The next day, everyone met Somnambula in town and walked off to the spot the map led them to. First they found some mountains a few clicks away from the village with a gorge carved through them. There was a labyrinth of paths that would be easy to get lost in if Somnambula didn’t have a map with her, but there were also some rocks with ancient inscriptions written on them to help out. Only Somnambula was able to decipher them since it was an older language in Southern Equestria that nopony spoke in the modern era.
“Hmmm. Someone definitely set this up for me not too long after I went into limbo,” Somnambula said as she led her friends on. “Those writings appear to have been carved about a thousand years ago. We are lucky there isn’t supposed to be any rain today or this gorge could be flowing with fast-moving water.”
“She’s so knowledgeable about…stuff,” Stormy said lovingly as he continued staring at Somnambula, while still wearing his hat.
“Stormy, come on, she’s not gonna notice you if you keep staring like that,” Chip teased.
“Ah, let him have his fun, Chip,” Applejack told her son.
“Pssst, Stormy, if you want any tips on how to win a girl’s heart, they really love jewelry and poems,” Spike whispered into Stormy’s ear.
“Poetry?” Stormy asked with his ears perking up.
“Spike, don’t teach my son poetry or he’s gonna start sounding like Zecora around the house,” Rainbow Dash teased.
“Somnambula, you’re such a pretty mare…uh…you’ve got nice hair…” Stormy started saying. “Somnambula, your coat is orange just like a…um…what rhymes with orange?”
“Hehe, too late. He’s hooked,” Pound laughed as everyone joined him.
“Shhh! Guys look!” Flurry said as they all stopped walking.
Somnambula was standing in front of a very tall stone with faint runic symbols on it. The stone appeared to be covering the entrance to a cave leading into the mountain in front of them.
“Whoa,” said Spike. “How has nobody found this place before?”
“Well I’m quite certain Somnambula would’ve been the only one to figure it out since she’s got that map,” Mrs. Cake pointed out.
“Yeah, but, like, it’s been about a thousand years and nopony else is aware of this place? I wonder if they’ve even seen this stone at all,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Well now what do we do, Somnamubla?” asked Flurry.
For a few moments, Somnambula did not speak. She was already occupied with translating the runes.
“The inscription on this stone is telling me a riddle,” she said, looking back at the others.
“What does it say?” Flurry asked.
“It says ‘I am in the hearts of those who have been wronged. To use me requires cunning and wit. To have me is painful until I am complete. I will not rest till you have what you want.’”
Everyone was silent for a few moments, looking at each other to see who could figure the riddle out. Flurry thought hard and seemed to know the answer, but she thought Somnambula was supposed to be the one to give it.
“Have you figured it out, Somnambula?” she asked.
“I have.”
Somnambula stood in front of the stone and cleared her throat.
“The answer is…Revenge.”
The runes on the stone immediately started glowing and the stone slowly moved to the side, revealing a rectangular door.
“Whoa! She did it! She’s so awesome!” Stormy shouted as hearts began to float out of his head again.
“Well I’m down for exploring the cave if you guys are!” Spike said, excitedly.
“I mean I guess it’s okay, so long as we’re just lookin’ for whatever this gift is that Somnambula’s gotta get,” Applejack said.
“I suppose Applejack’s got a point, even if it appears nopony’s been in here for over a thousand years,” Mrs. Cake added. “When we’re done, we’re going to have to report this to the villagers. There could be thousand-year-old antiquities in here that are worth putting in a museum!”
“Awesome! Come on Mommy!” Stormy said as he flew ahead.
“Alright, just be careful, Pipsqueak,” Rainbow Dash told him. “This is an old cave and we don’t know exactly what’s in here.
