“So, yer tellin' us... this 'Aku' feller, t'keep you from puttin' him down in the past, threw ya into the future? An' then took over the world while you were gone?” Applejack pulled her hat off and scratched at the back of her head. “Now, ordinarily I'd be callin' this the tallest tale what I ever heard... but seein' as how I'm talkin' to two creatures I ain't never seen before, in a place what none of us ain't never been, I think I'm a mite more inclined to believe.”

“I'll have to admit to being a bit more incredulous,” Indy countered. “Because I've studied a lot about ancient Japan, and I'm pretty sure 'evil demon taking over the world' would've been mentioned somewhere.”

“But Dr. Jones, think about it. It's entirely possible that you and Jack are from divergent timelines.” Twilight sketched out a line in the dirt, while Dash rolled her eyes and muttered “Here she goes again”. “Look. Let's say this is Jack's time-” one notch was scratched near the beginning of the main line- “and this is yours.” Another notch, towards the end. “If Aku changed history by sending Jack away-” now a second long line leading away from Jack's notch- “then that could create an entirely different dimensional instance from the one you know.”

Jack leaned over to where Rarity was resting. “Excuse me... but do you understand any of what she says?” he asked her.

She gave him a smile and shook her head. “Not when she's entered full lecture mode, my dear. But she is wise and knows what she's talking about, even if the rest of us don't.”

Indy seemed to be following well enough, though. “Divergent timelines manifest as completely separate dimensions? You're going a lot further into metaphysical realms than most scientists I've met were ever comfortable with.”

“It's barely more than theory where I'm from as well, Dr. Jones. It's-”

“Uh, look... call me Indy. 'Dr. Jones' is what my students call me, and it makes me feel a bit old.”

She chuckled at that. “Okay, Indy. But right now the divergence theory is the only one I can think of that fits. Jack's future is very different from your present, and neither of you has seen anything like the six of us. The only plausible explanation I can imagine for all of us even sitting here is some sort of cross-dimensional occlusion event.”

“Oh, wow!” Pinkie piped up. “I think this calls for a cross-dement... uh, a crust-accusion... a meeting-new-people-from-other-universes party!”

“Pinkie, this is not the time for a party,” Dash told her. “All of us ended up in this strange place Celestia-knows-how, and we don't even know where it is or how to get home.”

“Not to be interruptin', but....” Applejack glanced between Twilight and Indy. “What the hay is a... a... them words you said, Twilight?”

“Rainbow Dash, Jack and Indy each touched a floating red gem just before we ended up here. In addition, I cast a teleportation spell just as Dash was grabbing our gem. Somehow, they must have been connected... and the teleportation spell affected the other two, drawing us all in.”

“And then all of us ended up here.” Jack folded his hands together. “Which begs another question, which Rainbow Dash alluded to: Where is here?”

“I'm afraid I have no answer to that. A couple of theories, maybe, but I'd need to see more of this place.”

“We probably wouldn't want to sit and wait too long,” Fluttershy added, nervously glancing around. “I mean... if Mr. Jack came from one tunnel, and Dr. Jones came from another, and we came from the third... what's down the fourth?” She gave the last tunnel a worried look.

“That is a good question.” Indy nodded. “Possibly hostile territory with no knowledge of what it may contain... not the best conditions.”

“Then I guess we should move,” Twilight said, getting to her hooves. “Applejack? Pinkie Pie? Any idea on the terrain?”

Applejack sighed. “Wish I could tell ya, Twi. This place just ain't any sort of natural. I got no connection with the earth here. What 'bout you, Pinkie?”

“This place feels....” The pink pony frowned. “...un-fun.”

“I'm afraid I'm similarly baffled by these glowing gems,” Rarity offered with a frown of her own. “They do not radiate by magic, that is all I can say for certain.”

“So we enter into the situation blindly.” Jack stood. “Caution is the order of the day. I shall take the fore; Indy, Twilight, I ask that you cover my blind side. Also, Twilight, as I am uncertain of your friends' strengths, perhaps you should advise me on how best to utilize them.”

“Heh. You certainly don't seem to have the same problem with me,” Indy countered gruffly.

“I do not. I had already judged you as both a competent warrior and man of wisdom; your tale of your history has only proven so. If you wish to lead....”

Indy blinked in shock for a moment, surprised at both the compliment and the offer, then shook his head. “No. You've got a good handle on the situation so far, and leaving the leading to you means I can worry about the details.”

“Very well then.” With that, the samurai turned towards the last tunnel, followed closely by Indy and then Twilight, who was giving the two humans a brief run-down on what her friends were capable of. Behind them, the other five ponies had already sorted themselves out into a loose squad; Dash sidled up to Rarity. “So whaddya think of those two guys?” she asked quietly, tilting her head towards the humans.

“What is there to think? They are as lost and confused as we are. With good reason, I would say.”

“No, I mean... they look pretty weird, don't they?”

“We probably look just as strange to them,” Fluttershy answered.

Pinkie Pie was not one to be left out of a conversation. “I dunno, I think they look kinda neat, walking around on two legs. And those strange forehooves! They kinda look like Spike's claws, but kinda not, and-”

“Would ya'll pipe down?” Applejack dropped back a bit in their formation. “Could be anythin' up ahead listenin'.” She glanced ahead, then added, “'Sides, it ain't polite to talk 'bout folks behind their flanks.”

“Come on, AJ,” Dash pressed her. “You can't tell me you don't think they're kinda weird.”

“That don't matter right now, don't you reckon? All I know is, they're decent folks caught up in the same strange mess we are. I'd rather have 'em than not.”

Dash looked away for a moment, considering, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess you're right.”

They walked along in silence for a few minutes, through a tunnel that twisted and turned but didn't seem to change much in size, until they finally emerged into a fairly large cave only dimly lit by the orange crystals. Three more tunnels branched off from the far end, each one leading off into a different direction. “Well, at least here we have a defensible position if we run into something nasty,” Indy said.

“Agreed.” Jack nodded. “With another fallback route- the tunnels we have just emerged from.”

“Two chokepoints where anything that can fit through won't be too large to handle,” Twilight finished. “Okay, I guess things are starting to look up, finally.”

“Yeah, I'll go along with that when I can look up and see something else besides rock,” Dash grumbled.

By vote, they chose to head through the rightmost tunnel first. This tunnel was a far bit shorter than the last, but it led to a much stranger place- what seemed to be a flat, rocky plain, with orange-crystal formations jutting upwards to provide light. What was even more disturbing was the fact that there was absolutely nothing above them aside from what looked like a black, featureless void. Dash wobbled on her hooves as she stared upwards. “I take back what I said before,” she groaned.

“Maybe... maybe it's just a really high cave ceiling,” Twilight said, though she didn't really believe that herself. “Dash, we need you to have a good look from up there.”

“Ugh... yeah, okay, I'm on it.” Despite her objections, the pegasus was quick to spread her wings and soar into the air, disappearing into the gloom quickly. The others had formed a sort of defensive circle around the tunnel exit when she returned, only a couple of minutes later. “Okay, this place is one hundred percent, grade-A weird,” she declared, with a haunted look on her face.

“What is it?” Jack questioned her. “What did you see?”

“Okay. First of all, I could only get about two hundred feet off the ground before I hit... something. I dunno. It felt like the air got thicker, you know? There's, like, about twenty-five feet between plain air and feeling like I was trying to fly through tightly-packed cotton. I couldn't get any higher than that.” She shuddered, shaking her wings. “Second, this place is some kind of weird floating island. I'd say... maybe seven hundred feet across, thirty feet thick. I didn't want to risk going below it to see more. But what's weirdest of all about it is that... it's kinda... growing.”

“Growin'?” Applejack tilted her head. “Whaddaya mean, growin'?”

“I mean the island is getting bigger! I took a close look at one of the edges, and it's- it's expanding, somehow. Like a sponge soaking up water. This rock is literally forming out of nothing.”

