The Draconequus Who Stole Hearth’s Warming Eve

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The Draconequus Who Stopped Hearth’s Warming Eve

The Draconequus Who Stopped Hearth’s Warming Eve

The play of Hearth’s Warming Eve had just been completed and everyone in the audience cheered the actors. Going for a final curtain were Twilight and her friends, who had been called upon again to take up their respective roles once more. The roaring had gone on for five minutes at what could be called one of the greatest renditions of the Hearth’s Warming Pageant they had ever seen.

“Oh boy!” said Pinkie Pie as she bounced off stage right. “That had to be the bestest, best play EVER!”

“I reckon you might be correct,” said Applejack as she took off her costume. “Can’t really think of how it coulda gone any better.”

“Oh, I could think of ONE way it could’ve been more awesome,” said Rainbow Dash, gleaming with a thought on her face.

“Toldja before Rainbow, you can’t play every role in the play,” Applejack replied, exhausted at having to repeat herself. “I reckon I’ve had to explain this to you, what, five times now? Give it a rest.”

“Hey, I was just joking…after the third time.”

“Now dears, be calm,” said Rarity as she carefully removed her costume and folded it carefully. “We don’t want to ruin the costumes that I made for us, remember?”

“Yeah we remember. You told us that if we ruined it in any way, you’d, what was it again?” wandered Rainbow Dash.

“Ooh! She said she’d turn our flanks into her next masterpiece!” Pinkie Pie answered in a tone that was far too excited for something like that.

“Thank you Pinkie. It’s good to know that SOMEPONY pays attention to my semi-improbable threats.”

“Uh, what do you mean by SEMI-improbable?”

Before Rarity could answer Rainbow Dash, Twilight came into the dressing room, taking off her Clover the Clever costume.

“Thanks guys! I knew we could do it again! Before we leave however I want to tell the audience the history of the Hearth’s Warming Eve Pageant!” said Twilight with the same smile she has whenever she’s about to prove how smart she is to other ponies.

“Um, I’m sorry to say this Twilight, but, um, I don’t think many ponies care much about the history of the play itself,” muttered Fluttershy, who had been quiet up until that point.

“Nonsense! Ponies around this time of year appreciate knowledge of their culture and history! Why, I remember when I first studied about…” but right before Twilight was about to reminisce, she was cut off.

“Hey Twi,” interjecting Rainbow Dash. “Pretty sure you should hurry up before they all leave.”

“Oh you’re right!” and Twilight galloped back to the stage, hoping to inform the audience of the pageant’s history.

“Mares and Gentelcolts, and esteemed Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” started off Twilight, happy to see that her mentor and her sister had been able to see their performance this year. “We all appreciate the pageant and the tale it tells, but what many of you may not know is the history of why it is told.”

While Twilight was giving her speech, something ominous was occurring in the Canterlot Gardens. It was a small rumbling, but it was getting bigger and louder.

“What makes the pageant so unique is that throughout the generations, absolutely no detail of the play has been changed to fit modern cultural understanding. While certain events and festivals may change to match the times, we can always count on the pageant to remain the pillar of unchanging truth in our culture. This is the absolute truth held in these events that links ponies, pegasi, and unicorn together,” said Twilight as she listened to the clopping of hooves in admiration of her speech. Twilight would be lying if she didn’t feel a bit boastful at the moment the way the audience was treating her.

The rumbling started to get more and more intense. The guards stationed around there started investigating what was causing this effect. They found that the shaking got stronger the closer they got to where the royal statues were kept.

“I would like to formally conclude the pageant with a cheer to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, whom, without their leadership and virtue over the past several thousand years, the nation of Equestria could NEVER have prospered!” At that point the audience erupted into cheering and roaring, with both the princesses looking at the subjects with admiration and smiles. This would be the perfect ending for the pageant…had it stopped there.

At that very moment a large explosion was heard coming from Canterlot Gardens, with what sounded like high pitched screaming that appeared to be getting louder and louder. Everypony in the theater was stunned at what could be making the noise, with their questions soon to be answered. It seemed incomprehensible at first, but then Twilight heard what was being said, and was sorry for that.

“STOP RIGHT THERE, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” roared the voice she had never expected to hear ever again. As she finally understood what had been said, a stained-glass window featuring the villain she had just remembered was shattered as a figure burst into the theater, flying through the air faster than Rainbow Dash and angrier than Pinkie after someone breaks a Pinkie Promise. The figure finally landed onto the stage, standing upright and giving the crowd a menacing glare. Discord had returned.

“Mares and Gentlecolts!” cried out Discord in his jovial voice. Obviously the audience didn’t want to hear what he had to say, seeing as they were all rushing towards the door. “I would like for all of you to return to your positions,” and with a gesture of his claw he lifted everypony up into the air and placed them on the floor, which was suddenly covered with a sticky substance that kept everypony from moving. “Now, if I may continue. What this mare here is telling you is LIES!!!” yelled Discord as he pointed his lion’s paw at Twilight’s face for a good thirty awkward-and-silent seconds. “She CLAIMS that the story has never been altered, but that is the single greatest cover-up in Equestria’s history!”

“That’s enough Discord!” yelled Celestia as both she and Luna descended onto the stage. “I have no idea what you’re talking about or how you got out, but soon you shall be returned to your imprisonment once more!”

“Huzzah!” said Luna, who had now learned the new vernacular of the times, but still preferred some of the words of the past to use in situation like this. “It appears that you have come out of your over a thousand year imprisonment just to be put back into your place!”

“Over a thou- what?” responded Discord, honestly confused at what had just been said by the Princess of the Moon. “Luna, I escaped my imprisonment just last year, remember?” Luna was shocked at this remark and had to think for a moment. Celestia also happened to have one of those faces that appear whenever somepony does or says something so unbelievable that you’re literally left speechless.

“Actually…no. I don’t recall it at all,” said Luna rather embarrassingly. “I think I may have been busy doing…something. I really don’t recall what it was, except for the fact that it involved something called the Lambent and, uh, actually I’m certain it was very princess related,” she ended by saying fast.

“You were playing VIDEO GAMES while our kingdom was under the control of a mad creature?! It’s bad that you did that, but you didn’t even know about it until now? I…I don’t even,” said Celestia, unable to comprehend the fact that her did just that.

“Oh come now Celestia. Give your sister a break. After all, I don’t remember YOU doing much to stop me, and you actually saw my return! She can plead innocence while you can only plea foolishness,” Discord jeered, knowing how to push Celestia’s buttons.

“You perceive my inaction towards you as a sign of weakness Discord. However, you must remember that I am in fact a princess, and as a princess one of my main tasks is to delegate other tasks to those more fitting and able to do what needs to be done,” Celestia articulated with an air of dignity and grace, something Discord had not been counting on. “While it might be painful to admit, I know that neither my sister nor I are anywhere near the league you are when it comes to magical power. What we must do is depend on others.”

“Oh?” said an interested Discord. “And who might be up to the task of disposing of mwah?”

“The Elements of Harmony!” responded Twilight Sparkle and the rest as they appeared in formation, wearing their elements.

“You took so long talking that we simply decided to get the Elements and hurry things up. Hopefully we didn’t miss anything interesting,” mused Rarity, as if thinking that taking down Discord wouldn’t be such a big deal.

“Exactly!” said Twilight, feeling prepped to get this over with. “Now, return to your stony prison, Discord!” the mane six lit up and started rising in the air. The magic could be felt flowing in the air, and everypony in the audience was a gasp at the sight they were seeing. They’d be able to say that they saw the legendary draconequus defeated right before their very eyes by the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. However, things did not work out that way.

Scratching his beard, Discord responded, “Hmmm, I think not,” and snapped his fingers. In an instant Rarity disappeared and the glow of the Elements suddenly stopped, causing everypony to fall back down onto the stage.

“What the hay was THAT?!” exasperated Pinkie, confused as everypony else was in the audience, including the princesses.

“Oh really, Pinkie Pie. I was sure you’d be able to understand what I did and what just happened, seeing as you do happen to be an Element of Harmony. For those of you in the audience that are perplexed by the spectacular failure that just occurred, let me explain,” Out of nowhere Discord pulled down a chart and started making drawings on it for everypony to see. “See, the Elements of Harmony are activated when the bearers of Laughter, Honesty, Generosity, Loyalty, Kindness, and Magic come together. What I just did is teleport Rarity, aka the bearer of the Element of Generosity, away from the rest, stopping that blasted Rainbow of Doom from appearing and turning me into stone again. So now I don’t have to worry about any petty interruption ruining my fun.”

“But where’s Rarity?” asked Fluttershy in a worried way.

“Oh don’t worry about it. She’s only the worst possible place she could ever hope to be!” yelled Discord, followed by his evil laugh.

“Ugh, what IS this smell?” asked Rarity, trying to figure out her surroundings. She landed in what she could only surmise as some goop and ended up getting dirty. Looking for some indication of her surroundings, she saw a light and what appeared to be a map. Hoping that would lead to a way out she galloped towards it, but didn’t see the steps and tripped face first into the water. Pulling herself out, she reached the map and proceeded to read it out loud. “’You are here.’ Well of course I’m here map. Where else would I be? Now let’s see where I am in ‘here’. Canterlot…Sewers? Sewers. SEWERS?!” Those who remember that day say that you can still here the terrified scream echoing throughout those tunnels to this day.

