The Invasion

We finally reached Twilight’s cell, only to find that she wasn’t there. We suddenly remembered that she’d been taken outside to be tortured. There were far too many escaped mares with us to hide anywhere small, so we came up with a plan. The window next to us led over the wall and out into the forest. So, Breeze and I began hoisting mares out just as quickly as we could. We formed a living ladder, and the mares would climb on our shoulders as we made ourselves useful. Just knowing that they were leaving this terrible place made me feel warm and happy. They’d finally be able to go home and get the medical care and attention they so urgently needed.

One mare, her mane matted and torn and with huge holes in her fur, stepped up to me. She had very pretty amber eyes, and I could imagine what she once looked like. But now, her ribs showed as her emaciation became apparent. She was so weak that she could barely stand up, and she gave me a pleading look. I could tell how desperate she was to escape. I wanted to tell her that everything would be okay, but I didn’t wish to be dishonest. After all, nopony could see into the future, and nopony had any kind of premonitory power. So, I nodded at her and invited her closer.

“Family?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yes…a…a husband and two beautiful fillies. I…I’ve missed them so much…and I’m so hungry and tired…please…help…”

That was all she could get out before she fainted in front of me. I got word to Breeze up above me, and we scrambled apart to help her. We picked her up and, with the help of three mares behind us, managed to get her out and into the bushes below. I didn’t know her name, but something beneath her spoke to me. She had something that most of these mares had, but none of them had mentioned. It was that determination that drove her to survive that horrible place. I was very impressed, and I made a mental note to get her name and story after we got out. But there were still more mares behind us, so we formed our ladder again.

All in all, we managed to get seventy mares out without being spotted. But then, we heard a door clang shut and we knew a patrol was on its way. So, the twenty or so remaining mares gathered together where they could, and Breeze and I squeezed into a tight crevice in the wall. As we watched, four guards came by hauling a very familiar purple figure. It was Twilight, completely unconscious and covered with blood and other bodily fluids. My anger rose again as I wished for the death of every single zebra that surrounded her and more beside. I felt a strength in me that I’d never known before. Once again, she was my inspiration, and I saw all of it being sucked away from me. Cutthroat held the tube as Twilight’s very life was slowly and painfully taken.

“I can’t take it!” I whispered to Breeze, “they’re gonna kill her!”

“They’re gonna kill her quicker if you don’t shut up!” She whispered back.

I did as she said and kept my mouth shut. We scrunched ourselves against the wall until the guards passed us. When the metal door clanged shut again, we raced out of our hiding spot and up to the cell. I looked down and immediately began weeping. My beautiful Twilight’s coat was torn beyond recognition. Her mane had been partially ripped out, and she was bleeding from multiple wounds along her flanks, legs, and haunches. She carried a large gash in her face, and her shoulder had been removed of its furry coating. But the thing that worried me most was the remnant of a sharp blow to the head. I turned and looked at Breeze, who was fighting back tears of her own.

“Breeze…” I said with venom in my voice, “…she’s bleeding, laying in a pile of Celestia knows what, and obviously been tortured beyond anything anypony could stand. We need to get her out.”

“Of course,” Breeze said, racing over to where they kept the key.

As she unlocked the door, my mind turned vicious. “I want Cutthroat’s head hanging on my wall…”

“As do a lot of zebras and ponies,” Breeze said, “but we need to be patient. We’ll get our chance to take the bastard down. For now, we must get Twilight out of here. She’s the last mare!”

“What about my other friends?” I asked, “the ones we saw outside?”

“I’m afraid we’ll have to wait and bust them out when Cutthroat’s guard is down. Once he gets started on a mare, he doesn’t stop.”

I nodded, accepting this horrible fact, and we pushed Twilight over the window and into the bushes. We leapt down and joined her, and I prodded at her side and nuzzled her. I whispered her name, hoping to get some kind of reaction. But the fates seemed against me. So, I sat back on my haunches and wept bitterly. I knew it was only a matter of time before she would leave us. There was no way she’d return to Equestria…not in that condition, at least. All hope seemed lost, and I bent down to be with her one final time.

“If you can hear me, please listen, Twilight,” I whispered in her scarred, yet still beautiful ear, “I’ve waited the entire time I’ve known you to say what I need to say now. I had always dreamt of a much more appropriate locale, but that’s beside the point. Twilight Sparkle, I love you. I know you’re betrothed to Flash, and that’s why I didn’t say anything. I respect you too much. Yes, even enough to let you marry somepony else. But my love for you is absolute, and it has been for a long time. I will always love you, Twilight, even if I have to do it from a distance. Please, come back to us…come back to me…I…I need you.”