A Birthday for Lightning

Lightning Chaser opened the door to his house carefully, checking to make sure there wasn't a certain pink pony outside. He sighed with relief as the coast was clear and he stepped out into a beautiful sunny morning. Of course he knew it was going to be sunny, at the start of the month he had covertly moved the weather team's schedules around so that this particular day was designated to be sunny with light cloud coverage. Lightning smiled as he walked down the street and into town humming a small tune that had somehow worked its way into his head, seemingly content with everything.

As soon as he reached town, Lightning's mood changed to one of trepidation. He wasn't sure how, but Pinkie Pie had managed to find out that it was his birthday and he was worried that she had spread it around town or worse, would want to host a party and invite the town. Lightning had nothing against birthdays or even birthday parties, they were fun and he loved celebrating his friends birthdays...his own, not so much. Sure he enjoyed them as a foal but now his idea of a good birthday was a small get-together with his closest friends. This, however, worked against the standard Pinkie convention which was to invite all your friends and have a big party, which is why Lightning was currently swinging his head in every direction in an attempt to spot Pinkie before she spotted him. In doing so he ended up not noticing what was in front of him and accidentally walked into somepony.

"Ow! Hey!"

"Oh, sorry I wasn't paying..." Lightning just stared open mouthed at the mare he had just walked into, her blue coat shone and the way the sun caught her mane made it seem the most vibrant shades of periwinkle and blue, but the eyes are what caught him, those azure orbs of kindness. Minuette huffed as she stood up, "Attention? I should say not...Oh! Lightning! I didn't know it was you." Minuette smiled and offered him a hoof. Lightning just stared at it dumbfounded, sighing; she grabbed his hoof and pulled him onto his hooves. Somehow Lightning managed to get his brain to start functioning again.

"Thank you." He mumbled trying to hide his blush, "No sweat. Why were you so distracted?"

"Oh, just...keeping an eye out for somepony."

"Uh, huh..." Minuette replied hoping to prompt an actual response.

"I...um...how is your cousin?"

"Who?"

"The good doctor."

"Oh, he's fine." She waved a hoof dismissively, "He keeps spending more and more time in that blue shed of his."

"I never really understood why he painted it that colour...n-not that I don't like the colour blue or anything!" Minuette raised an eyebrow but chose to ignore the outburst, "Well he said that the paint shop ran out of red and green and they only had royal blue left. That, and apparently it makes him feel nostalgic for some reason. I was just going to see him; did you want to come along?" Lightning nearly jumped for joy, a chance to see the Doctor! And with Minuette no less! This day was turning out

wonderfully

, until he realised that while he wanted to go, he couldn't. There were still things that needed to be taken care of before he could go see the Doctor. Lightning mentioned that he might be over later before apologising again and saying goodbye. He watched her trot off and sighed, filled with a new determination he flew off towards the market.

As Lightning sped off to get everything done a figure emerged from the shadow of a nearby alleyway.

"Dang, and that was the perfect opportunity as well. Guess I'll just have to try even harder." The figure giggled as she cartwheeled away drawing stares from passer-bys.

The marketplace was bustling as always, with stall owners engaged in a friendly competition to see who could outsell whom. It also helped to be on friendly terms with a few of the salesponies as a few of them managed to put aside few things for Lightning when he came around. Golden Harvest always had some of the best produce (Lightning could never get enough of her carrots), however, it was Applejack that usually had the biggest crowd and today was no exception. Lightning thanked Celestia that he at least had the foresight to leave the apples as the last thing on his list, for he knew he could be waiting all day. The line was long, almost as long as when Applejack was selling her famous cider or Zap Apple jam. As the line slowly crept forward, Lightning couldn't help but let his mind wander.

"Hey there Lightnin'!" The high pitched voice snapped him out of his reverie and he looked down to see a smiling Applebloom. Lightning smiled and ruffled her hair, "Hey there sweet stack."

"What cha' doing here?"

"Buying some celery of course!" Applebloom smiled at the obvious lie, "Ah meant, why're you in the line? Couldn't you jus' ask Applejack ta put some aside for ya? Or ya could get me to get some for ya!" Lightning grabbed the little filly before she could run off, "Whoa there! If I did that then all these other ponies might miss out. I know Applejack has only so many before she runs out and it's only fair that everyone should have a fair shot."

"Ah suppose..." Applebloom muttered looking down at her hooves, "I was getting bored and having someone to talk to might help pass the time." He smiled and ruffled her hair again. "Ah don't know..."

