The sweltering heat beat down on Cadence from Celestia's unrelenting sun. Her coat was damp with sweat, and the feather fan things that her guards constantly waved at her did little to help. Celestia had wanted her to come to this town just south of Equestria's border to try and broker an agreement for the desert town to join the large pony nation. "Somnambula," she had called it. Cadence just hoped she didn't ever need to repeat that name for any reason.
"Princess, welcome!" came the cheerful cry of a pony as they approached the caravan. Unlike Cadence and her entourage, they didn't seem the least bit affected by the oppressive heat. They bowed down before the alicorn, before bouncing back up and leading the way into town. "Please follow me! Our leader is delighted to speak with you!"
Princess Cadence couldn't help but shake her head at the bundle of excitement. This pony could have rivaled Pinkie Pie in her enthusiasm. She followed her into town, prepared to negotiate whatever terms they wanted... and to get to shade as quickly as possible.
It was quite a beautiful little place. Sandstone huts were stacked low to the ground, sprawling out from a small oasis in the otherwise stark desert sands of the desert. In the distance stood a tall pyramid, its large mass dwarfing that of the town. It almost appeared to watch over Somnambula, offering its security.
"What is that pyramid over there?" Cadence asked their guide, gesturing with a hoof.
The pony retained their bouncy attitude as they responded, "Oh, that's just an old temple. Somnambula, the pony our town is named after, opened it up to us a long time ago." Cadence nodded along as she listened to the story. "It has long since been raided and cleared out though. There's really nothing left in there. I don't think anypony has even gone inside for almost a decade!"
This is quite an interesting place, thought Cadence as their caravan entered the desert town. She could not wait to learn more about it.
Later that evening....
The pink alicorn flopped onto her bed with a defeated sigh. The talks were alright, these ponies were very polite. But the simple fact of the matter was they were fine on their own. They didn't need to join Equestria, and most of them didn't want to. This meeting was a lost cause from the start.
Cadence looked out the open air window at the setting sun. Her wings fluttered underneath her, itching to fly. Perhaps a quick flight was exactly what she needed to calm down and, quite literally, cool off for the night.
She stood up from the bed and went over to the window, checking her door to make sure it was closed and locked. She didn't want any of her over-protective guards realizing that she was "missing." They weighed her down anyways, and most of them weren't even pegasi. Taking one last check, Cadence spread her wings and took flight.
The air was much cooler than it had been when she first arrived. Most of the oppressive heat was gone and it was far more comfortable, like springtime in Canterlot. Cadence glided over the small, desert town looking over the homes below as one by one they began to light up on their own, the light of the sun slipping below the horizon.
Grinning like a madmare, Cadence began to swoop and spin, relishing in the freedom of her evening flight. In the distance, she spotted a large stone pyramid towering over the sandy dunes. Deciding that would be a perfect spot to take a break and watch the rest of the sunset, Cadence turned and headed for the temple's peak.
As she approached, she swooped down between two tall stone ponies positioned on either side of the pyramid's crumbling entrance. Each held aloft a stone spear, crossed over the opening in defense. The alicorn dove below the peak. Then, there was the sound of shifting stone, and a heavy weight slammed into her back, causing Cadence to let out a sharp cry of surprise as she suddenly dived towards the ruined entrance of the temple.
Behind her, unnoticed, the stone spear of the monolithic pony raised back up into its original position.
Her body impacted the sandy ground with a painful thud, and she rolled head over hoof into the dark recesses of the pyramid. Then, suddenly, she was falling through the air again, having tumbled off the edge of a crumbling bridge. She hit the floor many hooves below with another thud, gasping in the dusty air as the wind was knocked from her lungs.
Cadence opened her eyes, blinking out the dust and sand, and raised her head. Above her came the sound of grinding stone, and she watched as the faint light of the twilight above was cut off by a stone slab.
"Well, that's just great," she grunted, standing up. It appeared she wasn't too hurt, aside from some bruises and a few cuts. She had gotten off lucky. Being a pegasus prior to her ascendance, she was no stranger to rough crashes, and this was definitely one of her better ones.
