You and I, Me and You

by thewaffler


Pip Begins

Ch.1: Pip Begins


"You're my favorite princess." A young Pipsqueak said those words on Nightmare Night many years ago. Nopony took those words seriously. They were just the words of a little pinto foal. It's been almost twenty years since that night. Every Nightmare Night since, Pipsqueak had found himself becoming more and more infatuated with the princess of the night. He loved Luna when he was at that stage when fillies were gross.

Luna herself had grown fond of of the Pipsqueak as he was the first one of the first ponies to approach her since her return. At first it started it off as a type of parental affection, but as Pip matured and his name became more and more ironic she felt herself becoming attracted to the young spotted stallion. By her stars above she loved him.

Every Nightmare Night they would meet up and reflect of each other's respective lives and catch up. They had done so every year for the past twenty-two years. They would occasionally meet up when Pip had some free time or when his job took him to Canterlot, but the fall holiday was a special time for the two of them.

It was this night that Luna waited patiently on a large picnic blanket on a hilltop overlooking Ponyville as she waiting her stallion.


Several Days before Nightmare Night

Pip always wanted to be adventurer when he was little. As an adult he considered himself a treasure hunter and archaeologist. Though to his critics he was a grave robber, thief, and the lowest class of scoundrel.

It was here in the this seedy nameless little bar in Coltlumbia that Pip once again found himself tied to a chair receiving a warm welcome from the locals. A not uncommon situation for the twenty-seven year old stallion. He was in the standard back room of a pub surrounded by eight or so pissed off stallions and hired thugs. This time it was a stallion claiming to be the reincarnation of the god: Tepeyollotl.

*BASH*

"Give me the idol Pip!"
The earth pony flashed his trademark cocky grin and spit a wad of blood at his attacker. "I don't have your idol and fuck you anyway."

His defiance was met with a strong slap across the face which sent him and the chair to the ground. The gang got a good laugh out of it, but what they failed to notice was that the old wooden chair their prisoner was attached to was severely weakened by their own actions.

"The idol of Tepeyollotl, where is it?"

"*cough*Okay, Okay, I'll tell ya. Come closer." Pip whispered.

As his foe got closer Pip snapped his restraints off and rammed the two pieces of the chair he broke off into the jugular of his interrogator.

"GAHHHH*gurgle*" The stallion claiming to be a god collapsed clutching his neck as he choked on his own crimson fluid as Pip had turned the once proud stallion into a blood fountain.

Almost immediately the rest of the bar erupted into a violent and chaotic mess as the now dead leader of the paid thugs wanted their money and his loyal subordinates wanted to tear the pinto limb from limb.

He took a swing from a nearby bottle, given his luck so far the stallion really could go for a drink. "Crap."

Pip took the liquor bottle and whipped at his would be attackers if only so that he could fight them in a more narrow area of the bar. The diversion worked well enough, but a bruised rib decided to make itself known right as Pip started to take a defensive stance. With one hoof holding his side in pain the pinto lacked the proper defense to ward off an incoming right hook.

Once the fighting had started the actual patrons and the bartender cleared out deciding that they all had had enough to drink for the evening. Pipsqueak had a lot on his hooves as there was still quite a few ponies that wanted a piece of him, but then again that was a typical day in his line of business.

Rolling with the blow the moment he received it Pip seized the still outstretched arm of his attacker, and with a sharp tug pulled it out of it’s socket. The now teary-eyed thug scarcely had time to cry out in pain before a barstool collided with his ugly mug. Pip would have laughed if the still sizeable crowd of foes weren't still headed toward him, with barely any room to breath Pip decided to get creative.

Jumping over the bar top quicker than the eye could follow Pip headbutted a stallion that had gotten too close right into a jukebox which oddly enough started playing this song.

♪♫ You leave me now, you'll take away the biggest part of me... ♪♫

Everyone stopped fighting for a second and moaned in disgust.

One of the hired goons called out. “Why do we even have this record?”

Pip quickly threw a beer bottle at the jukebox which switched songs to something, anything better than what was just playing. The criminals and thugs gave a sigh of relief as they went back to beating the crap out of each other.

