Chapters Hearth's Warming is Humbug
It was cold. Very, very cold. Like, make-your-muzzle-red and make-your-hooves-frosted cold.
Discord hated this weather. And not just because his horns practically froze off.
Everyone loved this time of year. In fact, there was so much love, that some ponies older than him had created The Fire of Friendship with their love. Ridiculous. Simply ridiculous!
But if Discord was to be completely, totally honest with himself, he hated Hearth's Warming because he was lonely.
But heck! He was the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, and the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony couldn't be lonely! He wasn't like those commoner ponies! There was no draconequus tribe to help light the hearth, and he liked it that way!
No, actually, he hated it that way.
But he put his head high each year, and decided that Hearth's Warming was just a whole bunch of humbug .
Wonderful. Simply Wonderful. Discord rolled his eyes as he opened the door to the room that Celestia had always let him sleep in, whenever he wanted to. It was his room of the Canterlot Castle. His home away from home. And surprisingly, it was hardly chaotic. Just a melancholy room, with a small wooden desk and chair, a bed, and a dresser; all a old, sad, solid, oak color. This is where he would spend his lonesome Hearth's Warming eve. Fun.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Discord grumbled a "Come in..." and Pinkie Pie stepped in, her hair bounding with her.
"Hi-ya there, Discord!" Pinkie smiled, as she always did,
"Why hello there... Pinkie," Discord sighed. He didn't have the energy to put up with such a hyperactive pony.
"Merry Hearth's Warming!" Pinkie went over and hugged the sad draconequus, wrapping her forehooves around him.
He squirmed as she squished. "Pinkie... get...off...of..." he managed to get out; with a last twitch, he was out of her embrace.
"What?" She cocked her head. "I'm just trying to spread some holiday cheer!"
"Yeah?" Discord put his mismatched hands on his hips. "Well... this draconequus doesn't need any holiday cheer, thank you." He rolled his eyes.
"Discord," Pinkie looked sad. "Why... why are you such a grumpy-pants?"
Discord gritted his teeth. "Why? Why?! Because Hearth's Warming is humbug! Nothing! Pointless!" His left eye twitched.
Pinkie sighed. "Oh... I didn't know you felt that way."
He looked down, trying to get his anger level lower. "Now Pinkie, please, just leave me alone."
Dejected, Pinkie walked out. "Well... have a nice Hearth's Warming."
Just as Pinkie exited, somepony else entered. It was Fluttershy, and Discord suddenly became overjoyed. Was she going to invite him over for Hearth's Warming? That would be wonderful! Maybe he wouldn't be so lonely after all.
"Hello, Discord." Fluttershy smiled, and looked up at her friend.
Discord tried to smile, but it ended up more of an awkward growl-y gritt-y grin. "Hi Fluttershy."
Fluttershy blushed a little. "May... may I ask you a question?"
"Why, of course! Anything, Fluttershy!" He flipped and landed in the air on his stomach, so his head was level to her's. Discord was ready to accept her invitation.
"Would you like to donate a few bits to my Animals in Need Association?" She asked.
Nothing! No invitation to celebrate Hearth's Warming! She wanted him to give money to her poor, precious animals. She didn't think once about her poor, precious draconequus! What kind of friend was this Fluttershy?
"Donate?" Discord righted himself on his mismatched feet. "Donate?! You want me to donate to your animals ?!" He couldn't help himself anymore. Fluttershy was kind, sure, but he sure wasn't feeling very kind right now.
Fluttershy looked down, slightly embarrassed. She tried to explain. "Well, it is the holiday season and all... it's the time of year to be generous." She then added, "It's okay if you say no..."
"It's okay if I say no? Then NO, Fluttershy, I will not donate to your pathetic little animals."
Fluttershy stared at him in disbelief.
"What? Do I need to spell it out for you?" Discord made two large red letters appear in the air. "N-O. No. The answer is no, Fluttershy!" Discord swatted at the letters and they disappeared to mist. "Maybe, you should go and bother Rarity, she's the Element of Generosity, after all." He rolled his eyes.
