The mare raced through the ancient, abandoned halls of the pyramid with her breath rushing in and out in sharp gasps. Her hooves disturbed the centuries old dust, tapping out a staccato beat and sending beetles scurrying for nearby cracks. Guttering flames flickered, twisting her shadow across the limestone walls as she moved from one point of light to the next.
“Professor!”
Her panicked call echoed uselessly, becoming fainter and fainter, as if mocking her inability to warn her mentor. Amber gritted her teeth and shook the unwanted thought away, continuing her gallop with a renewed burst of speed. She wasn’t about to let a dusty old tomb to keep her from him.
“Professor Search!” she yelled again, turning a corner and entering a large atrium.
A single shaft of light speared the darkness that filled the room, dust whisking across it in a radiant shimmer. A giant centerpiece featuring a long-forgotten pharaoh towered to just below the ceiling, built of gold-gilded granite. Eye sockets where gems had long since been stolen from glared accusingly down at her, the expression on the camel’s face as stern and unforgiving as it had been in life.
Amber ignored it all, focused on her goal. The Professor had to be warned not to open the box they’d found – that the warnings they had stayed up the night before translating were off by an amount that meant the difference between safety and destruction. It was her job to give the older unicorn the correct directions to help him with his studies and... she had failed.
He is not going to end up hurt, or worse, because of me, the mare thought with a flick of her honeyed mane. The golden strands flared behind her, catching the sun and shining almost like her namesake. She rounded the statue, charging into the next hallway with all of the speed she could muster. Only a little farther…
More lit torches guided her way, black pitch dripping to the ground with an intermittent hiss—further evidence of the unicorn’s passing. The two of them were the only ones in and around the pyramid, which was jealously guarded by the camels that inhabited the area. Only a few other ponies had ever explored its depths, twists and turns, a fact she had been fiercely proud of when she’d been picked to study under the Professor.
A familiar hum reached her anxiously flicking ears, its faint melody carried telepathically by the unicorn’s horn. Her heart thudded in her chest, an ache of loss spreading through her body.
Whenever the Professor hummed a tune, he was so deeply involved in his work that he wouldn’t pay attention to anything but what he was working with. If only the telepathy worked both ways; if only he listened. Just the thought of what would happen if she didn’t reach him in time…
“That’s not going to happen!” she yelled, turning into a room.
Professor Search’s back was to her, his forehooves perched on a silver box. The glare of the metal from the two torches on the wall contrasted sharply with its surroundings, further reinforcing the strangeness of the find. She and the Professor had talked for hours on what it could be and, after they had found out it was a container, what it could hold.
Time slowed down, a golden light issuing from the box as it opened. The unicorn cried out in agony as the sinister luminescence hit him.
Professor Search disappeared in the sudden, blinding brilliance.
She yelled for him, her throat suddenly raw with heat that swept passed her, picked her up and tossed her into the hallway. Amber Fossil felt nothing but failure as she was hurled from the scene, the light swallowing her whole.
*****
“Wha- huh?”
She sat bolt upright, her mane suddenly blocking the shining glare of the sun streaming through her tent.
She blinked confusedly at her surroundings, brushing a few brown strands away with a hoof. A small hole in the burlap above her was letting in the sunlight; it fell across one of the open scrolls laying on the ground beside her. A rendering of an ancient Camelic deity stared back at her from the page. The ancient papyrus was faded and torn, with barely legible script below it.
But what drew her attention the most was the open tent flap beside her, a humid heat wandering through with the gust. She stuck her head out grumpily and glanced around to see what possibly could have happened to undo the flap. Sunlight danced with the shadows across the ground, the brilliant rays tinged with the green of the trees that surrounded her campsite.
The morning noise of the jungle assaulted her next, further adding to her irritation. Droning hums and intermittent hisses of creatures in the brush had kept her up long after she’d retired from her reading. Now they were forcibly waking her from an exhausted slumber.
“Ugh, dumb animals,” she groaned, her words slurred with the effects of sleep.
The jungle didn’t answer her other than to continue its whistles and cackles, driving a sharp pain into the side of her skull.