It wasn't all triumph for him as a pool stick made contact with his back which caused him to stumble forward on to a table flipping it over.

"Arg!" Pip bellowed in pain.

The large stallion that had stuck him from behind was joined by two other ponies, Pip’s current predicament reminded of a less than enjoyable encounter with a gang of treasure hunters a year or so back. Just as they lunged forward Pip rolled out of the way, grabbed an astray and blew its contents into the eyes of his pursuers. Temporarily blinded they swung their hooves madly into the air around their target. Taking advantage of his assailant’s vulnerability Pip swept the front legs of the middle stallion which caused him to topple into his companions. Pip would have patted himself on the back if it wasn’t already busy throbbing in pain from that pool stick cheap shot, or the various other injuries he had received.

“Hope ya don’t mind me borrowing this for just a tick.” Eyeing the black stiletto strapped to the top ponies waist, Pip wasted no time in arming himself.

As it’s handle rested in Pip’s teeth, the blade seemed to glint menacingly to the crowd of thugs still eager to give the stallion a good thrashing. “How about we cut out all this kiddy stuff and get straight to the point?” The remaining goons were happy to oblige as Pip noticed a few pull out their own knives, hell one even had a rusty chain.

As the crowd closed in on the pinto whose back was killing him, had a hard time catching his breath, and was probably sporting a new scar or twelve, Pip almost cursed his love for adventure.

“Nah!” Despite the way his body nearly seizing up in pain Pip bolted forward, swiped his head toward the closest colt, and the stiletto glinted for a millisecond as it caught the light.

“Gauughh!” A spray of crimson filled Pip’s vision as he gave his opponent a new optical cavity. The thug clutched his head in pain, and in a desperate attempt to cease the gush of scarlet his panicked movements impeded his comrades from getting to the still on the move pinto. Weapon now coated in blood, Pip ducked low to get under a deadly swipe from another stallion who held a large skinning knife, and moving like a cobra struck forward to pierce his attackers chest like it was cotton.

Rolling across the dirty floor before any counter attack could be attempted Pip looked back to view his work. One stallion leaning over the bar frantically looking around for something to stop the blood that still spurted from where an eye had sat, and another just now slumping to the floor as his body finally registered that it had taken a blade to the heart. “Not my best work, but not my worst.”

The ominous rattle of a moving chain was the only warning Pip received before he suddenly found the simple task of breathing to have turned into quite the challenge. “This can’t be good!”

“Oy! Looks like I done caught meself a soon to be dead rat.” A stallion sporting a long scar across his nose gloated to his fellows as Pip gasped for air. With what was possibly his last breath Pip spat out the stiletto toward an overhanging light bulb just above the laughing crowd of now jobless minions.

As luck would have it that same bulb was barely held up by a single string and some wires, the edged missile cut cleanly through the string and one wire and the remaining wire sprinkled down a lightshow of sparks. Just as Pip’s vision began to fade, and he prepared to hear the 'ol fat mare sing his pupils fixated on the image of one of his attackers bucking suddenly as a renegade spark stung his hide. A random kick struck the the arm of the scarred stallion loosening his grip on the chain enough to give Pip a few well appreciated intakes of air.

“Can’t go dieing just yet, now can I?” Catching a second wind Pip gripped the chain with his teeth and pulled back with all he had, the scared stallion was pulled down to the floor with a loud thud, and round two was ready to commence. Casting the chain off himself Pip spat out a glob of blood that had worked it’s way into his throat, and glanced quickly around himself for another weapon. “Beer bottle..no. Bar stool...already did that. Rubber chicken?...Bloody hilarious but probably useless.”

It was around this time that a stray spark from the still overhanging cut wire landed into a puddle of whiskey, and the results were instantaneous.

Everyone in the bar couldn’t help but wince when the bright flames leapt up from the puddle of alcohol, and climbed up the leg of a colt who was currently standing in that exact spot. The burning pony’s cries of anguish quickly changed the hostile tone within the area as suddenly everyone was scrambling like mad toward an exit.

“........That works.” Thanking his good fortune for the sudden, and deadly distraction Pip wasted no time in looking the bar over for his belongings, the fire’s growing proximity to the rest of the bar’s stash of booze hurried his search.

