I woke up in the mid-morning, around 9am. I was more tired than usual, and was having problems waking up. My eyes were still closed and I was dead still as I heard voices.

“Ohhhh, I can’t wait! I’m going to make sure he has the best birthday ever!” I heard the unmistakable voice of Pinkie Pie exclaim.

“Easy pardner, he needs to wake up first. Give him a moment.” Applejack retorted.

Rarity giggled extra lady like. “I can’t wait for him to wake up, I have a nice surprise for him!”

“Oh, look! I think he’s finally waking up!” Twilight announced.

I did so, finally opening my eyes and sitting upright.

“SURPRISE!!!!!” They all yelled at the same time.

“WHOA, SHEISSE!” I exclaimed, swearing I had a mini heart attack.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Pinkie exclaimed as she attached a party hat to my head. I was a bit wide eyed. I never told them my birthday; how did they know?

“Uh….. girls? I never told you my birthday, how the friv did you know?”

Rarity laughed. “Darling, this is Pinkie Pie you’re speaking about. If there’s an occasion for a party to be had, Pinkie Pie is all over it. She also knows you are 18 dearie.”

Applejack nodded. “Like yellow on hay. Pinkie’s always there.”

Pinkie jumped on the bed, not being able to wait anymore. “Yeah, September 3rd! Ohhhhh, I can’t wait anymore! Can we get the party started?!”

Twilight calmed Pinkie as best she could. “Easy there, he still needs to wake up. And from the smell of it, shower.”

I blushed red with embarrassment, realizing I had, in fact, forgot to shower last night. The girls all laughed and left my room to give me privacy.

In the next while, I brushed my teeth, used mouthwash and hopped in the shower. While I was in there, feeling the hot water rain down upon my tired face, I couldn’t help but smile widely.

This is going to be the best birthday ever.

-10 MINUTES LATER-

I walked down the stairs slowly, my joints still achy from my deep sleep last night. I walked downstairs to find nopony there. I walked to the kitchen and BOOM.

“SURPRISE, AGAIN!” All the girls yelled as they came out of hiding places. I put a hand over my heart, swearing I suffered a mild heart attack.

“Jeez girls, if you don’t stop with the surprises my heart’s gonna give.” I looked around the room in wonder. It had a banner that said “Happy Birthday Jordan!” there was a big cake, and a whole table of presents!

The girls had on party hats, and there were streamers, confetti and everything, everywhere.

I had a sparkle in my eye as I looked around the room. This….. was incredible! And the girls put this together all for me!

I gasped and held a hoof to my mouth, my lip quivering.

“What’s wrong?” Pinkie asked with a concerned tone of voice, as she thought I hated the party.

“It’s just….. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe you girls all went to the trouble of organizing this party for me. This….. this is amazing. I’ve never really celebrated my birthday, let alone had a party. This is just too much, I don’t deserve this!” I said with a somber tone in voice. It was all genuine. I don’t think I deserve this party. I’m just one pony, one useless pony.

Twilight walked over to me and hugged me tightly. “Hey, we all went to the trouble of organizing this for you because we love you, Jordan. You’re our friend and we want to make sure you have the greatest birthday ever! So wipe the frown off your face, get rid of the tears. We have a party to get to!” She declared with that magical smile she used to get her way.

I smiled back. “Ok, ok. For you Twilight.” Pinkie then jumped in front of me and put her hoof around me, leading me across the room.

“Ok, so let me give you the lowdown on what we got for your superspectacularultraamazing 18th birthday celebration!” She walked to the table of presents first. “These are all the presents you’ve got to open. Don’t worry about saving the wrapping paper!” She then walked me over to the kitchen table, with the cake. “I made this cake for you all by myself! Princess Celestia told me your favorite flavor of cake is Red Velvet with Cream Cheese. Well, here you go!” She said as she waved her hoof to the cake in a presentation style. I was nearly drooling, the cake looked and smelled so good. “But we’re not done yet, come on!” She said as she dragged me over to the living room. There were games everywhere. “We’ve got twister, spin the bottle, pin the tail on the donkey, and we have cider chugging!”

I grinned widely and laughed. “You girls won’t stand a CHANCE in the cider chugging, and that’s a promise.”

