He stuck a finger in his ear, "Ow! That hurt. Anyway, yes, I forgot. What exactly is the big deal?"

Rarity rolled her eyes, "Discord, you being Twilight's coltfriend should make today especially important."

Discord squinted his eyes, "Why? She has a birthday every year. If I miss this year, I can do something next year."

Rarity's hoof met her face as she shook her head, "Darling, you two have been dating for almost a year, and yet you are still so naive."

The white unicorn flipped her mane, "Not everything. But, I know some things. And, I know for a fact that you cannot forget birthdays. You're simply not allowed to."

Discord turned quickly towards the pegasus, "What are you talking about? She'd never do that."

He bit his lip as he ran a claw down his neck, "You don't think she'd actually do that, do you?"

Rarity shrugged, "It's hard to say. You both are relatively new to the whole relationship ordeal, but there is a good possibility that her feelings might be hurt."

Fluttershy patted his shoulder, "Of course not. And, I'm sure she won't be mad. She'll understand."

Discord held his head with a claw, "Well, how do you suppose I make it up to her?"

Pinkie Pie smiled widely, "Twi being away at the Crystal Empire gives us plenty of time to prepare!"

Spike grinned, "We're planning a surprise party for Twilight. She has absolutely no idea."

Rarity wrapped a hoof around Spike, causing him to melt, "Actually, dear Spikey-Wikey is to thank for that."

The purple dragon turned a light shade of red as he waved a claw, "Aw, it was nothing."

Rainbow Dash scoffed, "It totally was something. Spike's the whole reason that Twi's away."

Spike crossed his arms proudly, "I sent a letter to Cadence telling her about our plan. So, Cadence sent a letter to Twilight to see if she wanted to spend her birthday in the Empire. Naturally, Twilight accepted. So, since she's not here, we have time to prepare."

"Thanks. And, since you want to make it up to Twilight, you can be in charge of planning the party."

Pinkie crossed her hooves and frowned, "Why does Discord get to plan the party?"

Fluttershy patted Pinkie's shoulder, "He wants to make it up to Twilight. But, you can help him."

Discord sighed dramatically, placing the palm of his claw on his forehead, "Oh, I understand. Pinkie cares more about parties then somepony else's feelings. It's okay. When Twilight breaks up with me, I won't blame her. I'll blame myself for carelessly neglecting such an important day. Not sure how I'll manage the heartbreak, but I can take it. It'll probably take months or years to return to my normal self. Oh, woe is me!"

Pinkie held out her hooves, "Alright, alright! You can plan the party. And, I thought Rarity was the drama queen."

Discord smirked, "I knew you'd see things my way. But, don't worry, Little Miss Pie. A party simply wouldn't be a party without your touch."

Discord chuckled, running his paw down his neck, "Truth be told, I'm probably going to need a lot of help. I have never planned a party in my life. Well, not counting my parties of one."

Pinkie gently punched Discord's arm, "Don't you worry, Discord. This'll be one party Twilight won't forget."

Fluttershy gave Discord a smile, "I'm sure she's fine. She's spending time with her family."

Meanwhile, in the Crystal Empire, the entire royal family was celebrating twenty years of life for Twilight Sparkle.

The Crystal Castle was certainly a lively place on this particular day. Games had been planned by Twilight's mother. Cadence and Shining Armor had a fabulous dinner prepared.

Twilight smiled as she unwrapped Cadence's gift. She gasped in delight at the contents.

Twilight wrapped her hooves around her sister-in-law, "Oh, thank you, Cadence! You're the best."

The two alicorns broke apart. Twilight glanced around at all of the gifts she had received.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna gave Twilight a brooch made of pure amethyst, a gem with magical properties that could replenish a unicorn's magic.

Twilight Velvet and Night Light had given their daughter a locket with a picture of their family.

"That locket first belonged to your great great great grandmare. We have just changed the picture. It is very special. So, you better take care of it, young filly."

Shining Armor had been the last one to give a present. It was a photo album. Pictures of Twilight from the first day she was born up until her coronation.

It's hard to believe that twenty years ago you were but a little foal. We still remember feeding you, changing your diaper, and listening to the most adorable laugh. Now, look at you, you're a fully grown mare. We always knew you were special. And, now so does all of Equestria. Our little Twilight is now Princess Twilight Sparkle. You have great friends, and ponies all around love you for who you are. We love you so very much. Continue to make us proud.
Your Loving Family

Twilight wiped her eyes as she finished reading. She looked at her family with a smile.

Soon, the fun began to wind down. Pleasant conversation filled the air as the family talked.

"So, Twilight, are you planning on celebrating with your friends?" Celestia asked.

Twilight shrugged, "We might do something small, considering I already had a party here."

"Well, they wanted to. But, they didn't want to, according to Rarity, 'intrude on my family affairs.' But, knowing them, we'll probably wind up doing something."

Twilight shook her head, her eyes narrowing, "No, I left quite early. He wouldn't have had time to."

Shining huffed, "If he was a good coltfriend, he would've gone out of his way to wish you a happy birthday."

