“So what did you two want to talk with me about?” Nightfire asks his sisters; Celestia and Luna, who were both sitting on their thrones inside the brilliant white castle of Canterlot.
“You see brother, we have a reason to believe that there is an old tomb somewhere to the south of us deep in the rainforests. Nopony knows anything more than its location and the legend behind it that has somehow missed us entirely,” Luna, that dark blue Alicorn of the night says as she shuffles her wings.
“That’s correct. The legend says that those who enter will be captured by the being who’s said to be buried there and made to become his eternal undead servant,” Celestia finishes as she nods to her sister and then looks at their brother. “What we need you to do is find out if the legend is true.”
“You want me to go to a place that has never been explored and that has some kind of legend to it? Alright I’m in,” Nightfire says with a smile then looks over his back to Warlord. “I won’t be long my love, if I’m longer than a week you might want to come looking for me.”
Warlord walks up to his husband’s side and hugs him firmly. “I wish you didn’t have to go. But royal duties are royal duties. You’ll be safe won’t you?”
“I promise I will. Don’t want to worry my Pegasus would I?” Nightfire softly and then kisses his lips gently.
Warlord kisses his lips back, wishing that his husband didn’t have to go but knew that he was going to be the fastest at getting this mission done. After a long moment they slowly break their kiss and look into each other’s eyes and press their noses together. “Be safe and if you aren’t safe I’m going to spank that flank of yours when you return. Understood?”
Nightfire smiles and then licks Warlord’s lips teasingly. “Of course my love. I’ll be safe.”
“I’ll see you when you return.”
“Before you go brother,” Luna begins and glides down to stand before the two stallions. “I want you to go to the armory and arm thyself with a sword and some light armor.”
“Is that really necessary little sister?” Nightfire asks as he looks at her.
“Rather you go prepared and armed than naked as a new born foal.”
“If you insist. Warlord, I’ll be back as soon as possible,” Nightfire says looking at the three before him, his sisters and his husband; three of the most important ponies in his life.
Celestia smiles as she walks down from her throne and then hugs him tightly.
Nightfire returns the hug and then kisses her neck softly. “I’ll be safe.”
“I know.”
Nightfire releases her from their hug, turns and starts walking to the armory a few levels under the castle, his mind flooding with the possibilities that the tomb could have inside. “Wonder what era of time this tomb was made in. Maybe when I was still a young colt from the time of the pyramids, or maybe even from the newer age,” He says softly to himself, not letting his mind dwell on the possible enemies that lie inside it. Descending the levels of the castle took him little to no time since he had spent a whole month learning each and every square inch of the castle, from top to bottom. The walls of the castle reflecting the sun as it slowly moves across the sky, Nightfire’s shadow following him as he walks through the halls before stopping at the door that he knew was where he needed to go.
As he pushes the door open he is greeted with a large wave of heat from the forges. “Anypony here?” He asks as he steps inside and closes the door with his magic and looks at the few racks of weapons that were standing beside the door. Several kinds of weapons lying on the pegs; swords, spears, even scythe.
“Yes sir! There’s always somepony here!” The pony calls out and appears out from behind a forge covered with heavy leather attire meant to protect his fur and skin from the intense heat. “Prince Nightfire! Please what can I help you with today?” He asks in a loud and cheery voice as he bows to him and then looks up at him.
“I need a sword and some light armor, I have some ancient ruins to look for and explore and by Luna’s request I want to go with some protecting aside from my magic.”
“Of course, of course! What kind of sword did you have in mind? Broadsword, katana or rapier?”
“A katana would be best, trained with them more than any.”
“Come with me, I think I have the best one in mind for you,” He says as he turns and starts walking through the seemingly endless maze of furnaces with Nightfire following close.
“How long have you worked here?”
"A few years, most of the Royal Guard here have weapons that either myself or my father have made.”
“Impressive, you’ve done your job very well. I hope that this sword I’m borrowing will hold up like theirs.”
“It will Your Highness, I guarantee it.”
“Good, now show me this new weapon I’m going to need,” Nightfire says with a smile and looks at the large wall stacked with weapons.
The pony smiles and looks over the weapons then uses his magic to lift one of the longer katana’s down and holds it with a hoof. “I believe that this one will suite your need Your Highness.”
Nightfire accepts the sheathed weapon from him and slowly pulls it silently from the hard sheath. “Longer blade than normal, I assume it’s an Odachi?”
“That’s correct, how did you guess?” The Weapons Master asks as he grins.
“My sisters and I share weapon knowledge. We know of many weapons that even the guard here doesn’t use.”
“I’m glad that I can be of service to you. Use that blade well, it’s the first one that I’ve ever made.”
“I’ll treat it as if it was the first sword ever made,” Nightfire assures the pony with a smile. “I could also use some light armor.”
“I’ll send word to my brother, he’ll have a set ready by the time you arrive.”
“Your brother? Interesting. Good day.”
“Thank you Your Highness and may that blade serve well.”
Nightfire nods his head and turns to leave, the sheathed blade resting so that the hilt was where he could draw it in a hurry and the end was hanging beside his left Cutie Mark.
As Nightfire leaves the hot and stuffy room, he breathes in the cooler air and turns his attention to the sky then starts walking through the halls once more. Finally he arrived at the place where he was to pick up his armor. Upon pushing the door open, Nightfire sees the layers upon layers of cloth and tougher armor laid out. “I assume my armor is ready yes?”
“Prince Nightfire! I’ll be right there!” The stallion shouts from behind one of the tall walls of light armor. “I got word from my brother and I think that your armor is one of the best sets that I made.”
“I hope so, your brother made you sound that you were fast and know what you’re doing,” Nightfire says partly joking and part serious.
“All of the light armor that the guard wear are made by me and my assistant who right now is out on sick leave.”
“I’m sorry to hear, wish her the best for me,” Nightfire says and weaves through the small piles and sees the stallion who had somehow gotten buried underneath a small pile of cloth. Nightfire smiles and then uses his magic to lift the stallion out from under the cloth, a set of lightly armored padding resting across his shoulders.
