Author's note: Consider this a... teaser of sorts. The story isn't finished yet, but I've decided to put up the first chapter as a gauge of the sort of interest it would get; lots of appreciation makes for a happier- and faster-working- writer! And while I couldn't guarantee that it would see a speedy conclusion- I've been known to take upwards of year between chapters; free time isn't a commonplace thing for me and doesn't always coincide with inspiration- this is something I have a plan and outline for and would like to see to completion.

Also, I didn't mean to jump into Hindu mythology so thoroughly for the first two snippets, but there's a lot of interesting stories and themes to be found there; I couldn't help myself.

Quick symbiology guide: (-) is a scene change; -C- can be considered an in-chapter break- sort of like a commercial break for television. Feel free to go make a sandwich here, you won't miss anything- I promise!

(-)

“You enter a dangerous area, sir. The jungle can be deadly, even this close to Calcutta.” Ahdrit pulled the oars through the holy waters of the river, eyes half-closed against the summer sun. “And not simply because of the beasts of the wild. They say that remnants of the Reich remain here, seeking treasures to rebuild their empire. Not to mention the Phangisar, laying in wait for enterprising foreigners such as yourself to discover rare treasures before... relieving them of their burdens.”

His passenger nodded slightly, his face hidden in shadows cast by his hat. “I've dealt with the Thuggee before. I'm surprised they're still around.”

“They struggle; the war brought much attention to these parts, and their numbers dwindle. But desperate men do desperate things.”

“Tell me about it.”

The pair were silent until the rowboat reached the bank, exactly where the foreigner had instructed. “Here we are,” Ahdrit said, digging an oar into the mud to steady the boat as his passenger stood. “As agreed, I will return here in two days' time at three o'clock in the afternoon, and I will wait for you for one hour. If you are not here... I cannot return again, sir.”

“That's fine. If I don't come out in two days, I probably won't be coming out at all.” The passenger stepped out onto the riverbed and briefly consulted a map and compass before looking up towards the east.

“Well, then. Be careful out there, Dr. Jones.”

The foreigner glanced back at him and smiled. “Call me Indy,” he said, before vanishing into the treeline.

(-)

Finding the underground ceremonial chambers had been difficult enough; the entrance was cleverly disguised by an optical illusion, broken only by the sun's light during three minutes in the late afternoon. But inside had been numerous dead-ends, traps and hidden chambers, with the way only discernable through age-weathered clues that required a deep understanding of Hinduism to follow. The fact that he had only found four bodies so far- three of whom had obviously succumbed to hunger or thirst, lost in the twists and turns of the chambers, while the fourth had misunderstood a crucial part of the Manusmriti and had paid for it with a neck-snapping plummet down a long shaft- showed that finding the place could have been the most difficult challenge.

But Indiana Jones was not one to get complacent, and as he stepped into a large chamber only dimly lit by a crack in the ceiling that let in the dying sunlight, his first thought was to check for traps. But he'd only taken a couple of steps inside when long-unused torches flared to life around the perimeter of the chamber. He immediately froze, his hand reaching towards the whip coiled at his side- only to have nothing else happen. He took in a deep breath of the dank cavern air and let it out in a soft sigh, scanning the room before him.

The floor was composed of a multitude of black-and-white tiles, each inscribed with a single Old Gujarati word. Above them on what looked to be the western wall was a number of openings with faint stains around them, showing that something liquid had once flowed through, and along the ceiling was a dust-covered but still recognizable mural of Bhageeratha's tapasya. Instantly, Indy's mind connected the dots. “The falling of Ganga to Earth,” he whispered to himself. “Tiles, obviously pressure plates... I guess I have to follow the path of Bhageeratha to please Brahma. But what path to take?”

With the light shed by the torches around the chamber, Indy felt confident enough in dousing his own torch, then gingerly crept down the steps leading to the chamber's floor. He scanned the various words inscribed on the tiles, then chose one at random- labeled “peace”- and pushed against it with the end of his torch.

Three things happened in unison. A soft chime echoed from somewhere behind the walls, the entire chamber seemed to shudder briefly, and a thick, dust-laden spear drove itself into the center of the tile- exactly where Indy would've been standing had he stepped on it.