Jack frowned. “What manner of place is this?!”

“I don't know, but I like it less every second we're here.” Twilight took a quick look around. “Did you notice anything else while you were up there, Dash?”

“No, but as dark as it is, there's no telling what I could've missed.”

Indy tugged at his hat reflexively. “Then we'll have to check on-foot. Split up or stay together?”

“I definitely think we should stay together,” Fluttershy half-whispered.

“No, no, splitting up would be best,” Rarity countered. “At the distances Dash stated, we would be within shouting distance if something were to happen. I do not wish to spend a single moment here unnecessarily!”

“She is right.” Jack raised a hand, pointing towards the left side of the plains, then the right. “Two groups of four should be sufficient. Twilight, suggestions?”

“On how to split up? Uh....” She thought for a moment. “Jack, you and Indy should lead. You guys obviously have more experience in moving through hostile territory. Fluttershy, Applejack- you're with me following Jack. Dash, Pinkie, Rarity- you're with Indy.” She looked up at the humans. “If, uh, that's okay with you guys,” she amended, suddenly self-conscious.

The two men glanced at each other for a moment, then chuckled. “Works fine for me,” Indy said, as Jack nodded in agreement. “Stay about fifty feet from the edge and work your way around it. If we don't find anything important when we meet at the far end, we'll check the middle together.”

“Agreed.” Jack gathered up his group. “And if you see any sign of trouble, call out.”

The two groups quickly disappeared from each others' sight. Indy picked his way across the rocky ground, hearing the three ponies keeping pace behind him, and he briefly wondered just what unlucky stars had shined down on this particular adventure. “Can only imagine what Dad would make of this,” he murmured under his breath.

The group had made it perhaps four hundred feet along the side of the island when Rarity stumbled. “Oof!” she cried out, just barely keeping herself from hitting the rock face-first. “What on Equestria did I just... oh. Oh my! Indy! Indy, look at this!!”

He spun on his heel to see Rarity staring down at an object sticking out of the ground. He knelt down to give it a closer look, finding it to be what looked like a blackened skeletal hand reaching out from solid rock. “How did this-” he began.

As if triggered by his voice, the hand practically erupted from the rock, sending shards flying up as it grabbed at Indy's throat. He fell back, kicking at it reflexively and sending the strange, bony arm it was attached to skittering across the ground. “What in the hell is that thing...?” he gasped.

Behind him, Pinkie was backing away slowly from a shape pulling itself up from the ground. “Uh... Indy?” she squeaked, eyes wide, tripping over her own hooves and landing on her rump. “Indy?! Indy- Rarity- Dashie- anypony...?!”

Indy looked her way, and saw something impossible- what seemed to be a desiccated corpse, dressed in a ragged Wehrmacht uniform, literally staggering up out of the rock. It leveled something long and metallic towards the fear-frozen pink pony.

Before he knew what he was doing, Indy was already back on his feet, throwing himself at the equine and tackling her behind an outcropping.

Tak-tak-tak-tak

The unmistakable report of an StG44 echoed across the rocks, and bullets blasted chunks of stone up from the ground. Indy ducked his head, holding Pinkie down with one hand while drawing his M1911 semi-auto with the other; when the firing stopped for a moment, he aimed the handgun around the edge of the outcropping and popped off three shots in the thing's direction. He waited for more fire, or for whatever the creature was to advance- but after ten seconds of silence, he risked a glance, finding that at least one of his shots had gotten lucky and brought the thing down. “Stay here,” he told Pinkie, who was too shocked to do anything but comply.

A quick examination of the body showed that one of his bullets had struck the corpse just above the left eye, shattering a fair amount of the skull. But this was no flesh-and-blood living thing, or even something that had once been so; the body seemed made out of the very same rock as the island he stood on, the skull was empty, the eyes seemed made of rough ebony, and the clothing was some sort of coarse fabric that was stiff to the touch. The rifle it had dropped, though, was exactly the same as he would have expected, and in remarkably good condition as well. He was in the process of pulling three reserve magazines out of the corpse's pouches when Rarity and Dash ran up. “What was that racket?!” Dash demanded. “And where's Pinkie?!”

“I'm... I'm over here, guys.” Pinkie Pie half-stumbled out from where Indy had left her. “It... that... what was that thing, Indy? And what made that terrible noise?”

“I guess you guys haven't seen guns before.” Indy loaded a fresh magazine into the rifle. “The only thing you need to know about them is that they're very dangerous. You see one pointed at you, get behind cover.”

“He... he's not kidding.” Pinkie glanced at the holes in the solid rock just past where she'd been standing. “Indy, if you hadn't tackled me, I....”

She was interrupted by loud foot- and hoofsteps rushing towards them; Jack seemed to materialize out of the darkness, followed closely by the other three ponies. “We heard weapons fire,” Jack declared, sword in hand as he scanned the area for threats. “What happened?”

“Things coming out of the damn ground is what happened.” Indy pointed towards the prone body. “Things that are armed and wearing uniforms I'd hoped I'd never see again.”

Jack knelt down and examined the corpse. “What manner of creature is this? It looks human, but appears made of stone. And it was armed?”

“With this.” Indy patted the rifle he'd slung over his shoulder. “Looking like it just came off the assembly line.”

“Blast. If these creatures can simply erupt from the ground ready to attack, how can we possibly be safe?”

“No-no-no-no!” Pinkie had recovered some of her lost energy, though clearly not all of it. “My Pinkie Sense went all kinds of twitchy-twitch just before it appeared! But in a way I've never felt before.”

Jack shot Twilight a questioning glance. “'Pinkie Sense'?”

“It's... complicated.” The unicorn shook her head. “But it's been proven to be reliable.”

“Hold on a minute,” Applejack broke in. “I remember feelin' somethin' weird just before we heard all that noise. Thought it was jes' my 'magination, but... maybe us earth ponies can feel when those things are 'bout to pop up?”

“I'd feel a lot better with some kind of early warning on those things.” Indy stood. “Twilight, Jack... options?”

Jack rubbed his chin. “Only two. Stay here and continue to search, or retreat and explore one of the other two tunnels.” The unspoken corollary: Running and hiding was not an option.

“With no guarantee that either one is any safer than here.” Twilight sighed. “I guess our best bet would be to stay here, at least until we're sure there's nothing we can use.”

Once more, they broke into two teams, but this time staying closer together- and with Pinkie staying very close to Indy, who had the assault rifle in a ready-to-fire position. Less than two hundred feet away, Jack's group picked its way across the rock-strewn ground. “Um... Mr. Jack?” Fluttershy said quietly. “Should... should I be flying? To scout?”

“No. I believe it too much a risk that you would be spotted by something before you could see it, and since these creatures have guns... I would be helpless to protect you.”

“Oh. Um... okay.” She frowned, eyes downcast; Applejack picked up on her expression and moved a little closer. “What's wrong, sugarcube?” she asked.

“It... it's noth-” The cowpony's stern look made the pegasus bite back the blatant untruth. “I... Applejack, I'm scared. I'm scared and I feel useless and I want to do something.”

Jack had apparently heard, because at the next moment he was kneeling down next to Fluttershy. “Your fear is justified, little one,” he told her with a gentle smile. “I am also afraid. But we must all be brave so that we can escape this place. And none of us here is useless- you are my eyes and ears for where I cannot see or hear. If we-”

“Uh, beggin' yer pardon, Jack, but... I think we're 'bout to have company.” Applejack pointed in the direction where she was feeling a truly awful type of disturbance in the rock. “Thataway. I think we got three, mebbe four.”

