//------------------------------// // In Our Hearts and Hooves // Story: The Twilight Child // by Detectivefish //------------------------------// The first thing Shining Armor was aware of was something moving near him. Even half-asleep (or perhaps half-awake) his mind quickly considered a dozen options to disable his potential attacker. Then he was aware of a warm feeling moving along his back, and a light giggle. Then there was the ever-so-slight feeling of something nibbling his ear. "Stop it" he mumbled, kicking his back legs slightly. There was a feeling of a hoof heading along his barrel. Back and forth, back and forth. "Cadance. Stop it." The giggling continued. "Stop it. Stop it stop it stop." He said, fighting the urge to laugh and scream. "Cadance, knock it off." "Never!" He frowned. This called for desperate tactics. "'M trying to sleep." There was a slight pause, and he could feel the hooves moving away from him, followed by the ruffling of bedsheets, and what sounded like Cadance putting on a dressing gown she'd brought with her. "Fine then. I'll just go get breakfast started." Shining Armor was a highly trained captain of the Royal Guard. Ever since he was young enough to levitated a sword, he'd wanted to serve. And while this had included the usual problems, like having to put up with being called 'my good pony' by Blueblood, or talking to Blueblood, or being in the same universe as Blueblood, being compared to Blazing Nova (Greatest of the great guards of old) or having to learn how to sing just to get through basic training alive, or putting up with that damned phoenix, he was a guard. It was his job to serve the Princesses of Equestria without question, hesitation or fear, even when faced with unrestrained cliches (Which was always a problem with Cadance, who seemed to lack any sense of irony whatsoever). So, with Shining Armor's extreme steadfastness and dedication readily established, he still felt a bit... concerned about Cadance cooking. It wasn't that she was a bad cook, far from it. She was a skilled chef, in fact. And she loved to show it by going the whole hog whenever she cooked, and being a gentlestallion, and her long-term boyfriend, Shining Armor couldn't not eat all of it. He briefly pondered whether that was subconciously the reason he was dragging his hooves on the proposal thing. That, and the occasional fear of Twilie overreacting. He kept having dreams of Twilight Sparkle storming the wedding and screaming her head off at him for some minor slight. The most terrifying of these had been one where the fact that his favourite uncle's uniform didn't quite fit was apparently reason enough for his LSBFF to turn him into a newt, while Cadance just nodded approvingly. He then realised he was still in bed while his girlfriend raiding his entire kitchen just to make breakfast. On Hearts and Hooves day. Terror gripped Shining Armor, and he quickly scrambled (or slumped, to be accurate) out of bed, if only to make sure he still had room in his stomach for the elaborate birthday dinner he'd planned to take Cadance to later. He didn't want to explode from overeating before proposing to her, after all. ***** Midday Eclipse woke up at around ten in the morning on Hearts and Hooves day, and was halfway through brushing her teeth before she realised she could've stayed in bed. Memories of numerous horrible Hearts and Hooves days of years gone by went through her head, mostly relating to a total abscence of red or pink envelopes. Though in fairness, she had managed to age herself enough to make asking her awkward for anypony brave enough to do it. Too old for ponies her actual age, too emotionally young for the ponies she was usually around. And she knew for a fact that even Luna got a few letters from admirers on H&H Day. She sighed, and went downstairs, where she found Twilight preparing a checklist. "Morning, Twilight Sparkle" she muttered. The mare looked up at her. "Good morning" the purple unicorn said cheerfully. "What's the list for?" Twilight smiled slightly. "I'm just doing some studies on Hearts and Hooves day. I... though it might help with some papers I've been writing." Midday made a small hum. Twilight looked at her. "What?" "I'm surprised you don't know about it already, you seem to know Equestrian history inside and out. Except about the Crystal Ponies." She smirked a little as Twilight's ears twitched at that, and the very beginnings of a slight smile on Twilight's face. "Well, I... it wasn't something of interest to me. Most of the stories don't seem to blend with most of the assembled knowledge of Equestrian history." There was another twitch, which probably meant Twilight was trying not to comment on her usual opinion of historians. Midday couldn't help but agreed, considering the 'average' historian tended to greatly downplay Luna's parts in early Equestrian history, despite Celestia being on record repeatedly emphasizing her sister's role, possibly even over-emphasizing in some parts. "And most of the books containing knowledge on Hearts and Hooves Day are currently 'on loan', so I was going to go ask around, see whether the people who loaned them could possibly consider giving them back." A look of irritation came across her face. "Some ponies in town are awful when it comes to returning books. Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't install some penalty system for ponies who don't return books, instead of just not allowing them to take books from the library." "And that's your day, then?" Midday asked, "Reading books?" Twilight nodded. Midday rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised?" Twilight looked irritated again, and fixed Midday with a stare. "What's that supposed to mean? Let me guess, you think I don't believe in romance or something." Midday shuffled nervously. She'd forgotten Twilight had been foalsat by Cadance. Actually forgotten. She wasn't going to let herself live this one down, she could tell. "Sorry" she said quietly. "I'm guessing you just don't have the time for romance, not with all your CIS going on." She smiled, and walked through into the kitchen, not seeing Twilight's slightly confused face. Once the door was closed she let her smile vanish completely. And since Spike had been going on about spending the day with Rarity all week, she knew she wasn't going to be seeing him around the library all day. She sighed, and calmly started making herself some breakfast. ***** "So, Shining Armor, do you have any plans for Hearts and Hooves day?" Cadance smiled slightly. Shining Armor tried to look coy. "Maybe." Cadance prodded him slightly. "You can do better than that" she laughed. "Well, if I was planning something, and I said I was planning something, it would ruin the surprise. That's the whole point of a surprise party, y'know. It's a secret." Cadance's eyes went wide, and Shining Armor realised he'd said 'surprise party'. 