"...and with Ahuizotle fleeing from the scene of his defeat, his words faded into the distance, 'I'll defeat you yet, Daring Do!'" Having finished the last paragraph of the chapter, Sunny put down the last loose page from Daring's latest book. "It's looking great so far, Daring, but why did you alter so much of it?"

"Well, it's not like I'm embellishing anything, Sunny. If I just explained to everypony exactly what happened for every minute of every day, they'd get bored before the second chapter."

"No, that is not what I meant." Sunny rifled through the pages of the previous chapter until she found what she was looking for, the last few months of studying the Equiish language really paying off. "Here, just before the queen jumps you after you get the Amulet of the Stars. You said that Aaron summoned a rock wall as a latch ditch effort..."

"Yeah, and in the process, he destroyed the command console, breaking off the Throne's link to Tartarus."

"I don't remember there being a rock wall, though."

"You were still under my Influence back then, maybe your memory is still a little fuzzy."

"But, even afterwards, when I woke up, I don't remember there being any evidence of a wall. Rock or otherwise."

"Then how else would Aaron have destroyed the console, hmm?" Daring asked with an un-amused tone.

"I suppose an earthquake is possible, or an avalanche, but both would be extremely risky in that situation. Whatever it was, though, it wasn't a rock-wall."

"Fine then, if you're so sure about it, we can just ask him. I have to deliver something to him anyway."

"I-I'm not sure I'm ready to go back yet..." Sunny said solemnly.

"Are you still worried about that?"

Sunny's ear's drooped a bit. She still didn't know what had convinced her to disobey Aaron's orders. Worse still, she found that she was susceptible to more than just Aaron's Influence. Not that she blamed Daring Do for doing the right thing, but ever since then, she'd felt as though she'd lost something important. "A little bit, I guess..."

"So what? I guarantee Aaron opinion of you hasn't changed. He still values your input, as both an adviser and a friend." Daring tried to comfort the dog. At least Sunny had toned it down a bit since they’d left the hive.

Sighing, Sunny had to concede the pegasus's point. "I suppose you're right. But I did spend my entire life believing that I had to worship Aaron with all of my being. Now that I know that that's impossible, and that it isn't even what Aaron wants, I- I just need some more time to figure things out."

"You'll get plenty of that out here when I'm gone, then." Daring observed. “Just don’t mope around too long, or I’ll be tempted to charge rent.”

Glad for a change of subject, Sunny perked up a little. "Say, what are you taking to the den anyway?"

"I'm not sure." Daring said as she pulled an plain ivory envelope from under a sheaf of paper on her desk. The only adornment was the red wax seal emblazoned with the Crest of the Royal Sisters. "All I know is that Celestia wants this hoof-delivered, and I'm the only pony she knows with the connection to make that happen."

"That sounds important."

"I agree. What I can't figure out is, how Celestia knows about you guys, specifically, in the first place? Even the ponies on the airship couldn't tell you guys apart from diamond dogs until you wrecked the mess hall."

"Thanks for reminding me" Sunny said in a dejected tone. "Maybe she contacts all of the Diamond Dog packs, and mine just wasn't on her list yet?"

"Guess I'll find out when I get there."

"Don't forget to ask about the earthquake thing during your visit!" Sunny exclaimed as Daring turned to leave.

