Chapters Comfort Can Come Anywhere
It was a typical afternoon at the main precinct in Dallas, crime cases had been filled, some had not. Even though crime had been dropped 7% this past week, it was never good for this day, because the following day marked one year since a terrible tragedy happened. Dallas's police chief and Nathan Cadenza's best friend, Kyle Welder, was sitting in his office drinking tea and going over case files of many criminals, from captured larcenists to check forgers, but he was feeling down about something. As he was reading through the files, he quickly turned his attention towards a picture of a police officer hanging on his wall, at the bottom of this picture it read
"Officer James Floyd Allison 2008-2039"
This officer had been considered one of the best in Kyle's precinct, but one year ago the following day, he had tragically lost his life. Kyle then looked down at his desk in sorrow over this.
"Oh James, why did you have to go?" he thought, his sorrows were soon interrupted by the sound of a moderate to loud knock at the door, quickly causing him to snap out.
"Uh what, oh, come in!" he yelled, the door then opened to reveal an officer with data papers about a criminal they had caught.
"Chief Welder, we got data on Henry Gothsman." the officer said.
"What's the status, did they find the murder weapon?"
"Yes, it was a crowbar, it had blood stains all over it, but it is at the crime lab right now."
"Have we found him yet?!" Kyle asked in frustration.
"Unfortunately no, but we have found more clues from him."
This made Kyle explode to where he pounded his fist on the table.
"Of course, the majority of them always get away!" he said with a clenched voice.
"Are you okay sir, you seem kinda down."
"I don't want to talk about it okay?!" Kyle moaned, "Just get whatever data that is left and find him!"
"Yes sir, I'll leave you alone." said the rogue cop, leaving the office. Kyle then returned his focus towards the picture. Even though it was a long time ago, he wished James was still here because he caught even the most wanted criminals faster than anyone he had ever seen. But since he was gone, it was now going to be longer to catch a suspect.
"Oh James, if only you were here, you'd get Henry quicker than us." Kyle muttered. It was typically a nice weekend for him because he was taking a paid few days off, so he figured he'd spend the night in Equestria, but would still feel down about the tragedy of James. Yet, he would try his best to keep it secret from Twilight, Apple Bloom, and Nathan as he stayed.
....Meanwhile in Equestria, Canterlot....
At the Cadenza household, Nathan was reading a book while Apple Bloom was busy making formula for Apple Tart and Lone Star's bottles. The twins were now six weeks old and Nate and Bloomy had now gotten used to being new parents, Nathan held Apple Tart while Apple Bloom handled Lone Star, once Apple Bloom gave Nathan a bottle to feed Apple Tart and her with Lone Star, they started feeding them. But they were soon interrupted the same way Kyle was, a sudden knock at the door.
"Ah'll get it." Nathan said as he got out of his chair, Apple Tart in tow, and went to open the door. To his surprise, as well as Apple Bloom's, it was........
"Aunt Twilight?"
Indeed it was Twilight, with a puzzled expression, a paper clutched in the grasp of her magical aura.
"Hi Nathan, Apple Bloom, sorry to bother you all." she said.
"No Aunt Twil, that's all right, what's goin' on?" asked Apple Bloom as she continued to bottle feed Lone Star.
"Nathan, I got this letter from one of the Crystal guards, it's from Kyle, and it was written to me."
"What?" Nathan asked, confused. He then lit up his horn and levitated the letter into his magical aura, still with his daughter in his hoof feeding her her bottle.
"Dear Princess Twilight"
"I have a few days off from my shift this week, and with your permission, I would like to spend a couple of days in Equestria with you all. I have had a lot of problems happening here at the DPD this past year and I just want to go there to clear my head of it."
"Kyle Welder"
As soon as Nathan finished reading the letter, he then put it aside then turned his attention towards Twilight and Apple Bloom.
"I mean if he wants to spend a few days here, he's more than welcome." Twilight said.
Nathan quickly understood of what Kyle wrote in the letter.
"Ah' think Ah' know what's goin' on when he said that stuff has been happenin' over the past year."
"What?" asked Apple Bloom as she fed Lone Star.
