“Oh, my gosh! It’s gonna be just like being Daring Do!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “We’re gonna go to a dig site, there could be treasure and traps and it’ll be so cool!”
Smoke billowed out from the train as it pulled up into the station. Twilight found herself as intrigued about their trip as Rainbow Dash, although likely not for the same reasons.
“I’m not really sure what to expect, girls,” she said. “Celestia doesn’t send us on trips like these for no reason, and she hasn’t told me what it even is we’re looking for.”
Applejack slung her saddlebags over her back. “Well, I’m just glad to get to travel a bit,” she said. “I ain’t never been to this region of Equestria.” She looked at her party. “Shame Flutters and Pinkie couldn’t come.”
“I’m sure Spike will keep them company,” Twilight said. The doors of the train opened, and ponies began to pour in. “He’ll keep everything in order whilst we’re gone.”
“I just hope Sassy Saddles can take care of my Canterlot Boutique whilst I’m gone from Ponyville,” Rarity said. “The princesses hardly ever give any notice for these sorts of things.”
The insides of the train were packed tighter than usual. It was the beginning of the holiday season, and many of the ponies were heading to sunny beaches and distant, colourful lands. Rainbow Dash was wearing a large pith helmet, which she described as ‘essential to any archeological dig’. Twilight squeezed through the crowd. She had somepony to meet on the train.
“Who’re we lookin’ for?” Applejack asked.
Twilight craned her neck above the crowd. “An old friend of Celestia’s, apparently.” She frowned. “I’ve never met him, though, and I’ve been around Celestia for, well, years.”
“How old is… hey! Watch it!” Rainbow grunted as she bustled past the ponies in the carriage. The train began to move, sending another, larger pony bumping into Rainbow’s side. She spluttered under the weight.
“We’ll never find seats like this,” Rarity said.
Twilight didn’t say anything. She hadn’t voiced her concerns to her friends, but she was definitely curious about this old friend of Celestia’s. Her old mentor had a bad habit of keeping secrets and being evasive. One of the many quirks she had developed over a thousand years, Twilight imagined.
She entered the next carriage. This one was as crowded as the last. Rainbow sighed.
“A four hour long train ride to a dig in the middle of nowhere, and we can’t even find someplace to sit,” she grumbled. “C’mon, let’s just sit on the floor or something. Better than standing.”
“I shan’t sit on the floor!” Rarity exclaimed. “It’s got things on it!”
“I could have been flying next to the train,” Rainbow muttered.
“We ain’t been travellin’ for five minutes and you’re already arguin’!” Applejack snapped. “Let’s just keep lookin’ for Twilight’s friend.”
“He’s not my friend,” Twilight replied.
“What are we going to be looking for?” Rainbow asked.
“I don’t know,” Twilight said. “Celestia said her friend would tell me.” She pulled a small note out of her saddlebags. “She said his name is… uh... “
Applejack craned her neck to see over Twilight’s shoulder. She whistled. “Jeez, that’s a long name.”
“That’s not a very pony-ish name,” Rarity commented.
The group moved into the next carriage. Twilight looked up at a large figure sitting alone at the back.
“That’s… probably because he isn’t a pony,” she said, folding the note away. “I think we’ve found him.”
Unlike the other carriages, this one was only half-packed. This was because the ponies here gave the creature at the back a wide berth. He wasn’t a pony, that was for sure. He was no griffon either, although there were some distinct similarities. Most of his body was cat-like, like the rear end of a griffon, and he had large, powerful wings. What was the most unique about him, though, was his face, which reminded Twilight very eerily of Tirek’s features.
“Uh… okay,” Rainbow muttered. “That’s a big cat-monkey-thing.”
There was another reason for the ponies here keeping their distances. His teeth, his claws, and his musculature… they all screamed of danger. Instincts from a time when ponies couldn’t talk were burning inside Twilight’s brain, telling her to run. Whatever this creature was, Twilight’s insides were telling her that it was a predator.
Its claws looked designed to shred meat from bones. Its teeth were too sharp to have been designed for a vegetarian diet. Its eyes appraised Twilight not as a pony, but as a potential meal.
Or rather, Twilight noticed, its eye. The creature’s left eye was blank, and stared off into space, lifeless. Only the right flickered from side to side like a hunter looking for its prey.
“Let’s say hello!” Rainbow declared, who evidently hadn’t been blessed with the same self-preservation instincts as Twilight.
As Rainbow approached the hulking monster, Twilight’s jaw dropped. Images from books she thought were mere legends flashed into the forefront of her mind. The knowledge she possessed about countless obscure animals and beings came to her aid, unbidden.
“You’re a… you’re a sphinx,” she said, trotting up to the animal, curiosity overriding the fear that stemmed from her very bones. “Hello,” she said, clearing her throat. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. Celestia sent me.”
The sphinx slowly nodded. “Good afternoon,” it said, its voice scholarly and composed. “I am Zerephonzidas.”
There was little wonder in anypony’s mind why Zerephonzidas sounded nothing like a pony name, but Twilight knew more still. The books she had read claimed sphinxes had been extinct for millennia. Sphinxes hailed from a time before names, which, if the books were to be believed, this ancient race had invented.
Had the authors ever even met a sphinx? Oh, the things she could learn. Sphinxes were ancient. Sphinxes were mysterious. Sphinxes had…
“Sweet wings,” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “Bet you can get some serious speed with those, huh?”
Zerephonzidas being a sphinx answered yet more questions Twilight had. Namely, why she had never seen him in Canterlot before. Zerephonzidas, like all sphinxes, would live for a very, very long time. He could be a friend of Celestia’s from hundreds of years prior.
