DONG.
It was a single bell toil, signaling one o'clock. Discord, however, didn't wake up.
There was a blinding flash of light, and the predicted spirit appeared. She had a pristine white coat, translucent much like Luna's, and a curled purple mane. From her horn, a beacon of blue light shone. She was clothed in a golden dress, and a golden wreath of holly sat upon her head.
She walked over to the side of Discord's bed. "Discord..." she cooed.
"But I don't wanna wake up, Mommy!" Discord was still asleep, but tried to shoo the unicorn away with his eagle talon.
"Discord, I'm not your mother." The spirit giggled, and blinked her eyes a few times, her blue eyeshadow sparkling in the moonlight. When the draconequus continued to snore, she became impatient. "Discord! Wake up!"
Discord's eyes flew open instantly. "Rarity?" He questioned, upon opening his eyes to see the spirit.
"Rarity? Oh no, I'm the Ghost of Hearth's Warming past," she said, smiling a little.
"Ohhh..." Discord sat up, remembering his visit from Luna, even if it did seem more like a dream than real life. "So, you are the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past?" He cocked his head, standing up to face this "spirit".
"Yes, Discord," she said nodding her head. "Now, I've come to remind you of days long ago."
Looked down at the floor. "Oh no..." Discord hated talking about his past. He had been such an idiot.
"Discord, look at me," the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past said. Discord did as he was told, and both the spirit and draconequus were looking at each other. "It must be done," she said.
Discord sighed, "okay, hit me with your best shot, Miss Generosity."
The Ghost rolled her elaborate eyes, and the beam from her horn glowed brighter and brighter until nothing blue light could be seen. When the glow from her horn died down to it's prior light level, Discord and the Spirit were in a new scene.
"Why... why... it's all so familiar!" Discord looked around, observing their surroundings.
"Yes," the Spirit said. "Do you know where you are?" She asked.
"Why of course I do! This is where I lived as a young draconequus," he looked around. It was a forested area, with many trees. These weren't normal trees, however. Hardly a green tree was seen, rather, they were all sorts of colors! Pink to turquoise, tangerine to chartreuse. There was a large mountain, and a bubbling waterfall running down. Silly-looking, yet beautiful birds flew around and landed in the treetops.
"Now, it shall be Hearth's Warming Eve," the Ghost said, and with her words, the scene started to change once again. The multicolored trees lost their leaves, the grass was covered with snow, and the once-bubbling waterfall froze to form an icicle sculpture of sorts. The faint cry of a young one could be heard. "Now follow me, Discord," the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past said, walking towards a cave. "Don't worry, we can't interfere, so there is no need to hide."
The draconequus and Ghost walked into the cave, and they saw whom the muffled cries were coming from.
It was Discord.
He was very young still, at this point. His face was rounder, and was much more childish. He didn't quite have his eyebrows or goatee, and his antler and horn were just little stubs. His limbs and tail were short and awkward, but his body proportions were much more pony-like.
"No one... no one likes me. No one will ever like me. I'll always be alone," the tiny Discord said to himself, sniffling his runny nose. "I'll never have a fun Hearth's Warming. While everypony else has somewhere to go, I'm here... alone..."
Discord still remembered that night, despite it being so long ago. It brought a tear to his eye, thinking about it once again.
"You were alone," the Spirit sighed.
"I was..." was all that Discord could manage to say.
The Ghost's horn illuminated the area again, and when it dimmed down, they were in another scene. It was once again the chilly season of Hearth's Warming, but this time, they were in the streets Canterlot. A group of ponies were crowded around a teenage-looking Discord. He looked quite similar to what Discord looked like now, but his eyes weren't as dark and sunk-in, and there was just a aura of high energy surrounding him.
"Discord! Do some of your magic!"
"It's amazing!"
"Intriguing!"
"Wonderful!"
The whole crowd of ponies "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed at Discord's chaotic tricks. He made cotton candy clouds full of chocolate milk, and popped corn still on the cob.