Pip finally found his pack they took from him when he was captured and jumped out a window just as the flames reached the basement distillery.

KA-BOOOOM

The bar was reduced to nothing but a pile of flaming timber and charred remains, and as he watched from a safe distance Pip was overcome with a sudden need for a smoke. After going through his pack for a minute Pip smirked in triumph as he pulled out one of his favorite cigars. Stealing a light from a nearby burning piece of lumber Pip trotted away from the wreckage as he enjoyed a well drawn out puff.


"...And that's how I retrieved the idol of Tepeyollotl." Pip retold his tale of the last week to Luna who was taken aback with his latest exploits.

How he managed to continue to survive his ordeals with only a few scars to show for it, astounded the lunar princess.

As they cuddled on the hill Luna whispered to Pip. "I wish this didn't have to end."

She knew Pip would grow old and he knew it too. In his research into the matter he found one reference to an ancient artifact crafted by Star Swirl himself mentioned in the chronicles of Sir Clover the Clever. It is said to give immortality to those who find it. Any clues to this artifact as lost with Star Swirl himself.


(One Week Later)

Pip stood in front of the dilapidated rope bridge that marked the entrance to the ancient ruin.

Thanks to some clever digging around and research, Pip figured that the best place to start would be Old Canterlot Castle, located in the heart of the Everfree forest. Knowing that Star Swirl’s death predated Luna’s exile, Pip figured that his grave would not have been moved and was the best place to start.

‘The big question is how do I get into the Catacombs?’ Drawing a map from his saddle bags, Pip unfurled the parchment so he could look over the image displayed. It was an old layout of the ruin, it wasn’t much but it gave him a place to start.

Weaving through the overgrowth as nature was reclaiming the once proud structure, he found the Castle’s temple. With some leverage, he pushed the large stone statue that sealed the catacombs off from the rest palace. As he broke an ancient seal, stale air rushed out from its entrance.

It was almost baffling to Pip how with just a few steps he went from the still shining sun of midday to the now pitch black veil that loomed ominously before the pinto as he stepped within.

“Could really go for some light right about now.” A few stray bones just barely visible in the dark did a great job at foreshadowing what was sure to come, but instead of being intimidated the pinto was struck with a sudden idea. Tearing off a piece of fabric from within his pack Pip wrapped it around the end of a sturdy looking bone and pulled out a match.

Before long the darkness was pierced through thanks to Pip’s makeshift torch, now that he could see the stallion couldn’t help but realize the less than pleasing ways the rest of his senses were being assaulted. A cold breeze chilled Pip to the bone as it exited from deeper within the passageway making a sound akin to the whispers of long dead souls. The ground and walls were nearly ice cold to the touch, and glistened from ripples of water that escaped from of the larger cracks that had formed over the centuries.

Barely ten minutes in Pip nearly tripped over an uneven step, as he chuckled at himself for being less wary than he really should have, his ears perked up at the sound of a sudden click. Instincts kicking in Pip leaped forward just as the lethal sound of metal grinding against stone at a high velocity cut through the silence. From where he laid Pip turned his head to witness a dozen long rusty spears sticking out from the walls, points still as sharp as the day there were made, and cruel, curved bars all along their shafts. “Blimey! Doubt Luna would happy to see me sporting a few holes in my hide next time I see her.”

After picking himself off the cold floor, and dusting himself off Pip continued down the hallway, this time his senses on high alert. Before long Pip found himself facing a large stone door, unidentifiable images carved into it, and a few pony skeletons laying in a heap just between him and the door. ”Poor blokes almost made it too.” Walking past the long departed ponies Pip reached out toward the door, the cold stone sunk into itself, and the entire room echoed with the sound of move stone structures. Mind jumping straight back to the corpses behind him, Pip hugged the stone door as fast as he could. Not even a second later a large bladed pendulum sliced through the air where he once stood, before retracting back into the dark ceiling.

Once he was sure the trap had run it’s course Pip placed both of his hooves on the door, this time being careful to avoid the button he had pressed the first time. Putting all his weight into it, the pinto managed to force the door open, leading him into a large room with a lone coffin made of what looked to be marble sitting in the middle.

