//------------------------------//
// A Shaft of Clear Skies 
// Story: An Altostratus Sky 
// by RangerOfRhudaur 
//------------------------------//

Thankfully, the door guards recognized them and let them in when they arrived at the keep, rescuing them from the cold, windy gloom outside. AJ shivered as the doors closed behind them; there was something unnatural about that cold, something that froze the spirit as well as the body. She rubbed her shoulders, trying to warm herself back up.

Soft footsteps echoed down one of the halls, Clear Sky coming to meet them. Her silver steward's pendant dangled over her blouse, faintly jingling as she walked. A serene smile was on her face as she reached them, looked them over, then gave a gentle dip of her head.

"I'm glad to see your search went well," she said. "and even happier to know that you're willing to risk your lives for us. Now that Lord Skies has managed to arm you, please, allow me to help house you. Come; I'll show you to your rooms."

"Thank you kindly," AJ smiled back. "A bed sounds real nice right 'bout now."

"I'd advise against using it right now," Clear Sky warned as she began guiding them. "Dinner will be in about an hour, and I'd hate for you to get comfortable only to be woken up an hour later."

"Thanks for the advice," AJ nodded. "an' the food." She frowned at a sudden thought. "Will the, uh, governor be joinin' us?"

"Oh, no," Clear Sky shook her head. "He prefers to eat alone, or at least sit alone; I've seen him work through so many mealtimes, sometimes I wonder when he eats."

"He's a hard worker?" AJ blinked.

"At least a stubborn one," Clear Sky giggled. "If his duties told him to stare a hole through a wall, he'd sit and glare until his eyes dried up."

"Really?" AJ asked, surprised. "From the way Soarin described him, he sounded..." Abruptly, she realized that, once again, she was about to put her foot in her mouth. "... a bit more laid-back," she hastily finished.

Clear Sky's face fell. "His work is tiring," she replied. "Some look at his weariness and call it laziness, not knowing or caring that he spends much of his day being very not lazy. I might wish that he would rest using sleep instead of wine, but I don't deny that he deserves the rest."

"Is his load so heavy?" Fluttershy asked. "When I was growing up in Rainbow Vale, people said that the governor only had to work one week a year. Have things changed? Were they wrong?"

Clear Sky sighed. "He tried to make things change," she said. "He tried to reform things, give the governor actual authority, but none of the great houses wanted that; having all the power and forcing all the responsibility on Windy Hill suited them just fine. He got a few things, mainly for relations between Cloudsdale and the other states, but not much. And now, since he lost his daughter, it's like all the fire's gone out of him, all the fight. He still works hard, does whatever you put in front of him, but he doesn't reach or ask for you to put anything there, now."

"He lost his daughter?" AJ asked. "How? What happened to'r?"

Clear Sky hung her head. "He sent her to a school in another state," she replied. "Your home state, actually; Crystal Preparatory Academy. Though he cried to see her leave, he refused to let his emotions get in the way of her education. It was," she dabbed a tear from her eye. "a hard day for all of us here. But we pressed on, refused to let her improvement sadden us, and her father used her departure to stoke his fire, even as he'd used the loss of his wife."

"He lost his wife, too?" AJ cried in dismay. "Does he have anyone left?"

"His daughter's an only child," Clear Sky sadly shook her head. "He and his wife had hoped to have more after the election, but there were... complications in childbirth." She bowed her head in grief. "That's partially why he refuses to simply retire, you know; he bought this position with August's blood, in his mind, and he refuses to give it up until he's repaid her."

AJ felt her heart fall into her stomach and pump it full of poison; she felt sick, sick with pity for the governor and sick at herself for saying the things she had at someone who'd suffered so much loss.

"Not all hope is lost, though," Clear Sky tried to cheer her up. "His daughter only disappeared, she wasn't confirmed to be dead. For all we know, she's simply lost." Her face fell. "Really, really lost."

"How'd she disappear?" AJ frowned. "Someone like the governor sends her to CPA, they'd watch'r like a hawk."

"Even a hawk can miss things," Clear Sky sighed. "They only learned about her disappearance the morning after she left, and they know nothing more about where, why, or how she left than we do. Cadenza's best guess was that she simply ran away for some reason, though what that reason might be she had no idea. Even now, over two years later, we have no clue what happened to her or where she went. It's like she simply vanished into thin air."

"What'd old Cinch have to say?" AJ asked, inwardly shivering as she remembered Crystal Prep's old principal.

Clear Sky's face darkened. "Too little," she curtly replied. "and too late. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you not to ask about her anymore; I... I don't like talking about her."

"Does anyone?" Fluttershy murmured.

