>Months later it's around that time of year you think you arrived here
>You can't really tell, it's just a guess really. You think you were in that cage for a month-ish before all that stuff happened, so that would make next week around the same time as your birthday
>You deflate a little at the thought
>The King and Queen had tried to find anything they could to help you get back home, but there's nothing on inter-dimensional spells anywhere
>You were stuck here forever
>You're saddened by it, but that sadness is reduced because you have a new family. Mrs. Lumina and King Solaris were practically your new parents, and Tia and Lulu were like your sisters
>Not quite the same, but close enough you guess.
>You had told Tia and Lulu about your birthday supposedly coming up, but you wish you hadn't
>They'd been avoiding you for two days and you don't know why.
>Is there some kind of pony thing that means it's offensive to tell someone your birthday is coming up?
>Did you make them hate you because they thought you were asking for something? You don't even want anything!
>You just want to hug them and scratch their ears again. Even them acknowledging you would be enough.
 
>You are Celestia and you've been so busy the last two days
>Anon had told you that next week was his birthday! You and Luna had been working non-stop -save the breaks for tea, games, meals, sleep and hiding. Not much distraction- for two days trying to set things up.
>He was going to have the best birthday party ever!
>You and Lulu had made the guest list small, because he still isn't used to everypony.
>Lulu and yourself are numbers 2 and 1, respectively. You're both awesome so you get to be at the top
>Mommy and Daddy take up the 3rd and 4th slot with Gleaming Shield rounding it out to 5
>It's almost like one of the small get-togethers that Daddy sometimes has with dignitaries of neighboring nations
>You'd let mom and dad know of your plan and they were handling the food and deserts
>You'd found out Anon eats meat a few months ago when you'd walked in on him devouring some fish
>He was scared, thinking you'd "hate him" or call him a monster, but that's just silly! He's your best friend, you can't hate him because he has different eating habits than ponies!
>Besides, he'd never hurt you, Lulu or any other pony so what's the problem?
>Anyway, you'd found all this out some time ago, so you weren't all that surprised when there were a few items with meat put on the list of things being served
>Everything else was done already, really
>You've got the guest list and already sent out the invitations, the food was already memorized by the castle chefs, and the room it all was happening in is currently being decorated by you, Lulu and your mother
>It looks fantastic, if you do say so yourself.
>There's a table to the left for all the food and deserts, and a banner on the back wall that says "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANON" in big green lettering, his favorite color
>There's a few board games here and there and even Leg-Tie!
>After touching up the room with a bunch of streamers, you all decide it's done
>Your attention is brought to the wall on the right with a small table against it and you suddenly remember you and Luna haven't gotten Anon anything
>Mom got him something and it's already wrapped up. Even dad got him something!
>Your heart plummets into your stomach
>You only have 3 days to figure out what to get him and you can't ask him about it
>Oh dear
 
>It's the last day for you and Luna to get something for Anon
>You'd asked for help from your mom and dad but they both said you needed to come up with something on your own
>You have -no- idea what to get him and neither does Lulu. Your deadline is coming up too fast for your tastes
>You are currently sitting on your bed next to Luna, the pair of you brainstorming ideas. None of them have been good enough
>C'mon, think, Tia think..
>You need to get him something so he'll always remember you, but it can't be a necklace. Dad said stallions don't wear necklaces, which is silly
>Anon doesn't like girly things, so he wouldn't want a tiara, even though they would look so cute on him!
>Something clicks in your head and you turn to your sister with enthusiasm
"Lulu, what about something he can wear on his wrist-thing!"
>She looks skeptical
>"What, like a necklace? On his arm?"
"Nonono, like a -- like a mini necklace type thing! Instead of it being limp and hanging, it could be fit snug against the part right before his hand!"
>She deadpans. Hard.
>"You mean like a bracelet?"
>You feel stupid and you feel your cheeks slowly heat up
"Y-yeah I guess. Instead of making it all gold and stuff we can make it silver! Stallions like silver, right?"
>A grin begins to form on your dear sister's mouth
>"That could work.."
