Twilight did her final checklist as she trotted around the main dining hall. Dark, moon and star themed curtains hung all throughout the room. A massive banner that said ‘Happy Birthday Nightmare Moon!’ hung across the room over the main table.

On the table rested a plethora of delicious apple treats. Pies, cakes, stews. And oddly spaghetti. Besides it rested the gifts. She counted them. Nine.

She paused. Then shook her head. Pinkie, who else? Rainbow was eating an apple, in full Shadowbolt uniform. Fluttershy was by the window, with a small stand holding almost a dozen beautiful and colorful birds, practicing their songs.

They were ready. Only one thing remained. The ruler of Equestria.

She took a slow, deep breath, before making her way out of the chamber and towards the throne room. The guards opened the doors for her. She stepped forward and looked around the room. Nightmare Moon was sitting at the throne, with Moondancer in front of her. She couldn’t imagine what they were discussing.

However, as the door opened, both pairs of eyes turned to her. Twilight gulped. “E-err, your… your highness? Would you and Moondancer come with me?”

Nightmare Moon’s eyes narrowed. “We see. So, is this about your little… plan?” she asked coldly, before getting to her hooves. “Come along, Moondancer. We believe you desire to be a part of this?” she asked. “Of course. Why would just one of you attempt some betrayal?”

“Of course not!” Moondancer said, shaking her head. “I would NEVER bet--”

“Oh do not lie to us. Especially not one so obvious.”

“…. Okay, but this isn’t one.”

“Of course it’s not,” Nightmare Moon muttered, shaking her head. “We will continue this lesson after our bard has finished with this ordeal.”

Twilight sighed, walking down the hall. She glanced back. She doubted Nightmare Moon really believed it was some attempt on her. But she knew the mare didn’t expect whatever it was would be good. She felt herself filling with newfound determination. She wouldn’t let it get her down. This was something special and unique. And somehow, she would find a way to make the mare see. And maybe, just maybe, undo some of the damage she’d done. She stopped outside of the door and took a deep breath. “Okay, your highness. Please close your eyes.”

“No.”

“But--”

“WE WILL NOT!” Nightmare Moon roared, before slamming the door open with her magic. “Enough of these ga--”

“Happy birthday!” five voices yelled in unison.

Nightmare Moon stared into the room. Her eyes slowly drifting up to the banner. Then to the gifts and food. Finally, to the ponies. She then closed her eyes and rested a hoof on her forehead. Then… “Bard… explain? What… in Tartarus?”

“Err… it’s… a birthday party.”

“… What… in Equestria is a birthday party?”

“It’s a celebration of the day you were born. Well… it’s… it’s like a party that’s celebrates that you were born. Kind of like saying… err. A party saying they’re thankful you’re alive. That you were born.”

Nightmare Moon stared, before… “No. That’s stupid. You’re making this up, bard.”

“Oh, I prepared for this!” Twilight said with a grin. “Moondancer?”

“Right,” the unicorn said. Her horn flashed and… a stack of books appeared in front of them. As well as seventeen scrolls.

“… What is this?” Nightmare Moon asked, nudging one of the scrolls over. It had Twilight’s writing on it. “Oh by the stars another report...” she muttered under her breath.

“It’s a report on birthday’s through the ages!” Twilight said proudly. “Including books about famous ones, how to properly share them, and part one of a three part report on their origins. I could only fit the first third,” she said, pointing at the many scrolls.

Nightmare Moon blinked and picked up one of the books, flipping through it. Then… “Why?” she finally asked.

“Well, you see I cross referenced--”

“No. Why would you celebrate this?”

“Because it--”

Moondancer shrieked as she was chucked into the room gracelessly. The door slammed shut and Nightmare Moon turned her gaze on the bard. “The truth. Bard. You despise us. You HATE us. Why. Why would you deem to celebrate us? Why would you deem to suddenly… celebrate our birth?”

Twilight stared for a moment. Then… “Because… I was wrong.”

“Wrong?” Judging by the surprised look on the ruler’s face, that was not an answer she suspected.