Clear Sky snorted a laugh at that, then covered her mouth with her hand. "Officially, that never happened," she said. When AJ and the others nodded, she sighed in relief, then said, "Unofficially, then, you'll find that few in Cloudsdale disagree with you; after the Friendship Games, her reputation was torn to shreds, and it was never that solid beforehand. Cloudsdale sent Crystal Prep a lot of students, but no love. We didn't like Sombra, we feared Cinch... hopefully Cadenza proves herself to be better than them. Of course, proving herself better than Cinch won't be hard; honestly, it feels like most people see her as worse than Sombra. He did a lot of things, most of them bad, but at least he didn't make children his pawns."

"Speaking of kids," Platinum cleared her throat. "we ran into Wind Sprint a while ago."

"Oh, my little Sprint," Clear Sky shook her head, sighing with a voice full of love. "What did she do this time?"

"Nothing much," Platinum shrugged. "Soarin introduced her, we talked a bit, and then she went off to her room to do that proofreading for you."

"She did?" Clear Sky asked, eyes wide. "Just like that?"

"Not 'just like that' 'xactly," AJ smirked at Platinum. "Platinum here had to talk her into it, an' it took some doin'; she'd heard that we were goin' to the armory, so she was pleadin' like a kid in a candy shop. But Platinum," she clapped her now-blushing friend on the shoulder. "talked her into treatin' her proofreadin' like it was Guard trainin', some'n' she had to do even if it was borin'. It wasn't easy, but I don' think you'll have that much trouble with'r doin' it again."

Clear Sky swallowed heavily.

AJ frowned. "Ma'am?" she asked. "You okay?"

"I," she sniffled. "I don't know. What-what you told me, what you did to help Sprint, it just..." She swallowed again. "I'm just going through a lot of emotions right now, and I don't understand why."

"Would talking through them help?" Fluttershy offered. "We're willing to listen, you've listened to us enough. Unless you're uncomfortable, that's fine, too."

"No, no," Clear Sky shook her head. "No, that-that sounds like it would be helpful, thank you." She took a deep breath, then said, "I'm touched that you were willing to help Sprint like that, and thankful that you made my job easier with regards to that. I'm grateful that you were willing to pay attention to her interests, and think the way you used them like that was really clever. But at the same time, I'm a bit annoyed that you just came in and tried to, and I don't know why it feels this way, take my place in her life, and all that while I'm angry at myself for not thinking of doing what you did earlier; I'm her mother, I should think of things like that. To top it all off, you mentioning the armory reminded me of my fears of my little Sprint joining the Guard and dying like her father, and my fears of overreacting to those first fears and smothering her with overprotectiveness, preventing her from spreading her wings. I... I'm just a mess right now."

"You're not a mess," Platinum gently reassured her. "You're just a woman trying to give her daughter the best life she can. All those things you mentioned? Totally natural in your position. The fact that you're not letting them goad you into doing something stupid shows just how much you're not a mess."

"Wow," AJ whistled teasingly. "Platinum talkin' 'bout feelin's an' bein' a mom? Just how much were you hidin' from me?"

Platinum winced at that, while Fluttershy glared at her. AJ winced in sympathy, then sadly murmured, "Sorry, sugarcube. Was just tryna make a joke."

"It's a bit soon to joke about that," Fluttershy sternly said.

"Oh?" Clear Sky frowned. "Did something happen? Or would you prefer for me not to ask?"

"I tried to be Rainbow Dash," Platinum sighed. "I... I ended up trying too hard, so hard that... that here was the first place I tried not to be her, at least in front of Applejack."

"Wind Sprint does the same thing," Clear Sky nodded. "She tries so hard to be her father that she forgets to be Wind Sprint. She was similar to him to begin with, but after he... he passed, what few differences she'd had seemed to disappear. They're coming back, though," she smiled. "Quibble's helping her remember life outside of the Guard."

"Quibble?" Fluttershy furrowed her brow.

"My boyfriend," Clear Sky giggled. "He came out here one day to do some research for a book he was writing, and we just hit it off. It was rough at first, me feeling guilty about dating after my husband's death, Quibble's career forcing him to travel, and poor Sprint. She was so afraid that Quibble was trying to replace her father's place in our hearts, she did everything she could to break us up, and she almost did. But before that had a chance to happen, right before I was about to send him a letter telling him I couldn't be with him anymore, he," she wiped her eyes. "he came by and tried to talk with Sprint. He knew something was wrong, and he reached out to her, but the poor thing was so scared she lashed out. 'I don't care how many people care about you!' she shouted, 'They're not gonna make me forget about Dad!' And Quibble," she wiped them again. "walked up to her, knelt down, put his hand on her shoulder, and asked, 'Can you teach me about him? He sounds like an incredible guy. He has to have been, to have married your mother and raised you.'

