"Thank you for coming, Twilight." Princess Cadence greeted each of the Main Six as they climbed off the train at the station. She used her magic to quickly lift Pinkie Pie and Twilight's luggage onto a nearby cart, which was connected to two of the royal guards. "This wouldn't be as special a birthday without you and your friends."
"It's a pleasure to be here, Cadence." Twilight shook hooves with her sister-in-law. "It'll be great to see Flurry Heart again for her birthday, and me and my friends will do everything to make sure that her first birthday will be her best."
"Are you all sure that you can handle this?" Cadence addressed the whole group now once they had finished unloading their stuff from the train. "This is Flurry Heart's first birthday, and I don't want anything to go wrong for her..."
"Don't worry about it, Cadence." Rainbow Dash swooped down beside her and laid her arm across the alicorn's shoulders. "Twilight gave us all boring checklists before we got here, and made sure that we triple-checked them before we left."
"Rainbow Dash! A checklist might just save your skin when planning an event, especially for a royal's birthday!" Twilight chided as she glared at her.
"C'mon, Twi. You're the only one who reads that stuff. Shouldn't y'know, warn us if we've missed something out?" Rainbow shrugged.
To that sentence, Twilight merely growled softly.
"You'll have to forgive Rainbow for that rather uncouth introduction." Rarity took out a handkerchief and wiped her nose delicately with it, as the cold train tram had made her nostrils moist. "She's just as excited to see Flurry again as the rest of us, really."
"Yeah! Me too!" Pinkie Pie leapt out of the luggage just as it was being pulled off towards the castle. "I can't wait to see how that sweet little angel's getting on, what with all of the flying, and magic, and nightmares it must be when she poops herself in the middle of the night, and so Cadence and Shining Armour have to—"
"We get it, Pinkie Pie." Applejack jammed her hoof into Pinkie's mouth, silencing her instantly. "Speaking of which, where is Shining Armour? I thought he'd be down here with you to personally greet his little sister."
"Shining Armour's been backed up with work ever since we started to work on Flurry's birthday." Cadence rubbed the back of her neck. "With all of the planning, and food, and the invitations he's had to send out to the ponies, not to mention the little one's accidents, he hasn't slept in a week..."
"Oh my... I'm so sorry about that." Fluttershy nervously took a few steps back.
"It's fine, Fluttershy. Really, it is," Cadence said. "You weren't the cause of his stress, so don't blame yourself because someone else is suffering and it's not your fault."
"Anyway, we're burning daylight here," Rainbow Dash butted into the conversation. "Let's get to the castle, then we can talk about the plans for the birthday party."
"Yes. The sooner we can get to work on everything, the better." Twilight walked towards the exit. "And besides, Shining Armour probably needs the rest and relaxation after a week of sleeplessness."
"Oh, by the way, Twilight." Cadence walked out in front to lead the way. "Where's Spike and your new friend?"
"Starlight Glimmer and Spike are on important duty from Princess Celestia in Canterlot," Twilight said. "They didn't tell me much about it, except for some part involving a conflict between the griffons and the Diamond Dogs."
"Well, it's a shame that they can't make it, but if it's a serious problem, then I guess I can't blame them for trying to stop a potential war."
"Yeah. And besides, Starlight Glimmer's a great student. She's already learned all of the lessons that I did before I was a princess, and truth be told, I think Spike's rubbing off on her a little."
The ponies all shared a little giggle as they walked down the road towards the Crystal Empire, and the castle that stood proudly at the heart of it.
Twilight and the girls walked into the main hall of the castle, where many different mares and stallions were busy setting up the tables for the presents that Flurry Heart would receive on her birthday, as well as where everyone would eat when they cut the cake.
"We've been planning this day for over a month now, I just hope it doesn't go to waste..." Cadence looked at all of the decorations that draped the walls of the hall. "I don't want Flurry's first birthday to be the same as everypony else's. I want to it to be truly special for her since she's an alicorn."
"Don't worry about a thing, Cadence." Pinkie Pie stepped forward and puffed out her chest. "As Ponyville's premier party planner, I'll make sure that Flurry Heart's first birthday is the biggest, bestest, most super-sensational birthday bash Equestria's ever seen!"