Cadence brushed herself off, and then looked around in the dark. She couldn't see much except for a faint light off in the distance. Figuring there was nowhere better to go, she began to head for the light. Three steps in, her hoof sunk into a stone tile, and it fell into place with a clunk. She pulled her hoof back, surprised.
On either side of her, a brazier suddenly ignited, flooding the area with light. The sudden brightness revealed that she was in a long hallway, the light being at the end of it. Another row of braziers ignited, followed in sequence by many others along the hallway, coming to a stop at the source of the original glow: a doorway.
The alicorn picked up her pace towards the doorway, a little bit spooked. The tall sandstone walls on either side of her flickered with shadows from the flames. There was an occasional crackle as well, sending a shower of sparks flying up in an isolated cloud. Soon, she stood before the doorway. Taking a deep breath and one last glance back, she stepped through.
The doorway opened up into a large chamber, with a massive circular dais in the center. An arched bridge connected the doorway to the raised platform, built at such an angle so that Cadence could not see what was at the center. Peering over the edge showed the source of the room's light. Far below, a ring of molten lava surrounded the dais, bathing the entire chamber in a fluctuating orange glow.
Cadence went to spread her wings to fly over the bridge, but tensed and let out a wince of pain as she tried to do so. She took a look back, and saw that one of her wings was clearly sprained, the feathers ruffled. She let the damaged wing fall limp at her side, facing forward again. With a groan of defeat, she trudged forwards onto the narrow bridge.
She approached the crest carefully, still not knowing what was on the platform ahead of her, and desperately hoping whatever it was would help. The alicorn crested over the top of the bridge and froze at the sight before her, eyes almost popping out of her skull.
There was a massive creature lying in the center of the circular dais.
Quickly, she flatted her body to the hard floor, trying to keep out of sight. From her position, Cadence couldn't quite tell what it was. It looked like a mass of magenta fur, steadily shifting with its breathing. It had a long tail that lazily swung about while it slept, dragging across the sandstone floor softly.
Assured that the creature was truly asleep, Cadence stood back up to her full height, and cautiously continued towards the center of the large chamber. Her hoof steps sounded deafening in the silence of the massive chamber, the lava too far down to be heard. Soon, she found herself standing at the edge of the dais, eyes locked on the breathing mound in front of her.
Not seeing any other option, Cadence took a deep breath. "E-excuse me?" she asked. There was no response. "Excuse me?" she repeated, a little louder this time. Still, the body in front did not move, only continued to swell and shrink in the rhythm of its sleep. Steeling herself, the pink alicorn stepped forward hesitantly and pushed a hoof into the creature's side. "Excus-"
There was a low roar as the massive thing suddenly stood up, making Cadence stumble backwards to avoid getting crushed. It swung its head around, trying to find the source of the disturbance before locking onto the Cadence with its piercing, gold eyes. "Pony!" it growled, baring its teeth.
Cadence's pupils shrunk to pinpricks. The creature was massive, far larger than it appeared to be when curled up. It appeared to be a massive feline, complete with a set of sharp teeth and thin, wavy tail. A pair of wings also adorned its back, spread open wide in a menacing stance.
It's eyes shifted to Cadence's back. "A princess!" it corrected itself, letting out a roaring laugh. "To what do I owe such an honor?"
"Uh," the pink pony stuttered. "W-well, you see I somehow got t-trapped in this cave, and, uh..." Cadence trailed off as the large cat began pacing around her.
"And the pony princess thought that the mighty Sphinx would help her, hmm?" The creature, apparently called a Sphinx, grinned cruelly down at her. "The pony princess was wrong."
Cadence visibly gulped, taking a few hesitant steps backwards from the giant feline. She instinctively tried to spread her wings in defense, but let out a pained moan as a sharp pain radiated from her sprained wing.
The Sphinx cocked its head slightly, noticing the alicorn's injury. "Little princess pony is weakened," it purred. "How unfortunate."
"Please," Cadence begged, continuing to back away from the circulating creature. "I don't mean to cause any trouble, I'd just like to get out and I'll leave you alone."
