Twilight’s Birthday After Party

Chapters

Chapter 1
Just an Illustration
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

“They may not be as sophisticated as some of you Canterlot ponies, but they are my best friends. And they are without a doubt the most important ponies I know,” said Rarity proudly.

“Important ponies? These ruffians?” called out a grey unicorn.

“Don’t make me laugh!” Other jeers came from the crowd, but were interrupted by Fancypants.

“I, for one, find them charmingly rustic, and I think the dress you made for your friend is lovely.” He smiled at Rarity and Twilight. “I dare say every mare in Canterlot will be wanting one.”

At his words the members of the upper crust gasped collectively, and like bees attracted to a flower, started crowding around Rarity, yelling out their orders for new garments.

Fancypants chuckled at the sight as Rarity tried to avoid being drowned by the ponies swarming around her, and waited patiently until the fashionista managed to somewhat pull away from them. “Yes, now then, how about you introduce me to your friends?”

Rarity looked up and beamed. “With pleasure!”

Fancypants peered through his monocle at Twilight and raised a hoof to his chin curiously. “You are the personal protégé of the Princess, you say? And a born Canterlot pony as well,” he mused in his refined accent, then turned to address Rarity. “My, my, you do know many influential ponies.”

Just then a regal voice rang through the Canterlot garden party, interrupting the activities of the sophisticated upper crust. “She is, indeed, my personal student, and one of the dearest ponies to me, Mr. Fancypants.”

All guests of the garden party bowed down as they beheld Princess Celestia striding towards Twilight, who seemed to bend every protocol by rushing right up the Goddess of the Sun and nuzzling her.

“Princess Celestia! You made it!” said Twilight joyously.

“Indeed, my faithful student. But I have to say I was very surprised when I stepped into the castle ballroom to find nopony inside.”

By this time the upper class ponies had risen from their curtsies and bows and were looking wordlessly and enviously at the group of Ponyville ‘gatecrashers’.

“I’m so sorry about that, Princess! We um, eventually decided to move the party outside…” Twilight felt a bit guilty for not notifying the Princess about the ‘relocation’, as her mentor had promised to join them after court ended.

The elder ruler of Equestria looked at the other ponies from Ponyville. “It’s nice to see you all as well, my little ponies. So, shall we get back to Twilight’s private birthday party? Or would you like to stay here?”

“It’s mighty nice to see ya too, Princess, though I guess we should go back in. This place don’t seem like a fittin’ place to have our rowdy good fun,” said Applejack.

“WHEEEE! Yeah! Let’s go! We’re gonna blast our rock n’ roll music, baby!” Pinkie exclaimed with a hyperactive leap into the air.

“Very well then,” said the regal alicorn, leading the six friends out of the Canterlot garden. “Goodbye, dear ponies,” she spoke in a louder voice to the upper class of the capital city. “Please, continue enjoying yourselves as you were.”

Walking close to her dear student, Princess Celestia bent her muzzle to her ear. “And happy birthday, Twilight.”

After some more games and dancing, Twilight was feeling quite giddy and wondered if Pinkie Pie had somehow spiked the punch without anypony detecting. Feeling a hoof on her shoulder, she looked up and saw the Princess looking at her with a warm smile. “You seem very lively tonight, Twilight. Enjoying yourself?”

Her face flushed, the normally demure bookworm answered, “I’m having so much fun, Princess!”

“It is a very important occasion, Twilight, but the night is far from over. Really, I don’t get to see you so frequently these days, so I have decided that I will make this day memorable.”

“Princess...?” Twilight felt perky and frivolous, despite having played games and danced for what seemed like the longest time in her life.

“Pinkie Pie!” called the Goddess of the Sun. “Would you mind if we took this party somewhere else…? An after party, as I believe it is called?”

“Okie dokie Princess! Wait juuust a second!” The pink hyper pony pulled out her famed party cannon, gave it a squeeze, and it vacuumed all the celebration decorations back inside with a high-pitched vroom. “Okay, done!”

The alabaster alicorn wrote a quick note and teleported it to Princess Luna:

Please arrange a VIP luxury booth and some performers at the HooXy nightclub.

And come along, will you?

Luna sighed melodramatically as she read the letter that had just popped into existence by her side. Really, my dear sister? Shaking her head with a mischievous grin on her face, she trotted down the grand stairs of the castle to give the royal secretary some orders.

The two Princesses of Equestria and the six Elements of Harmony reclined inside a lush coach as it sped towards their destination: the most luxurious night-club in the country – HooXy nightclub.

“Luna, I’m so glad you could come,” said Princess Celestia, lounging with a hoof around Twilight.

“My dear sister, Twilight Sparkle taught us the meaning of ‘fun’. We could not have missed her birthday ‘after party’ for anything,” answered Luna.

“Your Highnesses, ladies, we have arrived,” announced the chauffeur of their transport, opening the door.

“Thank you. And here is a tip for you and the gentlecolts,” said Luna, who had been the one to suggest the luxury cab.

“Here we are, Twilight.” Princess Celestia gently nudged her faithful student to exit the vehicle.

Twilight’s other friends followed suit, only for their jaws to drop in awe at the lavish nightclub in front of them. The luxury booth was in fact a penthouse on the top of the seven-story nightclub, with its own private elevator.

A bouncer greeted them and escorted them up to the penthouse, where a staff member welcomed the privileged guests and introduced them to the facilities of their suite, giving them each a leaflet before bowing himself out.

“Wow!” marvelled the six elements in unison. A posh carpet spread across the vast penthouse, and in the far end stood an enormous DJ stand. A dance floor and drinks bar occupied the space in front and beside it, and plush sofas and cushions were placed randomly for the ponies to relax on. A few doors opened to side rooms; there was a long pool with petals floating in the crystal clear water in one of them, and a smaller lounge room.

What caught Twilight’s eye, however, was the stage in the middle of the dance floor section. Multi-colored lights lined the platform, and there were strange poles… protruding from it.

Seeing her protégé’s confused look, Princess Celestia explained with a playful demeanor, “Those are called burlesque poles, my dear student.”

“Burlesque… poles? What are they for?” asked Twilight, still quizzical.