They all slowly followed Somnambula into the entrance. Flurry and Pumpkin used magic spells to light their horns and Spike grabbed a nearby torch to blow fire onto. They walked on for about a hundred yards until they got past the first room. This cave was actually a temple with expertly carved walls in the entrance. The walls were adorned with hieroglyphics that seemed to tell important tails of Southern Equestria. There were also statues of sphinxes and other wildlife common in Southern Equestria, including the gods that were worshipped in ancient times. While it was still dark enough to need torches to see, there were still some rays of light cracking through the walls near the top. It came from tiny windows carved in the walls to allow ventilation but could not be entered or exited. The only entrance so far was the one they just went through. Once they got past the corridor, they went up a fleet of stairs that lead them past a huge carved block with more hieroglyphics, this time with a large mural portraying the time Somnambula stood up to the Sphinx.
“Wow. This is more like a temple than a cave,” Flurry said.
“Definitely looks like the type of place to find treasure in!” Pound said.
“Mom, we could find some gold! Imagine what we could do with gold if we got back home to tell Dad!” Pumpkin told her mother, excitedly.
“Well let’s not get our hopes up, dear,” Mrs. Cake said, patting Pumpkin on the head. “Though we could use a bit of a renovation on the freezer storage back at the Corner.”
“I’m not sure there will be gold here,” Somnambula said. “This temple doesn’t appear to be the type that would house gold, at least not in this state. It looks like it might have been more of a shrine or perhaps a living space for an aristocrat from long ago. Well, whatever the case, if there is a gift in here as the note states, perhaps this temple was made in my honor. I did notice the picture of me standing up to Anatankha.
“Anatankha? Wait, so the sphinx you faced had a name?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Not many mention it because they think it is bad luck to say her name, but yes, the sphinx who invaded my village was indeed named Anatankha.”
“There’s also a lot of spooky statues of sphinxes in here,” Annie said, huddling up to her mother.
“Yeah, whoever lived here sure did like these statues,” added Flurry. “Gosh, this is such a big temple. I really wonder what it was meant for. When we find this gift for Somnambula, we’ve got to go back and let everyone else know about this place!”
The group continued on for a few more minutes, following signs that were written in the ancient Southern Equestrian language. They went up some stairs, over bridges, and through large doors. The most peculiar thing was that there was a long sloped riverbed that could be seen on the side in the more cavernous areas. It seemed to be a place meant for water to drain out, but the riverbed was dry and looked more like a slide made out of smooth stone. The pillars and ancient architecture of the temple was a sight to behold and they all felt they were getting enough of a tour that wasn’t even originally planned on their itinerary. They continued on until they finally came to one large door that had a seal on it.
“Just how do we get past this one?” asked Applejack.
“I’m not sure. The inscriptions do not recite a riddle I must guess,” Somnambula answered.
“Oh hey, look!” Stormy said as he found a small pedal on the ground with a glyph on it. “Maybe if I step on this it will open!”
Stormy did his best to impress Somnambula and make the door open, but the pedal didn’t seem to be working.
“Uh…hehe, sorry,” he said, bashfully.
“Here, let’s see if it takes dragon feet instead,” said Spike as he gave it a try.
Finally Somnambula offered to put her hoof on the pedal and the door suddenly began moving.
“Wow, so it only responds to Somnambula’s hoof?” Chip asked.
“I guess it has a spell that is only meant to recognize my touch,” Somnambula replied. “That is rather interesting. Whoever made this temple and set this up must have really wanted to challenge me in finding this mysterious gift.”
They walked into the room and looked around. Spike lit a few torches on the side so they could see easier. As the room became brighter, everyone paused to look at a huge statue standing before them. It was a life-sized sphinx that closely resembled Anatankha.
“Is… is that…” Flurry began to say.
“Anatankha,” Somnambula said.
“That’s her?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well, that’s a statue of her. She would be long gone by now. Sphinxes don’t exactly have the lifespan of a dragon.”
Somnambula ascended to get a good look at the statue. She examined the face and the headdress closely.
“Whoever sculpted this did such a wonderful job. She looks just like how I remember her.”
“So you took on her a long time ago?” Stormy asked, eagerly.
