“He got lost... in his own museum?” Twilight looked up at Indy incredulously. “You're joking, right?”

“Not in the least. Don't get me wrong, Marcus has been like a father to me all my life, and there's been times he could solve a riddle in a heartbeat or find a link between two obscure texts nobody else ever noticed- but sometimes that poor man's relationship with the world around him has been, well... casual.”

“Reminds me of a certain pony I know,” Applejack chortled, nudging Twilight's side.

“Ha, ha.” The unicorn smirked. “At least I never get lost in my library.”

“Oh, no?” Dash grinned. “I remember that one time I stopped by about two weeks after you got settled in-”

“We both agreed never to speak about that, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight stuck her tongue out at the pegasus, who just snickered in response.

There was a moment's quiet after that, broken by Fluttershy. “Mr. Jack? You're so very quiet over there,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“Hmm? Yes, fine, thank you.” The human smiled. “I enjoy listening to your tales of friendship. For one who travels alone as much as I, they are something of a balm.”

“But... you must have made friends along the way, right? I mean, someone who puts as much effort into helping others as you do must have gathered a few, at least.”

“Well, yes, certainly.”

“Well, c'mon, then, pardner.” Applejack patted the floor the group- minus Rarity and Pinkie Pie, who were on watch- was gathered on. “Mosey on up, an' give us a story or two while we're restin'.”

“If you insist.” He settled himself next to the group, legs folded in front of him. “Perhaps my most stalwart ally is a man... whose name I have never learned. I know him simply as the Scotsman, for he is of the land of the Scots, and ranks amongst their most strong and skilled warriors. At first we did not get along at all; he is brash, loud, rowdy and prone towards bragging.”

“I wonder if he's met Dash,” Twilight giggled.

Jack smiled. “Perhaps there are parallels. For much like Rainbow Dash, the Scotsman is also brave, forthright, and unfailingly loyal to his friends.”

Dash's annoyed glance at Twilight turned into a smirk. “Heh! Sounds like my kinda guy.”

“I had once lost my memory, and was living upon a ship as a steward, having forgotten my skills and my fight against Aku. It was the Scotsman who came upon me and helped me to regain who I was, at great risk to himself. Despite our differences, I am proud to consider him a friend and ally.”

Twilight smiled. “That is wonderful, Jack. It's a humble and wise person who can see the good in others so different from him.” She scuffed a hoof against the floor. “This would make an excellent letter to Princess Celestia... if we were home so I could send it.”

Indy cocked an eyebrow. “Who exactly is this 'Princess Celestia'? You spoke about her a bit when we first met, but nothing after that.”

“Oh, boy.” Applejack chuckled. “That might be a bit of a tale in itself fer folks what ain't familiar with Equestria....”

Twilight was about to launch into an explanation when a soft chime came from her horn. “Oh drat,” she said dejectedly. “I guess that'll have to wait- that was my timekeeper spell going off.”

“Two hours gone by just like that.” The cowpony got to her hooves, stretching her legs experimentally. “Oof. Woulda much rather had one of them fancy hotels to stay in fer once, but I'm grateful enough for any sorta shelter 'round here.”

“I'm kind of inclined to agree.” Twilight bent her head back and forth, causing a few soft pops to sound out from her neck. “Fluttershy, could you go tell Pinkie and Rarity we're getting ready to move?”

“Okay.” The yellow pegasus trotted upstairs as the others stood, with various degrees of difficulty and number of complaints. Rarity's voice preceded her return, echoing down the stairway. “...don't mean to gripe, as I know we're all making do as best we can in this miserable place, but I would trade half my wardrobe back home for a simple brush here! My poor mane....”

“I dunno, Rarity, that's kind of a good look for you!” Pinkie replied. “I mean, your mane almost looks like mine now!”

The only response Rarity could give was a blank, slack-jawed stare before Twilight got their attention. “Thanks for handling the last watch, girls,” she said with a grateful smile.

“Oh! Um... yes.” Rarity shook her head to clear it. “Indeed. Just doing our part. Is everyone rested and ready to go?”

“About as ready as we can be.” Indy dusted off his pants with his fedora, before setting it back on his head. “Any last things to handle before we head out?”

“Yeah, actually.” Dash walked up to the human. “Any chance I can get a drink from that canteen?”

“I thought y' didn't trust that water, Dash,” Applejack teased.

“Yeah, well, I don't, but I'm getting pretty thirsty and we didn't exactly hit any juice stands along the way.” She smiled in gratitude as Indy handed her his canteen, and she took a couple of carefully-measured swallows of water before giving it back. “Okay, seems like regular water, I guess,” she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her foreleg.

“Rainbow Dash-tested, Rainbow Dash-approved.” Twilight giggled at the look Dash gave her. “Sorry. Couldn't resist. Okay, guess it's time to get moving.”

It didn't take the group long to put the rubble-strewn square behind them, following a thin unmarked path leading away. Once more the silence of the strange place closed in around them. “Awright, seriously,” Applejack grumbled. “I unnerstand not wantin' to announce us bein' here, but all this quiet is startin' to cave mah ears in! Somebody say somethin'!”

“Okay!” Pinkie Pie trotted up to her. “Hey, Applejack! Knock-knock!”

“Whaddya mean, kn- oh. Uh... who's there?”

“Interrupting cow!”

“Interrup-”

“MOO.”

That was enough to at least earn some chuckles; seeing that she had lightened the mood, Pinkie pressed on. “Heeeeey, Rarity?”

“Hm?”

“We're really good friends, right?”

“Of course!”

“And you'd never forget about me, right?”

“Most certainly not!”

“Great!” Pinkie paused for a moment. “Rarity, knock-knock!”

“Who's there?”

“Pinkie Pie!”

“Pinkie Pie who?”

Immediately the pink pony burst out into tears. “You said you'd never forget about me!”

The unicorn stopped for a moment, flustered. “But I... that wasn't... it....” She blinked as realization struck her, and she giggled. “Ah, yes, you got me, Pinkie,” she admitted.

Pinkie grinned, tears already gone and forgotten, as Rarity once more fell in alongside her. “Okay, how about a song? A traditional marching song, for traveling ponies and humans!” Before anyone could think to respond, she took a deep breath and began to sing.

“We stand tall and upright,
From morn to Luna's night,
And the ponies came trotting along.
Proud of all we have done,
Beneath Celestia's sun,
And the ponies came trotting along.

“Then it's hi! Hi! Neigh!
There's ponies on the way!
Count off the hoofbeats loud and strooooong!
For wherever we go,
You will always know
That the ponies came trotting along.”

As she finished, she looked back to find the other ponies and both humans staring at her in bewilderment. “Um....” Fluttershy breathed. “That was... unique.”