“Now then everypony, I think it’s time that I told you the FULL story of what happened on Hearth’s Warming Ever.” In a moment the walls, floors, and even the ceiling appeared to disappear in flux, leaving everypony to appear as if they were standing in the air. “Sit back, relax, and remember that it’s only a play.”

“Our story begins in the cave where the six ponies had been stuck,” narrated Discord. “They had been left freezing in the cave and started to become frozen themselves. It was only after the point where Clover the Clever had cast the spell that created the big flaming heart where things start to get different.”

“What was that?” said Private Pansy, a pegasi who looked more gaunt and grey than Fluttershy portrayed. Obviously the accurate descriptions of the ponies had been lost over the years.

“I didn’t know unicorns could do that,” said Smart Cookie, a dirt-colored earth pony who certainly lived up to her name with her large girth.

“I DIDN’T EITHER!” bellowed the incredibly booming voice of what could only be inferred to be Clover the Clever. History had obviously changed what this pony looked like. For one, the mane was light green with a darker green coat. Two, the build on this unicorn was easily that of Big Mac if he had worked out professionally. That brings us to the third point, where Clover was actually a male unicorn. A unicorn with a hearing problem who always spoke louder than the situation required. “NOTHING LIKE THIS HAS EVER HAPPENED BEFORE! BUT I KNOW IT COULDN’T HAVE BEEN JUST ME. IT CAME FROM ALL THREE OF US, JOINED TOGETHER, IN FRIENDSHIP!!!”

“Now at this point they did commence singing and talking as the tales told, but not everything looked cheery for this group. After all, they were stuck in a cave with three Windigos circling them and causing everything to freeze up. Even with all the love those three were generating, it would not lost too long.”

“I-I’m sorry everypony,” uttered Private Pansy as she was shivering very violently. “I guess I s-s-s-should’ve loved more.”

“It’s na-na-not your fault Private. We shoulda done something before this ever occurred,” eeked out Smart Cookie, obviously feeling the chill as well.

“TRULY THIS IS A SAD DAY FOR ALL PONIES! HOPEFULLY THE REST WILL SEE THE ERRORS OF THEIR WAYS BEFORE SUBMITTING TO THIS FATE!” yelled Clover, who none could tell if he was feeling the chill or not. “WAIT!” he continued, “WHAT IS THAT?!”

The two other ponies looked up and were as astonished as Clover was. It was probably the only time in his entire life where his unusually loud was appropriate to the level of surprise they experienced at the sight of the creature floating directly above them. It appeared to be a creature with the head of a pony, arms of a lion and griffon, legs of a dragon and a chicken, and a mismatched pair of horns and wings.

“Oh, hello there ponies,” said the creature. Obviously it had no understanding of their predicament and was whistling while roasting marshmallows over the Flaming Heart. “I’m guessing it’s rude that I suddenly came in here with marshmallows and didn’t offer you any. Honestly I hadn’t seen you three there.” He looked around and saw three other ponies that had already been frozen: Chancellor Puddinghead as the leader of the Earth Ponies, Princess Platinum as representative of the Unicorns, and Commander Hurricane as the fearless leader of the Pegasi Tribe. Oddly enough those three were accurately portrayed physically by Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. “I’m guessing I should say six, but then again, I don’t really care,” he said as he magically lifted all the marshmallows and stuffed them into his mouth at once.

“P-p-please. You have to h-h-help us. We’re going to freeze to death if those Windigos don’t stop,” begged Pansy, with the last of her strength starting to disappear.

“Hmmm, I dunno. I mean, those Windigos never did anything to me, and asking them to stop what they’re doing just because you don’t like it would be rude, correct? I think that until they start annoying me, I shouldn’t bother. There’s chaos for fun, and then there’s just being a jerk,” Discord responded to the plea, as he pulled out a glass of chocolate milk out of nowhere. Just as he was about to sip from his personal ambrosia, the chill affected his drink and turned his cool, refreshing drink into a chocolate block of ice.

“MY MILK!” roared the creature with such rage that the walls of the cave started to crack. “It’s one thing to freeze these ponies and leave me out of your issues, but then you just HAD to go and mess with my milk. Sure, I could create another glass with just a thought,” and a glass with chocolate milk suddenly appeared. “I could even create a thousand glasses of milk and not break a sweat,” and the cave was suddenly filled up to the brim with glasses of dairy goodness, “but none of that matters! You know why?” He said, pointing at the Windigos, who had only now noticed the creature. “The reason,” he said as he started charging up what appeared to be a powerful spell in both of his “hands”, “IS. THE. PRINCIPLE!!!” and suddenly clasped his hands together, releasing a powerful ray of light that struck at the Windigos. In an instant all three Windigos had been transformed into three bunny rabbits that quickly scurried away, lest they tempt the wrath of the beast any further.

Amazed by this sudden display of magical prowess, Clover spoke to the creature with curiosity and admiration one would expect from a wizened wizard. “INCREDIBLE! A TRANSMOGRIFICATION SPELL CAST ON THREE TARGETS, NOT TO MENTION LEGENDARILY POWERFUL TARGETS, AT THE SAME TIME! PRAY TELL, WHAT IS YOUR SPECIES THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE SUCH CAPABILITIES?!”

The creature appeared to stop and think about what had been said at the moment, just before speaking up. “To be honest, I’m not very sure of what I am. I just sorta popped out of nowhere one day I guess, and that’s all I really know,” he said as he positioned himself into a thoughtful sitting position. “However!” he said, jumping straight back into the air to levitate, oddly enough not using his wings, “I call myself by what I love the most.”

“And what is that sir?” asked Pansy, looking warmer now that the Windigos’ freezing magic had stopped.

And with a snap of his fingers, the walls and roof of the cave turned into rubble and they gazed into the horizon on their new land. And with a second snap of his fingers, things became really, really weird. Birds started digging, bunnies started flying, the sky started changing into a wide variety of colors, and the sun and moon danced around in the sky. Everything was out of place, was with no reason or rhyme. It was simple to figure out what his name was now.

“You’re Chaos!” shouted Smart Cookie, had had been silent earlier while checking up on the three frozen pony leaders.

“Wait, what?” said a confused creature. “Oh, nononononono that’s not my name. Far too serious, that. It’s actually Discord. Much more fun than ‘Chaos’. Makes it sound more like I’ll just set everything on fire. Did that at one point just to give it a try. Wasn’t that fun. Sadly not much you can do with fire than, well, burn things,” said the creature whose name was Discord.

“IF YOU DO NOT MIND DISCORD, I WOULD LIKE TO USE MY ENCYCLOPEDIC KNOWLEDGE OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM AND ITS TERMINOLOGY TO COME UP WITH A PROPER NAME FOR YOUR SPECIES!” declared Clover.

“Yes! Yes! Alright! Do whatever you want as long as it keeps you from yelling in my ears anymore. I think you managed to blow out one of my eardrums with your yelling,” said the annoyed Discord. After waiting five minutes, Clover stepped forward and began to, sadly, talk once again.

“WITH YOUR MORPHOLOGY I-“

“No! Just tell me what it is. I don’t need a long-winded explanation for why it is, as long as you can say what you need to say in the least amount of ear-shattering words as possible,” Discord confessed, saying what most other ponies who met Clover wish they had the gall to say.

Looking a bit saddened, Clover probably said the first word in his entire life that was not a yell. “Draconequus.”

Everypony gave Clover a surprised look, both because of the non-yelling tone in which the word was said, but the word itself as well.

Pansy was the first to speak. “Clover. Uh, doesn't that name just seem a little, you know, odd? I mean, I’m not animal expert, but I've never heard of anything like that. What do you think Smart Cookie?”

“Yeah, it’s odd. Hold on, I’m still busy,” Smart cookie uttered halfheartedly, trying to figure out what was going on with the still ice encased pony leaders. The ice was melting very slowly, and Cookie didn't look too happy about that. “I’m not sure them being in ice all this time was exactly the best thing for these three. Guess we’ll have to see how they are when the ice melts.”

Discord was thinking the name over for a moment, saying it to himself over and over again till he finally said, “I like it! The name is definitely unique and odd, just like me!” He then proceeded to prance around like a little filly saying the new word over and over.

“Hey everypony!” yelled a distraught Smart Cookie. “I think we should do something about the other frozen ponies, don’t you agree?”

“I agree,” responded Clover in his now normal tone of voice. “From the durability of the ice, even in this warmer air, I assume that this kind of ice would me magic-induced. I hereby propose that we return to our respective domains with the tale of what went on here. Hopefully my mentor, Starswirl the Bearded, with his many years of experience knows a way to free these three. Any objections?”

Neither Pansy nor Cookie objected to this, and they each returned to their separate domains to relay their tale of friendship and unity and the creature they had met along their way in the new land they hoped to call their new home. Clover took the three frozen pony leaders along with him in the hopes that his mentor would be able to cure their condition.

“Alright everypony!” yelled the draconequues who was currently keeping them hostage to the visions past. The theatre returned for a brief moment, a short intermission between events in the story “Now you see what really happened on that fateful evening. A bit different from what you girls wrote in the history books, isn't it?” He said this as he was looking at Princess Celestia and Luna, both of whom had become silent and saddened. “Now, while you may have had a look at what happened on that evening, that’s not the end of my tale. Let’s take a look about a month later, with the exodus of the ponies into what you now call Equestria,” and with a wave of his hand, time skipped to reach their destination.

Over the hills a large number of ponies appeared, from pegasi to unicorn they all marched together. Upon their faces was a solemn sight however, not what was to be expected from the new ponies finally entering their new land. Leading the three tribes was Smart Cookie, Private Pansy, and Clover the Clever, each of whose faces looked even gloomier than the others.