"Wh-wh..." Fluttershy ran out of Discord's room in tears.
Then, he started to feel regretful. He didn't mean to come across so snappy and mean. "Fluttershy!" He called, but she was already too far away.
"Bah, humbug."
One of Celestia's Guards knocked on Discord's door.
Discord grumbled a "yes?" He was face-flat on his pillow, currently annoyed at life.
"Excuse me, Mr. Discord, but Celestia and Luna would like you to come down and join them in their Hearth's Warming Eve feast," the guard said. His voice was deep and stern. The kind of voice that wouldn't ever waver in the face of danger.
"Okay, okay, whatever," He got up, and snapped his fingers to make the bed. Discord dragged himself to the door and opened it, only to be greeted by the guard.
"I will escort you to the dining hall." The guard nodded his head and started down the hall, Discord following mindlessly. He was not looking forward to this dinner.
Discord played with the lettuce leaves of his salad. He had hardly eaten anything of this so-called feast.
"Are you feeling alright, Discord?" Celestia asked, generally worried about him.
"Fine, fine. I'm fine." Discord continued to stab the lettuce with the fork and let go of it. He flipped it over and stabbed it again.
Luna looked skeptically at the draconequus. "It appears to me that you are sad. You are in need of being cheered up."
"Luckily," Celestia said, "the Young Yearling Choir is going to be here momentarily. I'm sure that will cheer you up, Discord!" Celestia smiled in her regal way. Boy, did Discord hate that.
"May... may I be excused?" Discord stood up.
Nodding her head, Celestia said, "of course."
Discord got up, and walked. He wandered the halls alone, hearing the angelic voices of the Young Yearlings from time to time. Eventually, he settled in his bedroom, and decided to go to sleep.
He flopped down on his bed, pulled the covers over himself, fluffed the pillow, and drifted off to dreamworld.
Suddenly, Discord awoke from his nightmarish slumber. He sat up and looked around.
Ching, cha, ching.
"Huh?" Discord looked back and forth. He ran his view along each crack, each seam, each floorboard, then shifted his gaze on the door. "Who goes there?"
Ching, cha, ching.
"Are those... are those chains?" Discord asked, into the night.
"Chains. Yes. You could call them that."
Discord knew that voice. It was a smooth, familiar voice that he had heard many times before.
And then, Discord had a face to go with the voice. A ghostly Princess Luna stepped through the door. Like, through the door. She didn't open it, she just walked through it. Discord jumped in surprise. Discord was hardly ever surprised, but this happened to be one of those rare occasions where is was.
"Luna?" Discord looked at the alicorn. Her dark blue coat was now translucent, and her mane was flowing in nonexistent wind as always. Around her ankles, there were heavy navy blue chains, each with a multitude of purple stars. With each step, the chains clink ed and ching ed on the floor. "Why are you here?" Discord asked.
"I have come to inform you of your upcoming experience," Luna said, bowing her head.
"Experience?" Discord got out of bed, and walked around her, looking at her chains.
"Yes. Your upcoming experience." She turned to face the draconequus. "Three spirits will visit you tonight."
"Spirits?" He cocked his head. "Like, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony?"
"No, no," she replied. "Spirits. Ghosts. Angels." She looked into his eyes. "Spirits."
"Okay..." Discord nodded once.
"Let me explain more," the princess continued. "The first will be The Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past. Secondly, you will meet the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Present. And last, you will meet the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Future."
Discord thought Luna had gone mental. "Okay then, Moon Butt!" He smiled awkwardly. Trying to change the subject, he asked, "May I ask you a question?" Discord wasn't normally the one to question anything, but this particular detail was really intriguing him.
"Yes, of course, Discord," Luna said.
"Why are you fettered? Chained?" He picked up a wispy blue end of one of the shackles and it floated out of his touch.
"I'm a prisoner of my own jail."
Discord solemnly stared at the Princess. "At least you weren't trapped in stone for a millenia." He tried to smile, but the princess' unamused look made him stop.
"I'll take you to the moon sometime."
Discord and Luna looked at each other for a minute, wondering what the other was thinking. Luna then spoke up.
