The sun beat down on Somnambula's back. Sweat trickled through her fur. The hot sand burned her hooves as they slipped and slid.
It felt great.
She was returning home to the desert. She longed to see what had become of her town--or whether it even existed anymore. She wanted to have hope that it would, but sometimes that felt hard. It had been thousands of years! Who could possibly say what had happened while she'd been gone?
Well, she could. Just as soon as she got to-
She stumbled over something, which let out a cry of, "Hey! Watch where you're trotting!"
"Huh?" Somnambula turned around and spotted a pegasus with yellow fur and grey striped hair. It reminded her a little of Rainbow Dash's multicolored mane. On the mare's flank there was a compass rose. She wore a green shirt and a hat that was tan and circular, and looked very hard. Somnambula could've stepped on it without hurting the head underneath.
"I'm very sorry," she apologized. "I was lost in thought. This was completely my fault." Acknowledging her own error, rather than trying to blame someone else, would help the conflict de-escalate. She didn't want to get in a fight right now.
The mare stood and looked at her, opening her mouth to shout at her some more--then froze. "Oh," she whispered. "Oh my Celestia."
"...yes?" Somnambula asked with some awkwardness.
"Somnambula? But how is that possible? It's been over a thousand years. You were long gone. At least, that's what I thought."
Somnambula shrugged. "Much of what I thought was impossible has become possible once more. Never give up hope, young mare."
She gave a grin. "The name's Daring. Daring Do."
"It's excellent to meet you, Daring. Since you appear to know of me, I wonder... can you tell me what has become of my home?"
"It's thriving. The ponies there are mostly merchants, with many people coming from great distances to buy and sell. It's like a halfway point between Equestria and the lands beyond--those from beyond will come into it to trade their wares for Equestrian goods, and Equestrians come to trade for the exotic things the outsiders bring. The sphinx hasn't been seen since you answered its riddle. The sand glistens like diamonds in the sun, and-" She cut herself off abruptly. "Sorry, I was slipping into writer mode. I'm an author, and I always look for the best ways to describe the places I see."
"No, go on!" Somnambula asked eagerly. "It sounded so beautiful!"
"The sand glistens like diamonds," Daring repeated, her voice taking on a dreamy, storytelling tone. "The sphinx's ancient pyramid stands erect, dwarfing the small houses and stands. Everypony's clothes and booths are brightly colored, brighter than the ponies themselves. From above, it looks like a patchwork quilt, every stand fitting into a larger picture. In the very center stands a statue of the village's great hero, Somnambula. Strands of glowing green gems cling to its neck, remains of the glowpaz the villagers give to the statue every year, a reminder for them to always keep hope alive."
Somnambula blushed. "I had no idea they had honored me so! Tell me, if I entered the village, what would they do?"
"They'd cheer you and celebrate your return, of course! They'd be amazed! They'd... they'd flock to you, and surround you, and-" She cut herself off a second time. Somnambula was looking more and more nervous with each word out of her mouth. "Something wrong?"
"I do not wish to be flocked to. I do not wish to be surrounded. Perhaps... perhaps it would be best if I hide my identity. Have you a cloak?"
"I can buy you one easily. Are you sure?"
Somnambula nodded. "I wish to see what has become of it, my old home. I do not wish to be swarmed."
Daring sighed. "All right. In exchange for one thing."
"What do you wish?"
"I heard the sphinx had a hidden treasure. That's why I'm here, in fact. Is there any way you can help me find it?"
Somnambula shook her head. "I have never heard of such a thing. If I had, I'd gladly assist you."
Daring shrugged. "Eh, it was a long shot. I'll still get you your cloak. Be right back." With that, she took off at a speed that astounded Somnambula, and returned in only a very few minutes. "Here you go."
"That was greater speed than I have ever seen from any, save one," she complimented.
"Oh?" Daring Do asked with interest. "Who?" Privately, she considered finding whoever it was and racing them, just to see if she could be faster than them too.
"Her name is Rainbow Dash."
"Oh. I actually know her, and I can tell you that you're probably right in that ranking. Even I can't keep up with her, not when she really gets going."
Somnambula smiled as she threw the cloak over herself. "How do I look?"
