The tanks of Raider 2 swung around, to face the monstrosity in front of them, a massive being of purple and gold.
“What the fuck is that?!” one of the tank crewmen shouted.
The commander of Raider 2-1 sprinted back to his tank, and hopped into the hatch. “All units, back away slowly, we don’t want to piss that thing off any more than it seems to be!” he radioed.
Just then, the monster in front of them began to speak. She spoke more of that strange, unintelligible language. But something behind them seemed to understand. The pony creature began speaking again, also in that bizarre language, and this went back and forth for several minutes, before the pony thing leaped into the air.
The Sphinx laughed. “Well, well,” She said, “fancy seeing you here, Somnambula. Over 2,000 years in a sarcophagus has clearly done you well.”
“You will not succeed here!” Somnambula replied. “The Pharaoh has decreed that you must fall!”
“The Aten himself could not stop me!” The Sphinx replied, her words harsh and vicious. “I outshine all of them! Ra, Akhenaten, even Anubis and Horus!” There was a pause.
“Enough talk!” Somnambula finished. “Vengeance for Prince Hassan!” She then took to the air, flying over the Sphinx to try and find her weak spot.
The creature screeched, and clawed at the air, throwing her off balance. “You cannot stand against me, measly Pegasus!” She laughed. “For the fury of Osiris and Isis is within me! For, unlike the King of the Underworld, I can raise the dead!”
Raider 2 kept an eye on what was happening, when suddenly the creature screeched and bellowed loudly. Then the earth began to shake.
“Shit!” one of the tank commanders shouted. “Back up! BACK UP!”
Reversing as fast as they could, whilst keeping frontal armor pointed at that thing, the tank crews looked on in horror as creatures began to burst their way out of the sand. Scarab beetles, jackal-headed creatures, mummified corpses, all rose from the grave and stormed toward them, howling insane screams into the night.
“LIGHT THEM UP!” one of the tank crews bellowed, and the pintle and hull mounted machine guns opened up, the turrets tracking the creatures as best they could. Bullets tore through them and demolished the enemy, mummified organs and gore splattering all over the place and turning the golden sands crimson. But as soon as the corpses went down, they got back up and continued walking toward the tanks.
One Mummy clambered up the side of one of the tanks, and grabbed a crewman, dragging him off. “GET IT OFF ME!” he screamed. One of the other tanks turned its pintle-mounted M2 toward him, and prepared to fire.
Before it could fire, an emerald flash reduced the Mummy to naught but dust. The tank crewman jumped to his feet and climbed back in.
The commander of Raider 2-1 looked up to see the flying creature overhead, and the green blast had come from the strange necklace it wore.
“That thing is trying to help us!” he realized.
Somnambula flew overhead, discharging emerald blasts in an attempt to slow the Sphinx down, but it was difficult. It simply moved too fast, meaning she couldn’t get a clear shot on the Sphinx. Just then, it clawed the air, and knocked her to the ground.
“Argh,” she groaned. “That hurt.” She shakily got back to her feet...to see another Mummy shuffling toward her. She screamed, and tried to run.
A revolver shot stopped the Mummy in its tracks. Somnambula looked over to see one of the soldiers had shot it with a sidearm. Somnambula, now fully aware that these creatures could not understand what she was saying, indicated to the Sphinx with her hoof. The soldier nodded, and began to speak into his device.
Somnambula took to the air, and spoke once more. “You cannot win!” she bellowed. “For I have a power you lack!”
“And what is that?” the Sphinx laughed. “You have only death to look forward to.”
“I have friends,” Somnambula answered.
Raider 2-1 noticed the creature indicating to the creature. “All crews, ready HE shells!”
“Copy, HE loaded.”
“Acquire target, Sphinx!”
“Traversing turret now.” The whine of electric generators could be heard as the turrets rotated into position.
“FIRE!”
All 6 cannons discharged at once, the noise truly deafening. High explosive shells smashed into the Sphinx, tearing open its flesh and setting the creature ablaze. It screamed with primordial fury, as flames light up the very night. Overhead, they saw the other creature move into position. Another emerald blast, another shriek, and then...
...the Sphinx was no more.
Somnambula landed, stunned by her own victory. She knew that thing was tough, but to actually take out a Sphinx took some doing. “This terror has at long last been ended,” she said quietly. It was then she began to feel exhausted, and collapsed into the sand, memories of something else flooding into her mind.
The commander of Raider 2 saw the creature fall over, and he hopped out of the tank and ran over to it, whilst a C-130 touched down on a nearby airstrip.
“Do you need support?” he asked it.
The creature then spoke to him. "Take.... Me.... Back to.... Manteo...” it gasped, in perfect English, and with the smallest hint of an American accent, before fainting into the sand.
Two USAF crewmen ran over to the position. “We’re here to help evacuate the wounded,” one of them said.
The commander of Raider 2-1 looked at them. “Can you take this thing to the East Coast?” he asked.
Boxcar lifted off with a wooden box and some other military cargo loaded, inbound for Norfolk International Airport, Virginia. Inside, two of the crew, Airman Michaels and Airman First Class Harris watched over the box.
“What do you think it is?” asked Michaels.
“It’s not human, and it mentioned a place called Manteo, North Carolina,” Harris replied. “I’m willing to bet this...is Jimmy Hook.”
“Who?” Michaels asked again.
“Jimmy Hook.” Harris repeated calmly, and then went on with his story. “Not of much significance until 2016, I’m afraid. That year, there was a reported incident of a man of his name going into a school building, and a yellow-orange pony coming out. Furthermore, there was no trace of Jimmy.”
“Are you suggesting-?” Michaels began.
“Yes. Jimmy and that pony were one and the same. Not long after, he reappeared, only to change into the character of Starlight Glimmer from My Little Pony. Not only that, it was her Equestria Girls appearance!”
“That’s the show you watch, isn’t it?” Harris made little secret of being an Air Force Brony, and simply nodded in response to Michaels’ question.
“From then on, a whole string of them followed. Princess Luna (three times, the first two in 2018, and the third in 2019), a batpony of the same name, Mystery Mint (an Equestria Girls background character), Coloratura, Suri Polomare, Photo Finish (Equestria Girls Character), Sunset Shimmer again, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Skystar (Her Seapony Form to be exact), Queen Chrysalis (twice, first in July 2018, and then again in early 2019), Clawdeen Wolf, Cleo De Nile, and Lagoona Blue from Monster High, Pixel Pizazz, Violet Blurr, Lyra Heartstrings (the last three were all Equestria Girls variants), Valley Glamour (recorded by a friend of mine by the name of D.I.Scord), Sweetie Belle (Equestria Girls), Rarity (also Equestria Girls but of her Friendship Power form instead of her Regular Form), Then a string of Equestria Girls ones-Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, and Cheerilee, interspersed by Sapphire Shores, Cayenne and Pony Cheerilee.”
“So, why does this happen?” Michaels asked.
Harris shrugged. “Magic,” he replied.
After the plane touched down, the box was unloaded and driven to the island of Roanoke in North Carolina. Taken gently into one of the homes, it was placed on the floor, and Jimmy, now fully human once more, was placed in his bed. The two airmen left as if they had never been there.
Leaving Jimmy to bask...in the glow of the Moonlight.