It's now Hearts Warming Day in Equestria. Everypony waking up to celebrate. Ponies were already inside the Castle of Friendship setting up the tree to celebrate. Sunset Shimmer woke up bright and early. She stretched and left her room. She wanted to check on Discord. Yesterday, he had a small injury but it should be nothing for the Draqonacuus she thought to herself. Just a little magical mishap between the two dimensions. Sunset saw the other ponies setting up the tree. She smiled knowing that today marks a celebration with her friends. She couldn't wait for that. Sunset is now in front of the infirmary room. She knocked on the door twice to see if Discord is awake. No answer. She stepped in anyways to check on Discord. He was having a hard time sleeping. Shifting and turning like he's having a nightmare.
Discord in his sleep is having a horrible nightmare where he couldn't wake up from. Discord is flying through an endless stream of pain and suffering. Discord's memory is replaying itself like a movie with only the traumatic scenes happening over and over. His species being devoured. One by one the necromancer army gain power and strength enhancing their magic. Discord could only watch the tragedy unfold with tears in his eyes.
"Do you really think that they would help you?" The Necromancer said while laughing at Discord's pain and suffering throughout his dream realm. "You are going to lose more than your own life. You'll be the reason that your world will come to an end. There is no one that can help you now!". The Necromancer screamed.
Discord is shaking a lot and he screamed loud enough to wake himself up. Sunset saw and went up to him. Discord saw his friend Sunset Shimmer and calmed down.
"Just need to play it cool. Can't allow my friend to be worry because of what I saw." He said to himself.
"Discord, are you alright?"
"Yea Sunset, I'm fine. Just nothing to worry about."
"There is something going on isn't there?"
"No."
"You're lying Discord. I'm your friend. A Reformer and us Reformers shouldn't hide anything from each other." Sunset said.
"Look, I had a horrible past that I would like to leave behind...Please. It is best for me not to talk about it. Especially a day like today?"
"What do you mean Discord?"
"I really don't have a family like the rest of you ponies. I have no one to relate to. I am all that is left of my species before they moved on...without me..." A tear came out of Discord. "You ponies are lucky to have someone to relate too. I, on the other hand, don't have that luxury. It's just a difficult time of year for me which is why I don't really celebrate this holiday as a family. Even if I wanted to accept this holiday as my own..."
Sunset could feel the heavy burden on Discord. He is right. She hasn't seen or heard any other Draqonacuus' in all of Equestria. She needed to come up with an idea to cheer up Discord for the day. Then an idea popped into her head.
"Discord, how about for one day, you turn yourself into a pony of your choosing and try to relate to somepony. You can feel like your part of something again in your life. Now, what do you say?" Sunset asked while smiling. Showing Discord that she cared about him and his time of need.
"You know Sunset, I would have never thought of it. Screw it! I'll turn into one right now!" The idea excited him a lot. Getting rid of the thought about the necromancer haunting him in his dreams and avoiding the explanation of what he saw in the portal. Discord transformed himself into a unicorn. He has the chaos symbol as a cutie mark so he can really fit in. To have something worth meaning in his life either than friendship. Discord can feel a surge of happiness flow through his body. His spirit reawakening deep down inside. "Thanks for the idea Sunset Shimmer. Now I feel like celebrating." Discord used his magic and disappeared leaving Sunset behind.
"Well, I'm glad he's alright." Sunset trotted out of the room and headed towards the balcony. She wanted to see the great view of Ponyville. To breathe everything in as the Sun reflect on her body. It's one of her favorite morning traditions. When Sunset got to see the view, there was no sun in the sky, just clouds filling up as the snow came down. She should have known something like this was going to happen but can't help the feeling of seeing the Sun. "Well so much for that."
"So much for what?" Twilight asked.
"Morning Twilight. How are you this morning?" Sunset asked.
"I'm alright thank you. Have you seen Discord?"
"Yea I have. He wasn't feeling right about himself for today. Hearts Warming is not a holiday he celebrates because he is the only one of his kind so I gave him an idea to become one of us for the day so he can feel like he's part of something. "
"That's very thoughtful of you Sunset. If you excuse me, I have to make sure the ponies who are working in my castle is doing things exactly as I planned." Twilight said as she trotted the other way and away from Sunset.
"Have fun Twilight!" Sunset shouted. Then she turned to look at the view and wonder how things would have been if it weren't for Anon-A-Miss. She could have been spending another day with a slumber party with her friends. Thinking about the possibilities that would have happened at the Applejack's house but she then remembered what they have done to her which caused Sunset to cry a little. She could have been with them but fate had other plans. Spike saw and went up to Sunset Shimmer. She is still crying and still felt hurt despite the portal being closed down for good.
