Hearts and Hooves day. It’s considered one of the best times of the year, it’s a day where you spend time appreciating your loved ones and confessing any suppressed feelings. It’s a vulnerable holiday, many find it hard to come by love and care. You’re spending the whole day opening your heart to your special somepony. Depending on the pony, this can be a day full of gifts, traveling, and affection while for others it can be a day of relaxation, cuddling while you read, and generally taking it slow. This day and these feelings are different for everypony.
Your special somepony doesn’t even have to be romantic. It can be a family member, a friend, or even just an acquaintance of yours. Love is varied and cannot be bound by one definition, that’s one reason why this day is so celebrated. Love is an important part of what makes a pony a pony, but it doesn’t strictly mean romantic love. Some ponies don’t find romantic love enjoyable or simply just different from the rest, that doesn’t mean they’re incapable of finding other forms of love.
So, what does one do when they find themselves falling for another when they’ve never truly experienced such a thing beforehand? Of course, she’s had crushes here and there but nothing ever really stuck. Not until now. What is she to do about these feelings? Is it best to ignore it or ride it out? The answer is so close yet so far, the outcome of each decision is infinite and that means they lead down both bad and good paths. Both options could lead to her making a grave mistake just as much as they could leave her making one of the best choices of her life. So, she has to make sure anything she does is perfect.
How can Starlight reject perfection when the one she wants so badly is Twilight Sparkle?
These feelings inside her have been growing more and more each day, it’s a huge change she is still learning to understand. She’s never felt love in this way before, it’s hard to do anything around Twilight when she’s constantly having butterflies in her stomach around her. Starlight is yet to even talk about this situation with anypony else, who would she even go to? The only way to deal with most problems is to face them head on and this is one of those problems. But, she doesn’t know where to start.
She’s never really had a need to celebrate hearts and hooves day, not since she was a filly. Most holidays just feel like days to her, but almost every little detail of her life has been switched around since Twilight came in. It was almost ironic that it was her that she fell for, but how couldn’t she? Twilight was a pony who was determined to do what was right, her want to help people is strong enough on its own. She’s also such a loveable nerd, but she’s not the pushover type. She can get into her own head from time to time but she always knows how to come back to reality and fix any mistakes she made in the process. How could Starlight not fall for her? She has so many attractive traits, not to mention Twilight being the one to reach out to Starlight and help her become better increases that. She finds a different sort of comfort in Twilight than she does anything else, Twilight has become somepony very special to her. That’s why anything she does today has to be perfect.
So, who knows Twilight best? Who will be the right pony to go to for help? Who will know what exactly Twilight likes in such a scenario? Well, the answer seems to not be a pony at all. It seems the right creature for the job is…
“Spike?” Starlight opened the door of Spike’s room with her magic, looking around the open space til her eyes landed on the dragon.
Spike was a bit startled and hurriedly flipped over a few notes of unknown admiration, he looked over to Starlight and let out a quick sigh of relief, “Oh, it’s just you.”
Starlight raised a brow at the sudden actions of the boy, but she decided not to question it. It was obvious what he was doing and her priority wasn’t to be snooping on somecreature’s business, “Can you help me?”
“Sure! But, with what?” Spike stood up and walked over to Starlight, leaving his arts and crafts alone.
“Well…” She took a step outside of the room and checked the halls, she didn’t want Twilight to be in hearing range no matter how thick these walls were, then she trotted back in the room and shut the door, “I… I…” Her face flushed a light red as she fiddled with her hooves trying to get the words out, it was more difficult than she imagined, “I want to ask Twilight to be my special somepony!”
It took Spike a second to register Starlight’s words until he fell into a small laugh, he couldn’t remember the last time Twilight had any sort of admirer if any at all. It was amusing in its own right. Starlight’s ears flattened upon her skull as she tried to understand what this laughter meant, did she not have a shot?
It took a few more small chuckles out of Spike for her to get some sort of idea and she headed towards the door. She was about to say something before Spike stopped her, “Hahaha, wait, I’m sorry, Starlight! I一hehe, I’m just a little surprised.”
“Is it really that out of the ordinary?” She asked, looking back at him.
