It was a very special day for Prince Shine Paladin. His and Celestia's anniversary had come again, and he was determined to make it extra special. Every year, Shine liked to make a grand romantic gesture, proving how much he still adored his wife. It had been over ten years since he had came crashing down into the gardens, and was offered to stay at the castle, where he would come to fall in love with the Princess of the Sun herself. There was a few ups and downs, plus a Timberwolf attack, but before Shine knew it, he was married to the mare she loved, had a beautiful daughter, and had the fortune of attaining immortality so he could spend it with his beloved. With fortunes such as these, Shine felt that he had to do everything in his power to make each year they spent together memorable.
On their first anniversary, he had booked the best band in Canterlot to play Celestia's favorite song while they danced together. The year after that, he had arranged a romantic dinner on the highest peak in Canterlot. The year after that, he had taken her on a hot air balloon trip over the city. And just last year, he had put together an enormous fireworks display, featuring such sights as the two of them immortalised within the colorful explosions, and the words "I love you, Celestia" written in the night sky. Shine had made it a point to give Celestia the most grand surprises imaginable.
And this year was no different. He was holding a grand celebration in the courtyard, with flowers, bejewelled decorations, a large ice sculpture modelled after both Shine and his bride (which Constell had supervised the carving of), and a large cake shaped like Celestia's head, (in her favorite flavour, no less).
The proceedings were already well underway, the castle staff and even Shine's friends and fellow royals were working to put it all together (without Celestia's knowledge, as Shine intended it to be a surprise). Luna and Gothic were in Griffonstone for the day, on a goodwill visit. Mist had taken Tempest to see his paternal grandparents, and Pureblood and Vito had gone to the park with Hurricane. Fortunately for Shine, Celestia was in a meeting with the Canterlot town planners for most of the day, discussing the placement of a new fountain in the town square.
As Shine entered the courtyard, he surveyed the halfway-complete preparations. There were bows, streamers, baskets filled with flowers, and lanterns hanging from the walls. A string of multi-colored squares were hanging from up above. Each one had a different letter, written with glittering gem-encrusted paint. All together, they read "Happy Anniversary."
"Looking good, guys." He smiled. "I see you got some azaleas... and some snapdragons too! Nice!"
"Yes, Auntie Celestia always did like those kind of flowers." Blueblood declared.
"She's not the only one." Dusty admitted. "If only I could receive a bouquet of these wonderful things..."
"Consider it done." Blueblood chuckled.
"Okay, let's move the ice sculpture a little further in." Constell instructed the servants. "Don't want it too far from everything else."
"Yes, your highness." One of the servants nodded, as they pushed the wheeled platform the sculpture was on.
Miracle was using her magic to arrange a pile of rubies into the shape of a 3D heart sculpture.
"Great work, sweetheart." Shine declared.
"Thanks, dad." Miracle grinned. "Boy, you really pulled out all the stops this year, huh?"
"Did you expect anything less?" Shine smirked. "Your mother deserves only the best, honey. And that's just what I'm going to give her."
"Ever heard of 'it's the thought that counts'?" Constell asked.
"Of course." Shine nodded. "And with all the thought I put into this, Celestia's gonna be thrilled..."
"Thought and money." Miracle declared. "Seriously dad, you could have paid for two Grand Galloping Galas with all the royal funds you sank into this..."
"A bit of an exaggeration, there... Anyway, thanks for pitching in, everypony." Shine smiled. "I couldn't possibly have done something like this alone."
"Glad to help, Shine." Caboose nodded.
"That's what family's for, isn't it?" Constell asked.
"Anything for you, dad." Miracle smiled.
"Now, I'll run some interference with Celestia." Shine declared. "She'll be back from that planning meeting before long. Don't want her catching on too soon... I can trust you guys to keep things together, right?"
"Of course you can." Miracle smiled. "What could go wrong?"
"Yeah, maybe you're-Caboose!" Shine suddenly yelled. "What are you doing?"
Caboose had been caught taking a bite of the cake.
"...I'm not eating cake." He mumbled.
"Caboose..." Shine frowned.
"But it's an ice cream cake!" Caboose protested.
"And it's for Celestia." Shine pointed out.
"And it's for Celestia." Caboose repeated. As soon as Shine turned away, he pulled the piece of cake out of his mouth and put it back in place.
A Guard walked over to Shine.
"Your highness, Princess Celestia has returned to the castle." He announced.
"Okay, thanks for the heads-up." Shine nodded. "I'll go and keep her busy, while you guys finish up."