“Thank you so much Your Highness. I have your armor here,” He says as he is gently set down before the Prince. “I hope that your armor serves you well.”
“I hope it does to, but seeing how it keeps the Guard safe then it’ll keep me safe,” Nightfire replies and then lifts the armor from his shoulders. “Would you like to help me get it on?”
“Yes Sir it’d be my honor to help,” He replies and then uses his magic to take the armor from Nightfire’s magic and begins helping him get into the light padded armor.
After a few minutes, Nightfire was finally dressed in his padded armor, the black fabric covering most of his body, except his wings, horn, eyes, and muzzle. “This armor feels just a tad stiff, guess breaking it in would help yes?”
“That’s correct, I hope that my brother and I help you return safely.”
“I know you two will have helped a lot. Thank you for the help.”
***A few hours later over the jungle***
“Now what did they say it’d look like?” Nightfire asks as he looks down at the jungle beneath him as he flies several yard above the canopy of the tall trees. The humidity and the hot sun above him coating his forehead with sweat and plasters a little of his mane down. “I’m assuming… tall pyramid with an empty field around it,” Nightfire says aloud and then angles down to the jungle floor and lands with a long skid in the wet mud. “Lucky I left my regalia back in Canterlot.”
“Your Highness!” A pony dressed in a khaki shirt with a wrap around his head says as he waves a hoof over his head.
“So you’re the pony who found the tomb hmm?” Nightfire asks as he walks up to him and looks past him into the foliage of the jungle forest.
“Yes I am Sir. If you’ll come with me I’ll take you to the entrance to the tomb that we have discovered,” He says with a smile.
“Show it to me. I was sent by my sisters to explore the tomb and figure out who is buried there,” Nightfire says as he starts walking, the pony following at his side.
“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna sent you? I guess that they want to know what’s here huh?”
“You’d guess right. What can you tell me about the tomb?” Nightfire asks the pony as he pushes some bushes aside and sees the small group of ponies that had been sent to find it exploring the ruins, examining the stones that had hieroglyphs carved into them.
“First is that apparently this used to be the place that ancient tribes ponies would come to give tribute to their god of the dead. Sacrifices and festivals were common and their only ruler was buried deep inside this pyramid. Upon his death a curse was set into place; any who set hoof inside are doomed to become mummies along with him and keep him safe for all of eternity.”
“That’s all? Doesn’t seem that bad. But I haven’t been here long so I cannot judge yet,” Nightfire replies and walks up to a tall stone and slides a hoof over its surface. “I thought I knew of all of the old tribes… but this one must’ve been for more secretive than all the others.”
“Don’t blame yourself, from what we can gather these were an incredibly closed off society. Whenever a trespasser was captured they were the ones sacrificed to their God.”
“Glad I didn’t try and find them then…” Nightfire chuckles nervously and walks slowly around the stone before stopping in his tracks. “Who is this?”
“That carving is of either one of their Gods or of one of your sisters or possibly even you,” The stallion says as he stands beside Nightfire and looks at the carving closely.
“Could it be?” Nightfire asks as he uses the tip of his hoof to trace the carving. “It’s an Alicorn, that’s for sure but what’s written here?”
“Let me see…” The stallion says some of the other ponies come over and start silently translating the hieroglyphs.
“According to this… it says that an Alicorn would one day come and that the arrival of the one would awaken their ruler from his long sleep and begin his reign of the world.”
“Can’t be me… I was only ever mentioned in one prophecy.”
“Could it be that possibly it’s Princess Luna?” The lead researcher asks as he tears his eyes from the stone and looks at Nightfire.
Nightfire looks at the stone for a long moment with unease in his eyes before turning to meet the gaze of the researcher. “Possibly, but I guess we’ll figure that out soon yeah? Tomorrow night, when the moon is high in the sky; that’s when I’ll go inside and see what this place has to offer.”
“Why the middle of the night? Wouldn’t going in at midday make loads more sense?”
“Typically yes, but I have a feeling I’ll be in less trouble than if it was midday. When I go in, nopony is to come in with me, if I’m in there for longer than six days, send word to my sisters that I need their help.”
“Yes Sir. So for now would you like to retire to my tent and go over what we’ve learned before you arrived? I would imagine you’d like to get out of the armor.”
“I’d like that a lot thank you. Everypony, good work so far,” Nightfire says as he turns and follows the stallion that he first met in the jungle’s foliage.
“By the way, my name’s Rare Find,” He says wanting to give Nightfire his name before it became awkward.
“Rare Find… I know you. My sister Luna spoke of your archeology skills greatly.”
“I’m glad that she speaks of my skills so highly. Please be sure to pass that along to her with my gratitude.”
“Of course I will. Luna was always one to study after, while I preferred seeing while they are there. Tia… she never really gave it any thought,” Nightfire says with a small grin as Rare Find pushes open the flap to the tent and holds it open for Nightfire. “Thank you.”
“You’re quite welcome. You’ll see on the table there that we have transcribed several of the stones into our language but it all just seems to be praise to their God,” He says as he steps in after Nightfire and waves a hoof at the table as they approach it.
“Their God… wonder what they saw in him. Do they ever address him by name and what was he said to look like?”
“So far as we’ve translated, no. But they did say in this spot,” Rare Find says while moving a hoof over a section that looked like it was still being translated. “That he was said to be an Alicorn of immense strength and terrible beauty.”
“An Alicorn of ‘immense strength’ and ‘terrible beauty?’ Interesting description. Wonder what their version of beauty was.”
“As do I Your Highness,” Rare says as Nightfire steps away from the table and slowly strips out of the padded armor, setting it into a small pile while resting the sword against a pole.
