Chapter 12: Princess Celestia's Surprise Party
Guards were frantically running in and out of the castle ballroom with bags of decorations, tables, and chairs. They left the room just as fast as they went in.
“Hurry up everypony!” Sharp Arrow barked from inside the room. “We only have a couple more hours till Celestia gets back!”
The guards have been at this since the crack of dawn, decorating and organizing, setting up the tables and chairs, and getting the food in order. They wanted everything to be perfect for Celestia.
“Look at them go,” Sunset whistled, playfully nudging Shining Armor who stood next to her. “Why don’t you go help them out, huh?”
“Captain Sharp Arrow said to stay put and watch you guys,” Shining Armor grumbled. “If it was just Twily I wouldn't mind, but why all of you? I’m a guard, not a babysitter.”
Sunburst smiled awkwardly while Starlight stuck her tongue out at him. Twilight, however, was nose deep in the book she bought the other day.
“C’mon, it’s not that bad Shiny,” Cadance smiled.
Shining Armor nuzzled her. “It’s only tolerable because you’re here.”
“Oh stop, not in front of the kids,” Cadance slightly blushed, giggling.
“What Cadance said,” Sunset groaned. “Not in front of the kids, please.”
“Oh buzz off,” Shining Armor rolled his eyes.
“I know the gifts supposed to be a surprise and all, but I just can’t wait any longer,” Cadance said, looking at Sunset. “What did you get Celestia?”
“Should we tell them, Twilight?” Sunset asked, nudging the filly slightly. Twilight didn’t budge though, her eyes still focused on the book. Nudging her again, Twilight still didn’t look up.
“I’m going to take that as a yes,” Sunset chuckled. “It’s a magical cookbook!”
“Sounds boring,” Shining Armor frowned. Cadance jabbed his side, causing him to recoil in pain.
“It sounds lovely,” Cadance emphasized, narrowing her eyes at Shining Armor. Turning back to Sunset, she smiled. “What makes it so magical?”
“Simply put, it can detect what a pony is craving at the time by linking to their magic, and then it writes down a recipe for it in the book,” Sunset explained.
“It’s really cool,” Sunburst commented. “The book is completely blank, but the pony using it can save the recipes and fill those pages.”
Starlight shrugged. “I thought it was a little ordinary, but I think Celestia will like it.”
“What’s this about Celestia?” Sharp Arrow asked, behind the group.
“Just talking about our gift for her, that’s all,” Sunset replied. “What’d you get for Celestia?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Sharp Arrow winked. “But moving on from gifts, I’m assuming you got the special cake?”
“Yup, it’s in the kitchen somewhere,” Sunset nodded.
“Perfect!” Sharp Arrow grinned. “I knew I could count on you. We’re almost done decorating and setting up, but we still have to lay out all the food and desserts. Apparently Celestia’s arriving a little early, so be ready!”
“Roger that!” Shining Armor saluted.
“I’m going to make sure they don’t mess anything up,” Sharp Arrow sighed. “I really hope Celestia likes it.”
“I’m sure she will,” Cadance gave him a comforting smile. “Actually scratch that, I know she will.”
“I’ll take your word for it, Princess Cadance,” Sharp Arrow said, about to bow. Just as he was in motion, a loud crash echoed throughout the hall, causing him to straighten up. Sharp Arrow’s eyebrows furrowed, turning to the source of the crash. Just a few feet away was Moonlight sprawled out on the floor, a ladder laying next to her.
“Moonlight, what happened?”
“Uh, just fell off the ladder, sir!” Moonlight sat up, grinning. The “Happy Birthday Celestia” banner fell on top of her, causing her to panic and flail around.
Sharp Arrow sighed, shaking his head. “Go to the infirmary. I’ll have Shining Armor put up the banner.”
“Y-Yes sir!” Moonlight untangled herself and jolted up. Saluting, she quickly ran out of the room.
“Sir, how am I supposed to put up the banner if I’m watching these four?” Shining Armor asked, motioning to the students.
