Fickle Winds

by Toric

A Welcome Diversion

A Welcome Diversion
Sunlight poured into the room through the window. Rainbow Dash rolled over and tried to ignore it. As she did, she was jolted from her bed with a loud RIINNNGGG! from her alarm. She face planted on the ceiling of her cloud house, then came crashing down on the floor. She reached up and felt for the alarm with one hoof and, upon finding it, smashed it to bits in frustration. She gave a loud yawn, stretched her legs and wings, and opened her eyes.
“Oh wow!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “It’s beautiful out today!” She leapt up from the floor and dove out the doorway, leaving rainbow streaks behind her. She dove from the tip of her cloud and plummeted downward, tucking her wings for extra speed. The ground got closer and closer, while Rainbow Dash just grinned and increased her speed. At the last possible instant, she opened her wings and pulled out of the dive, the wind from her flight scattering plants and leaves. She zoomed towards Ponyville, looking down at the ponies on the ground. A few of them waved as she passed.
The athlete slowed to a lazy glide as she came closer to Fluttershy’s house. Fluttershy was out in her garden, feeding her menagerie of animal friends. Rainbow dash came to a hovering stop right behind her and paused.
The animal tender was completely engrossed in the myriad of cute little furry things crowded around her. Rainbow Dash grinned, then inhaled deeply.
“HEY FLUTTERSHY!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.
“EEEEP!” came the startled squeak. In the space of two seconds, Fluttershy had leapt ten feet in the air, dashed forward, and hid in the chicken coop.
“Ba-ha-ha-ha! The look on your face!” Rainbow Dash laughed. “It’s just me Fluttershy.”
“Oh…hi Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy answered, poking her head out of the chicken coop. “I didn’t notice you there.” She came out, followed by scores of bunnies, squirrels, and other small creatures. “How are you?”
“Fine. I just came over to see if you wanted to play cloudball today.” The cyan mare produced a volleyball with colorful stickers. “The weather’s perfect and we didn’t play yesterday.”
“Oh, I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, but I can’t today,” Fluttershy said, guiltily pawing the ground with one hoof. “It’s Angel’s birthday today, and I promised I would cater for him. You can join us if you want.” Angel appeared next to her and thumped his foot against her leg. When she looked at him, he shook his head commandingly. “Oh, Angel says you aren’t on the list, so you’re not invited,” she corrected apologetically.
“Oh. Okay then,” Rainbow Dash said, trying not to let her disappointment show. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
“Oh I will!” Fluttershy assured her. Any further comment she might have made was interrupted by Angel once more thumping her in the leg. She started, then disappeared into the house, returning after a moment with a tray of assorted treats.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and took off.

* * * *
Rainbow Dash flew over Ponyville, looking all over until she found who she was looking for. At last, a pink pony bobbed and pranced at a breakneck pace into her line of sight. She floated down and landed in front of the pony.
“What’s shakin’ Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Pinkie Pie ran right by her. “Sorry Rainbow Dash. No time to chat!” she shouted back to the Pegasus.
Rainbow Dash leapt into the air and flew after her, quickly catching up. She flew alongside Pinkie Pie and looked over at her. “Why the big hurry?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Cake are giving free samples of a new recipe they’re trying, but only the first five ponies get them!” Pinkie Pie answered, never slowing for a second. “I always get there first so I can get one of the samples.”
“Sounds great!” Rainbow Dash beamed. “Why don’t I come with you, and then afterwards we can go pull some pranks!”
“Gee Dashie, that sounds great but the samples won’t be ready until tomorrow afternoon.”
“What?” Pinkie Pie pulled to a sudden stop in front of the bakery. Rainbow Dash, however, was caught by surprise, and went flying into a signpost before she could stop herself. As she shook away spinning stars, she glared at Pinkie Pie. “They come out tomorrow and you’re going to wait here until then?”
“Yup!” Pinkie Pie answered, staring intently at the door to the bakery. “I told you: I’m always first.”
“I don’t have time for this,” Rainbow Dash sighed. “I’m gonna go see if Applejack is doing anything today.” She began to take off.
“Oh, okay then. See ya later Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie Pie called, waving before resuming her watch on the bakery.
“She is so…random,” Rainbow Dash muttered as she flew towards Apple Acres.

* * * *
Rainbow Dash touched down on top of the barn at Apple Acres. As she watched, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big Macintosh dashed to and fro, jumping from one task to another. “Hey Applejack!” she called down. Applejack looked around, trying to find her. “Up here!” she said, drawing the yellow-brown pony’s gaze.
“Whatever it is, can ya make it quick?” she shouted up at her. “We’ve got more work than we can handle at the moment!”
“Aww, come on,” Rainbow Dash whined. “Can’t you take a break and have some fun? We could have a race, or do some mud wrestlin’—”
“Sorry, sugar cube, but Granny Smith’s hips are achin’. There’s gonna be one mean twister of a storm blowin’ through in the next couple days, and we need everything secured and protected before then.” She paused to nail planks of wood over one of the barn windows, whacking her own hoof in the process. “OW! Consarnit!” she yelled.
“A storm? There’s not even any rain scheduled until next week!” Rainbow Dash snorted. “Maybe Granny Smith is just getting old.”
“Granny Smith’s aches ain’t never been wrong before, and ain’t no way they’re wrong now,” the earth pony retorted stubbornly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some livestock ta corral. Apple Bloom! Careful with them apples!” she yelled, seeing her sister stumbling.
“Fine,” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “I guess I’ll find somepony else to have fun with. Big storm my hoof.”

* * * *
Rainbow Dash stormed out of Carousel Boutique, shaking her mane back into its original rough and ragged style. Just because she wanted to hang with her friends did not mean she wanted to sit for hours as Rarity made her try on outfit after outfit, rambling about dressing in style.
She trotted over to Twilight’s house at the library. She raised a hoof to knock at the door, but stopped when she saw a note hanging on the doorway.

“Ugh!” cried Rainbow Dash. “Does everypony but me have plans today?” she shouted. “Fine! Since nopony wants to hang out, I’ll just have fun all on my own!” And with that, she launched herself in the air and began speeding in a random direction.

* * * *
After about a couple hours of flying, Rainbow Dash was tired enough to forget being angry. She was about to pull to a stop and turn around when a strong gust of wind blew into her side. She noticed the temperature was cooler than it was a few moments ago, and clouds were filling the sky.
“What the…when did this happen?” she asked out loud. The sky began to go dark, and in seconds the sun was hidden from view. A drop of rain landed on Rainbow Dash’s head. She looked up, and another one landed in her eye. “Ah!” she cried out as another blast of wind sent her spinning. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!”
The wind picked up and it began to rain in earnest. In seconds, the pegasus was drenched, and the strong winds buffeted her back and forth as she fought to maintain control. She’d lost her bearings, however, and now had no idea which direction Ponyville might be. She made her best guess and flew as straight as possible that way. Unfortunately, the wind shifted, and blew right in her face, half blinding her with rain. As she squinted to keep visibility, a funnel came spinning from the black clouds. Even as she watched, it formed into a full tornado, and began moving towards her.
“No no no no no no!” Rainbow Dash chanted as she fought to outrun the twister. “Come on wings, don’t fail me now!” She strained as hard as she could against the gale, but still the tornado gained. When it got close enough that she felt its pull, something in her right wing went POP! It ceased to flap, and she was dragged into the churning twister. For the briefest of instances, she was caught in the rotation and whipped around before being launched outward from the gale. “AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!” she screamed as she was sent spiraling towards the ground. She saw the top of a forest rushing towards her. It got closer and closer, spinning in her vision. The last thing she heard a distant CRACK, before everything went dark.

* * * *
Her first sensation was ache. Each and every bruise she had throbbed in unison. Then she realized she was lying down on the side with the still-working wing. Rain poured down through the trees, and the noise of the storm returned. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.
Standing over her was another pony. His outline was blurry and she couldn’t make out many details, but dazed as she was she could still register that he was grey, with a black mane. His face was close to hers, as if he had been examining her. He seemed to react to her opening her eyes.
“You’re awake!” he said, relieved. “I wasn’t sure you’d be getting up after a fall like that!” His voice was strangely cheerful. “Can you stand up?”
Rather than answer, Rainbow Dash gingerly began to pick herself up. When her legs wouldn’t support her and she faltered, the stranger caught her before she fell. “Whoa, easy there!” he said, helping to support her weight. “Take it slow, you’re pretty beat up.”
Though she’d normally object to help from anypony, Rainbow Dash was too tired and hurt too much to complain. “Wh-where…are…Ponyville?” she slurred, her thoughts jumbled and confused.
“Ponyville is a long way off right now. But we aren’t too far from Longsaddle. That’s where I’m taking you until this storm blows over.” His voice sounded muffled and from far away to Rainbow Dash. He said something else but she didn’t hear him. Her vision spun, and then she felt a strange sensation. The next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground, and she had landed on her bad wing. She was dimly aware of being picked up before blacking out.