Another low laugh echoed through the cavern. "But then Sphinx would lose it's new plaything," it growled, bringing it's face down close to Cadence, it's large yellow eyes locking the pony in a sort of trance. But that trance was quickly broken when Cadence let out a yelp as the big cat grinned, exposing it's fangs mere feet from her face. She fell to her rump and scuttled backwards rapidly, trying to get away.
In her panic, she seemed to have forgotten that the dais was only so wide, and before she knew what was happening, the alicorn had toppled off of the edge, and began to fall towards the bubbling magma below. She screamed as death rushed up to meet her, clenching her eyes shut.
Cadence let out a weak "oof" as she hit the surface. The lava was warm, but not quite as hot as she imagined it to be, and the surface was much softer than she expected? She opened one eye to find that she had fallen into the palm of the Sphinx's paw, who had reached down to catch her. She curled up in her new spot as she was gently lifted back onto the dais, her chest heaving with rapid breaths.
The Sphinx brought the pony up to eye level, the eyes looking down at her with- was that concern? "The pony would be inclined to not jump to their death," the Sphinx said softly. "I would hate to lose a new toy so quickly." Whatever it was the Sphinx was feeling, it was quickly replaced by the same sadistic mirth that had been there prior.
The alicorn did not know what to feel as the Sphinx gently set her back down on the floor. She stepped off of the paw, and stared at the creature as it lay back down, its golden eyes still locked on the pony.
"Well," the Sphinx said. "Do something fun."
Cadence raised an eyebrow. "Uh, what do you mean."
With a roll of it's eyes the Sphinx grunted. "I do not know, pony," it growled. "It has been a while since I've had company down here." The last words were said with the same, slightly melancholy tone as before, but the moment passed quickly. "Do something fun."
Not knowing entirely what it was the big cat wanted, Cadence decided to put on a little show she did for Flurry Heart occasionally. She lit her horn, and concentrated as spirals of magic blossomed in the air above her. Miniature fireworks exploded from the cusp of her horn, and crackled.
The Sphinx was captivated by the impressive light show. The reflections of the aura in her eyes lit up her entire face, and she found herself unintentionally smiling at the display. The pops of swirling color was a welcome addition to the dull, flat sandstone walls of the cavern.
Cadence smiled at the wonder quickly forming in the Sphinx's eyes. It was not unlike the reaction her daughter had. Focusing on her magic, she put all her effort into the finale, sending off multiple bright bangs of color and sound.
Silence echoed in the chamber after the magical performance. "That was pretty," breathed the Sphinx, still trapped in the foal-like state of wonder. "Can all of the ponies do that?"
Cadence giggled into her hoof. "The unicorns can," she answered, pointing to her horn.
The feline rolled onto her stomach, looking down at the pony. "Very few ponies have come through here. One of them was a princess like yourself. Another was a winged creature who tried to steal my treasure," she sighed. "None of them have done that before."
The Sphinx went on to explain her few encounters as Cadence watched. She noticed that the behavior was not all that dissimilar to a normal house cat that a pony may have as a pet. Of course, this Sphinx was absolutely massive and could talk, but the mannerisms were very much the same. Cadence even imagined that if a house cat could talk, it's tone would not be much different than this passively evil one that the Sphinx used.
"Your show was very pretty and fun, pony princess," the Sphinx said as the alicorn's show came to an end. "You will perform it for me again. But now I am tired, and I must rest." With that final declaration, the feline curled back up into the position that Cadence found her in, and closed its eyes to return to its slumber.
Cadence just stood there, silently panicking, the words ‘You will perform it for me again,’ echoing in her head. How long was the Sphinx going to keep her here? When would she see her loved ones again? What was she going to eat? Why was she always the one to get kidnapped?
Trying to calm her breathing in order to not hyperventilate, Cadence placed a hoof softly against her chest. The Sphinx had been relatively nice to her so far, all things considered. While coarse and short, the feline had not been cruel, and there were even moments where she seemed kind of... nice. But none of that changed the fact that Cadence wanted to leave.
As she stewed in her fears and panic, she unconsciously pulled her wings closer to her body. Now that the adrenaline of crashing into this place and meeting a strange creature was beginning to wear off, she was just starting to realize how cold it was in this temple.
