On The Wings of Wind

by Chazonic

Chapter 25 - Try For "Normal"

This morning went somewhat similarly to yesterday, except I woke up in my own bed instead of Fluttershy's. As I was making breakfast, I looked over the research notes that Twilight gave me more thoroughly, since I only briefly skimmed over them yesterday and only saw details about myself I've noticed over my life, before and after my memory loss.

The only thing they don't cover is how high-strung I become when I eat too many apples... and apples specifically. I've tried many other fruits and they never have the same results.

The whole "magic osmosis" thing still bothered me. Unlike my apparent immunity to unicorn magic, I never got drained by earth ponies when I was younger. On top of that, I was worried that any attempts at patching things up with Applejack and Pinkie Pie would be stalled by such a hindrance.

After breakfast was eaten, Fluttershy told me that today was her "spa" day with Rarity and asked if I wanted to come along as well. I declined, not comfortable with that type of environment ever since one visit to a Manehatten spa with my mom as a colt. I can't remember what I saw there, but I know for a fact it killed some of my innocence as a colt. Plus I'm still under the impression that it's a mare thing.

Today was a Friday so the crusaders would be in school again, despite them being insistent on "catching up on lost time" after class is done. Until then, I didn't have anything to do other than wander around Ponyville and practice using my secondary wings.

When I tried using only my secondaries, I quickly discover that, due to their lack of use for the past ten years, they were weak to the point of barely getting me off the ground. Sighing, I use my primaries to gain altitude and then only use my secondaries to try and stay in the air.

At least until a pink blur knocks me out of the air.

"Oh my gosh, Zephy! I couldn't find you yesterday and I was worried you got captured and experimented on again--"

"P-Pinkie! I'm fine, really!"

She gives me a funny look. "I knew that. Well, I didn't know that until just now, but now I REALLY know that!" She gasps a bit. "Oh no! I almost forgot! Your--"

"Zephyr! There you are, I haven't seen you since the day before yesterday!" I look over to see my mom trotting over with a worried look. I sigh as Pinkie hops off me, only to get hugged by her. "You had me worried again!"

"Mom, I can take care of myself... sometimes..."

She gives me a look. "Y-you do know I'm not really--"

I roll my eyes. "Do you think a few pieces of paper telling me otherwise will change my mind? You'll always be my mom, okay?" She gives me a worried look before nuzzling me.

Pinkie squeed. "That was the absolute nicest thing I've heard today!"

I look at her, uncertain. "What about you Pinkie? Why are you--"

NO! I shouldn't think like that. I shouldn't think they hate me still... but why is it so hard?

She gives me a look. "You were about to ask why I don't hate you?" I deflate and nod and she shakes her head in amusement. "I can tell you're trying. Give it time; all you need is a zephyr under your wings of friendship and you'll soon be flying high in the skies of happiness!"

She went there.

"Well if that's what you think, then you might as well tickle me pink till I balloon up and get a pie to the face."

"What's wrong? Green with envy?"

"I hardly think so, my bouncing friend. After all, every smile you see puts an extra spring in your step."

I notice my mom deadpanning at the both of us. We look at each other with the realization we've been making incredibly bad puns and jokes with each others names, colors, and actions. We burst out laughing at my mom's reaction, who went from deadpanning to sporting a confused look.

I guess I don't have to worry about Pinkie in that regard... hopefully

I cough out of my laughing. "O-okay then, what were you up to, Pinkie?"

She grins. "Oh me? I was just doing what I always do when your mommy"-- I facehoof at those words and my mom giggled. --" asked me to help find you because she couldn't find you yesterday."

"Right, I'm currently lodged at Fluttershy's house because I'm in no shape to work until the day after tomorrow and my replacement needed a place to stay."

She shakes her head in disdain. "Isn't it your house? Why are they openly letting--"

"To be fair, the weather factory's head manager had the house bought for my time here. Admittedly I was being kind of a... hard-flank when I..." I trailed off as I remembered how I acted when I first got here, a fresh wave of guilt washing over me.

Pinkie quickly broke the silence. "Don't worry about what happened back then, Zephy. The past is in the past, you only need to look forward into the future."

I sigh and give her a small smile, most of my guilt eased. "Thanks Pinkie. You're are a true friend. One I never realized I had until a while ago."

"Don't dwell on it silly!" She gasps loudly. "Oh that's right I still need to plan your reunion party! See you later Zephy and Harp!" With that, she speeds off.