“Twilight Sparkle, you shall see when the show starts. We have arranged many shows and performances for thy entertainment,” Luna cut in. “The order of the programs is in the booklet you just received. We selected them personally.”

Meanwhile, Twilight’s five friends had wandered off to explore the many features of the penthouse: Pinkie and Rainbow grabbed some liquor from the bar before proceeding to the DJ stand; Rarity was lounging with a cocktail; Applejack was not very sure what to do, so she simply plopped herself on a couch, and Fluttershy did the same .

Twilight flipped in wonder through the brochure she had received from the staff of the nightclub. She had not looked at it carefully before, as she was too busy marveling at the features of the penthouse. Originally she had thought it to be just an advertisement leaflet – until Princess Luna had mentioned that it was in fact the program booklet for ‘Twilight’s Birthday After Party’.

The cover bore the title in cursive gold letters and the image of Twilight’s six-pointed cutie mark in raised print. The paper was a rich dark blue – the exact shade of Luna’s coat – and of fine quality, smooth and exquisite to the touch. In the center of the back cover was a smaller image of the cutie mark of the younger alicorn, also in raised print.

Twilight could guess that the slender book was probably designed by the Princess of the Night herself, and custom printed on very short notice. She looked up at Luna, happiness and gratitude radiating from her. “Princess, this is the most special thing that you could have done for me… thank you!”

The starry-maned alicorn gazed shyly at her. “Twilight Sparkle, it was the least we could do.”

Twilight trotted to Luna’s side and gave her a tight hug. “I’m so happy, Princess.” Luna hesitantly returned the gesture with her wings, brushing Twilight with soft down, catching her sister's eye with a look akin to being awestruck.

Celestia smiled back joyously, proud of both her faithful student and her sister for making friends with each other. It has been such a long time since somepony else has shown her affection…

Just then the lights dimmed slowly until the whole room was dark, and then burst into a dancing explosion of multi-colored neon.

“Oh! Is the show starting?” asked Twilight, turning to the first page of the booklet. “Hmmm… ’The Masked Azure Mare’. Princess Luna, what kind of performance is this?” She sat down on a cushion near the brim of the dance floor, and the Goddesses of the Sun and Moon settled themselves on either side of her.

“Luna, I would like to know that as well. And I apologize for asking you to arrange this on such short notice…” Princess Celestia reached a hoof to touch her sister’s, brushing Twilight as well, who was between them.

“To tell the truth, we are not sure ourselves, but we were told it is a magic show of some sorts by the royal secretary. We did not know many of the ‘modern’ shows so… we picked some of them randomly from what she listed as ‘fun’.”

The elder alicorn was a bit rankled, but not at all at her sister. She had not anticipated the royal secretary’s hoof in the planning of the party, as the mare in question was known to have a rather wild private life.

Suddenly the loudspeakers blared to life, a bass line growing steady louder as drum beats mixed into the pulse of music.

"We did not know that ‘modern’ music could get so loud,” remarked Luna.

Twilight gave her a gentle nuzzle, wincing from the volume of the throbbing sound waves. “I’m not used to it, either.”

“WE WELCOME… DJ… Pinkie!” rang out the raucous voice of a certain cyan pegasus, surprising the two princesses and Twilight.

“Hahaha, it’s not the show starting, they’re playing with the DJ equipment!” laughed Twilight. “Wow, I didn’t know Pinkie could DJ!”

Looking across the penthouse at the DJ stand, they saw that Rainbow Dash had stepped down from the microphone and was dragging a rather disgruntled cowgirl to the dance floor. “Come on, Applejack! Pinkie’s really good! Let’s party! Come on Fluttershy, you too! Dance! Wooo!”

Pinkie Pie’s Remix! The shrill vocals of the pink earth pony were mixed into the electronic medley, which increased in pitch and intensity until Twilight could feel it resonating right at her core.

She started bobbing her head along, unable to resist the infectious pulse – music, she thought, was probably another form of magic. The pair of alicorns were swaying too, and the three moved their bodies in synch on the cushions.

Giggle at the

The-the-the

Twilight recognized the song, and it seemed Luna did as well; her expression turned a bit confused, and then remorseful as she remembered how she had heard it when she was Nightmare Moon, back in the Everfree Forest.

Twilight noticed Luna’s ears drooping slightly, and placed a comforting hoof on the younger alicorn’s shoulder. The Princess gave her a small smile in return and draped her wing over the studious mare. “I’m so glad you saved me, Twilight.”

Twilight noted how Luna had dropped her use of the Royal ‘We’ and her last name, as well as the wing that was wrapped around her, and beamed at the lunar princess. “I’m glad too… Luna.”

“We are all grateful to you, my dear Twilight,” said Princess Celestia who had observed their brief exchange with a heartfelt smile. She unfolded her wing and placed it on Luna’s, then all three reclining ponies hummed with the music, Twilight in the middle of the Day and the Night.

Laaaaaaaaaaaugh!

The electro background gradually distorted into atonal sounds, the drumbeat split and the bass melted to a groan. The ending of Pinkie’s original song blended with another melody, something that Twilight knew to be a song by a DJ Hoofis and one of the party pony’s favorites, though a rather strange song by her reckoning.

I get all the mares

I get all the mares

The Princess of the Sun glanced at her sister and her protégé, chuckling playfully at the lyrics. “The singer seems very self-confident, doesn’t he?”

Twilight was about to respond when she noticed a very cross-looking Rarity heading towards them with her cocktail. She indicated to the Princesses that she was going to stand and they folded their wings to let her up.

“Rarity, is anything wrong?” asked Twilight, meeting the fashionista half way.

“Oh, nothing really, but I was getting lonely sitting there while they were having their fun,” answered the fashionista, glancing to where Rainbow and Applejack were dancing – obviously the orange earth pony had been convinced – and Fluttershy was perched on a cushion by the edge of the dance floor, watching the pair. “I would rather not join in… such uncouth activities.”

“Oh, that’s okay then, I wouldn’t want you to be bored, especially as this is for my birthday and everything.” Twilight led Rarity to where the two Princesses were sitting. “You can join us! Pinkie’s music is wonderful, but we prefer to appreciate it in a… gentler manner.”