Rainbow then got in my face playfully. “Oh yeah? Bring it on! I will totally beat you!” she said with a sly, competitive grin she oftentimes had.

I smirked at her. “Oh you are so on, crayon girl!”

She flared her nose. “Crayon girl? What the hay?”

I smirked. “You’ve got a rainbow for a mane. When I think of you, I think of a pack of crayons. You’re crayon girl.”

She rolled her eyes. “Gee, what a great nickname. I guess in return I should call you big red or something.” She said with that sly grin of hers.

I shook my head playfully. “Yeah, whatever, crayons.”

Just then, Spike ran in. “TWILIGHT, I’ve got the-“ he was cut off by Twilight who took the item he had in his hand quickly. “Thank you Spike. Come on and join the party!” she happily invited him.

Spike did just as she said and walked to where me and the girls were in the living room. Twilight smiled at me.

Pinkie then popped up in front of me. “So doesn’t this just look like the most amazing, fantastic party ever!?” She was bouncing with excitement.

I smiled at her. “Only one way to find out. LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!” I declared loudly.

“Well birthday boy. Your pick, what should we do first?”

I smiled again, and decided what I wanted to do. “I wanna save spin the bottle, the presents and cake for later, and the cider chugging. So, how about pin the tail on the donkey? I CALL THE RAINBOW RIBBON!” Dash groaned, as that was her favorite one.

It started out easy enough. They blindfolded me and spun me around about 15 times till I was dizzy, and I managed to pin the tail after a couple tries. It was slightly off target, but Pinkie said it counted.

Rarity proved she’s talented at more than just fashion. She’s a pro at the game, she pinned the tail right on the point, like a bull’s eye.

I widened my eyes wide as they could. “Rarity, how the hay did you do that?!”

To which she responded with “It just comes naturally darling. When somepony like me lives their life for perfection, you learn to be perfect no matter what you do.” I guess that sorta made sense. Not really, but kinda.

She finished up her turn and handed it to Fluttershy. However, Fluttershy whimpered and ran behind a chair, hiding behind it. I sighed and went to her, hoping I could calm her down.

I kneeled next to her, and held her hoof in mine.”Fluttershy, what’s wrong? It’s just a simple party game.”

She whimpered again. “I. I don’t like being spun around. Or holding sharp objects.” She shook in fright and I sighed, stroking her mane with my hoof.

“Wanna play Twister? Or open presents with me? C’mon, have fun, for me Fluttershy. It’s my birthday, pleaseeeee?” I said as I gave her puppy dog eyes, and she smiled.

“O…..ok. For you. Let’s go open presents.” She said happily.

So, everypony happily congregated to the kitchen table, where the presents were. I was told to sit down in the “special” chair as they called it (it was just a wooden chair like all the others, but it had a banner with “Birthday Boy” on it). So, I sat down and was utterly surprised at what happened next.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both walked in to the room, surprising us all.

Twilight gasped. “Princess!” She then ran over to Celestia and hugged her. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Canterlot?” Twilight questioned.

The princess smiled. “Yes, but when me and Luna found out it was Jordan’s birthday we couldn’t help ourselves. We knew you ponies would throw a party for him and decided to join in on the fun. We can spare a few hours from Canterlot for such a special occasion.”

I smiled at them both. “I’m so glad both of you could make it. I think we were about to open presents if you want to join?”

Celestia smiled. “Of course Jordan.” She then levitated a wrapped up box and added it to the pile. “This is from me and Luna.” She said with a big smile as the both of them walked over to the group of us.

Pinkie couldn’t take it anymore. “OK, enough dilly dallying, open the first gift!” she exclaimed as she handed me the first gift.

To speed things along, I’ll quickly explain each gift.

The first one was a book, from Twilight. No surprise there. It was titled “What to do when you’re in doubt: A guide to confidence and self-awareness” I thought for a moment. That might be helpful. I thanked Twilight for the gift and hugged her tightly. She then gave me another gift; it was a filer, to sharpen and maintain my horn (they grow like fingernails, just slower).

The second gift was from Rarity. It was a suit. It was a beautiful tux, adorned with a tie and everything. She explained that she noticed I had no clothes to wear, and told me to come to her whenever I wanted some work done. I gladly told her I would, and hugged her to say thanks.