"The first ghost will visit you when the clock strikes one." Luna walked over to the window in the room and opened it. "I hope you learn your lesson, Discord." She then jumped out the window, into the chilly air. The moon reflected off her pellucid coat, and Luna disappeared into her night sky.
Discord got back into bed. He thought, "what a strange dream. Why would Luna want to visit me with that information?" Soon enough, though, he drifted back into sleep. It wasn't a dream.
The Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past
DONG.
It was a single bell toil, signaling one o'clock. Discord, however, didn't wake up.
There was a blinding flash of light, and the predicted spirit appeared. She had a pristine white coat, translucent much like Luna's, and a curled purple mane. From her horn, a beacon of blue light shone. She was clothed in a golden dress, and a golden wreath of holly sat upon her head.
She walked over to the side of Discord's bed. "Discord..." she cooed.
"But I don't wanna wake up, Mommy!" Discord was still asleep, but tried to shoo the unicorn away with his eagle talon.
"Discord, I'm not your mother." The spirit giggled, and blinked her eyes a few times, her blue eyeshadow sparkling in the moonlight. When the draconequus continued to snore, she became impatient. "Discord! Wake up!"
Discord's eyes flew open instantly. "Rarity?" He questioned, upon opening his eyes to see the spirit.
"Rarity? Oh no, I'm the Ghost of Hearth's Warming past," she said, smiling a little.
"Ohhh..." Discord sat up, remembering his visit from Luna, even if it did seem more like a dream than real life. "So, you are the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past?" He cocked his head, standing up to face this "spirit".
"Yes, Discord," she said nodding her head. "Now, I've come to remind you of days long ago."
Looked down at the floor. "Oh no..." Discord hated talking about his past. He had been such an idiot .
"Discord, look at me," the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past said. Discord did as he was told, and both the spirit and draconequus were looking at each other. "It must be done," she said.
Discord sighed, "okay, hit me with your best shot, Miss Generosity ."
The Ghost rolled her elaborate eyes, and the beam from her horn glowed brighter and brighter until nothing blue light could be seen. When the glow from her horn died down to it's prior light level, Discord and the Spirit were in a new scene.
"Why... why... it's all so familiar!" Discord looked around, observing their surroundings.
"Yes," the Spirit said. "Do you know where you are?" She asked.
"Why of course I do! This is where I lived as a young draconequus," he looked around. It was a forested area, with many trees. These weren't normal trees, however. Hardly a green tree was seen, rather, they were all sorts of colors! Pink to turquoise, tangerine to chartreuse. There was a large mountain, and a bubbling waterfall running down. Silly-looking, yet beautiful birds flew around and landed in the treetops.
"Now, it shall be Hearth's Warming Eve," the Ghost said, and with her words, the scene started to change once again. The multicolored trees lost their leaves, the grass was covered with snow, and the once-bubbling waterfall froze to form an icicle sculpture of sorts. The faint cry of a young one could be heard. "Now follow me, Discord," the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past said, walking towards a cave. "Don't worry, we can't interfere, so there is no need to hide."
The draconequus and Ghost walked into the cave, and they saw whom the muffled cries were coming from.
It was Discord.
He was very young still, at this point. His face was rounder, and was much more childish. He didn't quite have his eyebrows or goatee, and his antler and horn were just little stubs. His limbs and tail were short and awkward, but his body proportions were much more pony-like.
"No one... no one likes me. No one will ever like me. I'll always be alone," the tiny Discord said to himself, sniffling his runny nose. "I'll never have a fun Hearth's Warming. While everypony else has somewhere to go, I'm here... alone..."
Discord still remembered that night, despite it being so long ago. It brought a tear to his eye, thinking about it once again.
"You were alone," the Spirit sighed.
"I was..." was all that Discord could manage to say.
The Ghost's horn illuminated the area again, and when it dimmed down, they were in another scene. It was once again the chilly season of Hearth's Warming, but this time, they were in the streets Canterlot. A group of ponies were crowded around a teenage-looking Discord. He looked quite similar to what Discord looked like now, but his eyes weren't as dark and sunk-in, and there was just a aura of high energy surrounding him.
