//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 - Crusading Bonds (Over A Barrel) // Story: On The Wings of Wind // by Chazonic //------------------------------// "Yo, Zephyr! You there?" I jolted out of my wandering thoughts, looking around wildly. Apparently, Rainbow Dash and I were already done with wind and weather duties. "Jeez dude. You've been like this for a few days now. It's starting to weird me out..." "Sorry... a lot on my mind as of late. Can you repeat what you were just saying?" She rolls her eyes in irritation. "As I was saying, you will be in charge of both wind AND weather duties while I'm gone. I'm going with my friends to Appleloosa to deliver a tree, so we should be back by the day after tomorrow." I nod. "Right, and tomorrow is a scheduled storm. Fun times..." "Just don't screw anything up while I'm gone. Last thing I need is to come back to a mess." I groan with irritation. "Yes, I got it..." She smirks. "Good, now I've got to get ready for the trip. See ya!" With that, she flew off with a burst of speed. Prepare for what? All you're doing is delivering a freaking apple tree with your 'friends'... logic. I sigh as I flew to Sweet Apple Acres, slipping again into a distracted stupor. I've been doing it a lot ever since my last run-in with Fluttershy, trying to figure out what it all meant. Sadly, all I ever do is go in circles with my thoughts, and I become oblivious to everything else. Like the apple tree I just rammed into head-first. I REALLY need to get it out of my mind. All I need to do is avoid Fluttershy to prevent it from happening again. Should be simple enough. Big Mac was already bucking trees when I reached where I last left off. He gave me a concerned look, but I waved it off with my wing and started bucking. Him and Applejack had noticed me slipping into stupors while I was working there for the last two days. Every time, I tell them I'm fine, despite the unconvinced looks they give me. "Right, I should probably warn you, tomorrow's a storm, so have everything tied down by then." I get a nod in thanks. "Do you know why Applejack's taking her friends?" "Nnope." "Figures..." Finishing my quota, I decided to fly into White Tail Woods for some flying practice. I felt somewhat out of shape, despite both my jobs being rather physical. "A-are you sure this is alright, Applebloom?" Sweetie Belle? I haven't seen her or her friends for quite a while, though it IS the start of the weekend. What are they doing out here? "Ah'm sure of it. This time, we will get our cutie marks!" "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS TIGHT-ROPE WALKING, YAY!" Reaching the fillies, I notice that they were pretty high up, and that all three were going to go on the rope at the same time. They are guts, but they have nuts... wait what? They are nuts, but they have guts, bleah! Still, this is an awkward situation. If I call to them now, all three might fall off at the same time. There's no way I'll be able to catch all three of them, and the fall would definitely cause serious injury to a filly. In the end, I opted to get as close as I can underneath them and hope for the best. Currently, Scootaloo was faring the best, as she was using her wings, tiny as they may be, for extra balance. Applebloom was faring slightly less, but her earth pony heritage allowed her more balance naturally. Sadly, Sweetie Bell was-- "EEK!" -- Faring poorly. I quickly leaped up and caught her after she fell off. "Wha? Mr. Zephyr?" "I told you, just Zephyr is fine." I put her down on the ground and she beamed at me. Looking up, I noticed the other two were holding onto the rope and giving me a bewildered look. Scootaloo spoke up, "how did you know we were here?" "I didn't. I came here to practice flying, but when heard your voices, I decided to see what you were up to, pun intended." I grin at the two still on the rope as they roll their eyes while I hear a giggle from beside me. "Don't let me stop you from continuing, though." Again with the bewildered looks, but Applebloom spoke this time. "Wait, yer letting us continue? But ah thought you would try and get us to abandon our attempt after Sweetie Belle fell off." I shake my head. "As harebrained as your idea is, no sense stopping you when you're already attempting it. Plus, since I'm here, I can act as your safety net." The two on the tight-rope looked at each other before beaming at me and continuing their attempt. Applebloom was the next to fall off, though I caught her just fine. Scootaloo was close to the other side when