Brothers In Blood II

The walk to the underground prison was silent. Celestia kept her focus ahead, not looking back at the ponies following her. She pressed a hoof against a door and it glowed. The magic scanned her hoof before disappearing. Celestia took no noticed and pushed the door open, revealing an area of the castle no one knew about.

The floor was completely made of marble, the same marble like in the castle except not well kept. Different floors could be seen, guards patrolling on different floors. Their hooves knocked on the metal platforms.  Guards were not as armored as the royal guards of Canterlot, only some in small pieces of metal armor. The white lights made the otherwise scary prison more inviting. Different prisons lined the walls. Traditional metal bars held normal looking prisoners while some had glass walls with small air holes.

“What is this place?” Rainbow gasped.

“Black gate Prison.” Celestia said under her breath. “It’s a hundred meters under Canterlot, very close to the core of Equestria. I made this magic door so only royalty can go through to the prison.”

“I was wondering why it said ‘Storage Room’.” Applejack commented.

“I contacted one of the guards in the prison of our arrival.” Celestia commented. “Follow –“Celestia paused at the intercoms buzzed to life.

“All hands on deck. Now transferring prisoner #57 to new prison cell.” the sound of stomps echoed down the hall, the clattering of chains making everyone freeze.

A 10ft, scaled beast came around the corner, its neck and arms chained together in shackles. The beast was bipedal, almost identical to Clayton. Its scales were a dark grey and its claws were black like midnight. It wore a dark orange prison suit, the whole top ripped into shreds so it only wore pants. Its mouth was lined with jagged teeth and its eyes were a mixture of orange and red. It paused in the middle of the hall, its nose sniffing the air. It glanced over to the group at the gate and paused at Clayton.

“COG!” the beast roared, causing guards to swarm around the beast to contain it. It tried charging over to Clayton; its jaws opened wide displaying its many rows of teeth. Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rarity hid behind Celestia. Rainbow and Applejack were frozen in fear. . The shackle around its neck beeped, and a bolt of electricity shocked the beast, causing it to roar in pain. It fell to its hands, the smell of burnt flesh not filling the air. Everyone backed away except Clayton. The beast tried snapping its jaws at Clayton only to get pulled back by a group of guards.

“I’ve got your scent COG! I’m going to hunt you down!” the collar buzzed to life and shocked the beast again. “A toy collar won’t stop me from killing you, COG. I’m going to rip you apart, eat your bones.” The beast was escorted away, to everyone’s relief. They didn’t relax when the beast started to repeatedly say ‘tick tock’. Its demonic voice faded away, causing everyone to breathe outwards.

“You never said you had a Locust here…” Clayton mumbled.

“THAT’S a Locust?” Rainbow exclaimed. “You’ve been fighting those on your planet?” Clayton nodded.

“At least now we can put it under ‘alien creature.’” Celestia smiled. “You have no idea how many exploration ponies we sent out around Equestria to see if there’s any other creature like that.”

“Doesn’t matter, we have other things to worry about.” Clayton mumbled.

“Right,” Celestia agreed. “Follow me.”

CHAPTER VIII: PHANTASM

“I’m surprised you’ve kept him alive all these years…” Clayton grunted. “Even after everything he’s done.”

“I know you’re not happy with it Clayton,” Celestia sighed. “But it’s a good thing I did.” Clayton scoffed.

Two unicorn guards nodded at the arrival of the group and parted from each other, revealing the door they were guarding. They glanced at Clayton, and then bowed to Celestia. A guard escorted the group of mares to a room next to the interrogation room. He explained how there was a one way mirror in the room, and the mares can watch the interrogation from there without taking part.

Celestia and Clayton stood in front of the interrogation room. Celestia nodded and the guard opened the door. They were met by a large, white room with a metal table. The mirror on the right wall indicated the one way mirror the guard was speaking about. Two chairs were set on one side of the table. The guards entered the room and closed the door. They stood at the door and watched. On the other side was a black stallion, his mane dirty and unkempt. His front hooves were chained to the table, to his demise. A small grey beard grew from his chin, indicating how long the stallion’s been in this prison. He wore the traditional orange jumpsuit. On his chest were his prison number and his name.

“King Sombra.” Clayton said coldly. A small, toothy grin formed on the fallen king’s face as he looked up. His hair parted from his face to reveal the broken horn on his forehead.