Her eyes found the gently snoring Sphinx across the dais. She seemed to have no trouble fighting off the chilly air as she continued to sleep peacefully. The alicorn could only wonder how warm the large coat of fur was to hunker down in. Her resolve against the idea did not last long.
Quickly giving in to the encroaching cold, Cadence finally stood and quickly slipped over to the sleeping Sphinx. Immediately, the body heat radiating off of the large cat flowed into the alicorn's bones, and she let out a small sigh of relief. She huddled as close to the large mass as she could without disturbing the Sphinx, her fur just barely mingling with the maroon one.
With her newfound source of heat, Cadence's eyelids began to droop with sleep, and it was not long before she slipped away into a restful slumber.
Cadence woke up wrapped in the warmest, coziest feeling she had ever woken up to. She nuzzled deeper into the warmth, unconsciously letting out a soft coo of pleasure as she did so. It was a wonderful sensation, and the alicorn wished that she could wake up in this warmth every single day. But of course, back at home there was no giant cat to cuddle with.
It was that thought that broke the serene sentiments of the morning. Cadence's eyes shot open as she remembered where she was. She was still trapped in the pyramid with the Sphinx.
The morning sunlight streamed in through tall clerestories, high up in the ceiling of the room. It filtered down onto the dais where Cadence was, lighting up much of the room that she could not see the night before. It was far larger than she had thought, and more square in shape. Judging by the way the wall joined in a point at the center of the ceiling, Cadence assumed that she was trapped in the center of the large pyramid.
The alicorn wriggled her way out from underneath the heavy paw of the Sphinx, and trotted a few paces away, eyes locked on the tall windows above. If she could only fly, she would be home free.
Cadence unfurled her wings, and gave a few test flaps, wincing in pain as she did so. Her wing was definitely far from healed, as she guessed it was foolish to have thought that it would have gotten better overnight. She briefly considered a healing spell, but she was not savvy enough to cast one efficiently, let alone on herself.
It was morning now, however, which means that help would probably soon be on the way. Her guards were far from incompetent, and discussion with the locals would most likely point to this place. She doubted that a giant feline had been hidden away in this pyramid for however long without their knowledge. With any luck, Cadence would be out of here later today.
"Pony."
Cadence turned at the sound of the voice, drawing her attention away from the sunlight and to the Sphinx. The large cat was now sitting upright, and she was surprised at how such a massive creature moved without making a sound.
"You are still here," the Sphinx commented, head cocked to one side.
The alicorn gave a sideways smile, lifting her useless wing. "I can't very well fly out of here, now can I?"
The Sphinx's golden eyes briefly flashed with what looked like pity before she looked away. "I had forgotten about your injury," it said. It paused, before turning back to Cadence with a smile. "But this means the pony princess will stay longer!"
Cadence sighed. "Ponies will notice I'm gone, and they will come looking for me," she said. "And when they find me, I will leave."
"I don't want you to."
Those five words stung Cadence for some reason. They were said softly, with the same monotone emphasis that the Sphinx used in most of her speech, but they felt different. They carried a weight that the alicorn felt, and she knew that her leaving would make this creature sad.
Then, suddenly an idea came to her. "You could come with me!" Cadence said with a bright smile looking up at the Sphinx. "You don't need to stay here all alone! When my guards come to get me, they can take you with them!" She smiled up at the large feline, hoping that she would like the idea.
The Sphinx, however, frowned at the idea. "I could not," she said simply. When Cadence cocked her head in question, she continued. "My duty is here, to this temple and to the treasure it holds. I must guard it, and I can not do that if I am away."
"Oh," the alicorn said in reply. "But what treasure? The locals said that the treasure in this pyramid had been looted a long time ago."
The big cat lowered itself back down onto the ground, its face mostly level with Cadence's. "Eventually it will be returned, and I have to be ready for when it does. All of the treasures will find their way back here one day, they always do." The Sphinx's words were sad and wistful.
A question suddenly popped into Cadence's head. "How long have you been here?" she asked softly, taking a few steps towards the feline.
"I have not been here as long as others," the Sphinx said. "Three hundred years is a small amount."