"And then," she sniffled. "he said, 'I know you miss your dad, and that's good; if we miss someone, that means we loved them, and I can see that you loved your dad very much. But I'm not trying to replace him; I'm not good enough to fill the hole he left in yours and Cleary's hearts. I'll never be able to; only your dad can fill that gap. I can't replace your dad, nor do I want to; I want to give you and your mom new love, not take away the love you two have for him. I'm trying to build a new room in your hearts, not paint over his. I don't want to replace your dad, Wind Sprint,'" she sobbed. "'I want to join him, in your heart. Are you willing to let me in? Can I give you love,'" she cried. "'like your dad must've given you?'"

They halted, the Rainbooms encircling Clear Sky in a hug as she cried. They made no move to stop her; they knew that they were tears of love and joy, not sadness.

"He," Clear Sky wept. "he made her a promise, too, and-and he made her make him one. 'Promise me,' he said, 'that you'll always miss your dad, and I promise,'" she bawled. "'to always try to be as good as him!'"

Salt and love and joy streaked down her cheeks as the Rainbooms held her.





*snrk*

She wiped her nose with a handkerchief. "Sorry," she whispered. "Just got a little emotional, there."

"You ain't got nothin' to apologize for," AJ reassured her. "That story of yours almost had me tearin' up."

"It had Sprint tearing up, too," Clear Sky giggled, clearing the last of the gunk from her nose. "She apologized to Quibble for treating him so badly, and then to me for trying to break us up. He told her that letting him love her now made up for her behavior before, and I told her and him that the only trouble they would be in is if they tried to avoid the hug coming their way. Sprint and I became a family again that night, and Quibble really became my boyfriend. And Sprint," she sniffled one last time. "she and Quibble became friends, thick as thieves in their own ways. She'll never admit it, but whenever he's due for a visit I always catch her sitting at a window, tapping her finger as she waits to catch sight of him." She winced. "I hope he's okay," she murmured. "wherever he is. Never thought I'd be glad his work requires him to travel so much. But at least I'm sure he's safe. If he was here, too..." She nervously rubbed a burnished ring of bronze on her finger, her wedding band, a reminder of love enduring beyond death.

"The governor mumbled some'n' 'bout sendin' you an' your daughter away, after you left to grab Thunderlane," AJ offered. "Maybe you can take'm up on that. Or, Soarin's lookin' for a messenger to let Sunset know what we found; if you want, we could ask him to send you an' her instead."

"Maybe," Clear Sky murmured thoughtfully. "I know Sprint would hate 'running away,' but, for all her bravery, I'm not sure how much good she'll be able to do here. I'll... I'll have to think about it."

They continued walking in a comfortable silence after that, Clear Sky twisting her ring as she thought AJ's offer over. Eventually, they reached a pair of doors, facing each other across a corridor, both opening onto small though comfortable-looking rooms set for two.

"I'm sorry to force you to split up like this," Clear Sky apologized. "We tried fitting three beds in a room, but-"

"S'alright," AJ reassured her. "We understand. Shy, Platinum, you two wanna bunk together?"

"Actually," Platinum said. "I was thinking you and I could bunk, see about..." She winced.

AJ's eyes softened. "Helpin' me get to know the real Platinum Brilliance?" she offered.

Platinum smiled gently in thanks, then turned to Fluttershy, who nodded in approval. She crossed over to the door to her room, but, before she entered, she gave AJ one last warning glare. That glare burned into her even after the door closed.

"I'll let you know when dinner's ready," Clear Sky said, dragging AJ out of her fearful trance. Shaking her head to clear the last remnants of Fluttershy's spell, she gave Clear Sky a thumbs-up. The woman nodded, then gave one last bow before turning and walking away, her feet gently clicking down the wooden halls.

AJ pulled open the door to her's and Platinum's room, walked over to one of the beds, then collapsed on it with a sigh. Her eyelids threatened to drag themselves shut, despite Clear Sky's warning. She appreciated a hard day's work, but she also appreciated a well-earned rest after it, and today they'd all definitely earned a nice, long-

"Wind Sprint's lucky," Platinum interrupted her train of thought. "Her mom's great."

"Yeah," AJ sighed, sitting upright and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "She seems real nice. An' that Quibble fella sounds pretty friendly, too."

"I hope I can be like her," Platinum's voice was shaking now. "If I ever have kids, I mean."

AJ shrugged, forcing herself to try to stay casual. "Di'n't know you were interested in that kinda thing. Thought it would be 'too girly' for you."

