The Perfect Gift for Twilight
The Perfect Gift for Twilight
The inside of the Ponyvillle castle was hung with colorful decorations. Balloons, streamers, the whole lot hung from corner to corner. Among them was a huge banner at the center of the throne room just over the round stone table. It was purple with highlights of tiny patterns of glittering stars at the paper’s edge. The banner read in bold letters,” Happy Birthday Twilight." Pinkie Pie wandered around the castle minding her own business with Gummy on her back. The reptile had a notepad and a pencil clamped in his mouth while the pink pony happily skipped and hummed to herself while towing a cannon behind her. Occasionally she would face the machine towards a part of the room and fire it, resonating a boom and releasing a cannonball of even more decorations, as if the ones already in the castle was not enough. But the pink pony was Pinkie Pie, so of course there were never too much of decorations or anything party related when she’s in charge.
Spike and Applejack were setting the food on the table. Applejack was organizing a buffet with a variety of meals. She also cooked different desserts, most of them were apple flavored except for the ice-cream in which the flavors were assorted.
Spike on the other hand was wearing a white apron with a picture of an alabaster unicorn inside of a red heart. He also had just finished preparing a cake that now stood at the center of the table. But not just any cake, it was a humongous stack of pancakes the size of one of the thrones. The pancake stack was lined with apples and blueberries on the top and covered with what looked like at least a gallon of thick brown syrup.
"Whoowe,” Applejack’s eyes were focused on the towering edible skyscraper while her mouth watered. She slowly licked her lips. “Now that's what I call perfection on a plate. Spike, you’ve done outdone yerself."
Spike wiped his hands on the sides of his apron and flashed a toothy grin. "Thanks Applejack. Wait till Twilight sees this. She'll love it."
"Eyup, that mare can't resist two things, books and pancakes. She always likes it when you make the pancakes,” Applejack watched Spike as he inspected the pancake. “Is it your gift you're giving Twi or do you have some kind of book in mind, sugarcube?"
Spike's grin slowly lowered to a frown. "Uh yeah, about that," he twiddled his claws. "I might be having problems with a gift for her."
"What's wrong?" The cowmare placed a hoof on the dragon's shoulder, "Doesn't Twi like getting books on her birthday?"
"That's the thing," Spike sat on the floor. "Probably the whole of Equestria already knows that Twilight likes getting books on her birthday. Even in her last birthday she got nothing but books. How do I top everyone else?"
"You don't need to top anyone's gift, it's the thought that counts. Remember? Besides, why not just give her something besides a book?"
"Because ... she's Twilight. Why would you give her anything instead of a book?"
"Have ya tried before?"
"Well ... no. But she loves books," Spike clutched his head. "Argh!"
Applejack sat down next to Spike. "So, not even a teeny tiny hayseed of an idea on what you're gonna get?"
Spike shook his head, his frown deepened and he twirled his tail with his claw. "I want her gift to be special. Not just because I gave it to her but because it really is special."
Applejack’s gaze was again directed to the pancake. "Well, when ah'm thinkin' about something really important ah always go for a walk. Fresh air helps, ya know. Try it."
"You really think it'll work?"
"I'm sure, just as I'm sure that pigs can't fly."
"Thanks Applejack," Spike gave the cowmare a tight squeeze. "I owe you one."
"Ya don't need to-" Applejack was interrupted by the slam of the front castle door. She chuckled to herself and shook her head before tending to the food.
Spike walked on the streets of Ponyville already racking his head about what to get. Should he get a book about some kind of cool magic? No, she already has an entire castle wing full of them. How about a new Daring Do novel? Would have been good but the new one is delayed for a month. Then what? She probably read every single book in Equestria. What is there that he could find that she hasn’t read yet?
"Well hello my favorite tiny wingless dragon," Spike gritted his teeth. "Enjoying the weather, I see?"
Spike was face to face with a creature of many parts. "What do you want, Discord?"
"Oh my, not even a friendly greeting," Discord placed his paw on his forehead. "Even from a friend?"
"Stop calling me wingless!" Spike shouted, tiny drops of saliva and green sparks flew from his mouth.