“Remain here. Twilight, guard the right side. I will approach them from our left.” The samurai drew his sword and broke into a run, disappearing around an outcropping. A few moments later, there was a soft rumble, and four shapes broke free from the ground; as one, they clambered to their feet-

-and then a flash of white and grey burst into view. Not stopping, hardly even slowing, Jack dashed between the figures, his katana cutting each one neatly in half with a single swing. The fourth one had just begun to get its weapon up before the blade swept upwards, taking off its arms at the elbows, then swung around to behead it.

“...sweet Celestia, I ain't never seen nopony move like that,” Applejack breathed.

“Good thing he's on our side,” Twilight agreed, watching as the human warrior sheathed his sword and picked up the weapons the creatures had been carrying. With a careful glance around him, he returned to the ponies. “Are you all alright?” he asked.

“Fine as apple trees in sunshine, but hoo-ee, Jack... that was somethin'.” The earth pony watched the human detach part of each weapon and place it inside of his robe, letting the main piece drop to the ground. “What's that yer doin'?”

“These hold ammunition for the weapons these creatures use.”

“But... aren't you going to use one, like Indy is?” Twilight asked, to which Jack shook his head. “No. Using such weapons is not my way. But Indy can make use of this.”

“Ohhhh... well, with how well you work with that sword, I guess you really don't need anything else.”

Jack smiled as he stored the last rifle's magazine inside his robe, and let the weapon drop. It had just finished clattering when Applejack flinched. “Oh, horseapp-”

The ground burst up beneath the pile of guns, flinging them every which way and sending one slamming into the side of Jack's head. Another of the corpselike creatures reared out of the very rock, rifle raised, its butt aimed downward as the creature moved to bring it down on the skull of a momentarily-stunned Jack.

And then Jack wasn't there anymore, as a yellow-and-pink blur drove itself into him and knocked him out of the way. The rifle smashed into rock, shattering the stock, but the creature was undeterred; it spun around, raising the weapon- only to have it suddenly begin to glow purple, and then yank itself out of its wielder's hands with supernatural force. The creature stumbled, tried to regain its balance, and looked up to see a pair of orange hooves heading straight for it... then flew backwards a good dozen feet before crashing into an outcropping and practically shattering.

“Oh, goodness!” Fluttershy disentangled herself from the samurai, then immediately knelt down to look at the small cut where the flung rifle had struck him. “Are you okay, Mr. Jack? I hope I didn't hurt you....”

“No, no, please. I am alright.” He slowly got to his feet. “That... that was exceptionally well-done, all of you. I am in your debt.”

“Debt, schmebt. Us ponies watch out fer our friends. I jes' wish I coulda warned ya sooner.” Applejack glared back at the crumpled form she'd kicked. “Not my way to go harmin' other creatures if I can help it, but them things....”

“They're not even creatures. They're constructs.” Twilight took a few steps towards the fallen creature. “What... what does that mean?” Fluttershy asked after her.

“Constructs. Golems. Puppets with invisible strings.” Her horn was glowing faintly as she magically examined the prone form. “There's no life in these things; magic, sure, making them move. Maybe some rudimentary intelligence. But something else is creating them, imbuing them with that magic and that intelligence.”

“But what would be doing that?”

“That....” The unicorn sighed. “That, I don't know.”

“Nor do I.” Jack studied the ground for a moment. “But this is troubling information. Puppets imply a puppet master, and obviously this one has ill intent towards us.”

“Y'ain't kiddin'.” Applejack adjusted her hat, then turned. “But we ain't got time to worry too much 'bout it, fer now at least. Let's keep movin'.”

Fortunately there were no more attacks as the two groups proceeded. But an even greater surprise awaited them- the front of a building seemed to almost appear out of the gloom before them; two stories tall and stately, windows holding actual glass, spotlights of orange light provided by crystals half-buried in the ground in front of it. The groups re-formed in front of it, staring in disbelief. “Um... Dashie?” Pinkie asked. “You didn't see this before?”

“It wasn't here before!” Dash protested. “I'm totally serious, guys; if this place had been here when I scouted, I woulda seen it. Heck, we probably would've seen it from the ground on the way here! Something weird is definitely going on.”

“She's right.” Indy looked as white as a ghost, staring up at the building. “Something weird is going on. Because I know this place.”

Everyone around him did a double-take, gazing at him in surprise. “You do?” Twilight asked. “Where is it?”

“This is the building I teach in at Barnett College.”

Jack's brows furrowed in confusion. “But... but how can this be?”

Suddenly, Applejack grimaced, and Pinkie Pie's legs and tail all went ramrod-straight. “Uh-oh,” the pink pony murmured.

“Uh-oh?” Dash repeated. “I don't like 'uh-oh'.”

“Ya won't like what's comin' even more,” Applejack returned, glancing back the way they'd come. “Lots of them constructs- more'n I can count.”

“Oh, ponyfeathers!” Twilight whirled. “Everypony, into the building! Hurry!”

No sooner had she said that than the report of a rifle echoed across the rock and off the wall of the building, and something dug a chunk out of the rock facade. “Go, go, go!” Indy urged them, keeping his head down reflexively as more rifle shots streaked towards them- woefully inaccurate, thankfully, and probably coming from some distance away. But it would only take one lucky shot to seriously complicate things, so the group quickly gained the building; the heavy wooden doors opened slowly, Indy muttering something about how nobody ever oiled the hinges as he pushed against them, and a nearby window shattering was just added incentive for everyone to quickly pile through and shove the door closed again. Dull thunks attested to shots striking the wood, but thankfully nothing got through.

“Jack! Take them and find a place to hide!” Indy shouted, wincing as another window burst. “I'll hold them off!”

“No, wait! I can help!” Twilight glanced around, finding a strange-looking stone statue placed against the wall opposite the entrance; with a grunt of effort, she managed to levitate it over to the door, forming an impromptu barricade. “Okay, that'll help,” Indy admitted, glancing over his shoulder as Jack ushered the remaining ponies down the hall. “Jack!” he called out.

The samurai paused. “Yes?”

“Halfway down that hall should be a lecture room. It'll be the most defensible position if they get inside.”

“Understood!” And then they all vanished from sight, leaving Indy and Twilight alone. The archaeologist crept towards one of the broken windows, careful not to touch any of the shards of glass scattered across the floor, then leaned against the frame and poked the rifle outside, opening fire. Twilight couldn't help but let out a squeal of fright and close her eyes as the weapon's roar echoed down the empty halls.

Something warm and metallic bumped against her leg, and she opened her eyes to see one of the small brass objects that Indy's weapon was ejecting. More were scattered along the floor, rolling around unheeded as Indy dropped the magazine out of his weapon and drew one of the ones Jack had given him outside. An idea struck the unicorn. “Indy! Do you need those?” she shouted, pointing down at the casings.

He gave her a strange look. “No! All yours!”

Attacking things wasn't Twilight's way, customarily. But those golems were dangerous, and would eagerly fill her, her friends, and the two humans with holes without even a speck of empathy; any possibility of compromise or understanding was right out. So the magician concentrated for a moment, arcanokinetically gathering up the brass cylinders into a tight cluster and levitating them near her head as she approached the window next to Indy's.

And, with a force of will, she sent the casings flying at high speed through the shattered window one at a time at a high rate of fire, spraying the attackers with projectiles as dangerous as the bullets they'd once held.

“Okay, that'll help even more!” She heard Indy move past her, boots crunching on broken glass. “Keep me covered; we'll maneuver down the hall the way the others went!”

The pair made their way from one window to the next; each time, Indy emptied a magazine as Twilight carefully moved past him, gathering his empty brass, then flinging it out the window with her magic as he then passed her. The volume of fire coming at them from outside steadily decreased, until Indy reached the final window, loaded his last magazine, took aim through the window- and found nothing to shoot at. Either they'd downed all their pursuers, or the remainder had finally figured out how to take cover. “Alright, we're clear!” he announced, immedately slinging the rifle over his shoulder. “Come on!” he called after Twilight, who was only too happy to gallop after him.