Platinum raised a brow at her. "What part of protecting and training someone is girly? And," she sighed. "even if some parts of it are, now that I'm not trying to be Rainbow Dash all the time, I can let myself be girly--sometimes. Not all the time, I'm not all dresses and makeup like Rarity, but there is some girly stuff I like."

"Thinkin' 'bout bein' a mom bein' one of'm?" AJ guessed.

"I have a lot of fun helping coach people in football," Platinum replied. "I love being a big sister to Scoots. The thought of being able to be more than that, to do more and for more of someone's life..." She lifted a shaking hand. "...It just sounds incredible. And I know what you're gonna say, how being a mom's about more than just games or being awesome, and I know. But all that, all the pain and arguments and not-fun stuff, none of that scares me off; I think about that, and I think about how many attempts it takes for someone to learn how to dribble in football, or how much it takes to convince Scoots to do something she doesn't like. But more than that, I think of the payoff, and how more not-fun stuff is just going to make it even sweeter. It's like, seeing Scoots get the hang of one of her scooter tricks makes me feel all warm and fluttery inside, even though all the times I had to see her not get it or convince her not to give up didn't feel like that at all, they felt bad. If-if being a mom means that all those failures, all those problems, hurt even more..." She looked up at AJ with awe-filled eyes. "...I can't imagine how awesome it makes the good moments feel."

"Wow," AJ whispered, eyes wide as dinner plates. "I-Platinum, that was-I don' know what to say. Just... just wow."

"I know," she softly smiled. "Sometimes I feel like that, too. Like, when I'm helping Pinkie babysit Pound and Pumpkin, sometimes I just feel so... so light, like I could fly without ponying up, and so happy that-that not even Pinkie has a word for how I feel. It's, what's the word Twilight used, influence, influenza, ineffective... Ineffable!" she snapped her fingers. "That was the word, ineffable! She said it means something that no words can describe, something too big for any word, any word at all. When I'm helping with the Cakes, or thinking about having kids of my own one day, sometimes it just feels so intense it's ineffable."

"Huh," AJ whislted. "Gotta say, di'n't see this comin' when we left; your real name bein' Platinum Brilliance, you likin' kids, an' now you're usin' Twilight's big words right."

"Hey!" Platinum protested as AJ began laughing. Her protest quickly faded, though, and soon enough she joined in.

Their laughter trickled out, and then AJ sighed, ruffling her hair. It had felt nice to laugh like that again; hopefully, she and Platinum would be able to do it a lot more once they got home.

"So," the other girl asked her. "what about you? You ever thought about-you know?"

AJ shrugged. "I'm not really one for thinkin'," she replied. "I'm more of a 'do-the-job-in-front-of-you' kinda girl, y'know? Big Mac's the one with all them fancy mathematics an' plans, an' Apple Bloom's one'f'm real creative types; I'm just the girl they call in when they need help makin' their big, fancy plans happen. I'm pretty sure I'll have'm, kids I mean, someday, though: whenever I try to think 'bout me an' the farm in the future, I can't help addin' in a couple kids an' their pa, someone real strong an' sweet an' hardworkin', an' a family man, course. Other'n that, though, haven't really thought about it that much." She looked away in shame, and mumbled, "Haven't thought about anythin' that much, really."

Platinum frowned at her words, and said, "You're not dumb, AJ. I don't know what or who made you think that, but they're wrong. You're one of the most practical people I know. And-and even aside from that, if you were dumb, would you have thought about going to Soarin when you thought I was hiding something from you?"

"A smart person," AJ retorted. "wouldn't've tried to snoop on their friend in the first place."

"They would if they'd acted as suspiciously as I did," Platinum answered. Her eyes softened. "We both made mistakes, AJ," she said, voice gentle. "You've already apologized for yours, and I forgive you. Come on," she stretched out a hand. "Let's stop beating ourselves up about them and try to avoid repeating them. If dwelling on them makes you feel dumb and me feel ashamed, then what's the point? It's never gonna get us anywhere, just keep us trapped in a whirlpool of regret." She swallowed. "The Rainbow Dash who inspired me didn't let her grief trap her; she grieved losing her aunt, yeah, but then she moved on. I'm not gonna use her name anymore, and I'm trying to find my own way through my problems, but here I think it would still be a good idea to follow her. We've grieved for our mistakes, and that's fine. Now, we need to take what we can learn from them and move on."

AJ stared at her, at the familiar steel behind her eyes. It was a look she'd seen behind them many times before at CHS, one that sternly refused to allow the one it was looking at to give up. It seemed more genuine now, though, more heartfelt, more honest. She was seeing Platinum Brilliance, now, not Platinum Brilliance gazing out from behind her Rainbow Dash mask. The offer she was extending might have been inspired by that mask, like she said, but the action itself was her's alone.

AJ took the offered hand.