Just then Pinkie’s mix ended and she hopped down from the stage. “I’m only going to do one track today because I sense the show’s about to start!” she said with a joyous bounce, addressing the two mares on the dance floor that were looking put out.

“Pinkie, that was the most awesome thing I have ever heard!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash enthusiastically.

“Ah agree! Ah’ve never liked that kind of music before, too high tech an’ all, but yours almost got me more pumped up than the rodeo!”

“Thanks! I’m so happy to hear that you know and I’m so excited because on stage my Pinkie sense told me that somepony we know is going to perform now so I just had to end the song! Come on Fluttershy,” said the energetic party pony. “Let’s all get some seats!” She started to lead the other three to where the alicorns and unicorns were sitting.

As if on cue, the lights dimmed again, but the illumination on the stage remained. Multi-colored bulbs flashed, and a spotlight circled, then focused on the center of the platform.

Poof!

“It’s the masked mare!” whispered Rainbow Dash, peering over Pinkie Pie’s shoulder at her booklet.

A masked pony appeared in the midst of the explosion, and her coat was an uncannily familiar shade of blue.

“Greetings, my dear audience! Are you ready to be stunned! By the Great and Powerful… Trixie!”

[Author's note]

Thank you all for sticking with this though it's been such a long time! This is my second story ever, and when I went back to continue it again, the writing was so funny I laughed - right out laughed, it was so funny - and tore chunks from it and tried to put better stuff back in. I'm really grateful to you all for continuing to support me though I am lazy oftentimes and neglect my stories. Hope you continue to read and enjoy!

Just an Illustration

Chapter 2

The six Elements of Harmony felt their jaws drop.

Twilight was the first to snap back to her senses. “Wow, it seems like somepony changed the name of her show, but not her stage name…”

“At least she seems more modest now,” sniffed Rarity, who was huddled against Twilight; Princess Luna sat on her left, and Princess Celestia on Twilight’s right. “And I would never hold a grudge.” She rapped her hooves on the ground in applause.

The other ponies followed suit, but the Element of Magic was the one that rapped the hardest. I’m glad I could see you again, Trixie. I hope you have the made the most of your new start in life…

A cloud of mist billowed on the stage, partially shrouding the mare who was wearing a glittering mask and a magnificent purple cape.

“Wheeeeeeee! It’s Trixie!” squealed Pinkie enthusiastically, seemingly forgetting about the last time they had encountered the showmare. In truth, it was quite impossible for anypony to give the premier party pony a bad impression.

“Yeah. Trixie… huh.” Rainbow Dash caught Applejack’s eye and rolled her eyes, but she was a bit glad for the magician for managing to find another performing job after the fiasco at Ponyville.

“Watch in awe, as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!”

“Hopefully she gets to finish an actual routine instead of showing off, this time,” remarked Rarity.

“Oh, I hope she has changed… but I’m pretty happy for her, since she got to continue being a show magician,” Twilight replied.

Turning to her mentor, Twilight whispered in the alicorn’s ear, “Princess Celestia, it turns out that we’ve met her before! I told you about her in my report - she helped me realize that it’s okay to be proud of my talent, but modesty is equally important as well. I’m not sure if you remember it? It was a pretty long time ago.”

The Princess of the Sun nuzzled her faithful student as the unicorn on stage set off a brilliant display of fireworks, illuminating the darkened penthouse with dazzling flares that sparkled and danced. “Of course Twilight, I remember everything you’ve written to me. And of course I would never forget that you banished an Ursa Minor! I was in fact deeply proud of you, if I haven’t told you before.”

Twilight blushed, and after turning her attention back to the show, couldn’t help being impressed by the display of magic. “Um, wow… it seems she has improved quite a lot since last time!”

The eight mares watched as Trixie sent multiple beams of light weaving through the room, the rays then twisting and whizzing in the air as they changed colors, finally looping back to form the brightly glowing letters:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TWILIGHT SPARKLE

“Wooow!” exclaimed the six Elements in unison.

“Attagirl, Trixie!” hollered the orange cowgirl. “This just completely changes mah perspective about ya!”

"What? Who dares to interrupt the Great and Powerful…” the unicorn stopped in mid-sentence when she finally took a look at the audience and saw the two alicorns, and Twilight Sparkle.

She of course already knew that the performance was for the mare who had humiliated her back in Ponyville; it was one of the reasons she had decided to wear a mask.

She was informed of this by the mare that had booked the show on a moment’s notice in the afternoon. Trixie barely had time to gather her gear before she performed that very night, but the extra payment was more than enough to make her readily agree.

“Oh! Your Highnesses, the Great-I, I apologize for not noticing your Highnesses before, I wasn't told that I would performing for such… esteemed guests!” the robed equine stammered as she bowed her head.

Rainbow and Applejack wore expressions of utter astonishment, stunned that Trixie was even capable of humbled speech, and they giggled quietly.

“Trixie, it was our pleasure to watch you perform,” replied Princess Celestia graciously. “And I must say your control of your magic is quite impressive. It seems you have improved much… as my most faithful student has told me.”

“T-thank you!” stuttered the masked magician. “And happy birthday, Twilight Sparkle!” she managed to utter.

The birthday mare locked eyes with Trixie. “Thanks, Trixie! And um, you can continue? I’m really looking forward to the rest!”

Trixie bit her lip and looked down, a faint blush on her cheeks, but quickly composed herself and stood up straight, brushing back her cape.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie’s next trick will be…” With a flash of her horn the room lit up again, specks of light dancing and flickering before shimmering into an explosion of colors that slowly shifted and morphed into the image of a bird’s eye view from atop a snow capped mountain; it was like a projection, but without a physical screen.

As her audience watched, the view lurched and it was like they had launched themselves off the mountain, steep cliff walls rushing past with accompanying sounds of whooshing wind growing audible, then louder and louder. Trees and lakes dotted the landscape in the magical projection, and magnified at alarming rates as the illusion took them down into the embrace of gravity.

Twilight held her breath as the projection panned up, just as it seemed they were about to hit the trees, and there was the sound of leaves rustling as the projection took them to glide parallel to the ground, fields and forests, even the glimpse of the occasion settling here and there as they soared on.

