The leaves that adorned the trees of the Royal Canterlot Garden waved about in the soft breeze that flowed past them. The same went for the flowers, bushes, and the rest of the plant life that surrounded the area. Even some of the birds and critters chirped at how great the wind felt on them. It was a perfect scene of peace and tranquility. Though the moment did not last long as a large figure made his way through the tree tops, using his wings to keep him afloat. Caster Forge hopped from one tree to another, with swift ease, until he stopped at a tree with several thick branches. After he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow, Caster turned around to see his ‘student’, who attempted the same performance as him.

Anima Memoriae carefully leapt from branch to branch, trying to maintain her balance. Her wings helped to give her the extra speed she needed, but not enough to make her as fast as Caster. She stopped a few feet away from her teacher before speaking.

“How is this… supposed to help… with flying again?” Anima asked, trying to catch her breath in between words.

“As I said before, one of the most important attributes when it comes to flying is agility. A Pegasus needs to be able to change their direction of flight at a moment’s notice, usually when a dangerous situation occurs,” Caster stated, doing his best to inform her. “This exercise is meant to help you gain a better understanding of what it feels like. Plus, using your wings to increase your speed will make you have to change your course all the more quicker.”

“I see. But why do we have to do this from so high up exactly?” she asked, wondering how this would affect her lessons.

“Makes for better training. You have to time your jumps just right otherwise, well, I think you get the idea,” Caster replied, hoping she would understand his reasons.

“Yeah, I believe so,” Anima said, sarcastically as she gave an exasperated sigh.

“Don’t worry, we’re almost done. Just reach me and we’ll call it a day,” he said, trying to motivate her.

“Sweet, that’s all the motivation I needed,” she spoke, getting ready for her last sprint.

Anima looked across the branches that would serve as her foothold and mentally prepared herself for the leap. However her gaze drifted down to the ground that was several feet below and she felt a little dizzy. Lately Caster’s training and exercises seemed to be taking place among relatively high altitudes. It made her nervous nearly every time, as she was not completely used to such heights. But Anima quickly shook off her hesitation as she focused again on the matter at hand. After all, if she was going to be flying one day, she’d have to deal with heights like every other Pegasus.

After taking a deep breath, Anima began her dash across the branches. It was going well until she mistimed one of her jumps, which caused her to lose her footing and slipped on the branch she landed on. She nearly fell over, but felt her descent halted as something grabbed her arm. She looked up to see Caster, who had sprinted over to her, holding her arm and smiling.

“Geez, what is it with me always having to save you from falling lately?” he said, holding back a chuckle as he helped her up.

“Hey, it’s not easy doing this you know, especially since I’m relatively new to all this,” Anima said, getting back up onto the branch. “Besides I remember a certain somepony needing me to save them a few weeks ago.”

“Well excuse me, Princess, for getting whacked in the face with a volleyball,” he retorted, taking on a slightly stern tone.

The two of them stayed silent for a moment, letting their arguments sink in. It eventually turned into fits of laughter as they recalled the events from beforehand. When it all died down they returned to their usual spot in the garden and started packing up their stuff.

“So, Anima, did you have fun today?” Caster asked, continuing his packing.

“Absolutely! It’s not often that I get a chance to leap through trees like that, even for the sake of learning,” she said, still full of energy from earlier.

“That’s good to hear, these lessons would get kind of boring if we didn’t have a little fun after all,” Caster stated, glad to know his teaching wasn’t too much of a burden on her.

“Though really I should be asking you that question. Because I know this has all been a lot for you to take on,” Anima said, not wanting this all to be a hassle for him.

“Of course I am. Sure it’s a bit more work on my part, but the fact that I’m helping somepony certainly makes up for it. Plus you’ve helped liven up my days ever since we started hanging out, so it’s definitely worth it,” Caster explained, letting her know their time together has been well spent.

“Sweet,” Anima said as she held up a hand for a high five, which he graciously returned.

“So, what have you got planned for the weekend?” Caster asked, as he finished packing.

“Well not much, just a little party is all,” she said, holding in her excitement.

“Oh really, what’s the occasion?” Caster asked, wondering what was getting her so excited.

“Nothing special, just my birthday is all!” Anima exclaimed, happily jumping up and down.

“Wow, cool! I assume I’m invited of course,” Caster claimed, knowing the answer.

“Definitely, and your friends as well! I hope your brother and Hotpop will be able to join too,” Anima said, wanting to see them all again.

“I think they might be able to make it. But I’ll still have to check with them of course,” he said, wondering if they had any free time for the weekend.

“I see. Well if they can’t attend, that’s fine. I wouldn’t want to interfere with their busy lives cause of my own,” she said, looking slightly disheartened.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure they still want to see you again. They’re your friends as well you know,” Caster said, trying to cheer her up.

“That’s good to hear,” Anima said, as she finished packing up her own supplies. “So I’ll definitely see you at my place on Sunday, right?”

“Absolutely, and I’ll be sure to bring an army of friends with me as well,” Caster replied, letting her know what would be coming.

“Awesome!” she said, giving Caster a quick hug before leaving. “Later!”

“See you there,” he stated, as she went into the castle.

Caster stood where he was in the gardens, almost as still as a statue. He had a look of pure horror on his face as a single thought clouded the rest of his brain.

‘What in the hay am I supposed to get her for her birthday!?’ he thought, beginning to panic.

