A Second Chance

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Chaotic Invitation
Chapter 2: A Very Discordant Dinner (With A Side of Chicken)
Chapter 3: The True Meaning of Hearth’s Warming

Chapter 1: The Chaotic Invitation

Discord had always kept to himself. It was the only life he had ever known. The caves beneath the Canterlot ruins had been his home for as long as he could remember, and he had been perfectly content to spend the rest of his eternal existence there. There was nothing about the changing world around him that ever enticed him to give it a chance. Chaos always worked alone in the shadows, as no one ever understood its true value.

Of course, that saying wasn’t always true, and he knew this. After all, it could be said that at one point in time, he was the best example to the contrary. His life had once been so much different. He used to be happier. He had friends that wanted to be with him. He had a marefriend who loved him for who he was. He once had the support of the entirety of Equestria and while he did screw up a few times, he had always been forgiven and accepted back into pony society. He had learned so much about friendship every day, and he was always grateful to have them by his side. Sometimes, chaos needed kindness to balance it out. Before meeting those ponies who had mercy on him all those moons ago, he didn’t even know that he needed friendship in his life. But as fate would have it, he was so glad that he did…even if he liked to hide his true feelings behind his usual snarky remarks and quippy banter.

However, all that was now in the past. His dear Fluttershy was now gone and he never had the opportunity to say goodbye to her. The world fell apart before his very eyes, and Twilight’s rule was eventually forgotten by the masses, as was he. All he could focus on now were the negatives. The grief and remorse he had for everything was unmatched, and he didn’t have anyone to confide in to alleviate any of the pain. Over the years, that fear morphed into bitterness and he began to take his anger out on the land. In a fit of desperation, he had stolen one of the Unity Crystals in an attempt to destroy it. He felt that if he destroyed magic, the very thing that made the ponies separate to begin with back then, he would finally be able to forgive himself.

If only life were that easy.

Maybe in an alternate reality, he could’ve won and truly bended the cosmos to his whims; forced it to live without magic and make its equine inhabitants accept each other for who they were, rather than what their gifts were. It was what Fluttershy taught him, wasn’t it? True friendship came from within and wasn’t motivated by any external factors or need for survival. Those ponies didn’t need magic to be happy if they were truly unified, right? In his mind, eliminating the Pegasus Crystal was only getting rid of Twilight’s greatest oversight. The citizens of Equestria would learn to live without it, and he never would have to worry about another incident like the one he had been forced to suffer through. It was the universe that they had dreamt of together; a version of their home where no one was hurt, and everyone was accepted not for the extent of their abilities, but for the content of their characters.

The sad part was that he would never know the answer as to whether or not he was right, for a new group of young protectors had come in and foiled his plans before they could even begin. He was soon left alone once more, forced to reflect on what he had attempted to do. They said that they accepted him, and that they were working to build a better future. But he never bought into the authenticity of their statements. He had seen how this exact same scenario played out, and he was not about to get his hopes up again. Instead of reintegrating into pony society and giving friendship a second chance, he retreated back into his lair and solace. It was all he had ever known.

Even despite his blatant rejection of that annoying earth pony…what was her name? Oh yes. Sunny Starscout. Even in spite of rejecting Sunny’s blatant fantasies and empty preaching, his mind would not leave their last encounter, no matter how much he begged it to let the event die already. He was still fixated on one pony in particular who had caught his eye since the moment he met. That lavender unicorn would not leave his thoughts. Her name…it was Izzy Moonbow, wasn’t it? A strange little pony, yet endearing all the same. She reminded him so much of Fluttershy that it wasn’t even funny. In fact, one would even go so far as to call her very existence a reincarnation of the pony he once loved. There was no denying the similarities between them, and whenever he thought of her, he thought of his beloved.

It couldn’t be a coincidence then that Izzy had been the only pony to reach out to him on a personal level and talk him down. It couldn’t be a coincidence that she had been the one to give him that message from Fluttershy. There was no denying the importance of meeting her, and try as he might, he could not shake the thought of her from his mind. Perhaps fate was trying to give him a second chance, and give him the redemption he so desperately needed. Yet he knew full well that it was too late for him to give friendship another chance. There was just too much broken within him that would not lend itself to a good do-over. He had seen too much and experienced way too much trauma for him to attempt living the life he used to know.

Or so he thought.

He could’ve chalked it up to divine intervention if he even believed in such a thing, but today was going to be a special day. He never expected to see any of those five ponies again, let alone Izzy. But as he was combing his long hair, he heard a loud THUNK and a yelp coming from the main area of the cave that instantly caught his attention.

Quick as a flash, he dropped his brush and immediately teleported over to the source of the sound. His mane was still in quite the disheveled state, but he never really cared much for his appearance if he was being honest with himself. He expected it to be just another poor soul who had wandered into the Canterlot ruins. After all, he figured that if it happened once, then it could certainly happen again, and he would have to kick them out himself.

Once he saw who had landed on the cold hard ground, however, his eyes went wide with shock. Many thoughts and emotions began to flood his mind at once. He could not believe the pony he was seeing in front of him.

It was none other than Izzy Moonbow, the very pony who had mercy on him in the first place.

She groaned and slowly got up to her hooves, gasping with excitement upon realizing where she was. Her eyes lit up and a massive grin formed on her face.

“Oh my goodness!!” Izzy exclaimed. “I actually made it! I made it!!” She smiled knowingly to herself. “Zipp was right about that trapdoor. Somepony better get that sealed before anything bad happens.”

“Well frankly,” remarked Discord in his usual witty tone, swallowing his slight nervousness upon seeing her again. “The only ‘bad’ thing they would experience is meeting the Lord of Chaos. And I would hardly call that a bad thing in the slightest.”

“Yeah,” Izzy conceded. “You might be right about that-“ Upon it hitting her who exactly was speaking, she whirled around and faced him with pure elation. “DISCORD?!!”