"Discord! Do some of your magic!"
"It's amazing!"
"Intriguing!"
"Wonderful!"
The whole crowd of ponies "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed at Discord's chaotic tricks. He made cotton candy clouds full of chocolate milk, and popped corn still on the cob.
Discord finished his magic show with a bow and a "thank you! Thank you!" Everypony clapped and Discord grinned a wide smile.
A young Princess Celestia came up from the back of the crowd to personally greet Discord. Celestia's hair was still a solid cotton candy pink, and her chest wasn't covered by a golden necklace. Her hooves still had shoes, but they were small and flat, glittering with each step she took.
The younger Discord blushed. "Hey there... Princess," he said.
"Hello Discord," Celestia nodded her head. "I would like to invite you our Hearth's Warming Ball. Would you like to come?"
"Really?" the young Discord said, his eyebrows high, and his smile wide. "Yes! Of course, I'd love to come!"
"Wonderful!" The young princess said. "I'll see you Hearth's Warming Eve, Discord! Have a nice night!" Celestia ran off, happy that she was able to get such a fantastic, fun guest to come to the ball. Discord flew off into the night sky, happy that he was just invited to the Princess' ball!
The Ghost closed her eyes and suddenly, days and nights quickly past. As the cycles slowed, the Spirit opened her eyes and said, "it is now Hearth's Warming eve, let us go to the castle."
Again, the scene started to change, and they were standing in front of the Canterlot Castle. Ponies past by them, entering the open castle doors. They were each wearing extravagant clothes; colorful dresses for the mares and dapper suits for the stallions. A bit of time passed until the two saw the teenage Discord straighten his red bowtie and enter, himself. He was wearing a black top hat, adorned with a red ribbon, a red bowtie, and a black suit.
Discord and the Ghost entered behind the young Discord.
"Do you remember this night?" The Ghost asked.
The young Celestia and Discord were dancing a romantic waltz together. It was something like a fairytale.
"Of course I do," Discord said to the Spirit.
Younger Discord leaned in and kissed the Princess.
"That was the night of my first kiss."
The strange couple ran outside together to watch the snow fall. As Discord was daydreaming about days past, the scene started to change again. The Ghost and Discord were again in the castle, but there was no ball going on. They were in the throne room, and there were two thrones next to each other, and one a bit lower.
Celestia and Discord, older than they were in the scene before, flashed in.
"All you care about is power! I'm NOT having a tyrant of a husband!" Celestia yelled.
"Celestia, I'm not a tyrant! How dare you insult me like that?!" The Discord in the scene yelled.
"You don't want me for my love," Celestia retorted, "you want me for the title, King Discord . Over my dead immortal body you'll become the King of Chaos!"
"Oh," the past Discord said, "We'll see about that, Celestia."
Discord hung his head in shame. He couldn't believe that he had actually said and done that.
Once again, the scene whirled into a new one. Discord and the Spirit stood outside in a garden of sorts. It was night, and the wind whipped around them.
Discord knew this garden all-too-well.
They were standing in front of his stone self.
Discord muttered a "no...no..." But then, they saw a dark figure emerge from the shadows.
It was Celestia. She wore a scarf around her neck and moved quickly. Discord and the Spirit backed up, and soon, Celestia stood at the bottom of the motionless Discord statue.
"Discord," Celestia said. "I'm sorry. I'm really... really sorry." She hung her head, tearing up. The Princess took the scarf from around her neck and flew up to face the ever-still Discord. She tied it around the cold, stone draconequus and said, "Merry Hearth's Warming." Before leaving, she added, "Maybe Luna and I will release you this year."
She flew off.
Discord had had enough of his past.
"Spirit, I can't take this anymore!" He shouted, as the scene melted back into his bedroom.
"Oh? I could always show you more," the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past said with a smirk.
"Be gone! I've had enough!" Discord yelled, once again.
"I will gone in good time, I just have one last thing to tell you," she said.
"And what would that be?" Discord questioned.
