The Pharaoh's Curse: Part 4
"Be true to yourself, stay focused and stay you, take advice from other folks, use what you can, but never mind what is not for you. For the most part, trust yourself and believe in what you are doing."
- Musiq Soulchild
One of the many rooms Twilight had constructed in the Power Ponies' Headquarters was a library. She was the only one who had ever used it until now. After hearing the Mane-iac's tip from Rarity, Rainbow decided to do what Twilight would do: research! Spike was upstairs searching the internet while Rainbow, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were sifting through books on Ancient Anugypt they found in the Headquarters library as well as some Pinkie had fetched from the public library.
Rarity looked up from her book for a moment at Pinkie Pie, who was sitting across the table, flipping through pages at super speed.
"What in the world are you doing?" Rarity asked.
"Speedreading!" Pinkie exclaimed, slamming the book closed. "Cool, huh?"
Rainbow yawned, anxious to find an excuse to look up from her own book. "Find anything on Amenhooftep?"
Pinkie shrugged. "Obsessed with jewels, obsessed with mares, nothing we didn't already hear at the exhibit yesterday."
"Same," Rainbow said. "I didn't even learn much else about his wives, not even their names, other than Neighfertiti. This is what happens to info after thousands of years."
"Do you really think the Phony Pharaoh who broke Trixie out was Amenhooftep?" Rarity asked.
"I don't see who else it could be. The curse says he will not rest until he's reunited with his seventh wife."
"So the mummy's alive?" Pinkie said. "Creepy!"
"He certainly didn't look like a mummy," Rarity said, "at least according to what the inmates told Dee. I think she would have mentioned him being wrapped in cloth or at least really, really decomposed."
"But Amenhooftep had his body preserved," Rainbow pointed out, "not fully mummified. What I don't get is how he's managed to kidnap five mares all by himself! I mean the guy was a king, not some criminal mastermind!"
Pinkie snorted. "Is there really a difference?"
"One doesn't necessarily need superpowers for kidnapping," Rarity said. "I mean I love Coco, but she's not the best at defending herself."
"What about Trixie though?" Rainbow said. "I mean it's easy for us to catch her, but some thousands-year-old mummy without superpowers? And how did he even convince the guards to let him in? Who lets a mummy into a prison?!" She slammed her head onto the table. "None of this makes any sense!"
"Maybe your boss'll know more about Amenhooftep," Pinkie suggested.
"He is an Anugyptian expert, plus he's supposedly descended from Amenhooftep and…" As Rainbow gasped, her head shot up. "Sweet Zeus! What time is it?!"
Rarity checked her phone. "A quarter to seven."
"Seven?!" She bolted into the air. "Dinner! I totally forgot! I gotta get going!"
"I thought you said this wasn't a date?"
"It isn't! But I still can't be late for a business dinner with my boss! He's mad enough about the mess we made already!"
She was about to dash off when Rarity used her magic to grab her tail.
"You're not going in that, are you?" Rarity asked.
Rainbow looked down at her rainbow-patterned hoodie. "I don't have time to go home and change!"
"Not to worry!" Rarity quickly wrote something in her notepad, ripped out a page and handed it to Pinkie. "Go to my apartment and get me these things, stat!"
"On it!" Pinkie said, saluting before she zipped away.
She returned a second later with a pile of supplies. Rarity grinned as she levitated a tube of mascara into the air.
"Oh no!" Rainbow said, holding up her hooves as she backed away. "No, no, don't you dare—"
She yelped as Rarity tackled her and went to work at a speed that would rival Pinkie Pie, who zipped off a moment to get popcorn. When the cloud of dust cleared, Rainbow's mane was combed and tied into a single long ponytail. She looked down at the maroon dress that had appeared on her body. Its style was simple, with a modest neckline, no sleeves, and a few ruffles on the skirt. A small, rectangular, matching purse was slung over her shoulder.
Pushing her spectacles up her nose, Rainbow glared at the unicorn. "You are not gussying me up for a dinner with my boss!"
"I just did," Rarity said bluntly.
"It's not a date!"
"But it's still dinner with your employer, at an expensive restaurant, no less. Which is why I dressed you in something smart, formal, but modest enough not to give him the impression that you see him as anything other than an employer."
Rainbow scrutinized her gown, trying to find something to argue about. Knowing nothing about clothes, and thus finding no argument, she let out a sigh.
"Fine. Doesn't really matter what I wear anyway."
Rarity gasped dramatically. "You eat those words right now!"
Ignoring her, Rainbow clung to the strap of her purse. "At least I can use this dinner to learn more about Amenhooftep from Mr. Fetlock. You guys keep looking. I'll try not to be long. Maybe if I skip out on dessert…"
"No way!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Order dessert and bring it back for us!" She smiled sweetly. "I like anything with sugar."
Rainbow was practically panting by the time she reached the restaurant. She had to stop in the doorway to catch her breath. When she looked up, her breath went still.
The place was huge. For a busy restaurant, the floor was surprisingly sparkling clean. The walls were lined with marble pillars which held up gothic arches, framing Mountiterranean tapestries. Red silk hung from the ceiling and a palm tree stood in the center of the room. The servers all wore turbans and hijabs along with their black suits and bowties. The platters they carried looked to be solid gold.
"Rarity wasn't kidding," Rainbow murmured. "This place is fancy."
"Can I help you, miss?" asked the maître d', a green mare in a golden hijab.
Shaking out of her shock, Rainbow replied, "Err, yeah. I'm meeting my boss? A guy named Fetlock?"
"Ah, yes," the maître d' said, stepping out from behind her lectern. "Right this way, miss. Mr. Fetlock arrived not five minutes ago."
Checking the clock on the wall, Rainbow thought, Shoot. Two minutes late. He's going to scream my head off!
The maître d' led her to a table in the back corner of the room.
"Ah, Miss Dash!" Mr. Fetlock said, rising from his seat. "You look positively radiant tonight."
Rainbow almost hadn't recognized her boss. She was used to seeing him in a suit, but the one he wore now was a tuxedo. A white one at that. His dark gray mane was in its usual ponytail, but appeared to be sleeker, as if he'd gelled it. On his chin was a small, but thick, goatee, and…was that eyeliner around his eyes?
As if his appearance wasn't surprising enough, he glided around the table and pulled out the other seat for Rainbow Dash.
"Um…thanks?" she said, slowly lowering herself into the chair.
"I hope you do not mind," Mr. Fetlock said, returning to his own seat, "but I took the liberty of ordering the wine." He gestured to the two full wine glasses on the table and the bottle between them. "Rubis d'Anugypt. Almost as delectable as what the pharaohs would have drunk."
As she blinked, Mr. Fetlock lifted his glass. "To us."
Rainbow wasn't a fan of wine, but not wanting to offend her boss, she too lifted her glass. "Uh…cheers?" He clinked his glass with hers and took a sip. "Wait. What do you mean by—?"
"Are you not thirsty?" Mr. Fetlock asked, looking at her expectantly.
Rolling her eyes, Rainbow took a quick sip and stopped herself from spitting it out. It tasted absolutely bitter, yet she sent her boss a grin.
"So, uh," she said, setting the glass down, "Mr. Fetlock—"
"Please, please," he said, holding up a hoof. "Let us spare the formalities. Call me…Felonious."
Scrunching her nose, she responded, "Felonious? What kind of name—?" Remembering she was talking to her boss, she quickly composed herself. "Right. Okay, uh…Felonious," she cringed as she said this, "I was hoping we could talk about the new mummy."
"Ah, yes!" Mr. Fetlock, or rather Felonious, said, his green eyes sparking with excitement. "Impressive, is he not?"
"Yeah, yeah, real impressive. I just had a few questions. You know, so I got all I need to know for visitors."
"Of course," he said, taking another sip of wine. "Ask away, my dear."
Dear? Rainbow shook it off so she could focus on her objective. "Yeah, so…that whole curse about him not finding rest until he's reunited with his wife, what do you suppose that means?"
Felonious stopped his drinking a moment and then slowly set the glass down. "I think it is rather simple. Amenhooftep's spirit will not be able to pass into the next world until he is with Neighfertiti again."
"Yeah, but…how does that even work? I mean Neighfertiti would've been mummified, right? So…wouldn't she already be in the next world?"
He looked to the side, his eyes holding a wistful, almost sad, gaze. "I am afraid it is not as simple as that. You see, there are things other than the body that tie spirits to the mortal world."
His eyes wandered in the direction of…Rainbow's chest. Looking down, she self-consciously covered her chest with her hooves.
What am I doing? This dress isn't revealing! And we walk around half-naked all the time!
"Uh, what," she said, lowering her hooves, "do you mean by that, exactly?"
Thankfully, his gaze moved to meet hers. "The spirit can be a…stubborn thing. Even when the body is gone it can still cling to the mortal world through some object or," his hoof clenched, "person."
"So…you're saying that Amenhooftep's spirit might be stubborn enough to…make his half-mummified body move again?"
Felonious raised an eyebrow. "Why do you wish to know this?"
"No reason!" Rainbow said quickly. "Just…you know, thought it'd be a good ghost story for the foals at the museum."
"The museum," he said, hanging his head with a sigh. "My glorious palace of treasures…how will it ever be restored?"
"Right." She bit her lip guiltily. "H-Hey, accidents happen. I'm sure once Twilight gets back from her trip she can lend us some money and—"
"One cannot restore thousands of years of broken history with simple money," Felonious said through his teeth. "Priceless artifacts were destroyed yesterday." His glaring eyes bore into hers. "All because of the carelessness of six overly-powered mares."