* * * *
Rainbow Dash woke up in a bed to the sound of voices, but kept her eyes closed.
“Is she gonna be alright?”
“She just needs some rest. She’s surprisingly resilient.”
“She must be to have survived that kind of a fall.”
“Hmph. At any rate, let her be. You wait here if you want, but don’t disturb her sleep.”
“Thank you, Doc.”
She heard a door open and close. She recognized the first voice as belonging to the pony that found her. The second voice was unfamiliar, and older-sounding. Rainbow Dash shifted slightly in the bed in which she lay, realizing as she did that her right wing and forehead both had bandages wrapped around them. She cracked an eyelid to see the pony from the woods pacing at the foot of the bed. Her mind clearer than before, she noticed a pair of wings folded into his sides, and what appeared to be a storm cloud cutie mark. “You’re a pegasus?” she blurted, opening her eyes.
The pegasus jumped, startled, then turned to face her. His blue eyes focused on her and his kind features wore a mixed mask of concern and relief. “Yes, that’s right,” he answered simply. “Are you feeling better now?”
Rainbow Dash nodded, then gaped as her stomach rumbled. “Yeah, but do you have anything to eat? I’m starving!”
“There’s soup on the table next to you,” the pegasus said gesturing. She found it steaming in a bowl within reach. She picked it up and quickly slurped down the whole helping. “Wow, you don’t waste time,” he chuckled when she finished. “Oh, but you’ve got some…” he gestured at his face. Rainbow Dash looked down to see her face covered with soup. She quickly ran her tongue over the leftover broth, and then smacked her lips in satisfaction.
“Thanks, that was good,” she said. She gritted her teeth in a half-smile that more resembled a grimace and squeezed her eyes shut. “And thank you,” she forced the words out, “for saving me from the storm.” Glad that’s out of the way, she thought with annoyance. “What were you even doing out there anyway?”
“I was training,” he told her.
“Training? In THAT?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. “That’s crazy!”
He just shrugged. “I’ve always loved storms, ever since I can remember. Whenever one comes along, I always go out and fly. Sometimes I even make my own for fun.” He shrugged again. “It really wasn’t anything much. I happened to see you go down, and I just did what anypony would do.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t say anything else. They waited in awkward silence for a few minutes. Finally, she broke the tension. “By the way, my name’s Rainbow Dash. What’s yours?” She offered a hoof from the bed.
“I’m Zephyr. Nice to meet you.” He shook with her. He began to say something else, but stopped. “Wait a minute,” he interjected. “Did you say Rainbow Dash? As in, pulled off the legendary Sonic Rainboom Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow Dash grinned. “Yup! The one and only!”
Zephyr’s jaw dropped. “But then, what are you doing here?” he asked. “I heard you lived in Ponyville, which is miles from here! And what were you thinking, flying in weather like that? It was completely unsafe!”
Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head, laughing nervously. “Well, it…kinda caught me unawares,” she said lamely. “Where did you say this was again? I really need to get back to Ponyville soon.” She began to get out of the bed.
“Oh no you don’t!” Zephyr chided her. “You’re not in any shape to travel at the moment. Doc says it’ll be at least three days before you can fly on that wing, and even if you were fit for the journey, going out in this weather would be beyond reckless.” He pushed her back into the bed. “When I found you, you were half an hour out of Longsaddle, and I didn’t carry you all the way here so you could leave and hurt yourself again!” he told her.
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to protest, but stopped as his words sunk in. “You carried me here?” she asked. When he nodded, she withdrew into a sullen silence. At length, she relented. “Fine. I’ll stay put. But don’t expect me to like it.”
Zephyr nodded his satisfaction and walked towards the door. “Doc said you need to rest, but tomorrow, if you’re stronger, you’ll be allowed to walk around. If you need anything, just give a shout and somepony will be there. Good night.” He walked out the door and closed it behind him. Rainbow dash pulled the covers over her and closed her eyes.

* * * *
The next morning, Rainbow Dash woke from a fitful sleep to see sunlight pouring in through the small window. She rubbed her eyes, and shivered as she thought of the storms that had tossed and turned her in her dreams. Shaking her head to banish the vague images, she looked around. Another dish lay on the table next to the bed, this one holding a sandwich. She took it and munched on it slowly, looking outside. The town itself was basically a loose collection of small buildings; she doubted it had a hundred ponies living in it altogether. Puddles and fallen branches dotted the ground. The houses, which were smaller and simpler than most of the ones in Ponyville, showed numerous signs of minor damage. Even as she watched, something streaked across her vision, seeming to erase the damage she’d seen.
“What the…” she stammered, and then jumped out of bed. She leapt up, thinking to fly out and quickly discover what she’d seen. Her bandaged wing, however, brought her crashing into the floor. “Oh…right,” Rainbow Dash muttered. “Guess I’m walking for now.”
She hurried out of the room, ran through what appeared to be a living area, and bolted outside. She looked around for a moment until she found the source of the streak. Zephyr was zooming all over the place, picking up branches, cleaning mud stains from the houses, and clearing up scattered foliage. He flew from one place to another at a pace that made even Rainbow Dash’s jaw drop. She watched in stunned silence as he cleared the entire town of wreckage from the storm in less than a minute. When he finished dumping the last of it in a pile he’d been building, he noticed her for the first time.
“Good morning Rainbow Dash!” he called. He flew over to her and landed in front of her. “Good to see you up and moving. Did you need something?”
“Nah, just stretching my legs. What were you doing just now?” she asked.
“I was cleaning up the mess after last night’s storm.”
“By yourself? Doesn’t everypony help out?” Rainbow Dash demanded angrily.
“I don’t mind,” Zephyr shrugged. “There are few enough ponies my age, and none of them are pegasi. They all have their own work to get done, so I just handle it. Most of the ponies here are either too old or too young to help with serious work, and all of the pegasi are too inexperienced to help with the weather.”
“How can you not mind?!” Rainbow Dash demanded. “I’d be furious if I got stuck with more work than usual.”
“Well, the thing is,” began Zephyr, “there’s really nopony around to spend time with. And nothing exciting ever happens here.” He gestured at Rainbow Dash. “Frankly, you’re the most interesting thing that’s happened in a long time. I mainly do the extra work just to stay sane!”
“I guess I never thought of it like that,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “So what all do you do?”
“Well, every day usually starts the same way,” Zephyr said. “I get up at dawn, fly a few laps around town, and get the weather ready for the day. I clean up any branches or other things lying around, and take a few more laps.”
“How long does that take?”
He shrugged. “About fifteen minutes. I usually get done in time for breakfast,” he told her. “Frankly, I get just about all of my jobs done fairly early and I have to figure out what to do with the rest of my day. Usually I just go off and exercise somewhere, but sometimes I like to wander through town,” he admitted sheepishly.
“That is pretty boring,” Rainbow Dash conceded.
“It beats sleeping all day.”
She rolled her eyes. “If you say so.”
He began leading her through town, and numerous ponies greeted Zephyr as they went by. Many of them offered him lunch, or thanked him for doing something-or-other. Rainbow Dash noticed that most were somewhat elderly.
“So what do you want to do?” Zephyr asked suddenly.
“I don’t know.” Rainbow Dash thought about it a moment, dismissing ideas that involved flying. “What is there to do around here?”
“Well actually, I was scheduled to entertain the colts and fillies at the school this morning,” he said. “I have to cancel it before we can do anything. Unless you wouldn’t mind helping me out?”
Rainbow Dash was about to say ‘no thanks’, but stopped herself short. Instead, she asked “How upset exactly would they be if you didn’t make it?”
Zephyr began drawing lines on the ground. “Well…” he hesitated. “I’m told it’s their favorite day of the week when I visit. I usually play games with them, or read books to them, or I make up stories for them. But I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me missing one week. You know…probably.”
She sighed heavily. Guilt trip, much? “Fine, I guess I can come,” she grudgingly accepted. No sooner were the words out of her mouth before Zephyr began pushing her towards the schoolhouse.
“Thanks Rainbow Dash! They’ll be so happy to meet you! You’re doing me a huge favor! This is gonna be great!” he said all in a rush. Rainbow Dash began to wonder if she’d been tricked into something.
They arrived at the schoolhouse and stopped outside. “Now you wait here a minute. I’ll go in and let them know we’re here,” he told her. He walked up to the door, pushing it open. As he did, a loud collective yell sounded from inside.
“ZEPHYR’S HERE!” they heard, an instant before Zephyr was tackled and buried by a large teeming mass of children. They knocked him over and jumped all over him. Rainbow Dash nearly stepped in to save him, when she caught a glance at him laughing and smiling under the pile. In another moment, the fillies and colts stepped back and let him stand up before all talking at once.
“What we gonna do today Zephyr?”
“Can we play hide and seek?”
“Tell us a story Zephyr!”
“Do some tricks for us!”
“Calm down everyony,” the teacher called from the door. “I’m sure that Zephyr has something special for you today.” She walked out and stood by Zephyr, her light-green contrasting with his grey. “Thank you again Zephyr. You know how much they look forward to these visits.” At last, she seemed to notice Rainbow Dash. “And who is this? A friend of yours?”
All the children’s heads turned to face Rainbow Dash. “This is Rainbow Dash, the pony who pulled of the legendary Sonic Rainboom,” Zephyr introduced grandly. The children let out a collective gasp, and Rainbow Dash gave a small wave, smiling nervously.
“Hi everypony,” she greeted.
They surrounded her before she knew what was happening, and she was faced with an endless barrage of questions.
“Did you REALLY do the Sonic Rainboom?”
“How do I get a cutie mark like yours?”
“Can you show us your cool moves?”
“Can you show us a Sonic Rainboom?”
“Are you rich and famous?”
Rainbow Dash head began to spin as she tried to follow all the questions. Eventually, she threw a desperate look towards Zephyr and the teacher.
“Now, now,” intervened the teacher, “don’t everypony crowd her at once.” The children backed up and gave Rainbow Dash a little space. She sighed in relief. “One at a time now, children.”
A filly in the front row put a hoof in the air. “Are you really THE Rainbow Dash?” she asked.
“The one and only!” Rainbow Dash answered, posing slightly.
“Why is your wing all wrapped up?” asked one of the Pegasi in the group.
Zephyr stepped over to her. “She was exercising in the storm last night, and after all her amazing stunts her wing needs to rest,” he put in, winking at Rainbow Dash.
“Uh, yeah!” she agreed, catching on. “That big storm was just a, uh…workout! And I uh, didn’t stretch properly.”
“Oooohhhh,” the children all said, nodding in understanding.
“Can you tell us about the Sonic Rainboom,” one asked.
“What, that old story?” she asked them leadingly. “Well, alright,” she acquiesced at their fervent nods. “It all started at Flight School in Cloudsdale.” She began to tell them the story, using large gestures to emphasize everything since she couldn’t fly. The children reacted with gasps and cheers where appropriate. Zephyr sat down and listened, as interested as the rest.
“Then, with the last ring in sight, I went into a high-speed power-dive,” Rainbow Dash narrated. “And at the last possible second, going faster than I’d ever gone before, I pulled up, and a huge BOOM! sounded behind me!” The children gasped in awe. “Everypony had said that the Sonic Rainboom was just a legend. But that day, I proved that the legend was true, and behind me the Sonic Rainboom exploded across the sky in a ring of color. I flew faster than anypony had ever gone before. And as I flew, my cutie mark appeared, proclaiming my destiny to be the fastest pony alive!”
“YAY!” screamed the children, stomping on the ground in applause. Even Zephyr stomped a couple times, looking impressed. “Tell us another story Rainbow Dash!” they pleaded.
As the morning went on, and Rainbow Dash told story after story of her exploits, including the defeat of Discord and Nightmare Moon (with only minor embellishments of course), she learned the names of the kids in the class. Petunia, Maestro, and Long Distance were the unicorns of the group. Of the three, only Maestro had his cutie mark, and he spent half the time during her stories scribbling notes on some paper he’d brought with him. Riverdance and Quickstep were two Earth Pony twins. A filly named Woodwind was the oldest of the group, while a small colt called Gizmo was the youngest. The remaining Earth Ponies were Paparazzi, Razzle Dazzle, and Hang Ten.
The real excitement, however, was the four pegasi arguing with each other. They had split down the middle, fillies versus colts. On one side was Turbulence and Thunderhead (white and yellow respectively), proclaiming that the fillies would never fly as well as they could, and on the other were Abigale (dark blue) and Featherdown (tan) informing them they couldn’t fly straight to save their lives.
“What makes you two think you’re better than us?” demanded Featherdown.
“We don’t need to maneuver to the easiest wind streams or air currents to fly!” countered Turbulence. “We can just fly straight through anything!”
“So what?” yelled Abigale. “You could hit your head against a rock without hurting yourself, but that doesn’t make you a good flyer!”
“Face it,” sneered Thunderhead, “you can’t compete with real flyers like us!”
The argument raged on awhile, soon captivating the entire class. “They’re close to graduating my flight course,” explained Zephyr, taking advantage of the pause. “Tomorrow, in fact. I’ve been training them to help me with some of the work I do.” He looked back at the quartet, still arguing. “They’ve been competing with each other from day one. I only need two of them for weather duty, and none of them want the cleaning and repairing jobs.”
Rainbow Dash nodded her understanding. “Why are they all so interested?” she asked, curious about the crowd they seem to have attracted. “It’s just a little squabble right?”
Zephyr grinned. “I mentioned that we don’t get a lot of excitement around here. This rivalry has been our only entertainment for months. Some ponies are even taking bets on who will win.” They noticed the argument was threatening out of hoof. Featherdown was holding Abigale back from doing something she’d probably regret to Thunderhead.
Zephyr cleared his throat loudly, drawing every pony’s gaze. Even the four Pegasi stopped fighting for a moment. “Why don’t we settle this tomorrow with the final exam?” he suggested calmly. “The pegasus race will make my mind up once and for all. And, if she agrees, Rainbow Dash will honor us by helping me judge the winner.”
The four pegasi looked at Rainbow Dash hopefully. “Sounds like fun!” she answered. “I just hope I’ll have these bandages off by then.” The children collectively cheered and thanked her. Zephyr nodded in gratitude from off to the side.