The room was for the most part empty, figuring that what he was searching for must have been within the marble coffin sitting before him, Pip bravely strode forward. Oddly enough the coffin didn’t require much effort to pry open, as it’s lid had grooves obviously made for pony hooves. As the lid slid out of place due to Pip’s pushing a cloud of what he hoped to be dust billowed from within causing the adventurer to go into a small coughing fit. Once the fit had finished Pip peered within the coffin, and whistled to himself. “No offense Star Swirl old bean, but it don’t look like you kept that great over the years.”

A pony skeleton lied comfortably in place still draped in what could have been highly expensive robes, though what really caught Pip’s attention was the heavily damaged stone tablet with the only unmarred section held tightly within the dead pony’s arms. With a little prying Pip was able to free what was left of the tablet from it’s past owner’s bony grasp, though the stallion couldn’t make heads or tails of the characters engraved on it, in the dim light.

Remembering an old trick from back in his rookie days Pip dug around in his pack until he found just what he needed, with a small piece of charcoal in one hoof, and a piece of paper in the other Pip quickly set to work. Rubbing the charcoal onto the tablet until it’s entire side was covered in a thin layer, Pip then lightly pressed the paper down onto the tablet. As he worked the stallion was completely oblivious to the fact that his discarded pack had landed on another button that had been sitting on the other side of the coffin.

As Pip turned the paper over to get a good look at the now imprinted message, the walls opposite from where he stood began to crumble. “Well looky here, seems like my luck is finally picking up.” The grin that had begun to set onto the stallion’s face quickly deflated as he couldn’t help but notice the sound of rocks hitting the floor. With an ominous chill going down his spine Pip turned his head just in time to watch the wall crumble away, and an angry gush of water begin to flood the room. “Well buck me running then!”

If Pip had done a bit more research he might have stumbled on the little fact that a very lively river ran just parallel of the castle, apparently feeding into a grand-daddy booby trap. Just goes to show kids, that it’s never too late to jinx yourself.

Stowing everything on hoof into his pack, Pip galloped as fast as he could back into the dark passageway, the water already soaking past his hooves. “Better pick up the pace Pip, immortality won’t do ya any good if you’re already dead!” Heart beating erratically, the stallion continued his stomp down the flooding hall like a bat outta hell, just barely jumping over the spike trap that would’ve surely enjoyed another shot at his flank.

Just as the water began to tickle his underside Pip noticed the entrance to what looked like an old aqueduct, lacking any better options the stallion decided to trust his frantic mind’s hair-brained scheme. Now Pip was less running as he was riding the rushing water as it spat him out into the remains of an ancient bath house. Counting his blessings the pinto high-tailed it out of the old castle as the unending water turned it into a giant waterfall.


Rubbing in hoof he made his way through the forest, back to Ponyville and via train he would make to Canterlot to study the tablet markings. Of course it is written in ancient Ponyscript.


(Three Sleepless Night Later)

A long life of narrowly escaping death, trading blows with vicious foes, and learning of some of the worlds greatest secrets should have been a boon to Pip’s current research. But all of that, a room full of literature dedicated to Equestrian myths, and five pots of the blackest coffee the stallion could find had done little to make sense of the markings left on the paper before him.

Pip’s usual clean, well lit, organized, fair smelling study looked like it was hit with a frat boy tornado, and underneath a pile of maps and wadded up paper the stallion grumbled angrily. The image he had gained from the tablet was a sure fire clue, but for the life of him Pip couldn’t figure out what the clue meant. Pip turned his sleep deprived eyes to the dozen of left open books that seemed intent on burying what had been a well kept desk, then groaned as he took in the sight of the little piece of paper that had stopped him better than any weapon wielding hired hoof.

“For the love of the celestial bodies, what am I not getting?!” Rising to his full height, and shaking off the pile of maps, and papers that had covered him Pip prowled toward his newest clue and glared daggers at it. “Not one single book can tell me about this damn tablet or the symbol.” The truly irritating thing about the cursed symbol was that for some reason Pip found it highly familiar, like something he would see everyday, or from a really strong memory. Rubbing a hoof against the five o'clock shadow he had developed during his long period of self induced isolation, Pip focusing his thinking power on why the symbol looked so recognizable.