"The Ghost of Hearth's Warming Present will visit you very soon." The Spirit winked.
Discord had had enough of these crazy spirits. He was so annoyed at Miss Rarity-Look-Alike , he shooed at the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past, and like a mist, she disappeared.
"Thank gosh that's over," Discord said, sitting back down on his bed. But soon, he heard a familiar laugh come from the hallway.
The Ghost of Hearth's Warming Future
The clock struck again, only once. Discord looked, terrified, at the approaching figure. Even though he had been visited by Princess Luna, The Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past, and The Ghost of Hearth's Warming Present, he was still generally surprised at the sight.
The spirit came closer and closer, and Discord became more frightened with each step the Ghost took.
When the Spirit was close enough that Discord was surely audible, he asked, "are you the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Future?"
The Spirit did not speak, but only nodded slightly. Or at least, Discord thought it nodded.
"What are you going to show me?" Discord questioned the figure clothed in black. He was trying to be confident, but he really was very scared.
The dark and desolate field was replaced by the Canterlot Sculpture Garden. Discord's ears flopped down, his breathing became heavy, and his pupils undilated. This was the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Future , not Past . Could this really be his future?
The Spirit did not talk, but pointed a purple hoof, gesturing to what was behind him.
Swallowing, he turned around.
Just as he guessed, he was looking at a statue of himself . A third time? He was to be turned to stone for a third time?!
"No!" He yelled, "Tell me that this isn't true! How did this come to be? Fluttershy promised... Fluttershy promised that she'd never use her Element of Kindness against me!" Discord was starting to tear up. "They all said... that I was their friend! I thought that this wouldn't happen ever again..." He was full-out crying by now. "Tell me this isn't true!"
The Spirit seemed to shake it's head, with a 'no'.
"Fine, if it is forever true, then show me some sort of emotion... show me Fluttershy! I wish to see her," Discord pleaded to the Ghost.
The scene started to change. It twisted and swirled until the Ghost in black and Discord stood in Fluttershy's cottage.
"I'm glad that he's gone! All he ever did was cause me trouble!" Fluttershy was angrily stomping around the house, watering plants. "I just have to make tea for one , now! And I'll be free every tuesday, make that certain!" Birds flew out of the way, to the rafters, as she walked past.
"No... Fluttershy..." Discord whispered.
The scene swirled to a new one, once again. They were now in Sugarcube Corner and Pinkie was baking cupcakes.
"I never liked his chocolate milk clouds! It got my mane all sticky and knotty. I'm glad he's back in stone!" Pinkie shoved the tray of cupcakes into the oven.
Again, the scene swirled out and and new one positioned itself. Rainbow Dash was flying around an cloud obstacle course.
"I hated all his pranks! They really started to annoy me!" She dodged the cloudy fences and dove under bridges of sorts.
Before they could hear anything else from Rainbow Dash, they were in The Carousel Boutique.
"His fashion sense was absolutely horrid! At least he can't wear those terrible clothes when he's a statue!" Rarity angrily sewed, her face almost as red as the glasses she wore on her muzzle.
Then, they flashed in the same swirly fashion to Sweet Apple Acres.
"Remember all those nasty things he did to our crops?" Apple Jack kicked at a tree. "Anything that pops our corn, or floods and freezes our rivers deserves to be stuck in stone!" She turned around and forcefully kicked another tree.
The scene swirled back into the Canterlot Sculpture Gardens.
"No! I can't live another eternity trapped like this... I can't!" He ran over to the Spirit, and sat down, kneeling in it's presence. "I'm a new draconequus! Reformed more than before! There's no reason to think that Hearth's Warming is nothing, because it's magical. It's amazing. I just have to look at Fluttershy and everypony once else to know that! They are happy, so why can't I be? Hearth's Warming is anything but humbug, it's a time for joy and peace and beauty. I promise... I'll represent each of the Elements of Harmony! Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty... Laughter and Magic! I promise, please... believe me spirit! I've learned from the past, present and future. I've changed!"