"How do you feel about a game of Cutie Mark Stories?" Applebloom's eyes lit up "OK! Hmmmm..." Applebloom's eyes scanned the market for a suitable target, suddenly her eyes lit up as she spotted a mark, "That one!" she yelled pointing at a brown stallion with a desert island for a cutie mark. "Well picked," Lightning thought for a moment, "Let's see...when he was a foal, a bit older than you, he loved playing in the sandbox..."

Time passed as together Lightning and Applebloom spun a story involving danger, intrigue, pirates and mutiny all relating to how they thought the poor stallion got his cutie mark. It wasn't long before they were in front of the stall. "Next! What can I do ya- Oh! Hey Lightnin'!"

"Hi Applejack. A dozen Royal Galas, thank you. Oh, better make that thirteen, thanks." As Lightning paid for the apples and put them into his bag, keeping one aside. "Here you go sweet stack. Thanks for keeping me company." He said tossing the remaining apple towards Applebloom who caught it in her mouth "'ANKS!" Applejack watched the display with a smile, "Ya didn't have ta do that."

"She kept me company when she didn't have to, I owe her something." Lightning shrugged, "Plus it actually helps me, my bit bag isn't as heavy as it was before." They both shared a chuckle at that, "Oh, Ah almost forgot. Rarity told me to ask you to stop by if ya can. Apparently she has a new idea for a stallion range and wants you ta help out." Lightning pulled a face that was somewhere between disgust, horror and somehow dread. "Odd, that’s the same face Big Mac pulled when I asked him to do the same thing." "Well, hope to see you soon." Lightning trotted away from the booth a little quicker than he normally would have, as if staying there meant that Rarity would find him.

"Check. Now, how do I get him to Rarity's?" The voice came from a bushel off to the side of the stall. "Pinkie? What in tarnation are ya doin'?"

"Oh, I'm just setting up the bestest, most wonderful surprise-...thing..." Applejack raised an eyebrow at Pinkie's enigmatic reply, "O...kay then." Deciding not to question it, Applejack turned back to serving her customers.

After dropping the groceries off at home, Lightning ran off for his weekly race with Rainbow Dash. Twilight had already arrived by the time he got to the usual starting point.

"Hi Twilight. No Dash?" He inquired as he landed beside her. Twilight just snorted in response, "That mare, I set aside time for this every week; the least she can do is show up on time!" Twilight stomped her hoof. Lightning just chuckled, while it was true that Rainbow Dash was never 'on time' it was more accurate to say she was exactly on time as she made it a point not to show up until she actually had to be there. As if on cue a rainbow streak raced across the sky from the opposite side of Ponyville eventually stopping on a cloud floating just above them. "Are you ready to have your flank kicked or what?" The voice floated down, Lightning smiled and flew up to meet Rainbow Dash on the cloud. Rainbow Dash stood there grinning at him, "Think you'll finally beat me this time?"

"Heh, you mean like how I beat you last time?"

"Hey! I let you win."

"Well then, guess you need to stop letting me win." Lightning shot back lowering his worn aviator goggles, I should get these replaced, he thought as his eyes traced the worn padding and rusting edges, I've had them since the aviation academy.

"Guess that means I should actually take you seriously."

"All right? Good." Twilight shouted up, "Same rules as always, first to Sweet Apple Acres, around Ponyville and back here is the winner. On your marks." Lightning and Dash both crouched down and gave their wings an experimental flap to ease the tension, "Get set..." Both of them stared forward grimly, each focusing all their being on the task ahead tensing up for the moment when Twilight shouted "GO!"

Twilight watched as a rainbow and a grey streak took off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. She sighed as she couldn't believe that they had once again roped her in to judge for them, however, she was the logical choice given that she was precise, exact and had kept track of every single race since the first one. Twilight's thoughts were interrupted by a curled pink mane popping out of the bush beside her.

"Are they gone?"

"GAH!" Twilight screamed as she jumped in fright, "PINKIE! DON'T DO THAT!"

"Sorry Twilight, but I was just wondering if Dashie and Lightie had gone yet." Twilight sighed at her friend's randomness, "Yes, they have gone. They should be back soon though."

"Good. Here," Pinkie threw a piece of paper at Twilight, "I want you to say this to Lightie when he gets back." "Sorry Twilight, gotta go!" and with that Pinkie was gone. Twilight just sighed as she read the paper. "Wouldn't it be easier to just tell him Rarity wants to see him?"