He smiled back nervously. “Hello there, Fizzy. It’s certainly lovely to see you again. What are you doing down here in my Lair of-“

That was when she jumped into his paws and tackled him in a warm and massive bearhug. He was caught off guard by the gesture, but he did his best to reciprocate it by hugging her back out of politeness. He was certain that she had no regard for one’s personal space after this, however, and that was quite concerning to say the least. Once they let go of one another, Izzy grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “I just get a little too excited for my own good.” She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. “By the way, my name is Izzy! You might be referring to my Uncle Fizzy by that name, but I couldn’t invite him here for obvious reasons.”

Discord swallowed his pride. “Right. Well, it’s been an interesting conversation, but I think you better leave now. A draconequus needs his beauty sleep after all, especially one as lively and chaotic as me. Run along. There’s another exit out of the caves straight down.”

Izzy pouted. “Aww, but I can’t leave yet!”

“And is there some reason why not?” Discord asked her, cocking his head in confusion.

“Well,” Izzy answered, her enthusiasm instantly returning. “We haven’t seen each other in sooooo long and I wanted to catch up with you!” She then reached in and pulled out an envelope from her mane. “Plus, the whole reason why I came down here was to invite you over to have Hearth’s Warming dinner with us! Sunny’s trying to start the tradition back up, and I couldn’t possibly not invite a new friend!”

Reluctantly, Discord took the envelope from her hooves. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and he hoped desperately that the unicorn was joking. She couldn’t possibly be offering…she couldn’t…He opened the envelope and took out the note. Upon reading it, he felt his heart sink with dread. This was real. The day he had feared for so long had finally come, and he couldn’t hide anymore.

Izzy was inviting him to Maretime Bay.

Dear Discord,

Hearth’s Warming Eve is here! Sunny wants to make it a national holiday again, and I know it’s been a while since we’ve last seen each other, but I couldn’t go without inviting one of our new friends over to have dinner with us! We’re all gathering in the lighthouse and I think it would be really nice if you were to show up and eat with us. We’re all eager to be your friends again, especially me. Thanks!

Sincerely,
Izzy

Izzy was practically oozing with excitement that she seemingly couldn’t contain as she watched him read the letter with wide eyes. She clearly wanted him to come, and he didn’t want to refuse her. At the same time, the thought of spending the holidays with friends again terrified him to the core. He didn’t think he was ready to commit to it once more, especially not after trying to destroy all magic months ago.

He did his best to respond, all while feeling completely overwhelmed in the process. “Well I’m…flattered that you find me so attention-grabbing, Izzy. But you know that a being of chaos like me couldn’t possibly entertain the idea of a simple dinner gathering. It’s so…ordinary! Where’s the fun? The liveliness?!”

“That’s where you come in, silly!” Izzy quipped. “You can be the thing that really makes this first Hearth’s Warming the one to rule them all! Doesn’t that sound like fun? Come on, you gotta come!”

Discord didn’t know what to say. He knew that he shouldn’t do it. He couldn’t be with the ponies again. He had already messed up once. He couldn’t just do it again and expect everything to work out this time. The fact that he had been forgiven should’ve just been a get-out-of-jail free card for him. There was no reason for it to escalate into anything else.

He didn’t want to risk getting too close to the ponies again and lose them like he did Fluttershy and the others. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t deserve to go through all this suffering again. He didn’t think he was worthy of a second chance as he nearly got those ponies killed, yet here was one of them now asking for him to show up to a party. It all seemed too good to be true, and he was quite certain it was. He couldn’t take another deep loss like the ones he had gone through already. But at the same time, he didn’t know how to refuse, even though he was trying his hardest.

“I-I-I really shouldn’t,” Discord said nervously. “There’s really nothing for me to do there. After all, doesn’t Twilight already have her hooves full with the rest of you? Sounds like you’re already quite the clawful.”

“Twilight?”

“I meant Sunny! Yes, that’s totally what I meant! And you are definitely not Fluttershy at all. Just gotta remember that for future reference.”

Izzy looked concerned. “I know it can be…hard to adjust to new things, but change is natural. And you shouldn’t be afraid to embrace it as oftentimes…it can lead to something even better.”

“Yes yes yes,” answered Discord quickly. “Save the obligatory cliché friendship speech for later, will you? We don’t need to go into that here.” He stood up tall again and hovered above her in the air. “I will accept this request to go to your dinner party on one condition.”

“Anything!” Izzy told him. “Name it, and you’ll have my word that I’ll get it done for you!”

Discord couldn’t help but smirk mischievously at Izzy’s eagerness. He was nervous for sure, but…the way she was willing to do anything to get him to come did lighten his mood quite a bit, and he was beginning to think that perhaps he could entertain her suggestion just this once. After all, one night with those ponies wouldn’t hurt him…would it? He would make Izzy happy and then return to his lair like nothing ever happened the following day. There was nothing saying that this invitation would be a permanent stay sort of thing. He was free to leave whenever he wanted, and he felt that he could entertain the mare’s eagerness just this one time.

He knew that he was probably making a mistake, but he couldn’t help himself regardless. The idea of showing up to a Hearth’s Warming Eve celebration intrigued him quite a bit, and although he was still unsure, curiosity ultimately won out and he mentally decided that he would just show up for the dinner and get out right afterwards. It wasn’t that hard. After all, he could disappear and reappear anywhere he wished at any given point, so there was no reason that he couldn’t make a quick getaway right afterwards. It was the least he could do for Izzy after she empathized with him after all. He had given her no reason to have any sort of pity on him, yet she still did it, even though he didn’t deserve it.

To him, returning the favor was worth the risk, even if it was just going to be a brief visit. He faced her again and continued making his deal with her.

“Well,” he replied. “I want to wear a suit and tie to the event. You know, the guest of honor has got to look presentable.”