“It’s funny that this tribe managed to escape my sight and my sister’s as well. We’re at best maybe a 100 miles or so from the Zebra homeland after all. When I’m done here I may stop by there and see if any of the tribes can tell me anything about this spot,” Nightfire says and uses his magic to pull his long mane into a ponytail and then walks back to the table. “Any artifacts worth mentioning?”
***A full day later***
“Well this is it. Remember; if I’m gone for more than six days, send word to my sisters and they’ll send their best to get me out,” Nightfire says as he stands at the entrance of the tomb, armor laced on tightly and sword strapped on his back. As he stands before the opening, the moon slowly rises into the sky, a cool wind blowing through the clearing, ruffling his mane and tail and his feathers being lifted ever so slightly from his wings.
“Yes Your Highness, understood,” Rare Find says as he and the others stand behind the dark blue Alicorn. “Would you like any of us to go in with you?”
“No, I’ll be fine in there on my own. Besides,” Nightfire says and draws the blade slightly, the sharp edge catching the light of the rising crescent moon before sheathing it once more. “I want to make sure that if the worst should happen, the message will be sent without delay.”
“I understand, just wanted to offer you some kind of help.”
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer, I just can’t afford splitting my attention between looking around and making sure any of you haven’t wandered off. I know you’re all professional but it’s a risk I cannot take,” Nightfire says after taking a slow and deep breath of the cool air.
“We’ll be waiting for you. Be safe in there Your Highness, we don’t even know what’s in there ourselves.”
Nightfire nods and then walks slowly forward, picking up a torch that they had laid at the entrance and lights it with a simple fire spell. As he walks into the tomb, he looks around the walls seeing the hieroglyphs and then changes to look at the floor, careful to not set off a booby trap. As he gets deeper and deeper into the tomb, the light of the night outside gets further away and he’s forced to rely not only on the torch but also the light of his horn. “Well thankfully whoever is buried here sure knows how to make a guest feel welcome,” He says sarcastically as he brushes a thick web from out of his path and sees the hall seem to slope downwards into the darkness.
“Well… mother and father always said to trust my gut, and this is hoping that this is the one time that it won’t bite me in the flank,” Nightfire utters softly, the walls of the hall gone once he stepped into the vast and almost empty interior of the tomb. The ceiling looking like the inside of a pyramid and few stone bridges scattered, one or two of them seeming to follow a zig-zag pattern into the darkness beneath him while the one he was on seemed to be broken halfway to the other side.
As he approaches the broken segment of the bridge, he spreads his wings and jumps then proceeds to glide to the nearest bridge while the torch stays to his right. As he touches down he keeps his wings ready in case the stone would give way beneath him. After a long moment he breathes out and relaxes his wings. “This is going to be a long night. Why am I doing things this way anyway? I could just use my magic and light up this whole section, but that would be a bad idea, first since there might be something in here that could be hostel to me and lastly because the drain would be taxing in the long run,” Nightfire says softly to himself, talking himself out of making a big tactical mistake. “I knew playing ‘War’ with Warlord was a great idea and getting Luna into that game has helped us four work on our strategies.”
***Twenty slow minutes later***
Deeper inside the darkness of the tomb, Nightfire having only to glide to the next section of another stone walkway four times more, he reaches one large walkway that led straight before him into the darkness of the beginning of a hallway, the light of the torch showing the stone entrance with two large stone statues of the Alicorn that Rare Find had said the tribe worshipped as their God, a tall Alicorn covered by a robe that covered his body but his wings were fully extended and his horn poking out from under the hood of the cloak. As Nightfire looks them over carefully he cannot help but feel that he knew who the statue was supposed to be. “Why in Tartarus does it seem like I should know who this is? It can’t be my father or Varjot… and there’s no way it’s supposed to be any of the others. It’s not me, nor any known Alicorn that I’ve ever known. Could it be that they just made up the image from the ancient Alicorns?” As Nightfire puzzles over the identity of the stone carving, his voice echo’s softly in the cool air of the darkness, against the stones that were dripping with water, covered in moss and echoing back to him. “That’s just creepy, find out what you can then get out, simple enough.”
Slowly he begins walking into the dark hallway before him, the flame casting shadows against the spaced out walls, the carvings of ponies mid ritual dominating the imagery as he begins seeing the images turn dark and nearly make him stop and vomit onto the floor. The images now showing the tribes ponies tearing apart a pony, crude stone knives and sword cutting into the victims flesh as in another spot, they seemed to be eating the flesh and due to the light of the torch Nightfire wasn’t able to tell if the markings had color, though he might’ve assumed that the weapons and ponies were covered in blood. Finally the last image showed a heart resting on a slab of stone while the tribes ponies bowed behind it, the Alicorn from the statue seeming to ascend from the other side, hood drawn up to keep his face hidden as he looks down at the heart.
Nightfire quickly looks away and closes his eyes for a moment, to get the images out of his head and to reassure himself that he wasn’t in danger. “It’s ok Nightfire, you’re gonna be alright. These are just images and from the look of things, the tribe has been long gone for thousands of years. Slow and deep breathes,” As he stops walking to calm himself he opens his eyes once more and sees that he was now standing inside a large room, broken pot scattered around the room while a large sarcophagus was standing at the far end with two open beside it. Two tall poles stood between the middle sarcophagus and the ones on its left and right where they would be lit for more light. Nightfire studies the room from where he stands, taking in the grandeur of something that had survived for most likely thousands upon thousands of years in a state of decay. As he moves the torch slowly around the room, he notices that the center sarcophagus had a lid over the top of it and it appeared that the Alicorn was carded into it.
Hesitantly Nightfire steps further into the cold room and begins examining the unbroken pots, pulling the lid off of one and peers inside to see nothing but cloth and some very ancient scrolls. He slowly lifts one of the scrolls out of the jar and unflurrs it slowly, not wanting to damage it as he looks at the writing on the parchment. “This language, more confusing than the Deer’s text but doesn’t hold the same rhyming patterns as the Zebra. Wonder where they possibly got it from…” Nightfire ponders before slowly rolling it back up and then puts back into the jar and puts the lid back into place. “I think I’m about done here, for a full team to come down here and do what would be needed, I’d think they’d need at bare minimum of… a dozen or two Unicorn and Pegasi each.”
