The Break Up Break Down
At the School of Friendship, the halls were well decorated with heart-shaped decorations as the holiday known as Hearts and Hooves Day was tomorrow. All over Ponyville, ponies were making preparations to show their special somepony how much they mean to them the next day. And in the School of Friendship, Twilight was giving a lecture, "Though the Magic of Friendship is a very powerful one, it's not the only magic that exists on that level. Love is equally as powerful, maybe even more so depending upon the ponies that share that magic between them."
The students were all listening intently...except for Heart and Ace, both sitting at the back of the class. The colt turned to Ace and stuck his tongue out, making a gagging sound that caused Ace you need to stifle a laugh. The two chuckled, only for their ears to suddenly glow and twist, the pair trying to cry in pain, but also finding themselves muted. The other students didn't even notice due to their focus on Twilight, who's holding of a projector remote masked her punishment magic as well.
"For example," Twilight hit the remote and the projector showed an image of a stain glass window. This one depicted the events of the Royal Canterlot Wedding. "Before the great changeling reform, they attempted to capture Canterlot. However, the love shared between Princess Cadance and Shining Armor allowed them to create a powerful shockwave that blasted them all away."
Ocellus' friends turned to her, raising an eyebrow as she shrugged. She hadn't been a part of that attack, but she had heard about it from Thorax who told many of the changeling larvae about how it was the first time he saw true friendship and met Flash.
Twilight then pressed the button again and the image changed to show a city made entirely out of crystal. "The Crystal Empire was built upon this love. Using love to power the Crystal Heart, they were able to seal away an evil group known as the Umbrum before building their city above the seal. At the Crystal Fair, they would have fun and enjoy each other's company, filling them with light and love, which they would then use to charge up the Crystal Heart and keep both the Umbrum and the dark weather in check."
"Headmare Twilight," Silverstream raised a claw. "This is really cool, but what does learning about love have to do with learning about Friendship?"
"Friendship is the building blocks of love," Twilight replied, "If you ask anypony who their best friend is, many times the ones in a steady long term relationship will reply that their special somepony is their best friend. Because some of the strongest relationships I've seen have been built upon friendship."
"Really?" Smolder asked, actually appearing interested in the topic.
"Yup," Twilight nodded. "After all, Flash and I were friends for many years before we realized how we felt about each other. And because we knew each other so well, the transition was pretty smooth. The same can be said for all the teachers in this school that are in a relationship. They were all built on a foundation of friendship, which is why they have lasted so long. So today, I would like you all to obverse love as the ponies in town celebrate it with their special somepony tomorrow. But please make sure not to disturb the ponies celebrating. I don't wanna have everypony in town come and complain that my students have been butting into their dates to ask them a bunch of questions." They all nodded at this, "I want you all to write an essay about what you think love is, in no less than five hundred words that is to be handed into me on Monday." The students all moaned as the bell rang, "Class is dismissed."
The students packed up and began to leave, Heart and Ace the only ones not moving due to their ears still being held by magic. Twilight waited for the students to all leave before turning to them, finally letting go of their ears. "Now, what did we learn?" The two tried to speak, but no words came out. "Oh, right." She unmuted both, the duo sighing and rubbing their ears.
"Not to mess around in your classes," Heart moaned.
"And to pay attention," Ace added, "No matter how boring your lecture is."
"Good," Twilight nodded. "Now run along. You've got a seven hundred word essay to start."
"I thought it was only five hundred words?" Heart asked.
"That was for the students that don't mess around in my class. Bad students get an extra two hundred words added to their assignment." They let out a moan, "Do you want it to be a thousand?" The two went wide-eyed at this, only to vanish in a cloud of smoke as they zipped out of the room, Twilight rolling her eyes at the sight.
And as they made their way through the school and out into the courtyard, which was decorated more than any other place in the school, Heart stuck his tongue out, "Gross. Why does Hearts and Hooves Day have to be so...lovey dovey?!"
"I have no idea," Ace grumbled as they walked over to the others.
"Oh," Silverstream exclaimed, "Hearts and Hooves Day is so exciting! We don't have anything like it in Mount Aris or in Seaquestria."
"So how do hippogriff and seaponies express their love?" Ocellus asked.
"I don't know," Silverstream shrugged, "My mom said she would tell me when I was older, but not how much older. You think I'll have dentures before she tells me?"
The others now shrugged as Mira turned to Ocellus. "What about changelings? Aren't you all into this love thing? How do changelings mate in your culture?"
Ocellus shined a big grin at this, "Oh, it's amazing. When a female sees a male she likes, she tackles him to the ground and lays her eggs in his stomach. Then, when they hatch, they bust out of the male like a pinata." They all grimaced at this, mouths wide open while some looked ready to throw up. But then Ocellus burst out laughing, "I'm just kidding! Changelings don't do that!"
"They don't?" Gallus asked.
"Promise," Ocellus giggled, "Honestly, I'm not sure how most changelings get together. My parents don't like to talk about it, so I guess it has something to do with the way things were before Thorax and Hiveena took over."
"Well yaks have great way to declare love!" Yona announced before turning to Sandbar. "When they see yak they like, they charge at them and knock them down." She ran for Sandbar, only to stop seconds before hitting him. "It way to show affection."
"Huh," Ace commented, "Not sure I'd want someone to tell me they liked me that way." He turned to Mira, "Think Springer knows how jakhowls did the whole love thing?"
"I don't think so," Mira replied, "He probably would have already told us about it."
"Augh!" Heart cried as he messed up his mane, "Stupid love! Making me have to waste my weekend watching ponies be all gross and smoochie!"
"Well aren't you a fountain of rainbows," Soul deadpanned, "It's five hundred words. You could write that much about anything."
