Winter Wrap-Up eventually came around, winter cleaned up to make way for spring, to the delight of Emerald. No longer being trapped in the castle anymore, she was finally able to breathe fresh air and bask in the warm sun out in the gardens, spring's return unfortunately on a weekend. She wanted to go back to school again and play with Melody, but she didn't want to end up being teased and bullied by Gold Plate and Platinum Band. She hated getting insulted by them, but she didn't want to get in trouble again if she started fighting with them. She didn't want her daddy to be mad at her again.

There was a special day coming up this month, a wonderful holiday for not only the romantic couples across the kingdom, but also for changelings: Hearts and Hooves Day. Last year, Emerald was curious about the holiday when she began feeling love all over the place, just from being inside the castle, and it wasn't just her parents showing romantic affection. Her mommy told her about the holiday, as it was her favorite time of the year, even before Equestria and the hive were united as the changelings could freely feed on the love that radiated from pony couples spending time together on romantic dates. She couldn't help herself at times when she absorbed love around them, and she was relieved to know her mom said it was ok to do that.

The day before the holiday of love, Emerald was hard at work making Hearts and Hooves Day cards for everyone in her class, even a special one for Mrs. Smiley. The one for her teacher was much bigger than the ones for her classmates, a big pink heart that was five times bigger than the smaller ones. She covered the big heart with glitter, smaller hearts, lace trimming around the edges to make it look fancy, and a whole lot more glitter. And in the middle was a little message she made for her that read, "To the bestest teacher ever! Happy Hearts and Hooves Day!", the writing a bit sloppy, but well enough to at least read. The filly hummed in thought, her hooves covered in glitter as she wondered how else she could make it look better.

Solaris walked into her room, shocked to see the mess she made as glitter and bits of paper littered the floor, and his little filly was just as messy as her floor. "Whoa. Did an art tornado run through here?"

"Hi, daddy!" Emerald said with a wave. "I'm making Hearts and Hooves Day cards for everypony at school!" She then let out a grunt, pouting in disdain as she looked at two plain hearts with two specific colts' names on them. "Even those two dummies."

"...Well, that's quite impressive, honey," Solaris said. He carefully stepped across the glittery explosion to avoid getting any glued to his hooves if Emerald went wild with the glue as well. "Uhh, how did you make the hearts? You didn't take any scissors, did you? They're dangerous to use by yourself."

"My guardian angel taught me how to make the hearts with magic!" Emerald said.

Solaris went along with it, unaware of the lavender alicorn angel watching the filly in the room, laughing at his response. "Ok, but still, no scissors."

"I don't have scissors," Emerald said.

The white alicorn looked around the mess of art supplies, thankful not to find any sharp cutting tools, not even a pair of safety scissors. "Huh...Alright then..." Solaris picked up a few of Emerald's heart-shaped cards, noticing some of them had a drawn picture of the classmate it would be for. There was even one for Virtuo, though around the colt's picture were a lot of smaller hearts. "Hmmm...Is this a special one for Virtuo, Emmy?"

"Yes, because he's my bestest friend ever!" Emerald exclaimed.

"Mhmm. I'm sure that's why," he said nervously. Just from the hearts around the poorly drawn colt, Solaris already began to feel trepidation for when Emerald really starts getting interested in colts in a different way. He put the card down, distracting his overprotective dad thoughts to the big heart the filly was working on. "Oh! And is this big heart for me?"

"No, daddy! That's for Mrs. Smiley!" she said with a giggle.

"Aww," Solaris playfully whined in disappointment. "Daddy doesn't get a Hearts and Hooves Day card?"

"Nope!" Emerald shook her head, making Solaris pout. "You get a better Hearts and Hooves Day gift; lots of hugs!"

She ran up to him and leapt to his chest, hugging him tightly as he caught her. Solaris chuckled, even though her sticky hooves were getting his coat covered in glitter. The best gift he could ever get from his beautiful daughter no matter what the occasion is would always be her love. He cuddled Emerald as he got his Hearts and Hooves day present from her early, reluctantly ending it as they both needed a bath.

"Ok, that's enough hugs until tomorrow," he said before putting her down. He tried to brush off the glitter on his chest, but some of it clung no thanks to Emerald's sticky hooves. "The maids are going to have a field day when they clean up the mess you made. And now the two of us need a bath." Emerald giggled, almost as if she had planned to get him. Before getting themselves cleaned up and alerting the maids, he looked down at the big heart meant for her teacher. "So...how exactly were you going to put that giant card away to give to your teacher?"

Emerald opened her mouth to answer, only to pause for a moment. "...Uhhhh...I don't know...Is there a big envelope I can use?"

Solaris chuckled at the silly question. "We'll figure that out later. But right now, bath time." Gently pushing the filly with her wing, he lead her to his and Trill's bedroom to their extravagant bathroom. One of the maids walked down the hall and noticed the prince and young princess walk across, but when she looked in Emerald's room, her jaw dropped at the unbelievable mess they left behind. Solaris poked his head out of his room after hearing her squeak in shock, grinning apologetically. "Yeah. I'm going to have to keep tabs on the art supplies next time so she doesn't do that again. Just don't ruin her cards for Hearts and Hooves Day tomorrow."

"...Y-Yes, Your Highness," she said, letting out a sigh as she began cleaning up the five-year-old's mess.

The next day, Hearts and Hooves Day was already emitting an incredibly amount of love energy in the air as Emerald walked down the roads with her daddy, carrying all her small letters for her classmates while the stallion carefully levitated Mrs. Smiley's card with his magic. Emerald tried her hardest not to absorb the love in the air as they passed couples walking past them, not wanting to fill herself too much and lose her appetite for lunch. They arrived at the school, where the building was decorated for the holiday inside and out: hearts hung on the ceilings or placed on the walls, teachers and staff wore a red heart sticker or heart patterned clothing, and along with cards, there was the smell of different types of candies and chocolates the foals could get along with their cards, the scent of chocolate making Emerald salivate.