'Uh oh.' He thought to himself. He started edging along the sofa he was sitting on, trying to think of a good enough excuse, but he'd asked Celestia for the day off, and he couldn't stall for time by going to talk to his sister, and even if he did go to work, his troops would instantly sell him out the minute Cadance came looking for him. Fortunately, and also unfortunately, as Cadance smirked and opened her mouth to say something, she suddenly stopped. And frowned, and then looked like she was in pain. "Cady? What's wrong?" The alicorn looked confused, and hurt. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. "I... think..." Her mouth dropped. "Oh no." She whispered. She suddenly leaned in to Shining Armor. "Somepony has just had their heart broken." She said quietly, squeezing Shining Armor like he was an oversized pillow. He gently held her. Cadance's powers allowed her to sense love, nurture it, and bolster it when it faltered, but it also meant that when what she described as 'True Love' failed, she felt it. Fortunately she just felt the initial shock, but Shining Armor knew she'd feel compelled to fix it, despite knowing full well there was little she could do. "It'll be alright" he said calmly. As he comforted the upset princess, a part of his mind noted that perhaps it was an idea to postpone the proposal for a while. "It'll be alright." ***** Midday sat in the comfy chair, desperately fighting her boredom. She wondered about going to see Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie, but noted that Fluttershy was probably throwing minature H&H events for her animal companions, while Pinke was having to bake huge amounts of cakes from celebrating couples. Trixie had, after a time, decided to see about going out to get something to eat, which meant she was doubtless about to return and vent opinions, in her usual fashion. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Trixie slammed through the front door, ranting and cursing and muttering. "Only for ponies with Very Special Someponies. Only loving couples allowed. Why I oughta-" "Trouble, Trixie?" Midday asked, not bothering to move from her slouch. The showmare hadn't noticed her, which raised the question of how one could not notice a mare of royal blue hue sitting in a bright orange chair. "Stupid cafes and resturaunts wouldn't allow Trixie entranced unless she had a reservation, or a VSS. What kind of world do we live in, where such rampant stupidity is allowed to thrive?!" Midday leaned forward. "It's probably because they don't want bitter showmares driving customers away by mixing the salad dressing and the vinegar again." "That was only once!" Trixie sighed, and looked down at the floor. "Hate Hearts and Hooves day" she muttered, then added something about 'cards' and a name Midday didn't recognise. "Would it help if I told you that you aren't the only pony in town who doesn't have a 'Very Special Somepony'?" "No." Trixie said, as she walked towards the kitchen. "Now, if you'll excuse Trixie, I have a date with my old companion, Monseuir Bourbon. Might as well try to enjoy myself today." She muttered. Midday looked at the clock. "It's only just gone noon!" she called out. "Not in Stalliongrad, it isn't" Trixie retorted, as she closed the door to the kitchen. Midday couldn't help but facehoof. She sat there for a moment, and then decided to look at some of the bookshelves for something, anything to read. She wondered if visiting Applejack was on the cards, and then remembered that meant going near Granny Smith, and thought better of it. She was fairly certain that mare could see right through her. She looked at the pile of notes kept on one of the desks, Twilight's already gathered notes on Equestrian prehistory, and wondered about proof-reading them, even though Twilight Sparkle rarely made mistakes, and when she did, they were pretty noticable. She sighed, and decided to read them anyway. After around twenty minutes of reading Twilight's ever-so-humble opinions on pony history, the door swung open and a mint-green blur rushed into the secondary library room. Midday looked around, wondering what had just happened. Twilight had left a series of notes which she'd completely ignored about what to do if somepony came to the library hoping to use the library as what Twilight deemed a 'nookie zone'. Midday wasn't entirely certain where Twilight had learnt the word 'nookie', considering the mare usually described romantic acts in much less euphemistic terms (Especially when describing certain acts adult ponies could perform to her young, innocent daughter), but she was fairly sure that whoever had just come in wasn't using the library as a place to secretly score a few kisses from their girlfriend / boyfriend. After a few moments, Midday was certain she could hear a slight noise. Slowly, she walked towards the door, and opened it. She saw a familiar mint-green unicorn lying in a corner, curled into a ball and gently sobbing. "Lyra?" she asked, cautiously approaching the mare. There was a slight sniffle. "What's the matter?" she asked gently. Lyra said nothing. Midday just sat next to the mare, waiting for her to finish crying. For the next while the musician kept going. Midday noticed the mare wasn't curled up, she was keeping a death grip on her lyre. Eventually, she stopped crying and looked up at Midday with her slightly bloodshot-looking golden eyes. A slight smile came across her face, the sort that usually preceeded the words 'rampage' and 'violent'. "I'm alright" she whispered, her voice hoarse. "I'm alright. It's just..." She stared out of the large window. "Bon-Bon left me." Midday saw the look of utter heartbreak on the poor mare's face, and gave her a hug. There was another sniffle, followed by the mare hiccuping. Midday wanted to say something comforting, but while she knew all the ways to deal with rampaging timberwolves, or how to treat Phoenixes, she was utterly unsure of what to say to a mare who'd been dumped. "What? Why in the world would she do that?" Another sniffle, and Midday wondered about fetching some tissues for the musician. "She said... said we weren't 'going anywhere', and I wasn't doing enough with my life, and..." She stopped to make a strange wailing noise. "I'd been planning to take her to her favourite restaurant, because s-she's always doing the cooking for both of us, and I w-wanted to do something nice for her and..." She stopped to hiccup again, "She just..." She started crying again. "And I didn't know where to go. Just about everypony's out celebrating Hearts and Hooves Day, with their Very Special Someponies, so I couldn't go to my dads, because they're celebrating in Canterlot, and I can't... I can't even go home, because it's BB's home..." Lyra looked down at her lyre, and sharply kicked it across the room. "And I can't even look at that damn thing because it reminds me of BB, and all the time I've spent with her." She sighed, "All the time I spent with her instead of studying, all those stupid sonnets I made for her instead of listening to what