All Tomorrow's Birthdays

Spike entered the colorful bakery of Sugarcube Corner and carefully looked around. The pastry shop stood empty. “Umm, hello? Missus Cake? Mister Cake?” He approached the glass case and sighed. He had hoped to catch one of them... well more like planned to catch one of them by waiting until Pinkie was across town. Would she have really left things unattended?

Seeing nopony around, Spike hoisted himself up onto the countertop and rang the bell a few times. Eventually, he shrugged and paced down the display cases. At least he could see if they had the cake he needed. Maybe then he could get it himself and leave the money before—

“Hiya, Spike!” Pinkie Pie said from behind him, her nose over his shoulder.

Spike nearly fell off the display case. “Yeea-aahaahh! Ah... ha… h-hi, Pinkie. W-What are you doing here? I thought Sweetie Belle was having a party? Don’t they uhh... need you?” He winced, he might have been too obvious with that.

Pinkie Pie didn’t seem to notice the implication; she was busy bouncing. She made a few ‘boings’ in place before effortlessly vaulting over the display case and Spike himself to land on the other side. She turned to face him with a bright smile. “They are! But you rang the bell, so you need me too!” She added with that same bubbly and genuine voice. “You’re the bestest, greatest dragon friend I know. I wouldn’t keep you waiting.”

“You heard the bell from— oh... ah shucks, Pinkie.” Spike couldn’t help but blush before smiling back at her. Pinkie’s good nature was infectious, though made him feel a little guilty for trying to avoid her before. He looked down at his claws, tapping forefingers together. “Well, I won’t take up too much of your time. I just want that cake there.” He pointed.

“Sure thing!” Pinkie bobbed her head, and a spatula flopped out of her messy mane on curl. “Oh! That one? Are you sure?” Her cheerful tone turned into a doubtful one.

Spike blinked. “Uhh… yeah, that one will be fine. There isn’t anything wrong with it, is there?”

Pinkie smooshed her face up against the glass, eye-level with the cake from her side of the display case. “This cake is a birthday cake.”

Spike nodded. “I know.” Immediately, he bit his claw while cursing himself for the slip.

Pinkie’s eyes peered over the hill of chocolate frosting. “But Twilight’s birthday is like two weeks away, and Rarity’s was three weeks ago. Fluttershy likes acorn cupcakes to share with her animals, and Applejack has Granny Smith make her Applepies and—”

Spike waved his claws. “No, no, no! It isn’t for Twilight... erm n-not exactly and it isn’t for anypony you know—”

Pinkie shot straight up, sending the spatula sailing. “There’s a new pony in town?! Who has a birthday?!”

“No! Their birthday was yesterday!” Spike said, emphatically.

Pinkie reeled as if struck, her eyes turning to pinpricks with her hooves to her temples. “I MISSED a birthday. FOR A NEW PONY?!”

The dragon waved his claws again, Pinkie’s panic was as infectious as her earlier joy. Desperately he tried to contain this train wreck. “No! It’s alright Pinkie! They’re not here, and they are not a pony… yet—” This time Spike put his entire claw-fist into his maw.

Pinkie Pie loomed over the display case with sudden interest. “Not a pony? Is it Owlowiscious?” Her expression turned coy and fluttered her lashes. “Is it another draaaagon?”

Spike mumbled around his claw and shook his head violently. Her suggestive look had him blushing. “Nwah!”

Like a storm cloud passing to clear skies, Pinkie Pie’s face returned to the same genuine grin she always wore. “Okay! A Twilight who is not Twilight and a pony who isn’t a pony. When are Sunset Shimmer and Human Twilight coming to visit?”

Spike’s claw fell out of his slack-jawed mouth. “H-How did you know?”

Pinkie Pie giggled. “Just a guess! Until now, anyway! You still don’t want this cake though, silly. Not for an afterbirthday party. I think I can fix something up though, even on short notice!” She spoke with the sudden air of a professional while spring bouncing towards the kitchen in the back.

