In Pursuit of...

Chapter 20: Second Chances

The following week went by quickly. Nimbus and his friends volunteered to help Mecha rebuild the wall of the Canterlot Palace ballroom, and the work was done quickly, despite several setbacks involving a series of explosions accidentally caused by Mecha. When they were finished, Celestia and Luna approached them and announced that, in honor of their efforts to save Equestria, they would bring the Grand Galloping Gala back. In all, everything was slowly returning to normal. The ponies returned briefly to Ponyville, to their homes. The place fascinated Nimbus. It was the ideal cozy town. He set up residence in Applejack’s barn, helping the family out with a few chores while deciding where to go next. Sugary Spice woke up one morning to find- not frogs sitting in her terrarium- but two rather disheveled and slimy Equestrian Air Force Pegasi. After the initial shock, she informed Nimbus, and he was happily reunited with his detail.

Finally, the night had arrived. The Gala was on again. The Wonderbolts had been called back to perform, now with Soarin’ in the team as well. Nimbus and Rainbow Dash nearly died when they heard the news. When Twilight had informed them that the Wonderbolts had also requested their appearance in a national pride formation, they completely lost it, zipping around her library like maniacs. When they’d finally settled down, Twilight also told Nimbus that Equestria’s Princesses had requested a private audience with him before the Gala began. Nimbus passed out instantly upon receipt of the news.

Now, Nimbus found himself outside the Princesses’ guest room, in his Equestrian Air Force Service Dress with sweat positively dripping down  his face. He straightened his tie, gritting his teeth, and knocked.

“Enter!” a cheerful voice called from within.

Nimbus entered the room slowly, pushing the door open with a  gentle touch. Celestia and Luna were both inside. Celestia was reclining on a couch, while Luna was at a small food bar, preparing some hot water. Nimbus instantly snapped to attention.

“Ma’am, 2nd Lieutenant Nimbus reports as ordered!”

“Oh good grief!” Celestia said, rolling her eyes, “didn’t I already tell you not to use those formalities around me? Sit down and make yourself comfortable.”

Hesitantly, Nimbus walked forward and sat on the couch opposite Celestia, trying desperately to look relaxed. A twinkle in Celestia’s eye informed him that she understood.

“Would you care for tea?” she asked.

“Hm?” Nimbus said, snapping out of a sudden daze.

“Wouldst thou care for tea?” Luna repeated from the food bar. Nimbus was about to respond with a “yes,” when he decided to make his first informal decision of the night.

“No thanks,” he said, “do you have coffee?”

Celestia breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness! He’s a coffee drinker like us!” She turned to Nimbus. “Normally we drink coffee, too, but it’s royal protocol for me to offer tea first. I’m sure you know the feeling.”

Nimbus nodded. He certainly did. Within a few moments, Luna trotted over, setting three coffee mugs down on the table. She then took a seat next to Celestia. The three sipped their coffee for a while before Celestia finally spoke.

“Nimbus, I’d like to thank you again for all you’ve done for Equestria, and for Luna as well. It’s very rare that somepony like you takes the initiative to take up arms in Equestria’s defense.”

Nimbus smiled outwardly, preparing himself for yet another “congratulations” speech. It wasn’t that he had anything against the princesses- it was just that hearing the same speech (sometimes verbatim) over and over again tended to get on one’s nerves.

“But that’s not why we summoned thou here,” Luna finished for her sister.

Nimbus’s ears perked up. “Come again?” he said.

“That’s right,” Celestia said with a grin, “my sister and I decided that you were probably sick and tired of hearing ‘congratulations speeches’ from everypony, so we decided to discuss something else: friendship.”

“Friendship?” Nimbus asked, confused.

“Specifically what thou learned about the subject,” Luna added.

Nimbus thought about his experiences over the last few days for a moment. Everything he’d done- everything he’d learned- he couldn’t have done without his friends. He thought back to what his grandfather had told him.

“Remember: your friends are your most valuable assets you will ever have. Hold on to them.”