“Ooh, I could get that made for you in Bridlewood!” Izzy offered. “Grandma Figgy really knows how to sew and-“ Before she could finish, he was dressed up in a black business suit and tie in the blink of an eye. “Or…you could just poof one out of thin air. Cool!”

“Oh I forgot to tell you,” added Discord. “The suit had to be my size. How could I trust that your granny would know what to put me in? You can never be too sure about these sorts of things, Izzy. That’s why I like to personalize my wardrobe.” He snapped his fingers and suddenly, about four wardrobe closets appeared out of thin air and began dancing to the tune of "Friend Like Me” from Aladdin. Izzy watched this musical display with a mix of awe and shock.

The wardrobes pranced and leapt into the air, doing various acrobatic displays in front of them while fireworks went off in the air above. Once the song ended, they were snapped out of existence once again and they disappeared, leaving only falling confetti in their wake.

Izzy giggled. “You are going to be the best guest of honor ever!! We’re gonna eat all sorts of yummy food from all across Equestria, dance the night away, and exchange gifts under the tree! This is gonna be so fun!! Thank you, Discord! Thank you! Trust me, by the time we’re done, you’ll never be alone ever, EVER again!!”

EVER again!! Those haunting words from the hyperactive unicorn echoed throughout his subconscious, and just like that, Discord could feel himself regretting his decision immediately. What had he just gotten himself into? He should’ve known that there was more to the Hearth’s Warming celebrations than just dinner. He literally helped host one once for pony’s sake! All he agreed to was a simple dinner. He didn’t want anything to do with them after that as getting too close to other ponies always spelled trouble for him in the long run.

But it was too late for him to refuse now. Izzy seemed too excited at the sight of him accepting as she was walking back and forth around the old dining table and listing all the exciting activities they were going to do together. He didn’t know what it was, but something within him refused to let him break her heart just like that. She was just too innocent to know how he was feeling and at least deserved to at least have her wish of having him over come true. He could only hope that he didn’t royally screw this up to the point where everyone hated him. That was the last thing he wanted.

Before long, she was sent on her way and Discord only had himself again. He had a party to prepare for, and he was quite sure that he would regret ever going to it.

“Are you excited for the Hearth’s Warming Eve party tonight?” Fluttershy asked him before she sipped her tea and set the cup back on the floating table. She smiled at him encouragingly as he looked back at her.

He nodded back, though he still retained his usual demeanor and didn’t let the true extent of his excitement show as much as he would’ve liked. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed to admit that he liked Hearth’s Warming Eve, but he kinda was.

“Oh, any sort of boring party instantly becomes lively with you, Fluttershy,” he responded kindly. “I just regret we won’t be having any pudding invasions this time around! You know how we love making that a tradition every year.”

Fluttershy chuckled softly. “Well, we can’t be forcing Twilight to clean up Canterlot Castle every year, now can we? Certain fun can only be enjoyed in small amounts.”

Discord rolled his eyes. “Small amounts. Let it be known that I only know how to go big or go home!” He sighed and reluctantly caved, however. “But…I will commit to at least MORE self-control this time around. 50% isn’t bad.”

“That’ll do, Discord,” Fluttershy replied, staring back at him with that beautiful smile of hers. “That’ll do…”

Author's Note

Now this story is a special case for me. Not only are we starting to delve into holiday fic territory, but this also marks the first time that I’m making a sequel to an IDW comics arc. I previously mentioned in my defense video of the Discord comic that I wanted a sequel where Izzy and Discord’s bond was explored further. Well, since the writers didn’t seem interested, I took it upon myself to do their job for them! As this takes place in the comics universe, anything in Make Your Mark and Tell Your Tale is NOT CANON!! Therefore, I’m free to reintroduce Hearth’s Warming Eve back into the equation and have that be the pony holiday that is reintroduced post-movie. Also yes, I have moved my two “Daddabittle” fics to after Christmas, so that I can prioritize this and the next holiday story. I hope y’all understand. You’ll see the December slate calendar updated in the morning to reflect this change.

I’m really excited to be writing this because this is unlike anything I’ve ever done before. This is currently the first chapter out of two, so expect the next and final chapter sometime the next day. I decided very early on to expand this concept from a one-shot to a two-chaptered story so that the narrative could flow easier. It might even end up being three chapters depending on how the next chapter turns out. It remains to be seen. But I’m publishing this now and goin’ to bed. It’s 2 in the morning currently at the time of me writing this, and I need my beauty sleep.

I hope you all are enjoying the story so far and let me know what you think in the comments below. I shall see you all in the next chapter later today. Bye!

Chapter 2: A Very Discordant Dinner (With A Side of Chicken)

The lighthouse in Maretime Bay was in a particular state of frenzy. While her friends were off running errands and buying gifts for each other, Sunny Starscout worked tirelessly in the kitchen to prepare meals for the numerous guests that would be arriving in the evening. She was tired and sweaty, but she knew that if she didn’t cook the meals, then no one else would.

As she was getting the last batch of cookies out of the oven, she heard the sound of doors slamming open and a very excited Izzy came running inside. Her eyes were practically sparkling with joy and she wore the biggest grin on her face as she skidded to a halt in front of her best friend.

Sunny stopped what she was doing and turned towards her. “Hey there, Izzy. You kinda startled me back there. Try not to slam the doors next time, okay? We just got this place fixed.”

Izzy nodded, taking a few exhausted breaths to calm herself. “Sorry, Sunny. But I was just too excited to tell you the news! Discord’s coming over tonight for dinner! He said yes!!”

“That’s…great!” The earth pony congratulated her, though her face seemed to reflect the exact opposite of joy. She tried to hide it under a smile, but it was still noticeable. “Looks like I’ll be cooking for him as well…and here I thought I was finally done.”

Fortunately, Izzy seemed to notice that she wasn’t in the best jolly mood at the moment and wasted no time in reassuring her that everything would be okay.