"Ace and I have to do seven hundred," Heart grumbled.
"Then you're up a creek." Heart groaned and fell back, the others laughing as they headed off to enjoy the rest of their day. Heart decided to stay where he was, moping about until he was just about to fall asleep, only for a shadow to cast over him.
"What are you doing?" A familiar voice asked, making him open his eyes and see Cozy Glow staring down at him.
"Hey," he moaned, "Just wallowing in agony. That stupid love essay we have to write...I have no idea how I'm gonna start it." He sat up, gritting his teeth, "Stupid Hearts and Hooves Day."
"Oh, I love Hearts and Hooves Day!" Cozy responded, "It's so romantic and everypony gets to express their love. It's just the best day ever!" Heart once again simulated gagging, making Cozy's mouth puff up. "You don't need to be so rejective of it. Everypony needs love!"
"Not me," Heart pointed to himself, "I'm a tough colt, doing tough things! Love just gets in the way."
"Oh," Cozy's ears fell at this, "I see." She spun around next, "Well, you still need to write your essay about it. If you don't, you'll be in trouble."
"Yeah yeah," Heart spread his wings and took to the air. "I'll just watch one couple and throw together some sappy love conquers all speech." With that, he was gone and Cozy watched him leave with a frown on her face.
"I need to get him to trust me," she whispered as her frown turned to a smile. "Then everypony else will trust me."
The Next Day...
Heart had planned on sleeping in until at least ten since it was the weekend. His roommates appeared to have the same idea, only for that hope to be dashed when the door burst open. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day!" Silverstream cheered, making the four shoot up as she started throwing flowers around the room.
"Hey!" Gallus yelped as the petals flew everywhere, "Seriously?! Can't you do that in someone else's room?!"
"She already did," Smolder walked up next, showing she and Yona were covered in flowers. They all turned to Silverstream and she giggled, clearly not seeing that they were upset with her.
"Come on," she chuckled, "We can't waste the day in here. Let's get out there and see what Hearts and Hooves Day has to offer!" The boys moaned and tried to go back to sleep, but she grabbed and pulled them out of bed despite their loud moans.
"Fine!" Heart hissed, "We're up, we're up!" They all stood up and rubbed the sleep out of their eyes, "I hate Hearts and Hooves Day."
"Oh, you don't mean that. Now come on, we gotta find somepony in love to observe."
"Just remember not to get in their way," Soul added as she, Mira and Ocellus arrived at the door covered in flowers. "It's not fair if we ruin their Hearts and Hooves Day." Silverstream nodded before they all left, Heart sighing as he thought about who to observe, only for a bulb to go off in his head.
Within the castle of friendship, Flash and Twilight were enjoying their breakfast in the dining room. Spike and Scootaloo had already ran off to do their own things and Starlight had decided to visit Sunburst. And as Twilight spread some butter on her toast, Flash finished off the last of his cereal and attempted to drink the milk without slurping. As they did this, both didn't notice a certain Heart moving along the ceiling with a bunch of plunger cups attached to his hooves. He stared down at the two, his eyes narrowing.
The pair just sat in silence, Twilight reading a book as she ate while Flash held up a bunch of papers. "Wow," the colt whispered while rolling his eyes, "Riveting. You'd think they do something romantic today."
"Well," Twilight closed her book, "They should be here soon. Wanna go meet them?" Flash nodded and put the papers into a pile, the two soon leaving the room as Twilight teleported their dishes to the kitchen sink.
"Hey," Heart growled, "Wait for me." He pulled the plunger cups off the ceiling and slowly floated down, "They better be doing something romantic," he muttered as he followed them down to the Rune Gate Room. "Are they going somewhere?"
But as he looked into the room, he saw the two standing in front of the activate gate. From out of it, Cadance and Shining Armor stepped out with Flurry Heart in their clutches. Twilight squealed as she went over to cuddle Flurry, the baby laughing back.
"Are you sure about this?" Cadance asked, "You two shouldn't have to waste your Hearts and Hooves Day just so we can enjoy ourselves."
"When was the last time you two got to spend the day together?" Flash replied, "No royal duties or baby needs to worry about?"
"It's...been a while," Shining sighed.
"Exactly. Twilight and I can go have a romantic time together whenever we want." Heart knew that was a lie, "You two enjoy yourselves."
"Well, if you're sure."
"Yes, we are," Twilight cheered, "Today's the day of love, and not just the romantic kind." Heart raised an eyebrow at this. "We love you two, so if looking after Flurry for a day means you get to enjoy yourselves and express your love, then we're happy to do it."
"Okay," Cadance nodded as she started bringing a bunch of other things through the portal with her. As soon as Heart spotted the diapers, he spun around and zipped right out of the castle.
"Well, that was a bust." He grumbled, "Maybe I can find somepony else-WHOA!" As the colt left the castle, two blue blurs zoomed past him, knocking him out of the sky...and into a tree. His eyes began to spin as birds circled his head...which were real, as they were not happy about him crashing into their nest. "Ow..." he moaned when one pecked him in the head.
"Oops," he looked up and saw the cause of his crash. "Sorry kid," Rainbow said as she and Soarin hovered next to the tree. Heart picked himself up at this, brushing the leaves off of himself.
"What are you two doing? And why did it involve me getting slammed into a tree?!"
"Racing," Soarin replied.
"But you do that every day with the Wonderbolts! Shouldn't you be spending today...I don't know, at a fancy restaurant or something?"
"Nah," the two said in unison while shaking their heads, "Fancy food is always super boring."
Soarin let out a chuckle, "I'd rather spend the day at a small town burger place."
"Or at a carrot dog stand," Rainbow licked her lips. "Anything to refuel after a hard day's racing against one another."