Unaware to Nightfire as he was reading the scroll, the sarcophagus in the center shifts slightly as if the somepony inside was still alive, the lid sliding almost unnaturally silent against the stone as the pony inside, skin worn from the millennia locked inside and the light brown bandages that hung off his skinny body. Slowly his eyes began to open, a light green aura illuminating them as his horn, still wrapped by bandages glows for a brief second. His muzzle still loosely closed due to some bandages but with little effort the bandages tear, leaving the pony now capable of speech once more. As the ponies eyes adjust to the light inside the chamber, he sees a dark blue Alicorn slide the scroll back into the jar and look at the wall in thought. ‘This cannot be… can it really be our God? Here to bring me back to the world above and into my eternal rule?’
While thoughts of what would happen to this tomb ran through Nightfire’s mind, he feels a sudden cold draft blow down his spine that forces him to throw those thoughts to the back of his mind and look around the chamber. As his eyes go over everything cautiously, he notices that the lid of the central sarcophagus was still standing but was now open to reveal the body of a pony inside and despite the millennia inside the tomb, still had a decent amount of flesh on its bones. The horn on the ponies head indicated that it was a Unicorn and that from what he could see from afar, that there were no wounds on the body. ‘This is starting to give me the creeps… I’m done here.’
Suddenly the pots around the room start glowing a bright green as the horn of the pony in the sarcophagus shines with the same green color. “So you’ve finally come for me!” The pony says as he leans forward and falls onto his front hooves, head bowed but eyes wide open. “Come to protect me as I rise to rule the world!”
Nightfire backs toward the wall behind him and slowly draws the sword from the sheath. “Before I help you… tell me your name.”
“If you don’t know my name then you cannot be the God my tribe worshipped. For trying to deceive me… your punishment,” He begins as the magic around his horn begins glowing brighter, illuminating the room much more than the torch was and as quick as snakes, the bandages shoot toward Nightfire just as he drew the sword and swung it with great speed, slicing through the bandages as he starts slowly backing up to the hallway. “Is to become my servant!”
“Not a chance!” Nightfire calls out as his blade slices through the bandages that were flying toward him as he is slowly inched toward the dark hall, hoping that he’d be able to quickly turn and make a break for it. But as he glanced over at his opponent, the pony now had a smile on his face as the bandages suddenly wrapped around the hilt of the blade and tried to pull it from his magic, managing to hold the blade still as the others rushed toward him like a bag in the wind. Nightfire spreads his wings and quickly flaps his wings down and jumps back into the hall before a few of the white bandages wrapped around his front right ankle and pulled him back into the room where the bandages started wrapping around his leg in quick movements. Quickly Nightfire’s right legs was wrapped up to his shoulder and the bandages started wrapping from his shoulder down, pinning his wings to his back, while another quickly starts wrapping up his left foreleg up just like his right and then another pins his forelegs to his chest, crossing over his chest while some worked on wrapping up his rear legs and stops where the bondages had finished wrapping down his wings as another large group of bandages start wrapping his body from the bottom of his neck and down to his rear hooves again.
As the bandages wrap around his body tighter and tighter, layer upon layer, Nightfire tries desperately to cast a spell before the bandages start wrapping up his horn, soon leaving him with a white horn protruding from his head. “Those are magic resistant, they won’t let magic escape and therefore any spell you try to cast is now worthless,” The pony who still hadn’t left his sarcophagus says as a grin crawls onto his ancient face, the fur of his body long gone.
“Don’t do this… I have a family back in Canterlot!” Nightfire pleads as he attempts to struggle against the strong and unyielding bandages. “They’ll come for me and you won’t be able to fight them off!”
“I anticipate them coming, that’s why you are the bait I needed,” He says as two bandages hover in front of Nightfire’s muzzle, waiting for the pony in the sarcophagus to command them. “Now what to do with you while we wait for your ‘family’ to come and save you?”
“You could let me go so we can fight once more,” Nightfire suggests with a faint smile.
“Not a chance. But I will entertain you with… an old practice of my tribe.”
“Wait… aren’t you the sole remaining member of your tribe?” Nightfire asks realizing that he hadn’t seen any other chambers inside the pyramid.
“Yes…” He answers as he looks down at the stone floor of the base of the pyramid. “But I plan on bringing my tribe back.”
“How will you do that? I don’t think that it’s possible to bring back the dead. That kind of black magic has been lost for thousands of years.”
“I’ll find a way,” He says as he waves a hoof at Nightfire as the bandages slowly moves him closer to him so that they were finally face to face.
“What do you hope to accomplish by trying to take over the world? You’ll be facing the might of four Alicorns and the entire force of the Equestrian military. Even with me as a hostage they’ll stop you cold.”
“You think that they’ll be able to stop me? With you as my hostage I’m sure that your family will do anything I say to keep you safe.”
“You don’t know my sister’s well. Luna’s a born strategist and Celestia is a powerful spellcaster.”
“We’ll see won’t we? I think it’s about time I put you where I will be able to keep an eye on you till your family comes.”
“Tell me… what is your name?” Nightfire asks as he looks into the ponies eyes, know that this would possibly the last chance he’ll have to ask for it.
“My name is… Ancient Curse,” He replies as the bandages that had been floating in the ponies magic to suddenly lurch forward and wrap around Nightfire’s muzzle, pinning his lips shut and pressing his teeth firmly together inside as they slowly layer around his muzzle and then tie behind his head. “I suppose that there’s not much to see here so I don’t think you’ll be needing your sight while we wait will you?”
Nightfire struggles to shake his head, finding that the bandages were keeping his head still for the most part. Keeping him from nodding or shaking his head as the bandages start inching closer to his eyes as he looks into the ancient ponies eyes. Nightfire quickly closes his eyes as the bandages quickly wrap around his head, covering his eyes and leaving him blind, his sight now cut off as the bandages begin to layering over his eyes.