Right where they had been before the Windigos had caught them before, the familiar draconequus came speeding up to meet them again with a wide grin on his face. “Ah! So here are the rest of the ponies you were talking about! Boy, they really look tired…and scared! Wonder if it’s because of the giant chimera creature that suddenly sped up to them.” He said this as the pegasi weakly raised their spears up in defense, making for a sad sight with their battered condition.

“Hello Discord,” greeted Clover as he was the first one to speak. “Things have not gone well since out return to our lands. We've traveled far to get here once again with barely any provisions along the way, losing strength and hope as we traveled along.”

“Geez, really that badly?” said a confused Discord, who saw them what felt like not too long ago with their hearts brim with hope for the future. “Say, whatever happened to the three other frozen ponies?”

Taking over for Clover was Smart Cookie, who was able to compose herself more than Clover, who had started crying at the thought of their fate. “Remember how they were all frozen and couldn’t thaw? Well, turns out that being frozen for several days isn’t exactly the best thing for your health. We were able to melt the ice, but the ponies themselves had been kept in their solid state, frozen in time. Too bad it couldn’t have been said about their health. With the three of them gone, no one knows who’ll lead us now that we’re trying to unite.”

“Wow. That is a pretty bad situation, I guess. I’ve never been ruled by anyone, so I can’t really empathize. Can’t you just pick some new leaders?” asked an absentminded Discord.

“It’s not that simple,” started Smart Cookie. “King Platinum, leader of the Unicorns, died of heartbreak at the news of his daughter. She was the last of the royal line, so the position of unicorn leader is up for grabs. Commander Hurricane was the military might of the Pegasi, and with her passing the leadership would follow the chain of command which, ironically enough landed with Private Pansy. She was only in line to lead since she was Commander Hurricane’s Second-In-Command at the time of her passing, so nopony is giving her much support to lead and it looks like the other commanders are itching to take up command of the others.”

“And what about you and those earth ponies? Certainly it’s not so bad when choosing leaders,” the draconequues replied, new to the cultures he was hearing about.

“Oh,” said a surprised Smart Cookie. “Well, that’s a bit more awkward to explain. See, the way that we’ve usually chosen our leaders is actually less ‘chosen’ and more ‘fight till the last pony breathes’. Chancellor Puddinghead lead a bloody campaign to attain and maintain control that cost many lives. It’s said that she drowned her opponents in pudding, giving her the name she held. I was only her secretary ‘cause she threatened my entire family with a confectionery demise if I didn’t agree.”

“Huh,” retorted a surprised, yet calm Discord. “Who would have thought the pink one who wore a dessert above her head would be the most dangerous? Guess that means a bloody rampage to decide who you have as leader is in the norm.”

“Sadly that seems the case,” the gloom pony muttered to herself, looking at the hungry and tired masses. “What’s worse is that now since we’re trying to get along, we’d have to have only one ruler, meaning that the other tribes will fight each other once they’ve chosen their leader. Even if there is only one ruler in the end it won’t be good. The others will feel that the leader cares only for their own kind, and no one will support that rule. Looks like we've made a bigger mess of things than we could have ever hoped for.”

As Discord heard this tragic tale and saw the masses in their despair, an idea started to grow in his mind. It took several seconds before he knew what he was going to say, but what a thing he was about to say! With a look of ecstasy in his face, he revealed his plan to the entire congregation of ponies.

“Fear not, ponies of faraway lands!” he started. “I, Discord, have come up with a solution to your leadership problems!” All the pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies looked up in surprise to see how this magical creature would solve all their issues. “It appears that no matter which pony comes in control of all of you, each one of you will feel bitter about that kind being in control. It wouldn't be possible for any of you to unite if each one of you suspected a conspiracy to gain control of the tribes. Therefore, the simplest solution to this issue to remove each and every single one of you from the equation of ruling yourselves!”

This statement was met with alarm and confusion. What did he mean that they wouldn’t be involved in ruling them? What was going to happen to them?

“Um, Discord?” spoke up Private, oh wait, Commander Pansy. “What exactly do you mean?”

“Why it’s simple! I humbly declare myself to be the ruler of each and every single one of you ponies!” he boasted. “None of you can choose from yourselves who’ll rule over you, so obviously the best possible choice is me, the third, or in this case fourth, party. After all, I’ve lived in these lands my entire life, so frankly I kinda own all this land. You guys are now just living here.”

Clover had to interject at this point. “I’m sorry Discord, but I’m going to have to stop you there. While we are grateful that you rid us of the Windigos, it hardly seems right that a complete stranger who’s not even our species should rule over us.”

“Nonsense! Both of our species have ‘equ’ in our names! You guys are ‘EQUine’ creatures while I’m a ‘DraconEQUus’. We’re practically related!” As Discord said this, Clover was starting to regret having to act like a smarty pants at the time. “Besides, can any of you name any other alternative? All the other options seem to end with the vast majority of you either dead and/or unhappy. With my choice, every one of you will be unhappy, but at least not dead! I think that’s the important thing to keep in mind right now.”

While Discord was saying this, all the ponies had to agree that while this didn’t seem like the best possible solution, it was the only one that would work for the time being. Hopefully by the time he died the tribes will have reached a decision of how to best lead.

“Oh, by the way,” he added as if he were reading their thoughts, “I’m pretty much immortal, and impossibly magical. Been around for several thousand years and doesn’t look like I’ll be going anytime soon, so you’ll never have to worry about replacing your chaos loving leader, either by death or by being conquered!”

Well, buck.

“And with that very moment, I, Discord, became ruler of what I decided to call Equestria! I actually decided the name specifically because of the ‘equ’ thing, but it actually worked out pretty well. I united the tribes in either complete fear or respect of me and kept them from destroying each other, all the meanwhile using my magic to help the nation, raise the sun and moon, and keep myself entertained.” With these final words the stage and rest of the hall appeared again, the images of the past fading away. Twilight and the rest of the ponies were astonished by the sight they had seen. Never again would they look at the founding of Equestria the same way.

Right as everything had changed back to normal the doors of the theatre were pushed open and in walked a terrified Rarity. As she walked through the aisles the rest of the ponies started gagging and had to hold their noses from the smell emanating from her. She calmly walked onto the stage to join the rest of her friends, completely unaware of the look they were giving her.

Applejack decided to break the silence. “Uh Rarity, what happened to ya? Smells like you just came from the manure field.”

“Pretty much,” replied Rarity in a very calm voice. “He sent me to the sewers. Can’t tell if it was on purpose or not, but I ended up landing in the worst possible spot. Well, the important thing is that I’m back with all of you. Did I miss anything important?”

“Oh, just the story of how Discord helped found Equestria. I don’t think you missed much,” Fluttershy attempted to say in her most calming tone.

“I suppose you’re right. What I can do now is DESTROY DISCORD!” With that the usually composed unicorn lunged towards Discord, only to be held down by Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie combined. Thrashing about she started knocking over the scenery in her rage and started gnawing on the stage curtain.

“Talk about chewing the scenery!”

“Not now Pinkie Pie.”

“Sorry Rainbow Dash.”

“Enough!” growled Discord, taking a serious tone. That’s something you never want to hear from a draconequus. “Since none of you, especially the princesses, appreciate me in your history and your Hearth’s Warming Eve, there’s only one thing I can do. I will TAKE AWAY HEARTH’S WARMING DAY!” At this moment instead of hearing screams of terror and panic, Discord heard mumbles of confusion and even laughter.

“Discord, I really don’t think you know how holidays work.” As always, Twilight was more than willing to educate someone. “Hearth’s Warming Day is, well, a day. We sing songs and simply enjoy each others presence. It’s not like there’s anything physical to take away.”

“Oh how naïve you are Twilight. It’s all about the wording. See, tonight is Hearth’s Warming Eve, and tomorrow is Hearth’s Warming Day. You see where I’m going with this?”

“You can tell time?” said a confused Twilight.

“Yes. That’s actually a bit new I have to admit, but what that means it that it has to be day to celebrate.” Twilight was starting to see where this was going. “So, in the words of my favorite pony, ‘The night, will last, forever!’ MWUAHAHAHAHA!” With a snap of Discord’s fingers, the night skies became ominous and pitch black. The stars in the sky became blotted out, and the moon disappeared. “Now do you see?”

“Oh, you big, rude, smelly meanie!” yelled Fluttershy in the meanest looking face she could pull off.

“Yeah! What she said!” retorted Rainbow Dash rather uninspired.

“Oh! So now I’m the villain just because I want proper recognition for my contributions to the country and holiday? I think until you learn to appreciate your true leader, you won’t have your day back!” With that Discord began to storm out through the aisles, stomping through them instead of flying, probably to show he was that angry.

“Oh no way!” and with that exclamation from the Mane Six, they started up their Elements once again. Hopefully they’d get him just before he could react.

“Not on my watch,” and with a snap both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash disappeared in a magic puff. “Oh, this time I really outdid myself with my poetic justice. That’ll teach them to call me a big smelly meanie.” Discord then celebrated his genius with his insane laughter.

When Fluttershy came to she found herself in a strange, dark place with howling and terrible sulfur smell. Strange creatures flew around in the place, growling at each other and nesting in the flames. Other beasts were as large as a castle and moved just like one, with teeth as large as towers and claws the size of Ponyville itself.

“Where am I?” Fluttershy whispered to herself as she started crying to herself.