“Come again? You want to visit Equestria?” Sunset Shimmer asked as she leaned back against the Canterlot High statue that had become their group’s impromptu gathering place. When the weather was nice, it was a great place to spend lunch recess.

Twilight nibbled on her sandwich and took the time to think and pushed her glasses up with a finger. “When we were having your birthday party yesterday, I realized how long you have been over here. Do you ever miss it?” Her tone turned shy, and she dipped her head to shade her eyes with her bangs. A motion which made her glasses slip forward again.

Sunset smirked and wondered if Twilight even knew how often she made that little gesture. “Sometimes. But remember, when I first came around here, it was me trying to find a place to be important. I had more ambition than I ever had friends or family to look back on, I guess.”

A pair of students walked by, and one waved. “Hey, Sunset! Hey Twilight… uh… err, Miss Sparkle.” He made a face at the hesitation before they hurried off.

Sunset guessed what was weighing on Twilight’s mind. “Still feeling a little out of place, yourself, huh?”

Twilight gave a weak smile. “I always hypothesized that being sociable and having talent was an inverse to one another. More of one, less of the other. But everybody here in Canterlot High are a lot nicer than they ever were in Crystal Prep. The girls are great, and you’re really great...” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ve read some of your proofs. They are good, more than good even and you aren’t a... a...”

“A nerd?” Sunset helped.

Twilight’s mouth set in a line. “Yes.”

“Believe it or not. I was the most hated girl in this school, and not just for the whole demon thing either. It took a nerd and her friends to set me right and a whole lot of time after that.”

“You mean ‘Her,’ she helped you.” Twilight’s brow furrowed.

Sunset blinked at that reaction and reached to give Twilight a touch on the shoulder. “Hey! I didn’t mean it like that. That Twilight was the one who helped me, but I’m pretty thankful that I got someone who can look at me and not see all the baggage of these last couple of years. Plus, it’s fun to be with someone who is out of water too.”

Twilight’s smile returned, and she reached to twirl a strand of her hair on a finger as she mused, “It’s just... a little frustrating. To know you got a better you out there. A pony from ponyland managed to fit in a new place quicker than me. Not only that, she’s a princess!”

Sunset laughed at that thought. “A purple princess from ponyland. Rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it?” She put a finger to her chin and peeked sidelong at Twilight. “Is that why you want to visit? To find out her secret for success?”

“One reason, yes,” demurred Twilight, tipping her head once more and making her glasses slip. “It’s a valid theory. If there is nothing physically or all that mentally different, then sharing our experiences could spark insights I never considered. Or imagine, if she did so well visiting here from over there. The reverse might be true! Maybe I finally learn how to just tell someone—”

Sunset reached and pushed on the bridge of Twilight’s glasses, helping in straightening them out before she could do it herself. It made Twilight blink owlishly and cross-eyed.

“As long as you remember you’re still your own person. Don’t forget that!” said Sunset before crossing her arms behind her head. “I guess I’m the best girl to play tour guide.”

Twilight reached into her backpack, drawing out a book from it that startled Sunset. “Great! I’ve planned arrangements already.”

Sunset looked at the book with her own cutie mark on the cover and Twilight’s serious expression. “Huh?! Wait, you’ve been talking with her? What if I’d said no?”

Twilight’s voice kept matter-of-fact. “It was about ninety-six percent for, by my calculations.”

Sunset snorted. “I’m going to have to ask you to show your work for that.”

Twilight showed one of her rare grins as she brought out a clipboard, already prepared.

Spike tiptoed back to the library where Twilight Sparkle worked. He grabbed a nearby book off the table and used it as a screen.

Twilight herself was busy levitating the dimensional mirror into its stand. “Did you get the cake, Spike?” she called, somewhat distractedly.

“The cake! Uh y-yeah, it should be ready soon.” He dug his snout deeper into the book so Twilight couldn’t see his flinch and hastily tried to change the topic. “Sooo… why do they want to visit? I mean, they found the other you over there. Sunset’s note kinda makes it sound like they really don’t need you anymore.” The book levitated away from his claws in an aura of purple magic.