“It’s okay!” she said quickly. “I mean, he can generate his own food out of thin air. You don’t need to do anything.”

Sunny sighed with relief. “Well, that’s good. I forgot he had that snapping thing with his paw. You didn’t pressure him to come, did you? I know he must be going through a lot.”

“Weeeeeeelll…” Izzy blushed with embarrassment. “I might have been a little too pushy in regards to my invitation. But at least he agreed, right?”

“Yeah I guess,” Sunny answered. “I just don’t want this to be overwhelming for him in any way. You saw how…not himself he was last time we encountered him. Clearly, he hasn’t celebrated the holidays in hundreds of moons and he might not be used to it.”

Izzy frowned. “Well, he did seem a bit hesitant. You don’t think…” She looked up at her sadly. “…that he feels forced to come because of me, do you?”

“Well, I don’t know what went down with you two, so I wouldn’t know. All I know is, this will be the first time any creature that isn’t a pony steps into my house, so we gotta make the best impression on him!”

The unicorn instantly brightened upon hearing that. “Oh yeah! Do you think he likes friendship bracelets? Because I got some cool ideas that I think he’ll love!”

“If he’s up for it,” Sunny told her gently. “Then go ahead. But I’d caution against doing too much at once or forcing anything upon him. We want Discord to feel comfortable here first and foremost. That’s all there is to it, okay?”

“You got it, Sunny!”

Teleporting back into the land of ponies was certainly an interesting experience, Discord had to admit. With just a quick glance, he got to see just how much the world had truly changed around him. In the place of rural towns and suburbs were industrial buildings and factories. There were theaters and hardware stores, and a sheriff’s department to top it all off.

It was a bit overwhelming for him to witness as all he saw was the Equestria that he used to know; the simpler times where friendship was magic, there were other creatures inhabiting the land, and ponies got along with one another no matter what. To his left, he saw an earth pony mare walk her little colt home in the frigid evening weather and he couldn’t help but feel sorrow. Everything still felt like what he knew and loved, but it wasn’t at the same time.

He stumbled in the direction of the tall lighthouse on the top of the hill. It was a beacon of hope on the outskirts of town, welcoming all of those with open hooves to its borders. He swallowed his nervousness and adjusted his tie before heading towards the door and knocking on it.

At first, there was no answer. Then, the sound of hoofsteps could be heard from inside and the door slowly opened and a familiar orange head peeked out from the other side. She was covered in dough in every part of her body with the exception of her face and she gasped upon seeing him.

“Discord!” Sunny realized, a look of surprise in her eyes. “Um, hi there. Sorry about the mess on me. There was an accident in the kitchen and…we weren’t expecting you until much later. Seriously, Zipp does not know how to bake.”

“Oh don’t worry about that, dear Sunny Bunny,” Discord replied. “I can take care of that for you right now.” He snapped his claws and in an instant, the food on the earth pony vanished faster than it had appeared. “Whenever you need to clean up, call the Lord of Chaos.”

Sunny chuckled. “I certainly will.” She glanced behind her and shouted as if she was addressing someone else. “Izzy! Guess who showed up an hour early!”

“Discord’s here!!” Within seconds, Izzy was at the door and hopping excitedly in place from one hoof to the other. She stared at him with the most adorable smile and Discord couldn’t help but feel his heart melt for her. “You made it!!”

“I certainly did, my dear Fluttershy-I mean Izzy,” Discord answered her, correcting himself instantly. When he saw the confused expressions on their faces, he tried desperately to change the subject. “Um…I brought a tie.”

“And it looks absolutely perfect on you,” Izzy complimented him. “Come on! Come inside!” She opened the door wider and gestured for him to follow her.

He did so and headed inside the lighthouse. In an instant, his senses were assaulted by the noises of loud holiday carols coming from the radio and the chatter of multiple other guests that were walking towards the table, some of which included a light purple pegasus mare with a crown on and a burly grey earth pony stallion.

He awkwardly waved to them, only to have the favor be returned by blank stares and noticeable coughs. That was when he knew that not everyone knew that he was showing up. They had never seen a creature like him before and he could tell that some were even apprehensive of his presence.

“Don’t worry about being awkward, Discord. You’ve done this so many times before.”

“I’m aware of that, Fluttershy, but this is the first time that we’re having a Hearth’s Warming Eve party with nearly triple the amount of guests. I’ll never fit in with these guys!”

“You got this. Just be cool and act natural.”

“Act natural. Right. Easy for you to say.” Discord said out loud. Sunny and Izzy stopped walking upon hearing him say this and turned their heads to look back at him.

“Huh?” Sunny asked. “I don’t remember saying anything.”

“Nothing!” he lied with a big grin. The two skeptical mares turned back towards the front and he took this chance to break away from them and attempt to be social. He walked up to the imposing stallion, who noticed him come and stopped his conversation with the pegasus queen.

“Do I know you?” the stallion asked him suspiciously.

“The name is Discord! The Master of Chaos!” Discord introduced himself in a flamboyant manner. “I’m sure you know who I am.”

“Actually, I don’t,” the stallion answered. “‘Name’s Alphabittle. I’m the leader of Bridlewood. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Discord.”

“Pleasure’s all mine.” Discord reciprocated before snapping his claws. Within an instant, Alphabittle’s horn transformed into an egg that was slowly hatching. Alphabittle saw this and his eyes went wide with terror.

“What the?!” Alphabittle demanded. “What have you done to me?!”

“Oh hush,” assured Discord nonchalantly. “The effects will wear off in 24 hours. You won’t be needing that horn until then. This is how I express my gratitude.”

The egg then hatched into a small yellow chick, which then promptly flew away from him and around various corners of the room as it searched for a way out. Alphabittle looked mortified at the sight and promptly ran from the area as fast as he could while screaming his head off.

