Time of Death

by Starscribe

Chapter 4: Zephyr Breeze

Fluttershy looked up from her work, pausing long enough to toss the remainder of the prepared vegetables into the large basket before hurrying to the door. Who could possibly be visiting at such an early hour? Twilight or Rarity would've sent ahead to make sure she was expecting them. Applejack would be doing her chores, and Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash would probably be sleeping off whatever excitement they'd been up to the night before. Her steps grew more hesitant as she crossed her cabin, dodging deftly around the mice who had recently taken up residence on her floor.

Fluttershy hadn't chosen to live on the outskirts of Ponyville just because the rent was lower. She'd chosen this cabin specifically for its isolation: a random pony visitor was far less likely out here than an animal. "Hello?" she asked through the door, resting one hoof on it, but not opening it. "Who is it?"

"Your brother," came the voice from the other side, exactly as she remembered it. Maybe I don't have anything to worry about after all, she thought. He doesn't sound nearly as bad as Trixie or Big Mac. The idea of Zephyr Breeze having a cooler head than somepony as confident and collected as Big Mac seemed absurd, but...

Fluttershy opened the door just wide enough for her to look outside. "Hello Zephyr. I didn't know you were back in Ponyville."

Zephyr Breeze shoved on the door with his shoulder, forcing Fluttershy to retreat or else get flung across her own cottage. Zephyr was wearing a large set of saddlebags brimming with ill-packed belongings, and smelled like he'd taken the trail from Cloudsdale instead of the train. Of course, Fluttershy didn't say anything about it, just got out of his way and smiled as politely as she could. "Yes, well. A pony such as myself must go where the wind takes him, sometimes. I'm licensed now, you know. Salons all over Equestria are clamoring to have a pony like me as one of their stylists."

"Really?" Fluttershy glanced once back into the kitchen, where the dozen or so baskets of food for her animal friends had already been packed. She should really be on her way to the woods already. Her friends would get hungry waiting for her. "That's just wonderful, Zephyr. I'm glad..." She hesitated, unable to meet his eyes. Fluttershy had a great deal more experience being assertive than she once had, but that did not mean she could reminisce with him about the tragedy that was now more than half a year gone as though they were talking about the weather. "I'm glad you aren't letting the curse get you down."

She could still remember his terrified sobbing on that night, when the sorcerer Dirge had practically exploded only a few feet away, the magic of his curse killing every plant and insect and small animal in the building. Only Fluttershy had mourned for the many mice and spiders and cockroaches that called the old warehouse their home. But that had been before. None of them knew the worst magic of the curse was yet to come, sent forward into the future to steal the friends and family away from the ponies who had harmed Dirge most.

In some secret part of Fluttershy, she wished she could've got off easy, like Twilight had. Dirge hadn't targeted her brother. But her wishes didn't matter, just like the reason for her delays didn't matter. Without waiting for her brother's response, Fluttershy hurried back into the kitchen, returning with the teetering pile of food-baskets in her grip. The mostly-loaded cart was waiting just outside for these last few meals, then it would be out to the White Tail Woods for the day's delivery.

Zephyr followed her as she worked, as though her motion didn't bother him. His tone didn't change even slightly. "Oh, you mean that? Yeah, I'm not like the other ponies. I had a nice long think about that, and I have everything worked out. There are so many reasons not to worry that worrying would only turn my mane gray prematurely. I simply couldn't allow that."

Fluttershy winced, though she didn't slow down. She worked methodically, packing the baskets into the old wooden cart Applejack had made for her many years ago. The solid apple-family craftsmanship held even now, despite the wear of many years. But you don't have years, Zephyr. Your mane won't ever turn gray now. Fluttershy didn't say any of that, it would be far too unkind. Instead she looked back. "I'm really sorry little brother, but I have to feed my animal friends. If you want, you could come with me, and we could talk on the way."

Zephyr looked thoughtful for a few seconds. It wasn't an offer Fluttershy expected him to take very seriously—walking around the woods would sound like work to him, and work of any kind took enormous willpower from her little brother. But to her surprise, Zephyr shrugged his dirty saddlebags right onto Fluttershy's floor, where one side opened, immediately spilling their contents all over the floor. Bits. The entire side of the bag was packed with bits, more than Fluttershy had ever seen in one place outside of a bank.