“I dunno. But for Twilight, it is. She hasn’t had a special somepony in years,” He explained, holding his hand to his chin, “In fact, I don’t think she’s ever had one.”
Starlight felt like that made this just a bit more serious, “So, this needs to be perfect.”
“It needs to be from your heart,” Spike put his hand on her chest, “Just a simple card should work. Twilight doesn’t need anything big!”
“But she deserves something big, right?” Starlight asked, it was more so a fact to Starlight rather than something to be questioned. Starlight took things with Twilight in a much different way than other situations, she always wanted to impress Twilight and let her know just how much she is trying. Though that usually ended in disaster.
“Not if she doesn’t want it.” Spike said, crossing his hands, “But if you really want to do something more, maybe just ask her out for a fun day. That always works, doesn’t it?”
Starlight nodded slowly as she took in what Spike was saying. A fun day out? Would Twilight enjoy that? What exactly is a fun day out for Twilight? She’d most likely have to figure this part out on her own. She can’t keep Spike busy all day, especially when he clearly has his own plans with his own special somecreature. She’ll be sure to keep in what Spike has said, but she’ll also make what he said… well, better.
Even if Spike won’t say it, Twilight deserves something huge! She’s done so much for Starlight alone, put that plus everything she does for others? She deserves something nice. It has to be stressful having to help ponies all the time while trying to keep up any studies she gives herself while also being a princess, maybe the best option is for Starlight to simply treat her. But what would be good for her? A spa day? A trip to the carnival? Perhaps an evening out at a restaurant? Maybe some traveling? What would work?
She had an idea.
“You needed me?” Twilight walked into the main hallway, approaching Starlight.
“Well uh, yes.” Starlight began, it was much harder to say what you want to say when the pony you want to say it to is actually there instead of it being a mirror or a doll, “I wanted to…take you out! Y’know, for the day.”
Twilight smiled, “It’s not like I have any plans for the day. Where to?”
Starlight let out a faint, awkward chuckle. She couldn’t exactly tell her, “It’s a surprise.” She said while trotting over to the entrance and using magic to open the door, allowing Twilight out first.
Today was the day meant for going over the top, that means Starlight was going to be a bit unpredictable in her actions. Afterall, if she wanted to win Twilight over, she needed to be perfect, right? Or was she just stuck in her own head again? It seems Starlight doesn’t learn her lessons as easily as others. She wasn’t even sure if what she had picked out was really Twilight’s style, which was admittedly a bit sad. They’ve been living together for how long and she’s still unsure of Twilight’s interests? How could she call herself Twilight’s student, friend, or maybe more if she can’t even get such a basic part of her right?
It wasn’t something she could dwell on now, everything’s already been arranged and if she didn’t do something now she may never do anything. Even if this wasn’t something Twilight would’ve particularly done herself, it wasn’t likely that she wouldn’t appreciate it. It’s not like Twilight, or really any pony of the mane six, to reject any sort of gift to them even if they don’t like it all that much. What really matters behind a gift is the thought process and what it means, what it holds within the gifter’s heart.
That’s what Starlight needed to remind herself. Besides, was such an idea out of the ordinary? Whether or not it was or wasn’t didn’t matter, what mattered was that Starlight got this over with and let her true feelings out. That was the only hard part of all of this. Starlight isn’t known for being a bad communicator despite her moments, but no matter if you talked about things or not, it doesn’t change just how hard it all was.
The path they took was like any other in Ponyville, a dirt road accompanied with grass and occasional bugs. But where they were going was not as usual. Starlight was taking them down one of the few paths that lead them into the park, except it was a much more secluded area of the park. More trees surrounded this specific spot than the rest, but there was enough room to allow proper sunlight to shine through. The grass was soft, there were a few roses and sunflowers that may or may not have been planted instead of naturally grown, overall it looked natural and there wasn’t too much special about it. Twilight would’ve assumed it was a picnic day until she saw four other ponies in front of them.