The rest of the group was waiting where Indy had directed them, with Jack carefully watching the doors, sword in hand. He was obviously relieved to see Twilight and Indy come rushing in breathlessly. “Are you both alright?” he asked.

“Y... yeah.” Twilight collapsed in a small lavender heap near her friends, giving them a wan smile as they gathered around her. “I'm not happy about what I had to do, but... it had to be done.”

“Hey, kid....” Indy grinned at her. “Honestly, you did good there. Owe ya one.”

“I think I owe you one too.” The unicorn lowered her head onto her forelegs. “I hate this place. I really, really hate it. I hate buildings appearing out of nowhere and I hate those constructs and I hate those loud scary weapons. And I hate how scared and weak I feel right now.”

“Whoa, hey. Hang on.” Indy walked across the room to sit down next to Twilight. “You're being too hard on yourself. You don't see me dancing around with delight either, right? Trust me... I'd much rather be sitting in my office right now, flipping through some dusty old book or brushing dirt off some ancient pottery. But listen.” He laid a hand on her withers. “Whatever the hell this place is, it's dangerous, and it's putting a lot of effort into trying to kill us. You did what you had to to protect yourself, your friends, me and Jack. Same as I did, same as Jack and your friends did. That's strong enough for me.”

“He's right, dear.” Rarity patted Twilight's back with a hoof. “You've never backed down from something that threatened your friends. I don't expect you'll start now.”

The other ponies echoed her sentiments, and across the room Jack gave her a reassuring smile and a nod of his head. “Yeah....” Twilight said quietly, managing a bit of an honest smile. “Well... I guess you're right. We've made it this far, after all.”

Indy nodded. “Yeah. And I'm sorry if the gun is a problem for you.” He gave a quick glance down at the weapon, still hanging at his side.

She shook her head. “It's... I don't know how it works, it's loud and it's scary and the fact something like that even exists bothers me. But I can't blame you for that. You're using it to help protect us. So I think we ponies had better learn to be okay with you doing that.”

“Hmm.” He glanced up at the samurai, who was still guarding the door. “Jack, what's the situation look like out there?”

“We are clear, it seems. Nothing has tried to gain entry.”

“And nothin's sprung up on us in here since we got in,” Applejack added. “This place feels... different, somehow. A bit more like normal than outside. I think mebbe we'll be safe from them poppin' up on us while we're inside.”

“So then maybe we should hole up for a little while and recover. I know I could use some rest right now.” Indy went to the doors to close them, helping Jack bar them with a couple of the thick wooden chairs scattered around the room- there were no desks or lecturn, only a few chairs; it was bizarre that the building seemed only half-finished in some ways, and the group agreed that some exploration was in order later- and then went to one of the walls and half-collapsed against it, taking off his hat and setting it beside him. He was only dimly aware of the others settling in as he fell into an exhausted half-daze, finding himself reaching into his jacket and taking out the silver lighter, letting his gaze wander over it in the weird orange light that the ceiling-embedded crystals were giving off.

He heard the quiet clomping of hooves, but didn't register that someone was standing next to him until he heard a country-accented voice. “Uh... beggin' yer pardon, Indy?”

He blinked and looked up, his eyes focusing on Applejack standing beside him. “Oh. Uh... sure. What is it?”

“Jes' wanted to say... thanks, for helpin' pep up Twilight before. She's a mite sensitive about some things, like bein' an intro-” she paused, her face screwing up in thought. “Introv... um. What's that word for folks who're kinda shy and quiet?”

“Introvert?”

“Yep, that's the one, thanks. It helps her that a go-getter action guy like yerself can support her, y'know? Me an' the rest of her friends always try to do that, but comin' from a stranger's a bit different.”

“I wasn't telling her anything that wasn't true, really.” He shrugged. “I've seen trained soldiers freeze up in lesser situations than what we were in, but she came through. Pretty inventively, in fact.”

“That's our Twilight- she'll surprise ya sometimes.” The pony's green eyes wandered down to the lighter Indy was still holding. “What's that thing?” she asked. “If'n ya don't mind me askin'.”

“A gift from my father.” He opened and demonstrated the lighter for her; the small flame fascinated her, especially when he explained to her that it wasn't any sort of magic, but just something like lantern oil with a self-contained flint to light it. “It was his graduation present, until he gave it to me. Guess I just felt like holding it. Something familiar in a strange place, you know?”

“Ain't gonna argue that.” Applejack read the flowing inscription- “Henry Jones, grad. Univ. of Oxford 6-5-1899- discover our future in our past”. “Heh. So I'm bettin' yer pa is an archaeologist like you, huh? Didja follow in his hoofsteps?”

“He... was, yeah.” The pony's expression fell as she realized what he meant. “Oh... Indy, I'm terrible sorry 'bout that. I didn't know.”

“It's alright.” The human turned the lighter a few times in his hand, watching their reflections warp and bend around the metal shell. “He passed on about four months ago. He lived a full life, seventy-nine years of searching for truths left buried in the dirt. He and I had our problems, especially after Mom died; we spent a long time estranged from each other... but when it mattered the most, we realized how much we actually had in common.”

“I kin understand that....” She looked away for a moment. “Uh... well, thanks for talkin', Indy.”

She took one step away before his hand on her back stopped her. “I know that look. I've had it on my face often enough.” Indy patted the floor next to him. “You can tell me.”

“Well, guess it's only proper, what with you bein' so honest with me.” Reluctantly, she laid down next to him. “Not too long after mah little sis Apple Bloom was born, th' family farm had just come out of a real rough patch with a couple 'a big sales. For the first time in what seemed like forever, we actually had all the bills paid and money left over. Ma and Pa were all sorts of worn-out, though, on account of them havin' worked 'round-the-clock sometimes keepin' the farm goin'.

“Well, me and my older brother Big Macintosh got the idea to get them a trip out to the big city for a vacation, y'know? Set 'em up with one 'a them 'spa experiences' like you see in them pamphlets in some fancy stores. Was the least we could give 'em for all that hard work.” Applejack's voice and head both lowered. “An' by all accounts they done had the time of their lives out in Manehattan, waited on hoof and tail, pampered up nice 'n proper.

“An' then... it came time for them t' head back home.” The pony sighed. “They took the late-night train for some reason- mebbe they missed the earlier one. Turned out there'd been a freak rockslide that'd wiped out the tracks just before; woulda been easy to see in the daytime, but at night....” Now Applejack looked utterly depressed, and Indy couldn't help but pat her forelegs comfortingly. “Th' train derailed... most of the passengers were saved thanks to th' engineer's quick thinkin', but the last two cars decoupled and ended up goin' down a ravine. No survivors.” She sniffled. “An' just like that, Sweet Apple Acres lost Albermarle and Nitanny Apple.”

Indy's expression was sympathetic. “That can't have been easy on the rest of your family.”

“Apple Bloom was really too young to understand what'd happened. Big Mac took it hard, though. He'd been the one to find the pamphlet and suggest the trip to me. The big lug used t'be a chatterbox, but now....” She gave a half-hearted shrug. “It's not like we had a lot of time to mourn, though. Still had a farm that needed runnin', and though we had Granny Smith livin' with us, she... well, she's gettin' up in years and can't really help so much. Thankfully Ma and Pa had been practical ponies, an' had set up instructions an' such in case anythin' happened to 'em... y'know?” There was a brief pause, during which Indy was kind enough not to notice Applejack wiping away a tear. “So we threw ourselves into all the particulars of keepin' the farm goin', only takin' time off for the funeral. And it's kinda been that way ever since.”

“I'm sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks, sugarcube. I do 'preciate that.” She patted his arm. “An' here's the funny thing... yer the first pony- uh, I mean person- I've told that tale to since it happened.”

“I am?” Indy couldn't hide his surprise. “I mean, as close as you seem to be with your friends....”