“Gotta give the boy points! He came all the way back from his planet to make this shindig happen!” Sombra glanced at Clayton, then back at Celestia. “Who’s got a camera? Ooh! Ooh! Take one of me and the kid first! Then you and me, then the three of us! And then one at the graveyard! Then-“ Clayton lunged forward, grabbing Sombra by the collar. Sombra looked at Clayton then smiled.

“You going to do it this time?” he whispered. “After you couldn’t due to that bitch holding you back? Are you actually going to pull it off?”

“Clayton.” Celestia assured. He looked back at Celestia before glaring back at Sombra. With a sigh, Clayton dropped him to the floor. He backed away and stood next to Celestia. “Thank you. If you think we’re here to kill you Sombra, we’re not. We just want some answers.” Sombra coughed, rubbing his throat.

“I hear you.” He got back up on his chair and gazed at the monarch. “You look good. Been working out? You could probably use a little more sun. Then again, who am I to talk?” Sombra laughed manically, his razor sharp teeth shining in the white light. Clayton slammed a fist on the metal table, leaving a noticeable dent.

“We’re not here for your games Sombra.” Clayton growled. “We came for answers.”

“Well to get answers, one must ask a question.” Sombra glanced over to Clayton and sighed. “Oh Clayton, you’re so much less fun now. All toughened up and in you serious pants. Still, better off than his brother right? Even tougher making with the yuks when you’re worm food, huh?” Celestia placed a hoof on Clayton’s shoulder to restrain him. This made Sombra smile.

“Sombra’s different isn’t he?” Rainbow commented, watching the interrogation.

“He’s been like that since he arrived.” One of the guards commented. “When you think you have power to enthrone a god, the thought of being defeated by a mortal can turn anyone mad.”

“Doesn’t matter now,” Another guard commented. “After this, we’re sending old’ Sombra here to Goatham. They can deal with him there.” Everyone flinched as Sombra slammed against the mirror, making a soft crack.

“WHERE IS HE?” Clayton yelled. “Damn it Sombra WHERE IS HE?”

Sombra was throne to another wall. His chains that were latched to the table were long broken, the debris scattered on the floor. He groaned in pain as Clayton picked him back up. He took off his helmet a while ago, revealing the anger in his eyes. Sombra smiled. Celestia pushed them both away from each other. She looked at Clayton, then at Sombra.

“We’re not here for violence Clayton!” Celestia yelled. She grunted as she used her magic to restrain him.

“Yes Clayton, listen to your mother. It’s not good to disrespect your parents.”

“You shut your damn mouth!” Clayton roared. The two guards now added their own magic into the mix, restraining Clayton in magical chains. They waited for Clayton to calm down before releasing the chains. Celestia sighed and released her grip. Clayton never left his gaze off of Sombra, who sat back on his chair.

“Now, back to the matter at hoof.” He smiled. “I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

“Discord.” Clayton said flatly. “You were the last one to make contact with him. You know where he is.” This made Sombra’s grin to increase.

“And I thought this was a get together to reminisce the good times we’ve all had together.” Sombra frowned. “But all good things must come to an end.”

“Where is he?” Clayton repeated.

“Honestly, I don’t understand any of you.” Sombra grinned. “I mean, all these things happening in front of you. Clayton’s arrival. Griffins becoming mad. Luna’s turn.”

“How did you-“

“But it amazes me how you miss things that are right in front of you! You just ignore it like it’s a normal day.” Sombra glanced over to Celestia. “But it’s not, is it? So I have no idea where our friend Discord is, but I know you two will find out eventually. Because it’s not like he’s hiding or anything.”

“If he’s not hiding, then where is he?” Clayton growled. He took a step forward only to be stopped by Celestia.

“All things will be answered in time.” Sombra chuckled. “But for now, you better get ready for that council meeting coming up.”

“What meeting?” Celestia asked. As if on cue, the door to the room swung open. Shining Armor walked in, his blue mane soaked in sweat.

“As if we already have bad luck,” Shining armor passed a note to Celestia. “The Griffin King wants to have another meeting. He says that a local village of his was attacked by Luna. That guy gets mad at everything now.” Celestia looked at the note in silence. She glanced at Sombra, who had a large grin painted on his face. She stormed out of the room, not saying a word. Clayton walked over to the table and picked up his helmet.

“This isn’t over Sombra.” Clayton said coldly.

“Of course it’s not.” Sombra sneered. “There’s still more to this story.” Sombra laughed maniacally as Clayton walked off, Shining armor and the mares trailing behind. His laugh echoed down the halls until they reached the exit.

“Did I mention I hate meetings?” Clayton sighed; closing the storage room door after everyone left the prison.

“Twice.” Shining armor chuckled.