Celestia and Luna arrived at a large cavern opening. It could've easily fit twenty dragons, but it was guarded by six royal soldiers. They bowed low as the princesses passed them. Deep inside the cave, stood a massive iron door. Large chains and locks hung from it, clearly designed to keep something in.

The rattle and clang of metal echoed as the chains moved and the locks lifted. The door swung wide slowly, revealing the door to be five meters thick. The other side showed several more locks and chains, advertising the strength the door held.

More guards awaited, spears at their sides, shields on their backs, and swords sheathed. They lined the great hallway, bowing in unison, causing their armor to shuffle and clang. From one side of the hall, a hidden door opened, allowing another guard to enter. However, he was dressed differently than the others. He appeared more distinguished than the rest.

"Your Highnesses." He bowed, removing his helmet, "Commander Iron Blade, at your service. Welcome to Shade Prison."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Commander." Celestia replied, nodding her head.

"Charmed, Commander." Luna said, mimicking her sister, "I do not wish to be rude, however, we have come to see your prisoner."

Iron Blade looked puzzled. He had been in charge of several prisons, keeping watch over hundreds of prisoners in his lifetime. However, this particular prison only held one prisoner. And in the years he had been positioned at Shade Prison, no one had come to visit the unfortunate soul. But, he was in no position the deny the princess' request.

"Er… Um..." He stammered, recollecting his stature, "O-of course. Allow me to escort you."

Placing his helmet on his head once more, Iron Blade turned and started leading the princesses deeper into the prison. The further they walked, the more defences they passed by. Crossbows, triple the amount of guards than at the entrance, large beasts behind bars that were trained to attack only the prisoner, and big cages hanging from the ceiling by chains.

A few moments later, they reached another door. This one, however, was far smaller. But, rather than have chains and locks, the door was enchanted by a spell that can only be opened by a magical key. And the only one who had it was Iron Blade.

The door clanked and whirled as the spell dissolved and the gears inside turned. It opened, revealing a chamber with a cage perfectly placed in the center. The Commander entered first, followed by the princesses.

"Prisoner!" Iron Blade barked, staring sternly at the creature behind the bars, "You have guests."

Celestia and Luna looked at the creature uneasily, uncertain what to say first. The creature didn't appear very responsive at first. But, slowly, it raised its head. A pair of eyes hid behind a curtain of long brown hair that reached the floor, but their gaze drilled into the ponies minds. One eye for each princess, not paying the commander any attention.

"Leave us, Commander." Celestia said, keeping her eyes on the creature, "We wish for some privacy."

The commander's mouth gapped open to object, but a quick glance from Luna was enough to make him leave. As he did, the door closed, but didn't lock and the spell remained inactive. Clearly to allow the princesses to signal when they wished to leave.

"I see you got my message." A low masculine raspy voice said, "Good."

"You were forbidden to have any communication with the outside." Celestia stated sternly, taking a step toward the cage, "How did you send it from here?"

"Rookies are very gullible and easy to manipulate." He said, unfolding his body and standing, "But, I didn't send my mark to talk about that. I sent it because I have something important to tell you. Both of you."

From head to toe, he was slightly taller than Celestia. His body was muscular and well toned, his hair still touched the floor as well as his facial hair. His only article of clothing was a worn and blood stained piece of cloth that was wrapped around his waist, revealing the rest of his body bare, scarred, and dirty.

"You have been here for over a thousand years, traitor!" Luna snapped, "It is because of you, the Crystal Empire was erased from existence. And my sister and I nearly with it."

"My intentions that day weren't to destroy the empire." He replied, turning his full attention to her, "I was in the shadow realm to destroy the blood crystal that gave Sombra his power. When I shattered it, everything connected to him faded. How was I to know that a whole civilization would be erased and you nearly with it? And, if I remember correctly, you weren't the greatest at controlling the darkness in your youth, Princess Of The Night. Or, should I call you Nightmare Moon?"

