The king of beasts

Canterlot Castle, Northern wing

Tirek's Pov

Pressed up against the wall I slowly as my sickly form could mange inch forward while both Sombra and the creature Bazz brought up the rear despite being heavier armored Bazz moved silently with eases far much for what I could say about Sombra. Out of all three of us my follow Knight of Midnight Soul made the most unwanted noise but that couldn't help for a pony standards he moved ghostly silent but to my ears an Diamond Dog in a bathhouse would be more quite than he. Leaving my companions behind I scouted ahead before stooping far before at the corridor to the location of the Aegis cells. Instantly I frown at what I see.

''Tirek'' whispered Sombra in my ear from behind me ''what dose your Centaurian eye see''

'' Twenty heavy Solar Sentinels with halberds with two sword Lunar Knights '' I said while my frown deepens ''all surrounding the door to cell A1-001 and by the looks of the armor it's enchanted to withstand attack spells Sombra your out match here your offensive spells are useless against such armor ''

''Shit so that's where the elites were, they were waiting for us'' growled Bazz his feline tail twitching madly  '' They allowed the lower guard classes to be slaughter at the gates while the gatekeeper begged for reinforcements.''

'' No matter if my magic is useless here I still have my crystal construct blades.......Tirek can your arrows piece their armor at this distance?'' said my partner

''Easily '' I said with a smirk drawing three arrows from my quiver unlike other arrows Centaurian arrows are made out of dragonbone and coldsteel tips perfectly designed to punch though enchanted armors perhaps too heavy to be effected arrows but when combine with Kelpie-wood bow even dragons would be wary, ''Bazz do you know how to use that sword?''

''This isn't the first time I had to fight with a blade'' growled Bazz, his voice unknowingly sounding his distrust for us, I don't blame him really,  anybody in his place would distrust everything he or she sees no thanks to Celestia.

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''Good'' I said smirk jumping out from my hiding place with bow drawn back with the Centaurian arrows instantly loosing the said arrows. Like Lighting the arrows cut though the air pining the two now dead Lunar knights to the wall but as for the last remaining arrow it buried itself deeply into one of the Sentinels's chests painting his follow ponies red with blood. Before the remaining nineteen ponies could react my arrows cut down four more robbing them of their lives as both Sombra and Bazz charged into their broken formations, working together the three of us easily overwhelm the surprised ponies........so these are Celestia's elites of this era..... what an joke, a thousand years ago Celestia's Sentinels were some of the most feared warriors in the world but now if this any sign only their numbers still make them a threat without numbers theses so call Solar Sentinels are nothing but target practice. Soon the last sentinel felled to our combined might clearing the gates to Nightmare's cell yet no alarm is going, everything is quite. What kind of trap you set for us Celestia?

Sombra's horn crackled with advanced  magic while Bazz gauntlets grown five-finger metal claws they both clearly sense Celestia's trap but what kind of trap did she set at Nightmare's doors? Drawing more of my people's arrows I creep up to the others with eyes checking for anywhere the trap could come from which proves to be difficult the corridor was long and rarely split off between the six Aegis cells.

''Sombra that was too easy if what you said was true then we should of saw more of the elites or rather the real elites '' Bazz whispers for once dropping the growl.

Sombra's cut his eyes at the doors '' if Celestia had set a trap here for us then it wouldn't be in this corridor it's too predictable even for her.....here the elites are either in inside the cells waiting for us to drop our guard or they want us to break Nightmare out before springing the trap ''

I sounded my agreement with my partners words, the corridor if by design would be a bad area for a trap and it would be too predictable but as Bazz said where are the real Sentinels? There have too be a trap but where? where is the trap?

''is it possible that there are two traps Sombra?'' asked Bazz oddly since I met him his words made sense we wouldn't expect the possibility of a two traps '' One here in the cells, one during the evac.''

'' I didn't even thought of that possibility, good eye Bazz'' said Sombra giving the creature a warm smile '' Tirek you know what to do we'll watch your back''

Why that doesn't make me feel any safer.

