Spark

by Fyn16

Loose Ends

Loose Ends

Colonel Cloudsplitter’s eyes stared patiently over the rim of Nimbus’s coffee mug as the Pegasus drank down what was left of the bitter liquid. He’d come to determine that induced dream states hardly counted as actual sleep, which meant that he’d been awake for over forty hours, and he was feeling it. As commanding officer, Cloudsplitter had made sure that he and the others were fed and made as comfortable as possible- though in the case of Silky Sunset such accommodations were a bit of a stretch. The pony was required to be with a REAF escort at all times due to her criminal status.

Satisfied at last, Nimbus lowered his mug and licked his lips. Cloudsplitter smiled.

“So, the site is destroyed?”

Storm Runner nodded from the other end of the table. “Yes, ma’am.”

“But there were complications,” Nimbus added. “They were working on a biological weapon there- basically attempting to control a new species they called the Changelings. It… didn’t work out.”

“Go on.”

“Bright Future, the project’s leader, caved in a long time ago to the leader of the Changelings. She made him one of them and took his place in the real world to preserve the hive they’d grown in the facility. The Changelings can alter their form to match just about any living creature, or at least all pony species, and that’s why they were chosen for the project.”

“The Queen escaped,” Octavia added, and Nimbus nodded.

“The Queen, who calls herself Chrysalis, was able to escape with several of her subjects, though we were able to subdue Chitin- formerly Bright Future- thanks to Silky Sunset here.”

Nimbus gestured to Silky who smiled faintly at him. Cloudsplitter frowned.

“Yes, well we’re all very grateful for Ms. Sunset’s part in all this, but I don’t think I need to remind you that she is a criminal, with some very serious charges on her record to boot. I-”

“Ma’am, with all due respect,” Storm Runner started, “I think I can vouch for Silky Sunset. She saved us on numerous occasions when she could have easily turned hoof and fled. I sincerely believe she’s turned over a new leaf.”

Cloudsplitter shook her head. “You misunderstand, Lieutenants. I cannot authorize the release of Silky Sunset based on your words alone. Whether willingly or not, Sunset was involved with the Awakening when the hostage situation went down, and if my memory serves, she led the operation. Your word is just not good enough- I’m sorry.”

The room was silent as the heavy blanket of depression swept over the ponies. Nimbus sighed. Even after everything Silky had done for them, she was still a criminal, beyond hope of saving. He was about to speak, when Cloudsplitter stood up.

“At this time, I will take the prisoner Silky Sunset to a carriage down the street where she will be flown to Canterlot to stand trial.”

The ponies nodded, all comprehending the Colonel’s words perfectly.

“That said, it would be quite unfortunate if Ms. Sunset somehow managed to overpower me through her sheer magical skill and gain the ticket I’ve got in my pocket for a one-way sea trip to the Griffon Kingdom where asylum may or may not have been arranged. And if such an event did occur, I would most certainly hope that your word about this Unicorn is true.”

Nimbus was frozen, speechless. Cloudsplitter was putting her job on the line for them again! “Thank- thank you,” Nimbus stammered.

Silky stood, heading over to Cloudsplitter’s side, and nodded to the other three ponies. “Perhaps we’ll meet again someday,” she said, a genuine smile crossing her face for the first time. She then turned to Octavia. “And thank you for helping me see who I really am,” she added, “I’ll always be proud to call you my friend.”

“Likewise, Silky Sunset,” Octavia nodded.

Cloudsplitter cleared her throat. “Now if that will be all, it’s high time I left. Dismissed, First Lieutenants.”

Nimbus cocked an eyebrow, confused. “Er… ma’am? We’re Second Lieu-”

“Not anymore you aren’t,” Cloudsplitter winked. “Promotions came down from the capitol after news of your return got through. See you two back at base.” She nodded to Octavia, “and thank you for your part in this. I’ll ensure that you’re compensated.”

“Thank you,” Octavia said, blushing as she turned to open the door. Before pushing it, she looked to Nimbus, who was standing still next to Storm Runner.

“Coming?” she asked.

Nimbus looked to Storm. The Pegasus looked tired, but a faint flame of grief still flickered in his eye. The Pegasus sighed.

“Go on ahead, Octavia. I’ll catch up with you.”

Understanding, Octavia exited the Dodge Junction town hall, leaving the two Aviators alone. For a moment, the two simply breathed; Nimbus didn’t have the courage to face his friend- he knew exactly why he was here.

