The unlikely looking party of Principal, Vice-Principal and dishevelled harlequin made their way out into the unrelenting heat to the plinth where the statue of a rearing horse had once stood. Everything looked normal until Discord clicked his fingers and a set of airstairs appeared, whereupon he gestured for the sisters to ascend. They climbed the few steps necessary before looking down and seeing rainbow colours of ethereal mist swirling out from a long crack, accompanied by occasional eruptions of sparks.
“Oh my …” gasped Celestia as Luna raised her hand to her mouth, “I had no idea …”
“No, I don’t suppose you did” he commented from below them, “But even if you had, then what could you have done anyway?”
“What does this mean?“ asked Luna.
“It means that Equestrian magic is leaking into your world, and the rate at which it’s doing it is increasing. That means you need to be prepared to expect all manner of magical creatures being drawn through here. Has Princess Twilight ever told you about the strange animals that live in the world she and I come from?”
The sisters shook their heads.
“How careless; well it’s time that somepony told you, but first I will have to cast a spell over that rather nasty little rift” he said as he snapped his fingers again.
“What did you do?” asked Luna.
“Oh, nothing much” he replied nonchalantly, “Just that any living creature that comes through now will be turned into a balloon animal. It won’t last, of course, my magic here is too weak for that, but at least it’s something.”
“How do we know we can trust you?” asked Celestia, daring to voice her suspicions.
“You don’t” he replied, “But given the danger you’re in, who else can you turn to with the magic to help you?”
“Twilight Sparkle” she ventured.
“Of course, but that will mean someone will have to go through the portal to fetch her, presuming that she’s not too busy with her Royal duties. I mean, I can’t possibly go, because who else here can tackle the baddies when they start to come through this rift thingy?”
The sisters stared blankly at each other as Discord looked on.
“Sunset Shimmer?” thought Celestia aloud.
“An excellent idea, Sister. She is well versed in this interdimensional travel and is accepted readily in both worlds.”
“Do you have her cell?”
“I believe it will be available within our school records; I shall go and retrieve it” proposed Luna, turning on her heels to return back inside the school building.
“You know” remarked Discord enigmatically, fluttering his eyelashes at Celestia, ”We’re very close friends in Equestria.”
“I thought you told us she was grumpy” she shot back accusingly.
“Details, details” he dismissed, ”We go back over a thousand years, you know.”
“I feel her pain” she thought, but diplomacy kept her from saying it out loud.
“Yes, even after she turned me into stone, I still held a soft spot for her.
“I bet” she thought.
“But enough about me” he said, producing a bouquet of flowers from behind his back and presenting it to her with a dramatic flourish,” Tell me, why don’t you wear your crown? It always looks so fetching on you.”
Against her better judgement, Celestia found herself beginning to blush and the more she tried to suppress it, the greater the burning grew in her cheeks. Perhaps he did have a certain charm after all …
“I … I don’t have a crown, I’m the Principal of this school.”
“Ah, shaping the next generation of impressionable young minds; what better kingdom to hold sway over? You are even more powerful than Princess Celestia of Equestria and yet you are so modest.”
“You’re flirting with me, Discord” she accused, her tone lifting.
“I had no idea I was so transparent” he responded, briefly popping out of existence only to reappear a fraction later as a crystal ball with yellow eyes blinking at her. As she watched, the bright red pupils in the oversized eyes rotated, one clockwise and the other counterclockwise, until they faced each other, giving the impression of being comically cross-eyed.
Celestia clutched the flowers to her chest and raised her spare hand to cover the smile forming on her face, but the sparkling in her eyes betrayed that he already had her in the palm of his hand.
In another flash, the crystal ball burst like a soap bubble to reveal Discord in its place, his eyes spinning slowly to a stop. The humour was so delightfully random that she was soon giggling despite herself, unable to stay cross for long with this charismatic stranger.
“I take it back” he said by way of revelation, ”You’re much more fun than Princess Celestia, “She never laughs when I roll my eyes at her.”
Just then they caught sight of the purple and lilac dressed Vice Principal strolling towards them with a cellphone to her ear and the mood switched back to being businesslike. She snapped it shut as she approached, and once close enough to be heard said, “She was packing ready for Camp Everfree tomorrow morning, but is getting a lift from Flash Sentry as she lives on the other side of town.”
“Thank you, Luna. I truly believe the school would fall apart without your organisational skills.”
“Now, where were we?” asked Discord rhetorically, ”Oh yes, I remember; I was going to tell you about who and what lives in Equestria, wasn’t I?”