With that out of the way, he headed back over towards where Izzy was. The unicorn was sitting in the main living room, tinkering with the friendship bracelet that was on her right hoof. She smiled upon seeing him and stood up to her hooves.

“Isn’t this so fun?” Izzy asked excitedly. She looked at him again with those adoring eyes and Discord couldn’t help but bask in her unbridled enthusiasm.

“Oh it definitely is,” he answered with a mischievous smile. “The best night ever if I might add. Dear Alphabittle won’t be needing his horn for a good while, that’s for sure.”

Izzy seemed concerned upon hearing this news. “Wait…what did you do to Alphabittle’s horn?”

“See for yourself!” Discord exclaimed, gesturing to his right. Izzy followed his point and saw the chick slowly growing bigger by the second and terrorizing a group of fearful pegasus royal guards that were attempting to get it to stand down using their spears.

“I’m…not sure that’s entirely safe,” she said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “Maybe we should open the door to let it out? I don’t want that chicken to ruin Sunny’s night.”

“Nonsense,” Discord assured her. “I can assure you that Carlos is totally harmless. He won’t be hurting anyone. As the guest of honor, I command that he stays.”

“If you say so.” Izzy responded, frowning a little bit. Her smile instantly returned once she looked at her hoof, however, and she appeared to remember something. “Oh, I almost forgot!” She reached into her mane again and pulled out a green friendship bracelet with pink beads. “I made this for you. Try it on!”

Discord froze in his tracks. “You…made this for me?”

Izzy nodded enthusiastically. “It’s a sign of our friendship! Come on…please try it on in front of me? I wanna see how it looks!”

Not wanting to disappoint her, he took the bracelet and put it on his lion paw. Upon doing so, he felt a pang of guilt overcome him once again. He remembered the day he first ate dinner with Fluttershy and the others during his reformation training, and how the pegasus had defended him and even called him a friend.

“Oh…I’ve never really had a friend before.”

“Well now you do.”

“Discord?”

His flashback was interrupted by Izzy’s voice and he looked at her again, only now noticing the worry in her eyes upon seeing him begin to tear up.

“Oh,” he said, trying his best to change the subject before the mare could begin questioning whether he was okay. “I…I love it! It really does fit me very well.”

“You were crying,” Izzy pointed out. “I was beginning to worry that you didn’t like it. I could always get you something else-“

“No no no,” Discord held out his paw to stop her from panicking. “Don’t worry, Izzy. This is a gift that is perfectly fit for a draconequus such as I. How did you know I liked green?”

Izzy blushed. “I was just guessing.” She shifted awkwardly for a moment before regaining her composure. “I’m so happy you love it, Discord!!”

“Oh love it would be an understatement,” Discord told her as her smile grew wider and wider. “This is the best gift that the Lord of Chaos could ever receive!!!”

Before Izzy could respond, there was the sound of a bell dinging and everyone turned their attention towards Sunny, who was standing at the entrance to the kitchen.

“Dinner time, everypony!!” Sunny announced proudly. “Chocolate chip cookies are on the house tonight!!”

The table was soon crowded by the town leaders and their servants, as well as Sunny and her friends. Discord sat right beside Izzy at the end of the table and wasted no time in digging into his batch of cookies. As he ate, he began to notice the unicorn inching closer and closer towards him.

He gently pushed her away and she seemed to take the hint as she apologized to him right after he did so. The dinner table was quiet and peaceful until the pegasus queen broke the silence.

“I must say,” she stated. “This first Hearth’s Warming celebration in so many moons has been a blast so far. I feel like we should implement this holiday into Zephyr Heights tradition!”

“That’s wonderful, Queen Haven!” Sunny answered. “I was honestly nervous about hosting this party, but so far it’s gone perfectly! Nothing wrong at all aside from one accident during preparation.”

“Aside from the fact that I’ve lost my horn?!” Alphabittle countered, glaring intensely at Discord. “Seriously, none of you have realized something wrong with this picture?!”

“I’m honestly just noticing this now,” Zipp chimed in, her face reflecting suspicion. “What happened to you, dude?”

“That chimera over there,” Alphabittle explained, pointing an accusatory hoof at Discord. “stole my horn and turned it into a baby chick!! Gimme my horn back now!”

Discord scoffed indignantly. “Well for your information, Mr. Grumpy Grump, I am a draconequus, not a chimera. And no, I did not turn your horn into a baby chick. I turned it into an egg, which then hatched into a baby chick. Big difference.”

“That’s still the same thing!!” Alphabittle roared. “Who even invited you over anyway?!”

“I did…” Izzy answered meekly. When the elder unicorn gave her a furious look, she was instantly on his defense. “You don’t know him, Alphabittle! He’s actually very kind on the inside and-“

“KIND?!!”

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Sunny said, holding out both of her hooves in an attempt to diffuse the rapidly escalating situation. “Okay, let’s all try and have a nice dinner and we’ll solve the situation later. Discord, please give Alphabittle back his horn.”

Discord rolled his eyes. “Fine. You know having a horn isn’t everything, don’t you?” He snapped his claws and the horn reappeared on Alphabittle’s head, although now it was where his muzzle was supposed to be and not on his forehead.

Alphabittle groaned. “I give up on you ponies.”

“And I just livestreamed all of that!” Pipp stated with a proud smile. “I call it: ‘Alphabittle And The Case of The Runaway Horn!’”

“Pipp,” Zipp warned her. “I don’t think you’re supposed to do that. That’s his business.”

Izzy turned to look at Discord, concern clearly showing from her eyes. “Discord, can you please put Alphabittle’s horn back in the proper place? We’re trying to have a nice night here.”

“Well if he would be a bit nicer to me,” Discord replied in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Perhaps I would consider it.”

Izzy sighed with exasperation. “Discord, please?”

Upon seeing her stare at him with a pleading expression, he finally relented. “Fine. But we have to find Carlos first so I can turn him back into an egg.”

“Wait, who’s Carlos?” Hitch inquired.