Twilight groaned, "Ugh, Shiny, what do you have against him? You've been like this ever since I started dating him."

"Well, I'm sorry, Twily. But, I don't think somepony as special as you should be dating someone like him."

A lavender hoof met Twilight's face, "Shining Armor, I am perfectly capable of choosing who I want to date. Discord and I have been happy together. Why can't you accept that?"

She turned to the Princesses, "Princess Celestia, you were a bit skeptical about me and Discord being together, right?"

Celestia nodded, "I will admit that I was shocked to hear that you two were actually courting. But, Discord's behavior has definitely improved since his betrayal. He may still be a pain sometimes, but I can tolerate his antics more so than I used to."

Twilight gave a hopeful grin to her brother, "See, Shiny? Princess Celestia has accepted us. Why can't you?"

Cadence put a hoof onto her husband's shoulder, "Yes, Shiny, you should learn to accept your sister's decision. In fact, I'll have you know that Discord came to me about a year ago asking for romantic advice."

Cadence nodded, giggling, "Yes, you should have seen him that day. He was acting like a shy little colt afraid to tell the cute girl next to him that he liked her. It was actually quite funny." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, he came to me and told me that he had feelings for you, Twilight. He wanted to know how to deal with them. I simply told him to tell you. To let his heart direct him. And, it would seem that he took my advice."

The white colt furrowed his eyebrows, "So, that's what you were talking about that day. I remember."

Twilight smiled, a slight blush on her face, "Wow, I never knew that. He never told me. He had asked advice from my friends, too. I'm just glad he finally worked up the courage to tell me."

Luna smiled, "I remember monitoring a dream of his one night. You two were watching the sunset. Quite the romantic scene, I must say."

Twilight Velvet hugged her daughter, "I'm just glad my little girl found someone."

Night Light nodded, chuckling, "Not quite you who we saw you with, honey, but as long as you're happy, we're happy, too."

Twilight grinned, "Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad. Looks like Shining's the only objector."

Shining Armor sighed, rubbing the back of his head, "Look, Twily, I want to be happy for you. But, he's Discord. The Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. He betrayed us. What could you possibly see in him?"

Twilight looked down, trying to think of something to say. She then looked back up at him.

"I see someone who's genuinely sorry for the things he had done. You didn't see Discord after Tirek drained me of my magic. After feeling how painful betrayal and losing someone he thought was a friend can be, he realized that he had made a mistake. Because of his actions, he wound up losing not only friendship but his magic as well. He didn't want that to happen again. True Discord may have started out on the wrong path, but after seeing how powerful friendship really is, he changed."

Twilight took a breath, a smile on her face, "And, as time went on, Discord and I gradually became good friends. I could honestly call him my friend. Life with him around was never dull. I never know what he's going to do next. He turned out to pleasant company, and soon, I began to fall for him. I didn't want to admit it, but it turns out admitting my feelings was one of the best decisions I ever made."

Cadence put a hoof to her heart, "If that isn't the speech of somepony who's genuinely in love, I don't know what it is."

Night Light nudged his son, "Well, son, your sister is convinced she's found the one. And, after hearing that eloquent speech, I'd say she has me convinced."

He walked over to her, sitting down next to her. "Twilight, as your older brother, you know I'm going to look out for you."

Shining held up a hoof, "Let me finish. I still plan on keeping an eye on him. If he were to have a relapse, he could go back to his evil ways."

"But, I will keep it discreet. I know that you two like each other. Maybe even love at this point, I don't know. If you feel happy and content with him, then who am I to keep you two apart? You're not my little sister anymore. You're a grown princess who can take care of herself. I guess I'm still learning to get used to that."

Twilight smiled with tears in her eyes, "Oh, Shining." She gave her brother a big hug, "I'll always be your little sister, and you'll always be my big brother. That won't change no matter how old I get."

The white unicorn smiled, wrapping his hoof around her, hugging her tight. "Thanks, Twily. I can't say I fully support you two yet, but I'm willing to try."

Twilight pulled away, her hooves still on his chest, "I guess that's the best I can get. Thanks, BBBFF."

Cadence walked over to her husband and sister-in-law, sitting between them and wrapping her wings around the both of them. "I'm glad you two finally were able to come to an understanding."

"Oh, I'd say I was. Maybe more so. But, honestly, who wouldn't be in love with a stallion like you?" She leaned into his chest.

Celestia smiled, "Well, this has certainly been a wonderful evening. But, it is almost time to raise the moon. After all the fun we've had tonight, I think we all deserve a good night's rest."

Luna nodded, "Yes, I wish all of you pleasant dreams. Come, my sister, the night awaits."

She smiled as she thought about her day, and a certain draconequus that had been the subject of conversation that evening.

Off in Ponyville, resting against a crystal pillar, Discord wiped his brow, exhausted from all the party planning that had taken place that day.

He blinked but then a smile slowly spread across his face, "Good night, Twilight."

Today's Her What?

by MLP Fangirl

You're Not Allowed to Forget