* * * *
“Thanks again for agreeing to that,” Zephyr said after they left awhile later. “Hopefully having you there will make them try harder and feel less upset if they lose.”
“No problem,” responded Rainbow Dash cheerfully. “Besides, I’m kinda stuck here until my wing is fixed. Might as well do something to pass the time.”
By this time, the sun was beginning to set. After their visit, he’d introduced her to some of the ponies around town. Éclair, the pastry chef, sent them off with cupcakes, and his mustache jiggling as he laughed. Tinker, Gizmo’s older brother, showed them his latest invention, which exploded in his face. Dreamberry offered them samples of the blueberries she had just picked. Pony after pony greeted them, all seeming to know Zephyr personally. As they walked, he told her some of the funnier stories he had for each pony they met. The best one was probably his first time getting a haircut, in which he’d jumped through a window to escape the shears of Clear Cut. At length they came back to the house she’d spent the night in.
“Hey, who lives here?” Rainbow Dash queried, realizing she hadn’t met them this morning. “I rushed outside before I could say ‘thank you’”.
“This is Doc’s house,” Zephyr replied cheerfully. “Doc is the unofficial pony-in-charge around here. Everypony respects his age and experience, and he’s led us through tough times. He’s also the doctor who bandaged your wing,” he added meaningfully. “I brought you to his house first thing, and afterwards you couldn’t be moved.”
“I guess I should apologize for not thanking him earlier,” Rainbow Dash said, ashamed.
“He won’t mind,” Zephyr assured her. “He probably wasn’t even here when you woke up. He usually leaves early to make his rounds through town.”
They entered the house, which was cheerfully lit and sparsely furnished. A few chairs and a table were present, another table sat in the kitchen, and small rugs dotted the floor. Two bedrooms, one of which she had slept in, were located at the far wall. Sitting in one of the chairs was a muddy-brown pony with a white mane and a long white mustache. A stethoscope adorned his flank, and large, round glasses rested on his nose. He looked up from a newspaper when they walked in.
“Ah, so there you are,” he rumbled, nodding at the two of them. “I hope you won’t make a habit of dragging my patients around town Zephyr.” Zephyr’s head drooped a little in shame, but he said nothing. “Honestly, you should be ashamed. You saw the condition she was in. I expect better of you.”
Rainbow Dash looked back and forth between the two. “Actually, sir, it was my fault,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “I got up and ran outside first thing. Zephyr didn’t have anything to do with it.”
The older pony turned to face her. “Hmph,” he grumbled, looking her up and down. “So you were feeling fine this morning? No dizziness? Blurry vision? Headache?” She shook her head no. “I suppose it may not have been as bad as I thought. If you still feel well tomorrow, you should be able to take the bandages off your wing.”
“Thank you sir,” she answered awkwardly.
“Doc. Not sir,” he admonished.
“Oh, thanks Doc,” Rainbow Dash corrected. “And thanks for fixing me up. Sorry to bother you.”
“Hmph,” he mumbled by way of answering. “So who do you think will win tomorrow’s race, Zephyr?” Doc asked, returning to his paper.
“Well, Abigale and Thunderhead are the better fliers, but Turbulence and Featherdown are more level-headed,” Zephyr replied. “But it won’t just be about who wins. I’m looking for how they behave as much as how they race.”
They chatted for a while about the race, and then about the town. Rainbow Dash joined in where she could, but quickly grew bored. She yawned and began to doze. Doc and Zephyr noticed, and insisted she get some rest. She grudgingly allowed herself to be jostled to her bedroom. She pulled the warm blanket over herself and soon drifted off into sleep.