I give an amused shake of my head before turning to my mom. "Parties are her specialty after all. I'm still antsy as to how the rest of the town will react to my secondary wings and the fact I'm somepony's long-lost brother."

She puts a hoof on my withers. "Just try and hold onto the fact that your friends will be there for you. As for your relations, I managed to get that cleared with the mayor of this town, including your actual name."

Realizing it must of been a lot of work, I nuzzle her in the side of her head. "Thanks mom. I'm lucky I have you."

She hums. "The feeling's mutual. That's besides the point; what did you actually do yesterday?"

"Oh right. I intended to go to Rarity's boutique to repair my suit, but Twilight wanted me to go to the library with her so she could give me the research papers you guys found at the labs yesterday. My reactions when I had a run-in with Rainbow and Applejack were... unkind, I suppose is the word I'm looking for.

"I kept acting like they would lash out at me, not realizing that they were trying hard to make amends with me, only to be met with fear. It took a visit with Rarity to make me finally realize what I've been doing. It... admittedly made me feel even worse about myself, but I also told myself to try not to act so scared around them."

She sighs. "Again, trust in the fact that your friends just want what's best for you. As hard as it may be, try to forgive yourself as well, otherwise everypony else won't be able to forgive you."

I shudder. "Well... doing that and trying not to act scared is so hard for me..."

"No-pony changes instantly. Give it some time and you'll be alright."

That's just like mom, looking out for me in more ways than one.

She gives a low cough. "I just have one question; where does Fluttershy live?"

This caught me off guard. "Oh, uh... she lives near the entrance of the Everfree Forest. Why?"

"I just figured that I would get to know my adopted son's younger sister better." She gives me a coy smile.

"Right... letting you know now; she most likely won't be there, as she mentioned going to the spa with Rarity today. You could try there if you're antsy about it."

She nods. "I think I will. I wanted to unwind after everything that's happened, so a spa visit sounds lovely. Oh, and before I forget; your band members wanted to see you at their leader's place. You should probably fly by and say hello." With that, she trots off.

I facehoof hard when I realized I haven't seen the other band members for a while after the Gala.

Better late than never, I suppose. I just hope they aren't too mad at me for... again, why is this so hard?

Shaking my head, I headed over to where we practiced everything for the Manehatten Concert. When I knocked on the door, the next thing I notice the the death-grip on my mid-section by a yellow mass.

"Geeze you doink, you had us bucking scared!"

I sigh. "Hi, Snare." I notice the other band members at the entrance with surprised and relieved stares.

Electron spoke up, almost in a low squeak. "Where were you? We heard something happened to you from Strings and... and..."

Burst sighed. "We were all worried for you, even Snare."

Snare quickly let go of me with a cough. "I-I wasn't scared or worried about you. I was j-just worried we would be down a singer once again." I give her a look and she looks away with a flustered blush.

I shake my head. "I thought I was just a temporary singer for you guys and that's it."

Now Burst shook his head. "Would we really of did anything for you if we didn't care about you?" Iron nodded in agreement as Burst sighed. "You're a part of our little family, Zephyr. Even when you were just a replacement before, we still cared about you."

"I'm sorry I worried you guys like that."

Snare snorted. "You better be..."

I give an amused shake of my head before noticing something in Burst's wording. "What do you mean by "even when I was just a replacement"?"

Burst opened his mouth when Electron cut him off. "Clear Octave recently wrote to us saying he won't be able to sing for us anymore."

"Wait so that would mean..."

She smiles. "Your the official lead singer of our band now!" This got a surprised reaction out of me, as I never expected to be promoted to 'official member' so soon after everything that's happened recently. It was going a little too fast.

Snare snorted again. "See? I was merely concerned about the well-being of our band."

Burst rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you were totally concerned to the point of freaking out over Zephyr never returning to us."

"I told you that was not--"

I let out a massive groan. "As much as I appreciate it, sadly I'm a wind manager first and foremost. I don't think I'll be able to--"

Snare cut in, apparently already over her embarrassment. "Did you forget the first week or so we spend working on songs for the concert? Our band is primarily situated here in Ponyville, though don't say that too loud."

I deadpan. "Wait so that means...?"

Electron smiles and hugs me again. "You won't have to worry about any sort of commute for this job!"

"W-what about my appearance? my extra wings--"

Snare gives me a curious look as Electron lets go of me. "Seen you around town yesterday with those. I'd say you look more awkward with them than without."