Cadence balked at the stretch of time. While she had been expecting some large number, hearing it spoken out loud was still a bit shocking. This creature had been here, alone in this temple for three hundred years? The alicorn could not imagine being in isolation for that long. For Celestia's sake just going on this trip alone was a long stretch for here, and she was even with other ponies!
"You must be so lonely," she said quietly, her face falling as she looked at the Sphinx with pity.
"I am very lonely," the Sphinx admitted. A smile quickly overtook her face. "But not anymore, the pony princess is here to stay now!"
Cadence shook her head sadly. "I told you, I can't stay," she tried to explain. "And to be honest, I don't think you need to either." The Sphinx cocked her head in confusion. "The treasure is not going to be returned here for a long time, if ever. You should come back to the Crystal Empire with me." She trotted on up so that she was only a few paces away from the cat's face. "Then you wouldn't be all alone anymore."
"But I cannot leave."
The pink alicorn groaned in frustration. "But what if you could! Would you want to come back with me?" she asked, trying to find any strand to pull on in an attempt to coerce the feline.
The Sphinx furrowed it's brow in thought. "Perhaps," it said. "If I could leave, then I would enjoy leaving with you."
Cadence smiled at the response. "Alright!" she said. "Now we just need to figure out how to get you to leave!" The Sphinx looked at her in bewilderment, before she realized that she had stumbled right into Cadence's ploy. The pony's smile only grew as the feline's ears slicked back against its head in embarrassment. "It's okay," she giggled. "I won't tell anypony that you're a big softie."
Time passed by idly after that, with the two simply sharing stories or sitting in silence. The Sphinx had somehow acquired a large amount of some foreign grain, and she offered some to the princess to eat. It was not half bad, she decided, and so she ate her fill throughout the day. As the sun began to set, Cadence had cuddled up into the Sphinx's side as they chatted. Their fur mingled together as they relaxed, and Cadence once again found herself sinking into the comforting warmth that the big cat gave off.
"You know," she murmured as the light in the room dimmed from the setting sun. "If you did come back with me, I could get used to this cuddling."
The Sphinx blushed and looked away from Cadence. "I doubt you have such room to accommodate me, pony princess," it said. "Your rooms are small - they are sized for ponies. I am not pony-sized."
Cadence weakly opened her eyes and fought off the alluring pull of sleep. "You're right," she admitted. "But don't worry, I have a plan for that."
"I still have not said I would leave this place," the Sphinx reminded her after a moment. "Why do you insist I will?"
The pony rolled over, snuggling further into the Sphinx's side. "You're lonely," she said simply. "You said so yourself. I want you to come with me. You know you want to, so why don't you just do it?" Cadence explained, looking up at the cat with her ending question.
"I will... give your idea consideration," the Sphinx finally acquiesced after a brief pause.
Cadence smiled and closed her eyes again. "That's all I ask," she said as she let sleep finally come.
As the pony fell asleep beside her, the Sphinx fulfilled her promise and thought about the idea. She could not deny that the concept of leaving this place and finally having company appealed to her. It certainly did. But her duty was to remain here and guard the temple its treasure. She had already failed that task, the treasure having been stolen right from under her years ago. Maybe the pony princess had a point.
But her honor would not let her. What if the treasure was returned and she was not here to prevent it from being stolen again? That would not do. She must remain behind and wait for its return. There were no other options for her. With the decision made, the Sphinx lowered her head and readied herself for sleep as well. She would tell the pony princess tomorrow.
However, it seemed that she would not get that chance. No sooner had she closed her eyes than her ears had shot straight up. Voices could be heard, and the Sphinx whipped her head around trying to locate the source. It took her a minute, but she spotted a faint glow at the end of the tunnel leading to the grand chamber. A few moments later, she saw a sole pony stepping into view.
With a growl, the Sphinx stood, pushing Cadence behind her and out of sight. The princess let out a startled yelp as she was roughly woken up, but was quickly silenced by one of the feline's large hind paws pressing into her face. The pony across the bridge did not appear to hear Cadence, as they made no reaction. Instead, they stood and moved their head around, the beam of light from their horn guiding others into view.
The Sphinx watched the group, anxiety rising in her chest. There were a lot of these ponies, and some of them wore golden armor. They were invading her temple, she knew it. They had come to steal more treasure, and even though there was none left for them to take, the Sphinx would not allow them any further.
