the space time continuum the same size as Manehattan. Or something along those lines."

Ray stared again, though this time he was clearly trying to wrap his head around what Dusk had just said. He looked over at Spike. "Do you… understand any of this?"

Spike shrugged. "He lost me at 'besides'."

"Thought so… time travel is confusing…" Ray brought both his hooves up to rub his forehead. "Honestly, how those Final Fantasy guys do it without making their own heads explode is beyond me…"

"Maybe we should ask an expert," suggested Spike. "You seen that Doctor guy running around at all?"

"Not often," admitted Dusk. "Besides, he's a time traveller. There's no guarantee if we meet him that he'll have met us yet. As Ray said, time travel is quite a confusing business."

"Gah, stop talking about it!" Ray rubbed his head some more. "Just get back on track… what were we talking about before I made the horrible mistake of bringing up time travel?"

"I dunno, but sort of talking about time, something pretty important is gonna be happening tomorrow," said Spike.

"Really?" asked Dusk, with interest.

"Come on, Dusk, don't mess around with me about this," groaned Spike. "It's not an easy thing to forget the day when every day in the place you work from then on became a personal torment. I don't need you teasing me about it too."

"I… beg your pardon?" he asked in utter confusion.

Spike blinked. "Wait, you seriously don't know?"

"No… should I?"

"Come on! Canterlot? In the gardens? After we beat Discord? Something really big happened? Ringing any bells?"

"I don't see why…" Dusk paused as the words began to sink in, triggering chords in his memory. First came realisation. Then surprise. Then complete and utter dread.

"Oh no… oh dear Luna, no!" he almost cried.

"You really did forget?!" Spike looked just as shocked. "Whoa… honestly didn't expect that."

"I feel like I'm missing something here. What am I missing?" Ray asked, looking back and forth between Dusk and Spike.

"Not as much as I have," moaned Dusk. "Why didn't I realise…?"

Spike decided to explain. "Tomorrow is October sixth. The day we beat Discord and the day that Twilight and Dusk officially became a couple. One year ago, tomorrow. Get what I mean?"

Ray immediately froze. "You mean...their anniversary..?" When Spike nodded, Ray turned to Dusk. "You forgot your anniversary?"

"Yes." Dusk banged his hoof on his head a few times. "By Luna, how could I be such an idiot?!"

"...Well, if I can just say something. Personally I can understand how easy it would be to… you know… have something like that slip your mind when you spend pretty much every other week doing some completely outlandish that most normal ponies would never even have to consider dealing with. Pretty eventful lives, you all live. I mean, I'm here too, so that probably doesn't help much…"

Dusk glanced up. "Ray, not meaning to sound dismissive but you truly have no idea what this means…"

"Yeah. This is a mare that completely flipped when she thought she'd miss a single deadline for her report, enough to enchant a doll that had the whole town fighting over it just to make a problem to resolve. A mare that blew the whole library out of its roots when I said it was 'just a test' and who's known to burst into flames when she's angry," Spike said. "So, basically…"

"I'm dead," finished Dusk.



"Aaahh…" Rarity sighed in satisfaction from the hooficure she was receiving. "Isn't this simply marvellous, ladies?"

"Very relaxing indeed," agreed Twilight from the hot tub. "Not to mention hygienic and good for the skin."

"Mmm hmm…" Fluttershy merely hummed in agreement at the massage table, where one of the spa mares was gently rubbing her back muscles.

"And really," went on Rarity, "with all that's been happening recently, I think it's long overdue that we had a little girl talk. There is a reason I invited you two along with me today, you know."

"...I-I thought we did this every Saturday..?" Fluttershy asked again, now with a trace of confusion.

"Oh, you and I do, yes dear, but obviously I took the opportunity to invite Twilight along with us too," she clarified. "Surely you ladies realise the connection you both share."

It only took Twilight a moment to figure it out. "Oh, I see now."

"Exactly! You're both tied down, as they say," she trilled. "Surely, you didn't think I'd miss the chance to exploit an opportunity such as this. Even if I am somewhat envious about it."

Instead of replying, Fluttershy only made a slight meep sound and started blushing heavily, looking away a little as well.

"Come now, Fluttershy. There's no need to be timid," she said gently. "Tell us, what's Ray like?"

Now Fluttershy blushed even harder, her face becoming tomato red, and tried hiding her face in her hooves. Though, if one were to look closely, they could see a hint of a smile growing on her features...

"I can see you smiling there," teased Twilight. "I know I probably shouldn't ask, but… give us the scoop on your stallion."

"...I-I… u-umm…" Fluttershy peeked out from between her hooves. "...I-I r-really… d-don't know what to s-say…"

"Anything!" said Rarity excitedly. "How does he treat you? Does he make you smile? How well does he kiss?"

"Rarity!"

"Oh hush, Twilight, you're next after this."

"U-umm… w-well…"

Both Rarity and Twilight ended up hushing up as Fluttershy began talking again.

"...h-he's… r-really nice… but… you all know that, I think. A-and, um… it makes me smile… just b-being around him… h-he's always so positive… and funny… a-and… he makes me feel…"

"Yes?" prompted Rarity.

"I… I… don't know… how to put it into words." Fluttershy spoke slowly. "H-he… he just makes me feel… so warm and… happy. D-does that make sense? I'm not feeling the wrong thing am I?"

"Not at all. That's exactly how Dusk makes me feel," said Twilight with a smile. "Even if he can be an idiot sometimes. That's something else you should know, Fluttershy. All stallions are idiots. Fact."

"O-oh… well, I-I guess I can see that…" Fluttershy smiled. "B-but to be honest, Twilight, I think that lately i-it's more just Dusk than it is all stallions…" She let that sit in the air for a moment before she realized what she said, and quickly put a hoof over her mouth. "I-I… I'm sorry! I-I don't m-mean to offend D-Dusk, it's just…"

"Don't worry about it, Fluttershy, no offense taken," she said. "But after what Spike did yesterday and how Ray acts on a daily basis, it's done nothing to change my views on the matter."

"Yes, our boys do have their moments, good and bad. But we wouldn't change them for the world, would we?" Rarity asked.

In response, Fluttershy seemed to go even more quiet than normal for just a few moments before she spoke up again.

"W-well… probably n-not, but… when you consider that… most of Ray's mistakes a-are… b-because of…" She trailed off, not saying anything more, either because it was hard to talk about, or because they weren't the only ones in the room. Likely both.

"Oh. Sorry, Fluttershy," said Twilight. "You know I'm only joking whenever I say that, yeah? I didn't mean to… well..."

"I-It's fine, Twilight…" Fluttershy said somewhat somberly. "I… I just wish there was something more we could do… whenever I see him in pain, i-it… it just…" she looked down.