As Ancient Curse watches as Nightfire becomes nothing but a pony wrapped in the white bandages he grins and reaches out with a hoof to stroke Nightfire’s cheek and chuckles. “Don’t worry about dying before they get here, these bandages will ensure you get everything you need to stay alive,” He chuckles as he uses his magic to lift the bound Alicorn into the air and push open one of the sarcophagi and sets the bound and slightly struggling Alicorn inside it. “Now it’s only a matter of time.”
Author's Note
Well look at the mess that Nightfire is in now. With his capture it would seem that maybe Ancient Curse's plan may succeed, but now this begs the question; who will Celestia and Luna send to save their brother?
Disclaimer; Varjot is a name that I have in mind for a head cannon of mine but you know it's only a name.
“Nightfire… where are you?” Warlord asks as he looks up at the sky from the balcony of Nightfire’s room, the light of the moon shining down upon him and the whole of Equestria. As he looks up at the sky, hoping that the answer would come and Nightfire would walk in and they’d hug each other and everything would be fine. Warlord sighs sadly and then looks down at his hooves and turns back to walk back into his husband’s room and crawls into the bed and hugs Nightfire’s pillow close to his chest with his forelegs. “Where are you?”
After a few hours of Warlord lying on their bed a soft knock resonates through the room. “Warlord? Can I speak with you?” Luna asks as she knocks again on the door once more.
“Come in,” Warlord says softly and looks up at the door with tears at the edge of his vision.
Luna slowly pushes the door in and looks at Warlord. “I need to tell thou something Warlord.”
“Is it about Nightfire?” Warlord asks as he lifts his head, his ears standing up as Luna steps into her older brother’s room.
“We’ve got a letter from the site and Nightfire hasn’t come out of the tomb in those six days,” Luna says sadly as she looks down at her hooves, her ears folding back against her head.
“He… still hasn’t come back?” Warlord asks sadly and his ears fold down again.
“No but the message we got from the site says that the tomb is unnaturally still and a strange feeling has shrouded the forest around it.”
“What does the letter say?” Warlord asks as he sits up and his ears perk up again as the letter is slowly lifted out from under Luna’s right wing.
“It says, ‘By the time this letter should arrive, His Highness Prince Nightfire will have been inside the tomb for six days and still hasn’t come out. Please, upon his request send somepony to help get him out.’”
“I’m going, Warlord says as he gets onto his hooves, looking at the floating letter in Luna’s magic aura.
“But Warlord the odds of a Pegasus being able to-“ She began before Warlord, who had gotten a lesson or two of royal behavior raised a hoof.
“I don’t mean to be rude but he is my husband and I will do what I must do to bring him home,” He says confidently.
Luna looks into the Pegasus’ eyes and then grins. “Very well, I should’ve learned that a bond like yours to my brother is a strong one. Allow me to get a pony to help you in your quest.”
“Who would you be sending with me?” Warlord asks as he slowly steps off the bed and walks up to Luna then looks up into her light green eyes.
Luna smirks and then looks around her brother’s room before finally seeing the book she knew would give the green Pegasus the obvious idea. Luna’s horn glows and the book floats over to them and she shows him the cover. “Got it?”
Warlord’s eyes grow wide and looks between Luna and the book, in disbelief. “Daring Do?”
“Believe it young Warlord,” She says then sets the book down on the bedside table. “She will be the best candidate to help retrieve our brother, your husband.”
“But… isn’t she a fictional character?” Warlord asks with a confused look on his face, wondering if Luna was trying to insult him with the suggestion.
“You still have lots to learn young one. Come with me, it’s time that you meet the one and only Daring Do herself!”
***Inside of Luna’s chariot over a large forest to the north***
“Luna please tell me,” Warlord says as he looks down at the passing treetops from the inside of Luna’s personal chariot. “Why would she live all the way out here away from everypony?”
“An adventurer’s thing. Nightfire, when he travels alone, this is something he’d do,” Luna says as she also scans the forest canopy.
“So she’d willingly live this far away from any form of help? Seems like a crazy thing to do.”
“She’s spent her whole life wanting to be who she is. She’s learned how to take care of herself,” Luna says as one of the two Thestrals pulling the chariot looks back at her and points down with a hoof.
“Your Highness I see a hut down there and we’re at the right coordinates.”
“Understood, head down to it,” Luna says giving a nod to the two who quickly obey, as they angle down to the ground, causing Warlord to tense up and close his eyes. ‘He is afraid of heights,’ Luna notes as she sees his stance become stiff as they descend to the forest floor in front of the hut. Once safely on the ground Warlord slowly opens his eyes and lets out a low sigh. “Don’t do well with heights?”
Warlord looks at Luna and then blushes and turns away. “It’s embarrassing, a Pegasus whose afraid of heights. Have you seen that before?”
“I’ve seen it once before, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Luna says as she pats his shoulder with a hoof. “Come with me,” She says as she steps off of the chariot and is shortly followed by the green Pegasus as she walks up to the door and taps it gently with a hoof as her guards take up guarding positions on either side of the door.
“Hold on!” A mare’s voice from inside calls out before after nearly a minute of waiting a mare with a large sunhat, a green shroud and large red reading glasses covering her eyes. “Princess Luna? What are you doing here?” She asks as she quickly bows to the lunar Alicorn.
“We’re here to request your help my friend,” Luna says and puts a hoof gently on her shoulder which causes her to stand up. “My brother has been missing for nearly a week as of tomorrow morning and we cannot scenes his dreams.”
“Excuse me Luna?” Warlord says as he looks up at her questionably. “I don’t mean to insult this mare here, but how can she help us unless she really is Daring Do?”
Luna looks at Warlord and then to the mare and nods to her with a smile. “You’ll see.”