===============================================================

And so Caster spent the entire day afterwards running and flying around Canterlot, trying to find the right gift to get for Anima. Of course he let his friends and family know so they could get their own gifts. They even offered to do all their shopping together to get it all done faster. Also because Gadget said it would keep them all from buying the same gift. Caster was, of course, very grateful for all of them helping him out with this endeavor.

The next day, after everything had been taken care of, he and his friends went in the familiar route towards Anima’s home. The area had looked the same as last time. The only difference now was that the blazing heat wave had finally passed, allowing everyone to wear their usual attire. As they all got closer to their destination, with presents in tow, Caster decided to speak up.

“I’m glad you all could make it to the party. Also thanks again for helping me with gift shopping, I almost didn’t know what to get her,” he stated, holding up the wrapped gift.

“Of course, Caster, after all I couldn’t just leave my little brother hanging like that,” Jack Spirit said, everyone else around them nodding their heads.

“Yeah! Besides, I haven’t seen Anima in quite a while. I’ve been meaning to catch up with her,” Hotpop said, thinking of how her newest friend must’ve been doing.

“She said the same thing about the both of you. I’m sure you’ll both have a lot to talk with her about,” Caster said.

“Hey don’t forget about us, Cast,” Glitch stated, putting him into a playful headlock.

“Trust me, Glitch, you guys make it hard to do that,” he retorted, causing everyone to start laughing as he tried getting out of the headlock.

“Well I’m just looking forward to hanging around with Anima and her friends again,” Yoshi said, remembering the earlier party. “They’re certainly livelier than us.”

“That’s for sure, particularly Cloud Heart,” Gadget said, remembering her antics. “Sometimes it scares me to think about all that energy she has stored up.”

“Indeed. From what I’ve heard, Princess Twilight has to deal with a friend similar to that. I guess ponies like her are more common than we think,” Caster stated, wondering if those two might even be related.

“Right. Well, I’m sure that they’ve missed hanging out with you too, Caster. One of them more than the rest,” Digi said, knowing that he got his meaning.

“Well, when you spend over three months learning from somepony, you’re bound to enjoy their company a little. Also, we aren’t like that!” he retorted, his face red with embarrassment and annoyance.

They all just started laughing again, seeing Caster get all worked up. Though he didn’t want to admit it, Caster did feel something for Anima. After all, she did save his life not too long ago. But even then he still didn’t know what to make of these feelings, because he knew that gratitude for deeds could cloud his judgment. He’s dealt with that situation once or twice in the past. But either way, he was still grateful for what Anima had done for him, and she would always be one of his closest of friends.

When the moment had died down, they all continued moving forward to the party. As they all arrived at the home of Equestria’s newest Princess, there was one addition that everyone immediately noticed. Out in the front yard was a large wooden stage with a red curtain, and several chairs lined up before it. There were also about three or four ponies that Caster, nor his friends, did not recognize, who were helping to set up lights and supplies around the stage. It was all a bit surprising, they had not expected Anima, or perhaps her parents, to go through so much effort for her birthday party. Just then, the aforementioned mare and her parents, along with her friends, exited the house and saw the large group of ponies waiting outside the front gate.

“Hey everyone, good to see you all again!” Anima Memoriae declared, running up to them and opening the gate for them.

For a moment Caster expected her to give him one of her usual hugs whenever they hung out. Though he was slightly surprised when her direction veered off towards Hotpop, as she wrapped her in one of her own bone-breaking hugs.

“Hotpop, I’ve missed you so much! It’s been too long!” Anima said, keeping up the hug.

“Same here, Anima. I haven’t seen you since the coronation,” Hotpop said, doing her best to hug her back.

“Oh and Jack, it’s nice seeing you as well. How are things going for you up at the castle?” she asked, releasing Hotpop.

“It’s going well, a few of my patients are starting to get better. And it’s a pleasure to meet you again too,” he said, giving her a hand shake.

“And don’t think I forgot about you, Caster. I’m very glad you and all of your friends could make it,” Anima said, giving him a gentler hug.

“I’m glad I could make it as well, Anima,” Caster said, returning the hug.

“My, my, you two seem to be getting along well,” Mia Hairspray pointed out, she and her other friends showing up behind her.

“Mia, it wasn’t like that!” Anima stated, her cheeks turning red as she broke the hug.

“I don’t know, it certainly seemed ‘like that’ to me,” Bard said, giving a cheeky grin along with his associates.

“Oh don’t you guys start again either,” Caster said, matching his student’s blushing face.

“What? We all can’t have a little fun teasing our friends?” Skull Candy claimed, everyone else agreeing and chuckling.

As the debate went on, most of it ending in laughter and teasing, a figure had appeared at the front gate. He was an earth pony stallion with dark-red fur, a bright brown mane and tail which was relatively short, green eyes and a green cap atop his head. The mysterious pony made his presence known as he cleared his throat.

“Excuse me, but I’m not too late for the party am I?” the stallion asked, holding up a neatly wrapped present.

“Davey, you made it,” Anima said, greeting him as she let him in.

“As if I’d ever miss my friend’s birthday party,” Davey Joe said, smiling as he met up with everyone there.

“Right, well I’m still happy you could come. There’s also somepony I wanted you to meet,” she said, as she went and brought one of her friends over. “Davey, I’d like you to meet my best friend and teacher, Caster Forge.”

“Ah, so you’re the one she’s told me about. You’ve been teaching her how to fly as I recall,” Davey said, starting the conversation.

