In the Dark Pyramid, Anubis was sitting on his throne, while Thot and Khnum were standing before him.
"My lord Anubis, I think it's time to finally reveal our presence in Coltypt to your brother and his petty followers" Thot said.
"Yes, let's invade the Golden Citadel with all our strength and dominate this kingdom" Khnum said.
"Don't be in such a hurry" Anubis said, with a tranquil air. "We have all the time in the world. Furthermore, attack our enemy from the front is something too outmoded. I have something much better in mind. Believe me, I'm going to attack my brother where he least expects it."
It was another day of calm and peace in Coltypt, which sparkled under the sunlight. The inhabitants were living their lives with all normality, however with some excitement. The news about Kefer’s accession to the throne had rejoiced the Coltyptians greatly. Never before such strong cheer was heard when Kefer addressed for the first time to his people as the new pharaoh.
Despite that had made the new regent happy, he couldn't help but be a little insecure because everypony was putting all their trust in him and Kefer hasn't felt like a real pharaoh. Fortunately, he had the help of the Council, as well as his friends’, most Horus, who was trying to behave up to his position as first-counselor, not only for Kefer, but also to honor his late father.
At that moment, Sobek was on guard at the gates of the citadel. Although he knew that was a noble effort, the Guardian could not help but thinking that it was a waste of his strength. While he was there to spy on possible threats, his companions, including the Golden Warriors, were practicing and perfecting their capabilities at Apis’ Labyrinth.
Something then caught his attention: a roll of parchment fell at his feet, seeming to be a message. Sobek looked up to see where that message came from, but he didn't see anything else but a hawk that was flying over the citadel and then turned away from the Guardian who took the message and saw it was directed to him. So, he opened it and read:
Dear Sobek, I have a proposition for you that I'm sure it will be undeniable. Meet me at the Nopony’s Land. Come alone.
The message wasn’t signed, what made Sobek become quite intrigued. And if was it some kind of trap? He should inform Kefer about that immediately. However, his curiosity seemed to be winning the battle for the decision about what to do.
Anubis was sitting on his throne in the throne room of the Dark Pyramid with Thoth standing next to him when the same hawk that Sobek had spotted flew in and, when I was close to Anubis, became Khnum who kneeled before his master.
"The message was delivered" he said.
"Perfect" Anubis said. "This was just the first step."
"Do you really think the Guardian won't say anything to Kefer about message?" Toth asked him.
"Since the moment I saw Sobek, I felt a certain darkness in him" Anubis said. "Between all the inhabitants of Coltypt, he was the only one to treat me as if I never left Coltypt, when I came back to challenge my brother. It can be tied to the duty as Golden Warrior, but there is one thing you can never underestimate: our darkest desires."
The night fell in Coltypt and, silently, Sobek, after making sure he had his post covered, addressed to the Nopony’s Land to meet who had sent the message. At first, he couldn't see anypony. It was then that a slight sandstorm lifted and Sobek felt being surrounded and red eyes started popping up all around. He put himself in an attack position.
"Who's there?" he asked.
"Come on, Sobek, you don't have to be so suspicious" a voice said.
And, from the storm, Anubis appeared Anubis, continuing:
"We just want to be your friends."
"A jackal…" Sobek said. " Do you really think I want to be friend with a disgusting creature like you."
"And I thought you had some respect for me" Anubis said. "At least, that's what I thought when I came back to Coltypt after years to face my dear brother Kefer."
Sobek stayed with a shocked air when he heard that and finally recognized the former Prince of Coltypt.
"Prince Anubis?" he asked.
"Well, well, finally you recognize me" Anubis said. "I just have to correct one little detail. I'm not a prince anymore."
"But... how..." Sobek started.
"How I went from pony to jackal?" Anubis asked. "It was just a gift from the Lord of Chaos. And believe me, it was worth it just to get all the power I have. Now, I'm the Dark Pharaoh, the one who will dethrone the Golden Pharaoh of Coltypt and claim what was taken from the Lord of Chaos."