Arriving at her classroom, there were already some of her classmates already inside, a small party set up by the overly-happy mare as she already got a few Hearts and Hooves Day cards sitting on her desk. Emerald walked in, nose raised up in the air, acting like the regal princess she was as she made her return after spending the last couple months at home, Mrs. Smiley noticing her and Solaris.

"Well, look who's come back!" the teacher said cheerfully. "Glad winter's finally over, Emerald?"

"I am!" Emerald said. "And I made you the best Hearts and Hooves Day card ever!"

Solaris levitated the giant heart-shaped card into the room, leaning it against the wall near her desk as she stared at the overly decorated heart in startled awe. "Oh...Oh my goodness," the teacher uttered.

"Do you like it?" Emerald asked excitedly.

"...Well...it's really...big," she said. "...And quite sparkly. It's...quite an impressive cared, Emerald. Thank you." Feeling proud of herself, Emerald grinned and skipped happily over to her desk, placing her bag of cards on the round table as she gave one her best friend, Melody. Mrs. Smiley looked at the card, cringing at the overblown heart that still seemed to sprinkle glitter from where it was supposed to be glued. "I have no idea where I'll put this. But, at least this isn't the first time a student tried to impress me with something like this."

"I think, because of her changeling heritage, she really likes this holiday as much as Hearth's Warming, only not for the gifts as much as it is with the love in the air," Solaris explained. "You did not want to see her room when she was making those cards. I even had to give the maid who 'volunteered' to clean it all the day off so she can spend some time with her special somepony."

"I can only imagine," the teacher said with a giggle. "I'm used to their little shenanigans after teaching for so long."

"Try dealing with Trill when she gets in one of her moods," Solaris said. "I only hope she doesn't tire me out like the time we were trying to conceive Emmy." The alicorn shuddered at the incredibly terrifying, yet exciting moment of his life, recalling how much of a mess their room was along with nearly having all of his fluids drained out of him. "Never again..."

"Well, don't have too much fun on my account," Mrs. Smiley teased, giving him a knowing wink. "Just remember you still need to pick your daughter up when school's out."

"I'll have to set a timer then, right after getting Trill some assorted chocolates I know she'll quickly chomp down." The prince took his leave, waving bye to Emerald to return to his changeling wife to celebrate the romantic holiday.

As other students began to file in before the bell rang, Emerald spotted her bullies walk in, Gold Plate acting all haughty as a servant instead of his mother, Diamond Tiara, walked in carrying a large container filled with gift baskets that had several kinds of sweets inside the delicate wrappings, including a toy and card.

"Good morning, Mrs. Smiley," the spoiled colt said in an innocent tone. Clapping his hooves, the stallion chaperone rolled his eyes and followed his young master's command, pulling out an overly large gift basket meant for the teacher on her desk, which had a very expensive assortment of exotic chocolates, roses, perfume, makeup, and a card that was far more flashy than Emerald's hoof-made card, even though it was only half her card's size. "I know you're going to love my Hearts and Hooves Day gift."

The mare stared at the very large assortment of gifts, going way over the top compared to Emerald's card, but at least all she got from the pony/changeling filly was only a card. "Err...Thank you, Gold Plate...It's...lovely?"

"I knew you'd love it," he said, looking over at Emerald and smirked at her. "A whole lot better than a big, dumb card."

The filly growled, pouting angrily at Gold Plate. "Gold Plate, giving gifts is not meant to be a competition," the teacher reminded the colt, levitating the basket off her desk and putting them beside the wall. "As wonderful as it is, if this is about getting attention, buying things for everypony to like you isn't the best way to win them over. Just anything simple is fine."

"But everypony will love these gifts since they're so expensive," Gold Plate failed to reason, ignoring the important lesson entirely. The teacher sighed as he missed the point, hoping his mother would limit his rich inheritance sooner rather than later. "All of my classmates gets a Hearts and Hooves Day basket!"

The stallion gave out the baskets, hating his job despite how much it pays as the colts and fillies all looked at what they got. As soon as all the gifts were handed out, the only ones who didn't get one were Melody and Emerald.

"Umm, where's mine?" Melody asked.

"Oh, I didn't have enough of my allowance to get you two anything," Gold Plate lied.

"So what did you get us? Nothing?" Emerald asked skeptically. The servant placed a small heart sticker down in front of the two fillies, which just so happened to be their Hearts and Hooves Day "present" from the spoiled colt. "...A sticker? Really?"

"It's heart shaped, so that counts." Emerald growled at the cheap "gift" Gold Plate got her and her friend, but she didn't care about it being the thought that counts when he didn't seem to care about her or Melody at all.

Being the better pony, she gave Gold Plate and Platinum Band their cards, simple, cut out red hearts that only had their names on them. She wasn't going to let the colts' behavior ruin one of the best days of the year, and she was not going to get in trouble again after coming back to school right after winter ended. It didn't help that Gold Plate took Emerald's heart and ripped it, not surprising her since it seemed like he didn't have a heart at all.

The bell soon rang as class began, Gold Plate's servant leaving once the gifts were given, and Mrs. Smiley stood up from her desk to begin today's lessons. "Ok, my little ponies! Today is a really special day, as I'm sure you're all aware. Hearts and Hooves Day is a holiday to celebrate love, but not just for couples like your mommies and daddies. It's also about the love between friends, showing each other that you care." She then looked at Emerald and Gold Plate, her two troublemakers of the class as she noticed them leering at each other. "That includes you two, Emerald, Gold Plate. I don't want you two squabbling and showing any resentment today, and I'm seeing a lot of resentment." The two ponies looked at their teacher, who gave them a warning glance that was going to let her strict side out, scaring them as they feigned innocent faces as they looked at each other for a moment. "That's better!