"We all do, dear," said Rarity. "But we can do the best we can to alleviate that pain. I know for certain that you can make it seem so much less. That's what love can do, darling. It really works wonders."

"R-right… l-love…" she looked up and smiled. "Thanks, Rarity. I… I'm going to do my best… for his sake, because I…" she blushed again and averted her gaze, but she was smiling all the wider.

"Yes?" Rarity leaned forward in anticipation. "Because you what?"

Fluttershy blushed even more, but she wasn't hiding this time. "Be-...B-Because I… I lo-"

"Alright Rarity, that's enough pestering Fluttershy, I think," Twilight intervened. "I mean just look at her face. Any more blood rushes up there and I think she might get a serious health problem."

"Very well then," conceded Rarity. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. Now, your turn!"

Twilight frowned. "Darn it."

"Oh, you knew this was coming, dear," she tittered. "How can you think I wouldn't give you special attention, considering what day it will be tomorrow?"

Fluttershy perked up. "Oh, that's right! I-I almost forgot! Twilight, you must be so excited!"

"Huh? Excited for what? Sunday?" she asked. "Unless Pinkie is doing a party for each day of the week again and is starting with Sunday Silliness tomorrow, I don't see what there is to be excited about."

Rarity blinked. "Darling, please tell me this is some sort of strange joke you're performing."

"Joke? What would there be to joke about?"

Fluttershy actually stared at Twilight. "...you… you're not joking..?"

"Girls, I'm really confused by what you mean," she said genuinely. "I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh my goodness!" Rarity pressed a hoof to her mouth. "Twilight, how can you not know?! Of all days, this one is the single most important in your life! Both yours and Dusk's!"

"Mine and Dusk's? Why would… wait, what date is it tomorrow?"

Fluttershy seemed almost terrified when she uttered the next two words.

"...October… sixth…"

"October sixth… October… hold on…"

She cast her mind back to significant things that had happened. Nightmare Night, making Luna feel welcome, defeating Discord, finding Dusk during the celebration and…

"Oh no… oh no!" she cried. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!"

"You see?! Oh, of all the worst things that could happen-!"

"THIS IS THE WORST! POSSIBLE! THING!" Twilight finished with a scream. "Our anniversary! I forgot it! The single most important day in any romantic relationship and I forgot it!"

"U-um…" Even Fluttershy seemed panicky. "U-uh...m-maybe it'll be fine? I-I mean, you know now, r-right? Y-you can s-still… m-maybe y-you can…" She couldn't finish.

"What am I going to do?! I've read about these! There's meant to be gifts and dinners at romantic restaurants and a whole day planned perfectly!" she panicked. "I don't have time to put together something that big by tomorrow! That would push even my scheduling abilities!"

"Now, Twilight, perhaps you should try and be ca-"

"And Dusk! He'll be expecting something, planning something of his own!" she went on. "He'll have remembered, of course he would! Our relationship means so much to him and if he finds out I forgot…"

"N-no, Twilight, I-I'm sure that he… h-he would-"

"Fluttershy! This is Dusk! The stallion who ran away from us, multiple times, and hid because he thought we would hate him. That I hated him! The stallion who, even though he despises violence, was willing to help me knock out a changeling who impersonated me and him! The stallion who is only now starting to take pride in himself and partly because if he doesn't, he's struck over the head with a piece of lead metal piping! You look me in the eye and tell me that he wouldn't be hurt that I forgot what tomorrow is!"

Fluttershy hesitated. "I… I…" She looked down again, her mane falling over her features. "Oh… oh dear…"

"So," Rarity said, "simply put…"

"I'm doomed," finished Twilight.



"I really don't know how to get out of this one," despaired Dusk.

"Yeeaaahhhh…" Ray drawled, not even bothering to try being positive on this one. "Well Dusk, allow me to say right now that it was nice knowing you. I'll, uh… try and get something nice written on your tombstone."

Spike, for once, actually took charge. He started by grabbing Ray's pipe and giving them both a good whack around the head.

"Suck it up, guys!" he commanded. "Remind me, am I sitting with two heroes of Equestria or two foals crying because the big boys took their milk bottles?!"

Ray, rubbing his head, looked up. "Uh, actually, that second option hits a little close to home for me…"

"Quiet, you!" he ordered. "Come on, we've taken on worse things than this! If we can lock you-know-who back up, I'm pretty sure we can cobble something together for Dusk and Twilight's anniversary tomorrow!"

"What makes you think that?" Dusk asked.

"I thought that was obvious." Spike wrapped an arm around Ray. "Me and Ray are gonna help you!"

"...Yes!" Ray popped back into his energetic state. "The dragon is right! Winners never quit, and quitters never win! DO OR DIE!" he shouted, turning the heads of the nearby patrons once again. "RETURN TO YOUR MEALS AND DRINKS!" he added, making them all do just that.

"Really?" Dusk looked from one to the other. "You would do that for me? Both of you?"

"Yeah! What's a brother for?" he beamed. "The three of us can put something together, I bet."

"Actually, now that my energy high is done, I have no idea where to start with any of this," Ray stated bluntly.

"Well, we'll just have to figure something out," said Spike. "Dusk has got the most romantic experience, I've got my boundless imagination and Ray can learn something about romance so he knows how to treat Fluttershy right and maybe pitch an idea or two of his own."

"Hey! I have positive attributes to contribute too you know!"

"Ray, not everything is about you," Spike patted his shoulder and looked at Dusk. "So, come on! Let's do this thing!"

Dusk took only a moment to consider, then nodded.

"Well said, Spike." He set down his tea and stood up. "Let's go to my house then where it'll be quieter and see what we can't come up with. And thank you."

"No problem." Spike hopped off his chair and followed.

That just left Ray, who remained at the table for a few extra moments before following suit himself, at a slow pace. He muttered under his breath quietly as he went out the door,

"...did I just get my ego snuffed out by a baby dragon..?"



In order so that Twilight wasn't causing any disruption, the girls had left the main spa area and taken to a towel room for some privacy. There, she had only increased in her frantic panicking and fretting.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no…" Twilight was wringing her hooves frantically and glancing around like a frightened rabbit. "What am I gonna do, what am I gonna do, what am I gonna do?!"

"Twilight!" Rarity gripped her shoulders and shook her firmly. "Get a hold of yourself! Panicking is not going to be indebted to this situation!"

"I-It's not..?" Fluttershy asked, sitting next to Twilight and panicking as well.

"No, it is not," she repeated. "Cool and clear heads must prevail in circumstances as this. I know how easy it is for one to lose one's head in a stressful situation, but regardless, we must remain calm so we don't do anything rash."

"But-!"

"Do I need to remind you of the Smartypants incident or of Fluttershy's night at the Gala?"

Fluttershy blushed in embarrassment and retreated behind her mane again at the memory.