It’s pretty advanced illusionary magic, thought Twilight, beaming as she looked up at the stage. The illusion shifted again, tilting back upwards as the landscape dropped, and finally they rose so high they could no longer see the ground. They soared into the clouds, which always made Twilight think of her mentor and the soft downy feel of her feathers whenever they hugged.

An attendant trotted up to them with a platter filled with drinks and Celestia took one for herself, one for Twilight, while Luna took her own. The waiter then looped back from behind them so as not to obstruct their view before offering the drinks to the remaining five mares.

Twilight took the drink, looking up at Celestia questioningly, but the alicorn just smiled before saying, “Give it a try Twilight, I think you’ll enjoy it.”

Twilight nodded, encouraged by Celestia’s words, and took a small sip of the drink. It tasted sweet with a small splash of sour, which reminded her of orange and cranberry and pineapple.

She had barely registered the fruity flavor though before the sweetness receded, leaving a much harder taste, something metallic, something chemical that seeped into her senses and quickly mixed with the sweetness in an aggressive way – if she’d never known tastes could be aggressive she did now.

It was only a small sip but it lingered for so long, even after Twilight had swallowed a few times. She took another drink, this time bigger than the first, and the fruity sensational came back in a wave of sweetness, flooding the hard taste before ebbing back again, the two blending in a way that was much more pleasant than her first sip.

“Princess? What kind of drink is this?” she asked after taking a few more gulps. While it didn’t taste entirely pleasant it was something new, and strangely her senses seemed to have been slightly modified, the metallic taste lingering on her tongue and inside the walls of the mouth and throat, acting like a filter that turned everything in her sense of taste into an explosion of pleasing and threatening sensations at the same time.

Celestia merely smiled and brushed Twilight with a wing, and Twilight suddenly had the notion to lick the pure white feathers…

Chapter 3

No , that’s silly, why am I thinking this? She shook her head and took another drink. Trixie was showing another trick with lights… the flashes were imprinting themselves on the back of her eyes, and her vision suddenly turned into a colorful eruption.

Is this part of Trixie’s magic? Twilight scrunched her eyes and opened them again, but this only made her sight more and more kaleidoscope-like, with strange colors morphing and swirling in the oddest ways. She raised the glass to her lips again, and suddenly everything was back to normal – Trixie was setting off multicolored fireworks and she could no longer see the weird, swirling tinges.

The princess didn’t answer my question, she thought as she swallowed, the liquid traveling down and warming her, spreading tingling sensations along her limbs that soon seemed that they were being weighed down. It doesn’t matter anyway, why did I even want to know in the first place?

She giggled quietly, trying to concentrate on the ongoing performance again. I’d like to try performing too, I want to show everypony those explosions I can make… Princess Celestia would be so proud, and she’d kiss me- Twilight frowned, just realizing what she had thought. Get a grip, Twilight! Why are you thinking these things? You shouldn’t!

She raised a hoof and bopped her head, prompting the princesses on either side of her to turn and look at her, slightly concerned, so she hastily made it like she was scratching the side of her cheek. They smiled at her and turned back to the stage, and Twilight let out a small sigh of relief. I have to stop thinking like this, what’s going on? She glared at the glass in front of her. Her taste and sight had both felt odd after drinking; could it be that the drink could influence her thoughts as well?

No, that’s absurd; beverages can’t do that, no matter how strange they taste. No, I wonder how it’d taste if I stuck one of Princess Celestia’s feathers in it – no, stop! Twilight glanced sideways before looking back to the stage. No, I don’t have to check, of course they can’t hear my thoughts, I’ll just pretend I’m paying attention to the show and nopony will guess I’m thinking about Princess Celestia’s feathers.

Twilight smiled and shifted her position a bit, pretending to look very intently at the stage. Now I can think about this in peace! About the feathers… She stole a glance at the alabaster alicorn beside her. They’re so white, and white, and white, and I want to – urgh, no! What am I thinking?

The more she tried to resist, the more her imagination drifted – she was flying into a hole, flying out another one, she could see herself, she could hear Princess Celestia’s voice, she could hear Luna’s…

“Twilight?” She had indeed heard Princess Celestia’s voice, and it pulled her back to reality, but not completely. Twilight stared at her empty glass before turning to the alicorn.

“Uuh, what, Princess?” She found herself grinning lopsidedly and wiggling a bit closer to her mentor.

“Just wondering if you’re enjoying it,” the princess said with a gentle smile.

“Yes, I am! Very much!” Twilight blushed and it felt her mind was going all woozy, like experiencing vertigo, and the world went white before she could focus again. Now it was getting worse; she could hear her pulse in her ears, and she felt like throwing up but it was okay – “Princess, can I have one of your fea-” No, Twilight Sparkle! What are you doing? Shut up!

“Yes?”

“No, no, nothing!” Twilight chuckled nervously. Just then Trixie lit up her horn again, conjuring something in a very loud ‘pop’, and Twilight hastily pointed her hoof. “Oh look, another trick!”

Celestia looked at her curiously but didn’t pursue the issue, giving her a faint smile before turning back to the show.

The showmare brandished the object which had popped into existence, a large bouquet of roses, and lit up her horn making the individual flowers soar out and fan into a circular shape behind her. Then like lightening, she shot them out, the stalks like knives that cut the air. Just before they reached the audience however, the flowers swerved up, curving back to line up in the air behind Trixie.

Trixie spread the flowers out, and they started to multiply; more roses appeared, and other flowers too, soon creating the illusion that there was a garden growing on the stage.

That was pretty impressive, Twilight observed, tilting her head. In her mind’s eye though she imagined the roses shooting towards her again, before turning into feathers that started to tickle her – why this fixation with feathers? What have I ever done wrong to you, feathers? Hmm, that’s not right, they’re roses…

Her thoughts trailed off as the attendant returned, taking away the glasses that were empty. Twilight looked wistfully as he picked up her glass, but he returned soon afterwards with a tray of refilled glasses. Twilight took hers back, taking a long sip. Her heart was beating quite quickly and it was like the room had grown hotter; the strong tang of the drink had somehow grown in intensity too.

Oh, good! This just tastes better and better each sip I take. Twilight thought back to the first few tastes; the drink tasted much better now and she welcomed back the flurry of senses that the drink brought to her. Good, now I can see everything though that kaleidoscope sight again.