"But aside from how much the holiday is meant to express love, that's a bit different for changelings, like our young princess," Mrs. Smiley continued. "For those of you who aren't aware, changelings feed off of love, and before our kingdoms were united, they had to take that love by disguising themselves as a pony. But now that they're as equal and welcome as we are, it's a special day for them to freely feed on the love that's around them. It's like a big buffet of sweets they can't help but gobble up, so as awkward as it is to see changelings near any couples, it's allowed so they can eat. So, to start today, I want everypony to draw a picture and show me what you think it looks like for changelings when they absorb love. And don't forget to grab a plate and enjoy some chocolates, candies, and cookies I brought for today!"

The first thing the foals did before doing their work was go for the snacks, all of them piling their plates with sweets while making sure to leave some for everyone else. As they worked on their drawings while munching on their snacks, Emerald knew exactly what love looked like as ponies released it since she was part changeling. She drew her parents, placing hearts around them while scribbling a pink aura coming out from above her daddy. She then drew it streaming down into her mommy's horn with a green crayon scribbled to look like her aura absorbing it to feed.

"Wow, that's interesting," Melody commented as she looked over at her friend's work. "Is that what it really looks like?"

"Kinda, but that's how I usually see it with my mommy and daddy," Emerald said. "There's also a gold, yellowish magic daddy releases as well, but that's when he and mommy were done wrestling with each other."

"Wrestling?" the unicorn filly asked in confusion. Emerald simply shrugged, having no idea why it happens, but she knew her parents were only playing. "Ok...Well, how does mine look?"

Melody showed her picture, making Emerald laugh at the silly, absurd drawing. She drew a pony unaware of a changeling behind them, who had its jaws opened in a comically wide fashion with sharp teeth, ready to chomp down on hearts that floated behind the pony, which was the love it must have released, despite being by himself. What made it funny was that the changeling looked almost like her grandma, unable to get the image of Chrysalis actually doing that to her Uncle Shining Armor.

"Why did you draw my grandma!?" Emerald asked as she continued giggling.

"I did?" Melody looked back at her art, noticing that it looked almost like Chrysalis. "Oh...Well, your grandma was the first changeling I ever saw...Except you." She began giggling herself at the silly expression she gave her drawn changeling. "I guess I thought this was how they really ate it."

"Nope! Through magic!" Emerald said. "I wanna show grandma your drawing!"

After a few moments, everyone in class had finished their artwork and showed them off, some of them almost similar with magic absorbing or eating the love out of thin air. Gold Plate's and Platinum Band's were a bit creepy as theirs involved eating, though their drawings showed a changeling taking a bite out of their pony victim, sucking it out like a vampire bat would to a piece of fruit. Mrs. Smiley was going to have to have a chat with the colts' parents about this, worried they might be reading or watching stuff they shouldn't be seeing at their age.

It was soon time for recess, the mare leading her students out to the playground to burn off all the sugar they ate. She played in the sandbox with Melody, patting down a sandcastle as she watched outside the perimeter of the fences as couples walked past. She could also see changelings wander around, absorbing their fill of love energy that filled the air, even without them being in a relationship with a pony, griffon, or whoever they were interested in dating. Love essence might sate their hunger, but getting it from the source is almost irresistible.

Emerald got a bit too distracted, not hearing Gold Plate run up to them and stomp on her sandcastle. "Hey! My sandcastle!" The colt blew a raspberry at her in spite, kicking sand on her and Melody before running back to his friend, both colts slapping hooves as they laughed. Emerald grumbled, brushing off the sand on her coat. "I don't like them. I shouldn't have given them a card at all."

"Why do they keep picking on us?" Melody asked. "We didn't do anything to them."

"Colts are dummies," Emerald said. "...Except Vivi. Vivi's not like them." She pulled out the card she planned to give Virtuo, hoping to run into him some time during the day in school. "Vivi's been my friend since I was a baby. We're best friends forever."

Melody looked at the card, noticing the amount of drawn hearts around the colt's name, the drawing of him Emerald made, hearts just littered everywhere in on the card. "Uhh, that's a lot of hearts."

"Yeah. So?" Emerald questioned.

"...Do you really like him as a friend?" Melody asked.

"Of course I do!" the hybrid filly said. "He deserves a special card from his bestest friend he's known since ever!"

"No...I mean, do you like him...like how our mommies and daddies like each other?" Melody asked.

"Why?" Emerald asked curiously.

"Well...there's a lot of hearts you made," Melody mentioned, pointing at all the hearts around the card. "And besides the one you made for Mrs. Smiley, Virtuo's is...different."

Looking back down at the card, she began thinking about her relationship with Virtuo. She was told that when she met him for the first time, she was all over the colt and didn't want to be away from him, thought she wasn't as clingy to him as she was to her daddy. He was her first ever friend since she was a baby, and whenever he was around, she always rushed up to him, hugged him, and felt happier than ever. Even her heart fluttered a little bit when she thought of him from time to time, but she didn't think anything of it.

"...Huh...I don't know," Emerald finally said after some thinking. "Do I like Vivi that way?"

"That's disgusting." The fillies yelped as Gold Plate somehow snuck up on them, overhearing them as he was about to torment them again. Even Platinum Band had joined him, cringing at Emerald ever liking somepony romantically. "You're a big bug who eats love. You can't feel it."

"Says the jerk who liked my cousin," Emerald argued snidely. "Still like her now that you found out?"