“Storm, I-”

“Why, Nimbus?” Storm Runner said, cutting his friend off.

“Why did I kill her, Storm? Is that what you want to know?” Nimbus said, bristling, “you want to know why I downed a threat to national security, is that it?”

“No,” Storm Runner said evenly, “I want to know why you never told me from the start where Sun Blaze’s true loyalties were.”

Nimbus considered taking a seat, then thought better of it. Sitting would make him appear weak, and if he wanted to salvage this situation, that was the last thing he needed.

“You loved Sun Blaze,” he said finally, absently tracing his hoof along the ground, “I didn’t want your last memories of her to be falsehoods. I only wanted to protect you, and to preserve the memories you already had of her. You didn’t need to know what she was like that night- the passion, the sheer rage…”

Still looking at the floor, Nimbus could see Storm Runner’s shadow as the pony shook his head. “Were you ever going to tell me? Or were you going to go on pretending she died a hero just so I could live in some perfect fantasy land?!” His voice was increasing in pitch and intensity now. “Whether I want to hear it or not, I want to know the truth, Nimbus!”

Nimbuus didn’t know what to say- Storm Runner’s accusations were spot-on. All he could do was hear out his transgressions.

“You lied to me, Nimbus. You broke our trust! Do you have any idea what that means in this career? How can I trust a liar to watch my back up there? How can I?”

Nimbus slowly lifted his head up, his eyes meeting Storm Runner’s. The blue Pegasus’s face was streaked with tears, and Nimbus almost began to cry himself. Seeing his stoic best friend suddenly reduced to this was painful.

“You can’t trust me,” Nimbus said simply. “I get that.”

“No, I can’t. You’re right.” Storm Runner sighed, and approached Nimbus. “It’s been fun, buddy, but I can’t… I honestly can’t call you a friend anymore. Find another wingpony, and don’t contact me again outside of work.” The blue Pegasus turned around and left the room, leaving Nimbus alone. Nimbus felt as if somepony had drawn a shard of glass across his heart. Storm’s accusations had all been right, but that didn’t soften the blow at all. As he watched his friend disappear, Nimbus felt, for the first time, truly alone.

…

Octavia looked up as the door to the town hall opened. The moment Nimbus stepped out it wasn’t hard to tell that something was wrong. There was a slowness in his step, and his head hung lower than usual. When she approached, he barely moved his eyes to meet her.

“Nimbus? What’s wrong?”

Nimbus winced. “Octavia, why are you still here? You have family, friends- I can take care of my problems.”

Octavia put a hoof around Nimbus and steered him over to a cafe table just outside the town hall. Once both ponies were seated, she looked him in the eyes.

“You’re not okay, Nimbus. Something’s wrong, and I can’t let the pony who saved my life just go on like this. What’s the matter?”

“It’s just…” Nimbus’s lower lip trembled a bit, and he buried his head in his hooves, to hide his anguish. “It’s just that I don’t feel like we accomplished anything at all. In fact, we’re all worse off than when we started!”

“Well that’s not true at all,” Octavia pointed out, “you gave Silky a chance to change. Bright Future’s long gone-”

“And I lost my best friend and unleashed something terrible upon Equestria,” Nimbus finished. “These things just don’t balance out.”

Octavia leaned back, smiling. “Nimbus, the Changelings would have escaped eventually anyway- it’s not as if you knew they’d get out. You did a good thing back in the desert, And Storm Runner? Well, I can tell you from experience that it’s not going to get better soon. Friendships take time to build back up, just like any relationship. Trust me- I’m speaking from experience.”

“What do you mean?” Nimbus sniffed, bringing his hooves down.

“Remember my parents? The ponies I ran away from? When I left home I swore I’d never return- that I’d never see their faces again. Now, I’m not so sure. After everything that’s happened, I think maybe I can try to work things out again. I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but I’m willing to try. Maybe if you work at Storm Runner, little by little, one day you two will be friends again. I could certainly see it.”

She was right, of course. Nimbus knew it. Things would be tough in the days to come, but it certainly wasn’t the end of the world. He had other options. Slowly, his frown faded as he met Octavia’s eyes.

“Thanks,” he said simply, “I really appreciate it.”

“Tavi?”

Octavia had opened her mouth to speak, but at the sound of the voice calling her name she immediately shut it and whirled around, facing the white pony with the blue mane that had spoken. As soon as she recognized who it was, she nearly died from excitement.