Tavi was saying. All the days I could have spent with her. Should've spent." Her voice was getting lower and quieter, and Midday began to feel increasingly worried. She'd once recieved a long explanation of the history of Lyra Heartstrings from Star Song, and there'd been no mention of her breaking up with Bon-Bon. "I would've stayed with her forever. Guess Cady was wrong." Lyra smiled, and as she did, Midday noticed something horrifying. Lyra's mint green coat seemed to turn grey. Alarm bells went off inside her head, as she saw Lyra displaying the prominent sign of Cutie Mark Failure. "See you around, Midday Eclipse" the mare said, getting to her feet and calmly (yet noticably unsteadily) walking out of the room, leaving the lyre just sitting there, abandoned. For a moment, Midday Eclipse sat there, just staring at it, and while it was just an inanimate object, she couldn't help but feel like she was staring at a tiny orphaned kitten, only made of metal and whatever lyre strings were made of. She gently lifted it in her magic, and stared at it. Then she walked through into the main room, to find Trixie slumped over the chair. "I thought you were going to drink away your misery." Midday said as she walked in. The mare looked up at her. "The bourbon's gone." Trixie sighed. "I think I might have drank all of it. Or somepony took it. Or I took it and drank it, which now that I think of it is increasingly likely. Also, you appear to be carrying a harp." "It's a lyre. And it's been abandoned by its owner." Midday said solemnly, placing it on one of the podiums. She hadn't been expecting what happened next. She turned around to see Trixie staring at her, expectantly. "What?" "Trixie thought you were going to explain that statement, or at least give her some context for how this inanimate object became 'abandoned'." The mare drew a pack of cards from her hard and started shuffling it, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. Midday rolled her eyes. "Well, you know Lyra?" "Lyra? I know her. Nice mare, poor taste in boyfriends, kind, sounds younger than she looks." Midday frowned. Trixie seemed blind to the fact that Bon-Bon happened to by some extraordinary fluke of genetics a filly who had grown into a mare. She decided to set the record straight in the regard before going further. "Trixie, you do realise Bon-Bon... is a mare, right?" The look on Trixie's face indicated that she hadn't realised this. "Ah. Oh." Trixie said, before biting her lip. "That would... Yes. That makes sense." She looked at Midday again. "Of course, Bon-Bon is now Lyra's ex-marefriend." "What?" Trixie yelled. There was an annoyed hoot from above the bookshelves. "Yeah. Apparently Bon-Bon just... dumped with her, completely out of the blue, which is... alarming." Midday walked over to Trixie, "And even worse... can I trust you, Trixie?" The showmare frowned. She rubbed her hoof against her chin. "Well, normally Trixie would be inclined to say 'yes', but... since it's you, and if this is about Lyra, and what I think you're about to say, then yes. Yes, you can trust Trixie on this." "Well, Lyra's showing all the signs of CMF." Trixie stared blankly at her. Midday rolled her eyes. Why did nopony seem to understand acronyms today, she thought. "Cutie Mark Failure." There was a horrified gasp from Trixie, and with good reason. Ponies suffering from Cutie Mark Failure (Or Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome, or Missed Destiny Madness as it used to be called, along with any other long-forgotten similar names) became liable to do anything, although this usually restrained itself to standard inversions or twisted parodies of their 'destiny', for example fruit farmers farming rocks, accountants becoming clowns, clowns becoming politicians, or throwing parties for buckets full of turnips, although on very, very rare occasions, the afflicted would just become extremely depressed and forgetful. Either way, it was a serious problem, that deserved to be treated with all due seriousness. "What should we do?" asked Trixie, quietly, "I mean, we can't get the dragon to call the Princesses for help, Twilight Sparkle's... missing, and everypony else will probably be busy with their own Hearts and Hooves day plans." She frowned. "What do we do?" "Maybe we should just let things work themselves out." Midday said quietly. Trixie stared at her in a mixture of confusion and shock. "What?" She said. "What happened to the mare who fought her way through Twilight Sparkle just to do... whatever it was you did that day? What happened to the mare who got everypony to help get rid of Flim and Flam?" "I didn't get 'everypony' to help, I just made sure everypony was on the same page. They would have done it anyway" she said, staring at the windows. Trixie frowned. "I thought you were unwilling to turn your back on your fellow pony, especially if they were in need of help. Why do you suddenly draw the line at helping a musician and a candy-maker get back together?" "Well, for one thing there's already a designated Princess in charge of solving romantic problems, and second of all, getting involved in other ponies... relationships always leads to trouble." She muttered. She was thinking about Wisp, when she didn't want to be thinking about Wisp, especially not on Hearts and Hooves day, of all days, of the worst days to be thinking of him, it was on her Aunt Cadance's birthday. And then she remembered she hadn't sent Cadance anything. She was just forgetting everything today, and she was fairly certain there was something about Hearts and Hooves day she was supposed to remember, but all she could think of was Lil' McIntosh kicking apples trees. "'Trouble'?" asked Trixie, sounding intrigued. "What form of trouble?" "The bad sort, not the amusing sort. And by bad, I mean private, and I'm not telling anypony, certainly not you." Trixie looked a little bit hurt by the remark, but also slightly accepting. "Of course. So, what do we do?" "Well, first of all, I'm going to write a letter, then I am going to mail the letter, and then I'm going to find Bon-Bon, and hope that the train schedules aren't working like usual because of this damned holiday, and then I'm going to figure out why I keep wanting to go to the little cafe on Main Street." She frowned. The cafe on Main Street was passable if somepony was interested in a light snack, but aside from a rather nice view of the Carousel Boutique, and the countryside beyond it, there wasn't much else, unless the houses along it had moved in the last few months. "Now then, I shall need a quill and some paper" Midday frowned. ***** Writing the letter to Cadance proved to be quite tricky, since Midday couldn't really do much more than just say 'happy birthday' on it, even though she really wanted to make the card feel special. On consideration though, she realised Cadance was probably going to be satisfied even if it did just have a generic greating, 'it's the thought that counts' was what she'd most likely say. Midday sighed to herself, annoyed that she couldn't just find Cadance and talk to her. Some days she felt like she was going to explode with all the things she had to keep to herself, just to stop time from falling apart. At least, she assumed it would fall apart. She wasn't really sure what would happen if she just told Twilight Sparkle who she was. She briefly wondered about saying the card was from Twilight, but she knew that Twilight had managed to forget about Cadance. She stopped to think about that. How in the world did Twilight forget one of the first friends she'd ever made, who happened to be a Princess, and one of the nicest, if not the nicest, ponies in existance? Knowing Twilight, she'd probably justify it by saying they hadn't seen much of each other since Twilight was a filly, or something. 