During his musings Pip began to unconsciously pace around the trashed room, his mind oblivious to the knocked over books, and dirty coffee cups that his hooves would kick, and step on top of. It would just so happen that after a sharp pivot Pip’s left hoof would trip over an exceptionally large novel titled ‘Iron Will’s guide to Beating Some Sense Into The Thick-Headed.’ snapped out of his thoughts Pip attempted to catch himself, but instead of touching down on the solid floor his hoof came down on a novelty mug he had bought when the weather had started to cool down. With hardly enough time to yell in surprise Pip found himself colliding with the oak bookshelf his father had passed down to him, after the initial *Thud* a book fell from the highest shelf, and knocked out the already dazed stallion.

When Pip finally came back to the waking world his eyes narrowed at the resilient mug that had taken him down with such little effort, imprinted on it’s side in red lettering ‘Falling for this coffee.’ Never before had the stallion been filled with such an intense dislike for cups with season jokes, and just as he stood up to hurl the offender into a wall Pip noticed the book that had finished him off.

“Daring Do and the Leviathan's Laurel.”

Staring at the pegasus doing cool stuff on the cover like a baws, reminded Pip of his foal days back when reading Daring Do novels was considered cool thanks to a certain rainbow maned pegasus declaring it so. When he was young Pip enjoyed immersing himself in the dangerous adventures that the fictional mare had gotten into countless, in fact now that he thought of it this was his favorite out of the entire series. As the nostalgia started to set in Pip looked over the well aged novel, taking note of the hero, the deadly environment, the edge of the temple that sported an oddly familiar symbol...waaahht?!

“...I-it couldn’t be..” As much as he didn’t want to believe what was sitting right in front of his eyes, there was no arguing with the fact that the very same symbol that he had spent three sleepless, forsaken nights trying to decipher was casually placed on one of his favorite stories as a foal. This would make for the perfect reason for any stallion to go on a growling tangent that would involve smashing some furniture, a dozen swears, and maybe challenging the loud neighbor next door to a kumite, but instead Pip chuckled manically to himself and decided to catch up on some sorely missed sleep.

A day later the pinto was shaved, fed, and after enjoying a well deserved smoke, diligently looking up everything that he could find regarding the writer to the Daring Do series. Intriguing enough the writer had used an alias, and after searching through a few old newspapers, and questioning the right ponies Pip had himself a location. Whoever this writer was it lived in lower Manehattan, and seemed to have gone through great lengths to keep his/her name and address a secret, Pip had learned that the hard way when he was forced to part with a good amount of bits to get a publisher to give him the answers he wanted.


After a train ride, stopping by a pub for a quick drink, and a little wandering around Pip finally reached the address he had scrawled onto a note card that he ‘borrowed’ from the gray maned publisher back in Canterlot. Truth be told he was expecting different from what loomed before him, with more than a couple of windows boarded up, a roof that looked on the verge of caving in, and a less than friendly metal door with complimentary yellow tape stating ‘Do Not Enter’ the apartment building didn’t scream “The author of a highly popular book lives here”.

“Nothing ventured nothing gained right?” And with that Pip approached the derelict door, raised his right hoof, and knocked as gently as he could. *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Pip’s ears flattened against his skull as he was caught off guard by the booming noise his hooves had made, he honestly had tried to be gentle. Before he could ponder the matter further the sound of multiple latches being unset caught Pip’s attention as well as the metal door opening just enough for an old set of amber eyes to glare at the startled pinto.

“Who the hell are you, and what do you want?”

“Are you by any chance...Close Call?”

The aged amber orbs twitched for a slight moment, then narrowed even more in Pip’s direction as if suspicious of something. “Who wants to know?”

“Pip, and I think you might able to help me with a problem of mine.”