“I believe it is probably better to know what chicanery we can expect” concurred Luna.
“Well, other than the ponies, who are on the whole charming and generally pretty passive, there are the constellation beasts such as the Ursa Minors, the Scorpios, Ursa Majors and the like that live in the Everfree Forest …”
“What … Everfree Forest, like Camp Everfree?” interrupted Celestia, suddenly growing concerned about the summer camp starting the next day.
“Oh, I shouldn’t be at all surprised. Forested wilderness. Home to mythical beasts. Probably the same” he reeled off dismissively, “Anyway, then you’ve got the timberwolves, bugbears, dragons…”
“Sorry, Discord” interrupted Celestia again, “You mean these creatures are in Equestria at Camp Everfree where we’re taking the children, tomorrow?”
“Well, from what I’ve seen of this world already, I believe they’ll be there but in a different form; you know, a bit less deadly. Probably just butterflies or centipedes with a bad attitude.”
“We have been there before, Sister” Luna reminded her, “And we did not encounter such deadly creatures then.”
“Quite right Princess” he concurred, “But, let’s face it, everywhere you go there is always the chance of running into magic of some kind.”
”Like at the Friendship Games” sighed Celestia despairingly.
“You’re being very negative. Don’t forget you have Twilight Sparkle and her friends; they always seem to turn up at the right time to save the day” he said, turning to face Luna and suddenly correcting himself by adding “… Or night, too.”
“But we can’t put ourselves in a position where we have to rely on our students …” protested Celestia, before she noticed two pairs of eyes staring back at her, Luna with one eyebrow raised, waving her cellphone gently beside her head, her sister’s argument demolished without saying a word.
The sisters spent the next half hour telling Discord about their world, while he in turn regaled them with anecdotes about Equestria, some of which may have even been true, sacrificing anypony and everypony mercilessly to get a laugh. The only part he did not embellish in any way was to explain the risks posed by the rift in the portal and the creatures they could get to encounter.
As the stickiness of the day’s heat gave way to the subtle summer evening scents of jasmine and honeysuckle, a black sports car with distinctive customised yellow lightning flashes purred to a halt in the parking lot and two occupants sprang out to run towards the small group that had formed by the portal.
“Principal Celestia, Vice-Principal Luna!” called out the girl with flame red and yellow hair, then a second or two after staring at the garishly attired character standing with them she stopped in her tracks, “Discord, is that you? What are you doing here?”
“You know him?” asked Celestia, surprised.
“Yeah, of course. He’s like a legend in Equestria” she replied, then turned to him and asked ”Hey Discord, what mischief are you making here today?”
“Oh, honestly” he said in his hurt voice, “I’m here to help out. Why does nobody ever believe me?”
“Experience” Sunset smiled back at him before giving him a hug.
When she pulled back, she stood next to Flash who was still trying to make head or tail of this stranger.
“What a simply adorable pair the two of you make” Discord declared, snapping his fingers whereupon Sunset was instantly transformed into wearing a top hat and tails while Flash found himself in a bridal gown.
“Discord!” warned Celestia.
“Oh, alright then” he grumbled and snapped his fingers again, returning the two teenagers to normality, “But they did make such a charming couple.”
“Whoa …!” exclaimed Flash, staggering back and checking his T-shirt and jeans were looking just as cool as they needed to be.
“Discord, this is serious” chided Celestia.
“You know, I seriously doubt whether you would be able to survive in Equestria” he remarked, turning to face his accuser.
“It’s OK” reassured Sunset, calming the situation, “This is just Discord being Discord; don’t worry, his heart’s in the right place.”
“Sunset Shimmer, we are all so pleased you were able to come at such short notice, and thank you too Flash for driving her over” said Luna, taking over as her sister and Discord exchanged a few words of their own, ”Discord advises us that a magical rift has developed in the portal and there is a risk that magical Equestrian creatures may be drawn through into our world. As you are familiar with the operation of the portal and are accepted within Equestrian society, you will be able to find Twilight Sparkle far more efficiently than us."
"I could write her" Sunset volunteered.
"I'm afraid there is no time. Discord has kindly agreed to stay here and stand vigil over the portal to intercept any malevolent entity that may come through before a more permanent repair can be undertaken. Now go!”
Sunset gave Flash brief hug and a peck on the cheek before stepping into the portal and disappearing from the early evening of the human world to enter into the spinning multicoloured vortex that transported her along the interdimensional wormhole which had no right to exist.