Early morning, that was the time when Twilight Velvet awoke today. Mornings were always a good time for her to think. They were peaceful, quiet, and she had it all to herself. This morning, however, many thoughts plagued her mind. She was constantly thinking back to the day before, to the events that transpired that had her thinking. Velvet couldn't quite put a hoof on it, but what she had witnessed was something she would remember for a long time.

***Yesterday***

It was an even snow fight, it was. Ever since DJ had been helping Nyx with her magic (moral support), she was continually getting better and Spike's arms had gotten stronger thanks to guitar practice. DJ's abilities and experience were what kept the game even, otherwise his opponents would have creamed him at the start. As the war wore on, DJ was getting the upper hand, that was, until he was suddenly under a large pile of snow that fell from the sky. Everypony looked up to see none other than Pixel Berry standing on the roof of the Sparkle house, grinning madly at her surprise attack.

"Looks like I win, bro!" DJ popped his head out of the snow and gave her a deadpan look.

"Really? You had to dump all this stuff on me? You realize this is the second time today that I have been covered in snow? I may be immune to the cold, for whatever reason, but that doesn't mean snow doesn't still affect me! If I get sick, it's on your head, Berry!" He shook his fist in mock anger at her. "One of these days, one of these days!" Berry on giggled at his "threat" and flew down to help him out of the pile, transforming into a human to do so. The four of them then went inside to warm up.

Twilight's parents were shocked to see another human walk into their house. Twilight was pleasantly surprised. "Oh! Hello there Pixel Berry. How have you been? Have you been keeping up with your lessons?"

"Yes, Twilight," she said in a mocking tone, as if she were addressing her teacher. "Heh. It's good to see you, too. Are these your parents?" Twilight nodded and Berry focused on them. "Hi, my name is Pixel Berry, nice to meetcha!" She put out her hand and smiled at them.

"Wait a second. Pixel Berry? As in the daughter of Princess Celestia? That Pixel Berry?," said Night Light in surprise.

Berry gave him a mock questioning look. "There's another? Heh, yep that's me. I look different when I am not an alicorn, huh? It seems you have met my brother as well. I hope he hasn't got into too much trouble."

DJ put his hand over his heart. "Moi?! As if! You're one to talk, miss 'gets-crazy-every-time-she-meets-a-new-pony.' It is good to see you though sis."

Twilight Velvet spoke at this. "Wait! You two are brother and sister?!"

"Technically. No blood relation, but we consider each other family."

"Doesn't that mean that DJ is the son of Pri--"

"Ah ah! Don't say it! I am not her son and we are going to keep it that way! Just makes everything awkward. We are going to drop that subject and never speak of it again. OK? OK. Now, Berry, you staying for dinner?"

The others were in a bit of shock at his outburst, but Berry was unaffected. "I wish I could, but I promised Mom I wouldn't be gone long. Just needed to pick a few things up from Fancy Pants. He and Discord are pretty much the only one's I can have fun with. Everypony else are just snotty, stuck-up, brats. I nearly got in trouble with that the first time Mom brought me to Day Court. That's a story for another time, though. I'll see you guys at the play in a few days! See ya later!" She ran out the door as she spoke, transforming on the way out and taking flight. DJ watched her fly off towards the castle and closed the door not long after.

"That was a nice treat, wasn't expecting to see her for a few days. Berry certainly is adjusting well, though," said DJ as he returned to the others.

"She certainly is," said Twilight.  "Now let's get to work on dinner."

It wasn't too much longer when they sat down for dinner. It was pretty uneventful, mostly DJ answering questions and concerns from her parents. When sex came up, though, DJ went into a coughing fit from his drink. Mostly I was just luck I didn't spit it in their faces. Bad idea. "That is s-something that waits until after m-marriage, Miss Velvet," he said, still choking. "That's just how I was raised to treat a lady. And Twilight deserves nothing less and plenty more." The parents accepted this answer with smiles, Twilight blushed a little, but something seemed off about. DJ didn't notice, however. They continued telling stories until Luna's moon was high in the night sky and all headed to bed for the night.

Later in the night, Velvet had awoken to nature's calling, but as she returned to her room, she noticed a black smudge entering the guest room where DJ was sleeping. Nyx. Velvet approached the door and looked in through the crack. What she saw will be engrained into her memory the rest of her life.

"DJ?," Nyx spoke silently as she nudged the human to wake up. He grumbled a bit in response. but didn't wake. She tried again, "DJ?" His eyes fluttered opened and looked over to see his favorite filly staring at him with scared eyes.

"Nyx?," he asked as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What's a matter kiddo?"

"I-I had a nightmare. I was wondering if you could sing me a lullaby, you know to help me sleep?" Nyx looked down in shame. She didn't like it when DJ saw her like this. DJ only smiled and picked her up, putting her in his lap.

