The Art of Birthdays
Within Twilight’s crystal castle, Spike lay back on the counter in the kitchen. Having snatched the bag of chips Twilight had hidden, he kicked his feet back and forth. He tossed a chip into his mouth and relished the flavor.
When the doors to the kitchen slammed open, he made a pathetic attempt to hide the bag, turning away while shouting, “I don’t have a problem!”
“Uh, I sure hope not.”
Spike looked back. It wasn’t Twilight standing there with a knowing look as to to sarcastically say “Of course you don’t have a problem.” Rather, Starlight stood at the doorway. Stress wrinkled her face, and her gaze lingered as she gave him a weird look.
Spike’s initial panic faded, and he relinquished a lazy laugh, rubbing the nape of his neck. “Oh, hey, Starlight. What’s up?”
“I was looking for Twilight. Or perhaps you’ve seen Pinkie Pie? Please tell me they aren’t away on a friendship mission—”
“They’re all away on a friendship mission,” Spike interrupted her to spare her the torture of waiting for a response. “So, you know, your average Tuesday.”
Starlight slapped her face with a grunt. “Oh, great! Just what I need!” She started pacing around the counter, earning a bemused look from Spike. After two laps around, Starlight froze and turned to look at Spike. “Okay, okay, maybe you can help me.”
“Maybe? Heh!” Spike puffed out his chest. “You’ve come to the right dragon. What’chu need girl?”
“Okay, well, it isn’t too serious; at least I don’t think it is. You see, Trixie’s birthday is tomorrow. She told me a week ago, and I made sure to remember, but I only just now realized this morning that you’re supposed to set up huge parties for these kinds of things. And now I have less than twenty-four hours to set it all up, and I have no idea what I should do!” said Starlight, ending her rambling with a loud exhale.
“Ooooh.” That explained needing to get Pinkie. And he wasn’t too sure when the girls would be back. Although he imagined Pinkie could set up a party within minutes, the way Starlight looked panicked made him think that waiting just wouldn’t do. He gave her a wide grin. “Looks like we’ll just have to take care of that. Spike and Starlight are on the case!”
“This isn’t a mystery or anything, Spike.”
“Yeah, but it sounds cool.”
Spike stood in his chair, claw tapping his chin. “First, we’re going to need party decorations, and lots of ‘em. Also a place to have the party. You have any ideas?”
“Considering she lives in her trailer, I doubt that’d be big enough to have any kind of birthday party.” Starlight took time to think, but then she gasped, eyes sparkling. “Oh, I know! We should have it in the castle!” Her excitement faded, however, with an afterthought. “Would Twilight mind?”
“Would Twilight mind if you used one of the thousand rooms in this castle for a party? For a friend? She’d probably give you extra credit for your friendship stuff,” Spike joked… except it didn’t sound too far off for Twilight to do.
“Okay, then, what else?”
Spike thought over their list of requirements for a satisfactory party. Getting a cake from the Cakes’ shop, buying party decorations and snacks, and if she wanted, a present for Trixie. Starlight’s joy seemed to fade even further as Spike counted off the things they needed. “All of that? That could take all day!”
Spike chuckled, waving a claw in the air. “It won’t be that bad! What, have you never done birthday parties before?”
Starlight looked away, her hoof brushing shyly against the floor. “Not exactly, but… nevermind! Forget it!” She turned back, determination in her eyes. “Let’s just get this over with.”
***
Somehow ordering a cake was most draining part of the day. Which was ridiculous, because it’s cake for Celestia’s sake! Despite this, Spike waited beside Starlight at the counter in front of the Cakes’ shop. Starlight mused over what type of cake to get. Mrs. Cake even brought out a book filled with specific types of cakes they make specifically for birthdays. Towering cakes, simple cakes, colorful cakes… and Starlight looked through every single one.
Starlight’s chin had slowly landed on the counter while she mulled over choices. Spike mirrored her, but he had to grit his teeth from complaining about them being there for far longer than necessary!
“Trixie would probably love a huge cake, but how huge? We don’t want it to fall over, right?” Starlight muttered at one point. “And you can apparently put somepony in a cake? Geez, that’s really weird.”
Once they finally settled on a two piece vanilla cake with blue frosting and white edges, Mrs. Cake still wore a patient smile and told them they should expect the cake early tomorrow. Spike and Starlight high-fived, though by now Spike feared how the rest of this day would go.