The Ghost of Hearth's Warming Future must have believed him, because in an instant, the Sculpture Gardens melted away, and they were back into Discord's room. The Spirit blew away, but it's mysterious presence still filled the room.
Discord was very tired, so he flopped down on his bed and fell asleep quite quickly. Visions of sugarplums danced in his head, as well as the plans he had for the morning.
Discord woke up smiling. He got out of bed smiling, and opened the door smiling.
"Merry Hearth's Warming, everypony!" He shouted as soon as he stepped out into the hall.
First, he ran down to the dining room to say a good morning to Luna and Celestia. He saw them sitting at the end of the long table, so Discord, in his happiness, decided to have some fun. He flew up, jumped on the table and slid on his long stomach, barely missing the candelabra in the middle of the table.
"Merry Hearth's Warming, Princesses!" Discord smiled, his face inches away from the two sisters.
"Merry Hearth's Warming, Discord," Luna said, smiling. "How was your night?"
"Oh Luna, you should know." He winked. "It was rather eventful. But I'd rather not explain, today is the day for merrymaking!" Discord conjured up a few sprigs of mistletoe and threw them at Celestia. "Merry Hearth's Warming, Tia!"
Celestia was slightly annoyed at Discord, but she still somehow smiled. She blushed, and responded with, "Merry Hearth's Warming, Discord."
"Merry, merry, merry!" Discord got up and floated around. "Thanks for the wonderful awakening, but I really must go and greet some of my other friends." He grinned even wider. "Good day, Luna, Celestia!"
He snapped his fingers, and teleported to Twilight Sparkle's Castle. It looked wonderful; the sparkling purple and blue outside, adorned in red and green decorations, and beautiful little lights. It looked like a rainbow of festivity. Without a second thought, Discord opened up the door and yelled a loud, "Merry Hearth's Warming, everypony!" Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Apple Jack, The Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Spike were celebrating Hearth's Warming Morning together. They had a wide assortment of cinnamon rolls, muffins, pastries, bread, and donuts on the dining table, and Pinkie, Spike, and the three fillies were enjoying much of it.
"Merry Hearth's Warming, Discord!" Pinkie said, shoving another donut into her mouth.
"Merry Hearth's Warming, Pinkie! Merry Hearth's Warming to all of you!" Discord said, throwing red and green confetti all over the place.
"Would you like to join us, Discord?" Twilight asked the draconequus.
"Me? Of course! I'd love to!" He made a chair appear next to Fluttershy's and sat on it. For the first time in the morning, he felt a bit of guilt. He leaned over to his best friend. "Fluttershy," Discord said, "I'm sorry, really. I guess I just lost my temper, and it got worse..."
Fluttershy leaned closer to the draconequus. "It's okay, really. Don't worry, Discord."
"But I hate seeing you upset. And I would do anything to prevent your beautiful little eyes from crying, Fluttershy," Discord smiled, a bit of a tear in his eye, himself.
Rainbow Dash leaned closer to Apple Jack, and whispered, "How much you wanna bet we see them making out under the mistletoe, tonight?"
Apple Jack just gave a disapproving glare at Rainbow Dash, but Rarity giggled a little.
"Discord, really, don't worry. We're still friends, we'll always be friends," Fluttershy said. The two friends hugged.
Everypony (and Spike) said an "Awww..."
Discord glared at them all, but Fluttershy said, "I hope you're having a Merry Hearth's Warming, Discord."
"Oh, Fluttershy, this is absolutely the best Hearth's Warming I've ever had. And it's only 9:00 in the morning!" Discord looked around at everypony... Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Apple Jack, and Rainbow Dash; Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Spike; Fluttershy and him. This was the best Hearth's Warming ever .
Apple Bloom held up her cup of apple cider. "Faust bless us, everypony."
Everypony held up their cup, including Discord, and repeated, "Faust bless us, everypony."
Pinkie jumped up with a donut in her hoof. "Best. Hearth's Warming. EVER!"
~~~The End~~~
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed! I had tons of fun writing this.
Discord: Ebenezer Scrooge
Instead of being obsessed with money, he's more power hungry and chaos-obsessed, I guess. And it's Discord, so you obviously hate him a lot less than Scrooge.
