//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Chaotic Invitation // Story: A Second Chance // by Admiral Producer //------------------------------// Discord had always kept to himself. It was the only life he had ever known. The caves beneath the Canterlot ruins had been his home for as long as he could remember, and he had been perfectly content to spend the rest of his eternal existence there. There was nothing about the changing world around him that ever enticed him to give it a chance. Chaos always worked alone in the shadows, as no one ever understood its true value. Of course, that saying wasn’t always true, and he knew this. After all, it could be said that at one point in time, he was the best example to the contrary. His life had once been so much different. He used to be happier. He had friends that wanted to be with him. He had a marefriend who loved him for who he was. He once had the support of the entirety of Equestria and while he did screw up a few times, he had always been forgiven and accepted back into pony society. He had learned so much about friendship every day, and he was always grateful to have them by his side. Sometimes, chaos needed kindness to balance it out. Before meeting those ponies who had mercy on him all those moons ago, he didn’t even know that he needed friendship in his life. But as fate would have it, he was so glad that he did…even if he liked to hide his true feelings behind his usual snarky remarks and quippy banter. However, all that was now in the past. His dear Fluttershy was now gone and he never had the opportunity to say goodbye to her. The world fell apart before his very eyes, and Twilight’s rule was eventually forgotten by the masses, as was he. All he could focus on now were the negatives. The grief and remorse he had for everything was unmatched, and he didn’t have anyone to confide in to alleviate any of the pain. Over the years, that fear morphed into bitterness and he began to take his anger out on the land. In a fit of desperation, he had stolen one of the Unity Crystals in an attempt to destroy it. He felt that if he destroyed magic, the very thing that made the ponies separate to begin with back then, he would finally be able to forgive himself. If only life were that easy. Maybe in an alternate reality, he could’ve won and truly bended the cosmos to his whims; forced it to live without magic and make its equine inhabitants accept each other for who they were, rather than what their gifts were. It was what Fluttershy taught him, wasn’t it? True friendship came from within and wasn’t motivated by any external factors or need for survival. Those ponies didn’t need magic to be happy if they were truly unified, right? In his mind, eliminating the Pegasus Crystal was only getting rid of Twilight’s greatest oversight. The citizens of Equestria would learn to live without it, and he never would have to worry about another incident like the one he had been forced to suffer through. It was the universe that they had dreamt of together; a version of their home where no one was hurt, and everyone was accepted not for the extent of their abilities, but for the content of their characters. The sad part was that he would never know the answer as to whether or not he was right, for a new group of young protectors had come in and foiled his plans before they could even begin. He was soon left alone once more, forced to reflect on what he had attempted to do. They said that they accepted him, and that they were working to build a better future. But he never bought into the authenticity of their statements. He had seen how this exact same scenario played out, and he was not about to get his hopes up again. Instead of reintegrating into pony society and giving friendship a second chance, he retreated back into his lair and solace. It was all he had ever known. Even despite his blatant rejection of that annoying earth pony…what was her name? Oh yes. Sunny Starscout. Even in spite of rejecting Sunny’s blatant fantasies and empty preaching, his mind would not leave their last encounter, no matter how much he begged it to let the event die already. He was still fixated on one pony in particular who had caught his eye since the moment he met. That lavender unicorn would not leave his thoughts. Her name…it was Izzy Moonbow, wasn’t it? A strange little pony, yet endearing all the same. She reminded him so much of Fluttershy that it wasn’t even funny. In fact, one would even go so far as to call her very existence a reincarnation of the pony he once loved. There was no denying the similarities between them, and whenever he thought of her, he thought of his beloved. It couldn’t be a coincidence then that Izzy had been the only pony to reach out to him on a personal level and talk him down. It couldn’t be a coincidence that she had been the one to give him that message from Fluttershy. There was no denying the importance of meeting her, and try as he might, he could not shake the thought of her from his mind. Perhaps fate was trying to give him a second chance, and give him the redemption he so desperately needed. Yet he knew full well that it was too late for him to give friendship another chance. There was just too much broken within him that would not lend itself to a good do-over. He had seen too much and experienced way too much trauma for him to attempt living the life he used to know. Or so he thought. He could’ve chalked it up to divine intervention if he even believed in such a thing, but today was going to be a special day. He never expected to see any of those five ponies again, let alone Izzy. But as he was combing his long hair, he heard a loud THUNK and a yelp coming from the main area of the cave that instantly caught his attention. Quick as a flash, he dropped his brush and immediately teleported over to the source of the sound. His mane was still in quite the disheveled state, but he never really cared much for his appearance if he was being honest with himself. He expected