A shop down in Ponyville welcomed them with all sorts of party decorations that burst with color and sparkle. Starlight immediately looked around, eyeing all the decor and party accessories, as if she wanted to buy everything within the store.
Thankfully, she didn’t. Though Spike did almost drag a large box of decorations back to the castle, until Starlight noticed and picked it up with easeful grace with her magic.
“Thanks. Yeesh, Pinkie Pie makes it look so easy,” Spike panted as they made their way back.
Starlight giggled. “She has her own… Pinkie Pie magic, I suppose. Something I could never understand and probably never will,” she said.
“You got that right.”
The sun was already beginning to descend toward the mountains. Starlight picked up speed to return to the castle, with Spike trying to tail her. He had a catch a few stray decorations that flew from the box without Starlight realizing. She left the door to the towering, sparkling castle, but had stopped just a few feet inside.
“We still need to find a room in here. You got any ideas?” asked Starlight.
Spike hummed in thought, but didn’t take long to figure it out.
On the first floor in the right hallway five doors down was… what he was sure was the lounging room, although he still wasn’t too sure what all the rooms in the castle were for. Twilight had taken her time to make a map within the first week, but like he was going to read the whole thing!
Spiked stepped into the room and gestured to the tables, chairs, and even a counter sitting in the back corner. “See? Perfect!”
“With this many rooms in this castle, there was bound to be a room perfect for this,” said Starlight. Her gaze lingered on the room before she pulled out one garland from the box. “Okay, let’s get started.”
Spike nodded. A minute in, and he’d just barely started blowing balloons when he heard the spark of magic behind him. Starlight’s face scrunched as she worked her way around the room with the box in tow. She stood there in silence for the longest time before her horn burst with magic. One flash here, and purple cloth tarped over the tables. Another flash of color there, and a “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” banner was slung against the back wall.
He really shouldn’t have been surprised.
With a shrug, Spike finished the few of the balloons he had started up, walked to one of the tables, and sat down. He slung his feet on the table while tossing some chips into his mouth. Normally, he’d be more than happy to assist, but something told him that Starlight, in the midst of her contemplation of where to put party decor, did not want some dragon getting in the way.
Though he wanted to remark that setting up party decorations is not like painting on a canvas, Spike lay back to let her do as she pleased.
When he glanced at the clock, thirty minutes had passed before Starlight finally remarked that she was finished.
Star shaped garlands stretched across crystal pillars. Starlight tied a rainbow variety of balloons around the arms of chairs and left some to drift to the ceiling. Yes, she took her sweet time decorating a room that wasn’t even that large to begin with, but it seemed to be worth it.
“Lookin’ good!” said Spike, slapping his hands of the dirt that was not on his hands from their hard work. He bounced off of the chair and walked over to Starlight. “I’m sure Trixie will love it.”
Starlight smiled. “You think so?”
“Absolutely. Once we invite the others and some other ponies in town to know, this party can get started."
Starlight’s expression was soft. It hardened when something hit her. “Now about the present. What should I get her? I know it should be meaningful and everything, but…” She let the sentence trail.
“I dunno…” Spike shrugged. “Heck, it just has to be something she likes. Or you can get her gift card to that gift shop a few blocks away.”
“I’m not sure if you’re joking or not.”
“About the gift shop? No. About the gift card? Uh, maybe?”
***
When they went to the gift shop, they did not get the gift card. In fact, they failed to get anything after looking around the store for several minutes. And Spike noticed how tiny the place actually was. Spike yawned, only then realizing how late it was getting.
And to think, he planned to sit in the kitchen with his comics and snacks all day. He groaned and found Starlight in the corner, looking at little snow globes collected on one shelf.
“Think she’ll like that?” he asked.
Starlight shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. They’re nice, but i wouldn’t call these ‘special.’”
The shopkeep on the other side gave her a dirty look, but Starlight ignored him.
Spike decided he could further his assistance here, if only to speed up the process. “Okay, then, how about back scratcher?”
“No way,” Starlight scoffed.
Spike couldn’t miss the irritance coming off of Starlight. As for saying anything about it, that he was not so sure about. So he continued looking around the shop. “Does she like scarfs?” He gestured to the small rack of multiple patterned scarves.
