Forgotten

After letting each other go, the three friends smiled, grateful for their place in the world. Even though that particular world had gone completely out of tune with everything they had ever known, they were still happy to be there. None of them were alone anymore. Somepony had turned up who either remembered them or actually wanted to be around them. It was rather refreshing, to say the least. Their lives were crashing down around their ears, but the small glimmer of hope that lay in each one of them was exacerbated by the powerful bond they now shared.

"Alright," Twilight said, trying to rid herself of the final remnants of the blush that had painted her cheeks while hugging Flame Mane, "it's time to get Starlight out of here. Flame, let's begin phase two of the plan."

"What was phase one?" Starlight asked curiously.

"Getting in," Twilight explained, "and phase two is getting out."

"And just how are you gonna go about doing that?" Her friend questioned, "there are guards everywhere, and nopony can get out!"

"It's the Ponyville Prison," Twilight said, "I've imprisoned many a villainous character here in my time, and I know it like the back of my hoof. Plus, the guards still think we're members of Sombra's elite corps of soldiers. All we have to do is escort you out, claim we're taking you on a prisoner transfer to Alcatrots, and we'll be in the clear!"

"You say that with incredible confidence," Starlight said, "but…how do you know it'll work?"

"I don't," Twilight said, "but it's the only plan I've got, and I'd do anything to save my friends. If I die trying, so be it."

Starlight gasped as rapid visions of Twilight's blood stained corpse flashed before her eyes. Her mind whirled as she imagined her best friend being slashed to pieces by sharp horns or being torn limb from limb by angry teeth. She saw bits of purple coat being thrown left and right. Her mouth opened and she fell to her stomach and wept openly.

Twilight immediately bent down and gathered the scared pony into a comforting embrace. "It's all okay, Starlight," she said urgently, "but my Celestia, what the heck was that?!"

"I…saw you die," she said, "I saw them kill you."

"It's just nerves," Twilight said, "everything's gonna be alright, you'll see. Now, we have to go."

She got Starlight back to her hooves and dusted the weak pony's chest off. Then, she and Flame took their positions behind her and acted as if they were forcing her to leave. Starlight played along rather brilliantly, moaning and grunting as if in severe pain. Sadly, it was only a partial performance, as she hadn't had a bite of food in some time.

They walked out past the guards, who accepted Twilight's gruff explanation. None of them moved a muscle as she and Flame guided Starlight out of the dark chasm of the prison and into the light of the reception area. The purple princess hoped against hope that they could break Starlight out right under the noses of her captors. We're so close… Twilight told herself, almost there.

But then the door broke down and Sombra's actual elites entered the room. Oh, buck it all! Twilight cursed to herself before turning to the side and trying to act as nonchalant as possible. Flame followed suit, and Starlight continued her groaning. One of the elite ponies looked down at the two pretenders and nodded gruffly. He whispered to his fellow pony, and suddenly, they lunged at Twilight.

She managed to buck them off before fleeing from the prison building with Flame hot on her heels. Even Starlight, weak as she was, managed to keep up with them. She didn't want to go back in that hole and, if they had come to take her to Alcatrots, she certainly didn't want to go with them. Alcatrots would've been worse. It was on an island in the middle of the Celestial Sea, and the ponies who went there never returned.

The elite soldiers were fast approaching, when Twilight suddenly turned and ducked into a certain store. Flame and Starlight followed her, and they hid in the shadow of the store's doorway. They heard the soldiers stop and look around. "They must be around here somewhere!" One of them shouted.

"The boss is gonna have our tails when he finds out she escaped!" The other responded.

"He's not gonna have the opportunity," the first one retorted, "because we're gonna find them, and when we do, we're gonna kill that purple one and the dull colored one! Then we'll take the escapee to Sombra himself, and he'll have the pleasure of running her through! Now, let's get them!"

The three wanted ponies quivered in the shadow as they waited for fate to make its decision. The soldiers maneuvered their way around every shop and checked every nook and cranny, every crack and crevice. Oh, please, Celestia, Twilight silently pleaded, don't let them find us.

Then, their worst fears became reality. The first soldier walked into their hiding spot. They quickly ducked into a smaller place, trying to make it more difficult to be found. But their chosen spot was quickly discovered to be too small, and they had to try somewhere else. "Ah-ha!" The guard suddenly said, "I see you!"

He took aim and fired with his magic, but Twilight quickly blocked it. "Everypony behind me, now!" She ordered, and the other two gladly obeyed. Twilight quickly removed the invisibility spell from her wings and spread them menacingly. She summoned every ounce of magic in her arsenal and fired a huge blast of her own. It struck the guard in the shoulder, and he screamed in agony.

"You witch!" He yelled at Twilight before charging her. She grimaced as she realized she was going to have to kill him to keep the other two safe. So she planted her hooves and pointed her horn right at his heart. He yelled as he leapt towards her, but then he realized he was running right into a buzzsaw of sorts. The death was instantaneous, and his blood splattered the room.

"What the hay is going on here?!" An angry voice suddenly asked. Twilight and Starlight turned and gasped as they recognized the new pony. She was pink, and her cutie mark of balloons looked familiar. But what wasn't familiar was the unfriendly scowl. It was Pinkie Pie.