The flowers on the stage started growing, snaking up and intertwining in intricate patterns. They weaved in and out rapidly, slowly making the outlines of various animals. Twilight could recognize a turtle, a fowl and a feline. She leaned comfortably on Celestia’s shoulder, grinning and staring at Trixie’s magic tricks.

Maybe I should try doing some of them too… I wonder how she’s doing it? Twilight cast her magic senses out. Unicorns could feel each other’s magic if they were standing quite close together and were concentrating hard enough, but Twilight, having more magical finesse and sensitivity than most, could ‘see’ the flow of the showmare’s magic much more easily.

The spell Trixie was using Twilight recognized quickly enough – it was an illusion spell, targeted for the eyes, as Twilight had guessed, but she couldn’t be completely sure she was right until she actually sensed it.

I should be able to duplicate that easily enough… it’s just like the spells I already know, just changing the images and controlling them more delicately. She used one that was for both sight and hearing – that’s much more complicated but I’ve done it before…

She absentmindedly made a small projection of a feather, brushing it against her hoof but it went through, being only a projection. I should be able to add the sense of touch to this. She noticed Luna turning to look at her, and quickly let the feather disperse with a sheepish grin. Luna returned the grin, slowly reaching out a hoof.

What’s she doing? Twilight barely kept herself from starting as Luna brushed her hoof with her own, smiling gently before pulling away and turning back to look at the stage, a faint blush on her cheeks.

What was that about? Twilight did a mental shrug. Maybe she wants a feather too – Urgh, why do I keep thinking about feathers? A small pocket of thought interrupted her current line of thinking.

No – you keep thinking about feathers, but you don’t actually do anything about it!

Twilight took another deep drink. It all seemed quite clear that she should actually start doing something about it. The hard, metallic taste was everywhere now – spread throughout her body, making her eyesight go neon; there was a pounding in her head and her ears, accompanied with the feeling of vertigo, twisting everything like the room was slowly spinning around her.

Then with a sharp prickling sensation behind her eyes the world righted itself. Trixie was now pulling out a large, black top hat, and Twilight watched closely as the magician reached inside, groped around, finally pulling out a rabbit.

Trixie lit her horn and the rabbit started growing larger and larger – was it even a rabbit anymore? Twilight heard Fluttershy squeak, and she quickly cast her magical senses to Trixie’s spell. The rabbit was an illusion too, but what was disturbing was what it was transforming into: a beast, large and menacing, with stars dotting its transparent-blue coat.

The Ursa Minor barred its teeth and snarled, pulling up a claw before smashing it hard down on the stage. The surface was torn with a huge wrenching sound, while splinters whizzed out. The beast stomped forward, roaring so loudly it shook the room.

Twilight felt a wave of vertigo descending; the sound was just deafening, magnified in strange ways that resonated back and forth in her skull. It became quieter as the dizziness fell away, replaced by Princess Celestia’s voice: “Twilight, are you feeling alright?”

Twilight blinked slowly. “Y-yes? It got so loud all of a sudden, then it was normal again, like just now, no I mean just a few seconds ago…”

Celestia nodded, still concerned. “Tell me if you’re feeling unwell, all right? It is your first time drinking after all…”

“I feel perfectly fine, Princess.” She nodded slowly. What did she mean, first time drinking…? Celestia leaned down and gave her a quick nuzzle, brushing her with her feathers, and Twilight giggled. They feel so nice… how can I ever get them?

Meanwhile the Ursa Minor kept stomping, and tore a large chunk out the wall. The chunk started to change color, growing a claw, then two, elongating and transforming into a second Ursa Minor that was slightly smaller in stature.

The first Ursa Minor looked at the second with a growl - a deep guttural sound - and lifted a claw, swiping heavily at the second. The second ducked down and roared, lunging forward at the first.

The two beasts pushed against each other, roaring, a crushing sound emanating from the floor as they threw themselves into an Ursa Minor wrestling match. Twilight looked on, quite impressed by Trixie’s magic illusions, but her mind kept drifting back to Celestia’s feathers.

Maybe… I can just get them sneakily. Twilight peeked at Celestia’s wings, wiggling a bit and lifting her hoof slightly. I should prod her right here, shouldn’t I? She inched her hoof forward, but stopped. This is not going to help me, am I crazy?

On stage, the two massive bears were still fighting. The first managed to push back the smaller beast, and roared triumphantly as the second lost its balance and fell to the floor with a huge thud. It launched itself down, tackling the second, which mustered its remaining strength and dodged to the side. The first Ursa Minor overshot and smashed into the floor, while the second rose and pushed it down on the ground, waving a paw and making a sound like it was laughing.

Darkness then descended, as Trixie used a spell to project heavy rain clouds and mist, drifting over the stage and shrouding the two Ursa Minors. They seemed to become one with the dark mist, growing more and more transparent before finally fading away into the clouds.

There was the rumble of thunder, then rain, though Twilight confirmed that it was still only an illusion by examining Trixie’s spells again with her magical senses.

“That was really awesome!” Twilight could hear Rainbow Dash saying, and Applejack voicing her agreement while trying to console a whimpering Fluttershy. The sounds were growing further and further away from her though as she took a few more drinks out of her glass, and she was back in the multicolored sight-and-sound-scape.

I like it like this… when the sound waves are so slow and nice. Music played itself in her ears of their own accord, and the ground was tilting up to meet her even though she was not moving, like she was on a seesaw. She was in control of her body, and yet she was not; it was like seeing through another pair of eyes, and everything sorted itself out, all thoughts and reason just drifted past like peaceful clouds in the sky.

The volume of the haphazard music in her head increased, and she was sure it was something that was making itself up as it went, not a melody she had ever heard before. So I’ve got music talent too, I never knew! Now if I could only remember some of this and write it down so I can duplicate it… oh, I can ask Pinkie Pie to play it out, she can play so many instruments! I wonder if she can read musical notation though…

Trixie’s storm clouds slowly subsided but the mist remained and grew heavy, hiding the showmare from her audience. There was a faint humming sound, and flashes in the mist, before several Trixies broke through it.

