Somnambula soared nimbly on the winds of Southern Equestria, letting nothing get in her way as she hurried on to the pyramid in the distance. She knew that the prince of the kingdom was in danger, and that who or whatever was holding him inside had to face her. But luckily for Somnambula, hope was on her side, and she was ready to face any and all danger that stood in her way.

After a long flight, she eventually arrived at the pyramid, eyeing it up from top to bottom, summit to foundation, trying to find a way inside. From a simple frisk of the building, she couldn't find a straightforward way inside. The door itself had also been shut off, and there didn't seem to be a mechanism that could open it anywhere.

"Prince?" Somnambula called as she approached the door. "Do not worry! I have come to free you from the confines of this pyramid and return you home."

No response.

"Alright then." Somnambula took a deep breath and started to look around, to see if there would be something around that could open the door. "What riddle must I solve and how must I solve it to open this tomb?" She asked herself, even though there was no pony around for miles. And the last time she checked, ponies weren't able to speak through walls.

"Maybe it lies in these statues?" Somnambula asked, tilting her head towards two statues that stared at each other right next to the pyramid. "Perhaps if I examine them, the answer will become clear."

Just as Somnambula stepped forward, she ended up stepping on a concealed pressure plate that had a coat of sand on top of it. Her hoof sunk a few inches into the ground before it all shook around her. Turning towards the pyramid, she watched as a large passageway opened up before her eyes.

"Hmm. They really should make these places harder to break into. That is the fifth pressure plate pyramid I've opened up this month..." Somnambula groaned and rolled her eyes before trotting forward, putting a confident smile back on her face.

"Prince?" Somnambula walked through the entrance to the pyramid, watching as a pony came right out the other side. "Don't lose hope. It is I, Somnambula, and I came to your rescue!"

"Good!" A voice boomed from inside of the pyramid. It sounded regal and manly, though it was far from pleased with anything to even muster up any form of gratitude.

A simple pony with blue skin, brown hair, and a golden laurel with a snake on it stomped out of the temple, with a bright teal headpiece that stuck straight up and a similarly coloured robe around his body. His cutie mark was concealed. From the look on his face, he had suffered a terrible punishment; far worse than anything Somnambula could ever have imagined.

"Now it's your turn!" He passed Somnambula, barely even raising his eyes to look at her.

"My turn? Huh?" Somnambula lifted a hoof and turned to the dishevelled prince "What about the sphinx?"

The prince stopped in his path, yet still failed to turn back to face his supposed 'saviour'. "She's been grounded for drinking the queen's milk bath. Somepony has to watch over her and I'm glad it isn't me!" And with those words, he continued to storm off back home, leaving a thunderstruck Somnambula behind at the opened pyramid.

"I don't even..." Somnambula was scrambling to try and put it all together as the prince vanished off into the desert, wanting to get as far away from the place as possible. "Wha...?!"

But before she could get anything else out of the pony, he was long gone, and she was still trying to make sense of any of the situation. It seemed like her quest had all been for naught more than an earful of complaints from a pony who had either been through Tartarus or had waited so long and got tired of waiting.

"Well, I didn't come all this way just to be yelled at." Somnambula grumbled as she looked back at the open door. "At the very least, I can see if there is any treasure inside. Maybe an offering for the pharaoh when I return. His words of approval would be all I need to get that ungrateful pony out of my mind."

As Somnambula walked into the temple, the air around her began to grow more and more pungent. A certain smell that she couldn't make out began to fill her nose. A combination of dung, rubber, and some faint traces of powder as well. Well, whatever it was, she had no clue what it could have been. She had smelt no incense like it before.

"So far, no booby traps." Somnambula nodded as she squinted in the darkness, watching as a set of wooden torches flickered to life from afar, illuminating a pathway for her to follow. "Just what kind of pyramid is this, anyway? And what did that pony mean about a queen or a milk bath? Something isn't right."