"Perfectly unrecognizable."
"Excellent. Now, would you like to accompany me to my village?"
Daring grinned. "I'd love to. I bet you can tell some interesting stories about the way it was back in your day."
"Oh, I certainly can. I will guide you around what it used to be, and you will guide me around what it is. Does that sound like a fair trade?"
"No, definitely not."
Somnambula tilted her head. "Why-"
"Anypony could show you the town we've got now. Only you can show me the way it was in your day."
"Well, that's not quite true, now," Somnambula chuckled. "I'm sure Starswirl, or Rockhoof, or any of the other Pillars could too."
Daring's mouth gaped open. "You mean- he- and they- and you all-"
Somnambula laughed. "Yes, many of the legends you know of old now live and breathe once more."
"Okay, now that story I've gotta write. Tell me all about it on our way! All the details!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Greetings, travelers!" a merchant called. "Welcome to the village of Somnambula!"
"The village of what now?"
"That's its name," Daring hissed.
"They named a village after me?"
"Well, what did you call it before?"
Somnambula rolled her eyes. "Village."
"You can't just call a village 'village'. Then nopony would know what village you're talking about!"
"They knew if they lived here."
"Well, now it's a merchant town, remember? It has to have a real name. Say, what did it do before it was a merchant town?"
Somnambula smiled. "We grew wheat. We didn't sell it to anypony, just ate it ourselves. It was the most beautiful sight, waves upon waves of golden wheat, shining in the sun like a sea."
Daring beamed. "What an amazing description! I'm going to use that word for word. Hold on, actually..." Right there, in the middle of the street, she whipped out a notebook and pencil and scribbled down Somnambula's words.
Somnambula was about to suggest they move on when she felt something brush against her ankles. Looking down, she spotted a small black cat, long and lean. He stretched out his forelegs, mewing softly. Something inside her seemed to vibrate like a plucked string on a lute.
"Hello there," Somnambula said, reaching down to stroke his head and rubbing one ear. "Aren't you a beautiful boy?" Something about him was achingly familiar, like a face she'd seen years ago and forgotten, or something from a half-remembered dream. "You're just lovely, aren't you?"
Daring put away her notebook and looked up. "Woah, where'd the cat come from?"
"I have no idea," Somnambula replied, now holding him in her lap as he purred. "Isn't he a beauty, though?"
Daring shrugged. "I don't see it."
"It makes me feel odd," Somnambula murmured. "Like I should recognize him. But how is that possible? I've been gone for thousands of years. No cat could live that long."
"No..." Daring mused. "But perhaps a bloodline could."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, think for a moment. Can you think of a cat, a really spectacular, magical, majestic type of cat, that you've interacted with in the past in a defining moment. One that might have left a magical bond between the two of you, and perhaps her lesser descendants, even to the present day."
Somnambula froze. "The Sphinx? Is it possible?"
"As you said, it has been thousands of years. Plenty of time for her distant descendants to be indistinguishable from normal cats--except, perhaps, to one who's met her before. As she's been gone for so long, the only pony that could possibly be is you."
Somnambula stared down at the cat. "It's possible, I suppose... but why would we be attracted to each other? Why not repulsed?"
"Who knows? Maybe it's destiny or something."
Somnambula arched an eyebrow. "Destiny?"
Daring shrugged. "When I come across something I can't understand for the life of me, it usually turns out to be destiny. Maybe the link between you and the cat goes deeper than mere attraction."
"What do you mean?"
Daring began to pace. "I've heard of this before. I thought they were just legends, but perhaps there's more to the stories after all. There was certainly more to yours."
"What stories?" Somnambula insisted.
"Familiars," Daring said. "Animals and ponies, drawn to each other. There's a magical bond between a pony and her familiar, created long before they ever see each other. Some theorize that Princess Celestia's phoenix is her familiar, but there's never been evidence of that. I always believed they were unsubstantiated rumors... but you and that cat show all the usual signs that are always there in the legends. Unnatural attraction, beyond what anypony else can understand, especially in how much attraction there is so soon. The familiar is usually linked to another, similar creature, more highly magical than themselves, with which the pony is already intertwined."
"But you mentioned a phoenix. What's more magical than that?"