“Heh. Unique. That's... a word.” Dash hovered over Pinkie's head. “Are you sure that's a 'traditional' song? I'm pretty sure I've never heard it before.”

“Well, duh, Dashie! How could you have heard a traditional 'traveling ponies and humans' song when you've never traveled with humans before?”

“That... it... you...!” Dash's eyes rolled around a couple of times before she finally shook her head. “Pinkie Pie, you are so random!”

“I gotta be me.” The pink pony bounced ahead, and with a shared look of disbelief- and an obvious effort not to crack up laughing by Indy- the group followed behind. “What's so funny?” Twilight asked the archaeologist.

“It's... never mind. You would never believe me if I told you.”

Twilight wisely chose to let that go, and the group continued on. Despite Pinkie's efforts, silence once more settled over them as they trudged along the path; there was some oppressive feeling about the strange black plains that seemed to command silence... or perhaps it was the knowledge that this place was likely forming some other challenge for them that kept them quiet. Whatever the cause, there was only assorted breathing and the paces of twenty-four hooves and four feet to be heard for a while- until Jack stopped abruptly and peered ahead, his hand immediately going to his sword. Indy was beside him in a moment, his own hand likewise on the grip of his handgun. “What is it?” the archaeologist asked.

“There is battle ahead,” the samurai replied.

“And it's not happening to us? That's a change.” Dash frowned. “So... do we go check it out?”

Jack nodded. “Yes. Dash, scout ahead. Remain unseen if you can and do not act unless you feel you must. We will catch up as quickly as we can.”

“You got it!” In a flash of rainbow color, she was off, and the rest of the group immediately launched themselves into a run after her. As they made their way along the plains, they could hear weapons fire, clanging and shouting of some kind echoing across the rocky ground.

As they crested a hill, the source of all the noise came into view. Scattered across the black grass were a number of bodies, all of them mechanical, dressed in black suits and matching hats, in true noir gangster style, and had fierce-looking expressions on their grey metallic faces. Some bore multiple smoking holes in their chassis, and others looked like they had taken heavy impacts. Two more of the suit-wearing robots were standing back-to-back near a large rock formation, each holding a weapon and aiming upwards. “Guys!” Dash's voice called out from behind the rock. “I could use some help with these two!”

Her voice hadn't finished echoing off of the rocks when Jack leapt, covering the distance to the two robots in a flash. His sword cut through the air, and then the body of one of the robots, with equal ease; as the mechanized gangster stumbled and fell, Jack turned- only to find the other robot already drawing a bead on him. The samurai was forced to dive away as the weapon spat blue-white pulses of energy at him, kicking up shards of rock and black dust just behind him- until there was a loud crack, and the robot jerked backwards, dropping its weapon. Jack was quick to capitalize, and with another leap and a swing of his blade, the machine fell to the ground in two neatly-sliced halves. Jack sheathed his sword and looked up at Indy, who was holding his still-smoking handgun at the ready. “Is that all of them?” Indy asked.

“Yeah, those two were the last.” Dash jumped down off the rock and glided to a landing in front of the group. “Quick, this way!” she said, pointing with a hoof.

The pegasus led the rest of the group around the rock, and what waited there made everyone gasp in shock. Four more robots- these much shorter, unarmed and wearing white robes- lay in a loose group on the ground, all of them with smoking holes in their bodies. “Those jerks back there were attacking these guys when I got here,” Dash explained. “I tried getting them to safety, but....” Her voice trailed off for a moment as an unreadable expression crossed her face. “But one of them is still.. um... alive? I guess? Over here!” She brought them to the furthest robot, lying on its back in a small pool of oil; the lights of its eyes were dim and flickering, and it was obvious even to the less technologically-savvy ponies that it could not last for much longer. Fluttershy immediately ran to it, propping up its head. “This isn't like any of the things this place has sent to get us,” she said. “Where did it come from?”

“That is a good question.” Jack knelt down on the other side of the damaged robot. “Please, friend,” he said to it. “Explain to us what happened.”

“Our village was attacked by Aku's minions three days ago. Those of us who survived sought shelter within a small cave nearby. This morning, four of us volunteered to explore the caves further for a possible place of refuge. As we explored, the caves changed- they became dark rock of unknown composition, with orange lambent crystals of a type previously unknown to us. Our exploration was interrupted by a cave-in, and as we fled from the collapse, an unusual portal opened beneath us. Current location unknown.”

“How long ago did this happen?”

“Thirty-five minutes, twenty seconds. Engagement with unknown hostiles began five minutes, fifty-one seconds ago, interrupted by winged equine's attempt at rescue and counterattack.”

“And where did the portal put you?”

The robot pointed. “Unable to provide specific bearing. Unable to acquire positional information or directional- direc....” It trailed off for a moment as its eyes dimmed even more. “Critical systems error. Multiple hardware failures detected. Cascading neural-net failure underway.”

Dash's eyes widened. “What's happening to it? Is it- is it dying? Can't we do something?!”

Jack slowly shook his head, his mouth set in a tight frown. “I am sorry,” he murmured.

Fluttershy gazed down at the mechanical creature she cradled in her forelegs. “But... but we can't let it....” She trailed off, unable to finish.

“Primary and auxiliary mnemonic system failure.” Its voice was getting softer, fuzzed with static. “Subprocessors offline. Logic failure. Logic failure. Irrecoverable. I....” Its body jerked momentarily. “I want to go... home....”

There was a quiet “snap” from somewhere within the robot's torn body, and its lights shut off completely; its body went limp, with the quiet hiss of servos no longer powered. Fluttershy gently lowered it to the ground, and Indy and Applejack respectfully removed their hats for a moment. “What....” Dash breathed. “No, come on! It can't be... I tried, I... I really did....”

She fell silent as Jack laid a comforting hand on her shoulder for a moment, then stood. “We can do nothing more for it,” he said quietly. “Come... we must investigate where it came from. Indy, take a weapon from one of the robots Dash defeated- you will find it useful.”

Indy did so, checking over the weapon as a momentary distraction from what had just happened. It had the look and feel of a classic Thompson .45 submachine gun, but instead of wooden furniture, it had some strange sort of molded plastic; there was no exit port or charging handle, and the drum magazine had a glowing numerical counter on it- currently reading “425”. Everything else seemed to have carried over, though, and he was careful to flick on the safety before slinging it over his shoulder.

That done, he took a moment to look over his companions. Both Fluttershy and Dash were obviously upset, though the rainbow-maned pegasus's expression held quite a bit of anger with it; Rarity and Applejack seemed more shellshocked, and Pinkie was gazing down at the ground dejectedly. Jack's countenance was grim determination, and Twilight had a thoughtful frown. He made his way towards her to talk. “Are you thinking what I'm thinking?” he asked quietly.

“If I am, I want us both to be wrong,” she answered.

