The desert beyond Panthera was a vast, near-trackless wasteland, endless sand rippled with dunes, and dotted with rough hillocks of rock. It was already baking under the hot morning sun.
At the peak of one of the higher dunes, three pony heads cautiously raised over the edge, and peered down at the ruined city of Bubastis.
"No one in sight," Tempest said, "But my guess is that won't last long."
Broken walls, crumbling stone blocks, and a few stalwart wrecks of buildings were all that remained, half-buried by the encroaching sand. And directly before them was the temple itself, standing broad and stolid on what was once an artificial island, but was now surrounded on three sides by dry depressions filled with drifted sand. Even at the front, where a ruined causeway led to the main entrance, there was merely an expanse of low rippling dunes offering little visible cover.
Tempest was sweltering in her battle armor under the hot sun. "With all that open ground," she went on, "we're not going to have the advantage of surprise. We're going to have to try a frontal rush, attempt to overpower them before they can really organize against us."
Twilight, sitting next to her, held a discolored washcloth over her head to ward off the sunlight. "I haven't got a better plan," she agreed reluctantly.
Then she looked to her right. "Rainbow, what are you doing?"
Rainbow was wearing a sand-yellow keffiyah on her head, multiple agal cords holding it in place. She was squinting into the far distance, chin held high. "Shhh! I'm reading the lay of the land!" she whispered mysteriously.
"Why are you acting like Lara of Saddle Arabia?"
"C'mon, Twi! Let me have this! It's just so cool being part of an actual desert assault!"
"Just remember Rarity's in there somewhere," Twilight pointed a hoof at the temple. "And our goal is to get her and the other captives out safely."
"Yeah, okay. I get it!" Rainbow stared around. "Hey! I bet Yearling would love to write about this in her next book, huh?"
Tempest sighed disgustedly. "If you can manage to stick in a bookmark, Rainbow," she said curtly, "get back to the ship, and have Celaeno circle around to bring her in behind that rock ridge over to the right." She gestured with a forehoof. "She'll be able to pull around that quickly, and that should give us sufficient coverage of the entire temple grounds."
"On it!" Rainbow skulked back down the dune behind them, then darted away in a flash of rainbow contrail.
Tempest glanced at Twilight. "You're not going to be talked out of coming along, are you?"
"I know it would be safer not to," Twilight agreed. "But you may need me in there, or at least my magic. The high priest wasn't too clear on what we'd find. There may be more than just thieves or ponynappers... the city and temple may be in ruins, but Bastet still has followers."
"Princess, if you're injured or captured, that's going to look real bad on my resumé."
"Don't worry. I'll hang back, let you lead the charge. But I'm not staying behind. You're a friend, Tempest, just as much as Rarity is. So I've got your back."
Together, they snuck back down the dune, and then recrossed the dunes beyond to the descending wadi where the advance force of Tempest's soldiers were crouched waiting.
With them was Fluttershy, sitting in the arms of the frontmost soldier. She was wearing a poorly-fitted helmet that kept threatening to slip down over her eyes.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight asked, amused, "what are you doing here?"
"Oh! We're just providing encouragement and support to our troops," she said matter-of-factly. She pointed to where Pinkie Pie, dressed in her cheerleader's outfit, was giving one of the soldiers a knee rubdown, and then to where Applejack was attempting an inexpert back massage on another.
"They're not just chesspieces, you know," Fluttershy added. "They need kindness just as much as the rest of us, so they know they're valued."
Tempest rolled her eyes. Then she shrugged, and looked at Twilight. "The soldiers do seem more pumped up for this fight with them around. But remember, Fluttershy, you three are non-combatants, so keep your heads down back here. And if things do start to go south, I want you back on the ship. Understood?"
"Understood." Fluttershy saluted, then belatedly caught her helmet and shoved it off her face again. "But I'm sure our furry friends won't let us down. Will you, Fred?"
The soldier holding her rumbled assertively.
"Fred?" Twilight asked, bemused.
"I had to call them something," Fluttershy explained. "Their actual name is kind of hard to pronounce. But they don't seem to mind if I call them Fred... do you, Fred?"
The soldier shook his head.
"And just remember, Fred," she went on, "we're here to rescue Rarity and the other ponies. So there's really no need to hurt anypony if you don't have to!"