* * * *
The next morning found Rainbow Dash waiting impatiently as Doc undid her bandages. When the last of the wrappings fell to the floor, she flexed and stretched her right wing. It felt stiff, but otherwise responded to her commands. “Finally,” she sighed in relief.
“Hmph,” grunted the older pony. He poked and prodded the wing, checking for broken bones or other injuries. “It seems to be okay. Remarkable considering your fall. There’s no reason you can’t fly on it.”
“Alright!” Rainbow Dash cheered. “It’s about time! One more day of not flying and I would have gone crazy!”
“However,” interrupted Doc, “It’s not fully healed. Don’t do anything strenuous today. Work that wing too hard, and you’ll hurt yourself.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be fine,” promised Rainbow Dash, flapping her wings experimentally. “Oh, and uh, thanks again for helping me.” Doc gave another “Hmph” and left the room. Rainbow Dash ran outside and launched herself into the air. She caught the breeze instantly, gaining altitude with every flap of her wings. “AWW YEAH!” she yelled as she picked up speed. Her right wing began to twinge, and she slowed down a bit. She leveled out and glided along towards the school, where the race would be held.
As she drifted along, Zephyr dropped in next to her. “Good morning!” he greeted. “Looks like you’re airborne again!”
“Yeah, isn’t it great?” she replied. “Now I’ll be able to get back to Ponyville. I’m sure my friends are worried about me.”
A flicker of…something…ran across Zephyr’s face and vanished so quickly Rainbow Dash wondered if she imagined it. “Right. After the race, I’ll point you in the right direction.”
They arrived at the school a couple minutes later. A large crowd had already formed in front of it, and the four young pegasi stood on the roof, basking in the attention. Zephyr and Rainbow Dash landed next to them. The crowd fell silent.
“Welcome, everypony, to the first pegasus race held here in years!” he greeted them. His words were met with cheers from the crowd below. “I believe you’re all familiar with our competitors here.” He gestured towards the four pegasi, who received more cheers. “The race will be three laps around town, flying through rings and encountering bad weather. Fly through as many rings as you can as fast as you can, but be careful of the storms I made for this race. The school bell towers will be the finish line. But before we get started, a few rules.
“First,” he began, “is that any flier caught cheating will be disqualified,” he announced, eying Thunderhead and Abigale, who both began whistling innocently.
“Second: Finishing the race first will not guarantee your victory. I’m evaluating your overall performance, not just your speed.
“The third and final rule is this: Rainbow Dash will be above the school to judge and assist any pony in trouble. I’ll be doing the same thing on the other side of town. If we see anything going wrong, we’ll intervene.” He nodded at Rainbow Dash, who flew up and perched on a cloud. “The race will begin when I give the signal.”
Zephyr flew to a high cloud, and shouted “Get ready!” to the pegasi on the school house. They all poised themselves to leap off as fast as possible.
“Three.
“Two.
“One.”
Zephyr slammed his hooves down on his cloud, creating a booming thunderous roar. “GO!” he shouted, and as one the students broke into flight.
Thunderhead and Abigale took an early lead, with Featherdown and Turbulence right behind them. As they went by, Rainbow Dash realized that she almost never watched other pegasi race. Usually, she was the one racing, and everypony was watching her. She felt a little left out as the racers dove through rings, fought vicious headwinds, and rose to high in the sky. The course took them around buildings, over the clouds, and through a number of different obstacles. Abigale and Thunderhead maintained their lead as they completed the first lap.
Zephyr dragged his cloud higher, seeming to take great care where he placed it. He took aim, and then stomped on the cloud again. A small bolt of lightning flew towards the leading pair. They flew apart, letting it pass in between them to catch Turbulence squarely in the face. He froze in place a moment, vibrating with electricity, allowing Featherdown to pass him. Zephyr kept stomping, sending dozens of bolts flying down at the racers. Most flew wide, but a number of them came close enough to make them swerve and dodge.
Thunderhead bumped into Abigale’s side, sending her crashing sideways into the path of a lightning bolt. After a momentary shock, she gritted her teeth and pressed after him. Turbulence and Featherdown began to gain ground as the two clashed, but Thunderhead and Abigale maintained a neck-and-neck lead ahead of them.
The cloud rings began to move up and down, as well as left to right. The racers altered their courses as best they could, but all of them missed at least a couple rings as they soared around the town. Featherdown, having accidentally flown under a ring, performed a quick aerial somersault to fly through it, giving Turbulence the chance to pass her.
Rainbow Dash felt the wind of each racer’s sonic boom as they finished their second lap. Abigale had gained a narrow lead over Thunderhead, and Featherdown had closed the gap between her and Turbulence. They all began to pick up speed as they headed into the last lap.
Zephyr stopped stomping on the storm cloud and instead began to fly in large circles. As he flew, he gathered a large number of clouds together, darkening a patch of sky. When it was big enough, rain began pouring down over Longsaddle, drenching the racers and lowering visibility. Thunderhead and Abigale maintained their breakneck pace, growing more erratic as the deluge worsened. Featherdown and Turbulence both slowed slightly, maintaining control. Soon the rain turned to sleet, and then hail. The racers struggled against the onslaught, dodging most, but not all, of the icy missiles. Finally, through some unspoken agreement, they all rose upward, lifting themselves above the storm. Zephyr nodded his satisfaction and began clearing away the dark clouds. The racers remained aloft at the higher altitude despite the clearing skies.
Thunderhead and Abigale quickly resumed hostilities, bumping into each other and shoving the other out of their way. As they rounded the last curve before the final stretch, Abigale gained a full horse length’s lead over Thunderhead. Rainbow Dash rose to their altitude on her own cloud for a better view.
Thunderhead, angry and desperate, pressed forward and grabbed onto Abigale’s tail with his teeth, holding on as she flew. He jerked his head, and Abigale was yanked backwards. She responded by kicking him in the face.
“HEY!” shouted Rainbow Dash. “That’s going too far!” She jumped from her perch and flew towards the two fighting pegasi. Her wing twinged slightly, but she ignored it. “Alright you two, break it up!” she called as she got closer.
They ignored her completely, flying right by her and grazing her hard enough to send her into a spin. She shook her head clear and chased after them. She couldn’t catch up to them at her current speed, so she shot straight into her fastest flying, ignoring her now throbbing wing. Rainbow Dash quickly closed on the leaders, who were still duking it out. She got close enough to grab Thunderhead, but the attempt rewarded her with a swat to the face from his tail. She tilted off-balance from the blow, head spinning.
At that moment, her right wing ran out of steam and stopped flapping. Already off balance, Rainbow Dash began to fall sideways, spinning as her one good wing kept trying to flap. “Not again!” she yelled as she plummeted. She looked down to see the ground far below. Unlike during the storm, she was very much aware of how high up she was and got to watch the ground rush closer. She kept trying to flap her wings together, or to pull out of the dive.
Zephyr had seen her begin to fall. While she spun, Rainbow Dash saw him dive towards her, probably to try and catch her. She could tell, though, that he was too far away to do any good, even as fast as he was. He seemed to realize it too, judging by his expression. So she was more than a little confused when his mouth curled into a determined snarl.
Rainbow Dash started spinning faster as she fell. In her glimpses of the sky, Zephyr appeared to be spinning himself as he dove. A few more rotations confirmed it. Zephyr was corkscrewing downward towards her, spinning faster and faster. A vapor cone formed around him, just like it did when she did a Sonic Rainboom. Dark clouds began to gather near him, and little gusts of wind began to spin with him. The gusts condensed and grew into a tiny tornado emanating from the grey pegasus. It engulfed his back legs and tail, finally obscuring over half his body.
The ground was getting close now, but Rainbow Dash couldn’t help remain transfixed on whatever it was Zephyr was doing. She could feel some sort of pressure building in the air, becoming thicker and heavier. Zephyr closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Something in the little cyclone gave and Zephyr stopped spinning.
Instead, he shot forward at a speed that defied reason, as if he had activated some sort of rocket pack, and the air was split by a deafening CRACK! like thunder. Zephyr shot straight downward towards Rainbow Dash in a blindingly fast power-dive, trailing a long tail of lightning behind him.
The ground was less than a few seconds away, and Rainbow Dash tried to gauge Zephyr’s progress. It was going to be close. She closed her eyes and waited.
A hundred feet…Zephyr closed the gap between himself and Rainbow Dash.
Ninety feet…
Eighty …Rainbow Dash was within reach.
Seventy…
Sixty…
Fifty…She felt four powerful legs grab her.
Forty…
Thirty…
Twenty…”HOLD ON!” Zephyr’s voice yelled in her ear.
Ten…
Less than five feet from the ground, Zephyr pulled up. He executed a ninety-degree turn without ever slowing down. The trail of lightning behind him formed a perfect corner in the air. He flew straight ahead, carrying Rainbow Dash underneath him and slowly decreasing speed.
“Phew, that was close!” Zephyr said.
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and heaved a sigh of relief. Zephyr managed to come to a stop and gently set her down on the ground. “Thank you,” she told him gratefully. “I mean it. If you hadn’t caught me…” She shook her head. “How did you do that?!” she demanded. “I’ve never seen anything like it! It was sort of like a Sonic Rainboom, but different!”
“Well,” he began, “I call it the Thunder Clap. I spin around as fast as I can to draw in storm clouds and build up pressure and static. When I have as much as I can take, I stop spinning and release the pressure.” He gave her an abashed look. “It’s not as fast or colorful as a Sonic Rainboom, but it does give me a lot more maneuverability.”
“Still,” Rainbow Dash admitted, “it was pretty cool. How long did it take for you to learn that move?”
“Actually…I’ve only ever done it once before today,” Zephyr admitted. “I couldn’t think of any other way to catch you in time, so I held my breath and hoped for the best.”
The sound of voices approached them from the school house. They looked that way to see a crowd of ponies rushing toward them. At the head of the herd ran Doc, hurrying to make sure everypony was alright. The herd came to a stop a short distance away.
“Are the two of you okay?” asked Doc, approaching. “What happened?”
“I flew over to stop Thunderhead and Abigale from roughhousing, and got clipped in the struggle. My wing gave out, but Zephyr caught me,” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Hmph,” Doc replied. “Seems you overexerted yourself despite my warning.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Rainbow Dash grinned sheepishly.
“Still, there was no impact, so there’s nothing to prevent you from flying. Even so,” he added, “I’d recommend staying one more night, just to be safe.” He looked at Zephyr. “And you. Congratulations on pulling off the Thunder Clap. Very well done.” Zephyr straightened at the praise. Doc nodded, and then turned around and began plodding towards his house.
“Three cheers for Zephyr!” somepony in the crowd shouted.
And all at once, a sea of ponies washed over the two of them, barraging them with endless praise, loud cheers, and infinite questions. The two floundered about for a moment, trying to pull free from the throng. Eventually, Rainbow Dash gave a loud, piercing whistle, quieting everypony in an instant. “Don’t we still need to find out who won the race?” she asked loudly.
A murmur of approval went through the crowd, and everypony turned to face Zephyr. The four racers appeared overhead, hovering eagerly. “To be honest, I didn’t see who won,” Zephyr admitted sheepishly. A groan went up from the gathered ponies. “The last thing I saw was Featherdown and Turbulence catch up to Abigale and Thunderhead a short distance before the finish line.”
“So you mean I won for nothing?” Thunderhead fumed.
“Whaddaya mean you won?” Abigale yelled at him.
“Are you all blind?” Turbulence demanded. “I was totally first!”
“No way any of you beat me!” Featherdown shouted.
The four ponies’ argument quickly devolved into a violent fight, the scuffle kicking up a dust cloud. Occasionally a hoof or a face became visible, but the cloud obscured most of the clash. This time, it was Zephyr who gave the whistle. Instantly, the four pegasi stopped fighting, frozen in their positions as they looked at Zephyr. Then they broke apart and fell into line, each sporting numerous small cuts and bruises. Each of the competitors glared at the others and waited for him to speak.
“Now, I know I said the winners of the race would get weather duty,” Zephyr began. “Well, that was half-true.” Mutters went up around the crowd, and the racers exchanged glances. “I’ve been thinking about it, and it isn’t fair to anypony if only two of you get the job you all want.” He paused a moment, looking at them. “You’ll each take turns with weather duty AND repair and clean-up. The race was only going to determine who got weather duty first.”
“So, we were all going to get the job we wanted?” Featherdown asked, eyes widening. “Even if we lost?”
Zephyr nodded. “All of you are pretty talented fliers, and any one of you could more than handle weather duty. However,” Zehpyr added, “Abigale and Thunderhead, you two both lost the race.
“But you just said—” the colt began.
“That isn’t fair!” cried the filly.
“Both of you,” he said, halting their protests “lost your cool and composure. You gave up your lead to fight each other, and endangered one of your judges through carelessness. In a major storm, you can’t afford those kinds of mistakes.” Abigale and Thunderhead both lowered their heads in shame.
“Alright! We won!” Featherdown and Turbulence cheered. They hoof-bumped each other before remembering who the other was, and when they did notice, there was an awkward pause. Then Featherdown shrugged and the tension eased. They carried on celebrating their victory.
Abigale and Thunderhead watched the two and discouragement crept into their faces. Rainbow Dash saw how disappointed they were and any anger she might have felt towards them evaporated. “Don’t feel too bad guys,” she told them. “You’re both pretty great fliers. You just need to tone it down a bit when you compete.” The two racers perked up a little at the compliment, and she completely failed to notice her own hypocrisy.
The crowd began to thin out, and the excitement began to die down. Everypony began to head back to their jobs or their homes. A few came over and asked how she felt, but she was otherwise ignored. Rainbow Dash plopped herself down in the grass and waited, bored, while she waited for Zephyr to finish talking to everypony and their brother. After what seemed like hours, by which point she was dozing lightly, Zephyr finished talking to the last group. He came over and poked her awake.
“Huh? Oh, finally!” she exclaimed. “I thought you’d never finish talking.”
“Sorry,” he apologized. “Everypony wanted to tell me their opinion about my choice. I almost got into a shouting match with Mr. Hot-Blood.” He shook his head. “That would’ve been ugly.”
“You know, it’s hard to see you shouting at anypony,” Rainbow Dash observed. “You just seem like too much of a pushover to me.”
“Mostly, you’re right,” he admitted. “But on that rare occasion I do get riled up, I’m told I have…quite the temper.”
“Yeah, right!” Rainbow laughed. “Whatever. Looks like I’m stuck here one more night. Might as well have some fun.” She looked at him. “You like cloudball?”

