She was in a dark place. Her eye's strained to make out anything but there was nothing but pitch blackness.
“Dashie! Dash where are you!?” She called out into the void, a response never came. She felt cold hard stone beneath her, she was lying on her back, wings outstretched. She tried to sit up, but was quickly stopped as something squeezed her throat, pressing against her windpipe stifling her breathing. She choked and fell back to the floor in a coughing fit. She was bound to the ground by a collar of chain. Her hooves to were bound.
“Dashie! I'm here! Please!” Her ears twitched at the sound of hoof steps slowly clopping against the ground and slowly growing closer. Hope flared in her chest, she brought her head up only to have the chain yank at her throat, she fought the urge to breath, trying to see if her lover and come to her rescue.
“Dashie?” She coughed out, her voice choked by the collar. The hoof sounds came to a stop right in front of her, the room was filled with an ominous silence. Her heart was racing as fear swept over her. A soft but low voice broke the silence.
“No.” It was a males voice. The single word sent her into a panic she thrashed against the chains, their metallic clanging echoed in the small room. Despite struggling as hard as she could it made no difference as the chains dug into her skin, she felt as though the one around her neck would crush her trachea as she gasped for air. Suddenly a dim orange glow filled the room, she turned her head, the sights of the room filled her with terror. The skeletons of five ponies lay against the wall, two of them were small, they had to have been very young. The other three were adult sized, and for some reason she felt a strong despair at the sight of them, as though she knew them. The orange glow moved, she looked back up to see a faceless stallion standing above her. In his hoof was a metal rod at the end of which, a circle with a runic marking glowed with intense heat as it moved closer to her. She again thrashed, her heart racing rapidly and the chains dug into her flesh, the force of her struggle had caused the shackles to draw blood.
“No! No! Stay away! Please! Dashie, save... Ahhhhhh!” Her pleading was cut off by her scream of agony as the hot metal burned through her fur and into her flesh. She smelled her fur and skin burning filled her nostrils and the in the wake of her scream she could hear water sizzling out of her burn. The stallion pushed the brand hard into her lower abdomen, twisting it back and forth. Tears poured down her face as she gasped for breath, the intense shock knocking the air our of her lungs.
“Dashie! Dashie...Dash..” She sobbed through the pain, visions of the pegasus raced through her mind. The stallion slowly pulled the brand away, ripping away not only the burnt flesh that was stuck to it, but also the living tissue attached to it. She wailed in pain, her screams filling the room. Her vision and hearing began to blur. All she could feel was the intense searing pain resonating through her body. She whispered with the last of her strength, she felt as though she were dying. She whispered her last wish to the now empty, pitch black room.
“Dashie...”
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Twilight trembled and sobbed in her sleep, Dash had tried to wake her but to no avail. All she could do was pull her marefriend close and whisper to her, trying to comfort her.
“It's okay Twilight. I'm here for you, I'll always be here for you. It's okay.” Twilight had been in and out of this state for hours, at times she would seem peacefully asleep but every once in a while she would cry and shake in her sleep as though she were in pain. At first she tried to wake her but it only seemed to make her nightmare worse. Never before had Rainbow Dash felt so helpless. Why can't I do anything to help Twilight! I'm so useless, I know she's hurting and there's nothing I can do! Please Twi, wake up soon. I just cant bear to see you like this. She to began to cry. Resting her head on Twilight's she listened to her heart beat and wondered if it was safe for her heart to be racing like it was. Dash kissed her softly on her cheek and whispered into her ear.
“Please come back to me Twi. I need you.” Though her trembling calmed down and her heart rate slowed, Twilight remained unconscious. Dash again curled up against her, and despite her fighting it, tiredness began to lull Rainbow Dash into sleeps peaceful embrace.
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'Twilight! Twilight where are you!” She called as she zoomed across the expansive forest, her eyes scanning beneath her like a hawk. Suddenly a blotch of purple caught her eye in a clearing.
“Twilight!” She dived towards the clearing, the figure of her marefriend becoming clearer as she descended. As she dipped below the tree tops her heart skipped a beat, Twilight was not alone. She was surrounded by guards. The one who led them, the one who was now glaring at her with dark intent, was her brother.
“No!” She swooped down landing beside Twilight, growling at her brother who simply looked at her coldly before nodding to the guards. She felt a heavy weight hit her, then another, and another as they jumped on top of her. She tried to fight them off but they were too many, they quickly had her pinned. One grabbed her mane with his teeth and held her head up, forcing her to watch as the remaining forces beat twilight to the ground with their bare hooves. Blood seeped from her mouth and nose, and tears flowed from her eyes, all the while her brother watched with a satisfied grin. She gritted her teeth, she was unable to close her eyes or look away as the mare she loved was beaten mercilessly.
“No! Stop! Please! I'm begging you stop hurting her! Please..” She cried out, tears flowing down her face. She finally managed to close her eyes, squeezing them tight. Suddenly the weight of the guards disappeared, she tentatively opened her eyes. She wished she hadn't. The scene had changed entirely, they were now on a cut stone floor outside, It was dark now. It was as dark as night, It felt as thought it should have been day. Twilight lay before her, brutally mutilated, her wings had been cut off, she was bleeding from deep cuts all over her body. She galloped over to her. She carefully brushed her mane out of her face, she could feel her hot shallow breaths against her hoof. She looked up, they were surrounded, by hundreds of faceless ponies. Then, she felt a presence above her. There standing safely on a balcony overlooking the whole scene, Princess Celestia! She stood over Twilight, extending her wings defensively over her, she felt a shaky hoof wrap around hers.
“Dash.” She spoke softly, but her voice carried with a strange echo.
“Dash.” She spoke again, louder and with more urgency. Everything around her began to fade away.
“Dashie!” She jolted out of her sleep to see Twilight standing over her with a worried expression. Dash stared at her disbelievingly.
“Twilight. You're okay?” Twilight's looked took on a slightly confused note.
“Yeah, I'm fine. Are you..” Dash didn't give her time to finish as she lunged at her, bowling her over with in a powerful hug. She rested her head on Twilight's chest and began sobbing with relief, burying her face in her coat.
“Twilight, I was so worried. I- I didn't know if you would wake up. I'm so happy you're alright!” She look up at Twilight's face, Smiling with tears of happiness in her eyes. Twilight smiled back at her and began stroking the back of her head and kissed her softly.
“It's alright Dashie, I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you.”