The third present was from Spike. It confused me at first, but it was a magical dragon scale. He told me that it was the first scale he ever lost, and it had magical properties nopony knows about. I told him thanks and hugged him also, but it made me think; what magic did it possess? Would it be bad magic? I had no idea.

The fourth was from Pinkie Pie. It was a practical joke set, with the classic mustache and glasses disguise, invisible ink, etc. I hugged her tight. This was going to be so fun to use on some poor pony!

And, the fifth was from Rainbow Dash. It was a punching bag, to practice my fighting skills. I gave RD a play punch, before hugging her for it.

The next was from Fluttershy. It was a gift that surprised me and completely caught me off guard. I noticed the box had holes all around it but I didn’t think anything of it! I took the top off and right there, an adorable blue and white colored basset hound was smiling up at me. I was in shock as I looked into the box and saw that face smiling at me. The puppy jumped out of the box and tackled me, bombarding me with kisses and making everypony “AW!”. I looked at Fluttershy with a genuine, ear to ear smile.

“Fluttershy, I….. I can’t believe this! Basset Hounds are my favorite breed of dog. Oh my goodness, she’s adorable!” I said as I lightly squeezed the little puppy.

Then, something happened that rocked all of our worlds. An unknown voice said “Nice ta meet cha too!” A voice with a country accent spoke, which made me jump backwards. I looked at Applejack, in suspicion it was her, but she shook her head, as confused as I was.

The source of the voice was my new puppy! My puppy could speak! I went wide eyed. “WHOA, you can talk!?” To which she responded with “Yeah, don’t all dogs talk?” I bit my lip and shook my head.

“Weird, we all talk to each other. Ah must be special. Hey, since ya own me ya have ta give me a name! C’mon, quickly!” the dog said with a wide, happy smile.

I thought for a moment. I quickly went through a list of girls names in my mind until I decided on one. I pet the puppy and smiled.

“How about Elise? Do you like that name?” I said as I scratched behind her ears, making her whine in pleasure. She nodded at me.

“That’s a great name, ah love it!” she proclaimed as she licked my cheek. I was ecstatic. I had a new best friend, a new puppy to take care of. I walked to Flutters and hugged her tightly.

“Thank you so much Fluttershy! But, I gotta ask. Did you know she could talk?” I asked with my inquisitive voice. Fluttershy nodded and smiled.

“I might have known; and that might be a reason why I gave her to such a special pony like you. She’s a year old and pretty well mannered, but you need to do a good job of raising her, ok?” She smiled widely, and I smiled back and hugged her tighter.

I then looked at Elise. “Guess I gotta make you a new house and everything. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

After all that, it was time for another gift, this one was from Applejack. It was a small gift, but it meant a lot. I unwrapped her box, and inside the box was birthday card. It was beautiful, it was rainbow colored and had a picture of AJ and I during the applebuck season. It said “No matter how hard life gets, never forget that you’re special. Remember your worth, and remember your friends. We all love you and want to help you to be happy. Have an amazing 18th birthday, sugarcube, and come by the farm whenever you need somepony to talk to! I’m all ears, I promise you!” I smiled at AJ and hugged her tightly for the thoughtful gift.

The final gift was from Celestia and Luna. They actually had a two part gift. First, the physical gift. I opened their boxed gift, and inside was a very special vial. This vial contained a very magical liquid, as Celestia explained. “This liquid is a very potent, powerful potion. It regenerates after everytime you drink it, but it needs a period of twelve hours before it does so. This potion has magical properties even I cannot explain. You’ll have to see for yourself.” She smiled, but this made me nervous. Ok, so that’s two presents with magical properties nopony knows, nor can explain. Curious.

Celestia told me part two would have to wait for later tonight, at the castle. Twilight would teleport me to the castle when it was ready.

After that, we decided to do the cake. Everypony sang happy birthday, and I blew out the candles and made my wish. As I closed my eyes, I wished for two things….. I wished I could find my true love. I know Celestia said I should wait and enjoy friendship, but at the same time, I don’t want to be alone. I also wished for a way to live on my own, with my own house and job and everything.