Just then, a bloodcurdling scream could be heard from the other room and a purple pegasus guard ran towards the dining table, a look of pure terror on his face. Behind him was a giant angry rooster stomping and trying to bite his tail off. It was Carlos and he had now grown to his full monstrous size.

“WHO IN HOOFNESS’S NAME IS THAT?!!” Haven yelled, pointing with a shaky hoof at the towering Carlos that stood near the table and blocked the exit.

Discord gulped. “Perhaps I made him grow too big.”

“You WHAT?!” Sunny yelled, standing up from her stool. “You have some serious explaining to do, mister!”

“RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNN!!!!!!” The guard shrieked at the top of his lungs.

The guests all stood up and scattered at once in every single direction, trampling each other in a mad dash to escape. With Carlos distracted for a moment, some were able to push past him and run straight, while others went through the kitchen.

Sunny transformed into her alicorn form and began blasting at the rampaging chicken, who simply dodged her attacks by moving his head from side to side. She yelled with fury and continued to blast Carlos over and over, eventually managing to land a hit on his beak. He screamed and stomped on the dining room table in a fit of rage before moving on to the other fleeing ponies. Sunny watched this all go down with a mix of anger and fear.

Meanwhile, Izzy and Discord had taken off and were running for their lives when Carlos smashed through one of the walls and cornered them near the door. Izzy looked at Discord with pure terror in her eyes.

“We can’t let him into Maretime Bay!” she shouted. “Can you snap him back into an egg?”

“I-I need more than a few seconds to do that!” Discord shot back. “I can’t do it when we’re about to die! This is all my fault! All I wanted was to make you happy, Izzy! I didn’t want to go to this party. It was just too much pressure. I knew that I’d never fit in here! Not after so many moons!”

Izzy gasped, tears of sadness filling in her eyes. “You didn’t want to come?”

Discord closed his eyes and nodded through tears of his own. That was when Carlos began to reach down and open his massive beak up wide in order to take a bite out of them both. He glanced down at his friendship bracelet and remembered how Izzy had made that just for him as a sign of their true bond. She had gone out of her way to invite him of all creatures because she believed in him. She saw the good in him, even when he couldn’t see it in himself.

In that moment, he knew that he had to take a leap of faith. He couldn’t let Izzy die. Not his new best friend. He would not fail her like he did Fluttershy.

He would save her.

As he opened his eyes and stared at Izzy’s trembling, sobbing form, his eyebrows narrowed with determination. He slowly got to his feet and stood defiantly against the monster he had created. He briefly glanced at the other ponies to his right, who were all huddled in another corner and watching the display go down, before returning his attention to the front. Carlos reared his head back and let out a bellowing roar, fire spewing out of his beak that burned a gaping hole directly through the ceiling.

Discord then slowly raised his claw into the air and blasted the rooster back with his chaos magic. Carlos stumbled, roaring with fury. He launched himself at the Lord of Chaos, who blasted him back again. The rooster punched at the ground and unfurled his wings, only for Discord to do the same and catch him in a bubble of magic.

Carlos screeched and fought against his creator that was holding him hostage. Discord smirked and felt his old confident self return for but the briefest of moments. As he was doing this, Izzy looked up from the ground and her eyes went wide upon seeing him standing up for her like he was.

“Now I think it’s time we bring this chicken dance to a close,” he told his creation smugly. “I call my final move: the mating call!!”

And with that, he slowly reached out his claw…and snapped.

The cloud of dust fully cleared away and Izzy stood up to her hooves. Once she could see properly, she wasted no time in helping Sunny and the rest of her friends aid the remaining guests. They all looked as bewildered as she was, and she couldn’t blame them.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before looking at Sunny, who was standing beside Hitch and talking with a few other traumatized guests.

“Is everypony okay?” she asked cautiously.

Sunny looked back at her and nodded solemnly. “They should be.” She then glanced around the destroyed living room, which was now covered in egg yolk. “The whole party is ruined…my first time hosting a Hearth’s Warming Eve party and it was a complete disaster.”

“Are you kidding?” Queen Haven countered, walking over to the distraught earth pony and smiling. “That was the best first Hearth’s Warming celebration that I’ve ever been to!”

“It was?” inquired Hitch in a bewildered tone.

Haven nodded. “I haven’t felt this much adrenaline running from a giant rampaging rooster in ages! Whatever Discord did, he should write it all down and do it again next year! Right, everypony?”

Everyone else clamored in agreement and started singing Discord’s praises for saving their lives. Izzy smiled back upon seeing them now embracing her new friend, but her frown quickly returned once she realized that the Lord of Chaos was nowhere in sight.

“Hey,” Izzy asked, her expression filled with worry once the reality of the situation became clear to her. “Where is Discord?”

Chapter 3: The True Meaning of Hearth’s Warming

“I know Discord’s not been…himself lately, but I hope he’s doing okay,” Fluttershy spoke up at the holiday dinner table. “I mean, ever since ponies have begun to fracture, he’s been extremely on edge.”

Twilight regarded her solemnly. “I’m concerned about him too as far as his mental health is concerned. But as long as you continue to keep an eye on him, we should be okay. He won’t do anything drastic as long as you’re around.”

“But what if I’m not?” The shy pegasus inquired with a concerned expression on her face. “Twilight, he thinks that you creating the Crystals was a mistake. What if he tries to do something horrible with them?”

“Well hypothetically speaking,” Twilight replied. “We would be prepared just in case. I don’t see any reason to turn him to stone again as we’re way beyond that, but I believe that you would be able to talk him down in any situation like that.”

“I doubt it…”

“Why would you? He listens to everything you say.”

“That’s the thing,” Fluttershy stated worriedly. “The last time I tried to reason with him about magic was when Water Lily quit our sessions. And…he didn’t take it well.”

“What did he say?” inquired Twilight, leaning forward.

