A Twinkle of Hope

A Twinkle of Hope - Chapter 8

Luna stared at the mare that stood before her.  She took a good, long look. Who was she? Cloudrunner had interrupted the regal pony's reading, and she had just started the climax of the story. Obviously this pegasus was important enough to warrant the intrusion. Then it hit her!

That rainbow-colored mane, those rose eyes, the cyan coat. It could be no other. "RAINBOW DASH! 'TIS GRAND TO SEE THEE!!" Luna's voice boomed across the room. The blue pegasus bowed at the mention of her name, shaken out of her initial shock after seeing the Princess.

Cloudrunner spoke up, in a very casual way, "Princess, we have talked about this, yes? Inside voice. And where's your dialect training?" The condescending tone of his was well meaning and playful.

The alicorn looked down and kicked a hoof. "Yes, forgive me. We..er...I was just excited to see a friend f Twilight Sparkle." She immediately looked up and smiled at the still bowing pony.

Cloudrunner tapped on Rainbow's shoulder and told her she could stand up. As soon as she did, Luna grabbed her and squeezed the breath out of Dash with a powerful hug.

The squished pony reciprocated the gesture. A minute later Luna set her down again. The Princess then looked at the General, with a stern look on her face. "Why did you not tell me the Elements of Harmony are here? I stay down here, and you tell me everything that goes on! Why I should..."

The grey stallion cut her off, "The Elements of Harmony are not present, majesty. I'm afraid to inform you that miss Dash was the only known survivor of the attack on Ponyville." His tone turned solemn. "We found her exhausted in front of the fort, with a fractured wing, two days ago."

Cloudrunner stood there, watching tears come from the two mares' eyes as they hugged again. Luna spoke through her sadness. "So..so.. does this mean the other 5 are..."

Rainbow Dash finally spoke. "No!..no...Princess. The others aren't dead...as far as I...No! They are alive! And I NEED to go save them!"

Luna stood up tall and met the General's one eye. Dash finally realized just how large this rough warpony was; the Princess actually had to look UP to do this. Addressing the officer pegasus, she gave him orders. "Five-Star General Cloudrunner, former Commander of the Equestrian Royal Air Force, before winning this war, you will locate and if possible personally assist in the rescue and proper rehabilitation of Twilight Sparkle, Rar..." She struggle somewhat with remembering the names, "Rarity, Pinkie...pie, Applejack, Flutter..Flutterby...FlutterSHY! Do We...I make myself clear?"

The General gave a large grin, and saluted with his hoof. "Crystal your highness! Either we find them, or there's gonna be hell on Earth!"

"EXCELLENT!! I KNOW THOU SHAN'T DISAPPOINT US!!" The night mare let her Royal Canterlot Voice slip out.

"Thank you, Princess!" Rainbow Dash hugged her diarch again and turned to talk to the General. "Now...uh..sir. Why did you bring me here, exactly?"

"Because I think you needed to know about the Princess. We keep her down here so as to avoid any unnecessary attention. Those damned rebels would LOVE to get their hooves on Luna, and we have to keep her presence secret. Why, I doubt half of all the ponies here even know the Princess is down here."

"Yes, and this is not acceptable! I should be out there, aiding my ponies in any way I can!"

"In due time, Princess. You will have your chance. Trust me."

"I do, as my sister did. For now I'll read my books."

Rainbow Dash perked up. "Wait, that reminds me! Where is Celestia?"

The alicorn turned her head as a tear formed in her eyes again. Even Cloudrunner had a drop hit the floor. Rainbow figured it took a lot to make this pony cry. He finally spoke, "You don't need to concern yourself about that, kid. For now focus on the issue at hand."

"...Yes sir." Dash didn't want to bring up any emotional turmoil from the both of them. "So I know about the Princess now. I think I should go to..."

"Oh no you don't. I've got something I wanna tell you."

The cyan pegasus sighed and sat down on the couch, with Luna following suit.