“Vinyl!” she shrieked, galloping over to her friend and giving her a friendly hug, “it’s so good to see you again!”

“I have to admit,” the Unicorn said, shuffling her hooves, “I knew you’d get out of that crisis situation. You are one bona fide action pony!”

“Nimbus,” Octavia laughed, gesturing to Vinly, “this is Vinyl Scratch, my roommate.”

Nimbus nodded to Vinyl, “pleased to meet you. Sounds like you two will have a lot of catching up to do.”

“Alright, how many of ‘em did you punch, eh?” Vinyl said, smirking and playfully punching her friend in the shoulder. Octavia was about to reply, but Vinyl went on.

“Acually, don’t answer that. You won’t believe who else came here to welcome you back!”

“Who?” Octavia said warily, looking around.

“Your parents!”

Octavia went white as a sheet and gasped. “They- they’re here?” she stammered.

“Uh… yeah, I kinda forgot you weren’t on the best terms with them, but I think they’re genuinely concerned for you. You should really go talk to them.”

Octavia looked back to Nimbus, and the stallion nodded.

“You said it yourself- relationships can be mended. I think maybe it’s time to mend yours. Don’t worry- I can handle myself from here on out.”

Grinning sheepishly, Octavia extended her hoof towards Nimbus.

“Well then, from one adventurer to another, I believe it is time to part ways. Thank you, Nimbus- for everything. I hope one day we’ll meet again.”

“Preferably not during a hostage situation,” Nimbus pointed out, shaking the mare’s hoof briskly. “Goodbye, Octavia- and good luck!”

The two mares turned their backs and walked away. As they did so, Octavia looked back one more time, waving at Nimbus. The stallion waved back, feeling a bit less down than he had only a few minutes ago. She was right- things could change, and if it meant getting his friend back, he was more than willing to do what he could to regain Storm Runner’s trust.

Turning around, Nimbus headed back towards the town hall to pick up his flight gear. Manehattan was calling, and though he’d just completed a mission, true Aviators were expected to be ready at all times. He wasn’t about to change that.

His gear was inside the door, and had been washed recently- evidently Cloudsplitter had been pulling a few strings to make sure her Aviators were taken care of- that or she just didn’t like unclean uniforms. Either way he was grateful. He quickly donned his flight suit and helmet and headed outside, ready to depart Dodge Junction. As fate would have it, however, there was one more pony who needed to speak to him, and it was the last pony Nimbus expected.

“You did well out there,” a familiar voice said as Nimbus adjusted his altimeter. It was Captain Starburst. The pony had managed to sneak up on him.

“Thank you, sir,” Nimbus said, starting to salute. Starburst shook his head, motioning for Nimbus to put his hoof down. The Pegasus obliged.

“I knew it was coming to this,” Starburst said, “all the signs pointed to it. And now those… things are loose upon Equestria. Not that I blame you of course,” he added quickly, “it’s just that it never hurts to be ready for the next strike.”

Noting Nimbus’s blank stare, Starburst switched topics.

“Er, right- that’s not what I wanted to see you about, though. No, I wanted to talk to you about Storm Runner.”

“What about him?” Nimbus sighed.

“I heard he’s no longer your wingpony.”

“Word travels fast,” Nimbus replied, double-checking his HUD instruments.

“Well, believe me, with tension between us and the Griffons escalating, the last thing you need is to be up in the air without a wingpony. Therefore, I’d… I’d like to offer my obviously vacant wingpony position to you.”

Nimbus winced inwardly. Starburst was not his optimal choice, but now that he’d come to mention it- he would need another to fill Storm Runner’s place, and choosing the famously pompous Cyclone Sprint was completely out of the deal. Besides- the Captain still had an impressive record That had to count for something, right? Swallowing his pride, he turned to Starburst.

“Of course, sir. It would be my honor.”

“Excellent,” Starburst said, “then I’ll make a point to let the Colonel know. It’s always good to have someone you can trust up there with you. I’d accompany you back to base, but there are some things I need to attend to in town first. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

And with a few nervous twitches that Nimbus had come to expect from Starburst, the pony was gone, leaving him with nothing but a clear takeoff space in front and an endless blue sky above. Nimbus smiled as he lowered his visor. In a world where half-truths and conspiracies were sometimes very real, it was always nice to know that some things remained constant. He pushed forward, feeling the air under his wings as he lifted off the ground, and banked away, to the northeast, until he was nothing more than a small dot disappearing into a cloudless summer sky.