Twilight blinked a few times. No, she definitely wasn’t imagining it, Trixie had somehow managed to replicate herself, and they were all prancing around and they were all of different hues… The dozen or so Trixies changed in color and back again, though Twilight felt through her magic that Trixie wasn’t using a color change spell at all – that was strange, but she was seeing it. Maybe it’s a spell I can’t sense… but that’s pretty impossible, ‘cuz I know what a color change spell feels like.

A few of the Trixies strode to the poles lining the stage and started dancing around them, twirling and swaying. The others lined in the center in a formation before joining in the dancing, and Twilight could sense that the one in the very middle was the real Trixie. Some of the copies started floating up into the air as they danced, doing a few aerobatic flips as they rose.

As Twilight watched the performance, she had the rush of swirling color in her vision again and again, and she drained her glass. Once in a while she would have an urgent need to jiggle a hoof, or scratch her mane, but those urges passed quickly. This is probably what Pinkie feels most of the time, she mused.

Well, if Pinkie could think as well as do crazy things most of the time, why couldn’t she? This could be the chance to… get the feathers! There was no stopping it, some hidden part of her seemed to be against the idea, but its voice was too far away.

Trixie was still going on with her show with the illusions, and Twilight did a quick search of which was the real pony. I’ll probably need to cause a distraction if I want to draw away Princess Celestia’s attention…

She’d wondered already why she was so fixated on getting the feathers, but the flashing lights in her head were urging her on, and her mind and her body seemed to be listening only to themselves. Where’d all this bravado come from anyway? It must have already been in me all along… though I guess it was the wonderful tasting drink that helped me find it. Now, what to do?

Twilight scanned the stage again; the real Trixie was floating up, joining the rest of the illusionary copies of herself. Self levitating? That’s pretty advanced! Hmm, but I can use this to my advantage. I could teleport on the stage, or I could make an explosion. I can even create more illusions then have them all pretend to attack Trixie, and then everypony will be distracted…

Options, some wilder than the rest, kept popping up in her mind; it seemed her thinking speed was much faster than usual, though jumpy and most certainly not following the same line of logic all of the time.

Oh, that’s right… I should just make her fall! It’s fancier. Yeah, fancy.

The decision she made at this point was like jumping off a cliff – there was no going back, even though she hadn’t done anything yet. She couldn’t stop herself, and she had to find some way to use up all that bravado, right?

Everything’s logical. The Princess will be distracted, and I can obtain what I want. She lit her horn, spreading her magic over to where Trixie was floating – and yanked on her tail. Hard.

Time seemed to slow – it was only a matter of a few seconds though it felt like much longer to Twilight.

Trixie fell, and didn’t realize what was happening till she hit the floor. None of the others knew what was going on, perhaps except for Celestia and Luna. Fluttershy was the first to react – she flapped her wings and flew onto the stage with a quiet “Are you alright…?” The others followed the yellow pegasus; only Twilight, Celestia and Luna were left behind.

No, it wasn’t supposed to work like this – why did I even do that in the first place? Twilight's mind felt blank, and it was getting blanker by the second. And why was she so calm?

“Luna, please make sure Trixie is fine.” Celestia looked down at Twilight, and Twilight was unable to make out her mentor’s expression – was Princess Celestia actually smiling? Or was she frowning? The world lurched and she couldn’t keep her balance, one of her hoofs went limp under her and the floor came up to meet her.

Chapter 4

Dull throbbing and blackness – Twilight gagged and bile rose from the pit of her stomach, burning the walls of her throat.

She could feel something warm on her back which wasn’t really doing much to ease the sharp pains that felt as if there were needles jabbing her everywhere. And there were other sources of agony as well – her stomach felt like a part of it had been torn out, and her eyes felt like they had been rubbed on with sandpaper.

What’s – going – on? Her thoughts were sluggish; it was like she was slipping in and out of conscious. The warm, soft object seemed to be touching her again, rubbing her along her neck and back.

“Twilight, do you feel better now?” The words reverberated in her ears slowly, not quite getting in. Then reality hit her.

Wait… what did I just do?! Her head still hurt and there was a bitter taste in her mouth, but slowly her thoughts started to sort themselves out. Did I just – what? Oh, no! She stared down at her hooves; Princess Celestia was going to punish her for this, she just knew it.

“Twilight?”

Twilight cringed upon hearing the gentle voice of her mentor, and only half registered that it didn’t sound angry at all.

Princess Celestia draped a wing over Twilight and nuzzled her, before levitating a glass of water over and holding it in front of the unicorn. “Here, have some water – are you feeling better now?”

Maybe this is the punishment. Maybe she’s going to make me drink a thousand glasses of water, or maybe she’ll shrink me and throw me inside –

Celestia looked at Twilight, her brow creased. Twilight gulped and hesitantly took the water in a shaky grasp, staring at it numbly before finally taking a sip. It washed through her, helping chase down the influences of the vile liquid in her system.

She peeked at the room; it seemed to be one of the side rooms. Had Celestia led her here? Hmm, maybe there’s still a chance I can get her feathers – Twilight blinked. This thought hadn't been accompanied by the swirling colors and strange sounds – it had been her own, which confused her slightly. But there were more pressing matters at hoof now; she had to try to make things right. I should apologize while I can…

“P-princess?” Twilight tentatively looked up, and Celestia met her eyes with a warm smile.

“Yes?” Celestia asked softly, and Twilight felt her heart fluttering, an unwelcomed blush creeping up from her neck to her cheeks.

Well, maybe it was because she was so nervous… and not about the apology. But about what, she wasn’t really sure yet. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, her ears flattened.

Celestia leaned down and nuzzled her again. “It’s alright. You weren’t yourself, were you?”

Twilight bit her lip, unsure of how to respond. She remembered the things that she had done, but couldn’t understand why her thought process had been like that. The only thing that somehow made sense was wanting the princess’ feathers. The point wasn’t the feathers, she realized, but something else that had been hidden before…

“I don’t blame you,” Celestia continued when Twilight didn’t speak. She lit up her horn, pulling over a couch with telekinesis. “Just rest yourself, all right? I will just go check on the others, and then I’ll be right back.” The alicorn waited until Twilight pulled herself on the couch, then gave Twilight a reassuring smile before leaving the room.