Cell A1-001

Nightmare's pov

As I hung off of the roof with my eyes close, I mediated slowing my breathing ignoring the elite Guard's lecherous grazes, Solar Sentinels Celestia's secret police once an group of Unicorn nobles that was King Discord's closest friends and advisers before Celestia corrupted them with power.'' The Alliance is coming for me it's only a matter of time, Father and the knights will make sure of it'' I focus on that though using to keep my spirits up as my mind played memories of my dear friends Sombra; Chrysalis; Tirek; Grogar; Rayth; Sage...... at those memories I felt my heart lurch Sage, Rayth and Grogar were executed by Celestia's orders after she annihilated The Crystal Empire and The Midnight Kingdom framing Sombra as the Tyrant of the North. The Knights never ask for the fate Faust gifted them with if I could I would change history for the better ensuring Celestia never rose to power I could of ensure that she never destroyed our Father like she did......but unfortunately such spells don't exist magic may be powerful but the past is unchangeable.

Despite my deep mediation I could hear the elites talking amongst themselves.......the words they speak is sickening, they spoke of what Celestia had planned for me and any who attempt to free me such dark things left their lips, things so dark that ponies had never dare to dream of before. All from the twisted mind of one mare........my older sister Celestia, her lust for power and the throne destroyed all notions of family and it all start a thousand years ago at mother's deathbed.

Flashback

I buried my muzzle into the bluegreen mane of an dying alabaster mare her agonized wheezing filled the air as Father held her hoof in his mismatch paw/claws with tears running down his goat-dragon face if I had remove my muzzle from mother's mane I would of seen the broken look Father Discord held but that could also mean I would had seen Celestia's stern face and her cold yet happy eyes staring down on mother.......she and mother never gotten along sometimes it seemed that they hated each other yet even on this day Celestia shows no compassion for the dying mare.

''D-Discord'' mother weakly wheezes her white coat growing paler by the second

'' (sob).......Yes Acionna my love'' Father says with a broken voice, I could feel his serpent's tail embracing me attempting to comfort me but it only causes me to weep with him I knew even my young age that mother was dying.......Father never lies to his girls, ''is there anything you need?''

'' P-p-promise me that........Celestia will never......succeed the.............throne...........her heart isn't pure........Nightmare-Nightmare is heir apparent now.........''

end flashback

As the memory of that day fades from my mind's eye, I hear the elites five in all, armor jingle as they move into positions along the darken walls of the cell as the cell doors slowly creep open revealing three long shadows in the light of the outside world. I shivered in the warm light it's heat warmed my icy cold form as it almost blinded me with it's light. Yet despite my blindness, my eyes ripped themselves open when I heard an voice calling my name........an voice I thought I would never hear again

" Nighty!!!!''

it was Bazz's voice......

Ponyville Ruins

Celestia's pov

Gathering holy solar magic into my horn while spreading my white wings, I flew to my fellow Alicorns side joining them with they struggles against the Bug Queen, for being Alicorn minors Luna and Twilight were doing rather well against an cursed Alicorn Major but that is only because much of Chrysalis's Alicorn powers were drained from her ages ago if not then the two minors would never stand a chance against the bug queen. But they should be destroying her in her cursed state the minors should easily kill her yet at the same time their failure to defeat Chrysalis spoke that they could never defeat me if they ever turn on me like so many others over the years. During my flight I glance down at dueling ground forces basic Royal Guards, Solar Sentinels; Lunar Knights and the newly formed Twilight Sages fighting Rebel Changeling Brutes, Spellbinders and Razorhoofs throughout the ruined Ponyville streets. The screams of the fleeing Ponyville citizens was heard as my Sentinels slaughtering any changeling that gotten close to them while the new Sages traded spells after spell with the changeling spellbinders Luna's knights with war hammers bashed Brutes and Razorhoods to the side allowing the weaker Royal Guards to spear the bugs to death and holding front lines. I felt shivers of pleasure rock my body at the sight of my bloody justice soon Chrysalis will die then with her death the Alliance will fall everything will be as it should. I have my rightful kingdom, the world will bow to me and now I have an powerful male on hoof that will give me the means to breed an whole new race of Alicorns in my own image, our children will be the destruction of the old foolish Alicornian race, they will be the rightful masters of the world and there's nothing to stop me after making it so......not the Alliance not even Discord.

