The squeak of the faucet handle signaled the end of her morning shower as she carefully stepped out of the bathtub, making sure that she didn’t slip and break her leg again. Once her hooves were carefully on the fluffy gray bath mat lying on the bathroom floor, she proceeded to wrap her black hair in a baby pink hair towel and dried the rest of herself off with an old red beach towel.
Taking a look at her blurry reflection in the mirror, she rubbed the sleep out of her yellow eyes and put on her glasses. Careful to avoid tripping on the sandy-blonde tabby cat waiting in the doorway, she went into her room and picked out her outfit.
After she put on her clothes, she looked at her reflection in the vanity, smiling to herself as she removed the hair towel and shook her head slightly. She thought the monochromatic gray ensemble looked good on her.
Satisfied with her outfit, she left the bedroom and made her way into her kitchen. Puzzling Insanity sat down at the table and pulled a pair of black boots onto her hooves before looking at the time on her phone. It was nine-thirty. She had one hour to finish getting ready for her special day out.
She brushed her hair and pulled it back into a tight ponytail before setting out her makeup on the table. Carefully, she removed her glasses and turned on the small mirror’s light, preparing to get dolled up.
When she had finished putting on her makeup, she examined herself in the mirror. Puzzling’s eyelids had been dusted with two different shades of pink, she had added just a kiss of pink to her cheeks and her lips were carefully painted with dusty rose liquid lipstick. Looking at her phone again, she could see that it was ten o’clock. Her mother would be there to pick her up in half an hour.
She smiled as she saw all the messages she’d received so far that morning. Friends and relatives had flooded her social media with birthday wishes, and more messages were coming in. Puzzling stood from her chair and took several selfies from different angles, hoping to go through them and pick one to post on social media with all the other photos she planned on taking that day.
At ten-thirty, Puzzling heard a knock at the door and unlocked it, allowing for her mother to enter the trailer with a white cake box. “Happy birthday, sweetie,” Heart Guardian said, entering the kitchen and putting the box in the fridge. “You ready?”
Puzzling Insanity laughed. “I’m so ready to go,” she said. “First stop: nail salon.”
At eleven o’clock, Puzzling gave her mother a hug and checked in at the salon. “Hi, I’m Puzzling Insanity,” she said. “I’m here for my nail appointment.”
The nail tech smiled and said, “I’m Jewel. Nice to meet you, Puzzling. If you’ll just sit here, we can get started.”
The fanged mare sat down in the chair and took a deep breath as Jewel brought her supplies over to the table with her magic. “You have lovely hands,” the unicorn said, buffing the earth pony’s nails.
“Thank you,” Puzzling said, watching as the nail tech got her fingernails ready for the application of acrylics.
“So,” Jewel said, pushing back Puzzling’s cuticles, “what brings you in today? Got a date? Formal event? Special day today?”
Puzzling smiled. “It’s actually my birthday today,” she said as Jewel applied some nail primer and prepared to find the right size nails for her fingers.
Gluing the fake nails on, the unicorn smiled and said, “Well, happy birthday! Is this length okay?” She floated a small pair of manicure scissors about half an inch past the fanged mare’s natural fingertips.
Puzzling nodded, continuing to watch as Jewel cut the nails to the desired length and began to apply the acrylic. “This is always fascinating to watch,” she said.
“I bet it’s relaxing too,” the nail tech said. “What shape would you like me to make your nails?”
“Coffin, please,” the earth pony said.
“Always a bold shape,” Jewel commented, shaping the earth pony’s fake nails. “I’m sorry for asking you so many questions, but what color tickles your fancy?” As she asked, the unicorn floated several different color options over for Puzzling to look at.
Puzzling looked over the many options and smiled. “I like this one,” she said, pointing at a display tip painted piggy pink.
Jewel smiled as she floated three small bottles and a nail lamp over to her workstation. “Alright, first, I’m gonna apply a base coat,” she said, opening the first bottle with her magic and gently brushing the base coat over the nails. Turning the lamp on, she set the timer and guided Puzzling’s hand under the light.
Puzzling Insanity looked at her other hand as Jewel worked, admiring what had been done so far. “You are an artist, you know that?”
The unicorn’s smile got a little bigger. “Thank you,” she said. “Now it’s time to add some color.”
Puzzling switched hands as the first bottle was closed and the second bottle was opened. She watched as the nail tech applied two coats of polish to each nail on her hand and carefully guided her hand back under the lamp, starting to apply color to the nails on her other hand.
Jewel closed the second bottle and opened the third bottle as they waited for the polish to dry. “So, do you have any other plans once we’re done here?”
“Well,” Puzzling said, “my mom’s buying lunch and that’s pretty much it other than cake at home.”
“That’s always fun,” Jewel said. “Alright, top coat time; give me your hand, please.”
The earth pony nodded and did so, continuing to watch as the unicorn applied a layer of top coat to her nails. She once again found her right hand under the heat and light of the nail lamp as the process was repeated on her left hand.
Soon enough, it was time for payment, and Puzzling had to make a phone call.
“Hello? I’m done, Mom; you gotta come here and pay. I’ll tell you when you get here. Okay, I’ll see you in a few minutes. Love you too.”
As she hung up the phone, she turned to the unicorn and said, “How much do we owe you for this beautiful work?”