Octavia, Parish, Beauty Brass, and Frederic. They stood just a few feet away from the center of the area, their respective instruments occupying them. It was quiet and Starlight took quick notice, smiling awkwardly and trying to subtly move her hoof to signal them to start playing. Twilight didn’t seem to take notice of Starlight’s hoof shake due to taking in the entire scene, she wasn’t completely sure what was going on. After a few seconds of signaling, Octavia caught the hint and verbally nudged the others to begin.
They each shifted and began playing a quiet and romantic melody, it was akin to something you’d hear at one of the Sun Summer Celebrations. The display was certainly stupendous, the music and the view. The music was a wonder to hear, it was a simple tune and each loop it gradually got slower. The mood it was setting was enough to put a faint blush on Twilight’s face, she had assumed this was going to be a friendly outing. Was it possible Twilight misjudged Starlight’s intentions? Was it possible she’s doing that now?
As the endearing theme continued, Twilight looked over to Starlight and took a minute to appreciate her presence. Her beauty. If Starlight was trying to get Twilight to understand her feelings, it was certainly working. It made Twilight question just how long Starlight’s held such feelings for her. It took a few seconds for Starlight to notice Twilight’s staring as she was avoiding looking at her prior, she was too anxious about this for her own good. Starlight felt her body heat up and she gave Twilight a nervous smile.
“Like it?” Starlight managed to muster, doing her best to keep her voice steady. This was a different change of pace for both of them, but it certainly wasn’t hated.
Twilight smirked, “Of course. This is wonderful, Starlight.” She said, walking a few steps closer to the orchestra and then sitting upon the ground.
Starlight was quick to follow suit, trying to push down any nervous laughter that wanted to come out. She was hoping Twilight caught the hint, especially considering what day it was. But she knew she would most likely have to be verbal regardless. Despite the inevitable looming over her, she was certainly glad that Twilight enjoyed this. She was worried it was going to be overkill.
Starlight played with her own hooves, she was doing her best to not be weird about this but it was hard. How do you not act odd in such a scenario? She wasn’t even sure if Twilight felt the same. It was… so conflicting, but even that felt kind of good. It was good to be able to do this with her.
Twilight scooted closer to Starlight, their bodys close enough to make contact but they weren’t entirely up on each other. If Twilight knew what Starlight was doing, why hide back now?
“You know,” Twilight began, keeping her eyes to the orchestra, “You still haven’t asked me.”
“Asked… what?” Starlight felt her heart dramatically pound in her ears, was this going to go where she thought it was?
Twilight could feel her own anxiety well up, she was surprised it didn’t come sooner, “T-To…” It was suddenly difficult to really find her breath and her words.
They looked at each other in silence, their eyes dim and filled with wanting, even the music sounded like it was getting quieter. They both wanted to say something, they needed to say something. It was so easy to initiate things beforehand, the sudden shift was as irritating as it was obvious. Why couldn’t this be easier? Why couldn’t they just say what they wanted to?
It really seems like it shouldn’t have been as difficult as it was, but it was. It so frustratingly was. They could do everything they needed to, everything they wanted to, but the moment they had to confirm it it was like their bodies just froze entirely. It was like it was an unknown rule to not speak about these things, like they could only do but not say. It was painful at times. They could look at each other with as much longing as they wanted but three simple words would never leave their lips.
So, what were they to do? The two mares were just anxiously staring into each other’s eyes, their pupils dilated and their heads full of worry. As nice as the staring might’ve been, it left them both feeling more doubt than they had when it started. It left their hearts craving more, the need to hold each other increased, and the desire to finally be together worsened.
“Twilight…” Starlight said breathlessly as she subconsciously moved closer to her.
Twilight’s eyes widened subtly, her gaze shifting from Starlight’s eyes to her lips repeatedly, “Starlight…?”
“W-Would you…” Starlight tried to continue her sentence, their muzzles so close to booping one another. At this point, there was no way Twilight didn’t catch on.
“Hurry it up already?” A familiar yet uninvited voice called out, the lovebirds were locked out of their trance and even the orchestra stopped playing to look around.