Rainbow gulped. "Uh…actually it was just four because Mare-velous and Matter-Horn were—"
"No matter!" His lips curled into an eerie smile. "I can rebuild my empire again."
Rainbow gasped as she suddenly felt his hoof over hers.
"We can rebuild our empire," he whispered, leaning forward.
Looking frantically between their touching hooves and her boss, Rainbow's thoughts were swimming. Mr. Fetlock wasn't acting like himself at all. With the formal attire, the gussying-up, the smooth tone of his voice, the refusal to use contractions…
She squeaked as she started to think that Rarity had been right all along.
Rainbow was on a date with her boss.
"Uh," she said, snatching her hoof away. "Look, err, boss…"
"Felonious," he said with a toothy grin.
"Whatever. You're a real…okay guy and all." She muttered, "Weird, but okay." She took a deep breath. "I'm just not into you."
She stiffened as he grabbed her hoof again.
"Feelings can change over time," Felonious whispered, not taking his eyes off her.
Shaking her head, she pulled her hoof out of his grasp. "You're my boss. It'd just be weird. Besides, I'm not even…" She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "It's, uh…kind of hard to explain, but…I don't feel that way about…"
Felonious' smile disappeared. "Don't tell me you're a…a…" his teeth ground together as he hissed, "sapphist!"
Rainbow blinked. "A what now?"
"You know," he said, his voice growing lower. "Like that…mare from Lesbos?"
It took a minute for her high school poetry class to catch up with her. As she recalled, a "sapphist" referred to the poet Sapphony, who had hailed from the Gracian island of Lesbos, the mare who had inspired the word…
"Oh!" Rainbow held up her hooves insistently. "No, no, no, no! I'm not…I mean I'm not exactly straight either, but…I'm just not into any pony, really…"
Felonious huffed. "That is not a real thing."
She narrowed her eyes. "It is! In fact, there are lots of ponies who are…" She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Forget it. This is exactly why I don't talk about it a lot. I just don't like you in that way, okay?" She began moving out of her chair. "I think I've lost my appetite."
Before she could lift her haunches, Felonious snatched up her hoof once more. This time, his grip was tight and Rainbow was unable to pry herself loose.
"You will not leave until I say so," Felonious growled.
"Let go!" Rainbow exclaimed, tugging harder as his grip tightened even more.
"Even in this form, you are headstrong," he said, his glaring eyes meeting hers, "Neighfertiti."
She paused. "What did you call me?"
"Is there a problem here?" the maître d' asked, coming up to the table.
Startled by her presence, Mr. Fetlock turned to the maître d', his grip loosening a bit.
"No problem," Rainbow said, yanking her hoof free. "I was just leaving."
Slinging her purse over her shoulder, she stomped out of the restaurant with her head held high. As soon as she was outside, she took to the skies.
"I'm such an idiot!" she cried. "Of course he thought it was a date!" She started mimicking his voice. "'Oh, asexuality isn't a real thing!'" She gagged. "What does he know? He's crazy! He called me Neighfertiti, for Zeus' sake! 'Sapphist!' Who even uses that word anymore? What does he think this is? The Fifth," she let out a yawn, "Dynasty…of…"
Suddenly, her vision became blurry, and she couldn't see where she was flying. Massaging her head, she let out a groggy groan.
How can I be sleepy? I slept in this morning. There's no way I could…
In the little consciousness she had left, she realized what had happened.
"The…wine…"
Her eyes rolled towards the back of her head as she plummeted to the ground.
"I've got it!"
Rarity jumped awake as Pinkie Pie screamed excitedly.
"I've figured out why all those mares were taken!" Pinkie held up a book towards Rarity's face, showing a hieroglyphic image of Amenhooftep. "Remember Rainbow's speech at the museum? About Amenhooftep's seven wives?"
"Vaguely," Rarity said, gently pushing the book an inch away from her face.
"Well I do! The first wife was said to be snotty and conceited and would order every pony around like slaves!" She smirked at her friend. "Sound like some pony we know?"
Rarity rolled her eyes. "Suri acts that way all the time."
"Uh-huh. And the second wife had been the first wife's servant girl. And Coco used to be Suri's assistant."
"So?"
"The third wife was intelligent and forward-thinking. I remember reading an article last week about Starlight Glimmer's 'Equal Work, Equal Pay' project where every pony in her company is paid the exact same salary, even the janitor!"
"While this is all very interesting, Pinkie, what does this have to do with—?"
"And the fourth wife had been the third wife's servant, and Starlight Glimmer's secretary disappears along with her!" She motioned her hoof in a circle. "See where I'm going with this?"
Rarity pondered for a moment and then her eyes widened in recollection. "The fifth wife…had been a high priest's daughter…"
Pinkie grinned, seeing that she was catching the pattern. "…caught stealing the king's treasure…"
"…and Trixie had tried to steal his treasure!"
"Ding, ding, ding!" She jumped onto the table to do a happy dance. "We have a winner!"
"Come to think of it," the unicorn said, rubbing her chin, "all the missing mares had been at the exhibit yesterday, including Trixie!"
"Right where the mummy could see them!" Pinkie's mouth twisted. "Hear them? Can he do that all wrapped up in toilet paper?"
"I think you're onto something, Pinkie." Standing up from her seat, Rarity began pacing the room. "If that Phony Pharaoh is Amenhooftep, he must be kidnapping mares who remind him of his former wives! And if he's already taken five…"
"Just two more to go!" Pinkie said, leaping down to her side.
"Then his next target must be Wife Number Six." She thought hard. "Oh, what did Rainbow say about Number Six?"
"Oh, she was this totally gorgeous village girl who was super shy and quiet and…"
Pinkie trailed off as she caught the terrified look on Rarity's face. Soon both their faces took on this expression as they reached the same conclusion.
"You don't think…?" Pinkie stared to say.
Rarity didn't want to think.
"Spike!" she practically screamed into her commlink, causing feedback.
"Yow!" Spike shouted at the same time as Pinkie. "What you trying to do? Blow up my ear holes?!"
"Sorry, Spikey, but this is an emergency!" Rarity exclaimed as she headed for the elevator. "Do you have a location on Fluttershy? I haven't seen her in hours!"
"Oh, yeah, she left while Rainbow was yelling at the police on the phone," Pinkie said, racing ahead to press the elevator button. "Said there was something important she needed to do."
The unicorn gave her an exasperated look. "You couldn't have mentioned that she'd left earlier?!"
"You didn't notice?" She huffed. "And you call yourself a friend."
When the girls arrived in the control room, they found Spike looking at the monitors in confusion.
"That can't be right," he said, typing more commands on the keyboard. "Maybe it's a malfunction?"
"What's the matter?" Rarity asked.
Spike yelped when he finally noticed the pretty unicorn standing right next to him. His face flushed red.
"R-Rarity, I was…" He coughed. "I, uh…um…"
A sudden kick against the back of his chair jolted him out of his trance.
"Focus, Casanova!" Pinkie shouted, placing her hoof firmly on the top of the chair. "What's the twenty on Fluttershy?"
He blinked. "Huh?"
"Where is she?"
"Oh!" He pointed up to the screen, which had a map of Maretropolis. "Since that incident with Sombra when Twilight's commlink went offline, I placed trackers in all our suits. See?" He pointed to three blinking dots: one white, one pink and one green. "That's the three of us at Headquarters. This way, I can know where every pony is all the time. Even Applejack while she's in Appleloosa! And Twilight while she's in…"
When he looked at the girls, he found them glaring down at him in disapproval.
"You mean you put tracking devices on six totally gorgeous mares and didn't tell them about it?!" Pinkie snapped.
"Really, Spike!" Rarity said in a huff.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Spike said, holding up his claws defensively. "I only did it in case our commlinks ever went offline and one of us got kidnapped! And it's a good thing I did, because it looks like Fluttershy's and Dash's links are offline!"
"What?" Rarity said with a dramatic gasp.
"Maybe they were cleaning their ears out and forgot their comms were in there and accidentally crushed them with their cotton swabs," Pinkie said.
The other two raised their eyebrows at her.
"It happens," Pinkie said, twisting her hoof in her ear.
"Even if that were the case—which I doubt," Spike said, muttering that last part, "according to the map, Fluttershy and Rainbow are at the museum." He indicated the two blinking yellow and blue dots. "But I thought Rainbow would still be at the restaurant with her boss."
"The museum?" Rarity said. "I can understand if Rainbow went there to take care of business, but why would Fluttershy be there when it's closed?"
Pinkie gasped. "Because the museum curator has kidnapped them both!"
Rarity cocked her head. "You don't mean Mr. Fetlock?"
Spike turned his chair around to her. "That cranky old curator? I thought we were dealing with a mummy."
"Duh!" Pinkie said, conking Spike on the head. "The cranky old curator is the mummy! Or rather he's possessed by the mummy what with the two of them being distant relatives and all and now the mummy is running around in the curator's body taking double revenge for the mummy's jilted-ness and the destruction to the museum by kidnapping all these mares who remind the mummy of his ex-wives most likely for some ritual to bring his most beloved wife back in a new living body which is why he needs Rainbow because she looks just like the drawings of Neighfertiti and we already know the curator has the hots for her so he used the dinner to seduce her to his secret ritual place at the museum and if we don't get there lickety-split we're gonna lose two of our friends to an ancient mummy blood ritual that could possibly end in death!"