Indy crouched on the stairs, glancing around to see what had changed. There- one of the torches had gone out, and was the ceiling closer than it had been? It took him a few moments to find the thin grooves in the walls that led all the way down to the floor; it seemed that those who managed to dodge the spears would meet a crushing end instead. “Okay, Indy, think,” he told himself. “How would you follow the path of Bhageeratha? What are the options? Penance, peace, wisdom, air, austerity... wait.” He pressed the torch against the tile marked “air”, and found it completely firm. “Of course,” he said. “Bhageeratha lived on nothing but air for a thousand years to please Brahma. And to follow his path....”

Gingerly, he set his foot down on the chosen tile- and let out another sigh of relief as nothing happened. There was a path to the far side of chamber that he could take, so long as he could keep his balance and his knees could handle short hops. It almost seemed too easy as he treated this ancient shrine as his own personal hopscotch board... until he came to a section about two-thirds of the way across that had no suitable tiles to jump to. The nearest one was six feet away, a jump he could have easily made ten years ago- but his fifty-one-year-old legs were already complaining, and he had to stop for a moment to rest. “Maybe I am getting too old for this,” he sighed, rubbing at his knees. “Could be about time I dedicated myself to the classroom, let younger men do the exciting things. But....” He straightened up again. “Until I can get back to the classroom... here I am. And I've still got something to do.”

The jump wasn't quite as hard as he'd feared, though he did end up wobbling a bit on the landing. As he made his way towards the back of the chamber, he spotted something that had been hidden from his view on the stairs- a tile in reverse colors from all the others on the floor, marked with a simple word in the same writing as all the others: “Enlightenment”. With one last glance around to make sure he wasn't missing some crucial clue, he gingerly set one foot down on this last tile.

A deep shuddering of the entire chamber around him, and a gushing of water from the openings along the western wall, almost made him draw his foot back, but then he saw the rear wall begin to open. Beyond was a small alcove, its walls made entirely of gold, with the entire tale of the Ganges falling to Earth written across them in almost impossibly small writing- but it was what sat in the center of the alcove that caught Indy's attention. A carved-marble stand, as intricately decorated as the rest of the chamber, and above it- floating by some method that Indy couldn't discern- a bright red ruby as large as Indy's fist.

Indy would've given up his whip to be able to get a full archeological crew out here right now, to remove the alcove, take photographs of the mural and tiles, and study just how the trap mechanisms worked. But the so-called “Heart of Bhageeratha” would have to do for now- at least until he got it back to Madrasah-e-Aliah and proved to the professors there that this place actually existed.

But Indy knew above all else that the danger was usually greatest when the prize was within reach, so he set to carefully checking the alcove for traps.

-C-

swoosh-shhhhinnnng

By now, he was far from unfamiliar with machines. True, the details of their inner workings still eluded him, and he would never be any sort of engineer himself- but they did not hold the mystery they once did.

swoosh-clang

They weren't altogether unlike living creatures. Every part, every component had a purpose. And the various fluids they held- fuel, lubricant, so on- weren't far off from a living creature's lifeblood. He had even met entire communities of mechanical creatures, scarcely different from any of the many peoples he had encountered... they had fears and cares and loves all their own.

shhhhhnk-BOOM

And so, it turned out, just as those living creatures that had been spawned or corrupted by his evil adversary carried the taint of his wickedness, so too did the constructs he sent to carry out his whims. Oils of various types stained the warrior's robe and coated his blade, but all of them bore the stench he had come to recognize from that foul demon.

clang-thwack

And so he had come to learn that this new world was at once more complicated and much more simple than what he had been used to. Certainly there were technologies and magics he could never hope to understand, creatures unlike he had ever seen- but the reign of the demon had divided this new world along stark lines of good and evil. The most threatening-looking monster could be a friend, the most bizarre-looking construct an ally, for both could seek only the most righteous goal:

The end of the reign of Aku.

click-whirrrrrr

He spun on his heel as the last of the mechanical beetles clambered into view; its multifaceted eyes seemed to lock on him as it set itself into an attack stance. “Target identified: Samurai Jack,” it droned in its harsh electronic voice. “Mission: Terminate with extreme prejudice.”