'Bearing in mind' Midday told herself, 'Mom sometimes forgot she had wings'. She frowned, and decided that the card was pefectly fine as it currently was. "Who's Cadance?" Trixie asked. Midday turned to glower at her. "How long have you been standing there?" "A few seconds." Trixie shrugged. "Who is she?" "She's the mare who suggested Lyra and Bon-Bon get together. Something about... 'It doesn't matter how far apart you are, your love will keep you together'." Trixie looked a little bit alarmed by that statement. "Really? She actually said that?" "Yes. Bearing in mind, her specialty is love. Nuturing it, strengthening it, that sort of thing. I think she always draws power from the love of ponies around her, but I'm not quite clear on that part. She probably does though." She smiled at the memory of Cadance, who probably could have felt her and her mother's falling out. A thought, a strange terrifying random though about Cadance's abilities suddenly found its way into Midday's train of thought, and was quickly filed away for future use. She slid off the chair, and quickly folded the card into a bright pink envelope. "And if the usual behaviour of Ponyville's citizens is any indication, it's not the sappiest thing you're going to hear today." ***** As the two walked down the street, Midday's statement was quickly proved right. Ponies left and right were calling each their loves ones ridiculous nicknames or titles, and while in some cases it probably worked, in most cases it sounded kind of ridiculous. Not that Midday Eclipse could call herself a stranger to embarrasing fumbling attempts at romance in any shape, but she prided herself on the fact that she'd never called Wisp 'her shapey-changey-cuddle-bug'. She felt like she'd demeaned herself on a cellular level just for even thinking that phrase, and quickened her pace to the post office. Which turned out to be shut, so she just deposited her mail in the slot. "Ditzy must have taken the day off." Midday observed. "But... she never takes the day off." Trixie said from under her hat, which she had pulled over her eyes so as not to witness any acts of affection. "Now what?" The showmare asked, looking up at the sky, which both mares refrained from pointing out was a strange pastel purple/pink colour. "Somepony please tell me Celestia isn't behind this." Midday said to herself. ***** "What on earth has you in such a cheerful mood, sister?" Luna asked. Her suspicions had first been roused when she saw her older sister smiling, and had risen until she determined what variety of smile it was, and why Celestia was smiling it. Immortality allowed for an interesting emotional range. Sometimes Celestia could even look like she enjoyed hearing about statistics. "Oh, I've... got a very good feeling about today, is all" the mare said mirthfully. Luna raised an eyebrow and her gaze turned towards the small, barely hidden pot containing the money everypony in the castle was betting on for when Shining Armor dared to propose to Cadance. The smart money (which just happened to include Celestia's) was going for today. "Is that why the sky is that... particular colour of pink and purple?" "Oh, there's no harm from it, Luna. And it helps with the mood." "If you say so." ***** The two mares began walking back toward the library, in a route best descibred as 'circuitous', going via all the means of locating Bon-Bon. Eventually, Trixie noticed her sitting on a bench, looking incredibly miserable, though her coat was the usual cream colour. "I'll deal with this." Midday whispered to Trixie, who said nothing on what the supposed 'this' was. "Hey there" Midday said, trying to sound as genial as possible. Bon-Bon's eyes slowly moved towards her. "Hey" she said, instantly going back to looking glum. Midday looked over to Trixie, who was trying and not succeeding at hiding behind a tree. "Is... something the matter?" Midday asked. Bon-Bon sighed. "Yeah." Midday scuffed a hoof against the ground, waiting for her usual effect on ponies to kick in. "Why can't anything ever go right for me?" she heard Bon-Bon mutter. The mare looked up at her. "There's a limit to how much bad luck a mare can have, right? I mean, after a while, good things should happen to me as well, right?" Midday just looked uncertain. "What do you mean?" "I try to operate my parent's store, and everypony started going to Sugarcube Corner. I meet the most wonderful pony, and before I can tell her how I feel, she goes away to Canterlot. And then she came back for me. And it was the biggest mistake of her life." Bon-Bon stood up, though she was still on the bench. "We never did anything, and she kept never doing anything because of me. I was holding her back and we both knew it, and so I decided I'd let her go, become the brilliant musician we both know she could be, but... I kept putting it off, and this morning I finally did it and..." Bon-Bon looked like she was about to burst into tears herself. "I thought she'd be happy, but all she did was yell at me, and now I feel like an idiot, 'cuz I screwed everything up and now she's gonna hate me forever and never want to see me again and I deserve it." The mare said, her words beginning to blur together as she got increasingly upset. Midday looked at the mare and nodded. "So, you thought Lyra was better off without you?" There was a noise that sounded like an affirmative from Bon-Bon. "You're an idiot" Midday said suddenly. Bon-Bon looked like she'd been struck by lightning. "W-what?" "You're an idiot" Midday repeated, well aware of the noises Trixie was making behind her. "One of the most gifted muscians alive, one of the most wonderful, gentle, brilliant mares and you think she's better off without you? Really? Considering she came back from Canterlot, where she was friends with a freaking Princess, and student to one of the most famous composers of modern time" Midday silently thanked Star Song, wherever and whenever she was right now, for the long discussion on the subject of Octavia, Lyra Heartstring's mentor, and noted musician in her own right, "Just to be with you! You! A candy-maker! Doesn't that tell you something about what's