"It's not just a simple cake and balloons party, Pinkie." Cadence chuckled as she put a hoof on Pinkie's back to stop her from bouncing all over the walls. "We're going to be having all of the different cultures of the Crystal Empire for this special day. We'll need animals from the empire's petting zoo, someone who can sing the anthem of the Crystal Empire, a jousting contest, and some special treats made from crystal berries to name a few. That's why I called you and your friends, because each of them excels in different areas needed for this party."
"Don't worry, Cadence. Me and my friends will have everything set up by the end of the week," Twilight said. "Pinkie Pie will be in charge of the cake, entertainment, and other party-related shenanigans, as she previously stated. Fluttershy, you'll be in charge of choosing the animals from the zoo to bring to the celebration."
"I'll be back as soon as I'm done, Twilight." Fluttershy saluted and flew off with a smile on her face.
"Rainbow Dash, you'll be in charge of not only maintaining the weather, but to have your joust with the crystal ponies."
"Yes!" Rainbow hoof-pumped and darted off herself.
"Rarity, you'll be in charge of preparing the quilt we'll be presenting to Flurry Heart as her birthday present." Cadence calmly brushed against Twilight's chest as she was about to continue.
"A quilt for the royal foal? That sounds divine, Princess Cadence! I'm honoured to help you out with such a marvellous present." Rarity nodded and gently walked off to her station.
"What about me?" Applejack asked once Rarity had walked out of the room.
"You'll be helping the crystal ponies with harvesting the berries for the sweets we'll be making for the guests." Cadence looked over at where some of the staff were already setting out a massive chalice to hold them all. "Since this is such a big event, ponies from all corners of the planet will be coming, so I want to make sure that there's enough berries for all of them."
"Well, that all depends. How many guests are coming at the moment?"
"Somewhere around one-thousand," Cadence handed Twilight a list of all of the ponies who had already responded to the invitations
"A thousand ponies?" Applejack's pupils dilated and she almost dropped her hat at that remark.
"Actually, one-thousand seven-hundred and ninety-three. Ninety-nine if you include the six of us." Twilight sheepishly pointed out before she rubbed the ground with one of her front hooves.
"I've made some pretty big orders as an apple farmer, but I've never made one as big as that." Applejack gulped as sweat began to trickle from her forehead. "Getting berry treats for one-thousand, seven-hundred and ninety-nine ponies?!"
"And rising." Cadence saw the door behind her burst open as a pony dressed in a courier's outfit hoofed her a dozen letters. "Do you think you can handle that?"
It took Applejack a while to come up with an answer to the question. In all of her life, she had done some big things, but most of the orders she had made were under a hundred. Now she was taking on the biggest task of her life as a food supplier. She tensed up for a few seconds, and her lips quivered until she hung her head and took a deep breath. "When's the birthday?"
"Four days from today." Cadence approached Applejack slowly. "If you don't think you're up for the task, I could always get someone else..."
"No, it's fine, Cadence. In fact, you couldn't have picked someone more qualified to lead those ponies." Applejack wiped the sweat off of her brow and put a vague grin on her face. "I'll make sure that all of those berries are turned into sweets and ready for the ponies by the end of the week."
"I just hope so, Applejack." Cadence looked unsure. Even though she knew that Applejack was an exceptional farmer, she was asking her to feed over a thousand ponies all on one day. "The invites all promise that the guests all get one sweet eachm and I wouldn't want to let anypony down."
"We're both a bit shaken up about how many ponies I gotta feed, but I promise you, that I will make that order." Applejack shook hooves with Cadence before she cantered out of the hall and off to the fields to help with the harvest.
"So, what do I do?" Twilight asked once Applejack had left the room. "Research on the Crystal Empire to read to Flurry Heart? Singing the anthem of the Crystal Empire? Helping the guards bolster their security in case someone tries to attack?" She levitated books out of her saddlebags on each of the different subjects she was addressing.
"That's all very helpful of you, Twilight, but no. We've already got those positions covered by other ponies here in the Crystal Empire." Cadence chuckled as she put the books back away and closed the bags up. "Me and Shining Armour want you to be our foalsitter for Flurry Heart while we attend to the bigger matters when setting up for the celebrations."