"No…" Twilight took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes for a moment. "Okay… relatively calm. Still panicking, but quietly. Quietly panicking, but not screaming or worrying or worrying enough to start screaming… calm."

"Very good, darling," said Rarity. "Now then, this is a dire situation but we shall nonetheless give our best attempt to rectify it."

"We?"

"Of course, Twilight. You really didn't think Fluttershy and I would abandon you in your hour of need?"

"R-Right…" Fluttershy carefully got up and stood next to Rarity. "I-I'll help...i-if I can, that is…"

Twilight managed a smile. "Thanks, girls. You're the best."

"Think nothing of it, dear," dismissed Rarity. "Anything I can do to assist in anyway, I am willing to do."

"Thank you." She sighed. "I need to think about this somewhere else. Can we go back to the library, have a bit of a brainstorm and try to come up with some ideas? I wish we had more time, but I want to try and do something, anything for tomorrow."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," agreed Rarity. "We are in your charge, Twilight."

"J-Just… u-umm… d-don't… f-freak out too… m-much..? I-I still remember the l-late letter thing… f-from a w-while ago…"

"So do I. Don't worry, Fluttershy, I'll keep as calm as I can," she promised. "I just feel so bad about forgetting it."

"Perfectly understandable." Rarity placed a comforting hoof on her as they walked out of the spa. "But don't worry, if it's the last thing I do, I shall see this through with you to the end! You have my word on that."



Rather early the next morning, Spike was awake. It was a rare time that he actually managed to wake up before Twilight did. Without her noticing, he managed to slip out of the library and made a beeline for Dusk's house. Likewise Ray, teleporting between hiding spots so he wouldn't be seen, made his way there too. The stealth probably wasn't necessary, but he thought it better to be on the safe side.

Spike stood at Dusk's door when he arrived, apparently trying very hard to remember something from how screwed up in concentration his face was..

"What are you doing?" Ray asked. "Have you forgotten how to use a door?"

"Quiet!" urged Spike. "I'm trying to remember the secret knock we worked out!"

"Oh for the love of…" Ray brought up his hoof and simply knocked multiple times, hard and fast in an urgent manner. "See? Not that hard."

"But we worked out the secret knock for a reason!" protested Spike. "What if somepony else shows up at the house and figures out what we're up to?"

"Because he has a peephole! He can see it's us!"" Ray quietly exclaimed, pointing at the circular indentation in the door.

"Oh. Right." Spike stared at it. "You think I would have noticed that."

Ray didn't have time to offer a rapport for the door opened a second later and they were ushered in by Dusk.

Spike got straight to the point. "So, what's the plan?"

"Well, by my reasoning, the best idea we came up with yesterday was the recreation of mine and Twilight's first date," Dusk began. "It's not ideal, but it's the best we can do on such short notice. I've let her know I'm going to be in rather late because I'm not feeling well and won't be arriving until the afternoon, so there's no reason for her to come looking for me."

"Yeah, she wanted me gone for the day too," added Spike. "Said she had some big study project to work on and didn't want to be disturbed. Seemed really jittery about it too, so I didn't ask about it, but I got the day off."

"Bad sign. She's clearly got something planned for the day too… and right now we don't have much…" Ray summarized.

"What about you?" Dusk asked Ray. "How's Applejack with you taking another day off?"

Ray grinned smugly. "Oh don't worry about that… I took care of everything."

"How?" Spike asked, now curious. "What did you do?"

"Well…"



Meanwhile, at the farm, a very elaborately crafted life-size stuffed dummy of Ray was placed under a tree, positioned with both of its hind legs brought up against a tree to give the appearance of being in the middle of a bucking motion. It would have been flawless… had it not already been in that exact position, unmoving, for almost half an hour by this point.

Applejack happened to be walking by a distance off, and glanced through the trees separating them to see if the stallion was slacking while he thought she wasn't watching. Far away as she was, she didn't see the giveaway features that it wasn't really him. She looked only for a moment, and satisfied that he wasn't shirking his duties, smiled and continued on her way.



Dusk stared at him for a full minute. "You really think THAT will fool her?"

Ray shook his head in exasperation. "Look, it doesn't matter, okay? This is for you, to keep Twilight from butchering you, alright? I am making a personal sacrifice here."

"Very well, very well," he said quickly. "Returning to the point, we need to make sure the elements that were in play that night are recreated again. I intend to go to the movie theatre and see if there's any good films to book for tonight. Ray, I want you to go and get the flowers and chocolate. Remember, soft centres are Twilight's favourite and the flowers have to be lilacs."

"What? Why do I have to get the-"

"Ray. You said you would help, this is how. Please, don't test me, I'm in no mood for it today."

Ray pursed his lips for a moment before sighing. "...fine."

"Good. Spike, as an added touch, I want you to go to Sugarcube Corner and get a special cake baked for us." He pulled out a piece of parchment. "Here are the specifications. Just give it to them and they can do the rest."

"Got it," saluted Spike.

"Excellent. I'll also see about the restaurant too," he added. "Very well, gentlecolt and gentledragon. You know what we have to do, so let's get to it. Are we clear?"

"Yup," Ray affirmed, not looking all that enthusiastic about it, but ready all the same.

"You know it!" Spike declared.

"Brilliant. Be back here inside the hour, if you can. And remember, don't tell ANYPONY about what we're doing. Good luck," he finished.

With that, the three of them went their separate ways.



Ray had gone off down one direction on the street, while both Spike and Dusk had gone off in the other general direction. He knew what his role was for today. And while he understood that this was for Dusk, and was willing to do pretty much whatever to prevent Twilight from ripping him a new one, that didn't change the fact that he wasn't exactly hyped about going off to fetch flowers and chocolates.

"Still don't get why I have to be the one to get them…" he was muttering under his breath, making sure that the few other ponies who were on the street presently couldn't hear him and think he was crazy. "It'd be one thing if this were Hearts and Hooves Day or something… but geez, wouldn't this have been a better job for Spike? He's the romantic one, isn't he..?"

Thinking about it, he really couldn't do anything but sigh while he trudged on toward his destination, the only shop in town that was specifically purposed for things like flower arrangements and chocolate boxes. A place Ray never thought he'd have to set hoof into… even for a friend. He might end up doing it in the future for a certain yellow pegasus he was close to, but still.

Regardless of his reservations though, this was for Dusk. Again, to keep the poor stallion alive in this day of judgement, he would have to do whatever he could. Even swallow his masculinity for a few minutes to go buy colorful flowers and heart-shaped candies.