"Doesn't sound very romantic," Heart scratched his head as the two pegasi laughed.
"You might not see it that way," Soarin crossed his hooves to look cool. "But it's just how we roll." Rainbow mimicked him and the newlyweds turned away. "Flying's the thing that connects us," he told Heart. "So flying's how we show how much we care about one another." Rainbow nodded in agreement before the pair shot off, sending a blast of wind back that knocked Heart into the tree again.
"Ow..." he moaned as the bird started pecking at him again. He quickly got up at this, sighing as he soon flew over the town. As he did this, he saw many ponies all partnered up. Some simply walked side by side, while others were sat at cafe tables, staring into each other's eyes.
He then spotted somepony he knew, but only slightly. It was Big Mac's girlfriend, Sugar Belle. "Hey!" He flew down to her as she pulled a cart of baking supplies through the town. "You're Sugar Belle, right? Big Mac's girlfriend?"
Sugar Belle nodded back, "That's right. Are you a friend of his?"
"Well..." Heart put a hoof to his chin, "I guess? I'm friends with his sisters and he's alright. So, what are you doing here? Planning a big surprise for Mac?"
The mare giggled at this. "No. I suspect he's planning a surprise for me, so I don't wanna trod on his shoes. I'm actually here to talk to Mrs. Cake about an apprenticing position. I'll get to learn how to make more sweet treats and be closer to Big Mac on weekends."
"That's nice," Heart replied, "But wait, isn't Pinkie Mrs. Cake's apprentice?"
"I was!" The two jumped and spun around to see a certain party pony pop out of a barrel. She was wearing a piece of headwear that had a pile of peaches on top, "I finished my apprenticeship with Mrs. Cakes years ago."
"Then why do you still live with them?" Heart asked, Pinkie laughing in response.
"Because Sugar Cube Corner is fun, fun, FUN!" As she said that, one of Wild Smile's puppets flew around the corner.
"Found you, found you, found you." Pinkie gasped at this.
"Augh! You two made me leave my hiding space."
Wild then walked around the corner, "Gotcha!" He declared, Pinkie laughing again before getting out of the barrel and taking off her headwear. Wild took out a stopwatch and smirked, "Ten minutes twenty-five seconds. New personal best for me."
"Well, I'll find you faster," Pinkie giggled as Heart raised an eyebrow.
"Are you two...playing hide and seek?" The two nodded, "Isn't that a little childish since it's Hearts and Hooves Day?"
"Of course not," Pinkie waved her hoof, "It's fun. And it's only one of the fun things we have planned to do together today." She took a scroll out of her mane and saw it roll down to the ground. Heart took a closer look, only to frown as he saw most of it wasn't exactly romantic.
"What's...Pie Splatter?"
"Oh," Pinkie rolled it up with a single swipe, "It's a board game I came up with. You roll a dice and move a token across a board, but every single space has the image of a different type of pie."
"And when you land on one, your opponent gets to pelt you with that type of pie!" Wild added.
"Can you believe that nopony's ever wanted to play with me till now?!" Pinkie whined before turning to Wild. "Now go hide! I'm gonna find you in five minutes or less!"
"Sure you are," Wild laughed before he and his puppets teleported away.
"And no teleporting away when I get close to you this time!" Pinkie called out to the empty air, the mare then leaping back into the barrel and beginning to count. Heart and Sugar Belle stared at it for a moment before slowly walking away, heading back to Sugarcube Corner.
"So...what do you think Big Mac is planning for you?"
"I don't know," Sugar Belle shrugged, "And I don't wanna know. I'm sure he's gone to a lot of trouble, so I wanna make sure I'm surprised." Heart nodded back as they reached the bakery, the colt glancing inside and seeing that nobody was in there.
"Huh," he scratched his head, "Figured Scootaloo or somepony else would be in here."
Sugar Belle laughed at this, "I wouldn't be surprised if they're helping Big Mac get things ready."
"That's never a good idea." Heart gulped, only for Sugar Belle to head inside to talk to Mrs. Cake, the little defender taking to the air before going for the farm.
"I'm never gonna find anypony to observe for this stupid essay," he groaned as he flew over the town. He then spotted another couple he knew, one with a male he now realized he was actually surprised was in a relationship.
Iron and Fluttershy were walking through town together, Fluttershy leaning against the defender with a smile on her lips. They then saw Heart fly down and landed in front of them, the colt moving his wings in a way that Fluttershy recognized as cramping. "Oh, hello Heart. Wing cramp?"
"Yeah," Heart nodded. He didn't actually have a wing cramp, but he needed a reason to land in front of them. "So, you two out enjoying Hearts and Hooves Day?"
"We're just getting some more food for the animals at the sanctuary," Fluttershy replied, "They were all wanting to really specific foods for some reason." Heart raised an eyebrow at this as Fluttershy moved over to one of the stalls, asking the clerk if he had it.
Iron stepped over and whispered, "It's a ruse to get her out of the sanctuary while the animals set something up for us." Heart raised an eyebrow at this, "I spotted Angel conversing with the other animals. I think they want to give Fluttershy a thank you for all the care she's been giving them. And hey, I get a nice dinner with it, so I'm all for it."
"Never took you for the mushy type," Heart quietly said back, "Though I'm actually just now realizing that you being in a relationship is...kinda weird."
"Hey, I never thought I'd find love. After my parents were killed, all I had was anger. I never wanted to feel that pain again, so I closed myself off from the world. But then I met her." They both glanced over at Fluttershy. "If it wasn't for her, I'd probably be some heartless monster by now. Not worthy of being a Royal Knight. Kinda like that Shadow pony you fought against. It's clear he never let love into his heart."
"You're saying if you don't let love into your heart, you're evil?"