Smiling, he turned to Celestia. “Actually, I learned a lot.” He took another sip of coffee and continued. “I learned that no matter what challenge I might face next, facing it with friends is so much better than going it alone. I also learned that even though my duty is important, I need to take some time away from it and relax with friends.”

Celestia and Luna smiled. “That’s excellent,” Celestia said.

“I do have one regret, though,” Nimbus said, “you see, there’s something I left unfinished.”

“It wasn’t the ballroom wall, was it? Celestia asked. Nimbus laughed.

“Definitely not. And don’t concern yourself over it. It’s something I need to handle on my own.”

“Mayhaps we can still help?” Luna asked.

“Well, I don’t know,” said Nimbus. “See, I’m sort of looking for advice.”

“Excellent!” Celestia said, throwing her wings up into the air, “you’ve come to the right Princesses!”

“It’s pretty complicated,” Nimbus said, “but if you insist…”

…

Nimbus didn’t emerge from the room for another hour. When he did, however, he had a new sort of determination about him. He had a mission, and with the advice he had just received from none other than the royal sisters, he felt he had the right tools for the job.

He walked down the curved stairway into the ballroom, marveling at how clean and different everything appeared. Everypony had done a good job getting the place to look as it always had. Nimbus moved through the crowd, almost running headlong into Mecha and Cheerilee.

“Hey,” Mecha said, “what’s up?”

Nimbus shrugged, “not much. Yourself?”

Mecha smiled. “Just happy to have my marefriend back.” He looked Cheerilee in the eyes, and both smiled. Then Cheerilee turned to Nimbus.

“Don’t forget- you’ve got a lesson to teach at the Ponyville school this Thursday with Mecha.”

Nimbus’s jaw dropped. “Oh my gosh, I almost forgot!” He looked over at Mecha. “I’ll be there,” he said.

“Alright!” Mecha said, “the last thing I’d want to do would be to go into a class full of crazy little colts and fillies without backup.”

Nimbus grinned. “Touche, Mecha. Have a good night!”

Mecha raised a hoof and waved as Nimbus left. Nimbus looked over the entire ballroom, trying to find his goal. He thought he saw a flash of blue heading for the side of the room, and pursued, but he was stopped by the arrival of Sunshine and Cloudburst, his security detail.

“Hey guys!” Nimbus said.

“Howdy,” Sunshine said, “you busy right now?”

Nimbus looked towards the side of the room. If he’d seen the pony he was looking for, she was gone now.

“Not really,” he said.

“Great,” Sunshine said. “First off, then, I want to thank you for turning us over to Sugary Spice. That filly’s one of the best frog caretakers in town.”

Nimbus smiled. “Glad you enjoyed it.”

“Well, it’s not exactly an experience I’d like to repeat any time soon,” Cloudburst confessed.

“There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about,” Sunshine said. “Seems you don’t have your official duty assignment yet. You were attached to our detail right out of the Academy, correct?”

Nimbus nodded. “That’s right.”

“Well, given your current performance, the Chief Pegasus of the Air Force has seen fit to promote you to the rank of Captain-“

“Woohoo!” Nimbus yelled.

“-and has also decided that it’s up to you where you’d like to be stationed.”

Nimbus thought about Sunshine’s second statement as the golden Pegasus removed his old ranks and placed Captain’s bars on his epaulets. Finally, he’d made his decision.

“Ponyville,” he said, “that’s where I want to go.”

“Ponyville?” Cloudburst said in disbelief, “are you sure? I hear Manehatten’s the best!”

“Naw,” Nimbus said, “I’ve got friends in Ponyville. It’s where I need to be.”

“It’s your choice,” Sunshine said. “In that case, best of luck to you. If I remember correctly, Ponyville doesn’t actually have an official EAF squadron attached to it, so… you’d be the first!”

“Nice!” Nimbus said. “And my reporting procedures?”

“Just a letter each month,” Sunshine said, “and that’s more to keep in touch with me than anything else. Just go out there and enjoy your life. There’s a lot to do.”