The dragon and unicorn stared at her for several seconds, before the latter asked, "However did you come up with all that?"
Folding her hooves across her chest, Pinkie replied, "Despite what you all whisper under your breaths about me being bubble-brained, I actually pay attention!"
Spike shrugged. "Sounds legit."
"But if Pinkie's right," Rarity said, "we have to get there now!"
"So we just burst in there and fight all willy-nilly?" Pinkie asked.
"No, you remember how that worked out. We need a plan."
There was silence for a long while.
"Well?" Rarity said.
"Uh…" Pinkie rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't know if you've realized, but the ones who usually make the plans are either on vacation or being held hostage by a mummy-possessed curator."
"We can still come up with a plan!"
Silence again.
"Any pony?" Rarity looked between Spike and Pinkie. "Come on. Literally any ideas would be nice right about now!"
After a few more seconds of quiet, Pinkie piped up. "Marshmallow robots!"
"Ooh!" Spike said excitedly. "I'll write that in my gadget book!"
The unicorn groaned in exasperation. "I'm the only adult here, aren't I?"
"Guess that makes you the leader then!" Pinkie said, applauding.
"Woo-hoo!" Spike cheered. "Go Team Rarity!"
"Who cares who the leader is?!" Rarity shouted. "Good gracious, I'm surrounded by—"
She was cut off by the blaring of the General Badness Alarm.
"Oh, what now?!"
They all looked up at the alert window on the screen.
"Bray's Jewelers is being robbed," Spike said nonchalantly.
"Not again!" Rarity exclaimed. "And at literally the worst possible time!"
"Why don't I just zip on over there and take out the robbers and then meet you at the museum?" Pinkie asked.
"That's…" The unicorn became more relaxed. "…not a bad idea, actually. Although if our mummy friend proves to be more of a threat than we've anticipated, it may not be wise for me to take him on by myself."
"Just sneak in and find Rainbow and Fluttershy," Spike said. "Once you've freed them, you should be able to take on any surprises the Phony Pharaoh throws at you."
"Hopefully I'll be done with the burglary before then," Pinkie said.
The dragon started typing again. "And I'll try hacking into the museums' security cameras to scout the perimeter, and to keep tabs on you, Rarity." He blushed. "Not in a creepy way, I swear!"
"That's…brilliant." Rarity's awe was then momentarily replaced with frustration. "Where were these ideas five minutes ago?!"
When Fili-Second arrived at Bray's Jewelers a minute later, the alarms were still blaring. The first odd thing she noticed was that the glass windows and door hadn't been broken. When Fili-Second tried the doors, they were locked tight. She did a quick perimeter check but found no open windows, no unlocked back door, no open ventilation shaft, no other points of entry.
"Man, these guys are good. Well, not that good if they still set off the alarm." Glancing at the locked doors, she said, "Well," and backed quickly across the street, "here it goes."
Her back hooves spun wildly as she charged for the doors, leaning her head forward to serve as a battering ram. But half a millisecond before she could hit the doors, they flung open. Not having enough time to react, she crashed into the back of the shop, causing an explosion of diamond necklaces and sapphire bracelets.
"My, that was fast," said a familiar voice.
As she massaged her head, Fili-Second turned around to see Discord floating above her—along with several pieces of jewelry—wearing a black-and-white-striped shirt and a black ski mask.
"I'd only tripped the alarm but a few seconds a—" He then got a better look at the hero and frowned. "Ah, great. I was going for Miss Angry Pants, not Hermes 2.0."
"Discord?" Fili-Second said in confusion, springing to her hooves. "What are you doing robbing a jewelry store? Not judging or anything, but I thought the only jewelry you were into was your amulet."
"True," Discord said as he made the jewelry spin in circles. "The answer to your question is very simple." He smirked. "Because I can and it's fun!"
Fili-Second rolled her eyes. "Saddle Rager told me about your little bank heist yesterday. I didn't think you were this desperate for attention."
Discord gritted his teeth together. "I am not desperate for attention!"
"Oh, please! You could actually be trying to steal your actual necklace but instead you're stealing necklaces you have absolutely no use for because I doubt a god like you needs to steal since you can just conjure whatever you'd like out of thin air all just for the heck of it and to be honest I think you just get off on getting beaten up!"
Discord blinked. "What do you mean 'get off?'"
"Never mind," Fili-Second said. "I don't have time for this. Just snap your fingers or whatever you do to put everything back and we'll call it a night."
She tried dashing off when Discord caught her in a butterfly net.
"Seriously?" he said, lifting the net to his eyelevel. "Do all you heroes dash off from a crime scene before stopping the bad guy?"
She huffed as she writhed around in the net. "We only stop bad guys who are a threat."
He gaped. "Are you saying I'm not a threat?! I ruled the world for twenty-seven and a half days! It took all twelve Olympian gods to take me down! I'm the biggest threat the mortal world's ever seen!" He gave it some thought. "Well, after—"
"Hate to break it to ya, buddy," Fili-Second said, crossing her hooves, "but since you broke out of your statue and kidnapped and proposed to our friend and then just let her go when she asked you nicely and then made no grand attempt to reclaim your amulet after several months, we almost forgot about you up until a few days ago."
"Forgot about me?!" Discord hollered, shaking the net.
"You have to admit your escape was pretty anticlimactic!" she said, poking her head out of the top of the net. "We hadn't even had a chance to complete our potentially dangerous blood ritual for our epic rescue!"
"How dare you insult me?! If I had my amulet, I would turn you into a snail! Try speeding your way through that!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She jumped out of the net. "Look, pal, I really don't have time for this."
"You will try and stop me! Even if you aren't the hero I was going for, we might as well finish what we—"
"I'm serious!" Fili-Second screamed at the top of her lungs. "We have an actual threatening threat going on across town right now and I need to be there! Some mummy creep has possessed the museum curator and kidnapped several mares including your waifu and we really need to rescue them!"
Discord blinked. "My what-fu?"
"Ugh!" She facehoofed herself. "I'm talking about Fluttershy!"
The floating jewelry dropped to the floor, the net disappeared, and Discord's red pupils shrunk to the size of dust specks.
"And if I'm not there soon," Fili-Second said, not paying attention to the sudden change in the atmosphere, "Mummy Creep's gonna sacrifice her along with five other mares to bring his waifu back to life!"
It took a while for the god to get the words out. "Someone…t-took…Fluttershy?"
"Yes! So stop feeling sorry for yourself and put all this stuff back! And stop robbing places for no reason! You're just wasting every pony's time!"
She whizzed out of the shop, leaving Discord dazed. His eyes narrowed and his teeth ground together.
"I'm going to tear that 'Mummy Creep' limb from limb and mount his head on my wall!"
His fingers were raised and prepared to teleport, when a siren sounded and his claw was knocked forward by a golden staff. Spinning around, he found a blue stallion with a dark blue curly mane and purple eyes floating above him. On his head, beneath the blaring red siren, was a golden helmet with wings on either side to match his staff which had eagle wings and two snakes carved into it. His light blue mail carrier uniform and burlap sack hanging off his shoulder clashed with his ancient accessories.
He was an earth pony, the only thing keeping him afloat being the wings on his ankles.
"Hermes," Discord said, glaring at the messenger god.
"Discord!" Hermes said chipperly. "You're looking well, for a guy who's been a statue for two millennia."
"Yes, well, while I'd love to play catch up, I have a Mummy Creep to punish."
"Not so fast," Hermes said, slapping Discord's paw with his staff. "I've got a message from Hera."
Discord rolled his eyes as the messenger god dug through his bag of letters. "Unless it's an apology for imprisoning me for two thousand years, I'm not interested."
"Actually," the stallion said, pulling out a red envelope, "it's a warning."
"Not to take over the world? Surely Hera knows I've not returned to my world-dominating endeavors." He muttered under his breath, "Yet."
"She knows," Hermes said, opening up the envelope. "And she congratulates you on your self-control. Not even Daddy Zeus keeps still for as long as you have." He snickered. "Maybe keeping you still for two millennia did you some good."
Discord's eyes narrowed further. "Just get to the message before I toss you into the sun!"
"Alright, alright! Sheesh. You haven't changed much." As he unfolded the letter, Hermes cleared his throat and began to read:
"Discord,
"As much as I understand the desire to rescue your Vassal, and punish the mortal who has abducted her—"
"'Vassal?'" Discord asked in confusion. "Does she mean Fluttershy?"
Ignoring him, Hermes continued. "I must remind you that doing so violates Olympian Code 345-7, which dictates that 'in the event of a less than divine threat on the mortal realm, the gods must refrain from intervening and leave the affair to the mortals. Demigods, godly Vassals and heroic mortals are free to settle the affair in whatever way they see fit without divine intervention.'"
Discord stared at him blankly. "So what are you saying?"
"It's saying," Hermes said, looking up at him, "that since the stallion who kidnapped your girl is a mortal, that makes this a mortal affair, and it is against the Olympian Code of Conduct for gods to meddle in mortal affairs."
Steam came out of the draconequus' ears. "But this scoundrel has the mare I love! I can't just do nothing! You may be retired, but I made no such commitment!"
"But you did. Over two thousand years ago, you signed the Olympian Code of Conduct and agreed to abide by our rules. Surely you remember what happened last time you broke them."
