‘Twas the day before Hearth’s Warming, and the holiday spirit was in the air. All across Ponyville, ponies were running from here to there. Singing carols and spreading Hearth’s Warming cheer, and setting the stage for the happiest day of the year. But our story focuses on just one filly: young, little Nyx. And now I’m going to stop rhyming, because it is tough as dicks.

She and her friends were leaving their school, which had ended earlier that day, when from out the blue, Diamond Tiara stood in their way. (Hey, that wasn’t so hard, actually).

“I can’t wait to open my presents tomorrow,” Diamond Tiara said to Silver Spoon, pretending as though she hadn’t noticed the Cutie Mark Crusaders standing before her. “This year, Daddy’s going to take my mum and me on a luxury airship cruise, too! It’s so nice being rich!”

“I totally know what you mean,” Silver Spoon giggled. “Could you imagine not waking up to a mountain of presents towered above you on Hearth’s Warming?”

“Oh, sorry girls!” Diamond Tiara gasped, feigning concern as she faced the Crusaders. “I totally didn’t see you there! I didn’t mean to hurt you or anything, knowing how poor you all are and such!”

“Yeah, ah bet,” Apple Bloom deadpanned. “Y’know it’s quality, not quantity.”

“Yeah! One great presents trumps all one thousand of your okay presents,” Sweetie Belle followed.

“Then what if we have one thousand great presents?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Ah-hah!” Scootaloo pointed a hoof at the two other fillies. “You forgot that we have Nyx! Her mum’s a princess, which means she’ll be swimming in presents!”

Nyx blushed but grinned regardless. “Y-Yeah, take that!”

“… You need to work on your comebacks.”

“Oh, that might have been the case,” Diamond Tiara said, “If you weren’t undoubtedly on Santa’s naughty list.”

Nyx’s grin dropped. Apple Bloom took a step forward. “What’re ya on about? Nyx’s the definition of nice! She’s the nicest pony ah know!”

“Maybe you forgot about the whole banishing Celestia and Luna and taking over Equestria thing?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Not to mention locking Twilight up in a basement all alone,” Diamond Tiara continued. 2No matter how you look at it, she’s on the naughty list for sure!”

“What, and you two aren’t?” Sweetie Belle scoffed.

“Nope! We just asked Santa himself!”

“… What?”

“He’s in the town square,” Silver Spoon explained. “Tells everypony what list they’re on then gives them a present, if they’re on the nice list.”

“Naturally, we were,” Diamond Tiara said with a wide smile. “We’ve been nothing but model fillies this entire year!”

“You said he’s in the town square?” Nyx asked, receiving a nod from Diamond Tiara. “I have to go see him!”

“But we gotta get over to Sugarcube Corner t’help with the party plannin’,” Apple Bloom said.

“It’ll just be a moment! You guys go on ahead!” Nyx shouted over her shoulder as she ran towards the town square. No matter what, she had to know if she made the nice list.

“Merry Hearth’s Warming!” Trixie waved goodbye to the hyperactive fillies that ran away from her giggling as they carried their presents from her on their backs.

“SANTA!”

Trixie turned to see which impatient little filly would be next, but her smile fell upon seeing a small black ‘unicorn’ rushing towards her, driving the other children away in the process as their families pulled them to a safe distance. “Oh.”

“Santa! I-I have to-”

“Little filly, don’t you know that it’s rude to cut in line?” Trixie said, her voice monotone. She had no intention of putting on an act for this pony.

Nyx gulped and looked over her shoulder, then back at Trixie. “S-Sorry…”

“Well, it seems that you’re at the front now,” Trixie sighed. “So? What did you want?”

“Uh, well, my name is Nyx, and I-”

“Yes, yes. I am well aware of who you are, Nightmare Moon.”

Nyx shudder and fought back a couple of tears. “R-Right. Um, you see, I was wondering if I…”

“Come on, before Hearth’s Warming thaws.”

“… I was wondering if I was on the nice list or the… naughty list?”

Trixie paused for a moment. ‘She wants to know if-’ A wicked grin crossed the mare’s face and she brought a hoof up to scratch her fake beard. ‘Oh, this will be fun.’

“I know I’ve done a lot of bad things in the past, but I really, really, REALLY tried to be good and I-”

“True,” Trixie said. “You did do a lot of awful things. You banished the princesses, enslaved a country, imprisoned the innocent, and struck fear into the hearts of so many. The damage caused by your actions are still effecting ponies to this day.”

Nyx lowered her head, her lips trembling. “But I-”

“You think that a simple apology will suffice? You think that simply doing a good deed here-and-there will erase your past?” Trixie shook her head. “No, Miss Moon. What’s done is done and now you have to live with the consequences of your actions. Such as being on the naughty list, forever!”

Nyx gasped, looking up at Trixie with pleading horror. No words could escape her mouth. Instead, with tears in her eyes, she turned around and sprinted as fast as she could towards her home.

Trixie scratched her beard once more as she watched. ‘Too hard? … Nah. If it were anypony else, she wouldn’t have got away with just a scolding.’