“There it is!” Twilight exclaimed as she moved the old notebook to the holder beside the mirror. With that task done, she turned to Spike to answer his question. “Sunset was talking more about dealing with magical world-ending threats. We are still friends! I’m actually very proud of them.”

“It must be a relief only needing to save one world for a change! Though I still don’t get why Sunset would want to visit now,” Spike mused, “she could have come by before if she felt homesick.”

“Oh! That part was my idea,” answered Twilight before pausing to consider the terminology. “Well… not my idea as in my idea, but the other... uh me.” Twilight coughed before continuing, clopping her hooves together. “It’ll be fascinating being able to have a fun afternoon with those two. After going over there twice, it’ll be great observing the first actual human to come to Equestria! Just think, I might even write an entire book now that we got both experiences from each other’s view and— Spike, are you even listening?”

Spike jolted a bit in place. “Umm, yeah! That’s really exciting,” replied Spike, and put on his best assistant voice. “But didn’t you say it was their Twilight who suggested coming over? For Sunset’s birthday? That sounds pretty considerate of her. Think they had a Moon Dancer experience over there, too?”

Twilight’s face fell, and she gave him a reproachful look. “It’s not wrong to be a little curious. Their Twilight probably saw that she could do something nice for somepony in the process. I know I’d do the same. Getting two birds with one stone isn’t selfish, it’s efficient.”

In Twilight’s imagination, the three of them would sit and talk over cake and well-placed silverware. Expertly placed silverware. She wondered if Sunset would have any stories from training under Celestia. Did she get a dragon also? How did the other Twilight build a machine to master magic without ever coming into contact with the actual element of magic?

Meanwhile, Spike saw how Twilight was growing distant and mumbling to herself. He sighed and went to fetch a quill and parchment. Usually Twilight had a new checklist after one of these internal brainstorming sessions.

Traveling through the portal between the two realms brought a dreamy sensation of falling as the magic ran through Sunset’s body. The sensation turned real when she fell forward on her hands on the other side.

Wait, not hands, hooves! The realization brought a kind of giddiness; she had made it to Equestria for sure! She soon felt a tickle of magic, and a magenta-tinted force lifted her up from her stooped over position. “W-whoa!” She righted in place and blinked when she met eyes with Princess Twilight.

“Welcome back to Equestria, Sunset Shimmer!” Twilight’s welcoming smile turned into a look of concern. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah! Just give me a minute. Have to remember how to... you know.” Sunset’s forehooves danced in the air in a pantomime.

After a few moments to get her equilibrium back, Sunset turned her attention to the room.

“This is a pretty library,” said Sunset with a testing tap on the edge of a crystalline table. “Where are we, anyway?”

“Oh! Well, this is my castle. It’s made from the tree of elements when I fought a magical battle with a demon—” Twilight broke off, wincing as she realized who she was talking to and covered the interruption with a nervous laugh, “—not to umm... brag or anything. I kind of miss my old library.”

Sunset blinked. “You have a castle? Oh right. Pony Princess. Heh, lucky you, the only thing I got when I fought a demon was a Friendship Game trophy.” Princess Twilight’s confused look at this had Sunset smirking.

The mirror rippled, and a shape formed. Twilight stepped forward, lighting her horn, but Sunset was quicker. When alternate Twilight fell forward, Sunset was there to catch her. “Easy now. Watch your step!”

“Ahh! Hooves!” was the wide-eyed Twilight’s reply. She pressed them on Sunset emphatically. “I have hooves for hands!”

Sunset grinned. “Did you think I was kidding about them before? No half measures like in Canterlot High. We’re all pony here.”

Aside from having a disheveled mane and an eye darting nervousness, the pony in her hooves looked identical to the Princess standing nearby. Sunset had worried quietly that her Twilight might look less the adorkable unicorn and more like the crooked-horned Nightmare. But it seemed that human Twilight’s was just an alicorn on this side of the mirror.