Discord winced as he recalled the time in stone. As much as he wanted to bend the rules, he did not want to go back there, especially if it meant not being able to see Fluttershy again.
Then he remembered something and opened his eyes. "You no longer have your symbols of power! You can't seal me in stone without them!"
"True," Hermes said with a shrug, "but as my Lady Hera's message says, There are other ways to punish you if you go against the Code, especially since you yourself are without your symbol of power. For instance, Poseidon could really use some assistance ridding his waters of waste."
Discord cringed. He didn't know which was worse: becoming stone again or becoming the God of the Sea's personal garbage boy.
"I wouldn't worry about your girl," Hermes said. "She can take care of herself, and she has very powerful friends."
"That's true," Discord said, remembering how quickly Fili-Second had left. "You sure that pink one isn't related to you somehow?"
"No." Hermes tapped his chin. "At least, I don't think so. Hard to keep track of all my one-night stands." He noticed Discord's disapproving look. "Hey, not all of us can stay devoted to one mortal!" He murmured, "Just never thought you would."
"Then you wouldn't understand why I can't just sit around here while the mare I love is in danger!"
"Which brings me back to the message." Hermes continued to read. "However, should the heroes succeed in rescuing your mare, since this stallion has offended you—though indirectly—by abducting a mortal you favor, Olympian Code 13-4 gives you the right to punish him in whatever way you see fit, except in death, as that is Hades' department. Other than that, no restrictions.
"Yours sincerely,
"Hera, Queen of the Gods."
Discord sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll abide by her royal highness' rules. That Mummy Creep just better hope those heroes manage to kill him, because when I get to him," he grinned wickedly, "I'm going to do something much worse."
Around the time Rarity and Pinkie were figuring out Amenhooftep's plot, Rainbow was regaining consciousness. Her head throbbed and her vision blurred as she attempted to sit up.
"Ugh," she said, rubbing her temple. "Why does my head feel so heavy?"
Then her hoof brushed against something that caused a small rattling sound. After some feeling around, she realized they were beads dangling from her mane. As her hooves went up further, she discovered a ring-like crown at the top of her head.
When her vision finally cleared, she looked down at her body and was shocked to see that her evening dress had been exchanged for a kalasiris, an ancient Anugyptian robe! Now that she was able to see, she realized a certain ovular ring was absent from her sight. Putting her hoof to her muzzle confirmed that her glasses were gone.
Gasping, she felt for Zeus' Bolt and was both relieved and panicked to find it still safe around her neck. Relieved, because she hadn't lost it. Panicked, because it was out for the world to see.
And whoever had drugged her had removed her spectacles.
"At long last, Neighfertiti," said a low voice. "We are together again."
Rainbow Dash spun around as a figure stepped out of the shadows. He wore a pharaoh's headdress, necklace, anklets and beard, accessories which she recognized immediately.
"King Amenhooftep?" she said.
The pharaoh chuckled. "In a manner of speaking."
Then he stepped further into the light and Rainbow got a better look at his features, making her gasp.
"Boss?! You're the Phony Pharaoh?!"
He huffed angrily. "I refuse to abide by that horrid title bestowed upon me by the press. If I am to be titled as anything other than King Amenhooftep, let me be known from this day forward as…" He broadened his shoulders and held his chin up proudly. "Pharaoh Phetlock!" He leaned forward to whisper, "With a 'p-h,' if that was not clear."
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "And they say I'm bad with names."
"You need not fear me, Neighfertiti," Pharaoh Phetlock said as he circled her. "In but a few moments, you will be feeling like your old self again."
"Why do you keep calling me…?"
She trailed off as she started to take in her surroundings. She was in what used to be the Reneighssance gallery, only the paintings had been cleared out and replaced with a circle of six sarcophagi. Rainbow looked down, horrified to find herself also in a sarcophagus! She looked back at the surrounding coffins and saw each of the missing mares, sleeping, all in ancient Anugyptian garb! The occupant of the sixth sarcophagus made Rainbow's blood run cold.
"Fluttershy!" She flew out towards her friend. "What did you do to her?!"
"She is alive," Pharaoh Phetlock replied. "For now."
Rainbow turned to her employer, her eyes burning with rage. "Have you cracked, Boss? Is this because we—I mean the Power Ponies destroyed your museum? Why are you pretending to be a pharaoh? How did you even manage to kidnap all these mares?" She quickly covered her body with her hooves. "And did you change my clothes while I was unconscious?!"
The Pharaoh rolled his eyes and said patiently, "To answer your questions, in order: I have not 'cracked.' I have simply been awakened. But I will explain that later. Secondly, yes, a part of this is about what you and your," his teeth gritted together, "miscreant heroes did to my museum!"
Rainbow's hoof flew to her pendant, as if that would make him forget that was there.
"Oh, yes, Zapp, I know who you are." He took a deep breath. "Although, I must confess I did not know until I…uncovered your pendant. It did not truly surprise me, however, given your lineage."
"What the hay are you talking about?"
"One question at a time, please." He then began pacing the room. "As for why I have taken the role as Pharaoh, it is because of him."
He pointed across the room to an eighth sarcophagus, which contained the mummy of Amenhooftep. The mummy's jewels were gone, of course, as they were now worn by Mr. Fetlock.
"Or rather me. It is a bit complicated. You see, Neighfertiti, one of the things about Amenhooftep that was left out of the history books was his ability to channel the powers of the gods. All pharaohs were said to have been descended from the gods, but few realized they could wield their power."
Chuckling darkly, he pointed to the cobra on his headdress. "But I did. Through the eyes of the Apophis, I was able to possess my descendant's body. Fear not, he is still within. I am mostly in control, but we do share common goals. Fetlock wishes for his precious treasures to be preserved, I wish for my treasure to be recovered."
"Apophis?" Rainbow said, trying to remember her Anugyptian mythology. "You mean the snake god? Enemy of the sun god, Ra? Didn't he try to hypnotize Ra or some—?" She then looked around at the sleeping mares. "That's how you got all these mares to come with you! You hypnotized them using the power of Apophis!"
Pharaoh Phetlock applauded. "I always admired your intelligence, Neighfertiti." He looked down at Fluttershy. "You and Hatshysut, however, were immune to my power," he smiled at Rainbow Dash, almost in admiration, "as I had expected, for you had never fallen victim to my wiles, not even thousands of years ago. Which is why I had drugged your drink as a precaution."
His eyes raked up and down her body. "And you need not worry too much about my removing your clothes. It is not as if we ponies need them."
"Fine," Rainbow said through her teeth. "Okay, now to my next question: why kidnap all of us? And, again, why the hell do ya keep calling me Neighfertiti?!"
He gave her a condescending look. "Really, Miss Dash, I would have thought you would have figured it out by now, even if you clearly do not have Neighfertiti's memories, as I do Amenhooftep's."
"Okay, seriously, this identity-crisis-third-person-self-reference thing you've got going here is getting old really fast!"
"Do you not remember the hieroglyphs? Do you not remember the rainbow-haired queen?" He gestured towards Zeus' Bolt. "Can you not feel Neighfertiti's soul within the pendant?"
She looked down at the bolt and then at him. "What does Zeus' Bolt have to do with…?" Then the image of Neighfertiti did come to mind. "Wait. Are you saying you think I'm some…reincarnation of Neighfertiti or something?"
He nodded and indicated the sarcophagi circle. "These mares represent the six wives I knew in life," he said, turning his eyes intently towards her, "before I at last found true love…with you."
Blinking, Rainbow stuck her tongue out and gagged. "Seriously. Just once, can't we have a villain who doesn't wanna get with one of us? Just once would be a nice change of pace!"
"But you were taken from me too soon," Pharaoh Phetlock said, advancing towards her, "and damned my soul to eternal loneliness!"
Rainbow tried backing away, but in doing so nearly tripped backward into Fluttershy's sarcophagus.
"Yet here we are again," he said, slowly raising his hoof up to her face, "though you have not yet awoken."
She slapped his hoof away, which made him angry, but he kept his cool.
"With the lifeforce from these six mares, we can return your soul to this world, and we will rule once again! It is only fair, as it was their sacrifices that led me to meet you in the first place."
"Ya mean you're gonna sacrifice these girls in some sort of blood ritual?!" Rainbow exclaimed with a shiver. "Geez! Not even the Shadow King was this dark!"
"The ritual must be completed tonight," he said, pointing up at the glass ceiling, "while the full moon is at its zenith."
"Yeah," Rainbow said, rolling her eyes, "that's kind of a given."
"Come, my darling," Pharaoh Phetlock said, taking her hoof. "Lay back in the sarcophagus, so that we can begin."
"Uh," she said, yanking her hoof away, "no!"
He sighed heavily. "I thought you might be difficult."
Suddenly, five of the mares—all excluding Fluttershy—sprung up from their sarcophagi, their eyes staring blankly before them.
Pharaoh Phetlock smirked. "Darlings…"
The hypnotized mares' heads snapped towards the Pharaoh.
"Do what you can to keep Miss Dash all snug in her little bed."
Rainbow was prepared to break into a run when she was engulfed in light. The three unicorns—Starlight, Trixie and Sugar Belle—were working together to magically drag her towards the central sarcophagus. The pegasus kicked her legs in an attempt to break free, but it was pointless!
She was forced back into a coffin, and one of the unicorns—she couldn't tell who—summoned chains to hold her down. Rainbow twisted in her bounds as the face of her boss appeared smiling triumphantly above her.
