A Twinkle of Hope

A Twinkle of Hope - Chapter 19

Rainbow Dash and Cloudrunner steadily progressed through the dimly lit halls, lined with the aged bricks place by masons of centuries passed. Their ancient mortar was shaken loose by the carnage above, with each blast propelling dust into the floor. Rainbow gulped audibly and followed her mentor.

The tunnels were empty, save for a few rats here and there. Even after all the way she came, Dash couldn't help but feel like she was too late. The Captain had put on a war face, but still held her feelings of uncertainty within. She spoke up, clearing her throat. "G...General? Are you sure...well...you said Celestia, she can't...um..."

"Celestia cannot die by conventional means. Neither can Luna. They however are not immortal. Compared to an average pony, yes they will outlive us all. But eventually those two will die. Very powerful magic, I have been told, is the only thing capable of killing Celestia. And even then, it is difficult." Through his speech, the General never loosened his grip on the gun.

"And my friends? Could she...protect them?"

Cloudrunner responded grimly, just as uncertain as Rainbow. "I don't know. But I do hope we find them in this miserable place. Now buck up. Get your head in the game."

"Yes sir..." She realized her lamentation wasn't helping anypony. This was no place for sentiment. Still, this would be a perfect opportunity to ask the General a few personal questions. "Um...if you don't mind me asking, why did that major call you a 'half-breed'?" That had been burning at her inner curiosity.

"...This is hardly an appropriate time." They turned a corner. Much to their relief, nopony was behind it.

"But sir, as peers we should at least know something about each other. I mean you apparently know a lot about me.

"...Wh...fine. I suppose you should know. They call me THAT name because of my...uh...heritage."

"Heritage?"

"Yeah. Ya see I'm not a...uh pure-bred pony, as it were. Not both of my parents were pegasi." The General seldom discussed his past; in fact few ponies even knew his secret.

"Is that bad?" Rainbow herself, though she never knew her father, was a full pegasus. She knew cross-breeding happened, but it was relatively uncommon.

"To some ponies, yes. My father was an earth-pony. He met my mother who was on a visit from Cloudsdale. They were married soon after. Then I was born."

"How much grief did you take for being, you know a mixed-foal?"

"I got my fair share. Anyway those bastards drove out my father. To protect my mom's reputation, my bigoted grandparents made up a story in that she was raped."

"Whaaa...that's terrible! That's something to never joke about! Why I..." Rainbow Dash was angry, but also felt guilty for making her mentor relive his less glamorous days.

"It is what it is. After my dad left, I never saw him again. I don't know what happened to him. Rumors say on his way out, the bigots killed him. I personally like to believe he had been secretly there, the whole time..." A faint tear came from his good eye. "Uh...well yeah. There ya go." They turned another corner. The whole dungeon seemed like just a long corridor.

Oh Rainbow why do you always pry into pony's business like that? She regretted putting this old stallion through his dark memories. "Gosh, I had no idea..."

"Don't give me no sympathy. Besides. It ain't so bad. Part of the beauty of being a mixed-kid is that not only...uh...could I fly, but you get the increased stamina and physical strength. Earth-ponies also have enhanced coordination and whatnot. But for all the smoke and mirrors, Dash, remember; what you're born as doesn't make you what you are."

"So even though an earth-pony may be stronger doesn't mean say a unicorn can't be?"

"Pretty much." Cloudrunner smiled. Rainbow picked things up quickly.

"So uh,"  The cyan pegasus tried quickly to change the subject. "We sure did take the city very fast. Didn't it take three days for the rebels to do it?"

"We sure did. But it helps to have a really big bomb that can cook a dragon blowing up shit for ya. Not to mention excellent air cover."

Rainbow blushed, and kicked a hoof. "When are we going to find the end to these tunnels?"

"Sooner than you think..." His voiced trailed a she caught sight of a few guards trotting towards them. "Get ready."

The guards likewise spotted the two and began to run forward. He armed his gun and shouted. "Hey you! We're the only two guards that are supposed to be down here! Get back to your posts!"

Cloudrunner didn't stop his limping, nor did Dash cease flying behind. The head guard spoke up again. "This is your last warning! Leave or I will shoot!"

"Not if I do first." Cloudrunner pulled the trigger and down went the guard's companion. "Keep that other one alive." He said to Rainbow Dash.

A few gunshots later and the other guard fell down, his legs blasted. Cloudrunner went over to the guard, holding his bayonet right at his neck. "Now tell me, where do you keep the prisoners?"

"I'll never talk! Kill me!"

"Bold, I respect that. But we need to know. I will give you one last chance." Rainbow Dash got a worried look on her face. How would the General force him to talk?

"Like I said, cripple. Kill me."

Right as the guard finished speaking, Cloudrunner bashed him in the nose with a hoof. Blood rushed out of his nostrils, soaking the fur around the guard's mouth. "Where are the prisoners?" The General's voice was growing tenser.