“I am not much of a flier,” Zerephonzidas said. He looked at Twilight with his one good eye. “I am pleased you decided to come and help me. I’ve been looking forwards to this dig for… well, longer than most.”
Twilight sat down opposite the sphinx. “Well, I suppose now is the time to have some questions answered.”
Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow all moved their saddlebags from their backs to behind the empty seats. Rarity and Applejack were still eyeing Zerephonzidas with considerable concern. Why shouldn’t they, Twilight wondered. Sphinxes had a long, long history, and like most things with a long history, it was not all pleasant.
Applejack leaned over to Rainbow’s ear. “You ain’t… uh… put off?” she asked.
“What, by the big guy?” Rainbow asked. “You forget, I was best buddies with a griffon for years.”
Applejack didn’t say anything. Despite the similarities between griffons and Zerephonzidas, the griffons Twilight had seen hadn’t had the same… aura of fear as the sphinx.
Applejack and Rainbow sat down opposite one another. Rarity sat next to Twilight. She was more interested in what Zerephonzidas had to say than the view. Applejack and Rainbow, by comparison, stopped paying the discussion about the dig any heed.
Zerephonzidas turned his full, considerable attention towards Twilight. “I apologise for the abrupt nature of our meeting,” he said. “I’m afraid I am quite an impatient member of my race.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Twilight said. “The books never said anything about sphinxes being impatient.”
Zerephonzidas smirked. “They wouldn’t, I imagine. Far too busy saying how extinct we are.” He put a paw on his chest. “As you can see, books are not always correct.”
“I can tell,” Twilight said.
“I’m afraid I know very little about sphinxes,” Rarity said. “Even less than Twilight, in fact.” She tilted her head. “You have a very pretty mane,” she said, evidently struggling to talk about something that wasn’t related to teeth, claws, or that stare.
“Thank you. I brush it.”
“Perhaps you could tell me more about what we’re looking for?” Twilight asked.
Zerephonzidas seemed to look like he was born to be serious, but at that, he became twice as stony-faced as before. “We’re looking for any sign of something called the Immortal King.”
“Never heard of him.”
“You wouldn’t have. The only mention of him was in the Great Eldritch Library, and that collection of books is long gone.” Zerephonzidas’s claws sank into the armrest like it was made of butter. “He was at the center of a very unique magical experiment. Over my considerable lifespan, I have witnessed many types of magic, but have yet to discover the results of the Immortal King’s spell.”
“This is about a spell?”
Zerephonzidas nodded. “About a spell, and about knowledge. It is very important to me that I discover what he has done.” He scratched his lifeless eye with a lazy paw. “Living for many, many thousands of years tends to make one fascinated by what they don’t know.”
Rarity sighed. “Well, I’m not exactly an expert on ancient magic…”
Twilight smiled. “I am,” she said. “So, what do you expect to find?”
Zerephonzidas smiled, revealing his sharp teeth. “Why, the site of the experiment. It had disappeared into a desert many thousands of years ago, and was lost even further after, during, and before Discord’s reign.” Zerephonzidas’s smile turned to a scowl. “That irresponsible fool probably didn’t even realise what he had done. He set my investigations back over a thousand years.”
Twilight stroked her chin. So, Zerephonzidas wanted to find an ancient spell lost to time, and Celestia wanted Twilight to help him. Well, at least this was a problem right up her alley. It wasn’t exactly a friendship magic discovery, but it certainly did sound important to history.
“I have to ask,” Rarity said. “How old are you? I know that’s a very awkward question to ask…”
Zerephonzidas gave Rarity a shrug. “All sphinxes were made at the same time. We are magical beings, but have been disappearing ever since.” He looked beyond Twilight and Rarity for a moment. “There can only ever be less sphinxes, never more.”
“But sphinxes are said to have been around since before recorded history,” Twilight said, her heart pounding. “That means you’re older than…”
“I remember a time when your kind couldn’t speak or understand the written word,” he said. “I remember when continents were shaped differently, and when creatures long since extinct roamed the earth.” He stared straight through Twilight. “Sphinxes… my kind… we have had a long, long time on this sphere.”
Twilight swallowed.
“And here I thought Celestia was getting on a bit,” Rarity muttered.
Applejack only half-listened to the conversation happening next to her, and gave Rainbow a small nudge. “You hear that?” she asked.
Rainbow shrugged. “So the cat-monkey is a bit old. Big deal.” Her ears pricked up with excitement. “I’m more interested about this archeological dig.”
“Didn’t figure you for the archeological type.”
“Are you kidding? There’s a dig in, like, all of the Daring Do novels,” she said. “Come to think of it, Zereponlizad sounds super like Ahuizotl.”
“Zerephonzidas,” Applejack corrected.
“Whatever.” Rainbow leaned back, closing her eyes. “Too bad we’ll just be looking for some ancient magic.”
“I’d have thought ancient magic’d feature in Daring Do a fair bit,” Applejack commented.
“She’s more about artifacts,” Rainbow said. “And traps.”
“You think you’re gonna be bored?”
“Myeah, whatever. I’m still cool helping Twilight out, even if it does turn out to be boring.”
Applejack nodded. “Likewise,” she said. She looked out the window. “I thought it was gonna be real dull until an ancient sphinx thing showed up.”
“Yeah, well, Equestria’s full of weird things. Remember the bugbear?”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“It was literally a bug mixed with a bear. What’s up with that?”
“Evolution at its finest,” Twilight chipped in.
“Yeah, that. Weird.” Rainbow tried to make herself comfortable. “Hey, I’m gonna take a nap. ‘Kay?”
Applejack nodded. “Sure thing.”