“Have you never multitasked in your life, Lieutenant ?” Sharp Arrow asked. “Plus, you have Cadance with you to help. Now put this banner up.”
“Yes sir,” Shining Armor sighed, levitating the banner towards him.
Sharp Arrow grinned. “I’m going to go check on the food situation. Cadance, you’re in charge while I’m gone.”
“Yes sir!” Cadance playfully saluted.
Sharp Arrow gave a quick bow before trotting out the room.
“You need help hanging that banner?” Sunset asked. “I’m kind of bored.”
Shining Armor nodded “I could use a hoof.”
Cadance tilted her head as she watched Shining and Sunset levitate the banner up. “Wait, why was Moonlight using a ladder when she could’ve just levitated it up there?”
“That’s a good question,” Sunset chuckled.
“She’s a klutz,” Shining Armor shrugged. “Probably just forgot.”
“Forgot she had a pointy horn on her head?” Starlight cocked an eyebrow. “How does anypony do that?”
“Ask Moonlight,” Shining Armor grinned.
“What did you want to ask me?”
They all turned around to be met with Moonlight standing there, smiling at all of them.
“You’re back so soon?” Cadance asked. “Are you alright?”
“Just a little bruise on my head, nothing I can’t handle!” Moonlight chirped. “But that’s besides the point. What did you need to ask me?”
“We were just wondering why you were using a ladder,” Sunset motioned to the ladder still on the ground, “instead of using your magic.”
Moonlight’s face reddened as she realized her mistake. “Oh, right, I have a horn…”
“So you did just forget,” Shining Armor snickered. “Classic Moonlight.”
“Heh, yeah, classic,” Moonlight giggled.
“Well now that the banner is up, you got anything else you need help with?” Sunset asked. “I’m itching to do something besides sit here.”
“Nah, that’s all Sharp Arrow told me to do,” Moonlight said, recovering from the embarrassment.
“Ah phooey,” Sunset sulked. “Guess I’ll see what Twilight’s up to.”
“Speaking of Twilight, where is she?” Shining Armor looked around, the filly nowhere to be seen. Looking at Cadance, she shrugged.
“I swear she was right here a moment ago,” Cadance said innocently.
“Now we have a missing filly,” Shining Armor groaned. “Great.”
Cadance rolled her eyes. “She couldn’t have gotten far. She probably didn’t even leave the room if I’m being honest here.”
“Well it’s not like she can just vanish into thin air,” Shining Armor frowned.
“I think she could,” Sunset said. “Her magic is something else.”
“Yeah, I know,” Shining Armor sighed. “Well, there’s only so many places she could hide here, so at least that makes it easy.”
“We’re playing hide and seek?” Moonlight tilted her head.
“No Moonlight, we’re looking for Twilight,” Cadance corrected her. “Though, hide and seek around the castle doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Think we can fit that into the itinerary?”
“You’d have to ask Sharp Arrow,” Shining Armor said.
“I know auntie would love to play hide and seek,” Cadance giggled.
“Really?” Sunset cocked an eyebrow. “She would?”
“Everypony has a childish side, no matter how old they are,” Cadance said.
Sunset shrugged. “You’re not wrong.”
Shining Armor cleared his throat. “Let’s focus on Twilight first?”
“Roger that, Lieutenant,” Cadance saluted before scanning the room. “I don’t see her anywhere.”
“Well of course you don’t,” Shining Armor frowned. “She’s probably hiding under a table or something.”
“Why would she need to hide?” Sunburst asked.
“Probably just to read her book in peace,” Shining Armor assumed.
“Alright, let’s go check under the tables then,” Cadance said, trotting over to one of them. Lifting up the table cloth, she looked underneath and was met with nothing. “Nothing under this one!”
“We can see that,” Sunset snickered.
“Alright everypony, let’s just go look under every table,” Shining Armor said.
They scattered around the ballroom, lifting up the table cloths. What they found was absolutely nothing, besides a couple dust bunnies.
“She’s not here?” Shining Armor grumbled.
“Can someone please sweep under the tables, there’s dust under some of them,” Cadance asked the guards in the ballroom.