* * * *
As it turned out, he did. He also liked aerial stunts. And cloud-sculpting. And racing. And just about anything she suggested. If it weren’t for the fact he was as good as her in most every game, (better in some, though she’d never admit it) Rainbow Dash would have thought he was just humoring her. But after being thoroughly smoked in lightning archery (“My hoof slipped!”) and cloud dodging (“If my wing weren’t messed up…!”), she realized he was probably just as competitive as her. When pressed, he explained that whenever he wasn’t working, he was flying. Unlike her, however, he did it purely for fun instead of training to improve.
By the time the sun started going down, Rainbow Dash was worn out. Her right wing was growing sore, and her breathing came is short, ragged gasps. Zephyr, on the other hoof, seemed eager to keep going, practically bouncing with energy. In fact, he was so much the opposite of tired that Rainbow Dash found herself growing annoyed that she couldn’t keep going. Luckily, her stomach rumbled loudly before pride forced her to continue. Zephyr stopped at the noise.
“Oh,” he said, realizing for the first time how late it was getting. “Um…you’re probably hungry, huh?” he asked sheepishly.
“I could eat,” she answered, playing it cool. It would have worked had her gut not decided to let loose another embarrassingly loud gurgle. “A lot.”
“Sorry, guess I lost track of time,” Zephyr apologized. “Let’s go back to Doc’s place and grab a bite.”
They began heading back to town at a leisurely glide. A pleasantly cool breeze blew in Rainbow Dash’s face. She began to drift lazily through the sky.
“What’s it like?”
“Wha—?” Rainbow Dash asked, not having paid attention.
“Ponyville,” Zephyr supplied. “I was asking what it’s like there. Is it interesting? Do you have friends there?”
“Oh yeah, some of the best,” she answered. “My friends are great. We do everything together!” She paused a moment in thought. “I wonder if they miss me.”
“Why don’t you tell me about them? What kind of stuff do you do?”
“Well, first there’s Twilight,” Rainbow Dash began. “She’s kind of an egghead, but boy does she have some serious magical mojo. I’ve seen her do some really intense stuff with it. Then there’s Pinkie, and I don’t think I could even begin to describe her…”
She ended up telling him everything about life in Ponyville. Zephyr listened intently and asked questions about some of the wilder adventures she and her friends had. Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure why, but something about him just made him easy to talk to. He just floated on next to her, taking in what she said, without any kind of judgment or comment. She even found herself telling him what made her fly off in the first place.
“I mean, sure, everypony was busy, and I probably overreacted, but come on! Is a little fun on a sunny day too much to ask for?” she ranted.
“We’re here,” Zephyr stated when she finished. Rainbow looked down to see Doc’s house. “And I can understand the frustration. I know how I feel when I’ve got steam to blow off and nopony to do it with.”
“Thanks,” Rainbow Dash said. They floated on down to the door of the house. Zephyr alighted on the doorstep and gave a few quick knocks.
“I hope he’s not upset about the hour,” Zephyr muttered, eying the setting sun.
“Hmph. A foolish hope really,” came the gruff response from behind them. They turned to see Doc walking towards them with a scowl on his features. “I suppose you want dinner, too. Never mind that it was an hour ago, and that I’ve had to wait on you two. Not to mention the fact you had my patient caterwauling all over the sky on her injured wing. And I’m sure you’ll have time tomorrow to clear the gutters like you promised to days ago.” All of this came out in an impatient, but otherwise monotone, growl.
Zephyr lowered his head in guilt. “Sorry, Doc,” he said quietly. “It won’t happen again.” Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to protest and take the blame, but was unable to form the words around the hoof Zephyr hastily shoved into her mouth. “I promise.”
“Hmph. See that it doesn’t,” came the gruff reply. “Get in. Dinner’s getting cold.”

* * * *
After a quiet dinner of soup, rolls, and apple dumplings, Rainbow Dash and Zephyr retreated outside, where they perched on the roof and stared at the last rays of sunset. As she lay on the roof, Rainbow Dash reflected on how long it had been since she’d spent a day like this. No worries, no commitments, nothing but a race and pure physical activity. I probably haven’t had a day this full since flight camp, she thought to herself. I guess it’s been a while since I had any real competition too. She looked over at Zephyr.
“Hey,” she spoke, trying to get his attention.
“What is it?”
“You know, I told you about me earlier,” she began, “but you haven’t said the first word about yourself. And funny stories don’t count,” she added, blocking his opposition. What’s your story? And is Mr. Grumpy inside your dad or something?”
Zephyr’s smile disappeared, and his head drooped a little. “Not exactly,” he answered, looking away.
“Then what?” she demanded. “Come on, fair’s fair. If he’s not your dad, then who is he?” She gave him a couple hard pokes in the side.
“Fine,” the grey pegasus sighed at last. He took a deep breath. “I don’t have any parents.”
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to respond, but stopped short when the words hit her. Her eyes went wide. “Oh. I didn’t…” she stammered shamefacedly.
“I lost them when I was just a little colt,” he continued just as if she hadn’t spoken. “During a storm. I don’t remember much about them, just that we were part of some migrant pegasus tribe. I can’t even really remember what they looked like, or the sound of their voices.” While he spoke, his eyes stared out at the horizon, not quite focused. “One moment, I was flapping next to them in clear skies. The next, I was ripped away from them by the wind of a massive tempest. I remember being tossed and pulled helplessly through the gale for what seemed like forever. Then a bolt of lightning struck me and I passed out.
“I woke up hanging from a tree branch in the woods next to town. I fell, and broke my leg.” He waved his left foreleg. “I sat and cried for a while. I kept calling out for my parents, waiting for them to come and get me. They never did.”
Rainbow grew more and more ashamed for asking by the word, but something caught her attention. Zephyr spoke like it was somepony else’s story. His voice stayed level, distant, even dispassionate. She wasn’t sure if that was a sign of acceptance, or pain.
“I got hungry after a bit. It hurt to move much, though, so I only dragged myself to the nearest berry bush. I ate dozens of berries, but that didn’t turn out well. I got sick, and passed out again. The next day, I had a fever.
“I thought I was going to die there, alone in the woods. I thought about my parents, and wondered if they’d be waiting for me. I didn’t even notice when a pony walked right up to me until he spoke. He asked me if I was alright, but I got so scared, I fainted. I woke up in a house I’d never seen before, lying on a bed under several blankets. I was sick as death, and most of what I saw were hazy figures and shadows. One of the shadows kept repeating something, over and over. ‘You’re going to make it.’
“I stayed feverish for a full week before finally coming out of it. I woke up one morning, realizing for the first time that I was alive, and that my leg was set. I looked around, but there was only one pony in the room: the same one that rescued me.” He paused, and turned to look at Rainbow Dash. “It was Doc.”
“What happened next?” Rainbow Dash asked softly.
“We stared at each other for a while. I waited until he dozed off, and then staggered my way outside. I flapped as hard as I could to get to the roof and plopped myself down to wait.” He tapped the spot on which he lay.
“Wait for what?”
“My parents,” he said simply. “I was convinced that they’d find me if I just waited in one place long enough. Doc wasn’t happy when he found me.” Zephyr gave a small smirk. “He yelled at me to get down for two hours straight. I ignored him and kept searching the skies for my parents. Then he got a ladder.”
“Did he make you come down?” Rainbow Dash guessed.
Zephyr shook his head. “He brought up food and blankets, and left without another word. For two weeks I stayed up here without moving from this spot. And every day, he’d climb up, leave me some food, and leave without saying anything. Finally, a big storm blew towards the house. At first, I just cowered under my soaking wet blankets, too terrified to think. I almost went down into the house for shelter.”
“Did you?”