The candles went out, and everypony cheered and divi’d up the cake. I got the biggest slice of course, and I downed it quickly. Oh how I love red velvet!

After that, we were setting up Spin the bottle. I noticed the princesses were about to leave when I called after them.

“WAIT. Princesses, don’t you want to play with us?” The sisters looked at each other. “What do you think Luna?” Celestia asked, to which Luna replied with “We think it would be delightful sister. We spend all of our time in Canterlot, it would be fun to play a game as typical ponies; not princesses.” To which Celestia agreed, and they sat down and joined us. Elise was sitting next to me. I pet her and scratched behind her ears, giving her tons of love.

Twilight placed the bottle in the middle of our circle and smirked at me. “Since you’re the birthday colt, you don’t get to play unless the bottle lands on you. Ponyville rules!”

I rolled my eyes. “This is gonna end very badly, I can tell already. Ok, who first?”

Pinkie sprang to life. “ME, ME! I WANNA GO FIRST!” With that, she grabbed the bottle with her hoof and gave it a rough, sugar rush induced spin. It spun for a good period of time before, by chance, it landed on me.

I groaned very audibly and sighed. Pinkie grinned. “Truth or dare?” She said with her inquisitive look.

I was feeling adventurous and brave, a decision that I would later come to hate myself for. “Dare.” I said flatly, and boldly. Pinkie put her hoof to her chin and thought.

“In that case, I dare you to….. KISS PRINCESS CELESTIA FOR THIRTY SECONDS!”

This caused literally everyone in the room to widen their eyes, drop their jaws and exclaim “WHAT!” at the same time. The poor princess looked to be the most shocked.

“P. P. Pinkie Pie! What the hay are you thinking! I can’t kiss the princess, I’m pretty sure that’s illegal for one. For two she and I aren’t even romantically involved, for three-“ I was cut off by Celestia placing a hoof on my lips to silence me before she sighed.

“It is the rules of the game, Jordan. We must abide by the rules.” She then looked at Pinkie. “Can it be in private, or does it have to be here?” Pinkie grinned evilly. “Here!” she proclaimed. Oh, Pinkie you are gonna get it from me. I swear it.

I sighed. “If….. it doesn’t bother you, Princess, I’ll play by the rules. But I think it’ll be best for all if we make it quick.”

She agreed, before she bore a very serious look on her face. “Now, KISS ME!” She demanded as she grabbed my face with both hooves and forcibly planted her lips onto mine, forcing me into a kiss. My eyes went wide as our muzzles connected.

For the first ten or so seconds, she and I were both in agony. We just kept ourselves completely still and made no movement or noise whasoever. We just wanted the time to pass so we could break away. But slowly, we got more into it. Celestia accidently opened her mouth, and got some of my taste in her mouth, which in turn made me receive some of her taste.

Then, we both started to enjoy said kiss. We both closed our eyes and got more sensual. I felt her tongue enter my mouth, and she put her right hoof on my muzzle, as she started to greedily lick around inside my mouth while wrestling my tongue, licking it with her own and dominating me with it. I let a sudden moan go into her mouth, not even caring if the girls were in attendance.

Celestia couldn’t believe how this was happening. She was ashamed of herself; she was the ruler of Equestria, the princess of the sun, the god to all ponykind. She had many stallions during her lifetime who sought to court her, and she always turned them down; she never felt the same way, not since her first love nearly one thousand and one hundred years ago. Love was a frail and meaningless emotion to her; the only love she’d experienced since that first heartache was the love she felt for Luna, and Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Yet as she kissed this young stallion who was once a different species, she couldn’t help but feel amazed. He had all the majesty and composure of a prince.

It was ironic how quickly things happened. At one point, I just wanted this kiss to end. But now, I never wanted it to end. It felt amazing.

Finally, Pinkie told us the time was up, and Celestia and I slowly pulled away, both of our faces stained crimson red from a deep blush. I didn’t say anything, and neither did she. We were too embarrassed.

“MY TURN!” Rainbow exclaimed as she grabbed the bottle and spun it violently. I however, was lost in thought. I couldn’t believe this. I just made out with Princess Celestia, the ruler of all Equestria, and enjoyed it. But what’s even more crazy is she seemed to be enjoying it also! This can’t happen, this can’t be real. Celestia is a god! She can have any stallion she wants, why would she fall for an ordinary, regular, good for nothing, useless, talentless excuse for a unicorn like me? She can’t.