Twilight gasped. "Cadence, I would love that!" Twilight's wings shot out immediately as she almost leapt up herself. "I finally get to spend some quality time with my new niece! I can't wait to read her some foal stories, and watch her playing with her toys, and to change her diapers, and—"
"Calm down, Twilight. You're gonna turn into Pinkie if you keep up like that." Cadence let another chuckle slip as she brushed Twilight's back tenderly. "Let's go off and see her, shall we?"
"Yes. Lets." Twilight recomposed herself and cleared her throat before she was escorted to the nursery by Cadence. Even when she was calm, she couldn't help but squeal giddily in her mind— which showed when her smile widened even longer.
When Cadence and Twilight walked into the nursery, they were met with a heartwarming sight. Flurry Heart was quietly napping on Shining Armour's back in her light blue blanket. Nothing came from her mouth but high-pitches coos as her conscious was deep in dreamland.
"Twily! Nice to see you again!" Shining Armour greeted Twilight as she walked into the room. "So glad that you and your friends could make it for little Flurry's birthday in a few days!"
"I'm happy to be here too, Shining Armour." Twilight gave him a hoof-bump before she quietly closed the door behind her. "I'll make sure that Flurry is kept in check while you and Cadence do your important duties with the V.I.Ps and delegates from other regions."
"Thanks, Twi. She's been awfully bouncy recently." Shining Armour slowly lifted his daughter off of his back and gave her to Twilight. "Ever since she learned what a birthday was, it's been nearly impossible to get her to take a nap, or even go to sleep on a night. And even with Sunburst's help, she's still got a lot of magic that she can use. You think you can handle her?"
"I'm no expert on foals, but I do know how they should be treated." Twilight gently rubbed Flurry's belly as she walked over to a clear part of the room. "If she needs a change, I give her one. If she's hungry, I take her to the kitchen. If she wants me to play with her, then I do. Simple stuff."
"And if she starts talking, I want you to let us know, OK?" Cadence put her hoof on Twilight's shoulders. "Her first words are just as big a thing to celebrate as her first birthday, so if a single word slips, even if she calls out for me or Shining, come running to us immediately."
"I won't let you down, sis-in-law." Twilight nodded with determination as she set Flurry down on the floor. "Now, you two go off and do what you need to do. Flurry Heart's safe with me."
"Thanks, Twily. You're a real lifesaver!" Shining Armour galloped out of the room to do his duties, with Cadence following suit.
"It's great that you're doing this for us, Twilight. We're so glad to have a pony like you in our family." Cadence gave Twilight a loving nod before she walked out of the room and shut the door behind her.
Twilight watched as Flurry Heart slowly opened her eyes and unfurled her wings, causing the blanket to fall off of her entirely. She heard her babbling something for a few seconds before their eyes met with each other.
"Hi, Flurry," Twilight softly whispered so as not to frighten her. "It's me, Auntie Twilight. I'll be taking care of you while Cadence and Shining Armour are away. I hope that's alright.
Flurry merely spoke in gibberish before she flapped her wings and flew, with Twilight trying to hold onto her.
"Whoa!" Twilight grabbed onto Flurry and felt herself getting pulled around the room. "Someone's pretty excited for their big day, aren't they?"
Flurry merely continued flying around the room for a few minutes with Twilight clutching onto her as much as she could before she gently landed on the ground and began to crawl towards some toys. They were all made of wood, and had bright and infantile colours painted onto them. They also had different shapes like hearts and snowflakes lining the sides. She picked one up with sliding pieces, laughing as she made them crash into each other, making little clicking noises each time.
"You know, Flurry. For a foal like you, you're really special, aren't you?" Twilight said as Flurry continued her playtime. "Not many ponies are born royalty, heck, not may ponies are born alicorns! You're super-extra-triple lucky to be a royal alicorn foal, but you're even more lucky to have such wonderful ponies like Cadence and Shining Armour as your parents." Twilight pulled Flurry into a little hug while she played. "Trust me, Flurry. We're gonna make this birthday of yours a true sight to behold."
Flurry once more uttered baby talk before she broke out of Twilight's hug and crawled towards some building blocks, using her magic to slowly but surely make a castle of her own. Once she was done with that, she pointed to Twilight and babbled even more, as if she was trying to tell her to come and play with her.
"This is going to be amazing..." Twilight stepped forward and sat down, ready to play with her niece