“Indeed I have, and she’s mentioned you from time to time as well. I heard that you two were together for a little while,” Caster said, remembering what she had said about him.

“True, though I have to admit it’s kind of my fault our relationship ended the way it did. Just got too caught up in my work I suppose. I did try to rekindle the romance at one point but by then it was too late,” he explained, as he scratched his head and looked away in embarrassment.

“Hey I’m not going to hold it against you or anything. It just didn’t work out between us,” Anima spoke up, hoping he wasn’t still upset by it all.

“Well as long as we’re friends, that’s more than enough for me,” Davey said, before he turned his attention back to Caster. “And I hope we can become friends as well, Caster.”

“Absolutely, Davey,” he said, bringing him into a mutual hug.

“Take good care of her, she means a lot to me,” Davey whispered, making sure only Caster heard his message.

Before Caster could ask what me meant by that, a green unicorn mare with a long black mane came up to the large group of ponies.

“Excuse me everypony, I hate to interrupt, but Mr. Turbo says that the show will be starting in about five minutes. So please take your seats,” she said, breaking up the conversation.

“Well we certainly don’t want to keep our son waiting. He can get very impatient when he’s made to wait for anything,” Celly Script said, remembering what he was like in his younger years.

“Ugh, please don’t remind me,” Anima said, before turning back to her friends. “But either way I hope you guys enjoy the show. Topsy works very hard to make his performances special.”

“I’m sure we will, Anima. No doubt it’ll be an extravaganza,” Glitch stated, as he and everyone else began taking their seats.

Once everyone was seated, Caster and Anima sitting together in the front row, a stallion’s voice rang out over the speakers on the stage.

“Good afternoon, mares and gentlecolts! We’re glad to see so many of you have turned out for today’s special performance for Equestria’s newest Princess. We’ve all worked hard these last few months prepping this show and hope that you’ll all enjoy it. Now, without further ado, let’s all give a round of applause to the star of our show: Topsy ‘Turvy’ Turbo!”

At that moment, the curtains were pulled back and a large cloud of colorful smoke exploded on the stage, some of it spilling over. When it dissipated, three ponies were revealed. One of them was the unicorn mare from earlier with a mare next to her that looked identical to her. And in between them, with a yellow mane and tail, light-blue fur, and green eyes, was Topsy Turbo himself. All three ponies were wearing white and black colored skin-tight outfits.

“Hello everypony! Who here’s ready for a show?” Topsy exclaimed, earning a loud cheer from them in response. “Good, because I promised my lovely sister a show she’d never forget, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. So to start off, I figured I’d go with one of my favorites. If my assistants would be so kind as to bring out the supplies, we may begin.”

With that, the two mares went off in opposite directions while Topsy moved back a little. They came back shortly with several clubs held in their hands. They waited until he gave them the signal, which came in the form of him extending his wings and arms, and they began tossing clubs toward him. Then, with excellent precision and timing, Topsy began juggling all the clubs. He started with simply juggling them into the air above him, then when he got the right momentum he juggled them back to his assistants. In turn they began juggling them as well and returning them to him. In only about a minute, several clubs were being juggled and tossed back and forth between the three ponies. Even more amazing was that Topsy Turbo wasn’t even looking at the two mares apart from him, his gaze glued solely on the audience.

Said audience had been cheering him on throughout the show. Some of them clapping, others whistling or shouting. But no matter what it never deterred Topsy from his performance. He even sped it up a bit, the clubs turning into vague blurs flying through the air. It kept going on until a spotlight came on, pointing at a large moving red bucket that hung on a wire above Topsy. Upon noticing the spotlight and what it meant, he started tossing the clubs into the air in different directions. Everyone in the audience watched as, one by one, each of the clubs found their way into the bucket. And with a final throw the last club had made it in and the audience cheered the three ponies as they took a bow.

“Thank you, thank you, I hope you all enjoyed that one. Because that was only just a warm up,” Topsy said, as he flew up into the air.

The two mares went off to the sides again, each grabbing a large basket filled with dozens of juggling balls, as two large towers were wheeled in on either side of the stage. Turbo’s assistants climbed up the ladders on the tower until they reached the platforms on top of them.

“All right everypony, now it’s time for something a little more advanced!” he exclaimed, stretching out his arms while still in the air. “It’s a routine I invented myself, so pay close attention or else you might miss it.”

Once he finished talking, the Unicorn mares atop the platforms reached into the baskets on their backs and commenced throwing several colorful balls at him. At first, Topsy simply juggled them with his hands, throwing them even higher into the air. But as time went on, everyone in the audience noticed he never threw the balls back at his assistants. And so the number of balls he was juggling kept on rising. Then, at a certain point, Topsy started twirling his body around, continuing to juggle the balls. Though now, he was not only doing it with his arms, but with his legs and even his wings as well. Soon he was juggling every single ball that was thrown at him, looking like a blur as he moved his body in time to catch each one. All the ponies, even his assistants, oohed and awed at the stunt he was pulling off.

“Wow, I didn’t expect your brother to be able to do something like that,” Caster Forge said, turning his gaze to Anima.

“I know, right!? This is just incredible, I can’t believe he’s been on the road doing stuff like this all the time,” Anima exclaimed, mesmerized by her brother’s display.

“Well I’m sure he’ll enjoy hearing you say that when this is all over,” Caster said, looking back at the acrobat on stage.