No matter where their heads turned, there was nocreature to be found. It seemed somebody was spying on them and both mares were not excited to discover who. One of the trees rumbled, it was pulling itself out of the ground. The ground was lifted as the tree was, forming an imperfect hole. The tree seemed to be using its roots as legs and it turned around to look at everypony, eyes and a snout formed upon the surface of its wood. Yellow eyes with red pupils and a protruding snout with one sharp tooth.
It was certainly the entrance, though it wasn’t welcome. Both Twilight and Starlight’s moods drastically shifted, they were both agitated now. Starlight spent a while getting this set up and now Discord was going to ruin it. Not to mention, she was so close to saying what she needed to. Now it was just going to be pushed back further, who’s to say she’ll ever get to confess at all. Discord may have been their friend, but he always came in at the worst times.
“Discord,” Twilight said, her snout scrunching up in irritation, “What are you doing here?”
“What a way to say hello to your best friend, Twilight,” Discord said with nothing but amusement in his tone, “I just happened to notice you two were here and ha, so was I! Isn’t fate funny?”
“Well, we were kind of in the middle of something.” Twilight wasn’t up for Discord’s antics today, he could’ve chosen any other day.
“And that I see.” Discord snapped his fingers and his tree form disappeared with a poof of smoke, his regular structure returned in full, “It was quite the show! Until it wasn’t.”
Starlight looked over to the orchestra who were just watching in confused silence, she shrugged at them as some sort of quiet apology. She looked over to Discord and her brows furrowed, “Nice to know you were spying on us.”
“Spying? Why, I wouldn’t call it that,” He used his magic to fly up in the air, slithering his body around the ponies, “It was more of me just observing you two while you had no idea.”
“So, spying.” Starlight confirmed for him, her body avoiding Discord’s.
Discord tapped his chin as if he was clueless and then he shrugged. All of that previous tension had completely evaporated since he showed up, it seemed getting to point B of this plan wasn’t in any near sight. It was honestly a shame, Starlight could’ve swore she was so ready to finally say what she wanted to. This Hearts and Hooves day wasn’t going as planned and that was rather upsetting. This was meant to be a special day. A special moment. But now, she wasn’t sure what to call this.
Perhaps Starlight did do too much anyway, she still didn’t know if Twilight reciprocated so what was the point? It would’ve been easier to just do as Spike said, something simple. But Starlight wasn’t simple, Twilight wasn’t simple, Starlight’s love and admiration for her was beyond simple. Nothing was simple. Everything was complicated in its own way, but maybe it would’ve gone better if Starlight wasn’t trying so hard to make this day perfect. She wanted to not only impress Twilight but to show her how much she meant to her in a physical way, but now she’s starting to think a private concert wasn’t the best decision.
Twilight was still surprised Starlight had arranged all of this, especially since it was all just for her. Whether this was platonic or romantic, she appreciated it all the same. It was nice to feel wanted in such a way, nice to feel loved. She enjoyed what Starlight created for her despite it being so short lived and she was angry on her behalf. Who knows just how long Starlight may or may not have been planning this? How long it took to find the right location? The right song? And now Discord ruined it all and for what? His own personal entertainment?
It wasn’t fair. He always did these things. Despite his good intentions, he always made things worse before they were better and both mares would’ve preferred he just left this specific situation alone. Alas, the damage was done. Now all they could do was endure his antics and see how he was supposedly going to improve this… date. Could they call it a date? Neither Twilight or Starlight gave it a name.
“Now, get on with it.” Discord said, flying over to the orchestra and poofing a violin into his hands.
Twilight and Starlight looked at Discord with confused expressions, as did Octavia and the others. There was no way he was just going to sit and play, he obviously had something up his sleeve. Despite their confusion, the orchestra attempted to continue playing along while Discord seemed to have been playing in an entirely different key. As the main ponies of the event looked at each other once more, they felt much more self conscious with Discord around than how they did before.
They sat in uncomfortable silence trying to figure out what to do and say, it seemed even more difficult. Everypony in Ponyville has dealt with Discord before, this wasn’t new, so they just had to pull through like they always do. As long as he doesn’t do anything drastic, which is inevitable, they should’ve been overall fine.
Starlight cleared her throat and tapped her hooves to the floor, “Alright Twilight, I wanted to-oooo…” She trailed off as she noticed a mini Discord on Twilight’s shoulder, he was crossing his arms with a raised brow.
