Exploring the Tomb

“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.”