Iron shrugged back, "In a way. A heart can't survive without being fed. And once it's dead, it's almost impossible to revive. It'll just rot away, taking everything within you along with it. You'll stop caring about others and slowly start thinking the only pony you have to look out for is yourself."
"I guess..." Heart responded, "So...you were like that? I mean, you're not exactly a barrel of laughs right now."
"I was worse when I first got here kid. By the time I met Fluttershy and the rest of her friends, I was so closed off I never thought I could make friends and find ponies that cared about me. But Fluttershy was willing to care about me. She let me open up to here and...well, if it wasn't for her, I would have become a vengeful murderer or would have been killed by my parent's killer."
"I guess it's lucky you met her then," Heart added, "But doesn't it kinda ruin your tough stallion image? Having a girlfriend?"
Iron snorted, "I don't care. If having Fluttershy in my life makes ponies think I'm some sap, let 'em think that. Just be more of a surprise when I knock 'em down with one punch." Heart laughed at this as Fluttershy walked back over, "Everypony needs somepony to love them kid. Even you. And if you can't let love into your heart, I feel sorry for you." He stepped over to Fluttershy and the pair continued their shopping trip, leaving Heart standing there.
He soon took flight, heading for the farm. As he did this, he thought about all the ponies he had seen so far that day. Flash and Twilight were spending their Hearts and Hooves Day looking after Flurry so the foal's parents could enjoy themselves. Rainbow and Soarin were flying around racing one another. Pinkie and Wild were playing a bunch of childish games. And Iron and Fluttershy were shopping. None of the ponies he had tried to watch had done anything even remotely romantic.
He then arrived at the farm, only to spot Applejack and Rogue...working in the fields. "Hey!" He flew down, the pair looking up from their work. "You guys are spending Hearts and Hooves Day working?"
"What else it there ta do?" Applejack chuckled, "The whole town's going love nuts and all our friends are pretty busy with their special somepony." She slammed a hoof into a tree as Rogue flew under it, catching all the apples in a bucket.
"Besides," Rogue smirked, "Mac and Apple Bloom are busy working on his special surprise for Sugar Belle."
"Oh yeah," Heart nodded. "I talked to her about that. Did you know she's planning to start apprenticing at Sugarcube Corner on the weekends?"
"She is?" Applejack gasped as she kicked the tree again. "That's gonna make Big Mac happy." Heart nodded as he sat on the ground and huffed. "Problem kiddo?"
"I...I'm just having trouble with an assignment Twilight made all the students have to do. I've gotta write an essay about love but I can't find anypony to observe. Flash and Twilight are looking after Flurry Heart so Cadance and Shining Armor can enjoy their day. Rainbow and Soarin are racing one another like they do every day. Pinkie and Wild are playing foals games while Iron and Fluttershy are shopping. Nopony's doing anything romantic." He then heard Applejack and Rogue chuckling at one another. "What?!"
"Yah say nopony's doing anything romantic," Applejack started, "Sure sounds romantic ta me."
"Huh?"
"I don't know much about romance," Rogue added, "But from what I've seen, you don't need big romantic gestures to show how much you care about somepony. Look at Big Mac. He tried every sappy romantic thing to get Sugar Belle to like him, but in the end, what worked was an act that meant something to her. He built her a new display case."
"He did?"
"Yup," Applejack nodded as they moved to another tree. "Doing somethin' big and romantic might work for somepony like Rarity, but does that really feel like the kind of thing Rainbow would like?"
"I...guess not. But what other way of showing love is there?"
"You're the one whose been watching everypony all day," Applejack bucked the tree and Rogue caught the apples. "What do you think?"
Heart blinked at her, only to go over each and every thing that he had seen the couples do in his head. Flash had agreed to look after Flurry with Twilight. Flash loved Flurry as much as anypony, but he also knew Twilight loved spending time with her niece. Helping her out with that was letting Twilight enjoy herself and show how much he cared. Rainbow and Soarin lived for flying. Heck, if he had a bean for every time he had seen Rainbow use her hooves instead of flying when she was given the choice he would be able to fit them all on one hoof. Pinkie and Wild were pretty insane ponies. They lived for bringing joy to others, so making each other laugh and have fun was perfect for them. Iron had told him about how Fluttershy had helped him open up. Even if he was more sociable, the pair had always been rather reserved. A big fancy dinner in a restaurant likely wasn't their kind of thing. Heart wouldn't be surprised if they got more cutesy when they were alone.
None of the ponies he had been watching we particularly into the lovey dovey stuff, only to go wide-eyed as he realized what that meant. "Huh. I guess I never thought of it like that. Honestly, I never saw how important love was before. I mean...I've never felt it."
"Sure you have," Applejack chimed in, "Yah love Soul, don't yah?"
"As a sister," Heart replied.
"Still counts. And yah love yer friends, right? If any of them got hurt, you'd be upset." Heart nodded, "Well, that's love to. Doesn't just have to be the love a stallion feels for a mare. In fact, sometimes those kinds of love can be stronger thn any other."
"Wow...you sure seem to know a lot about love despite not being in a relationship."
Applejack just shrugged, "Ah've just given it a lot of thought. Especially since ah learned how mah ma and pa got together. Now why don't ya'll go see if Apple Bloom needs any help in the barn. Yah might learn something more if yah get to see Big Mac's big plans."
"Okay. Thanks." He took to the air and was about to fly off, only to glance back at them, "So...if you two had a special somepony, who'd you wanna spend a day like today with?" The pair blinked at him before sharing a glance, both quickly blushing and looking away next.
"Eh...ah'm not sure," Applejack responded, "Never really thought about it."
"I guess whatever they liked doing when they weren't working hard," Rogue said off the top of his head. Heart shrugged back, the colt soon flying off as the pair got back to work. And as they did this, the two did quick glances at one another when the other wasn't looking.