Gold scrunched his muzzle, sputtering as he tried to come up with an insult, but the filly smirked, practically sensing he still had the hots for Flurry Heart. Irritated by her grin, he looked at the card she held and remembered seeing the colt she hung out with back at the Gala after realizing Emerald's relationship with Flurry. She was really excited to see him that night, a little too much for her to simply be friends with the slightly older colt. His frown turned into a wicked grin, thinking of the perfect way to hit the filly where it hurts.

"Well, you seem to like somepony, too," Gold Plate countered. "Too bad you don't stand a chance either."

"Huh?" Before Emerald questioned what the annoying pink colt was saying, he kicked up sand from the sandbox, making her splutter before she was tackled to the ground. He snatched Virtuo's card out of her hooves, leaping off her as she got up, rubbing the sand out of her face. "Y-You big-Hey! Vivi's card!"

Gold Plate waved the Hearts and Hooves Day card in front of her, but before she could tackle him back, Platinum Band held Emerald back. Melody gasped, quickly running to find Mrs. Smiley while her friend struggled out of the silver colt's grip.

"You think that colt really likes you?" Gold teased. "Please. He probably thinks you're weird just like everypony else does. He just doesn't want to tell you because you'll cry like a baby."

"Gimmie that back!" Emerald demanded.

The bully thought about it for a moment, taping his hoof against his chin. "...Oh, fine. I'll give it back to you...in pieces!"

Gripping the card in both hooves, Gold Plate began tearing it apart, Platinum making sure Emerald kept watching as his friend destroyed the card she worked hard on. Emerald helplessly watched Gold Plate ripping her card, shredding it into hundreds of pieces. Tears welled up in her eyes as the shredded card fell to the ground in front of the colt. She was mad, she wanted to beat the two colts up, but as she helplessly struggled, all she wanted to do was break down and cry as all her hard work she put into making Virtuo's special Hearts and Hooves Day card was ruined, and she didn't have enough time to make another before the day ended. Her lips quivered, then let the floodgates out as she bawled.

That easily got Mrs. Smiley's attention along with Melody getting her, the teacher leering at Gold Plate and Platinum Band in disappointment. "Gold Plate! Platinum Band!" Both colts winced as they heard her, Platinum yelping as the teacher's aura surrounded him, forcing him to let go of Emerald, who fell to the ground as she cried her eyes out while dragging both colts toward her. "You two go to the bench!"

"But she-" Gold Plate tried to complain, but Mrs. Smiley stomped her hoof, silencing him and wasn't so smiley at the moment with them.

"NOW!" she commanded, both colts quickly obeying as they ran off to the punishment spot while outside. Once she was sure she watched them plant their misbehaving plots down on the bench, Mrs. Smiley turned her attention back to the upset filly. She picked up Emerald, checking her over for any injuries the colts gave her, but was relieved to see none. "What happened, Emerald?"

Emerald wasn't able to speak, burying her face in her teacher's forelegs and kept sobbing. Melody knew exactly what happened when she saw the torn pieces of Virtuo's Hearts and Hooves Day card.

"They ripped her friend's card," Melody said to Mrs. Smiley. "She was gonna give it to him today. And they said he didn't like her like they did."

"I see..." The mare tried to console Emerald, gently rubbing the filly's mane until she managed to calm down a little. Emerald tried to avoid looking down at her card for her best friend, Gold Plate's hurtful words affecting her again as she feared Virtuo really didn't like her and he never said it aloud. The bell rang, signalling the end of recess for the class as Mrs. Smiley guided Emerald back inside, leading the rest of her gathered foals back to their classroom. "It's ok, sweetheart. I'm sure you'll make another one for your friend in no time. And I'll have a word with Gold Plate and Platinum Band's parents about this."

The rest of the day, Emerald didn't enjoy the rest of Hearts and Hooves Day in school. She was left in a miserable state, worried about what Virtuo thought of her. It was even worse when Melody's question about her liking him ran through her head, which only brought about more fear of him hating her. She barely ate during lunch, didn't want to eat anymore sweets that were left over in the classroom, and she didn't even feel hungry enough to take any love that was in the air. Gold Plate and Platinum Band were placed in the back of the class as punishment, Mrs. Smiley keeping them away from the depressed filly so they didn't keep picking on her or Melody. The teacher tried to help cheer her up by suggesting making another card for her friend, but Emerald barely touched the art supplies she brought for her, the card she made before was super special and it wouldn't be the same trying to recreate it.

She barely paid attention to their alphabet lesson, already knowing it by heart and what each letter looks like from the lessons she had learned during the winter, and she couldn't fall asleep during nap time. Eventually, the school day was over as the final bell rang, everypony gathering their saddlebags filled with Hearts and Hooves Day gifts from their classmates and waited outside the classroom for their families to pick them up. Gold Plate and Platinum Band stayed inside, Mrs. Smiley keeping them so she can talk with their parents. Emerald waited outside, staring blankly at the ground as the world around her was lost to her in her sadness. Melody tried to cheer her up before somepony came to pick her up, but to no avail once her grandmother came to get her.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the trouble-making colts' mothers, arrived to pick up their sons, and when they saw the upset princess waiting outside, the former of the two mares cringed, already knowing she was going to get an earful with the teacher. Walking inside, they saw their foals sitting in an individual seat, facing away from each other while Mrs. Smiley sat at her desk waiting for the parents to arrive.

"Miss Tiara. Miss Spoon. I assume you know why Gold Plate and Platinum Band are staying behind after class?" the teacher asked.

"What happened this time?" Diamond Tiara asked, giving her son a disappointed glance.

"Well, today was going pretty well for the most part," Mrs. Smiley began. "The class was handing out Hearts and Hooves Day cards, or extravagant gifts a colt Gold's age probably shouldn't squander with his mother's money. I even specifically warned him and Princess Emerald not to start fighting, knowing those two would get into a tiff once winter was over. It was only until recess where your son started kicking things off, another student telling me that he literally kicked sand on them while she and Emerald were in the sandbox. Then, Gold tackled Emerald, took a Hearts and Hooves Day card she planned to give to a very special friend of hers later today, then had Platinum hold her down while they made her watch him tear that heart to literal pieces while figuratively breaking hers."