I shook the thoughts from my mind for the time being and focused back on the game. Dash spun the bottle and it landed on me again!

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Whatever, I’ll go again. Truth, Dash.”

She then looked at me. “Ok. I want to know. If you had the option to become a Pegasus, would you?”

I thought for a moment, but I proudly gave my answer. “Yes. I love being a unicorn and studying magic under Twilight, but I look at you and Fluttershy and I envy you both so much. YOU CAN FLY, for pony’s sake. You can go up in the air and feel the wind, you can see things I can’t even frivving DREAM of. I wish so badly I could experience it myself….. So, the answer is an emphatic YES, Dashie.”

She nodded at my answer. “If you had wings, I’d race you, and I’d kick your flank in a flash.” I rolled my eyes and smiled at her.

Celestia then raised an eyebrow. “Hold on a moment.” She then looked at Twilight. “Twilight? You have been teaching Jordan magic? While you study under me?” I looked at Twilight, and she was a mess. She was shaking in fear, afraid that the princess was mad at her for somehow breaking an unknown rule. But Twilight answered honestly and valiantly.

“Yes princess, yes I have.” Was all she said. Celestia smiled at her student and hugged her. “Twilight, this makes me so happy. While it is very important for a student to learn, it is just as if not more important for a student to teach. I am very proud of you Twilight. Of course, I ask you keep me updated, to make sure what you’re teaching him is accurate. You still have much to learn, my star pupil.”

Twilight smiled widely at her teacher’s approval and hugged her back.

Then, Rarity decided it was her turn. She grabbed the bottle and gave it one hay of a spin. It went around for a bit before it stopped at me again. Ok, now I was mad! This is not coincidence, something fishy is going on here!

I then narrowed my eyes at the group. “ALRIGHT, what the friv!? Is somepony using magic to make it land on me?!” I then heard a soft snicker to my right and glared at Twilight. She had her hoof over her mouth to stifle her laughs. “TWILIGHT! I know I’m the birthday boy, but come on!” I scolded, and she lost it. She fell over backwards onto her back, full on hysterically laughing at her prank.

She then finally stopped laughing and wiped a tear from her eyes. “I’m sorry, I usually can’t stand pranks, but Rainbow dared me to do it and I am so glad I did! That was priceless. Don’t worry, I won’t manipulate the bottle anymore, but you have to do this turn, it’s only fair!”

I rolled my eyes and looked at Rarity. “Dare.” I told her, bravely. She smiled at me.

“I dare you to come to my boutique and allow me to dress you up, with everything. Mane styling, new clothes, cologne, everything darling. I will make you so handsome no mare in all Equestria would give you a second look, darling!” Her eyelashes were fluttering as she spoke, only validating that she was excited at the aspect of giving me a total makeover.

I shrugged. “Sure, why not, if it will make you happy.” I then turned to Twilight and grabbed the bottle. “I went thrice in a row and was embarrassed half to death, I don’t care about the rules, I get one frivving turn!” Everypony agreed and made an exception.

I grabbed the bottle and spun it at a medium strength. It spun for a while before it stopped in front of Fluttershy. Fluttershy gulped. “Oh my…..” she said so quiet I could barely hear.

I smiled at her. “Truth or dare, Fluttershy?” She looked at me and took a deep breath, giving an answer that surprised me. “Dare. I….. I feel brave.” She said quietly, once again.

I then smiled at her. “Well then, I dare you to... do something Fluttershy friendly with me sometime. Butterfly catching?” She gasped and squealed in excitement. “I….. I love butterfly catching! It’s a date. How about tomorrow?” I smiled and nodded at her.

For the next while, we played a couple more turns of spin the bottle, before we got to the main event.

“CIDER!” Rainbow exclaimed as Pinkie and Applejack brought the barrels inside. Oh man, there’s like 20 of these big barrels. I’m gonna be hurting tomorrow but I don’t give a friv.

I aligned the cups and poured everypony a glass. “Ok, everypony have some, because me and Rainbow are gonna be having a little competition!”