more important to Lyra? Doesn't the fact that she's given up her music because she's so upset tell you something about how important you are to her?! Yes, you're an idiot for letting true love slip through your hooves! There are beings out there who would tear whole kingdoms apart for just one day's worth of the love you two have, being who would give up everything, wealth, fame, immortality, just to have a mere fraction of what you could be!" Midday frowned, and shook her head. "But then, you know what, it doesn't matter, really. Lyra's hardly important to anypony." Midday really didn't like being angry, or sounding angry, or being a jerk to Bon-Bon when she knew exactly how the mare felt, and she really hoped she didn't have to go further, and for once the universe complied with her prayers, as she felt herself being grabed and spun 'round until she was looking Bon-Bon right in the eyes. "She is to me!" the mare hissed. Midday smiled gently, and Bon-Bon looked surprised at what she'd just said. "Then go tell her that." She looked around, and reached into a nearby bush and pulled out one of Pinkie Pie's emergency watches (Spread all over town in case of watch emergency). "By my understand of how the trains run on H&H Day, you don't have that long to get to the train station." Bon-Bon looked confused for a moment, and slightly hesitant. "Go on, go get her. She's Lyra Heartstrings, she's the mare you love and she's the mare you belong with. And you're the mare she belongs with. Anything less would a waste." A determined look set on Bon-Bon's face. "Thanks" she said, before rushing off into the distance towards the train station. "What did Trixie just witness? One minute you call her an idiot, then next she looked ready to lay siege to Canterlot itself." Midday just smiled slight, rubbing her shoulders. "A little motivational speech. I honestly didn't think that was going to work." She said, her eyes wide in astonishment. She slumped to the ground. "Glad it did." ***** Lyra stood on the platform of the Ponyville station, eyes not really noticing the odd stares she was getting from passersby, many of whom were couples. She could see the train arriving, getting closer, and closer. She was also aware of ponies turning to look at something, but that wasn't of any interest to her. But there was a familiar ring to it. The train slowed, slowed, and then stopped, and the passengers began to disembark. Lyra raised a hoof to begin walking, and then she felt something. "LYRA!" Bon-Bon yelled, right into her face. The earth pony began furiously hugging her, and try as much as she could she couldn't break free of the mare. "Lyra, I need to tell you something." Bon-Bon panted, winded from her long run from the Ponyville park. "What's so important you couldn't just mail me?" Lyra said, though she felt a slight pang of something at the sad look in Bon-Bon's eyes. "Please don't go. Don't go. I'm sorry." "Sorry for what? Sorry that you were right? I'm never going to get anything done with my music. You were smart enough to thank me, and-" Bon-Bon glowered at her. "Don't you dare say that! Do you hear me?! Don't you dare!" The mare embraced Lyra. "I was so wrong, Lyra. So wrong. You are brilliant and wonderful and I will always, always love you, no matter what. I will always be there for your Lyra Heartstrings, so please, if you are going to go to Canterlot..." Bon-Bon looked down at the ground, "Let me come with you. I love you." Lyra blinked and stared at her. She remembered the first night away from Ponyville, how she'd missed Bon-Bon so much, how the second night she'd started crying in her sleep, how on the third day a nasty comment from Octavia had her crying in the shower, and how Cadance had helpfully shown her why she felt miserable every time she looked back at Ponyville. She hadn't missed her dads, or her friends. She wasn't finding it difficult to adjust to Canterlot, she was thinking of Bon-Bon. And the thought of Bon-Bon had driven her on, had inspired her to create music that had actually shocked Octavia out of her stoic facade, which eventually led to their beings friends, and even teacher and pupil. And eventually, when she'd returned to Ponyville to find Bon-Bon had waited all that time, just for her. Even the appearance of Nightmare Moon hadn't had an effect as great on her as when she'd told Bon-Bon how she felt, and the mare had responded in kind. Suddenly, Lyra's coat regained it's natural mint-green hue, and a smile overcame her face. Why had she ever though Bon-Bon didn't love her? "Oh, sweetie..." she said. That was all she needed to say. Aside from "You're my Special Somepony". It was Hearts and Hooves Day, after all. ***** Trixie and Midday watched from a distance, averting their gaze once the two mares... reconnected. "Well, everything's worked out fine, then" Midday said. "For them. I'm still not sure about me. There's something I know I've forgotten, but I can't remember, for the life of me, what it is..." "You know, Lyra left her harp back at the library." "Lyre." "No, remember I-..." Trixie scowled. "How long have you been waiting for Trixie to say that?" Midday blinked. "Sorry, what? Say what?" "I bet you've been waiting years for somepony to say the word 'harp', just so you could make that joke, haven't you?" "No, I was just correcting you" Midday said, making odd glances at Trixie. "Why in the world would I do that anyway?" "Because it's a pun, or play on words?" ***** Shining Armor glanced at the clock. Technically speaking the dinner wasn't for some hours, but there were other things he wanted to show Cadance before they reached the restaurant, and time was wasting. He sighed. A short while ago she'd perked up, saying something about 'true love' again, though from the sound of it, the couple who were having relationship problems seemed to have fixed everything, which meant it was a happy ending. 'Happy endings' he mused. He liked those. Stories where the dashing knight saved the studious mage from not getting enough sleep, or managed to fight his way past the evil tickle ninjas to the fridge of mystery, or where the gallant captain of the guard finally worked up the nerve to ask the mare he loved for her hoof in marriage. There was a noise on the steps, and he looked up. There stood Cadance, looking... well, Cadance's usual condition was usually some combination of beautiful, graceful and incredible, and currently, she looked beyond even that. She looked magnificent. Shining Armor had, throughout his education, been made to read and learn of the many poems written on the beauty and grace of Princess Celestia. As far he was concerned, Cadance made the ponies who'd wrote those poems look like blind idiots. His jaw dropped at the sight of Cadance wearing a dress that just seemed to... Well, she looked beautiful, and perhaps it was best Shining Armor didn't think beyond that. Her hair was styled impeccably, as always, and Shining Armor began to feel like perhaps he should have