Pinkie Pie: Fred
I think she's a pretty good fit for Fred. And I find it pretty funny that Fred is Scrooge's nephew, and Pinkie and Discord are both fourth-wall-breaking, reality bending, chaos-bringers, so they might as well be related.
Fluttershy: Those guys asking for money from Scrooge
Okay, so this one, by far is the most far-fetched and stretched character resemblance. Fluttershy asks for money for her animals in the beginning, and Discord would hand-wash a thousand animals for Fluttershy by the end, but she plays a pretty large role throughout this book, unlike those not-even-named characters in Charles Dickens' original.
Princess Luna: Jacob Marley
So clearly Jacob Marley had quite a number of past sins (with all those chains... geez...) and I guess that fits Luna pretty well. I made them "Tantabus Chains" because I figured that it fit together pretty well. Jacob Marley has to drag around chains because of his past... Luna tortures herself with the Tantabus for turning into Nightmare Moon; it works.
Rarity: The Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past
The Ghost of Christmas Past is normally depicted quite elegantly, with all her gold and light, so shouldn't Rarity have an equally stylish character? I thought so.
Princess Celestia: Belle
I'm not partial to any Discord ship, but there's a widely accepted headcannon that Discord and Celestia's break-up caused him to go crazy and make Equestria the Chaos Capital of the World, so I figured it worked. I also happen to think that Celestia's regal design is quite beautiful, so a name like "Belle" certainly matches that idea.
Rainbow Dash: The Ghost of Christmas Present
The Ghost of Christmas Present is big, boastful, and bold, and so is Rainbow Dash! I thought this match worked well, except for, of course, that awkward bit when the Ghost becomes old. Since I didn't really want Rainbow to go through something like age, I thought that becoming sick was close enough.
Apple Jack: Bob Cratchit
Apple Jack is hard-working and loves her family, so I thought this was a good fit. Though she doesn't work for Discord, they still know each other.
Apple Bloom: Tiny Tim
Okay, so this one is pretty bad, too. But there really isn't anyone sick or handicapped (as far as we know) in the Apple Family, so who else would I do?
Scootaloo: Ignorance
Scootaloo is pretty ignorant sometimes... right...?
Sweetie Belle: Want
She wanted her cutie mark. She wants to be like Rarity. She wants a lot of things.
Princess Twilight Sparkle: The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come (or Future)
Twilight is the reason Discord falls in "The Return of Harmony". Twilight is the reason Discord falls in "A Hearth's Warming Carol". And also, she was the only one of the Mane 6 that didn't fit one of the characters in A Christmas Carol well. So she's kind of stuck here, representing death. (Or being turned to stone for a thousand years)
Again, I cut some parts, added some parts, and made it more Pony-friendly, but I hope you enjoyed!
The Ghost of Hearth's Warming Present
The clock struck again, signaling another hour. Except, instead of two rings it was only one. Only a singular DONG .
Discord had figured that the castle's bell tower was just broken.
And then he heard that laugh again. A hearty "Ha, ha, ha!" Discord figured that he wasn't going to get much sleep that night, so he got up from his bed and walked out in the hallway.
He saw a quite interesting sight.
A semiopaque sky blue mare with a messy rainbow mane sat upon a glittering throne made of clouds. The pegasus wore a dark green robe adorned with fluffy faux fur. There were holes in the robe for her wings.
"Rainbow Dash?" He asked the mare.
She shook her head. "No! I am the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Present!"
"I don't know..." Discord said, coming closer to the Spirit. "You look a lot like Rainbow Dash to me..." He stroked his beard, smiling.
"No!" She said, confidently. "I am the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Present, and I'm here to guide you."
"Wonderful... absolutely wonderful." Discord rolled his eyes.
"Now, let's begin! Hold my hoof!" She smiled her cocky grin.
"Fine, whatever..." he said, grabbing her forehoof.
The world began to spin. Around, and around and around. Flashes of rainbow light swirled all over the place, making Discord sick. This must have been how it felt to be inside a Sonic Rainboom. Just as Discord was about to throw up, they stopped at their destination.