“Oh. This is Tartarus.” Fluttershy shrieked and turned around to see what she only knew as a small imp from her fairy tales. “Interesting to see a pony here. Usually it’s just the same guys here. Big, hairy guys with big, sharp teeth. How’d you get here?”

Fluttershy was genuinely surprised by the creature’s earnest nature. She felt that it was okay to talk to it. “Oh. I got transported here by Discord. You know him?”

“Yeah. Cool guy. Haven’t seen him in a while. Came by and liked to make the place a bit less, I dunno, horrifying. Liked his milk,” said the imp, who suddenly picked up a soda out of what appeared nowhere and began to sip. “So I’m guessing that you want to get out of here?”

“Oh yes! That would be most appreciated! Would you kindly point the way out?” She ended that question with a squeak at the end, hoping the cuteness of it might persuade the imp to simply tell her.

“All right,” and the imp suddenly started flying. “Here’s how you get out.”

Rainbow Dash started coming around, hearing the sound of Muzak playing around her. A bright light shone, and she needed to squint her eyes to make out what it was she had been teleported to.

“What the… oh when I get back to Discord, I’ll make sure he’s…hearing Muzak?” Rainbow Dash finally saw her surroundings clearly and saw that she was standing in a line. Of all the places Discord could have sent her to, she wondered why a line.

“Form number.” Rainbow Dash turned around to see a gray pony with a beehive-style mane chewing bubblegum. “Form number?” she said a bit more aggressively this time.

“Uh, where am I? My name’s Rainbow Dash, and I sorta got teleported here and need to get back to Canterlot.”

“Rainbow Dash? Oh I know that name,” and with that Dash thought she’d be out of there in a moment. “Some creature told me you might be dropping by later on today. Nice guy. Filled out almost all the paperwork for you already and told me that you’d be coming in later to take the Crane Operator License Exam.”

“What?! Listen lady, I don’t know about any exam. I just wanna get outta here!” Rainbow Dash started soaring to the doors, but the mare at the desk clicked a button and shutters came down, almost crushing Rainbow Dash had she not pulled back at the last second and slammed face first into them.

“Listen, you can’t just have all this paperwork filled out and bail at the last second. If you’re gonna leave, you need to fill out all the cancellation papers or else there’ll be trouble.” Rainbow didn’t know what to do, so she simply decided to play along with whatever the mare was saying.

“Alright then, can I see the cancellation paperwork? No amount of paperwork can stand up to Rainbow Danger Dash!” Rainbow Danger Dash then proceeded to eat her words as a pile as big as herself was pushed in front of her.

“Now then,” the gray mare said as she pushed out a much smaller pile, “the bigger pile is the cancellation papers, while the smaller pile is the amount of paperwork left needed to be filled out for the crane exam, plus the hour of testing that one goes through on the exam. Which one will you choose?”

Rainbow could feel the tears starting to form on her eyes. “What kind of terrible place is that?”

With a pop of her gum, the mare leaned forward and said, “Welcome to the NCCCP Offices, kid.”

Breaking down on the floor, Rainbow screamed, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

“Nah kid,” the mare said, “not the NOOOO, the NCCCP. Those other guys, now those are some monsters.”

Back at Canterlot, the people in the theatre had cleared out, and panic had started to hit the streets. The guards were told to keep control and Celestia along with Luna and the remains the Mane Six went to deliberate on the events in the throne room.

“So how exactly did Discord break out of his imprisonment? I’m sure we didn’t do anything to break the Elements of Harmony. I mean, I’ve been getting better at magic, right?” a worried Twilight said, wondering what was going on.

“Now, now my dear student,” Celestia responded in the most calming voice she could muster up at the time. “I’m positive that whatever the cause is, it has nothing to deal with your magic. Discord is a very ancient and powerful being. It could have been any combination of circumstances that led him to break out so suddenly. Personally, I’m surprised it never happened earlier.”

“What do you mean Princess?”

“What I mean, Twilight, is that Discord is, well, very special when it comes to magic. He seems to ignore every basic tenant and rule that keeps most unicorns from fully being able to use their magic. Frankly, I wonder if the Elements of Harmony ever had any actual effect on him or he was simply playing along because it was the most fun thing he could think of doing at the moment. To us that may not make much sense, willingly staying trapped in stone for over a thousand years, but to him it would be interesting to see how the world moves around you as a statue.” Celestia then turned to her sister and began asking her about the progress made on the night sky.

“I’m afraid to say there have been no signs of progress sister,” interjected the Princess of the Night. “Discord appears to have made good on his promise of keeping time still. I am not sure that this is even the night that we are experiencing, rather some location in time where night and day do not exist, for my magic appears to have no effect.”

“The same with me sister,” responded Celestia solemnly. “I have not been able to raise the sun or even teleport myself to see the effects this darkness has had over the rest of Equestria. It appears that he has successfully made his threat of eternal night come true. I do find this odd of Discord though. At this point he would have started his silly antics and made things like chocolate rain or grass turning into confetti or some other silly stuff.”

“Sister, I think he’s doing all of this because he’s actually emotionally wounded. He has been written out of history by the nation he helped to forge and has endured factually inaccurate accounts of the events he has been crucial to for many years now.” Luna said this with what Celestia thought was an ounce of sympathy. After all, it had not been too long ago that Luna endured the distortion of time on her image, making her seem like a monster all those years she had been gone. “And you know what you must do to make it right.”

“I’m sorry sister, but you know I cannot do that. He is still a monster, no matter what just reasons he may have for some of his actions, and that is not to stand.” Celestia made this clear in her most declarative voice, putting the conversation to an end.

“Well whatever is going on, none of us are going to stand for it!” declared Twilight.

“Yeah! We’ll make him eat his words AND this cupcake!” and Pinkie Pie suddenly pulled out a cupcake. “I’ll make him eat it since it’s actually been on the floor for three weeks tee-hee!”

“I’ll be sure to give him the one-two-buckaroo, that’s for sure!” with Applejack pulling off a roundhouse kick. “By the way, thanks for letting Rarity wash off in one of your royal bathrooms, Celestia. Hopefully she’ll feel fresh again.”

“Oh, we didn’t let her get a bath. I actually teleported her straight into the bathroom and locked the door. Until I’m certain that the smell is gone, she’s to remain in there. She’s a menace to the entirety of Canterlot otherwise with that smell. How she managed to actually smell worse than the sewers themselves is beyond my understanding though.”

As if to mark Celestia’s words, Rarity popped in the room, a gleam of light shining off her newly cleaned coat. Luckily the smell seemed to have been eradicated. It would later be recorded that half of the castle’s lotions and soaps had been used to get her clean again.

“Terribly sorry if I acted rude earlier. The smell was getting to me and I couldn’t think properly. Now, what are we planning to do with Discord?”

“First we need to find him. Where would he most likely be?” inquired Twilight.

“The Old Ruins of the former castle I’d assume,” said Luna. “That is where Discord once reigned from before our arrival to Equestria. He seems to be in a bitter mood, so I’d assume that he’d go to where he would feel most comfortable, in the midst of that chaotic place.”

“Then that’s where we’re headed!” declared a determined Twilight.

“Twilight, please listen to me,” said her teacher. “You cannot face Discord directly, especially with both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash missing. You should delay your departure, lest they come back here and find themselves without the possibility of aiding you.”

“Don’t worry Princess! I’ve already made a plan for that. What I’ll do is bring Spike along and every hour update you on my current position in the forest. That way when Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash come searching for us they can simply follow my last coordinate from the letter!” Twilight declared this plan proudly, hoping her enthusiasm would spread to the princess.

Princess Celestia looked worried for a moment then said, “If this is to be the case, then there is nothing I can do. Go now Twilight Sparkle and friends, and may you have luck in defeating him. Luna and I will continue our attempts to restore order in this depressing atmosphere Discord has created.” With that, Twilight Sparkle and friends departed into the Everfree Forest in the attempts of stopping Discord.

The trip into the forest was much more ominous than usual. The creatures obviously showed signs of being affected by Discord, evident by manticores that swam in the water like fish, the fish trying to attack a bunny, and the bunny viciously eating up the fish before flying off into the sky. It had felt like forever since Twilight and her friends had gone to the ruins on that fateful night several years ago, the night that Nightmare Moon had returned. The Elements of Harmony had been able to stop her when all hope seemed lost, but now they were facing Discord, who had found a way to stop the Elements from working. How would they be able to stop him and restore the day?

After Spike had sent his third report on their location to the princess, he finally spoke up. “You know, we probably should’ve just waited till Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash came back. Not much we can do without them.”

“We already know that, Spike,” grunted the tired Twilight carrying Spike on her back. The weather and darkness weren’t exactly giving her much cheer, and even in the best of conditions the woods were a difficult place to maneuver. “We can’t just sit around and wait for them though. If their situations are like Rarity's, then Discord didn’t send them too far, probably as a way for him to get a good laugh at seeing what we were like after we came back from whatever situation it was.” As Twilight said this, Rarity had a shiver go through her spine. Obviously the sewers were still fresh in her mind.

“We can’t be too far now. We’ve been walkin’ for three hours out here. Doubt he made the forest bigger or something like that.” As Applejack was saying this she quickly shut her mouth, realizing that Discord could possibly overhear them and do exactly that if he thought it’d make things funny. “Say, what’s that in the distance?” As she said this, the outline of a large tower started coming into view. The ruin seemed to be restored to their original shape and was now a large, snow covered castle looming over the forest.

