Sandwing flicked her wingtip against Twilight's chest, stopping her in her tracks. "Something's not right."
"How can you tell?" Twilight asked, opening her wings slightly so Spike didn't fall when she halted. "I don't see anything too bad."
"My paws are all itchy," Sandwing extended her claws, the tips clicking against the stone, "and my coat is standing up."
Twilight looked over at her guide's coat, failing to see any difference. "It is proven that Sphinx are physically uncomfortable when something is wrong?"
Sandwing glared back at her. "It's called a gut feeling."
"Oh."
"It's giving me the creeps too," Spike piped up.
"Sandwing? Is that you?" A thick-bodied, white-coated Sphinx bounded up. His coat was striped with faint gray, and his feathers were flecked similarly. "Something's happened."
"I sensed something was off," she grumbled. "What is it, Whitemane?"
He looked past her, towards Twilight, and gave Sandwing a questioning nod.
"Yes, yes, she's with me. Now speak up!"
"It's Bloodfeather. She's gotten very sick, and has requested to see you and Onyxclaw immediately. He has already arrived." Whitemane flicked out a wingtip, pointing out Ashcoat sitting over by a small fountain. "It's private."
"I can't leave her-"
"They will be safe. Now hurry," he seemed to deflate slightly, looking back towards the darkened doorway he had come through, "I don't think she has much time."
Sandwing looked back at Twilight, giving her a weak smile, and loped off down the hallway. Whitemane gave a shallow bow towards Twilight before he continued talking. "The young one may enjoy the company. His brother may not be in a good mood when he comes out."
'That's what I'm afraid of," Twilight grumbled. As Whitemane padded off, she cautiously trotted over to the young Sphinx.
He looked up, his one uncovered eye looking wide and bright without the other. "Hi, Miss Folk. Are you here with Sandwing?"
"Yes," Twilight replied, sitting down slowly and moving her legs to make room for Spike. "And you're here with your brother?"
"Yeah. He wouldn't tell me what was going on." Ashcoat frowned, looking down into the rippling water of the fountain.
Twilight followed his gaze, seeing the tiles under the surface created a large mosaic. "What's that a picture of?"
"That's the Moon God and the Sun Goddess," Ashcoat explained. "That big black shape is the Moon God Jaru. He's a snake. His one eye becomes the moon at night as he watches over us, and the edges of his scales become the stars. The white one is the Sun Goddess Ra. She's a Sphinx. When the Moon God leaves the sky, she burns her own fur and feathers and flies across the sky to light our way and warm the sands. Whenever she lands, the ground becomes wet and an oasis forms."
He paused, squinting as he tried to remember. "There's a legend about a time long ago when sunlight turned directly into moonlight. There was no sunset or sunrise. One day, Jaru tried to take over Ra's day by curling himself around the sky and twisting his tail into the sands so he could not move. The sands became cold as ice, and growing crops and hunting became difficult. Seeing her desert Folk starving, Ra flew out into the desert to find where Jaru had anchored himself.
"She found him curled around a large pillar of stone, his coils gouging into the rock. He looked down at her as she approached, his one eye casting all the light of the moon down on her alone. Despite being blinded, she pleaded with him to release the sky so she could warm it. He continued to refuse until she offered to skydance with him. He uncurled his tail from the stone spire and flew up into the night, his coils releasing broken patches of daylight. Ra skydanced with him, as she promised, and from the dance came the dusk and the dawn, a symbol of their balance and unity. Since then, the night has never invaded the day, or the other way around."
"What's a skydance?" Twilight asked.
Ashcoat looked up at her. "Oh, I forgot you weren't from here. A skydance is-"
"Ashcoat!"
"Twilight!"
Both parties jerked their heads up, seeing Onyxclaw and Sandwing stalking towards them. Mord walked between Twilight and Ashcoat, driving his little brother away. Sandwing simply looked at the ground, her wings drooping and her eyes half-closed.
"She's gone," Sandwing whispered. "Pharaoh Bloodfeather has died."
Twilight felt a shiver rush over her body. From what she had inferred from her letter, the Pharaoh had been doing fine.
"It was some kind of sickness. By the end of her message, she had started rambling about an day as dark as night, and the repetition of history. Whitemane had to take us out, but once we left the room, she went quiet. Whitemane went in to see if she was alright, and her breath had left her. There will be a public vigil tonight, if you'd like to join us."
"What message?" Twilight asked.
"Who will inherit the throne. You might not have been told this, Twilight, but... I'm kind of Bloodfeather's daughter. I'm kind of a Princess myself. And Onyxclaw is technically a Prince. We're supposed to rule together. Get married."
"Oh."
"Oh is right," Sandwing scoffed. "Me, marry that jerk? Not happening. So we've split it. He rules the Moonlight District, and I rule the Daylight."
"So, is there a problem?" Twilight tilted her head.
"Not yet," she sighed, "but chances are there will be, and I thought you should know. Since you're still my charge, you'll have to sit court with me and all that boring stuff."
"That's not that bad," Twilight insisted. "I've done that before."
Sandwing's ears pinned back. "And I may have to go out into the desert and find the Daystaff, which may or may not actually exist."
Twilight made a small choking noise.
Sandwing grinned bitterly. "All in a day's work."