the wind decided to be a jerk and blow her off the rope. "Darn it, I was so close too..." I shrugged. "You tried." She looked at her flank before giving a sad sigh. "Well then, what's next?" As the three fillies pondered the question, I decided to leave them to it. I still needed to practice my flying-- "Zephyr, can you help us?" I turn to look at Sweetie Belle, who was wearing an innocent face. "Help you with what? I'm pretty sure you girls already got it figured out." Now Applebloom's wearing an innocent face. "It's jus' that... Yer the first one to really let us do what we wanted in our attempt to get our cutie marks. Nopony has ever done that fer us..." I sigh. "You girls won't be fillies forever. I think you deserve to enjoy every bit of it, even if your ideas are all harebrained and/or unworkable." Scootaloo's turn to join. "Then could you watch over us when we go on crusades? You seem to be the most 'allowing' pony we've met besides Fluttershy"-- I wince at the name --" and you were pretty cool in saving us from falling." "So essentially, you're asking me to become your 'guardian'? Hmm, can't say I would have enough time to--" "Pleeeeeease?" Ok, that's just plain unfair. I should find a way to write to Princess Celestia about making puppy dog faces illegal. "Fine, I'll make sure you girls don't hurt yourselves too badly-- oof!" I got tackled by all three of them to the ground, and they were hugging me. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" "Hold up, I want some questions answered first." They look up at me. "First of all, why are you so trusting of a stallion you've only known for literal minutes? Wouldn't asking your sisters this kind of thing be better?" Sweetie Belle frowned. "Rarity always shoots down any ideas that we come up with. Applebloom says both Applejack and Big Macintosh are a little less strict about it, but they still remove more than half of our ideas." Gee, I wonder why... I look at Scootaloo. "What about Rainbow Dash? She certainly would be pretty allowing if you asked her." She gives a nervous grin. "Uh, i-it's usually because she's so busy, that I could never bring myself to ask her..." One of my ears flicked in disbelief, but I didn't touch on it. "That still doesn't tell me why you chose to trust me over somepony who's been living here for Celestia knows how long." I gave them a brazen look. "W-well, outside of what Scootaloo said, Applejack always said yer a hard worker, and that yer a nice stallion. We figured that if Applejack and Big Mac trusts you, we can as well." Saying Applejack trusts me is a real stretch. Still, I actually got nothing better to do for the day besides flying practice, so why not? "Very well, you convinced me. However, you should probably say bye to your sisters before starting anything more. They're leaving for Appleloosa this afternoon." Applebloom and Sweetie Belle gasped and dashed off. Scootaloo gave a sad sigh before running off as well. "Meet me at Sweet Apple Acres!" Guess I'll go there now... All day, I spent time with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, making sure they didn't hurt themselves too much, while shooting down any ideas they came up with that seemed outright suicidal. Yet... I found so much joy in their beaming faces every time I was there to save them from a fall, when I was there to reassure them if the crusade turned out to be a flop. "Just keep trying different things. Eventually, you'll find something that you like. After that, it's just a matter of dedication." I spoke these words to them the first time a crusade crashed and burned horribly. It somewhat amuses me how much vigor they get just by hearing me speak. As the sun was starting to set, I decided that the fillies had enough for the day. When I dropped Applebloom off at the farm, Big Mac was surprised to see me, though he smiled when I told him what I was doing with the fillies. "Yer a good guy, Zephyr. Don' let anypony else say otherwise." I simply nodded at him before taking Sweetie Belle to her house. When she was dropped off, I turned to Scootaloo. "Alright, sorry for leaving you last. Where do you live?" She shuddered. "I-I can get home on my own just fine." I gave her a questioning glance, but she continued, "thanks for being there for us, Zephyr. See you tomorrow?" I chuckle. "I told you girls already I would join you after overseeing the preparations for the storm. If you're fine going home by yourself, then have a good night." "Good night." With that, she scoots off on her... scooter. I shake my