“So that’s what Discord’s Castle used to look like. Interesting to see that when he isn’t into causing chaos that he can have…good tastes,” said Rarity with a suggestive tone at the end.

“Rarity I’ll buck you saddle-sore if you start getting any ideas. Really, all somepony needs is a big hunk of rock as a home and your pudding in their arms,” warned Applejack, hinting back to when she had melted over the idea of being Prince Blueblood’s wife. “Besides, won’t stand for long if we’re gonna send Discord back and undo this damage, so don’t get too attached.” With those words Rarity looked as if her favorite coat had just been shredded then sat on by Opal.

“Come on everypony, stop your bickering. We need to be quiet until Fluttershy and rainbow Dash find us, remember?” As Twilight said this a stampeding noise was starting to get louder and louder. Everypony hid in the bushes, waiting to see what manner of beast Discord had sent to attack them. To their surprise, what they saw wasn’t any chaos-based beast, but rather Cerberus itself! Woe be Equestria if Discord now controlled the beasts of Tartarus! What was more surprising was the pink-maned mare riding atop the dog.

“FLUTTERSHY?!” the four of them screamed out.

“Girls!” squeeled the excited Fluttershy who flew over and hugged them. “Oh, you will not BELIEVE the day I’ve had. Apparently Discord sent me to Tartarus of all places. Tartarus! Luckily I met a nice imp who told me the way out of the place and then asked Cerberus to take me to wherever you girls were. He has a really good nose.”

“Wait a moment Fluttershy,” said Twilight as she was trying to put together what Fluttershy had just said. “Are you telling me that the creatures in Tartarus not only know the way out, but can actually LEAVE the place? Not only that, but there are creatures that can speak as well?”

“Oh yes, they’re actually very nice if you listen to what they have to say. Apparently Cerberus here is actually from Tartarus, but just likes to guard the entrance to keep other creatures out of the place. The creatures that are living in Tartarus are living there completely by their own accord and actually prefer it there to here since this place is ‘too puny’ they say.” With these couple of sentences, Fluttershy had just re-written everything that had been understood by everypony about Tartarus. “Now you can go home Cerberus. Thank you very much,” and Cerberus went panting home excitedly, happy to see somepony that wasn’t afraid of him.

“You do realize we could have used a large creature like that against Discord, correct?”

“I doubt that would’ve worked Rarity. After all, Discord seems to be on a transmogging streak and would probably would’ve changed it into a tree or something,” corrected Applejack, who personally had had enough of this magic hoo-hah and would’ve liked just for once to have a non-magical force threated the world, like a giant earthquake or rampaging non-magic bandits who destroyed with brute force. If she had to deal with one more evil being who tried to take over the world with magic she was gonna buck it in the face, no matter what the consequences were. Hopefully it’d just fall over and cry and they wouldn’t have to do some confangled quest for the Magical McGuffin of Mares or whatever.

Right as Applejack was wondering if the Magical McGuffin would be powered by hugs or not, Rainbow Dash flew onto the scene, wondering how awesome it was that she got there so fast.

“Aww yeah! Took me no time to get here once the princess told me where you guys were going!”

“Rainbow Dash!” said a worried Fluttershy. “Oh, I was so worried about where Discord might have sent you. He sent me to Tartarus, so I presumed that he must’ve sent someone as brave as you into a much more awful place.”

“You could say that. It was a place where all my speed and strength were no use. No matter how far I had gotten, there was something else added to the amount needed to be done. It was more agonizing than a 100 mile dash, seeing as that at least lets the pony know that there is an end to the suffering. But I got through it all, and now the joke’s on Discord, ‘cause now I can operate a crane anywhere in Equestria!”

Nopony there knew what to ask Rainbow Dash about the last sentence, or if they ever would.

With everypony in place, they proceeded to sneak into Discord’s Castle, hoping to catch him by surprise. As they wondered through the halls of the castle, signs of the Master of Chaos’ presence started to become clearer. Stair would become inverted and the mirrors would act surprised to see someone that looked just like them. Every five minutes the color scheme of everything in the castle would change, ranging from wild stripes to muted polka dots. These were nothing to fear though, but as they got higher and higher into the tower they came across a disturbing sight: forest creatures that had been turned to stone with terrified looks on their faces. It was obvious that Discord was feeling sore about being turned to stone himself and was starting to take it out on anything he could. Twilight could attest that being in stone wasn’t a pleasant experience, so maybe over a thousand years of that feeling had done more damage to his already warped mind than it had his body. Even if Discord could have escaped at any point during his time, it must’ve bothered him that he be subjected to the exact same fate of being turned to stone twice in a row.

Eventually they came across Discord in his room talking to himself about the chaos he’d been causing. The girls started preparing themselves with their Elements, taking them out of the bag that Spike had been carrying.

“Oh, was silly creatures you ponies are!” squealed Discord in devilish delight. “The lights in the night go out and you’re all like ‘What’s going on?’ and ‘Mommy I’m scared’ and running around, thinking that’ll solve anything. It’s the sky you foals! It’s not like you can outrun it or even outfly it. Maybe this will teach you all to give me a little more respect and actually include me in your histo- WOAH!” Discord instinctively yelled as he quickly responded by snapping his claw hand. Just a second more and he would’ve been struck by the light of the Elements and turned into stone once again. “Alright, I’m fairly certain I got Twilight that time, am I right girls?” and lifting his claw into the air he trapped them and lifted them up into the air, finally setting them down on some fly paper he had set up for this occasion.

“Hah! Joke’s on you, Discord! Twi will just teleport right back here now that she knows where to go, and then you’ll be gone for good this time!” boasted a sure Rainbow Dash, certain that they’d win this right here, right now.

“I actually thought that’s what would happen, so I was a bit more inventive about this location than the others. Actually had this one planned just for this occasion. Where I sent her, there is no way she could simply leave!” Discord ended with his trademark laugh, leaving Twilight’s friends worrying what kind of place he could have sent her that would have this ability to keep her from returning.

Twilight regained her composure quickly after being teleported and was greeted to the sound or roaring and squealing. She couldn’t tell for all the books in her library what was going on at the moment. Wherever she was, she knew that she wouldn’t be there long.

“I’m guessing that Discord must’ve taken a hit to the head while being stone if he didn’t realize that I could just teleport right back there. I’ll just focus on where I was and…hold on a second. I know that sound.” Twilight concentrated on what the noise was and realized that the roaring was other ponies and that the screeching was the guitars. She realized that she had been teleported to a concert.

“Well… this was certainly an odd choice for Discord to send me. Wonder why he thought this place wooooouuuuulllll...,” Twilight dragged on that ‘would’ until she finally gasped at her realization. “IT’S IRON MARE! THE SINGLE GREATEST HEAVY METAL NEIGHWAYAN BAND IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!!! OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH! IT MUST BE THE “BUCK THE ESTABLISHMENT!” TOUR THEY'VE BEEN GOING WORLDWIDE FOR!” Twilight was in the greatest mood of her entire life. Years of keeping her love of heavy metal rock hidden from her peers and even the princess herself out of fear of being judged as being non-academic could finally melt away in this one moment of rock glory. Letting her hair out, she started headbanging to the bassist’s five-minute solo, the kind you could only hear a griffon bassist play.

Back at the castle, Discord was starting to calm down with his laughter.

“Well, that was fun,” he said calmly, ignoring the looks he was getting from the ponies.

“But why would you do this? It makes no sense and it’s making everypony sad,” said a saddened Fluttershy.

“You’re wondering why I’m doing this? Oh don’t look so glum, Fluttershy. I know exactly what to do to make you feel all better. I’ll sing! After all, that’s what you ponies start doing whenever you feel down, don’t you? In fact, I’ll also tell you why I’m doing this in the song as well!” and with that, Discord started up the music, with the instruments being played by an assortment of woodland animals. For those who are unable to hear the music like the ponies could, imagine it to the tune of a certain song performed by two misers. He soon began with the trumpets playing:

“I’m Mr. Chaotic!

I’m Mr. Fun!

I’m Mr. Neurotic.

I’m a number divided by none.

They call me Discord,

Whatever I touch

Turns insane in my clutch

I’m FAR too much!”

Soon his singing was accompanied by a group of bunnies that Discord had enchanted to start singing. It went something like this:

“He’s Mr. Chaotic!

He’s Mr. Fun!

He’s Mr. Neurotic.

A number divided by none.”

And back to Discord:

“They call me Discord

Whatever I touch

Turns insane in my clutch

I’m too much!

I never wanna know a time where normal is the norm

With me around the world you see I’ll personally transform!

“He’s Mr. Chaotic!

He’s Mr. Fun!

He’s Mr. Neurotic.

A number divided by none!”

“They call me Discord!

Whatever I touch

Turns insane in my clutch!

Too much!”

With that the rabbits and other animals started scurrying off, hoping that Discord wouldn’t decide to be in the mood to listen to some Trans-Sibearian Orchestra.

“You see? I’m simply being myself, and by that I mean destroying everything you love. After all, why should all of you have this and I be left out of my own thing! I’ll turn this world upside down and spin it around so I can finally get some real control of things! I…” and Discord stopped right there, realizing he had just wandered into ranting territory. “Anyway, I’ve taken your crummy holiday, and now there’s nothing you can do about it until you let me rule over you and have my own fun. Now, get!” and with one last snap of his fingers, he teleported the five ponies back into Ponyville. He decided that he should let off some steam by making the rivers into tapioca when suddenly he heard another pony wonder through his door. “If it’s you Twilight you’re friends are back in Ponyville. I suggest you leave and-oh, hello Celestia.”

