Nyx's Hearts and Hooves Day: A New Heart's New Joy

"Uh, yeah, November." Scootaloo chuckled nervously as she lowered her hoof from Pipsqueak's mouth. "It was the first full month he was here in Ponyville, so for some reason the squirt treats it like a holiday," She explained ruffling his mane.

"That isn't what I was going to-"

"Could you please excuse us for a moment." Scootaloo interrupted, grabbing Pipsqueak and running out the door, leaving a completely confused Nyx in her wake.

"What is it, Scootaloo?" Pipsqueak asked, still getting over the small rush that had just occured.

"Listen to me Pip. You must not ever, under any circumstances, tell Nyx about Nightmare Night!"

"Why not?"

"OK, you know Nyx is technically Nightmare Moon, right?"

"Yes, so?" Pip motioned for her to continue.

"Nightmare Night, is to keep Nightmare Moon from eating us." she explained.

"Um, yes. Yes it is." He said, obviously still not understanding the whole deal.

She could clearly see this fact, and sighed annoyed, placing her hoos over her eyes. "Look, just don't tell her about it. If a subject relating to Nightmare Night comes about, find something to change it to."

"But Nyx is gonna learn about Nightmare Night when it comes. How will you keep it a secret then?"

"That bridge will be crossed when we get there. Anyways, she already finished the tour?"

"Uh-huh. She made everything sound so exciting!" Pipsqueak said happily, although Scootaloo  thought he was exaggerating or too excited.

"OK then. Do you want to thank her?"

"Of course I do!"

Scootaloo tried to look for a moment like she was pondering before suggesting, "How about this? Invite her to join the other Crusaders at Sugar Cube Corner tommorow after school."

"But how will that be thanking her?" he asked.

"Well, how about you make it your treat? That way, you can thank the rest of us for initiating you at the same time," she suggested. Unlike the others, Scootaloo wanted to be able to get something out of their little scheme of matchmaking, and this seemed to her a good way as any. Pipsqueak eagerly agreed to this, thinking it was absolutely brilliant. After walking over to the ladder down, she gave one last suggestion before leaving, "Oh, and when you invite her, do it like a gentlecolt would, got it?"

"Yes ma'am!" He responded with a salute. Convinced she had set the stage, Scootaloo slid down the ladder to the ground and trotted off, a slight sneer not visible to Pipsqueak appeared, imagining what would happen. Soon after the orange pegasus was gone, Pipsqueak began to head back to the tree house door. Only now, instead of in his usual energetic dash, he began to march over, holding his head quite high, showing no sign of a rush.  Back in Trottingham, Pipsqueak had practically been drilled in acting like a gentlecolt by his father. By now, it came so natural, it was like somepony flipped a switch.

Nyx was sitting down at the eating table, waiting for Scootaloo to be done talking to Pipsqueak. She was still confused as to why Scootaloo said he treated November like a holiday., but was more concerned as to why she was even giving him a tour of a tree house. At first, she thought her friends were trying to get her in an awkward situation with him, but quickly banished the thought, believing her friends wouldn't be that extreme. Before she could make another theory, the door opened, allowing in a very calm and controlled manner. "Oh, hey, Pip. What was it Scootaloo had to talk to you about?"

"My dear lady Nyx," he answered in a tone and with a posture that would put a Royal Guard to shame, "I would wish to inquire if you would accompany I and our companions to an outing at Sugar Cube Corner on the morrow. It shall be my treat."

Nyx was simply siting there, amazed at what she was hearing and seeing right then. Not knowing what exactly to say , she just stammered out, "Um, y-yeah, sure. That sounds l-like fun."

"I thank you quite for accepting," he said. Then he did something that Nyx, or Scootaloo, if she were the, would never have expected; he took her hoof in his, and kissed it! It wasn't a long kiss, just a very quick, gentlecoltly peck. However, it was still enough to cause Nyx's face to become so red it was visible through her black coat. Pipsqueak soon then gracefully spun around, and he sauntered out the club house door. Almost immediately after leaving, though, his 'gentlecolt switch' turned off, reverting him to his normal self as he slid down the ladder and bounced back home.

