He couldn’t worry about this right now; he'd have an eternity to wallow in grief. He’d helped with the cleanup of most of the town, but there was no way to restore the tree, not to mention what little trust he had been gaining with the townsponies. The tree had been alive, and even with all the power he had, reversing life was one thing he didn’t have the ability to tamper with. He could make a new one grow, however, but Twilight’s castle had already manifested and there really was no need. And even if he did create a new tree, he’d need complete knowledge of all the books inside to recreate them, which he obviously didn’t have, considering it was that knowledge he came here seeking.
He shook himself. Right now he had to be there for Fluttershy. He wasn’t sure if there was a bookstore in Ponyville, and frankly he wasn’t feeling up to asking around. He decided to just poof to the Canterlot library, and after leafing through some several dozen aisles, found what he was looking for, up on the… twentieth shelf? More or less; it was high up.
He was about to teleport back when Twilight flew up in front of him, stirring him from his concentration. “Discord? Did you hear me?” She adjusted her wings to keep her balance, her face scrunching a bit in confusion. “What are you doing here?”
A simple question, really: he was looking for a book. But it took him a moment to think of a response. He regained his composure in what he hoped look like a natural way, tossing the book up as it twinkled away in a shower of dust, followed quickly by a sharp gasp from Twilight. “Just looking for a book.”
She’d almost lost her balance at that, recovering quickly to push up further in Discord’s face. She was about to berate his actions, but he cut her off quickly. “Oh hush, I just stored it away for later. I think I’ve destroyed enough books for the next century; your precious treasures don’t have to worry about me for quite some time.”
Twilight gave him a stern glare, but dropped it when she saw what must’ve been remorse pass over his eyes. It was gone before she could accurately define it, though, and realized how odd it was to see Discord in such a place. “Why are you here, Discord?”
He must’ve been expecting that, because he quickly regained that aloof air he tended to keep, arching his back as he stretched one arm over his chest, looking almost bored. “I told you, Princess Twilight, I came to get a book. You know I have a lot of things to take care of now that I’m working with Princess Celestia. And I really should be getting back to what I set out to do.” He gave her a side glance as he stretched his other arm, “Honestly your presence here is much more unexpected.”
She eyed him skeptically, responding slowly. “I’m doing research as well…” her voice perked up a bit, “This library is the most extensive one I know, and, well… all my source material isn’t really available to me anymore, you know.”
A pause.
“Yes, I am aware…” His voice lowered to a quiet murmur, his eyes shifting to the floor. “I am sorry, Twilight, and it would be my pleasure to help restore what I… But I really am busy at the moment, believe it or not.” He met her gaze, his voice turning firm. “I have to get going.” And with that, he was gone.
Twilight’s eyes were wide. She didn’t expect him to sound so solemn, but what really threw her off was the seriousness in his voice with those last words. After a moment of shock, she went to examine the shelf she had seen him pull the book from.