“Good morning, Amber!”
Amber swiveled her head to the side and squinted up at a unicorn.
A small, brown mustache grew on the stallion’s face while his mane swept across his forehead and down his neck in long strands. Glasses perched handsomely on his nose while russet-colored eyes peered down at her above a radiant smile.
“Mo-morning, Professor.” A blush crept slowly across her face from the intensity of his gaze before she realized her hair was an absolute mess.
She yanked her head back through the flap, face burning furiously while she tried to return her mane to a modicum of neatness. A few deft moves of her hooves and a brush through the hair later, the mare cursed her clichéd emotions.
What am I, some kind of filly getting all doe-eyed over her first love? Stop it, mare. You’re better than that.
Inwardly chastised, Amber stood and dropped her brush into the saddlebags huddled at the corner of the tent. Wishing not for the first time she’d been born a unicorn rather than an earth pony, she stepped outside with an annoyed flick of the tent’s flap and casted around for the Professor.
The unicorn was nowhere to be seen.
A mosquito flew in a lazy circle just out of reach above her, its monotonous buzzing swiftly wearing on her nerves.
She ignored it as best she could, stepping fully into the jungle’s embrace to inspect their campsite. Already her mane and tail began to curl and frizz with the weight of the moisture in the air, though a small breeze played across her cheeks and set the leaves to a peaceful rustle.
“Professor?” she asked, poking her head into his tent.
His bedroll and a few books lay scattered across the shelter’s floor in a similar fashion to her own. The mare chewed on her lip, looking to the side to find the unicorn’s saddlebags no longer in the corner.
Her jaw clamped up, sending a pain through her lip as she bit down. “Ow!”
Amber retreated from the messy abode, nursing her newly sore lip, and stamped at the ground in frustration. The unicorn had gone off on his own again, no doubt too completely absorbed in his research to even pay attention to what was around him. Foalsitting was not what she had been expecting when the Professor had asked her to join him in her travels, but it had been her job from day one.
She swatted at the mosquito as it dared lower, but it lazily avoided her clumsy swing. “Where did you get to now, I wonder? A dragon’s gullet, with your luck.”
Nothing answered her as she stood there, squinting angrily into the steadily lightening foliage.
Sunlight glistened across a web coated with morning dew, the rays shattering into a million tiny reflections as they met the droplets. Grass whispered with the wind, its tang alighting in her nose as she inhaled in an annoyed sniff.
Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since lunch the previous day. Amber shoved the urge to eat aside, the Professor safety unfortunately paramount, though the thought of leaving the unicorn to his own devices and having a lovely breakfast in the meantime was enough to make her hesitate.
She drew in a deep breath. “Okay. Tracks. Need to find tracks.”
“Amber!” Professor Search’s voice called out from her right.
“Professor?” the earth pony yelled. “Where are you?”
When Search didn’t answer, her annoyance shifted to concern.
She broke into a swift trot toward the source of the unicorn’s voice, fronds slapping at her face and roots reaching up to trip her at every opportunity. The mare expertly avoided the roots even in her haste, falling into a half-hopping run.
Moments later she entered a small clearing of soft orange dirt and broken twigs. A single, large tree brooded over the open space, gnarled grey bark at odds with the rest of the jungle’s colors—and hanging upside down from one of the tree’s limbs was the Professor, stuck in a net of vines and waxing poetic.
Though it seemed his dear companion had abandoned him to the sinister wiles of the jungle beat, the handsome stallion kept strong his heart of valor, thinking swiftly on how to extricate himself from the predicament he found himself in. Numerous spells, not the least of which teleportation, weighed on his mind, but he dismissed each. No, they would not remove the ghastly vines. He would have to cut himself down with a sharp stick or rock of some kind! Such brilliance the magnificent unicorn stored within himself. Now if only there were...
Amber raised an eyebrow and smirked as the unicorn turned toward her with the net’s slow revolution. “You done, yet?”
