//------------------------------// // Battle Scars // Story: Broken Sky // by Fyn16 //------------------------------// Battle Scars Nimbus breathed in the familiar, crisp, cool mountain air as he stepped off the carriage that had just pulled up to the Royal Equestrian Air College and gave a long sigh. After a week and a half with his family, the last place he wanted to be was back here. When he’d first come to this school, he’d seen the towering stone walls as a strong symbol of his rebirth; his chance to make his past right. Now, he was just depressed at the prospect of several more months of work before his goal could be achieved. Nimbus picked up his saddlebag and set off across the snow-covered courtyard, making his way to the bridge that led to his living quarters. "Cadet Nimbus, welcome back." Nimbus turned around before stepping onto the bridge. Dusk Shine was approaching behind him. "Good afternoon, sir," Nimbus responded, maintaining an air of professionalism despite being out of uniform. Dusk Shine followed Nimbus over the bridge. "I've been in contact with Polaris," the Unicorn said. "He mentioned your training's going well. I for one would like to see REAC get its honor back." "Absolutely, sir," Nimbus nodded. Dusk Shine went on. "There's going to be another opportunity coming up soon for you to get a little practice in before the Meet. Are you aware of Operation Indigo?" Nimbus thought back through his studies, remembering the name. Operation Indigo was a yearly meeting of several Equestrian military units, designed to prepare them for the prospect of war by putting them in war-like scenarios. It was one of the few times Aviators actually got dogfight experience. "I've heard of it, sir, yes," Nimbus answered. "It's one week for now, and the cadets from our school will be participating. My idea. I'm not expecting you all to blow the competition away, of course. You're all a bit low in the experience department. What I would like to see, though, is some original thinking. Every year the cadets go in full speed, ready for a dogfight, and every year they get their flanks handed to them in the first five minutes." "Well, sir, I think my classmates and I can figure something out," Nimbus said confidently. Dusk Shine smiled and chuckled. "Excellent. Then I'll hold you to that. Take care, Nimbus, and get some sleep. There's a run planned for tomorrow morning." Nimbus nodded as his commander took off towards the main building. His dormitory building loomed ahead, and it wasn't long before Nimbus once again found himself making his way through the ancient stone structure in search of his room. He was surprised to see that Storm Runner hadn’t rushed out to greet him. He’d assumed his friend would have been back earlier. Still, Nimbus reasoned, Storm Runner probably had a fair amount of unpacking to do first. As he approached his dorm room, Nimbus was about to push open the door when he heard sobbing inside- a mare, in fact. Cocking an eyebrow, Nimbus cracked open the door slowly. Storm Runner was sitting on his bed, and Sun Blaze was sitting on Nimbus’s bed across from him, crying. At the sound of the creaking door, Storm Runner raised his head. “Nimbus, good to see you. It’s… not the best time.” “No, it’s fine,” Sun Blaze sniffed, “let him come in.” Hesitantly, Nimbus let himself in. He knew instantly something serious was going on. Mares were not allowed into stallions’ dorms, and Sun Blaze was putting herself at risk coming here. “What’s going on?” Nimbus asked, cautiously. Sun Blaze fixed her tear-blurred eyes upon Nimbus. “My- my parents,” she said, breaking down into sobs again. “My parents were attacked.” “What?” Nimbus said, “Sun Blaze, I’m so sorry. Why?” Sun Blaze breathed in, shuddering as sobs racked her body. “When I came home,” she began, “it was just like normal. My parents were there to greet me, and we went back to the house for the holidays, just like old times. It was the night before Hearth’s Warming Eve when things got strange. I saw… I saw a pony just waiting around outside our house. He’d get up and leave from time to time, but even through the next day, he was there. Just before our Hearth’s Warming Eve dinner, I noticed he’d disappeared. When I checked again later, he was still gone. I thought he might have finally gone for good, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. He must have come in at night… when I woke up that morning, I went downstairs and waited for my parents. I- I even fixed breakfast for them. After waiting around for two hours, I finally went to go check on them, and that’s when I saw them. They were dead- their throats were ritualistically cut, and the pony that did it left the weapon he used.” Sun Blaze reached into her saddlebag and removed a twisted, shining, black knife. “It’s all my fault,” she choked. “You can’t possibly mean that,” Nimbus said, trying to maintain a comforting tone, “that pony had nothing to do with-“ “That pony had everything to do with me!” Sun Blaze barked, “don’t you get it? This knife is an Awakening weapon! They knew I was looking into their plans! I don’t know how, but somehow they found out.” Nimbus went stone cold. What Sun Blaze had said made sense, though he didn’t want to believe it, and if what she said was true, then he and Storm Runner were in just as much danger. “How would they have known?” Nimbus asked, shaking his head. “About