"Uh..."

"Y-you weren't supposed to see that," he whined, quickly scooping them all back inside it, and securing the latch. Thank Celestia Equestria was a safe country, or else Fluttershy would've had to fear for her brother's safety traveling with so much money. "I'd be happy to come with, sure. I can explain everything I've figured out. Perhaps it will be helpful to my slower-witted compatriots in victimhood."

"Sure," Fluttershy glanced back into the cabin one last time. She could see Angel looking out at her from the kitchen, staring meaningfully at Zephyr all the while. I know Angel. I'll tell him.

But she didn't tell him anything at first, just hitched herself up to the wagon as an earth pony might do, then started off down the road. Zephyr followed along beside without even an offer to take over the load. So, nothing unusual there. "So, what did you mean, little brother? Why aren't you..." She kept her voice down, quiet. It wasn't that there were other ponies out here to overhear—very few would be visiting the woods this early. Most ponies weren't even awake yet. "I mean, Princess Twilight is worried, and she's the smartest pony I know."

Zephyr shrugged one shoulder, prancing along beside her in a way that made it slightly difficult to avoid potholes and other obstructions in the trail. "I wouldn't dare criticize our nation's royal family," Zephyr said. "But sometimes I wonder if all that inbreeding maybe limited their thinking a little. Unicorns and their monogamy... it's not natural."

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "Zephyr, monogamy and inbreeding aren't the same thing. There are thousands of unicorns in Canterlot. And even if it was, Twilight isn't noble. And Cadance was a pegasus before she became royalty."

Zephyr shrugged again. "I think you'll see my main point survives, big sis. I've been reading your letters about Twilight's progress, or lack thereof. She grew up hearing unicorns go on and on about the power and importance of unicorn magic, so of course she thinks that's the way out of this. When all you've got are wings, every problem looks like the sky."

She just kept walking. Couldn't let her growing worry show on her face, or any other way her brother might detect. It was a fight—Fluttershy was far less likely to hide what she was really thinking when she was with family. Yet now, maybe being a little shy was the best option. They were almost to the woods, and she could already hear the hungry cries of her animal friends. Some of them, like the little ferrets and weasels, would starve if they missed even a few meals. She couldn't stop no matter how important this conversation was. "Okay, Zephyr. I'm very interested to hear how you found a way around the curse. I'm sure Princess Twilight will be too. If you found a cure, I'm sure she'll be able to reproduce it for the others."

"Well..." He slowed a little, hesitating. Fluttershy didn't and soon she left him behind. He had to hurry after the cart to keep up. "It's not a cure exactly. Not as such. Just something that maybe she didn't notice. A few somethings, actually." He stopped then, looking meaningfully at her. Fluttershy remained silent, eyeing him expectantly. She didn't mind the silence, particularly when it would force him to explain what he was thinking. Eventually, he did. "First of all, I think the chances are good that Princess Twilight Sparkle will figure out the magic before the deadline runs out."

"Even though she said she wouldn't be able to?" Fluttershy asked. They were into the woods now, and a large crowd of birds, squirrels, and other small animals descended from the trees. Birds landed on every available surface, though there was a circle of clear ground around her brother. Fluttershy unhooked herself from the cart and removed the cloth covering its contents. "Now now, everyone." She looked down sternly at the crowd of adorable creatures. Even though she was only a few minutes late, they looked particularly pathetic today. Almost as though they were trying to emphasize that part of their appearance as much as possible. Trying to elicit as much of her sympathy as they could. Well, it worked. "Line up, everyone. I'm sorry I took a little longer today. I promise I haven't forgotten anyone."

She glared down at them all, waiting for the line to form, and only then did she look back to her brother. "Sorry, Zephyr. You were saying?"

"I was saying..." he said, puffing out his chest a little indignantly. "That Twilight's actions speak louder than her words. Of course, she doesn't want to claim she has the cure already, she doesn't want to make promises. It's all about liability and risk, I know how that is. If she told us at the beginning that she discovered the cure right away, we'd be expectant all year instead of grateful. And if things went wrong, she'd look like a fool. But, on the other hoof, if she claimed the whole thing was desperate, that she didn't know if there was any hope, that we should 'say goodbye' and 'resolve our affairs' and all that other..." He wrinkled his nose, muttering something unseemly.

