//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 - A Retrival from Worlds Apart // Story: Displaced Diet-y // by MetalBrony20 //------------------------------// Harsh white light, stale ancient air and drifting motes of dust; these permeated the Somnambulan chamber. Almost as if time was slowed to a crawl, particulates drifted lazily in the stone tomb. Even the current occupants’ breath did little to displace the stuffy air. Six individuals were gathered around the podium at the end, one of their number fiddling with a contraption. Everypony watched in anticipation, as Twilight Sparkle minutely adjusted tiny dials and knobs. Several large crystals protruded from the top of the metallic shell, humming quietly in unison. Flashes and bolts of energy licked across the sharp edges, occasionally guided by purple jolts of her own arcane might. “I think we are just about… done!” She finished triumphantly, another crystal suddenly turning blue, a wisp of similar coloured smoke rising.  “Are you positive it’s ready Twilight?” Rarity spoke up, smoothing down an invisible crease on her outfit.  “As sure as I can be. I’m just glad that the Canterlot artefact vault had something that could help us, and that it had a mostly intact set of instructions too.” The purple alicorn responded, flicking through a dog-eared book, the tatty cover peeling more as she did so. “By using the large magical burst that Rainbow created when she teleported, the device can reverse engineer a more stable and permanent version for us to get to… wherever she went.”  The room got quiet again, Daring Do avoiding eye contact with the other’s, letting out a quiet sigh. “Good. I just hope she’s alright after what happened…”  “Look sugarcube. Ya need to stop blaming yourself for what happened. Ya didn’t know it was gonna’ send Rainbow flying ‘cross the world or wherever. Ya didn’t intend for her to disappear, and ya sure as sugar didn’t know it’d make her vanish neither.” Applejack cut in, resting a firm hand upon Daring shoulder. “Besides, if we're going to some strange land, the adventurer ought to have a clear head on her.” “I know, but if I hadn’t invited her, I’d have gone instead. I could have avoided this whole problem if I’d never sent the note in the first place, Celestia damn it.” Sucking a breath past her teeth, Daring adjusted her pith helmet. “But yes, we can’t put anything right if I keep moping around. So, let's get this done and save our friend.”  Looking up, Fluttershy gave her a small nod, a smile appearing around her curtain of hair. Reciprocating the gesture, a harsh blue glow suddenly filled Daring’s eyes. Squinting through her fingers, the adventurer could make out an ovoid tear hanging there. A gradual hum permeated the air, magically infused energy causing their hair to stand on end.  Lowering her hand, the intensity of the portal had mostly diminished, the floating frame left pulsating gently. “Alright girls, everything should be ready. All that’s left to do… is step on through.” Twilight carefully spoke, her voice quivering in spite of how measured she attempted to be. The statement hung in the air, flitting through the mind of everypony.  “I’ll go first.” Daring exclaimed, nodding sharply to the others as she approached the gateway. As she neared the gaping maw of the portal, her feet felt heavy. Intolerably so, almost like she was wading through invisible treacle. The air too felt stuffy, the smell of ozone mingling with that of burnt sand, forcing her to cough mere inches from the surface. Gazing into the roiling mass of energy, she could see wispy shapes and colours rippling and flowing around, a tunnel formed of blue and black stripes expanding off into infinity. Snatching one final breath, she leapt forth, the smooth, flat exterior rippling like a pond. As helpless as a ragdoll, the adventurer tumbled head over heels, drawn inexorably through the tunnel. Her body felt strange, with gravity seeming to have little order. A small yelp involuntarily left her lips, echoing and distorting amongst through the void as she accelerated faster and faster. The black and blue walls blurred together as her velocity became inconceivable. The air itself was so thin Daring could hardly feel any wind resistance, shooting towards a tiny speck of yellow light. For what felt like a full minute more, but what took only a scant few moments, she reached the end. Her speed bleeding off rapidly, Daring’s head broke through. In an instant, the thin air of the tunnel was replaced with a much more familiar pressure. Flaring her wings, Daring gracefully planted herself upon the stone floor. Her eyes fluttered open, blinking non-existent flecks of dust from them.  “Well, that’s a surprise, Somnambulan architecture. I wonder if this is the result of some magical experimentation...” She breathed, turning her head, and inspecting the massive walls. Intricate, beautifully carved, and painted designs had been etched into the stone. Behind her, the arrival of somepony else caught her attention.  “Wowee! This place looks super-duper cool!” Dressed in a set of clothes that were fairly unsuitable for the desert, Pinkie twirled on the spot, taking an interest in a few of the large carved statues. Daring winced at the mare’s volume, striding quickly over to her, placing a finger over her mouth. “Shhh! Don’t be so loud, we don’t know if the ponies, or creatures, or whatever lives here even like us.” She hissed, another set of feet touching down behind. “Oooh, I say, what wondrous pieces of art!” Rarity called out, Daring facepalming. Eventually, the rest of the group made it through, with Applejack popping through, followed next by Fluttershy, and finally Twilight. The instant the Alicorn touched down, she shrugged off her bag, extracting a rectangular box. Visually similar, but much smaller than the portal generator back on their side. Adjusting a few dials, the protruding crystals began to glow the same colour as the portal, a thin pulsing column attached to the gateway’s apex. “Alright… I’ve stabilised the connection. By simply absorbing latent natural magic, the connection should be able to remain active for a week at least before it needs a proper recharge. That’ll give us a fair amount of time to explore the area.” Twilight called out, inspecting a few panels, closing them up with a satisfying click. No response came, however. Infact, Twilight was aware that nopony was talking at all, the sound of breathing intermingled with the humming drone of the portal. “Girls… is… is everything alright with you?” Carefully rising to her feet, she noticed Applejack was staring towards the doorway. Following her eyes, Twilight flinched, locking eyes with the one of the individuals standing there. Two of them, one a yellow earth pony, the other a zebra stood side by side. Both clothed in similar articles of loose-fitting clothes, and both of them rather rotund. Their podgy figures practically filled the large doorway, with only the barest of space available. Guts sagged forth from loose fitting tops, oozing onto equally large thighs. The swell of their ballooning bottoms could be seen jutting outwards, lifting their white skirts high, leaving ample amounts of blubbery ass flesh exposed.  With only the sound of the portal providing an eerie ambience, the silence was soon broken as the earth pony smiled widely. “Welcome, we’ve been expecting you.” “Who, us?” Twilight answered, taking a few steps forward, approaching the rounded pair.  “Well, not you specifically. We were told by the Pharaoh that some ponies would come looking for their friend.” She answered, her double chin wobbling even from the slight movement. “That’s exactly why we’re all here! You gonna’ tell us where our Rainbow is?” Applejack snorted, the zebra holding a hand up. “You need not fret, for your friend is under no threat. Up in the palace she currently resides, we will help to be your guides.” The zebra calmly responded, the Stetson clad mare relaxing. “Please come along with us, to the chariots where we’ll be bussed.” Turning around in near unison, the group watched as their butts collided, an audible slap resonating out. Much like ocean waves, visible ripples coursed across their bulbous mounds of adipose. Slowly perambulating away, the 6 mares shared mixed looks, before hurriedly following on behind the pair. Easily catching up, the group began to drink in the other sights of the structure. Great columns and pillars stretched from floor to roof, tall intricate carved statues sitting in between. The carved, animalistic faces glowered with frightening realism, contrasting rather heavily with the stylistic images of ponies and zebras on the walls, drawn in a bizarre walking motion. Passing through room after room, they quickly became aware of a sound. Quiet at first, building into a louder roar with each meter