>It's decided, you're getting a bracelet for Anon
>Have to keep in mind not to make it look like it's for a mare, though
>To the Royal Jeweler!
 
>You are Anon and you're sad
>It's been 5 days since Celestia and Luna have started avoiding you
>Needless to say, you feel like you've been abandoned
>You've taken to staying in your room for the last 2 days. There's really no point in leaving anymore. You even have your food brought to your room, though you don't have much of an appetite anymore
>Wondering what you did wrong, you're snapped out of your reverie by light knocking followed by giggling
>It sounds like Tia and Lulu's laughter
>You perk up a little. Did they want to play again? Have they come to explain why they were avoiding you?
>Hurrying to the door, you throw it open and are immediately jumped on by two pretty pony princesses
>Luna clings to your leg while Celestia managed to get to your waist
>They're both trying to climb up your body
>It's pretty funny. Questions later, laughter now.
>Staying silent, opting to watch them struggle to get to the top, you watch as Tia finally gets to your shoulder
>She's out of breath. You pick Luna up and help her onto your other shoulder, then turn back to Celestia
>"Anon *huff* you need *pant* to come with us!"
>There's an urgentness to her tone. Is there something wrong?
"Why, what's wrong?"
>"Just go!" Luna now
>You walk around the castle down halls you've never seen with Celestia telling you which way to go
>You hear Luna yell "Stop!" when you come to a door with two guards stationed outside of it
>"C'mon, Anon! Let's go!" comes Celestia's voice, cracking with enthusiasm
>You push the door open gently and are greeted by a sight that brings tears to your eyes
>"SURPRISE!"
>The voices of Gleaming Shield, Mrs. Lumina and even King Solaris ring out
>They're almost drown out by the two fillies on your shoulder doing the same thing
>Bits of colored paper are falling from seemingly out of nowhere and there's a large green banner on the back wall that says "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANON" on it
>There are purple and orange streamers practically covering the walls and there's a table in the middle with balloons tied to it's center, all of the aforementioned ponies sitting down in each chair wide smiles adorning their visage
>Mouth agape, you bring a hand to it with tears starting to form in your eyes
>They did all this for you.
>Smiling, hot tears cascading down your face, Tia looks at you with confusion
>"Anon, are you alright? If you don't like it we ca-"
>You cut her off by picking her and her sister up and bringing them into a tight hug
"It's perfect, Tia."
 
>After the initial greeting and pleasantries you'd had time to talk to each pony present and thank them
>They all apologized for not letting you know sooner, which was nice.
>The King wore his usual robe thing, and Mrs. Lumina wore a different dress than what she normally wears
>You'd never seen Gleaming Shield out of her armour but she was wearing a deep purple dress with frills near the neck and the rest coming down loosely near her hooves
>She looks nice, though she didn't do anything to her mane
>Celestia and Luna led you away to play board games and the like a little bit ago after you all had eaten
>They even had a few things with meat in them and you were uneasy to eat them in front of everyone, so you asked them to turn around
>Celestia refused to, though, and watched in morbid fascination as your canines ripped, cleaved, and gnashed chunks of meat between them
>It was slightly unsettling
>Right now, you're playing what's called 'Leg-Tie' which is basically Twister, while the adults talk while watching the three of you
>Luna had lost fairly early on because she fell while trying to make her way under you
>Now you and Tia are squaring off in the battle of the ages
>You have the advantage with your long limbs but Celestia is determined to win
>The front of your body is facing the ceiling
>Your left leg is on the blue dot, stretched fairly far
>Your right leg is on the yellow, putting it at an awkward angle with your foot right next to Celestia's left hindhoof
>Your left arm is bent so that it's right under you supporting most of your weight at your wrist. Saying it hurts is an understatement
>Finally, your right arm is spread directly perpendicular to the rest of your body to rest on the red dot on the other side
>Celestia is fairing much worse, because she can't contort her body to the same degree that you can
>As a result, her back legs are twisted criss-cross and her front hooves are spread out as much as she can allow them to
>All of this while hovering over your right arm
>Her belly fur tickles and you have to suppress another giggle as she tries to reposition herself to a more comfortable spot
>She fails
>With a squeak, she falls onto your arm, half limp from exhaustion signaling your victory
>She grumbles about losing but it subsides as you scratch behind her ears as a consolation prize of sorts
>Her and Luna love it when you do that, for whatever reason
>You hear a collective "Aww" from the ponies sitting at the table and snatch your hand away as Tia bats at it with a hoof, embarrassed
>The next 30 minutes consisted of a few more games. A different adult came to play with you three on each one
>Gleaming Shield played 'Sorry' with you
>Mrs. Lumina played 'Slides and Scales' with you, which is basically 'Chutes & Ladders'
>King Solaris even played 'Clue' with all of you!