“Let me tell ya a little secret kid. We all got problems, now get lost.” With that the old stallion made to shut the door close, but a sudden resistance foiled his efforts. It didn’t take much effort on the aged earth ponies part to figure out what had prevented him from closing his door, sure enough his amber eyes took in the sight of a stallion staring at him a determined sheen in his eyes. With an annoyed sigh the recluse glared at the persistent disturber of his peace, and tried to remember where he had placed his bat. “You’re not gonna make this easy, are ya sonny?”

“Not by a long shock sir. I’m not looking for trouble here, but I couldn’t help noticing that a symbol that appears on one of your great novels looks similar to something I’ve been looking for.” Even with his hoof still pressed on the cold door to keep it open, Pip tried his best to not appear threatening. “Will you at least hear me out Mr. Close Call?”

“.....You have my good ear until I either find my beating stick, or call the authorities.”

Nearly half of his life spent thumping oversized goons, escaping traps, and Pip found himself at the mercy of a crotchety old stallion. Still at least he had a chance, and surely once his reasons were explained he’d get the answers he was looking for. “Alright I’ll be completely honest with you, I’m looking for an artifact that can possibly help me live forever and I could really use that.”

“Sounds like a personal problem slugger, try eating your veggies and staying away from cigarettes.” The pony dubbed Close Call nearly growled out his response, and Pip could swear that he could see the earth pony reaching for something within the dark building.

“Cmon old timer you gotta help me out here, I’ve spent so much time looking for this. If I give up now everything I’ve to this point will have been for nothing, please don’t leave me hanging here.” Seeing that the old colt was unmoved by his words Pip realized that he was gonna have to swallow some pride, with a deep sigh the pinto hung his head low. “.....Ok then gramps...name your price, I’m on my knees here so just tell me what this is going to take.

“Somethings aren’t for sale youngun. Now stand up, a grown stallion should be more self respectin than that.” At some point Pip’s descent toward full blown groveling had moved the amber eyed elderly, and as much as he distrusted the stranger at his door there was something vaguely familiar that radiated from the now blinking stallion. “Also it’s rude to go on remindin a pony of it’s age, so stop calling me gramps and just call me by my name.”

“And what would that be...sir?” Having risen back to his full height Pip watched as the stallion fully opened the door, revealing itself to be an earth pony much like himself. A short trimmed mane of dark brown complimented the old yet still firmly muscled body of the older pony though his slate grey fur still held a healthy sheen. Grunting in reply the stallion who’s head barely reached Pip’s chin turned around and returned to the depths of the building, taking the hint Pip followed quickly after.

“You can call me Dig...Dig Site. And before you go off misinterpreting the situation here sonny, I’m only letting you in because my bones are starting to ache and I watching you sob outside my doorstep is tiring me out.”

Now inside the building Pip was actually surprised to find the interior to be much more welcoming than the outside had been. It wasn’t lavish or anything like that, but Pip couldn’t help but notice that this Dig had good taste. The pinto followed the older stallion down a short hallway, and up a set of stairs that seemed to creak louder with every step, as he quietly followed Pip took note of the various photos that decorated the walls. In all of them Pip could see a much younger looking Dig standing triumphantly atop snowy mountains, posing in front of ancient temples, and more interesting a highly familiar pegasus mare stood right beside the stallion in most of them.

“I-Is that?”

Dig stopped in place at the top of the stairs and fixed his amber eyes on the same photo Pip was staring at, this particular picture had been taken in the far east, Dig and his companion had their arms around one another as they held a shining emerald statue of a long forgotten pony emperor. “I see you recognize my old partner in crime.” For a moment Dig’s eyes glossed over as he remembered that particular adventure in exact detail, the jungle’s stifling heat, the far off cries of distant wildlife, and of course the she smiled whenever they barely survived the predicaments she got them into.

“The adventures of Daring Do....they were real?” Even if he did live in a land where ponies controlled the weather, and raised the sun the idea that the hero to his favorite childhood stories had been an actual breathing pony was staggering to Pip.

“As real as you or me kid, Daring thought writing down our adventures would make for a funny way to remember our younger days.”

“B-But none of the issues ever mentioned any pony besides Daring Do, why wouldn’t you..”

“It’s called covering your tracks knucklehead, if somepony actually knew that these stories were more fact than fiction then I’d have more trouble makers like yourself buggin me every day.” Dig tore his gaze away from the photo to glare at the pinto next to him, then continued up the stairs to the next floor.