"What!?" Both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked at their sons, appalled by their physical behavior.

They were still surprised that they ended up fighting with Emerald their first day of school, and despite punishing them, they still decided to pick a fight with her and roughhoused the young princess. Just from hearing their behavior reminded the two friends how cruel they were to Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo when they were fillies, thankfully changing their bullying habits after Diamond's redemption during the student pony president election back in Ponyville. They didn't want their children to misbehave like they had, and if they had to take drastic measures to make them learn to play nice, they'll do so.

"...Mrs. Smiley, I promise this behavior won't last forever," Diamond Tiara swore.

"Yeah," Silver Spoon agreed with a nod. "We'll deal with this."

"I surely hope so," the teacher said, though she was unsure if she could believe the two mothers. "There's only so much I can tolerate when it comes to my students fighting with each other and not getting along. They may be young now, but imagine how horrible their actions will get if this continues into their teens. This selfish, hurtful, and distasteful behavior needs to be nipped in the bud, otherwise they're going to end up like those teens who joined the Shadow Knights when our former tyrant of a king was in charge: reckless, destructive, and not even turning an eye to realize how much they hurt others, whether it's physical or psychological." Seeing the mares' reaction to that possibility assured her that these two mothers understood the message and would get to work on Gold Plate and Platinum Band's behaviors. "Now, for whenever they're in class, I'm splitting these two from each other for the next couple weeks, and they'll have no recess time as well. And I expect them to apologize to Princess Emerald for destroying her hard work and roughhousing."

"Absolutely." Diamond Tiara turned to Gold, who looked away from her with a scowl. "Gold Plate, I'm very disappointed in you. It seems like you're not even learning your lesson. So, here's what's going to happen: you are not allowed to play with Platinum Band for three months,-" The colt quickly turned his head to her, his jaw dropping in shock at the first punishment already torturous. "-no more allowance until I actually trust you can be nice to everypony in class, and all of your toys will be taken out of both your bedroom and playroom."

"That's not fair!" Gold Plate whined.

"And if you keep acting like this, I'm donating all of your toys to charity," Diamond Tiara warned, making the colt scream in frustration. "Don't you dare throw a tantrum! Do you want to lose those toys now!?"

"No!" Gold shouted.

"Then stop behaving like this right now!" Diamond scolded.

Gold Plate seethed, but he scowled in hatred as he looked down. "The same goes for you, Platinum," Silver scolded her son, the silver colt nodded his head in understanding, knowing better than to argue with his mother. "You two go out there and apologize to the princess right now."

Gold grumbled as he and Platinum got up from their seats, making their way out of the door where Emerald sat against the wall in the hallway. She barely acknowledged their presence as they stood in front of her, the three mares watching them to make sure they apologize and not hurt the filly further.

"Sorry, Emerald," Platinum said, sincerely and without hesitation.

Gold, however, remained silent and scowled at her. He wasn't going to apologize and let her win, but a harsh stomp from his mother behind him made him turn to look at her.

"Gold, say you're sorry," Diamond commanded. "And really mean it."

Grumbling, the pink colt looked back at Emerald, letting out a frustrated grunt before he spoke through gritted teeth. "I'm...sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Diamond said, making Gold Plate growl.

"...Sorry...for ripping your stupid card," he muttered. Her silence made the adults worry, but Gold Plate only got more frustrated as she didn't even look at him or even accept his apology. "Hey! I'm saying sorry!...Say something, stupid!"

"Gold!" Diamond scolded, grabbing the colt's ear in her mouth, biting hard enough to make him wince as she pulled him away. "That's it! Your toys are being donated to foals who actually deserve to play with them!"

"Ow! Mommy, that hurts!" Gold whined. "Don't take my toys! NOOOOO!"

Silver Spoon took Platinum as they followed Diamond and her spoiled son, leaving Mrs. Smiley with Emerald as they waited for one of her parents to pick her up. It didn't take long for Solaris to finally arrive, the alicorn panting as he seemed to have ran from the castle, forgetting he could teleport to the school with ease.

"Sorry I'm late!" he said, trying to brush the bits of mane standing up with his hooves. "Trill almost made me miss hearing the timer. Next year, we're just going on a romantic, platonic date." Once he was somewhat presentable, he noticed his daughter was really miserable, concerning him greatly. "Emmy? What's wrong, sweetheart?" He gently rubbed her head, finally getting a reaction from her as she stood up, walked up to him, and leaned her head against his leg, letting out a sad whimper as more tears rolled down her face. "Honey? What's the matter?"

"I can give you a few guesses as to what happened," Mrs. Smiley said.

"...Gold Plate again?" Solaris asked, the teacher nodding her head in confirmation. Letting out a sigh, he rubbed Emerald's back with his wing to comfort her. "What did he do this time?"

"He tore a Hearts and Hooves Day card she was going to give to somepony," Mrs. Smiley said. "Not only that, but he also told her that her friend never really liked her, probably just to upset her and try to alienate her from the rest of her peers. I took care of the situation, and hopefully, Miss Tiara will try to control that colt of hers."

Solaris had a feeling that somepony was Virtuo, having taken note of how many other ponies were in her class and counted one extra that didn't include her teacher's giant card. He knows she gets excited whenever he comes over to play, both of them practically inseparable when they were babies. Levitating Emerald on his back, he thanked Mrs. Smiley for trying to help her and left the school. Solaris needed to find a way to cheer her up, and his first stop was to indulge the filly in something chocolaty.