“Trust me, he’ll get more than enough praise from everypony here,” Anima stated, knowing everyone was just as amazed as she was.

After a few more minutes of juggling, Topsy began tossing the balls back at his assistants. However he was aiming them at the baskets themselves, all of them finding their way inside. In only a short amount of time, he had managed to get all the balls back where they belonged. Right on cue, the audience applauded him and his associates on his performance as he floated back down and took another bow.

“Thank you all once again. But it’s not over just yet, there’s still plenty more to come,” Topsy said, as more ponies stepped onto the stage.

===============================================================

About half an hour had passed since Turbo’s epic juggling performance. From that time, he and the rest of his compatriots had pulled off many types of acrobatic stunts. From trapeze swinging to tightrope walking they continued to dazzle and amaze their audience. At the end of it, the performers gathered at the front of the stage and gave one last bow as the crowd stood up from their seats and applauded them. When it was all said and done, the curtains covered the stage as everyone in the audience conversed about the spectacular show they had witnessed.

“Wowie zowie! Anima, your brother is way more amazing than I thought he was,” Cloud Heart declared, more astonished than most of the group.

“Yeah, he certainly was something, I’ll give him that,” Windie Light said, surprised by Anima’s brother.

“Well you know my brother, he’s always been the wild one of our family. I was surprised when he actually found a way to put that part of him to something like this,” Anima stated, remembering the day he set out on the road.

“I can tell he certainly made a good choice in career,” Caster said, still amazed by the performance.

“That I did buddy. Not only for the money, but also to see the smiling faces of the ponies I entertain,” Topsy said, showing up with his entourage, all of them wearing more comfortable clothing.

“Indeed, that was quite a performance. The name’s Caster, by the way,” he said, holding out a hand for him to shake.

“Ah yes, I’ve read about you in Anima’s letters. Though I doubt she’ll be able to do the same stuff as I can with her wings,” Topsy replied, returning the gesture.

“Hey, I only got these things like a few months ago! You’ve had them your whole life,” Anima retorted, irritated at her younger brother’s comment.

“Good point,” he said, sticking his tongue out at his sister teasingly. “But in all seriousness, Caster, thank you for helping out my sister. I would have done it myself but I’m just too busy with performances and on the road for at least months at a time.”

“It’s no problem, Topsy, I’m glad to help out anypony in need. It’s a curse, I’m afraid,” Caster said, earning a chuckle from everypony.

“Oh my gosh, that show you put on was amazing!” Cloud Heart declared, suddenly rushing up to Topsy with great speed.

“Oh um, thanks. Cloud Heart, I believe your name was?” he asked, blushing by how close she was.

“You know me? Are you psychic?” she pondered, going into a talking frenzy. “Because I’ve heard of a few ponies who can do that and they usually like to live on the road so is that why you’re always on the road because you shouldn’t have to go so far away just to let others know about your-”

“Actually, Anima’s told me about you, and the rest of her friends as well,” Topsy clarified, gaining her attention.

“Ooohh, I see. Never mind then,” Cloud said, moving back a bit. “But still that was a really awesome performance.”

“Well I’m glad you enjoyed it, we all worked hard to get the routine memorized,” he stated, his crew nodding in agreement.

“And it certainly paid off. I’ve loved these kinds of shows ever since I was a little filly, and I can say yours is one of the best,” Cloud said, giving them praise for their efforts.

“Seems like we have ourselves a new fan,” Topsy Turbo said, his blush returning as an idea popped into his head. “You know, if you want, I can teach you a few tricks that I’ve learned.”

“Really? That’s so sweet of you, thanks, Topsy!” she exclaimed, wrapping him in her trademark death hugs.

Before Topsy could have anymore of his ribs broken, Anima’s parents interrupted by saying that it was time to move on to the party itself. Everyone agreed and one by one they all went into the house, bringing their gifts in with them. As anyone would expect from your usual birthday party, the inside of the home was covered in decorations. Several balloons had floated up to the ceiling, covering it in a multitude of colors. Streamers lined the walls and even had a few smaller decorations. Even the floor was covered in small bits of confetti, which was being shuffled around as everyone walked inside. And in the very back of the room was a large banner hanging from the ceiling that read, in capital letters, ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANIMA!’.

All in all, it certainly looked like Celly and Zen went all out to make this party special for their daughter. Even when it came to catering and entertainment. There were different types of foods and snacks adorning the counters in the kitchen. Things such as chips and salsa, vegetable and fruit platters, several kinds of sandwiches, and an assortment of beverages. The living room looked like it had been completely transformed. Most of the furniture had been moved around to make room for all the games that had taken up residence. Such as pin the tail on the pony, a game system with several video games lined up, spin the bottle, and even a piñata that was magically crafted to look like Anima’s cutie mark.

“Whoa, I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to a party like this before,” Caster stated, looking at all the décor surrounding them.

“Me neither,” Yoshi Ringo said, everypony else agreeing.

“Well don’t just stand around, then. Let’s party!” Anima declared, as everypony shouted with glee.

The party began in earnest as Anima’s and Caster’s friends, and even Topsy’s crew members went around and started having fun. At one end were Strawberry Rose, Davey, and Mia taking part in the pin the tail game. With the red earth pony currently blindfolded.

“Come on Strawberry, you’re almost there,” Davey said, encouraging his friend.

“Just a few more steps, dear,” Mia said, doing the same.

“All right, all right, just give me a moment,” Strawberry said, slowly taking one step at a time with the pinned-tail in her hand.

