As Princess Twilight Sparkle walked onto one of the many balconies dotted around Canterlot Castle, she was met with the thunderous roar of thousands of cheering and clapping ponies. Pegasi hovered above the crowd, eager to get a glimpse of Equestria's latest Princess, a mare who had saved them on more than one occasion, and somepony who keenly extolled the sacred values of friendship, peace and harmony.
Twilight waited patiently for the noise to subside, a rolled up banner tied to the balcony flapping in a gentle breeze. The sound of the crowd eventually decreased to a lower decibel range and then, at Twilight's raised hoof, ceased completely
"Citizens of Equestria!" Twilight's voice, amplified by magic, carried effortlessly through the air. "I come before you today to tell you that I have listened to your requests, and I can finally confirm that, after four long years, your request will now be granted."
The crowd applauded again, quieter this time, and only stopped when Twilight continued speaking. "The creation of new national holidays is not something that is taken lightly," she said. "Often, national holidays are related to an event of great importance, such as the Summer Sun Celebration or Winter Wrap Up." She swept a forehoof over the crowd. "But your determination, combined with the three-hundred thousand signature petition that landed on Celestia's desk earlier this week, have made the government see sense and pass the necessary legislation to make this happen."
"So does this mean we can celebrate?" a pony shouted.
"You can celebrate as much as you want," Twilight replied. "You can celebrate your victory, you can celebrate this new occasion, and you can celebrate the fact you've all got an extra day off each year to look forward to." She flashed a grin at the crowd.
"I'm not gonna argue with that logic!" the same pony said. "But you must remember, Your Highness, that we have you to thank for making this holiday a reality! After all, it it wasn't for you we wouldn't even be standing here today!"
Twilight blushed. "You are too kind," she said. "But really, it was you ponies who took what I did and elected to celebrate it. You are the ones who, instead of laughing at me, chose to laugh with me and turn something so simple into something much bigger." She closed her eyes and nodded slightly. "Celebrate now, my little ponies, and I will join you momentarily." She opened her eyes. "After all, it would be rude of me to continually shout at you from up here when you've gone to all this effort to see me."
She flashed them a quick wink and then, as a street party – which had been organised by none other than Pinkie Pie – got under way, turned and went back into the castle.
***
A burst of purple announced Twilight's arrival at the party, to the delight of those in attendance. Many greetings were shared, many autographs were signed, many pictures were taken and many hooves were shaken before Twilight finally extricated herself and trotted over to where her friends sat around a table.
"Looks like the work of a Princess is never done," Rainbow Dash mused as Twilight sat down wearily. "But you've gotta admit, Twi, this is a pretty cool thing you've done."
Twilight nodded. "If I was any other pony, then things would have played out much differently," she replied. "Still, it's nice to know that we can laugh at these things — and hopefully the hype will all end soon. Either that, or something else will happen and distract everypony's attention away from me."
"Either one is a possibility, darling," Rarity said. "But I don't think that anypony is willing to forget about a national holiday dedicated to – and created by – a Princess." She offered a small smile.
"You've got a point." Twilight giggled.
"I reckon that ponies will be celebratin' this holiday fer a long time ta come, y'all," Applejack said. "Say, Twi, d'ya reckon I could bring mah stall up here next year? With all these ponies around, I'd sure make a heap o' bits to bring home to the ol' farmstead."
Twilight nodded as Fluttershy spoke up.
"I think it's really nice that all of these ponies are having a good time," she said. "But I'm with Twilight when she says she hopes the hype all ends soon — all of this noise can't be good for all the local animals." She looked around warily. "Oh, I hope they're okay..."
Pinkie patted Fluttershy on the back, almost sending the pegasus face-first into her drink. "Don't worry, Flutters!" she said eagerly. "All of your animal friends are a-OK, because your good old Auntie Pinkie – that's me, by the way – made sure of it!"
"I'm a year older than you..." Fluttershy grumbled under her breath. "But, if you said they're fine, I believe you."
"Would I lie to you?" Pinkie fluttered her eyelashes and grinned. "Of course I wouldn't. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a party out there that I'm not having fun in. Toodles!"
With that, she shot off like a rocket into the crowd, squealing excitedly the whole time while she bounced around like a filly.
The rest of her friends shared a quiet laugh, then sat in contented silence for a while. Rainbow Dash was the first to break it.
"Hey, Twilight?"
"Yes, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight responded.
Rainbow Dash pointed up at the balcony Twilight had been standing on earlier. "You never did unroll that banner, you know."
Twilight glanced upwards. "So I never," she said. "I was supposed to unroll it at the end of my speech, but I guess I got caught up in the party atmosphere. Thanks for reminding me about it, Rainbow."
"No problem." Rainbow Dash waved a forehoof dismissively as Twilight stood up and cleared her throat.
"Could I have everypony's attention, please?" once again, her voice amplification spell was being put to good use — and once again, all eyes were on her. "It has come to my attention that I forgot to do something earlier." She pointed at the balcony. "I was meant to unroll that banner, which showcases the very reason we are all gathered here today. So, without further ado, allow me to remind you all of that which has brought us all together!"
Her magic flared and the banner was unrolled, the sight of which made all those present laugh and cheer in delight.
And although Twilight was trying to hide the pinkness forming on her cheeks, she cast one final glance at the banner and sighed happily before going back to sit down with her friends once more.
"Happy Twilight Sparkle Day, everypony," she said.
Author's Note
I hope you get the joke — but if you didn't, here's a quick explanation.
On April 28th, 2011, the then Shadow Chancellor - Labour's Ed Balls - accidentally tweeted his own name. It quickly became a hit, and was retweeted numerous times. Every year since, on April the 28th, people retweet the original tweet and wish each other a 'Happy #EdBallsDay.' Even Balls himself has (reluctantly) joined in on the action. Now I personally don't really care much for 'Ed Balls Day,' but at least it was able to provide me with the inspiration to write this.