We then stood in front of a barrel each, with a mug in hand, ready to pour cider into them. The competition was simple. Whoever drank the most cider wins. We had to pour our own cider though, and after a while of drinking any sort of movement can get hard.

“Ready…..Set…..GO!” Applejack yelled, and me and Dash went to work. We put our mugs under our respective nozzles and poured into our mugs almost in synchronization. We downed our first cup much the same way.

At five cups, I admit. I was feeling tipsy. But Dash looked like she was already buzzed, stumbling her hoof around a bit. I poured my next cup and chugged it, taking a deep breath afterwards.

I heard Luna whisper to Twilight and Celestia. “Is this what ponies do for fun ever since I was away?” I chuckled a bit and downed another cup.

At ten cups, I was feeling stumbly, and a bit drunk. My vision was just a tad bit blurry, and I was having a minor pulsing headache. But, I knew I could keep going no problem, so I did just that.

I heard Applejack whisper to Pinkie. “Boy howdy, their heads are gonna be mighty sore in the morning, lemme tell ya!” to which Pinkie giggled.

I soon got to twenty cups, and by now I was in trouble. My stomach felt full, I wanted to puke, my vision was full on blurry and my head was hurting like crap. I was regretting this contest so much, but there was no way I was gonna let Crayons the loudmouth win!

I suddenly heard a crash to my right, and looked over, almost falling over as I did. Rainbow has drunk herself into a blackout; she had crashed onto the table and broken it, now asleep and snoring on the ground.

Applejack came over and raised my hoof. “The winner!” she declared to the party. I looked at Dash and laughed drunkenly. “Ha-hiccup-ha crayons! I-hiccup-won! I-hiccup- told you-hiccup- I would-hiccup- win!”

Celestia chuckled and walked over to me. “As much as I think you deserve a nasty hangover for consuming so much cider, I’m afraid your night isn’t over, Jordan.” She lowered her horn, touched it to my head and charged her magic, channeling it into me. After a while, I wasn’t feeling drunk anymore. I felt fine again.

I smiled gratefully for my symptoms being gone. “Thank you, princess! I feel better now. But what about Dashie?” she was still passed out on the floor. “I think there is a lesson for Rainbow Dash to learn from all this.”

I nodded in agreement. “Told her I’d win. So, what now?” I looked at Pinkie who had a grin on her face.

-TIMESKIP-

For the next while, we finished up the party. It was now nighttime (The princesses left for a moment to perform their duties). I stood at the door to say goodbye to everypony.

Applejack walked up and hugged me. “Ah hope you love my gift Jordan, and ah hope you had an amazing birthday sugarcube!”

I hugged her close. “I’m going to have to come by and visit sometime, this is such an amazing gift. Have a good night AJ.”

She walked away after our hug, and I waved goodbye at her.

I repeated the process with everypony, until Twilight and the princesses came up to me. “Jordan, your last gift is now ready. Come with us to Twilight’s home, please.” I nodded at Celestia and walked with them to the library silently. Elise was walking next to me, and I smiled at her.

But I have to admit, I was nervous. There was absolutely no telling what the princesses had planned for me. It could be anything, and not knowing made me anxious, and nervous.

We walked inside the library and Twilight closed and locked the doors behind us. Celestia looked at me. “Now that we are all here, I shall teleport us to my castle. Goodnight, Twilight, and sleep well.” Twilight smiled at Celestia as she charged up her horn, before it violently glowed. Next thing I knew, I was once again in the throne room of the castle.

“Ah, good. We are here. Luna, please watch over the castle for a bit. I’m going on a walk with Jordan. See you soon, my beloved sister.” With that, me and Celestia started walking down the main hall of the castle, silently at first.

It felt very awkward; the quiet was maddening, the clacking of hooves the only sound heard. Finally, she spoke. “I must admit, that was a very fun party. Your friends worked very hard on it.”

I smiled. “Yeah, I’m lucky to know them. They’re all amazing.” I then realized we had walked all the way to her bedroom. She closed the door behind me.

She looked at me with a very serious glare. “Jordan, what I am about to show you is top secret. Nopony else can know about this, and it must stay here. Understand?” I nodded quickly, and she turned and hit a button on her desk, which made a wall suddenly shift out of place and turn around 180 degrees, revealing a new alcove.