"Leave now!" she roared, causing the group to turn and face her in surprise. "Leave and never come back!"
To her surprise, a pony stepped forward from amidst the group, and she found herself facing yet another pony princess. "Hi, um, I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle. We didn't mean to bother you. We're just looking for a friend of ours, that's all," the pony yelled up to her.
The reason for their presence here suddenly became clear. They had come to take her new friend away from her, and the Sphinx was not going to allow that to happen. "The other pony princess is not here," she said quickly. "Go away."
The "Twilight" pony smiled sheepishly and went to thank her and leave, but she stopped. A look of mistrust came over her face and she turned back to face the Sphinx. "Wait, how did you know we were looking for another alicorn?" she asked, taking a few steps towards the dais.
Trying to talk her way out of it, the Sphinx replied quickly. "A pony princess like yourself came here before," she started, before quickly finishing. "B-but she left already. Gone. So there is no reason for more ponies to be here."
"I don't believe you," said Twilight, lighting her horn. "Where is she? What have you done to her?"
"She is not here! I-I..." the Sphinx stumbled over her words, desperately trying to figure out how to get herself out of this hole she had dug.
"Wait, stop!" yelled Cadence jumping out from behind the Sphinx.
Twilight quickly powered down her horn and gasped in surprise. "Cady!" she said, rushing over. "I knew it!" She lit her horn again and pointed at the Sphinx. "Did it hurt you? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Twilight," the alicorn assured her. "I just hurt my wing, that's all. The Sphinx didn't do anything." She placed her hooves on her sister-in-law's shoulders, trying to calm her down. "As a matter of fact, she's coming with us."
"What?" asked Twilight.
"What?" asked the Sphinx at the same time. The two of them shared a look before turning back to Cadence.
The pink alicorn smiled up at the Sphinx. "She's lonely here, and she looked after me until you showed up. She's going to come back to the Crystal Empire with me, but I need your help."
The Sphinx opened its mouth to counter Cadence's claim, but Twilight cut her off. "What could I do to help?" she asked curiously. Cadence leaned over and whispered in her ear, and Twilight's eyes widened in clarification. "I suppose I could do that. I had to do something similar with Spike once," she said. "Well, here goes."
"What, what is the other pony princess going to do?" asked the Sphinx frantically, looking between the two alicorns.
"Hold still please," ordered Twilight as she lit her horn back up. A ball of magic grew around the cusp, getting larger and larger. The bright sphere of light captivated the Sphinx and she looked at it in awe before it suddenly shot forward and burst into her chest. Her body began to flow, growing so incredibly bright that both Cadence and Twilight had to look away. There was a loud popping sound, and then the light slowly faded away.
Cadence looked back at the Sphinx, and her smile grew enormous as she bounded over to her. In place of the massive feline there was now just a small cat, maybe just two-thirds the size of a normal pony. "Oh my gosh you're so cuuuute!" Cadence squeed as she wrapped up the Sphinx in her forelegs.
The Sphinx blinked, and began to squirm in Cadence's grasp. "What have you done to me, pony princess?" she demanded, pushing against the alicorn's breast. "Unhoof me at once!"
"No!" Cadence responded simply, nuzzling her cheek against the Sphinx's. "You're coming with me."
"How dare you!" yelled the Sphinx. "I am the mighty Sphinx! I will not be-"
Cadence placed a hoof against her lips. "Oh hush, you," she said with a smile. "Think of it this way: You kidnapped me, now I'm kidnapping you. Fair's fair, after all."
The Sphinx froze, darting it's eyes up to Cadence's. "Hmmm," she said. "Maybe... maybe that is acceptable."
Cadence nodded with a large smile. "Mhm. You're not abandoning your duties, I'm stealing you from them," she explained.
"Right," the Sphinx agreed with a slight nod. A look of understanding spread across her features and a smile slowly formed on her face. "I must fight you then, paw and claw! Return me to my temple at once!" it demanded playfully, nuzzling against Cadence's side as the two went to leave the temple. Twilight watched the exchange in confusion.
"Never."