As he approached the store in question, he forced himself to take a few deep breaths. Calm down, he thought to himself. Just calm down… it's no big deal… just gonna go in and out, then get back to Dusk's place… nothing to it… after all, it wasn't like any of the others were going to see him-

At that moment, Fate apparently decided to backhoof him across the face, because in his lack of attention he collided with another pony who'd also been about to enter the store. Both he and the other pony bonked heads and fell backwards onto the ground. Ray rubbed his noggin a little before looking up.

"Agh… Sorry about that, I wasn't looking where I was go-" he froze when he saw who he was talking to.

"I'm so sorry, I-" Fluttershy froze when she saw him. "R-Ray?!"

"F-Flutters?!"

"Oh my, um… wh-what are you doing here?" she asked nervously.

"Uh… uuhhh…" he faltered. He had to think of something, and fast. "Umm… n-nothing really… just, uh… going into each store I see, because I'm… bored," he finished, mentally facehoofing in the process.

"O-oh…" She looked bemused. "Really?"

No choice now, he thought grimly. "Y-Yeah! See, it's, uh… something I've been… meaning to do! Yeah! Just, uh… going around town and checking out each and every store and shop I've yet to… well… check out. Finally get the full experience, you know?" He started laughing awkwardly. There was no way she was gonna buy that, he thought…

"O-okay." Despite herself, she giggled a little. "You can be so silly, sometimes."

Shocked though he was, Ray wasn't gonna let that opportunity slide by. "Y-Yup! That's me! Silly Ray!" he laughed at himself a little more, trying to get his nerves to settle down, as well as not-really-trying to quell the growing blush on his own face. "S-So what about you? What're you doing here, Flutters?"

"M-me?! W-well um… I was, uh…" She glanced around frantically. "S-seeing if uh storebought flowers w-were nicer than uh… ones you can p-pick out in the meadows!"

"...really?" Ray asked, mirroring her earlier question.

"Y-yes!" she said quickly. "J-just curious and uh, it's nice to s-support local shops a-and to just let flowers grow in p-peace in the nice meadows!"

"...u-uh… I guess…" Ray said slowly.

To be honest, that did sound like something Fluttershy would do, but it seemed like there was something in the way she said it… Probably just his own nerves, he surmised.

"S-so uh… I guess I'll be going then," she stammered. "Um… have a nice day e-exploring, Ray."

"U-uh… r-right. You too… except… since you're not exploring… you know. Have a nice day."

Real smooth, Ray chastised himself, as both he and Fluttershy turned around and left from the awkwardness.

It wasn't until he'd already been walking for ten minutes that he realized he didn't get the flowers or the chocolates. And now… he didn't want to risk running into Fluttershy again and having her find out what he was really doing.

"...well… that was a failure," he groaned.



Spike hurried along to the bakery as fast as his little legs would carry him. He didn't know how long this cake would take to bake, but the sooner he could get over there with the order, the sooner they could start. He wasn't going to let Dusk and Twilight down. As gross as their displays in the library could be, he didn't want their special day to be ruined.

It was pretty staggering when he thought about it. A whole year to the day. Had it really been that long? And they didn't seem to show any sign of looking like they were going to end it anytime soon. What would that mean? He had an image of Twilight dressed in a white dress with Dusk in a tux, a ceremony presided over by Celestia where he was the ring boy again. It could be…

Spike shook his head to clear it. That was future Spike's concern. Right now, present Spike had a job to do. He beamed when he saw Sugarcube Corner coming into view and quickened his pace. He ran past Pinkie who was standing outside doing something and beamed when he saw who else was at the counter.

"Rarity, hi!"

"Spikey wikey!" She beamed in return. "How nice to see you here!"

"Yeah, you too!" He was going to go on, but remembered why he was there. "Sorry, I gotta get this sorted out first. I'm here to place an order," he explained, holding up the paper.

"Oh, you too?" Rarity had one of her own. "May I ask what for?"

"Sorry, top secret," he said, tapping his nose. "I'll bet you're gonna tell me the same, huh?"

"I'm afraid so, darling," she said. "But are you sure you don't want to tell me? Not even just a teensy little hint? If you do, I might even do the same."

"Well..." He mustered his self-control, remembered his vow as a brother in library-assistantship and shook his head. "Nnnnope! No, sorry! Can't tell you!"

"Oh my. It must be important if you can resist that," she giggled. "Very well then, keep your secrets but do not expect me to reveal mine."

"Okay then. Now, let's get this placed." He frowned when there was no one behind the counter. "Where are the Cakes?"

"Apparently, they're away on a day trip with Pound and Pumpkin," she told him. "They've left Pinkie in charge of things, but it seems all she's content to do is stand outside the mailbox and wait for a letter from Rainbow."

"That's what she's doing?" Spike looked back. "I was wondering why she barely seemed to notice me."

"Oh, hey!" Pinkie's chirpy voice caught their attention. "Sorry, guys, I didn't see you there! I was just a little distracted, sorry."

"That's perfectly alright, dear," assured Rarity. "We all miss Rainbow Dash, but you must remember that she has her duties and you have yours. You'll get a letter from her soon, I'm sure."

"I hope so. I mean, it's not like she's become so focused on fulfilling her dream as a Wonderbolt, she's forgotten to write to her friends, which would only mean the longer it goes the more she would forget until we're eventually just a distant, fading memory in her mind of a time long past because she's too focused on achieving the goal she's always dreamed of doing and forget about us forever! But, I'm sure she's fine!" she added, with a forced bright tone.

Spike and Rarity gave each other a look, but decided it was best to say nothing.

"So, what we got?" She took their orders from them and gasped. "Oh my! These are pretty big orders. And you want them inside an hour?"

"Please?" asked Spike. "It's really urgent."

"I can try but…" She glanced past to the letterbox outside. "What while I'm busy in the kitchen, I get a letter from Rainbow? What if I don't reply to it in time and she thinks I've forgotten her? What if that leads to building resentment resulting in the end of our friendship?! Oh, but I have to do it! It's my job and the Cakes are counting on me! But Rainbow!"

She was starting to panic again. Spike desperately tried to think of something and blurted out the first thing that came into his head.

"What if we helped you?"

Rarity looked sharply at him. "I beg your pardon?"

"Huh?" Pinkie stopped in her rambling. "You two would help me?"

"Yeah! With the Cakes gone and with both our orders, it sounds like you need it. Many hooves make light work and all that. And it'll let us get done quicker so you can go back to the mailbox to wait for Rainbow's letter," he reasoned.

Pinkie grinned. "That's a great idea, Spike. Thank you sooooo much! I'd better go quickly check again, just in case. Back in a bit!"

She dashed out again and Spike felt pretty good about himself. Until he saw the look on Rarity's face.

"And what indication did I give that I would agree to this idea?" she asked.

"She was freaking out! I had to say something to calm her down!" he protested. "Besides, I've tasted your cooking. It's great!"