The cave the robot had pointed towards was a narrow affair, lined with veins of the same glowing gems. The group made their way through a handful of bends and turns along the way, until they came to an unexpected darkened section; Twilight immediately lit her horn. When her sight had adjusted and she saw what the light revealed, she groaned and closed her eyes. “Why did I have to be right?” she muttered beneath her breath.

For one hundred and fifty feet, the walls of the tunnel were simple blank, brown earth dusted lightly with dirt, with various mushrooms growing in crevasses along its length. A small cluster of strange-looking, red-furred bats lay sprawled on the tunnel floor about halfway- obviously dead, though with nothing indicating how their lives had ended. Imprinted into the dirt for about two-thirds of the way were odd-looking footprints, four sets of them, with rectangular treads. “This must be where those four appeared,” Rarity guessed.

“Okay, I'm confused,” Applejack sighed. “What's this all mean? Where'd them poor unfortunates come from? What's with this tunnel?”

Twilight looked up. “Indy... do you want to field this? I don't want to be the bearer of bad news this time. Plus I want to hear your thoughts.”

“Yeah, sure.” Indy took his hat off for a moment, dusted it off, then set it back on his head. “So you all know that somehow we all ended up here because of those gems we found, and Twilight's teleportation spell.” There were nods of assent. “Well... it's starting to look like this place is bringing over other things as well. Like this section of tunnel, and those four robots that were inside it.”

“It's bringin' other things over?” Applejack's eyes went wide. “How?!”

“I don't know. And what's more, from what that robot said, it seems that it can replace what it takes with parts of what it's created here. Swapping them, basically.”

“Wait, wait. I need a moment to process this.” Rarity rubbed at the side of her head with a foreleg. “Indy, are you telling us that this place... somehow stole those poor creatures from Jack's world?”

“I don't know if it was intentional, or if they just were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the results were the same.”

Applejack gazed down at the footprints. “They ended up trapped here, jes' like us,” she said. “Only... they didn't have any way of defendin' themselves.”

“Just like this poor snake....” Fluttershy stroked the back of the asp still coiled around her neck for a moment, before she froze, a horrified expression crossing over her face. “But... if it can take creatures, and move entire sections of land... does that mean this place is getting better at it?!”

“It's... a strong possibility, yes.” Indy crossed his arms and looked down at the ground for a moment. “And that has some implications for us.”

“What... what kinda 'implications' do ya mean?” Applejack's expression showed that she wasn't exactly eager to hear the answer to her own question.

Twilight let out a soft sigh. “By 'implications', I think what Indy means is that... our escape is no longer our primary consideration.”

“Indeed.” Jack's expression hadn't visibly changed, but his voice showed just the slightest bit of sadness. “If whatever power or entity we face here is capable of kidnapping others without warning, of replacing pieces of our worlds with itself, then it is nothing less than a threat to all our homes. If we find ourselves presented with the choice of defeating it or escaping it... we must choose the first.”

“You're right.” The rest of the group turned to look at Dash, whose face was a fierce mask of determination. “There's no way I'm gonna let this place... murder any more innocents. No way in heck.”

“Even if it means we can't go home?” Fluttershy seemed to shrink in on herself when Dash only answered with a quick nod. “But....” The yellow mare went quiet for a moment, then sighed and nodded. “I... I agree. I don't know if I could live with myself if we got away only for more innocents to get hurt or... or worse.”

“We are sort of assuming we can stop this, aren't we?” Rarity objected. “What if we can't? What if the only way to stop this is to get out and get help? Princess Celestia would know what to do.”

“That might be the case as well. This is all academic until we understand just what the hay is going on.” Twilight rubbed at her head with a hoof, then sighed as she realized she'd just left a smudge of dirt on her mane. “We just need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. We may have to make a snap decision.”

“Yeah, that's fair 'nuff.” Applejack closed her eyes for a moment, then looked to her side. “Pinkie? Yer quiet. Whaddya you think?”

“Yes, dear, your input is as valid as any of ours,” Rarity reassured her.

Pinkie shook her head. “But I don't have any, guys. I'm just scared and I want to get out of this place. All I'm good for is bringing laughter... and this place hates laughter.”

“Yeah, but that just means we need it more, doesn't it?” Indy knelt down next to her and patted her neck. “You haven't done any less than any of us so far. We need you in this until the end, one hundred percent.”

Her hair seemed to deflate as she gazed down at the ground. “I dunno if I can, Indy.”

“I don't know if I can, either.” It was a heartfelt admission, and shocking to the pony whose life he'd saved just hours ago. “But I'm going to try- and I need you to do the same. Besides....” He gave her one of his best grins. “Just think of the 'escaped-from-horrible-dark-dimension' party you can throw afterwards.”

Pinkie Pie giggling was a wonderful sound, especially surrounded by black rock and hostile creatures and despair. “It'll be the biggest party ever,” she declared. “And this place is NOT invited!” She stamped her hoof in the dirt, tossing up a small cloud and making her sneeze. “Bleh! The dirt's not invited either. Anyway.” She shook her head, her poofy mane wobbling every which way. “I agree with all you guys. This place is a really nasty piece of work and we've gotta shut it down, but we might not be able to do it all by ourselves. We gotta be ready for anything! Outwit, outplay, outrigger!” She seemed to think about that for a brief moment, then shrugged. “Thanks, Indy. You're a good pony-pepper-upper.”

“I'm a man of many skills, what can I say.” He smiled.

The mood had at least improved slightly when the group left the cave, though it was with a solemn silence that they gathered up the four unfortunate robots and placed them back in the cave- as close to a proper burial as they could manage, given the circumstances- and gave Indy a moment to collect more ammunition from the gangster robots before once more heading out. The quiet held as they walked once more, but this time it was borne of determination, not fear.

It was quite a while later- none of them had been keeping track of time, only distance- when a tall shape began to fade into view. Jack's brow furrowed in confusion, and he picked up his pace. “Jack? Wait!” Twilight called after him as the others rushed to keep up. “What is it?”

“I know this place....” His geta clacked across dark-grey cobblestones forming a thin path, leading towards the shape. Abruptly, he stopped; when the rest of the group caught up with him, they could see that the shape was actually a two-story-tall tower, standing over an arching bridge that crossed a shallow, quiet brook. “Jack... I guess this is where you're from?” Indy ventured.

“This garden, this bridge... I grew up near here,” Jack answered, his voice quiet, as he placed a hand against the wooden bridge. “In the years before Aku came... my family spent many days here, watching the birds migrate during the spring, or the leaves fall in autumn....”

“Awlright, now this is jes' low.” Applejack frowned. “First Indy's college, now this? This place is messin' with our heads.”