“I… ugh, I don’t know.”
“Or just get her a card? These cause sparks to come out when you open it… well, okay, you can only use it once. I don’t have to pay for this, do I?” Spike briefly met the eyes of the exhausted shopkeep, who just buried his face in his hooves.
“That… sounds nice, actually, but that’s not a present, is it? Spike, I want to get her something that she’ll really like.”
“If you don’t know what she wants, that’s fine. You don’t have to get her a present.”
“No, Spike! Don’t you get it? I have to get her something!” Starlight answered, voice sharp and harsh. “You could be a little more helpful here.”
“I’ve been helping you all day, Starlight!”
Starlight’s eyes glossed over. With a loud grunt, she ran out of the building, leaving the door to close on its own slowly. Spike flinched, and only took a split second to register what happened before running outside after her. He stopped, because she did not seem to get far. In fact, she merely stood feet away from the entrance, her anger gone and replaced with a defeated air.
With a long sigh, she said, “Sorry, I’m sorry! Really! I’m just freaking out over nothing—typical, right?” She threw out a bitter laugh.
Spike crossed his arms. “Sure doesn’t seem like nothing. What’s the problem?”
Starlight bowed her head, letting out a loud, clearly overdue sigh. “What if she doesn’t like what I get her?”
“Why would she hate you because of a bad birthday present?”
“Not even that. Even worse, what if she hates the party?” Starlight’s face fell, her voice trembling. “Will she hate me? I mean, what if she doesn’t like the flavor of cake, or how the decorations look—”
“Starlight.”
Starlight blinked, pulled back into reality. Slowly, her gaze drifted down to Spike, who let his arms fall to his sides. He looked concerned.
“You can tell me what’s bugging you, you know.”
She didn’t answer immediately. In fact, they eventually started walking back to the castle while Starlight mulled over her words. Spike waited. Maybe it had to do with growing up with Twilight, but he knew how to deal with ponies who stressed over the littlest things. It seemed she and Starlight were not too different.
As they came close to the doors of the castle, Starlight finally “Just don’t let Trixie know I told you, because I don’t think she’d want anyone else to know this.”
“Don’t worry. Her secret is all good with ol’ Spike.”
Starlight smiled. It fell as she explained, “Apparently, Trixie hasn’t really had a birthday party in a few years. I guess she hasn’t really had close friends. She told me she tried to make her own birthday parties, but they were never good, and no one ever showed up.”
Spike knew saying Gee, I wonder why was not the right thing to say at the moment. Still, he thought it. “So you want to give her a good first birthday party. That makes sense.”
“It’s not just that.” Starlight’s smile did not meet her eyes. “You see, along with taking away everyone’s Cutie Marks and basically enslaving a whole town,” she said, her cheeks blazed with a sheepish blush, “I also banned certain holidays. Anything that didn’t make everypony feel the same way. That included Hearth’s Warming… and birthdays.”
“You banned birthdays?” Spike asked aghast, unable to hold back his shock. Starlight frowned. Hoping to make light of what she told him, he said with a grin, “Now that’s just going too far.”
The tips of Starlight’s lips curled up, but only briefly. A strand of hair fell down her face, and she grimaced. “Yeah, it was pretty bad. No one celebrated birthdays at all, not even me. I ruined so many ponies’ birthday, making them live without celebrating any sort of happiness like having parties. It was so bad!
“I just don’t want to screw this one up, too,” she muttered, leaning against the wall. She slipped onto her butt with her head bowing down. “I sorta just wanna make up for it, you know? So I want to do the best I can for my best friend.”
Spike walked over to her side, looking down at her. He had a retort in the back of his throat, a tease about how if Starlight can still make friends after all the things she has done, then a bad birthday present was not the end of the world.
However, he bit his tongue. While that was true, he figured she heard enough of her past aggressions. Instead, he said, placing a hand on her shoulder, “Okay, I get it. You want to make up for all that bad stuff you’ve done before. Though gotta be honest, you’ve been doing that for months by now.”
Starlight’s eyes lifted just a little, enough to look at Spike without moving her head.
“You’ve been trying really hard to prove you’re better than you were in the past, and it shows. I don’t think anyone hasn’t noticed by now. If they haven’t, then they really just aren’t try to,” he muttered, thinking about all the time Starlight did not waste but rather dedicated into making every part of the party perfect.