"Cooking and baking are two different things. Baking is so much messier, with the dough and the icing and the flour…" She shuddered. "It's more hooves on than I'm used to."

"Rarity, please," he begged. "You said yourself this order was important. Mine is too. If we're gonna do this inside the time we want it, we're gonna have to do this. Please?"

Rarity looked torn for a few moments between her desire to keep clean and how important her task appeared to be. Finally, she sighed in defeat.

"Very well. You have a point, so yes. For who this is for, I will do it," she agreed. "Though, as I say, I've had little experience baking, let alone in an environment as this."

"I've whipped up a few cakes in my time," he said proudly. "Come on. With you, me and Pinkie working on this, we'll be fine."

"I'm back!" announced Pinkie. "No letter yet, oh well! Let's get baking! I'll give you a quick run-around and then we'll get started!"

She pranced off into the kitchen, with Rarity and Spike following behind. What was the worst that could happen, Spike thought to himself?



Making his way to the movie house, Dusk was beginning to rekindle some hope. As he'd said, this wasn't exactly the ideal thing he would have arranged for their anniversary. But this was better than nothing, at any rate.

A thought occurred to him. What if Twilight was of the same mind as he was? What if she recognised how hastily this had been put together in some kind of desperate attempt to make up for the fact he'd forgotten their anniversary? What would she think of him then? If she began to think that he didn't cherish their relationship as much as she did? What could that lead to?

He did his best to put those questions out of his mind. He hoped it wouldn't come to anything like that, but right now, he had to focus on getting this set up.

The first thing he noticed was the very large group of ponies that had gathered outside the theatre. The second was they all had things that indicated they'd been here for a while. Tents, lawn chairs, large bags brimming with snacks and drinks. They were all talking excitedly and barely glanced at Dusk as he approached one of the attendants.

"What's going on?" he asked the ticket holder.

"Take a look," he said, jerking his head to a poster.

Dusk looked. Depicting a mare who never seemed to be able to close her mouth, a stallion with a face like a shovel and a ridiculously muscled earth pony stallion was the legend Nightlight: New Moon.

"Another one?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, another one," the holder muttered. "Don't worry, only one more to go. Though I hear they're splitting it in two so they can milk the most money out of it."

"Really?" Dusk frowned. "Is there enough content for two parts?"

"They seem to think so."

"Hm. So, what else is there showing tonight?"

He jerked his head at the poster again. "You're looking at it."

Dusk blinked. "I… beg your pardon?"

"This is all we're showing tonight, all four screens," he said sadly. "Even if it is terrible, my manager says it really rakes in the money, so we're having it showing on all five screens tonight for the premier event."

"A-and… that's it?" Dusk asked again. "That's all you're showing?"

"That's it."

"There's got to be something else, there's got to be."

"Look, pal, I don't make the screenings here," he snapped. "I'm not happy about this either, I'm the one who has to sell tickets to these nutty ponies. Look, it's only for tonight and we're back to showing regular screenings tomorrow. You can come by then, one of them's doing a re-run of the Daring Do movie."

"That's a little late!" Dusk snapped back. "Oh, never mind this nonsense. Good day to you, sir."

He stalked off, muttering under his breath.

"Almost fitting, really. The same series we saw then, except I am in no mind to see it now and neither is she."

"You don't know that!" One of the fans must have heard him. "I'm sure your marefriend would love it!"

"I doubt that," Dusk called back. "She doesn't even read the series."

"Aww, come on! You have no idea what you're missing out on!" one of the mares called out. "It's a wonderful, enriching story with really relatable characters and genuine emotion that makes you feel for them. It's not too late to try!"

His response was automatic, a trigger from the sheer amount of irritation not only towards these books, but also at the sheer ridiculousness of this whole situation.

"Sorry, but I don't read crap."

He left just as the shouts of indignation began to start up. Normally, he would be more careful about offending a large group of overly obsessed fans, but at this moment, he really didn't care. That small spark of hope was now dwindling again. What did he have left that he could salvage from this situation?

His thoughts turned to Chez Delicious, the place they'd spent their meal together. He considered trying to get a reservation there since he was out, but it had been difficult enough doing it the first time round. An establishment like that would most likely be fully booked and they were very stringent about their bookings.

With a heavy heart, he returned through the streets. Perhaps his friends had had better luck in their ventures.



When they'd both arrived at the library shortly after Twilight had ushered Spike out into the streets with the reason of needing alone time to study, she had wasted no time in telling Fluttershy and Rarity what she needed of them today. Fluttershy was off to the gift shop to get some flowers and chocolates for Twilight for her and Dusk, and Rarity was off to Sugarcube Corner to get the cake. Meanwhile, Twilight was hastily making her way toward a destination of her own: the most popular restaurant in town, Chez Delicious, with the intent of making some reservations for tonight. It wasn't exactly different or varied, she admitted to herself. Yes, it was the same restaurant that she and Dusk had gone to on their very first date, so there was some nostalgia involved. And she knew that Dusk had a bit of a penchant for nostalgia. But they'd also gone there multiple times since then, so that more-or-less dulled the effect.

Nevertheless, it was the most popular restaurant in town for a reason, and that in addition to the fact that it had quite a romantic atmosphere itself made it a prime location for tonight… if she could get a reservation, that was. Money wouldn't be much of an object, even considering the last-minute nature of things, but the reservation itself… well, hopefully the odds wouldn't be too stacked against her. Even considering that this was very last minute of her… and that this was the most expensive and high-par restaurant in town… and that it was a Sunday, so there would undoubtedly be plenty of other ponies with reservations already… and-

She cut herself off before she could go too far down that mental road. If she thought like that, she'd most likely end up panicking again, and Celestia knew that was the LAST thing she needed to be doing right now. Besides, this was for Dusk. She'd dug herself into a hole, and now, for his sake, she needed to suck it up and pull herself out… somehow.

Thinking of Dusk made her remember what he'd told her the previous night before he'd left. He apparently hadn't been feeling well, and had suspected that it wouldn't be gone by morning, so he'd requested that he come in a little late just for today to give himself a bit more time to recover. He certainly hadn't looked well at the time either; he'd been acting jittery and nervous, almost shivering to some extent. For him of all ponies to request to come in for work later than usual must've meant that he really wasn't feeling well, so Twilight had obliged. Not that she was complaining, of course. It gave her more time to get done what she needed to get done without risking Dusk catching on. Still, it worried her that he wasn't feeling well, today of all days. Maybe he was subconsciously nervous? Having a mild panic attack? She certainly hoped not. Today was a special day, and even if she'd done the injustice of forgetting all about it until the day before, she at least wanted it to be as special as it could possibly be for him.