"No need to be afraid, Nyx. I'm here and so are your mother, grandparents, and Uncle Spike. Nightmares are nothing to be ashamed of, I used to get them too. Don't worry, kiddo, I'll sing you your favorite song."

Nyx looked up to see his comforting eyes looking back at her. "My song?," she asked in hope.

"Yep, Nyx's song. Your song." He cleared his throat and began to sing to her the same song he had on that night so many months ago. This song had become hers as far as DJ was concerned. It was one of the few things that could instantly calm her. So that 's what it will always be: Nyx's Song.

When DJ had finished his song, Velvet slowly returned to her bedroom and climbed back into bed. What she had witnessed was something she never thought she see for her granddaughter.

***The Present***

That song she had heard and the way Nyx acted around him were so...so...she couldn't even come up with a word for it. Velvet then noticed that she was no longer alone in the kitchen. Her daughter was at the table drinking coffee and reading a book she had never seen before. "Twilight, I didn't think you would be awake as well."

Twilight looked up from her book and greeted her mother. "Good morning, Mother. I've actually been down her for a while, DJ's singing woke me up last night, I couldn't get back to sleep. Good thing I brought some of these books he gave to Nyx. It's actually quite a few fascinating tales. Like this one, The Last Olympian. It's the last book of the series, but it fills in so much! I can see why DJ likes them so much."

"That's great honey. So you heard him singing, too?"

Twilight only shrugged. "Yeah, Nyx must have had a nightmare. She still gets them now and then, but ever since DJ first sung her that song, she calms down like nothing ever happened. I think he even started calling it her song."

Velvet only nodded. A question then popped into her mind. "Twilight, why is DJ so protective about Nyx? What makes her so special to him?" Twilight put her book down and sighed.

"You know, I asked him that very same question not too long ago? It was an eye-opening answer. He told me it was because he knew her story, but couldn't do anything about it. He felt that none of that Nightmare Moon stuff ever should have happened to her. DJ said it was because of Nyx that Celestia was his least favorite Princess. He knows all about her from those stories of his world, even though there some inconsistencies, there aren't very many. DJ's need to protect her, though, even he is not sure why he feels as such. He feels he should. It's not like a responsibility to him, though; he does it because he cares about her so much."

Velvet simply stared into space as Twilight explained it. She didn't have long to ponder it, however, as everypony else began to walk into the kitchen for breakfast, DJ and Nyx walking in last.

After breakfast, all of them took a taxi to the train station where Shining, Cadence, and their foal should be arriving. DJ noticed the trio first, due to his height and gave sharp whistle to get their attention. Shining, who had been talking to Cadence, looked up immediately and gave a small grin when he noticed the human waving them over. His wife looked in shock at the creature, but followed anyway, after making sure Guard Armor was secured on her torso. When they arrived over to the others, all manners of greetings were exchanged (including a small dance between the sisters), but Shining and Twilight took the first chance to introduce DJ.

"Honey, this the creature I mentioned. His name is DJ. Don't worry he's friendly from what I have seen."

"Oh my," Cadence responded.

"Yep, he's also my special somepony, Cadence. I hope you two can be friends," said Twilight. DJ just watched and smiled whenever Cadence looked at him. A nice calm smile, of course. As Twilight and her parents began to explain things to Cadence, DJ took Shining Armor to the side for a private talk.

"Something you need to speak with me about, DJ?"

"Yes, Shining," he started. "It's about Nyx. I am going to be blunt here, if you still have any problems with your niece, then you had best keep them to yourself. I know everything that happened last Hearth's Warming and I will not allow history to repeat itself. If you do anything to hurt her in anyway, then I will take you on with my swords on full power. Trust me, you don't want to be on the other end of them at that point. Do I make myself clear?" DJ gave a deep scowl at Shining, who was staring wide-eyed at the human. He simply nodded, uncertain about what just happened. "Good, let's join the others."

They walked back to others just as Twilight finished telling Cadence about her coltfriend. Cadence looked over at Shining, who simply said it was 'guy talk'. She wasn't so sure, but accepted the explanation. "Well, I certainly have heard much about you, DJ. It's so nice to see Twilight have somepony special in her life, even if he's not a pony. And this little bundle is Guard Armor." She pointed at the foal strapped to her chest. DJ bent down and offered his finger as little shake to the white coated foal. He smiled as Guard took his finger in his hooves and started to play with it, giggling the whole time.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, why don't we go drop your bags off at the house and then we can go get our Hearth's Warming logs?" said Night Light. They all agreed. Not too much longer the were nearing a certain stallion's field. As they piled out of the carriage, they were greeted by the pot-bellied Lumber Jack. "Ah Night Light! How is my best customer?"

"Very good, Jack. It has been too long."

"That it has, that is has. Velvet!" He lifted her left hoof and kissed it. "A pleasure as always! You are still radiant as the day ve first met."

