A Winter Wishday Carol – Chapter Six: The Future We Want

The scene faded into darkness once against, this being the last present Winter Wishday scenario that Fluttershy wanted to show him.

“Well,” Discord said, taking a deep breath as his previous elation gave way to another nervous feeling. “That’s the present you’ve shown me. I guess it’s time for the future now.”

“It is,” Fluttershy replied.

Discord felt his stomach twisting into knots. He remembered what had happened in the Hearth’s Warming story that Twilight had read. Snowfall Frost had been shown a dark future of what would happen if she got rid of Hearth’s Warming. Equestria had become a frozen, bleak wasteland due to the windigos making their way in. Was something similar going to happen here?

Obviously, he wasn’t trying to get rid of Winter Wishday. He’d already told Fluttershy that. Instead, it would just be him suffering rather than the whole of ponykind. Was he going to be all miserable and alone in his cave, not even paying mind to his animal companions? Would his new friends have eventually given up on trying to get him to celebrate with them and abandoned him to a life full of misery and regrets? Was something bad going to happen to them as well?

Before he had a chance to pour out these worries to Fluttershy, a new scene unfolded before them. The sky was a light yellow due to the sun just starting to set on the park that Discord’s friends were in during the present montage, and a flurry of snow was falling down. Discord’s friends were reunited once again and this time they were…laughing? Cheering? Having fun?

They weren’t feeling sad at all. In fact, they were as merry as they could be, jumping around in their winter gear. Izzy was squealing with delight and Sparky was rolling in the snow having the time of his life.

Discord couldn’t believe it. In fact, he felt his heart starting to splinter. Were his friends really celebrating without him? Had they truly given up on him?

He felt the tears coming, and he had no way of stopping them. He covered his face with his hands and started to sob pitifully.

“What’s the matter, Discord?” Fluttershy asked him with concern as she rested a hoof on his shoulder.

“T-they’re celebrating without me! And they don’t - they don’t even care!” Discord choked out, his voice heavy with sobs. “They’ve given up on me!” And he continued to weep into his hands as if his heart would break into pieces.

“Oh Discord,” Fluttershy chuckled kindly as she gave Discord a soothing hug and helped to move a lock of hair that had fallen in front of his face out of the way. “You jump to conclusions too quickly! Look behind you!”

Uncovering his face, Discord did as he was told, and to his amazement, found he was standing right next to a magnificent ice palace that towered over the ponies. Through his tears, he could make out a familiar figure standing at the top of it. To his further surprise, he discovered that the figure was in fact his future self.

He proudly looked down at the ponies, who were still squealing and whooping in exhilaration. He was wearing a gorgeous light blue dress that sparkled like snowflakes, with long baggy sleeves and a skirt that trailed on the ground. On his head he wore a stunning tiara made from icicles with a bejewelled snowflake perched at the top. His hair was tied back in a French plait and decorated with more tiny snowflakes.

“He’s here, he’s truly here!” Izzy cheered. “Winter Wishhoofie can truly begin!”

“‘Tis I, the prestigious ice queen of the winter holidays!” Discord announced grandly to the group below. “I see that you like my ice palace. I made it specially for this occasion.”

The ponies looked up at Discord with wide, eager eyes. Zipp smirked at him playfully. “Isn’t the ice queen going to get cold in that outfit?”

“The cold? Ha! The cold never bothered me anyway!” Discord laughed triumphantly while making a grandiose gesture. “Would you like to take a tour inside?”

“YES!!!” they all cried out in jubilation.

Discord proceeded to show them round the ice palace. Every room displayed was met with cheers of joy and squeals of excitement. There was a kitchen with a fridge and an oven, a dining room with a long table and a tasty looking festive meal laid out on it, a ballroom with a giant staircase leading to the top floors, a bathroom with a sink, toilet and bath that even came with an attached shower, and even a bedroom with a double bed and study desk. Yet every single piece of furniture, every piece of food, every extra decoration was made entirely from ice.

“I’m glad you love it!” Discord said with glee in response to the positive response that the palace was getting. “But that’s not all! I’m not a huge fan of going out the same way I came in, so I added a little something extra.”

Discord snapped his fingers at this point. The group was stunned to see slides made of ice start to form into existence from the upstairs windows. These weren’t regular slides either. They looped at least ten times before reaching the ground.

“Everypony knows that slides are the best way to exit any building!” Discord boasted. “Or if you're of a more easily nervous disposition, you can go back down the way we came. Whatever suits you.” He had a mischievous grin on his lips as he said the last sentence.

