As Well As The Sun's Day!
Princess Celestia stirred in her bed, silently cursing as her internal clock made her wake up before she wanted to. She lay still in the mess of pillows, her silk sheets tossed about during her sleep. The gentle breeze blowing through her windows made her want to burrow deeper into warmth. After all, she could always conjure up more pillows and blankets to keep wrapped around her. But she knew she couldn’t. She did have a country to run, after all.
She gave her favorite pillow a gentle squeeze, wishing she could just carry her pillow around for comfort. Her throne did have incredibly comfortable pillows, but it was nowhere close to her pillow. She envied her little ponies at times. They always had until the sun was up before their day started, but if she didn’t get up, there would be no sun and that wouldn’t do at all. The golden light of her magic illuminated the area around her bed as she moved off the bed and tidied up. Within moments, the bed looked like a picture one would find in a catalog, perfectly done as if it had never been slept on.
Celestia looked at her clock, checking to see how long she had before her sun was required. It was merely a habit, of course, she always woke up at the same time. Five AM on the dot, no matter how late she slept. Her first stop was the bathroom. She fetched her light pink brush from its holder, squeezing a pea-sized amount of the flavored paste onto it. “What flavor?” you might be wondering; it was tea-flavored. I wish I was joking. She hummed happily as she cleansed her pearly whites, absentmindedly looking over her mane and smoothing it out in places that had managed to get messy. Her subjects believed her and Luna’s manes to be immune to bedhead. Oh, how she wished that were true.
Done with her brushing, she rinsed her mouth and toothbrush, placing it back in its holder before making her way back out. Her room was rather spartan, the only things occupying it were her bed, dressing table, and her work desk. She liked it better that way, it was easy to keep clean and was easy on the eyes. Unlike Luna, she didn’t keep a wardrobe in her room, considering she didn’t particularly need clothes on a daily basis. Seeing everything in place, she nodded to herself before making her way out of her room. Opening the massive, gilded doors to her room, she stepped out quietly. Almost immediately, the two guards stationed at her door stood at attention.
“Good morning, Your Highness,” They said, together, spears at their sides.
“Good morning, Dust, Gidget.” She addressed them both by their first names, offering a warm smile that they happily returned. She always made an effort to remember as many names as she could, it was a personal little victory every time she remembered a name of a guard or staff member. Despite the genuine smiles on their faces, Celestia could easily see the fatigue upon their faces. She considered telling them to simply go home and rest for the day, but past experience told her it would be a fruitless effort for they never left no matter how many times she’d asked them. If they did, they would simply be replaced by two equally stubborn guards, and so she simply ignored it.
“Highness?” She heard one of them call as she made her way past them.
She stopped and turned to look at them, “Yes?”
They seemed unsure for a moment, before giving her a slight bow. “Happy Birthday, Princess.” She was surprised, at first. She usually kept her birthday a secret from as many of her staff as she could as they often would go out of their way to do or give something special just for her. She appreciated it, of course, but she hated ponies going out of their way in her name.
“Princess Luna told us, Your Highness.” said Dust, a light-green earth pony stallion, answering what would’ve been her first question.
“And we didn’t tell anypony else,” said Gidget, “Princess Luna told us you didn’t want anypony else to know.” Something that made Celestia smile at the orange mare.
Even if she wasn’t a fan of letting ponies know it was her birthday, it still warmed Celestia’s heart whenever those who knew, wished her. “Thank you both, very much.”
Bidding her guards good day once more, she lazily made her way down the large, decorated hallways of Canterlot Castle, directing herself toward the kitchens. Her hoofsteps -despite being on carpet- sounded almost deafening at the early hour, echoing throughout the empty hallways. Moonlight snaked its way through the massive stained windows that lined the hall, giving everything it touched a slight blue-ish glow. Her mind wandered as she trotted on. Yet another thing her subjects believed of her was that she greeted each morning with a bounce in her step, while not completely untrue, it was merely exaggerated. She did love mornings, yes, but there were only a few days on which she would have an extra spring in her step. Today was one of those days.
Keeping her calm gait for a while, she looked around her, making sure there were no guards in sight before her demure smile became a full-out, toothy grin and her collected pace turned to one that more resembled a little foal on their birthday or Hearth’s Warming and of course, it wasn’t Hearth’s Warming.
“I’m walking on sunshine, woah-oh~” She sang quietly, barely containing her joy. There was just something about this day that filled her with joy, whether she had a grand celebration or no celebration at all, the little filly inside of her seemed to return with a vengeance. “And don’t it feel good~!”