“Oh, there you are, Amber! I was just getting worried about you. Do watch your step. There appears to be several traps about,” Search replied cheerily. “Now, if you don’t mind, I would very much rather being back on my hooves, however entertaining perceiving the world from this angle is.”
Amber sauntered slowly around him like a shark with its prey. “I dunno, Professor. Your ‘magnificent brilliance’ should be enough to get you out of this jam. Far be it for me to stop you in the middle of your genius plan.”
He squinted at her, the net still turning. “Are you mocking me, my dear? I’ll have you know, I am brilliant and even had you not shown yourself, I would most definitely have- wait, wait, turn me around.”
Amber rolled her eyes at his struggles. “Very charming. Anything else I could do for you today?”
“Oh, I believe there is much you could do for me, my succulent little pony,” a smooth, purring voice called softly from behind her.
She froze, the Professor’s tail swishing past her face as the unicorn turned in his net. A flash of fear lit her breast, instinct begging her to run. She fought against it and turned around with wide eyes.
A very large panther was grooming itself in a tree at the other side of the clearing, staring at her with unconcerned yellow eyes. Each time the giant cat’s tongue flickered out of its mouth, Amber caught sight of sharp, white fangs, which only served to increase the speed of her already fluttering heartbeat.
“Wha-what do you mean by that?” Amber spoke, the squeak in her voice betraying her fear.
The panther chuckled heartily and jumped lithely from the tree to the clearing floor. “Oh, I imagine you already know. Surely you’ve studied the ecology of the forest before? I heard you speaking with plat principal this previous evening about being a ‘researcher’.” He smiled coldly and placed a paw on his chest. “Well, research away, my dear. I will give you that much, at least, before I indulge myself in a little... appetizer.”
Before she could possibly form a reply, the Professor’s voice issued from behind her. “A panther! My word, what a magnificent specimen you are, sir. Such poise and grace in that feline body of yours, and those teeth! Hmm, simply marvelous!”
“I am rather impressive, aren’t I?” The cat shifted his eyes toward her. “You should be more like your friend, fair mare. Flattery will get you everywhere. But where are my manners? Perhaps you would prefer to know the name of your unfortunately dreadful end?”
“Oh, yes, please.” The unicorn sounded fascinated, in direct opposition to Amber’s chilled terror.
“I am Vajera, lord of this little jungle, such as it is.” The predator ran a paw across the top of his head and flattened his ears. “But enough about me, I suppose. I’m more interested in a vis-à-vis with you, my dear.”
Amber’s mind raced as she fought to come up with some kind of plan to get them away, but all she could see were those giant teeth in her mind.
Pull yourself together or you’re both dead. Think, Amber!
Behind her, she heard the faint chime of magic and saw a branch on the other side of the clearing lift from the dirt.
“Oh, no, you wouldn’t want to eat me,” Amber said more calmly than she felt, trying not to stare over the panther’s shoulder. “I... have something you want! If you eat me, you won’t be able to get it.”
The Professor sucked in a breath behind her. “Amber, what are you—.”
“Let her speak,” Vajera interrupted commandingly, the air nearly vibrating with the power of his voice. The panther’s eyes flashed with curiosity. “What do you mean, pony? And if this is simply a ploy to distract me from the stick your companion is waving around behind me, you are sadly underestimating me.”
The piece of floating wood slashed through the air.
Vajera simply jumped over the makeshift weapon and batted it with his claws in one smooth motion. When he landed, the wood fell with him into four neat slices as the magic that suspended it faded away.
“Now, about what I want.” Vajera ran a claw down Amber’s muzzle, seemingly unaffected by the near miss. “Your eyes spoke truth, even with the deception mixed in, ma chère. Tell me.”
Amber shivered at both his touch and the strangely tender words. “There’s a treasure. Something powerful in a temple nearby. We’re on our way to find it.”
Vajera’s frowned. “The temple? You mean the old ruin at the edge of the jungle? There have been several expeditions already sent there, some of them delicious, yet none returned with anything remotely like a treasure.”
Amber nodded and continued fervently, her mind racing to come up with a plan. “Of course not. There’s a door inside the temple, maybe even several, guarding the treasure. None of the other expeditions could open it, even with explosives. It’s spell locked.”