“There's definitely an effort at psychological warfare. Not exactly comforting.” Twilight looked the bridge over, tapping it with a hoof. “And it's getting better at it too.”

“Uh, guys? I think things are about to get worse.” Everyone looked back at Pinkie Pie, whose tail and forelegs were rigid. “Applejack, are you feeling that?”

“Feelin' what? I don't... oh.” The cowpony groaned. “Fer Celestia's sake, it just don't stop, does it?”

“What-” Rarity was interrupted by a sudden deep rumbling as the ground began quaking beneath her hooves. The few glowing crystals in the garden dimmed, then darkened completely. With sharp cracks, a number of jet-black rocks thrust up from the ground around them, each one reaching into the dark “sky” at an angle, converging above them- forming a solid dome, and trapping them in perfect darkness.

“Ack! Everyone, form up on me!” Twilight quickly lit her horn as the others gathered behind her; when the light revealed nothing but flat black rock- even the brook, the garden and everything around it had vanished- she increased the spell's power. Thirty feet, fifty, a hundred- the limit of her light spell's range, yet no sign of the walls that had trapped them. “So what the hell's going on?” Indy wondered, his newly-acquired weapon already in hand. “It's like we're in some kind of stadium or dome, or something....”

“Dome?!” Jack pulled his sword free. “Be on guard, everyone!”

And suddenly everything erupted in bright yellow light, easily washing out the illumination of Twilight's spell and half-blinding all of them for a moment. When sight returned, the group found themselves in the center of some sort of arena, the grounds of which were easily five hundred feet wide, ringed by a thick black wall and with rows of luminescent crystals shining brightly down from the ceiling. Above the wall were rows of what looked like seats, all empty; above their heads, a solitary figure stood on a hanging platform, cast in shadows. It raised a hand and pulled down what looked like a microphone towards its head, and its voice echoed across the arena.

“Ladies and gentlemen, creatures of all ages. Welcome back... to the Dome of Doom.”

Pinkie blinked, looked around at the empty seats. “Who's he talking to?”

“Pinkie, shush!” Applejack hissed.

“Tonight, we have an exceptional treat! One returning champion, and seven- count them, seven- new entrants! Truly an embarrassment of riches for our humble arena. Such a momentous occasion deserves a truly epic opening act! Perhaps... some old friends of the stars of our show!”

At this, three sections of wall began to open; the group rearranged themselves in a semicircle to face them. “Firstly, from a lush green world by a distant star, four of the greatest hunters the galaxy has ever known. Welcome... the Imakandi!” Four tall, wiry shapes stepped into the light, their dark grey fur, black trousers and jade-green eyes making them almost appear as malevolent shadows. Each bore a different weapon, handled with casual skill that spoke of deep mastery at their use.

“Secondly, formerly of the grand and historic city of Cairo, this skilled bladesman's career was tragically cut short by a certain professor. Now back to gain his revenge, welcome... the Egyptian!” From the second doorway came a shorter figure dressed entirely in black, except for a red sash wound around his waist; his gleaming scimitar cut intricate shapes in the yellow-orange light as he swung it about expertly.

“And thirdly, a legendary and ferocious creature spoken of in fearful whispers across many cultures, a fearsome predator and man-eater- though it certainly won't turn its nose up at a meal of ponies. Welcome... the manticore!” Enormous paws thudded against the rock floor of the arena as the monster stomped its way into view, its glittering black eyes focused on the group and its barbed tail twitching back and forth.

“Oh, this ain't good,” Applejack drawled.

“No, no, wait. This might be good, in fact.” Twilight glanced between their opponents. “Jack, you know those cat-people, right? And Indy, the guy with the sword?” Both humans nodded. “Okay, we're up against known quantities. Nothing can surprise us. We just need to develop and apply a strategy-”

“Apply a strategy later, move now!” Dash interrupted, pointing. The manticore had taken the initiative and launched into a full-out run, bearing down on the group far too quickly for their liking. “It looks like one of our challengers has decided to start the festivities early!” the announcer called out, as the group scattered before the manticore's charge. Not to be outdone, the swordsman and the hunters also rushed towards the center of the arena. Indy opened fire with his submachine gun on the Imakandi as he ran alongside Fluttershy, but the felinoids easily evaded the streams of energy. “I don't think Twilight's strategy would have included this!” Fluttershy panted.

“Well, we're going to have to improvise then!” Indy barely ducked an arrow one of the hunters had fired at him.

“How?!” The arrow had almost hit Fluttershy as well, and her wide eyes showed her growing panic.

“...I'm working on it; give me a minute!”

Their pursuers seemed unwilling to grant him the time. The manticore leapt at them, and only a frightened cry from Fluttershy gave Indy the alert he needed to not get flattened beneath the beast's paws. The impact of the manticore's landing threw the human off of his feet and sent his weapon clattering away across the arena floor; the yellow pegasus was practically bounced off of her hooves, but instead of falling back onto hard rock, she crashed through what proved to be a brittle cover over a wide, deep pit. She hit the bottom with a thud and a soft grunt, and lay stunned for a moment before she could gather herself. She found herself near the wall of the pit, beneath the lights cast by the crystals on the arena's roof; the other half of the pit was left in pitch blackness.

Then, as her eyes adjusted, she began to make out a shape standing in that blackness. A shape much larger than her, with a pair of brilliant green eyes that glared balefully at her. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment before she managed to squeak out three words.

“Oh... um... hello....”

Across the arena, Jack and Dash were facing off against the Egyptian; the samurai had his sword out and at the ready. “Dash, find the others. They may need your assistance.”

“No way, dude. You might need me too.”

“I am entirely capable of handling this-” The human was interrupted by a leaping attack from the Egyptian; the thick scimitar clanged against the enchanted katana- and almost tore it from Jack's grasp. The strength of the blow sent Jack reeling, off-balance, and unprepared for his attacker's follow-up swing-

-which hit nothing but a rainbow-colored afterimage streak.

Thirty feet away, Dash set Jack down on his feet, then gave him a cocky smirk. “Yeah, I think you do need my help,” she told him.

He managed a sheepish grin. “Perhaps I do....”

Still near the center of the arena, Twilight, Rarity and Applejack were doing their best to fight off three of the Imakandi. The agile hunters were not making it easy- in fact, they seemed to be toying with the ponies, trying to get some sort of spirited combat out of them before going in for the kill. “Oh, no!” Rarity cried out. “Girls, where's Pinkie Pie?!”

“I dunno,” Applejack grunted in reply. “Last I seen 'er was when we scattered.”

“She's probably got some crazy scheme cooked up.” Twilight glanced over her shoulder at one of the hunters, who was shadowing the group with an easy, loping run. “And if she does, I hope she gets it going quickly!”