"The sun itself. It may not be a creature, but phoenixes are definitely linked to the sun... and so is Princess Celestia."
Somnambula paused to ponder this. "You may be right. Does this mean I should name him?"
"Probably, yeah."
She smiled down at the black cat, still purring and now kneading at her legs. "Ink," she said quickly, then after a pause added, "I suppose we should keep moving before we attract attention."
Daring glanced around. Nopony seemed to have even glanced their way. "Nah, they've seen much weirder stuff. This is a place where lots of creatures from beyond Equestria come to trade. A mysterious cloaked figure with a cat is nothing."
Somnambula had already stood up. Ink was perched on her shoulders, licking himself. "Well, we ought to move on anyway," she said.
Daring shrugged. "All right. So, all this area over here is the market."
"How much of it?"
"Come look from the air. The cloak has wing holes."
Somnambula nodded, and they took to the skies. Once they were a few hundred feet up, Daring stopped ascending and looked back down. "There," she said. "You can see the whole thing laid out."
Somnambula looked in awe. "It does look like a patchwork quilt. It's beautiful."
"What was that area, back in your time?"
"Our village had not yet expanded to there. That was just desert wasteland. Over here, though..." She beckoned Daring Do, and they flew past the pyramid and Somnambula's statue to the very edge of town. Somnambula sighed, looking at the empty dunes. "This used to be our farmland. There was good soil here, but perhaps it has been buried now. Many good things were lost to the sand, even during my time. Many more must have been since."
Daring put a hoof on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. Keep hope up, remember?"
Somnambula smiled. "I am glad my lessons are still remembered so."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They stayed in the sky, showing each other the sights, until noon, at which time they had to land again and get food. After a delicious meal, they prepared to take off again, but Somnambula's cocked ear caught a sound.
"Oh, no," she whispered.
Daring listened, and soon she could hear it too. Giant wingbeats. Not like dragon wings, but more feathered.
"No," Somnambula said, a little louder. "She has returned. How? I thought I drove her off for good!"
"Somnambula, wait!" Daring Do cried, but she was already galloping towards the sound. Daring took off after her.
A large crowd was standing at the edge of the village, watching the magenta speck grow nearer and resolve into the distinctive shape of the sphinx. Somnambula, still in her cloak, was at the back of the crowd, but moving forward through it. Daring pushed through the crowd, barely able to keep an eye on her, until she abruptly found herself next to Somnambula at the front of the crowd.
There was a thud as the sphinx's feet hit the sand. "Where is she?" it growled.
"Who?" a nervous voice piped up from the crowd.
"Somnambula!" the sphinx roared. "I know she is here. She has returned, and I will have my revenge upon her. She drove me from this village. She humiliated me. And I will find her! Now, tell me where she is," she hissed, leaning threateningly towards the crowd.
Somnambula stepped forward, throwing off her cloak. "Right here."
"Aha!" the sphinx cackled, raising a mighty, clawed paw. "Now, die."
"Wait! I challenge you to a game of riddles."
The sphinx froze, then cursed. "I cannot say no. What are your terms?"
"We each ask one riddle. If I cannot answer your riddle, you may kill me. If you cannot answer mine, you must tell my friend here-" she gestured to Daring Do- "where your treasure is kept."
"What?" Daring asked.
"You have done much to help me. It is only fair."
"And if it is a tie? If both, or neither, can answer the riddle?"
"Then we move out to the desert, where no bystanders will be hurt, and do battle."
The sphinx nodded. "It is a good challenge. I acc-"
"Wait!" Daring interrupted. "One more condition. Her friends are allowed to help her with the riddles."
The sphinx shrugged. "I don't see why not. I accept your challenge. Your riddle is this: The call of a hunter, out in the wild; the crying plea of a hungry child."
"Is that all?" Daring asked. "It sounds like it should have more to it."
"That is all," the sphinx confirmed.
Daring and Somnambula turned to each other. "What would both a hunter and a hungry child say?" Somnambula asked, utterly bewildered.
Daring sighed. "If only Quibble Pants were here."
"Who?"
"A friend. He's much better at riddles than I am."