“Not by a long shot. Actually, I somehow got it in my head that if threw myself headfirst at the storm, it might take me to my parents. Instead, I found myself rolling end over end, caught in the fierce winds. I struggled to fight it, to keep control, against driving rain and vicious wind currents. I was almost too tired to keep going until I drifted into the eye of the storm.
“There, in that one calm spot in the swirling vortex, I saw the storm. The whole storm, the way it truly was. It was beautiful. All the raw, chaotic power of nature spinning around me in perfect harmony, moving like clockwork. I also realized I’d been flying against the flow of the storm. I grew determined to beat the storm, to conquer it. I dove headfirst back into the violent rotation, this time with the current. My thoughts focused, and my troubles and worries seemed farther and farther away as I picked up speed. For the first time since losing my parents, I really felt alive. That’s when I got this,” he said, pointing at the storm cloud adorning his flank.
“So how long did you ride the storm?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Oh, about the thirty seconds it took to get my cutie mark,” Zephyr answered wryly. “I got distracted and the storm launched me at Doc’s house. I crashed through a window and into a bed, luckily. When Doc came in to investigate, I babbled at him for a couple minutes about what just happened before passing out (yes, yet again). The next morning, I apologized for breaking the window. Oddly, he wasn’t mad. He just seemed happy that I was finally talking to him.
“After that, he kind of raised me. The whole town did, in fact. They all stopped by to wish me well and help me out. Without any other foals my age, everypony just paid attention to me. It was like having one really big family. Doc most of all. I can’t really remember my parents, so whenever I try to picture them, Doc is the first face I see.”
“If he’s so great, why is he being such a jerk?” Rainbow Dash demanded. “It’s not like you haven’t been working, is it? Yesterday, it looked like you were fixing up the whole town.”
“Doc has never really been one for praise,” came the answer. “And to be fair, I’ve caused more than a few problems for him over the years. Lately though, he does seem a little grumpier than usual.”
“Problems?” she asked.
“Remember when I said I liked to play with storms?” Zephyr asked. Rainbow Dash nodded. “Well, the first few times it wasn’t an issue. But then I made one too big for me, and…kind of…wrecked the town.”
“What?!” came the startled exclamation.
“It was an accident,” he explained. “I didn’t mean to do it. But accident or not, I did some serious damage to the town. I learned the hard way the cost of carelessness. I felt so horrible.” He shuddered. “I didn’t even wait for a punishment. I just started picking up the mess and apologizing to everypony I saw. It took over a month to repair all the damage. Afterward, I swore that I’d make it up to everypony in town, no matter how long it took.”
“So that’s why you do work as much as you do?” Rainbow Dash questioned. Zephyr just nodded. “Haven’t you worked off the damage yet?”
“It’s not just that. I wasn’t kidding when I said the work keeps me sane. It’s really, really boring around here. But that’s not what I mean.” He stopped a moment to decide what he wanted to say. “Everypony in town took me in. They’ve all fed me and given me a place to stay at some point or another. They did everything for me. So I want to give as much as I can in return. Especially,” he added, “since I still played around with storms even after the accident. Actually, I’ve got something else to confess.”
“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously. “Confess what?”
Zephyr rubbed the back of his head nervously. “Um…you know that huge storm you got caught in? The one that banged you up?” he asked gesturing at her wing.
“Yeah…” she answered slowly. Then the light bulb blinked on. “Wait. THAT WAS YOU!?” she demanded. “YOU’RE THE ONE WHO GROUNDED ME? YOU MADE THAT FREAKY STORM SHOW UP!?!” She was practically yelling by the end.
“Yeah…it was my fault,” he admitted, cowering slightly. “I didn’t know anypony was out there. I was careless…again. I’ll understand if you hate me for it.”
“ARE YOU KIDDING?” she yelled. He tensed up and braced for the tirade. “THAT’S AWESOME!”
“Say what now?” came his surprised response. He seemed to think he’d misheard her.
“I’ve never even seen a storm that big! Not even when the Wonderbolts performed their famous Triple Tempest Twist! How’d you make something like that on your own anyway?”
“You’re not mad?” he asked, bewildered. Rainbow Dash snorted.
“Mad? Why would I be mad?” She gave him a look like he was crazy. “I’ve never got caught in a storm I couldn’t beat. That thing was wicked!” She paused and took a nonchalant pose. “But if I hadn’t been so tired, I could’ve hit that thing head on!”
“But...but…” Zephyr stammered. “I knocked you out of the sky! I busted your wing! I stranded you in this boring little town!”
“I hurt myself all the time!” she countered. “You don’t exactly pull off a Sonic Rainboom without a few hundred crash landings on test runs! Besides,” she added, “it hasn’t been all bad. I got to meet you.”
Zephyr blushed slightly, but turned away to cover it. “I still feel terrible about it. I couldn’t even catch—“ He stopped talking abruptly and clamped his mouth shut.
“Catch what?” asked Rainbow Dash, sensing he was hiding something. “You caught me just fine today, when you did that—“ She also stopped midstream, the gears in her brain turning a little faster. “Thunder Clap. You said you’d done one time already. When?” she demanded.
“I don’t know what you’re-“
“Don’t play dumb with me!” she shouted at him. “I was wondering how I could’ve survived that fall! And I heard a noise just like when you did your Thunderclap today! You caught me didn’t you?” She punctuated each statement with a jab at his ribs.
“Ow! Cut it out!” he protested. “Yes, yes, I caught you! Well…sort of.” He fended her off and motioned her to stop. “I was trying to pull off my Thunder Clap, and I was using the storm to help. Then I saw you go down, and tried to catch you. I pulled it off by accident and misjudged my speed. Instead of catching you, I kind of…collided broadside against you. I just barely managed to grab you before you fell again. Happy?”
“Happy? I’m furious!” Rainbow Dash snarled. “Why didn’t you say anything about it?”
“So you don’t mind me blasting you out of the sky with a tornado, but you’re angry because I didn’t say ‘Nice to meet you, name’s Zephyr, I saved your life’?!” Zephyr shouted back. “Is everypony in Ponyville as crazy as you?”
“You didn’t answer me! Why didn’t you say something?” she demanded again.
“I didn’t think it mattered that much,” he stated simply.
“Of course it does you jerk!” Rainbow Dash was really getting angry now. “What kind of pony just swoops in and rescues somepony and lets them walk away without telling them about it? What kind of jerk doesn’t even give them the chance to at least say ‘Thank you’?”
“What difference would it have made?” he retorted. “Why do I need to be thanked? I told you, I just did what anypony would do in that situation. What’s the big deal?”
“But it wasn’t just anypony, it was you!” she yelled in frustration. “Now I owe you twice instead of once! I can’t believe you just let me go around thinking I didn’t owe you anything-“
“I DIDN’T WANT YOU TO OWE ME ANYTHING!” Zephyr shouted loudly enough to stop Rainbow Dash’s rant cold. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. “I didn’t want you to act differently because you thought you owed me something. I just wanted somepony different to talk to, somepony new to spend time with.” He turned away a little. “I just wanted somepony to have fun with.”
An annoying sensation of guilt welled up inside Rainbow Dash. She sighed heavily. “Well, thanks Zephyr. Not for saving me,” she added as he started to protest. “Just…for spending the last couple days with me. I had fun.”
He started to respond, but was cut short by the sound of a window opening below them. Doc’s head stuck out and looked at them. “If you two are done screaming at each other, I’d like to point out that it’s getting late. You should probably get some rest, miss. You’ve got a fairly long trip to make tomorrow.”
Zephyr sighed. “Okay Doc. We’ll be right in.”
“Hmph.” The head disappeared back inside and the window slammed shut. Rainbow Dash and Zephyr sat in silence on the roof for a moment.
“Well, I guess we better get to bed,” Zephyr suggested. “I need to get an early start, and you’ll be flying back to Ponyville.” He floated on down to the door and trotted inside.
Rainbow Dash stayed on the roof another minute, looking at the now starry sky. She thought about everything they’d done in the past couple of days, all the things she hadn’t done in ages. “Yeah…I guess I will be,” she muttered a little sadly.