“When I tried to talk to him about magic potentially being a unifying force despite all of this,” revealed Fluttershy. “He said that…it could also destroy us. I’m not sure friendship will be the thing to talk him down at this point…”

“Discord!” Izzy called out into the air as loud as she could. Her horn was glowing bright blue as she trekked through the piles of fallen snow. It was her only light as she shivered in the oppressive darkness, not knowing where she was going, but knowing that she had to find her best friend. “Discord!!”

She continued trudging down the empty streets as the snow continued to fall from above. Normally, she loved to experience the snowfall and play in the hills all night. But she was on a mission this time and she knew that anything that didn’t involve Discord had to wait. She was freezing and she felt like collapsing, but she couldn’t give up. She had to find him, no matter how long it took her to do so.

The Lord of Chaos was out there somewhere, and she wouldn’t stop until she had repaid the selfless deed that he had done for her. He had put himself on the line and saved her life when she didn’t ask him to, so it was only fair in her mind that she do the same for him.

Minutes passed and soon turned into another hour, which then became several hours. She was getting nowhere and she began feeling lightheaded from being out in the frigid air for too long and her movements began to become more sluggish. Her breath became increasingly shallow and it was becoming harder to stay conscious. Yet she still pressed on and gritted her teeth, ignoring the threat of death that was coming for her. She couldn’t stop. She wouldn’t. She had to save him.

Eventually, she spotted a faint glow of yellow off in the distance that she recognized at once as a campfire. She knew this due to the one she and her friends had set during their quest to restore magic. Wasting no time, she headed in the direction of the light. Her hooves were aching and beginning to feel numb, but they still had enough strength to carry her towards it.

“Discord!!” she shouted again as she limped towards the yellow light, hoping desperately that it was him that was setting off the flare. If it wasn’t, then the only thing left for her would be death. She had traveled too far from Maretime Bay at this point and she didn’t know how to get back until morning, in which she knew would be an impossibility to survive for that long.

Fortunately, the flare sounded again at the sound of her voice. She called again, and the flare responded by growing larger in size. Now fully convinced that it was him, Izzy ran as fast as she could towards the light, occasionally stumbling, but never wavering as she raced towards the draconequus she cared for.

By the time she arrived, however, he was sprawled on the ground unconscious. His eyes were closed and she could tell that she was barely breathing. A campfire was right beside him, which had been the source of the flare that she had seen. Izzy gasped upon seeing this and knelt down by his side, tears filling her eyes as she realized what had happened to him.

“Discord…” she whispered through chattering teeth and tears which instantly froze upon leaving her eyes. She shivered again as she tried nudging him in order to get him to wake up. There was no response from him. “Discord, it’s me…I’m here, Discord…Come back…come back…come back…”

Again, she received no response from him. Izzy began to cry, begging him to wake up as she shook his cold body in desperation. She felt his pulse, which was slowly becoming weaker and weaker by the second. He didn’t have long to live, and she didn’t know what to do. It was thought that draconequui couldn’t die, but that was false. They couldn’t die of natural causes, but they could be killed, as could all immortal beings.

Seeing no way to save him, she lay beside him, accepting her fate and waiting for the inevitably of the snowstorm to eventually consume her whole. There was no way back, but she would not leave him. He had lost too many ponies in his life, and she would be there for him to the bitter end.

But just as she was about to close her eyes and let her body go numb, she spotted something right beside Discord’s left claw. It was a whistle, one of his many random accessories that he kept with him at all times. She knew that it was now or never. She didn’t know whether or not other ponies were nearby, but she had to try anyway.

She had to take a leap of faith for Discord, just as he had done for her earlier.

With great effort, she got to her hooves and levitated the whistle over to her using her magic. Once it was in front of her, she put it to her mouth and blew into it as hard as she could. The sound echoed throughout the snowy wasteland and managed to reach a well-dressed pegasus couple that was walking by in the distance.

The stallion’s ears perked up and he looked out into the outskirts of town to his left, where the source of the noise was presumably coming from. His wife was also on high alert and she flew up above him to scout for anypony still out at this time.

“Come about!!” he shouted as loud as he could, hoping that the whistler would hear.

Hearing the stallion’s voice, Izzy blew into the whistle over and over, repeatedly until she could hear his voice again. The noise picked up again and within seconds, she could see shadows of pegasi flying above her and she dropped the whistle to the ground in exhaustion.

She was saved.

Back at the lighthouse, it was in a total frenzy once Sunny and the others realized that Izzy had taken off after Discord. Alphabittle was panicking at the thought of the lavender unicorn being killed or abducted out there, even as the other ponies tried to reassure him that everything would be okay.

He took several repeated frantic breaths, hyperventilating with all of the stress he was feeling. “This is not okay! Izzy is out there somewhere and if you ponies try to tell me to just let her go, so help me I will-“

“We will find her,” Sunny cut in, putting a hoof on his shoulder. “Let’s organize search parties. You take the unicorns, Hitch and I will lead the earth ponies, and Zipp and Pipp will lead the pegasi.”

Zipp walked over to her and saluted. “You got it, Sunny. We’ll check every corner of Equestria before we dare come back here empty-hooved.”

“I second that,” Queen Haven chimed in with a determined expression. “Come on, girls, we don’t have a moment to lose.”

“Let’s go, ponies!” Hitch ordered his squad. The other earth ponies nodded in unison and followed his lead. They walked towards the exit and just as they were about to walk outside and into the pitch black darkness themselves, the doors slammed open and a pegasus couple walked in with Izzy and Discord on each of their backs respectively.

The two ponies stopped in front of the search parties and set Izzy and Discord down on the ground gently. The unicorn was still barely conscious, but shivering. Once she sensed that she was back in the warm embrace of the lighthouse air, she slowly got to her hooves with much effort and the first thing she did was kneel by Discord’s side and beg for him to wake up once more.