Of course, the group wasn’t going to refuse such a thrilling offer. Each of them started to rush over to the windows and get on the slides, screaming and yelling in joy as they shot down and did loop the loops before finally landing in a flurry of snow at the bottom.

Only Misty hesitated. Discord could sense her nervousness.

“It’s okay Misty, you can come down with me if you want!” he told her kindly. He picked her up and carried her over to one of the slides, climbing onto it while still holding onto her. She felt slightly less worried then.

“So, are you ready?” he asked her.

“I think I am,” she said, smiling back.

They proceeded to shoot down the slide together, cheering and hooting as they went down all of the loops before landing at the bottom and getting coated in snow together.

Everyone was laughing away as they sat in the snow, exhausted from the adrenaline rush but also happy to have experienced the ride down. At last, they were able to haul themselves up while still laughing.

"You really know how to make Winter Wishday extra special, Dizzy!" Izzy exclaimed as she rushed over to Discord and hugged him tightly.

“Oh, that’s only some of what I’ve got for you all,” Discord modestly replied, returning the hug. In fact, I was wondering if any of you would like to go searching for a winterchilla with me later on?”

“Ooh, a winterchilla!” Hitch gasped with delight. “What’s that?”

“It’s a small chinchilla that you can only find in the winter months. Rainbow Dash and I once found one to give to Fluttershy on Hearth’s Warming Eve. Of course, at night time they transform into gigantic winterzillas and can cause quite a bit of chaos, but I know how to tame the critters and I’m sure Hitch here will as well. Once they’ve calmed down, they’re some of the friendliest creatures you could ever hope to meet. Fluttershy absolutely adored hers.”

The ponies excitedly started talking to each other about this fascinating creature, with Izzy, Hitch and Sparky being the most excited.

“Actually,” Hitch announced. “Why should we wait ‘til later? We could go and search for it now!”

Discord was especially chuffed by this comment. “Excellent choice!” he said as he snapped his fingers and summoned a map. The ponies were still bouncing around enthusiastically.

“Well, what are you all doing just bouncing around like that?” Discord laughed. “It’s not going to find itself! Off we go! And if we’re quick enough, we’ll be able to see the comet when we get back!”

With that, the whole group headed off on their exhibition to find the winterchilla, all cheering and whooping.

***

The present Discord had invested his heart and soul into this vision, watching it with a tearful smile on his face and his hands clasped against his chest like when he was watching the fillies earlier. For a moment, he didn’t say anything, but he soon remembered that Fluttershy was right next to him.

“Fluttershy, I’m so sorry about my earlier assumption. I’m just not as confident as I used to be. But it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be at all. That scene was wonderful…” His tone then switched to confusion. “But is this really going to happen?”

Fluttershy smiled at him. “Well, it’s what I would want to happen.”

“What do you mean?”

“You see,” Fluttershy started. “You told me how you spent your Winter Wishdays mourning my passing on Hearth’s Warming Eve, because you thought that it was what I wanted. But in truth, it isn’t.” She looked downwards with a despondent look in her eyes. “In fact, it always broke my heart seeing you in such a deep depression around this time of year and not being able to embrace the holiday season like you used to do. In fact, it broke my heart in general seeing you mourn my passing and the state of Equestria over the years.”

She rested a hoof under Discord’s chin. “I’ve always been by your side Discord, but it hasn’t been easy to let you know that I am. You remember when you saw that voice call I left you? I was by your side on that day, but you didn’t see me back then.”

“No, but I felt something,” Discord wistfully replied. “It was a warm sensation, like a blanket.” It then dawned on him. “Actually, that wasn’t the first time I felt that sensation. I felt it a few times before, whenever I was especially sad about the world. That was you?”

“Yes, it was.”

“But then why was I unable to see you until now? Every night before Winter Wishday I wished to see you again, but it never came true before.”

“Well, wishes can be funny things,” Fluttershy replied with a wry smile on her face. “Sometimes they come true; sometimes they don’t. But when your wish finally came true tonight, I felt that I should make the most of it. And given the things that us spirits are capable of doing now, I decided that this was what I wanted to show you.”

She took a lock of Discord’s hair and twirled it round her hoof as she continued, all while he gazed back at her with tears glistening in his eyes. “Because the way I actually want you to honour me is by celebrating the good things that happened during this time of year, not lamenting the bad things. I’m still fine with you mourning me if that makes you feel better, but I don’t just want you to think about the sad times. I want you to think about the happy times too, and then find ways to bring the happy times to the present. To share the traditions we had with your new friends, and enjoy the traditions they have as well.”