"These mares cannot hold a candle to you," he said in a tone that sounded like it was trying to be complimentary, "but they are still useful." He looked in one of the mares' direction, though she couldn't tell whose. "Betrot is especially talented. It is a shame she keeps it all hidden away."
Rainbow didn't have time to figure out which mare he was talking about. Judging by the position of the moon, the ritual could begin at any time!
Come on, Dash, think! What did Twilight do when she was held hostage by a power-crazed psycho totally obsessed with her?
Struck with inspiration, Rainbow put on a mask of despair.
"Oh, Mr. Fetlock—"
"Pharaoh Phetlock!" he snapped.
"Right." Rainbow kept her sorrowful—yet clearly over-the-top—tone. "Oh, great and powerful Pharaoh Phetlock! You are just no match for me! Looks like you've won, fair and square! There is just no way for me to beat you!"
He turned to her and grinned. "I am so glad you see it that way."
Her face fell. "Aren't you gonna let me go?"
"Why would I do that? As you have said, my love, I have won."
"No!" Rainbow said, trying in vain to sit up. "You're not supposed to agree with me! You're supposed to feel all guilty over some inferiority complex or something!"
"Silence!" the Pharaoh hissed, looking upwards at the moon. "It is time for the ritual to begin."
Closing his eyes, he spread his forelegs out over Rainbow's body and began chanting in Coptic. The pegasus gasped as her body started to glow. She was running out of time.
"Come on, Boss! You don't wanna do this!" she said hastily, taking another page out of Twilight's book. "I know you're still in there! Think of all the good times we had together! Like…like when we…uh…"
Her mind drew a blank. Apparently, her relationship with her boss was so professional, there were no particularly good times to think of. Except…
"When I'd forgotten my lunch and you gave me half your sandwich?"
The memory wasn't enough to break Mr. Fetlock out of his trance. Ignoring her, he continued chanting. She groaned in frustration as she thrashed her chained body about.
If I had Fluttershy's freaky madness-induced strength, I could just break outta here! Sadly I'm just mad! If I had Pinkie's super speed, I could spin my tail into a buzz saw or something just as logic-defying! Rarity would use her bracelets, AJ would still be able to control her lasso, Twilight could just melt through these chains…
"Anubis…" the Pharaoh said, the only recognizable word in his chant. "Neighfertiti…"
"I'm not Neighfertiti!"
As she shouted this, her train of thought ground to a halt. She stopped her thrashing and looked down towards her pendant. She couldn't really see it, but she could feel its warmth on her chest.
Wait a minute. She gazed up at the moon. I'm not Neighfertiti. I'm not Twilight, I'm not AJ, I'm not Rarity, Pinkie, or Fluttershy.
"I'm Rainbow Dash," she muttered. "I'm Zapp. I'm a Power Pony. I'm…"
Just then, Zeus' Lightning Bolt felt warmer as it lit up beneath the chains. Rainbow's eyes shot wide open as they glowed white.
Suddenly, she was in a hot desert, no longer chained up, but flying in the air. Down below was Pharaoh Phetlock, looking up at her from the balcony of a grand, white palace.
"Amenhooftep!" Rainbow shouted in a voice that was not her own. "Release Hatshyput! She does not belong to you! She loves another!"
Pharaoh Phetlock, or rather Amenhooftep, narrowed his eyes at her. "And who are you to be commanding the Pharaoh of Anugypt?!"
Rainbow clasped the bolt around her neck. "I am Neighfertiti, great-granddaughter of Io and Zeus, King of the Gracian Gods!" She held the bolt up for him to see. "Soldier of that same Zeus and wielder of his Lightning Bolt!"
Rainbow then snapped back to reality. She didn't have time to question how that vision had come to her, but it had helped her to reach an important realization.
"That's right!" she shouted, willing the bolt to glow brighter. "I am the Soldier of Zeus!"
Storm clouds began forming overhead, blocking out the moon, causing Pharaoh Phetlock to cease his chanting.
"And I'm gonna break outta here," Rainbow said with a smirk, "my way!"
Before she could think of the consequences, she willed lightning to strike at her chains. Instead of blasting her chains open, the lightning passed through the metal chains and down to the wooden sarcophagus, causing it to explode beneath her. Luckily, Zeus' Bolt made Rainbow resistant to electricity, but her clothes didn't have that trait.
When the smoke from the explosion cleared away, the sarcophagus was in shambles, Rainbow's clothes were singed, her mane stood straight up, and the chains remained intact.
"Right," she said, shaking from the shock. "Metal chains. Bad idea."
"Perhaps I can be of some assistance!" called Radiance's voice.
"Who's there?" Pharaoh Phetlock demanded as he looked frantically about for the source of the voice.
A pink buzz saw materialized above Rainbow. She shut her eyes as it whirred and cut through her chains.
"What kept ya?" Rainbow shouted.
"My beloveds!" the Pharaoh hollered. There was the sound of several mares standing up. "Find the intruder and stop her! And hurry! The moon will not be in position for long!"
There was a zipping sound followed by several fast punches and a light giggle. It was obvious that Fili-Second had arrived.
"What is going—ah!" the Pharaoh cried out as he was suddenly pulled backward.
Radiance's and Fili-Second's faces appeared smiling above Rainbow Dash.
"Apologies for being late, darling," Radiance said as she continued work on the chains.
"But Discord was going through some sort of mid-eternity crisis and was robbing a jewelry store for no reason other than—hold that thought," Fili-Second said before dashing off. "Take that, zombie brides! Wait so shouldn't it be mummy brides? But you're not bandaged up though we are dealing with a pharaoh here but you're all hypnotized like zombies or—"
Once the chains were broken, Rainbow shot up into the air and flexed her wings and legs. "Oh, yeah! Now we're talking!"
"So what's the plan, chief?" Fili-Second asked.
Rainbow glanced around. Pharaoh Phetlock was on the floor, recovering from whatever attack had been used on him. Fluttershy was still asleep and the rest of the sacrifices were circled around the three heroes, closing in, the unicorns' horns illuminating.
"Okay," Rainbow said, throwing her hooves around her colleagues' necks to bring them in closer. "Amenhooftep seems to be controlling Mr. Fetlock through the jewel-eyes in that crown. I think if we break the jewels, we'll break the spell."
"What about the zombie-mummy brides?" Fili-Second asked, pointing.
"You two hold 'em off while I go for the crown. Remember, they're all hypnotized and have no idea what they're doing, so try not to hurt 'em."
"Not even Trixie?"
Rainbow hesitated. "Don't hurt 'em…badly."
"No promises," Radiance murmured, glancing at Suri.
"Alright! Power Ponies, go!"
After high-hoofing each other, the team split up. Radiance immediately headed for Suri.
"I've been wanting to do this for a long time!"
Without hesitation, she summoned a pink boxing glove and in one swift punch, knocked her boss into unconsciousness.
"I do so hope you do not remember all this when you awake," Radiance said, adjusting her mask. "Either way, it's fortunate I'm wearing this."
She then created a cage to seal Suri in, just in case.
Meanwhile, Rainbow was creating a tiny storm cloud overhead as she approached the Pharaoh's crumpled figure.
"Okay," she murmured, clutching her pendant. "No beating around the bush this time. Time for the direct approach."
A bolt shot from the storm cloud towards Pharaoh Phetlock. But he jumped up and flew out of its path.
Wait. Flew?!
Rainbow gasped as she looked up at the Pharaoh, who now had enormous eagle wings growing out of his back.
"Wings of Horus!" he declared, swooping down towards her.
Flapping her own wings, she dashed out of his way.
"So ya got wings now," she said, hovering above him. "Big deal!"
Baring his teeth, which were now suddenly pointy, the Pharaoh lunged at Rainbow and, for a split second, they seemed to be in the desert. Remembering her training sessions with Applejack, Rainbow grabbed hold of his front hooves. The moment they made contact, they were back in the desert. The scene remained this way as she whirled him around and flung him across the sky.
Using his wings to steady himself, the Pharaoh turned back to her, wearing an angry, and somewhat amused, expression.
"You fight well, Neighfertiti," he said. "For a mare."
She willed the storm to fire more bolts at him. "I wish I could say the same for you, Pharaoh."
"What do you mean?" he asked, dodging the bolts.
"Oh, nothing. I was simply expecting," she chuckled as one bolt singed his tail, "more."
The scene returned back to the museum. Pharaoh Phetlock looked down at his burning tail and growled before springing at Rainbow again.
Meanwhile, Fili-Second had rounded up the rest of the hypnotized mares and locked them in Radiance's cage.
"You'd think the Phony Pharaoh would've picked minions who can actually fight," Fili-Second said with a snort.
Starlight Glimmer then smirked as she powered her horn. With a might blast, the cage exploded. Radiance cried out as her bracelets suddenly became hot.
"How…?"
She was then instantly encased in ice, not unlike the Matter-Horn's. Radiance could only move her eyes around, and focused them on the pink unicorn approaching her.
"Hey!" Fili-Second cried. "You can't do that to my friend!"
She then picked up Trixie, pointed her horn forward and then charged towards the ice block. Trixie was so alarm that she started firing without thinking. One beam struck the ice block, freeing Radiance.
"That works," Fili-Second said, dropping Trixie like a broken toy.
"You fool!" Starlight exclaimed, turning to Trixie. "How is it possible that you were able to win the Pharaoh's heart when you can't even use magic properly?!"
