A Twinkle of Hope

A Twinkle of Hope - Chapter 15

The voyage into the pass was quiet. The only sounds to be heard were those of engine pistons reciprocating in their steel blocks, driving the convoy along. Everypony looked nervously at the precarious rocks perched atop the edges of the pass, held up by virtue of an unseen force.

The pass was only 3 miles long. The first trucks would have cleared it in less than twenty minutes. But tat small amount of time proved to go on for hours. After an eternity, Cloudrunner's truck finally made it through. It did not stop. There would be no stopping; not until the spires of Canterlot were visible.

For the next hours or so, the some five dozen vehicle train drove on, the pegasi bringing up the rear. Five trucks remained inside the pass when the sound of cracking filled the ears of all the ponies present. Pebbles began to trickle down onto the road.

A lone boulder was wobbling, rocking back and forth. It's motions prevented anypony from figuring out which way it would fall. Back and forth. It was about to fall soon, very soon. The last truck came into its projected fall trajectory. The rest continue, but this vehicle hosted the most unfortunate ponies in the army; the car broke down.

Several pegasi swooped down, and several more ponies scrambled out of the the canvas-covered back, holding tools. They all cursed the damn engine, and opened the hood. Smoke erupted form the engine, and the mechanics got to work. The cracking grew louder and more frequent. The pebbles began to from a sort of flowing stream. The mechanics worked faster than ever, knowing full well only a few precious seconds would separate them from life and death.

Rainbow Dash was watching this entire ordeal. Biting on her hoof, she had half a mind to go down there an help. But she knew nothing about car engines or mechanics or even what made the thing move. All she could do was hover patiently, and be ready to swoop in ad save anypony if necessary.

The boulder was now rocking at almost 45 degrees to its resting position when the driver turned the key. The engine revved up. The mechanics applauded, embracing each other. Only the louder cracking snapped them back into reality. They hopped into their truck.

"Floor it!" yelled a pony in the passenger seat. The transport vehicle zoomed through the remaining stretch of the pass, with the pegasi following not far behind. The boulder came rolling down just when the truck left its path. Te giant rock smashed into the opposite wall, sparking a chain reaction of other masses of silicates crashing down into the pass. The lone truck just barely made it; a small stone dented the carriage of the artillery piece it was towing. A collective sigh of relief followed.

This was the true point of no return; the road was to wrecked to use, and a journey on hoof would be too dangerous.

Cloudrunner heard the landslide and examined the side mirror. He saw the dust cloud even from as far away as he was. He bowed his head, honoring anypony that was unfortunate to be caught in that mess. But he could not stop. Too much was at stake and what precious time he had could not be wasted. Still, he thought he would have to do something to save the army. They got lucky, he thought.

At long last, the Liberation Army finally reached Canterlot. A secluded part of the surrounding woods was where they made their camp. The daylights had turned off, and the nightlights were switched on. The cover of night was perfect for preparations.

Cloudrunner got out, and started yelling orders to anypony close enough to hear. "Alright all of you! Unhitched those artillery, put them into position! Battle stations! Come back here to get dinner for your units. We're eatin' on the go!"

Orders were executed flawlessly. The trucks were unloaded. Crates were opened and their contents distributed. Everypony was given more ammo. "Put those bombs here, this is the ammo dump! Be very careful with those dragonroasters! Pu...no no No! Dammit that's a mortar. Take it to your units!"

On the other side of the convoy, Luna too was commanding everypony. After they had prepared their troops, officers told their soldiers to do exercise. Teams of cooks gathered under tent to ready a meal for over a thousand ponies.

Int he middle of this scramble, Steno galloped to the General. "Sir! I have our numbers!"

"Read them out."

"Our total numbers are 1,563 troops, 65 pieces of artillery, enough ammunition to supply everypony and every gun for a three-day shelling, and enough bombs to level a small town."

"Excellent. Tell my senior officers that they will dine with the Princess and I in our tent. Make sure you inform her about our numbers. Move out!"

Within thirty minutes, the officers' tent was full of its namesake ponies, all chowing down on whatever could be made from the food they packed. Rainbow Dash munched on a daisy sandwich and a salad. On either side of her sat the General and the Princess, both enjoying the same meal.

"An army marches on it's stomach." Luna laughed as she finished her sandwich. Her look became serious as she leaned down onto the table, holding her hooves together. "Now, to discuss the battle plan."

"Mmm...yes." Cloudrunner spoke, wiping his mouth. "Colonel Armor will lead the ground assault..."

He was interrupted by a disgruntled major. "General, I hardly think you should be giving orders to an ARMY officer. You're charge is the air corps." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened at the unicorn's audacity.

The General responded very coolly, "True. However I'm afraid I am the only general officer present..."

Luna interjected. "So he'll have to do! I suggest, Major, you remember the chain of command." The ponies sank into his chair.

"Thank you Princess. Anyway Colonel Armor will lead the ground assault. Canterlot is going to be heavily defended, so we must be methodical."

"Indeed," began the Princess. "Mortar teams will attack any anti-air emplacements along the outer wall. After those are cleared, I will order a bombing squadron to deploy one of the heavy bombs. The resulting hole in the wall will allow the Colonel to continue the assault."

"Precisely. This will continue for the second wall. Remember, Colonel, protect those mortars at all costs. We need to shell those flaks." the General looked at the white unicorn.

"Yes sir! And do we receive air support?"