Tempest facehoofed. "If I survive this day with my sanity intact, I'll count that as a minor victory." She looked at Twilight. "Come on, Princess... let's get in position for the charge."
The initial rush, when Tempest finally gave the signal, was swift and decisive... and also a little confusing.
When the scarlet-furred soldiers leapt over the dunes they'd been crouching behind, and charged en masse down the plain leading to the temple's entrance, the sand quickly came alive with hidden figures, desert fighters who'd been hiding in wait for them. A number of them were clearly mercenaries, in Klugetown armor and from a variety of species. They leapt up from concealed holes and trenches, swinging weapons and yelling battle cries. And the furred soldiers met them with unrelenting force, swatting them aside, grabbing their weapons and knocking them out, or simply stampeding them and leaving them trampled in the gritty sand behind them.
Tempest faced several of the mercenaries herself as she led the charge. She leapt and spun, knocking enemies cold, or grabbing them with her teeth and hammer-tossing them away to either side. And more than once she clobbered or spin-kicked enemies who were trying to grab Twilight and Capper, as the two of them scrambled along as best they could in Tempest's wake.
From their vantage point in an abandoned trench on the far edge of the plain, Fluttershy cheered excitedly. "Go get 'em, Fred! You can do it!"
Pinkie waved her pom-poms and cheered. "Go Fred! Go-go-go! Whee!"
Applejack smiled. "Shouldn't we be cheering for Twilight and the others as well?"
"Nah! They'll be fine," Pinkie replied. "Tempest has totally got this!"
Applejack nodded. "I'm just glad them soldiers are fightin' on our side this time. It's amazing we're still in one piece after fightin' them ourselves!"
Behind them, there was a loud, asthmatic grunt. Nervously, they turned to look. Facing them was a huge, long-tusked, and very hairy boar, armed with a sharp-edged sword and a serrated dagger.
"Ooooh!" Fluttershy squeaked, cowering.
And then a large paw tapped the boar's shoulder. He turned, and found himself looking up at a scarlet-fringed, mask-like face. With a squeal of terror, the boar found himself grabbed up, quickly stripped of his weapons, and then flung headlong out of sight over the next dune.
The soldier dusted his paws. And then waved meekly at them.
"Why thank you, Fred!" Fluttershy told him. "I don't know why I was worried... I knew we could count on you!"
But the Klugetown mercenaries were actually in the minority. The greater part of the defending force -- Abyssinians every one of them -- simply sat where they were and did nothing as the soldiers charged at them. And Tempest's soldiers, seeing no fight from them, simply raced right past them. Which meant that in almost no time at all Tempest and her party had stormed across the causeway and secured the temple entrance.
It was over so quickly that even Tempest was astonished. She found herself looking back across the plain in utter bafflement, trying to decide what to do about the significant enemy force now positioned to their rear.
Capper put up a paw. "Allow me, Commander?" He looked to Twilight. "Uh, Princess, would you mind?"
Twilight nodded, and remote-projected her Voice spell.
"MORNIN' Y'ALL," Capper said, looking around at the feline faces peering at them over the sand dunes, "NOW, IT'S LIKE THIS. WE DON'T LIKE THESE HERE DUDES WHO'VE INVADED YOUR TEMPLE ANY MORE THAN YOU DO. WE'RE HERE TO ROUST 'EM OUT, IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT. AND FUNNY THING ABOUT US, WE'RE EQUESTRIA'S ARMY... SO WE DO THINGS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. IF Y'ALL AIN'T DEAD SET AGAINST US... Y'ALL ARE WELCOME TO COME WITH US!"
The Abyssinians looked around at each other. And then as a group, they climbed out of their trenches and dugouts and trotted over to join Tempest's force.
Tempest regarded them doubtfully, then shrugged. "Best fight in the world," she said, "is the one you don't have to have. And that's me saying it. All right... let's see who's home."
They advanced into the dark, chilly interior of the temple, and then along its central corridor, which was lit by small oil lamps high on the walls. Ramps to either side led down to a floor below. At the far end, a broad archway led deeper inside.
Tempest silently pointed twice with her forehoof, and two contingents of her soldiers advanced down the ramps. They were accompanied by Rainbow, who returned quickly looking both excited and worried.