Despite feeling a little intimidated and still a little shocked for seeing the jackal form of Anubis, Sobek quickly recovered his senses and said:
"I will not allow any harm to come into Coltypt. I am the Guardian and my duty is to guard the gates of Coltypt from the Lord of Chaos’ darkness."
That made Anubis drop a laugh and then ask:
"It was my brother who taught you to say that? Or was it Apis? Anyway, neither of them is quite skilled with words. Sobek, I didn't come here to fight. As I said in the message that I sent you, I just want to make a deal with you."
"Any deal that can come from a traitor cannot be of my interest" Sobek replied. "Power of Coltypt!"
And his Golden Power was activated.
Anubis sighed and said:
"I just wanted to have a quieted and civilized chat" Anubis said. "But, if that's what you want, then I'm going to have to be more persuasive."
He made a sign and two of the pairs of eyes approached, revealing two jackals. One of jackals was taller than the other, but both had a strong aspect, a sword in a sheath on his back and the same type of bracelets that Anubis, Thoth and Khnum had. The lower also had some bandages around his forelegs.
"Meet Nakt and Hatanor" Anubis introduced, making mention of the taller jackal and lower jackal respectively. "They are my first and second generals. Let’s see if you can beat them."
"Power of Coltypt!" both of them said.
Their bracelets shone and, in the same way that the golden armor covered Sobek, a silver armor covered the two generals, which left the Guardian caught by surprise.
"The Lord of Chaos was quite generous in giving me and some of my best servants this bracelets with the same type of power that the Golden Bracelets" Anubis said. "Impressed?"
"Not really" Sobek said. "It doesn’t matter the power those bracelets have, because, in the end, the light always triumphs over darkness!"
And he started to fight against the two generals of Anubis. Despite being outnumbered, he seemed to be able to cope pretty well with them. He ended with a blow that launched Nakt and Hatanor against the ground while their armors disappeared.
"Pretty impressive" Anubis said. "But I think you haven't seen what true power is capable of. Power of Coltypt!"
And Anubis was covered by a silver armor. Sobek went in the direction of Anubis for the attack, but the Dark Pharaoh drew his sword and said:
"Cosmic Energy!"
He came down the sword with strength and launched a massive wave of red energy that lifted a big wave of sand that hit sand in Sobek and threw him to the ground, making his Golden Armor disappear.
"You proved to be a very skillful warrior, Sobek, so I will give you an opportunity to think about what you really want" Anubis said, making his silver armor disappear, while Sobek looked at him. "Do you want to continue to make roots on top of a wall looking for enemies, or do you want to be what you always wanted to be: a warrior who gets everything he wants. The choice is yours. Tomorrow night, I'll be waiting behind the secret sealed door in the tunnels under the citadel. At that time, I’ll know what your answer will be: If you want to be loyal to somepony who can give you everything you want, or if you prefer to waste all your potential."
And, having said this, Anubis pulled away, followed by his generals, and the eyes that were watching disappeared one by one. When the sandstorm finally ceased, Anubis and his soldiers had disappeared. Sobek stood up, still with Anubis's words echoing in his head.
The next day, Sobek had returned to his post, but was soon visited by Horus.
"Horus, what brings you here?" Sobek asked.
"Pharaoh wants to see you, Sobek" Horus said.
"And what's the reason?" Sobek asked.
"Soon you will see" Horus replied.
And so Sobek was taken to the presence of Kefer, who was sitting on his throne. Getting there, Sobek made a bow, saying:
"Your Highness…"
"Sobek, you are one of our best warriors" Kefer said. "You were one of the few to get a Golden Bracelet and that's why my father gave you the job of watching the gates of the citadel. However, from what I've heard, last night you left your post for some time. I'm not trying to imply anything, but I wonder if it's everything okay with you. "
Sobek did not answered for a few seconds, trying to decide if he should tell Kefer what had happened last night and that night Anubis will be waiting for him. It was then that something brought Sobek to respond:
"Don't worry, there is no problem, Your Highness. I just needed to get some air to clear my head. But I want you to know that I didn't let the gates unguarded."