>After a nice game of 'Candyland' involving everyone there Celestia had jumped onto your shoulders again spouting something about opening presents
>Up until now you didn't even notice the table with a few gifts on it
"You guys didn't have to get me anything. I'm fine with your company" was your sheepish reply to being sat down near them
>This elicits a chuckle from the King and a lighthearted shove from Luna
>"Just open them, Anon! Save ours for last, though! It's the best!"
>You've only seen her smiling so widely two or three times before, so you comply with her wishes
>Mrs. Lumina had gotten you more clothes, which you needed as you were slowly growing out of your current set.
>King Solaris had gotten you a Quill with your name on it, as well as a few inkwells for your lessons
>Gleaming Shield got you a decorative sword/shield to hang in your room, which garnered some unusual looks from the King and Queen
>You liked it, though. You'd always liked swords so that was the coolest thing you'd gotten so far
>You don't have time to thank her like you thanked Mrs. Lumina or the King, however, because Celestia jumps into your lap and levitates a box over to you
>Their attempt at wrapping it was funny, as it wasn't wrapped so much as it was lightly covered with wrapping paper and tied together
>You can't help but let out a laugh, but are silenced by a glare from Celestia
>Luna crawls into your lap as well and looks up to you with expectant eyes
>They're getting too big to be doing this, you think briefly as you turn your attention back to the box in question
>Delicately ripping the paper off of it, you get a better look at what was under
>It was a simple black box with hinges on the back and a little clasp in front
>You look back to the fillies sitting on you and find they're waiting with baited breath, eyes transfixed on the box
>Their eyes almost simultaneously look into yours and they let out a squee
>"Me and Lulu-"
>Mrs. Lumina cuts her off with a cough "Lulu and I, Tia"
>She ignores her
>-"made this one just for you so you won't ever forget us no matter what and we can always be with you!
>You're a little unnerved. What's in the box?
>"Mommy helped us with the design and she put an enchantment on it so it'll never be too small or too big on you!"
>Your curiosity is piqued
>She doesn't continue so you look back down at the box and gently flick open the clasp
>Inside is something that leaves you pleasantly surprised. It's a bracelet
>Not just a bracelet, though. This isn't girly by any definition and it's not gaudy, either
>The band itself is mainly black but it has silver lining it on both sides and a line of silver set in the middle wraps all the way around
>The inside is basically the same as the outside but with a few supporting rows of silver perpendicular to the middle line for comfort against your wrist
>The top portion of it is emblazoned with a Sun and a Crescent Moon, the centers being made out of Topaz and Sapphire respectively
>It's awesome
>With a smile, you open up the bottom clasp and put it on, gasping when it glows a light blue and shrinks ever so slightly so that it's snug against your wrist
>It's a perfect fit. Well, as much as a perfect fit you can call it while it's being magically fitted to you
>You love it, and the emblems on the top remind you of your two best friends in the whole world
"I love it, guys. Thanks"
>You pull them into a hug, them squeaking at the sudden movement
"Thank you. All of you" you continue, bringing your gaze upwards to look at the faces of those closest to you
"I can't tell you how much this means to me"
>King Solaris answers you this time
>"Not a problem, my boy. You're a part of this family now."
>Those words warm your heart. Leaning forward, you pull the three of them into the hug as well, tears threatening to spill from your eyes for the second time today
"You guys are the best. Thank you so much."
"I love you all."
>"We love you, too, Anon!" come Celestia and Luna's playful yelling