Somnambula delved deeper and deeper into the pyramid, still on guard for traps or danger of any sort. Though, instead of being scared of the place, she was more anxious over how safe the whole place was. Every time she had been expecting something to activate and take her by surprise, it just never came. It was enough to drive her crazy.

"No traps, no danger, and no sign of any treasure anywhere..." Somnambula spoke to a silent hall, accompanied only by the sounds of her own hoofsteps. "This is no ordinary pyramid. And if it is, then it's arguably the most mundane one I've ever seen. Just one good find in here will do now. Just one. Please..."

As it to answer Somnambula's calls, a faint noise could be heard, echoing on the wall. It sounded young and giggly, almost like a baby's voice as it was playing with its' toys. Her ears pricked up almost immediately when she heard the noise as it bounced off of the walls and all around her.

"Huh? A foal?" Somnambula asked herself, cantering towards the noise. "What would a foal be doing all the way down in a pyramid like this? And more importantly, why is there a foal this deep in a pyramid in the first place?!" Her canter transformed into a speedy charge as she dashed towards the noise. "This deep down into the pyramid, there's bound to be booby traps all over the place! I need to get that baby out before it gets hurt!"

The noise grew louder and louder, and Somnambula tried her hardest to keep up the pace. Even though it felt like her lungs were beginning to ignite from all the running and the room seemed to stretch on forever, she finally arrived at the room at the end of the path, and the noise finally cleared up.

The room that Somnambula found herself in was not like any other she had encountered thus far. Although it kept the dark and ancient theming on the walls and floor, there was a bright glimmer of light twinkling down from the ceiling. Which, when she looked up at, revealed it to be an open hole with the sky above being faintly visible to her. It was still broad daylight, much to her relief. But that wasn't what had caught her off-guard. Instead, the entire room itself was littered with toys that were much too big for any regular baby pony. They were at least the size of a school-age filly or colt, with a ball, some plushies, some building blocks, and a pacifier attached to the end of an ankh being a few items she could see immediately.

"Is this... a giant nursery?" Somnambula walked forward, looking at all the enlargened toys around her. "If this is the heart of the pyramid, either it's very well-disguised, or a massive, massive trap that was waiting for me all this time. Either way, I had better take what's valuable and get out as soon as I can. No point in me staying here for longer than necessary."

Once Somnambula took another step and ended up stepping on one of the plushies, the loud squeak that it made rang out through the room, and attracted the attention of a large furry ball in the corner of the room, who unfurled and revealed itself as a large cat-like creature with purple fur, indigo hair, orange eyes, and a golden necklace and tiara atop its' head.

"What the..." Somnambula watched the creature come to life and start charging towards her. She herself reared backwards and got ready to run, when the creature skidded on its' heels and stopped inches away from her, wagging its' tail as it flashed a toothy grin down at her.

"Hi!" The creature grinned down at her. "I'm Fwynxie! Moar Widdles?"

"Oh. Hi, little one." Somnambula started to sweat as she stared up at Fwynxie, giving her a small wave as she looked into her eyes. "It is I, Somnambula. And..." It was a challenge for her to make a greeting at this point. What she had thought was a giant, terrifying sphinx that was holding the prince hostage, was actually much smaller than she had expected. And despite the giant size of it, it didn't look harmless in the slightest. At least, not at the moment.

"Som-nam..." Fwynxie had her own challenge, as she tried to pronounce the name of the pony standing before her. She had never seen a pony with a name like that, and ended up scratching her own chin with a paw as she tried to get it right. "Som-nam... Som-nam..." In the end, she drew together how similar the sound was, put on a bigger smile, and exclaimed, "Som-Mama! Mama!"

Somnambula herself felt her eyes widen. Now it all started to make sense for her. "Oh no..." She mumbled on the spot as Fwynxie advanced on her. When the pony before her mentioned that there was someone for her to take care of, this must have been what he meant by that. What have I gotten myself into?!