"But it's true," Discord snapped his fingers and took the form of a bailiff wearing a Stetson that Spike was familiar of way too well. And I'm not going to lie that you have wings, would I?
"It'll start growing in a few years," Spike mumbled. Discord only laughed.
"In a few years, maybe. But now, you're as winged as whatever it is you were thinking about."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You were thinking about something," Discord chuckled. "The way your face looked, you looked like Starswirl when he was thinking about the meaning of life when he was four."
Spike cursed under his breath only to receive a tap on his head. "Owwww!" Spike clutched his head and tried to lessen the pain. "What the hell was that for?"
Discord again smacked Spike's scaly head and shook his index finger. "Tut tut tut, watch your language young-in. It's no wonder Rarity doesn't pay you any mind with that foul mouth of yours. You expect her to kiss that?" Discord rolled onto the dirt road, pounded his fist on the ground and imitated smooching noises along with a grimacing 'yuck' exclamation, not even bothering to control his laughter. Passers-by ponies stopped and stared at him with confusion on their faces. "You're still just a grasshopper to be using such advanced vocabulary."
The proclaimed grasshopper began to stomp away when Discord called out and stopped him. "Hey, where're you going?"
"None of your beeswax," Spike retorted. "It's not like you'd be of any help."
"Alright, alright I'll stop," Discord snapped his claw and two comfortable looking armchairs poofed into existence. Discord sat on one, slouched. "Sit down and get comfortable. What can I help you with?"
"We're in the middle of the road."
"Sit down! The ponies can walk around us."
Spike slowly climbed onto his chair. "I'm trying to think about what to get Twilight for her birthday. Probably a book she never read before, if I find one."
"A book?" The draconequus chuckled again. "Good luck with that. She probably read every book in existence and beyond. Besides, why are you going through the effort of finding the perfect book?"
Spike, not hearing Discord's question, thought of an idea. "I know, why not just use your magic to create a book, one that doesn't exist yet"?
Discord's chuckling ceased as he sat straight. "I don't know if I want to do that."
"Please?" Spike begged. "What do you want? If it's something you want, then we can make a reasonable deal. Just, please? This is really important to me."
"Forget it," Discord got off his chair and began a process of mysteriously folding it.
"Why?" Spike was in despair. "You're one of those types of ponies that think that any gift would be fine if 'if the thought counts', aren't you?"
Discord had just finished folding the large armchair into an origami crane and it flew into the sky. "Maybe, maybe not."
"What does that supposed to mean?" But Discord had began walking away, paying no mind to him. Spike ran up to him and pulled his arm. "Where're you going? What do you mean 'maybe not'?"
"Don't worry about it," Discord shook him off his arm and continued walking.
Spike ran in front of him and blocked his path. "Tell me!"
Discord fretted and grinder his teeth, then released a breath. "Fine. I'm just thinking why you put all the effort to get dear Princess Twilight a gift when she doesn't even treat you like an equal friend."
"Wha..." Spike squinted, trying to put Discord's response into his logic.
"See? I knew you wouldn't understand."
"Just explain!"
The origami crane flew from the sky and landed on the ground and materialized into the armchair. Discord sat down and created a glass of chocolate milk. He drank a sip before he began. "Tell me something Spike, why does Twilight still treat you like a baby a third of the time and a servant two thirds of the time?"
"Twilight doesn't treat me like a serv-"
"Why does in every trip that Twilight makes with some or all of her other friends she excludes you? All of those recent missions that she and her friends take, she tells you to stay in Ponyville," Discord took another sip from the glass before continuing. Spike opened his mouth before closing it again. "Have you noticed that your chores have grown a lot larger lately? You now shelve the entire library every week, cook everyday, stay up late at night with her when she's busy at work researching."
"So what? Twilight need-"
"She even use you as a lab-rat for research. Who does that? I may be the God of Chaos but even I have ethical values, and as Kant-er explains, I know that it's wrong for somepony to use any other pony for something like research without thinking about the poor victim."
"I volunteered for her to try me for her research." Spike retorted.