“Wait! I still haven’t told you what I need your help with yet.” Nearly tripping over himself Pip bolted up the stairs, reaching the top just as the tip of Dig’s tail escaped into a room to the left. As made his way toward the room to catch up Pip noticed that the number of photos hadn’t decreased in frequency, but most of them lacked the female pegasus, and instead featured an aging earth pony standing alone.

“And I still haven’t told you if I’ll help you either way foal.”

Dig’s reply rang out before Pip had even entered the room the venom in the elder’s voice causing Pip to stumble for a moment. When he peered inside Pip’s eyes took in the sight of a fair sized study no too different from his own, though the furniture was older, and a few familiar treasures sat in the odd place or two. The glow of a lit fireplace cast an odd light around the old stallion as he sat alone before a large black and white portrait, his back turned to Pip.

The portrait was of Dig and Daring Do performing a high-five in front of the very castle that Pip had nearly gotten himself killed inside of just a few days ago. The duo wore matching grins filled with cockiness as they looked prepared to unearth every last secret that the ominous structure held, full of themselves and ready to take on every challenge that came their way.

“That’s where I found the tablet.”

Dig’s head suddenly snapped in Pip’s direction his amber eyes reflecting the fire that crackled and hissed inside of the fireplace. The pinto had to fight the urge to step back, and the urge to facehoof when it dawned upon him that he had spoken out loud, instead of just thinking it.

“.....And now I know why you’re here.”

Despite the very much alive fire that ate into the blocks of wood between the two ponies, Pip felt like the room temperature had plummeted suddenly. He swore inwardly in frustration as he had hoped to get to that point in a much calmer fashion, but it would seem his cards were all on the table now.

“The tablet...it was damaged when I found it, but you found it first didn’t you?”

Dig turned back to the portrait raising his left hoof up toward it as if he was reaching out to somepony. “...We did.”

“Was it broken back then as well?”

“Only after we left.”

“So you’re the ones who broke it then!”

A snort escaped from the old stallion as he lowered his hoof, and brought it close to his face as if to inspect something. “You catch on quick kid.”

“But why?!” Pip was getting more questions than answer as he tried to wrap his mind around everything that was happening. Daring Do had been a real mare, the stories he grew up hearing were actually fact instead of works of fiction, and all his work had been stonewalled by this aged earth pony. “Why did you leave it in there? Why did you just break it and never shared it’s secret with the rest of pony society?”

“Because it was a pointless endeavor you idiot!” Dig’s raised hoof stomped onto the hardwood floor hard enough to cause Pip to jump, and the the whole room to shake for the slightest of moments.

“W-What?!”

“Let me ask you this Pip! What good is finding the secret to eternal life, if you’re dead before you find it?” With every word spoken Dig’s voice raised steadily in volume, and his ears flattened against his skull like an angry beast.

Pip’s mind was racing as it tried to deduct a reasoning for the stallion’s agitation, as well as figure out the cryptic words that were assaulting his ears. If what he had researched was true then the stallion before him shouldn’t have aged past the moment he used the artifact, and if Dig had been the one to damage the fragment then he would have learned the location of the next clue. As his eyes frantically roamed the room looking for something else to focus on besides the pissed off pony in front of him they came to rest on the black and white portrait. With the force of a runaway freighter driven by a muscle-bound minotaur, the truth finally dawned upon Pip with enough force to cause his head to ache.

The photos lacking Daring Do, the bitterness that practically radiated off of Dig, the reason that instead of being cherished as a nationwide hero the mare’s exploits were only spoken of in a work of supposed fiction.

“S-She didn’t make it.....did she Dig?”

It was like the words that escaped the pinto’s mouth had taken a solid form and knocked the air right out of Dig, the fire that roared in the old stallion’s amber orbs snuffed out, and the slate colored pony seemed to have trouble catching his breath. With the fight thoroughly taken out of him Dig turned his gaze back to the still moving flames, for a moment the only sound that was heard was the fireplace’s contained charge.