I gasped in surprise as I looked into this alcove. It was some very mystical looking mirrors, and an ominous object in the middle. Celestia used her hoof to signal me to the object, and I quickly walked over.

“This is a very ancient, powerful magical relic. It grants the desire of the pony who uses it. It has been in my possession for millennia. Your final birthday gift is that I will allow you to look into the future, Jordan. But be warned. While you use this artifact, I do not know what you are seeing. You are the only one who can see through it, and I cannot help you, even if what you see is truly horrifying. Do you understand? Then go ahead and use it. Place your hooves on either side of the tabletop, and look directly into the glass.”

(FUN FACT, THIS ARTIFACT IS THE SAME AS THE ONE DUMBLEDORE USES TO SEE MEMORIES AGAIN IN HARRY POTTER. IT HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION HERE THOUGH. FUTURE!)

I did as Celestia instructed me, and before I knew it, I was in a different world. I was there physically, but it….. didn’t feel quite real, like a simulation.

I looked around me, and realized I was in Ponyville. But everything was all wrong. The girls, I could see them, but they weren’t as I knew them. Everypony but Twilight was grey, and colorless. They had angry looks on their faces, and were yelling at Twilight, including me.

I tried to walk over to them, but I couldn’t move! I then saw that the town was not the same. Buildings were upside down, gravity didn’t seem to exist and the weather was going crazy. It was all so weird.

Then, suddenly, the scene shifted around me. When everything came to focus, it was a bright, warm summer day. Birds were chirping, chipmunks were chittering, and it was absolutely beautiful, complete with the scent of lemongrass.

Then, I heard the faint sound of wedding bells. I cocked my head curiously and, thankfully, found out I could move this time. I walked towards Ponyville park, and gasped at the amazing sight before me.

I saw, well, myself. I was standing at the altar in a tuxedo and top hat, with a plethora of ponies sitting in the pews. Wait a moment, I was getting married!? I’m going to get married!? But to who!?

I didn’t have a chance to see, as the scene shifted again. “NO, WAIT, I HAVE TO FIND OUT WHO I MARRY!” I shouted in vain. It didn’t matter, because the scene changed anyway.

After it shifted, I was able to see the new scene. I was in the throne room of canterlot castle, but it wasn’t right. The sky was dark and dreary, and I heard groans and moans of pain all around me. I shifted my head all around, and gasped at what I saw.

All the girls, Celestia and Luna included, were sprawled out on the floor, wounds on their bodies. They were obviously hurt, they had been in a battle. But then, I saw something that stopped me cold.

I saw me again. I was laying on the throne on my back, shrieking in pain as some sort of creature held me down. The creature had its horn on my chest, over my heart, and was chuckling evilly. This went on for a while before my body went limp, and I gasped. Had I just died!? What is happening!

I then screamed. “NO, NO MORE! I CAN’T TAKE THE PAIN, STOP!” Suddenly, I felt a pain in my head as I suddenly came back to my real life body. The simulation thingy had ended.

I screamed at the top of my lungs and fell backwards onto my rump. I then started shaking in fear, with my hooves covering my face.

Celestia kneeled down and stroked my mane, trying to calm me down. I then surprised her by hugging her tightly. She gasped but then hugged me back, nuzzling her face into the crook of my neck.

I sniffled. “That was awful. I saw….. horrible things. You and Luna, and the girls, you were all motionless on the floor of the throne room. And I was being tortured by some evil creature, until I suddenly died! Princess, that can’t happen, can it?!”

Celestia gave me a grim look before she spoke. “I’m afraid the artifact does not lie, Jordan. That event will happen, and there is no way to change and alter it. It must come to pass.”

“But, in the simulation, I died. Is that how I’m going to die? But I don’t want to die! I love the girls, I love Equestria, I love life! I don’t want to lose everything, it isn’t fair!”

Celestia held me. “You do not know for sure that you died in that scenario, Jordan. It could be that you passed out. Nopony will know until it happens.” Celestia’s voice was bold, that of a true leader. Her words were tragic with their wisdom, their certainty. It made my heart ache even more as she spoke.