us?” Sun Blaze whispered, “it’s a long story.” “We have time, if telling it will help you,” Storm Runner said. Sun Blaze stood, beckoning for Nimbus to take a seat on his bed while she addressed them. “So neither of you two ever wondered why I had that book about the Awakening in the first place?” The stallions shook their heads and Sun Blaze wiped away a tear. “Well, to put it as simply as possible, my family is part of the Awakening bloodline.” Nimbus’s eyes widened. “Sun Blaze? But- no offense- why the name? You’re the last pony I’d expect to be a supporter of Nightmare Moon.” Sun Blaze lowered her head in shame. “I know. My parents were supposed to carry on the tradition. Loyal supporters and all that. When I was born, they rebelled- they told me later that they couldn’t raise me for the sole purpose of serving Nightmare Moon. They wanted me to live my own life, and they knew Nightmare Moon was evil, so they brought me up normally, or as normally as a family on the run from a bunch of angry fanatics could be. I knew how to handle a sword before I could fly, and friends? Forget about it. Friends were hazards. My parents told me that fillies and colts born into the Awakening were educated and prepared to fight and die for their leader at a very young age, and they told me that if they found out about my heritage… they’d kill me without hesitation. You can’t even begin to think about what that does to a child!” “I’m sorry,” Nimbus said, “I had no idea…” “Then I came here and saw you, Nimbus. You had natural talent, you were happy, and you’d faced a good deal of adversity in your life. It didn’t seem fair to me that you could take something negative like disenrollment and just bounce back, while I was stuck with my situation forever. I still can’t believe the things I said to you two. I tried to crush your spirits- to make you feel what I feel- but I couldn’t do it. That’s when I realized that perhaps this was my chance to try something new. Maybe now, I could finally release that yoke that had been hanging over my neck my entire childhood. I joined up with you two over a common cause- the Awakening. What I never told you was that I never wanted to simply find out their plans. I wanted to expose them to the world, and watch them die out for what they did to my childhood. Now, after this Hearth’s Warming Eve…” new tears began to fall from her eyes, “I just don’t know. I want to forget about all of this.” Slowly, hesitantly, Storm Runner moved towards her and placed a hoof over her shoulder. Sun Blaze flinched slightly, but didn’t object as Storm Runner hugged her, letting her tears fall into his mane. “Sun Blaze,” he said, “if you want us to stop hunting the Awakening, just say so. We’re done.” “It wasn’t worth it,” Sun Blaze sighed, “we never should’ve gone poking our muzzles into their business in the first place.” Sun Blaze smiled as she stepped back, “Thank you, Storm Runner. That… wasn’t nearly as terrible as I’d thought it would be.” Storm Runner nodded, “that’s what I’m here for.” Nimbus stood and started unpacking his things, feeling the room’s tension dying down. “Sun Blaze,” he said, hanging up his uniform, “since you’re done with the Awakening now, would you… like to be a part of my training team for the Cloudsdale Meet?” Sun Blaze’s eyes looked like dinner plates. “You… can’t be serious. You want me on your team?” Nimbus nodded. “I sure do. Storm Runner’s great for fitness training, but when it comes to technique, he’s terrible. I’d say we need another coach.” “I resent that,” Storm Runner piped up, eliciting a faint laugh from Sun Blaze. “Nimbus, I’d be honored,” she said at last. “After all I just told you two, you’re still willing to be my friends?” Smiling, Nimbus put away his saddlebag. “Sun Blaze, we’d be your friends regardless of what you told us.” Taken aback, Sun Blaze fumbled her way to the door. “Well, thank you two so much,” she said finally, “and…” she darted forward and planted a kiss on Storm Runner before he could react, “thank you, you blue-feathered knucklehead. I’ll see you two tomorrow, then.” Sun Blaze walked out the door, leaving a dazed but rather delighted-looking Storm Runner sitting on his bed. “0500 on the parade field!” Nimbus called after Sun Blaze, “I’ll see you there!” Nimbus closed the door, patting Storm Runner on the back. “To be honest, I called it. I knew you and Sun Blaze had ‘something special’ between you two.” “What?” Storm Runner protested, “no way. I was just… doing the job that any friend would be expected to do.” “That and more,” Nimbus said. “Don’t deny it. You two are perfect for each other.” Nimbus pulled the dark book out of his saddlebag- the source of all of Sun Blaze’s troubles. “So what do we do with this?” he asked Storm Runner. “To be honest, I don’t know,” Storm Runner admitted, “probably just keep it for now. But I’ll tell you one thing-“ “What’s that?” Nimbus asked, putting the book away again. “I’m never going to crack open that infernal thing again.” “Yeah, I agree,” Nimbus said. “We’ve got one semester left here, and by Celestia, we’re not going to spend it chasing ghosts. We’ve got a dogfight up in Cloudsdale to win, and we have Aviator wings to earn.” “That’s the spirit,” Storm Runner said, hoof-bumping Nimbus, “now come on- let’s get on over to dinner. I’m starving!” Nimbus laughed and shook his head, following his friend. Some things never changed.