“Oh, I tell them girls almost everythin'. But not that. I don't think they can really understand... none of them has had to go through that, thank Celestia. But it's the sort of thing I only really feel okay talkin' about with someone who can relate.”

“I know where you're coming from, there.” He looked her over for a moment. “Hang on, I want to see something.” He gently removed her hat, and then placed his own on her head. “Hey, I think that suits you,” he told her with a grin.

“Oh yeah? Well, let's see here....” With a little effort, she set her hat on his head. “Uhm... darlin', wish I could say elsewise, but the same is not true in reverse,” she giggled.

They returned each other's hats while sharing a soft laugh, then fell quiet for a moment before Indy spoke again. “Do you mind if I ask you something, Applejack?”

“Y'mean, asides from askin' if you can ask me somethin'?” She grinned playfully. “Don't mind at all. An' call me AJ.”

“Alright, AJ.” The human gazed at the lighter again for a moment. “Do you ever end up... being angry at yourself for not having spent as much time as you could with your parents? Feeling like you'd never appreciated them as much as you should have while they were there?”

“All the time, sugarcube... all the time. Feel like I can kick m'self when I think back to when we were fussin' and fightin' rather than 'preciatin' each other. An' sometimes it hurts as much to think of 'em now as it did when we lost 'em. But really... I'd rather it hurt than it didn't, y'know? Cause that's the first step towards forgettin' 'em, and I never want that to happen.”

Indy let out a soft sigh and nodded. “Yeah... I guess you're right.” He paused for a moment to look at her. “And now maybe you can tell me how you got me to talk about it when people who've had my life in their hands couldn't drag it out of me.”

“I jes' got that kinda face, pardner.” She prodded his shoulder with a hoof, grinning. “Naw, but really, lotsa folks come to me for a sympathetic ear. I don't mind in the least. If'n I can help ponies- or people- I'm glad t'do it. I think mebbe you just needed t' tell someone who you knew wouldn't judge.”

“Maybe. Well... I appreciate it. Looks like Albermarle and Nitanny raised a good daughter.”

She smiled at that, broadly. “And I'd say Henry Jones would be proud of how yer doin' in this crazy place. Celestia knows us ponies are grateful for it.” She let out a long yawn and glanced over her shoulder at her friends. “Speakin' of- guess I better check on th' girls and then settle in fer some shut-eye. Indy... thanks fer the talk. I didn't expect it'd feel so... liberatin' to share m'sorrows with someone who understood 'em.”

“Couldn't agree more. Rest up, AJ... I think we've got a lot more work ahead of us.”

With that, he rolled his jacket up into a makeshift pillow, set his hat over his face and laid down to get what sleep he could manage. Applejack wearily made her way back to the other ponies, practically dropping to the floor. “Man, sleep sounds good 'bout now,” she murmured- before looking up and seeing her friends staring at her. “...wut?”

“Aren't you going to tell us what you two were talking about for so long?” Rarity asked.

“It's, uh... personal.” Applejack went to lay her head down on her forelegs, only to be stopped by Twilight's head almost smacking into hers as the unicorn leaned in close. “But Applejack! We're stuck in this strange sunless place with two aliens! If there's anything you can tell us about them-”

“Twi, they ain't 'aliens'. No more'n us, at least, in this weird place. Indy is a right decent feller, I kin attest to that- and Jack sure looks t'be the same. I think we kin trust 'em.”

“I still can't get over how weird they look,” Dash murmured.

“Dashie....” The serious look on Pinkie's face left the other ponies speechless. “Indy saved my life. Hay, I think he moved faster than you when he did. Jack pretty much did the same for Twilight, AJ and Fluttershy, and then they did the same for him. It's not fair of you to get hung up on them being different!”

“Hey, look, I'm-” A quick “shh” from Fluttershy alerted Dash that her voice was getting a little too loud, and she immediately took a lower tone. “I'm sorry, okay? I'm trying. I just get weirded out by them. Two legs, claws that aren't, those eyes....” She shook her head. “It's not that I think they're monsters or anything! Jeez.”

“Girls, go easy on Dash.” Twilight gently patted the cyan pegasus's foreleg. “We all deal with new things differently. At least you're not letting it keep you from working with them, Dash.”

“Yeah, back in Junior Speedster Flight Camp, we had to deal with a lot of different types. Gilda wasn't even the strangest- I saw a wyvern a couple of times.”

“Well....” Fluttershy's quiet voice was difficult to hear even in this otherwise-silent room. “Since you learned to be friends with Gilda... can't you try to do the same with Jack and Indy?” She spared a glance over at Jack, who'd taken up a cross-legged sitting position on the floor with his sword laid across his lap; he appeared to be asleep. “They do seem so nice....”

Dash let out an exasperated sigh. “It's not like I'm not trying. Let's just give it a bit, okay? I promise it's not gonna make me do anything stupid.”

“Fair enough.” Rarity smiled. “Would that many others at least did so much.”

With the issue tabled, the six ponies quickly settled in for whatever sleep they could get in this strange place.

(-)

“...and when the bullet fires, the force pushes both ways.” Indy used his fingers to demonstrate. “It pushes the bullet out through the barrel, and the casing backwards, where it shoves the bolt along with it. Then the gun pushes out the empty casing and draws in a fresh round from the magazine in front of the bolt, where it's pushed into the barrel, ready to fire.”

“Whoa.” Twilight shook her head in amazement. “It's scary how effective it is. A small metal slug able to do that much damage... just because of speed. And anyone can use this weapon.”

“With training, yeah. Put it in the hands of your average idiot and he'll probably shoot himself before anyone else. But in skilled hands, it can be a serious force.”

Fluttershy couldn't bring herself to look at the weapon; knowing how it worked only made it scarier to her. Rainbow Dash seemed entranced, though. “You've got that 'rifle' thing and your 'handgun'... how many kinds of guns do humans make?”

“That's a long, long list.” He placed the bullet back in its magazine, then loaded that into the rifle, chambering a round and ensuring that the safety was on. “It's not like we just came up with these last week- in my time, the concept of firearms is about two thousand years old, give or take.”

“Wow. Two thousand?!” Now he thoroughly had Twilight's interest. “How much of your history do humans know?”

“We have traces from as far back as forty thousand years ago. We've also got still-standing structures that are upwards of five thousand years old.”

The unicorn gaped at him. “And you study all this? You know about it?”

“I didn't get my doctorate for arts and crafts, you know.” He gave her a sly grin.

“Argh! I wish I could just get you into my library and pick your brains for a month! I could learn so much from you.”

“Hey, give me your mailing address and I'll send you some of my published papers.” He grinned as she let out a giggle, then looked up to see Jack returning from his quick reconnaissance run. “But it looks like that'll have to wait. What'd you find out, Jack?”

“Quite a bit worthy of interest.” He closed the doors behind him and sat down. “Much of the building... does not seem to exist. Hallways end in blank rock; doors open to smooth stone. It is as though whatever created it only sought to replicate a small portion and cared nothing for the rest.”

“Somehow that worries me even more than a whole, empty building,” Rarity murmured, getting a nod of agreement from Indy.

“Indeed. Also- the creatures Twilight and Indy brought down previously are gone. I do not know if others came to reclaim them, or if the ground itself did so, but the area in front of the building is now empty. I saw nothing of interest there. There is also... a strange staircase that seems out-of-place near what seems would be the center of the building.”

That got Indy's attention. “Going up or down?” he asked, sitting up.

“Down. It is made of the same rock as the island itself, and it leads downward into what seems to be a blank wall. But I suspect that something lays beyond.”

“That's definitely not part of the original floor plan.”

“Then we'd better have a look for ourselves,” Twilight said, getting to her hooves- and blushing as her stomach let out a loud growl. “Ugh. If I'd known this was going to be a long trip, I would've had us all bring provisions. I don't suppose either of you guys has any food?” She gave the two humans hopeful glances.