When Heart arrived at the barn, he saw Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo walking into it with frowns on their faces.
"I don't get it!" Scootaloo yelled, "We asked every stallion in Ponyville!"
"Asked them what?" Heart asked, making the girl jump and look up to see him fly down. The sight made the girls gasp and Sweetie Belle started blushing.
"Fire Heart," she flickered her eyebrows and she slid herself slowly over to him. "So, how's your day been?"
"O...kay," Heart replied with a raise of his eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"
"Just...wondering if you've been doing anything important today. Maybe...doing some baking."
"Nope," Heart shook his head, "No baking. Just...working on a project for school." Sweetie's smile vanished and her shoulder sagged while Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked disappointed.
"So...you didn't send Sweetie a pie?" Scootaloo added, Heart shaking his head.
"Nope."
"Oh, come one!"
"Now we really have asked every stallion in Ponyville," Apple Bloom sighed as she walked into the barn. Heart glanced inside and saw the place was decorated to look really romantic. She let out a groan as she leapt onto a hay bale. "There's gotta be somepony we're missin'. Somepony obvious. Somepony right in front of our noses."
The girls all sighed as Heart just stood there, completely confused.
"Oh well." Sweetie shrugged, "At least the barn's looking great for Big Mac's date."
"Yeah," Heart chimed in, "Any idea when that'll be? I kinda wanna watch so I can get some tips for my essay."
"What?! No way!" Scootaloo yelped, "This date is way too important! We can't mess it up by letting you watch them!" Heart moaned at this as Sweetie sat down on the barn floor.
"Sugar Belle is so lucky to have a non-secret admirer like Big Mac."
Apple Bloom smiled. "I bet she's gonna take one look at this barn and say, 'What did I ever do to deserve this?'"
"Huh," Heart shrugged. It was here that he saw a flash coming from behind one of the hay bales, making him raise an eyebrow and fly over. The girls watched him as he glanced over the top to find...nothing. "What the-I was sure saw something behind here."
"Probably just the wind," Scootaloo added.
Heart sighed and jumped down. "Well, if I can't watch, then I guess I better go. I've still got my essay to write."
"What's it about?" Sweetie asked.
"I have to write about love and what I learned from watching the couples on Hearts and Hooves day."
Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light and Discord appeared. "Oh," he smiled, "So somepony else is being forced to accept this mambie pambie stuff."
"What are you doing here?" Apple Bloom asked, "You better not be here to mess up mah brother's big date!" Discord barely seemed to register this as he summoned a cup of tea and leaned back against a hay bale, even pushing one of the bales back as if it was an recliner.
"I'll have you know, your brother tricked me into showing up with the promise of ogres and oubliettes just so he could get me to help with preparing this date stuff." He sipped his tea, "And then your friend Spike started trying to make me accept that love exists."
"But love does exist," Sweetie pointed out. "What do you think powers the Crystal Heart and keeps the Crystal Empire from being buried alive?"
"Don't know, don't care." He turned to Heart, "So, have you fallen in with the sheep? Accepted that love truly exists?"
"I never doubted that love existed," Heart shrugged, "I just...never really got why it was so important until now." Discord let out a sound of disbelief.
"Stick with me boy, I'll teach you who the most important one to love in this world is: Yourself." The young ponies and even the dragon that was still hiding raised an eyebrow at him. "What?! It's true! You can't love anything if you can't love yourself!"
"That...I guess he's not wrong," Sweetie frowned, "You can't really accept love if you don't think you're worthy of it."
"Exactly!" Discord exclaimed, "Now you understand. The only one you should focus on loving on Hearts and Hooves day is yourself. Let all the love sick ponies poison themselves eating disgusting homemade chocolate their special somepony made, leaving all the professional treats for you to eat." He summoned a heart-shaped box of chocolates and started chowing them down. "Besides, love sounds dangerous. I mean, why would you risk getting your heart broken like that? What if the one you like doesn't like you back, or pretends to like you to get your own way? Or they do like you back, but change their minds and break up with you."
"Could that happen?" Heart asked the girls.
"Of course not." They turned to see Spike step out from behind a bale of hay, wondering how long he had been there. "Just ignore him kid. Love is so worth the risk."
"Oh really?" Discord glared at Spike, "And how did it feel when you discovered the mare you loved was dating somepony else?" Spike grimaced at that, "You were sad, heartbroken. You felt like nothing would ever feel good again."
"I guess," Spike shrugged before smiling. "But that doesn't mean I regret having those feelings. Even though I was sad back then, I was also really happy that something could make me feel that sad."
"Happy that you were sad?" Heart asked, "How does that work?"
"Well, me being sad about it meant I was really happy about it. It meant what I felt was real. And just because I felt sad when I discovered she was dating Lightning, it doesn't destroy all the happy memories I made when I felt that way. So yeah, I was sad. But it was kind of a...beautiful sadness, you know?"
"I guess," Heart couldn't help but feel like that made a lot of sense.
Discord scoffed, "But what about the pain you felt?"
"Yeah, the pain was bad. But I had those that cared for me and helped me heal. And just because I gave up on my feelings for Rarity, it doesn't mean we're not still friends. We still hang out, only now it's actually easier because we don't have that annoying love sword hanging over our heads."
"Wow," Sweetie whispered, "That's really mature."
"Yup," Spike pointed to himself, "Mr. Maturity right here." He then glared at Discord, "And I'd rather have a broken heart instead of no heart at all. At least something that's broken can be fixed and even made stronger than ever." Discord huffed but chose to not say anything and instead, teleported away.