Like all of its compatriots, the drone attacked mindlessly- and met the same end at Jack's blade. The half-destroyed metal husk stumbled away a few steps before exploding, showering the area with shrapnel and flames, but Jack was already moving on, sheathing his sword even as he ran, his geta clomping along the stone and dirt flooring. He could only spare a moment to mourn the poor state of these ruins; so much history still remained of a once-proud country, a mighty power in its own time before the coming of Aku. It reminded him far too much of his own home for comfort, though, so he let the thought drop as he brought his attention back to the present.

He ducked between walls of earthen brick and hid beneath a crumbling dome as more of the beetle drones soared overhead, obviously searching for him. Once the aerial patrol had passed, he dashed across what might have once been a parade field, leaving clouds of dust in his wake as he sought refuge in an underground passage. Faint signs carved into the walls gave him a direction to head in- if what he was searching for was really here at all as he'd been told, it would be in the northern district, near or even within the Buddhist temple.

Dusk fell, painting the city stark colors as the shadows lengthened across the desolate roads. Jack didn't dare light a torch for fear of attracting attention from the robots which still tirelessly searched for him, so he depended on his keen eyes to help him keep clear of obstacles. The sun had already set and the full moon was just cresting the horizon when he finally happened upon his goal- the remains of the temple, now barely standing at all aside from a handful of walls and a few stupas.

The fact that Aku's shock troops had left the place standing at all, rather than razing it in their search for the very same artifact he was, was rather surprising. Of course, even someone such as Aku could recognize that simply trashing the place would run the risk of destroying the very thing he sought... all the better for Jack to use his superior knowledge and patience to snaffle that very item for himself. And so he made his way to the largest of the stupas, carefully went to its rear, and searched for the customary inscriptions. There! Barely legible due to age and erosion, but there were the five symbols of the purified elements, and Jack gently placed his finger against each of them in turn and pushed. “Earth, water, fire, air, space,” he whispered gently as each symbol sank just slightly into the surface of the stupa.

As his finger tapped the fifth symbol, a small piece of the stupa seemed to pull away from him and then shift to the side, revealing to Jack a thin tunnel leading directly downwards with a series of handholds carved into the far side.

Wordlessly, and with no small amount of haste, Jack lowered himself into the passageway.

(-)

Jack knew that it was customary to place small treasures in places like this as offerings. But the particular treasure he was after had been left all alone in this nearly-cave-sized treasury, as if stowed away in a hurry... perhaps hidden from an invading force? Whatever had happened, this “Eye of Redemption” had apparently not been moved from the spot ever since- but oddly, though the plain stone floor beneath it was covered in dust, the large red gem itself floated placidly above, as clean as if it had just been polished.

Warily, Jack drew his sword and held its blade near the object; usually, if some foul magic was at play, either his sword would react to it, or vice-versa. But neither weapon nor gem reacted in any way with each other. “Still, one must be cautious,” Jack mused to himself as he sheathed his sword. “Something does not have to be evil to be harmful....”

-C-

“Y'know, I'm not at all against helpin' ya out when ya need it. But this is a mite strange, if ya don't mind me sayin'.”

“I don't mind you saying it, because I happen to agree. It is strange. That's why I want to hurry- whatever's going on could be getting worse by the minute.”

A flock of wild birds scattered from their perches, their scattered chirps and caws echoing through the forest. Six shapes moved through the thick stand of trees, casting bizarre shadows across the tall grasses. “Yeah, you didn't tell us just what you needed us out here for- just that you needed us to come out here in a hurry.”

“Well, I sure don't mind! I always love going on field trips! And getting teleported is fun! Woooooosh!”

“Indeed. I will admit to some exhilaration at the whirlwind pace we're setting, dear, but still- forewarned is forearmed!”

“Just... just so long as dragons aren't involved....”

The leader of the group chuckled softly. “No, no dragons... at least I hope. All I know is that there was an exploration group near this area of the forest examining a previously-unknown tower of some kind, and then suddenly there was an explosion of magical power and some strange sounds that scared the group off. We've been asked to investigate.”

The woods were getting darker despite the afternoon sun; the thick canopy above blocked a good deal of the day's light, and what made it through was filtered into a murky mess. But this was no problem for Princess Celestia's star pupil, and with a moment of concentration, a bright magical light burst forth from Twilight Sparkle's horn, chasing away many of the shadows around her and her friends. “There, that's better,” she declared, glancing around to get her bearings. “We should be close... Dash, take a quick look above the treeline and see if you can spot the tower.”