''Sister!'' called Luna as I hovered next to the midnight blue Alicorn, an smile on her muzzle '' the battle is going well.''

''Yes it is Luna'' I said with an nod ''but as long Chrysalis stands so do the Changelings.''

'' you have a point Princess Celestia'' piped Twilight using Telekinesis to bat Changelings away sending them flying far from the village, an good tactic but very harmless in nature it seems that Twilight is no warrior or the taste for war........just as I trained her to be......she'll wont be able to bring herself to harm anything even an emery  '' unless we defeat Chrysalis the changelings will just keep on coming.''

''Do not worry my faithful student'' I said with my trademark motherly look ''I have a plan..........listen closely''

Cell A1-001

Bazz's pov

I watched as Tirek open his mouth inhaling the magic on the cell door draining it of the protective spells that kept it closed to all but Celestia, closing my eyes I recalled all I ''thought'' I knew of my pony lover all the sweet words she whispered into my ears......her loving touch on my body yet I could not ignore what Gliger and my companions had claimed of the white Alicorn no they didn't exactly said what was on their mind outside of promises to tell me when get Nighty to an safe place but from what they told me though body language and her plans with Nightmare told me that the mare that I knew wasn't the real Celestia. My eyes shoot open at the thought as memories of Celestia wearing Fluttershy's form raced in my mind with an question does she even love me? or was it another trick? my mind yelled at me just how easily and more importantly how quickly I  felled in love with her....... was that even real? or was it the work of some spell.

'' Bazz now isn't the time to think on such things.......Focus on the mission'' growled Gliger almost startling me......almost

'' You took your fucking time'' I snap '' where you fucking were when all this shit started going down''

'' As I said Cray Focus on the mission it doesn't matters where I was......''

''Gliger?'' I asked in concern for the lion spirit and best friend

''Cray..........just be careful things are about to get even more fuck up''

''Gli- '' I started to say half mentally and loud but the cell door snapping open interrupted me. The cell room was pitch black even with the hall's light it couldn't illuminate the room but a silver of light cutting into the darkness's gloom but was just enough to light the form of an very familiar unwashed black Alicorn hanging from the ceiling by her forelocks.

'' Nightmare '' I said in a hushed and shocked whisper, purple bruises and uncleaned angry cuts covered her barrel while clearly broken wings were tied down showing that her wings took the worse of the beatings, her right hind leg was dislocated completely unable to hold her weight staining her other legs if her left hind leg the one that that holding the most of her weight breaks or dislocated the weight of her body would threaten to nearly rip her fore hoofs out of their sockets.....equine legs were never meant for all that punishment if the ponies were like anything like the equines back home any injury to their legs it was permanent, the bones would never heal. Form what little I could see passed the bruises and cuts her ribs showed though her barrel signaling that they had staved her and her cracked lips showed that she hasn't seen an drop of water in an long time yet...............the question why....why celestia did this to her? how long they left her like this days? weeks? months? Animistic fury burned it's way into my veins at the though of the ponies doing this to her......but the memory of me arresting and beating  Nightmare echoed before my eyes placing all blame on me the one who place her right into Celestia's hooves......it was my fault that Nightmare was imprisoned in the first place, it was because of me that she had suffered. Sadness steals my heart as one single though played it my mind.

I shouldn't never done this to her......I should had never betrayed her, my friend.....my Nighty.

''Nighty!!!!!'' the word escapes my mouth as I ran to her, ignoring the others all that mattered was Nightmare moon.