Perched upon her throne, Celestia had heard countless stories from ponies far and wide—both from within and beyond the boundaries of Equestria—and she cared for such anecdotes almost as much as their bearers. This was true even though years of experience had inured the princess to considering them with impartial care, drawing on a vast wealth of past knowledge or patterns they offered to assist ponies in similar circumstances who appeared before her seeking advice or aid. Because of this, it was often difficult for anything her subjects said to rattle or affect in the same way as it did for them, outside of urgent matters on a realm-wide scale.

Yet stories could still surprise her, once in a while.

That was exactly what happened when Discord unfurled his narrative, which began in a quiet way as he told of three Diamond Dogs who had been exiled from the Kingdom of Dimondia—and how they had stumbled across the Tree of Harmony and decided to steal the Elements of Harmony from its branches. Then he spoke of how TOH (as Discord called it) had summoned him while drifting off to sleep from all the way across Equestria to protect them, and how his body had reacted in the process. He discussed the past history of the Diamond Dogs, and his dealings with them in the Appaloosan Mountain Ranges, including the numerous pranks and tricks he had pulled (although, at this point, he had paused amid the mounting enthusiasm as if remembering to whom he was speaking).

But by this time, it seemed the audience chamber had disappeared for Celestia, and all she knew was the yarn spinning out before her. In truth, Discord did little more than recount what had happened without a lot of magical illustration or visual metaphors. Instead, he painted the images in her mind through his words alone—which was its own kind of subtle magic, especially when done just right. And in the way such magic possessed, Celestia was able to listen more as a transfixed audience than ruler as Discord continued to tell of the growing mess of misunderstanding between the Diamond Dogs and himself, where she was vaguely aware of smiling or chuckling during certain parts.

Then came the part with Rarity, and from there the story wound down and finally faded on the thin air. Thereupon, the audience chamber reasserted itself, and Celestia was once more herself before Discord—ruler and subject, friend before friend late in the evening—with important news still to deliver.

Silence.

“But I digress,” Discord said then, as if he had just made some off-hoof comment about the weather in Equestria, though the mischief sparkling in his gaze was clear enough. “So, you wanted that report?”

“In a moment, Discord,” Celestia replied, since it would probably take that long for all the appropriate details to sink back in afterwards. Besides, there were issues to address in regards to the events mentioned, starting with the simplest matter first. “You said the Diamond Dogs were banished from their kingdom, which means they are essentially refugees in Equestria for months. If I had known, perhaps we could have opened negotiations with the Kingdom of Dimondia.”

“It worked out all right in the end, though.” Discord shrugged his shoulders. “The Diamond Dogs got a new mine, Rarity received some much-needed help, and both sides now have all the gems they could ever want. Besides, I doubt those dogs would ever want to return to that ramshackle kingdom. They appeared quite happy.”

“That is good news, and a perfectly diplomatic solution. Even so, perhaps I should provide the Diamond Dogs with more of a formal welcome.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary, Princess Celestia. If you so much as said ‘hello’ to them, they would probably fall unconscious. You should have seen how they were doting on Rarity, and how a simple smile from her impacted them.” Discord’s nose crinkled, apparently in remembrance of that curious sight.

“I see,” Celestia chuckled. “And they also should meet Twilight before much longer, and she will help to welcome them to Ponyville as well.” At the thought of her former student, Celestia pressed on, “Discord, when the Tree of Harmony called to you from across Equestria, do you know if Twilight had any idea of the possible threat as well?”

“No,” Discord said. “Otherwise, I’m sure she would have come running from her palace. As it was, when I checked on her later, Twilight was reading happily at the library surrounded by stacks of books.” He heaved an exaggerated sigh, shaking his head and tugging at his heard. “Judging by the intense concentration, she had most likely been at it without a break for hours without a single worry crossing her mind. If only she would do the same when trying to handle chaos magic,” he murmured the last part more to himself than Celestia. “Or when striving to call on other powers. Oh, well. But these things take time, I suppose. And it wasn’t like the Diamond Dogs were too much to worry about in the first place.”

“To be honest, when you mentioned ‘unexpected obligations’, I wondered if something might have happened—”

“To the Tree of Harmony?” Discord blew out his cheeks. “With the way TOH keeps me moving and alerted, nothing and no pony could come close to her without me being alerted of it. You worry too much, Princess Celestia.”

“No,” Celestia paused, choosing her words carefully. “I actually meant—”

“Oh, you meant—” Discord began to interrupt again, only to bite his tongue (with a noticeable crunching sound) at something he must have noticed on Celestia’s face.

“My dearest, and past student, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia finished, leaving her chair and walking over to the stained-glass window that represented her former pupil’s ascension to a princess. It was a window she gazed upon almost as much as she did for the one that showed Starswirl the Bearded. “She has grown so much over the years, and I have gotten to guide and watch her at each step along the way.”

“It shows,” Discord muttered.

“Ever since Twilight became a princess, I can only look upon her with the greatest pride and happiness,” Celestia sighed. “But it does make me just a little sad to not be able to speak with or see her as much. It seems Twilight has developed past the point where I can or need to help her.”

“Believe me, Princess Celestia. Twilight still needs a lot of help.”

“She can make her own way now and is continuing to grow in a stronger individual,” Celestia persisted. “And in recent weeks, there have been numerous changes that might affect and ask more of Twilight than I ever have.” Here she turned to Discord. “I have been meaning to speak with you on the matter ever since Twilight began to investigate the Tree of Harmony, and brought you back into Harmony.”

“You could have invited me to the palace for a pleasant chat in that case, rather than have me patrol the darkest reaches of Equestria for potential threats, chase down any suspicious ponies, or to ensure nothing had escaped from Tartarus. Nothing has, by the way,” Discord reported at this point.

“Actually, that was because I received some information that we should be taking extra vigilance at this time,” Celestia explained, causing a scroll to appear. It was quite old, with a star-shaped seal on the ribbon that had held it together. Furthermore, there was a date along the top.

“From whom?”

“My old friend and mentor, Starswirl the Bearded. He was a very wise pony, and he left behind several scrolls containing advice for me to open at certain times.” Celestia opened the letter, showing the fine printed script to Discord—although he did not seem interested in the actual writing so much as the concept behind it.

“Starswirl the Bearded,” Discord murmured, growing thoughtful and serious—which, despite it all, took Celestia aback. “He told you to send me patrolling across Equestria?”

“As I’ve said, he wrote a warning for extra vigilance during this period, so I wanted to take extra measures. Luna and I are also doing our best to make sure nothing is amiss in Equestria right now.”

“Time capsule letters.” Discord tugged at his beard. Then he mused aloud, “Did Starswirl tell you about my ability to sense imbalances as well?”

“Yes,” Celestia answered, at length.

This fact made Discord stiffen up. He asked, quite quietly:

“Are there more of these scrolls?”

“There are.”

“Where?”

This sudden and strange interrogation made Celestia hesitate, and Discord studied her for a moment longer before his features brightened as if a wonderful idea had occurred to him. He snapped his fingers and said:

“Ah-ha! No need, Princess Celestia. I know exactly where they would be.”

“Discord, wait!” Celestia shouted.

But unfortunately, this was not enough to stop Discord or make him come back.