She kept moving closer toward the wall, being careful with every step she took. Though not enough it seemed as she tripped on her own feet and fell forward. Strawberry nearly hit the ground but luckily Davey Joe managed to catch her in time.

“Whew, that was a close one. You okay?” he asked, noticing her blindfold had been moved aside, revealing her light green eyes.

“Um, y-yes thank you,” she replied, her cheeks turning an even darker shade of red as she stood up.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Yoshi, Digi Doodle, Spring Sunglow, and Skull Candy were snacking on some of the food that had been laid out.

“Mmm, this is some of the best salsa I’ve had in a long time,” Digi stated, after gulping down a chip covered in the spicy dip.

“Though not as good as these sandwiches they made,” Yoshi said, taking a bite out of the aforementioned food.

“They really did do a nice job making all this food for everypony,” Spring said, grabbing a few veggies from the platter.

“Yeah, you two seem to be enjoying yourselves,” Skull said, as she drank down some soda pop.

“Indeed, we’ve always been known for being the food lovers of our group,” Digi claimed, as he brought a bit more food onto his plate.

“Though for you, D3, that love seems to revolve mostly around tacos,” Yoshi said, knowing all about his favorite food.

“Hey, my life doesn’t revolve solely around tacos! Plus I recall a certain somepony going gaga over sandwiches,” he retorted, with a sly grin.

“Well that’s only because they have more variety,” Yoshi replied, stating his claim.

As the two stallions continued their debate, with Skull and Spring watching from the sidelines, out in the backyard Topsy Turbo was showing Cloud Heart a few juggling tricks.

“Wow, Cloud, you really seem to have a knack for this,” he said, as he watched her juggle five balls in the air.

“Thanks, I’ve always had a lot of energy for some reason, and it comes in handy for things like this. Especially for when I’m handling clouds,” Cloud said, letting the balls fall back into her arms.

“I see. You know, we could use somepony like you in our act. But that’s completely up to you, of course,” Topsy said, a hint of blush on his cheeks.

“Maybe, I mean I still have my job at the weather factory and I’d hate to leave my friends,” she said, thinking it over as her own face started to turn red. “Although, maybe I could start coming to your shows from now on.”

“That’d work too. Although I’d have to make sure my sister’s friends receive the best treatment,” he said, giving her a wink.

While Cloud Heart thanked him for his kindness with another death hug, the party continued on back inside, where everybody else was settled around the TV, playing different games at a time. Currently they were playing Trot Trot Revolution, which was using one of DJ-PON 3’s latest songs.

“Come on, Glitch you’ve got this,” Bard exclaimed, watching his friend bust a move.

“Easier said than done,” he replied, doing his best to keep up with the beat and his opponent, Ivory Dancer.

“If anyone’s got the beat down it’s Ivory here,” Windie stated, seeing her moves.

“Isn’t that the truth,” Ivory said, slowly outdoing her opponent.

The song was close to over when the screen went fuzzy for a moment, breaking the player’s concentration. Though for Glitch, this proved an opportune moment as he was able to use his talent to predict the pattern of the steps and able to match them before the screen turned to normal. It was at that point that the song came to a conclusion and showed that Ivory had lost with Glitch winning by only a few points.

“Oh come on, that was so unfair!” Ivory stated, glaring at Glitch.

“Hey I can’t help that I was born with this gift on convenience,” he replied, sticking his tongue out teasingly.

“Yeah? Then let’s see if you can try that on this one,” she said, picking out a more advanced tune with a sinister grin.

“You’re on,” Glitch said, getting ready for more.

As the two continued their sudden rivalry, Caster, Anima, Jack, and Hotpop decided to take a break and, after gathering some refreshments from the kitchen, seated themselves at the dining room table.

“Well, Anima, I must say this is one impressive party your parents threw together,” Jack Spirit said, as he took a sip from his glass of red punch.

“Indeed, I didn’t ask them to go this far just for me. But when I told them I was going to be having so many friends over they said they wanted to make it all the more special,” she said, taking a bite out of a hay wrapped pickle, her favorite.

“Though I wasn’t expecting your brother to make such a huge performance,” Caster stated, eating an assortment of fruits and vegetables.

“Neither did I. I thought he was just going to do a small show, like one of those birthday party magicians. But I guess Topsy is just full of surprises like always,” Anima said, remembering all his earlier tricks.

“So, Anima, how’ve you been lately? My little brother in law isn’t giving you too much trouble with your flying lessons is he?” Hotpop asked, wondering how things were going between them.

“Hey, have a little trust in me why don’t ya? I’m at least a kinder flying instructor than our dad. He always tried pushing me to be the best at a young age,” Caster retorted.

“Though to be fair our father was raised in Cloudsdale, and everypony knows that all the serious fliers come from there,” Jack added, knowing their father only meant the best, though was glad he was born a Unicorn.

“That’s true I guess,” Caster said, before realizing what had just occurred. “Oh, I’m sorry, Anima, I guess I interrupted your reply back there.”

“It’s fine, Caster, no harm done,” Anima said, assuring that he was fine. “But to answer your question, Hotpop, things have been going pretty well. Princess Luna has been teaching me some new spells that I never even knew were possible. I’ve even been catching up on all the deeds and treaties that have been set up over the years. And as for the flying lessons, they’ve been more fun than I thought possible. Caster certainly has a talent when it comes to making obstacles and training exercises. Why yesterday I even got to hop through trees!”

