The entire room stopped moving when the hourglass smashed on the ground. Its glass scattered around loose sand. Saddle Rager paused and suddenly shrunk to her normal size, tearfully upset about damaging an ancient artefact.
“Oh, Oh no! Wha-what have I done?! I-I didn’t mean to! It’s broken...” Her eyes glued to the shattered hourglass. As she stared at it, she noticed something… odd. The sand was moving. Shifting over itself, with any stray grains rolling back to the centre. Gasping, she caught everyone’s attention.
“Matter-Horn! Look!” The sand swirled and pulsed. Pulling itself on top into a mound before losing its pull and falling down again. But each time it pulled itself together and then fell apart, the mound got slightly bigger. Soon the sand was taller than Saddle Rager and looked to be forming into something. The more of a shape that developed, the darker the sand became; its colour changing to suit the form.
A tall Arabian horse was standing before them. His coat a pale blackish brown, and his hair a sickly straw yellow, rolling far down his face and over his snout. He wore a traditional tasselled halter and saddle, coloured black and a pale light brown. His blood red bready eyes moved sporadically around the room to stare at every occupant, and a long, twisted grin crawled up his face. His form was solid, but every so often, a bit of him; his mane, saddle or body, would drop flecks of sand, or just shift, showing he was made of the sand. A low, grinding chuckle escaped his dry, parched, unused throat.
“Heh heh hehhh…”
“Who are you?!” The Mane-iac asked, his head whipped around to face her. She stepped back from the suddenly move, Hum Drum swayed in her grip and almost dropped the oil lamp. He grabbed it with his hooves and hugged it to his chest; ever so slightly rubbing the side of it. The Arabian horse had his eyes glued on the lamp. Swiftly, his form was sand again and he drove at the pair of them. A blast of red energy from Matter-Horn hit Mane-iac and sent her flying out of the way, while Hum Drum flew from her grip. A pink cushion appeared from nowhere behind him and caught his falling body before it hit the ground. The cushion floated over to the conscious Radiance; still plagued by a growing bruise on the back of her head, but determined to help her friends.
“Radiance! You’re okay!” His happy grin quickly disappeared upon seeing blue smoke pour out of the oil lamp in his hooves.
“No!” The Arabian horse shouted, shaky and unused to his legs of sand. Glaring at the foal he said; “Give me the lamp, boy!” But Hum Drum was too mesmerized by the smoke. It rose from the lamp, swirling around until out of the mist, a pony figure appeared. A beautiful blue mare similar in appearance to the Arabian, but instead of back legs, her body gave way to a smoky tendril. She was decorated in the finest golden attire with flowing silk around her waist. Her eyes were a deep violet, but looked more like sparkling gems than pupils. When her eyes met the other Arabian pony’s though, she smirked.
Coming forward, she flowed around him, surrounding him in her blue smoke.
“Well isn’t this a surprise? Never thought I’d be seeing you again. How long has it been hmm? One? Two thousand years? Don’t tell me you were in that hourglass the entire time?”
“Get away from me imp! I’ll not let you return me to that wretched prison.”
“That isn’t my choice, now is it? It’s his…” The smoke pulled away to reveal the young Hum Drum, still holding onto the lamp. A smile graced her lips as she returned to Hum Drum. Floating above and staring calmly down at him, she said;
“You, young Master, have awoken the Genie of the Lamp. I have the power to grant any three wishes that you may ask. So I ask, young Master, what is it you wish?” The Arabian pony growled in anger and leapt at the Genie as he shouted,
“I WISH YOU DEAD!” He turned into an anvil of sand and smashed the Genie against the wall. When he formed together again, he saw the Genie glaring down at him, her hair frizzed, and her eyes burning with fire.
“I’LL SHOW YOU DEATH!” What followed was a sudden back and forth of the Genie throwing orbs of burning light at the Arabian, while he followed with numerous attacks attempting to knock out or kill the Genie.
“Matter-Horn!” Radiance exclaimed, “What is going on?”
“I don’t know, but it appears Mane-iac got away.” True to her word, the hair-brained villain and her minions were nowhere to be seen. Along with the artefacts. Saddle Rager shrieked as one of the Genie’s orb attacks exploded near her and she bolted over to her friends.
“Who are those ponies?!” She cried out.
“I don’t know!” Matter-Horn shouted above the fight going on, and over Hum Drum’s head. He flinched back from the noise and stared on gloomily.
“I can’t believe we failed…” He whispered.
“What do we do then?” Radiance asked, “We can’t let them keep destroying the building.”
“I’m not sure anything we do will stop them. We need the rest of the team’s help here.”
“Do we have a plan?” Saddle Rager asked.
“If someone helped me think of one we might?!” Matter-Horn was getting increasingly stressed, there were too many questions for her and not enough answers. Hum Drum sighed to himself before saying.
“I wish we were all back home…” Suddenly the Genie’s eyes glowed white and when she spoke, she spoke with the voice of a thousand.
“Your wish is my command.”
“NO!” The Arabian shouted. He leapt for the Genie, but hit nothing but air.