“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.