Lighting loved this feeling, the wind whipping at his mane, the landscape below nothing but a blur of colours, just him and the sky, nothing else. Except there was something else, more specifically, somepony else. Rainbow Dash wasn't that far ahead of him, he could put in a burst of speed and catch up to her and maybe pass her but it would tire him out quicker and it was still early in the race. Sweet Apple Acres was coming up now and he could see the unofficial check point, the weather vane. Putting on a burst of speed, Lightning prepared to lose some speed in the turn, he could try and use the weather vane as a pivot to swing him around without losing a lot of energy however, the last time he did that had to buy a new weather vane for a very annoyed Applejack. Sure he won the race, but as it turned out weather vanes aren't cheap and spending the next month eating nothing but hay just for a friendly race didn't really appeal to Lightning.

Rainbow Dash angled her wings in preparation for the turn; it was this slight angling that gave Lightning an idea. As he came up to the turn he angled his wings slightly to the right and slightly up, so when he turned not only did he pivot around, he increased his altitude. Using the speed from the sharp turn he caused himself to ascend higher, he could see Rainbow Dash below him completely oblivious to anything other than the win. Lightning smiled as he knew what would come next, he sharply angled his wings down. Using gravity to his advantage Lightning shot downwards, feeling his speed increase he could only smile as the ground rushed to meet him. At the last second he pulled up so he was now flying a few feet parallel to the ground, using the speed from the fall Lightning shot around the outskirts of Ponyville and catch up to Rainbow Dash who was now making her way to the finish. Lightning smiled, using his little trick he had managed to save his energy, energy that could now be used to beat Rainbow Dash. Putting all his strength into increasing his wing power Lightning shot ahead. Rainbow Dash grit her teeth in an effort to pool all her energy into one last spurt when out of the corner of her eye she noticed a grey streak, she grit her teeth even harder, she couldn't let him win her pride as the fastest was on the line, sure he had beaten her before but there were reasons for that and this time she was at the top of her game, she couldn't lose.

Twilight watched the race somewhat bored, while she could respect the two athletes, racing was boring and it wasn't until the last few seconds when her keen eye for detail would be required. She watched as Lightning utilised the pull of gravity to increase his speed without expending a lot of energy and smiled at the wonderful application of physics. The two pegasi were now finishing the final leg and Lightning was drawing even with Rainbow Dash. In a burst of speed Lighting overtook Dash only for Dash to put in a similar burst of speed and take back the lead position. With less than a kilometre to go Lighting seemed to visibly relax and then suddenly he was off, speeding ahead of Rainbow Dash and over the finish line. Turning around, Lightning smiled at Rainbow Dash, only for Dash to smile back. His confusion was short lived as he immediately found himself buried in a cloud. Twilight rolled her eyes and marked another win for Lightning on her tally. Rainbow Dash landed next to Twilight laughing. Lightning stuck his tongue out and threw a bit of the cloud at the cyan pagasus, all rivalry lost as they laughed together. Twilight couldn't help but giggle as the two friends threw pieces of clouds at each other, suddenly two pieces of clouds smacked her in the face, looking up she saw the two pegasi grinning mischievously at her.

"Congratulations Lighting." Twilight shouted at the still grinning pegasi, "Thanks Twilight, good match Rainbow."

"Same, don't expect me to go easy on you next time though." She grinned offering a hoof bump, Lightning returned it "Ditto."

"Rarity has some outfits she would like your help with. She's waiting for you at Carousel Boutique." Twilight shouted up. Lightning let out a small groan, as much as he liked Rarity sometimes she could be overbearing, that and he wanted to help the Doctor and Minuette. "See you Twilight, Rainbow Dash." Dash sniggered at his misfortune and said goodbye as Lightning flew off towards Carousel Boutique.

Carousel Boutique was easily one of the most recognizable buildings in all of Ponyville; it was bright and showy much like its proprietor. That same proprietor had somehow managed to force Lightning into a tuxedo and was taking his measurements. Lightning hated this, he was fine standing still for an hour or so but now it was bordering on three and his fidgeting had not gone unnoticed.