“Fluttershy? Fluttershy!” Indy could only glance around for the pegasus for a moment, before having to leap away from the manticore yet again. He managed a shoulder roll and came up with with his pistol in hand, watching the beast's tail and waiting- there, the monster was about to strike, and with a deft feint, Indy got it to strike wrongly. As the barbed tail dug a deep furrow into the arena floor, Indy fired three rounds into it; chips of rock flew through the air as the bullets tore large holes, and the last half-foot of the tail- including its barb- broke loose and fell to the ground.

whumph

The manticore was just as quick with its paw as it had been with its tail, catching Indy flat-footed and sending him crashing across the arena floor. By some miracle, he kept hold of his handgun, but he was just getting to his feet when the manticore came rushing towards him-

-until an orange blur intercepted it, and a pair of very strong hooves smashed into its muzzle.

The beast practically spun as it fell sideways, crashing into the ground. Twilight and Rarity galloped by the still-recovering human. “Indy!” Twilight called out. “We'll keep the manticore busy, but you need to get those hunters off our flanks!”

“Got it!” One of the Imakandi- armed with a pair of javelins of some sort- was still dogging the ponies, focused on his targets. Inspiration struck Indy, and he tossed his handgun into his left hand, gripping the handle of his whip with the right.

BANG BANG

Poorly-aimed shots, but he didn't expect to be able to hit anyway. But mission accomplished- he had the hunter's attention. Jade eyes narrowed as the felinoid altered his course, heading right for the archaeologist, who raised the handgun again.

BANG

The hunter jumped, soaring into the air, javelins at the ready to strike upon landing. Indy raised his whip, ready to strike- but paused for just a moment as the hunter's javelins briefly glowed a bright purple and jerked to the side. Before the felinoid could recover, Indy struck; the whip wrapped tightly around the creature's ankle, and Indy pulled hard, sending the hunter crashing into the ground shoulder-first. A quick glance up as the archaeologist closed the distance showed Twilight giving him a slight nod before rushing off after Rarity.

Before the hunter could get up, Indy had his foot on the felinoid's back and his handgun aimed at that dust-grey mane.

BANG

“Oh, and it looks like one of our challengers is out of the match!” the announcer called out. “And his three kinsmen are none too happy about it! But our dear adventurer isn't sticking around to hear their opinions on the matter....”

clang

Even Rainbow Dash had to admit that what she was doing was stupid. Going hoof-to-hand against one of these things was tricky enough normally, but this Egyptian was exceptionally skilled and ridiculously fast; every blow she tried- with all the speed she could muster- was turned aside by that scimitar, and there were times where she'd been a split-second away from catching the edge of the weapon instead of the flat. And what was worse was that he was so easily fending her off while engaged in a full-on swordfight with Jack. “This isn't working!” she called out to the human.

“Suggestions will be entertained!” he shouted back.

She made the mistake of actually trying to think of one, and that was what distracted her enough to miss a strike. The Egyptian capitalized, driving an elbow into her side as she sped past, sending her crashing into the arena floor. As quick as thought, the creature spun, scimitar swinging up and then down-

clangthunk

-and hitting the ground a mere half-inch from Dash's head, slicing a tiny cloud of rainbow hairs from her mane. Jack used the momentum from his last-second deflection to drive his foot into the Egyptian's chest, staggering him for a moment- just long enough for Jack to get Dash on her hooves. “Owe ya one,” she breathed.

He gave her a brief smile. “Perhaps we will be more effective working together than apart.”

“Lead the dance, big guy.”

When the Egyptian had recovered, he found himself facing a much different team dynamic from his foes. Instead of Dash striking whenever she could while Jack essentially fought on his own, the pair began coordinating; they kept up a steady attack on the creature, each covering for the other as they moved into a different position. The creature, formerly seemingly unbeatable, now found himself losing ground as what had been two separate, predictable lines of attack now became much more focused and difficult to anticipate. Every time the Egyptian managed to knock aside Jack's sword, Dash was there to pummel at him with her hooves; when he managed to force her to withdraw, the samurai was back on the offensive.

The creature was starting to lose his footing when a large shadow cast itself over all of them. Dash glanced upwards.

“Oh, buck! Jack- MOVE!”

The manticore's bulk slammed down in a pounce that just barely missed both Jack and the Egyptian, sending both off of their feet- and Jack into the forelegs of a hovering Dash. The beast turned towards them, ruined tail twitching, eyes glittering with murderous intent.

Dash and Jack glanced at each other. “Run?” the mare asked.

“Run,” the man agreed.

And they ran.

“It seems that the face-off between the Egyptian and our champions has been interrupted by the manticore! You know those fabled beasts... they'll miss no opportunity to be in the spotlight!”

“Okay, we're all split up, that manticore won't stay still fer me t'give 'im a proper beatin', an' that announcer guy is really getting' on mah last nerve!” Applejack gritted her teeth. “An' on toppa that, we can't shake them hunter fellers!” She glanced back at the two still on their tails; since Indy had brought down one of their number, they looked much angrier, but were still following the ponies doggedly.

“Well, if I had half a minute to come up with a plan...!” Twilight panted.

Rarity furrowed her brow in thought. “We should divide them,” she said. “There are three of us and two of them. If we split up, at least one of us will be free to influence the fight elsewhere!”

“That ain't a bad idea!” Applejack exclaimed. “Twi, you good with that?”

“For lack of being able to come up with anything myself, yes! Applejack, split right; Rarity, you go left. Whoever doesn't end up being chased, look for whatever chance you have to lend a hoof!”

The trio split off; to Twilight's growing discomfort, she saw one of the hunters break off after her, while the other tailed Applejack. “Well, at least that leaves Rarity clear,” she murmured, glancing around for some way she could get rid of the felinoid on her tail. Then she saw the manticore stalking around, looking for a target- and she got an idea.

“Hey! Tall, dark and ugly!” she shouted out.

That definitely got its attention. The beast whirled, snarling, huge ebony teeth bared.

“Yeah, you!” she taunted it, sparing just a glance over her shoulder to make sure her pursuer was still close. He was. “Come on, prime quality pony right here! Snack-sized!”

The manticore sprang into a run, claws tearing into the stone floor as it charged towards Twilight with single-minded fury. The unicorn angled her mad dash towards the arena's wall, deliberately trapping herself between the hunter and the manticore; she turned, head low, doing her best to look frightened as she quickly calculated speed and trajectory. The hunter, apparently thinking he'd finally run his prey into exhaustion, pushed himself into a sprint, then leapt into the air, unheeding of the huge beast also ready to pounce. Twilight's eyes flicked between both of them, waiting for just the right moment.

poomf

Teleporting a group as one entity was difficult enough. Doing a pair of singular teleports involving two targets with converse start/end loci- essentially, a teleport swap- on the fly was a real challenge. But there was nothing like a pair of angry creatures with large teeth and claws bearing down on one to provide incentive.