worn something a bit more suitable than a suit and tie. And then Cadance smiled. "How do I look?" She asked. Suddenly, Shining Armor's mind seemed to disappear, and he could barely think. "I... I.... guh?" She smiled at that. He grinned like a teenager on a sugar rush. And while Shining Armor would brook no insult to Cadance, she too was smiling and giggling like a little teenager. There was something in the air, a tension that couldn't be rightly described, but if observed from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, the actions of the two lovestruck twenty-somethings was leading up to a decision that would make history. "So, where are we going first?" Cadance asked. Shining Armor, using all his courage, managed to say something. "It's a surprise." He smiled. "But you'll love it." ***** Trixie and Midday returned to the library to find Twilight analysing several books. "Afternoon" Midday said, noting that it was now two in the afternoon, and gosh, hadn't time flied. "Where have you two been?" Twilight asked. "Keeping music alive" Trixie said. Twilight Sparkle just nodded and went back to her books. "Did you know" Twilight asked, in the way Midday recognised as the way Twilight asked when she assumed ponies didn't know what she was saying, "That Hearts and Hooves Day started because of a love potion?" "Love potion?" Midday said, mostly to herself. She had a sudden sinking feeling "Yeah. I even found the recipe used for it in one of the books I had, but Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo borrowed it." There were a few seconds of utter silence, and Midday and Trixie exchanged nervous glances. "You... ah, gave it to them?" Midday asked. Twilight made an odd combination of smile and frown. "I know, it's not like them to take such an interest in reading, and they vanished before I could give them any more reading material." Midday rubbed a hoof against her forehead. "Twilight Sparkle, you... knowingly gave a book containing a recipe for a love potion to the Cutie Mark Crusaders on Hearts and Hooves Day?" Twilight's face was the definition of confused innocence. "Yes, but I don't see why that's a-" Then she remembered. "Oh." "Yeah, 'oh' about covers it" Trixie smirked. "What have I done?" Midday smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'm sure nothing bad can come of this. I mean, it's only a love potion. It's not like it's a love poison, right?" The confused noise from Twilight Sparkle was telling. "Love poison? What's that?" Midday felt her legs give out. "Alicorns and ministers of grace defend us" she whimpered. "Did you happen to check how that legend about the beginning of Hearts and Hooves Day went, by any chance?" Twilight looked down at the book, and in a rare move from Twilight Sparkle, skimmed through it. "Uh-oh" she squeaked. "Uh-oh? What-oh?" asked Trixie. Twilight Sparkle quickly slammed the book shut, a look of panic on her face. "It's nothing, nothing at all. I'm just going to go outside. For a walk. Because it's a lovely day out." "It is a nice shade of purple, Trixie has to admit." The showmare smiled. "Shut. Up." Twilight said through clenched teeth. Midday raised a hoof. "Just out of curiosity, when exactly did you hand them this book?" Twilight's look of panic increased. "Half an hour ago." The three mares minds each calculated the amount of damage caused by one potion book multiplied by three fillies and whoever they infected with their love poison increasing over the amount of time it took to find the CMC. "We mustn't panic" Trixie stated calmly. "Indeed." Midday said, her voice eerie calm. "Now, I too shall go outside. For walk." "Yes." Trixie said, her eyes moving towards the kitchen door. "Three delicious bottles of walk." Twilight Sparkle and Midday rushed through the front door, while Trixie went searching for her missing drinks. ***** "Okay, Twilight Sparkle, think, think, where would you be if you were a little filly with a love poison? The library? Too obvious. The school? It's closes early on H&H day. The observatory? No" Twilight Sparkle moaned, "Ponyville doesn't have an observatory." Midday watched as the mare grew increasingly frantic as she removed bits of shattered wood from her mane. "How about at their clubhouse? Like I suggested five minutes ago?" "No!" Twilight said, "That's the first place we'd look!" Midday rolled her eyes. She'd given up trying to use reason in this argument, since Twilight Sparkle's mind was currently too far-gone to listen to reason. But she still found herself trying, mainly because not trying would have been far worse. "Well, how about we split up?" "Good idea!" Twilight smiled, before teleporting away. Midday quickly began to rush towards Sweet Apple Acres, her alarm and concern over what Twilight Sparkle might do once she found the children granting her extra speed, but she was certain there was something she was missing. "Howdy there, Midday" came a voice. She stopped, which wasn't the greatest thing to do when running full-tilt, since it meant she ended up flipping head over hoof. "What's got you rushing about so much?" A familiar orange-tinted shadow fell over her, and she quickly leapt to her hooves. "Applejack! Oh sweet, delicious Applejack, have you seen your sister and her friends about anywhere?" Applejack looked a bit alarmed at the unhinged looking mare. "No. Can't say ah've seen them around all day, but ah've been kinda busy. Big McIntosh's gone walkabout, it seems, so ah'm having to do both our chores." Midday blinked. "Big McIntosh?" She repeated. Then it came together. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Hearts and Hooves Day, Love Poison, Big McIntosh and Cheerilee which added together made one royal mess. "-like him to go galivantin' off without so much as a word of notice, specially not on Hearts and Hooves Day, an- hey, where ya rushing off to?" Midday's frantic gallop took her to the small treehouse where the Cutie Mark Crusaders spend most of their free time, Applejack following behind her, increasingly confused and annoyed. Midday rushed up the ramp, and reached the front door, and gently opened it and stepped inside, where she found a book spread wide open on the floor, the words 'LOVE POISON' plain as daylight on the open page. "What the-? 