After Luna finished her statement the mare rushes forward, tackling Warlord to the ground and quickly pins him to the ground on his stomach while gripping his left foreleg and pulls it hard behind his back. “You see, judging a book by its cover is a bad idea,” She says with a smile then releases his foreleg and helps him back onto his hooves.
Warlord winces as he slowly moves his leg and then looks back at her with a shocked look. “Wait a second… you’re A.K. Yearling!” Warlord says with a gasp as she rolls her eyes with a smile on her muzzle.
“Yes I am and I’m much more than her,” She says and reaches down with her muzzle and bites the edge of the shroud and then pulls it off in one good tug and flicks her head to send to hat falling off of her head, revealing long strands of her multi-grey mane and the shroud had been hiding her tan coat with folded wings. “I’m also Daring Do.”
Warlord looks at her in complete shock and then to Luna who was suffering from a fit of giggles. “You knew!?”
“Of course I did, our sister has requested her help since before Twilight Sparkle and her friends started wielding the Elements. Daring Do,” Luna says as she takes a moment to catch her breath from her giggles and uses her magic to pull a map out from her saddlebags. “This map is the directions to a site that was uncovered not long ago that we sent our brother to explore. We would like you to accompany Warlord and bring him home.”
Daring Do grabs the map with the ankle of her foreleg and unrolls the map on the ground and examines the map closely. “I can get us there in a day or two minimum with flying but with the supplies we’ll need… that will add maybe an hour or two.”
“We trust you Miss Do. But there is something you must know about your companion. Please tell her Warlord,” Luna says looking at the green Pegasus who was still surprised to see the actual Daring Do standing before him. “Warlord?”
“Hmm? Oh…” He says as he snaps out of his trance and then gulps softly as he looks away. “I’m afraid of heights.”
Daring Do looks at him as if calculating how much long that would add to their trip and then nods. “About how high can you fly without your fear stopping you?”
“Maybe…” Warlord starts as he tries to think of the height and then whispers his answer.
“Can you repeat that?”
“Five or so yards,” He repeats a little louder and blushes.
“Hmm… shouldn’t take us longer than my original estimate. Strong flyer right?”
Warlord nods his head and smiles a little.
“Give me a moment to gather some supplies and we’ll be ready to go. Is there anything I should know about this tomb Princess?”
“As it stands the archeologists think that the pony entombed is from an ancient tribe of ponies, who believe an Alicorn will ‘bring the tribe to power’ as they put it.”
“So nothing new for me,” The adventurous mare says with a smile. “Alright, are you ready Warlord?”
“As ready as I can be,” He says as one of the Thestrals go to the chariot and bring him his saddlebags which were loaded with food, water and medical supplies as well as a small knife and a short sword.
“From the looks of it you’re more than ready,” Daring replies with a smile and then eyes the sword before turning back to her hut. “I’ll be out in five minutes then we are heading out. We’ll have Prince Nightfire back in a few days.”
Luna smiles at the mare and nods her head. “If you require anything more, this is your last chance to ask.”
Warlord looks between the Princess and Daring Do wondering what she would say.
“I think we’ll be fine with what we have. Thank you for the offer Princess.”
“You’re welcome Miss Do. Warlord… take care and bring my brother, your husband back safely,” Luna says as she rests a hoof on his shoulder, looking into his eyes as if she was giving him an order.
“I will Luna, I promise.”
Luna smiles and then walks to her chariot and nods to the two. “Be careful and come home safely.”
***Twenty-three hours later***
“Miss Do! I have to stop…” Warlord calls out as he glides to the forest floor and collapses onto his belly.
She looks back and then slowly turns back and lands on her hooves in front of him. “I suppose I’ve pushed you hard enough for one day. We’ll rest here for thirty minutes then we’ll get back to it.”
Warlord pants heavily and tears at his saddlebag to get his canteen of water and quickly gulps down the cool liquid.
“Tell me… you’re Prince Nightfire’s husband yes?” She asks as she sits against a tall tree and pulls out her own canteen and sips at the water inside it.
“Y-Yeah I am. Happily for nearly three years now,” He replies after gasping a breath after a painful gulp of water.
“Nearly three years? Congratulations,” She says with a smile and lays her head back against the bark of the tree, her pick helmet protecting her head from the bump.
“Thank you… if I may, can I ask you about your books?” Warlord asks as he lies there breathing deeply, unable to believe that he was here with Daring Do herself and she was going to help him get his husband back.
“I don’t mind at all, fire away.”
“Those books, are they actually true?” Warlord asks simply as he looks at her feeling his eyelids growing heavy, having been flying for nearly twenty-four hours straight.
“They are, but most ponies who read them I can imagine just think they are works of fiction.”
“I see… so your arch enemy… is really a real being?” Warlord manages to ask as his eyes close and sleep begins taking him.
“Yes he is.”
“Cool,” Warlord says softly and then yawns and falls into sleep.
Daring Do looks at him and smiles. “Good night Warlord. Sweet dreams,” She says as she looks up at the sky and figures that they have maybe twenty minutes before they would have to get moving.
***At the site late the next day***
“There it is…” Warlord says as he and Daring Do finally touch down on the ground just outside of the clearing.
“We’re another step closer to rescuing Prince Nightfire, I never thought I’d have to rescue an Alicorn,” Daring says with a small smile.
“We have to get a few hours of decent sleep before we go in there, I’ll be worthless in there as I am…” Warlord replies as he brushes past her and walks out into the clearing and quickly ducks under the shovel of one of the archeologists. “What the buck!?”
“I’m so sorry! I thought you were something else,” He says as he quickly puts down the shovel and tosses the shovel away. “This place has gotten very disturbing the last few days, it’s like…”
“This place is ready for something big,” One of the other ponies says while nervously looking around.
“All we need is a few hours of sleep then we can go and rescue the Prince,” Daring Do says as she looks at the ponies who had stayed in the site, despite the eerie feeling that the clearing had.