I roll my eyes. "I haven't used them for over ten years outside of bare-bones basic maintenance."

This got a shocked reaction from everypony, Snare especially. "Jeeze, that long? No wonder you look so awkward with them." She shakes her head. "Kind of a waste if you ask me. I say be proud of the fact that you have more wings than anypony else, especially if it gives you more wing-power."

"So this doesn't... bother any of you?" All I got were shaking heads.

My foalhood fears are being dashed each day now...

"Though I should bring this up." Burst cut in. "I don't know if Strings told them or not, but the higher ups for our band apparently want us to take an extended break on account of your ordeal--"

Way to make me feel like an invalid...

"-- and String's "business trip" to Canterlot. We won't be doing anything for a while now."

I sigh in relief. "I guess I won't have to worry about that for now."

Snare gives me a look. "That doesn't mean you don't have to see us. Swing by and talk with us once in a while."

"I know, I know. Building relationships further being a key thing."

Burst and Iron nod while Electron rolls her eyes at Snare, who gives her a confused look.

I check my watch, noting that school's almost out on account of it being a Friday. "I need to get going, some ponies are expecting me soon."

Burst chuckles. "Busy already? Alright, we'll see you around."

Snare nodded. "Yeah, and make sure you whip those secondary wings back into shape ASAP. I know I would." I waved her off as I took off, also waving at the other members of my band.

Becoming an actual member of a band like that? It came so fast I also need time to process it...

---

"Ah have to ask... how come ya acted weird around mah sister earlier today?" Applebloom gave me a questioning, yet slightly worried look.

When I went to meet up with the crusaders, I found Applejack wanting to give her a little something for all four of us while I watched over them. After fighting with myself for a bit, I finally apologized to her for my actions yesterday, stating that it wasn't fair to her, Twilight, or Rainbow.

"Sugahcube, no-pony expects you to simply buck up and act like nothing happened right away. Just... let us carry some of yer burden instead of trying to shoulder it all yerself. Believe me, ah know what it's like to do something like that..."

I sigh. "Well... metaphorically speaking; I was trying to fill my plate with more burdens than I can handle that my... friends could help me with." Applebloom gives me a confused look, but didn't comment on it. "More importantly, you girls don't really seem to... crusade whenever the four of us are together."

Scootaloo pouted. "Isn't it obvious why? We just wanted to be with you after so long of being apart."

I give a small smile. "You girls are too good to me..."

Sweetie Belle kicked the ground a bit, looking a bit guilty. "Well... I also wanted to--"

"Zephyr! Girls!" I look over to see a prettied-up Fluttershy flying over to us from Ponyville. "There you are, I've been looking for you."

I give her a confused look. "What's going on?"

She shakes her head. "I don't know. Rainbow wanted us to go to Sugar Cube Corner for a treat or something."

Scootaloo started buzzing her tiny wings in excitement. "Rainbow Dash wants us to go there? Race you all there!" With that, she takes off.

"Scootaloo, wait up!" Applebloom takes after her pegasus friend.

I was about to follow when I noticed Sweetie Belle lingering behind. "What's wrong?"

She sighs. "I... just wanted to apologize for throwing you under the carriage." Seeing my confused look, she added, "A few days ago, I told my sister I've 'washed my hooves of you' because of how frustrated I was with you."

"I understand but... why are you telling me this now?"

She shudders. "I suppose hearing your conversation with Applejack brought it to the forefront of my mind." She shakes her head. "The thing is... all three of us were devastated over you not seeing us again for the second time. I think Scootaloo was hit the hardest back then, although I don't know why."

That explains why she was the one to start punching me in frustration when she saw me again...

Fluttershy had a worried look. "Is... she okay now?"

"Getting a lot better now. I know it's not my place to say this but... if I had to hazard a guess; while Rainbow Dash is her idol, Zephyr was the closest thing she had to a big brother which is why it hit her harder than it hit me or Applebloom." I slightly grimace, not realizing just how much damage had been done.

Fluttershy noticed my reaction and nuzzled me. "If she's getting better, then hopefully we won't have to worry too much about it. Just... be sure to be there for her when she really needs it."

I simply nod. "On that note, let's hurry before those two eat all the treats or whatever Rainbow has in store for us."