With a harrumph, Trixie stood up. "Maybe because I didn't think so much!"
"Ha!" Starlight poked her in the chest. "You don't think at all!"
"My lady, please!" Sugar Belle said.
"And you!" She whirled around. "How could my husband have left me for you?!"
"It wasn't my fault, my lady!" Sugar Belle shrank back under her gaze. "After all, I…wasn't the one he…caught with another stallion in bed."
With a furious cry, Starlight started shooting at Trixie and Sugar Belle, sending them running.
"You are so violent!" Coco Pommel shouted. "This is why he was married to me longer!"
She had to start running as Starlight fired at her too.
"Err, should we do something?" Radiance asked as she watched the mares go at each other.
Fili-Second shook her head as she started eating popcorn she'd gotten from the movie theater five blocks away. "This is way better than daytime drama!"
On the other side of the room, Rainbow and Pharaoh Phetlock were still going at each other with lightning strikes and magical green blasts—courtesy of Isis, he said.
"You cannot win, Neighfertiti," he said. "No matter how much you want to defeat me, you cannot bear to injure your employer!"
Rainbow paused to think on this. "Ya know something? This whole ordeal has made me realize one thing." With a shrug, she made the storm cloud bigger. "I don't care about my boss that much."
He blinked. "What?"
The biggest bolt yet shot from the cloud, striking the top of the Pharaoh's crown. He cried out in pain as the cobra's emerald eyes exploded into tiny pieces. The fighting mares suddenly stopped and dropped to the ground, unconscious.
"Aw," Fili-Second said, throwing her popcorn bag over her shoulder. "It was just getting good."
Once the smoke from the lightning had cleared, the stallion's body went limp. His eagle wings disintegrated and he started falling. Radiance caught him with a trampoline and gently lowered him to the floor. There was a soft moan over in one of the sarcophagi as Fluttershy finally stirred awake.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"We'll explain later," Rainbow said, panting from exhaustion as she landed at her side.
She looked around the room and found there were holes in the walls and floors from the various magical blasts. Then she looked down at her boss' breathing, but unconscious, body.
"I'm so gonna get fired for this," she murmured.
"So that's it?" Fili-Second asked. "We finally get a mummy fight and that was it?"
As she was saying this, green smoke was emitting from the emerald shards and making its way towards Amenhooftep's sarcophagus.
"I think we all did splendidly," Radiance said. "And brilliant leadership by you, Zapp."
"Yeah," Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I think once I realized I should stop thinking like Twilight and start thinking like me it was easy to—hey, did that mummy just move?"
They all turned to the sarcophagus leaning against the wall. The mummy inside was glowing green, and some of its bandages fell away to reveal two glowing green eyes. Its front hooves slowly unfolded from across its chest.
"What in the world?!" Radiance said.
"I thought you said you defeated the mummy!" Fluttershy shrieked.
"It wasn't the jewels controlling Fetlock!" Rainbow said with a gasp. "It was Amenhooftep himself!"
King Amenhooftep stretched out his hooves and slowly took a step forward.
"Don't worry, girls!" Fili-Second huffed. "Mummies are super slow! We can take him in—"
As she said this, an enormous misty green snake appeared out of nowhere, surprising them all. Before any pony could react, the snake wrapped itself around Radiance and Fili-Second.
"He must still be able to harness the powers of the Anugyptian gods!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Even like this!"
"Then why is he only coming alive now?!" Fluttershy said, gripping Rainbow's foreleg in terror.
Noting how sluggishly he was approaching them, Rainbow said, "Obviously, he's not very agile. That's why he used Fetlock as a conduit."
"Well don't just stand there with all the anime-style exposition!" Fili-Second hollered, struggling to escape the snake's coils. "Blast him already!"
Nodding, Rainbow touched her pendant. Then she yelped as it unexpectedly shocked her.
"What the…?" Then she trailed off as the bolt pulsed with light. "Whaddya mean don't hurt him?! Don't you know what this guy's capable of?!"
The others stared at her in confusion.
"Who are you talking to?" Fluttershy asked.
Ignoring her, Rainbow continued to yell at the pendant. "Let you take over? Whaddya mean by…?" Her angry expression turned into one of understanding. "O-Oh. Okay then, err, yeah. Take over or whatev—"
She suddenly stopped speaking as her eyes flashed yellow. Blinking, Rainbow looked at her surroundings. The giant snake was tightening around Radiance and Fili-Second and they were finding it difficult to breathe. The mummy growled as his eyes focused on them.
Just then, Rainbow broke away from Fluttershy and shouted, "Amen, stop!"
Every pony, including the mummy, turned to her. Her voice had boomed like a giant's, and the voice hadn't been her own. It sounded smoother, more mature. The mummy was frozen in place as she boldly walked towards him.
"This is not you, Amen," she said in a tone that was both commanding and pitying. "Stop this madness. This is not the way to find peace."
The mummy moaned, his lower jaw moving slowly as he struggled to speak. "Neigh…Neigh…"
Rainbow smiled softly. "Yes, Amen. It is I, your beloved." She moved her hoof tenderly to his bandaged face. "I am so sorry my death caused you so much pain, but that is all over now. We are together again."
The glowing green eyes locked with hers, and the bandaged hooves gently fell onto her shoulders. The misty snake vanished and Radiance and Fili-Second collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.
"Our age of glory is over now, my love," Rainbow whispered. "It is time for us both to rest."
The mummy's green eyes faded and a transparent figure began rising from the bandaged body. The stallion resembled Felonious greatly. Another transparent figure emerged from Rainbow Dash's body, a mare who looked very much like her, only slightly older.
The two ghosts joined hooves and then rose up through the glass ceiling and into the sky. The mummy collapsed into a pile of bandages and dust.
Blinking, Rainbow rubbed her eyes and looked down at what was once the mummy.
"Uh," she said, glancing back at her stunned teammates. "What just happened?"
Discord, in his stallion disguise, practically broke the door down as he burst into Fluttershy's apartment. Fluttershy sat up from the couch she'd been lying on.
"Delancey?"
"Are you hurt?" Delancey said, grabbing her hoof and checking for injuries. "What did that pharaoh do to you?"
"I'm fine, I'm okay," Fluttershy said, taking his hoof to pat it. "Wait. How did you know about the Pharaoh?"
"I saw it on the news," he said, which was actually true as he had to be sure when the battle was over. "What happened? How is it that you were kidnapped?!"
After calming him down, Fluttershy explained the whole story, changing it slightly so that Rainbow and Zapp weren't the same person.
"The other mares who were kidnapped don't remember anything," she said. "The museum curator doesn't remember anything either, though he's in a mental hospital for observation."
Delancey heaved a heavy sigh as he embraced her. "I still can't believe you were abducted! How could I have let this happen?"
"It's not your fault," Fluttershy said, patting his back. "You couldn't have known."
I should have, he thought. I should've been keeping my eye on you, making sure you were safe.
"Though it's really sweet that you were worried about me," she said, giving his back a gentle rub.
After another sigh, Delancey pulled himself away. "Fluttershy, I haven't been entirely honest with you."
Confused, Fluttershy locked eyes with him. For a moment, he felt like telling her everything: his real identity, his cockamamie scheme to woo her, exactly what he planned to do once he got the Chaos Amulet.
But the innocence in her eyes were just too precious to tarnish by betrayal. He could not bear it.
So, he told a different truth.
"I've been, um…having feelings for another mare."
Fluttershy had not been expecting this. "W-What?"
"We didn't do anything, I swear!" he insisted. "In fact, she doesn't even know I like her. I mean we've…talked a few times but I didn't try anything, but…"
"You wanted to," she said simply.
Sighing, he nodded. "In fact, I was meeting with her when I heard you were kidnapped."
"I understand." Fluttershy's voice became quiet as she released him. "I mean…I suppose I can be a bit boring to be around with…"
"No, no, no, Fluttershy!" Delancey exclaimed, taking her hooves. "You can never be boring!" He bit his lip. "Although…I must admit, I…don't particularly like going to museums. I wasn't even fond of tea before I met you. But that's not your fault! I would do the dullest of things as long as I was with you! I would even watch paint dry!"
Fluttershy blinked. "Why would you watch paint dry?"
He shook his head. "I'm getting off track. The point is, Fluttershy, when I heard you'd been kidnapped, I…I hated myself for not being there for you. Not just physically but…emotionally. It…made me realize just how important you are to me and," he squeezed her hooves affectionately, "I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt."
Tears started welling up in Fluttershy's eyes. Any doubts she'd had about Delancey before were gone. How foolish had she been to think about Discord when she had a loyal, loving, and honest stallion right here in front of her! Throwing her hooves around Delancey, she hugged him tightly and he gleefully returned her embrace.
"It's okay," she whispered. "Feelings can't be helped, so I won't get mad at you for that. Thank you for being honest with me."
"I can assure you, Fluttershy," Delancey said contently, "that other mare is far from my mind right now."
"Who is it, anyway?" She blushed. "Not that I'm jealous. Just curious."
His eyes rolled back as he caught a whiff of her hair. "You know? I've quite forgotten."
They sat like that for a while. Then Fluttershy pulled back, a more serious look on her face.
"Do you really find museums boring?"
Delancey frowned. "Dreadfully so."
"Well, we could go somewhere else for our next date. Someplace you'd like."
