Chapter 9
They reached the camp a few hours after noon. They walked straight to Luna’s tent. “Princess Luna? It’s me, Linus. I have a guest who would like to speak with you.” He said with a grin.
“Send them in.” She replied. Linus pushed the flap away and gestured for Cadence to walk in. When she had entered the room, Luna was studying a map of the local area. While Camp ‘A’ was not a threat anymore, she was looking for an easy way to get into Camp ‘B’ without awakening everything in a 15 mile radius.
“Luna? It’s me. It’s Cadence.” She said softly. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say to Luna when she turned to her.
Luna’s face beamed with joy at the sight of her. “Cadence! Oh thank Celestia you are all right.” She looked up at her horn. “Oh my…Cadence…did she-“ She couldn’t finish her sentence.
“Yea. She did. Because I didn’t have any information on the army.” Cadence said, trying to keep her composure.
“I am so sorry Cadence. I wish I could have done something.” Luna said.
“Don’t feel bad. They would have done it even if I did have information. I wouldn’t have told them anything. Not after what happened in Canterlot.” Cadence said, very close to tears.
“Where’s Shining Armor? Is he ok?” Luna asked. Cadence lost it and fell into Luna’s shoulder, weeping loudly.
“I haven’t heard from him or seen him since Chrysalis attacked Canterlot. I don’t even know if he is alive or not! I heard rumors from my guards in the prison. They said he wouldn’t talk. Some say he escaped, others say he died. I don’t know what to believe!” She screamed in between sobs.
“Cadence, I am so sorry. We will find him. Even if I have to search from Manehatten to the ruins of Fillydelphia. We will find him. I promise.” Luna said. She meant it to. If she had to travel all across Equestria, she would until she found him.
“Here, sit down.” Linus said as he pulled a chair out for her. As she took a seat she started to calm herself down.
“Linus how did the raid go? I heard the explosion from here Blaze. Is that the biggest blast you’ve created?” Luna asked the others, trying to give Cadence space.
“The raid went perfectly. After Blaze dropped the bomb, the Leasath were completely disorganized. It made taking the supplies easy.” Linus said. “I did run into your old friend. The Gorner. We had a face off, and halfway through, he turned into you. Almost made me believe that it was you. But there was something he said. Something that removed every inch of doubt. Let’s just say they need to sew his upper half with his lower half.”
“Wait a minute. You fought a Gorner, killed it, and are still able to tell about it? What did he say that gave you strength to kill him?” Luna asked.
Linus started to turn red. “Um…I'm not sure. He put me in the Jode Rage.” He said. He wasn’t going to repeat what the Gorner said to him. Not to Luna at least.
“Really? Must have been something big then. But it looks like it was a good idea to raid that camp. They had more than enough supplies.” She said. While you all were attacking, Hex and I got into a little debate on where we will attack next. I was thinking about skipping the next camp so we can save our soldiers. Hex, however, thinks we should try to get as many places as we can and attack the camp. What do you guys think?” She asked.
“I say we skip the small camp. There’s no need to go there and lose ponies for one little area. I say we move on to Ponyville. We have the resources and the forces to take the village back.” Linus said.
“I feel the same. Ponyville should be our top priority. It’s close to Canterlot and we can see what Chrysalis will be doing with her army. Once it is in our hooves, I can get a few bombs ready so we can drop in through the roof.” Blaze said.
“I say we go for Ponyville. We really need to get close. And…I believe that if Shining Armor is anywhere, he would be there or in Canterlot’s crystal dungeons. I know the dungeons under Canterlot. I was imprisoned there so if he’s not in Ponyville, he’s in Canterlot.” Cadence said.
“So it’s decided. We will move on to Ponyville and attack there.” Luna said. “Blaze, there’s somepony you should meet before we go.” she said. She led Blaze outside the tent and across the camp. They entered a significantly smaller tent and when he entered, he was shocked to see the two ponies who were sitting by a table. He stared in disbelief at the purple unicorn then shifted his gaze to the pony with seven different colors in her mane. She had a scar running down her left eye. “Blaze. I’ve heard a lot about you. I'm going to cut to the chase. We need your help. We have located a prison that holds 100 of our soldiers. It is heavily guarded and the easiest way in, is through the roof. But we need a way into the roof. You are highest ranking demolitions expert in the army. Your skill in hoof to hoof combat will come in handy once we enter the prison.” Rainbow Dash told him.
“I can create a diversion by the forest for you guys so it’ll be easier to get in. I’ll create an ‘army’ to distract them. Once the explosive goes off, you will have little time to get our ponies out before they rush back over.” Twilight said.
“Rainbow Dash? I thought you were killed in the battle of Manehatten.” Blaze said, surprised to see her and shocked that he was actually meeting her. “And Twilight. I thought you refused to help kill in this war?”
“I did. But then they killed my parents. It’s funny. How we all seem to lose our parents. It’s like she wants us to come and kill her.” Twilight said with an ember locked behind her eyes.
“And I didn’t die. I barley dodged a magic bolt.” Rainbow Dash said as she pointed to her scarred eye. “This scar is a reminder of how close to death I was that day. A magic bolt is deadly if it hits anywhere above the waist. Luckily my helmet caught most of the bolt and Twilight was able to stop the bleeding. Now, are you in or not?”
“It’s an honor to be here. How many bombs do you need? And do you want them to be big or small?” Blaze asked. Rainbow Dash smiled. He had so many questions, but they could wait. Right now, there were some ponies that needed saving.