"Now," he began, "You tell me you don't think you've got what it takes to make it in this army. Well, that's a load of crap if I ever did hear one. Kid, I was there before, quite recently in fact. After my accident I felt useless, I mean, what good is a pegasus that can't fly? Ponies told me I didn't have a place anymore, or that I should be cooking meals or washing sheets. They told me I was worthless now. And I believed them. Life was meaningless without flying, or running, or even depth perception," He pointed to his eye patch, "I developed a drinking problem, even looked to my gun for an escape."

Rainbow Dash looked at him with the utmost sympathy, through her watery vision. How awful it must be to have lost the one thing you loved most; flying. Luna wiped a tear from her eye before speaking, "Oh Cloudrunner you couldn't! You ma..."

The General cut her off yet again. "Let me finish, Princess. I had another problem, but it wasn't a lost wing or eye or limp. You see I let other ponies tell ME who I was, not the other way around! I let them convince me I was somepony with no purpose. I was told to resign, go home. I was 'finished'. But I couldn't. I had a purpose. I swore an oath the day I enlisted so long ago. I would do everything I could to protect Equestria and its inhabitants! As long as I’m still alive, I'll stand by that promise! And no force on Earth, Heaven, or Hell is gonna stop me!" He took a deep breath, cooling off from his proclamation, "And now I vow to save your friends. Even though it looks bleak, I will never give up. Every night I come down here to check on the Princess, and every time I look at her beautiful mane, I see those stars, reminding me of what I'm fighting for; I'm fighting to see those magnificent stars again, to see the sun shine down on a warm spring day, not those artificial lights the rebels built. I see in that starry mane," He held a bit of the flowing mane in his hoof, "a twinkle of hope."

Rainbow looked at the mane, as did Luna, and both smiled. Who knew the General was such a passionate stallion. He gave Luna her hair back, and turned to Rainbow, smiling like a father.

"I was once the fastest thing in the sky. But fate has separated me from that. I dare you to do better. I tell you again the road will be hard, but what you receive at the end, nopony will ever be able to take from you.”

Rainbow stood up, a bit shaky from the emotion of it all. She saluted her CO, "the Element of Loyalty NEVER abandons her friends, and now she'll never abandon Equestria! Sir!"

Dash could now see Cloudrunner's right eye water up, and before she could react, he lunged forward and gave her an embrace. Rainbow returned it, now overjoyed at everything.

The three sat in the bunker for a bit and chatted, drank some tea. The General noticed the clock.

"I think it is time for you to get to bed, Private! Long day tomorrow, though nothing you can't handle."

"Yes sir! I'll be ready for duty bright and early!"

"Good! Move out!"

Rainbow Dash flew out of the bunker and to her barracks, and settled down in her bunk, closing her eyes. Her new inspiration gave her grand dreams, dreams she hope would become reality.

The General bid Luna farewell and began up the stairs. Luna stopped him halfway up.

"Wait! Cloudrunner! I...It was not your fault. Celestia..."

"Absolving me of blame will not fix the problem. I cannot redeem myself, but I can make it right. Goodnight, Princess." With that he walked up to the door and closed it.

Luna sat alone, weeping silently on her couch "It should have been me..."

The General limped to his office and sat down in his chair, deciding to take car eof a few things before bed. A guard came in.

"Sir! Drill Sergeant Napalm requests to speak with you!"

"Let him in."

"Sir!"

A red earth pony came in, saluting before he opened his mouth. "Cloudrunner, are you sure about this...Rainbow dash? I'm not certain she'll be officer material, even when I’m done with her. Also she's a bit of a crier."

The grey pony looked up from his desk. "A little emotion never hurt anypony. There is something very special about her, all she needed was a reason and inspiration. She already had a reason. I gave her the inspiration. Even so, continue to single her out. Iron needs to be hammered to forge a blade. Dismissed"

The sergeant saluted and headed out. He wasn't sure what fixated his CO about this pegasus, but he would carry out his orders. He walked to his tent, retiring for the night.

Cloudrunner turned off his lamp and got up, going towards his bed. Before he laid down he thought about Rainbow Dash.

"And my what a sharp blade she'll make"