"You mean the rock-wall?" Daring Do shot back.

~~~~~

When Daring had left, she'd originally intended to deliver the rough draft to her publisher, but the more she reflected back on her conversation with Sunny, the more she started to doubt her own memories of the incident. The last thing that she remembered clearly is that she was on a collision course with the queen. Neither an earthquake, nor a hastily summoned wall of stone, would have stopped that, and Daring sure didn’t feel like she’d collided with the giant bug when she woke up.

The few days she had spent in transit did nothing to alleviate these doubts.

After reaching her destination, both Daring and the Airship crew were surprised to find a new, and fully-functional airship mooring sitting out in the middle of nowhere. Aaron had been busy since their departure, it seemed. Despite this, and the fact that the den was still hidden, Daring had no trouble securing a meeting with the Canis's supreme leader.

"Daring Do! It's a pleasure to see you again." Aaron exclaimed as he waived the pegasus into what she believed was his office. It looked more like a random assortment of experimental labs had intermingled until it became hard to discern what each section was supposed to be for. "I don't see Sunny with you, how's she holding up?"

"Oh well, you know. Sunny's being Sunny, I guess..." Daring stated nervously.

"That bad huh? Well, I'm sure she'll work things out in time." Aaron observed as they made their way over to his desk, the only clean piece of furniture in the room. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, two things actually..." Daring pulled the message out from underneath her helmet, and handing it to Aaron. "I'm supposed to deliver this to you personally. It's from the Royal Sisters, Celestia and Luna. I don't know what it's about though."

"I might have an idea..." Aaron answered, to which Daring tilted her head in curiosity. As far as she knew Aaron didn't even know who the Royal Sisters were, let alone what they'd want to talk about. "But first, I think it's time to address something else. You can come out now!" Aaron spoke loudly to the area behind the pegasus.

"What are-" was all Daring got out before whatever Aaron was referring to began to reveal itself.

"I was beginning to wonder how long it would take you..." said the Draconiques as it materialized "Oh well, hiding from the shadows isn't really my 'thing' anyway."

"Discord!?"

"Who else?” The creature in question answered as he slithered around the pegasus. “Oh don't give me that look, Daring Do. You of all ponies should know who and what I am."

"Care to explain why you're still shadowing Daring, Discord? Your answer better be good, I'd hate to have to remove you."

"Oh, please, we both know you'd never go through with it. Heavens forbid you actually disrupt the natural order of things. Besides, what makes you think I'm following her and not just spying on you?"

"Because you haven't followed me since that thing at the Devil's Anvil."

Discord shrank back a little. How long, exactly, Aaron had known about his spying? "Fine. I guess the jig is up." Discord said suddenly donning a pair of striped overalls. "Lock me up and throw away the key. I don't deserve to dwell in your excellent company."

"Don't let his theatrics fool you, Daring." Aaron said to the pegasus attempting to shy away from the strange visitor before he turned back towards Discord. "Alright then, out with it. I don't have all day."

"You don't? Well, whatever. It's not like I'd like to be doing anything else. I was only tasked with keeping tabs on the pegasus for a certain someone, if you must know. 'A little push here and a nudge there if needed.' She told me. Celestia didn't want any of her ponies to come to any harm, but it's not like our little adventurer was in any real danger here, was she?

"So it was you who sent the letter!" Daring shouted accusingly.

"And what if I did? Your little 'enemy of the week' bit was already getting stale, wasn't it? If anything, a little chaos in your life is exactly what you needed." Discord stated matter-of-factly. "Besides it came with the bonus of disrupting our little pooch's paradise. So it's win-win-win really."

"How does everyone know about that?" Daring mumbled to herself.

"I'd suggest you keep your 'urges' to yourself Discord, but if this letter is what I think it is, you might just get what you want after all."

"Ooh, let me see!" Discord said as he snatched the document out of Aaron's paw. Donning a pair of reading glasses, he had broken the wax seal and started reading before anyone could stop him. "Hmm.. to the leader of blah... invite yadda, yadda... wish to discuss... boring... Ugh, this couldn't be more cordial if Celestia dotted her I's with hearts." With a snap of his talons, the letter was back in Aaron's grasp. "I fail to see how this is the slightest bit chaotic, oh Great Orderly One, unless whatever you've been working on in the meantime has something to do with it."

"What, is throwing trade markets into disarray not exciting enough for you?" Aaron asked out of curiosity.

"Please. Prices go up, prices go down. What do I care? Let me know when they start going sideways and then we'll talk." And with another snap Discord was gone.

Aaron eventually broke the silence that filled the vacuum Discord left in his wake. "Well I suppose that's one way to appease the guardian of chaos."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think I'd need to get my head examined. Was everything these last few months really caused by Discord?" Daring asked in confusion.

"I'm sure he only nudged things along. We did stop Ahuizotle from stealing the Stars after all, so despite what Discord represents, his actions did have a positive outcome." Aaron pointed out. “This time, anyway…”

Daring mulled it over for a while. "Okay, I suppose I can see that. But do you mind clarifying something for me before we get interrupted by anything else?"

"Sure."

"Why the hay is the Amulet of the Four Stars being used as a bucking cupholder!?" Daring exclaimed while pointing towards the artifact in question.

"Oh, right. Although I think the technical term is 'a coaster'."

"I don't give a buck! I only let you hold onto it because you said you could keep it safe, not just let it sit here, out in the open, like some piece of everyday furniture!"

"Well, for one thing, it does an excellent job of keeping my tea warm. Speaking of which, would you like some?" Aaron said as he made for the teapot in the corner. Without waiting for her reply he began pouring two cups of the beverage anyway. "Besides, only a few even know what it looks like, and Discord may even be one of them. Seeing as how he didn't try to swipe it, he either doesn't realize its significance, or he believes that the article in front of you is a fake used to distract would-be thieves." Aaron continued while placing the cups, saucers, spoons on a tray. "Which brings me to point number three. I can sense when it's being moved now, so I suggest you put it back." He finished as he turned around to see Daring gently placing the artifact back on his desk.

"Fine.” She said, a little ashamed that she’d been caught. ”At least tell me that you haven't been using that ‘Throne of Ouroboros’ thing you recovered to decorate the halls of that Deep Ward University or something?"

"Funny you should mention that..."

"No! You're kidding...!?"