Raindance stepped through the huge, open doors to Canterlot Castle's main atrium. Day Court was in session, and a line of petitioners stretched nearly to the doors, each waiting their turn to have their problems resolved by the princess of the sun. She looked at the ponies in front of her, all diligently following the rules, and felt a pang of guilt at what she'd have to do next.
Raindance skirted around the line and approached the end of the room. As she reached the foot of the throne, she caught the eye of one of the heralds. If a guard interrupted the standard proceedings of Day Court, it was never minor. The herald nodded to her, and when the current petitioner's business had concluded, he turned to the princess and spoke quietly to her.
Princess Celestia looked up at Raindance, her mask of composure bearing a hint of concern. "My little ponies, I must ask you to be patient," she announced, her voice easily carrying to the end of the line. "It seems that an urgent matter requires my immediate attention. Court will be in recess for the next five minutes."
As the petitioners grumbled and filed out of the room, Raindance trembled beneath her stoic facade. Only a few times in her career had there been anything serious enough for a guard to interrupt Day Court, and she had never had the bad luck of being the one to break the news.
Celestia looked at her, an inscrutable expression on her regal face. "Corporal Raindance, I believe? I hope this is important."
The guard swallowed before speaking. "It is, your highness, very much so." She was nearly stammering now. Though she knew what she had to say, she was still deciding whether to suggest trusting the changeling who'd left the note or not, and it was stressful to make such a major decision while addressing the leader of a nation.
"Princess Celestia, I have reason to believe that there is an impending threat to Equestria." Raindance announced, managing to keep her voice firm. Several seconds passed in silence. Confused at the lack of response, Raindance looked up at the princess. Celestia still wore the same expression she had when the guard had started speaking. She didn't even seem to have blinked!
As still more seconds passed, the unicorn grew increasingly confused and worried. The princess was still staring at her, still not responding. Raindance took a few tentative steps to the side, and found that Celestia didn't react at all, and instead kept staring at where she had been a moment ago, as still as a statue.
Now Raindance noticed a second phenomenon: the quiet. A moment before, even with the doors to the vast chamber closed, the sounds of the city had been audible. Cart wheels on pavement, shod hooves clicking on sidewalks, the murmur of speech and business, and birdsong had been present as muffled baseline noise. Instead, the only sounds Raindance could hear were her own heart and her rapid breathing. Besides that, there was only terrifyingly dead silence.
An instant later, a raucous, gravelly laugh shattered the peace, sending chills down the guard's spine as it echoed on the marble surfaces of the audience chamber. She'd heard that laugh before, and she knew its owner all too well.
"Oh, the look on your face! Perhaps some fun may come of this venture after all!" The voice was jovial but mocking. It seemed to come from everywhere at once.
Raindance whirled about, searching for the source of the voice. "Discord!" she shouted angrily. "Where are you? What have you done to the princess?"
An eagle talon tapped her golden barding, making a ringing sound. She turned and came face to face with the asymmetrical grin of the Lord of Chaos himself. "Tsk, tsk. Hasn't ol' Sunbutt told her guards yet? I've been reformed. I don't cause havoc anymore, just a pinch of mischief or a particularly grand practical joke."
Raindance backed away. "I don't care what you say! I saw what happened when you first got loose. In my eyes, you're still a threat."
Discord's lopsided grin became a mildly disappointed expression. "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, but it really doesn't matter. A very old friend has asked a favor of me, and I'm not going to keep her waiting. Come with me." As he spoke, he ran a claw down the empty air with a slicing sound, then pulled open the cut in space to form a portal.
"But..."
"Oh, don't worry. You're between seconds. Time won't pass until I put you back, you can pick up where you left off. Hurry now, it's not often that an ancient entity wants an audience with you."
Before she knew what was happening, Raindance had been scooped up and pulled through the portal, and she was floating alongside Discord, through a bizarre and confusing light show.
"Wait! I never agreed to this!" she cried.
"And that was never a necessity. She asked to see you, and even I wouldn't dare deny her." At that cryptic statement, Raindance became more worried than angry.
"Where are we going? Who is 'she'?" she asked quietly.
"I'm sure it's technically a real place, even if her enchantments have sealed it away. As for who... You have been summoned by Shalixta." The name sounded oddly familiar to Raindance, but she couldn't figure out why.
"Who is Shalixta? What does she want with me?"
"She has several titles. Shalixta the Wise, Shalixta the Crusty... okay, I made that one up. But her most famous ones are Shalixta the Riddle-Speaker and Shalixta the Sphinx." Now Raindance's eyes lit up with recognition. That's where she knew the name from... but that was in a book of myths from her childhood.
"Isn't she in A Thousand and One Saddle-Arabian Nights? I thought she was just a story." At this, Discord's smirk returned.
"Oh, I'm sure she's annoyed at that. No, she's real. And she wants to talk to you." As he finished speaking, the scintillating light surrounding them parted and unceremoniously dumped them out onto the pale sand below.
"Now listen," came Discord's voice to the disoriented guard, "Shalixta is older than your entire civilization, and she expects a little respect for it. Do not insult her, and do not interrupt her." He grinned widely, mischief sparkling in his eyes. "Oh, and try not to look too tasty." Then he vanished, leaving behind only a puff of strawberry/chlorine scented smoke.