'Love poison'?" Applejack shook her head. "Ah'm thinkin' those girls need adult supervision. Ah mean really, this sounds like the sort'a thing that gives foals nightmares." "Yes, nightmares" Midday said, "Lots of nightmares. Adult supervision, good plan. I think adult supervision is just what we need." Of course she was thinking of Twilight Sparkle having a parole officer assigned to her. She shouldn't have let Twilight go about town unsupervised, and now... well, actually now history was unfolding exactly the way it should. She briefly pondered if there was somepony intelligent she could consult on why everything seemed to be happening exactly the same, then remembered she had to be somewhere else. She turned to Applejack. "Okay, Applejack, think, really think. If you'd been zapped by a love poison, where do you think you'd head to? Just say the first place that comes to mind." "Ah dunno" the farmer shrugged, "Probably Sugarcube c-" "OF COURSE!" Midday roared, before turning, gently opening the door of the clubhouse, and leaping down the ramp and heading back towards town. Applejack stood there for a moment, and decided to follow after the librarian's assistant. ***** By whatever measure of logic that Twilight was going on, she wound up at Sugarcube Corner at the same time as Midday and Applejack. "I figured it out!" the purple unicorn beamed, "Based on all available evidence Big McIntosh is at Sugarcube Corner." She grinned with pride in her deductive reasoning. Midday just nodded slightly. "Yeah, I kinda figured that one out. And I know who he's with. That mare, Cheerilee." "What?" asked Applejack, "Applebloom's teacher? What in the wide world of sports is goin' on here?" Then slow realisation came to Applejack, and apparently just came to Twilight Sparkle. "Yes, your brother and Cheerilee have been doused with a love potion, and are now unshakably attached to each other, but fortunately I have to a plan to fix this." "Really?" Applejack said, "That's great." "We've just got to keep them apart for exactly one hour." "One hour?" Applejack smirked, marching into the store, "Ah can do that in a second." Twilight opened her mouth to say something. "Don't." Midday suggested. Twilight closed her mouth, looking thoroughly annoyed. Twilight began to walk into Sugarcube Corner, and Midday stuck out a hoof. "Be warned, what you see in there is not for the faint of heart." Twilight just smiled gently at her, and in her best 'mom' voice said "Don't worry, I stood against Nightmare Moon and Discord, I think I can handle whatever some love potion can bring." Midday rolled her eyes and walked in after Twilight. They found Applejack, frozen like a statue, her face a rictus of alarm and disgust. "Applejack?" asked Twilight. "You first, schnuzzy-wuzzy-pookum-pie" came a voice that sounded distinctly like Big McIntosh. He was standing on a chair, his legs resting on a table on which sat an ice-cream sundae, on the other side of which was Cheerilee, who was staring, unblinking into his eyes. Midday had done things that she wasn't sure she could describe without sounding mad. She'd once fought a pony-eating custard tree, she'd ran through blazing deserts and fought gods and monsters, but she'd never heard anypony said something like that before. Although, to give her credit, she only felt slight alarmed, as opposed to Twilight's... reaction. "No, you, huggy-wuggy-snuggy-huggy-bug." Cheerliee said in return. "This" Twilight said, "Might be a bit more than I can handle." Midday looked over to see Mrs Cake watching the whole ordeal, apparently stuck to the spot like Applejack, her face shifting between different expressions of pain and embarrassment. "What's gotten into those two?" the mare asked. There was the sound of tiny hooves clattering, and Midday saw three fillies rush into the room, determination on their faces. Then they saw Applejack and Twilight. "Uh-oh." Sweetie Belle said. "I'm all for romance" Mrs Cake said, "But those two have been at it for hours." "Really?" asked Midday. The CMC turned to look at her, having apparently not noticed her prescence. "I think so. What time is it?" "Just after four o'clock." Apple Bloom said. "What are you, a sundial?" Scootaloo smirked. Then Cheerille spoke again. "You take the first sip, snuggle-wuggles." "No, you take it, schnoodle-bump." "No, you, shnooky-lumps." "No, you, pookie-pie." Midday looked to the horrified expression on the faces of the CMC. "Anypony got a plan?" asked Midday, "Anypony? Please?" "Sorry, Midday, I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought." Twilight said. Midday turned to the CMC. "Have you girls got a solution?" "Us?" Scootaloo said, eyes darting to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. "It's not our fault. The book didn't tell us they'd be like... that!" She said, waving a hoof as the two ponies balanced a cherry between their lips. "Snuzzle-wumps." "Fuzzy-wuggle" "Okay, that one? Actually hurt. As in physically hurt." Midday said, to nopony in particular. "And this H&H Day is rapidly ascending the list of weirdest days of my life, so please, one of you girls tell me there's a plan." "Kissy-missy-wissy" "Nuzzle-fuzzle-wuzzle." "Plan." Midday winced. "Now." "The book said if we keep 'em from lookin' into each other's eyes for an hour, it'd break the spell, but... we don' know how." Mrs Cake didn't seem to have heard what anypony was saying (and who could blame her), and said some truly fortuitous words. "Well, these loves birds will probably be planning a wedding soon. I can always use the catering business." The four ponies exchanged glances. "A wedding! That's brilliant!" Midday smiled. "How is gettin' hitched gonna keep them apart?!" Apple Bloom asked. "They aren't really gonna get married" Sweetie Belle said, "They're just going to get ready to get married." "No, you biscuit-wicuit bear!" "No, you huggy-wuggy-snuggy-bunny." "Didn't she already say that one? What sort of girl dates a guy who just repeats everything she says at him?" asked Midday. She frowned. "Oh, no. It's getting to me as well." The Cutie Mark Crusaders quickly rushed over to Big McIntosh and Cheerilee, and with some rapid convincing that Midday couldn't quite focus on, managed to talk the two into rushing off to get married. Of course, once they were gone, Applejack, Twilight and Midday quickly recovered. "Can we never mention that to anypony ever?" Applejack asked. "This stays between us. And the girls." Midday nodded. "Agreed" said Twilight almost instantly. "Now then, who's going to lead Big McIntosh to go get registered?" Midday said. "It'll distract him for a while." She pointed out once Twilight started glaring at her. "Ain't there any other way to fix this?" "I'm pretty sure there isn't, because if there was, I wouldn't be here." Midday said, with utter conviction. ***** "This has been a wonderful afternoon, Shining Armor." "Just you wait and see what I've got in store for tonight." Cadance raised an eyebrow. "Indeed?" "You've been hanging out around Princess Luna too long." "You've been hanging around Celestia too long, Shiney-winey." ***** "Okay, how long's it been?" Applejack asked. "We've got five minutes, but I should warn you, Rarity's on a roll today." Midday frowned, watching as the fashionista (who was not happy about being dragged away from whatever-it-was she and Spike had been doing, which had involved a small boat and some ducks, apparently) showed Cheerilee dress after dress, and Sweetie Belle rejected each one. "They aren't fancy enough" the filly stated. Rarity hadn't been filled in on the situation, and was beginning to get annoyed at her little sister's Rainbow Dash-esque dismissal of her works. "Well, what does