"There was a bad atrocity that took place last year, but Kyle's kept it rather hush hush ever since."
"An atrocity?" asked Apple Bloom.
"Yeah Bloomy, and it was really bad. So bad in fact, that all of Dallas was stricken with instant depression."
Nathan looked down in disappointment, "But we haven't been able to discuss it."
Twilight knew what it was, but could not remember what happened, since it was a year ago.
....Later that evening....
"Kyle." said Twilight to him, who had managed to get to Equestria earlier, they were both in the throne room together. But he was not in a mood to talk, he just wanted to get away from everything that had happened and clear his head. He was still in his police uniform, because he had not had time to change clothes before coming.
"I don't wanna talk about it Twilight." Kyle said in an irritated tone.
"Come on Kyle, talk to me, what's really bothering you?" asked Twilight as she wrapped her front left foreleg around him.
Kyle finally had some courage filled in him, and said to her with a deep sigh, "Twilight, tomorrow it'll be exactly one year, since it happened."
Twilight's memory of the unknown atrocity was now in full picture, since she soon remembered what came about, "Oh, that."
She then put comforting hooves on him again as he sat down in a chair, "Kyle, you've got to let go of that. It wasn't your fault, everypony said so, the department even gave you a commendation."
Kyle spoke up, "Oh yeah, I got a commendation, but I lost one of my best officers. I can't let go of that Twilight, I just can't let go of it."
He then got back up on his feet and left the room as Twilight stared at him with a sad look.
Author's Note
Do you all really think he should let go?
Comfort Can Come Anywhere
Later that night, while everypony was sleeping, Kyle was in the royal kitchen in his pajamas. He was so hurt and hard over what had happened even though it was now a year ago, it kept him fully awake. So, he decided to try and kill it off by coming into the kitchen and make a early morning snack, a sandwich, despite the fact that ponies did not eat deli or any meats of any kind. He sucked it up and made a lettuce and tomato sandwich, to another surprise, he brought his iPhone with him and thanks to all the magic that surrounded the regions, he was able to get a strong Wi-Fi signal on it. With his sandwich in one hand and his phone in the other, he watched a video of a news report that involved that terrible atrocity from that night because it was saved in his files.
"Thank you Chief Kyle Welder, this is Denise Evans reporting......" said a recorded voice of a woman on the video, but it was cut off and rewound by Kyle's finger as he took a bite from his food. He was quickly interrupted by the sound of hooves clopping down the hallway and coming towards the door.
"Kyle?" said a voice, he then turned to see Twilight in the kitchen wearing a nightgown, her crown and regalia removed.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"It's late, are you okay?" she asked as she entered the kitchen and sat next to him.
"Well, I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd come in here and make myself a sandwich."
"I hope you didn't have to beat up on the lettuce." Twilight said.
"No, it surrendered peacefully." Kyle answered.
"What are you looking at?" Twilight asked, Kyle quickly took back to the video he was watching and replayed it.
"This is CBS 11 News Alert Central, with Thomas Luaders."
"This is an urgent alert report, we have just received word that a hostage situation has occurred on Xenia Street."
"Sweetheart, why are you doing this to yourself?" Twilight asked as she watched the video with him.
"Let's go live now to Denise Evans at the scene." The video then switched from the newsroom to the location where the news van was operating. It showed a female news reporter with microphone in hand, and in the background it showed a bank that had been wrapped with yellow police line caution tape and dozens of police officers talking and inspecting. The news reporter then started speaking.
"An hour ago, a man entered this Liberty Bank and attempted to rob it, the bank clerk then activated a silent alarm and police quickly responded. When police came, they told the suspect to get on the ground. The suspect then took one of the cops hostage, an Officer James Allison, and held a gun to his head as he walked towards his car. And then, for no apparent reason, the suspect shot the officer, he was immediately killed on the spot, but unfortunately, his victim has been pronounced dead at the scene."
Twilight and Kyle continued to watch the video with saddened expressions.
"With me now is Dallas Police Chief Kyle Welder, Officer Welder congratulations on killing the suspect." said the news reporter as Kyle showed up into the camera.
"Thank you." said Kyle with sadness.