Indy fished around inside his jacket. “Beef jerky and dried apple slices, that's it. Oh, and half a canteen of fresh water. Not much, so we'll have to conserve it.” He glanced up at Jack, who shook his head with a sheepish smile. “I have grown accustomed to living from the land,” the samurai explained. “I do not carry much.”

“Well, here.” The archaeologist gave half of his jerky to Jack and the dried apples to the ponies; there wasn't much, but it at least staved off the pangs of hunger for the time being. The canteen was nearly empty by the time it had finished being passed around. “Okay then,” Twilight said. “Guess we'd better get going.”

They hadn't even finished leaving the room when Pinkie Pie started talking. “Ohhh, grumbly hungry belly. How I wish I had treats to give you!”

Rarity gave her a sideways glance. “Pinkie....”

“I could really go for a nice brownie right now. Or a cupcake. Or a danish!”

“Pinkie-”

“And a hay-and-dandelion sandwich! And maybe a muffin on the side! Nice and warm with butter!”

“Pinkie-”

“Or maybe even a cake!” Pinkie's eyes went wide, staring off into space. “With mint frosting and sprinkles and little sugar flowers and- gwomph.”

Rarity's hoof had finally made it over Pinkie's mouth. “Pinkie, dear,” the fashionista said calmly, “while I certainly don't begrudge you discussing your favorite foods, could you do it at a time when we're not all half-starved?”

“Ohf... ahh... yah! Fowwy.” She gave an embarassed grin when Rarity took her hoof away. “You know how hard it is for me to concentrate when I'm hungry.”

It was a quick walk to where Jack had spotted the stairway. Indy took a look around it, watching for traps- but finding none. “So what's the point of this?” he wondered. “It wasn't part of the building back home, it leads nowhere... wait.” Carefully, he went down the stairs, stopping before the slab of rock that they seemingly ran right into; he reached up and felt the stone with one hand. “Warm. And... maybe hollow.” He rapped at it with a knuckle. “Applejack? Pinkie? Do you sense anything past here?”

“It's... confusin'.” Applejack shook her head. “It's like I'm sensin' two things at once. Somethin' 'bout this feels wrong, but... what else've we got?” She glanced over at Pinkie, who nodded. “It's all kinds of weird, but I think it's safe,” the party pony said.

“Okay then.” Indy hit the wall lightly with the side of his fist. “Not going to be punching this down. Applejack, would you do the honors?”

“Why, I'd be dee-lighted, Dr. Jones.” The human backed up a short distance as the orange earth pony took position, carefully placing her forehooves on the stairs and then rearing up. “Lemme try mah secret knock,” she quipped.

The rock shattered like so much porcelain before the hooves of the cowpony, leaving a hole in the rockface large enough for even Jack to fit through without ducking. “I will have to remember not to get you angry at me,” the samurai told Applejack with a grin, getting a snicker out of her in return. The group emerged into yet another long tunnel, this one much better-lit by the crystals that ran along its walls, and they made good time as they went along it- until they came through the far end into a strange-looking, cylindrical chamber with a number of white stone daises along its perimeter. A line had been carved- or formed; who could be sure in this place- from each dais to a ten-foot-wide circle in the center of the room; symbols decorated the front of each dais. “I can't read these,” Indy said. “Anyone?”

“It's Ancient Equestrian script.” Twilight tilted her head as she studied the engravings. “But... the words don't make sense as they're written. What the hay does 'gaudium' mean?”

“Gaudium?” He gave her an incredulous look. “You're absolutely sure that's what it says?”

“One-hundred-percent sure. But that's no word I know of in Ancient Equestrian.”

“No, but it is one in Latin. 'Joy'.” Indy turned. “Twilight, read the rest of the inscriptions.”

She did so, moving from one dais to another. “Officium. Caritas. Misericordia. Fides. Veneficium. Animus. Scientia.”

Indy was right alongside her, translating each word. “Duty. Charity. Sympathy. Honor. Sorcery. Bravery. Knowledge.”

“That... that sounds like us.” Fluttershy glanced around at her friends. “I mean, the first six are our Elements, right, girls? And Mr. Jack is very brave, and Dr. Jones is very wise.”

“And Ms. Fluttershy is very flattering, but thanks.” Indy chuckled. “Okay. So. We... get on these, then?” He touched one experimentally, only for nothing to happen.

“I don't see any other options, unless somepony knows how to survive by eating rock.” Dash flapped her way to the dais labeled “officium” and settled down on it. “C'mon, guys, let's hurry up and trigger the deathtrap; I'm getting cranky from hunger.”

“I'd rather deal with a deathtrap than a cranky Rainbow Dash.” Rarity daintily stepped onto the dais labeled “caritas.”

“Deathtrap? Phooey! I hope it triggers a party. With confetti!” Pinkie hopped onto the dais labeled “gaudium”.

“Yeah, so long as it ain't pony confetti.” Applejack climbed onto the dais labeled “fides”.

“M- maybe it would be nice to be confetti, and make others happy.” Fluttershy gingerly crawled onto the dais labeled “misericordia”.

“I thought you'd rather be a tree, Fluttershy.” Twilight trotted onto the dais labeled “veneficium”.

Indy and Jack exchanged a look. “You know,” the archaeologist said, “I've been through some strange things in my life, but this one takes the prize.”

“Agreed.” And with that, the samurai sat himself cross-legged on the dais labeled “animus”, leaving Indy to plop himself down on the one labeled “scientia”. A few moments passed with nothing happening, and Dash was just starting to fidget when a bright white light shot forth from the base of her dais, blazing along the line in the floor towards the circle. The same happened for all of the others, and once the streams of light hit the edge of the circle, the entire section of floor within it burst into light as well, forcing everyone in the room to turn away and shield their eyes. When they were able to look again, the floor within the area of the circle had simply vanished, revealing a shallow pit; what covered the floor of the pit had both Indy and Twilight recoiling, and as one they uttered a single word.

“SNAKES!”

Thick, black shapes were slithering and rolling over each other, making the bottom of the pit look like a mass of boiling tar. “Oh, ew!” Dash exclaimed. “That is disgusting! I thought those human-looking creatures outside were bad. Now we've got creepy-crawlies!”

Fluttershy slowly got off of her dais and half-bellycrawled across the floor, gazing down into the pit. Behind her, Rarity shuddered. “Fluttershy, dear, what are you doing?” the unicorn asked. “Those things could be dangerous!”

“Wait....” The yellow pegasus's voice was barely audible, but her look of intent concentration was clear. Slowly, she lowered a foreleg partway into the pit, jerking it back up as one of the black serpents lunged at it, but then once more bringing it back down. Jack knelt next to her, sword partly drawn, ready to strike at anything threatening. “What are you doing?” he asked her quietly.

“One of them isn't like the others....” And suddenly, out of the roiling mass of black, a dark brown shape extended itself, raising up towards her hoof. Jack almost pulled his sword from its sheath, but Fluttershy's resolute expression stopped him; whatever was happening, it was clear that she knew what was dangerous to her and what wasn't. “Come on,” she cooed. “I won't hurt you.”

The brown shape wrapped itself around her foreleg and slithered its way up. Away from the darkness of the pit, the group could see that it was a long-bodied, hooded snake. “Asp,” Indy breathed. “Fluttershy, that is a very dangerous venomous snake. Just hold still and-”

“No, no, it's okay.” Fluttershy stepped away from the pit, and the viper coiled itself loosely around her neck, hanging its head in front of hers; she gently stroked the serpent's back with her hoof. “See? He's terrified, the poor thing. He doesn't know how he got here and those weird things in the pit scare him as much as they do us.”

Indy's mouth hung open as he turned to Twilight. “She... she talked to it?” he asked.

“That's what she does.” Rarity trotted over to Fluttershy's side- not too closely, though. “Our dear pegasus here is friend to all sorts of animals. No matter how big or frightening or dangerous, they trust her.”