“Yes ma’am!” one of them said, levitating a broom over and getting to work.
“Maybe she really did just disappear,” Sunset offered. “That book she had was filled with all kinds of magic from what I saw earlier.”
“What book was it anyway?” Shining asked.
“I think it was called Guide to Gimmick Magic and Old Sorcery,” Sunset rubbed her chin. “Or something like that.”
“What an odd combination,” Cadance giggled. “At least it wasn’t How to Summon Minor Demons: Volume III.”
“That’s a book?” Sunset asked. “Wait, why do you know that’s a book?”
Cadance rolled her eyes. “The castle library, duh.”
“My question is why are there three volumes?” Sunburst said.
“Gimmick magic?” Starlight repeated. “That would include invisibility, wouldn’t it?”
“You’re right!” Shining Armor beamed at this. “She’s probably just invisible reading.”
“So she’s in the same exact place she was earlier?” Cadence asked, trotting over to where the filly was sitting.
“Only one way to find out!” Sunset asked. “Give her a little push.”
Cadance reached one of her forehooves out, feeling the area. It looked like she was pushing air, but she swore her hoof was touching something.
“Come here, it’s so weird!” Cadance said, giggling. “It looks like you’re touching nothing, but you feel hair.”
“Can you stop that? I’m trying to read here,” Twilight’s voice said, although she wasn’t visible.
“Did somepony just do a really good Twilight impression?” Moonlight looked around in confusion.
“Moonlight, I swear you don’t pay attention to anything,” Shining Armor sighed. “How did you even become a guard?”
“Fake it till you make it, baby!” Moonlight grinned.
“Whatever…” Shining Armor shook his head.
“So Twilight’s really invisible?” Sunset said, trotting next to Cadance. Placing her hoof where Cadance was pushing, she felt something similar to a pony’s mane.
“What did I just say?” Twilight mumbled with a hint of agitation.
A slight shimmer glistened in the air before Twilight slowly became visible, a slight frown on her face. Crossing her forehooves, she was sitting exactly where she was earlier with the book flat on the ground in front of her.
Cadance giggled. “Awww, she’s so cute when she’s mad.”
“When did you learn to turn invisible?” Sunset asked.
“Just now,” Twilight grumbled, pointing at the book. “From here.”
Sunset nodded slowly. “Huh, I guess you were right, Starlight.”
“Just putting clues together,” Starlight grinned.
“The real question is, why did you turn invisible?” Shining Armor chimed in, looking at his little sister.
“I just wanted to try it out to see if it worked, but I thought it didn’t since no one said anything,” Twilight explained. “So I went back to reading and kind of zoned out everything else while reading. That is until Cadance started shaking me.” Twilight glared at her babysitter who kept giggling.
“So you thought you weren’t invisible and didn’t hear us calling out to you because you were too focused on the book?” Sunset snickered. “I wouldn’t expect that from anypony but you.”
“Must be one interesting book to zone us out,” Sunburst said. “What other kind of magic have you read about?”
“There’s this one section that starts to talk about Discord and his magic, but then the words become jumbled and incomprehensible,” Twilight huffed. “I wanted to learn some chaos magic.”
“I don’t think chaos magic is such a good idea,” Sharp Arrow advised as he walked up behind them. “I’m sure we all learned about the problems Discord caused.”
“It seems like it could be really powerful if used for good though,” Shining Armor said.
Sharp Arrow shook his head. “Apparently nopony can wield his magic. Even if they wanted to, it would most likely destroy them from the inside out. At least that’s the theory Princess Celestia came up with.”
Sunset chuckled. “Well good thing the words are all jumbled then.”
“That might also be Princess Celestia’s doing,” Sharp Arrow said. “She put some sort of spell on any book book that has any information about using Discord’s magic to jumble it all up, making it completely unreadable and undecipherable.”
“For safety reasons, I’m presuming?” Shining Armor asked.
“Exactly,” Sharp Arrow nodded. “But enough about Discord, we still have a little bit of prep to do. The ballroom is pretty much all set, and the food situation is all good. I just somepony to lead Celestia here in a few hours.”