* * * *
“WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!?”
The shout startled Rainbow Dash awake. She wasn’t sure who was yelling outside, but she resolved to shut him up. She fluttered out of bed, rubbing sleep from her eyes. As she hovered, she noted with satisfaction that all the soreness in her right wing was gone. The first few rays of dawn floated into the room from the window. She opened the window and flew outside, popping her wings and legs in preparation for giving a beating.
She looked around until she saw the perpetrator. Zephyr darted about, stopping suddenly, before looking around in confusion and zooming to another spot. Her anger turned to confusion, though, when she saw the panic on the grey pegasus’s face. Rainbow Dash flew up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. “What’s up?” she asked.
He jumped and turned to face her, eyes wild. “It’s done,” he whispered.
“What?”
“It’s done, everything’s done!” he repeated. At her perplexed look, he grabbed her and yanked her over to a nearby house. “Look at this. Do you see anything wrong?” When she shook her head in confusion, he pulled her over to another house. “How about this one?” He showed her three more houses with absolutely nothing wrong at all.
Finally, as she began to consider violent revenge again, she asked “What the hay is your point? Everything’s fine!”
“But that’s just it!” Zephyr exclaimed. “Everything is fine! There’s no work to be done, no chores to do! It was all here yesterday, and now it’s not!”
“Yeah, so? Maybe they did it themselves.”
“But what am I supposed to do now?!” came the strangled response. “Work was how I filled the days! And how could they have finished it all? A lot of the things that needed done around town were pegasus duties. And somehow, every single house has been cleaned, repaired, or otherwise seen to? How? How?!”
“Umm…that was us,” came a timid reply from behind them. They turned to see the four young pegasi from the race in varying states of exhaustion.
“We worked through the night to get it all done,” Featherdown, the one who’d first spoken, explained to him with a yawn.
“Why would you do that?” Zephyr asked incredulously. “You weren’t supposed to do everything. You were just supposed to help out! Why did you get carried away?”
“Because I told them to.” Their heads all turned to face the new speaker. Doc walked casually towards them. Behind him marched a number of other ponies. In fact, almost everypony from town seemed to be with him.
“What do you mean you told them to?” Zephyr demanded. “And what’s everypony doing out her anyway?”
“We’re here to say farewell,” Doc answered calmly.
“Farewell?” Zephyr asked, confused.
“You’ve overstayed your welcome in this town. Leave.” Doc delivered the words with absolutely no emotion.
“What?!” Zephyr and Rainbow Dash exclaimed together.
“You heard me. We don’t need you here.” Doc may have been talking about the weather from his tone. “These four,” he said gesturing at the younger pegasi, “are finally old enough to take over your duties. Consider yourself replaced.”
“That’s not fai-“ was all Rainbow Dash got out.
“REPLACED?!” roared Zephyr. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN REPLACED!?!” His body shook with violent trembles of rage. From where she hovered, Rainbow Dash thought she could see a flash like lightning in his eyes. She wisely decided to stay out of it.
“We’ve had it with you lazing about all the time,” came a voice from the crowd.
“We’re sick of your messes!” shouted another.
“Take your storms and get out!” called a third.
With every word, Zephyr’s breathing grew heavier and heavier. His nostrils flared repeatedly, and his hooves twitched like he had the desire to pulverize something. He gritted his teeth tightly, as if to force himself to stay silent.
“Hmph,” Doc harrumphed. “See? Everyone wants you to go. So leave. Or else.” At the threat, Zephyr’s gaze locked on to Doc. “We’ll give you one hour to pack and go. After that, we’ll run you out.”
Rainbow Dash watched the exchange with trepidation. Zephyr looked ready to murder somepony. Guess he wasn’t kidding about his temper, she thought to herself. She braced herself, ready to try and stop him if it came to blows.
Zephyr and Doc just stared each other down for a few moments. Ponies in the crowd shifted. Some held their breath. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, Zephyr’s rage seemed to abate. His muscles relaxed and his breathing slowed. “Fine.” That was all he said before turning and bolting towards Doc’s house. Rainbow Dash thought she felt a drop of moisture hit her as he passed.
A collective sigh of relief went through the crowd. Even Doc seemed to breathe easier after Zephyr left. “That went better than expected,” he chuckled.
“What’s the big idea?!” demanded Rainbow Dash, who’d remained silent long enough. “What’s wrong with all of you? What did he do wrong anyway?” She floated down and got in Doc’s face. “How could you do that to him? Don’t you care? And lazy?! What are you talking about? I’d bet me coming here is his first break from work in years! He totally didn’t deserve any of that!”
“We know,” Doc answered calmly, his features growing tired.
“You ought to! And…” Rainbow paused. “Wait, what?”
“We know he hasn’t done anything wrong,” Doc replied. “Quite the opposite.” The crowd murmured their agreement with Doc.
“Then why would you do that to him?” cried Rainbow Dash.
“Because it’s what he needed,” Doc said simply. At her confused look, he continued. “Zephyr has spent almost his whole life here. He’s never left, he’s never explored, and he’s never tried to see more of the world. Not like he didn’t want to,” he added. “But there were always two things keeping him here.
“First was some kind of obligation, something he felt he owed us. However, after that first storm, every storm he’s made since has been controlled and virtually harmless, whatever he may think. Honestly, any debt he may have had he’s paid a thousand times over. I don’t suppose he’s told you about the foals he saved from a burning building?” Rainbow Dash shook her head in surprise. “Or the tornado he diverted just last year?” Another headshake. “Of course not. He’d never tell you that. Or about any number of times he’s helped out anypony who needed it, even in the most dangerous of situations.”
“What’s the second thing?” asked Rainbow Dash.
Doc sighed. “Because somewhere in his heart of hearts he’s still waiting for his parents to find him,” he answered sadly. “Even now, every so often I’ll catch him napping in that same spot on the roof. I’m not even sure he realizes he does it.”
“So what?” came Rainbow Dash’s angry reply. “If you wanted him to leave, why’d you need to be such a jerk about it? You could’ve just told him! Instead, you just try to hurt his feelings and kick him out! What is wrong with you?!”
“I tried!” Doc said, raising his voice for the first time since she’d arrived. “You think I wanted to do this to him?” He actually looked upset. Rainbow Dash backed down slightly. Doc took a deep breath and continued calmly. “But he’d always say there was too much to do. That he couldn’t leave us with all the work to be done. Especially not with four young pegasi to train.” He waved a hoof towards Abigale, Thunderhead, Featherdown, and Turbulence. “If not for them, I would’ve told him he was being ridiculous. But as it was I couldn’t say anything. All I could do was wait for them to graduate and watch him get more and more restless.”
Doc heaved another, tired sounding sigh. “I raised Zephyr like he was my son,” he said, looking directly into Rainbow Dash’s eyes. “If he were my son, I couldn’t love him more. I’ve done my best to give him a home and teach him what I can, but he needs to find his own way. That’s why I’d like a favor from you.”
Rainbow Dash, who’d finally cooled her temper, started slightly. “A favor? What kind of favor?”
“I’d like you to take him with you to Ponyville,” Doc stated. “After that, he can go or stay as he pleases, but please just get him that far.”
“Huh? Um…sure?” she agreed uncertainly.
“Do I get any say in this?” asked a voice from above.
To Rainbow Dash’s surprise, Doc visibly jumped. He recovered quickly though, for which she gave him credit. Every head in the crowd, as well as Doc’s and hers, swiveled to see Zephyr hovering a short distance above them. On his shoulders was a small, bulging pack. Anger, not as intense as before but still strong, burned in his eyes. He dropped down and landed heavily between Doc and Rainbow Dash.
“How much did you hear?” Doc asked, not quite facing him.
“It didn’t take me long to pack. I got back about the time you were talking about the fire,” Zephyr answered coolly.
Silence filled the morning. No one said anything. Zephyr waited patiently.
At length, Doc turned to face him. “You never told me why that fool head of yours thought it was a good idea to run into a burning building,” he remarked.
Zephyr’s glare faltered, and then slowly faded. “Yeah, well, you let me know just how dumb it was later,” he said with a small smile. “Besides, I just did what anypony would do.”
“You keep saying that,” interrupted Rainbow Dash. “Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? Any other pony would run for help, or join a bucket line. A pegasus would try to put out the fire with rain!” The crowd murmured their agreement.
Zephyr thought about it. “I guess, but—” he started before shaking his head furiously. “We’re getting off track. Why should I leave? Why Ponyville?” he demanded of Doc.
Doc gave a small smile, another first for Rainbow Dash. “Hmph. Honestly, it’s her fault,” he said pointing at Rainbow Dash. He kept going before she could become indignant. “When she got here, I saw you more excited than you’ve been in ages. Especially yesterday. Just having someone new around, someone your age to spend time with, I saw you happier than you’ve ever been. If you stay, you’ll just be trapped here all of your life with no one but the foals and us old ponies.” This last was followed by a chuckle from the crowd. “I want you to be where you can be happy, the same thing any father would want. You won’t find that place here, so you should go.”
Zephyr’s stubborn expression softened as Doc spoke. When he heard the word father, his head drooped, and he looked at the ground. Wetness began to gather around his eyes, and he squeezed them shut. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but feel bad for him. She walked over to him and put a hoof on his shoulder.
“You know, the old geezer is right,” she said, drawing an indignant “Hmph” from Doc. “You can’t stay in one place forever. Besides, Ponyville is great! You’ll meet plenty of nice ponies there! And there’s always something going on.”
Zephyr rubbed his eyes and looked at her. “I guess you’re right. I can’t sit still anymore,” he said.
Doc nodded. “No you can’t. You have your own life to live, Zephyr. Don’t waste it here.” Zephyr nodded. “And for what it’s worth, I know your parents, wherever they are, would be proud of the stallion you’ve become.”
That did it. Zephyr practically tackled Doc with a hug, tears flowing freely this time. Doc just returned the hug, smiling in earnest. “I’ll miss you…dad,” he choked through tears. Rainbow Dash would’ve sworn that for a moment there were tears in Doc’s eyes as well, but he turned his head and blinked them away so quickly, that she thought it might have been imagination. The gathered ponies let out a collective “Aww”.
All at once, a cry went up from a small portion of the assembled crowd. Every colt and filly from the school, as well as a few who were too young to attend, ran towards Zephyr. They surrounded him and Doc in a circle, eyes wide and pleading.
“Don’t go!” one begged.
“Whose gonna tell us stories?” asked others.
“We love you Zephyr!” cried a few.
Zephyr took a step back from Doc. Rainbow Dash watched as the circle of cuteness tightened like a noose around him. Still teary-eyed, he pulled them all into a big group hug. “I love all of you too,” he told them. “But I…I have to go. Don’t worry, though. I promise I’ll come back to visit.”
“Do you mean it?” they asked him.
Rainbow Dash grinned, and flew over to him. She whispered briefly in his ear. He looked at her like she was crazy, and she motioned him to do it. He shrugged. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” he answered, crossing his heart and poking his eye. “That’s a Pinkie promise,” he explained, checking with Rainbow Dash. “You can never, ever, ever break a Pinkie promise.”
The children seemed impressed by this, and hugged him again. Then they ran off away from the crowd, talking about the strange new promise. “Thanks for that,” he whispered to Rainbow Dash.
“No problem. Just make sure you keep that promise,” she told him with a smirk.
He turned back to Doc. “Are you sure you won’t need me around here?” he asked.
Doc smiled at him and gestured at the four young pegasi, still floating in the air. “I’m sure between Abigale, Thunderhead, Featherdown, and Turbulence, we’ll manage.” Each of the pegasi puffed out their chests a little when mentioned. “Especially with the excellent job their trainer did,” Doc added. As if on cue, the young pegasi tackled Zephyr.
“Hey, hey, easy,” he laughed as they squeezed him with still more hugs. “If I get knocked over any more, I might be too bruised to move.”
“Thanks for teaching me to fly,” Abigale said.
“Come back sometime so I can show you my skills!” Thunderhead put in.
“Don’t forget about us in Ponyville,” begged Turbulence.
“I hope you make lots of friends like Rainbow Dash!” added Featherdown.
They hugged him tightly, before letting go and joining the crowd, who began adding their own farewells. Zephyr looked around at everypony gathered before him. He took it all in, before settling his gaze back on Doc. He opened his mouth to speak.
“This is dragging on forever!” Doc yelled, before Zephyr could say anything. “The morning is half-over already. At this rate, you’ll never leave!” He laughed, a gravelly, deep-throated sound, and began waving at Zephyr. “Get going you little hooligan!” he called. “We’ll miss you!”
“I’ll miss you too you lousy old geezer!” Zephyr shouted back. He gave Rainbow Dash a quick nod and launched himself into the air. Rainbow Dash quickly followed suit. They flew a quick circle around the crowd of waving ponies before Zephyr took off to the south-east. Rainbow Dash allowed herself to follow him for the moment since she didn’t know the way.
On the ground, the crowd slowly dissipated. Soon, Doc was the only pony still watching the horizon they’d disappeared on. He stared at the last point in the sky he’d been able to see them. “Good luck…son,” he whispered, finally allowing his own tears to run their course. He stayed a few moments longer, wiped his eyes, and began to slowly walk to his house.