Twilight looked over her shoulder to see the hunter- who'd suddenly found himself still sailing through the air from the point where she'd just been standing- flail his arms as he saw the manticore coming at him. The beast, enraged, only knew that something was flying towards its mouth, and did what came naturally.

crunch

“And there's another hunter out of the match! Our contestants are certainly putting up a spirited fight- as only befits the Dome of Doom!”

Applejack glared upwards. “Swear t' Celestia, I'm gonna shove that microphone so far up his-”

“Applejack!”

“Hu-wha-?” Applejack blinked, then turned. “Indy!” she called out.

The human was running alongside her a couple of dozen feet off. “I can't find Fluttershy or Pinkie!” he shouted.

“Pinkie oughta be awright, but Fluttershy... I ain't seen 'er neither! I'll keep mah eyes open, but I can't exactly search with that hunter on m'tail!”

“Dammit.” Indy took a quick look around. “I think I can get him off you, but-”

smash

From seemingly out of nowhere, the Egyptian had landed directly in front of Indy, forcing him to stumble to a stop. Applejack raced by. “If'n I can lose this guy I'll come help ya!” she shouted as she sped away, the felinoid in hot pursuit. The archaeologist took a couple of steps back, watching the black-garbed creature warily. “So I guess you want a rematch then,” Indy sighed.

The Egyptian said nothing, only taking a step forward, scimitar held out at his side.

“...right. Well. No time, so it looks like a repeat performance.” As quick as thought, Indy pulled his handgun from its holster and fired from the hip.

As soon as he fired, the Egyptian brought his scimitar up, deflecting the bullet away.

Indy blinked, taking another step back. “Well, that's just not fair,” he muttered, bringing his whip up to swing with his left hand as the Egyptian took another step towards him-

whack

Something sky-blue and very fast slammed into the creature, knocking him off-balance. Indy risked another shot, but the Egyptian jumped away at the last second and the bullet- the last one in the magazine- missed its mark. “Gah! That guy's being a pest!” Dash growled, scrambling to her hooves. “Indy! You seen Fluttershy?”

“No, and neither has Applejack! She- dammit!” The Egyptian was charging Dash from her blind side, sword held high, and Indy didn't have time to reload before the creature could skewer the pegasus. Instead, the human rushed forth and lashed out with his left hand.

crack

The Egyptian sidestepped the whip's popper just in time to avoid being struck, but the effort cost him half a step and made him stumble slightly. That was just enough for Dash, who'd seen Indy's movements and realized she was in trouble; she'd launched herself into the air just as the whip was lashing out, cut an extremely tight turn and sped at the creature, driving her hooves into his chest just as he was recovering and sending him sliding backwards. Dash landed lightly on all four hooves, head lowered and ready to charge again as the creature managed to roll into a crouch. “I am getting so sick of this guy!” she muttered.

The creature had regained his feet, and was setting himself for another charge. Despite lacking a good weapon to fight him, Dash and Indy both stood their ground, waiting. The Egyptian flexed his legs, preparing to leap-

-and a tan-and-red blur intercepted him, sending him flying once again.

Indy and Dash both reflexively took a step back at sight of this new interloper. A huge jungle cat of some sort, easily three times Dash's size, had settled in a cloud of dust upon landing. Tan fur crisscrossed with deep crimson stripes covered a powerfully-built body, and clear green eyes stared at where the Egyptian had crashed to the ground. Then there was some kind of movement on its back, and both human and pegasus spoke at once.

“Fluttershy?!”

The pink-maned mare carefully reseated herself on the large feline's back. “Oh. Um... hi, guys,” she said quietly, blushing. “Sorry if I worried everyone. I was talking with my new friend here-” she patted the cat's back gently- “and found out a lot.” She glanced up at the Egyptian, who'd again regained his feet, and her eyes narrowed. “Like what you want to do,” she told the creature, her voice low and angry. “You've got some really nasty plans for a lot of innocent creatures. Horrible plans! And I can't let you go through with them!” She glanced down at the large feline she was riding. “And my friend feels the same way,” she continued. “So he's going to do what I can't.” The otherworldly tiger lowered its head and bared its teeth, and Fluttershy hunkered down against its back, turning to her friends. “You two should go help the others,” she said, her voice almost preternaturally calm. “We've got this.”

And with that, the great beast leapt forward, forcing back the Egyptian. “Fluttershy, wait-!” Dash called out, stretching her wings to take off after her friend- but Indy stopped her. “No,” he told her. “I think she does have this. She gave us an opening- let's use it.”

Dash glanced between him and the tiger her friend was riding on, then sighed. “Yeah. You're right. C'mon.”

“Well, everyone, it looks like we have yet another new challenger on the field- formerly a part of one of our traps! Ahh, but that is the way of the arena... expect the unexpected, because anything can happen!”

Jack was sorely tempted to jump up onto that platform and silence the announcer. But there was too much going on at this level, too many friends who were fighting just as hard as him and who might need his help at a moment's notice... so he simply partially tuned out the annoying voice, giving it only enough attention to where he could pick up if something important was said. Instead, he turned his mind towards analyzing the current situation.

Two of the hunters were down, defeated by Indy and Twilight. That in itself was surprising- the hunters had proven themselves viable threats on his world, and their replicas here were no slouches. But then again, they'd apparently been copied from his world, and he doubted they had experienced anything quite like his allies here.

The current major problems were the Egyptian- at the moment, being handled by the giant jungle cat that Fluttershy was somehow seated on- and the manticore; however, that beast was going to require a group effort without distractions, so Jack thought it better to focus on the remaining two hunters first, and then the Egyptian.

“Jack!” The samurai turned. As if she'd anticipated his plan, Applejack was rushing towards him with one of the hunters close behind. “This feller's harder t' shake than a bunch of fire fleas! Get 'im offa mah flank!”

She sped past him in a full gallop, practically gasping for breath. Jack leapt forward, sword held high, bringing it down at the hunter- only to be deflected at the last second by the felinoid's staff.

Behind him, Applejack panted heavily, looking as though she was about to fall over. “I'll lend ya a hoof... soon as I catch... mah second wind...!” she promised breathlessly.

He gave her a quick nod, then turned his attention back to the hunter- who was already leaping back towards him, staff thrusting forward with enough force to crack bone. His mystic blade flashed through the air, turning the quarterstaff aside and forcing the Imakandi to shoulder-roll past him. Jack set himself once again, sword at the ready. “You would shame any true Imakandi who looked upon you,” he taunted the creature.

The creature snarled and charged again- just as Jack wanted. Enraged, the creature was a formidable opponent, but within Jack's ability to handle... and every moment it spent focused on him was a moment Applejack had to recover. The samurai slashed, stabbed, parried and deflected, doing his best not to give the hunter a moment's respite.