She didn’t care whether she herself was okay. All she cared about was the draconequus’s life.

Finally, the Lord of Chaos slowly began to stir and cough. Izzy gasped, her worried expression changed to that of a hopeful one. He then fluttered his eyes open and saw her by his side.

“Fl…Fluttershy?” was the first thing that Discord asked upon regaining consciousness. He was obviously still grieving over her, and all Izzy could do was try and help her through it.

Izzy shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry, Discord. I’m not Fluttershy. But you’re safe now, okay? We brought you back to the lighthouse. You’re okay.”

“You saved me…didn’t you?”

“I did,” Izzy replied. “I-I had to. You saved my life back there from that rampaging chicken and I-I-I just had to do it as well, you’re…you’re my best friend.”

Discord’s eyes filled with tears. “A friend…” He coughed. “But I can’t have friends…not now. Not after…not after I lost Fluttershy and those other ponies…”

“Well you’re mine,” stated Izzy gently, but firmly at the same time. “Remember Fluttershy’s message? She told you not to close yourself off from others. I know change can be hard, but…you eventually get used to it. And although things will never be the same as you once knew, that doesn’t mean we can’t be there for you.“

“But why would you save me…?” he asked her. “I don’t even deserve it after what I’ve done…I threw away all of my friendships…for nothing. I had magic and friendship…but now, I don’t have either. And it’s better that it remains that way.” He looked away from her.

“No it isn’t,” Izzy explained. “Do you know why I invited you here to the party? It’s because I saw the good in you. I saw the capacity you had to love again, and I knew that if I didn’t do this, then you would never know what you’re missing out on.”

“But…I’ll mess-“

“How do you know whether you’ll mess up again or not if you don’t even try? I know I can never replace Fluttershy. None of us can. I know that she must’ve been a very special pony to you. But I know what it’s like to feel like you’re an outcast. And I trust you, Discord. Do you trust me as a friend enough to believe that I’m right?”

Discord turned back towards her, staring through tears before wiping them with his lion paw. He took a deep, shaky breath before looking her straight in the eyes. “I haven’t had a true friend in so long…” That was when he smiled. “Izzy, you really think of me that way?”

Izzy smiled back at him, sniffling as tears of her own came down. She was relieved that he was still alive, and she silently vowed that she would never lose him again. “I do, Discord. We’re all in this together. You have us now.”

That was when she let all of her pent-up emotions loose and jumped into his embrace, just as she had done before in the cave. This time, however, he wasted no time in returning the gesture and he hugged her back. He held her tight as they both wept for each other. Sunny and the others watched all this go down with expressions of pure happiness on their faces.

Although the Hearth’s Warming Eve party hadn’t gone as planned, something memorable still came out of it. Discord had discovered friendship once more and Izzy had discovered her true purpose in Maretime Bay. To Sunny, seeing any of her friends this happy was worth far more than any simple gathering in the world.

It took a while of cleaning up, but the lighthouse was eventually restored back to its normal functioning self, hive or take a couple minor damages to the ceiling and walls that would need proper renovation in the coming weeks. The party was once again in full swing and dinner was served to every guest on a plate.

Discord sat with Izzy again at the end. He had the honor of personally serving and carving the roast beast for the assembled guests. He did so with grace and humility, serving a chunk to each pony one by one. Of course, he was still the Lord of Chaos and with that title came a bit of mischief. So he kept the biggest slice to himself, not that anyone seemed to mind him doing so.

Izzy took the slice she was given early and immediately began digging in and eating each bite. She stole an adoring glance at Discord while she did so, and he smiled back at her. Something more was brewing between them, but he couldn’t exactly tell what it was yet. He knew, however, that he would have plenty of time to figure it out after the party.

“I’d like to thank every single one of you here,” Discord said in a speech before the rest of the ponies were set to eat their slices. “For giving me the best Hearth’s Warming Eve celebration I have ever attended. Before meeting you all, I assumed that friendship was beyond me after so many moons. But Izzy here changed my life. I owe my life to her, and she is truly a special pony in my heart.”

Izzy blushed. “Awww, thank you, Discord. But I can’t take all the credit. You still saved us all from that rampaging chicken.”

“But it was you that gave me the courage to do so,” he replied to her kindly. He reached out with his claw and held her hoof with it. “For I learned from you tonight that the true spirit of this holiday isn’t what you buy for other ponies, or any kind of fancy decorations. No, it is the love of one true friend to another that really makes this celebration what it is. And I’m proud to be a part of it again.”

“As are we, Discord,” Sunny told him with a smile. “I’m glad that you’re one of us now. We’ll do whatever it takes to help you fit into Equestria once again. Hoof to heart.”

Discord winked at her in response.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Discord,” Izzy said with a warm expression of her own. She looked at him with those adoring eyes once more and he couldn’t help but blush in response.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Izzy Moonbow.” Discord answered, his eyes twinkling with pure happiness for the first time in so long. At last, he finally knew what it was like to belong again, and he wouldn’t even trade this moment for all the chaos in the universe. He was himself again, and he felt confidence in himself that he didn’t feel before.

He was home.

And Discord raised his glass and led the ponies of Equestria in a toast, “To kindness and love, the things we need most!!”

Author's Note

And we’re done! Thank you all who have read this story until the end. Let me tell y’all, I’ve wanted to do a sequel to the IDW Discord comic arc for a long time as I still believe that it is one of the MLP comics’ best storylines in regards to Discord, and the holidays presented me with the perfect premise to fulfill my own wish. For me, I think the best element that I’m very proud of is the friendship between Discord and Izzy. I just can’t get enough of writing these two, so a sequel is in fact very likely if this story does well. It likely won’t be immediate though as I have numerous other stories to write and it will only definitively happen if I have the right premise to justify it.

But let me know what you have all thought of this story in the comments below. I look forward to responding to each and every one of you tomorrow. Thank you all and happy holidays! Bye!!