“Whoa, I didn’t think you’d be that good at teaching, Caster,” Hotpop said, looking admittedly surprised.

“Well, my few times being a guest speaker at my old school have given me a bit of experience. Plus my morning flights have helped me become a better flier on my own. To tell you the truth, I’m just as surprised as both of you that this turned out so well,” he replied, taking a bite from a strawberry.

“Nonsense, you’re a great teacher, Caster! I knew you would be after our first lesson together. If it weren’t for you, I would probably still be fumbling around trying to get these things to work,” Anima stated, giving her wings a few quick flaps.

“I doubt it, the real great wonder here is you, Anima. You’ve gotten the hang of flying more quickly than any other Pegasus that I know of. I don’t know if it’s because you’re an Alicorn now or if you’re just really skilled at this but you’re exceeding my expectations. Hay, if this keeps up, you might even be ready within the next few months or so. The point is, this never would’ve been possible without your amazing determination and drive,” Caster said, thinking back on all the hard work she’s accomplished in the last few months.

“Wow um, thanks, Caster. It really means a lot to hear you say that,” Anima said, blushing as she twirled a bit of fruit around on her plate.

“No problem, teachers often give their students some form of praise after all,” Caster said, unaware of how his words really affected her.

“Hey guys, come over here, we’re about to play truth or dare. It’s going to be fun!” Cloud Heart said, sneaking up and surprising them before zipping back to where the rest of their friends were.

“Ooh I love this game!” Anima exclaimed, as she got up from her seat.

“Eh, I haven’t played it since I was a colt. Might as well give it a shot,” Caster said, following the mare.

Jack and Hotpop simply shrugged as they followed suit and ended up sitting in a large circle with all the other guests with a large, clear and colorless, bottle in the center.

“So, who wants to go first?” Bard asked, wondering who would take the initiative.

“I’ll go, haven’t done this in years,” Glitch said, reaching out and spinning the bottle until it stopped in front of Jack Spirit. “All right, Jack, truth or dare?”

“Hmmm… I’ll go with truth,” he said, ready for any question he would ask.

“Let’s see, since you were a soldier, have you ever been in an actual battle before?” Glitch asked, curious about his work.

“Once or twice when I was still a new recruit,” Jack answered, with ease. “It was mostly just settling scuffles started by some troublemakers. Nowadays I keep the fighting to a minimum, mostly helping other soldiers deal with past trauma. My turn now.”

With that, Jack made the bottle spin once more. It kept on going until it pointed towards Cloud Heart.

“Cloud Heart, truth or dare?”

“Ooh, ooh, dare!” she exclaimed, prepared for whatever he might think of.

“I dare you, to hold your breath for two whole minutes,” Jack said, grinning ear to ear.

“Is that all? Easy,” Cloud said, taking a deep breath and holding it with her cheeks puffed out.

Everyone watched and waited as Cloud kept holding her breath, seemingly easy at first. Although, as they passed the first minute, her face started to looked strained and even changed color a little. A small bead of sweat trickled down the side of her head. They were nearing the two minute mark when Cloud heart couldn’t take it anymore and let out the breath of air and fell back onto the floor. Everyone burst out in laughter seeing her failed attempt. When she recovered from her lack of oxygen, she even started laughing along with them. After everything had settled down, Cloud spun the bottle and watched as it landed in front of Caster.

“So, Cast, what’s it going to be? Truth or dare?” she asked, with a mischievous smile on her lips.

“Meh, truth I guess,” Caster replied, wondering what questions she had in mind that she hadn’t already asked him in the past.

“All right then, tell me: have you ever kissed a mare before?” Cloud asked, looking as innocent as possible.

That seemed to answer Caster’s question, as well as put him into a tight situation as his face turned crimson red. He had always felt uncomfortable talking about his love life, even among his close friends. As well, he had yet to tell his newest friends about that part of his life, mostly because he didn’t feel it was worth mentioning. Now that one of them had actually asked him, and in one of the worst scenarios possible, Caster was left tongue-tied.

“W-well, uh I mean, i-it’s just so personal,” he stuttered out, looking like a nervous wreck. “But, t-to tell the truth, I’ve actually n-nev-”

“Hey everypony, it’s time to cut the cake,” a voice said, from the kitchen.

Everyone in the circle looked to see Celly Script coming out of the kitchen, holding a large cake, with Zen Wheeler standing beside her.

“Oh yeah, right, don’t want to keep the birthday girl waiting after all,” Caster said, nervously as he stood up along with a few others.

About half of their group was a bit perplexed when he dropped the subject of their game so suddenly. But they decided not to pry any further into it, figuring it was a topic he wasn’t comfortable talking about. So they all simply followed him and Anima’s parents to the dining room table, where Anima sat at the head of the table and the rest of her friends and family either sat in the available chairs or stood up. Anima took a moment to examine her cake, which had white frosting and several candles adorning it. On top of it was crudely drawn image of Anima flying through the sky, drawn in icing, as well as red lettering that read: Happy 23rd Birthday Anima Memoriae! As she finished examining her cake, everyone around her began to sing.

“Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Anima. Happy Birthday to you!” they all held the last note of the song for a few more seconds before clapping.

“Well what are you waiting for, my dear? Go on and blow out the candles,” Mia said, encouraging her.

“Yeah, and don’t forget to make a wish too!” Cloud Heart stated, looking giddy in anticipation.