He made his way to the ice cream shop to get Emerald some triple-chocolate ice cream. Ignoring the surprised looks he got while out in public as he waited to be served, he spotted Sweetie Belle and Button Mash over at a table with Virtuo, the couple sharing a specialty vanilla milkshake with chocolate sprinkles and a dark chocolate heart resting on top of a mountain of whipped cream, the colt slurping on a small, regular chocolate shake. When Emerald spotted her friend, she teared up again and slid off her daddy's back, hiding behind his legs to avoid his gaze.

"Hey, Solly!" Sweetie Belle called out with a wave.

"Hey," he said back. Once he got their sweets, Solaris made his way over to them, Emerald staying close to him as she tried not to cry again. "So, how's your day been together?"

"I actually needed the break," Sweetie said. "Button's idea of a romantic date together was us spending some time at the arcade, but despite how foalish it was, it was actually kind of fun. Especially when we played that fun dancing game with the arrows."

"'Prance Prance Revolution'," Button stated. "She beat me in each song we played."

"He doesn't have much rhythm," the unicorn teased, making the stallion roll his eyes. "Anyway, how was your Hearts and Hooves Day going with Trill?"

"Take a wild guess," Solaris said, as if Sweetie or Button needed to. "I was almost late picking up Emmy before she tried to tie me down again." He lifted Emerald up to sit with them, giving her the chocolaty ice cream cone, subconsciously holding it in her aura as she sadly stared at Virtuo. "She had another bad day at school."

"Don't tell me it's those two colts in her class again," Sweetie Belle muttered. She let out a groan, toying with her straw in hers and Button's shared shake as the answer was clearly obvious. "I'm starting to get flashbacks to when I was getting picked on by Diamond...Why is it that the spoiled rich kids always have to be such jerks?"

Virtuo grunted in annoyance, hating how Gold Plate and Platinum Band always kept picking on her. "What did those two do to you now?" he asked, but Emerald didn't answer. She looked like she was about to break down and cry, Gold Plate's hateful words echoing in her head over and over as her fears about her best friend secretly disliking her might be true. She didn't even touch her ice cream as it melted, the chocolate scoop slipping off the cone and splatting on the table, which made the colt and both their parents worry. "...Emerald?"

"...D-D-Do...Do you...n-not like m-m-me, Vivi?" Emerald asked tearfully, her whimpers turning to sobs.

"Huh!? W-Why would you ask that?" Virtuo asked in shock, the filly's question even startling the alicorn, unicorn, and adult earth pony. "What did that jerk say to you?"

"H-He...He said...He said you secretly hate me! And you probably do!" Emerald exclaimed before bawling her eyes out again.

She buried her face against her daddy's side and cried, surprising Virtuo while also getting mad at Gold Plate for putting more lies in her head by making her think no one likes her because she's different. "Emmy made a Hearts and Hooves Day card for you, Virtuo," Solaris explained. "But Gold Plate tore it up and said you never liked her at all."

"Ugh. Unbelievable," Sweetie Belle grumbled. "Diamond better not continue ignoring his actions like her dad, Filthy Rich, did, or make it worse like her mom, Spoiled Rich." She growled at the despicable mare's name, knowing exactly where her ex-bully, now-friend got her attitude from and where she learned the term "blank flank" all those years ago. "Filthy should have dumped that mare before he even thought of marrying her. And she called me and my friends 'blank flanks' right in front of everypony. Including Cheerilee."

"She should have also been fired from being president of the school board back then, too," Button added, remembering that day well as it was not only Diamond Tiara's turning point in her life, but also the day Sweetie Belle earned her cutie mark with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.

Virtuo hated how conniving the pink colt was. All Gold Plate seemed to care about doing to Emerald was to hurt her in any way just for his own enjoyment, and constantly making her feel like she didn't belong or think everyone hates her because of how different she was only made him want to beat the colt up for her. He did expect to get something from Emerald today, and the card she did make for him was probably special to her, working hard to give him something to express how much she liked him. But, even though she wasn't able to give him her Hearts and Hooves Day gift, he still had hers, and maybe she'll feel better and be reassured that he's still her friend regardless of how she looks.

Looking through his bags, he pulled out Emerald's gift he thought was special enough for her: a red rose with a card tied around the stem. Virtuo did plan to give her candy at first, but she would probably want the love that radiates in the air more than chocolates or other sweets, so he asked his dad if he could buy a rose for him to give to her. The colt walked up beside Emerald and gently tapped her shoulder to get her attention. She turned her head to look at him, her depressed expression turning to surprise when she saw his gift, the card tied to the rose with her name on it.

"Don't listen to those jerks," Virtuo said. "They just want to make you think everything's going to turn out bad because they think it's funny to hurt a filly's feelings. Whatever they said to you about what I think about you, they're liars. You're my friend, Emerald, no matter who you are, what you look like, or what you do." Virtuo gave Emerald a smile, giving her the rose as she looked at it, processing his heartfelt words. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Em."

Emerald knew his words were genuine, feeling silly for believing Gold Plate. The bully always found some way to get in her head, even as she tried to ignore him to avoid getting into more trouble, but the fact that she was born as both a pony and a changeling made her believe she wouldn't be loved because of her mixed blood. She looked up at him, her lips turning into a smile as she cried happy tears this time, the colt knowing what she wanted from him as he held his forelegs out. She approached him and hugged him, nuzzling her face in his chest, silently thanking him as she felt his forelegs wrap around her in a comforting, friendly hug.

"Aww, that was sweet of you, Virtuo," Sweetie Belle said, she, Button, and Solaris happy to see Emerald out of her slump while the two foals seemed to garner some attention from the other patrons as well. Sweetie leaned over to Solaris and whispered, "I have a feeling those two will make a cute couple when they get older."