“Will do!” Rainbow Dash immediately launched herself into the air and soared through the thick branches above, disappearing from sight; within half a minute, she was descending again. “Got it,” she declared, skidding to a halt and pointing towards the south with a hoof. “Half a mile that way. There's a clearing around it, we can't miss it.”

“Great. Come on, girls.” It was a quick march through some exceptionally thick brush before the group finally found its way into the clearing; at the center of it was a crumbling stone tower, barely three stories high- though the amount of rubble around it suggested that it had once been quite a bit taller. “Wow, that looks old,” Dash commented.

“Very old.” Applejack nodded in agreement. “How long y'think it's been here, Twi?”

“It's hard to say... there's not much ornamentation left, but the weathering of the stone and the advanced state of disrepair says... well, 'very old'.” Twilight shrugged. “We'll have to look inside for a better idea of who built it, and when.”

“You mean we have to crawl around inside a dark, scary, abandoned tower that might not actually be abandoned and instead have terrible monsters waiting to gobble us up?” Fluttershy seemed to shrink in on herself, shivering in fear.

“I really doubt we'll find anything more threatening than some wild animals denning inside.” Twilight smiled reassuringly. “And that's where you come in! You can tell them that we're not there to harm them, just to see what caused that magical reaction.”

“Oh. Um... okay, I guess.” That was enough to get Fluttershy walking again, though she didn't look any less nervous.

Anything that might have been useful in identifying the tower had been either destroyed by exposure or removed by the exploration group before they'd been scared off. But Twilight could sense some residual magic of a type she'd never encountered before, and a trail of it seemed to lead... below her? There were no doors or stairs she could see. “Applejack, I think there's some way to go lower. Check for some sort of secret passage or trap door.”

“You got it.” The earth pony closed her eyes and carefully walked across the stone floor, seeming to measure every step. “Okay, think I got somethin',” she said after a few minutes. “Right 'bout here feels hollow underneath. Maybe a trap door or secret staircase.”

“Spread out, girls. See if there's a secret switch.” The group prepared for a long, thorough search for a trigger mechanism- only to have Rarity let out a victorious cry. “I do believe I have it!” she called out, reaching up with a hoof to pull at a candleholder on a nearby wall. With a deep rumble, part of the floor receded, revealing a dark stairway leading deep benath the tower. “How'd you find that so fast?” Dash asked her.

“Well, obviously that holder did NOT go with the style of this tower,” the fashonista huffed.

“Uh... right. Well done, Rarity!” Twilight re-lit her horn and started down the steps, with her friends close behind.

(-)

“Wow. So how far underground are we now?”

Applejack turned to look at Rainbow Dash, who was obviously discomfited being in a place where flight was worthless. “Prolly half a mile down by now,” she answered. “Feelin' a mite uncomfortable, Dash?”

“Look, I like open skies, alright?” Dash shuddered. “Not too big on having so much dirt between me and them.”

“Yeah, well, don't you worry none. These walls are still nice an' solid. Chances of them comin' down on our heads are pretty slim.”

“ 'Slim' isn't close enough to 'none' for me.” Still, the cyan pegasus gamely kept up with the others despite her reservations. “But how much further down do we have to go?”

“Not far, I don't think. Feels like we're gettin' near bottom.” And AJ's prediction was completely right- within the minute, the staircase ended and led the ponies out into a wide chamber, dusty with disuse, and as dank and dark as any cave they'd ever been in. Rarity's head shot up. “Odd....” she said quietly. “Something has my gem-finding sense tingling.”

“And something has my magical senses squirming,” Twilight added. “Like... I'm not sure. A ward spell of some kind that was disrupted?”

“What... what does that mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“Some magicians use ward spells to protect things. It keeps intruders out, sort of like a magical wall. But I don't think this place has seen a living thing in hundreds, maybe even thousands of years....” Twlight scratched at the thick dust on the ground with a hoof. “If a ward spell powerful enough to last that long finally broke apart, then the energetic backlash would've been considerable!”

Dash tilted her head in confusion. “The what now?”