"Of course. Captain Dash here will lead the air assault. Captain, your squad will clear the skies, as well as escort those bombers. It is vital! Even more so is protecting the dragonroasters. Since they require multiple pegasi to deploy, they are VERY slow and therefore vulnerable. We only have three, and we need exactly three."

Rainbow Dash saluted and spoke up, surprised to be given such responsibility. "And what about the third heavy bomb, sir?"

"That one will be delayed, so that you an I can make the extraction." A smile emerged on his face.

"Extraction?"

"I'm under direct orders to locate and rescue the five elements of harmony currently in custody of the Republic. As well as Celestia."

The tent became silent as the name of a fallen leader echo through the minds of everypony.

The colonel was the one to break the silence. "Wait! Does that mean Tw..."

"Yes it does son." The General gave a sympathetic look. "Rest assured, I will personally make sure she is safe. Captain Dash’ll hold me to that, right?" He turned to the blue pegasus.

Automatically she said "Sir yes sir!"

"After they have been rescued, I will inform the Princess, and she will order the final bomb to be dropped."

Another disgruntled officer spoke up, this time a green earth-pony. "We are going to waste precious time while you 'rescue' some fillies? Time is of the essence, 'sir'."

"Need I say one of those 'fillies' is our Princess Celestia?"

"Listen you half-breed, she's a fool! She got captured, and we cannot spare the time to rescue her! It's better to have her under the rubble of Canterlot than to have us captured or worse!"

The General pondered his words for a few seconds. Calling him a "half-breed" incensed him, but hearing his beloved Celestia being slandered and tagged "unimportant" made him snapped, unleashing his inner passions. He lashed out a hoof and pinned the pony against a tent pole.

"How DARE you!’Captured or worse' HA! It's because of Celestia we are even here tonight! She distracted the rebels long enough for us to escape, the least you could do is show some respect!"

The foolish stallion could hardly breathe. "B...but is she worth being captured....and...."

"She has endured more than you could even imagine! She..." He stopped himself, realizing what he was about to reveal was kept secret. He glanced to Luna. The serious look on her face, followed by a nod, told Cloudrunner that the officers needed to know. "She was captured and tortured, for the sole reason of her being Celestia! The broke her horn, plucked feathers one by one. They sheared her mane, and beat her until she bled. Without magic she was defenseless. They broke her legs and her ribs. They whipped her until her flesh was raw and you could see bone. They...they" The emotion of the moment overtook the warpony, as a tear streamed down his cheek. The rest of the tent was similarly astonished, Luna herself silently sobbing. "They RAPED her, and laughed as she screamed!"

He was trembling, filled with anger and sadness. "They shot her just to watch her bleed. That's not the worst part. The worst part is that she lived. all the pain she was dealt, all the humiliation, sadness and shame; it did not end. No, fate was not so kind to Celestia. We have the escape of death, sweet sweet death. She does not have that luxury. Simple mutilation can not kill her. She KNEW that was her fate the moment she resolved to stay behind when Canterlot fell, and yet she stayed..." He loosened his grip on the stallion.

The earth-pony was truly sorry, and managed to utter a few words. "H...how do you know all this?"

"Because...she sent me a letter with what magic she could muster when the nub of her bloody horn had grown back. She gave me a reason to fight. i know what these ponies do to others, and that's why I've resolved to win. This. War."

He released his hoof, and the green pony fell to the ground. "I'm so sorry...I had no idea."

"Well now you do. Now you all do!"

Rainbow Dash and Colonel Armor were shaking in their seats. Their hearts burned ardently for justice. Dash prayed that her friends were alright, or everypony in that castle would truly know the wrath of Hell.

Everypony cooled down, finished dinner, and reported to their units. Rainbow Dash came over to the wonderbolts.

"Ready, Captain?" Spitfire was armed and dangerous, anxious to pump the enemy full of lead.

"Uh...Yeah...Yes lieutenant! Alright we're gonna stay close to those bomber. When the heavy one comes, nopony will leave it unprotected! Understood?"

"Yes Captain!" They said in unison.

Rainbow clicked on her radio, and asked for the General.

'Yeah, kid?"

"I'm...I'm not so sure..."

"No backing out now. You don't have to kill anypony, but keep in mind they won't have to same reservations about killing you."

"Yes sir." She got ready to take off on the Princess' command, and end this war once and for all. Spitfire and Soarin' stood beside her. In the cyan pegasus' head, this moment was the most badass thing she had ever experienced; her idols, under her command, standing at her sides ready to follow her into battle. Dash relaxed her breathing, and began preparing her wings.

"I'm about to go into position, Cloudrunner." The Princess strapped her gun to her back. "I’m sorry you have to stay here, at the command post."

"Ain't no big deal. Any final orders, Princess?"

"If you don't find them in the castle, at least bring me the head of the Premier." Luna had fire in her eyes. That pony that caused it all. All the suffering and pain. The death and oppression. He must be stopped.

"That is a promise."

"And General Cloudrunner never breaks a promise." She pressed the talk button on her radio. "Attention all artillery units. Begin shelling!"

Immediately explosions could be heard behind the command post, followed by bright streams of orange. In the distance, the walls of Canterlot lit up. The battle had begun.

"I want them to know we're here, that I am here. This perverted night is a mockery of what I envisioned."

She flew up, her dark wings spreading apart, her horn glowing royal blue. The army turned around and saw something that had not been seen for six months; moonrise.

Luna used her radio again. "Attention ALL units. Unleash Hell."