‘A wish huh?’ Anima thought to herself. ‘I don’t know what to wish for actually. Life has been pretty good lately, and now that I have so many friends it’s hard to say what I really want most now.’

At that thought, she looked around the room to see all her friends looking at her expectantly. But then her eyes fell on one pony in particular and after a moment she knew exactly what she wanted. So, taking a deep breath, she blew out the candles in one go and everybody cheered. When it was over, Celly started cutting up the cake, giving Anima the first piece of course. Everyone then ate their own slices and began chatting among one another.

“Mmm, strawberry flavored, my fave,” Caster stated, savoring the small bite of cake.

“Glad you like it, Caster! It’s one of my favorites too,” Anima responded, digging into her piece.

“Well ain’t it a small world,” he said, causing both of them to laugh.

“But in all seriousness, I’m happy you’re enjoying yourself. I like it when all my friends are having fun when we’re together,” Anima said, after finishing her cake.

“Are you kidding? I was already having plenty of fun when it came to teaching you. But now that I get a chance to hang out with all of you as well, and to put in the words of Princess Luna herself, the fun has certainly been doubled!” Caster said, making her chuckle in response.

“That’s good to hear. Though I hope our lessons won’t get too boring for you after a while,” Anima said, wondering what was to come in the future.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of different ideas in mind,” Caster replied, giving her a sly wink.

“All right, everypony, I believe now is the time for the birthday girl to open her presents,” Zen said, bringing the first of many presents over to his daughter.

The rest followed in earnest as they began piling up their gifts on the table in front of her. Not knowing which one to open first, she just grabbed one at random. The first was a thick rectangular object wrapped in intricate blue wrapping paper which was labeled from Bard. Carefully peeling it away, it revealed a book with a title at the top that read, ‘Curse of the Werepony’.

“I remember you saying you wanted to check some of my books out, so I thought I’d get you one as a gift,” Bard stated, hoping she’d like it.

“Well thank you, Bard, I’ll be sure to read it when I can,” Anima said, putting the book down and reaching for the next gift.

It was a bit bigger than the first one and was wrapped in brilliantly styled red and black wrapping paper. The tag on the side of it said that it was from Mia. Anima opened up the package, finding what looked like a beauty kit inside.

“Wow thanks, Mia, this looks amazing,” she said, opening the kit up and looking through all the different pieces inside.

“It’s no trouble at all. I always say my friends deserve the best, and a beauty kit from my own line of products seemed the most suitable for a gift,” Mia said, delighted to know she enjoyed it.

“I’ll certainly put it to good use in the future,” Anima said, closing it up and going for another present.

This one was considerably smaller than the rest, but was still neatly packaged in green wrapping paper. Its tag read that it came from Gadget. Not wanting to wait, Anima quickly unwrapped it to find a little toy Alicorn that looked almost like her.

“Ooh, what is it?” she asked, perplexed by its mechanics.

“It’s something I made myself, I’ll show you how it works,” Gadget responded, taking hold of the toy. “First you give it a bit of magic. Then, crank the small key on its side. Set it down and watch what happens.”

Performing all the aforementioned steps, Gadget set the toy onto the table and everybody watched as it started trotting around seamlessly in a figure eight pattern.

“Aww, it’s so adorable,” Anima stated, watching it run around.

“That’s not all it can do though,” he said, making the others look at it in curiosity.

At that moment, the toy replica sprang up into the air, spread its wings and started flying around the group of ponies.

“Wow, how did you make it do that?” Anima asked, her eyes following its pattern of flight.

“It took a lot of tinkering and knowhow, that’s all I can really say on the matter,” Gadget said, letting the toy land in his hand and setting it back on the table.

“Well your expertise definitely shows, so thank you very much, Gadget,” she said, returning to the large pile of gifts in front of her.

One by one, Anima started opening her presents. Each time thanking her friends and family for the wonderful gifts she received. Eventually the pile had been diminished to only one lonely gift. Reading the tag, she saw that it was from Caster Forge, and wrapped in steel grey wrapping paper.

“Ooh I wonder what my teacher could’ve gotten me,” Anima teased, as she opened the relatively large box.

“Well, you won’t know until you open it,” Caster teased back, already knowing what was inside.

Without hesitation, Anima ripped away the paper to reveal a large cardboard box. She opened up the top and looked inside and saw something big and soft. Lifting it out of the box she showed it to be a large cat plushie with blue fur, green eyes, and a pink collar with a bell at the end. Anima just stared at its adorably smiling face and then looked back at Caster. He looked away from her, slightly embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head.

“I didn’t really know what to get you. Everypony else had gotten you such amazing gifts that I didn’t think mine would match up,” Caster said, not daring to look her in the eye.

That was until he felt the familiar warm and soft presence wrap around him and turned to see Anima giving him a heartwarming hug.

“You big goof ball, of course I like it! I’d never compare anyone’s gifts to others,” she said, releasing him and letting the blue plush doll take his place. “Besides, I love cats.”

“Then I guess I both overreacted and lucked out huh?” he said, blushing a bit.

“You certainly did,” Anima said, chuckling along with the others.