it to be just another poor soul who had wandered into the Canterlot ruins. After all, he figured that if it happened once, then it could certainly happen again, and he would have to kick them out himself. Once he saw who had landed on the cold hard ground, however, his eyes went wide with shock. Many thoughts and emotions began to flood his mind at once. He could not believe the pony he was seeing in front of him. It was none other than Izzy Moonbow, the very pony who had mercy on him in the first place. She groaned and slowly got up to her hooves, gasping with excitement upon realizing where she was. Her eyes lit up and a massive grin formed on her face. “Oh my goodness!!” Izzy exclaimed. “I actually made it! I made it!!” She smiled knowingly to herself. “Zipp was right about that trapdoor. Somepony better get that sealed before anything bad happens.” “Well frankly,” remarked Discord in his usual witty tone, swallowing his slight nervousness upon seeing her again. “The only ‘bad’ thing they would experience is meeting the Lord of Chaos. And I would hardly call that a bad thing in the slightest.” “Yeah,” Izzy conceded. “You might be right about that-“ Upon it hitting her who exactly was speaking, she whirled around and faced him with pure elation. “DISCORD?!!” He smiled back nervously. “Hello there, Fizzy. It’s certainly lovely to see you again. What are you doing down here in my Lair of-“ That was when she jumped into his paws and tackled him in a warm and massive bearhug. He was caught off guard by the gesture, but he did his best to reciprocate it by hugging her back out of politeness. He was certain that she had no regard for one’s personal space after this, however, and that was quite concerning to say the least. Once they let go of one another, Izzy grinned sheepishly. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I just get a little too excited for my own good.” She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. “By the way, my name is Izzy! You might be referring to my Uncle Fizzy by that name, but I couldn’t invite him here for obvious reasons.” Discord swallowed his pride. “Right. Well, it’s been an interesting conversation, but I think you better leave now. A draconequus needs his beauty sleep after all, especially one as lively and chaotic as me. Run along. There’s another exit out of the caves straight down.” Izzy pouted. “Aww, but I can’t leave yet!” “And is there some reason why not?” Discord asked her, cocking his head in confusion. “Well,” Izzy answered, her enthusiasm instantly returning. “We haven’t seen each other in sooooo long and I wanted to catch up with you!” She then reached in and pulled out an envelope from her mane. “Plus, the whole reason why I came down here was to invite you over to have Hearth’s Warming dinner with us! Sunny’s trying to start the tradition back up, and I couldn’t possibly not invite a new friend!” Reluctantly, Discord took the envelope from her hooves. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and he hoped desperately that the unicorn was joking. She couldn’t possibly be offering…she couldn’t…He opened the envelope and took out the note. Upon reading it, he felt his heart sink with dread. This was real. The day he had feared for so long had finally come, and he couldn’t hide anymore. Izzy was inviting him to Maretime Bay. Dear Discord, Hearth’s Warming Eve is here! Sunny wants to make it a national holiday again, and I know it’s been a while since we’ve last seen each other, but I couldn’t go without inviting one of our new friends over to have dinner with us! We’re all gathering in the lighthouse and I think it would be really nice if you were to show up and eat with us. We’re all eager to be your friends again, especially me. Thanks! Sincerely, Izzy Izzy was practically oozing with excitement that she seemingly couldn’t contain as she watched him read the letter with wide eyes. She clearly wanted him to come, and he didn’t want to refuse her. At the same time, the thought of spending the holidays with friends again terrified him to the core. He didn’t think he was ready to commit to it once more, especially not after trying to destroy all magic months ago. He did his best to respond, all while feeling completely overwhelmed in the process. “Well I’m…flattered that you find me so attention-grabbing, Izzy. But you know that a being of chaos like me couldn’t possibly entertain the idea of a simple dinner gathering. It’s so…ordinary! Where’s the fun? The liveliness?!” “That’s where you come in, silly!” Izzy quipped. “You can be the thing that really makes this first Hearth’s Warming the one to rule them all! Doesn’t that sound like fun? Come on, you gotta come!” Discord didn’t know what to say. He knew that he shouldn’t do it. He couldn’t be with the ponies again. He had already messed up once. He couldn’t just do it again and expect everything to work out this time. The fact that he had been forgiven should’ve just been a get-out-of-jail free card for him. There was no reason for it to escalate into anything else. He didn’t want to risk getting too close to the ponies again and lose them like he did Fluttershy and the others. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t deserve to go through all this suffering again. He didn’t think he was worthy of a second chance as he nearly got those ponies killed, yet here was one of them now asking for him to show up to a party. It all seemed too good to be true, and he was quite certain it was. He couldn’t take another deep loss like the ones he had gone through already. But at the same time, he didn’t know how to refuse, even though he was trying his hardest. “I-I-I really shouldn’t,” Discord said nervously. “There’s really nothing for me to do there. After all, doesn’t Twilight already have her hooves full with the rest of you? Sounds like you’re already quite the clawful.” “Twilight?” “I meant Sunny! Yes, that’s totally what I meant! And you are definitely not Fluttershy at all. Just gotta remember that for future reference.” Izzy looked concerned. “I know it can be…hard to adjust to new things, but change is natural. And you shouldn’t be afraid to embrace it as oftentimes…it can lead to something even better.” “Yes yes yes,” answered Discord quickly. “Save the obligatory cliché friendship speech for later, will you? We don’t need to go into that here.” He stood up tall again and hovered above her in the air. “I will accept this request to go to your dinner party on one condition.” “Anything!” Izzy told him. “Name it, and you’ll have my word that I’ll get it done for you!” Discord couldn’t help but smirk mischievously at Izzy’s eagerness. He was nervous for sure, but…the way she was willing to do anything to get him to come did lighten his mood quite a bit, and he was beginning to think that perhaps he could entertain her suggestion just this once. After all, one night with those ponies wouldn’t hurt him…would it? He would make Izzy happy and then return to his lair like nothing ever happened the following day. There was nothing saying that this invitation would be a permanent stay sort of thing. He was free to leave whenever he wanted, and he felt that he could entertain the mare’s eagerness just this one time. He knew that he was probably making a mistake, but he couldn’t help himself regardless. The idea of showing up to a Hearth’s Warming Eve celebration intrigued him quite a bit, and although he was still unsure, curiosity ultimately won out and he mentally decided that he would just show up for the dinner and get out right afterwards. It wasn’t that hard. After all, he could disappear and reappear anywhere he wished at any given point, so there was no reason that he couldn’t make a quick getaway right afterwards. It was the least he could do for Izzy after she empathized with him after all. He had given her no reason to have any sort of pity on him, yet she still did it, even though he didn’t deserve it. To him, returning the favor was worth the risk, even if it was just going to be a brief visit. He faced her again and continued making his deal with her. “Well,” he replied. “I want to wear a suit and tie to the event. You know, the guest of honor has got to look presentable.” “Ooh, I could get that made for you in Bridlewood!” Izzy offered. “Grandma Figgy really knows how to sew and-“ Before she could finish, he was dressed up in a black business suit and tie in the blink of an eye. “Or…you could just poof one out of thin air. Cool!” “Oh I forgot to tell you,” added Discord. “The suit had to be my size. How could I trust that your granny would know what to put me in? You can never be too sure about these sorts of things, Izzy. That’s why I like to personalize my wardrobe.” He snapped his fingers and suddenly, about four wardrobe closets appeared out of thin air and began dancing to the tune of "Friend Like Me” from Aladdin. Izzy watched this musical display with a mix of awe and shock. The wardrobes pranced and leapt into the air, doing various acrobatic displays in front of them while fireworks went off in the air above. Once the song ended, they were snapped out of existence once again and they disappeared, leaving only falling confetti in their wake. Izzy giggled. “You are going to be the best guest of honor ever!! We’re gonna eat all sorts of yummy food from all across Equestria, dance the night away, and exchange gifts under the tree! This is gonna be so fun!! Thank you, Discord! Thank you! Trust me, by the time we’re done, you’ll never be alone ever, EVER again!!” EVER again!! Those haunting words from the hyperactive unicorn echoed throughout his subconscious, and just like that, Discord could feel himself regretting his decision immediately. What had he just gotten himself into? He should’ve known that there was more to the Hearth’s Warming celebrations than just dinner. He literally helped host one once for pony’s sake! All he agreed to was a simple dinner. He didn’t want anything to do with them after that as getting too close to other ponies always spelled trouble for him in the long run. But it was too late for him to refuse now. Izzy seemed too excited at the sight of him accepting as she was walking back and forth around the old dining table and listing all the exciting activities they were going to do together. He didn’t know what it was, but something within him refused to let him break her heart just like that. She was just too innocent to know how he was feeling and at least deserved to at least have her wish of having him over come true. He could only hope that he didn’t royally screw this up to the point where everyone hated him. That was the last thing he wanted. Before long, she was sent on her way and Discord only had himself again. He had a party to prepare for, and he was quite sure that he would regret ever going to it. “Are you excited for the Hearth’s Warming Eve party tonight?” Fluttershy asked him before she sipped her tea and set the cup back on the floating table. She smiled at him encouragingly as he looked back at her. He nodded back, though he still retained his usual demeanor and didn’t let the true extent of his excitement show as much as he would’ve liked. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed to admit that he liked Hearth’s Warming Eve, but he kinda was. “Oh, any sort of boring party instantly becomes lively with you, Fluttershy,” he responded kindly. “I just regret we won’t be having any pudding invasions this time around! You know how we love making that a tradition every year.” Fluttershy chuckled softly. “Well, we can’t be forcing Twilight to clean up Canterlot Castle every year, now can we? Certain fun can only be enjoyed in small amounts.” Discord rolled his eyes. “Small amounts. Let it be known that I only know how to go big or go home!” He sighed and reluctantly caved, however. “But…I will commit to at least MORE self-control this time around. 50% isn’t bad.” “That’ll do, Discord,” Fluttershy replied, staring back at him with that beautiful smile of hers. “That’ll do…”