"Now, now my dear you've done a great thing for me." Blackthorn smirked, sitting down on the bed beside his new toy, slowly stroking her mane with a sigh.
"Get lost you piece o-" She growled, swatting his hoof away, only for Blackthorn to quickly grab the chain and yanking it up hard enough to strangle her slowly towards his face.
"Even your mood can't get to me now, but I do not tolerate bad behaviour understood?" He growled back in her face choking out the little air she had in her.
"Ghhh y-yes sorry s-sorry phhh-phhlease." She gasped out fearing he would actually get rid of her, coughing in pain as he finally let go of her chain, causing her to flop down on the bed and rub her neck for a moment swallowing a few times and coughing weakly, before finally being able to speak again.
"W-what do you want then? to torture me more? drain me of more blood?"
"Ah my dear that whole spectacle I showed you put me in such an incredibly good standing with the kings little puppets that I wanted to..... shall we say reward you, you will attend my dinner, I will order my servants to make sure you look and ...smell proper." Grinnnig as he hopped down from the bed and messed up her mane with his hoof, scrunching up his nose at the end of his speech as he breathed in her scent, the scent of fear, sweat and dried tears.
"I can even stretch so far and let you use female servants this time." He chuckled as he walked out the door giving her a last look before ordering the guards outside to shut it, leaving her alone for now, to fear what was in store for her.
------------------------Meanwhile a few kilometres away from the castle.------------------
"I-I think we lost it captain." A young brown stallion grunted, finally catching his breath leaning against a rock and looking back from where his little group of soldiers had fled, such a long path up halfway some ragged mountains.
"Y-yes we we made i-it." An older unicorn stallion in full golden armor without the helmet, which he had thrown away during the mad dash towards safety, gasped laying himself down on the ground catching his breath for a moment before turning his head towards a one eyed green mare standing close by.
"l-liutenent Silverstream headcount please."
"Uh six and a half." She answered, looking around the small group grimacing at the end.
"A half? explain yourself Silverstream" The captain asked, giving her a confused look and turning himself over on his stomach to look at her clearly.
"Well sergeant, Greenglade got hit by the dragon and I doubt he will survive the night." Silverstream continued, pointing a hoof behind the captain, looking at a brown stallion with most of his face sizzling off in wet chunks, being carried by a clearly unerved crystal pony she didn't recognize.
"Damn and the rest?" The captain swore, standing back up and cringing as the crystal pony with the help of two others helped the wounded stallion of the back and down on the ground.
"Mostly okay, just cuts and bruises." silverstream pointed at another stallion with a large cut across his muzzle, turning back to the captain and awaiting any orders.
"So what now captain?"
"First we find shelter and rest, then the long way to the nearest city." He sighed standing up and looking at the group of survivors.
"Any medics survived with us?"
"I will go check." Silverstream gave a nod as she walked over to the rest of the group, giving greenglade a closer look frowning as one of the survivors pressed a cloth against the wound and speaking with the rest before returning.
"Seems to be a no, only three privates, one crystal lancer, one battlemage and you and me."
"Not any good odds, but we will have to make the best out of it, come let us scout ahead a bit let the kids rest for now."
-------------------------------An hour later back at the castle--------------------------------
"Well well, I must say you look almost passable." Blackthorn smiled leaning back in his chair, watching Twilight Sparkle being escorted into the makeshift dinner room, flanked by two large stallions clad in tar black armors covering their entire body and making them almost twice as big as their ward, who walked in between them with a blush on her face and a black metal band around her throat with thin green lines going around it and wearing a white gown and a murderous glare at him.
"Milord we bring you princess Twilight Sparkle as per your request." One of the guards said, giving a deep bow and taking a step backwards.
"Good now you may leave, oh and please have the food brought in." Blackthorn took a deep satisfied breath, waving them away and motioning a hoof towards the only other seat at the table.
"Well have a seat, it's bad manners to stand and eat."
"What are you planning now?" Twilight frowned and refused to move from her spot near the door.
"Seems you Equestrians are quite dense or have you no knowledge of what a dinner is?" He sighed, looking at her like some unruly child.
"You know what I am talking about." She said through gritted teeth and narrowing her eyes at him.
"Is dinner such a horrible concept for you? do you truly think I would waste all your potential just to poison you with food?" He smirked.