“Dude, not cool.”

Trixie turned around to find Rainbow Dash approaching her, a disapproving look on the pegasus’ face. “Hey, life’s not fair,” Trixie said with a shrug. “Trixie knows better than anypony how unforgiving others are, whether or not the mistake was your fault, and whether or not you’re truly trying to repent.”

“Oh, so you were trying to teach her a lesson?” Rainbow Dash asked in a sceptical tone, raising a eyebrow. “And that’s all?”

Trixie clicked her tongue. “Well, maybe it was actually revenge for humiliating Trixie and stealing her hat, which, by the way, she has yet to return. But hey, it works as a lesson, too, you know?”

Rainbow Dash sighed and facehooved as she shook her head. “You are so on the naughty list,” she said as she reached into one of the two saddlebags she was wearing and pulling out a lump of coal, which she gave to Trixie.

Trixie frowned as Rainbow Dash began to walk away. “Joke’s on you!” Trixie’s horn glowed and the piece of coal floated into the air. After being compressed and then stretched out, the coal gradually began to change into a bright, shining blue object. “Coal is just one step away from being diamond!” she shouted, sticking her tongue out at the retreating pegasus.

Twilight flipped through another page of her book as she sat beside the warm fireplace of her room. She was supposed to leave to help with the party decorations but the book was simply too good to put down, so she just decided she would pretend she got lost in her new castle and arrive late.

She wasn’t expecting somepony to enter her room, though. Much less for that pony to be Nyx, bawling her eyes out as she jumped onto her own little bed beside Twilight’s and burying her face into her pillow.

“Nyx!” Twilight shouted as she approached the crying filly. “Nyx, what’s wrong?!”

“T-Twilight!” Nyx cried as she looked up to the older mare, latching onto Twilight and shoving her face into the mare’s chest. “Twilight, I’m sorry! I’m sorryyyyyy!”

“Nyx, calm down!” Twilight pried the filly off of her and levitated a box of tissues over to them, offering one to Nyx. After allowing the filly to blow her nose, Twilight asked, “What happened? Why are you apologising? If this is about letting Discord trick you into pranking me-”

“N-Not that,” Nyx sniffed, having calmed down somewhat. “I-I went to see Santa in the town square, a-and he… he…”

“Santa? In the town square?” Twilight put a hoof to her chin. ‘She must mean Trixie. I heard she volunteered to play Santa this yea- Oh no… What did she do?’

“He… he said I was on the n-naughty list… forever…”

Twilight sighed. ‘Oh Celestia, help me…’ “Nyx, you know that… that wasn’t really Santa, right?”

To Twilight’s surprise, Nyx nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

“Y-You do?”

“I mean, Santa’s busy, so he has ponies help him out, right? But that means Trixie is speaking on his behalf.”

Twilight sighed again. “Uh, not quite… Nyx, you know that Santa isn’t real, don’t you?”

Nyx stared silently into Twilight’s eyes for a moment. “H-He isn’t?”

Twilight shook her head, an uneasy smile on her face. “I thought you would’ve come to that conclusion by yourself. I mean, a pony who spies one everypony else and somehow delivers presents to everypony in a single night, even to those who don’t have chimneys? It’s just illogical no matter how you look at it.”

Nyx thought about it and then blushed. “O-Oh… Yeah, I guess it does sound pretty silly…”

“Sorry if it kind of breaks your spirit. I just assumed you knew and- A-Anyway, do you feel better now? You’re not on any ‘naughty list’, and I’m going to have a word or two with Trixie later.” ‘If she thinks she can make my daughter cry and get away with a lecture, she’s in for a world of disappointment.’

“It’s not that, Twilight,” Nyx said in a sombre tone. “It’s what Trixie said to me. She said that ponies wouldn’t simply forgive me no matter how hard I tried… and she’s right.”

“No she isn’t,” Twilight assured.

“Yes she is,” Nyx argued back. “It’s been almost a year now since I’ve been living here, and ponies still look at me with fear and hate. They avoid me and they pick on me, and there are still groups out there demanding I be locked up!”

Twilight scratched the back of her neck for a moment. She couldn’t deny that it was taking longer than she had hoped for the ponies of Ponyville to come around to Nyx, but it was sure hard to admit it, especially with Nyx looking sod own about it. She took some time to think, before sighing and holding Nyx’s forehoof with her own. “Nyx… listen to me. You may be right that some ponies may never forgive you. But unfortunately, that’s just how things are. Do you remember Maud Pie?”

“Pinkie’s sister?”

“That’s the one. I found it hard to believe myself, but there are some ponies that you just can’t befriend no matter what. But even worse than that, there are some ponies who will dislike or even hate you, and you can’t change their opinions no matter how hard you try.”

“But I don’t want ponies to hate me,” Nyx said in a shaking tone.

“And why not?” Twilight asked. “Are you worried that you’ll get less presents for Hearth’s Warming?” Nyx shook her head. “Are you hoping to befriend as many ponies as possible like Pinkie Pie does?” Nyx shook her head again. “Then do you just want their approval, even if they’re complete strangers?” Nyx remained motionless and didn’t say anything. “Nyx, the only thing you have to worry about is how the ponies close to you see you.”