"We're almost done dear. Just a few more minor alterations." Lightning rolled his eyes, she was 'almost done' an hour ago. Lightning liked Rarity, she was pretty, well spoken and passionate about her craft. The only problem was Rarity primarily made dresses and every so often dabbled in stallions wear, the problem being that she actually knew very few males. Her closest male friends being Big Mac, Lightning and Spike. Spike was a dragon and Big Mac, as his name suggested, was a rather heavyset stallion leaving Lighting to be the one she called on the most as he had an average build. At first Lightning was happy to help, but after a while it became a bit of a chore to stand there for hours on end with nothing to accompany him other than the occasional muttering from Rarity. He put on a brave face and told his friends that he didn't mind it too much and that he's glad to help but he secretly dreaded it, nothing to read, nopony to speak to, nothing to occupy his mind, every time his mind began to wander Rarity would do something to snap him back to reality. Lightning just stood there while Rarity fussed over the tuxedo praying for something, anything to end this boredom.

"There, we're done."

Lightning awoke out of his stupor with a jerk, "I'm sorry?"

"We're done. Now then, that wasn't so hard was it darling?"

"Not at all Rarity, always happy to help." Lightning gave his best diplomatic grin. He moved to get off the small stage surrounded by mirrors where Rarity had been taking his measurements, "Oh dear, what's wrong?" Lightning gave Rarity a perplexed look. "You said we were done?"

"Oh yes, we're done." Rarity confirmed, "Now that it has been fitted lets see how these look on you..." Using her magic Rarity levitated several different suits and tuxedos over to Lightning, silently he cursed.

A few hours later saw Lightning hurtling towards the residence of the Doctor and Minuette having finally been released by Rarity. I hope nothing major has happened without me. The Doctor's house was an easy one to spot from the air, on the ground it was a simple house much like many of the others that surrounded it. What set it apart was the bright blue shed behind it, meaning you could spot it from almost anywhere above Ponyville. This shed was where the Doctor practically lived, apparently he had inherited it with the house and it wasn't until his cousin Minuette had raised the question as to what was in the shed that prompted them to make the amazing discovery. Since then Minuette and the Doctor had many adventures usually with Lightning tagging along. Lightning landed just outside the shed and knocked twice. Lighting waited. After a few minutes he tried again. His brow furrowing, he knocked a third time. This was odd, Lightning knew that they had no plans for a trip today; it was just supposed to be general maintenance and calibration. This time Lightning tried to open the door, as sometimes the Doctor became too caught up in what he was doing to remember to lock the door. Although if Minuette was with him like she said she was going to be then the door would be locked, but then again she would have heard the knocking. Lightning tried the door, only to be met with a firm resistance signifying that the door was indeed locked. Maybe they went inside for a late lunch or tea? Hopeful Lightning tried knocking on the back door, but he was met with a similar response. Sighing, Lightning resigned himself that he probably wouldn't see the Doctor and Minuette for the rest of the day and decided to make his way to Golden Oaks Library to see if his order for the latest Neil Gait book had come in.

The sun was almost below the horizon when Lightning trotted up to the door of Golden Oaks Library. It normally wouldn't have taken him very long to get to the library if not for all the detours along the way. He was especially glad for the one at Sugar Cube Corner, sure he risked running into Pinkie Pie but the smell and promise of fresh baked goods was worth it. Tonight looked like a great night, fresh baked muffins and a new book, the perfect way to end a birthday. So enamoured with his own thoughts and humming a tune, Lightning failed to notice that the lights to Golden Oaks were off. Had he have noticed he would have been more wary, especially since it was still twilight and the town librarian was well known for staying up until the following morning. Lightning knocked on the door to the tune of the chorus and waited for a response. Not receiving one he knocked again. Slowly it dawned on him that something was wrong, even if Twilight was too caught up in her studies to hear him knock Spike still should have heard him. Just to make sure he knocked a bit louder this time, cocking an ear at the door to listen for any sound that might indicate life. Worried now he pushed at the door, if it was locked then Twilight was out, if not then something was wrong as it was after library hours. It turned out something was wrong. The door swung on its hinges, opening up to a darkened foyer. Despite it being twilight there should still have been enough light to illuminate the room but Lightning could barely make out the table that usually sat in the centre. His curiosity piqued, Lightning walked cautiously into the foyer looking for any clue as to why it was dark. It wasn't until he closed the door behind him out of habit that he found out why.

If the sudden blinding light wasn't disorientating, the thunderous noise was. Lightning was vaguely aware of colourful blobs coming towards him, it took a little bit longer for him to recognise the blobs as his friends, they appeared to be saying something, and he waited until the ringing in his ears stopped.