“That is truly a wonderous skill,” Jack breathed.

Fluttershy gave him a smile, before turning her attention back to the snake. “What's that?” she asked it. “Oh! Oh, poor dear. Open wide and let me see.” The cobra opened its mouth, unhinging its jaw, and she peered inside. “Oh goodness! There's something stuck in his throat! I don't think I can get it out... Indy? Jack? Could one of you pull this thing free?”

Indy visibly shuddered. “Uh... Jack, how about you field this one?”

“Very well.” Carefully Jack approached the serpent, which lifted its head towards him, mouth still wide open. Watching those dark lidless eyes stare at him, Jack slowly slid index finger and thumb into the snake's throat, finding something hard wedged inside a few inches deep; with the care of a trained surgeon, he got hold of the object, turned it slightly to dislodge it, and pulled it free. The asp actually let out something resembling a sigh of relief and completely coiled itself around Fluttershy's neck, as she spoke comfortingly to it and rubbed its body gently with a hoof. “What'd it have, Jack?” Applejack asked.

“This looks like part of the very gem that brought us here.” He held it up for everyone to see; it appeared to be one-third of the ruby they all remembered, cut impossibly smoothly from the rest of its body. “Well, that is quite the stroke of luck!” Rarity said. “I would certainly not have wished for one of us to have needed to fish that out of... there.” She spared the pit a distasteful glance.

“Well, great, but what's this mean?” Dash inquired. “We found part of the gem that brought us here. Can we find the other parts? Can we use it to get back home?”

“And where'd that snake come from?” Applejack put in. “It ain't like the others. Is this place makin' real animals now?”

“No.” Fluttershy leaned her head down towards the asp. “He says he was in his den sleeping before he felt something strange. Then the next thing he knew, he was stuck in that horrible pit with all the fake-snakes.”

Jack rubbed his chin. “So... this creature is not of this place? Was it brought here?”

“I don't know. I just know he's scared and he wants to go home. There there, little guy. We won't hurt you. We want to go home too.”

“Ohhh-kayyy.” Twilight cleared her throat. “Let's get out of here, everypony.” As the group filed out, Indy stopped at her side and glanced down at her. “A snake,” he muttered. “Why'd it have to be a snake?”

She shivered. “I know, right?!”

“Pssh. Snakes are, like, super awesome!” Pinkie seemed completely oblivious to the looks Twilight and Indy gave her as she bounced along merrily. “I used to see lots of garter snakes on the rock farm. Sometimes they'd sleep under the rocks! And I'd tap the rocks to wake them up and they'd slither on by and-”

Applejack tapped her shoulder. “Uh, Pinkie... mebbe we should try an' stay quiet jes' in case there's more unfriendlies around, mmkay?”

“Ohhh, I getcha. Super-sneaky like planning a surprise party! Tactical stealth action pony, go!” And with that, Pinkie stopped bouncing and began stalking along like an overenthusiastic pink jungle cat.

Dash sighed and shook her head. “Pinkie Pie, you are so random.”

The trip back through the tunnel was uneventful; the group made it back into the building unharmed. But they were halfway to the front door when a series of loud clicks sounded overhead; four of the armed creatures had taken position on walkways above the main hall in perfect ambush positions, and all of them had rifles trained on the group. Indy immediately froze and raised his hands. “Don't move,” he told the rest of the group quietly.

“Well, well, well.” A gravelly voice echoed from one of the nearby offices, and a dingy mockery of a man strode out, flanked by a pair of the armed creatures; the one who had apparently spoke wore a dusty white suit and hat. “Dr. Jones, how many times must I tell you? There is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away from you.”

“Rene Belloc.” Indy's hands balled into fists; next to him, Twilight looked up. “Friend of yours?” she asked hopefully.

“Couldn't be further.” Indy returned his gaze to the facsimile of his long-dead rival. “You look like hell, Rene. Even worse than when your head exploded back on that island in the Aegean.”

“Ah, well, one must adapt to one's surroundings. A lesson you never could learn.” Belloc raised a hand. “The gem shard, Dr. Jones. Hand it over.”

“What the hell would you even want with that?” Out of the corner of his eye, Indy could see the ponies exchanging glances; he stepped forward, making the guards focus their attention on him. “What are you, you thing that looks like a man I saw die more than a decade ago?”

“You would never understand the particulars, Dr. Jones. Suffice it to say that this place truly is what you make of it.” A smirk decorated that stone face. “Now. The gem, Dr. Jones, or I'll have my... companions aim to greviously injure rather than cleanly kill.”

“Oh, well, since you put it that way....” Indy turned. “Jack, give me the gem.”

Reluctantly, the samurai handed the shard over, and Indy held it up to the light, casting reflected beams into the eyes of Belloc and his guards. “What game are you playing at, Jones?” the suited creature snarled. “Hand it over and receive a swift death, or continue to irritate me and enjoy bleeding out in this place.”

“Yeah. Fine. Here you go.” Indy extended his hand- and the gem slipped between his fingers, clattering onto the floor at Belloc's feet. The creature let out a low growl as he knelt to seize it.

creeeeeeak-SNAP

The strut of the walkway that Rarity had been subtly working at with her magic finally gave way, and the entire platform collapsed under its own suddenly-unsupported weight, sending the two creatures on it falling along with it. As all of the other creatures' attention was caught by the sudden crash, Dash practically rocketed out of the stairwell, slamming into the guard on Belloc's left and sending it sprawling. The remaining two elevated creatures immediately opened fire on the pegasus, bullets zipping through the air as Dash twisted and spun to evade them.

“Applejack! Now!” Twilight's horn flashed, and a purple sphere enveloped Applejack- then vanished a second later, and her along with it. The two guards on the walkway, as intent as they were on shooting Dash down, didn't notice the earth pony materialize just off to their side, giving her the perfect opportunity to charge and deliver a tackle that sent both shooters cartwheeling over the railing to smash into the floor below. The one remaining guard was raising its rifle to shoot at Dash as well when Jack leapt forward; in one easy stroke, his sword left its scabbard and bisected the creature from shoulder to opposite hip. It stumbled around for a couple of steps before literally falling to pieces.

Belloc spun on his heel, clutching the gem to his chest as he made a dash for the windows. But Indy was ready for his cowardice; his whip was already in hand, and with a flick of his wrist, it lashed out towards the fleeing creature, catching his right ankle and sending his crashing face-first to the floor. He'd just rolled over onto his back and reached down to free himself when he suddenly found Jack's katana at his throat. “Do not even move, creature,” the samurai commanded.

Indy grinned broadly, kneeling down to pluck the gem fragment from Belloc's fingers. “The primary problem you run into, Rene,” he said, tucking the gem into his jacket before coiling his whip, “is that you attract your like when it comes to associates. Pale carbon copies of quality issue. As you can see, my friends are of a much higher caliber.” He drew his handgun and aimed it in Belloc's general direction. “Now, if you're anything like the Rene I knew and loathed, you'll be all too eager to all too ready to spill your guts before I spill them for you... so to speak.”

“Things... do not quite work that way here, I'm afraid, Dr. Jones.” Belloc raised his head to gaze up at the ceiling and uttered a strangled cry- and then, like a puppet with cut strings, his body collapsed into a pile on the ground, lifeless and motionless.

“Damn.” Indy holstered his gun, then turned back to the group and gave them the biggest grin he could. “Okay, kids, that was one for the history books,” he said. “I had the feeling you were working on something big back there, so I kept them distracted as long as I could- but I wasn't expecting that sort of show.”

“The 'show' was, as they say, total improv.” Rarity chuckled. “Twilight gave each of us a couple of glances to show what she wanted us to focus on. My magic tends to be less noticable than hers, which kept them from seeing me weaken that support.”