"I know, that was something rather wise to do" Kefer said. "But I would like to stress how important your job is. It’s just you don't seem very happy and I understand. It can't be easy to spend hours watching our walls when our kingdom is at peace for so many years. But you possess perhaps the most important task among the Golden Warriors, Sobek, as you guarantee the safety of everypony."
"Thank you for those words, Your Highness, but I can assure you that I am quite satisfied with my work" Sobek ensured.
Having said that, he bowed to Kefer and then abandoned the throne room.
"I don't know why, but I think he wasn't completely honest with us" Horus said to Kefer.
"I also have the same opinion, but we can't force somepony to tell the truth, Horus" Kefer said. "The only thing we have to do is wait for Sobek to feel free to tell us what he really feels."
After leaving the throne room, Sobek walked through the hallways towards the exit, when Ramses passed by him in a hurry.
"Hello, Sobek, sorry, but I'm in a hurry" Ramses said. "It's time for training and have to hurry before Apis gets angry. And you know what happens when a minotaur gets angry, don't you?"
That comment made Sobek get a little irritated, since he didn't know very well how Apis used to get when he was angry as he almost didn’t go to Apis’s Labyrinth. Ramses then pulled away.
While Sobek kept heading to the exit of the palace, he couldn't stop thinking about what Anubis had said. Was the Dark Pharaoh telling the truth? Was he really wasting his abilities serving Kefer as Guardian? When he found himself, Sobek was being invaded by a feeling of immense greed. A part of him tried to fight it, but it was no use, because the Guardian had decided what he really wanted.
Night fell on Coltypt. The inhabitants were sleeping quietly, thinking that nothing would disturb the peace that they were living in the golden utopia of Coltypt. However, they were very wrong. Acting in the shadows with all the speed and description, Sobek moved across the citadel to get to the palace.
He got there and, taking care to not be seen by the guards, something that was easy to do, and went to a deep remote area of the palace, a zone that had been vacant and was now avoided due to contain the entire history of Coltypt when it was under the rule of Seti and Khonsu. Sobek was a little disturbed when he faced the image of baby colts being launched to the river, but that cruelly didn’t stop him from being impressed with the greatness of Seti and from admire his courage to stand up to his brother.
Finally, he had arrived to where he was going to. It seemed to be a pretty old brick wall with a chain covering it. With one swing, he broke the chains and, as soon as he did it, the wall was torn down. On the other side was Anubis, who smiled from ear to ear. Behind him was his army, which included Toth, Khnum and the two generals.
"Good job, Sobek, I knew you'd consider" Anubis said.
"I finally realized that I should have done a long time" Sobek said. "The Lord of Chaos was the one who was keeping the true peace. By making our kingdom the most feared, nopony would dare to attack it and we could overturn any worm that dared to threaten the kingdom.
Furthermore, I realized that with the Lord of Chaos I can have everything I want."
"I'm glad you feel that way, Sobek" Anubis said. "Maybe it's a good idea to give you a gift in the name of our master."
Anubis lifted one of his paws and, from it, he released a dark beam that struck Sobek, causing it to be wrapped in black smoke. When the smoke cleared, Sobek emerged, but completely different. Such as Thoth and Khnum, his body continued to be of a pony, but his head was of another animal: a crocodile. In addition to that, other parts of his coat were also covered by scales.
Looking at himself, Sobek said:
"I can feel it. The power is running through my veins."
"Now, Sobek, help me to get Coltypt in the name of the great Lord of Chaos" Anubis said.
Sobek then gave him a bow and said:
"As you wish, of great Dark Pharaoh."