The alicorn giggled nervously, feeling more dread than excitement on the thought of his daughter being romantically involved with somepony. "W-Well...We'll see."

Emerald had finally calmed down, relaxing in her best friend's hooves. She had a funny feeling in her chest where her heart was, feeling all fluttery and pounding in a good way, almost like she was absorbing love without using her magic to do so unconsciously like when her daddy shows his love for her. She backed away from Virtuo's hug, looking down at the flower he gave her, wishing she still had her card.

"Thank you, Vivi," she said before letting out a sigh. "But I don't have anything for you."

"You don't need to get me anything," the colt assured. "I just want you to be happy."

Emerald giggled, glad to depend on somepony like Virtuo and hope he'll stay with her forever. She gave the rose a small sniff, its aroma pleasant and helped calm her a little. The filly then had an idea on what to give Virtuo, and it would probably be better than a card.

"...Vivi, I think I know what I can give you." Virtuo was about to refuse getting any gifts, only content with making her feel better, but she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Emerald leaned closer to him and planted a kiss on his cheek, making him stiffen in surprise with shrunken pupils as everyone around them cooed at the adorable display. Sweetie Belle giggled as her son got his first kiss from somepony other than her, knowing for sure those two will end up becoming more than friends when they get older. Solaris, however, was a little shocked, especially when both Virtuo and Emerald blushed, the colt's face turning red in embarrassment while his daughter's turned as he noticed a small glint of love in her eyes.

"Uhh, ok, I think we've had enough fun for the day," Solaris quickly said, downing his ice cream in one gulp while swiftly cleaning up Emerald's splattered and uneaten treat with his magic. "Come on, Emmy, let's head back home and you'll see Virtuo again later. Bye, Sweetie Belle, Button Mash!"

Grabbing Emerald, Solaris breathed a plume of fire around them, turning them into a wisp of magical light as he teleported them back to the castle. "Oh boy. Solaris is turning into the overprotective dad," Sweetie Belle uttered. "I hope he doesn't get too carried away and interfere with Emerald's social life too much."

"...How did he not get brain freeze after swallowing his ice cream whole?" Button questioned, making his wife leer at him with a raised brow at the change in topic. "...Maybe if we get older, we don't get brain freezes! Milkshake race!"

"Button, that's not how it-" Button didn't listen to Sweetie, slurping heavily through his straw to try to finish their romantic shake. His face scrunched up as he began suffering from brain freeze, screaming in agony as he clutched his head, falling out of his seat and underneath their table. Sweetie Belle facehooved, her husband always acting like a foal half the time as it brought back a memory of the same thing happening to him when they were foals at Sugarcube Corner. "Hon, Solaris has dragon breath. He's immune to getting cold, including eating cold stuff that quickly to get brain freezes."

"Agh! It hurts! Make it stoooop!" Button cried out as he writhed in agony. "...Oh, hey, a bit."

Sweetie Belle sighed heavily, turning her attention to her son, who was still frozen still as he stared off at nothing in his shock. "Virtuo? Are you alright, sweetie?" she asked. She had expected Virtuo to at least be disgusted, saying she gave him cooties or something that colts his age would say. Instead, the colt leaned over slightly, then fell on his side, still paralyzed in shock from the kiss Emerald gave him. "...I think I'm going to take that as a yes. Come on, Button, let's head on home." Sweetie Belle picked up her love-shocked colt on her back, Button Mash stood up from under the table as he held his head. He was about to follow her when he looked back at their half-eaten shake. "Leave it."

"Aww," the stallion whined as he followed his wife.

Trill hummed happily as she walked down the halls of the castle with a sway of her hips, already cleaned up after the amount of romantic fun she had with Solaris while Emerald was at school. His love he gave her was strongest when Hearts and Hooves Day comes around, and it was always the sweetest she's ever enjoyed, licking her lips as she had her fill, yet still craved more.

"Too bad we can't go all day like before when Emerald wasn't around," she said to herself. "If I had enough time to tie him up before that timer went off, I could have left him in bed waiting in agony for me to come back and-" Green flames suddenly shot up in front of her, making her yelp in surprise as Solaris teleported through his dragon fire, carrying a lovestruck Emerald in his hooves while she held a rose in hers. "Solly, for goodness sake. I'm going to need some warning if you do that out of nowhere." She noticed their daughter holding the rose, along with the half-lidded eyes and blushing cheeks of a young filly experiencing her first crush. "...Is Emerald-?"

"Hold that thought, hon," Solaris quickly said, carrying Emerald over to her room. "Play in your room for a bit until dinner's ready, ok, sweetie?" He lowered the filly down, who plopped on her side as she clutched her rose from Virtuo before shutting her bedroom door. He turned around, finding Trill with a wide grin and a knowing look. "...What?"

"Has our little filly caught the love bug already?" Trill asked, laughing at the irony of her and Emerald being part insect.

"No!" Solaris exclaimed. "No love bugs! Emmy is NOT getting involved with any colts, even if it's Virtuo!"

"Oh, so it was Virtuo who gave her that lovely rose she's clinging onto, huh?" The alicorn gasped, slapping his hooves against his muzzle. Trill giggled as her husband leaked out the answer she needed, though she did expect their daughter to like Virtuo a lot more than she seemed. "I'm pretty sure he liked that card she made for him right?"

Solaris lowered his hooves, grumbling irritably. "Actually, he didn't get the card, but he gave her the rose to help her feel better."

"Feel better? Why would-?" Trill paused, then leered sourly as she had a gut feeling on who made her miserable. "Those bullies from day one of school?"

"Yup," he said.

"Ugh. Can she not go one day at school without that brat picking on her and hurting her!?" Trill exclaimed. "What did he do? Rip the card?" Solaris nodded his head. "After snatching it from her while tackling her to the ground?" He nodded again. "And did he say something again that made her believe that she isn't liked by anyone because of how different she is, including her very best friend, upsetting her and making her cry?"