"How dare you! I should kill you here and now!"

Luna ignited her horn furiously, only to be quickly stopped by her sister.

"Enough." Celestia commanded, raising her hoof to signal her sister, "What's so important that you wished to speak with us?"

"I have had a vision." He said, standing tall, "The Father Of Monsters has returned."

"That's impossible. Grogar is nothing more than legend. Just a story that is told to make foals behave. And, even if he was real, Gusty The Great destroyed his bell, extinguishing his powers and defeating him."

"You must believe me, Princess. He lives."

Celestia's eyebrows curled, as well as Luna's.

"Why should we believe a word you say?" Luna snorted, stamping a hoof, "You have no proof of this. And, given our past together, you are not trustworthy by our standards."

"I didn't say to 'trust' me. I said 'believe' me. And you should because I'm the only one who has witnessed his evil. I have seen what he plans to do and it involves certain individuals you know well. Your successors I believe."

Celestia's composure cracked slightly and he saw that.

"You lie!" She seethed, taking a step back, "There's no possible way either you or him know about Twilight Sparkle and her friends. You have never seen them, nor will you ever."

"It's not me you need to worry about. He's already out there, planning and preparing to overthrow her, them, you, and anyone who stands in his way. He'll sweep through Equestria like a plague, leaving a trail of blood and fire in his wake. Your kingdom will be nothing but ash and dust. Your allies will abandon you and flee to save themselves. And everyone you ever care about will either die or be enslaved through fear."

"ENOUGH!!! YOU JUST STOP FUCKING TALKING, RIGHT NOW!!!"

Now Celestia was furious and Luna was shocked. Never had she heard her sister curse. And it made her feel uneasy in her presence.

"Alright, I have heard enough." Luna said, stepping toward the door only to be stopped once more by her sister.

"Why are you tormenting me, Matthew?" Celestia asked, feeling her eyes well up, "Why do you use cruel words against us?"

"It isn't torment, Princess." Matthew said in a softer tone, "I'm only telling the truth as I see it. It's my curse, as well as my immortality. That was my choice. As it is my choice to leave this prison if I wish. And yours to believe my warning."

Celestia narrowed her eyes at him and drew closer to the bars.

"I don't believe you." She said softly, "And you will serve your two thousand year sentence here fully."

"We shall see." Matthew replied, dragging his hand over a sharp part of his cage and looking at it, "I have warrior's blood in my veins. What about you?"

"That doesn't matter and this visit is over. Sister, we're leaving."

"Wait."

The sisters watched as Matthew tore a piece off his loin cloth and press his bloody hand against it.

"Take this as a reminder of me." He said, holding it out to them, "It's unlikely we'll see each other again for a very long time."

"Good." Luna said, knocking on the door, "We wish to leave and forget you ever existed."

With that, the door opened and the princesses left Matthew alone once more with a bloody rag.

"Farewell." Matthew whispered to himself, "And, I'm sorry for what I am."

Two weeks later, Celestia and Luna were speaking with some delegates from Saddle Arabia when a letter arrived.

"Who's it from?" Celestia asked, taking the envelope from her secretary.

"I'm not sure, your Highness." The mare replied, "There's no name attached to it. Just a stamp."

"Oh, well, thank you."

Celestia opened it and her blood ran cold upon seeing what was inside. Luna saw her sister's behavior change and it made her feel uncomfortable.

"Princess!" A guard called urgently, "Shade Prison has had an escape. Ten guards have been killed and several more seriously injured, including Commander Iron Blade. No one is sure what happened or where the prisoner has gone."

Celestia barely heard the guards words as she took out a bloody rag wrapped around a black key. On one side of the rag, a message was written in blood that read;

"I warned you, now choose your next action wisely. And be sure to remind Iron Blade to never get too close to a master of martial arts and shadow.

-M

Author's Note

Hey, everyone.

This was just a one-shot that just randomly got into my head. So, I figured I give it a try.