"Hahaha fuck you!" Blood sprayed from his lips as he uttered his expletive. Some found its way onto the General's face.

Wiping the sanguine spittle, Cloudrunner then rammed a hoof into the guard's chest, and another under his jaw. A few more jabs and Rainbow grabbed his hoof. "What are you doing!! We're suppose to be the good guys!"

"One more, Dash. We need him to talk." The Blue pegasus could not restrain the strong pony's foreleg as he nearly broke the captive's temple.

Right before the hoof made contact, the guard gave in. "Waaaiiiittt!!" He started crying. "I'll...I'll talk! There...are...only six prisoners in here...down the hall...all others are...at the military...prison...in Fillydelphia."

"Rainbow Dash's ears perked up at the number six. "Who are the prisoners here?? Tell me!"

"Six pretty mares like you. Fresh meat the...were...'til...we...had our way." The guard knew he was going to die, either from broken bones or blood loss. But still they broke him.

"You...you...what??" Rainbow started shaking in the air, fearing the worst.

"You heard me. We raped them. They all cried. It was beautiful. But none more than the yellow one. I got the pleasure of being first. Hahaha!!" He turned to the charcoal interrogator. "Now General, you can kill me."

Cloudrunner saw the pure, raw, unfettered fire in his Captain’s eyes. HE was frightened by them. "I'm not going to kill you, but I cannot speak for my friend here.

"...What?? No no anything but that! Shoot me!" The guard knew now he had royally pissed of a mare. A big mistake. In his desperation he reached for the General's gun, but merely grabbed his eye patch, yanking it off his head. Cloudrunner would usually mind. Not now.

Rainbow Dash grabbed the guard and threw him against a wall. Her rage was at the breaking point. She took her gun and pointed the barrel at the miserable pony. He sighed, thinking he would only get shot. Just then Rainbow swung the gun around, knocking the pony's face with the wooden stock. "That's for Mr. Cake and Ponyville!" Again she whacked him. "THAT'S for hurting my friends!!" A third time. "THAT'S FOR RAPING THEM!!" The third time cracked the stock.

The guard weakly protested through his tears. "Ple...please..."

Rainbow pointed the barrel straight into his forehead, ready to pull the trigger. "And this, this is for taking Fluttershy's virginity." With that she fired a bullet into his skull.

When the adrenaline had subsided, tears began to well up from the pegasus' eyes. The General put a hoof on her shoulder. "Let's get going. They're here, waiting for you. For their hero."

The two continued, but not before Cloudrunner took a key from the guard's dead body.

The hall didn't look much longer. Cloudrunner limped towards its end to try and find the cell. Captain Dash brought up the rear, staying a bit behind to make sure nopony had heard the sound of gunfire.

The cell was so close the General could smell Celestia's sweet fragrant mane. Soon, very soon.

Twilight paced around in her prison, uncertain about her and her cellmates' fates. Explosion had gotten louder, and now the dust was falling from the ceiling. They all feared it would collapse soon. Celestia still was too weak to move. Flutterhsy still sat alone, lost in her sorrows. Pinkie's mane was still straight and flat. Applejack and Rarity were playing a game of tic-tac-toe in the dirt, much to the white unicorn's chagrin.

They were all startled from several gunshots down the hall. They didn't think much of it. Guards were commonly executed in the deepest part of Canterlot. Still, the noise always made them uneasy, no matter how use to it the six were.

Soon after, Twilight heard hoofsteps. But these hoofsteps were odd; they had a strange rhythm, almost like somepony was...limping.

A dark shape emerged from the shadows, dressed in what looked like a military uniform. It carried a gun on his back. But most frightening of all was when it reared its face behind the bars. A dark stallion with a grim expression, missing something from it.

Celestia looked up as much as she could, and as soon as she saw the figure, its face registered with her. A beautiful blue eye. The same blue eye she gazed into many nights. She thought it impossible it was the same, but there it was, staring at the alicorn and her cellmates. However only one stared. In the left one's place was only a reddish-black spot of congealed tissue, shadowed by a scar.

Celestia mustered all her strength to speak. "Cl...Cloudrunner? What...have they...done...to..."

Her voice was lost on the shrieks from Rarity, recoiling at the gruesome eye. Twilight tried to talk to the figure. "Who are you...and why haven't we seen you before?"

"There's somepony else you'd probably care more to meet." He replied, getting a confused look from Twilight. "He yelled out into the hall. "I've found them, Captain!"

Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie ran up to the bars and anxiously awaited whoever this "Captain" was. A cyan-blue pegasus flew up, dressed in the same uniform as the larger pegasus, just now revealing his wingless side. The blue one had a rainbow-colored mane and tail. Everypony's mouth was agape. For the first time in a month, they felt the wait of all the world's problems just...disappear.

A friend thought long gone had returned.