In the ferociously roaring sands outside of the pyramid, a lone pony with a cloak stepped forward towards the statues, gazed up at each and every one of them, and shrugged as he pressed forward. He saw the entrance to the pyramid stayed open, despite the long-past departure of the prince and made his way inside, shrugging off the violent sandstorm he had walked out of.

Inside the structure, he pulled down his hood and looked around, trying to make out the characters and hieroglyphs on the walls. Muttering to himself and chanting an incantation, he ignited the torches around the room and made them glow brighter, dispelling more and more of the darkness around him.

“This pyramid should have been cordoned off years ago.” He spat to the ground and stomped forward, revealing his cutie mark. It showed a pair of crossed scimitars with a ball of sand above them. “Now, ponies will come and seek treasure, only to be trapped by infernal beasts known as sphinxes. Southern Equestria has been plagued by these demons for long enough, and without proper action, they will be cursed by them for years to come...”

As he pressed on, deeper and deeper into the heart of the pyramid, he read more and more marks on the wall, reciting the story in his own tongue.

“So long as the sands of time have stood, so too has this great holding cell. But this is not a cell for the mighty demons of riddles, but rather for the prey they seek,” he read aloud. “Sphinxes of ancient times, use this temple as a prison, where no pony who enters is allowed salvation; except if someone else takes their place.” He broke away from the writing and spat to the ground, groaning in disgust. “Horrid things they are. They should never have messed with our kind!”

Travelling further and further through the corridors of the cursed prison of a temple, the pony uncloaked himself more and more, revealing a golden-coated pony with an amber mane and sharp, lightning-bolt tail. His face was chiselled, and tattoos ran down his front hooves, with spiral patterns reaching from tip to shoulder.

“But maybe... with the right words, we can turn the sphinxes to our side.” Grinning to himself, he pulled out an orb from his cloak, rubbing it with his hooves. “It is unrefined, but it should be enough to incapacitate a sphinx and bring it to my pharaoh. Then, the rest is his to decide.”

I will never forgive the beasts myself, not after the accursed trial they cast before my kind in the past; trapping us in a subjugated life for their own personal benefit...

The streets of the pony's village ran rampant with fear, as sphinxes flew overhead and barred off the exits to the village. Their wings beat down on the town, forcing ponies back away from the edges. Not even the pegasi could escape, as the sphinxes chanted a powerful incantation that trapped the village in a golden dome, with hieroglyphics floating and drifting all around the edges.

"Foolish ponies!" A male sphinx boomed out, unfurling its' wings to blot out the sun. "You will answer to us now. Anyone trying to leave will be subjected to our special methods of punishment!"

"Howling Dune! What are we supposed to do?" A mare ran alongside him as they both tried to escape from the sphinxes.

"We get to the tunnels. Surely, there will be a way for us to escape through there..." Howling nodded and ran towards the bridge, jumping off the side to land into a river. "Come, Topaz Eye. We must depart with haste!"

Both of the ponies swam through the river, looking up as the sphinxes swooped over the domed town and started to swoop ponies up into their massive claws. Screams rang out and the ponies flailed their limbs frantically as they begged and pleaded for help.

"Wretched beasts... Why are they doing this to us?" Howling grunted to himself as he shuddered and came to a circular hole in the wall. "Hurry to the sewers, my precious..."

"There is no point in trying to resist, ponies of this village!" The sphinx boomed out, channeling magic through the crown on its' head. "Submit to us immediately, or face the consequences!"

Howling Dune and Topaz Eye delved deeper and deeper into the tunnels, trying their best to hide away from the winged beasts. The smell of the water was pungent and acrid, and they began to feel their heads get heavy as the stench permeated their snouts and traveled up their nostrils.

"Isn't there any way to beat a sphinx, Howling?" Topaz asked, sweat trickling down her brow as her thin dress drifted across the water. "Surely, we can't just leave our town behind for them?"

"As much as I would like to stop this invasion, it's out of my hands. A sphinx's magic is not like that of a pony's magic." Howling huffed and hung his head, viciously swiping the water away. "Gods above! Why did it have to be us?!" Looking back at his wife, his brows raised back up and his breathing normalized. "Sorry. But as far as I am aware, there is no pony here strong enough to fight these demons; let alone me."