“Hello Discord. It’s been a while,” said the princess in a flat tone. “You know why I’m here.”

“Yes, I know. You want me to return time and order because I’m the only one who can. Obviously that’s why you sent your little vassals after me several times to imprison me again,” returned Discord, in the same tone as Celestia’s.

“You know perfectly well why I wish to imprison you. You wreak havoc on the populace, create untold mayhem, and honestly nopony can tell if you have a moral compass at all. You are the very example of chaos in society, and as the pony who considers herself the TRUE ruler of the ponies of Equestria, I must stand up to you.” Celestia said this in the most dignified tone anypony would have ever heard. Too bad she was going up against Discord, whose usual debate techniques included ignoring what the person said, or saying something so ridiculous that nothing in the conversation would make sense anymore.

“Oh, so apparently YOU’RE the ruler of Equestria, correct? It’s not like there was any other creature ruling before you. Oh, wait, there was I think. It was ME,” replied the distraught draconequus. “You took away my power and my fun, and let’s not the most important thing,” and Discord started tearing up at this point. “You took my HEART.”

“Oh for buck’s sake not this again,” cursed the princess under her breath as she facehoofed at this comment. “Discord, I don’t even know how I can explain it to you AGAIN. For one, you’re essentially the poster child for what looks like a drunken party where everypony, and I mean EVERYPONY got involved and you were the product of their mistake. Two, you express your emotions in the worst possible ways, from sinking the city of the Sea Ponies in order to give me an ocean view, which didn’t even matter since it was the OTHER OCEAN that the city was on. I shouldn’t even bring up what you did to my sister for me.”

“You mean take away the chunk of her power that gave her control of the sun as well as the moon and giving it to you so you could raise both while she could only raise the moon?” responded Discord, displaying his inability to know when to stay quiet.

“Yes. That one. I hope you realize that in order to keep her from exploding with rage at you with magic that I needed to almost continuously shove chocolate bon-bons down her throat. While they are her favorite snack and can help her in the sourest of moods, it’s only a temporary solution, considering that she’ll only be made angrier when she sees all the weight she’s gained because of your return.” Celestia shivered at the thought of her sister being that angry not only at Discord, but at her for making her eat all those snacks. She’d rather deal with Nightmare Moon again than face that mess.

“Well you probably should thank me for that actually, seeing as without that power you would’ve never been able to manage both night and day with Luna spending her millennium on the moon,” Discord replied, knowing that Celestia knew he was right. “Actually, something I always wondered: If Luna, or Nightmare Moon in this case, could control the moon, then why didn’t she do something insane like, I dunno, pilot the moon she’d been banished onto STRAIGHT INTO THE EARTH!?" with him making a punching motion into the hand, attempting to illustrate a point. "If I were in that situation, that’s what I would’ve done.”

“I actually realized that possibility just five minutes after banishing her. I’d hoped that with the lack of oxygen in space, she wouldn’t be able to think clearly enough to get any insanely dangerous idea like that,” Celestia admitted to Discord.

“Boy, you ‘hoped that with the lack of oxygen in space, she wouldn’t be able to think clearly’? I’m guessing that exiling your sister to suffer oxygen deprivation and below freezing temperatures in space only to be kept alive by pure magical power was obviously the best thing a big sister could do to help out a little sister who only wanted a little attention, wasn’t it?” Celestia was left speechless by what she had just heard from Discord. A full five minutes passed before anything had changed. After those five minutes tears started to come into Celestia’s eyes. Even Discord knew he had crossed the line from “justified jabbing” into “heartless harrowing”. Without a word, Celestia started to walk out the door.

“Celestia wait!” yelled Discord, feeling what he could only feel as some sense of remorse at what he had said. “I…went too far with that one. I’m s-s-s, well, you know I can’t actually say it, but you know what I mean, right?”

“I know exactly what you mean,” she squeaked out, her voice sounding warped with her holding back the tears. “It means that you can’t even manage to care enough to say it.” At this point Celestia had tears falling freely from her face. “You know what struck me the most about the flashback Discord? It wasn’t the fate of the three pony leaders, nor was it the fact that everypony was so close to annihilating each other. It was the fact that you cared. You actually cared enough for these little ponies that you would give up your carefree life just to keep these ponies from fighting with each other. Not only that, but you were willing to do this for the rest of your life; something even you know would have been a while. It might not have been as sincere as other leaders have been when trying to lead people, but it was very real. You cared about them, and you wanted to see them not destroy each other. You want to know why you were never in the play? It was because I couldn’t bear to explain how you had changed from a being that was playful and a bit chaotic who genuinely cared for his subjects no matter what, to a beast that began to torment his own people simply to fill the void. You may have not seen your devastation, but your ‘fun’ had begun to destroy homes, all in the name of causing chaos. Now I can clearly remember why I said those words that finally pushed you over the edge to the point where my sister and I needed to take action. I’m sure you remember them, don’t you. I said ‘The real reason is because you’re a beast’. To you it may have been a reference to your form, but I was talking about your soul. Now I can see that I never had anything to feel sorry about all those times I saw the Hearth’s Warming Eve play and never correct them.” With those words, the Princess of the Sun walked out of the room, leaving Discord alone.

Discord had to sit down for a moment to take it all in. He had so many conflicted emotions at the moment, and usually he would just make something like a balloon animal start dancing or make trees into cheese, but it just wasn’t in him.

“You! Small purple errand dragon!” he called out as he magically lifted Spike into the air. He had been quiet to entire time, trying to hear everything that had been going on and not try to get involved in stuff he generally considered to be “heavy stuff”. “I want you to relay a message to Twilight letting her know to teleport back to Ponyville and not here when she’s finished. There’s nothing to return to here.”

“Uh, Mr. Discord, sir?” Spike managed to say, shivering in fear at the scowl Discord was now bearing. “I can only send messages from Twilight to the princess and back, nothing else.”

“Oh fine!” and with that he sent Spike back to Ponyville as well and began to write a message to Twilight.

“Dear Twilight,

Friends sent back to Ponyville.

Go back there.

Hate,

Discord”

He then teleported the message to wherever Twilight was and proceeded to sulk in his throne, thinking that this day could’ve gone a lot better.

Back in Ponyville, things were gloom

As Discord’s reign was a symbol of doom.

The darkness in the sky was extremely sad

As it appeared that there would be no reason to be glad

“Geez, it sure is awful here. Everyone looks down

They’d probably be depressed if there was a clown!”

“Pinkie, I know you’re trying to cheer us up

But rhyming just isn’t your kind of cup.”

“I’m not trying to do this Rarity, you see

These words are just spilling out of me!”

Little did the ponies know that the rhyming fate

Was something that Discord did create

For in his sadness, madness, or crime

He made it so each word would rhyme.

The worst of this is it affects me

The writer you can plainly see

I really hope he lifts it soon

Rhyming isn’t exactly my boon.

Twilight returned to Ponyville after a while

On her face, a big wide smile

“Girls, you won’t believe where I’ve been!

I was, uh, teleported to West Boarlin,”

Twilight said this out of fear

That her friends would judge the band’s signatures on her rear

And quickly with a spell she made blank

The spells that were written on her flank

She saw the sadness in her friends’ faces

While she had been out enjoying different places

She started to feel a pang of guilt

And it felt like her heart began to wilt.

“Aww cheer up Twi, you had a great time

Here, just go and have a lime!”

Twilight was baffled by Pinkie’s choice of speech

Her attempts at rhyming seemed to reach.

The rest of the town dismayed at the sky

They were only left to wonder why

“Hearth’s Warming Day has been taken away”

That’s all they could manage to say

Twilight, using all her brainpower

Tried to figure out how to save the hour

Recalling all she had learned, which was so much

Sadly she could not recall any such

The Elements were their only tools

But Discord had made them look like fools.

It looked like the only plan they could embark

Was to endure their lives in the dark

“Now wait just a second! I know that there’s more

That we can do by giving up this war!

I’m Pinkie Pie, and if I can’t cheer you up

I’m certain my talent wouldn’t be that kind of cup!”

She started singing songs, trying to bring cheer

In the attempts at stopping the fear

Twilight was hearing the singing and thought

Back to the Hearth’s Warming Eve Pageant plot

In times when everything seemed down

And those three ponies could only frown

To right what seemed to have been wrong

They did start the Hearth’s Warming Eve song!

The first verse Twilight began to started to sing

In attempt of performing caroling

“The fire of friendship lives in our heart

As long as it burns we cannot drift apart”

And as Twilight began singing, her friends joined in

And for the first time in a while, they felt they could win

“Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few

Laughter and singing will see us through”

The other ponies in the town heard the song

Deciding now was the time to sing along

“We are a circle of pony friends

A circle of friends we'll be to the very end!”

Over and over did they sing this carol

No longer fearing any sort of peril

For in this moment, in this cold and dark weather

They were all in one, bound in friendship together.

Back in Discord’s monstrous tower

He thought this would most certainly be the hour

“Soon their fragile hearts will break

Leaving only pain and chaos in its wake!

They’ll soon start to weep and feel dismay

At the chaos I’ve wreaked for them today

And when they realize what they have to do

All the mares and colts will say ‘Boo hoo!’

Oh that is something I simply must hear!”

With that Discord then extended his ear

He heard a sound that that started out low

But then it quickly started to grow

But this sound was sad, in fact it was merry!