“Twilight and I will do it,” Sunset raised her hoof. “I mean it shouldn’t be hard, considering we’re her students.”
“Great,” Sharp Arrow smiled. “Everypony meet back here in a few hours. I hope you’re all ready for the best surprise party ever.”
With the sun set, moon raised, and hearings adjourned for the day, Celestia tiredly trotted back to her room. Stifling a yawn, she walked the long all that led to her room, but paused just as she was about to enter.
“That’s odd,” Celestia said to herself, looking at the two empty sides of her doorway. “Where are those two?”
Celestia always had two guards stationed in front of her room.
“Now that I think about it, I didn’t see a single guard on my way here.” Celestia’s eyebrows furrowed, rubbing her chin. Deep in thought, she stood there, thinking of any possibility.
However her thoughts were quickly interrupted by a pair of hoofsteps. Looking down the hallway, she saw her two students, Twilight and Sunset. Twilight waved at her while Sunset was smirking. Waving back at Twilight, she met the two in the middle.
“Why hello my faithful students,” Celestia greeted them.
“Hi Celestia!” Twilight chirped, hugging the much larger alicorn. Celestia returned the hug while looking at Sunset.
“Sunset, have you seen any guards around?
Sunset shrugged. “I’ve been in my room the whole day, so not really.”
“Odd…” Celestia hummed, releasing Twilight.
“Let’s go look for them!” Twilight suggested. “Maybe they’re having a meeting or something.”
“A meeting? For what reason?” Celestia mused.
“We won’t know till we find them,” Twilight said, turning around and walking down the hall. “Let’s go!” She called back to them.
“Guess it won’t hurt to see what’s going on,” Celestia chuckled, following the filly.
“So how was your day?” Sunset asked, walking alongside Celestia.
Celestia let out a long sigh. “It was so-so. Some nobles really know how to push my button, even though I know they’re not doing it on purpose.”
Sunset nodded. “Anything special happen?”
“Nothing really,” Celestia shook her head. “Why?”
“No reason,” Sunset quickly said.
The pair followed Twilight around, still not finding any guard roaming around. After a while, they found themselves in front of the double doors of the ballroom. There were no signs of any guards there either.
“Maybe I’ll ask Inkwell where they all went,” Celestia said, slowly turning away from the ballroom doors.
“We should check inside!” Twilight blurted out.
“It’s the only place we haven’t checked,” Sunset added. “I mean I know it’s unlikely the guards are in there, but it doesn’t hurt to check, right?”
“I guess you’re right,” Celestia agreed, trotting over to the doors and slowly opening them. She was met with darkness. “I could’ve sworn I asked the staff to leave the lights on. Guess I’ll have to-”
“SURPRISE!”
Celestia was cut off by both the shouts of ponies, the lights flashing on, and streamers falling onto her. Infront of her stood the majority of the ponies who worked or lived in the castle. A large banner wishing her a happy birthday hung above them.
“Oh my,” Celestia said, looking at everypony there.
Captain Sharp Edge stepped out from the middle, grinning from cheek to cheek. “Happy Birthday, Princess.”
Celestia smiled, wiping a small tear from her eye. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything, princess,” Inkwell said, walking up beside her. “Just enjoy the time and company with everypony.”
“I will,” Celestia simply said. “I will.”
“Shall we get this party started, princess?” Sharp Arrow grinned.
“We shall!” Celestia hummed.
The room was filled with a loud cheer and soon enough everypony was chatting with one another, partaking in the wonderful food and drinks prepared by the royal chefs. Ponies would give their greeting to Celestia, wishing her a happy birthday.
Eventually the alcohol was busted out, the party becoming livelier than before. Celestia sipped on some wine as she stood next to Sunset.
“You’ve been smiling all night,” Sunset grinned.
“Is it so wrong for me to smile when I’m happy?” Celestia shot back.
Sunset chuckled. “No, not at all.”
“I’m assuming this is what you’ve been up to recently,” Celestia asked.