“… I panicked. I wanted to get rid of you. Just… just like everypony else. But… that wasn’t fair. I know you. I’ve gotten to know you. I’ve learned so much about you. Your likes. Your dislikes. Your feelings. More importantly, I know how… how much you need us ponies. How much you want us ponies. I know how lonely you’ve been. How abandoned you’ve felt. More than anypony else, I know about you. And in that moment, when I had an opportunity… I used it to hurt you. I abandoned you. Just… like you always had been...” she mumbled. “It’s no wonder you became Nightmare Moon. Why you’re like this. After what you’ve been through… after what you’ve endured… anypony would be.”

The ruler stared at her for a long, long time. And Twilight couldn’t be sure, but she swore she saw moisture in the pony’s eyes. “I… I see. And… you believe this… party will make me forgive you?”

“… I hope. But… if not, I’ll try something else. And then something else. And I’ll keep trying until I find… some way to make up for what I did...”

Nightmare Moon stepped forward and, slowly she lowered her head to look Twilight in the eye. Those fierce, cold eyes seemed to pierce through her.

And then in a moment, she found herself swept up in the wings of the ruler, her hooves around her. Twilight squeaked, but soon relaxed. The ruler didn’t say anything, but… Twilight didn’t feel she needed to. She just let the ruler hug her for a long moment. If nothing else, she was certain she had been forgiven.

Finally, she was released and the mare pulled back. “What… you did to me… it was cruel. It hurt. And… I cannot forget that hurt. I have felt that hurt my… for so many years. I have drowned in it. But...” She stared at the earth pony. “I have… long missed your council. You are correct. Nopony knows me as well as you do. But what you did… I cannot believe you won’t do it again.”

Twilight nodded, she supposed that was fair. She paused for a moment. Wait, there it was again. The ruler had used ‘I’ and ‘me’ again. She was talking in a normal manner. “I understand. And… I do think you’ve been improving, your highness. Even if I haven’t been welcome in your council, I have been watching the things you do. I… think ponies are beginning to.. slightly… warm to you.”

Nightmare Moon snorted. ‘Truly? Do not lie to us, Twilight Glow. As much as we desire it, we know that the light of our moon will never burn as fiercely as the sun of our sister in the hearts of our ponies. But if all we will be given is a mere shadow… then we will grow this shadow and nurture it, until it is all ponies have to remember us by.”

Twilight nodded and, just like that, the door swung open… sending her friends scattering back in a daze.

Nightmare Moon cringed. “My little ponies, you should not have been so close to the door. As you can see, our bard is safe. We wished words with her, nothing more.”

“Err, of course, your highness,” Applejack said as she got to her hooves, only a second after Rainbow. “We jus’, err, were wantin’--”

“Do not try to lie to us, Applejack,” Nightmare Moon said cooly. “We know of why you listened and what you feared. We are not stupid. And empty platitudes will do little but annoy us further. Now… We believe there is a celebration to enjoy?”

Twilight nodded. “R-right! First, the games! Ummm… How about--”

“The pinata!” Pinkie yelled, as suddenly a paper mache silver crescent moon pinata fell from above. Twilight blinked and looked up but, try as she might, she couldn’t find WHERE it attached to the roof.

“How…?” the earth pony asked softly.

“Now, as the birthday girl, how about you swing first?” Pinkie asked as she trotted over, with a stick in her mouth. “You’ll love it, trust me!”

“What… is the purpose of such a thing?” Nightmare Moon asked, eyeing the false moon. “… It is quite shiny. It seems a shame to destroy such a thing.”

“That’s the point! It’s full of candy! And everyone LOVES candy!”

Nightmare Moon blinked. “We… see. And we… are to break it, to free the candy for all involved?” she asked.

“Yes! But first… we have to blindfold you and spin you around three times, to make it hard!” Pinkie held out the blindfold with a smile on her lips.

Nightmare Moon blinked. Then turned to Twilight. “And ponies like this?”

“It’s funner than it sounds, trust me.”