“Um... big magical boom.”

“Well, why didn't you just say that?”

“Never mind that. The bigger question is... what was so important that somepony put up a ward spell that powerful?”

“Apparently... that.” Rarity gestured towards a small item that seemed to float in the air at the far end of the chamber. As Twilight approached, the light from her horn revealed it to be a large red gem, completely untouched by the dust that covered everything else. “Rarity, can you tell anything about it?” she asked.

“I'm... not sure.” The white unicorn squinted in concentration. “It appears to be a ruby, superficially, but something about it is utterly different from any gem I've ever seen before.”

Applejack gave her a look. “Y'mean aside from it floatin' there?”

“She's right, though,” Twilight said. “There's some kind of magic at work here, but... of a kind I've never seen before.”

“So... what do we do?” Fluttershy asked. “I don't want to be down here any longer than we have to.” She glanced over at Dash, who nodded in agreement. “I'm with you on that,” Dash muttered.

“You pegasi get all worked up 'bout being underground!” Applejack laughed. “Look, this place is more stable than... than, well, a stable! Y'all don't need to-”

She was interrupted by a sudden rumble and a sprinkling of dust from the chamber's roof.

“...awwww, horseapples,” she drawled.

-C-

As far as Indy could tell, there were absolutely no traps rigged to go off on the stand. But as far as he could tell, there also was absolutely nothing holding up the gem as well- no hidden wires, no high-pressure jet of air, no magnets. It simply hung there, blithely ignoring gravity. He was no stranger to weird powers doing things more superstitious men would call magic... but something just didn't seem quite right about this.

“But if something bad were meant to happen, why would the alcove open once I followed the path to enlightenment?” he wondered out loud. “Come on, Indy... are you going to let your last adventure end with you leaving empty-handed?”

After a moment more to steel himself, he reached out with one hand to take hold of the Heart of Bhageeratha.

(-)

All of Jack's senses and his years of knowledge told him that there were no traps around the gem, and it seemed incredibly unlikely that such a simple treasury would be rigged with any, or that monks would store a dangerous object within it. Yet something made him hesitate as he watched the gem simply sit there in midair. He had an aversion to magical things- his sword excepted, of course- because they had a tendency to be hazardous in ways even their creators didn't expect.

But then dull thuds above his head- followed by the unmistakable sound of drilling- made the decision for him. Aku's minions had pinned down his location and were going to take the treasure for themselves- and him with it, if they could manage.

With one hand, he drew the sword from its sheath, as his other reached out to seize the Eye of Redemption.

(-)

“Uh-oh.” Twilight stared up at the ceiling. “The warding spell might have been the only thing keeping this chamber from collapsing. Without it....”

“Without it about half a mile of dirt is gonna come crashing down on our heads!” Dash exclaimed, her eyes going wide with panic as thin cracks began to form in the roof of the chamber.

“Right! Gather up, girls, I'm gonna teleport us out of here.”

“But, Twilight!” Fluttershy glanced at the floating ruby. “What about the gem? Do we leave it here, or take it?”

The unicorn considered. The thing itself could be dangerous, and removing it from this place more so... but if it had some kind of harmful property that the ward had been blocking, and that property wasn't blocked by half a mile of solid earth, then there was absolutely no way anyone would be able to get to it. But if-

“Twi!” Applejack's panicked yell broke her out of her contemplation, and she made a gut-level decision. “Grab it!” she told Dash, who immediately leapt for the gem.

(-)

“Got ya,” Indiana Jones said, placing his hand on the ruby.

“Now I have it,” Jack murmured, cupping the ruby in his palm.

“I got it!” Rainbow Dash shouted, both front hooves grabbing the ruby.

One gem, having rested in three separate places for thousands of years, was moved. In one of those places, a powerful teleportation spell embraced the gem- and spilled through to the other two.

Reality bent in ways it was never meant to, and hiccuped.

(-)

“Ugh, my head.”

Somehow, Indy's hat had managed to stay on through him apparently falling flat on his face. He slowly pulled himself up into a crouch and rubbed the back of his head, wondering what had happened- all he could remember was taking hold of the Heart, then a blinding purple-white flash and a sensation of falling... and then this place.