Soon, Celestia was lost in her song. Dancing down the hallway, her singing gradually getting a little louder than a mere whisper. She never came across another pony, to her luck, but that luck was bound to run out sooner or later. Rounding a corner with a particularly springy leap, she heard a quiet giggle ahead of her and she froze, eyes still closed. Daring to take a peek, she opened one eye to see a light blue mare with a dusty-brown mane in front of her, holding a hoof in front of her too-big-to-hide smile.
“Good morning, Celestia.” Spoke the mare, the amusement clear in her voice.
Celestia blushed as she realized she’d frozen mid-dance. Her left wing extended half-way, her right hindleg raised mid-air and her left foreleg was extended out in front of her giving her an extremely un-princess-like appearance that would make any pony fall over laughing at the contrast, compared to her usual behaviour. “G-good morning, Parsnip.”
“I see where Twilight got her moves from,” joked Parsnip as Celestia returned her limbs to their places, unable to meet her eyes as her blush deepened.
Attempting to change the subject, Celestia questioned the mare. “What are you doing here, Parsnip? I thought you’d taken a week off to stay with Cinnamon.”
Parsnip scoffed at that, “Like I’d forget what day it is.”
“And what day might that be?” asked Celestia, innocently, the only thing ruining her perfect poker face being the blush that refused to dissipate.
Instead of verbally answering her question, Parsnip leaped forward to wrap Celestia in a hug. “Don’t play dumb with me, you gumball. Happy Birthday!” Parsnip squeezed Celestia even tighter as she wished her.
“Can’t.. breathe..” wheezed Celestia, but wrapped her hooves around Parsnip even still.
“Sorry!” apologized Parsnip, whose turn it was to blush. She pulled away to let Celestia breathe normally, once more. “But I just came by to give you a little something.”
That caught Celestia’s attention. “Wait, give? Parsnip, you know I-”
“Don’t like ponies going out of their way for gifts, I know, I know! But this isn’t from me, it’s from my daughter,” said Parsnip as she pulled out an envelope from her saddlebags and handed it over to Celestia. “At dinner, I accidentally let it slip that it was your birthday today and that little devil wouldn’t go to bed until she finished.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet of her!” said Celestia, looking around for the filly in question, expecting to find her hiding behind her mother as usual. “Is she not with you?”
Parsnip grimaced, “Trust me, she’d be here if she could. She may be getting better, but she still needs her rest.”
“I’m very disappointed that you let her miss out on sleep, Parsnip.” said Celestia in mock disapproval.
“It’s not like I didn’t try to get her to bed!” said Parsnip in defense. “There was no getting her to bed until she was done. You know how she is.”
Celestia smiled fondly, knowing exactly how stubborn the filly could be. “That is true. Perhaps I’ll drop by later to see her, I do need to thank her for her present, after all.”
“She’d love that,” replied Parsnip. “Anyway, I’d best get going. She should be waking up soon. Have a great day, Celestia.”
“I’ll do my best, ma’am.” Said Celestia with a smile, pulling Parsnip in for another quick hug before letting her go. She watched her old friend walk back from where she came, giving her one more wave before she turned a corner and was out of sight. Celestia floated the little envelope next to her, the little stickers and drawings all over the pink paper made her curious as to what was inside. She’d considered opening it right there but decided it would be better doing so in the privacy of her own room. It gave it more meaning, she felt, so with a quick spell, she sent it to her desk.
As if only just remembering she didn’t have too much time until she had to raise the sun, she looked out the window, seeing the moon considerably lower than it was before, but not low enough that she needed to start raising the sun just yet. With that, she resumed her journey to the castle kitchens, sans singing and dancing, to avoid wasting time. She regretted how far the kitchen was from her quarters, even though she could’ve just teleported there and back with whatever she needed in less than a minute. Some days, she just didn’t feel like taking the lazy way.
Soon enough, Celestia reached the Royal Kitchens, scoffing at how ponies seemed to love adding the infuriating prefix to every room in the castle. “The Royal Baths”, “The Royal Quarters”, “The Royal Ballroom”. Okay, that last one isn’t so bad, she admitted. She moved to open the door and fetch her a quick morning snack, but the light seeping through the underside of the wooden doors gave her pause. Furrowing her brow in wonder, she tried to think of who could be using the kitchens at this hour. The list was rather short, of course, considering there were only three ponies on that list.