"Then... we really have to escape?" Topaz's eyes glinted. "After all the time that we spent in this town, we're going to abandon it?"

"Not abandon it, my wife. We're going to get some help." He went forward, towards the end of the tunnel and saw a small speck of light in the distance. "If we can get out of this place, we can go to the pharaoh himself. Surely, he can mobilize a group of ponies who can fight, and save us from this blight."

"Alright, Howling." Topaz followed after him, but knew that they had a long journey ahead of them. Even if they could get to the pharaoh and requisition his help, the sphinxes might have destroyed their home in the time it would take them.

Eventually, after slogging through knee-high waters and a stench that would incapacitate even the strong-willed ponies, both Howling and Topaz made their way out of the tunnels, and popped out onto the edge of the river, right outside the dome the sphinxes had encased their town in.

"Come, Topaz." Howling darted forward, with Topaz close behind him. Together, they left nothing but hoof tracks behind them as they ran down the road as fast as they could. They didn't even look back once to notice the sphinxes roosting on top of the houses and other buildings in their village.

Unfortunately for them, another sphinx watched them both escape from the top of the ravine around them. Unfurling its' wings, the giant monster soared through the air and swooped down on the fleeing ponies, blowing around the sand in its' wake as it rushed over the ponies' heads.

"No!" Howling groaned and ducked his head down as the sphinx shot over him, somersaulted backwards, and landed before them, blocking their path with a slope of sand and its' tremendous wings. "Out of our way, beast! Let us pass!"

"There is no escape from us, little ones." The sphinx growled and stood over their bodies, tail poised and ready to strike as the creature gave both ponies a malicious glare. "No pony is safe from us, unless you are cunning enough to answer the riddle I pose for you."

"Riddle?" Topaz Eye slid behind Howling Dune, quivering as the sphinx towered over them both. "What kind of riddle?"

"The one where, if you answer incorrectly, your entire village goes underground for the rest of time." The sphinx's eyes glinted with a green glow as the magic on its' crown fluctuated. "All you need do is answer correctly and I shall let you go. Fat chance of that happening, though."

"Pose your riddle already, monster. We have no time to waste with you or your kind." Howling gruffly blew smoke out of his nose.

"I am physical, yet have no hands, feet, legs, or any solid form. I can be as small and flimsy, or as big and powerful as possible. What am I?" The sphinx nodded, its' crown shooting a bolt out at the dome, sealing it with a lock. "Now, I needn't remind you of the consequences for a wrong answer. Just take your time."

"Physical, but no limbs or solid form? What could that be?" Howling Dune muttered to himself as he paced back and forward, looking at his wife and the town they both cherished. "Could it be... No, that's impossible. What about... actually, forget about that."

"Why do you sphinxes hate our kind?" Topaz asked, while Howling still pondered the answer to the riddle. "What did we ever do to deserve your wrath?"

"I am the one who poses the questions, little one. If you have any complaints, then please turn towards the desert behind you and yell them into the air!" The sphinx howled, slamming its' paw down in front of Topaz. "Now, have you thought of an answer yet?"

"There is only one answer that I can think of. Though, I am unsure whether or not there are others that are also acceptable." Howling hung his head and said, "It is the wind. Wind is a physical object, yet it has no body. And it can be condensed into small pockets or be as large as the land itself."

"That is your answer?" The sphinx tilted its' head.

"Yes." Howling nodded.

"Looks like you're..." The sphinx turned towards the village and watched as it began to lower into the ground below, sand swallowing up the roads and buildings. "WRONG!"

"What?!" Howling snapped his head back towards the city, seeing as it retreated into the sands. "No! You set us up! There was more than one valid answer, but you chose to deny ours for your own sake!"

"Hey. You played my game by my rules, and as such, your city fell for it." The sphinx chuckled and batted Howling and Topaz away. "But I'm not entirely an evil thing. You can run off and tell your pharaoh about your home." It grinned. "Or whatever's left of it!"