“Of course, we have some beds that you can use. Please come with me,” He says as he turns and walks to a large tent set up beside the entrance of the tomb. “Your beds are right here, shall we wake you in four hours?”
Warlord and Daring Do look at each other and then turn back to the pony with nods. “That’d be great, thank you.”
“Rest well,” He says then closes the flap of the tent leaving the two alone.
“Get some sleep Warlord, because when we wake up we’ll be getting Nightfire back,” Daring Do says with a smile and crawls into her bed after shedding her saddlebags and her pick hat.
He nods and undoes the strap of his saddlebags and then slides him under his bed then crawls into the bed and pulls the covers over his back and falls into the dream world quickly.
***Four hours later***
“Are you ready for this Warlord?” Daring asks with a confident smile as they both stand at the entrance of the pyramid.
“Let’s go,” He says as he pulls the short sword from the sheath from his saddlebags and stares into the darkness.
She smiles and then they begin walking into the darkness of the entrance, once they had entered and the light of the near midday sun was far from their sights, Daring light a torch and held it high over her head to show them the bland brown of the stones. “Stay close and don’t wander off. If this is like any of the temples or tombs I’ve been in it will be easy to get lost,” She says as they stop at the inside of the pyramid and look down into the darkness.
“Don’t worry about that, you’re the expert here,” Warlord says as he follows her closely and they start traveling down the strange stone passages, gliding over the gaps in the broken one. Just as he touches down on the other side of the broken one they just glided over, the stone beneath him gives and falls into the darkness as he begins falling with them.
Quickly as a whip, Daring pulls out a rope tied like a lasso and throws it down and catches Warlord around his stomach. “Are you ok?” She asks around the rope in her teeth and begins slowly pulling up the stallion who was looking into the darkness he nearly fell into.
“I’m just fine, thanks,” He calls out and spreads his wings, flaps them and finally comes back up to where he’d fallen and then lies on the stone. “Thank you for the save.”
“Don’t mention it,” She says with a smile and leaves to rope as she picks up the torch and holds it up and examines the carvings on the stone wall. “Cannibals, great.”
“Did you say cannibals?” Warlord asks as he checks his saddlebags to make sure he didn’t lose anything. Finally lifting his head from them he sees her looking at the hieroglyphs and other carvings and steps back nervously.
“Nothing I haven’t tangled with before, but still an issue,” She says and looks to her right at a large statue. “Warlord? Doesn’t that look like an Alicorn?”
Warlord follows her gaze and gulps softly. “Yeah it does. But the face is covered,” He says as he spreads his wings and glides over to where she is as they look up at the statue.
“Something tells me that this was an idea what their god looked like. An Alicorn, but these marking’s aren’t making sense. Nothing about a name, just the word ‘him.’”
“I don’t want to spoil your exploration, but we have to save my husband.”
“I’m sorry, let’s hurry,” She says and follows the small walkway a little and finds a long hallway before her. “I’m betting that he would be down this way.”
“Me to, let’s take this slowly… we don’t know what’s down here,” Warlord says then draws the sword again.
“Stay close and do what I say,” Daring says as she presses herself against the wall and motions for Warlord to do the same. He quickly follows her idea and they both slowly work their way through the long hallway trying to stay as silent as possible.
After a long few minutes of stealthy walking, they stop in a chamber that was a dead end. As they looked around, they saw the multitude of pots and three sarcophagi at the opposite of them.
Warlord sheathes the sword and takes many slow and deep breaths. “Is he… could he really be?”
“Don’t think like that!” Daring snaps at him silently. “He’s your husband and you should always think he’s alive until proven otherwise.”
“Y-You’re right… let’s check them and get out of here,” He says as he slowly reaches back and bites the hilt of the sword again and slowly steps into the chamber with Daring at his side. ‘He’s gonna be alive. He’s gonna be alive.’
“I’ll check the one on the right, you the one on the left. The one in the center most likely has who those archeologists where here to study,” She suggests as she moves slowly and silently to the one to their right, Warlord to the left.
Warlord presses his ear gently to the surface of the sarcophagus, listening in silence for some kind of sound. “I think he’s in here,” Warlord says around the sword in his muzzle and pries the tip of the sword into the tiny gap between the lid and the base and begins pushing into it, managing to slide it own a little bit to reveal a mummy inside it with dark white bandages. As he looks the mummy up and down, he sees the horn and leans in a little and hears a soft moan from under the bandages. “Daring, he’s right here. Hold on Nightfire, I’m getting you out of here,” He says and slides the edge of the sword against the bandages covering his husband’s chest as Daring knocks the blade away gently.
“Not with that, you’ll risk hurting him with that. Use a knife, it’s smaller and easier to work with. I’ll uncover his horn and you work on his body.”
“Understood,” He says as his ears fold back a little from his lack of thought and pulls a small knife from his saddlebags and begins working at the bandages covering Nightfire’s chest and notices that his forelegs were folded over his chest. ‘Gotta be a little more careful. Thoughtlessness will certainly end badly for us here.’
Daring Do takes out a small knife and slowly works at the bandages covering Nightfire’s horn and then squints her eyes. ‘These bandages are meant to prevent magic output. Very interesting,' She thinks as she finally manages to start unwinding them from his horn and after working it around his horn she finally reveals his forehead and mane. ‘It’s really him! Nightfire himself!’ Daring thinks to herself as she looks down and sees that Warlord by now had manages to free his forelegs and was gently stroking them with a foreleg. ‘Those two really do seem meant to be,’ Daring thinks before clearing her throat around the small knife.
Warlord looks up at her and nods with a smile. “Nightfire… we’ve freed your horn, try to use your magic and then we can get out of here.”
The only sound from the mummy that is Nightfire is a low moan that was almost inaudible then a gentle glow from his horn that shrouds the bandages before tearing them all to shreds then he falls forward onto his forehooves and looks into Warlord’s eyes with a smile and then rushes forward and hugs him tightly. His own light armor pressing gently against the Pegasus he was holding. “I am so sorry I worried you,” He says softly and looks to his right and sees Daring flapping her wings to stay aloft. “You helped him?”