“Twilight and I were just helping to be honest. Captain Sharp Arrow was the pony in charge.”
“Well I’ll have to thank him later then,” Celestia noted. “If you don’t mind me asking, what did you two do for the party?”
“You’ll see,” Sunset simply said.
“Always filled with surprises, aren’t you,” Celestia chuckled.
“Gather around everypony, it’s cake time!” Sharp Arrow announced from the stage. “Can the birthday princess please come up on the stage.”
Celestia looked down at Sunset, then over to the stage. “Guess that’s my cue.”
“Don’t keep him waiting, get up there!” Sunset urged.
Trotting over to and up onto the stage, Celestia waved at the crowd of ponies with a warm smile. Standing next to Sharp Arrow, she remained silent.
“Speech!” One pony yelled out.
“Speech!” Another repeated.
Soon enough, the crowd caught on.
“Speech! Speech! Speech!” They chanted.
“Oh, if I must,” Celestia giggled, the crowd dying down. Taking the mic from Sharp Arrow, she cleared her throat.
“First of all, I just want to thank you all for being here and helping out with this wonderful party. To be honest with you all, it had completely slipped my mind that it was my birthday. If it wasn’t for all of you, another year would have passed by just like that without my celebrating.”
“Next, I’d like you all to give Captain Sharp Arrow a round of applause, please,” Celestia said, motioning to the captain. “I was told that he was the pony who planned this whole event and who’s seeing it through to the end. I am grateful for Captain Sharp Arrow, both in service and as a friend.”
The crowd stomped their hooves, thunderous applause filling the room. Celestia simply stood there, looking and smiling at Sharp Arrow. As the applause died down, Celestia cleared her throat once more.
“Lastly, I would like to thank the royal chefs for serving such delicious food and providing these wonderful drinks. I know some of you are going to go overboard though. I won’t stop you, but do keep in mind we still have work tomorrow.”
Laughter filled the crowd.
“With all that said, I will end it off with another thank you. I am truly grateful for all of you. The guards, the castle staff, Cadance, and my two students. You are all family to me. Thank you and have a wonderful night.”
The crowd erupted into cheers and applause as Celestia handed the mic back to Sharp Arrow.
“Settle down everypony,” Sharp Arrow chuckled. “I know we’re all excited and happy, but we still have desserts to eat.”
As if on cue, some of the royal chefs rolled in carts with desserts all over them. From pies to cakes to chocolate to basically anything sweet.
“You are free to partake in any dessert you wish. However, there is one you cannot touch.” Sharp Arrow nodded at the head chef who was standing off to the side. The chef nodded back before rolling a cart with a golden platter towards the middle. On top of the platter was the wonderful cake that the students picked out.
“This cake is Celestia’s, and Celestia’s alone,” Sharp Arrow announced. “You may ask her for a slice if you want to, but it is her decision if she wants to share it or not. With all that being said, enjoy the desserts!”
The crowd started to disperse, forming smaller groups around the dessert carts and around the ballroom. Some ponies opted to not partake in the desserts, but rather continue talking to their friends.
Sunset, Twilight, Sunburst, and Starlight walked onto the stage, watching Celestia inspect the cake.
“A special cake just for me?” Celestia tilted her head, looking down at the cake. After examining it for a bit, she smirked, turning her gaze to Twilight and Sunset. “I wonder who picked this out.”
“Pfft, it totally wasn’t us,” Sunset smirked back.
Celestia returned the smirk with a cocked eyebrow. “Oh really?”
“Nah, we totally picked it,” Sunset snickered. “And we also got you a gift.”
Sunset levitated over a rectangular box wrapped in all white wrapping paper. It was topped with a beautiful light pink bow.
“Oh yeah, Starlight and Sunburst also helped us,” Sunset added, hoofing it over to Celestia.
“I mean we didn’t really help to be honest,” Sunburst said.
Starlight snickered. “Yeah, we didn’t do a thing.”
“You two were there at least,” Twilight said. “That means you helped, at least in my book.”