"Let's see." He tapped his chin. "I've wanted to try this thing called laser tag…"
Fluttershy cringed. "It's not…real lasers, is it?"
"Oh no. It's all lights and fog, so no pony actually gets hit by lasers."
"So," she said, shifting her position on the couch so that she was sitting away from him, "I suppose you'd like us to do more…exciting things than Tuesday Tea."
"Well I wouldn't go that far. I've actually grown accustomed our Tuesday Teas. I enjoy our talks, and the tea's also not that bad. Although, perhaps if we—gah!"
He was cut off as a pillow contacted his face. Lowering the pillow magically, he looked at Fluttershy, who was smiling with feigned innocence.
"What was…?" he started to ask.
"Um," she said, looking down at her hooves. "Pillow fight?"
Delancey stared at her and then at the pillow. "So you just…hit others with…pillows?"
She nodded guiltily. "That way no pony gets hurt."
"I see." Smirking, Delancey levitated the pillow up to his eyelevel. "Safe."
He swung the pillow at Fluttershy, striking her in the shoulder, causing her to shriek.
"But fun."
With a grin, Fluttershy grabbed another pillow from the couch and prepared a vengeance strike. Delancey shoved his pillow in her face before she could swing. Laughing, she ripped the pillow from her face but then gasped when she saw a whole fleet of pillows floating above his head.
"Oh boy," she squeaked, both excited and scared for the battle to come.
The next day, Rainbow visited Felonious in his room at the Maretropolis Mental Hospital. It was less drab and guarded than Balkham, as the hospital was for non-violent patients. Since Felonious had no memory of his crimes, he was deemed safe enough for the hospital.
"They're only holding me for observation," he told Rainbow from his table, on which he was drawing something she couldn't make out yet. "The doctors say other than memory loss, my only problem mentally is stress, which isn't surprising, considering my job. I should be released within a few days."
"That's good," Rainbow said with a nod. "So…you don't remember…anything?"
He shook his head. "Only flashes, but other than that, it's all a blur. However, I…" He looked up at her, his jaw clenched. "Miss Dash, if I…if I did anything to make you…uncomfortable, you should know that had I been in my right mind, I wouldn't have…"
"I know. Though…" She bit her lip. "Do you…that is, do you think I'm…?"
Felonious hung his head. "You are an attractive and intelligent young mare, Miss Dash."
"Yeah, I don't know about the second part." Rainbow faced him bravely. "But you should know, Boss, that power-crazed pharaoh or no, you just…aren't the guy for me."
"Understood." He raised his eyes towards her. "This will not affect your position at the museum, of course. I…hope we can still remain professional."
He held out his hoof, but Rainbow cringed.
"Err, yeah, not exactly ready for physical contact yet."
"Fair enough," he murmured, dropping his hoof.
An awkward silence hung over them for a long while.
"Well!" Rainbow clapped her hooves together. "Hope ya get better!"
Then she dashed out before the situation could get weirder. Felonious was slightly crestfallen over the rejection, but thankfully, his attraction hadn't run deep enough to break his heart completely. At least in this, he knew he would be alright.
Content at this thought, Felonious returned to his drawing of King Amenhooftep and Neighfertiti holding hooves, golden wings on their backs.
"Eh, I've seen better hieroglyphs."
Yelping, Felonious spun around to discover that he was not alone in the room. Towering over him was the God of Chaos himself.
"You!" he cried, falling out of his chair.
"Hello again, Fetlock," Discord said, using his tail to pick the stallion up by his back hoof. "We don't know each other very well, but you made sure I was safe and untouched while I was at the museum, and I appreciate that."
He started twirling Felonious around slowly, making the stallion slightly dizzy.
"And I can respect your use of Apophis' powers," Discord continued. "That snake and I go way back. However…"
Ceasing his twirling, Discord brought the stallion up higher so their eyes would meet, and the draconequus glared at him furiously.
"What I cannot tolerate," he said with a growl, "is someone causing harm to a mare I care about very much! Unfortunately," he tapped Felonious' head with his claw, "since his majesty has checked out, I need to take my anger out on someone, even if you have no memory of it!"
The stallion whimpered as Discord tapped his chin in thought.
"Now, what exactly to do with you?"
He glanced at the picture of the pharaoh and his wife, and smiled wickedly.
"You know? I think I'll take a little inspiration from that pharaoh's curse."
Springing his claw out, he clutched the stallion's skull, digging his talons deep into the skin. Felonious cried out in pain.
"From this day forth," Discord said, his voice echoing throughout the room, "you will no longer believe yourself to be Felonious Fetlock, but Pharaoh Phetlock, and be as you were while possessed by King Amenhooftep." He whispered, "Minus the lusting after mares part, as I don't want you going after my beloved again." He thought for a moment. "And no channeling the power of the gods. That would be more of a blessing than a curse."
The pupils in Felonious' eyes shrank.
"You will instead lust after treasure," Discord continued. "Anything glittering and golden, you will desire. And your desire will never be fulfilled! From this, you shall suffer until the end of time!"
Just then, Hermes materialized beside him.
"WHAT?!" Discord boomed.
Frightened, Hermes handed him a letter and then poofed away. After quickly looking over the message, the draconequus groaned.
"Fine!" He turned back to Felonious. "Since I'm apparently required to allow you a chance to break this curse, you will never be satisfied until…um…oh, I don't know! When you find true love or something! Cliché, I know, but I really hate coming up with antidotes."
Felonious shivered as his body glowed yellow.
"So is the will of the God of Chaos!" Discord exclaimed, dropping him to the floor. "Have a nice day!"
And so, he vanished from the room. Felonious groaned as the golden aura faded from his body. Rubbing his head, he slowly rose from the floor. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was his drawing. Taking it in his hooves, he stared at the couple and how happy they were to be together in the afterlife.
Then he ripped it to shreds, his eyes glowing green as he chuckled darkly.
Stats
Page generated in 0.034 seconds
Total duration
968 users online
2,224,291 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
You mean this anime exposition?
“A Twisted Amalgamation of Modern and Ancient, Fetlock and Amenhooftep, now only known as Pharaoh Phetlock.”
God damn it Discord! Making things worse than they had to be!
Even double salted droppies? *cackles evilly*
"Oh!" Rainbow held up her hooves insistently. "No, no, no, no! I'm not…I mean I'm not exactly straight either, but…I'm just not into any pony, really…" Makes sense, so many people want to ship her with ... believe it or not a kitchen sink and a surfboard... please don't ask how I know, so it's nice to give her a break.
"However, should the heroes succeed in rescuing your mare, since this stallion has offended you—though indirectly—by abducting a mortal you favor, Olympian Code 13-4 gives you the right to punish him in whatever way you see fit, except in death, as that is Hades' department. Other than that, no restrictions.
"Yours sincerely,
"Hera, Queen of the Gods."
Clever, well played.
Rainbow clasped the bolt around her neck. "I am Neighfertiti, great-granddaughter of Io and Zeus, King of the Gracian Gods!" She held the bolt up for him to see. "Soldier of that same Zeus and wielder of his Lightning Bolt!" Que 'It's Time To Be Awesome'
A real dick move on Discord's part at the end... but maybe this will be a short-lived curse...
Looking forward to more, not only Zapp's connection to Neighfertiti but the introduction of the rest of the Power Ponies' rogue gallery. I am guessing we're building up to the Equalizer after we meet the rest from the Power Ponies comics, I can dig it. and the rest of the Gracian gods, namely Ares, being that Zap and Mistress Mare-velous based off of Wonder Woman, and that Ares is one of if not the only member of her A-list tier of her rogue's gallery, let's have RD and AJ confront him, being part of the Power Ponies' rogues gallery that is exclusive to them.
9151059
So something like the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well, would be nice to have an adventure when half the city wasn't torn apart. Just for a change in pace
Well, this was a pleasant surprise. Can't wait to see what happens next.
I see what you did there DF.
Was not expecting the anime culture references, but as my user name implies I’m not complaining. Though it does make wonder what anime or manga DF has seen, some might work for topics on her new podcast.
Also didn’t realize till Dash said it, but they have had a good string of villains that all wanted one of them, just a Mare’s affection in general if you count Shadow King, good in story made comment.
Anyways nice chapter looking forward to the next one.
I kind of hope "Pharaoh" Fetlock's true love doesn't turn out to ACTUALLY be Dash, because that would make several scenes in this story feel pointless overall.
Glad we wrapped this one up. I could tell it was getting your goat a couple times, though overall I still enjoyed it. Boy Twilight is going to have a field day after she figures out all the junk that happened while she was away. Also, nice subtle nod to the power Starlight is sitting on. Should be interesting when that comes into play down the line. Though I'm still wondering what villain she'd be modeled after.
This is just an idea but what if rainbow could call on her memories and experiences like Aang can do other avatars. Also Wanted to ask how comeHow come rarities bracelet changed color during their fight with sunset ?
Okay, I'll be honest, I loved this arc! It was amazing, hilarious and so interesting! Rainbow's/Zapp's connection with Neightfetiti it's quite an interesting detail I'm very excited to know more about.
About Fetlock's curse, it's quite hard that he keeps that hidden, since he works in a museum where there are tons of glimmering things, but oh well. That means we get another arc about this guy, though I don't really like him that much, it'll be interesting!
Amazing job, DF!
9172357
It's my headcanon that RD is asexual. 1. She doesn't seem that into pursuing relationships. 2. As an ace myself I wanted at least one of the characters to share my sexuality.