“I will,” said Nimbus, shaking the hoof of his EAF buddies.

“Take care now,” Cloudburst said, patting him on the back. Nimbus winced with the force, but smiled anyway.

“Thanks so much! Have a good night!”

He turned back to the task at hand. The pony he was looking for was nowhere in sight. Nimbus decided to take a break and head for the balcony. He walked outside and rested on its edge- just as he’d done during Eclipse’s “Gala.” He looked to his left and almost fell off in surprise. Rainbow Dash, the pony he’d been looking for, was on the balcony next to him. Recalling his failure to act the first time he was presented with such an opportunity, Nimbus decided to squash his fears once and for all. Confidently, he spread his wings and flew over to the balcony and alighted next to Rainbow Dash. He had a dance to inquire about.

…

When the night’s events were over, Nimbus smiled. Not only had Rainbow Dash agreed to a dance- she’d also asked him to come flying with her the next day. Nimbus had been ecstatic. He wasn’t sure if he should necessarily count the next day’s outing as a “date,” but it was a start at least. Celestia and Luna had helped him realize that he had feelings for Rainbow Dash, and Nimbus wasn’t about to let those feelings go to waste. When he and Rainbow Dash took to the sky with the Wonderbolts for the formation flight, Nimbus felt the night was truly magical. As he performed a bank formation turn over the Gala’s attendees, he reflected on his experiences. He’d come a long way since meeting Rainbow Dash and her friends, he knew, and he felt much better as a result.

As he boarded the train with his friends back to Ponyville, Nimbus took one last glance back at Canterlot- the place where this whole situation had begun. He’d been through a lot, and made it through several adverse situations, many of which would have broken down a lesser pony, and he owed it all to his friends. He smiled, watching Twilight positively destroying Rarity at some sort of word game as the train began to roll. Now, he could finally go home. Everything was over now.

He reached into his saddlebag and touched his hoof to something. He lifted the Unifier out of his bag, looking closely at it.

“Well,” he thought, “perhaps the excitement’s not all over yet.”

Epilogue

“Alright,” Mecha said, “open your eyes!”

Nimbus removed his hooves from his eyes and looked at the sight in front of him.

“Beauty, isn’t she?” Mecha said, “one of the best houses in Ponyville. It’s got a great location on the city’s outskirts, and it’s cheap!”

Nimbus stared at the house. Several chunks of wall were missing, areas were scorched, and most of the roof was crumbling. It had obviously once been a great house, but it had clearly seen some aging since then.

Mecha grinned sheepishly. “Okay, well it’s a bit of a fixer-upper. Plus, I may have used it as an explosives testing shed a while back, but that’s all in the past now. Trust me- I’m about 92 percent confident that all the air in there is a-okay to breathe.”

“Aw, what the heck,” Nimbus said, patting his friend on the back, “it’s great. Give me a few weeks, and it’ll be great.”

“You can hang out at my place until you’ve fixed up the house,” Mecha offered. “It gets a bit rowdy at times, but I’m always there. Unless there’s a price on my head, that is. And there usually is. If that’s the case, you might want to be ready to fight at a moment’s notice.”

Nimbus smiled. “You know what? That sounds great. I’m looking forward to my time in Ponyville.”

“That’s the way to put it,” Mecha said, “now let’s head on down to the shop and I’ll see if I can find you a starter kit for this house. I’m sure I’ve got the tools.”

“Awesome,” Nimbus said, “just promise me you’ll stay away from the molten Hydra scale.”

“I think I can arrange that,” Mecha said, as the two disappeared over a hill into town, walking towards the setting sun. When they were fully gone from sight, an explosion suddenly went off, followed by silence.

“So that’s where I put my reserve Hydra scale!” Mecha said triumphantly.

The only sound from Nimbus was a muffled groan, followed by “let’s just get back before we trigger a war.”

Laughter echoed over the hills. Nimbus, at last, had truly settled down. What he’d been in pursuit of for so long, it seemed, was finally all around him: friends, good memories, and a place he could truly call home.