Wings of Deceit

Saying Goodbye

There they were, playing their rough and tumble game of tag as if nothing else in the world mattered. Nimbus watched his brother and the foals play for a moment, remembering what it was like to be Whirwind’s age. There wasn’t a single moment when such memories came back to him that he didn’t wish he could be young again.There was certainly something to be said for having a lack of responsibility. Not that he despised responsibility, of course, he quickly added, but still- running around, playing with friends, and not caring about what might happen tomorrow made his childhood free. So ironic then, he realized, that foals all seemed to want to grow up so quickly. Perhaps it was just life’s way that nopony could ever truly reach an equilibrium point of satisfaction.

Nimbus sighed and leaned up against an oak tree, watching as Whirlwind deftly skipped out of the way of the pony designated as “it.” The little gray Pegasus was hard to place, Nimbus decided. On one hoof, he had a lot of the same mannerisms that he too had possessed as a youngster, but on the other, Whirly was clearly driven by a fire that he didn’t think he’d ever had. There was a certain energy that just made the little colt special. He’d make a good Aviator, if he ever chose to follow that path.

Whirlwind looked up from his game just quickly enough to catch Nimbus at the tree. Nimbus nodded to his brother, and the little pony waved goodbye to his friends before galloping over to Nimbus at top speed.

“Hey!” he said, “so did you get all your Aviator stuff done?”

Nimbus playfully rustled his brother’s mane. “I did, Whirly. I actually wanted to talk to you about some stuff. Wanna go get some ice cream?”

“Of course!” Whirlwind squeaked, pumping his hoof in the air.

“Well, then it’s off to the Quartz!”

The Quartz, as far as the locals were concerned, was easily the best ice cream parlor in Equestria, or at least on the eastern side of the country. The little building had started out as a general store, and had expanded into a restaurant and ice cream parlor fairly rapidly as the town grew. While certainly not as cheap as some of the chains in the big cities, it was easily at the top of Nimbus’s list of desert locations. He was also, of course, hoping that the ice cream might soften the blow that the news of his probable departure would most likely cause.

The two ponies set off on hoof, but they hadn’t gone three steps when Whirlwind turned to his brother.

“Hey Nimbus,” he said, “better idea- let’s race!”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Nimbus said, “I’m not sure I can keep up with you. Sometimes you’re so fast, I can swear you just go invisible!”

“Aw come on,” Whirlwind said, jabbing Nimbus in the side with his hoof, “please?”

“Well, okay,” Nimbus said, chuckling, “but I think before we do anything we should- ready? Go!”

“Without any warning, Nimbus jumped up off the ground and took to the sky. Startled by the sudden start, Whirlwind was nonetheless on his tail in seconds. As Nimbus soared over rooftops, he was reminded of another reason he liked his hometown- no altitude or speed restrictions for Pegasi. In Manehattan, Pegasi were actually arrested and charged for speeding or reckless flying. In some places, it was so bad that underground air racing circles had developed, where Pegasi did their best to run tournaments outside of the watchful eyes of the city law enforcement. A few Aviators around the base even went as far as to “neither confirm nor deny” that they’d participated in such activities. Since he wasn’t the fastest Pegasus in the air, Nimbus never really bothered with the racing scene, but the lack of restrictions in Hollow Shades meant he could practice terrain-following flight, something he greatly enjoyed. It was not uncommon for townsponies to see him ripping by at low level in the early hours of the day. Cruising through canyons and flying just above treetop level was something Nimbus seldom got to do outside of work, and coming home gave him the opportunity to do such things recreationally.

Nimbus let his speed slip a bit, allowing Whirlwind to gain some ground and make things interesting. The two were neck and neck just over main street, and the goal was in sight.

“You’re not beating me today!” Nimbus puffed.

“Hah! We’ll see about that!” Whirlwind replied, boosting himself into the lead. The ponies pulled up a bit, to avoid obliterating a newspaper stand below, then dove down for the home stretch. Nimbus eyed his brother daringly, and Whirlwind just smirked back as the two dared one another to keep going before the final flare and landing. As they drew closer, Nimbus could tell that Whirly wasn’t going to let up, so he flared his wings, stopping just short of the sidewalk. Whirlwind flared only slightly, then tucked his wings in and rolled, coming to rest upright on all four hooves.