“Well I’m grateful for you all and the gift, regardless if you helped or not,” Celestia smiled. “Mind if I open it right now? I’m a little excited to see what my students got me.”
“Maybe after you tried some of the cake we got you!” Twilight suggested.
Celestia giggled. “Right! How could I have forgotten about the cake already?”
“I’m genuinely surprised you forgot,” Sunset grinned. “Knowing how much you love cake.”
“I make my love for cake apparent,” Celestia simply said. “But I think a gift from my beloved students is worth more attention than a cake. However, if the cake was also chosen by my students, then I see no reason not to indulge in some.”
Sunset nodded slowly. “When you say indulge, you mean eat the whole thing by yourself, right?”
Celestia frowned. “Sunset, I may enjoy cake more than your average pony, but I am not a glutton.”
“Right…”
“Now, what kind of cake is it?” Celestia asked, looking down at the brownish, white frosted cake. “It looks rather simple.”
“Why don’t you try some and find out?” Sunset suggested.
“So it remains a mystery until the end, huh?” Celestia said, levitating a cake knife from off of the cart. “
Celestia skillfully cut the cakes into ten perfectly even slices without stopping once to readjust her knife. The cuts blended together, making it seem like one fluid movement.
“Impressive cuts as always, princess,” Inkwell commented.
Shining Armor tilted his head. “Why are your cake slicing skills so good? Is this something royals learn how to do?”
“No Shiny,” Cadance rolled her eyes. “Do you know how old auntie is?”
“This is some sort of trap, isn’t it,” Shining frowned. “It’s rude to say a ladies’ age, you know.”
“You taught him well, I see,” Celestia chuckled at his reaction. “But in all seriousness, with my enjoyment of cake and the years I’ve lived, it’s just second nature to me now.”
“Let’s just eat the cake already,” Sunset said.
Celestia nodded, smiling. Placing the slices onto dessert plates, she levitated them over to everypony on the stage with her. Celestia was the last pony to have get a plate, leaving the tray with only crumbs left.
“Well, let’s eat everypony!” Celestia said, gracefully taking a forkful of cake to her mouth. Everypony held their breaths as they watched her chew. Her eyes slowly widened as she continued chewing.
“So how is it?” Twilight asked.
Swallowing the bit, Celestia nodded her head. “It’s delightful!”
The group let out a collective sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness,” Sunburst said.
Sunset paused for a second. “Wait, why were we so worried again? It’s not like it’s the end of the world if she doesn't like it.”
“I guess you’re right,” Sunburst chuckled. “Maybe we were all overreacting a bit.”
“Just a bit,” Celestia giggled. “Though, I truly appreciate you all trying your hardest to find a cake you think I’d enjoy.”
“Thanks, we try,” Sunset grinned.
“I have to ask though, what kind of cake is this?” Celestia asked after taking another bite. “It has a delightful bitterness that I just can’t put my hoof on.”
Sunset cleared her throat. “It’s an earl gray tea cake with dark chocolate and orange zest.”
“Quite a mouthful,” Shining Armor commented.
“That’s exactly what I said,” Sunset chuckled.
“A cake infused with tea?” Celestia nodded. “How wonderful!”
“Your majesty, I’m quite certain that you’ve had something similar to this before,” Inkwell commented.
“This one's quite different though,” Celestia said. “Instead of having the flowery or sweet taste of other teas, it has a more bitter taste to match the dark chocolate and orange zest. To be honest with you, I do prefer more bitter tea despite my sweet tooth.”
“Is it because it pairs well with sweets?” Starlight asked.
“Exactly,” Celestia simply said.
Sunburst rubbed his chin.“But wouldn’t that mean you wouldn’t drink tea when eating this cake?”
“I’d just opt for a sweeter tea rather than a bitter tea,” Celestia answered.
“Oh, right,” Sunburst grinned sheepishly.
“How about we move on to presents?” Sharp Arrow suggested. “It’s getting quite late, and as Celestia mentioned earlier, we all still have work tomorrow.”
“Or school,” Shining Armor added, eyeing the students.