"Were you aware that he had taken one of your officers hostage?"
"Well yes, the uh suspect didn't appear to be rational. And uh, he repeatedly made threats that he would shoot the officer, if we didn't drop our weapons and let him get to his car."
"So, what did you do?"
"Well, I figured he would make good on his threats, so I ordered my men to do what he said."
"In retrospect, do you wish you could've handled the situation differently?"
After just a few seconds of a long pause, "I don't know."
"Thank you Chief Welder, this is Denise Evans reporting live at Xenia, CBS 11 news." that was the end of the video. Twilight used her magic to put his phone aside, then put a hoof on his shoulder.
"Listen to me Kyle, that was a year ago, it was not your fault."
"I know that here." Kyle said pointing to his head, "But the problem is, I'm not sure I know that here." he said, point to his heart, he then got up out of the chair and walked towards a window.
"Kyle....."
"Twilight, I'm sorry, I just can't let go of it."
"You have to, if you don't, it will turn you away from the more important things in your life."
"You don't understand, he was not just a cop, he was our best one, I told you this already!"
"Hey, calm down."
"Calm down?!" Kyle snapped, "How can I calm down, how can I calm down when I am so angry inside?!"
"Kyle," Twilight said, putting a hoof on him again, "I know what your feeling, I felt the exact same way when Tirek destroyed my library. But I didn't stay mad, I let go of it, because what he destroyed, was fixed with a whole new way of life for me. Now there are two ways to deal with anger, you can either hold on to it and let it eat you alive, or you can give that anger a voice and make a difference. That's one reason why I'm ruler of Equestria, I want to show generations to come, that no matter what disasters we face, we need to push it aside and solve it with friendship, not anger. Because if you hold on to your anger, it will turn you into something you're not, that's why Tirek is in Hell, because he would not let go of his anger. I don't want you going down that same road, and neither would Nathan or Luke, do you understand me?"
Kyle quickly pondered what Twilight had just told him, and wondering something, popped in him.
"You're right Twilight, I think I should go to James's grave and let it out there, but not by myself."
"Do you want me to go with you?" Twilight asked.
Kyle gave a warm smile, "Yes, that would be great."
Author's Note
Do you all think Twilight handled this rather professionally?
Comfort Can Come Anywhere
Kyle and Twilight had managed to make it back to Dallas in time, it was early morning, and life was going normal. But Kyle wanted her there with him for comfort and as a friend, because he was feeling down over the loss of James Allison. He was buried in a cemetery not too far from where the old orphanage was, it was called Pinewood Cemetery, and James's grave was the middle right section underneath a tree. Twilight and Kyle were here at the cemetery itself, and Kyle quickly found Jame's tombstone, carved on it read...........
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
JAMES EDWARD ALLISON
CARING POLICE OFFICER AND LOVING FATHER
JUNE 10, 2008-NOVEMBER 2, 2039
Kyle walked up towards the grave while Twilight silently watched from behind, Kyle had also brought a bouquet of flowers as well.
"Um, James, this is Kyle Welder, your police chief. Well, I guess you obviously know who I am, because you were one good cop, but I came here today to get something off of my chest James."
Twilight stared from the background in sadness as she heard Kyle speaking, but unbeknownst to them, another woman was approaching with flowers too, but she stopped dead in her tracks.
"You know what happened, happened a year ago, but what happened, happens again and again in my mind. I close my eyes and I.............I see that man holding you."
Kyle was now choking up, "I see that....that gun, pressed against your head....and I see the fear on your face."
The choking continued
"But what I don't see James, is that one second, that one.....fraction of a second when I could've taken him down. It was there, i-it had to be there, if only I had seen it and done something, you might be alive today James."
Tears were now forming out of his eyes, "But I missed, and I just wanna say, that I'm so sorry James, I am so very sorry!"
Finally Kyle broke down in tears, Twilight was a human, so she walked up and put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. The woman who had been listening, walked up to the both of them.
"Excuse me, officer, ma'am?" she asked, Twilight and Kyle heard her voice and turned to see her.
"Oh, uh yes?" asked Kyle as he wiped his face with tissues.