We didn't see the other two fillies on the way to the bakery. However when we went inside almost nonchalantly, all three of us were startled by a surprise from Pinkie and everypony else present. I blanched a bit while recoiling and flaring my wings, Fluttershy hid behind me with a squeak, and Sweetie Belle backpedaled a bit.

"Hey, Zephy, you managed to stay on the ground this time!" Pinkie bounced over with a grin.

"Cut me some slack! I didn't know this was going to be a surprise party."

"Well duh, then it wouldn't be a surprise!" I facehoof at that. "Besides, this party is in celebration for the reunion of you and Fluttershy!" She grins at my still startled sister.

P-p-p-please d-don't d-do that t-to me, P-Pinkie." Fluttershy was stuttering badly, so I started rubbing her back to calm her down.

Pinkie looked sad now. "Sorry Fluttershy. I wanted to make it special but..."

"N-no, it is s-special. Y-you just s-startled me, thats a-all."

Pinkie 'poofed' back up after hearing it. "I'm happy to hear it! Now lets get this party started!"

Many of the other ponies congratulated me on my reunion with Fluttershy. After the first few, I started wondering if I grew up in the wrong place all my life.

I talked with my mom, who really likes my sister now, and my fellow band members during the party. I did also talk to the rest of my friends, but I still couldn't avoid occasionally flinching or recoiling in fear of retribution, much to Rainbow's apparent amusement. I kept an eye on Scootaloo from afar, Sweetie Belle's words still ringing in my head.

"Excuse me." I look over to see a black pegasus mare with a black mane with a gold streak in it. "Are you the one I'm currently covering for?"

It took me a moment to make the connection. "Are you the replacement Wind Manager?"

She smiles. "Yes. I just wanted to apologize for taking over your house during my time here."

I wave it off with a wing. "Don't worry about it. I was... tied up at the time and you needed a place to stay."

"That being said, the day after tomorrow is when my time here is done. You should be able to move back in and re-take over wind duties again."

I nod. "Thank you. I was wondering when I would get back to work."

We hear a low cough near us amongst the noisiness of the party and look to see Rainbow giving me an amused look. "Just remember to practice with those secondary wings, buck-o."

I roll my eyes as the other mare takes her leave. "I'll get plenty of it if I'm paired with you."

"Is that so?" I recoil a bit, thinking I accidentally made her angry, until I hear her snicker and mentally berated myself for it. "Don't worry, Zephyr. I'll even help you with your training if you need it."

"Helping your opponent?"

"I like making sure my competition is at least at one-hundred and twenty percent efficiency." I roll my eyes at that statement.

The only other major event that happened was when Scootaloo suddenly asked me for my autograph as a singer for Dead by Sunset. When I asked her why when we spend plenty of time together, she mentioned wanting to get every single band-member's autograph and mine was the only one missing. I obliged her, but I think it drew some additional attention towards me.

I wasn’t able to talk to Fluttershy until after the party, when I found her quickly exiting. “Hey Flutters, where were you?”

It gave her a start, but she calmed down when she saw it was me. “O-oh I was… hiding. P-Pinkie Pie’s parties are nice and all, but I always get so nervous with so many ponies around.”

I nod in understanding. “That’s okay, no-pony expects you to just instantly change for one occasion.”

Gee... sounds similar to what my mother told me earlier...

She sighs. “I’m so sorry for shoving all of that attention on you…”

“Don’t worry about it, okay?” I shake my head “Regardless, I found out when I’m getting my house back.”

This oddly surprised her. “R-really? When?”

“The day after tomorrow is when my replacement is leaving. I’ll be able to move back into my house then.”

“Wow, so soon… I’m very happy for you.”

The tone of her voice sounded mostly happy, but it was laced with sadness too… like she didn’t want me to leave so soon. I put a wing over her back and she cuddled closer to me.

Comments

[Dragon of Shadows]

Pinkie squeed. "That was the absolute nicest thing I've heard today!"

*insert squee compilation here

Give it time; all you need is a zephyr under your wings of friendship and you'll soon be flying high in the skies of happiness!"

She went there.

"Well if that's what you think, then you might as well tickle me pink till I balloon up and get a pie to the face."

"What's wrong? Green with envy?"

"I hardly think so, my bouncing friend. After all, every smile you see puts an extra spring in your step."

*insert bad puns. bad puns everywhere meme here

*insert another comment here

[tk4]

The replacement wind manager is a pegasus, too? Well that kind of made made natural born "wind bending" pegasi feel less special to me XD