Discord nodded with a humble smile on his face, finally understanding what Fluttershy meant. “You know Fluttershy, that’s actually a good idea. You always came up with those, and I’m glad to see that you still come up with them even now.”

Fluttershy blushed in response.

“Me, I’ve just been a real silly billy,” Discord sighed despondently. “I’ve been so hung up on your passing and ponykind’s divides that I didn’t let myself enjoy Winter Wishday like I could have done. In fact, I didn’t let myself celebrate the winter holidays at all. I refused to acknowledge it as Winter Wishhoofie because I felt it left draconequui like myself out, and I refused to acknowledge it as Winter Wishentine because it reminded me that I no longer had you with me. I just thought that if I only acknowledged it as Winter Wishday, it would feel like ponykind was truly united again.” The tears were prickling his eyes again. “But I had to be a real scrooge about it. I outright told my friends that I refused to acknowledge the other names, and even pretended to gag when I heard them like some immature brat so they wouldn’t get brought up. But even though Izzy called it Winter Wishday for my sake, I still insisted it was Hearth’s Warming.” More tears spilt out. “They didn’t deserve to be treated like that! Especially not Izzy! She’s a unicorn, so she should be allowed to acknowledge it as Wishhoofie if she wants to! But I didn’t let her! In trying to act like ponykind was unified again, I just divided myself from them. Oh Fluttershy, I’ve been a terrible friend!”

At which point a fresh wave of sobs arose and he howled into his hands once again, tears leaking through his fingers.

“Oh Discord, don’t cry!” Fluttershy reassured him as she carefully took his hands, uncovering his tear-ridden face. “Yes, you have been a bit silly, but grief can make us do silly things. And we have all done silly things before, even if we’re not grieving.” She gave him a cheerful smile. “Do you remember the stories I told you about all the silly things I’ve done, like when I took Princess Celestia’s pet phoenix without her permission because I thought it was ill? And, oh, probably my silliest moment of all, when on the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, I got upset because I thought that some animals didn’t “love” me and I chased them around while screaming-” For this, she put on a mock demonic voice. “YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE ME!!!”

Discord’s sobs instantly turned into watery chuckles upon hearing this. “You’re right, you did tell me about that! My, you really were a silly billy on that day! Thank goodness you’re not like that now!”

Fluttershy nodded. “But that’s the thing. When you realise that you’re being ridiculous about something, that’s when you can change. I’ve learnt from my mistakes, and I’ve seen you learn from yours many times.”

“Exactly,” Discord responded, putting a pause to his crying. “And I’ve learnt from this one too. I’m going to be a changed draconequus around Winter Wishday from now on!” He pressed a hand to his chest as he said this. “I’m going to let my friends use whatever name they wish for the winter holidays without pretending to gag. I’ll join in with their traditions and introduce them to some of my old ones. I’ll probably still mourn you at the beginning of the day, but then after that, I’ll remember the good times and enjoy the rest of what the day has to offer.”

Fluttershy smiled at him. “Excellent choice.” 

They smiled at each other for a moment, Discord absent-mindedly fiddling about with one of the buttons on his nightgown. Then Fluttershy gained a wistful look in her eyes.

"Well, it seems that my work here is done,” she said as she gazed round, pink butterflies starting to separate from her spiritual body. “There is nothing left for me to do but to head off."

But Discord wasn’t having any of it. In an agitated state of mind, he threw himself onto Fluttershy, grabbing hold of her and pressing his head against her as tears leaked from his eyes yet again. “No! No! Please! Don’t go!”

“I wish I couldn’t go, but the Winter Wishday magic is wearing off now. Soon, you’ll be unable to see my ghost form again.”

“But we still have so many things we haven’t talked about! So many things we haven’t done!” Discord struggled to get the words out amidst his choked sobs, but soon he was able to recover his voice. He looked up at Fluttershy with watery eyes and pleaded with a frail, tiny voice. "Please…just stay by my side a little bit more. At least until the end of the night."

“I’m afraid that is not possible. I could return next year, but we know how erratic wish magic can be.” Fluttershy proceeded to return Discord’s hug and allow him to softly nuzzle his head on her shoulder, letting his tears drip down onto it. “But I promise you that I will always love you. And I will always watch over you to see how you are doing.”

This helped Discord to feel slightly better. He gazed up at her as a watery smile spread across his mouth.

“I promise I’ll always love you too,” he said as he was finally able to hoist himself off Fluttershy and stand up, albeit still keeping a soft grip on her hooves. And I promise to embrace the festive spirit too, and life itself.”