And what was this place? All he could see around himself was a cul-de-sac of dark rock, with veins of some luminescent orange jewels running through them, providing enough light to see fairly comfortably. A tunnel, narrow but large enough to walk through, seemed to be his only exit. There was no sign of the chamber he'd been in, the alcove, or the Heart of Bhageeratha.

As he stood, he did a quick inventory check. Hat- present, whip- present, gun- present, gem- missing, skin- intact. Everything in his pockets was intact as well, including his father's old lighter, left to him when Henry Jones Sr. had passed along. He made sure the snap of his holster was undone in case he ran into anything hostile, and headed down the tunnel.

Unfortunately, his reflexes weren't quite what they used to be, which was how he got caught flat-footed at an intersection of tunnels when a sword was suddenly pointed at his throat. “Halt!” a voice commanded. “Who are you, and where is this place?”

“Whoa, whoa.” Indy raised his hands. “Take it easy. The name's Indy, and I don't know where this place is or who you are.”

The blade wavered, then pulled away. A moment later, a tall man in a white robe stepped into view, sliding the katana into its sheath at his side. “Forgive me,” he said, bowing. “I overreacted.”

“Yeah, well....” Indy shrugged, lowering his hands. “I guess you don't know where this place is either?”

“I have no idea.” The tall man looked around for a moment, and Indy took the opportunity to give him a closer look. “Okay, since I've told you who I am... who are you, and why are you dressed like a samurai from 14th-century feudal Japan?”

“That... is because that is where I am from.” The samurai extended a hand. “They call me Jack.”

Indy was torn between shaking his hand and backing away from him. Obviously this man was crazy, claiming to be from a period six hundred years in the past. But before he could decide how to react, a voice echoed from down a further tunnel. “I'm sure I heard someone talking down here!”

The two men exchanged a glance. “Quickly, hide!” Jack commanded in a hushed tone.

Indy was seldom one to take orders, especially from strangers, but it certainly seemed like a good idea. He placed himself behind one side of the tunnel he'd come out from, out of view of where the source of this new voice seemed to be coming from, and Jack similarly took position in a different tunnel. Some sort of noise seemed to echo from the third tunnel... hoofbeats? The tunnels were barely high enough for either him or Jack; who could have fit horses in here?

As the sounds came closer, more voices spoke.

“You know, I'm spending way too much time underground lately for comfort.”

“Aww, Dashie! Spelunking is fun! Sometimes you find way cool caves and lava and weird plants and strange creatures that blow up when you get too close and-”

“...Pinkie, what the hay are you talking about?”

“Girls, quiet down! If there's someone else down here, they're sure to hear us-”

They were obviously women's voices, and young-ish ones at that. Despite his caution, Indy just had to have a look at what was going on; he risked a peek around the tunnel wall- and came face-to-face with a pony. A purple-colored, multicolor-maned, unicorn pony with enormous eyes, who was staring at him with a recognizable look of shock. They stood there for a little more than five seconds, too surprised to speak... and then, as one, they yelled.

“AHHHHHH!”

Indy stumbled back, tripping over a raised rock and ending up on his backside. The pony similarly fell backwards, crashing into another pony directly behind it, causing a cry of alarm. “Twi! What is it?!”

Another cry of alarm came from further down the tunnel, where Jack had been hiding. “Ahhhhhh! Monster!”

There was a moment of general panic and flailing about before a deep, commanding voice called out, “Enough!” Jack stepped into the intersection, his hands out at his sides in a supplicating gesture. “Please, calm down,” he said in a much lower voice. “It seems we have all caught each other by surprise.”

“You ain't kiddin',” came a laconic drawl from somewhere within the pile of ponies- six, now, Indy could see, all of them about chest-high at the top of their head. Only none of them looked anything like normal ponies; their faces were far more expressive, two of them bore wings while another pair had unicorn-like horns, and every single one of them had a combination of colors in coat and mane unlike any horse he'd ever seen. And it seemed at least some of them could talk.

Indy managed to tear his gaze away from the creatures to look up at Jack, who seemed to be taking this a lot better; his expression was one more of confusion than shock. He glanced between Indy and the pile of ponies, placing his hands behind his back. “Perhaps we should all talk,” he offered.

The purple unicorn stuck its head out from under its compatriots. “Yes, that would be an excellent idea.”