As Shine rushed out of the courtyard, heading to intercept his beloved, Constell turned to the others.
"Okay, you heard the Prince." She declared. "Let's put the finishing touches on this thing."
Shine rushed through the castle, eventually finding Celestia walking down the corridor.
"Welcome back, darling!" He embraced her. "I missed you so much!" He followed up with a kiss.
"I was only gone for a few hours." Celestia chuckled.
"Well, you know what they say: Absence makes the heart grow fonder." Shine shrugged. "Besides, it is our anniversary, remember?"
"As if I could ever forget such a wonderful day..." Celestia grinned.
"Me neither." Shine sighed. "And we should make the most of it. Let's spend the whole day together, just relaxing out in the garden."
"The whole day?" Celestia asked. "But of our royal duties?"
"I'm sure the others can cover for us." Shine declared. "We do have a whole castle of royals, after all."
"I suppose nothing too troublesome could arise." Celestia admitted. "Things have been quiet as of late."
"And it's not exactly a crime for a Princess to take some time off with her husband once in a while, is it?" Shine pointed out.
"No, it certainly is not." Celestia grinned. "Okay, let's go."
"Right this way, my darling." Shine grinned. as he skillfully led Celestia away, he thought to himself 'Phase one, complete. Preparing for phase two...'
Back in the courtyard, the preparations were still underway.
"Careful there, Constell." Miracle declared. "Don't want the ice sculpture getting too close to the cake. Once it starts melting, it'll get Celestia's face all soggy."
"Relax, Mir." Constell told her. "This isn't my first time helping your dad surprise Aunt Celestia. I know exactly what I'm doing. You just worry about that little gem pile of yours."
"Excuse me?" Miracle frowned. "This is art. Hoof-made art. That I made myself. A little more effort involved than just telling the servants what to do."
"Now, now." Dusty stepped in. "Let's not get into who's doing the most here. We're all playing our part."
"Yeah, exactly." Caboose walked over to Blueblood, who was adjusting the napkins on the cake's table. "Right, Blueboy?"
Caboose slapped Blueblood on the back... a little too hard, as it knocked him to the ground. The impact caused Blueblood's horn to fire off some magic, which clipped the string holding up the lettered squares. The squares fluttered the ground, scattered.
"Oh, wonderful." Blueblood groaned.
"Whoops." Caboose cringed. "Guess I don't know my own strength... No worries, though. I got this!"
Using his magic, Caboose lifted the squares back up and retied the string.
"There!" He smiled. "Good as new!"
"Not exactly..." Constell frowned.
The letters of the banner had been re-arranged wrong. They now read "Ann Say Hippy Rave."
"'Ann Say Hippy Rave'?" Blueblood shook his head. "Seriously?"
"Okay, so maybe I put them back in a slightly different order..." Caboose shrugged.
"...Slightly?" Miracle asked.
"Hey, you can get it done fast, or you can get it done right." Caboose shrugged.
"Or you can just do both." Blueblood growled. "Here, let me demonstrate..."
Blueblood used his magic to pull the whole thing down. As he did, one end grazed the ice sculpture, tilting it slightly.
"Careful." Constell frowned. "That thing dropped, we're gonna have an even bigger mess on our hooves."
Meanwhile, Celestia and Shine were in the gardens, relaxing in a gazebo.
"Ah, I needed this." Celestia smiled. "That planning was just Tartarus. The City Officials spent well over two hours arguing about where to put that blasted fountain. Some nice, peaceful time in the garden with my darling husband is just what the doctor ordered."
"I do like to think I know what my wife needs." Shine grinned. "And right now, I'd say you need a hoof massage."
"Oh, yes, please." Celestia sighed. She took one hoof out of its golden shoe and placed it in Shine's.
"Coming right up." Shine smiled, gently kneading her hoof with his own.
Back at the courtyard, Miracle had finished her heart.
"There, done." She smiled. "Now to place it..."
Miracle moved the wheeled platform over by the cake, bumping, the ice sculpture.
"Hey, watch it!" Constell yelled. "Unlike your work, that sculpture can't be put back together if it falls!"
"Will you relax?" Miracle snorted. "It was just a bump. Nothing major."
"Just keep it back a tad." Constell told her.
"Why?" Miracle asked. "That overgrown ice cube's taking up most of the space. Mom'll barely see my work!"
"Of course she will." Constell declared. "It's not like she'll just stand in place all night."
