"But, Momma. She was really mean this time!"
"I know, sweetie. But it's not healthy to hold those kinds of feelings inside like that."
"But, i-it's not fair!" she cried, burying her face into Twilight's chest.
"Hate is just not a good thing to store in one's heart, it only makes you grow bitter and cold. Hate spreads, and though small at first, it can fester and latch onto other ponies' hearts. It's like, sharing a cold with one of your little friends, you wouldn't want to spread your cold to your CMC pals now, would you?"
"No. But Diamond Tiara, though... can I get her sick next time?
"No." Twilight deadpanned.
"But, she always picks on me. She hates me. She won't stop calling me Nightmare Moon, either. She says I'm evil. I hate her!"
"That may be so. But in order to break this cycle of hate, Nyx, somepony has to have the strength of heart to know when to let go of that hate. Even if she did hate you—which there's no doubt she certainly knows how to hold a grudge at least—by allowing hateful feelings into your heart, that only makes her hate grow stronger, which will only continue to rob her of her smile."
Twilight embraced her daughter, nuzzling into her mane.
"Nyx. Don't ever let hate steal your smile away."
"You mean, Diamond Tiara wants to steal my smile away?" Nyx backed off from her mother's embrace, unnerved by Twilight's words. Can Diamond Tiara steal smiles?
"-What? No. I mean, yes. Wait, I mean No! Look, sweetie, what I mean is... Hate is a powerful emotion. The word alone can make a normal pony's hairs stand on end. One should never hate. Especially not another pony. All it does is steal a pony's smile."
"Hate...can steal my smile away?"
"Mhm," Twilight nodded, brushing aside a lock of Nyx's matted mane from her tear stained cheeks.
"B-But I like smiling! I don't want to lose my smile! MOMMA, HELP ME!"
"Oh, now. Relax. you're far too good a filly to let that happen. Just know that you can't please everypony, Nyx. But maybe, in time, who knows. Even the worst of enemies can become one of your closest friends someday."
"Yeah right..."
"I'm always right," Twilight retorted.
Nyx spoke no words. None verbally at least. Giving nothing back but a look that seems as if she was trying to recount something.
"Okay, well, most of the time. But I'm right about this! Because MY Mom read it to me in a book once. And, books_ BOOKS NEVER LIE!" Twilight pronounced, striking a dramatic pose.
Nyx chuckled despite herself. She tried to hold it in, but there was no holding the giggles at bay. Giggles that quickly turned into fits of laughter.
"Now THAT'S my girl! Don't you ever lose that smile again." Twilight stood up from the library floor, and leaned in conspiratorially to whisper into her daughter's ear.
"Have I ever told you the story of how Discord and I, became friends?"
"No. Who is Discord?"
"Well, looks like I know what bedtime story I'll be telling tonight then, huh?"
"Was Discord as mean as Diamond Tiara?"
"Was he mean? HA! He was meaner!"
Nyx gasped astonishingly loud at this. Twilight could barely contain a giggle as she watched her daughter stare at her as if she told her she had gotten an A minus on her report card.
"Now I know you're joking. Nopony is meaner than Diamond Tiara!"
"Discord is no pony. He's a draconequus, actually."
"So, Diamond Tiara is the meanest pony in Equestria then?"
Twilight simply rolled her eyes. "Come on, lets go upstairs and get those teeth of yours brushed up. And, if you promise me you'll at least try and smile more, I might just show you Discord's friendship entry in our journal."
Nyx gasped, much to Twilight's amusement as she had to levitate her stiff-as-a-board daughter up the stairs while wondering if all these mental shocks to her system would have any lasting side effects on Nyx's mental health.
~End~