Ink wound around Somnambula's legs, mewing. "Not now, Ink," Somnambula muttered, trying to push him away. He meowed louder.
"Maybe he's trying to tell us the answer," Daring suggested, leaning down to look him in the eye. "What is it, boy?"
"Meow," he said.
She groaned. "This is useless. Even if he knows the answer, he can't tell us."
"You're running out of time," the sphinx taunted.
"It may be a single thing, which can be both child and hunter," Somnambula mused, tapping her muzzle with her hoof. "And the answer is a noise that thing would make. Of course, it's probably not literally either hunter or child; just a metaphor. What do you think could be considered both?"
There was a long pause, broken only by Ink's continued meowing. "Time's up!" the sphinx declared. "You could not answer my riddle. Now-"
Ink jumped in front of them, looking the great sphinx in the face. "Meow," he declared calmly.
It suddenly clicked. Somnambula smiled. "You did say my friends could help with the riddle. My familiar has just answered correctly. Now it's my turn."
Daring's eyes opened. "Of course! A hunting cat meows, but so does a hungry kitten!" She laughed. "The answer was 'meow' the whole time!"
Somnambula closed her eyes for a moment, composing the riddle in her mind. "Where once there was darkness, and unending night," she declared, "now there is hubbub and brilliant light."
Daring tapped her hoof on the sand, counting out seconds--the exact number the sphinx had given them. Rubbing her paw on her chin, the sphinx pondered, muttering inaudibly to herself. "Time's up!" Daring announced suddenly. "You couldn't answer."
The sphinx swore again. "Very well. My treasure is hidden behind the third stone to the left in the back of the pyramid. Tap on it three times and it will slide open. Use it wisely, adventurer." She turned, spread her wings, and took off to the sky.
"Out of curiosity," Daring Do asked, "what was the answer to your riddle?"
"Manehatten," Somnambula said. "In my time, it was under a curse of eternal night. No light shone upon it. Yet, now, it is a great city, lit up by a thousand stars."
"Ooh, good description." Daring scribbled something in her notepad. "Lit by a thousand stars. I've got to use that."
The people of the village had surrounded them as they talked. "Somnambula!" one cried. "How is it possible?"
She tried to act relaxed. "Haven't I always said it? Never give up hope."
"You've certainly given us hope," another pony said. "You inspired me. For a long time in school, I was bullied. Then my family moved here and I heard your story. When I went back to visit my old school, I thought of your story, and I had the courage to stand up to the bullies who used to pick on me."
A young foal stepped forward. "Now she's a teacher!" he added. "She passes on your story to all of us. She inspires me, and you inspire me too!"
A stallion spoke next. "Without your story, I never would have had the courage to ask out Nile Lily," he said, gesturing to the mare next to him, who was showing a rather profound bulge. "Now we've been married for a year, and we're expecting a little filly!"
He turned and kissed her. "Aww," said everypony.
Pony after pony came forward with a story of how Somnambula had inspired them, and given them hope. Daring noticed how her nervous posture stood straighter, how her smile grew wider and more genuine with each story. Finally, the crowd dispersed, and she spoke.
"Was that really so bad?" she asked. "I know you didn't want to be mobbed, but you got to hear how much of a difference your story made, even after a thousand years. Isn't that a good thing?"
Somnambula nodded. "You're right," she said. "I was so afraid to reveal myself that I didn't realize how much it would mean to all of them--to see me, and to get a chance to thank me. It was wonderful, hearing all their stories. I shouldn't have been so afraid."
Daring grinned. "Well, I gotta fly. I need to grab that treasure before anypony unsavory gets word of it. Want to join me?"
Somnambula shook her head. "I'd like to get to know some of the ponies in the village better. But if you ever need me again, come find me! I'd love to join you on an adventure some day."
Daring spread her wings, but beamed at Somnambula. "I'd be honored."
Author's Note
This was supposed to have significantly more emphasis on the cat, but it just didn't turn out quite that way. I really liked the idea of Daring Do and Somnambula interacting, which turned into the main focus of my story (rather than the side note) alarmingly quickly. If you guys are interested, I might go for a sequel with Daring, Somnambula, and Ink going on an adventure. Also, I made up both of those riddles. Hope you liked them.