"And why exactly does that chunk of ice have to overshadow my heart?" Miracle frowned. "Let's switch 'em around!"
Miracle tugged the sculpture's stand with her magic, pulling it away.
"There's no overshadowing." Constell insisted, pulling it back with her own magic. "This is all for Aunt Celestia and Uncle Shine. We're all pitching in. Besides, the sculpture was there first!"
"But it's my gift, and my parents." Miracle growled, pulling back. "It should take center stage!"
"Now ladies, let's not fight." Blueblood frowned.
"Yeah, there's plenty of room for both of those lovely gifts." Dusty added.
"Can't we all just get along?" Caboose asked.
"Tell that to her!" Miracle and Constell yelled in unison.
As the two continued their struggle, the sculpture started to wobble under the strain of their opposing magic field. With one especially strong pull from Constell, it tipped over, and shattered on the ground.
"No!" Constell yelled. She rounded on Miracle. "Now look what you've done!"
"Me?" Miracle snorted. "That was your fault. I felt it!"
"Well it wouldn't have happened if you're so Tartarus-bent on having your little art project take centre stage!" Constell scowled.
"At least I actually worked on it myself!" Miracle yelled. "Not like you, who just told somepony else to get carving! You barely did anything at all!"
"Okay, that's enough." Blueblood stepped. "What's done is done. Blaming each other won't change anything. Let's just get this mess cleaned up."
"Yeah, whatever..." Constell scowled.
Over at the gazebo, Shine glanced at a nearby sundial. Night was about to fall, meaning that the time had come.
"We'd better start to head back in." He declared. "How about we do it via the courtyard?"
"Sort of a long way around, don't you think?" Celestia frowned.
"All the better." Shine smirked. "Means we'll have just a little more alone time together."
"Good point." Celestia grinned.
Shine led Celestia through the grounds, almost giddy at the thought of the upcoming surprise...
Back in the courtyard, the group were busy clearing up the shattered ice.
"We've got to do this fast, before this stuff melts." Dusty declared. "Don't want the surprise to be a soggy floor..."
"We wouldn't have to clean up this mess if somepony couldn't all riled up about where her stupid heart was going." Constell muttered.
"Don't call my heart stupid." Miracle growled. "Your sculpture was stupid. Just look! One little fall, and it almost ruined everything!"
"It wouldn't have fallen if you hadn't started whining about the placement." Constell snarled.
"I wasn't whining!" Miracle yelled. "I was just trying to make sure everything could be seen! I know how important this is to my dad! Do you?"
"Of course I do!" Constell growled.
"Okay, easy there." Caboose stepped forward. "Let's just calm dooooown!"
Caboose slipped on a pice of ice they had missed. He crashed into a table, sending the cutlery flying. The knives and forks severed the strings holding the lanterns, which started to drift anyway.
"Oh no!" Dusty gasped.
"Stop them!" Blueblood yelped.
"I got it!" Caboose climbed on the table and leapt for one of the lanterns. He missed, and crashed into one of the flower baskets, spilling the contents everywhere. "...Whoops!"
"We've got to clean this up!" Miracle yelled. "Mom and dad will be here any minute!"
"Indeed." Blueblood nodded. "Let us make haaa-!"
Blueblood tripped on a fallen spoon, crashing right into Miracle's heart, which scattered back into several rubies, spraying over the floor.
"I don't believe this!" Miracle groaned.
"Whoa." Constell gaped.
"Ohhh, I worked so hard on that!" Miracle groaned.
"...Yeah, you did." Constell sighed. Despite their fight, she hadn't wanted Miracle's own work to be destroyed. "Sorry, Mir. Really. It was a nice piece of art."
"..Well, your sculpture was pretty good too, I guess." Miracle shrugged. "But now they're both gone."
"Not quite." Constell countered. "The heart can be put back together."
"But not in time for the surprise." Mist declared.
"It can if I lend a hoof." Constell told her.
"Thanks, Connie." Miracle smiled.
"Hey, what are cousins for?" Constell grinned.
"That's really touching, girls." Dusty remarked. "But we still have a big mess to clean up!"
Mere hooves away, Shine and Celestia were heading for the courtyard.
"So, what's so special about the courtyard, anyway?" Celestia smiled.
"Oh, nothing." Shine chuckled, barely able to contain himself.
"Would it perhaps involve something related to our anniversary?" Celestia grinned.
"Now what would give you that idea?" Shine said innocently. "I just wanted to take you for a nice little walk."
"If you say so.." Celestia rolled her eyes.