She was both amused and embarrassed on Equestria’s newest Princess’ behalf that “Twilight having a breakdown and fleeing to the castle in the middle of the night for comfort” was only beat by Luna, in order of likelihood on that list. The third pony being the chef himself. Slowly pushing the door open, she poked her head inside to get a look at whoever it was. What she saw made her gasp. The kitchen was a mess. The oven door was open, there were eggs on the floor, shells and all, flour covered a majority of the counter closest to the only oven being used, something that Celestia could only assume was cake batter dripped from the ceiling and at the center of it all was Luna, who had her back to the door.
Luna’s unresponsiveness to her gasp made her assume it went on deaf ears. She could see Luna’s horn glowing, but didn’t know for what. Curious, Celestia silently stepped forward only to stop in her tracks and hold a hoof to her mouth and she could even feel tears coming on. In front of Luna sat two quarter-plates, each with a large piece of cake on it, accompanied by a doughnut. In each were two little flags, a tiny blue one with a white ‘L’ was on the cake to the left and the one on the right had a little green one with a pink ‘C’ sticking out of it. From what she could tell, there was a chocolate doughnut on her plate and a cinnamon one on Luna’s, their respective favorites. What made her happier was the fact that Luna seemed to doubt her setting up of the treats as she saw Luna levitate the cherry off her slice of cake and very carefully place it on Celestia’s.
The cake itself was one of Celestia’s favorites. Triple-layered chocolate cake with a rich, strawberry frosting. A treat Celestia could eat all day but one that Luna couldn’t stand, on the grounds of it being far too rich for her tastes. It was a simple gesture, but one that made Celestia immeasurably happy and, as far as she considered, one of the best starts to her birthday since she was a filly. It certainly beat that one time she woke up to a Gargoyle smashing through her door, covered in frosting and being chased by a frantic ten-year-old Twilight.
“Luna?” called Celestia, softly so she wouldn’t startle her sister.
This time, Luna seemed to hear her, turning around at a surprising speed to meet her sister’s gaze. What Celestia saw made her realize that Luna must’ve spent all night on the treats. There was flour all over Luna’s chest and cheeks, her coat singed in places and even a blush adorning her cheeks the moment she spotted Celestia.
“T-Tia! What are you doing here?” asked Luna, trying and failing to cover up the cake.
“I just wanted something quick to eat, Lu. What are you doing? You never use the kitchens yourself!” Celestia pointed to the scorch marks and flour on Luna’s coat for emphasis, “As is rather obvious by that.”
Luna blushed even more as Celestia poked fun at her, sticking her nose up in the air, “Just for that, no cake for you!”
“Aw, come on, Lu. You wouldn’t go through all this trouble to deny your big sister her cake, would you?” pouted Celestia, widening her eyes for extra effect.
They each held their poses for a mere few seconds before their eyes met and they burst out laughing at how ridiculous the other looked. Luna happily dashed over to her sister, wrapping her in a hug. Celestia was thankful she was a little less suffocating than Parsnip as she hugged her back.
“Happy Birthday, Sunbutt.” muttered Luna.
“Thank you, Lulu.”
Pulling away, Luna playfully punched Celestia in the chest, pouting up at her. “Of all the days you could’ve wanted an early snack! I wanted to surprise you!”
“Maybe next year, Lu.” said Celestia.
“But then you’ll be expecting it, next year!” replied Luna, a little frustrated. She let go of her frustration barely two seconds after, “Oh, no matter. I suppose I did surprise you, nonetheless.”
“That you did,” said Celestia, kissing her sister on her forehead, “And might I say, it’s one of the best surprises I’ve ever received!”
Luna beamed with pride, at that. “But of course! I realize these last few weeks have been particularly stressful, so I figured you needed a little extra something on your special day.”
“I know the perfect place to enjoy these,” said Celestia, levitating over the two plates.
“I’ll meet you there, sister. I think a quick clean-up spell is in order.”
“Very well, don’t be long!” Celestia moved to exit the kitchen, but stopped just outside and stuck her head back in, “I don’t suppose you’ve got two more pieces that you were able to save from your cake, do you?” Celestia ducked back into the hallway to avoid a wooden spoon flung at her, laughing all the while.
“Seriously, though, Lu.” She stuck her head back into the kitchen, “It would be rude to walk past Dust and Gidget with delicious food and not offer them some after their long night.”
“I do have more, yes.” From behind the counter, out of Celestia’s vision, floated two more plates with a piece of cake each, which Celestia quickly took hold of in her magic.
“Thank you!” said Celestia, in a sing-song tone.
“That was wonderful, Lu. Thank you, again.” Celestia wrapped a wing around her sister, their empty plates sitting in front of them as they sat on the balcony connected to Celestia’s room. The Sun was slowly making its way higher and higher in the sky after the initial push Celestia gave it, casting its warm glow over the waking city of Canterlot. From her spot, she could easily see Canterlot Plaza slowly fill up with more and more ponies, all starting their days unaware of one of their rulers celebrating her birthday.