"She manipulates you Spike; don't you see? I know you feel scared when she tests those spells on you. But you still let her do it because you like being her Number One Assistant." Discord leaned forward on his chair. "For Celestia's sake, Twilight sees you as just an assistant. She likes to tell you that Rarity is using you but she is using you more than Rarity."
"I-It's not true!" Spike tried to rebuke but a tear was leaking out of his eye. "I'm not just an assistant. I'm her friend."
Discord took another sip of his chocolate milk and sighed. "Spike, when was the last time Twilight told you that you were a good friend? When it was your birthday last year, why didn't she attend your party? Was it because she was at the Canterlot library with Princess Celestia? On the contrary, when was the last time that she told you that you were a friend, period?"
Spike opened his mouth again but hesitated. He rattled his brain to find an answer, any answer, but he could not.
"You don't remember, do you?" Discord looked sternly at Spike. "It has been a long time. When I'm at the castle Twilight never talks about you as much as she talks about the others."
The dragon sat on the floor, more tears poured out.
"You know what's really sad? Ever since that pony Starlight joined their circle Twilight treats her like a friend more than she treats you."
Spike's sobs and sniffs became more usable by the second "I-it's a lie, I-it's a l-lie."
Discord hands the broken hearted dragon a tissue. Spike did not accept it. "I didn't mean to make you cry but either you cry now and be a stronger drake tomorrow instead of being happy yet living in an ignorant fantasy forever. I'm not putting you against Twilight but you have to open your eyes and face reality sooner or later, the sooner the better." The draconequus patted Spike on the shoulder and began to slowly walk away. "I'm sorry Spike, it's not your fault. But I don't want you to waste your hard effort."
Spike sat on the ground and cried for what seemed like hours until rain fell.
"H-he's not lying," The dragon received odd glances from ponies but Spike did not notice. He did not care what they thought, anyway. The freezing rain poured harder but he made no effort to seek shelter and it took a toll on him. Before long Spike began to sneeze and shiver.
"Spike? Is that you?" A voice called out to him. Spike no longer felt the rain drenching him but he could see it still falling. He wiped his eyes and looked up. A plain purple umbrella hovered over his head. The black handle was surrounded by a purple aura. "What are you doing sitting out here in the rain?" Spike sneezed. "Now look, you've caught yourself a nasty cold. Come to my house and let me dry you up."
Spike looked behind and saw the source of his shelter, a purple unicorn with a ponytail. What's Starlight Glimmer doing here? Spike thought. Spike made no effort to comply with Starlight but was lifted and carried alongside her into a nearby cottage.
Starlight's cottage was not the most extravagant home in Equestria, or in Ponyville for that matter. In fact, her cottage was furnished with only the basic and modest creature comforts necessary: sitting room chairs, a kitchen with a table, a lavatory, and a bed. At a corner of the sitting room a radio played an old three-step tune. Spike was seated at the wooden untreated dining table. A plain cotton scarf was bundled around his neck. Starlight had finished preparing a bowl of hot soup and scooped two servings. She placed both bowls along with a pair of wooden spoons on the table, one for Spike and one for herself.
"Isn't a hot bowl of vegetable soup the best meal in a cold rainy day, Spike?" Starlight kindly asked. With her magic she lifted her spoon and scooped some of the broth, then bringing it to her lips and blowing on the spoon she took a sip and ate. "Mm mmm, tasty."
"I guess," Spike pulled his bowl closer to him, his face regaining color with the warmth of the slowly rising steam from his soup. Spike grasped his spoon and also tried the soup. "Is that mushrooms?"
"Yes, I heard it’s something you like."
"This is delicious. How do you know I love mushrooms?"
"Twilight told me that you like mushrooms and gems. I may not have any gems to share with you now but I made sure to have some mushrooms in the pantry for you if you ever decided to visit," Upon mentioning Twilight's name Starlight saw Spike frowned as he looked down into his bowl, his excitement faded away. "Spike? Is something wrong?"
"No," Spike responded without emotion. "Nothing's wrong."
"Spike," Starlight continued, "I may not be Applejack but I can still tell that you are not telling me the truth. I want you to tell me what's wrong so I can help. Isn't that what friends do?"
