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

"Aaah, but Twilight. Why can't I go with you to Rarity's?" Spike complained. The day had just recently begun; Twilight had seen Nyx off to her last day of school before her four-day weekend, and finished up any loose assignments she had to do for the princess. It was now around ten o' clock, and Twilight decided she needed to get going. However, when she had decided yesterday she would take some advice, she hadn't counted on needing to keep away her lovesick assistant.

"I'm really sorry, Spike, but I'd like to have this visit alone. Besides, I need somepony to watch the library while I'm out."

"Since when? There have been plenty of times that we've left the library unsupervised," he stated annoyed.

"Well yeah, but, uh that was before you got Peewee! Yeah, the poor things just a baby, so you need to watch over him as well." Spike wanted to protest, but Twilight had bolted out the door to quickly after finishing her sentence, leaving him inside the main room grumbling. Twilight hated to do that, but she felt that she needed to go to Rarity's. She felt that all she was doing now was for her daughter's sake.

When she was sure there was no purple dragon trying to catch up with her, Twilight began to slow her pace and think. She thought about all she knew about Nyx's 'situation'. OK, I do know that she likes, or at least thinks is cute, Pipsqueak. He was the only one other than her old friends to give her something on Hearts and Hooves Day. This morning she said she was going to be at a lunch after school with him and her other friends, and...

"Heya, Twilight!" yelled a familiar voice, dragging her out of her deep pit of thought. She looked to see a smiling, bouncing Pinkie Pie standing right in front of her, her saddlebag slung across her back.

"Oh, hey Pinkie Pie. You scared me there for a second ," Twilight chuckled when she got over her fright, "So how are you doing today? Do you need something from me?"

"Actually," Pinkie said as she used her fore hoof to search her saddlebag, until pulling out a stub of paper that looked like a ticket, "I wanted to know if you wanted to have the extra ticket for the baseball game tommorow. See, last week was Pipsqueak's birthday, and he really likes baseball, so I told him I would take him and a friend of his to tommorow's game of the Baltimare Orioles vs. the Ponyville Packers. It's weird, though, why are they called 'packers' when they don't pack stuff? One time I asked them to pack a Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy book so I could send it to a friend of mine in Canterlot, and they looked at me like I was crazy! Some of them even..."

"Uhhh, Pinkie," Twilight said, interrupting Pinkie Pie's rant, "Can you get back to the extra ticket?"

"Oh, yeah. Anyways, Pip said he couldn't think of anypony he knew who'd want to go, so he said I could give the ticket to somepony. But everypony else didn't want it. Rainbow Dash already bought hers, Fluttershy just made a squeaky noise and said no, and Rarity and Applejack just told me that she was too busy with Rarity's new dress. So, whaddya say? You want the ticket?"

Well, going to the baseball game *would** give me an opportunity to actually meet Pip, but how would Nyx feel about me hanging out with the colt she likes, even if I was invited?* Twilight wondered. Not to mention, Rarity was talking about helping me find the *perfect** stallion. Even I can geuss that would take longer than one day.* "I'm really sorry, Pinkie. I'm going to be very busy tomorrow. Maybe you can ask one of the Crusaders if they wanted to go."

"Hey, that's a great idea, Twilight! But what are you going to be doing tomorrow?"

"Oh, uuh..." Twilight began to stutter, thinking up her second excuse of the day, "I'm going to be helping Rarity with her dress!"

"Huh, that's weird, I thought Applejack was helping Rarity."

"Well s-she is, but Rarity asked me to help her out as well. She said she'd need help if she lost anything. In fact, I have to help her out today as well, so I need to get going soon," she lied, trying to keep a straight face. She was beginning to think she failed when Pinkie Pie cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Are you OK Twilight? You sound scared of something."

"I'm fine Pinkie. I just really feel like I should go now." Pinkie Pie stared at her suspiciously, before giving a gasp of realization and giggling, an action that Twilight didn't exactly understand.

"Okey dokey lokie! Bye, Twilight," she said as she began to hop her way down to Sugar Cube Corner. Twilight gave a sigh of relief, still confused as what Pinkie Pie was laughing about but pushing that into a later time of worry, and continued on to Rarity's shop.

When Twilight finally reached the shop and entered, Rarity had wasted no time to go to the door and greet who she at first thought to be a customer, "Welcome to Cara... Twilight, darling! I am so glad you could make it! I was getting worried you wouldn't really be coming."