“An' I figured that she was gonna teleport me when she looked up at those guards on the other balcony,” Applejack put in. “Then one each to Dashie and Jack for the last two. And pow!”

“Heh heh. Yeah, I love it when a plan comes together.” Dash had the biggest self-satisfied grin as she clapped her hooves together.

“That was very well done... but we should leave the congratulations for later, and perhaps exit this place now.” Jack glanced around warily. “I do not wish to face a second ambush.”

Everyone agreed that this was an excellent point, and after Twilight removed the statue she'd placed against the door, the group quickly made its way back out of the building and across the rocky landscape beyond. But they'd cleared half the distance back to the tunnel entrance when both Applejack and Pinkie Pie practically froze in mid-step. “Uh-oh,” Applejack murmured.

“Dangit, I hate when you guys say that!” Dash complained.

Pinkie glanced over her shoulder. “Uh, everypony? I think we should start running. Now.”

“What? Why-” Twilight's words died in her throat as she felt a soft vibration through her hooves. “Oh, please don't tell me....”

A deep rumbling sound answered her. As one, the group turned, and saw the building they'd just left begin to crumble and fall apart. As it disintegrated, the ground below it began to collapse as well, falling into whatever existed beneath the island... and the ground further away began to crack apart as well.

“You heard the pony! RUN!” Indy spun on his heel, launching himself into the fastest run he could manage- only to find that he was the slowest of the group, his aging legs not even able to keep up with the much more sprightly Jack, let alone the ponies. Twilight glanced over her shoulder and saw that he'd fallen dangerously behind. “Indy!” she called out.

“Keep going!” he yelled back. “Don't wait for me!”

“Wha-” Dash stopped in midair, turned, and saw the problem. “Ohmigosh,” she breathed, realizing from her vantage point what the others couldn't see- the limping human wasn't going to make it to the tunnel before the ground literally gave out beneath him. She lowered her head, extended her wings as far as they would go, and dove towards him, circling around behind him and slipping her forelegs under his arms, then pumping her wings as hard as she could. She couldn't quite lift him, but she was taking a lot of his weight off of his legs and adding to his forward speed, and with her help he was able to catch back up to the group and make it into the tunnel before the island completely fragmented. They'd barely gone twenty feet inside when the end of the tunnel collapsed, blocking off the exit with a solid mass of rock. The group stumbled into the larger cave and sat down for a moment to recover from the sudden exercise.

“Hey, uh... you okay?” Dash set down next to Indy, watching him rub at his knees and grimace.

“Yeah... or I will be, at least.” He looked up at her. “Look... I seriously owe you one for the save there. I guess maybe I really am getting to old for this.”

“You don't get to be the Element of Loyalty by leaving somepony behind, you know.” She paused a moment, then cocked her head. “But, wait... how old are you?”

“In a couple of months I'll be fifty-two.”

“Uh... is that as old for humans as it is for ponies?”

“It is old enough for him to be considered an honored elder in my time.” Jack's expression was incredulous. “Truth be told, Indy, I had thought you at least fifteen years younger.”

“Heh. I'd tell you to pull my other leg if it wasn't just as sore. But thanks.” Indy chuckled. “Sometimes I still surprise myself... but time catches up to everybody.”

“Yeah, but still... wow.” Dash shook her head. “I thought maybe you were just lazy or out-of-shape. For that age you're actually pulling your weight pretty well... old-timer.” She gave him a playful wink.

“Look, I can and will tell you to get off of my lawn the moment I find a cane to shake at you, so don't start.” The joke sent everyone in the cave into laughter. “But, yeah... going to need a few minutes here. At least until I can feel my legs again.”

“Take what time you need, Indy. I think we could all use a breather.” Twilight glanced around. “And breakfast, for that matter, but one problem at a time....”

“Whoa. Hey, you guys! You're not gonna believe what I just found!” Pinkie's voice came from the far corner of the cave, cloaked in darkness to the point where even her brightly-colored form was barely visible. She backed herself into the light, obviously straining to drag something along with her. “What've you got there, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, moving to help.

The object of her effort was a thick, featureless wooden crate covered with a lid; with a flourish, Pinkie yanked the lid off. “Ta-da!” she exclaimed. “Breakfast is served!”

Inside the crate was a small pile of apples, pears, oranges, potatoes and even a squash. All of the other ponies found themselves drooling at the sight, but Jack was more cautious. “Wait a moment,” he said. “I fear a trap of some sort, perhaps poison. We know not where this food has come from, and this place has not at all proven generous as of yet.”

“That is an excellent point, Jack.” Rarity sighed. “But yet I am so very hungry. What can we do to ensure that the food is safe?”

“I have learned to taste when food is spoiled or otherwise fouled. I will test a random sample.” Jack was quick to slice apart a few of the fruits, taking a small piece of each and letting it rest on his tongue for a few moments. After the last sample, he shrugged. “To the best of my ability, I can find no difference between these and any other foods,” he said. “So... dig in.”

And dig in they did. Indy and Jack had the potatoes, as the ponies were a bit adverse towards overly-starchy foods, but everything else was split evenly. “Whoa, lemme tell ya,” Applejack mumbled around a mouthful of pear, “after goin' that long on jes' dried apples, this tastes better'n a fancy meal at a five-star restaurant!”

“You certainly will not hear me complain,” Rarity agreed.

Indy stared at the apple he'd already taken a couple of bites from. “There's something I don't like about this,” he said.

“You don't like apples, Dr. Jones?” Fluttershy asked.

“Huh? No, kind of partial to them, actually. I don't like the idea of food suddenly appearing when we need it. Makes me feel like a mouse in a maze, chasing the cheese.”

“I think I know what you mean.” Twilight shrugged. “But it's either we eat it or we don't, and not eating isn't going to help us against whatever else this place wants to throw at us.”

Indy glanced between her and the apple, then smiled. “You know, Ms. Sparkle, it seems to me that you can be a very practical pony.” He took a large bite out of the apple.

“Now there's somethin' y'don't hear every day!” Applejack guffawed. Her laughter only got louder as Twilight threw a piece of orange rind at her.

Once the meal was finished, though, the atmosphere turned more contemplative. “Indy, I've been thinking about what that... thing you said was impersonating someone you knew said,” Twilight told the archaeologist.

Indy nodded. “'This place is what you make of it.' Yeah, that's been crawling around in the back of my mind as well.”

“Apparently your former adversary took joy in taunting you,” Jack added. “I have seen that sort many times.”

“Nobody took greater joy in giving me grief than Rene Belloc. But that thing we faced before wasn't him- just a shoddy puppet in his image. Still....” Indy tugged at his hat. “Familiar soldiers with familiar guns, familiar buildings, even a familiar enemy. All seeming to spring up from the ground. 'This place is what you make of it.'”

Twilight rubbed at the sides of her head with her hooves. “Not to mention whatever bizarre reason there could be for us to find writing in an ancient pony language that represents words in an ancient human one. This place is not making any kind of sense.”

“Puzzles abound.” Jack stood and tucked his sword into the belt of his robe. “Let us work on them as we move.”

The group turned their attention towards the two tunnels they hadn't yet explored. “Well. Which one do we go through this time?” Twilight wondered.

“There's a phrase I like to keep in mind when I'm lost,” Indy told her. “A sinistra tena.”

“And, um... what's that mean?”

“'Keep left'.”

Again, Applejack snickered. “You academic-types love to make things complicated, don'tcha.”

Indy reached down and prodded the earth pony's side. “Hey, we have to earn that grant money somehow,” he told her, with a serious face that only lasted a moment before cracking into another of his sly grins.

The group's laughter followed them as they carefully made their way into the leftmost tunnel- with the exception of Dash, who was scratching her head with a confused look on her face. “Uh... I don't get it,” she said, before looking up and realizing that she was being left behind. “H- hey! Wait for me!” she called out, scrambling to catch up.