Yay! Update! What a great chapter!
9173301
that's all you took away from my comment, that I find in your story that it makes sense that RD is asexual and that I find the overall concept a welcomed change... Don't get me wrong, I have nothing ill to say about asexuals, myself being somewhat demi-sexual (meaning I am sexually attracted to people in my case of the opposite sex but it's dependent to some extent on having an emotional connection with the person) I feel somewhat overlooked that, that was all.
That all being said, I still look forward to you flushing out more of this universe, such as RD's connection to the queen, Discord/Delancy and Fluttershy/Saddle Rager, the rest of the Power Ponies rogue gallery, the introduction of the equalizer, the return of the Phoniex and maybe even seeing your take on the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well.
I'm glad you finally updated. Things are getting more interesting. Will the Equalizer be next or some other MLP or Power Ponies comic villain be next? Hopefully you'll update more often.
Well there was Sombra. And Longhorn. And Trixie. And a few minor baddies.
Discord... buck you. You suck so badly. WHY WOULD YOU PUT THAT CURSE ON THEM!?
Hmmm ... we know that the Nordic and Egyptian (sorry Augyptian) pantheons also exist, I wonder if they bothered to sign this Olympian Code ...
Ah, foreshadowing for Starlight ...
Um, Amon Mind Raped and Murdered six wives, and the Mind Raped and was about to Sacrifice six more mares ... he doesn't deserve peace!
Aw, damn it, Discord! Fetlock was innocent, you said so yourself!
Fluttershy is way going to be pissed if she ever finds out about this.
I'm putting forward a theory now: Rainbow is a distant relative of Neighfertiti, making her a descendant of Zeus, and Applejack is a distant descendant of Demeter. That's why they can use the old gods' Symbols of Power.
9174038
Actually, Longhorn was planning on "getting" Applejack to marry him so he could claim the Apple family farm, not love but probably a good bit of lust there ... but correct on Sombra and Trixie (at least, we don't know if Trixie is pulling her robberies as a twisted sort of courtship for Masked Matter-horn ... I pity Trixie if she is and Sunset finds out).
9174207
I think I read a fanfic with Trixie trying to get Twilight's attention in that sort of way...
9172946
I will not spoil, but I can DEFINITELY say without regret that Rainbow Dash and Phetlock will never be a thing.
9176414
That's a relief
So Phetlock is now the King Tut of the story
It feels like this arc might be more filler than anything. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Depending on the work, filler arcs can be some of the most exciting stories. And in my time watching anime, I usually get excited for filler, because if I've caught up with the manga, then I know what happens next in the main story line. And then the fillers will have a new story that I haven't seen before. Like in One Piece, right after the Skypiea arc when they landed in a marine base and had to escape.
Are you by any chance going to mention any of the titans? Like Prometheus? He's my favorite titan.
I can't help but wonder what exactly Discord intends to do with his amulet. I mean, does he still intend to take over the world? I'm kinda hoping that the amulet has a corrupting affect like the one from your nutcraker story. That'd add a ton of drama if Discord has to struggle between his two loves= Chaos and Fluttershy.
This may not be my personal favorite arc of the story, but it was still a pretty darn enjoyable read. I do feel bad for Mr. Fetlock at the end (damn it all, Discord - but then again, he's not really reformed yet, so I can see why he did that)… and by the way, I also have to compliment you on the dinner scene, I was genuinely uncomfortable reading the Pharaoh's coming-on to Dash. Brr…
As always, I'll be very interested to see what may happen in the next arc... Perhaps we will see something major with Starlight Glimmer now, after her minor role in this section of the story?
9178215
you know maybe she could use terik as a titan. but i came up with an idea that could work better with that, its scootaloo being a cross of naruto, raven from teen titans(the old ones not teen titans go), and rouge from x-men. she could be teriks duater who traped him in her own body and can absorb power of beings she touches. what do you think? would DF like that?
9196388
In that case, maybe the rest of the CMCs should get powers too, comparable to the teen titans. Like Apple Bloom could get the powers of Beast Boy. Or gets the shield of Athena (or something like that) and with it, her wisdom and battle knowledge, which gives her the abilities of Captain America. While Sweetie Belle gets Stature (for those unfamiliar, Stature is the daughter of Ant-Man)
9196637
well i kind of thought sweetie bell would have the power of black canary which i know the only super power there is a sonic screem but she could have the skill to.
9196689
But then who would get the powers of Ant-Man?
And on second thought, Twilight's brother Shining Armor could appear and get the shield. I'm also wondering if Hades' item would be his helmet. Although that would be a slightly boring power for the vassal of Hades, given it's confirmed to do only one thing in Greek Mythology (It turns him invisible. Not a bad power on its own, but an item from one of the big three, you'd expect a little more.) Although, if it also allows the use of umbrakinesis, that would be really cool. And warrant a return of the Shadow King.
9196712
ya and i like the idea of applebloom having the shield and maybe flash could become spider mane. also wasint it a crown hades had?
9196722
I'm like ninety percent sure that it was a helmet. Mostly because I googled "hades helmet" and I got cap of invisibility and helm of darkness, both of which referred to greek mythology. Then I googled "hades crown" and I got beyblade results. Also something called poptropica, which I'd never heard of. If it was mentioned to be a crown in this story, I can't remember. What do you think Ares' item would be? An axe or a sword? Chances are, Artemis has a bow.
9196746
if its a bow that would probly work better for apple bloom and poptropica is an internet game were you go to island and win a medalon also what do you think of flash as spider mane or spider stallion that works to?
9196833
I would say "Spider Stallion" sounds like a mouthful. But, Mistress Marevelous and Masked Matterhorm aren't much better. However, while using his powers is okay with me, I'm against using a name that is derivative of the original inspiration.
9196881
oh then how about arachna stallion? but just so you know there are several forms of spiderman fron iron spider to hulk spiderman (yes hulk spiderman is a thing)
9196833
Also, now that I think about it, anything but an earth pony with the powers of spider man seems weird. What's the point of swinging from a web if you can fly?
9196898
i thought of that to but you could say the same about iron spider.
9196900
Im not an expert, but wasnt iron spider generally hated by most fans when it was introduced?
9196907
well thats not the only one that can fly like cosmic spiderman (but i dont realy know about the hate but alot of peaple like it now it was on the avengers) and maybe timber could become venom
9196914
Alright. You got me there. I guess it wouldnt be the worst idea. Question is if he's a good enough detective to keep twilight from finding out.
9196923
if she does she probly just ask him to join the team.
Is that a "Strange Magic" reference? If so, I like it.
And thus the conclusion of the Pharaoh Arc!^^ Overall, a very satisfying and solid arc:) Seems like everypony has something to gain from this arc: Rainbow truly embraces how to be herself no matter what situation she is in, even as a leader; we get to see funny ole Discord in love with Saddle Ranger but still surprisingly honest with Flutters when it came to "cheating" on her. Emotional cheating that is. I'm even more surprised that Flutters was able to forgive him after that to be honest XD But what I like about that conversation is that afterwards, their relationship gets to progress by doing more activities that Discord would like versus what would Flutters like all the time, but they still have tea time together :3 <3 Dawww! I can't wait for Discord to find out that his precious Flutters and his precious Saddle Ranger are the same person :3 But then once that happens, then things will really go down 0-0! Same to when Flutters finds out when she sees that her beloved Delancey and our Godly Discord are one in the same;) Again, it makes me wonder if they'll share their first kiss when Discord is in disguise and then his disguise breaks in, well, the heat of the moment;) Lol!
The only one who didn't gain anything from this arc unfortnately was our dear Felonious, man this guy has the worst luck I swear:( I mean, just when he recovered from being possessed and all that, bam! Punishment from Discord! Discord you have the worst timing I swearXD I really love and admire how you've shaped Felonious's character DF:) He surprisingly turned out to be a tragic and compelling character. He started out as just a grumpy side character to not really pay any mind to. But instead, he was a character with a clear motivation and thing he loved: the museum, history itself. Then due to forces unknown like his ancestor and now Discord, he is now a villian. But this villiany is by a power possessing him, so he has to swing back and forth from controlling his own body to being in the control of something else. And the only way to get out of it is true love. Well dang son 0-0 I can't wait to see who his true love will be :3 I know its not the Mane Six or any of the side characters we've seen so far, so definitely it will be a new character of sort:)
"Alright! Power Ponies, go!" when they said that i was thinking go go power ponies!
I can't help feeling like there's going to be some awful fallout from Discord lying to Fluttershy. Hopefully it'll be okay, but this story isn't pulling punches; Fetlock was actually pretty much innocent and still ended up with an awful curse from a powerful god, I can't really believe it'll be all rainbows and sunshine when the secret finally comes out. But omg that scene was so cute I'm willing to hope it will be!
Also, as for the actual story arc, I see what you mean about it not going exactly right. The Rainbow-Neighfertiti connection was cool and super interesting, but I do think it needs a little more fleshing out, otherwise it seems a little forced. I liked the chapter overall though, and the hints towards one of those victims being a little more powerful than they appear. I assume it's probably Starlight, based on the battle, but it'd be super interesting if Trixie had potential she hasn't tapped into yet.
9232443
That Rainbow connection (hehehe, pun not intended) will be explained further in another arc.
That has been made abundantly clear, yes.
I can guarantee it is.
Oh, No. This is not going to end well.
Massive rambling aside, Pinkie is smarter than you think.