Heart chuckled at this before leaving, soon taking to the air. He headed back to the school and looked down at the town as he did so, continuing to see couples all over the place still enjoying their time together. For some strange reason, seeing them all together didn't make him feel sick like it had before. And as he arrived at the school, he spotted his sister walking out of the front door with a bag floating in her magic. "Hey sis," he said as he landed, "Going somewhere?"
"Diamond's house," Soul replied, "She invited me to come swimming earlier, but I couldn't go until I finished my essay. Glad I got it done. I haven't gotten to spend much time with her and Silver Spoon since we started coming here."
"Same," Heart hadn't gotten to hang out with Rumble and Button much since moving to the school of friendship. Maybe he could hang out with them tomorrow.
"Well, gotta go." She began to fly off, "You better get that essay done."
"I will," Heart responded as she left. He walked into the school and headed to his room to grab some paper, then made his way towards the library. Inside, he saw Ace, Mira and the rest of their friends gathered around a table.
"Heart!" Ace waved him over, "You finish your essay yet?"
"Not even started," Heart asked with a sigh. "What about you all? You find somepony to watch?" They all nodded and Heart looked down to see they were writing and had almost a full sheet of words.
"Done," Ocellus smiled as she put her quill down.
"Me too," Silverstream and Mira squealed. Sandbar was next, followed by Yona, with Gallus right after her.
"Just...a few more...words," Smolder scribbled her writing down and smirked. "Done." They all turned to Ace, who still needed to do an extra two hundred words. As they waited, Heart decided to fly over to the window and look out it as he took out his paper.
"Finished!" Ace cheered, the others following suit. "What do you all wanna do now?"
"I had an idea for a race we could do," Sandbar replied, "We need a flyer and two who can hold onto ropes super tight." They all cheered and ran out the room, leaving Heart alone. The colt smiled at this, happy Ace and Mira had new friends to hang out with. He continued to look out the window and thought about everything he had seen that day. For the next thirty minutes, he went over every couple he saw, every romantic thing and how they had shown their love. And eventually, he grabbed his quill and started writing.
I've never really thought much about love. It never really seemed that important to me. But, I don't think the world could survive without it. In the short time since I met Flash and my friends, I've seen what those without love are like. Because they refused to let love into their hearts, those hearts wilt until all that's left is a rotten hole that could only be filled with love.
He stopped and thought back to Shadow Corrupter/Void, along with those like Malafear, the Storm King and other villains. It was clear that none of them had any love in their heart, causing them to become twisted and evil. Dipping the quill in the ink, he started writing again.
I've seen those who once gave up on love and happiness, but then found somepony who was willing to love them despite who or what they were. To help them heal from the pain that made them give up on love, allowing them to not only love again, but love better than ever.
At her cottage, Fluttershy was leaning against Iron as she calmly stroked Angel Bunny. Iron looked down at her, stroking his hoof through her mane to make her feel content.
Fluttershy smiled at this and snuggled up to him closer, the pair closing their eyes.
I've seen those that thought they'd never get to experience love find somepony that makes them happy.
Pinkie and Wild Smile were in the party planning cave, playing the board game they had both developed together. Wild's game piece moved across the board and as soon as it stopped on the cream pie image, Pinkie pulled the dessert out of her mane and threw it at him. It slammed into the unicorn, Wild blinking as the cream slid down his face. He and Pinkie then shared a look before they burst out laughing, Pinkie falling over into Wild's lap.
The two stared at one another as the cream continue to slide off Wild's face, Pinkie using this chance to open her mouth and let it fall in. This, of course, caused them both to start laughing again.
I've seen those whose love was born through a single shared enjoyment, that single spark igniting into something beautiful.
Rainbow and Soarin continued to fly around, constantly racing one another. The newlyweds smirked at one another as each won three races, then spotted a food cart down below and decided the race to it, winner getting to decide what they get to eat, both laughing all the way.
And I've seen those who's love hasn't even been seen yet, but continues to grow no matter what. Even if it seems like it'll never happen, it'll bloom into something amazing.
Back at Sweet Apple Acres, Rogue had just finished putting the last bucket of apples in the cellar. When he stepped back up, he found Applejack waiting at the top of the stairs with a pair of apple ciders in her hoof.
He smirked and took one, both sitting on a nearby bench and enjoying the refreshing taste as they bathed in the afterglow of a job well done.
But I've also seen love that was lost, because that's something everypony has to be willing to risk when following love. Because only something so amazing and pure can cause a pain that feels like it'll destroy you. But I know that the love you can feel is well worth the risk of feeling that pain.
Spike was running through the town looking for Big Mac, who had rushed off to find Sugar Belle in an attempt to patch things up. He stopped for a moment, panting as he did so, only to see Rarity and Lightning sitting at a nice little cafe. The pair smiled at one another and Spike's mind went back to the Hearts and Hooves Day he had once shared with Rarity, only to take a deep breath...and continued to run.
And even if you do end up feeling that pain, there's an amazing cure that can help the scars it makes heal. The love of those around you.
Suddenly, Discord popped up next to Spike and told the little dragon he didn't have to worry about Sugar Belle and Big Mac. The pair were then warped to another table with an Ogres and Oubliettes board between them, Spike smiling as he opened the book.
Because love doesn't just come in one form. There's the love you have for your family.
Flash and Twilight smiled as they sat beside one another, Flurry in her hooves sound asleep and holding the hoof Flash had been tickling her with before she fell asleep.
The pair chuckled at the sight, knowing that despite having to spend the day changing diapers and cleaning the foal up, they had still had a lot of fun.
The love you have for your friends.
Silver and Tiara watched as Soul leapt into the air and cannon-balled into the pool, the alicorn swimming up and breaking through the surface fast enough to make a wave that washed over the pair. The two couldn't help but laugh before they all dived down.