I then sighed loudly. “Princess, that wasn’t all that happened. I saw something very happy, something truly amazing. I saw my wedding. But the simulation didn’t let me see my bride. It was maddening. I want to know who I marry so bad…..” I said sadly as my ears drooped down.

Celestia had a curious look about her as she thought about this. “Well then, let that be your sense of hope, Jordan, that not everything in your future will be bleak and painful.”

“Well, I guess that’s as valid a point to make as any, Princess. I promise, I’ll try to be happy.” I then smiled at her, and for once, it was genuine.

She then smiled back. “I have one last birthday present for you, Jordan. And I truly hope you like it.” She then started to move her muzzle towards mine, making me gasp in surprise.

“P…..Princess? Princess, we’re not playing tru-“ She interrupted me by kissing me, once again. I shot my eyes wide open in shock, before they slowly fluttered down to being closed, and I started to kiss her back.

We opened and closed our mouths as we kissed, practically making out, and she put her hoof on my muzzle. I felt her tongue enter my mouth and lick around everywhere, occasionally moving to my tongue and wrestling it, to keep it down so she had clear access. I also saw her wings expand and stiffen ever so slightly and her horn glow a little bit.

After what must have been five minutes, we finally, slowly, tenderly broke apart, and she blushed. “I….. I apologize. I know that was unexpected, and I know it was quite out there. But after what happened during the truth or dare game earlier, I could not resist. I had to do it, just one more time. I hope you enjoyed it.” She smiled at me, her eyes looking a bit dreamy.

I smiled back. “I did, to be honest. You’re a great kisser. Then again, I guess it comes with being over a millennium old, huh? So, is there anything else princess? Or is it time for me to go?”

She responded by making her horn glow, as she charged up her magic. She then smiled. “Farewell for now, Jordan. Have a great time, until I see you again.” With that, I closed my eyes as she teleported me back to the library.

I felt the swirling of the magical energies finally come to a rest, and I opened my eyes. I was back in the library, and Twilight looked up at me from the book she was reading.

“How’d it go? What did the princess give you for her birthday?” Twilight asked inquisitively.

I chuckled and rubbed the back of my head with my hoof. “Twi, you wouldn’t believe it in a million years. I’m kinda tired, I’m gonna go to sleep. But Twi, I just wanted to tell you….. how thankful I am. You and the girls made this the best birthday I’ve ever had, and I love and appreciate you all so much. So, thank you Twily.” I said this as I walked over, and nuzzled her affectionately. She smiled and returned the favor, nuzzling me back.

“Goodnight Jordan. Me and the girls love and appreciate you too, and we’d give anything for you to be happy. See you tomorrow.”

I smiled at her, and walked upstairs. Spike had passed out hours ago. He was a baby dragon, afterall. I slowly crawled into my warm, soft, cozy bed and thought deeply. Elise was waiting for me, of course, and snuggled up next to me, leaving me to pet her softly.

Man, I can’t believe today. It was absolutely incredible. I had the best birthday party a pony could ever even imagine, let alone ask for, and for pony’s sakes, I kissed Celestia twice! Celestia! And I got a new best friend talking dog. This honestly feels like a crazy, wild dream. I was so sure I’d suddenly wake up and it would all be over. But it never happened.

The thing with Celestia’s artifact scares me. Those memories I had, minus the wedding, are truly troubling. What if….. what if something bad happens to the girls and I? I hope to Celestia nothing will, but then again I have no control over reality. What happens will happen, like the princess said. There’s no use in getting myself worked up over it.

Besides, I know now that I will get married in the future. If that isn’t enough to make me happy and hopeful, which it does, then nothing would. I wonder who I’ll marry? It could honestly be anypony. There’s no way of even guessing!

Slowly, I felt my mind and body get more and more tired, until finally, I slipped into the dream world. My dreams consisted of happy memories of the day, as Elise kept me warm as I slept.

Author's Note

This chapter, as i said in chapter 7, is what i consider to be my pivotal point, where my writing definitely got better. Although i consider this my pivotal point, i consider next chapter to be my best piece of writing ever. Next chapter is chapter 9, Dragonshy. I hope you enjoy these two chapters as much as I, their author, do.