"Well, I gave it a little thought after a nudge I got, and I decided I should."

"Yes, very good, but come along deary. We need to get you into a dress."

"Dress?" Twilight asked. "What dress? I thought you were going to give me advice on how to find the 'perfect stallion'," she explained using air-quotes on the last two words.

"Oh, no, my dear, I have already found you the perfect stallion. He is an acquaintance of Fancy Pants I met when I was in Canterlot, and he is such a gentlecolt! Yesterday I lettered him after Applejack and I returned, and he said he'd be more than happy to come here today and meet you." she explained as she pulled over a row of dresses with her magic.

"Oh, that was very sweet of you, Rarity. But I don't need that much assistance. I just need your..."

"A-pup-pup, not another word, sweetheart," Rarity interrupted. She picked up Twilight in her aura and had her brought over to the dresses to be tried on, shooting down a majority of them before trying the next, "Too casual... not casual enough... too athletic... too sedentary... too antisocial... oh my word, why did I even make this one... Ah-ha! Here we are!"

Twilight was now standing in a seemingly downgraded version of her Gala dress. The skirt was shortened, but not to the point it didn't hide her cutie mark, and it was made completely not poofy. Her star earrings were reduced in size, now looking more like a twinkle. The extension on the neck was completely removed, and the bodice received sleeves that went down tho her forehoove's knees. The only things that were truly kept the same was the color and the star pattern at the end of the skirt. Despite all these changes, the dress was still a ways away from being casual. And Twilight didn't take long to begin to feel embarrassed about it. "Uh, Rarity? Are you sure about this? It doesn't seem like something you'd wear on a first date."

"Oh, it is completely necessary dear. Now, then you two will be going to the Jade Vine Garden. I had reservations booked for you already, under 'Twilight' for two. Don't worry about cost, he said he'd be more than happy to cover it. He should be here soon..." The door once again opened, letting in a tall dark blue unicorn stallion with a light blue mane. He was wearing a tuxedo coat with a tie and dress shirt, but that was all. His cutie mark was a single, finely-detailed diamond. "Ah, Clear," Rarity exclaimed in joy, "Your timing couldn't have been more perfect!

"Twilight Sparkle, I would like for you to meet Clear Crystal. Clear Crystal, Twilight Sparkle." Rarity said for the introductions.

"Charmed," the stallion said with a polite yet light nod of his head, a gesture Twilight quickly returned. "Well, shall we get going," Clear asked, holding open the door once again. Twilight nervously walked over to join him, and they began their walk over to the restaurant Rarity had chosen. The first few moments of the trip were dull, so Twilight tried to strike up a conversation.

"So, um, are you a jeweler?" she nervously asked Clear.

"Hmm? Oh, no," he chuckled, "I am in the mining business. My business owns a large chain of rock farms and mines that look for rare gems such as fire rubies and sell them to jewelry stores all across Equestria. Perhaps you've heard of us, 'Crystal Clear Inc.'?"

Twilight thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up when she remembered where she heard that name, "I have heard of you! Your company is famous for being able to distribute high quality gems, and are also for being so good to employees." Clear began to blush just slightly at the praise. "Oh, wow, we're already here. That was a short walk," she said as they looked up to the restaurant. It was a rocky building, seemingly random in pattern, with the name in large green cursive above the entrance.

As they entered, Clear magically opening the door for Twilight, they saw the interior was also quite impressive. There were relaxing scented candles at each table, the air filled with light chatter and the sound of silverware lightly tapping plates and bowls. There were plants hanging from the ceilings, and the mare in charge of reservations was standing a few feet from the doorway. "Hello. Twilight, party of two. We have a reservation." after the mare confirmed her reservation, she led the two to a table sitting next to a window, and left them to choose their foods. This didn't take very long to do, so Clear Crystal decided to restart the conversation, "So now that we know about me, what about you? What do you do for a living?"

""Me? Well, I am the head librarian of the Golden Oaks Library, but I don't exactly get paid for it..." Twilight paused as their unicorn waiter walked over to their table, a notepad and pen in his dark green aura.

"Sir, Ma'am. My name is Olive Branch and I will be your waiter. Can I ask what you would like to drink and if your ready to order?"

Twilight was the first to order, "I would love an iced tea and a daffodil sandwich, please."

"A water and orchid salad would be nice, thank you."