“We could be here for a couple more hours if auntie opened all the presents,” Cadance giggled, motioning towards the big pile of boxes. “I mean, look at how many she got!”
“I’ll just open a few before retiring for the night then,” Celestia said. “I’ll be sure to give my thanks to everyone eventually.”
“Well, then who’s present are you going to open first, princess?” Sharp Arrow asked.
“Obviously I’m going to start with my students,” Celestia smiled at Twilight and Sunset. “I can’t wait to see what you two got me.”
“Don’t forget that Starlight and Sunburst helped too!” Twilight chirped.
Celestia nodded. “Of course.”
“Well, here you are!” Sunset said, hoofing over the gift.
Celestia gave the box a little shake. “Sounds like a book.”
“You could tell by a single shake?” Sunset asked, unconvinced.
“I’m sure Twilight could as well,” Celestia smirked.
Twilight nodded. “I could!”
“We all know you could, Twily,” Shining Armor chuckled.
Celestia unwrapped the bow with a single tug. Placing the bow off to the side, she opened the lid of the box, which revealed the book.
“Imagining Desserts,” Celestia read aloud, levitating the book out. “I’ve never seen a book like this before.”
“Open it up,” Starlight said.
Celestia did just that, flipping to the first page of the book. She stared at it, her eyebrow’s furrowing. “It’s blank?”
Cadance loomed over her shoulder, taking a peak. “Wow, it really is blank! What use is a blank book?”
“Apparently it’s a magical book,” Sunset said. “The pony who sold it to us said that you could link your magic to it, then it’ll show a recipe for a dessert you’re craving.”
“How interesting!” Celestia smiled. “Might as well test it while we’re all here.” Igniting her horn, a golden line connected her horn and the book. Suddenly, words started appearing one by one on the page. In a matter of seconds, a completed recipe appeared. The words were light but readable.
“Woah…” Twilight stared at it with awe.
“That’s neat!” Cadance said.
“It seems you’re craving more of that cake, princess,” Inkwell commented.
“It seems so,” Celestia giggled.
At the top of the page was the dessert, which in this case was the name of the cake they were enjoying, the earl gray tea cake with dark chocolate and orange zest. After that it was just like any other cookbook, listing off ingredients and steps to baking the perfect cake.
“You can have my slice if you want,” Cadance offered.
“No thank you, Cadance,” Celestia smiled. “Thank you though.”
“You can even save the recipe for later,” Sunset added. “I’m not sure how to do it exactly, however. Didn’t really get a chance to mess around with the it before giving it to you.”
“Well since it's connected to thoughts, she might just have to think about saving it, right?” Sharp Arrow said.
Shining Armor nodded. “That would make sense.”
“Hmm…” Celestia hummed, closing her eyes. Just a few seconds later, the words started etching themselves into the page, becoming darker and darker until it looked like actual ink. Opening her eyes, she smiled down at the book. “So that’s how you do it!”
“Well would you look at that,” Sharp Arrow whistled. “That sure is cool.”
Closing the book, Celestia nodded. “This is a wonderful present. Thank you.”
Sunburst grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Heh, it was nothing.”
“No problem,” Sunset grinned. “Anything for the best teacher ever.”
Celestia smiled, rolling her eyes at her comment.
“Princess, I think Sharp Arrow has a present for you,” Inkwell said, motioning to the captain.
“Well of course I do,” Sharp Arrow said. “I’m the one who organized the whole event, so why wouldn’t I?”
“Well, what is it then, captain?” Celestia asked.
“It’s nothing special,” Sharp Arrow grinned, levitating another box over. Celestia flashed a quick smile before accepting it.
“That’s quite the small box,” Shining Armor said.
“The size of the box does not matter,” Sharp Arrow simply replied. Cadance stifled a giggle at his comment.
Shining Armor frowned. “Very mature.”
“This is very thoughtful, captain,” Celestia said, staring down at the now opened box. Inside was a simple golden necklace with her cutie mark dangling off it. “Quite cute as well.”
“To be honest princess, I had no idea what you’d want, so I just went with my gut,” Sharp Arrow said. “I’m glad you like it.”