“Where’d you learn that?” Nimbus asked, panting.

“Recess!” Whirlwind replied, barely winded.

“Okay, then,” Nimbus said, shaking his head in amazement. His little brother was just one bag of tricks after another, apparently. “Come on, Whirly. Let’s grab some ice cream.”

The parlor had a seats before service policy, so the two Pegasi sat down at a small table near the window. They were joined shortly by a waitress.

“What can I get you two today?” the Unicorn asked, levitating a notepad and pen at the ready.

“Can I get a cookie dough sundae, please?” Nimbus asked. The waitress nodded, jotting his order down.

“And may I please have a brownie delight?” Whirlwind added.

“Sure thing, will that be all?”

“That’s it, thanks,” Nimbus said. The waitress took her notepad and pen and turned around, heading for the kitchen. Nimbus focused on Whirlwind.

“A brownie delight, huh? Can you actually finish one of those?”

“Of course I can!” Whirlwind proudly proclaimed, “I get one every time I come here with Mom and Dad!”

Nimbus was impressed. The brownie delight was one of the parlor’s biggest dessert dishes, and arguably the most difficult to finish on account of its almost stupefying sweetness. He liked to think that he had a sweet tooth, but one could only eat so much chocolate…

“Well, if you want it, I won’t stop you,” Nimbus finished.

“Thanks for the ice cream, Nimbus,” Whirlwind said, grinning, “I was actually about to ask Mom if we could go here, but you beat me to it!”

Chuckling a little, Nimbus nodded. “Yeah, I figured you might want to come here…” he looked away a moment as his words faded. He was delaying the subject, and he knew it. He had to break the news to Whirlwind now, before he lost the courage to do so.

“Whirly, I may have to go back to Manehattan soon.”

The little colt’s ears perked up. “Oh really? Did you leave something at your apartment?”

Nimbus breathed in deeply. “Uh… no, not exactly. You see, my commander is going to need all of her Aviators in one place for a while, to make sure the Griffons don’t try anything sneaky.”

“Why would they do that?” Whirlwind asked, a look of concern slowly forming on his face.

“Well, the Griffons are fighting themselves now. It’s called a civil war, and it’s… it’s not a very good thing, but if the right side wins, the Griffons might finally want to be friends with us. Do you kind of see what I’m saying?”

“I guess,” Whirlwind said, shifting, “but can’t they just call other Aviators?”

“They can, and they are,” Nimbus replied, “and I really don’t know how long I’ll be gone for if I do have to leave. Might be back in a few days, or I may not see you guys until Hearth’s Warming Eve. It just depends on what happens with the Griffons. Do you understand?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

The waitress returned with the ponies’ ice creams, and Nimbus immediately set to work on his. Whirlwind halfheartedly poked his dessert with a spoon and took a few nibbles before speaking again.

“Nimbus, I don’t think I get it- why do the Griffons hate each other? Why do they hate everypony else, too?”

Not exactly the topic he’d been hoping to cover, but there was no going back now.

“Well, Whirly, they don’t all hate us, or each other. A lot of the Griffons are just like you and me. Not too long ago, some of them even came over to Equestria for things like school and sports. They’re not fighting because they hate each other, either. Some of them just want the old ways to change.”

“And if the old ways change, will they be friends with us?” Whirlwind asked, chewing on a brownie.

“I think they might,” Nimbus said. He decided not to add that the “old ways” seldom changed easily, and less often peacefully.

Whirlwind nodded. “Okay, Nimbus.”