'This is it.' Shine thought, as they finally reached their destination. 'Get ready for the biggest surprise ever, darling...'
But it turned out Shine was one in for a surprise. As he and Celestia entered the courtyard, they found that things had descended into chaos. Everypony was rushing to pick up the flowers, gems, and ice pieces, desperately trying to salvage the decorations.
"What the-?!" Shine yelped. "What's going on here?"
Everypony stopped what they were doing, and glanced at Shine.
"Shine!" Blueblood yelped. "This... this isn't..."
"Everything is under- yahh!" Suddenly, Caboose tripped on a ruby, bumping into the table with the cake on it. The cake flew into the air, and splattered all over Shine.
"Whoops." Caboose frowned.
"Grrr!" Shine yelled, storming out of the courtyard.
"Oh no." Miracle sighed. "Dad..."
Celestia followed after Shine, leaving the others to realise what had happened.
"...We really messed this up, didn't we?" Constell sighed.
"Big time." Dusty frowned.
Shine rushed out into the gardens, distraught at the fact that his surprise was in tatters. When he could run no more, he collapsed onto the ground, utterly despondent.
"Shine?"
Shine looked up, finding Celestia looking down at him, worried.
"I'm sorry, cherryblossom." Shine sighed. "I wanted to make this anniversary special, like I do every year. After you blessed me with your love, I thought it was the least I could do."
"Oh, Shine..." Celestia smiled. "As much as I enjoy those little surprises, they really aren't necessary."
"They're... they're not?" Shine frowned, pulling himself into a sitting position.
"No." Celestia nodded, as she sat down beside him. "They're nice, but they're just gestures. As far as I'm concerned, every year we stay married to each other is gift enough."
"Really?" Shine smiled.
"Really." Celestia licked off a bit of frosting from Shine's face. "Mmm, ice cream cake."
"I thought you'd like it." Shine chuckled.
"It's sweet." Celestia admitted. "But not as sweet as you."
Celestia nuzzled against her husband.
"Aw..." He purred.
"Now this is what an anniversary is all about." Celestia told him. "A reaffirming of our love for each other. A love that grew slowly, but surely, from the first day we met."
"Boy, that seems like so long ago now." Shine sighed. "But I still remember it like it was yesterday."
"As do I." Celestia smiled. "I remember how my feelings for you grew stronger by the day, until I could no longer hold them inside anymore. And then came our first kiss..."
"Yeah..." Shine smiled. "I was so certain I wasn't worthy of you, that it could never work between us. I didn't think a stallion without a Cutie Mark could ever be with a Princess. But I was so wrong."
"And you earned your Cutie Mark precisely because of your love for me." Celestia recalled. "Saving me from Timberwolves... I'd never seen an act so gallant..."
"Or as painful." Shine winced at the memory.
"Ironically, those wooden beasts helped bring us together." Celestia smiled. "And look at all that happened after that night."
"It was a lot, alright." Shine chuckled. "Having Mist move in with us, engagement and marriage..."
"Bringing peace between Ponies and Changelings." Celestia added. "And don't forget about little Miracle."
"Not a chance." Shine smiled.
"Compared to all that, a single celebration, no matter how grand, pales in comparison." Celestia declared. "Honestly, I'd just enjoy having some time with just you and me, like we had earlier."
"So would I." Shine declared.
"In fact, we can have some alone time right now." Celestia suggested. "Let's just lie back on the grass and gaze at the stars together."
"That sounds nice." Shine smiled.
The two laid back on the grass, Shine putting a hoof around Celestia. Not too far away, the others caught a brief glimpse of them.
"Aww, look at that." Constell cooed.
"Nice..." Caboose nodded.
"Guess the anniversary isn't ruined after all." Miracle smiled.
"Isn't that beautiful, Blue?" Dusty nuzzled her husband.
"It certainly is." Blueblood grinned. "Now, let's give them a little privacy..."
"The group returned to the courtyard to clean up the mess.
Meanwhile, Celestia and Shine gazed up at the stars together.
"Now this is a special anniversary." Shine admitted.
"Aren't they all?" Celestia leaned against Shine.
"Yeah." Shine kissed her. "They sure are..."
"Here's to many more." Celestia returned the kiss.
Shine had almost forgotten that love isn't about grand gestures, but rather just proving that you still care for your beloved, no matter how small those ways may be. His big surprise may have crashed and burned, but Shine couldn't have felt more content. He had just spent another blissful year with the mare he loved, and he knew there were plenty more still to come...