"...so I asked Rarity to keep you busy while I gathered everypony and organised this super-duper secret surprise party!" Pinkie looked up at Lightning smiling. Well that explains why I didn't see her all day. Lightning smiled back at the pink pony, "Thanks a lot Pinkie." She giggled and bounced off to entertain the other guests. "Well hey there birthday boy!" Applejack exclaimed walking up to him, "Glad to see ya could make it."

"Thanks." Lightning chuckled, "Although, this seems rather small for a Pinkie party." It was true, Lightning could name everypony in attendance where usually he could only name a hoof full. Pinkie obviously knew that Lightning didn't like big parties as it seemed she had gone out of her way to invite Lightning's closest friends and not the entire town. Applejack chuckled, "Eeyep." A blue pegasus lowered herself so she was in Lightning's eye line, "What are you doing talking? C'mon, Presents!" Lightning stared at Rainbow Dash, "Presents?" Dash rolled her eyes, "Yeh, those things you get on your birthday."

"Slices of cake?" Dash rolled her eyes again, "That too!" Pinkie said materializing between Lightning and Dash, "But first, PRESENTS!" Pinkie cried as she dragged Lightning over to a small table set up in the corner of the room. Pinkie's smile grew as Lightning looked between her, the pile of presents on the table and the gathering crowd of friends. Knowing he couldn't win, he picked up the closest present, Pinkie squealed in anticipation. Lightning looked down at the present he had picked up, it looked rather thick and book shaped, if he had to guess it was from twilight. Opening it up he found he was right, "I know the first one is the book you ordered but had I have just wrapped the one book I would have had left over wrapping paper and then when I went to wrap something else I would need to find something that was exactly the right size for the left over wrapping paper." Lightning nodded staring at the two books, Equestrian Gods and Advanced Astronomy, smiling at the astronomy book and the memories of his first encounter with the purple librarian, interrupting her stargazing by crashing into the Sweet Apple Acres orchid.

"Thank you." He said quietly looking up at Twilight, everyone smiled at that, especially Twilight. Putting the books to the side he was about to reach for the next present when one was thrust in his face, "Here, open mine." Rainbow Dash insisted shoving a rectangular box at him. Taking the box from Dash, Lightning opened it to reveal "New goggles!" She beamed with pride, "I know you always wear those old ones so I decided to buy you some new ones. Too bad they won't help you go faster." Lightning looked down and poked the goggles around his neck, while they were old they were also precious; he'd been wearing them when he got his cutie mark. However, it might be a good idea to finally retire the old boys.

"Thanks Rainbow."

"I do believe that it is our turn next." A brown earth pony said walking up to Lightning, a familiar blue unicorn followed behind, "Doctor! Minuette! You came!" The Doctor laughed at that, "Of course we came, wouldn't miss it for the world. Anyway, as is the custom, here is your gift." Using his mouth the doctor gave Lightning a paper bag. Raising an eyebrow Lightning reached inside and pulled out a blue book. "A journal?"

"Well you're always taking notes during out time together, so I figured that rather than rely on your notepad you might want somewhere to properly store your observations. Oh and you might want to look inside." Opening the journal Lightning found a simple bronze key tucked between the pages. Looking up at the Doctor in disbelief the Doctor merely smiled and gave him a wink before walking over to the punch bowel licking his lips. The blue unicorn sidled up to Lightning, "Happy birthday Lightning."

"Thanks, this is...wow, really it's...wow." Minuette smiled and then gave Lightning a quick peck on the cheek and trotted away to join the doctor. Lightning's brain stalled as he blushed all over and fell on his haunches. "So what's the key for?" Twilight asked looking with curiosity at the object contained within the book. Lightning didn't respond, he just stared, gazing at nothing. Pinkie giggled at the sight, while Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes knowing that any further interaction would be useless for a while.