Celestia hung the necklace around her neck, showing it off to them. “So, how does it look?”
“It suits you well, auntie,” Cadance said.
“Why thank you,” Celestia giggled. Turning her gaze to Sharp Arrow, she smiled. “And thank you, captain.”
Sharp Arrow smiled back. “It’s nothing.”
“Alright, me next!” Cadance chirped, the other box already floating in front of Celestia.
“I wonder what my niece could've got me,” Celestia said, studying the box.
“Open it and find out,” Cadance smirked.
Doing so, Celestia levitated out a simple mug with the words “2nd Best Princess in Equestria” on it. Sunset burst into laughter when she saw the mug, almost falling to the floor. Celestia sighed and shook her head.
“Why did I not see this coming?” Celestia said.
“Well, do you like it?” Cadance asked innocently.
“It’s unique,” Celestia simply said.
“Why thank you,” Cadance said. “I had to get it custom made. You should’ve seen the ponies’ face when I asked him to make it. Priceless!”
“I would bet,” Celestia chuckled, placing the mug back into the box. Looking at everypony on the stage, Celestia smiled. “Thank you all for the wonderful presents.”
“You all have no idea how much this party and these gifts really mean to me. I do not take any of you for granted, and I truly do care for you all.”
“Getting all mushy on us, huh?” Sunset snickered.
Celestia rolled her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time at Sunset. Clearing her throat, she let out a long sigh.
“As much as I’d like to stay up with you all and continue partying, I should probably retire for the night. Unfortunately, being the sole ruler of a nation has its downsides.”
“I was just about to suggest that,” Inkwell said. “Your schedule is quite full. I expect you to be busy until late at night tomorrow.”
“Ah, wonderful,” Celestia weakly smiled. “Before I leave, I’d like to thank you all once again. I know I’ve said thank you too much tonight, but I just want you all to know just how grateful I am for this.”
“We all know how grateful you are,” Sunset chuckled. “Now go get some sleep, you need it.” The others nodded in agreement.
“Goodnight then,” Celestia smiled before making her way towards the double door. She would bid her farewell to ponies along the way, but eventually made it out of the room.
Soon enough, the party slowly died down as ponies left or succumbed to their alcohol consumption. The group had stayed on the stage for almost the whole night, just chatting amongst themselves. Twilight was sound asleep atop of Shining’s back, but the rest of the group was still awake.
However, they were not faring too well.
“I think-” Sunset yawned. “I think we should hit the hay. At least I’m going to.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Cadance laughed weakly. “The party was fun though.”
“You got that right,” Sharp Arrow grinned.
Sunburst's head was nodding, fading in and out of sleep. He was leaning up against Starlight, who was as still as a statue, slightly blushing.
“Looks like she’s enjoying herself too,” Shining Armor grinned. Starlight remained silent, glaring at Shining Armor.
“Well, I’m going to excuse myself then,” Sunset said, letting out a yawn. “See you all tomorrow. Maybe.”
With that, the party was done and the night was finished. The guards, castle staff, and students had a wonderful time celebrating. Celestia too had a wonderful time, sleeping peacefully in her bed with a large smile on her face.
And that's the new chapter everyone! You can expect at least one every month, and at most two. I didn't write too much this past week, but I'm trying to get back into it. It was probably because I wasn't working this week so I became super lazy, but I start work again soon, so I'll probably get my motivation back!
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy. See you in the next one! 
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This was a fun chapter.
Wish a bit of chaos for the birthday
but it was a nice chapter
Hmm.... I wonder if Celestia will ever regift this? Maybe to her sister, or Cady, or maybe even Twilight if this story follows a similar path to the cannon.
11297147
of course
cheered me uup as i got sick and now its covid
maybe it's just me, but i was expecting Sharp Arrow to attempt an assasination
Aww, that was cute.
Twilight would be upset at me for saying this, but you've got too many books there
well she is gonna need a new cup when Luna pops up.... and depending on if Twilight and Sunset turns into Alicorns she will be needing a few new cups