“You have done it?”

“Well… no. But I’ve never really had a birthday like… that. I usually just have dinner or something.” She then yelped as a party cannon went off behind her. “And we didn’t have those, either!”

“You will from now on!” Pinkie said happily.

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Please trust us, your highness. I promise it’s no trick.”

The alicorn gave a sigh of exasperation. She took the blindfold and then gripped the stick in her magic. She let herself be spun three times and then… wobbled a bit. Where in the blazes was that pinata? She could use a spell, she supposed, to track it. But that would be cheating. So she took a step forward.

“On your left! On your left, no, your other left!” Voices called out. Truly? Was this part of the game. She did as told, and swung. She hit nothing but air.

“Forward a few, then to your right!” they called out. She growled and did as she was told. On the seventh swing, she felt it.

Behind the blindfold, her eyes narrowed. “FEEL OUR WRATH, MACHE FIEND!” she roared, before pulling the stick back, wrapping it in her magic.

“Oh dear,” Moondancer squeaked.

Then the thunderous boom echoed through the room as her stick connected with the pinata. The ruler of Equestria stood there, panting, before tearing her blindfold off. “Ha, we have… oh...”

Little fragments of pinata floated in the air. The candy was scattered in all direction, lodging into ponies manes, across the room and into the meal… And a single, unfortunate gobstopper had exploded from the impact, leaving a colorful explosion of sugary goodness on the stick.

“Err… we… have...”

“That was AWESOME!” Rainbow said, a wide grin on her face. “You just, BAM! I’ve NEVER been able to hit one like that!” the mare said, before plucking a piece of taffy out of her mane, unwrapping it and tossing it in her mouth. “Way to go out with a bang!” she said with a snicker.

“Ah gotta agree,” Applejack said with a light chuckle. “Ah once saw Big Mac knock one up onta the barn, but ah ain’t never seen one rightly explode like that. Woo-wee, ah can’t wait tah get back to the farm and tell everypony about this. Yah could take that show on the road, princess.”

“And I’ve got a spare! Well, actually twelve spares!” Pinkie said with a grin as another fell from the sky.

Twilight blinked and looked up. How in the world was she doing that? Still, it seemed to have gone well enough and, as Nightmare Moon handed over the stick, she couldn’t help but smile. Though she felt a lot bout of worry as the ruler walked her way.

“You were correct, bard. It is quite… satisfying to destroy that holder of candy. Though… we do believe we may have gone a little over board.”

The earth pony shrugged, just happy the mare was enjoying herself. “Oh, that’s fine. Everypony loves things like that, they’re the stuff that stories are made of.”

“Indeed,” Nightmare Moon said before her horn glowed and a piece of gum rose from Twilight’s hair. She unwrapped it and tossed it into her mouth. “Mmm. Watermelon. Tell us, what is next?”

“Well, first we...” To Twilight’s delight, a long, steady stream of games brought by Pinkie soon had the ruler embroidered in fun and excitement. The alicorn even seemed to love the gentle bird songs brought by Fluttershy. And then, finally came one of the most important moments.

Presents.

Nightmare Moon hummed and slowly picked them up, examining each one. “I am the ruler of Equestria. Do I not already have all I need?” she asked.

“Of course, your highness,” Moondancer said. “But it’s supposed to be something special, a gift. It’s part of the fun.”

“Well… we suppose,” the mare said. She soon opened one wrapped in book wrapper. “Ah. From our bard, I take it? What… is this?” she asked as she stared at a pair of moon and star statues.

“They’re book ends!” Twilight said with a grin. “You use them to hold your books and stop them from falling over.”

Spike snorted. “Of course it is. Open mine, next!” the small dragon said happily.

“The flame wrapped one,” Twilight said quickly.

Nightmare Moon opened the gift wrapped in flame painted paper. She opened it and then stared. “What… is this? A… shield?” she asked, turning it from side to side.

“It’s a lava board. For lava surfing?” Spike said with a roll of his eyes. “Really? You… don’t know about that?”