It was a thought that made Sunset snort. Just an alicorn.

Eventually, ex-Human Twilight noticed the same and settled down enough to stand on her own. “I guess that is logical.” She looked over at Princess Twilight and giggled. “Hey you, again. Even here you still sort of look like me. Only with pony features.”

Princess Twilight again made that welcoming smile. “Actually, I think it’s more accurate to say that you look more like me.” She gestured with a hoof. When Earth-world Twilight turned to see herself in the mirror, it was the Equestrian’s turn to have a giggle at the startled reaction.

“Don’t worry. I made sure today you will have an easier time getting used to being a pony than I did at being a human,” continued Princess Twilight.

Although the tone was warm and friendly, Sunset flinched all the same. “Yeah... Sorry about that.”

Princess Twilight waved it off. “The only trouble I see is about the names. It’s going to be like being at the same dinner table—”

“—with mom. Only worse because we look like each other.” The other Twilight finished.

Sunset could think they were sisters if they weren’t an exact mirror of each other. She spoke up once they gave her an opening. “We sort of already solved that one on our side. We call her Sparkle.”

Princess Twilight stared. “What? Sparkle? Really.”

Sparkle bopped her nose with a hoof as she tried to push up the glasses she wasn’t wearing. “Oh, well, everyone at Canterlot High already knew ‘Twilight’ as you. If you ever talk about the magic-you, then we always had to specify if they meant when ‘Twilight-from-Equestria’ fought Demonic Sunset or when Angelic Sunset fought demonic ‘Twilight-from-Crystal-Prep’. It wastes so much time. I don’t mind if people just called me Sparkle. At Crystal Prep, everyone already called me Miss Sparkle, so it doesn’t sound too impersonal to me.”

Sunset smirked at her. “You don’t let us call you Sparkles, though.”

“I may not be a princess, but even I have standards,” huffed Sparkle with her nose scrunching in such a pony way that got an easy laugh out of Sunset.

“You two fought each other?” Twilight interjected, “and what’s this about being an angel?”

The two mirror travelers shared a glance.

“Well, it wasn’t that much of a fight. Sunny helped me when I was confused and infused with all the magic our friends had...” Sparkle trailed off.

Sunset picked up on her difficulty and waved a hoof at Twilight. “It’s kinda a long story. I guess we never had time to really tell it. Maybe we should find someplace to sit down?”

Twilight opened her mouth to answer when a thump at the library door drew all three of their attention. “Ah! I almost forgot. I got us a cake! We can have some while we talk. That’s probably Spike now.”

“A cake?” Sunset asked before shooting Sparkle an accusing look. “You told!”

Sparkle had her turn at having a mischievous smile. “Happy Birthday, Sunny.”

“But that was yesterday!” grumped Sunset, crossing her forehooves while Sparkle giggled.

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s just a small cake. I felt like it would be nice to have something. All things considered,” said Twilight as she lit her horn to open the door. She gaped when Spike wheeled in an enormous cake on a trolley. It was taller than her.

The trio of ponies stared.

“Is that what goes for small in Equestria?” asked Sparkle after a moment.

“No! I-I, Spike?!” Twilight sputtered.

Before he could answer, the top half of the cake exploded in a shower of frosting and cream.

“SURPRISE!!! HappyvisitingotherworldforadayandmeetingnewfriendsforaafterBirth—” Pinkie Pie panted and took a deep breath. “—DAY!” A second later she triggered the party cannon inside the cake and sent another volley of confetti and confectionery over the library and the ponies inside.

Twilight glared at Spike, who put his claws up. “Where else was I going to get a cake in Ponyville?”

Voices came from the hallway now.

“Hey, guys, I think that was our sign!”

“Hon, I think everythin’ that mare does is a sign.”

“I hope they weren’t visiting in fine clothes. We might not even have the same kind of fabric in this world!”

Twilight groaned. So much for a quiet day in the library!