Before she could even think about turning away, Fwynxie reached over and pulled the pony into a powerful hug, squeezing her so tenderly that her eyes began to pop out of her head. "I lub you, Som-Mama!" She squealed, lifting her back paws off of the ground as she cooed softly.

"Must... not... lose... hope..." Somnambula choked on her own words and struggled to get them out as the sphinx continued to caress her softly. "Have to... find... treasure and... leave!" She fell to the ground, writhing on the floor as air re-entered her lungs. To many other ponies, she would've looked powerless and drained, but to Fwynxie, it all looked like she was putting on a show.

"Hehe. Som-Mama funny!" Fwynxie chuckled at the antics of Somnambula as she started to breathe again. "Pwomise you'll stay fowever?"

"Stay?" Somnambula looked up at her giant tormentor, still unable to grasp the reality or truth of the situation. "No, no, no no. I think there's been some kind of mistake. I was just here to free somepony from this place. Then that pony turned out to be ungrateful and now I'm just trying to see what kind of treasure there is here."

"Tweasure?" Fwynxie's eyes lit up as she darted her eyes around the room. "I has tweasure? Where?"

She doesn't know? Then this place really is just one big nursery, and this whole trip was for nothing! Somnambula shook the thought off and turned towards the door. "Nngh. That prince is going to be hearing from me when I report back to the pharaoh..."

"Uh, Som-Mama? Whewe yoo going?" Fwynxie asked, crawling along with Somnambula.

"I'm going home," said Somnambula. "It's been very nice to see you, Fwynxie, but this whole journey was all for naught. And if it's alright with you, I'll depart now."

"Uh, yoo no leave." Fwynxie lifted a brow at the escaping pony.

"And what's stopping me?" Somnambula asked, then got her answer straight away as the door in front of her began to close. "No!" She bolted for it, but it shut before she could even reach the wall, and smashed head-first into stone, bouncing backwards into Fwynxie's arms again.

"No, weawwy. Yoo no leave." Fwynxie petted Somnambula, nearly dislodging her headdress in the process.

"Little one, I'm sorry. But with all due respect, I have a family of my own. I have my own mama and dada, and I cannot just abandon them for a pointless trip like this one." She opened her wings and tried to fly out through the roof, but couldn't even get her hooves off of the ground. No matter how hard she buzzed and beat her wings, she didn't get any higher, and was still firmly rooted on the ground. "Wh-what?!" Somnambula's entire body grew cold, and she trembled on the spot. The way out was sealed off, and the only other way was out of her reach. And the final nail in her coffin, she could no longer use her wings to escape. "What's going on here?"

Fwynxie just giggled. "Magic!" She pointed around. "No fwying allowed!"

"No... flying?!" Somnambula's pupils became smaller than the grains of sand that she had flew over to get to the pyramid. "Then... that means—"

"Yay! Som-Mama gonna stay" —Fwynxie hugged her even more so— "fowever!"

"Dear Celestia above, what have I got myself into?" Somnambula despaired as she once more found herself ensnared in the sphinx's enrapturing hugs and cuddles.

Author's Notes:

Well, this is gonna be interesting. I've never really made a full, feature-length story out of just a simple comic before. But yeah, once again, I do have to thank DoubleWBrothers over on DeviantArt for making the artwork, and the comic that it stems from.

I also do have to point out that, right now, I never really understood the appeal of the Sphinx when Daring Done first came out. I just passed it off as a regular thing, and then all of a sudden, there was a whole cult following for this giant, one-scene only monster that was never shown again. And while I agree that the design is cool, I just didn't think that it was as massively-loved as a member of the Main Six or a few background ponies in the day. And instead, I still just thought of it as a regular old sphinx with no dialogue involved.

But I will say that, I am looking forward to writing more of this story and furthering the captive relationship with Fwynxie and Somnambula. And I hope that you guys all enjoyed it as well. Be sure to stick around for more chapters when they release (provided that I ever get off my lazy butt and actually make more chapters. But I'll get there, definitely) and I'll see you all soon.