They continued to gaze into each other's eyes while holding hands and hooves. The butterflies were still separating from Fluttershy’s limbs. Tears were still streaming down Discord’s cheeks, but he had a beaming, grateful smile plastered across his face.

“I will honour Winter Wishday in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. The same goes for Winter Wishhoofie and Winter Wishentine. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. Your spirit shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lesson that you have taught me.”

“I know you won’t,” said Fluttershy. She reached forward to gently wipe Discord’s tears away from him. Feeling her hoof against his face made him melt on the inside, closing his eyes and letting out a catlike purr with a childlike smile.

As she continued to wipe his tears. Discord started to pour his heart out some more. “You know Fluttershy, you’ve given me some good Hearth’s Warming gifts over the years – the cushion, the tea cosy, the ring…but even they can’t match up with the greatest gift you’ve ever given me. One that hasn't just been for Hearth’s Warming.” He took Fluttershy’s hoof and gave it a gentle little kiss as his last teardrop dripped down onto it. “And that gift is you. You’re my melody, my cinnamon roll, my spring morning, my Princess Charming, my knight in shining armour…I could go on.”

Discord then took the same hoof that he kissed and held it against his cheek with both of his hands, closing his eyes as he felt its warmth. “The point is, you’ve changed me for the better. Before we met, I didn’t think friendship was worth it, let alone love. As for kindness, I thought that was a joke. But you proved me wrong. You showed me that kindness was a strength, and that friendship and love were worth it. And thanks to that, I was the happiest creature I could ever be. Sure, the last centuries without you have been painful, but maybe that’s just a blessing in disguise, because I would much rather feel the joy of loving you, the pain and sadness of losing you and the relief of making new friends while still honouring you, than go the rest of my life still causing chaos and still feeling numb.”

“I guess you could say that you changed me for the better too,” Fluttershy replied. “I used to be incredibly nervous about new experiences and get scared easily. But not after becoming your friend.” She gained a sheepish smile as she glanced to the side. “Of course, part of the reason was due to your intense stubbornness that I had to deal with on occasion…”

“Oh come on,” Discord responded in a mock haughty voice. “We all know that my stubbornness is one of my greatest virtues!” But he cracked out a giggle after saying this.

“But maybe that’s what I needed. And above all, you showed me so many new experiences that I had never had before meeting you. All those crazy tea parties and adventures. And I hope that you get to change somepony else the same way you changed me.”

Discord beamed from head to feet upon hearing this. Any hint of melancholy that may have still been lurking within him fizzled away into nothingness.

He went back to holding both of Fluttershy’s hooves. “I know I said this once and I will say it again. You’re the greatest gift I’ve ever had. I would say that I love you to the moon and back, but it’s not enough. I love you much more than that. I love you…to infinity and beyond.” He giggled a bit at this goofy little phrase. “Yes, that’s right. I love you to infinity and beyond…and even further than that.”

Fluttershy had a beaming smile on her face as she heard this. “You know what? The same here. I love you to infinity and beyond and further than that as well.”

They chuckled merrily at this exchange, before closing their eyes and nuzzling their heads together while still holding hands. Discord still couldn’t stop smiling. He felt so much love and happiness at this moment in time, it seemed as if it might last forever and that he might never feel any sadness again.

"Thank you for everything," he whispered to Fluttershy softly.

"The same to you too."

With this, they proceeded to embrace with their eyes still closed as they shared a passionate kiss on the lips, one that felt as warm and soothing as a mug of hot chocolate. Red, green and silver sparkles swirled around the happy couple with a chiming sound like ringing bells. Discord felt bliss overwhelm him completely and his heart filled with lightness and joy. His hair fluttered up as if it was caught in a light spring breeze and sparkles started to rain down on his nightgown.

As the kiss came to a finish, Fluttershy’s spirit finally separated into several tiny pink butterflies that proceeded to surround Discord, giving him one big unified hug. Discord contently wrapped his arms around himself as if he was hugging them in return.

“Goodbye Fluttershy, my beloved. Until we meet again.”

At last, he felt sleep take hold of him and his eyelids drooped shut as he slipped into a peaceful slumber. The butterflies were ready to catch him to stop him falling, and they proceeded to pick him up and carry him off into the night sky back home. Discord’s eyelashes fluttered just like the butterflies’ wings as he slept on while resting his head on his hands, smiling at the wonderful dreams he was having of him and Fluttershy celebrating the winter season together in the past, present and future.