They’d tried to find out, of course, but she always changed the subject. The idea of so many ponies doting on her, most of whom would only be trying to win favor, didn’t quite appeal to her as much as some ponies thought it should. Instead, she enjoyed the company of those who did know. Sharing her day with only her closest friends and family meant much more to her than even an entire city’s worth of gifts.
“You’re welcome, ‘Tia.” yawned Luna, smacking her lips. Something that made Celestia giggle.
“Sounds like somepony’s way past their bedtime.”
“Ha ha. I’m not five, you know.”
“Maybe you should act it once in a while, then.” teased Celestia, earning her a friendly, but forceful nudge in her side. “Oof!”
“But you are right, I must retire, for now. I’m going to need my rest for the party Pinkie is surely planning right this instant,” said Luna, smiling along with her sister. “Goodnight, ‘Tia.”
“Nighty night, Lulu.” said Celestia, giving her sister one more squeeze with her wing.
With that, Luna turned to make her leave, taking the plates along with her. Before they were out of her sight, Celestia floated the two little flags over to her, wanting to hold on to them. She heard her doors open and could vaguely make out the voices of Dust and Gidget thanking Luna for the cake, saying it was the best treat they’d ever eaten. She didn’t even have to look at Luna to know she was beaming like a child on Hearth’s Warming, at that. Chuckling to herself, she set the two little flags before her, on the railing.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” She said to herself, turning to face her room only to fetch Cinnamon’s present. Bringing it over to her, she turned back to face the city, the sun high enough in the sky that she could see its rays light up the city of Canterlot below. The sunrise was a beautiful sight, whether from high in the sky, or down below, from the city. To any who looked up at the castle, the sight of Celestia would be unmistakable, the sunlight magnifying her beauty, especially her mane, as the colors seemed to grow brighter than any day before.
Carefully, Celestia opened the envelope, making sure not to ruin even a small part of it. It looked like Cinnamon had put time into designing the envelope, as well, and it would’ve been a crime to mar it. Looking inside, she found two items. One was a hoof-drawn picture of Celestia with the words “Happy birthday, Princess Celestia!” written neatly above the drawing, which Celestia was impressed by, considering Cinnamon was only seven and the second, was a letter. Curious, Celestia unfolded it and began to read.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Momma told me it was your birthday, today but you don’t like big, fancy-pants gifts. I don’t believe her, though. Every pony loves huuuuge, pretty gifts on their birthdays! Momma never lies, though, so maybe she heard you wrong? She seemed pretty sure, though, but I decided to make you a nice drawing just in case she was wrong! I’m gonna ask momma to bring me to the Castle tomorrow if she’ll allow me. I need to give you a birthday hug! I can’t wish somepony and not give them a birthday hug, that’s not as fun!
I’m a little bit sick, because this mean flu won’t go away. I can’t go out to play with my friends anymore, but I wanna thank you for letting momma stay at home with me while I’m sick. Being sick always makes me sad, and momma always makes me feel better when I’m sad! Just like you make her feel better when she is! She’s told me a lot of times that she thinks you’re her best friend, princess! I don’t know if she’s told you, though. She’s silly like that.
Anyway, momma’s pushing me to go to bed, now. I hope you get my letter in time! Have a super-duper good day, princess!
Cinnamon Sorbet
P.S. Thank you for being so nice to momma and me, I don’t see too many ponies act like that to her. See you soon, princess!
Finishing the letter, Celestia felt herself smile as she looked over the city once again, specifically where Parsnip’s house was. It was true, Parsnip had a harder life than most ponies she knew and while she tried to make sure none of her staff struggled, she’d taken a special interest in Parsnip, helping her throughout her life from Parsnip’s early teenage years. It was easy since Parsnip treated her more like a friend and less like a princess, something not many ponies had the guts to do. It felt nice to be appreciated on such a personal level, something that made her day even brighter than it already was.
Taking a deep breath, she let it all out with a content sigh. “I love Sundays.”
Author's Note
I've been meaning to write something about Celestia's birthday for a while, now, but since I never had an idea good enough, I never did anything. But! Then I came across that cover-art and "Walking On Sunshine" was playing at the time and I said, "Why not?"
T'ain't much, but I figured I'd publish it, anyway. Hope you enjoy! If enough people want [Or if I just feel like it, whichever comes first], I'll add a second chapter! But for now, it'll be a simple one-shot.
Don't forget to let me know if you spotted something out of place!
Thaaaaaaaaanks 