"Wretched heathen!" Howling charged up his horn and tried to shoot magical blasts at the sphinx, only for a green veil to protect it from his assault. The beast cackled and took off again, while he was still shooting at it. "Get back here! Undo this hex right now! YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS!"

"Truly, I will never be able to forgive that race for what they did that day." Howling muttered as he ran towards the innermost sanctum of the temple, getting closer and closer towards Fwynxie's room and Somnambula's prison. "But, perhaps once I bring back a specimen for the pharaoh, his friends will be able to study it better, so that we can be prepared for future battles with the monstrous things.

Looking into the pocket of the cloak around his body, Howling pulled out a parchment and unfurled it, revealing magical runes that pulsated with feint energy as he brushed his hoof across it. Mumbling an incantation to himself, he felt the runes' power spring to life and coil around his hoof, before it spiralled up to his horn and disappeared in through the tip.

"There. Hopefullly, my power will be strong enough to take this beast and deliver it back to the ponies of the capital." Howling nodded to himself and slid the scroll back into his pockets before pressing on. "And if it is not, then I have many more tricks planned to snatch this monster and bring it in for research."

At long last, Howling arrived at the large door that led into Fwynxie's room. Scanning it from top to bottom, he put his hoof on it and started to feel around for a secret button that would allow him entrance into the room; and to his prize.

"If there truly is a pony stuck in there, I can only imagine the horrific suffering that it must be feeling right now..." Howling said to himself.

Somnambula ran through the maze, her blood pumping as she dodged under another one of Fwynxie's fun-filled booby traps. Sliding on her knees and rolling under the mechanisms, she made it to the end of another one of the maze corridors completely unharmed, tracking Fwynxie by her voice.

"I'm gonna get you, Fwynxie!" Somnambula called, her voice much more chipper than before as a smile began to creep on to her face.

"Nuh-uh! Me good at dis game!" Fwynxie called back, only giving herself away as Somnambula turned another corner.

"I must admit, I was not fond of these games, but now I've begun to see them from another angle." Somnambula panted, jumping over another button in the ground and avoiding springing the traps. "In reality, they are both entertainment for you and exercise for me. Now, I feel much more prepared to take on the deserts of Southern Equestria; and whatever other monsters might lurk within it."

"Yay! Som-Mama happy!" Fwynxie cheered, finally revealing herself as Somnambula came to the next corner in the maze.

And that was the moment she had been waiting for. Charging forward, Somnambula bolted towards the massive Fwynxie and pounced into her belly, feeling the fur and bouncy blubber collide with her as Fwynxie gave her another hug.

"Yoo found me!" Fwynxie cheered as the magic on her tiny tiara shimmered and glowed, enveloping them both in a magical veil that took them out of the maze and back into the nursery.

"I never thought I would say this, but that was actually... fun!" Somnambula's smile grew as wide as possible as she looked up at her titanic toddler. "For real. No jokes."

"Gwad yoo lkied it, Som-Mama!" Fwynxie nuzzled her. "Wanna pway again? Or do yoo wanna pway with something else now?"

"I suppose I wouldn't mind another game." Somnambula finally climbed off of Fwynxie's body and back onto the solid stone ground. "I feel much fitter now than I ever did working for the pharaoh and his family."

"Really now? Then perhaps, you would like to see the pharaoh again and tell him that."

Both Somnambula and Fwynxie turned to see Howling Dune standing at the entrance, throwing off his cloak and scattering it over the toys behind him. The sand marks on his face barely visible if not for the torch. While Fwynxie's eyes widened at the newcomer, Somnambula raised a brow. Both of them had not been expecting guests.

Author's Notes:

So. About this new villain guy, I wanted to try and spice things up a little, y'know, just to make sure that every chapter's not all repetitive and predictable Fwynxie and Somnambula play/torture time. If this comes as too much of a shock to you, I'm sorry. I just wanted to try and branch out a little, while still making this an enjoyable read for all.

And if you like this new guy and wanna see more, then that's good, and I'm sure that I can provide that for you. But, until then, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, and I'll be seeing you all soon.