"Sunset, are you alright?" Spike asked.
"Yea, I'm fine. Just thinking about my past a little." Sunset said.
"I know how troubling the past can be but that should not be the reason to hold you down."
Sunset snapped back into reality just hearing that. She wiped her tears off of her face and looked down at the baby dragon.
"Sunset, there are things in the past that cannot be changed and should not be tampered with. It is best to let go of those worries and troubles and look forward. You have amazing friends who care about you and you Sunset Shimmer have an impact on each and every one of us. I love having a friend like you in my life. Your compassionate, strong, determined and courageous. You have all the qualities that make you such a great friend. Don't let your sins come back haunt you. To bring you back down to where you'll be suffering from. Endure and survive Sunset. It'll help you become stronger." Spike said as he munched on a gem.
Sunset felt a tear of happiness come out of her eye. Spike's words have a powerful meaning. She couldn't help but hugged the baby dragon tightly.
"Thank you, Spike!"
"N-No problem!" Spike said as he was being choked a little from the hug which Sunset let go of.
Sunset and Spike left the castle to gather some supplies for the bigger party later today. Pinkie Pie saw the two of them coming by and she wanted to tag along. The three of them went into different shops to gather what they need. Discord is having a blast socializing with other pony folks around the area. Pulling a couple of pranks here and there. Having a good time laughing along with the other colts. Sunset Shimmer does have Discord on her mind while doing some errands. She wanted to know why Discord wasn't like himself earlier.
As the morning went on, Sunset, Spike, and Pinkie came to the Castle and saw the huge tree all decorated nicely. She was amazed by the beauty of it. Hearts Warming Day, to celebrate the foundation of their nation and to be close together as brothers and sisters of the tribes. Pinkie Pie and Spike took Sunset Shimmer into a different room where Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Discord were at. Pinkie saw Discord as a unicorn which blew her mind away. They each have something for Sunset Shimmer.
"Sunset, since you had a difficult time with our counterparts from that dreaded world, we decided to make you feel better about us so here," Rarity is the first to give Sunset her gift.
Sunset opened her gift to find a well-designed Sunlight dress made for her.
"Wow Rarity," she smiled. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, darling." Rarity gave Sunset a hug.
"My turn!" Rainbow shouted as she gave Sunset her next gift.
Sunset opened up her second gift to find a new issue of Daring-Do Ring of Destiny.
"Wow Rainbow, how did you became a character of the Daring Do series?"
"Easy, I helped her and she allowed me in as a character for finishing her book," Rainbow stated.
"Hmm, lucky you." They hugged as well.
"Here ya go Sunset!" Applejack said.
Sunset opened her gift and saw a basket full of apples.
"It's in case you get hungry at night. Those are fresh apples picked by my barn."
"Thanks, Applejack." They hugged.
"Fluttershy and I pulled some strings to get you this." Pinkie said.
Sunset opened her next gift and saw what she couldn't believe. Right before her very own eyes was a Phoenix egg hatched already. The little baby phoenix saw Sunset and flew towards her head to rest on her. Sunset felt tears streaming out of her eyes. She now has a new friend in her life to take care of. Tears of happiness overflowed her eyes.
"Thank you, girls, for giving me a baby phoenix," Sunset said giving both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy a big hug.
"Now you take care of him alright," Fluttershy said.
"I will. Thank you."
"Now, it's my turn." Twilight gave Sunset a journal for her to write everything that has to happen to her and to include some meaningful messages like she and her friends have. Friendship stories and everything that can come to mind. Sunset took it and gave Twilight a hug.
"Here, Sunset. I've been aging this one for a while now." Spike said, handing a fire ruby to Sunset. "I want you to have it as a token of our friendship for many years to come."
"Thank you, Spike." They hugged each other.
"Last but not least, there is me. The Defender of Equestria." Discord said.
"Well, what do you have for me?" Sunset asked.
"Since you came up with an idea for me to be a pony for the day, to help me overcome a stressful problem about the holiday, it seems only fair that I should give you something in return so..." he uses her horn to poof a present for Sunset, "here you go."
Sunset opened her gift to find a uniform. She questioned it until it had her cutie mark symbol on the back of it.
"Thanks, Discord but what's with the uniform?"
"The uniform will be something for us Reformers to wear. As we spread Friendship all around Equestria, there may be those who want to do evil because they don't have Friendship in their lives. We didn't have any until Twilight came into our lives and changed all of that. Even though it was Fluttershy who became my first friend but it was Twilight who showed what real Friendship supposed to be. I figure we can do what she did for us and spread that joy throughout Equestria. Maybe have others to join our team." Discord said happily.