"Okay let's say I eat this so called dinner of yours, what then? back to being forcefed that guck? more time with your precious doctor?" She said, after a moment of silence just watching him, frowning at him as she walked over to the heavy wooden table
"Sit, down!" He growled in annoyance, fed up with her not sitting down and accepting his invitation surprising Twilight and causing her to sit down in surprise at his sudden mood shift and in turn turning his angry look into a friendly smile.
"Good, bring the food!" He clapped his hooves togheter almost instantly causing the side doors to open up and several servants to walk in with trays filled with various fruits and vegetables made in such fine dishes it even surprised her.
"You enjoy what you see?" He asked, enjoying seeing her lick her lips unconsciously and leaning forward towards the food.
"You have to excuse the room we have to utilize, but a boulder ruined my dinner room."
"...I can actually eat this? it's not filled with something ....weird?" She asked, as one of the servants begun filling her plate.
"If I would want you tortured or in pain I wouldn't waste food or time on you, I would just let you rot in your room until you starve to death." He chuckled, holding out a hoof for a servant to give a golden goblet and the same servant holding up his hoof and cutting it to let the goblet fill with fresh blood.
"So I see you couldn't resis-.....you Equestrians truly are pigs." He begun with a smile as he heard her chewing, only for his face fall into a state of disgust as he saw her stuffing her mouth full of food staining her cheeks and muzzle with grease and sauce of what he had learned moments before was called Equestrian hayburgers.
"Ddlongammee."Twilight blushed, licking up a spot of ketchup from her muzzle.
"Disgusting." He sighed shaking his head at her, waving away the bleeding servant allowing him to go away and bind his wound.
"Well I guess I should be glad you are actually eating it after all that resistance."
"Awwwbnnsvvvngonnnyettnn."
"Ech, I will ignore it for now, oh finally here we have it." Closing his eyes for a moment only to perk up as the large doubledoors opened, giving them both the full view of the train of chained togheter Equestrians walking by, being led by a vicious looking black armored stallion like the ones from before only lacking a helmet and sporting a badly wounded face, looking like a mess of stitches scars and ugly reddish green flesh.
"W-wha-?"
"Ssh my dear don't bother with the slaves, just be happy our little plan worked the fools really believed you were kidnapped isn't it amazing!?" Blackthorn barked a laugh holding up his goblet towards her, causing both hurt and shock from the prisoners being herded past the door staring in disbelief before dragged out of view and the great doors closing.
"I-w-what? what is this what what's going on?" She stuttered, looking between the door and her captor.
"Well you see my dear, what will those slaves think of you now? you really think I would let you enjoy a meal with me without having a thought behind it?" He smiled emptying the goblet and licking his lips with a too long tongue for a equine.
"Y-you planned to have me eat with you and be seen by prisoners of war? I-I don't-"
"Of course you don't simpleton, so I will explain it so even you understand." shaking his head at her and putting down the goblet on the table, getting down from his chair and walking over to a cracked window before continuing.
"Beside the uses you had, I found a great psychological weapon in you, by exposing you to these would be saviours who fought, bled and died for their precious friendship princess, to what appears to them a fine dinner where you gorge yourself with the evil lord." looking back at her and seeing her face change from confusion to horror a sit sunk in.
"Ah I see it dawns on you now, yes it will spread amongs all the slaves that the princess has gone to the other side."
".....You plan to let them escape to ruin the morale?"
"Yes you do get it!" He said with a laugh.
"Not only that, but letting the rumors flourish and fester among the slaves only for it to bloom into them that you aren't worth saving."
"B-but you are wrong my friends and the princesses the-"
"Yes yes it is not a complete plan, but enough to break morale and eventually soften Equestria up for the bastard kings invasion, kinda like the Storm Kings invasion but with someone actually out to reap the spoils of war and an actual threat." he said ending it all with throwing his head back with a barking laugh, meeting her eyes and holding up a hoof silencing her before she could say anything more.
"No not another word, now return to your room I will have any remaining food sent up there and also there will be a present for you when you return."
"A-a present? what have you planned now?" She asked as the doors once again flew open and the guards from before walked in dragging her chair backwards and grabbing her hoof and dragging her out before she got an answer from him.