The two ate in silence for a while, and when they were finished, Whirlwind thanked Nimbus for the treat. Not long after the two headed home, barely saying a word to one another. Neither wanted Nimbus to leave, but both knew it had to happen. As they walked on, they savored what could possibly be their last moments together for a while, despite the awkwardness of the situation, and when they finally reached the house, Nimbus hoped and prayed that perhaps things weren’t as predicted, that he might be allowed to keep the last week of his leave and remain with his family. Unfortunately, larger events were already being set in motion, and it was these events that would soon encompass Nimbus’s life. The look on his mother’s face when he entered the house told him everything. He didn’t even have to see his Phoenix-delivered orders to confirm that tonight was officially the end of his leave. The family sat down to eat a small dinner, but throughout the meal, Nimbus just didn’t feel like eating. He couldn’t shake the feeling that his orders were just the start of something much larger. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time. The family finished, and it was soon time for Whirlwind to go to bed. Nimbus led his little brother upstairs and helped tuck him under the covers.

“Nimbus?” the little Pegasus said as Nimbus turned and headed for the door, preparing to shut off the light.

“Yeah?” Nimbus responded, facing back towards the bundle under the covers that was his brother.

“Be safe, okay?”

“I’ll be back before you know it,” Nimbus replied, grinning, “do everything you can to help Mom and Dad while I’m gone, and if I don’t get back here before school starts, you make sure you try your hardest in second grade, alright?”

“I will,” Whirlwind whispered.

“I’ll see you soon,” Nimbus said, shutting off the light and closing the door slowly, “I promise.”

Nimbus wandered back out into the hall, descending the few stairs between Whirlwind’s room and the main floor, and met his parents in the living room. Exhausted from the day’s events, he collapsed on a couch and looked over his orders one more time.

“Report time is tomorrow at 0930…” Nimbus exhaled and laid his head back on the soft cushions behind him, “Dad, you were a guard once- does this thing happen frequently in the military?”

Updraft chuckled, “well, you have to remember that I served during the Great Griffon War. Any time tensions are high, you can probably expect something like this. My guess is that it’s only precautionary. If Celestia goes against tradition and says that our forces should be deployed to help the rebels, that’ll be a different story, but I honestly don’t think she’ll do that. You want my opinion on this matter? The whole thing will blow over in a month or two. I hate to say it, but the rebels don’t have much longer.”

“Why can’t we help them?” Nimbus asked, “what’s so wrong about that?”

“Well there’s nothing wrong about it at all,” Updraft replied, “but if we go poking our noses into things we shouldn’t be, the Griffons will retaliate. Of that I’m sure. And the last thing we need is to provoke an opportunistic invasion of Equestria.”

“True,” Nimbus agreed.

“You should let us know how long you’ll be staying in Manehattan for,” Comet Stream added, “perhaps we’ll come up and visit you before the summer’s over.”

“I’d like that,” Nimbus said, remembering the last time they’d visited. Whirlwind had been positively ecstatic; they’d toured the base, and the little colt even got the chance to try on Nimbus’s helmet. Fortunately, his parents hadn’t asked about Storm Runner, most specifically why he hadn’t been around at all during the visit. The Pegasus felt queasy as he thought about his old friend. If this was truly a mass Aviator call, then Storm would be there too. He supposed he could just hang out with Starburst, who was becoming slightly more tolerable with every flight the two went on. The Captain really had some interesting stories to tell, and he was nothing like the arrogant Cyclone Sprint who had, thankfully, been transferred to another squadron only a few months ago. He’d miss Hollow Shades, as he always did, but he was startled to find that it didn’t bother him anywhere near as much as it used to. Homesickness affected everypony in some way, but Nimbus was quickly finding that it wasn’t too hard to get used to.

“Well,” he said finally, “I need to get up early if I’m taking the train to Manehattan. I should probably get to bed.”

Updraft nodded. “Sounds good.”

Nimbus stood and gave each of his parents a quick hug in succession.

“It was wonderful having you here,” Comet Stream said, “I’ll get up with you tomorrow and see about getting you something to eat on the train.”

“Thank you,” Nimbus said, on his way upstairs, “then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, Mom.”

“Take care as always, Nimbus, and make us proud,” Updraft added, and Nimbus nodded.

“Will do, Dad. Goodnight.”

Make us proud. It was something his parents had said every time he left home since he was accepted to the Royal Equestrian Air College. One would have thought the same saying would have lost relevance over time, but it really hadn’t. Those words rang true every second of every day, and he found himself still trying to exceed those standards. If things really did get complicated with the Griffons, he only hoped he could still look to his parents for guidance.