Spike looked up from his bowl, eyebrows raised. "Do you really see me as your friend?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I?"
Spike sighed. "I don't know if Twilight sees me as a friend anymore."
"I'm afraid I don't follow. Why would you think that you're not Twilight's friend anymore? Don't you live with her and help her when she need you?" Spike absentmindedly looked at the soup circling in his bowl. "Did something happen between you two? Does this have anything to do with you sitting on the muddy road outside in the pouring rain?"
"No... maybe," Spike clutched the scales on his head, "I don't know."
Starlight got up from the seat opposite Spike and sat on a chair closest to him. "Tell me what happened."
"I met Discord today. He told me that I was nothing more than just a servant to her."
The purple mare growled. "I don't trust that creature. He's brainwashing you into thinking that. It's what he does."
"But the things he told me, everything... it's true."
Starlight leaned closer to Spike, not breaking eye contact for a second. Her horn glowed as she magically switched off the radio. "What exactly did he tell you?"
The dragon slowly repeated everything that happened that day, from Spike wanting to find the perfect gift, to engaging in a conversation with Discord. A tear rolled down his cheek. "I'm never allowed to go with you guys on adventures. Why? The last one I went to was when you were evil and that was an accident because the spell dragged me with Twilight. Oh... uh, no offense."
"None taken."
"He even said that since you showed up Twilight treats you more like a friend than she treats me."
"I'm sure that he was exaggerating."
"Starlight, when was the last time that Twilight acknowledged you as a friend?"
"Hmmm," Starlight bit her lip "Two days ago when she invited me for tea. Why?"
"Now that I think about it, it's been over a year since Twilight and I did anything that friends do," Spike wiped his tears. "I guess I'm not important to her anymore."
Starlight wrapped her limbs around him. "Spike, I can confidently say that you have your thoughts in a knot."
"How can you say that? You don't know much about Twilight and me."
Starlight hesitated then released her hug. "Maybe I don't know much, but I do know one thing. Remember that time when the weird map thingy summoned us to Saddle Arabia a few months ago?"
Spike nodded his head. "Yeah, I wanted to go so badly but Twilight wouldn't let me because she said that it was too dangerous."
"Well, on the train I talked to Twilight about that. I know that it would be dangerous, but it would have made sense a few years ago when you were younger. But now it didn't make sense since you grew mature. So I asked Twilight what was the real reason."
Spike leaned forward on the table. "What did she say?"
"She said that she knew you were old enough but she was still terribly afraid that something would happen to you. She told me that if something terrible happened to you she wouldn't know if she could continue her life knowing that she put the one closest to her in danger."
"D-did she really say that?"
"Yes she did. Twilight loves you so much and she can't bear losing you. So she tries to protect you as best as she possibly could. Eventually she would have to stop when you become more assertive, but even then she wants to keep danger as far away from you as she can."
Spike wiped a tear with his claw. "I-I never knew that. Why didn't she tell me?"
Starlight shook her head. "I don't know. That's something you could either find out or let it be. As for the extra chores and testing the spells on you, that's just Twilight being Twilight. Can you really blame that? And I can assure you that she's not manipulating you as Discord said. She would never do that."
Spike sniffed. "You think so?"
"I know so."
"Thanks Starlight," the dragon tightly wrapped his arms around the mare in an embrace. "you're amazing."
"Happy to help. Now, what is your gift going to be? You told me that you made a birthday pancake tower for her. I think that's a sweet gift, no pun intended."
"But it's just pancakes."
"But it's just perfect. You thought about her when you made it. She loves your pancakes. Even I love your pancakes. What better gift could she ask for?"
"You sure?"
"I'm sure," Starlight's horn was softly covered in a violet aura and a rolled piece of paper, a green ribbon, an inkwell and a green quill floated from the doorway of another room to Spike. "The only thing you need to add is a written birthday note for Twilight."
Spike unrolled the paper and and dipped the feather in the bottle of ink. In elegant penmanship he wrote a short note. He rerolled the paper and tied it with the ribbon. He then wrote "Happy Birthday Twilight" on the ribbon. "I'll put it next to the pancakes."