They were in front of Fluttershy's cottage. Discord looked skeptically at the spirit.
"Why here?" He asked.
"Look inside, Discord," said the Ghost. Discord felt a little bad invading Fluttershy's privacy, but he shoved his nose up against the glass anyways.
Fluttershy was petting Angel, talking to him.
"I don't know what the problem was..." Fluttershy said. "I thought I asked him nicely, but he was just so... so... angry!"
Angel rolled his eyes.
"I wish I had the chance to ask him if he wanted to spend Hearth's Warming with me." Fluttershy looked down at her rabbit friend. "But I just couldn't keep my tears in. I had to run away!" She sighed. "I just don't know what got into Discord!"
Discord sighed. What had gotten into him? Even though Hearth's Warming wasn't really his thing, he still shouldn't have yelled at his best friend! His temper got the best of him so many times. He regretted so many things.
Before Discord could think about anything else, rainbow streaks started to fill the sky once again. The world started to spin... around and around and around...
Soon enough, though, they were standing in front of their new destination. Why, it was Sweet Apple Acres! Discord looked around at the trees, and then back at the Ghost.
"And why are we here?" He asked the Spirit.
"Come on, see inside," she said. With her words, the trees melted to the interior of the barn, and the two were suddenly inside the pink and red wooden building. A long table was set up, and probably half of the Apple family was sitting around it, waiting for the Hearth's Warming Feast to begin.
"Now, I know this isn't much," Apple Jack said, placing a plate of apple fritters on the table, "but I think it'll be sufficient for us all." She said, sitting down at one of the ends.
Big Macintosh added a "Eeyup."
"Now..." Granny Smith started, "who's gonna say the blessin'?"
"I think Apple Jack sure deserves to do it. She's done so many amazin' things this year," Braeburn said, gesturing to the orange mare.
"Aww, shucks," Apple Jack said, blushing a little. "But I'll do it," She added a confident nod.
"This year has brought so many good things to us all. May this upcomin' year be just as generous as the last. This Hearth's Warmin' is surely a joyful one, and I hope the joy continues throughout our future." Apple Jack smiled, looking around at her family.
Apple Bloom then chimed in, "Faust bless us, everypony."
Everypony smiled and started with their meal of apples.
Discord smiled at the filly's words. He had a soft spot for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, especially Apple Bloom.
Discord looked over at the Spirit and the jolly scene melted away. They were in a dark field. He couldn't tell if it was just the light, or something else, but the Ghost started to look different. Her hair was knotted and limp, and drops of sweat formed on her brow. Her wings and ears were flopped down, she looked sickly and skinny, and her cheeks were pink. Her eyes were droopy and had large bags under them. She looked as though she had cried for hours, stayed up for days on end, and was fighting a fatal sickness.
"Spirit?" He said, hardly believing the sight. Then, from under the ends of her robe, Discord spotted four small hooves; two orange and two white. "I see something strange protruding from under your skirt. May I ask what they are?"
Two fillies scurried out. "This is Ignorance," the Spirit said, gesturing to the orange one with a purple mane, "and this is Want," she pointed to the white one with a lavender and pink mane. They looked worse than the Ghost did. Their matted manes and tiny, scabbed bodies intimidated Discord, somehow threatening and terrifying.
"But... they are innocent! Innocent, tiny fillies! They have so much potential... and they look like that!" DIscord was breathing heavily, the sight horrifying him. "How can someone do that to them?"
"This..." the Ghost growled, "This is what ignorance does to ponies... or draconequui, for that matter," she stopped briefly, but then continued, "And this is what want does! Be wary, beware, Discord! You don't want your future to look like this!"
"No!" He yelled, "No! I can't... my future... I don't want my future to look like that!"
"Exactly..." The Ghost of Hearth's Warming Present said. With that, the Spirit, Want, and Ignorance turned to dust and blew away in the wind.
Just as Discord caught his breath, he saw another terrifying sight.
He spotted a figure clothed in a black robe. And somehow, he knew that that was the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Future. And it was coming for him .