Discord found this fact to be scary

As Discord leaned closer, in fact he could hear

What like laughter, singing, and cheer!

“But how could this be! I can’t be so!

Just a moment ago it should’ve been the sound of woe!

I stopped all reason! I stopped time!

I forced every single one of them to talk in rhyme!

There’s no way Hearth’s Warming Day could be here,

Not when victory is so near!”

As Discord wondered what could be done

He saw a light just as bright as the sun

The Hearth’s Warming Fire! It couldn’t be so!

It shone just like tonight as it did long ago.

With a light shining bright and as big as the sun

He felt like it declared that those ponies had won.

“I could go over there and drain their hope!

They could be like ‘Yay!’ and I could say ‘Nope!’

But that’s not how I wanted to win

I wanted them to find their own darkness within

Chaos is better when they cause it on their own

It makes victory sweeter, like a scone!”

He felt as if he should go down and stop

Before it seemed his bubble would pop

But as he saw that large flaming heart

The memories of his past came to start

He recalled his subjects, when they were filled with cheer

When he ruled then properly, year after year

He remembered the times they appreciated his rule

Whenever he wasn’t acting cruel

He remembered Celestia and the first time he saw her

He also remember the times he tried to call her

They used to get along, not always fighting

He remembered that he was always delighting

Whenever they hung out along with her sister

Now she treated him like he was a blister

The memory that struck out most in his mind

Was that time when he acted kind

It was on that evening that you all know

With the first Hearth’s Warming Eve that long ago

The look on their faces when they found they were friends

When hope had returned, when they had made amends

When in that very moment there was no fear

That’s when Discord shed a single tear

“Perhaps the reason the Hearth’s returned

Is to teach me something I should have learned

Hearth’s Warming Eve isn’t just a day during the year

It’s present in the hearts of all who spread cheer

It’s the company of friends that we all love to keep

And we lose any reasons we may have to weep

It’s hope, love, and peace all in one

And always a time to have some fun!

But what’s most important that we should all know

Is to help each other in life, to live, love, and grow.”

In that moment Discord had to grab his chest

I really hope you know the rest

For in Ponyville what the residents happen to say

Is that Discord’s heart grew three sizes that day.

“Oh what have I done?! Why did I think this would work?

This isn’t any fun. I’m just acting like a jerk!

I should set things right, I hereby decree

First by setting the writer free!”

And with a snap of his fingers the curse did dispel. Finally. You guys have any idea how hard it was to rhyme like that? Give Dr. Seuss some credit next time you read anything by him.

The next spell that Discord performed erased the darkness from the sky, showing the opening of the dawn. The ponies in Ponyville were surprised by this sight, not knowing if this was directly because of their actions. While they were wondering that, Discord was trying to figure out how he could make things right again.

“Hmm, I could make all the ponies able to fly!” exclaimed Discord, before realizing that most ponies could already do that seeing as they had wings. “Well, I could make their rivers run with gold, but then again that would not only destroy the wildlife in the river but also the economy. Oh, maybe I could make it so they’d live forever…but then again that’s not always the best thing for a civilization, seeing as the world would be overpopulated and with very old ponies at that. Agh! Seems like I can’t create a single gift that would please everypony. It’s almost as if I’d have to create a single gift for each of them!” and with that Discord had his breakthrough. “That’s it! I’ll use my encyclopedic knowledge of everypony in the land to give personalized gifts to each of them!

Within five minutes of this wonderful revelation, redemptive ruler had prepared a gift for each and every single pony in Equestria. His first place to visit would obviously be Ponyville, seeing as that’s where Twilight and the gang were sent. Just as he went outside, he felt a chill.

“Brrr! Wow, even I think that it’s cold out. Guess I should wear something warm,” and upon his snake-like form a giant burly coat appeared, with a hunter’s cap with flaps on the ears. “Hmm, while I am warm, it just doesn’t seem festive,” and the jacket and hat became bright red with white trimming. He also made the hunter’s cap just a regular cap, tall enough to fit over his horns. The jacket he slimmed down as well, making it easier for him to move. “There! Now I look much more festive. Huh, maybe I should figure out another way of bringing the presents to the ponies. After all, they’re already frightened of my magic, and just having the presents pop right in front of them might scare them away, so I guess I’m somehow gonna lug all these gifts with me, but how?” He looked around the room and figured it out when he saw a bag holding his marbles. “That’s it! A giant bag! It’ll have to be a magical one though so not only could I carry it all, but so they don’t get crushed as well.” In a second, a large bag appeared, as red as the coat and hat he was wearing. All the toys were sucked into the bag, and in a second he grabbed it and departed straight to Ponyville.

Everypony in Ponyville was happy about the return of the day and continued to sing songs. The dark had disappeared and in its place was the light of Hearth’s Warming Day. Nothing could ruin this moment for the citizens of Ponyville.

“I can’t believe we somehow managed to return time. Do you think it was because of our singing?” wondered Fluttershy as she was playing with her animals while in town.

“I’m actually not certain. However, I think that we definitely had something to do with it,” said a delighted Twilight, glad to see that everything had been back to normal. “However, I don’t know what happened with Discord. Maybe Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were able to defeat him.”

“I’m fairly certain that wasn’t the situation.” Spike hadn’t told them what he had heard while in the tower, obviously not wanting to make the princess seem weak. “Maybe Discord just got tired? After all, it didn’t seem like his sort of thing to stick with one way to cause chaos.”

“Hopefully you’re wrong. I don’t know how we could deal with him the way he was acting. He was SUCH a brute,” said Rarity, now able to wear her Hearth’s Warming Day apparel, a red and green dress with white trim surrounding it. “I wonder what he’s up to at this moment actually.”

As if to answer her question, Discord landed in the town squared with a laugh that sounded different from his normal chaotic laughter. He greeted everypony in the town with a loud shout. “Merry Heath’s Warming Day everypony! Hahahahaha!” As he yelled his greeting out, everypony started running for their lives, worried that the draconequus would probably turn them into celery or something. “Wait everypony! I come in peace, bringing presence to show that I’ve changed, I promise!” Discord wasn’t surprised to see this reaction from the ponies, seeing as he would have probably turned them into celery under most circumstances. He noticed several ponies starting to approach and smiled with glee, but then got a closer look at the six of them. “Oh hello Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie! Don’t worry, I’ve come in peace!”

“Yeah right! You’re just trying to trick us. The moment we turn around you’ll change the snow into cotton candy, won’t you?” Rainbow realized that was a bad choice of words as Pinkie Pie started salivating.

“Whatever it is, Discord, we’re going to stop you right now!” Twilight and the other five started up their Elements and Discord just stood there with his arms crossed. The Elements were getting charged more and more and was just about to fire, and Twilight saw that Discord actually wasn’t trying to do anything. Right at that moment the Elements fully activated and a beam of light shot into the sky. Once again, Twilight saw that Discord was standing his ground, making no attempts to send them away. The light had suddenly arched and was now heading straight for the still Discord. With the light just a couple of inches away from Discord, Twilight suddenly took off what she dubbed the “big crowny thing” and the light suddenly stopped.

“Twilight! What the heck are you doing?” They all said that right at the exact same moment.

“Discord doesn’t seem to be trying to stop us. I think he might be serious.” All the ponies were giving her a look, making her seem like she was crazy. “Listen, he might be serious about wanting to give up and turn straight. Doesn’t it seem worth the risk if that seems to be what’s going on?”

“I dunno Twi. Could be a trap. You reckon’ this a good idea?” Applejack was obviously concerned about Twilight’s safety.

“It’s worth a shot,” and Twilight started to approach Discord with the five trailing just a bit behind. If there was anything about to go down, they’d be there to help. “So, how can we tell that you’ve really changed Discord? Are you going to give up your powers?”

“Oh goodness no. That’d be FAR too much. Plus, how could you tell if I gave them up anyway? What I actually did is that I prepared gifts for each and every one of you!” Pulling the bag forward, he rummaged through it until he took out several gift-wrapped boxes, each of them bearing a different pony’s name. Holding the gift bearing Twilight’s name on it, he held it out to her in open palms, waiting for her to take it. Using her magic to lift and analyze the box for any magical booby traps of any sort, she found it clear and then opened up the box, keeping it a good ten feet away from her. When she opened the box, she found a piece of parchment with some writing on it.

“What is this? It looks like some kind of spell I’ve never even heard of before.” Twilight analyzed and understood the spell, but not the effects it would produce when cast. She wondered if it were safe or not to cast it.

“Go ahead! Try it out!” Discord continued to goad her into trying it out. Figuring that this could only go one of two ways, she decided to tempt fate and cast it. After performing the spell, she didn’t notice anything different at all.

“I don’t see what the purpose of that was. Doesn’t seem like anything happened.” Just as Twilight was sitting in that spot, she heard a loud farting noise coming from behind, followed by the hysteria of Discord and Pinkie Pie. Twilight started blushing until she found that she had sat on a whoopee cushion that had suddenly appeared right behind her.

“You get it? It’s a random prank spell! The caster casts the spell and either they or the target get a random prank! I decided that you should have it not only because you like the spell but because you need to learn how to lighten up about your magic.” Discord looked impressed at the way he had just explained that to her, and then happened to sit down as well, landing on a whoopee cushion that had been placed there as well. As the other ponies started laughing, he was happy to see Twilight enjoying the spell he taught her.

“Me next! Me next!” begged Pinkie Pie, looking like she was about to burst with excitement.