“Yes, well that wasn’t the only gift I planned on giving you. It’s not what you’d think, I just wanted to say a few words is all,” Caster stated, clearing his throat before speaking and gaining everyone’s attention. “I would like to congratulate Anima Memoriae, not only for her birthday, but also for all the effort she’s put into these last three months. At first I didn’t think she’d be able to get this far, originally being a Unicorn with no wings and all. But she has certainly proved me wrong, because not once has she ever faltered and given up. Instead she’s continued pushing herself forward to the best of her abilities, both with her wings and her mind. She’s told me about how much she’s learned from Princess Luna, and it truly amazed me to know about her progress in other fields besides flying. Anima, you are one of the few ponies that I can look up to with your skills and it’s not because you’re an Alicorn. It’s because you’re just you, which is why I believe you deserve the title of Princess more than anything. So from me and all of us, I say: well done, Anima.”

At the end, Caster started clapping his hands along with everyone else. The room sounded with applause as Anima simply sat in her chair, dumbfounded by her friends’ speech. She never would’ve expected him to praise her in such a fashion. It certainly seemed to get to her as she stood up and gave him another hug, this one tenderer than the last.

“Has anyone ever told you how sweet you are?” Anima stated, looking at him with a small tear rolling down her cheek.

“Heh, heh, well I try,” Caster responded, hugging her back.

She gave him a raised eyebrow and a sly grin before doing something he never would’ve expected her to do. Anima leaned in and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

“Well consider that a gift for all the time you’ve spent helping me,” she said, wearing a big smile on her lips.

Caster didn’t say anything as he felt his body go stiff as a board. He couldn’t remember the last time a mare had ever kissed him on the cheek before. Matter of fact, he didn’t think he’d ever been kissed by a mare at all. Aside from his mother when he was little of course, but still. During his thinking overload session, Anima and the rest of the group stared at him, confused.

“Um, Caster? Hello?” Anima said, waving her hand and snapping her fingers in front of his face. “Is anypony home?”

“Oh don’t worry about him,” Jack Spirit said, walking up and placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “This sometimes happens to him when somepony shows him a sudden bit of affection, even if it isn’t in the romantic sense. And that little display just now has definitely sent his brain into overdrive.”

“Oh, uh, I-I didn’t mean it to be like that!” Alehsa exclaimed, blushing hard and waving her hands in front of her. “H-his speech was just really touching a-and I just thought-”

“Hey, relax all right? You’re fine, and so is he. I’m sure he’ll understand what your intent was. He’ll come back to Equestria soon enough, but for now I think we should let his brain settle down,” Jack said, moving his brother to the couch in the living room.

“He’s right, let’s not let this ruin the party. When Cast come’s back we’ll help ya set things right, kay Anima?” Strawberry Rose asked, hoping that would help her relax.

“O-okay, I guess I can-”

“Awesome, cause this party isn’t over yet!” Cloud Heart said, zipping over to a nearby boom box.

“You’ve got that right Cloud, let’s party… again!” Skull agreed, as the music started playing.

Anima looked back at Caster one last time. But smiled knowing he would snap out of it soon and joined her friends on the makeshift dance floor. He of course did come back, about fifteen minutes later after the music started. Anima was quick to apologize for her actions but Caster simply told her not to fret about it. He really did appreciate her gift and was glad to have such a friend like her. To which she thanked him again as he joined in on the dancing as well.

The hours passed and soon the party came to an end. Many of the guests went home to rest and prepare for their usual work. Topsy decided to stay home for the night, before hitting the road again in the morning. The only ones left were Caster and his brother and sister-in-law. They shared a quiet cup of tea with Anima and her family, and talked about recent months and how it had been for them. Eventually they decided to leave once they realized it was getting pretty late. After they said their goodbyes the three ponies took off for home, letting Anima take her presents up to her room before getting ready for bed.

Anima currently sat on her large bed, wearing some pj’s and holding the cat plushie doll in her arms. Next to her sat her pet cat Oliver, who was snuggling up to her as he purred somewhat loudly.

“Today certainly was a great party. I wish you could’ve been there, but I know you’d just sprint away at the first sight of other ponies,” she said, the cat flicking his tail against her in response. “It’s kind of funny though, if I wanted I could’ve used my birthday wish to have you hang around with everypony else. But I used that to wish for something much more important.”

She looked side to side and then at her bedroom door before turning back to Oliver.

“Do you want to know what I wished for?” she asked.

The brown-striped cat opened his eyes slightly and turned his gaze toward his owner in curiosity.

“I wished that I could keep spending time with Caster,” Anima said, holding the plushie affectionately.

Author's Notes:

It's time to party, with the next chapter of my story!:D Though enjoy this chapter as much as you can cause there will not be any other chapters for a while. The story isn't being halted altogether it's just that progress is going to be delayed. This is due to my new school schedule, which is not only a pain in the ass but boring as well. I hate this news just as much as you guys do, but I have to try my best to pass these classes. And when the semester ends, progress will continue as it usually does. For now though, please enjoy the story and how far Caster and Anima's relationship has come. Also if you guys can spot the internet meme in this chapter, you are awesome:D.

Plus the title of the book mentioned, 'Curse of the Werepony' is an actual story, a fan-fic, written by dlazerous. It's a Sparity story that's really sweet with continuing stories afterwards. So if you get a chance please take a look and support his work. After all he's the man who inspired me to be who I am today. Also, dlazerous, if using this title upsets you I'll gladly remove it.

Edit: Fixed a few grammatical errors.

Edit 2: Cured it's LUS and fixed some grammatical errors.

Edit 3: Let's party once again.

Topsy Turbo and Davey Joe belong to Alesha-Zee on deviantART.