Twilight buried her head in her hooves and whimpered. I should have controlled myself! And now everything’s just so messed up! The answer to why she had thought and done what she had was poking at her, but she tried to ignore it. It is because you –

She blocked out the thought, though not without a blush. I’ve always liked Princess Celestia, but just as a teacher, right? Yes, I just like her like that, nothing more… But she couldn’t convince herself – what had surfaced during her short period of intoxication couldn’t be buried.

But I can never tell her about it… or anypony else! Twilight scrunched up her eyes. It would be best to pretend that I don’t feel anything different from before. What the exact feeling was she couldn’t really say, but it felt so right to her, how she wanted to feel Princess Celestia’s feathers brushing against her, to be in that warm embrace, to feel those lips – Twilight shook her head. She’d never, ever accept my feelings.

And she hasn’t even blamed me for ruining Trixie’s show… Twilight winced. As a filly, as she started to learn more and more advanced magic, a rule of sorts that Princess Celestia had emphasized was to use magic in the right way. And I just went against that.

But she still didn’t understand why her mind had been in such a state the past hour or two. It could have been the drink, and she could not think of another option, but it’d seemed that none of the other ponies had been acting strangely. My behavior was inexcusable…

So why had the princess let her go so easily? Twilight couldn’t fight back the impulsive thought that she was still going to be punished later, but Princess Celestia had said she didn’t blame her and that everything was all right, and the princess never went back on her word.

Maybe her behavior was expected? If a pony was in that insane state of mind – was it possible that only she been under the influence? How did that happen, and how did my mind clear up? She shuddered; what if she hadn’t snapped out of it? Would she just have kept doing crazy things? Princess Celestia surely wouldn’t forgive her then, no matter what else she did, right?

An uneasy smile crossed her face. Perhaps, if she was ‘still’ under the influence, she could do things she normally couldn’t do, and she wouldn’t be judged like under normal circumstances…

Celestia strode up to where the other ponies were gathered around a still confused Trixie. Satisfied that the showmare hadn’t been hurt, she turned to Luna.

“Luna, can I talk to you in private?” she asked in a low voice.

“Yes...” Luna nodded slowly, and followed Celestia to another of the side rooms. “Celestia, what is this about?”

“About Twilight,” Celestia said after a pause, “I know you might not have had any bad intentions, but…”

Luna looked down, eyes darting in every direction. “What are you talking about, sister?”

“Please, don’t do this, Luna,” Celestia said, almost pleadingly. “You know it hurts when you try to hide things from me.”

Luna stared down, biting her lip. Finally she looked up again, and took a deep breath. “It-It was I who p-placed a spell on Twilight’s glass.”

“I thought so,” Celestia said softly. “But why did you do that, Luna?”

“I, I just thought,” Luna drew a hoof on the ground uncertainly. “If I could s-somehow lower a few barriers I-I could tell her my feelings.”

“Oh Luna, I didn’t know that you had feelings for Twilight.” Celestia deliberated for a few moments, struggling to keep her expression calm. “But that… isn’t the way you tell a pony about it.”

“I know, sister,” Luna said in a choked voice, “but I just don’t understand why I did that…”

“Would you like to talk about it more?” Celestia asked gently. “I’ll try to help you the best I can; I’m just afraid you might have taken the wrong approach.”

“I-” There was a long pause, and Luna finally shook her head. “I really cannot now, Celestia, I need some more time to think…”

Celestia nodded, nuzzling her sister. “I’ll help her recuperate, then, but I’m afraid you will have to find a way to tell her about this yourself, after she is feeling herself again.”

Luna sighed, turning and trudging back to the main room without a further response. Celestia watched her sister leave, her expression unfathomable, before making her way to the room where she had left Twilight.

Chapter 5

Twilight kept her eyes trained on the door, her body tense as she waited for Princess Celestia to return. She hoped it wouldn’t take too much longer, for fear she would lose her nerve. As if in answer to her thoughts, the door inched open.

Celestia trotted over to the couch Twilight was resting on and sat down beside it, looking at her with eyes full of concern. “Are you feeling better now, Twilight?”

“Oh, I feel fine!” Twilight giggled lopsidedly. “I feel great!”

“Are you sure?” The alicorn draped a foreleg around Twilight’s withers. “Hmm, I think you need to rest some more,” she continued when Twilight kept giggling.

“No, really!” Twilight tilted her head. “It’s just, my eyes hurt…”

“What’s wrong? Here, let me take a look,” Celestia said, but Twilight covered her eyes with a hoof.

“But if you fix them, the color-y vision will be gone, won’t it?”

“What exactly did you do, Luna?” the princess muttered worriedly to herself, before leaning in close, looking into Twilight’s lilac eyes.

It was a good thing that a part of the wild influence still lingered in Twilight’s system, helping her gather the courage to do what she did: she wrapped her hooves around Celestia’s neck tightly, before pressing their muzzles together –

She felt the alicorn tense, and it was as if her heart had stopped, but then Celestia’s lips were moving in synch with her own, but for so briefly she thought she must have imagined it before Celestia pulled away. “Twilight, you’re drunk...”

Twilight felt her face burning. I’m not drunk! But there was no denying that her plan had failed, and there would never be another chance. Twilight almost panicked – She doesn’t feel the same way! She needed to find a way to save this wreck of a situation, at least try to make sure the princess wouldn’t hate her.

She clutched her hooves to her stomach, eyes scrunched up in agony. The agony was real – only it came from her heart, not her stomach. Princess Celestia immediately wrapped her forelegs around her, trying to soothe her, but Twilight could tell she was keeping her face well out of range.

“Hold on, Twilight… I’ll take you to the castle to rest, all right?” Twilight could feel the anxiety in the alicorn’s voice, and hated herself for making Celestia worry so much, but it was the only way; as long as Celestia still thought she was drunk she had a chance at making it right.

Twilight slowly regained consciousness. Her sight was blurry, and her ears didn’t seem to be working properly; ponies were talking in the background, but try as she might to make out what they were saying, everything she heard was muffled.

Memories swam in her head, barely surfacing. She only vaguely remembered falling asleep on the way to the castle, but the kiss with Celestia… Did that really happen? Or did I imagine that too?