travelled. Entering the next room, the far wall had been removed. Instead, a waist high railing had been erected. Behind that, they were greeted by an immense wall of water. With only a few meters between the crashing mass of fluid, flecks of cool spray drifted over them, the thin mist interacting with the immense sun that hung behind the curtain of liquid, sending a kaleidoscope of refractions flashing across the walls. To aid in this effect, polished plates of metal and glass were inset into the sandstone, propagating the spectacular light show. “My goodness, this is simply exquisite!” Rarity chimed in, watching as shafts of multicoloured light danced across her pale skin. “Mmmhmm, I really like it.” Fluttershy responded, her eyes twinkling slightly. “Yeah! I’d bet Rainbow would positively love this place!” Pinkie added. “It’s like a disco ball at the dance club!”. “You girls are in luck, Ru’un has placed the sun at the perfect angle this afternoon for you to enjoy such a spectacle.” The earth pony called back, leading them across the room and down a flight of stairs. Emerging into a large atrium, more similarly dressed zebra’s and ponies were milling around, preparing and arranging several large objects upon great plinths. The sound of footsteps caused many to look up from their work, surprise plastered across their pudgy, round faces. Recovering, a smattering of greetings arose. “Can I ask, where are we, erm… sorry, I didn’t quite catch your name.” Twilight asked, having weaved her way towards the front of the group. “My name is Tekhser. As to where we are, this is the Temple of Prosperity. It is here that we give our praise and thanks towards the goddess of the river for delivering us such a bounty of water and fertile soils.” the yellow earth pony replied, trotting down one final set of steps, leading towards an expansive courtyard. Shielded by the great bulk of the temple, it was covered in long shadows, shrouding a column of chariots from the dry, sweltering heat.  “Well, I can see you're doing an excellent job! That waterfall was quite powerful.” Slowly, Tekhsers face fell, Twilight frowning in confusion. “We thank you for your praise. But it was not us that brought the bounty of Hay’pui back to the lands of Akhethra. No… it was by the power of the Queen that aided the return of the rains and ushered in great harvests of immense bounty.” “Akhethra?” “Yes… these lands belong to the Queendom of Akhethra. Led by a Pharaoh that has only recently come to power. For 3 months, she had helped to guide our people out of the crippling famine and drought it’d been burdened with for so long.” “Really? That’s fascinating.” Twilight mused, her eyes widening seconds later. “Oh, where are my manners. My name is Twilight Sparkle, one of the Princesses of Equestria.” Tekhser blinked, giving Twilight a look over, blushing slightly. “My apologies, I didn’t see a crown of any sort. I’m sorry if I offended you at all.” “Oh no no! Don’t worry about it. Honestly, not being instantly recognised as royalty is a breath of fresh air once in a while.” She laughed, spreading her wings out in her excitement. This, however, only made the earth pony even more surprised, clapping a hand to her mouth as her eyes goggled. “You have… wings and a horn? By the Goddesses… I don’t believe it…” Tekhser continued to inspect Twilight’s wings, the purple alicorn sheepishly folded away. Shaking her head, the priestess took off, approaching a small contingent of well-muscled ponies, busily doing some maintenance work on the vehicles. Twilight stood bemused as Rarity sidled up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.  “My, that was certainly a rude reaction.” She tutted, blowing a strand hair from her face. “I suppose so, though if you recall this is another dimension. For all we know, alicorns may not even exist. Did you see any ponies other than Earth ponies and unicorns?” Twilight rebutted.  “Yeah, I saw that too Princess. Either that, or Pegasi really don’t want to work in a place like this…” Daring mused too, drinking in the immense statues sitting outside, the stonework weathered and smoothed. Their zebra guide had peeled off from the group, joining the earth pony. Excited whispers drifted over, Tekhser making exaggerated hand motions, occasionally glancing over her shoulder.  “Well, whatever it is, it certainly got them more shook up than a snake in a cider barrel.” Applejack added, adjusting her Stetson’s angle. “I certainly hope they don’t spend all day yakking, I want to see if Rainbow is doing fine.” “I hope so too. Though, given how religious these Akhethran’s seem to be, alicorns could have some deep theological significance.” Thankfully, after half a minute more of discussion, the group dispersed. Three of muscled ponies hitched up to a chariot each, the two priestesses beaconing the six over.  “Apologies for the wait, your majesty. Your transport is ready.” Ushering them towards the open back of the reasonably spacious vehicles. No seats were available, leaving the occupants to stand up. Mounting up, the zebra, Fluttershy and Rarity took one, Applejack and Pinkie took another, leaving Twilight and Daring to share with Tekhser. Grabbing onto the study panel at the side, there was a sudden lurch as the driver suddenly began to jog forwards, the great wheels spinning, the occasional sound of creaking wood and fabric mingling with the crunch of gravel and sand. Pushing out from the temple grounds, they soon padded out onto a flat strip of sand, the great rounded swell of a dune flanking the left side. Shielding their eyes, Twilight felt the full power of the sun beating down on her, as well as shimmering off the river to her right. Through the azure blue skies, banks of dark grey clouds drifted along, casting shadows across the desert that merged with the ones created by the dunes. Along the banks, tall papyrus plants grew amongst short, stubby bushes, blooming with colourful flowers.  “A wonderful sight, isn’t it? Just a few months ago this bank was utterly barren, you could only find these plants growing in the city itself.”  “Yeah, I suppose so.” Daring mused, before turning her sight elsewhere. “So, where exactly is Akhethra? I assume it’s quite the distance from here, yes?” “Oh no, not at all. The great city is but a kilometre or more from the temple, these dunes just block our view. A parting should be a little further ahead.” Tekhser replied, gesturing towards a gap in the distance. Little was said as they drew closer, the pounding of feet and the flexing of wood being the only noise. Then, they saw it. Out of the deep orange sand, the form of a great pyramid jutted up. It’s limestone faces gleaming as they towered high into the sky, the edges rippling in the heat. Standing high at the top, an immense cobra glared, it’s hood stretched wide sending a chill down Twilight’s spine. So engrossed by the pyramid, they forgot about the rest of the surrounding city, blocked from view as the next dune swallowed it up. “So, what do you think about it?” “It looked spectacular, well, the pyramid did at least. I’m afraid I didn’t look anywhere else.” Twilight blushed, Tekhser giving a jovial laugh in response. “Quite the sight, yes? The Great Akhethran pyramid makes quite the impression.” “I can’t deny that. Though I will ask, what is it for? As in, what’s its purpose?” Daring replied, shielding her eyes from a stray cloud of sand kicked up by the wheels.  “Simple. It acts as the final resting place for each pharaoh. The great mausoleum contained within houses the embalmed bodies of every monarch who ruled these lands, buried alongside their worldly possessions and gifts to guide them through Du’at. If you’d like, I can give you a good account of the pyramids construction and those individuals contained within.” “I really don’t think that’d be…”  “Of course! That sounds amazing. I’d love it if you could tell us more!” Twilight butted in, cutting Daring off mid-sentence. As the Akhethran began to recount some tale or legend, Daring tuned her out, allowing herself to sink back into her thoughts. Screwing her eyes up, pulses of bright white light flashed through her mind's eye, a cobra’s head in the centre of the glow. Red electricity crackled in slow motion, the afterimage’s blending with her own pleading, echoing shouts.  Her forehead creased, gripping the edge of the chariot, her breath hastening. An image of a distressed cyan mare, topped with a tall red crown faded slowly to the forefront, slowly extending a limb outward. Vanishing, she was dragged rapidly backwards, fading into the white background. Opening her eyes, the adventurer looked up, the great city now directly in front, the pyramid looming further and further overhead.  “Just hold on a bit longer Rainbow, we're coming for you.” She whispered. “I just hope that these past few weeks were good to you.”