Olive finished jotting down the requests before speaking again, "Very good. I'll be out with your drinks in a moment and  I'll get your orders to the kitchen." With that he left. Twilight wasn't able to finish her sentence again before Olive returned with the drinks amazingly quick, so decided to try again, sure he wouldn't be back soon.

"Anyways, I don't get paid for working at the library because my teacher, Princess Celestia, sends me money every month to cover living costs. I always tell her it's unnecessary, but..."

"Please excuse me, but," Clear Crystal interrupted, "Teacher? The Princess?"

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry. I am Princess Celestia's personal student of magic," she explained. Clear simply sat there staring at her, completely dumbfounded, before beginning to chuckle lightly.

"Well, isn't that interesting. You truly do learn a knew thing everyday."

"Yes, I suppose you do," Twilight agreed.

"I must say, though, when Rarity lettered me the other day, I was honestly afraid to come here."

"Why? Don't tell me your one of those super rich ponies that simply can't stand being near such an uncouth town." She said jokingly, mimicking a noble ponies way of talking for effect, and even causing Clear Crystal to laugh, before magically lifting her iced tea.

"Oh, no nothing like that. I was afraid because I heard that," he paused, as if saying something would make it appear, then bringing his voice to an almost inaudible whisper, "Nightmare Moon was in this town." Twilight suddenly began to cough a little, having forgotten to swallow her sip after hearing the end of the sentence. "What, what do you mean?"

"I mean what I say! I heard that Nightmare Moon was in this very town. Now granted, I don't really read the news, but I heard that Princess Celestia had turned the thing into a young filly, around the same age as a grade-schooler, and is allowing it to roam this area free." Twilight was not believing what bad things she was hearing, but gritted her teeth, waiting for the 'but' that would change his story. It never came.

"Now Twilight, please understand, I mean no disrespect to the Princess, but that was simply foalish! Fancy Pants and Stardust say that it is harmless, but I know better. That thing can't be trusted with this big of a lack of security. What's worse, I've heard she's put it with some poor citizen here."

"She has," Twilight said sternly, "I'm the one who is watching her."

"What?" Clear Crystal said in shock, but the thought for a moment, "I suppose that makes sense. You being her student and all, she would put that thing in your capable hooves. But that still doesn't explain why she didn't send it to the moon when she had the chance.  What would happen if it were to get it's powers back up, or is just hiding them? It could seriously hurt you, or even kill you. It needs to be rid of. Aren't even you the slightest bit scared of what might happen?"

"I don't think I would ever have to worry about my own daughter doing that to me," Twilight growled angrily.

"What?!" he exclaimed. Clear couldn't think of any reasons for this sentence, so he simply stared at Twilight shocked, "Did you call that thing your daughter? How could it be your daughter? That thing is just pure evil! It put us into a Night Eternal. It nearly got my business bankrupt, since we couldn't find gems without any light. Besides, how could it possibly be anypony's daughter? It's just a mass of magic, not even a living thing! It probably doesn't even need to go to the moon, just zap it and..."

"You stop right there," Twilight snarled, pounding her hoof on the table. It made a noise loud enough to scare him, yet other ponies in the restaurant didn't seem to notice it. Clear Crystal could've sworn he saw Twilight's mane light for a moment before she continued, "Yes, it is true she did some bad things, but she was just a scared filly, barely a year old! As to why I call her my daughter, it's because she is my daughter. Because she is real. Because she is alive. She goes to school, she has friends, she plays, she feels, she eats, she sleeps, she cries, she laughs, she gets hurt, she cares!"

"But it's still..."

"And another thing," she interrupted, now Clear was almost certain now he saw fire, though he was not sure if it was in her eyes or her mane, "Stop calling her 'it', she isn't an 'it' She, her, filly, Nyx! These are all things you can call her, but she is not an it! Then again, why should I even care what you call her? I am never going to be seeing you again. I am leaving. Goodbye!"

Twilight scooted out of her seat angrily, stomping her hooves as she walked away. Along the way, she almost bumped into Olive Branch, holding in his aura what looked like their food. He was in the kitchen during the whole scene, so didn't know what was going on. "Oh, um, I'm sorry, ma'am. But, uh, the lavatory is that way," he explained, pointing with right hoof to show the bathrooms.