Nyx, on the other still stretched out hoof, was still sitting there, confused and embarrassed by these sudden events.What j-just happened? she thought. Why did he just k-kiss me? And why was he talking so different? Did he just ask me out on a d-date? She quickly slapped herself with her hoof to knock some sense in. "Don't be ridiculous, Nyx," she told herself aloud."There is no way he'd ask you out so soon. I'm sure he was just being nice. Besides, he said our friends would be there. It couldn't be a date if there were other ponies with us, right?" She sighed in relief, satisfied with her reasoning. "Not to mention, we only really met just today. There's no way he could already know I like him." Suddenly, Nyx's eyes went wide in fear, a theory entering her head. Did Scootaloo take him outsise to tell him that?

"No, no. That's even more ridiculous. There's no way my friend would do that to me. I'll just ask her tomorrow what she told him. It was probably something about the Crusaders that she forgot to say." Confident in her plan and her friend, she left tree house, and went on home.

After Scootaloo had set up the plan, she went over to the barn, meeting up with Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Twist inside. They were there in order to discuss their little date plot for tommorow, but they waited to discuss it until after Pipsqueak and Nyx had left and went home. When their two friends were seen leaving, and they were convinced they weren't returning anytime soon, Scootaloo told the others of their plan. They all agreed to it, however they added a small detail that didn't really go over well with her.

"Awww, come on! Do we have to leave before we get to eat the free food?" she complained.

"Well, of coure we do, Scootaloo. Come on, think!" Apple Bloom replied annoyed, knocking on Scootaloo's head.

"We need to give those two as much alone time as possible." Sweetie Belle explained. "If we left after we ate, then they would just leave with us. We need to leave before the food arrives so they'll have no choice but to stay."

Upon, hearing this, Scootaloo, simply sighed, hanging her head in defeat. "Don't worry, Scoots" Twist said sympathetically, "we can go to my house and have treats."

Scootaloo brought up her head, with a new look of determination. "OK, everypony, let's get them that date!" she declared.

"YEAH!"

Twilight and Spike were setting the table for a small dinner when Nyx got home. By that time of the day, Twilight had already officially decided she would go to Rarity's tommorow, in hopes she could teach her about relationship's. She also, however, planned to keep this a secret from Spike an Nyx. If Rarity was right, and Nyx wasn't really expecting anything, Twilight was afraid her plan might scare the filly.

Spike sometime after Nyx scrambled out the door with Scootaloo had woken out of his 'coma'. Learning from what had happened at his birthday party last year, Twilight got rid of the kiss mark before he woke up. When he saw what she had done, she gave her an angry glare, only to be met with a chuckle. It didn't take Spike long to get over this, and he soon decided to help Twilight prepare the dinner.

The dinner itself was very short, no words spoken other than a thank you from Nyx to Twilight after she finished eating. She went over to put up her dishes in the sink, and went up to bed. It wasn't all that late, the sun was just half set. However, her getting up early and the overall excitement of the day had left her completely exhausted, so she wasted no time in falling asleep. Soon following were Twilight and Spike, they both tired as well. As they fell asleep, both ponies were in anticipation of the day following.

The next day at school, Nyx was very spaced out. During that day's lecture, Ms. Cheerilee had to stop the lesson at least twice to go and see if Nyx was alright. She wanted to be paying attention, she wanted to keep focus, but yesterday just wouldn't stop nagging at her brain. Despite her trust in Scootaloo, she was still very scared about what it was that she had talked to Pipsqueak about.