"So, where is Twilight and when does she get back?"
"She's at the spa with Rarity and Fluttershy. She'll be back in the evening."
Starlight looked out through the dining room window. The rain had stopped pouring and the Sun began to peep through the clouds. "Then if she's at the spa you should go and take it to the castle before she gets there."
Spike nodded, then rose from his chair. Taking the scroll with him he walked towards the front door with Starlight in tow. "Thanks for taking me in when it was raining, and the scarf." Spike opened the door and made his way outside.
"You're welcome. Come back whenever you can." Starlight waved, then shut the door with her hoof.
The rain may have stopped but the road was still soggy and Spike could not wait to get out of the mud. With a heave he opened the towering castle doors and walked inside, grabbing a nearby napkin and wiping his feet and his footprints. He looked around. Applejack was nowhere in sight. Pinkie Pie was nowhere either. Spike inspected the castle. It was ornamented beautifully in the typical Pinkie fashion. Spike took notice of the buffet table and the food that he helped Applejack cook, and also, the pancake. Spike placed the rolled note next to the newly placed striped lighted candles that encircled the pancake plate.
"I see ya got back, sugarcube," Spike looked from the plate and saw Applejack walking in the room. "Found what you're looking for?"
"I think this pancake will be perfect enough," Spike replied, "She'll love it."
"Love what, Spike?" A voice asked as another pony entered.
"Twilight?"
Suddenly, out of every shadow, ever corner, nook and cranny, a cheer rang and resonated from the castle.
"SURPRISE!" Ponies popped into view instantly with wide smiles on their faces. Spike was startled for a second.
"Were you guys hiding all this time?" The startled assistant was still not very used to bursts of surprises and was catching his breath.
"Of course!" A hyper pony popped into his view. "I mean; it is a surprise party after all."
"Wow!" Twilight took in what she saw. "Did you do all of this for me?"
"Duh! Happy birthday Twilight," Pinkie shouted. Another cheer rang from the ponies.
"Thank you so much Pinkie. Thank you everypony."
"You're welcome darling," A unicorn walked forward with four other ponies side by side with her. "See girls? I told you that she would like it." The other ponies verbally agreed.
"Well, enough of the chit chat. Let's get this party started!" Pinkie retrieved a cannon out virtually nowhere and fired it, releasing confetti. This was the cue that the party had officially begun.
"Come on Twilight," Rainbow Dash pulled her hoof towards the pancake. "Come blow out the candles."
Twilight laughed while being tugged by the hooves to the candles. The ponies noticed and followed her, surrounding the table. Spike was among the group of ponies that watched and waited for the big moment. Taking a deep breath, she shut her eyes for two seconds and blew, making sure to reach for the candles behind the pancake. Everypony stomped their forehooves and cheered at the top of their lungs as the last candle was blown.
Twilight then saw a patch of green behind the pancake. "Hmmm, what's this?" The bookish alicorn grasped the patch and pulled it towards her. It was a rolled paper tied in a green ribbon. curious, Twilight untied the ribbon and upon unrolling the paper she saw the note, the note that Spike wrote earlier.
"What do you have there, Twilight darling?" Rarity asked, straining to peek at the note. Twilight did not answer but began to read.
Happy birthday Twilight!
Thanks for being a great friend. I made this pancake stack for you, just the way you like it.
I'm sorry if you think the pancakes aren't good enough and I'll try to make it up.
Your oldest friend,
Spike
Twilight trotted over to Spike who stood near the table and wrapped her forelimbs and nuzzled him.
"Twilight, everyone's watching, it's embarrassing." Spike squeaked, his face turned beet red.
Twilight's response was to hug even tighter. "Thank you Spike."
A chorused 'awwww' resonated from the onlooking crowd. Moments later, Twilight slowly released the blushing dragon.
Pinkie Pie hopped into the center of attention. "Now cut the pancake!"
Author's Note
In the story Discord mentioned someone by the name of Kant-er. If you don't get the reference, I was referencing a philosopher called Immanuel Kant. Further research about him will explain what Discord was talking about.
I added the '-er' to Kant to make it sound like the word canter, which is a word related to equines.