“Ponies can’t go in lava...” Twilight said with a sigh. “Why didn’t you tell me you were getting her that?”

“Because you said you wanted it to be a surprise!” Spike objected.

“But--”

“W thank you, Spike,” Nightmare Moon said, glancing to the dragon. “It is a… while… unorthodox gift, we are quite certain it is unique. We have nothing in all of our wealth to match it. So thank you.”

Spike blinked and then smirked. “Well, of course. See, Twilight? It is unique and special,” he said with a chuckle.

Twilight rolled her eyes but smiled none the less. It was.

Nightmare Moon glanced to the other gifts and nodded. “I… see. This is quite the… interesting part of the celebrations. Exciting, even. I have no idea what--” When she opened the next one, a weird one with shifting wrapping paper, it erupted into confetti in the mare’s face. She stood there, shocked, confetti leaking from her ears.

“Pinkie!” Twilight hissed.

“It wasn’t me!” Pinkie said. “Mine has a kazoo!”

“Then who--”

Loud, mirth filled laughter filled the room. Nightmare Moon froze, her eyes narrowing. “Discord… show yourself!”

“Right here! No, not there, down here. No… the gift, princess,” Discord said from a small little snow globe, where he was sitting on a swing. The set rocked back and forth around him as he remained perfectly still. “I heard there was a birthday party for my favorite midnight surprise and I just had to come and see.”

The alicorn’s eyes narrowed to pinpricks as she gripped the orb in her magic and lifted it up, prepared to smash it. “Finally you show yourself, now I--”

“Yes, yes, you will crush me, beat me, all of that,” Discord said as he popped into existence behind her. “Drain me of my power. Really, Moonie, you need to come up with some new dialogue. You have a bard, do you not? Speaking of… I have a gift for you.”

“We want no gift from you!” Nightmare Moon roared, turning as magic formed on the tip of her horn… only to fade out as Discord stepped back, using his tail to hold Twilight up between them as a shield. “Untail our bard!”

“Oh, I will. After all, she’s my gift to you.”

“Wait, WHAT?!” everypony(and a dragon) in the room said at once.

Twilight stared at him as if he’d gone mad. Der. “Discord, what in the world are you doing? Let me go!”

“Oh me oh my, but why ever for?” Discord asked with a smile. “After all, this is what you want as well, isn’t it?”

“What?” Twilight asked, staring at the creature who had managed to silence the entire room through the act of pure confusion.

“You do desire to help the new ruler, do you not? And Nightmare Moon, your heart is just burning for someone who sees you and only you, does it not?” And then the grin turned wider and wider. Until it split is face clear in half. He reached out and tapped the young earth pony on the nose. “A ruler so cold she has taken away the sun’s warmth. To you alone she will be more welcoming than any hearth. No matter how much you want and need...” he whispered before leaning in. “You’ll find that only she can break this charm, indeed.”

Twilight shrieked as she was dropped and the spirit disappeared. Her head felt... Odd. Like there was a thick fog enshrouding her. “What… happened?” she asked, shaking her head and looking around. There seemed to be an odd… glow all over everything. Red, almost. She blinked a few times and it began to settle as she looked around the room.

Spike, her pet dragon. Rarity, the decorator. Pinkie Pie, everything that was good about a sugar rush. Nightmare Moon, the center of her universe. Applejack, the… Wait, what?

Her eyes wandered back to Nightmare Moon who had, along with the others, dashed forward to examine her. “Did he harm you? Did--” The mare was caught off guard as Twilight hugged her.

“Of course he didn’t, your highness! I am so, so, soooo sorry I worried you, my precious ruler of the world,” she practically sang as she hugged the alicorn, nuzzling her chest affectionately. “I would never, ever, ever want to worry you. I’m so sorry...”

Nightmare Moon stood there, staring in confusion. “Err… Bard… are you… well?”

“Of course, my queen...” Twilight said as she affectionately nuzzled the ruler of Equestria. Who tried to inch away slightly, only to find the earth pony following her.