On that note, the restaurant soon came into view. When it did, Twilight quickened her pace toward the entrance. From what she could see, there weren't that many ponies outside - only two or three - which could've been a good sign. Then again, said the logic and inference part of her brain, that probably didn't mean anything since this wasn't the kind of restaurant where you waited outside and formed a huge line unless the restaurant itself made a mistake with the reservations. Also, it was still rather early in the day, so of course she couldn't use what she saw now to accurately judge what things would be like here later tonight…

She tried forcing that part of her brain to shut up as she approached and made her way through the front door of the restaurant… but it became pretty difficult when met with the new sight before her. The restaurant had a couple dozen tables situated throughout, and each and every one of them was currently occupied by one or more ponies each. It wasn't even noon, and this place was already full?!

Relax, she told herself as she made her way over to the podium near the door, behind which a waiter was situated. The restaurant served breakfast as well on weekends. Of course it was only natural that there would be ponies here. Who was to say that it being crowded now would in any way reflect how it would be later tonight? For all she knew, it wouldn't. There was probably no correlation between them at all…

"Excuse me?" she said to the waiter at the front, one who she recognized from previous outings to the restaurant, getting his attention. "Hello, I'd like to make a reservation?"

"Ah, Mademoiselle Sparkle! C'est good to see you again!" He smiled brightly, and Twilight felt just a bit of guilt at not quite remembering his name off the top of her head, before she quelled it and focused on why she was here. He flipped open the booking chart in front of him and glanced up at her. "I am assuming zat will be a reservation for two? You and Monsieur Noir?"

"Yes," Twilight confirmed, breathing a small sigh of relief. So far, so good.

"Very well. And when would you like your reservation placed?" he asked, flipping a few more pages.

"I'd like that for tonight, please," Twilight answered.

The waiter seemed to freeze for just a moment before he looked up at her fully. "Umm… did you say… tonight, madam?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?" Twilight asked with already growing dread. In her mind though, she could say that she already knew.

"Err…" the waiter hesitated, looking back down and flipping through a few more pages. Then flipping back through the ones he'd already looked at. Then back again. Finally, he look up at her again, an apologetic look in his eyes. "I'm terribly sorry, mademoiselle… we seem to be completely booked for tonight."

Twilight's heart practically deflated at that. All the positive things she'd been telling herself, hoping for on the way here… She'd suspected this, but…

"A-Are… are you sure?" she asked, almost frightfully.

"Afraid so, madam." The waiter's response wasn't nearly as scared as hers was, even if it was a tad hesitant. "We're booked all ze way up midnight, it appears. Zere is simply no room left."

"But… but…" Now she was entering denial mode. "But… i-it's not even noon yet! How can you be completely booked already?!"

"Er… ze same way we usually get booked, madam," the waiter replied carefully. "Most of zese reservations were made a few days ago, and a few of zem have been for several weeks. It is… difficult, to make a reservation on such… short notice."

"But there has to be something you can do! Right?" Twilight was starting to let desperation creep into her voice.

"I am afraid not," the waiter answered simply. "If you'd like, zere are a few open spots for tomorrow night. Perhaps make a reservation for zen..?"

"No, no, you don't understand. I need it for tonight. It's our anniversary today, and… it needs to be for tonight!" Twilight didn't quite understand how she got to this position, but suddenly she found herself with both of her front legs on top of the podium, almost getting in the waiter's face. "Please, there has to be something you can do! Anything!" she cried.

The waiter was trying to lean back away from Twilight, but still attempted to maintain his composure. "I-I am sorry, madam. I-It is out of my hooves. If it is so important, zen you certainly would have done better to try and make ze reservation sometime earlier zan zis…"

"I FORGOT, ALRIGHT?" she practically screamed. Some of the patrons were starting to turn their heads in her direction, but she didn't care. "I forgot about our anniversary, I know! I'm a horrible marefriend! But right now I need a table for tonight, before it's too late! Please! I'll do anything! I'll pay double! Triple! I don't care! Anytime, anywhere, it doesn't matter! Just PLEASE!"

"I-I… I cannot. I-"

"Is something the matter over here?"

Twilight and the waiter both looked over to see the owner of the restaurant making his way over to them, a stallion who, himself, didn't have any accent or special features to speak of. It was only now that Twilight became self-conscious of just how loudly she'd been yelling, and became aware of just how quiet it had gotten… and how many eyes were trained upon her.

"I-I… I was… umm…" she faltered.

"Ms. Sparkle," the owner said to her directly once he was close enough, "I believe I heard most of what you were saying toward the end there. If we are booked, then we are booked. Now as you can see, your presence is beginning to disturb the patrons. If there is nothing else, then I am going to have to ask you to leave. And if you continue to make a scene, then we'll have to choice but to show you out ourselves."

"B-but-!"

"Ms. Sparkle…" he began warningly.

She was about to protest again when she, reluctantly, stopped and relented.

"Fine…" she growled bitterly, turning around and leaving without another word, unintentionally making the door slam on her way out.

Of course… OF COURSE, she screamed to herself in her mind. Of course there wouldn't be any tables left! Why would there be?! It wasn't bad enough that she'd forgotten about the most important day of the year for her relationship with Dusk of her own accord, now Fate had to come in and make things EVEN HARDER for her!

In the end though, she had to acknowledge that she had only herself to blame for all of this. And that knowledge almost made her want to cry in frustration.

On her arduously slow walk back to the library, she ended up walking past the movie theatre. While doing so, she witnessed the impossible-to-miss gigantic crowd of ponies queued out in front of it, with no shortage of tents and chairs, even a few small tables, set up. She didn't even want to know what the cause of that crowd was, she mused to herself sadly. Knowing her luck so far, there wouldn't be any opportunity to get a movie to watch either. So instead she just continued walking past the crowd, making her way back to her home.

She could only hope that Fluttershy and Rarity had experienced better luck than she had in their own tasks. Then maybe, just maybe, this day would still be salvageable.



The looks Ray and Spike had when they returned to his house didn't inspire much confidence in Dusk. Especially when he noted they didn't have anything, except for Spike who was covered in dough and icing.

"I take it things went poorly for you too then?" he dreaded to ask.

"Yeah, that's uh, one way of saying it," mumbled Spike, licking off a bit of icing.

"I feel really bad right now…" Ray said quietly, looking down in a rare display of shame.

"What happened?"

Spike briefly explained how he'd decided to help Pinkie with the baking along with Rarity, since they were so understaffed at Sugarcube.

"See, Rarity wasn't all that keen on getting stuck into it and Pinkie was dashing in and out to check the mailbox," he went on. "That kind of just left me, but I thought I could handle it. I must have put in too much flour or something though 'cause when I put the cakes in the oven they uh… kind of… exploded."

Dusk did a double take. "E-exploded?"