"You know, that doesn't sound bad at all. Reformers, I do like the sound of that. Us being in a team working together for the better of Equestria."
"Good now let's hug." Discord said opening his arms open.
"Not yet, I want the real you and not the pony you."
"Alright then!" Discord changed back to his normal self and hugged Sunset Shimmer.
After Sunset had taken her things and pet to her room, she carved the box for her baby to sleep in. She thought of a name for her Phoenix. "I think I'll name you Fiery Flames." The baby Phoenix smiled at his new mother and flew back onto to Sunset Shimmer. "I guess you want to come with me than to be alone?" Fiery nodded his head. Not wanting to leave Sunset. "Hmm, then I found a third member of our team."
Sunset Shimmer went back to her friends and they headed towards the tree. Discord turned back into a unicorn to celebrate Hearts Warming. They sang, they partied and had a great time with everypony else.
As the day went on, Discord felt out of place. Not due to him being a unicorn celebrating but his memory about the necromancer came back. He ran out of the celebration and into another room away from everypony. He turned back to normal and cried his eyes out. The memory of his mother Eris came back. He missed her so much. All he can hear is the necromancer's laughter. Discord could hear the screams his species cried when they were being devoured. It was too much to bear. Discord heard a knock on the door as it opened. He saw Sunset Shimmer with Fiery Flames resting on her head.
"Discord, why are you crying?"
"I want to be alone if you don't mind."
"I do mind. There is something wrong with you Discord. I can tell. Seeing you cry is not something out of the ordinary for you. Is there something that you want to tell me about...Reformer?"
Discord paused for a second. After hearing Sunset calling him a Reformer, he knew that she was going to take the team very seriously. Sure she called him one earlier but he wasn't really paying much attention to her. This time he is. This could be the defining moment to set things straight. Not only as friends but as a team. He didn't really want to tell her about the necromancer heading over to the world she left behind but he's willing to tell her about his dark secret.
"Alright Sunset, I'll tell you what's going on with me. My species were attacked by an army of necromancers few thousand years ago. When I was younger, all I had either than my species was my mom. Her name was Eris. She cared about me. Calling me her baby. She loved to spread chaos wherever she goes. I would be right beside her. Not wanting to be alone. Not wanting to see my mother go on without me. She was everything to me. Then one day, I created my very own cotton candy cloud that rained chocolate milk. She loved that I made my own cloud just like hers. I was hoping one day, we can create a cotton candy creature to fight to the death in front of everyone. Just for fun and smiles. Unfortunately, the necromancers came into our realm. They came hungry. Searching for food. My species tried to help them by giving them something to eat. Unknown to us Draqonacuus' they came to eat us. They devoured one and gained chaotic magic. Enabling themselves with their cryptic powers. They became too powerful that their hunger became wider. After devouring one of my species, they started to devour more. Soon war broke out between the two but unfortunately, my species were outmatched by the necromancers. My mom Eris and a few of us were the remaining Draqonacuus' left. She hugged me and told me to run as she launched their final attack hoping to find some weakness to exploit. I ran even though I didn't want to. I ran as fast as I could during that time. When I turned around, my realm...my home was torn apart. Everything that was peaceful, filled with bright colors...washed away just like that. Then a necromancer came and told me that I was the last of my kind. He told me that my life would not be taken away. To live a life as the last of my kind. It broke me down in so many ways. I tried killing myself but I could never do it. Knowing my mom wanted me to live my life and not waste it. I thought I'd be alone for the rest of my life. Everything changed when I started to have friends but the pain I held on to for all my life can never go away. That is why I have a hard time celebrating this Hearts Warming Day. My family is no longer with me. My mom...gone forever...Now you know why I feel like this today..."
Sunset took it all in. She now knows why Discord wasn't feeling like himself. The pain he suffered is still too much for one to handle. Sunset trotted over to Discord and hugged him. Fiery flew around Discord before hugging him with his little wings. Discord returned the hug but did not want to let go. Not just yet. As moments turn into an hour, Twilight came searching for them and saw Discord hugging Sunset Shimmer and Fiery Flames. Not wanting to intrude, she left them be. She went back towards her friends and continued to celebrate.
The day went by pretty quick. Everypony is happy. Discord and Sunset spend most of their time hugging as Discord didn't want to let them go. He now has a new family. A family with friends he cherishes so much. He hopes that one day, he can seek revenge against the necromancer who took his family away. RIght now, he wants to stay still with his friends. Discord then relinquish his hug. Allowing Sunset Shimmer to return to her friends. Instead Sunset Shimmer and Fiery stayed with Discord. They wanted to cheer him up and so they did.
New Years is coming up and soon a new chapter in life will begin.