“No......we had been careless....hadn’t moved as fast as we should have. I’m sure you’re aware of the dangers that our profession carries.”

Of course Pip was aware, he’d lost more tail hairs than he could count to blades that slashed from out of nowhere, been branded with numerous scars from traps that had come oh so close to ending his career, but as real as the dangers were Pip couldn’t wrap his mind around an experienced adventurer like Daring Do being done in by simple temple trap. As if reading the pinto’s mind Dig spoke again, interrupting Pip’s thoughts for a moment.

“Did you know that ancient ponies would sometimes cover the tips of their darts with the venom from a apex manticore’s stinger?” Dig turned his head back to the black and white portrait, his gaze focused solely on the pegasus that smiled at him. “Back in their day it was considered an absolute death sentence to just nick yourself with a molecule of the stuff, an excruciating end that wracked the body with pain for a handful of hours. Can you imagine having come so close just to fall victim of some ridiculous sticks and stone trap?”

“But the artifact is supposed to not only cure the user of the ravages of age, but also toxins and disease. Why wasn’t it able to cure Daring Do when you used it?”

“Because the tablet only gives you part of the answer Pip. All it does is point you in the direction of the next clue, and hint toward the most important component needed. A component that me and Daring would never be able to find in just a few hours.....she came to terms with the situation much faster than I.” A lucid memory overtook Dig as he remembered the tears that stung his eyes while he sat in silence next to his beloved wife. It had been so unfair that a mare as extraordinary as her would leave their realm within the stifling darkness of the tombs depths, that had been so close.

She had been so understanding at that moment, even as Dig wept and raged, the pegasus just held him close to her and told him that everything would be fine. They had planned to use the relic to make them immortal so they could live long enough to find every lost treasure, brave every forgotten crypt, and now only one of them would probably see the light of day again. Daring had given Dig permission to finish this adventure even if she wasn’t going to be able to enjoy the reward alongside him, but as he watched her slowly breathe her last breaths Dig couldn’t imagine a more horrible fate than to walk the world without her beside him. With a grief filled heart Dig Site smashed the tablet, and left the tomb as they had found it the only thing he wanted now was for his wife to leave this accursed place alongside him dead weight or not.

“You didn’t want to go on without her did you Dig?” The tall stallion nearly startled himself when his own words pierced the veil of silence that had set in after a faraway look had crossed Dig’s face.

“No...I loved her too much to ever want to step into another temple, burial site, or exotic land. Instead I looked to our journals, and decided that if she couldn’t live forever with me, then she could maybe live forever in our adventures.” Now Dig’s gaze was focused back on Pip, though his expression was unreadable to the pinto. “So then Pip, what is your reason for trying to track down this treasure?”

Finally a question that Pip could actually answer, despite the many revelations that had brought to Pip’s attention, the image of a smiling alicorn gave the pinto all the conviction that he needed. With a dry chuckle Pip looked Dig right in the eye, and a sad smile crossed his young face. “I guess you and I aren’t so different Dig, everything that I’ve done, each step I take toward finding this artifact is for the mare that I love.”

Dig’s expression softened as he stared back at the smirking stallion, for some reason the old adventurer could sense something familiar within the way his guest held his gaze. “Is that so?”

“Yea....the eternal princess of the night herself.” Seeing the vexed look that appeared on Dig’s face caused Pip to laugh even more so. “It’s hard for me to believe too, I’m a down right bastard, a grave robber, and sometimes I cheat at poker, but she sees something in me and I can’t help but love her for that. So then will you help a good for nothing stallion do the one thing that could make his mare eternally happy, and tell me what that component is?”

Casting another glance to the portrait Dig silently wondered what Daring would think of this. The smile on the black and white pegasus’s face was all the old stallion needed before he turned toward the lovestruck stallion across the room. “Fine...what you need is a dragon of a unique nature.”

“Unique how?”

“You need a dragon that rebels against the tendencies of it’s own race.”

As Pip stood there motionless, only one name came to surface within his mind’s sea of thoughts. “Spike.”


Next Chapter: Way of the Dragon

This story was co-written by GiantMako

Songs:
If you leave now by Chicago
Black Betty by Ram Jam