“But-”

“And we all love you,” Twilight continued before Nyx could interrupt her. “There’s no pleasing everypony, and trying to do so will only stress you out. Just be yourself and if somepony can’t accept you for that, or see that you’re good despite your past actions, then that’s their loss. At the end of the day, you’ll always have your friends.” Twilight wrapped her forehooves around Nyx and held the filly closely. “And your family.”

Nyx giggled, and smiled. “… I made two new friends today,” she said quietly. “Alula and Berry Pinch. Their mums don’t like me, but they approached me today and said they want to hang out sometime.”

“That’s great,” Twilight said with a smile of her own. “And what’re you gonna do when you see them again?”

Nyx thought about it for a second. “Be myself?”

“That’s right!” Twilight said, ruffling Nyx’s mane playfully. Nyx squeaked and backed away from Twilight quickly, giggling along with the older mare. “Now, we’re a little bit late, but d’you want to sit here for a minute or get going to the party?”

“I’m fine now,” Nyx said. “Thanks, Twilight.”

“Anytime.”

“Oh, there’s just one place I need to go first.”

Trixie ripped off the fake beard, having finished talking with the last foal that night. “Well then, perhaps Trixie should check out this party that Vinyl Scratch was talking about.”

“Um, Trixie?” Trixie’s ears twitched and she turned around quickly to find Nyx approaching… with Twilight right behind her.

“Oh, come on! You told your mum?!” Trixie shouted in utter disbelief. “Alright, alright! Trixie’s sorry, she feels just terrible, etcetera…”

“Um, actually…” Nyx neared the mare and bowed her head. “I’m sorry.” Nyx levitated something from her saddlebag. It was Trixie’s hat. “I never returned this to you, or apologised for humiliating you like that. So, um…”

“Didn’t Trixie tell you that apologies aren’t enough? Anypony can say the words ‘I’m sorry’, and anypony can return a stolen item.” Trixie yanked the hat away from Nyx with her magic, startling the filly.

“I-I know,” Nyx said. “I just… I had to apologise. It’s really the only thing I can do.” Nyx glanced over her should to Twilight for a second. “And, um, it’s the right thing to do, even if you don’t forgive me…”

Trixie stared down at Nyx for a few moments, analysing the filly carefully before looking up to Twilight. The other mare carried an expression of complete neutrality. She then turned back to Nyx and said, “This is what Nightmare Moon has become?” Trixie scoffed. “Trixie doesn’t forgive you, but clearly there’s no reason to fear you. Just don’t bother Trixie again and we’ll be fine.”

Nyx nodded slowly as Trixie turned to leave. After the showmare was gone, Nyx turned to Twilight and asked, “W-Was that a good thing?”

Twilight shrugged. “I… really don’t know. Did you want to befriend her?”

“Not really… I just wanted to make sure she knew I was sorry for what I did.”

“Well, you succeeded in that regard then, and she’s not out for revenge. I’d call it a win for sure.”

Nyx nodded in agreement. “I’m glad I apologised, and I’m happy I still have good friends like you and the Crusaders.”

“And I’m glad I have such a kind, good filly for my daughter.” Twilight pulled Nyx into another, softer hug. “Now, let’s hit that party!”

“Yeah!”

And so, the two raced off into the night to join their friends at Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie Pie was surely hosting the most epic Hearth’s Warming party in Equestrian history!

As for Trixie…

“This diamond is heavy and this suit has no pockets.” Trixie looked around and found Applejack pulling a small applecart through the dark streets, possibly moving it aside to put it away another day. “Here.”

Applejack stopped and looked up in confusion. There was nopony there. “Huh?”

“Oh, Applejack!” Rarity approached Applejack with a shine in her eyes. “That diamond is just lovely!”

Applejack looked into her hooves to find a large diamond in her grasp. “How did-”

“But what are you doing with such a lovely diamond out he-” Rarity gasped as she looked up and found that Applejack was standing outside of Mordor’s Ringsmith. “Y-You were going to make that into an engagement ring for me, weren’t you?!”

“Come again?”

Rarity hugged Applejack tight enough to cut off circulation and cried, “OH, OF COURSE I’ll MARRY YOU! OF CORUSE I WILL!”

And then, faster than Applejack could clear the air, wedding preparations were made and the two ponies lived a long, happy life together. Technically this counted as a good deed on Trixie’s end and so the showmare was rewarded with a mountain of presents that Hearth’s Warming.

Twilight almost drove herself to insanity attempting to approve that the presents were not delivered by a fat stallion living in the northern arctic region of the world. Meanwhile, Discord cackled as he watched with delight, donning his red suit and carrying a sack of presents.

“Merry Christmas to all,” Discord said to you, the reader, “And to all good night!”

With a snap of his fingers, this fic ended and you, the reader, found yourself drifting to the like and fave buttons. Kthx.