head before retiring for the night. Scootaloo is hiding something. Question is; what? Preparations for the storm went smoothly, as it was something I was used to during my time in Manehatten. After charging the wind currents to increase wind speed when the storm starts, I went to the farm as per usual. Big Mac was outside doing something with the barn, probably reinforcing it. "Hey, all ready for the storm?" "Eeyup." "Need any other work done?" "Nnope." "Alright. I promised your little sister and her friends that I would be here for them again today. Didn't think I was THAT likeable..." "Hey Zephyr!" I turn to see Scootaloo riding into the farm with Sweetie Belle in tow. Applebloom had just left her house and hopped into the wagon. "Well, the cast is here. Remember, we need to be back before the storm starts later this afternoon." Scootaloo rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, we got it. Lets go already!" I shake my head in amusement as the fillies take off. I give a quick nod to Big Mac before taking off after them. "I guess we just came full circle... how long have we been out here for?" We were at the same spot I found the CMC at yesterday. Applebloom shrugs. "Time can fly when yer having fun." "I highly doubt it was any funner after you girls decided to include me as part of your schemes." "It was still a lot of fun! Admit that you had fun too." Sweetie Belle beamed. I groan, though I couldn't get the smile off my face. Scootaloo was off to the side, pondering. "So what do you think we shou--" The sound of thunder interrupted her, and I suddenly realized, with horror, that the storm was about to begin. "I think we should wrap this up girls. We need to go now!" *KABOOM* The fillies jumped, before nodding and clamoring towards the scooter. The wind had started picking up. I miscalculated... if we are to get home safely without getting drenched, we need to move fast. Applebloom got home without a hitch, but it had started to rain right when we reached Sweetie Belle's house. It got worse by the second. "Scootaloo, where is your house?" I had to raise my voice against the wind. "It's... it's..." "Crap, if it's on the other side, then we will be waterlogged by the time we get there. No choice..." I pick her up, scooter and all, and flew towards my house. "Wah-- hey what are you doing?" Good thing I left the door unlocked. The irony... Despite my house being close by, we still got drenched. "Ugh, hold on a second." I trotted to the bathroom, got a bunch of towels, and threw one towards Scootaloo before trying to dry myself off. I only got my wings dried before noticing that she was struggling. "Need a hoof there?" she gives me a stubborn look. "I can do this myself!" I observed her for a bit longer, seeing her repeated attempts to dry herself and failing. "Here, let me help." Putting my towel on my head, I hear a squeak of surprise as I start scrubbing her dry. "T-thanks..." "Sure. Now make yourself at home while I attend to something quick." I briefly see a surprised look from her before I went up into my room. I need to change my bandages. They're soaked, and Celestia knows what would happen if somepony sees what I'm hiding under them. Dried off and changed, I head back down to see Scootaloo looking around the house. "See anything of interest?" She jumped in surprise, but quickly recomposed herself. "You don't have much here..." "Sorry about that. I moved in recently, and I tend to be rather plain. Regardless, need anything to eat or drink?" She lets out a yawn and I grin. "Or perhaps you need some sleep." "No I don't." She let out another yawn before rubbing her eyes. "Methinks somepony was trying too hard during her crusades. If you wanted to stay up later, maybe you should--" There was a very soft snore. "-- not play so hard..." Shaking my head, I carefully pick the sleeping filly up and took her to my bedroom. She would probably hate me for thinking this, but she looks so cute while she's asleep. After covering her with the bed sheets, I started to exit the room to sleep on the couch. *KABOOM* I jumped a little myself, but I looked back at Scootaloo, who looked like she was still asleep, but with a scared look on her face. I did the last thing I would of expected myself to do. I crawled under the sheets with her and draped a wing over the shivering filly. She calmed down and started sleeping more peacefully. I wanted to stay there... to continue comforting her... To let her know she's not alone... Why do I feel like I'm acting on an instinct I forgot I had?