At that time, the soldiers of Anubis stormed into the Golden Citadel and began to cause much damage as they could. This made the alert alarm start to sound. The soldiers of the kingdom appeared to counter the invasion threat, getting shocked to see jackals rather than ponies.
"Don't be scared just because they are jackals!" Apis’ voice exclaimed, while he opened way between the soldiers of Anubis with his tackle. "They are an enemy as any other."
Motivated by Apis’ words, the soldiers began to fight the jackals with all their determination. A jackal tried to attack Apis but Horus appeared and managed to bring him down.
"You know I don't need your help, I don't you, Horus?" Apis asked.
"With this amount of jackals, I doubt that's true" he replied. "But where did all these jackals come from and how did they get in?"
"That's what you'd like to know" Toth's voice said.
Apis and Horus turned and faced Toth and Khnum.
"But what the hell..." Horus started, not expecting to find a pony with the head of an ibis head and a pony with the head of a ram.
"Mutants" said Apis. "They are ponies who got corrupted by the power of the Lord of Chaos in such a way that their own bodies changed."
"I see that you know something about us" Toth said.
"It's a shame that's not going to do any good against us" Khnum said.
"Power of Coltypt" the two mutants said at the same time.
And they were invoked by their silver armor, something that got the two Golden Warriors by surprise.
"They also have the Golden Power?" Horus asked.
"No, that’s not the Golden Power" Apis realised. "Can't you feel it, Horus? Those armours were forged by the power of the Lord of chaos. It seems that he managed to create his own Dark Army."
"And you have no idea how our power is great" Khnum said.
"Maybe if we prove it, you may have a slight idea" Toth said. "Roar of Fire!"
He pointed his hooves and launched a powerful jet of fire.
"Flame of Power!" Khnum exclaimed, throwing out from his mouth greenish flames.
Apis and Horus reacted quickly and dodged the attacks launched by their opponents.
"Power of Coltypt!" the duo exclaimed, making appear their golden armor.
"It's time for you to know how real warriors fight" Apis said.
"Prepare to leave Coltypt in the most painful way possible" Horus said.
Ramses, Kha and Hyksos were having their own problems, having to face Nakt and Hatanor, both with their respective bracelets activated.
Kefer, listening the confusion that was going on out there, ran to the balcony of the throne room and was shocked when he saw his soldiers fighting against the Dark Army.
"But what the... Jackals? Here? How?"
"I think the answer is pretty obvious… Pharaoh" a voice said. "Somepony was kind enough to open for us the back door."
Kefer petrified when he heard that voice. Although slightly different, he would recognize it anywhere. He turned and faced Anubis. Getting to see beyond the body created by the Lord of Chaos’ darkness, Kefer managed to figure out who was before him.
"Anubis...?" he asked. "It can't be... You are..."
"A Jackal?" Anubis completed. "Yes, I am. The Lord of chaos was kind enough to give me part of his power and that allowed me to become his servant. What do you think? Now, I am also a pharaoh. You can call me Dark Pharaoh. But of course this is just an honorary title that will soon be real when I got hold of Coltypt."
"You still have that crazy idea of yours?" Kefer asked. "Why can't you accept the fact that I'm the Pharaoh?"
"Because I was supposed to be the Pharaoh, not you!" Anubis exclaimed. "And since I can't do it in the traditional way, then I will follow our great-uncle Seti’s example."
A sudden presence was noted by Kefer and so he moved, in time to dodge a blow executed by Sobek. Noticing the Golden Bracelet and having noticed who of the Golden Army was fighting, Kefer realized who he was.
"Sobek?" he asked, amazed with the fact that his Guardian was now a mutant. "You betrayed me?"
"I'm sorry, Kefer, but I'm tired of being a stationary pawn" Sobek said. "I want more and the Dark Pharaoh is willing to give me that."
"How do you see one of your dear soldiers turning on you, dear brother?" Anubis asked cynically. "It must be... quite annoying, isn't it? Sobek, get rid of him."