It was a rare time that she ever wanted school to be over with, and the first time it's felt like it stretched on forever. When school finally did end, all the colts and fillies had begun to whoop an cheer, for then it was a special weekend. Since the Hearts and Hooves day fair would be held on Tuesday, the school gave them then and Monday off in addition to their normal  weekend. All the children rushed out the door cheering, Cheerilee's wishes for safety and fun all but muted out from the noise. Nyx, though, walked out carefully, as if trying to keep attention away from her self. She was unable to find her friends when she finally got outside, so decided to go to Sugar Cube Corner on her own. She to walked slowly, as to not get anypony to not notice her.

This plan, though, didn't get her very far. When she had gotten but a few yards away from the school when, a well known and disliked, earth pony filly went in front of her, an angry glare worn on her face. "What do yo want, Diamond Tiara?" Nyx asked, trying but failing to keep her voice strong and not wobbly, like she was afraid. Right then, she was more concerned with getting to the sweets shop and finding the antidote to her worries.

Diamond Tiara, however, had an agenda of her own. "Oh, nothing much," she responded, "Just an apology for what you did yesterday."

"What do you mean? What did I do?" Nyx asked scared.

"I think you know quite well what I mean. I want an apology for getting me scolded by Ms. Cheerilee, just because I threw away that stupid card you gave me."

"Uum, look, I really don't have for this. So, later!" Nyx quickly ran around the pink filly, dashing away to fast for Diamond Tiara to stop her, instead trying to yell at her to get her to stop. This didn't work, and she eventually gave up, turning around and angrily muttering.

"That annoying, no-good blob of..." was all Nyx could make out due to distance. However, she quickly let the recent event slip to the back of her mind, thinking now about the tasks at hand; getting to Sugar Cube Corner and asking Scootaloo for the truth. Fortunately, the walk from school there wasn't that long. On large parts of the day, Nyx couldn't go to the shop because the owners babies, Pumpkin and Pound Cake, were terrified of her eyes, and it would always cause a commotion. Thankfully, Pinkie Pie had been able to convince the Cakes to make a nap-time be sometime around when school had ended. That way, Nyx could go if she wished.

When Nyx entered the store, she saw her friends immediately, sitting over at a table of 6 chairs. Pipsqueak was the first to notice her, and motioned her to come over with his hoof. Nyx took the only free seat there; one that was standing in between Twist and Scootaloo, and just so happened to be parallel to Pipsqueak's. When she seated she was met with a friendly slap on the back from Scootaloo, "Hey, Nyx, where've ya been? It's not like we left from somewhere different."

"Uum, yeah, I got a little sidetracked." She said nervously. She had not wanted to worry her friends about her little dilemma, so instead she decided to change the subject, quietly asking something to Scootaloo, "Anyways, about yesterday. Why did you take Pip outside during the middle of the tour?"

"Oh, uh," she began to chuckle nervously, wracking her brain for an excuse. She decided to tell the truth, or at least a convenient part of it, for her answer. "I took him outside to tell him to invite you to come here today."

"Really?" Nyx asked, cocking her eyebrow in suspicion. "Why did it take so long? Why couldn't you have just told me? Why..."

"Oh, my gosh!" came a sudden and somewhat spurious-sounding gasp of surprise from Twist, saving Scootaloo from the question barrage she had been receiving. "I forgot, my dad asked me to go straight home to check on the goods in the oven while he's out! They might burn if I don't get there!" With that Twist ran straight out the door for the 'emergency'. Almost immediately after, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo rattled their excuses out before rushing out the door as well.

"Oh, landsakes! Applejack said she needed me to help with re-painting the barn!"

"Uh-oh! I have to go and help my sister out with her new Winter Dress thingy!"

"Ah, man, I almost forgot! Rainbow Dash said she had time to check out and help me with my new scooter moves!"