"I'm Heather Allison, James was my husband." she said, pointing to her late husband's grave.
"Oh, Mrs. Allison." Kyle said as he wiped his eyes with tissues, he walked up to her and shook her hand in greeting.
"Let's sit a moment." Heather said as she and Kyle walked towards a bench, but she quickly noticed Twilight standing there too.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Oh, I'm uh, Tara, I'm with him for supervision."
"That's sweet."
"I'll go ahead and let you all do this together." Kyle and Heather then went over to a bench and sat down.
"I should apologize for listening to you." she said.
"No-No, that's alright."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Oh sure." Kyle answered.
"Do you ever ask yourself, why you had to be the policeman who got there first?"
"Mrs. Allison, I ask myself that question a million times a day. But I bet you ask yourself, why your husband had to be the one to be there and get killed that night."
"No I don't, he was there, because it was his duty to be there."
"We were home watching television, and James got a call on his scanner about a robbery in progress, so he told me that he had to handle the call and we would finish watching our show when he got back. So he got up, cussed the dog for chewing on his shoes, and...." Heather could not keep it in, but tried "left my life forever."
"And sometimes, I find it......difficult to deal with the fact that.....if I had convinced James to have backup cover for him, he would still be with me." she said with a neutral expression.
Kyle was quick to understand, "Oh but, Mrs. Allison, you could not have had the audacity to know what would've happened to him that night, i-it wasn't your fault."
Heather and Twilight smiled sadly as Heather gave a small chuckle, "I know, but it took me a long time to realize that, and now you need to know, that it's not your fault either, okay?"
Kyle could now sense a form of comfort filling his heart and finally gave a warm smile. He and Heather then got up from the bench and went back over to James' grave where they slowly and gently put their flower bouquets down. Once their flowers were laid, Heather then turned to Kyle and hugged him as a show of support for all he did, Twilight soon joined them in silent.
Once everything had been settled later that morning, Heather had left back for her home while Kyle and Twilight departed for the old orphanage building. Kyle had driven there in his patrol vehicle and was planning on going back to Equestria with her, but he had some things to do before he returned, and the first thing to do was to set things right with his precinct for his behavior.
Once they got back to the orphanage, Twilight opened the passenger door.
"Twilight?" Kyle asked as she stepped out.
"Yes?"
"Listen, thanks for helping me with my problem, I do believe that I owe you an apology for my actions first."
Twilight smiled, "Oh Kyle, there's no need to apologize, you had within your right to be upset over what happened. But you need to learn when to just let it go and move on, we'll discuss this more when you come back okay?"
"Got it, right now I have some business to deal with at the PD, so I'll return this evening."
"Okay then, see you later." Twilight said, stepping out fully and closing the door. Kyle watched as Twilight leaped the fence then activated the portal and step through it, he then smiled and took off back to the precinct to apologize to his fellow officers.
Comfort Can Come Anywhere
Back at the police station, Kyle had managed to get of acceptance from his precinct over his behavior. Thanks to Twilight, he was now able to understand that even though we lose things we cherish, we have to let it go. Now here he was back in the quarters in front of his group of cops, all of whom were very pleased to see him with a change of heart.
"My fellow officers." He began to state, "You all may have known, today sparks the first anniversary of the tragic death of our fellow officer James Allison."
As he spoke, a picture of Allison was projected on a screen.
"He was taken from us too early, yet he performed his duty by helping us catch some of the most evil aspects Dallas has ever come across. Allison once told us, that being a cop is more than just wearing a badge, it is a special calling of the will of society. our badge is a symbol of reminder that we are always there for each other. That we have to face the most dangerous roads of challenges, especially the signs of levels in them, despite the fact that one will throw out the key of diversion to lure us away from performance of one's inner duty."
"When Allison was taken hostage that night, we all saw a good example of facing the will of society when the robber shot him dead in front of us all. The blood of innocence flowed out into our eyes, he had shown us that even the most powerful of a badge can be defeated, but we shall not let that stop us."
The police in uniform stood up in respect of their downed officer.
"Lastly, I close with thanking Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria for reminding me that even though it is hard to let things go, we have to."