“Fifty bits,” Jewel said.
Puzzling reached into her purse and pulled out a bit bag, opening it and putting ten bits on the table. “Here’s your tip,” she said.
The unicorn smiled as Heart Guardian entered the nail salon, already fishing her bit bag from her purse.
“Okay, so how much is it?”
Puzzling looked over at her mother and said, “Fifty bits.”
The middle-aged mare placed fifty bits on the table and said, “Thank you.”
Jewel’s smile grew as she said, “Think nothing of it! Hope the rest of your day goes great!”
Puzzling took out her phone and took a selfie with her hand over her muzzle, showing off her nails.
"Alright, sweetie, are you hungry?"
Puzzling Insanity nodded as they left the salon.
The bell above the door jingled as Puzzling and her mother stepped inside, the warmth of the restaurant’s interior a stark contrast to the bitter cold outside.
Soon, they were seated and looking at their menus. A pale blue unicorn mare trotted over with a pen and a notepad, smiling.
“Hi, my name’s Moonbeam and I’ll be your server today,” she said. “Can I start you off with some drinks, maybe some appetizers?”
Heart Guardian nodded. “I’ll just have water with lemon.”
Puzzling looked over the drinks before looking up at Moonbeam with a little smile. “If it isn’t too much trouble, I’d like to try the Tipsy Alicorn and I’d also like a glass of water, please.”
“No problem,” Moonbeam said, jotting down the drink orders. “I’ll get those in for you. Oh, and the Tipsy Alicorn is a really good cocktail.” With that, she walked away.
Heart Guardian gave her daughter a knowing look. “You only got the cocktail because you know I’m paying, didn’t you?”
Puzzling smiled nervously and nodded. “Uh… yeah,” she said.
“I thought so,” Heart Guardian said, looking back at her menu. “Ooh, this hayburger looks good.”
“I might try the chicken salad, no dressing,” Puzzling Insanity commented as she looked at her choices.
They chatted until their drinks were put on the table, thanked the young unicorn and placed their orders. As the server went to put their orders in, Puzzling took a sip of the multicolored glittery cocktail.
She smiled as she sipped her drink. Rum and fruit juice danced on her tongue and down her throat, leaving a pleasant taste in her mouth. “Want a sip?”
“No, thank you,” Heart Guardian said. “I don’t drink anymore.”
“I call horse apples on that,” Puzzling laughed, taking another sip.
It seemed like an eternity went by until their food was eventually brought out. Moonbeam set down a hayburger and a chicken salad, smiled and asked, “Is there anything else I can get for you?”
“It is my daughter’s birthday,” Heart Guardian said. “Got any discounts?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Moonbeam said. “Oh, and happy birthday!”
As Heart Guardian inspected her burger for anything she didn’t like, Puzzling took a look at her salad. Pieces of perfectly-seasoned grilled chicken lay in a bed of iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots and red cabbage, making the fanged mare’s stomach audibly growl. Under her makeup, Puzzling blushed at the sound as she took her first bite of the salad.
Heart Guardian and Puzzling Insanity chatted and ate until the bill came. The older mare looked at the piece of paper, smiling at the words “birthday discount”. She fished out her bit bag and paid for lunch.
Leaving a few extra bits on the table as a tip, the mother and daughter left the restaurant and headed back to Puzzling’s trailer.
“I had your cake custom-made,” Heart Guardian said as the mares made it back to the light blue mobile home. “You’re going to love it.”
Entering the trailer, Puzzling immediately went to the fridge to grab some drinks for herself and her mother as Heart Guardian carefully pulled the box out and placed it on the table. Opening the box, she smiled and motioned for Puzzling to take a look.
Puzzling Insanity gasped when she saw what her mother had ordered.
The cake was round, covered in white frosting and decorated with hearts in varying shades of pink, and written on it in dark pink icing was the number 26.
Immediately, the fanged mare took a picture of the cake and grinned as her mother cut a piece for her, revealing that it was vanilla. She grabbed a fork from her silverware drawer and used the handle to open her drink. Sitting down at the table, her grin grew bigger as her mother set down the piece of cake on a saucer.
Puzzling and Heart Guardian chatted and enjoyed the cake as the younger mare posted the pictures she’d taken that day to her social media. The older mare put the rest of the cake back in the fridge and said, “Don’t eat all of it at one time.”
“I won’t,” Puzzling said as she put her saucer in the sink. “Thank you again for such a good birthday. I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, sweetie,” Heart Guardian said, hugging her daughter.
Puzzling looked out the kitchen window at the world outside. The sky was a beautiful blend of reds, oranges and purples, the setting sun an orange ball sinking under the horizon. She smiled and turned back to the table as she sat in front of the small LED mirror and carefully removed her makeup with a baby wipe.
Looking at herself in the mirror to check for any makeup she’d missed, she felt something warm brush up against her leg.
She looked down and smiled at her cat, petting him gently and making him purr loudly as he rubbed his furry little body against her.
Her phone was buzzing with notifications. She took a look at them, smiling at the reactions of her friends and any relatives that still spoke to her. She took a picture of the sunset and posted it with a simple three-word caption:
BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!
but in all seriousness I am so grateful to see another birthday.