Before Nyx or even Pipsqueak could speak or realize what was happening, all of their four friends had bolted, leaving them alone at the table. Pipsqueak was the first to speak, "Wow, I can't believe they all forgot stuff they needed to do. Do they always do that, Nyx?" Nyx shook her head no, although she did think she had an idea as to why they did that. Right then though, Mr. Cake had come over to the table to ask what they wanted. Remembering that Pipsqueak was paying she asked for a simple Snapdragon Sandwich and slice of Clover Cake, the cheapest things she could find on the menu. Pipsqueak asked for an Aster Salad and slice of Golden Daisy Pie. Mr. Cake finished writing their orders and went to the kitchen to prepare them.

There was an akward moment of silence. Nyx, desperate for it to cease, said the first thing that popped into her head, "So, what did Scootaloo have to talk to you about yesterday?"

"Oh, uh," Pipsqueak began, before he remembered the orders he had received from the orange filly, "Actually, first I wanted to ask you how it is like living in Ponyville." Nyx was quite suprised by this sudden and deep question, but felt as if she had nothing to hide, so she decided to tell him.

"Well, I live in the library with Twilight, and she and her friends are all really nice. You and the others are really nice as well, and Ms. Cheerilee is too, but..." she paused, sighing and drooping your head. "to be honest, you guys are pretty much all there is for me. Many of the ponies here don't even like me, or want me to be in their line of sight."

"But why? What did you do? I know that some ponies are kind of scared of you, but my daddy  told me for some reason it was because your an alicorn and your eyes are a 'weird color'," he said with air quotes.

"No, it was because I was Nightmare Moon."

"But why are they afraid of you now? You're not Nightmare Moon anymore, you're just Nyx. The princesses said so."

"It's because I was Nightmare Moon that they hate me.They think I'm still her, just waiting to turn evil again when they least expect it. They think I've done something to the princesses that made them think that. Almost everywhere I go, ponies are staring at me with rage, fear, or suspicion. Mares on the street will turn their foals away from me like them seeing me would turn them to stone. One time Apple Bloom's own Granny Smith tried to take me to the police once." Nyx had began to feel herself tearing up, "And that's with strangers. Even some ponies I know are afraid of me. At the school party yesterday, a bunch of our classmates were to afraid to play with me because they thought I'd hurt them if I lost." By now, she had begun to start lightly crying.

"But that's just ridiculous! You wouldn't hurt anypony!" Pipsqueak exclaimed, now regretting asking her any questions about this. He was starting to feel very desperate, wanting to comfort his new friend, but not knowing how. "Well, did they at least give you cards or something?"

"No, they didn't. I had given everypony in our class a card, and other than you and our friends nopony gave me one." Nyx said in between sniffles.

Pipsqueak was now beginning to hate himself what he had done, but right now he wanted to make Nyx feel better. Deciding that asking more questions wasn't going to be a good idea, he got up and went to sit down next to Nyx, wrapping his hooves around her for one quick hug. Nyx stopped crying when she felt the sudden warmth around her, jumping in surprise when she saw it was Pipsqueak. "Wh-what're you doing?" she asked.

"Ms. Pinkie says that hugs are always funnerific, and can always make a friend feel better." Pipsqueak explained smiling. "I'm sorry I brought up all that stuff, Nyx." He apologized with a soft voice. "But don't worry, with our friend's help, I'm sure we can keep away the mean ponies away. We'll be able to show them that you are a nice pony, and anypony that tries to hurt you will answer to me first!"

Nyx blushed at Pipsqueak's kind words, thanking him and returning the hug that he had given her. She dried her tears as Mr. Cake came back with the food that they had ordered, setting it down for them while Pipsqueak got out his bit pouch to pay. She smiled, thinking how happy she was that she had such a sweet and nice friend as Pipsqueak. She was simply so thankful for him, that by now she had lost all prior caring of what Scootaloo had told him. So what if Scootaloo told him I like him? she thought while eating her sandwich, he is still trying to be such a nice pony, more than anypony new has since I came back. He wants to be my friend even though I am so hated.

I will try and tell him I do like him, someday. But for now, I am just very happy that I have such a wonderful friend.