"We found the ponies they captured," she said, "but Rarity isn't with them! They were being held in cages downstairs. The soldiers are working on busting them out."
"Get them out of here, Rainbow," Tempest ordered. "Take a couple squads and lead them back to the ship, fast and quiet. Get them aboard, and tell Celaeno to be ready to cast off."
"Got it!" Rainbow saluted, and darted off.
Twilight looked at Tempest. "So... we keep going?"
Tempest shrugged. "We haven't got what we came for."
They moved on through the far archway, into the broad, low festival hall beyond. Crossing it, they passed through another doorway, into a vast chamber lined with immense pillars. It was like walking through a forest of intricately carved and heiroglyphed petrified trees. Here and there a crack or gap in the ceiling allowed spears of brilliant sunlight to cut through the dust-swirled air.
They came to a final set of doors. "Okay, this should be the main temple chamber," Twilight warned. She shut her eyes, and concentrated. "I'm getting a strong magic signal coming from inside. Let's take it slow, until we find out who's in there."
Tempest positioned soldiers to either side of the door, put Twilight and Capper behind her, and then nodded.
The soldiers hauled open the heavy doors, then moved through. Tempest followed, and peered ahead into the lamp-lit gloom beyond. More soldiers followed her in, together with Twilight and Capper.
The chamber was wide and deep, with thin fluted columns supporting its roof, and doorways leading to smaller chambers on all sides. The walls were inlaid with a patchwork of massive carvings and furiously intricate heiroglyphics. Though chipped and pitted, the stone still held traces of the original bright painted colors. Steps led down to a sand-floored ceremonial area in the center of the room. At the far end of this there was a raised dais, upon which stood an ancient throne shaped from dusty, chipped obsidian.
And gathered in the center of the room, around incense burners and tables laden with scrolls, was a small army of Abyssinian priestesses, berobed and ornamented with finely-wrought regalia, glittering with gold, green turquoise and dark blue lapis lazuli. Unlike the temple's guards -- who had held back, cowering, in the hall outside -- these felines eyed the new arrivals with angry, unwelcoming glares. A few bared teeth and hissed. Some raised gold scepters, others simply bared claws. And Tempest could sense the tingly, staticky feel of magic building up in the air all around them. Things were about to get seriously ugly.
And then a voice spoke, seemingly out of the air all around them... dry, wispy, and intimidatingly confident.
"Who are these intruders, who have desecrated the holy place of all-wise Bastet, goddess and protector of Abyssinia?"
The priestesses turned as one and knelt facing the throne. Hovering in the air above it, surrounded by a nimbus of tawny light, a bizarre-looking creature had appeared. It strongly resembled a cross between a small storm-cloud and a desiccated raisin, with glowing eyes set in a skull-like face, and thin, wispy arms to either side.
"Whoa... hold on now..." Capper whispered, looking puzzled.
Tempest glanced at Twilight. "I think this one's yours, Princess!"
Twilight gulped, and then stepped forward to stand beside Tempest. "I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle, of Equestria," she called. "We mean no offense to your goddess, or to her holy temple. We came in search of several of our citizens who were taken here against their..."
"Yes we know, Princess Twilight Sparkle!" The creature's chuckle was a disquieting death-rattle. "The goddess's designs are not for you to question, nor to interfere with. The ponies are needed, so they must be supplied. The goddess demands it!"
The priestesses arose and turned back to the intruders, snarling and hissing.
But Twilight wasn't intimidated... she was offended.
"This makes no sense!" she snapped. "Bastet is the protector goddess of the Abyssinian pantheon. She protected the ancient Pharoahs of this country during the Middle Dynasty, then gradually transitioned to being a protector of households. There's no way a protector deity would demand ponies be kidnapped in her name!"
Tempest looked at her. "You're sure about all that?"
Twilight looked smug. "Hamilton's Mythology of the World! It never lies!"
"You blaspheme the sacred name of Bastet!" the creature thundered. "And you trifle with her plans!"
"Oh, really?" Twilight stared back at him. "And who exactly are you to be saying that? You don't look much like a Abyssinian goddess!"
The wrinkled cloud blinked. For a moment it looked uncertain. Then it rallied. "I am the High Intercessor of the holy Bastet! She passes down her commands through me. And the priestesses of all-wise and all-powerful Bastet see to it her commands are carried out. Show these blasphemers who it is that they challenge!"