"Dude, I don't really know how I managed it either. There was a lot of stuff going on and not a lot of time to do it in," he said. "Sorry…"

Dusk sighed and looked to Ray. "And you? Were they sold out or closed or something along those lines?"

"Err… not… quite…" he answered slowly.

He then told them about having encountered Fluttershy in front of the store, and so as not to bring up questions as to why he was purchasing flowers and chocolates, retreated and resolved to try again after some time had passed… only to encounter her again, repeatedly, each time he went back, as though they both had the exact same thought process.

"I literally kept running into her every time I went back! It wouldn't have been a problem, but you were telling us not to let anypony else know about all of this, sooo…"

"Ray, I-!" Dusk managed to keep his temper in check. "I understand you wanted to keep it secret… but would it have been so difficult to avoid talking to her, get what you needed and leave? Make some excuse, anything?"

"Hey, I know how it sounds coming from me, but I swear Dusk, avoiding her was impossible. She wasn't just hanging around the area, it was like she kept deciding to go back at the exact same time that I did, and we literally kept meeting at the door! After the first time, you know it's pretty hard to keep coming up with different excuses, at least ones that are, oh I don't know, buyable? Besides, I was just doing what you told us to do before we left. It was one or the other."

"You can teleport, for Luna's sake! You could have…!" Yet again, he managed to bring his temper under control. "Sorry, Ray. You tried, I can't say anymore than that…"

"I… It's fine, Dusk… I'm sorry too…" Ray truly did seem distraught over his own failure. "And also, just for what it's worth… uh… last time I tried teleporting directly into a store, I ended up getting chased out by an old lady with a broom, sooo…"

"I see…"

"So, what now?" asked Spike.

"I'll be honest, my friends, we don't have many options." He gestured at the clock. "Twilight will be expecting me soon and I can't think of anything for the time we have left. I don't want to say this, but… it looks like I'm going to have to face the music."

"You won't be facing it alone, then," Ray immediately spoke up. "We'll be there to back you up too. I mean, I'll be honest too, I have no idea what we'll be able to do against that mare of yours when she's angry, but, uh… yeah, we'll do what we can… right, Spike?"

"Yep," he nodded. "Just uh, let me get my Twilight Rage armour first."

"Thank you." Dusk took a long, deep breath. "Well, no sense delaying the inevitable. Let's go."

With the same manner as a condemned pony being escorted to spend the rest of his days languishing in prison, Dusk took the long walk with Spike and Ray towards the library. Their presence gave him some comfort, at least.

He wanted to be angry at them, but this was his own fault. If he'd just remembered about today, he wouldn't even be in this mess. He dreaded to imagine what Twilight would be like when she found out he'd forgotten their anniversary. At best, she'd refuse to talk to him for the rest of the day. At worst…

He didn't want to think of worse.

He paused for a moment at the door. His legs were shaking and a bead of sweat trickled down his back. With a few deep breaths, he stepped inside, his two companions in tow. At almost the same time, Twilight emerged from upstairs, followed by Rarity and Fluttershy. She appeared to be in a similar disposition. The two of them met in the middle. Silence hung over their heads for a long, drawn out minute.

When they spoke, it was at the same time.

"Dusk, I-"

"Twilight, there's-"

They laughed nervously.

"Um, you first?" she prompted.

"Very well…" He found he could barely look her in the eye. "Twilight, I… there's no easy way to say this, so I won't beat around the bush. I um… I… well…"

"I forgot!" she blurted out.

Dusk stopped. "E-excuse me?"

"I forgot our anniversary!" she cried. "Oh Dusk, I am so sorry! I've been running around all morning, with Rarity and Fluttershy! We were trying to do something for it, like for our first date with the movie and the restaurant and flowers and a cake, but it all went wrong! I couldn't do anything for it! I'm so, so sorry! PLEASE DON'T BE UPSET!"

She actually broke down in tears. Rarity approached and placed a comforting hoof around her.

"I'm a terrible marefriend," she sobbed. "I'm so, so, sorry… please, don't hate me…"

Dusk took a moment to process all she'd said, standing in complete silence while he did.

"You… you forgot?"

"Yes, she just got done saying that!" snapped Rarity, who like Spike was also covered in dough. "I know you're hurt, Dusk, but she feels bad about it too, so there no reason for you to-"

"So did I."

Rarity stopped. Twilight looked up through her tears.

"W-what?" she sniffed.

"I forgot it was our anniversary too," he admitted, except he was starting to smile. "And I've been running around all morning, trying to get something ready too. I wanted to echo our first date as well, going to the movies and the restaurant, bringing you flowers and chocolates. I decided to add in a cake too, just to try and make it more special."

"Y-you too?" He could make out she was beginning to smile too.

"Yes!" Now, he laughed. And so did she. "I thought you were going to tear me to pieces for forgetting!"

"I thought you were going to be upset that I did!"

"All of this time and we…!"

They just laughed even harder. Their friends exchanged rather odd looks at the sight, but were barely suppressing mirth of their own at how things had turned out.

Twilight wiped away a tear. "I guess we were both idiots this time."

"Indeed," he agreed. "Though I still feel guilty for forgetting such a special day."

"So do I," she said. "But Dusk, really… do we really need to wait for one day every year to celebrate how we feel about each other? We do that practically every day already!"

"You're telling me," muttered Spike, who received a sharp nudge from Rarity. "Ow!"

"Really, we don't need one special day to show how we feel about each other." She gazed into his eyes. "For me, every day with you is special."

"My thoughts exactly. I love you, Twilight."

"I love you too, Dusk."

They sealed the moment with a kiss. Rarity beamed at the sight while Spike groaned, albeit in a more good-natured way. Fluttershy sighed and leaned against Ray's side. He seemed surprised at the contact, but he didn't start complaining about it either.

"So, that was why you kept running into Fluttershy at the shop, Ray," realised Dusk when they stopped. "She was getting things for Twilight too."

"I realised," Ray laughed, before looking at Fluttershy. "You know, I thought you were acting a little strangely at the time."

"Me too," she giggled. "But I thought that was just you being silly. It's okay, though. I like it when you're silly."

Ray blushed in response. "Yeah, so do I… well!" He perked up and smiled all around. "All's well that ends well, it seems. The distraught couple reconciles, everything is right in the world. Now I just need to zap myself back over to the farm before Applejack realizes-"

"STRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIKKKKEEE!"

Ray's face immediately fell. "...oh crap."

Applejack practically kicked the door off its hinges and stormed inside.

"Of all the harebrained, unbelievable an' downright idiotic things you've ever done, this here really takes the cake, even fer you!" She held up the dummy Ray had prepared, her hoof wrapped tightly around its neck with multiple tears now in the cloth, the stuffing falling out through them. "Would ya mind tellin me jus' what the FLYING HAY THIS IS?!"

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh..." Ray drawled. He was speechless.