“Yes I did. Princess Luna sought me out.”
“Luna? I was sure Tia would’ve sent you instead. But regardless, we need to get out of here before…” Nightfire begins and then steps out of the hug with Warlord and scans the room and quickly floats over his Odachi. “He’s in here.”
“Who did that to you?” Warlord asks as he quickly draws his short sword and looks around while Daring flies above them while looking around.
Nightfire nods and looks straight at the hallway he had come through nearly a week ago and scans the room quickly before sheathing the long sword. “Fly!” Nightfire says then quickly spreads his wings wide and launches forward, his magic shrouding over them before the entrance is covered by a thin layer of green magic that Nightfire nearly flew headlong into, causing him to veer up to the ceiling and look down at the sarcophagus in the middle. “Now you will see no mercy from me!”
“And I was seeing mercy last time?” A voice echo’s in the chamber as the lid opens slowly and a green glow reveals the pony inside, mere skin and bones with brown bandages covering his body.
Warlord gasps and looks at the pony with fear in his eyes. ‘That’s who caught Nightfire? He looks ancient!’
‘So he’s being kept alive by some kind of magic… not good,’ Daring Do thinks as she eyes his body closely.
“I was cautious, now that I have an idea of your abilities you’re going down!” Nightfire says as the grooves of his horn glow and then pots around the room begin sealing shut from an intense heat. “Without those your best advantage is gone.”
“You think that I only need those pots?”
“Well… this is where your body will stay, your spirit will remain in Tartarus for millennia!” Nightfire shouts as the pony in the now open casket begins to glow with the same blue of Nightfire’s magic.
“What is this!? I thought I was immune to this spell!” Ancient Curse cries out and quickly the bandages covering his body slide off his body like snakes and lunge up at Nightfire and his friends only to be stopped by Warlord’s quick slices with the short sword in his muzzle.
“My friends came to save me, risked their own lives to set me free. This is what the friends of the Royal Family can do!” Nightfire calls out as his magic solidifies around Ancient Curse then he seems to shimmer then drop dead.
“What… what just happened to him?” Daring asks as she looks where the ancient pony had been standing, astonished.
“I banished him to Tartarus…” Nightfire says with a low voice and his magic begins fading as the green bandages that were covering their only exit fade away to nothing.
“Tartarus?”
“A fitting place for the corrupted,” Nightfire says as he slowly lowers them down to the ground and gently touches down beside them. “I cannot thank you enough for helping my husband save me. I owe you one,” Nightfire says with a small smile.
“Don’t worry about it Your Highness. May I… use this for my next book?” She asks with a small smile of her own as Warlord looks between the two.
“What do you think Warlord? Shall we let her?” Nightfire asks as he looks into his husband’s eyes.
“I say go for it. I think this would make for a good book,” Warlord says with a big smile.
“I think you have my answer then.”
“Thank you so much Your Highness. I promise you two will get the first two I release.”
Nightfire smirks and drapes a wing over Warlord’s back and pulls him close. “We’ll hold you to it.”
Warlord looks up at Nightfire with a smile and then nuzzles into his neck, happy to have his husband back.
“Let’s get going, this place still gives me the creeps,” Daring Do says as she looks around at the walls and shivers gently.
“Don’t need to tell me twice,” Nightfire and Warlord say at the same time making them both chuckle as they all walk out of the tomb together.
***A month later in Canterlot***
As Nightfire and Warlord lie together on their bed, content to just cuddle after their experience in the tomb somepony knocks on the door making Nightfire lift his head. “Enter.”
“I’ve got a package for Prince Nightfire and Warlord,” The mail pony says as he pulls a medium sized box from his satchel and holds it with his hoof.
“That must be exactly what I think it is,” Nightfire says as he uses his magic to lift the box and sign his name with the pen the mail pony had on his hat. “If there’s nothing else, you may go.”
“Yes Your Highness,” He says and bows before turning and closing the door behind him.
“Whose it from?” Warlord asks having kept his head down, happy to just cuddle the day away.
“From A.K.Yearling,” Nightfire says and quickly tears the tape from the top of the box and opens it to find a book wrapped in brown paper with a note taped to the front of it. “There’s a note here. Says ‘As I promised here is two copies of the book I said I’d write from our adventure, made some creative changes so nopony would suspect anything out of the ordinary. I hope you enjoy it.’”
“She sent us two?” Warlord asks as he finally lifts his head and looks down into the box and moves the top book over slightly and sees a second book covered in the same brown paper.
“Well, shall we see what she had done for the cover?” Nightfire asks as he lifts out the first copy and grins.
“Go for it sweetie,” Warlord says, equally as happy to finally see what Daring Do had done for the cover.
Nightfire begins to tear the brown paper and reveals a bright red background with Nightfire’s image in the air, partially wrapped in the bandages with a look of fear on his face, below dead center of where Nightfire’s chest began fading into the red, Ancient Curse stood, the bandages floating around him while his horn glows with green, a smile of triumph on his face and on either side of him below his was Warlord wielding the short sword with a determined look on his face while Daring Do stood with the torch being held in her right foreleg and a small dagger held between her teeth. The title above Nightfire simply read ‘Daring Do and the Captured Alicorn.’ “Interesting title, but I really do love that artwork,” Nightfire says as he looks at it with a small smile.
“Yes it is, great use of imagery,” Warlord replies with a chuckle then looks at his husband with a grin.
“I know what you want to say… and I would advise against it for your own good,” Nightfire replies returning Warlord’s grin with one of his own.
“I wasn’t going to say anything… about how much you seem to enjoy those bandages on th-“ Warlord begins before feeling the book come down gently on top of his head.
“Unless you want more… keep it going.”
“Oh? Is that a threat? Or an invitation?”
“You tell me.”