* * * *
Only after about an hour of flight did Rainbow Dash realize just how far the storm had blown her. It was then that she finally caught a glimpse of Cloudsdale on the horizon. She figured it would take at least two hours to reach Ponyville. At least, at this speed.
“Hey!” she yelled at Zephyr over the turbulence.
Zephyr shook himself from his thoughts. “What is it?” he called back.
“I think I know the way from here!” she told him. “Wanna make things more interesting?”
He thought for a moment and grinned. “You’re on!” he replied, reading her mind.
They both sped up, nearly tripling their speed as the race started.

* * * *
Thirty-five and a half minutes later, Rainbow Dash’s hooves hit the ground in Ponyville town square, carving furrows in the ground as she skidded to a halt. Zephyr hit a split second later, carving out grooves of his own. Both of them were panting heavily and covered with sweat.
“Ha!” gasped Rainbow Dash in between breaths. “In...your…face,” she wheezed.
“Two…out of…three!” Zephyr panted stubbornly.
After a moment, they both busted out laughing. Zephyr clutched his side in pain as his oxygen-deprived body shook with mirth. “That was…the best race…I’ve ever had!” Rainbow Dash told him, her breath slowly returning. “Nopony’s ever made me work that hard before!”
“Same here,” Zephyr agreed. “I thought I had you until that mail-mare forced me to swerve.” He looked around. “So, this is Ponyville?” he asked.
“Yup,” she answered. “I can’t wait for you to meet my friends. I wonder if they noticed I was…” Rainbow Dash paused midsentence. On sudden instinctive insight, she ducked as low as she could.
“Noticed you were wha—” was all Zephyr managed to get out before a pink missile came soaring over Rainbow Dash and collided with him. The impact knocked him to the ground in a roll that ended with his head striking the street sign. He opened his eyes, and three cotton-candy pink ponies were spinning around in front of him.
“Rainbow-Dash-I-found-you-after-all-this-time-I-looked-everywhere-except-I-guess-here-where’ve-you-been-was-it-fun-did-you-meet-anypony-nice-everypony-was-so-worried-about-you-and-Scootaloo-freaked-out-and-why-did-you-leave-without-saying-anything-and-I-saved-you-some-cake-from-Sugarcube-Corner!” the pink pony blurted out in one breath. She (by this time, Zephyr could tell it was a she) took a deep breath and opened her mouth as if to continue, but stopped. She moved uncomfortably close to Zephyr’s face, looking at him. “Wait a minute. You’re not Rainbow Dash!” she exclaimed, confused.
“Hey, Pinkie Pie!” called Rainbow Dash from the middle of the street.
Pinkie turned immediately to face her and closed the gap. “How did you…? But I…?” She frowned in concentration. “I was sure my Pinkie Sense was locked on to you! Why weren’t you there when I was there?” she asked herself, pointing at Rainbow Dash.
“I just got a lucky dodge before you got me,” Rainbow Dash snickered. “It just occurred to me that you were going to be the first one to find us, and probably in the most unusual way possible. I just guessed.”
“Oh, okay then,” Pinkie said, brightening. She bounced back over to Zephyr, who was shaking his head vigorously. She opened her mouth to apologize, but stopped short again, this time with an enormous intake of breath and a jump into the air.
“Umm…is she okay?” Zephyr asked Rainbow Dash. She just shrugged in response.
“You’re new around here!” Pinkie squealed. “What’s your name? Ace? AJ? Ajax? Al? Alan? Albert? Alejandro?” She kept rattling off names in alphabetical order.
“I’m Zephyr,” he told her, partly out of friendliness and partly to stop what promised to be a very long list of names. “Nice to meet you…Pinkie Pie, was it?”
“Zephyr?” she repeated. “Never heard a name like that before! Oh! Oh! Wait right here for a sec!” she said before darting off down the street at a breakneck pace.
“That was…different,” Zephyr said, staring after her.
Rainbow Dash began laughing hysterically. “The look on your face when she hit you was priceless!” she snickered. “See what I meant when I said I couldn’t describe her?” She stopped laughing abruptly. “Hey, didn’t she say something about everypony looking for me?”
“I don’t know, I was busy trying to decide which direction was up,” he answered with a touch of annoyance. “But yeah, I think there was something in there about that.”
“Hey everypony! Ah found her! She’s over here!” a drawling female voice called from off to the side. They turned, and Rainbow Dash recognized Applejack running towards them. Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy rounded the corner, following her. They all slowed to a stop a few feet in front of Rainbow Dash and Zephyr. Applejack ran forward first, crushing Rainbow Dash in a tight hug. The others quickly joined in. “We been lookin’ for ya fer days sugarcube! Where ya been?” she asked.
“Oh, you know, here and there,” Rainbow Dash answered, grinning.
“We were so worried about you, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy added quietly. “We thought you were mad at us for not spending time with you.”
“Then, when you didn’t turn up after that storm, well, I suppose we may have jumped to conclusions,” Rarity admitted.
“When I got back from Canterlot, everypony was already searching the area,” Twilight informed her. “They told me what happened and I joined the effort. Hey, where’s Pinkie Pie?” she asked. “I would’ve thought she’d be the first one to find you.”
“Oh yeah, she already turned up,” Rainbow Dash told her. “She kind of got distracted though, and ran off towards Sugarcube Corner.”
“Well why in the hay would she run off before tellin’ us where you were?” Applejack demanded.
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot!” Rainbow Dash cried. “There’s somepony I’d like you guys to meet!” She flew out from the center of the group, and landed next to Zephyr. “Everypony, this is Zephyr.”
“Umm…hi,” he greeted nervously.
The other four noticed him for the first time. “Oh! Howdy there, stranger! Name’s Applejack,” the farmer welcomed, offering a hoof. He shook.
Twilight came next. “Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle.” She also shook with him. “Zephyr. That’s an interesting name. Did you know that in ancient Equestrian it means ‘the gentle western wind’?”
“Uh…no I didn’t?” he replied, unsure of how to respond. “Nice to meet you.” He looked over at Fluttershy. “What’s your name?” he asked her.
“Fluttershy,” she whispered shyly.
“Sorry…I didn’t quite catch that,” he told her.
“Fluttershy,” she repeated, only slight louder.
“One more time?” he asked politely.
“That’s Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash interjected. Fluttershy nodded gratefully. “She’s just a little, well, shy. I told you about her, remember?” Zephyr tried smiling at her, but she cowered behind Rarity.
“Don’t mind her dear, she’ll warm up to you,” Rarity assured him. “I am Rarity. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” she said with a slight tilt of her head.
“Likewise,” he acknowledged cheerfully.
Rarity looked him over a moment. “Rainbow, you simply must tell us where you met this charming young friend of yours,” she stated, fluttering her lashes slightly.
Zephyr blinked a little. “I’m from a town called Longsaddle, to the northwest,” he told them. He looked at Applejack. “Hey, didn’t you say a storm hit a few days ago?”
“Yup. A mean granpappy of a storm too. Why?” Applejack asked.
Zephyr scuffed at the ground in embarrassment. “Sorry. That was my fault. I made that big storm, and I guess I accidentally sent it here,” he finished.
“So that’s what Granny Smith was feelin’!” Applejack exclaimed. “No wonder it wasn’t in the weather schedules!” She saw the shame on Zephyr’s face. “Shoot, y’all didn’t do any harm. The weather ponies ‘round here busted it up without too much trouble. Weren’t much damage done.” Zephyr relaxed visibly, clearly relieved.
“Hey! Zephyr! I’m back!” yelled Pinkie Pie, suddenly right behind him. He jumped a full four feet into the air in surprise. “And I brought a surprise!” she added in a sing-song voice. Zephyr turned around to see her standing next to a brightly painted wagon with a top that looked like it opened up. A red button dotted the side, which Pinkie Pie pushed. Flags, trumpets, and a microwave oven popped out, and music began to play. She started dancing and opened her mouth.

“Wait for it!” she ordered when she stopped singing. The oven gave a soft Ding! before molten confetti exploded out at Zephyr. He ducked, and felt his black hair singe slightly. Then two of the horns spewed some sort of dough into the air. It went everywhere, but most of it landed on Zephyr, coating him from nose to tail. “Oops! Guess I mixed up the confetti and the cake dough. Again,” Pinkie giggled.
“Pinkie, dear, must you do that every time?” Rarity asked disgustedly, brushing off stray bits of dough.
“Of course!” Pinkie affirmed. “Everypony gets a welcome song!”
“Hey, how come I never got a welcome song?” demanded Twilight, magically cleansing herself of the goopy substance. “You never did this to me when I got here!”
“Trust me, you’re not missing out,” Zephyr told her. He wiped the dough from his face. He took a sniff, and gave it a small lick. “I take it back,” he said. “This is delicious!” He looked at the dough covering him. “A bit messy, though.”
“I got it!” Rainbow Dash called, before shooting off into the air. She grabbed a nearby cloud, brought it back with her, and positioned it directly over Zephyr. She jumped up and down on it, causing a small downpour on the grey pegasus. The upside: the dough washed off. The downside: he was now completely soaked, and his black mane matted itself to his head, covering his eyes.
“Thanks,” he muttered sarcastically. “This is so much better.” He shook himself like a dog, scattering droplets everywhere. His hair puffed out briefly, before resettling in its original unruly state.
“Ooh! Ooh! You still haven’t told us how you two met!” Pinkie reminded.
“Oh yeah! Well, it started after I visited you guys a few days ago,” Rainbow began. She told them briefly about the events of the past three days. Zephyr added details here and there, and took over some parts completely. The others listened intently, especially at the part with the Thunder Clap. They glossed over Zephyr’s unhappy back-story, as well as the part with the whole town right before they left. When they finished, the five ponies listening broke their respectful silence.
“So, you’re planning on staying here in Ponyville?” Rarity asked. “Have you found a place to stay yet?”
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” Zephyr admitted. “Actually, I don’t even have more than a small sack of bits to my name. Money was never much of a worry in Longsaddle. I just worked for free, and they’d let me spend a night and share a meal.”
“So you don’t have any place to stay?” Twilight asked. “Where are you going to sleep?”
“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “I just figured I’d find a comfy looking cloud and fall asleep somewhere.”
“Um, actually,” Fluttershy put in quietly “you can’t do that. The mayor signed a law recently against vagrancy.” Everyone looked at her in surprise. “Um. Sorry. I just thought you should know,” she apologized, cowering.
“Shoot, we can put you up at Sweet Apple Acres fer a few days,” Applejack offered. “At least until you get the money fer a place of yer own.”
“Ooh! Ooh! And when you do get your own place, we can all have a party there!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
“And you simply must stop by my boutique, darling; I’m sure I can give you a job for a few days,” Rarity declared.
“I could use an extra set of hooves with the animals at my house. That is, if you want to,” Fluttershy offered meekly.
“I…I don’t know what to say!” Zephyr said, overwhelmed.
“Say yes, dummy!” Rainbow Dash told him. “It’s not like you’ve got options. Besides, it’s just what anypony would do!” Zephyr gave her a wry look.
“Anyways, it’s the least we could do fer somepony who saved our friend’s life,” Applejack told him.
“Yeah! Anypony who’s a friend of Dashie’s is a friend of mine!” Pinkie cheered.
Zephyr bowed his head a little in gratitude. “Thank you. All of you,” he said. All at once, he found himself scooped into a group hug with the six mares.
“What are friends for?” Rainbow Dash replied for all of them.
They all began laughing, and Zephyr found himself joining in. Friends, Zephyr thought to himself with a smile. He looked at northwestern sky. Thank you, Doc. For Everything.