"Ok, where you actually there when it happened and the Trill I was with was actually another changeling?" Solaris asked suspiciously.

"No, I was just taking a few educated guests," Trill said. "...Or was I?" Solaris gave her a growl, not in the mood to be messed around with while their daughter had been picked on and was emotionally distraught yet again. "I'm just kidding! Sheesh. You take things so seriously...Just like...Emerald..."

Both parents began to realize how sensitive Emerald was. It may have been due to her being part changeling and able to sense emotions that could lead to her overthinking things, along with her mixed heritage, but she probably inherited a bit of sensitivity from Solaris. It was no wonder why she was so emotionally overwhelmed when Gold Plate told her she would never be loved by anyone, taking those painful words to heart and letting it upset her until she was rest assured that those lies weren't true to begin with. Emerald may be wild and rambunctious like her mother, but she's also serious and very easily emotional like her father.

"...Oh boy," Solaris uttered. "Now I'm really going to worry about Emerald when she gets older...I don't know if she's going to have an outburst and lash out, run away in depression, turn into a crazed mare bent on world domination and kill everypony because she thought her father never really loved her when it was all a misunderstanding and tried to kill him to get revenge for ruining her life-!"

"Solly!" Trill shouted, silencing her husband's rambling over the worst-case scenarios that were even worse than he was making them out to be.

"...Too far?" he asked, earning a nod from the changeling. "Right...That's not going to happen."

"Especially the last one," Trill said. "We've already got one pony in this family stressing out about the worst things that will never come." She nuzzled the alicorn, leaving behind a small kiss on his lips. "Let's see what's on the menu for tonight. I think Emerald's fine lost in her own thoughts about her future coltfriend."

"We'll see where their relationship goes when they get older," Solaris said, bringing back his overprotective side. "I want to make sure Virtuo doesn't try anything funny when their hormones control their actions as teenagers."

"Like with us when we shared our first 'romantic' night in a freezing cavern?" Trill asked with a seductive grin. Solaris growled, but her grin didn't falter as she knew he lost himself to his desires along with seeking comfort in somepony after the traumatic experience he experienced that day. Trill distracted him from his thoughts with another kiss, this time with more passion, almost getting him worked up again as he let out a low moan. She pulled away and giggled, seeing that excited glint in his eyes as they looked in each other's eyes. "And you still have the sex drive of a horny teenager. You just don't want to let him out of that cage."

"Somepony has to show some restraint," he reasoned, dipping his head and giving Trill a sharp nip on the neck, making her yelp, which turned into a moan as he licked the barely noticeable mark he left on her. "But you keep teasing me like this, those restraints are going to snap."

Trill purred, licking her lips as she walked away from him, sensually brushing her tail against his muzzle as she walked ahead of him, swaying her rump back and forth to tease him as she looked back at him. "Save it for later this evening out in the garden when we both have 'dessert' after dinner."

Solaris couldn't take his eyes off Trill's hypnotic rump moving back and forth, following her in a slight trance before snapping out of it and walked beside her, draping a wing around her as he nuzzled her lovingly. They didn't notice the alicorn angel watching them, Twilight shaking her head with a grin, happy to know her son was in good hooves, even if his wife was a changeling who had the libido of a succubus. As soon as they left, she phased through Emerald's bedroom door, finding the filly still holding onto Virtuo's rose with a dreamy look on her face.

"Looks like you're enjoying your Hearts and Hooves Day present from Virtuo a bit too much," Twilight said. "Do you like him?"

Emerald snapped out of her daydream as she was asked that question again. She thought long and hard about it, knowing what love is so early from seeing how her parents act around each other, along with the energy her daddy releases around her and her mommy. Looking back down at the rose, she wore her goofy, love-struck smile again with a deep blush, Twilight swearing she could see hearts floating and popping behind the filly as she hugged the flower.

"Yes. I do," she said before letting out a fluttery giggle.

As the filly wandered over to place her flower in a small jar and place it by her window, Twilight chuckled as everything around Emerald seemed nonexistent as she began drawing hearts all over a piece of paper. "Young love. Oh, if Cadence could sense this, being the Princess of Love, she'd want to try to set those two up on a date."

Meanwhile, at the Crystal Empire, Cadence and Shining Armor were enjoying a romantic dinner together out on the balcony of their castle, the moon shining down and making the atmosphere more romantic. As she was about to bite into her crystal berry salad she decided to eat, she paused as she felt an odd, romantic presence from far away. Shining noticed the look on her face, rolling his eyes as her love senses were going off.

"Uh oh. Cadence, what's happening?" Shining asked with a smirk.

"...I don't know why, but I feel like planning a blind date with Emerald and her friend Virtuo," Cadence uttered. As much as she wanted to make that plan come to fruition, her great niece was still only a filly, and she and her friend, soon-to-be-possibly future lover, were still pretty young. She would have to take a rain check on that until they were old enough, slowly bringing her fork to her lips as she continued eating. "But, I can wait. I'm sure Solaris won't like how his aunt wants to set up a couple foals on a date together without his permission." She dabbed her lips with a napkin, only to gasp as that sense came back again, only with someone else. "But Flurry Heart, on the other hoof!"

Shining winced, dreading that look as his wife mentioned their daughter being involved with another colt. "Oh no. No. No no no, Cadence!"

"Who's our little baby hanging out with!?" the pink alicorn squealed excitedly, speeding off from the table to find Flurry.

"Cadence!" Shining called out, yelping as he tried to chase after her, momentarily forgetting about his forelegs and fell to the floor. "...Ow...Too late...Please let it JUST be a friend she's with, and not somepony she likes..."