A screech echoed through the town making everyone jump and snapping Lightning out of his daydream. "What was that?" Rainbow Dash remarked preparing herself for a fight, which would prove difficult given that she was holding a cup of punch. Before anyone could respond another screech echoed through the town, although this one sounded much closer. A small smile crept up on Lightning's face "No..." A yellow streak shot through Owlowiscious' window and promptly shot into Lightning knocking him onto his back. Everypony looked stunned to see a yellow bird rubbing up against a laughing Lightning. A light knock at her door made Twilight turn her eyes from the unusual spectacle. Opening it she found a yellow pegasus looking a little out of place. "Um, sorry to interrupt Twilight. I was just, um, looking for..." Twilight pointed at the pegasus and the yellow bird rolling and laughing apparently trying to out do each other in hugs. "Sparky! You come here this instant!" Fluttershy demanded. The yellow bird stuck its tongue out at her in response. "Now Sparky, I-EEP!" Fluttershy suddenly found herself embraced by Lightning. "You fixed it! You fixed it! You fixed it!" He cried, "I can't believe you fixed his wing! Fluttershy you're a miracle worker." Fluttershy turned away blushing as she mumbled something resembling a 'you're welcome'. "I must say, what an elegant looking bird. What is she?" Glowing at Rarity's complement, Sparky drew himself to his full hight and puffed out his chest trying to look as regal as possible. "He's a Lightning Bird." Twilight explained launching into lecture mode, "They're an extremely rare and endangered species that are generally found in the most dangerous and remote of mountain ranges..." Realising that nopony was listening to her as they were all talking to Sparky who was glowing in the attention, she sighed and went over to help pry a grateful Lightning off Fluttershy.

"Do you like it?" Sparky just turned his head away as his owner pointed to the red tie around his neck; it had been a gift from Rarity and for some reason Sparky hadn't taken too kindly to it, even though Lightning felt smart wearing it. He suspected it was because Sparky was jealous that he didn't get a tie as well, but that didn't worry Lightning, he was happy to have his best pet in the world back. Normally they would be flying back but with the presents he had got from all his friends Lightning felt it would be safer to walk home with the items on his back, his bags being left at home earlier in the day. The party had been a big success with everypony stuffing their face with cake and punch, playing games, he managed to trick the Doctor into singing, Minuette and Twilight had a heated debate about a book they had both read, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had challenged Lightning to an eating competition (which he barely lost) and Rarity and Fluttershy had talked about the latest gossip in town. As he approached his door he smiled at all the great friends he had made, and the kiss from Minuette... a yellow wing smacked him in the back of the head bringing him back to reality. Lightning shook his head and opened the door.

As Lightning placed the gifts on the table Sparky flew to his perch in the living room. There came a knocking at the bedroom window. Curious as to who could want him this late at night and why they were knocking on the bedroom window he flew upstairs to open it. "Hey Lightning!" He stared at the grey pegasus mare in front of him, he sighed, "Hi Ditzy." "Sorry I couldn't come to the party but I had to deliver the mail." Ditzy apologised.

"Didn't you do that this morning?"

"Yeah, but it turned out everyone had got the wrong mail." Ditzy admitted looking a bit sheepish.

"Still you did your best and you’re trying to make up for your mistake."

"Yeah, I am, OH! I have some mail for you." Ditzy reached into her mailbag and pulled out a thick yellow envelope. "Here you go, successfully delivered!" Lightning checked the address and recipient just to make sure it was actually addressed to him. "All good, thanks Ditzy...Oh wait!" Ditzy hovered perplexed as Lightning shot off, she never could understand that stallion, but he was nice to her and one of her best friends and always tried to cheer her up. Then he was back, only this time with a paper bag. He reached a hoof in and pulled out a muffin, "I usually get chocolate but I figured you'd prefer-" "BLUEBERRY!" Ditzy shouted grabbing the muffin out of his hoof and hugging it. Lightning couldn't help but smile, Ditzy and her muffins was somehow always a heart-warming sight to see, it seemed to emphasize that it was the simple things in life that were worth treasuring. Shoving the muffin in her mouth she gave a look of contentment before focusing an eye on Lightning again, "fank oo fo mush!"

"You're welcome. Have a nice night and say 'hello' to Dinky for me." Ditzy just smiled and waved a hoof at Lightning before flying off, probably towards her next delivery. Opening the envelope he found a stack of papers and a card attached.

'Lightning,

Happy birthday. Sorry I can't be there but as usual Caballeron is up to something and I'm not sure what. It's times like these it would be good if you were here to help.

Anyway, here is the latest draft of my book. Think of it as my present to you. If you could do your editor thing and pass it on as usual it would be great.

As usual sign it A.K. Yearling.'

Lightning sighed with a smile on his lips, even now she can't be honest, but then again, if she could then she wouldn't be Daring. Lightning missed the adventures they had together and he was sure she did too, even though she would never admit it.  Still, he had a bag of muffins, a nice soft bed and a novel containing the exploits of a dear friend. It had been a wonderful day and, after making sure that Sparky was asleep on his perch, it was going to be a lovely night.

Happy Birthday me.