It was when Jack had just knocked aside a forward thrust and was bringing his blade around for a diagonal chop when the hunter's foot hit some loose, powdered gravel from one of the manticore's impacts. With a quick forward kick, the hunter sent a cloud of dust up at Jack's face; too late, he tried to shield his eyes, but caught a good amount of the dust in them. He let out a startled cry and started backing away, rubbing desperately at his eyes to clear them; he could hear the hunter's approach, too fast to judge by sound-

thwack

-and then the sound of a body sliding away across the arena floor. Finally, Jack managed to clear his eyes enough to see, and found Applejack standing next to him, still panting but much more composed. “Wouldja lookit that- seems I'm back in th' rodeo. Y'alright, Jack?”

“I will be fine.” Slowly he managed to force his watery eyes to focus. “Thank you.”

“T'weren't nothin'. That's some dirty trick he pulled. Bet the real deal wouldn't stoop to that.” She glared at the creature, who was- with some difficulty, Jack noted with satisfaction- getting to his feet. “Oh, an' here's his buddy,” she continued, watching the second remaining hunter lope up beside him. “Two versus two. Now, Jack, I might not be as flashy as Dashie-” she smirked at the unintended rhyme- “but yer gonna find me a pretty capable dance pardner in m'own way. Y'ready to get started?”

Jack smiled. “You may call the tune.”

“Another faceoff for the history books, ladies and gentlemen! The samurai and the cowgirl versus two of the finest predators to ever stalk the galaxy! Who will be victorious?”

“We'd all consider it a victory if you would just stop talking!” Rarity shouted up at the announcer. “That overstuffed loudmouth is making my head ache... come on, Rarity, think. What can you do here?” She glanced around as she cantered, trying to conserve her energy after the fierce chase earlier, and spotted a purple blur. “Twilight!” she called.

The blur stopped. “Rarity! Oh, thank Celestia!” Twilight rushed over to her. “Fluttershy is on a tiger now and I can't find Pinkie or Indy and my magic reserves are almost exhausted!”

Rarity blinked. “Fluttershy is on- never mind. Make sense of things later; plan now!”

“Need to think, need to think... okay. The manticore's our primary concern, but it'll take all of us to stop it. I think Jack knows that too- that's why he and Applejack are handling the two hunters and Fluttershy and her... tiger... are holding off the Egyptian.” She paused for a moment. “Where's Rainbow Dash?”

“Right here.” Dash sped in for a landing, with a tired-looking Indy close behind. “Did you see Fluttershy's tiger?”

“Yeah, what's the deal with... never mind. Okay.” Twilight took a deep breath. “We need to keep the manticore busy so we can get the hunters and the Egyptian out of our collective mane. Dash, you're the fastest-”

“-so you want me to keep the big angry cat busy. Can do.” She flexed her wings to take off, then paused. “Buuuuut I'll wait to hear the rest of the plan so I'll know how to help if it's needed.”

“That's... very wise, Dash. Rarity, Indy, you should help Jack and AJ with the hunters. I'm not interested in a fair fight- I just want this over and done with. I'll give Fluttershy a hoof with the Egyptian.”

“And if we find ourselves free, find someone else who needs help?” Rarity added.

“Exactly.” Twilight nodded. “Okay. Ready? We can do this.”

The group split up. Rarity stuck close to Indy, trotting alongside him as he did his best to keep a good running pace. Rarity couldn't help but notice that he was both limping and panting for breath. “Indy... do you mind if I help?” she asked.

“No, no... I appreciate the thought, but save your magic.” He made a visible effort to go faster. “I can make it. Not too old for this yet.”

She gave him a look of concern, but nodded. “Alright. Just... be careful.”

Twilight was panting for breath herself as she galloped across the arena. It was hard to tell with all the dust being kicked up, but it looked like Fluttershy and her tiger were still at a draw against the Egyptian; the humanoid creature was just too skilled for the tiger to pin down, but the feline was too agile for the Egyptian to strike.

It was a stalemate Twilight needed to break. But how? Her mind raced through the spells she knew, desperate for one that could turn the situation towards their benefit. There wasn't anything nearby she could use as a weapon- in fact, the only thing she could find nearby was a bunch of small, jagged stone shards from one of the manticore's rampages....

“Fluttershy!” she called out. “Move in five seconds!” Without watching for confirmation, she gathered up as many of the shards as she could in a magical field and dashed forward towards the conflict. She was relieved to see, in five seconds precisely, the tiger suddenly spin on its paws and leap away. The Egyptian paused for just a moment, confused-

-and then react with reflexes few living creatures could hope to match, bringing his sword up to deflect the stream of shards Twilight flung at him. “Gah, that isn't even fair,” she muttered, furrowing her brow... before a wicked smile crossed her face, and a good couple dozen of the shards gathered in front of her in a tight group, while a brightly-glowing field of magic surrounded them. “Fine, then... how about a little applied learning?”

Just as the Egyptian began to advance on her, she released the compressed magical field she'd built behind the shards. The air that had been contained inside it exploded with a sharp crack, flinging all twenty shards forward faster than her eye could track.

The Egyptian, having expected another stream of shards, had no way to defend himself from Twilight's version of a shotgun shell. His sword managed to deflect a few, but the others tore through his stone body like razors through jelly. With a rattling cry, the creature fell back, almost dropping his sword.

And then Fluttershy's tiger was immediately back on the offensive, swinging one huge paw and batting the creature aside like a toy. The dark-clothed figure managed to roll out of his impact with the ground, and charged the tiger again- but then jumped to the side at the last moment, avoiding a pounce by the feline, and leapt directly at Twilight with his sword held high. The unicorn watched expressionlessly as the creature descended towards her, that wicked blade cutting through air, aimed towards her vulnerable neck-

-and striking the empty ground as Twilight vanished at the last possible moment. The scimitar flew out of the creature's grip as he tried once more to recover. But his damaged form couldn't manage to keep from slamming into the rock, and he was too slow in getting up; as a large shadow loomed over him, it was all he could do to look over his shoulder and see a very large and angry tiger bearing down on him mid-leap.

Something gave off a faint snap when the feline's weight slammed him back onto the ground, and he did not rise again.

“And one more challenger falls! Truly is this a battle royale worthy of our arena! Can this rag-tag group overcome the last of the Imakandi and the fearsome manticore?”

“Can we overcome the terrible announcing... now there's the question!” Rainbow Dash sighed. “Come on, Dash, focus. Here, kitty, kitty....” She spotted her quarry at the outside edge of the arena, stalking along in what few shadows were to be found, eyeing the conflict in the center and obviously waiting for a good time to strike again.