The voices in the background gradually started to become audible, and she recognized them as belonging to the royal sisters. What are they doing – and where am I? She was surprised the question hadn’t occurred to her before, but that surprise was quickly replaced by curiosity when she heard her name being spoken by one of the princesses.

“But sister, I do not think –”

“You don’t need to use any spells or hope for the influence of alcohol to help you, Luna, just tell her how you feel.”

“It’s impossible,” Luna said miserably, and Twilight heard a faint sniffing.

“I’m sure you can do it.” There was a pause, and she continued, “Let’s get some rest, but do try tomorrow, will you? I just want you to be happy…”

The room fell silent afterwards, and Twilight tried to make sense of what they were talking about, but fatigue soon overcame her again, and she fell back into pitch black unconsciousness.

Sunlight shone through Twilight's eyelids, warming and waking her, and this time she felt much more refreshed. She looked up – right into two pairs of eyes. The two sisters were sitting side by side next to the bed looking at her, and it seemed that they had been waiting for her to wake.

“Good morning, Twilight,” said Celestia, and Twilight noticed that she looked very tired.

“It’s good to see you awake,” Luna said quietly, averting her gaze.

“G-good morning…” Twilight replied cautiously; scenes of the previous night were replaying in her head, and it made her feel so empty, to see Princess Celestia. She still needed to pretend that she was drunk when she had kissed the princess, so that Celestia wouldn't hate her… she made up her mind to not mention her feelings again.

“Are you feeling better now?” the elder alicorn asked, with a hint of sadness that wasn't very well hidden.

Twilight hung her head in shame. She had caused a lot of trouble, and it could only be that the princess was upset with her. “I… I’m feeling much better now,” she said slowly, and was startled at how much more normal sounding her voice was than the previous day; even she could tell the difference.

Both Celestia and Luna looked relieved, but then Celestia’s expression turned to one of resignation, and she gave Luna a nudge. “Luna has something to say to you, don’t you, Luna?”

“Oh, I…” Luna gulped a few times. “Y-yes…”

Twilight looked up at them in confusion. Her only clue was that this probably had something to do with what the two sisters had been talking about during the night. She decided to remain quiet, waiting until Luna spoke again.

“I-it was I that put a spell on your drink, and I-I’m terribly sorry for the amount of discomfort it has caused.” Luna paused, and then gave a jerky nod as if wanting to go on but finally deciding against it.

“W-what, you, what?!” Twilight didn’t realize her outbreak until she heard Luna whimpering.

“I’m so sorry, Twilight, will you ever forgive me?” Luna asked miserably, ears flattened.

“I… of course I do.” Twilight quickly lowered her voice, trying to calm herself down. “But, but why?”

Luna didn’t speak, a blush visible even on her dark coat, and the silence was only broken when Celestia cleared her throat, looking pointedly at Luna.

“B-because,” Luna stammered, “because I…” She whimpered again, suddenly getting to her hooves. “I need to go –”

“Luna, please,” Celestia cut in firmly, raising a hoof to block Luna’s way.

Luna slowly turned back to Twilight, and nodded before taking a few deep breaths, pulling herself up to her full height and tilting her head regally. “I am -” she said louder, but her voice quickly faltered. “I…”

“She is in love with you Twi-” Celestia stopped and shook her head briskly. “– My faithful student,” she continued, the crack in her voice obvious.

At first Twilight just gaped, aghast; it was so unexpected. Celestia quickly got to her hooves, her movements visibly shaky, muttering something about ‘business to attend to’, and walked out the door before Twilight had really registered anything.

Twilight stared at the door after Celestia left, frozen. “L-Luna, why did Princess Celestia…?” She trailed off, her thoughts in an emotional tangle.

Luna sighed, looking off to the side. “I think… I am not the only one who loves you,” she whispered sadly.

Twilight gazed off into space, her eyes vacant, and something clicked. She slid of the bed and made her way to the door without another word, but looked back at Luna when she heard the alicorn make a choked sound. “Are you coming?” she asked lightly.

Luna only gave her a dumbstruck look before getting to her hooves, her movements sluggish. Twilight just smiled at her, trotting out and down the hallway. This is going to work, it has to! She swallowed her nerves and nodded to reassure herself. It’s the only way I can make all three of us happy…

Reaching the door of Celestia’s chambers, she pushed the doors open with her magic without knocking. The elder alicorn was on her bed, and started when Twilight and Luna entered, quickly shading her face with a wing.

“I’d really rather be alone right now.” Her voice sounded steady, but a slight tremor was all that gave her away. Twilight ignored her though, pulling herself onto the bed beside Celestia.

She brushed a hoof against the alicorn’s wing, those soft, downy feathers… “Prin – I mean, Celestia?” The princess looked at her with anguished eyes, and Twilight felt a pang in her heart upon seeing that Celestia had been crying. So it’s true, after all. Joy rose up, balancing out the pain she felt knowing Celestia was hurt.

Drawing a hoof along Celestia’s cheek, she leaned in close, mirroring the scene from last night. Celestia’s lips were just as tender, and as sweet… but also with the salty taste of her tears.

Breaking their kiss briefly, she saw Luna turn away with a sob, before fleeing towards the door. “Luna, wait!” She used her magic to lift Luna off the ground, and the lunar princess gave a startled yelp as Twilight carried her over to the bed.

Twilight smiled at Luna, before wrapping her hooves around Luna’s neck, leaning in to kiss her tenderly on the lips –

Celestia and Luna lay on the bed, both of them snuggled against Twilight who was sandwiched snugly between them.

Twilight had never known she could experience happiness like this – a warm, fuzzy feeling turned every sensation into pure bliss. She giggled quietly, nuzzling both of the alicorns, who were smiling as well.

“I would never have thought this possible… I suppose I keep underestimating you, Twilight,” Celestia murmured, hugging Twilight even closer.

Twilight grinned, shifting a bit to the side and hugging Luna tightly. “I think we owe a lot to Luna.”

All three of them chuckled, and Twilight closed her eyes, grateful for everything that had led up to this moment. This is... the best birthday present ever.

~The End~

Thanks for reading!