In another part of the town, Gallus, Silverstream, Smolder, Yona, Sandbar, Ocellus, Ace and Mira were all having fun. Gallus and Smolder were flying over the jakhowls, pulling ropes that Ace and Mira were using to jet ski along the water while Silverstream watched from below in her seapony form to act as judge.
The two jakhowls smirked before Ace slipped too close to Mira, causing the pair to crash into one another and suddenly start skipping along the water. They flew past the finish line and landed in a heap on the bank, the others running over as Ace and Mira began to untangle themselves. They turned to glare at one another, but then started laughing, the others following suit.
And even the love you have for yourself. As long as some form of love is a part of you, you'll always be able to live with joy. But I've also seen that love, even when it's shared and expressed, always comes with its own challenges and trials. If a love is strong enough, they can overcome those challenges. But if they're not, the love will break under the pressure.
Sugar Belle frowned as she looked over her cart, which had lost a wheel outside of town. She tried to lift it up and use her magic to move the wheel back into place, only for it to slip and fall in the mud.
But even if love breaks, if you care about the other pony enough, it can be fixed. You just have to believe it's strong enough to survive, even after being wounded.
As Sugar Belle rubbed the mud off her face, she found a hoof being offered to her by Big Mac. She took it and the stallion helped her up, the pair talking about everything that had happened that day. Turns out, it was all a misunderstanding.
Because love isn't just an emotion, or a feeling. It's not just a magic that give you to blast away your enemies, far from it. Love...love is promise. Love is the promise to always stand by the ones who love you back, to be there whenever they need you and to trust that they'll be there when you need them.
It's a promise that whenever you make a mistake, you'll learn and do everything in your power to make up for it and never make that mistake again. It's a promise that when things seem hard, almost impossible, you won't abandon those around you to try and make things better for yourself. It's a promise that when those you love are making a mistake, that you'll help them see that and do everything you can to show them how to fix that mistake or put them on the right path. That's what love is.
As Mac repaired the wagon, he and Sugar Belle both apologized for everything that had happened that day. It seemed their love life was gonna be full of slight hiccups like this. But as long as they stayed together, they would get through anything that got in their way.
I don't know if I'll ever find the type of love that everypony associates the word with, but I do know I love my family. I love my friends, Equestria, and even myself to the extent I wouldn't be called egotistical. And even if I never feel that special kind of love, that'll be okay. Because I have all the other kinds of love to help me grow stronger.
As long as Equestria, and all the other kingdoms where love flows free exists, I'll stand up to any evil. I'll fight to protect the world, so that others can share the love I've come to learn is so important. The many different loves that exist have one more protector to ensure they live on. Let the love of this world define us all. Let it shape us in the same way that friendship does. Let it flow free, so that all may grow stronger with the power of love.
Heart stopped writing and looked over the essay, counting the words and seeing he was just over seven hundred. Smiling, he rolled the work up and got down from the window. He then headed to his room to safely stuff the essay away before walking through the almost empty school, only to notice somepony in the courtyard. "Cozy?" The pegasus filly was sitting next to the fountain, frowning as she stared at a piece of paper she was holding. "Everything okay?"
"Oh," she looked up at him with a frown, "Hi Heart...I'm having trouble with my love essay." Heart raised an eyebrow at this and sat down beside her.
"What's wrong?"
"I...I just can't seem to get the words out. I don't know how to write about love." Heart nodded at that as she looked away, "Head-mare Twilight's gonna flunk me for sure." Heart frowned and took her essay. "Please don't read it. It's really bad."
"Can't be any worst then some of the stuff I've written." He began looking it over and saw what she meant. The essay was a little...lacking. Heart wasn't sure what it was lacking, but he could tell it was. He smiled back at her, "Let's see if we can't figure out how to make it pop together."
"Really?!" She asked as she glanced back at him, Heart nodding. The two continued to sit together for the rest of the day, slowly working on rewriting Cozy's essay. It was tough, but eventually they managed to come up with something that looked at least decent enough to turn it. On Monday, Twilight would read both their essays and be quite impressed, with Heart's more the Cozy's though, the alicorn smiling in joy that Heart had learned the true meaning of love.
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Oh my, I have mixed feelings about this chapter.
On the one hand I really liked the fact that it didn't focus on Big Mac and his misunderstandings, I liked more this concept of understanding love, a gold star for you, Banshee.
But on the other hand, I don't know if I can understand what Spike said.
I had a similar experience in the past with a girl, but then another guy came along, and he stole her from me.
We are currently friends, but, I regret having felt something for her, maybe if I had not loved her, I would not have felt that pain, and I do not want to feel it again and i still have a grudge for that guy.
(Sorry about that, I ended up telling a story from my past in the comment box, but I write it with my feelings and my heart, I know it's ridiculous but I thought that writing would make me feel better, in these parenthesis here I'm using my brain.)
THAT WAS LOW DISCORD, THAT WAS REALLY LOW, I BET YOU KNOW NOTHING, YOU WON'T KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO HAVE THE GIRL YOU LOVE TAKEN AWAY BY A STUPID GUY (Ok i really overeact in the part when i say Lightning is a stupid guy, i was wrong, but my heart and brain knows it was still low, even coming from Discord.)
Ahhhhhh, it hurts, of course it hurts, I can't seriously believe that Spike still believes in love in this episode, in the original series it was obvious but here, I understand that he has matured and very well for him, but I didn't think he would continue to take it so well , especially because of what that damned Draconecus reminded him of. (Again I'm being completely irrational, it's great character development and good writing, which my feelings and heart don't realize yet, as always, the brain speaks best)
Ok now to stop talking with the heart and feelings, if I can say that it is one of the best adaptations I have read, especially if you made me feel that way, and that detail at the end was nice, that tender moment between Heart and Cozy, but I feel that it will still destroy my soul to see Heart with his heart broken when he discovers that Cozy turns evil.