“Ah, Pinkie Pie! Your gift was easy to figure out. Here you go!” and just as Discord placed the gift down Pinkie rushed forward and ripped the package open, astounded at the gift she received.

“It’s a-a-a-a CHOCOLATE RAIN CLOUD!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!” and in a moment Pinkie started to drown herself in a torrential rain of chocolate milk.

“And for you Rainbow Dash,” and he held out a package that she instantly swooped up and unwrapped.

“Aw sweet! The entire “Daring Do’ series of books! And...OHMYGOSH! They’re all signed by Laurence P. Griffon, the writer of the series! Thank you soooo much!” and without a delay Rainbow opened up the first book of the series and started reading right there in the snow.

Next up was Rarity, who Discord gave a series of gems that when broken off would grow and produce other gems, making it so she wouldn’t have to go out and have to find as many gems as she needed to before. Applejack received a hat cleaning kit which she only realized she desperately needed as she took her hat off and got to smell it. Not even that kind of smell could be found in a barn. Fluttershy received an animal whistle that was guaranteed to let all her animal friends know where she was and be sure that they could get to her in less than a minute. After seeing the six ponies receive their gifts, the other ponies in the town started coming out to receive their own. Big Mac got what looked like a doll brush and several accessories, something that nopony understood what that was about. Mayor Mare received a new microphone that would allow everypony in the town to hear her whenever she had an important announcement to make. Lyra received an entire harp to play with while Bon Bon got a cough spray that made her voice sound beautiful and was able to keep the same voice for once instead of it alternating. The Cutie Mark Crusaders received their gifts in the same package which contained a sewing kit, a pair of dance shoes, and a microphone. Sweetie Bell decided that the sewing kit was obviously a gift for her so she could replace the one she broke of Rarity’s by accident while Scootaloo took the mic to practice her solos while Applebloom thought that the shoes would be interesting to try karate in. The draconequees was about to say something just before Twilight shot him a look saying “don’t even bother”. Derpy got a muffin, of course, and the rest of the residents of Ponyville received gifts of the same manner. They were all surprised that Discord, the Creature of Chaos, had been able to predict what they’d need and be able to know about each and every pony in Ponyville. He simply said that he was pretty smart and that these things just came to him. He gave a special gift to Spike as well.

“Uh, is this a plant?” said Spike, looking at the branch, confused at the lame gift he got compared to everypony else. Discord snickered and held the branch over his head and waited for all the mares to notice.

“Hey look everypony!” said a random mare. “Spike has the mistletoe over him!” Spike wasn’t sure what that meant or why all the mares nearby were coming near him, but he didn’t question it when all the mares started kissing him on the cheek. After the CMC all came, each giving him a kiss (and each, Spike noticed, visibly red in the cheeks), Rarity came by and gave him an extra big kiss on the cheek. Feeling both exhilarated and exhausted by the mares, Spike collapsed on the ground, smile wide on his face. After this gift, Spike never doubted anything that Discord did ever again.

The gifts continued, with Cheerilee getting a copy of Advanced Theoretical Physics that she had been looking everywhere for when Celestia and Luna came by to check out what was going on in Ponyville. They had seen the Hearth’s Warming Eve Heart and then noticed that the dawn had returned, so they had assumed that Twilight and her friends had somehow succeeded. What they actually saw surprised them both.

“Is that…Discord?” Celestia commented as they both saw the draconequus laughing and playing around with the foals and their new toys. This was not the Discord they knew, and they carefully confronted him. “Discord? Is that you?”

“Celestia! Luna! How great it is to see you both! I’m glad that you’re both here, seeing as that makes me giving you your gifts much easier. Here you go Luna!” Discord handed Luna a package, and she proceeded to cautiously open it up. When the box was opened, a rush of light and energy engulfed her, giving her the strength she had not felt for over a millennium.

“Sister! My full magic powers! I can feel them again! It’s so glorious! I feel as if…as if… AS IF I COULD CONQUER THE ENTIRE WORLD!” and Luna started gliding into the air, darkness starting to return to the skies. “HEAR ME PONYVILLE! YOUR SUPREME EMPRESS LUNA DECLARES THAT NO MORE SHALL THERE BE DAY, BUT ONLY THE GLORIOUS NIGHT!!!”

“Alright. That obviously didn’t work out as planned,” and Discord shut the box, cutting off the energy and causing the sky to return to normal, as well as Luna plummeting into the ground from fifty feet.

“Uh, what just happened?” Luna asked, rubbing her head.

“I tried to give back your full magical power using some of my own as a substitute, but the moment you had your power back you started going Nightmare Moon on us and talking about everlasting night. Actually, I think that was the entire reason I had never given back your powers all this time; each time I thought about it I remembered that you’d probably get corrupted with the power and go insane,” Discord explained to the embarrassed princess, who had apparently gone insane with power the very moment she was returned to her former self. “Don’t worry though. I came up with an alternative gift for you in case that didn’t work. I saw all the games on your “Smoke” PC Profile Wishlist and bought them all for you.” At that news Luna squealed with delight, glad that SOMEPONY had gotten the hint that those would be good gifts for her to get at some point. Then again, most Equestrians didn’t use computers on account of hooves making it very difficult to type, so Celestia couldn’t have seen the list.

“Celestia,” started Discord in a serious tone, “I also have gift for you. It’s not something that could be wrapped in a box or have a ribbon put on it, but it’s something I have to give you.” With that, he took in a deep breath and tried to say the words he had such difficulty saying. “I’m ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss…” he went on for a full minute, obviously not off to a good start. “I’m so-so-so-so-…” he repeated for a full five minutes. At least he had gotten a syllable further this time. Celestia still listened intently, knowing that it really was taking him effort to try to say what he wanted to say. Each time he tried to say it, a bit of him looked more distressed, first with his coat being frazzled, and now his horn looking bent out of shape. “I’m sorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…” he droned on for two minutes, his scaly part of his body starting to shed. “I’m sorr,” and that’s all that came out before Discord literally burst into flames. It took four minutes for the flames to die out, leaving him charred all over. Finally, he said, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry not just for the comment I made about you earlier, but for all the things I’ve done to you and Equestria. I’m sorry for acting like a jerk and a monster at times, and I’m sorry that I couldn’t be a better ruler. What’s more is that I’m sorry that I acted the way I did with you,” and then he proceeded to collapse on the ground, his body writhing in pain from doing the most difficult thing he had ever done; admit that he was wrong.

Five minutes after collapsing on the ground he came to, looking around to see the entire town surrounding him and the princess. “Do you accept my apology?” the draconequus asked.

Tears had formed in Celestia’s eyes at hearing those words. Instead of tears of sadness, they were tears of joy, brought on by the sincerity of a being she had before hoped she could one day call friend once again.

“Yes Discord. I accept your apology,” she confessed, and with that the town erupted in cheering, with Discord feeling a new emotion, maybe relief knowing that someone he did care about was no longer angry at him for something he did. Both Discord and Celestia had smiles on their faces when they both looked up and saw the mistletoe being held overhead by Spike on the nearby cottage. Discord could see Spike giving him a thumbs-up, remembering that Spike had been in there to hear his confession of emotions. That marked the very moment that a bond formed between the two; a bond formed only my two true men who would help out his fellow brother in their attempts at the fairer sex.

“Oh,” said an embarrassed Discord. “We don’t have to if you don’t wanmmph!” was what came out of his mouth when Celestia’s kiss missed his cheek when he turned his head and landed on his lips. They both pulled away right after that, hearing the surprised gasp of the bystanders, both of them secretly admitted to themselves that they actually enjoyed that very, very much. “Well, I have an entire nation to apologize to, so I better get going!” and with that, Discord flew off into the sky, heading toward the other areas of Equestria to give them their apology presents.

A year had passed since that last Hearth’s Warming Eve, and the pageant in Equestria was nearing its end. Spike was once again narrating the story as he had done years before, except this year’s pageant would be a bit different.

“And during the night, the three of them sang the songs that we would now know as the Hearth’s Warming Eve Carol Song, warming each other with the love in their hearts,” narrated Spike. “Eventually, the fire that their friendship had produced had caught the attention of a nearby creature, and the creature went over to see what was happening,” and at that point Discord flew onto the stage, ready to put his acting skills to use. “And seeing what was causing them pain, he used his magic to defeat the Windigos once and for all!” which was the cue for Discord to thrust his hand in the air, causing the painted pictures of the Windigos to disappear to the cheer of the audience. Spike continued, saying, “This creature, who we would later call by the name of Discord, would later bring balance and order among us, an ironic fate for one with such a name. Under his rule, the three pony tribes now lived in peace in the land known as Equestria!”

With the end of the play, Twilight and friends, Discord, and the rest of the actors took to the stage and performed their bow. Discord, who had lived in the Everfree Forest in his castle for the past year, saw Celestia give him a wink from the audience, which caused his smile to grow even wider. After the play he would prepare himself to go on his trip throughout Equestria, giving presents in his festive garbs, something he found that he enjoyed doing on Hearth’s Warming Day and wanted to make a tradition, not just for the people of Equestria, but for himself so that he could be reminded of his change of heart. Sure, he loved to create the occasional macaroni tree and chocolate river occasionally, but now he didn’t go around changing the entirety of existence to his whim. To him, that was the most important thing for him, and to him that’s what Hearth’s Warming Eve was to him; a time to change. And for all of you reading, remember to keep Hearth’s Warming Eve alive in your hearts in your own way. A Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve and Happy Hearth’s Warming Day to you and your families.