The mini Discord held his paw up as if to ask Starlight to stop speaking entirely, then he pointed at Twilight and began imitating her. He looked shocked, then he rubbed his forehead as if he was thinking of something, then turned his back to Starlight with crossed arms. He was implying Twilight would reject her, but why? Was it about the way she was approaching this? The mini Discord turned back around and pointed to Starlight, he then jumped and held his hand up while his mouth was opening and closing, his pupils were shaped into hearts.
Starlight was no idiot, but it was a bit difficult to tell what exactly he wanted. She got the general gist and the only way she could really get this over with is to do what he wanted, even if she didn’t want to do it. So she stood up and Twilight’s brow raised in sync, not even Starlight was sure what she was doing. She held her hoof up and took in a sharp breath, her eyes darting from side to side.
“Twilight,” She said once more, mini Discord clapped his hands together and then crawled up to Twilight’s ear, “T-There has been um, something on my… mind.”
Mini Discord cleared his throat and spoke into Twilight’s ear, “You should really stop her.”
Twilight furrowed her brows, “What?” Her tone was much more frustrated than it was curious.
“What?” Starlight replied, she began to feel like she may have been doing the wrong thing.
“Ah—Nothing, sorry.” Twilight grinned and recoiled into herself, flapping her hoof at the other mare, “Go on.”
Starlight nodded slowly, holding her hoof up to her mouth, “Ahem, well I wanted to tell you that… I think that I… No, I know that I…”
“A total mess, isn’t she?” Mini Discord spoke once more, chuckling, “Seems uncomfortable, right?”
Twilight kept from responding outloud, but she had a feeling Discord already knew what she would say, “I know you don’t see it, but perhaps Starlight is beginning to regret taking you out on such a lovely evening.”
The princess knew better than to let Discord get into her head, no matter his intention. She tried to drown out his talking but due to how he was directly in her ear, it was much harder than it normally would’ve been. She stomped her hoof as a way to nonverbally tell Discord to leave which instead received a response from Starlight. Starlight took a step back, she couldn’t tell if Twilight was angry with her or was trying to tell her to hurry up.
“Are you ok?” Starlight asked as she hesitated to reach her hoof out to her.
“You should cut the evening short,” Mini Discord added before Twilight could respond, “Maybe—”
“Stop!” Twilight stood up and shook her head, the mini Discord flying out and then poofing into thin air and the music stopped.
Starlight placed her hoof on her own chest, her concern growing while Discord’s amusement increased with it. She looked off to the side and then back to Twilight, “D-Did I do something?”
What was going on should’ve been obvious. It was so clearly obvious. But even with Discord here, Starlight couldn’t rid herself of her overthinking habits. Anypony else would’ve connected the dots and Starlight should’ve, she normally would, but today was different. Tension was different, this had to be perfect. She needed it to be perfect. So when Twilight started acting weird, what else was she supposed to do? Or assume?
Discord watched the display with a toothy smile and wide eyes, making a drink appear in place of his violin. He took a sip and continued to enjoy the show. The rest of the ponies in the orchestra felt awkward, unsure of what to do. It felt like their role was finished minutes ago, but they were given no signal to leave. It was quiet and this time it wasn’t a good sort of quiet. Starlight was so worried she had done something when Twilight’s issue was not even slightly caused by her.
Twilight shook her head to clear her mind and then she looked back to Starlight, any previous emotions dissipated from her face. There was so much staring today from both sides. Despite what Starlight felt was a high tense moment, her body couldn’t resist from making her blush due to the eye contact. Everything Twilight did managed to make Starlight giddy in some way, it was silly at times. Starlight looked away for a second and instinctively smiled and then pulled it down forcefully.
“No, you didn’t,” Twilight finally reassured her, “It’s just… Discord.”
“Oh.” Starlight’s face quickly changed to one of anger but only for a few seconds, “That’s… alright.”