work?" she sighed in exasperation. Then there was a clattering noise as Scootaloo entered. "We've got a problem" she declared. Midday and Applejack looked out of the window, to see what appeared to be a house moving down the street. A house being towed by Big McIntosh. "That's about seven hours flight from good" Midday said. "Ah'll go slow him down" Applejack said. "You stay here and keep Cheerilee busy." "I've got an idea." Sweetie Belle said, nodding to Scootaloo. The fillies rushed outside. "How about this one?" Rarity said, holding one nondescript veil up. "Yeah, yeah, that's great. Fine" Cheerilee said, snatching it from Rarity's magics and rushing into the changing room before anypony could say anything. Midday looked at the nearest clock. Just five more minutes. The next three and a half minutes were among the longest three and a half minutes of Midday Eclipse's life. She was aware of a yelping noise from outside, and the loud creaking and groaning noises from before had stopped, so presumably Applejack had stopped Big McIntosh, or Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had stopped him. They had one minute left. Which meant it was about to go wr- "SHMOOPY-DOO!" "Sweetums?" Cheerliee asked, smashing her way through the little faux-saloon doors of the changing rooms, causing a sligh yelp from Rarity, who tried to stop Cheerilee from running off with her product. However, Cheerilee was quite determined, and far stronger than she looked, so she managed to move on, plowing her way through Midday, and the mare's magical constructs, like they were tissue paper. Midday was sure she could hear the sound of a bell ringing out, though considering she'd just been hit incredibly hard, she wondered if the noise was real. After a few moments, she got to her feet and noticed a large hole a short distance away from the boutique. The CMC were standing next to the hole, staring into it. "Did it work?" she asked the fillies. "Girls!" came the confused voice of Cheerilee, "Can you explain why I look like I'm getting married at the bottom of a pit?" The three fillies looked at each other, then down into the pit, and tried their most innocent looking smiles. "We may have given you the teeniest, tiniest bit of a love-potion, that may have turned out to have actually been a love poison, and you might have gone the teeniest-tiniest bit nutty" Sweetie Belle stated. Midday shook her head, and looked over to where Applejack and Twilight were both sprawled in front of a house that had a long piece of rope going around it. A nervous, light purple mare was nudging them. "-me honestly, am I still asleep?" the mare was asking Twilight, as she helped the mare to her feet. "I'm afraid not." The purple mare sighed. "Of course I'm not. If I was... there'd probably be booze." "Did we get 'em?" asked Applejack, who was adjusting her hat. "Yes. Your brother and Cheerilee are back to their normal selves." She looked over to the small pit, where Cheerliee was talking to the three fillies, Big McIntosh standing next to her. "Told'ja we could do it." Applejack smiled, as she tried to focus her eyes. "Easier'n line dancin' with a rattlesnake." Twilight, the purple mare, and Midday exchanged uncertain glances. "Now, ah'm gonna go lie down" Applejack said. "Ah've had enough lovey-dovey-stuff to last a lifetime." "Can't argue with that" Midday replied. "See you back at the library, Twilie?" "Yes" the unicorn smiled. "I'm just going to talk to the girls myself. There are a few questions I want to put to them." "What about my house?" asked the mare. Midday sighed, and focused her magic, lifting the house into the air, and slowly moving it back to where it belonged, or at least as close as made no difference. "Better?" she smiled. The mare just nodded slightly, before muttering "I think need a drink..." "I know the feeling. I just saw a mare lift an entire house like it was just a heavy rock." Midday smiled not unkindly, before walking back to the library, leaving the poor mare to alternate between staring at her house, and Midday. When Midday returned to the library she found two ponies standing side to side smiling at her. "Hello Lyra. Hello Bon-Bon." "Hi" They chimed, before looking at each other. "You first, sweetums." Bon-Bon said. "Okay then, sugarlump. Midday, we wanted to thank you for... well, meddling. I don't know what reason you had for doing it, but we are incredibly grateful." "Okay" the royal blue unicorn said, before noticing the mares exchange glances. "We're sorry you had to get dragged into out afairs." Lyra said, "And if there's anything we can ever do to repay you for this, just let us know." "Almost anything" Bon-Bon said, cautiously. "I'm not letting you get away from me twice." She said to Lyra. "Aw, BB" the mare smiled, and the two leaned in closer, and closer, an- "Hey, this is a library, not the school bike shed. Scram." Midday said, trying not to laugh as the two mares walked outside, side-by-side. Finally, Midday let herself collapse. In review, she'd witnessed a mare go mad from stress, fixed her romantic mess, forgotten about Cadance repeatedly, seen two mares say the most teeth-rotting sickly-sweet gibberish she'd even seen, and generally had a truly mad day all around. "I really hate Hearts and Hooves Day" she muttered, with a slight smile on her face. ***** Meanwhile, in Canterlot. "Shining..." "Yeah." "I can't help but notice we're in my favourite restaurant, and there's a group of musicians playing my favourite song." "Yeah..." he said, cautiously, trying not to get lost staring at Cadance. "And you've been even more charming and wonderful than your usual charming and wonderful self." "Yes" He said, trying to raise an eyebrow like Cadance's aunts. The bright pink mare tilted her head. He smiled, and slowly got off his seat and walked over to her, trying to ignore the fact that his heart felt like it was trying to escape. "Cadance... I had a whole speech prepared, but I'm pretty sure I don't need it at this point. You know how I feel about you, and... well..." Cadance's eyes went wide and the musicians stopped as Shining Armor's horn glowed and a small red box floated from his pocket. He looked up at Cadance and smiled the most brilliant smile he could manage. "Cadance, will y-" "YES! YES!" the mare said, practically leaping on him. The entire restaurant burst into cheering and stamping, especially two mares seated by a window overlooking almost the whole of Canterlot. "Pay up, Luna" the slightly taller, purple-eyed one whispered to a suddenly irritated looking younger one. "Hey" Shining Armor said as he and Cadance stood up, now looking slight dishevelled, "You realise this will make Twilight Sparkle your sister in-law, right?" "You've already got me, Shining Armor. Don't jinx it." "Oh, come on Cady. What's the worst that could happen?" Cadance didn't seem to hear him though, too busy as she was holding on to him for dear life. "I love Hearts and Hooves Day." Shining Armor said to himself.