“B-bard! We… we believe err… this birthday has ummm...” She tried to pull free from the hug enveloping her, as subtly as possible. “Been… quite pleasant. But… err… we are tired. And wish to retire.”

“I’ll come with you!” Twilight said eagerly, staring up at the ruler with happy, love filled eyes.

“NO!” Nightmare Moon said quickly, making the windows shatter. She cringed, looking around. “We… believe it… err… well… For now, alone. Moondancer, watch over her. I will… look into… whatever it is that Discord has done to her. Bye!” the mare said before disappearing.

“Nooo! Princess, come back,” Twilight said, staring in the empty space the center of her universe had once been…

Rainbow shuddered. “Can’t say I blame her...”

“Err… Twilight?” Moondancer asked softly. “Are you okay?”

“Not really. I’m going to check on Nightma--” To her surprise, Rainbow was blocking her way.

“Yeahhh… I’m gonna say no to that. Even she seemed weirded out by… whatever magic was going off on you. Fluttershy, haven’t you been like… having tea with him or something?”

“W-well, yes. But… but he didn’t tell me anything like this...” the small vampire pony said. “Oh dear...”

Moondancer blinked a few times and then looked to the yellow mare. “Wait. What? You’ve been having tea… with the embodiment of chaos and disharmony?”

“Well.. tea and cookies… he’s really quite sweet...”

There was a long, long moment of silence. “I like him,” Pinkie added.

“He just did… something to our friend,” Applejack said before moving to stand by Rainbow. “And ah don’t know if ah like it. Twilight, yah… feelin’ okay?”

“I feel amazing. But I really should check on Nightmare Moon. I mean, she looked so upset...”

Moondancer nodded. “Hold on, girls. There’s a book on this...” Her horn sparkled and a tome popped into existence at her hooves. “Now, let’s see… potions, poisons, ah, here we go. Charms. Okay… Twilight. Tell me. Who is your favorite pony in the whole wide world.”

“Nightmare Moon! She’s the most wonderful, beautiful, radiant...” Twilight started, getting a dreamy look on on her face. How did she ever NOT realize how amazing that mare was? Her book had meant to give such a view of her. But nothing could compare to her actual magnificence. Her beauty. Her grace. Her style. Everything about her was just so amazing…

“Uh… huh...” Moondancer mumbled as she flipped through the pages. “And what about all the horrible, awful things she’s done? How about the fact she’s had ponies whipped and stole Cele--” The unicorn yelped as she was slapped across the face, stumbling back.

Twilight stared at the mare with a fury. “How DARE you speak of the ruler of the night like that! Nightmare Moon is perfection incarnate! She has never done anything wrong!”

“O-ow...” Moondancer said with a whimper, rubbing her cheek. “I-I think I know the spell, at least. Or at least the category.”

“And it is?” Applejack asked, quickly interposing herself between the angry earth pony and the unicorn.

“Infatuation.” She then groaned. “Of course it is.”

“You can break it, can’t you?” Rainbow asked.

“Err… maybe? One second!” The mare lifted her horn up and a gentle glow radiated over Twilight. “It… it’s not an easy spell but...” The glow began to get brighter and brighter until, finally, it erupted in a dazzling flurry of lights. The unicorn panted with exertion, but smiled. The earth pony blinked a few times. “Err… Twilight? Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes...” Twilight said softly. “O-oh my gosh. I hit you. I’m so, so sorry, Moondancer.”

“… It worked? Yes! How do you feel about Nightmare Moon?” Moondancer asked with a giant grin.

“She’s the most beautiful, wonderful...”

Moondancer stared as the flurry of compliments continued. Slowly she looked to the others and gave a weak smile. “I… err… I’ll go back to the library. I’m sure there has to be something there. R-right? Oh dear...” She disappeared in a flash of light.

“Well… great. Now what are we supposed to do with her?” Rainbow asked, motioning to Twilight who was still espousing the glory of Nightmare Moon.

Silence reigned from the others before… “It’s time to cut the cake!”

The resounding sound of many hooves to many faces followed a moment later.