Discord finished his magic show with a bow and a "thank you! Thank you!" Everypony clapped and Discord grinned a wide smile.
A young Princess Celestia came up from the back of the crowd to personally greet Discord. Celestia's hair was still a solid cotton candy pink, and her chest wasn't covered by a golden necklace. Her hooves still had shoes, but they were small and flat, glittering with each step she took.
The younger Discord blushed. "Hey there... Princess," he said.
"Hello Discord," Celestia nodded her head. "I would like to invite you our Hearth's Warming Ball. Would you like to come?"
"Really?" the young Discord said, his eyebrows high, and his smile wide. "Yes! Of course, I'd love to come!"
"Wonderful!" The young princess said. "I'll see you Hearth's Warming Eve, Discord! Have a nice night!" Celestia ran off, happy that she was able to get such a fantastic, fun guest to come to the ball. Discord flew off into the night sky, happy that he was just invited to the Princess' ball!
The Ghost closed her eyes and suddenly, days and nights quickly past. As the cycles slowed, the Spirit opened her eyes and said, "it is now Hearth's Warming eve, let us go to the castle."
Again, the scene started to change, and they were standing in front of the Canterlot Castle. Ponies past by them, entering the open castle doors. They were each wearing extravagant clothes; colorful dresses for the mares and dapper suits for the stallions. A bit of time passed until the two saw the teenage Discord straighten his red bowtie and enter, himself. He was wearing a black top hat, adorned with a red ribbon, a red bowtie, and a black suit.
Discord and the Ghost entered behind the young Discord.
"Do you remember this night?" The Ghost asked.
The young Celestia and Discord were dancing a romantic waltz together. It was something like a fairytale.
"Of course I do," Discord said to the Spirit.
Younger Discord leaned in and kissed the Princess.
"That was the night of my first kiss."
The strange couple ran outside together to watch the snow fall. As Discord was daydreaming about days past, the scene started to change again. The Ghost and Discord were again in the castle, but there was no ball going on. They were in the throne room, and there were two thrones next to each other, and one a bit lower.
Celestia and Discord, older than they were in the scene before, flashed in.
"All you care about is power! I'm NOT having a tyrant of a husband!" Celestia yelled.
"Celestia, I'm not a tyrant! How dare you insult me like that?!" The Discord in the scene yelled.
"You don't want me for my love," Celestia retorted, "you want me for the title, King Discord. Over my dead immortal body you'll become the King of Chaos!"
"Oh," the past Discord said, "We'll see about that, Celestia."
Discord hung his head in shame. He couldn't believe that he had actually said and done that.
Once again, the scene whirled into a new one. Discord and the Spirit stood outside in a garden of sorts. It was night, and the wind whipped around them.
Discord knew this garden all-too-well.
They were standing in front of his stone self.
Discord muttered a "no...no..." But then, they saw a dark figure emerge from the shadows.
It was Celestia. She wore a scarf around her neck and moved quickly. Discord and the Spirit backed up, and soon, Celestia stood at the bottom of the motionless Discord statue.
"Discord," Celestia said. "I'm sorry. I'm really... really sorry." She hung her head, tearing up. The Princess took the scarf from around her neck and flew up to face the ever-still Discord. She tied it around the cold, stone draconequus and said, "Merry Hearth's Warming." Before leaving, she added, "Maybe Luna and I will release you this year."
She flew off.
Discord had had enough of his past.
"Spirit, I can't take this anymore!" He shouted, as the scene melted back into his bedroom.
"Oh? I could always show you more," the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past said with a smirk.
"Be gone! I've had enough!" Discord yelled, once again.
"I will gone in good time, I just have one last thing to tell you," she said.
"And what would that be?" Discord questioned.
"The Ghost of Hearth's Warming Present will visit you very soon." The Spirit winked.
Discord had had enough of these crazy spirits. He was so annoyed at Miss Rarity-Look-Alike , he shooed at the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past, and like a mist, she disappeared.
"Thank gosh that's over," Discord said, sitting back down on his bed. But soon, he heard a familiar laugh come from the hallway.