Discord lifted a brow at that, swirling the drink in his hand in circles. He couldn’t remember the last time his presence was deemed acceptable from others that weren’t Fluttershy or even Celestia at times. It was flattering in its own way, though it decreased a bit of the fun. He wasn’t not appreciative of such things, it was just still new.
He was planning to do more shenanigans but stopped himself, perhaps the small thing he did was enough. It sure seemed that way when Starlight suddenly had the confidence to go closer to Twilight, she must’ve been tired of hiding how she truly felt mixed with Discord messing around with them. Understandable it was, but disappointing for the Lord of Chaos.
“I don’t care what Discord is going to do next,” Starlight began, taking Twilight’s hoof in hers, “I just… I-I need to get this off my chest.” Her face flushed but she did her best to not break eye contact, she decided it would just be best to force it out. They’ve both waited long enough, “Y-You… I… Okay. Twilight, I’m… in love with you. I-I’ve been trying t-to tell you that this whole time, the way I feel for you is… inexplicable. It’s like… I-It’s… You’ve changed my life. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be able to be here together… like this. I feel better about myself because of you, you make me want to try harder than I ever have before. I guess what I’m trying to say is, will you… be my s-special somepony?”
Twilight felt her entire body warm up, something that didn’t come to her often. She looked off to the side and began smiling uncontrollably, then she tackle-hugged Starlight, sending them both to the ground, “Yes!! Yes!!! Of course!”
Starlight was shocked by the response but certainly not upset, she wrapped her hooves around Twilight and they nuzzled each other, “Really?”
“Really!” Twilight hugged her tighter, it wasn’t too often Twilight got super happy like this but it was always a sight to see. It was… wonderful.
They embraced each other like never before, it was probably one of the tightest hugs of Twilight’s life. They’ve shared many hugs before, they’ve even nuzzled each other before, but this was far different. Something about this time was much more meaningful because… well, it was. Their relationship has always been important, it’s always been a part of their lives they deemed necessary. They needed each other and now they had each other in a completely new way, they were going to share different sides of themselves to each other now. What they were going to experience together is going to change too, but it was a good change.
This was going to be something they needed to figure out, but for now they were just going to enjoy it. What both of them wanted was finally here and it couldn’t be better. Sure, it could’ve happened a different way, but why worry about how things could’ve gone when they could worry about how things are now? Today was a rollercoaster of emotions, so many different things happened but everyone got what they wanted in the end. It was exciting.
That hug felt like it lasted forever. It was extremely warm due to fur on fur, but nothing unbearable. It was nice. It was sweet. Knowing that they loved each other was… sweet. It was amazing that despite their past experiences with each other, they were able to grow into such a deep bond with one another. This was a moment they were going to cherish for possibly years.
“Bravo! Bravissimo!” Discord clapped rapidly, using his magic to make the orchestra ponies stomp their hooves repeatedly, “Truly a tear jerker. Oh, I’m overwhelmed!”
Twilight and Starlight barely pulled away from the hug enough to look at Discord, they were smiling but they weren’t super amused considering earlier.
“That was certainly a performance you two,” Discord said, growing an extra pair of arms to sassly put on his hips while his main arms continued clapping, “Though, if it were me, I would’ve made it much more spectacular. Too much sappy, too less fun. However, I suppose that’s just me.”
“Well… Thanks, Discord.” Starlight said while keeping her eyes on Twilight, “You were actually pretty helpful. If it weren’t for you, I may have never… you know.”
Discord smiled mischievously and snapped his fingers, the orchestra ponies stopped stomping their hooves and his extra pair of arms disappeared, “Seems my work here is done.” He nodded to the two mares as if he was finished performing on stage and then a ladder appeared in front of him, he climbed up the ladder and went into an invisible attic and disappeared. The ladder fell flat on the floor afterwards, it wasn’t leaving with him.
Twilight and Starlight laughed a bit, enjoying the moment. This day certainly wasn’t expected, but it would be a lie if they said they weren’t excited to be reminded of such a day every year.
Author's Note
Sorry if Twilight is out of character near the end, I wasn't so sure how to write her there! It's not like Twilight hasn'tgotten like that in canon, but it just felt OOC when I was writing it because we've only ever seen her get super excited for nerdy stuff.