It was her first instinct- and probably her second and third, too- to simply charge the beast and get its attention immediately. But something in the back of her mind told her to wait, and do some observing herself. So instead she glided off to the edge of the arena herself, perching on the wall that ringed the arena floor, in a bit of shadow that wasn't dark enough to hide her completely but at least made her less conspicuous. And she did something that she normally had a very hard time doing.

She waited.

Aside from sparing the ongoing fight in the middle of the arena the occasional glance, Dash fixed her attention on the creature she was watching, carefully examining every movement of its body, every twitch of its eyes. As much as she wanted to fly back towards the battle her friends were engaged in, or leap towards the manticore and give it the thrashing it deserved, she knew above all else that the beast was going to be their primary challenge- and she was going to be ready for anything it tried on them. “That's right, you overgrown tabby,” she murmured beneath her breath, her rose eyes narrowing. “I'm going to get in your head. And every move you make, I'll know it's coming. Because you are not getting past me.”

It was the longest two minutes of Rainbow Dash's life spent crouched there on a ledge, hardly breathing or blinking, watching the stone-skinned monster pace back and forth. And then, whatever it had for muscles tensed, and its ebony eyes narrowed. The pegasus didn't even have to look. “Fluttershy, huh? I've got some bad news for you, kitty. Not a bucking chance in Tartarus.”

At the moment the beast jumped forward, Dash's wings shot out and flexed, and she was airborne.

“Awright, usually I like fair odds as much as anyone, but this here dance is goin' on far too long!” Applejack charged, ducked at the last moment and literally slid a short distance on her side, lashing out with her hindlegs at the hunter's knees, only to have it leap over her at the last second. She rolled back onto her hooves, just in time to sidestep a vicious kick from the felinoid; a follow-up kick was knocked aside by Jack, who drove the hunter off for a moment with a kick of his own. “These creatures do not tire,” Jack uttered, half bent-over from fatigue despite his best efforts to stand straight. “We are not so fortunate.”

Applejack glanced over her shoulder and grinned. “Well, looks like the cavalry's arrived!” she declared. “'Bout darn time, too!”

Not that their backup looked any less exhausted, but Jack knew that Rarity and Indy could still tilt the fight in their favor. It seemed that the hunters understood that as well- which was probably why the pair immediately split up and sprinted away.

“Damn it-!” Indy slapped his hat against his knee in frustration. “I am sick of running!”

“I hear ya, pardner, but if'n we can pin them pests down, we're that much closer to gettin' outta here.” Applejack spun on her hooves. “C'mon, Jack!”

“One moment.” The samurai sheathed his blade, then pulled the scabbard free from his belt and tossed it towards Indy, who managed to catch it. “Whoa, hang on, Jack,” the archaeologist said, eyeing the sword uncertainly. “I don't know how to use this.”

Jack gave him a quick grin. “Improvise.”

And with that, he and the farmpony were running, chasing after one of the Imakandi. Shaking his head in confusion, Indy turned as well, leading Rarity off after the other. Applejack looked up at her partner as they ran. “So why'd ya give him yer sword?” she asked.

“You and I are capable of handling a hunter without weapons. Rarity and Indy... perhaps not quite so much.” He could just hear the pony snicker as she nodded. “They are too agile for Indy's gun to be of much use, and a whip is a difficult weapon to use in close combat. My sword will, perhaps... give them an edge?”

She glanced up at him. “Jack, was that s'posed to be a pun?”

“It might have been.” He gave her a sheepish grin.

“We, uh... we kin work on that.”

“So here I am, running alongside a sentient, magical pony, lugging around a magical sword, trapped in an arena and fighting for my life against creatures made of stone.” Indy spared the sheathed katana, thrust awkwardly into his belt, a glance. “How have I not lost my mind yet?”

Rarity couldn't help but giggle. “Goodness, Dr. Jones, when you put it that way, all of this just doesn't seem possible.”

“I'm glad we're in agreement!” The human stopped for a moment to catch his breath and look around. “Where'd that damn hunter get to... Rarity, do you see him?”

“No; he got too much of a start on us, I couldn't keep track.” She frowned as her azure eyes darted back and forth. “No doubt the creature is stalking us at this very moment-”

The next thing she knew, Indy's arms were around her and he was in the middle of a shoulder roll; a dull thunk just behind her, and she felt little flecks of stone bounce off of her hide. Indy let out a soft grunt as he came to a stop and let her go, and as she scrambled to her hooves, she noticed that the human wasn't getting up as quickly as she'd expected, one of his hands was pressed against his side- he'd apparently hit something while rolling. She was about to ask him if he was alright when a shadow loomed over them both.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she looked over her shoulder. The Imakandi had already recovered from his missed strike at her and, seeing both of his targets vulnerable, was leaping in for the kill, staff raised high. Rarity gasped, took one step backwards, and felt her hoof bump into the still-vulnerable human behind her.

Something inside her mind clicked. She set her hooves down, locked her eyes on the creature's, and uttered one word.

“...NO.”

Her horn flared. The tip of the hunter's staff flashed blue-white, then was yanked off to the side; the creature, unprepared, was pulled along with it, crashing to the ground a couple of dozen feet away. That would only distract it for a moment, Rarity knew, and she immediately turned her attention to her friend. “Indy? Indy, you have to get up! Quickly!”

“...working on it!” He was, despite his obvious fatigue and pain, drawing his handgun even as he rose. The weapon barked twice, but the hunter had already recovered and easily dodged both shots. “Damn it, everything here is either too big or too fast to shoot!”

“Well, then it's time I did something!” The unicorn's horn flared again, and a faint white light appeared around Indy's chest and arms. He paused for a moment, confused; it felt as though gravity had been lessened, or he'd been put into a harness of some sort that was holding him up. “Rarity....” he said.

“I need to do this, Indy,” she replied. “I can't fight this creature directly. I don't have the skill. But I can help you do it.”

She could see him trying to come up with an objection before he finally gave in- then, in one smooth motion, holstered his handgun and drew Jack's katana from its sheath. “Well, if that's how things have to be,” he said quietly, “then might as well make the best of it.” He glanced down at her with a smile. “Stay next to me.”

The hunter seemed unimpressed as he once more rushed in, his staff a blur as it swung through the air- only to be knocked aside by the sword. Even Indy was surprised at how smoothly he'd done so. “Oh, this is gonna be interesting,” he said beneath his breath, taking a step back and setting himself in the best stance he could think of. “Ready?” he asked his companion.

Rarity gulped, then nodded. “As I'll ever be.”

Indy's eyes moved from her to the stone-skinned creature standing absolutely still a few feet away; he was watching the pair intently, waiting. Indy tightened his grip on the katana's handle. “Sentou kaishi, you bastard,” he growled under his breath.

With speed he hadn't been able to muster since he was twenty, Indy charged forward.