Right then, Twilight was still extremely angry with what Clear had said, and was right then simply wanting to go somewhere and scream, and she almost felt like just letting loose there. No she told herself Olive hadn't done anything, and he shouldn't feel like he was the one being yelled at. She put on a straight face, and tried to explain the situation, "Oh, no it's not that. Something unexpected had just turned up, so I need to leave now." With that, she began to treck towards the door, and decided to go over to the Carousel Boutique to talk with Rarity.

"OW! Hey, watch it with that pin," Applejack complained. She had arrived at the shop a short time a short time after Twilight and Crystal Clear had left, and was now helping out Rarity again with the winter line dresses. As of now, she was wearing a white dress that looked like a ball gown, snow flake-shaped holes on the very edge of the skirt.

"I do apologize for spacing out, Applejack. I am simply worried about how Twilight is doing on her date. Clear said he was very nervous about coming here for some strange reason. I hope they are doing all right." Suddenly, the bell atop the door rang, and there stood Twilight, looking very worn out, her eyes very red. For a reason not yet known to Rarity or Applejack, Clear Crystal wasn't with her. "Oh, there you are, my dear. That was much shorter than I thought it would be. Where is Clear?" She looked behind Twilight at the empty space, expecting him to be there.

"Him? He is still at the restaurant." Twilight answered grumpily, walking in. Rarity just looked at her shocked.

"You just left? Why in Equestria would you do that?"

"Well, it had a big part of being it's mother."

"It's? Twilight, what are you talking abo... oh," Rarity just then realized what she meant. " Oh, Twilight, I am so sorry, I had no idea he thought that." she began to feel a large range of emotions, including anger, betrayal, and sadness.

"It's OK, Rarity he had me fooled, too," Twilight said to her purple maned friend, who was now the one who seemed to need a hug. "But, still, what am I going to do now? How am supposed to help Nyx with her crush, if it's because of ponies fear of her that I can't learn about relationships."

"Wait so your only doin' this just cause Nyx is crushin' on some colt?" Twilight sadly nodded her head up and down. "Well then, why didn't ya just say so? I can help with that."

"Ah, I think it's working! Look! Look how much fun they're having" Sweetie Belle whispered excitedly. Despite the excuses that they had made, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had really just gone to stand outside, watching through the window the 'date' Nyx and Pipsqueak were having. At first, things started going downhill, but after a hug from Pipsqueak, it suddenly got better even quicker. At the moment, the two were laughing about something Pipsqueak had said

"Yeah, I geuss it's working, but probably not." Scootaloo grumbled.

"Whaddya, mean, it ain't workin'?" Apple Bloom asked. "Just look how happy those two are!"

"Yeah, but Pip is really thick. Don't you remember last Hearts and Hooves. A filly in our class had written Pipsqueak the gooiest, mushiest, makes-me-wanna-puke-iest love letter ever, and Pip just acted like it was some normal card!"

"Oh, yeah, that's right," Twist responded, drooping her head, "Poor Dinky."

"I don't think that this is gonna be enough to get them together," Scootaloo explained. "We need a bunch of big pushes, but what..."

"HI GIRLS!" Yelled a voice from behind them. They jumped and turned, seeing a harmless Pinkie Pie, instead of a psychotic Twilight like last time.

"Oh, hey Pinkie Pie." Twist replied. "How are you."

"I'm great, but I need to ask you four something important."

"Yes?" they asked in unison.

"Do..." she paused, reaching into her saddlebag, "any of you want to come with me and Pip to a baseball game? I've got a free ticket!" she flashed the stub of paper.

Scootaloo was the first to say anything, "Ooh, ooh! I wan..."

"We would love to go with you," Apple Bloom interrupted, using a forehoof to keep Scootaloo from saying anything more, "but we are all busy tomorrow. But, maybe you could take Nyx with you. After all, she's never seen a baseball game before."

"She hasn't?!" Pinkie Pie screamed in amazement. "Oh, well then this is an emergency! She has to go now. Where is she?"

"She's in the shop right now," Sweetie Belle answered, pointing at the window.

"Thanks, girls. Nyx needs to get 20 cc's of baseball fun, STAT!" With that Pinkie Pie ran into the store to present the offer. When it was certain that she wouldn't be coming out to offer again, Apple Bloom removed her hoof from Scootaloo's mouth.

"I am really staring to hate this." Scootaloo grumbled, just getting a laugh from her friends.

"Don't worry, Scootaloo." Apple Bloom reassured, wrapping a hoof around her friend's back "Soon, we will see that all of this will have worked, and our hard work will have paid off."

"It better."