Ughh, it's going to be something that's not going to be pretty to read.
Great episode, which is why I'm taking this opportunity to suggest you don't skip the episode Dragon Dropped from season 9.
I just hope that if someone responds to this comment, I hope they don't think I'm crazy, I will be strongly emotional and get carried away by my feelings many times but I'm not crazy
I am glad that this chapter focus on Heart learning the concept of love and how love can be form in many ways, not just romance he think of. (Good character development for Heart)
Although, this chapter may get personal with those who got their heartbroken when we get to Spike part… I had a bad feeling that a certain Pegasus will ends up feeling that by the end of this season.
Here's highlights
Oh boy… Cozy Glow is definitely taking advantage of Heart and I worried she may manipulate him to turn against his friends.
Was that Despicable Me reference?
Wow! That's wise words, Iron.
Oh boy! Ship tease time!
ApplejackXRogue ship tease count: 1
ApplejackXRogue ship tease count: 2
Did he foreshadowing what going to happens in Season 8 finale? If so, I think Heart will not take the revelation of Cozy being evil well and probably be way more devastated and heartbroken than ever.
At least, they don't forget their old friends.
ApplejackXRogue ship tease count: 3
Come on, you two! We know you love each other.
Wait till Cozy shows her true colors then we'll see if he still feels about love.
Wow, this was certainly an interesting take.
I am glad you changed the perspective of this episode a bit, since I was not a fan of the original due to some cringy moments throughout it and how the main conflict was all brought about because of a misunderstanding. But I love the angle you take with the holiday in this chapter. Instead of getting several scenes of various couples together out on dates together, kinda like what happened back in Season 2 (before any of these couples were even official), we follow Heart as he tries to understand why love is so important and all the various forms it takes.
You did a nice job of showing how couples can demonstrate their love without doing any stereotypical lovey-dovey stuff. Heck, none of the couples here even shares an on-screen kiss together, but it is clear they still love each other through their activities together. Also discussing the love you have for your family, your friends, and yourself was good too.
It seems like this also hinted at a possible relationship growing between Heart and Cozy Glow more too, since it was already implied Heart has a crush on her previously. Sadly though, it is also clear Cozy is only interested in gaining Heart's trust so she can use him. If they do "hook up" or something, and Heart discovers Cozy's true nature, I hope he doesn't go through as big of a heartbreak as Spike did over Rarity.
That was hilarious! Well played Ocellus,
I won't ever deny that Sandbar and Yona are cute together, but I was always a bigger Sandbar x Ocellus fan myself.
Cozy was already a manipulative little brat, but if her plans end up breaking Fire Heart's heart then she'll be a demon!
Even when they aren't here Starlight and Sunburst get a bit of ship tease.
He doesn't want to risk babysitting Flurry... It's "A Flurry of Emotions" all over again.
Wow, Discord actually gave some useful advice for once.
Like the old saying, "'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all".
That kinda reminds me of how Harry Potter said he pitied Voldemort, because he'll never know friendship or love.
Given the episode order, if the next one is the one I think it is, then I am really excited!
This part was my favorite, keep up the good work.
11305425
I have a feeling Soul will punch Cozy Glow in the face when she finds out Cozy broke Heart's heart
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I'm getting the same vibe too.
Well great chapter but if you are going to do your version of the mean six (Seven) may I suggest this...
For when the ponies meets the former Queen Chrysalis and her clones and explained her plans to them. They'll be like.
Flash "Discord did it."
Queen Chrysalis "Excuse you?"
Pinkie "The turning use against each other Discord did it when he invented Equestria."
Queen Chrysalis "But that's not the same..."
Applejack "After he separated us and used fake versions of us and taking the elements like you were trying to do now."
Queen Chrysalis "Wait he did in a edge maze!"
Fluttershy "Well this is a forest."
Queen Chrysalis "So this is completely different!"
Twilight "Yeah about as different as you ate to Discord."
Flash "Shots fired!"
Queen Chrysalis "Kill Flash Sentry!"
Flash "Discord tried to do it."
Later
Twilight "It looks like you Underestimated that magic of friendship just like..."
Queen chrysalis "Don't you dare!"
Twilight "You did before."
Queen Chrysalis "Oh well fare enough."
Starlight "And just like Discord."
Queen Chrysalis "HISSSS! DID DISCORD EVER DID THIS?!"
Flash Sentry "Beginning to think you have something against Discord."
love is in bloom.
part of me feared a break up would come with the other characters
Nice POV of this episode regarding relationships, glad that the Young 8 (or is it 10?
) got into it! Course we saw a certain pegasus filly taking advantage of it with by getting closer to Heart 
Something tells me Spike won't be the only one struck by heartbreak in this series! 
Hmm what's this? Aww someone posted today's Highlights on this card!
Ouch, silent but deadly!
lol well played love bug!
Someone's in high spirits!
Ouch Diz, that was low even for you!
And awesome dragon snarks back, priceless!!!
Awww ok you redeem yourself a bit there Diz!
OMG this is gonna hurt come S8 finale!
Good chapter this week Banshee, later!!!
Please don't let this season end in heartbreak.
I hope Spike can find the love again. Maybe with another dragoness OC. Or with Gabby. Wathever, Great job. I really love the wisdom of these lessons. And I share that love is something we should never lose. I also hope that love helps Cozy reform and doesn't end up breaking Heart's heart (just a hope), since I felt bad knowing that someone so young could be evil. Anyway, good luck and great chapter, I can't wait to see the next ones (especially "Moult")
Ok, that’s a big oh no.