“Well, more like I just guessed her riddle and then crossed a bridge while blindfolded and not able to fly. I definitely outsmarted her and my people never saw her again. She flew off in defeat the moment I rescued Prince Hisan.”
“Why would someone leave this statue of Anatankha behind though?” asked Flurry.
“Yeah, is this the gift we’re supposed to be looking for?” Mrs. Cake asked.
“Both good questions,” Somnambula answered. “Maybe it is meant to commemorate when I stood against her. It is a shame there is no statue of me to go with it though.”
“Somny, why don’tcha tell the kids the whole story of how ya took on this gal.” Applejack said.
“Hehe, alright. You see children; a while ago Anatankha invaded our village to plunder our crops. When Prince Hisan decided to…oh?”
Somnambula descended to the ground as she spoke, but she did not realize she landed on a circle with zodiac symbols and two figures of her and Anatankha. She was too distracted to notice it earlier, but as soon as she touched it with her hooves, the glyphs began to light up. Next, there were lines in the stone ground that lead from the circle to the square pedestal where the statue stood. They crept up until they touched the floor right beneath its feet. The lights in the ground made the sound of laser beams until they reached the statue and then all was quiet. Everyone stood still for a few moments.
“What was that?” Flurry whispered.
Suddenly, the statue began to crack and flakes of stone fell to the ground to reveal magenta fur underneath.
“Oh no! The statue…it…IT IS ANATANKHA!!” Somnambula shouted. “EVERYPONY RUN!”
They tried to run through the door, but some black magic had already caused it to close. Thankfully, there were plenty of pillars right before the walls for them to hide behind, but still no exits. They looked back and saw that the stone was falling off in larger chunks until Anatankha started moving her wings and tail around. As everyone scattered to find shelter, Anatankha’s eyes were revealed and she finally shook off the rest of the flakes, opened her mouth and roared like a lion. Anatankha walked forward and began to laugh in a deep, sultry Africolt accent.
“Hahahaha…Somnambula, my old friend,” she said. “I know you are in here. Come out so that we may play again.”
Somnambula stood behind a pillar with Spike and Flurry next to her. The others had found their own spots to hide in.
“What do we do?” Flurry whispered to Somnambula.
“It’s me she wants,” Somnambula whispered back. “I’ll stay and distract her. You two, get everyone out of here.”
“What about you?” Spike asked.
“I will find a way. We can’t let her escape from this place or she will terrorize the village again, so I will have to figure out how to trap her.”
“Where are you, Somnambula? You cannot hide forever!” said Anatankha.
“Go! Go now!” Somnambula told them as they tiptoed away to regroup with the others.
Spike and Flurry quietly crept through the shadows to not alert the sphinx, but Spike tripped over an overturned tile and landed with a thud. Anatankha’s ears perked up and she turned her head around quickly to their direction.
“Is that you, Somnambula?” she said as she slinked toward them like a lion stalking its prey.
Spike held Flurry close to him as they both shimmied up against the wall until Anatankha used her magic to light some nearby torches to get a better look at them. She tilted her head in confusion.
“Eh?! You are not who I am looking for… How did you fools get in here?!” she bellowed.
“Uh…we’re just tourists passing through,” Spike said, trembling.
“Well get out of here! This temple is only meant for me and-”
Somnambula flew right by Anatankha’s face and startled her. Anatankha growled and looked around to keep track of the thing that flew past her, but it looped back around and landed right between her friends and the sphinx.
“Anatankha!” Somnambula shouted.
“Ah, there you are, my old friend!”
“What is going on?! Who turned you into stone?!”
“Ah ah ah, I am the one who asks the riddles here, little one!”
“Anatankha, I don’t know what your endgame is, but if you give my village trouble again-”
“You’ll do what? Foolish little Somnambula, I have no quarrel with your village, it is you I want!”
“Whatever you do, just leave my friends out of this!”
“I cannot guarantee their safety, but they best stay out of my way. Right now, all that matters is that I am finally reunited with my old nemesis. I look forward to facing the great Pillar of Hope once again!”