"Oh, Jack, you charmer, you!"

"Guilty as charged! And the children as well! Shining, Cadence, and foal! Nice to meet the new little one. Vhat is name?"

"Guard Armor, Jack," Shining replied.

"Good, good, but could be better. How about...AH! Vhat is that?!" He finally noticed DJ standing behind Twilight. He simply responded with small wave.

"This is DJ, Jack. He's my coltfriend, so please be nice. He won't harm anything, I promise. Will you DJ?" She gave him a small glare at him.

He just smiled and replied. "Nope, I only attack trees that haven't been cut down!" Twilight face-hoofed. Lumber Jack, however, burst into a joyous laugh.

"I think I like him! Good to meet you DJ, any friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine. Would you care to hear the story of Hearth's Varming?" They talked casually as they went looking for the perfect log.

"I usually am one for information, Lumber Jack, but I already know the story. Harmony and all that. Yes, I do know why they have logs. We humans actually have a similar tradition." Lumber Jack and Twilight looked suspiciously at him.

"Really?" the asked in unison.

"Yeah, it's called a Christmas Tree. That's what we call Hearth's Warming on Earth. The trees were brought in the house as a way to preserve the spirit of spring during the harsh cold of the winter. That started a long time ago, but has become a symbol of the holiday since. It's basically the same idea; gift giving, friends and family, that kind of stuff." He shrugged as he finished.

Jack nodded in appreciation at the human. "Very interesting, young one." Twilight was smiling and taking mental notes as she learned more about DJ's culture. Then they overheard Cadence.

"What do you mean 'there's too much blue'? There's not even the tiniest bit of blue in that fire!" Shining was trying his best to calm her down, but was not getting anywhere.

DJ called over to them. 'Hey! If Mr. Night Light says there's too much blue, then there is too much blue! I am new still new to this and even I know that Cadence, what's your excuse?" He chuckled a little to let her know that he wasn't really making fun of her. Shining and Night look over at the human in awe and appreciation.

"Thank you DJ. A HA! These one's Jack. Number forty-two. I need four dozen!"

"Right away! HEY! Get your flanks moving," he yelled at his assistants. "And mark up forty-two's price, we got this year's premium grade! AHAHA!" Jack laughed heartily as his workers loaded up the logs for delivery. DJ chuckled at the sight and smiled.

*********

After a small trip around town, they arrived back home to get the decorations all set up. Everypony was given a task, except for Cadence and Guard Armor. Velvet and Nyx were in the kitchen making goodies. Nyx and Spike were running around gathering anything that was asked of them. The males were subjected to hanging the directions. DJ didn't mind, it was his usual job back home around this time of year.

As they got to work, DJ once again began to hum a holiday song to himself. Shining noticed and looked at him in confusion, while his father clarified.

"Don't think about it too much, son. He's been doing that a lot lately. Haven't you DJ?," he questioned loudly, trying to get DJ's attention.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. I just have a thing for holiday songs. They're some of my favorites. If you were wondering, the one I was humming is a favorite for this type of work. It's called Deck the Halls. Basically, it's a song about decorating one's home for the holidays."

"I actually liked it," said Shining. "Think you can sing a few bars?," he asked in a challenging tone.

DJ looked offended. "You dare mock my musical genius? SLANDER!," he said pointing an accusing finger at him. "I shall prove my power!" He cleared his throat and went back to work as he sang.

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Tis the season to be jolly,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Don we now our gay apparel,

Fa la la, la la la, la la la.

Troll the ancient Yule tide carol,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

See the blazing Yule before us,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Strike the harp and join the chorus.

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Follow me in merry measure,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

While I tell of Yule tide treasure,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Fast away the old year passes,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Hail the new, ye lads and lasses,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Sing we joyous, all together,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Heedless of the wind and weather,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Everypony had stopped doing what they were doing and watched as DJ sang while he worked. When he was done, he finally noticed that everypony was staring at him, he blushed a little. "Yeah, it's kind of a weird song. Little too festive for my taste, but hey! It get's ponies in the mood, right?"

"Not at all, dearie," began Velvet. "I thought it was lovely. You definitely must do more. You're very good."

DJ blushed and went southern. "Aw shucks. Ya'll warm this old country boy's heart, ya do!" Not long after, they finished up the decorating and we're relaxing in front of the pink flame of the Hearth's Warming log. DJ was confused soon, though, as the others got up in a rush and went up stairs. Twilight poked her head down the steps.

"Come on DJ. We need to get dressed. The party's gonna start soon."

"Party? Ok, now I'm really confused!"

"Oops! I forgot to tell you about the party? We have a small gala to attend tonight. I packed your tux for the occasion. Now hurry up! We can't be late, the other princesses are going to be there!"

DJ shook his head with a smile as we walked upstairs. Oh, she is so gonna pay for this! I love that girl, I do, but she's more forgetful than me!