“I mean, hey! You’re doing your best to set up a party for her. That should count for something, right?” Spike exclaimed, throwing his arms out to gesture vaguely. “You and Trixie are really good friends, so I bet she’ll appreciate that. Even if it ends up being a total disaster—which it won’t!” he added hastily, seeing her ears fall.
“I’m sure she will, but… I don’t know.” Her nose scrunched. “I just want my friend to be happy.”
“Seriously, you put enough effort in party decorations to compete with Pinkie Pie,” said Spike. “I don’t really know Trixie all that much, but I’m sure she’ll be happy that you’ve put all this work into a birthday party.”
“You think so?”
“Totally! You can’t worry too much about what could go wrong, because it’s pointless.” Spike snickered. “I live with Twilight, so trust me on that.”
Now Starlight was smiling and it was genuine and wide, and she blinked back tears. “I guess you’re right.” After a pause, she surprised Spike with a hug. “Thank you, Spike. You’re the best.”
Spike chuckled as he returned the embrace. “Hey, I try.”
***
“Where are we going, exactly?” asked Trixie, frowning. Her face twitched as if attempting to peek out from the mask over her eyes.
“I’m not telling! We have to get there first!”
“Is this a prank? Trixie’s not a huge fan of pranks, especially ones against me,” Trixie muttered under her breath. With the sound of doors opening, her ears stood up. “Okay, where are we now? I’m getting impatient!”
“Then be patient!” Starlight said, laughing. She guided Trixie cautiously into the right room, where Spike was waving for her. He leaped back into the room, which was filled with hushed whispers. Trixie failed to comment on it.
The door creaked open, and Starlight pushed Trixie inside. Trixie grunted, on the verge of another complaint. Before she could do so, however, Starlight tore off the eye mask from Trixie’s face. Trixie blinked several times before actually opening her eyes and taking in the scene. When she did, multiple ponies jumped out from under tables and behind columns to shout,
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TRIXIE!”
Trixie let out a stifled gasp, and her face practically glowed with joy. “Oh Celestia!” Her eyes grazed over the room, and she almost spun in place. After a minute, she twirled around to look at Starlight, who blushed a wild color. “You! Are you responsible for all of this?”
“Well, Spike helped a lot.”
“Twilight’s assistant? Well, I’m impressed.”
“You told me your birthday was today, so I thought I’d throw you one. You know, ‘cause you’re my best friend.” Starlight smiled nervously. “Do you like it?”
“Like it? Trixie loves it!” shouted Trixie, reaching out to bring Starlight into a tight hug.
Starlight practically melted out of relief. “Oh that’s so good!”
“You can give the dragon a hug for me. I must go and celebrate my birthday! Come on!” Trixie wrapped her hoof around one of Starlight’s and dragged her away, bringing up the cake.
***
Pinkie trotted over to Spike with purpose in her steps. She found him at one of the tables, talking to Twilight. Twilight noticed Pinkie Pie’s annoyed expression directed at Spike, and decided to leave the two of them alone. She ran off before Spike could protest, and Spike was being stared down at by Pinkie Pie.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this birthday emergency until this morning!” said Pinkie Pie, sounding offended, of all things. She pouted adorably, to a point where Spike doubted she was genuinely angry. “I thought we were friends!”
“Woah, hey. You were away on a friendship mission,” Spike pointed out. “Besides, I think we handled it just fine!”
Pinkie observed the room. “Welllll, I would’ve used more confetti, and there just are not enough games for ponies to play. You always need party games.”
“I couldn’t agree more, though no more Put the Tail on the Dragon, please,” Spike muttered. He instinctively scratched his flank. “You actually put it on me… twice!”
“But I did what the game asked!” Pinkie Pie defended herself.
“... Okay, I can’t argue with you there. Next time, we’ll try to get you… even if you’re off saving Equestria or something.”
Pinkie smiled. “Good… but I do have to give it to you. I think this is a great party! You and Starlight really worked hard on it.”
Spike looked over at Starlight, who smiled this large, sincere smile as Trixie, also beaming with pure excitement, talked to her about something by the food and cake table. “Well, we just wanted to give Trixie the perfect birthday. So I think we did an okay job.”