"Well, lemme tell ya!" She set it up standing, drew her strong legs back and kicked its head off its neck and out the window. "It's you if your flank is not back in the orchard an' back ta work by the time ah'm done countin' down from three! Three!"

Without another word, Ray was gone in a flash.

"An' that's how it's done." She tipped her hat. "Sorry 'bout that, y'all. Have a good day, now."

Kicking the dummy out with her, she galloped off, leaving everypony else in a stunned silence.

"Well, that was different," said Spike.

"Applejack being angry at Ray for slacking on the job? Yes, never seen that before," remarked Dusk with a smirk.

"I hope she won't give him too much trouble." Twilight turned to Dusk. "You know, maybe I should do the same to you for forgetting our anniversary."

"But we both forgot."

"And for lying about being sick this morning."

"Okay, that one is on me. But it was so I could do something for today."

"I know." She nuzzled him. "You really are the sweetest."

"Thank you," he blushed. "Do you want to go out for a walk around town? I know it's not much, but I feel we should at least try to spend some of our anniversary together."

"That sounds lovely." She leaned into his side and the two of them walked out.

Spike, Rarity and Fluttershy were left to their thoughts for a few moments before Spike broke the silence again.

"Does anypony else still feel bad for messing up their special day?"

"I confess, despite how things have turned out, I still feel somewhat guilty for failing them before," said Rarity.

"Me too," sighed Fluttershy. "I wish there was something we could do to make it up to them."

Rarity suddenly gasped. "Ideaaaaa!"

"What? What's your idea?" asked Spike.

"Spike darling, take a note," she said. "We're going to send off this little relationship report ourselves, with an added post-note of our own. Let's see if we can't make something fabulous of this failure!"



The rest of the day had been far from uneventful. When they realised that Pinkie was still fretting about Rainbow, they all resolved to travel up to Cloudsdale in the balloon with a care package for her. Unfortunately, their visit had been disrupted when a tornado had knocked them out of the basket and set them falling. Thanks to Rainbow and her fellow trainee's quick moving, they were saved with no major injuries.

They'd born witness to a few things after. Rainbow turning in her uniform when she thought the Wonderbolts were more about being reckless than pushing themselves. Spitfire reinstating her, in agreement that being the best should never come at the expense of others. A trainee named Lightning Dust being booted from the academy for her reckless actions. They promised to write up a friendship report for her when they got back.

But despite all that and spending a relaxing day with Twilight afterwards, Dusk still felt a little disappointed. Even though they were both agreed on the point that every day together was special, he still felt that he could have done more for their anniversary. This was the day their feelings had been realized and she'd given him a chance he was so grateful to her for giving. Such a thing deserved more recognition.

Still, at least they still spent the day together, though he wondered if she felt the same.

It was when he was about to leave that Spike pulled him aside and said Luna had sent him a letter. It said to wear his best clothes and be waiting outside his house for one of her chariots to pick him up and bring him to Canterlot. But it didn't say why and when he asked Spike, the dragon just shrugged and walked off.

Even so, Dusk still made himself ready in his Gala suit and was waiting when the chariot pulled by a pair of thestrals arrived for him. It must be for some sort of dignitary he needed to be there for or a formal event of some sort. But then why wouldn't she tell him?

The guards escorted him to a part of the gardens, where she was waiting for him. Quite fittingly, night had now fallen and the stars were shining the sky.

"Dusk, how wondrous to see you!" she greeted. "You're looking very sharp tonight."

"Thank you, Luna. But I don't understand, what exactly am I here for?" he asked.

"You will see." Her eyes glittered for a moment. "Come, let us take a walk through the gardens. They are truly beautiful in my night's glow."

As they did, Dusk had to agree with her. The garden always took on a new sort of life at night. Fireflies danced in little swarms and the night air was filled with the squeaks of bats and the hooting of owls. There was a certain peace he always felt at night, especially with the Princess who brought it.

All the while, it seemed like Luna was hiding something. She didn't say much and she appeared to be having a hard time suppressing a smile.

"I don't mean to sound rude, Luna, but could you please tell me what's going on?" he asked again.

"You'll soon see," she repeated. Her eyes looked off somewhere else and she beamed. "Why, sister! What a surprise seeing you here!"

Dusk looked to see that indeed the Princess of the Sun was joining them.

"Dusk, Luna, how lovely to see you both," she said pleasantly. "Enjoying my sister's night, Dusk?"

"Yes, princess. But…" He looked to see that she wasn't alone. "Twilight?"

"Dusk?" She too was dressed formally in her Gala gown and Dusk felt something catch in his throat as to how beautiful she looked. "What are you doing here?"

"Luna sent for me and told me to wear my best clothes. You?"

"Me too." She looked at her teacher. "Princess, what's going on here?"

Neither one replied verbally. They were both looking in the same direction, so they followed their gaze. Not far off through the trees there was a table with an expensive tablecloth laid on it and two plush cushions either side. It was lit by a candle, complete with fine cutlery and a vase with a bunch of lilacs in it.

Dusk and Twilight shared a look, then turned to their respective princesses. They both had knowing smiles on their faces.

"Did… did you plan this?" Dusk asked Luna.

"My student, I don't know what you mean," she said innocently. "I have no idea have these things got here."

"It is quite a mystery, sister," agreed Celestia.

"Princess," began Twilight, "how did you-?"

"Ahem." They looked to see Spike, dressed in a tuxedo, complete with bowtie. "Good evening, my name is Spike and I'll be your waiter tonight. If you would follow me, I'll show you to your table."

They exchanged another look, to each other, then to the princesses. The two of them had backed away a little and silently gestured for them to proceed. Beginning to figure out what was going on here, they followed Spike and sat down, who handed them both menus.

"I hope you like what we have on offer," he said in a professional tone. "Our chefs Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie are at your service. I and Mr Strike will be here, should you need anything."

Dusk glanced around to see the three girls all wearing chef's hats and waving at them. Ray, looking rather constrained in a suit, stood not far off with a strained, yet somehow genuine smile.

"I will return to take your orders momentarily. Until then, please enjoy this evening's entertainment."

He clapped his hands twice and Fluttershy emerged from the bushes. Not far behind was a chorus of songbirds, who took up positions on a low hanging tree branch. She tapped her baton, raised it and began to conduct a slow, romantic ballad.

The couple was completely speechless. That is, until Twilight gasped sharply.

"Dusk, look where we are."

He didn't need to be told. He'd never forget this part of the gardens. This small part where twice, his life had changed forever. Once with Celestia and once with Twilight.

All of what their friends had organized for them and on the exact spot that it had occurred. They didn't know what to say… except for one thing, as they gazed into each other's eyes.

"Happy Anniversary, Dusk."

"Happy Anniversary, Twilight."