"As you wish, Lord Anubis" he said, preparing to use his bracelet. "Power of Coltypt."
However, the Golden Armor didn’t show. Instead, the bracelet shone and gave a great shock to Sobek, who fell to the ground unconscious. After that, the Golden Bracelet simply broke free of its former owner.
"What?!" Anubis asked, caught by surprise.
"It seems that you forgot, brother, the Golden Bracelets can only be used by those who have a noble heart" Kefer. "Because you corrupted Sobek, he is no longer worthy of its power and rejected and it rejected him."
"That doesn’t matter, I also have a bracelet with power" Anubis said, displaying his Dark Bracelet. "And that power can only increase with my rage. You're going to fall, Kefer, and I'm going to be the Pharaoh of Coltypt as it should have been since the beginning."
At that moment, several guards entered the throne room in order to protect their sovereign from any danger. Realizing he was in disadvantage, Anubis said:
"But that won't happen today. Watch out, brother, because this is not the last time we will see each other."
And, having said this, he turned into darkness and disappeared, and the same happened with his followers.
The next day, everypony was at Maat’s palace in order to judge Sobek for his crimes. Standing in the main seat was Maat, the Supreme Judge, and seated by her side were the members of the Council, including Kefer. Not far away, were standing the other Golden Warriors. In the center of the room, a platform has risen, showing Sobek within an electrified barrier stopping him from escape.
"Sobek, you're here to be judged for the crime of treason and outrage against the Pharaoh of Coltypt" Maat said. "As such, you have the right to defend yourself of this accusation."
"I don't need to defend myself from anything" Sobek said. "I did what I did with the pride of serving the Lord of Chaos and the Dark Pharaoh."
Who was there watching the trial started muttering among themselves what Sobek had just said.
"Order in the court!" Maat exclaimed, imposing the silence again. "Sobek, you do realize what you just said, right?"
"I don't care if you consider me guilty or not" Sobek said. “That’s the only thing I have to say to you.”
That made Maat turn to Kefer who consented with his head. She then stated:
"Very well, Sobek. Then you're found guilty for the crimes of treason and attempting on the life of the Pharaoh. You will be sentenced to life imprisonment in our dungeons. You will also be denied of any contact with the outside world."
Tired of watching the trial, Kefer stood up and headed for the exit. Horus, repairing the forlorn air of his friend, followed him. He found him at the entrance of the room.
"What’s wrong, Kefer?" Horus asked. "You got out with a quite worried air."
"I am concerned about the fact Sobek betrayed us" Kefer said. "It makes me wonder if..."
"If there is any more traitors" Horus concluded.
"I know it's ridiculous to think so, especially as pharaoh, but..." Kefer said.
Horus put one of his talons on the shoulder of Kefer and told him:
"You wouldn't be a pharaoh if you didn't think so. But I know you trust us. It is only your cautious side talking. You will see that, over time, that feeling will pass."
Kefer smiled at his friend and said to him:
"Thank you, Horus. You're right."
In the Dark Pyramid, Khnum was telling the news about Sobek’s trials.
"It seems that he was sentenced to life imprisonment and will be devoid of any kind of contact with the outside world" he said.
"Yes, the laws against treason and the attempt on the life of the pharaoh have always been very severe" Anubis said. "Knowing Maat as I know, I'm not surprised about Sobek’s fate."
"Don’t you think we should try to get him out of jail?" Toth asked to Anubis, next to him. "After all, he can be a good ally, since he knows our enemy very well."
"Right now, we're not in a position to release him" Anubis said. "The security around him is too tight. However, he helped us a lot. Thanks to Sobek, we showed to my brother and his pathetic followers our power and that we will not stop until Coltypt is under my will. In addition, our friend Guardian gave us all the secrets of the palace that I didn't know about. Just for that, and when the opportunity arises, we will release him. But now, it's time to plan what will be our next move to overthrow Kefer and taking of Coltypt in the name our master."