....a large room with a large skylight in the roof. The room had velvet carpets, and purple curtains hung on the walls. In the middle of the room was a large bed. Behind the bed was another door, presumably leading to the 'heart'.

Gavin walked inside the room, the sisters still in his shirt, and the door shut behind him quickly, making all three jump and turn around in surprise.

"Well, hello there sirrr," said a seductive, velvety voice. Gavin turned around, and his and the sister's jaws dropped.

There on the bed was a Sphinx!!!!!

She was easily a little smaller than an elephant. Her fur and wings were maroon with a gray underbelly and tail fluff. Her face was a mare's, with golden cat eyes. The jewelry, headdress, and makeup she wore were reminiscent of something a pharaoh would wear.

"H-h-hello," he managed to say.

"May I know who and what you are?" she asked with a sly smile. He nodded, and took a deep breath to calm himself before responding.

"My name is Gavin Woodring, and I am a human being."

The Sphinx raised an eyebrow at that. "A human you say. Why, I’ve never seen a human before. Very interesting.” Her sly smile increasing as she spoke.

"Well, as much as I would like to learn more about you, we have a challenge to do."

He nodded.

"So, I am your final challenge," she said with a grin.

Gavin nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"Well, I will be doing a riddle challenge. I will give you three riddles. If you get even one of them wrong, it's bye-bye life. If you get all three right, you then have to tell me three riddles. If I can't get one right, which is highly unlikely by the way, then you will have won the challenge."

Gavin nodded, and said, "Alright. I'll do it. But I need to do something else first."

The Sphinx raised an eyebrow at that, confused as to what he was talking about. He reached his arm into his shirt, and pulled out one of the sisters and set her on the floor, before reaching back in and pulling out the other one, setting her alongside her sister.

"Sorry for taking so long girls," he said to them. "I would have let you out sooner, but I didn't know if there were more traps or not, and I don't want you to get hurt."

They yipped back a reply, but then noticed the Sphinx in the room, who was looking at them in surprise.

"Did you ride in that man's shirt all the way here?" she asked them, shocked.

They barked to her that they had ridden with him since they met him in the desert. The Sphinx was able to understand their barks, and was indeed impressed with the man for his patience with them, since fennec foxes can get a bit antsy.

She turned to look at the man, curiosity and interest rising in her.

"Girls, the Sphinx and I are having a riddle game right now, so don't interrupt us, ok?" he said to them as he put his pack down.

They yipped once, and then leapt onto the duffel bag to watch.

Gavin turned his gaze from them to the Sphinx, thinking, 'I have to win, not just for myself, but for them as well.'

"Give me the first riddle."

The Sphinx sat up, and said, "Until I am measured I am not known, Yet how you miss me when I have flown.

What Am I?"

He thought and thought for several minutes, thinking of all the things he missed when they have flown. Finally, after 5 minutes of thinking, he got the answer.

"Is it time?" he asked. The Sphinx looked at him with no emotion, and said, "That is correct. On to the next riddle. It is much more difficult."

"Bring it," he said.

The Sphinx said, "Name an eight letter word that has kst in the middle, in the beginning, and at the end."

Gavin thought hard for several minutes, trying to think of words with those requirements. He was scratching his brain thinking of words that could work. But none of them could. He realized then that he was acting like Twilight when she was late with an assignment, which caused him to chuckle before pausing.

He thought about what she used when writing the assignment, and found the answer.

He turned to the Sphinx, who had a smirk on her face, thinking she had won, and said, "It is 'inkstand'."

The Sphinx's smirk fell, and she growled in displeasure. She was certain that he would have lost. No matter. She still had her big one.

"Alright, human. Here is your last riddle," she said, sneering a little.

"Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters.

"

Gavin stood there in thought for several minutes. Eventually the Sphinx got impatient and said, "Well, what is it?"

He looked up at her, and said, "Wind."

She growled at that. "That is correct! Now you must tell me three riddles."

He sighed. "Alright, here's the first riddle."

"This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down."

The Sphinx sat there for a few seconds, and then said, "Time."

Gavin sighed. "Yes. That is correct. On to the second riddle."

"What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?"

The Sphinx sat in thought for a few minutes before she grinned. "The letter m."

He sighed again. "Yes. That is the answer. Now, let me think of the third one." He stood there, trying to think of a difficult riddle for her to try and solve.

After several minutes, he had almost given up hope when he remembered a riddle he would ask ponies in Ponyville and in Canterlot, and they would never get the right answer.

He looked at the Sphinx with a sly grin. "Alright. I have it!! The riddle that you will fail at. It's my favorite one. Not even Princess Celestia got it right."

"A box without hinges, key, or lid,
yet golden treasure inside is hid."

The Sphinx's eyes widened, and she sat there thinking for several minutes. Eventually, Gavin decided to end it, and said, "What is your answer?"

The Sphinx looked at him in anger, and said, "I. Don't. Know!"

"Well that means I won the challenge!" he said happily, to which she nodded with a frown. "Would you like to know the answer to the riddle?" Again she nodded. "It's an egg."

She stared at him for several seconds, before face-palming herself. Hard.

"Are you ok?" he asked in concern.

"No!" she cried out. "I can't believe I lost. And to a stupid riddle like that!" With that, she put her head in her paws and started crying.

He couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her as he watched her cry. So he carefully approached her, and wrapped his arms around her as best he could. This caused her to stop crying, and look at him, her makeup slightly smeared.

"Why are you hugging me?" she choked out.

"Because you need to be hugged," he replied. "Losing hurts. Especially to dumb reasons. But we can move beyond them, and grow. So dry your eyes, and calm down." He reached out and patted her paw.

She smiled at him. "You are free to go now. I'll be fine." With that, she wiped her tears out of her eyes.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Cause I can be with you for a few more minutes if you need me to." She shook her head.

"No. I'll be fine. Go on, Gavin Woodring."

"Alright," he said as he picked up the girls. "I guess we will be leaving now. See you again?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Alright then, goodbye." With that, the foxes hopped back in his shirt as he grabbed his things to leave. He walked around the bed to the door, which rumbled open for him. He turned to the Sphinx one last time, and waved goodbye as he went through the doorway.

As the door rumbled shut behind them, the Sphinx got up from the bed, and pulled one of the bed posts, making a section of the wall divide, revealing a hallway for her.

As she left the room, she said with a grin, "We will meet again soon, my king."

Author's Note

What?? My king!! WHat is she talking about? FInd out next time in the next chapter.

My favorite riddle is the last one Gavin says to the Sphinx. I love it so much!! I found it in Tolkien's The Hobbit.

Anyways, i bet you cant wait for more. Dont worry. More will come soon.