The thrum of magic in the air was rising again, the priestesses readying themselves to cast. Around Twilight and Tempest, the crimson-furred soldiers pressed closer, ready to defend them.
"But first, let the blasphemers stand alone!" The raisin-like creature snapped its fingers. One of the priestesses waved a claw and chanted...
... and suddenly the soldiers had all disappeared.
"Uh oh..." Capper whispered.
Rainbow Dash hurried through the door behind them. "Hey, where'd our troops go all of a sudden? Is it over? Did we win?"
Tempest looked at Twilight. "Okay, Princess... what just happened?"
Twilight was tipping her head left and right, eyes half-closed. "They've thrown a magic shield around the inner temple... It's interfering with the projection from the crystal."
"Can you punch through it with your magic?"
Twilight shook her head. "Not without more time than we've got."
Tempest set her jaw. "Then we do it the old-fashioned way." Her horn fizzed angrily. "Get behind me, Your Highness!"
"Tempest!"
"Now!"
Suddenly, they both felt the light touch of Capper's paws on their withers.
"Now hold on a mo, ladies," he said quietly. "Let's just take it down a notch here. I've been trying to figure out where I've seen this dude before. It was a while back, but I believe his name is Strife. He used to be the Storm King's right-hand creature, back when he invaded Abyssinia. He's no more High Intercessor than I'm Princess Celestia... uh, beggin' your pardon, Princess!" he added, with a nod to Twilight.
Tempest frowned. "Tell that to the priestesses about to blast us. They seem to believe him!"
"Maybe that's the deal," Capper suggested. "We show them he's a fraud, he's got no cards to play!"
Strife had been watching their whispering with uncertainty and increasing impatience. "We shall begin with their leader!" He pointed at Twilight.
A priestess lifted her scepter. And Twilight was suddenly engulfed in a shimmering cage of magic, which lifted her struggling into the air and away towards the group of angered mages.
"Princess!" Tempest's eyes narrowed, focusing on the scepter in the priestess's paw. Her horn blazed and crackled. Her aim had never been all that great, but right now she wasn't too concerned about accuracy...
Then suddenly she felt a hoof prodding her shoulder. It was Rainbow, grinning like a lunatic. "Hey, Tempest! Got a great idea! Ever play buckball as a filly?"
"What? Yeah! Is now the time for this, Rainbow?"
"What'd you play as, huh? I'm a natural catcher!" She waggled her eyebrows.
Tempest stared at her...
... and then she suddenly smiled, light dawning. "Oh... I always wanted to be the kicker!"
Rainbow grinned. Then she turned and called out across the room.
"Twilight! Buckball! Need one!" She nodded significantly towards Strife.
Twilight looked puzzled... and then she got it as well. Her horn flared as she summoned up a bubble of magic. Trapped as she was, she could only weakly attempt to fling it in their direction, but Rainbow darted up into the air and quickly fielded it. Then she slung it downwards towards Tempest...
... who leapt into the air and put all her considerable strength behind a vicious forward flip-kick, sending it screaming across the room almost too fast to see, straight at Strife. The creature barely had time to react as Twilight expanded the bubble into a sphere of containment magic, which engulfed him, cutting off the nimbus of light around him. The sphere flew onwards, rebounding with a ringing smack from the back wall of the chamber, and then came flying back across the room...
... to land with a thunk in a reed basket that Rainbow had swept up from a corner of the chamber.
She quickly slapped the lid on it. "Game point! Ponyville wins! Ha!"
"Listen to me!" Twilight called out to the astonished priestesses. "This creature was not what he claimed to be. He does not speak for your goddess, and he never did! Please allow us time to explain! There is no need for this to go any further!"
The priestesses looked at her, and then at each other, wide-eyed, released from whatever hold Strife had on them.
And then completely ignoring Twilight still hanging in midair, they turned and prostrated themselves before the throne, wailing and mewling piteously.
Rainbow looked ready to object, but Twilight furiously waved her to silence. Capper put a paw on her shoulder. "Let 'em have a moment, Rainbow," he said. "I imagine right now they're kinda worried about their goddess being really cross with them!"