Vajera’s eyes flicked to the unicorn and back to her, a sinister smile revealing those gleaming fangs. “Spell locked, you say? So then what reason do you have for me allowing you to live, if I only need the unicorn?”
“Because she’s the one who decoded the message, my dear, erm, fellow,” Professor Search piped up.
“Convenient,” Vajera replied blandly as he tapped a claws against one of the branch fragments. “Ah, very well. I do enjoy a good adventure. Besides, I did just eat a rather scrumptious wildebeest not a few hours ago.”
Amber looked the panther in the eye, trying not to imagine how he had managed to take down and eat an entire wildebeest by himself. “If we unlock the door, you have to let us go.”
“Ma chère, I do not believe you are in any position to make deals,” he replied gleefully, stepping close to the Professor and slicing through the rope holding the unicorn up.
Professor Search rolled to his hooves and glared at the panther. “Ah ha! Amber, stay behind me! I’ll vanquish this foul bea—”
Amber watched unsurprised as Vajera cuffed the unicorn across the face, sending him to the ground, unconscious. The panther looked up at her, amusement playing in his eyes.
“He’s an idiot. That’s why he, and you, need me.” She snuck a glance at the Professor. “So who’s going to carry him now?”
“Hmm,” the giant cat replied, tapping his jaw with a paw. “I do forget the little details. As for who carries him, well...”
Vajera stopped, his head jerking to the left and his ears flattening as he hissed.
Amber followed his gaze, her twitching ears only now hearing the steady drumbeat of... hooves? No, she thought as she chewed on her lip, not hooves. Something else is coming.
The first form to burst through the jungle was large, larger than even Vajera. Dust blew in a whirl around the shape, rendering it indistinct, though Amber could just make out what looked like a mound of some kind on the thing’s back.
Two more joined the first, all three of them coming to a halt on the other side of Vajera, who had interposed himself between the new arrivals and his meal. The dust continued to blow toward Amber, encircling them as if guided by some unseen hoof.
“Vajera!” one of the forms bellowed out in a strange accent. “You know you are forbidden from this place!”
“I go where I please,” the panther growled.
The smoke cleared for a moment to admit one of the figures, finally giving Amber the opportunity to see who was coming to save her.
It was a camel, one with a helm that shone dully in the dust-impeded light. Armor of similar color and material fell across the back of his body, covering all but the two humps rising from the camel’s spine. Dark, green eyes stared coolly at the panther.
“You do no such thing,” the camel spoke with a voice like stone on stone. “A portion of the jungle has been designated as your kind’s hunting grounds. Yet you continue to test us, and with guests we have been expecting!”
Vajera glanced back at Amber and her unconscious companion, puzzlement in his eyes. “Guests? May I ask why you have received them, Sal-yon?”
Sal-yon stomped his foot and snorted, a burst of dust shooting from his nose. “You stall, beast. Leave or we shall have the fight we know shall come.”
A sly look came over Vajera’s face and a slight purr lit the air. “Ah, I see. She was telling the truth. You seek to examine the ruins located in my domain as an escort of Dromedary calvary. Well, well, far be it from me to disallow such things.” The panther stalked away and extended a paw in Amber’s direction, a smirk on his feline muzzle. “I shall leave. You may have them... for now.”
The panther disappeared into the forest with a last swish of a tail.
Amber turned to her savior and sighed relievedly as the dust cleared to reveal two more camels, both with armor on their backs. “Thank you. For that.”
Sal-yon raised an eyebrow, but his face otherwise remained emotionless. “Of course, Miss Fossil. What of the Professor?”
At that, Amber rolled her eyes. “The panther knocked him out, but he’ll be fine. You won’t mind the extra peace and quiet.”
A flicker of a smile stirred on the camel’s mouth. “Very well, then, Miss Fossil, as your escort, we shall bring you to the camp we’ve set up as part of your expedition. It lies just outside Vajera’s domain.”
“Oh.” Amber glanced back to where Vajera had disappeared. “That’s just wonderful.”