"Zephyr!" Fluttershy hissed, a twinge of anger coloring her voice. "Not in front of my friends." She looked down at them. "I'm very sorry you all had to hear that. Please excuse my brother's rudeness."

He practically ignored her. "Just look at her history! You Elements of Harmony always win in the end. Every time Equestria is in danger or ponies might get hurt, you stop it just in time. You wait until the last second, when the drama is right... I bet she's waiting to do the same thing. She's probably already moved on to other research up in that lab of hers, and just doesn't want to tell anypony. Then, a day or two before the end, she'll come out with her mane on fire and announce a breakthrough at the last second. Mark my words."

"Zephyr..." She took a deep, steadying breath. She wanted to scream at him, but couldn't. Not with all these animals around who would be terrified of an outburst like that. "Zephyr, Twilight would never do that. If she found the cure, you'd already know. I know her—she wouldn't leave ponies to suffer, wondering if they were going to die, leaving their families to wonder how long..." She sniffed, brushing her tears away with one leg. A sparrow at the front of the line rested its head on hers and Fluttershy looked up, returning its smile. At least the animals were here to look out for her. "She doesn't have the cure. If Twilight says she doesn't think she'll find it, she was telling you the truth. I promise."

"Well." Zephyr swayed a little on his hooves, his tone faltering for a second. His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "That isn't the only reason. You know, I've gone to three different unicorn sorcerers. Best ones in Equestria, and all three told me the same thing: there's no spell on me. No enchantments, no curse, nothing. It might not help the others, but... maybe enchanting six ponies was just too much for Dirge. Maybe the spell didn't make it to me."

Fluttershy kept working. At least it gave her something to do that didn't involve meeting her brother's eyes. She wouldn't want him to see just how upset she was. "It's a time spell, Zephyr. Twilight explained it to us, remember? It doesn't look like there's a spell on you because it affects future you. That's what makes it so hard to stop, because it already happened. Or it... already will happen..."

"Ah, see!" He wasn't even trying to keep his tone even by this point. His voice got higher, louder, faster. The animals backed away from him. "I've thought about that too. About what you might call the 'worst case' scenario. And there's a solution there too, even if you're right. A solution I'm surprised nopony has thought of yet."

"Okay." Fluttershy looked up. "What is it?"

"So this magic can break the rules. It can kill ponies no matter where they go, no matter what protections they use, straight through time and space. Who do we know who has magic who breaks the rules? What... immediate family member of mine is there who has a close personal friendship to the God of Chaos?"

Fluttershy froze, feeling an involuntary shiver pass through her body. She was worried for a moment, perhaps in vain, that Zephyr's words might summon that very being here to tell him what he had explained to her, on the night after she learned everything there was to know about the curse. Discord would not be sensitive to her brother's delicate sensibilities, she knew. He'd be as blunt as possible, probably with a graphic demonstration as well.

But Discord didn't come, thank Celestia. He was probably still out searching for spell ingredients, as he had been since summer began. His presence was not what her troubled brother needed right now. "Zephyr..." She took a deep breath, before returning to passing out the food. She was watching him this time, though. Giving him the courtesy of looking him in the eye. "I don't want to discourage you, I don't. But I have to tell you the truth—I already talked to Discord about it."

His eyes widened hopefully, and he hurried over to her, scattering animals as he went. "Yes, yes? What did he say?"

"Well, the magical side didn't make sense to me. But what I remember for sure is that the only way he knew to give you a chance of escaping was to do the same thing with his magic that the spell does, only different. To... send you into the future. So far that the magic won't be able to follow you. Hundreds of years." She whimpered. "So far that you might as well have died, since nopony you know will be around. If you do that... then maybe you'll live. In an Equestria that's forgotten you existed, forgotten about your whole family... about all of us. Well, maybe not Twilight. You might be able to find her somewhere. But the rest of us..." She shrugged one shoulder. "That's the only solution he had. It's... apparently a hard spell. Rare ingredients. Discord is out looking for them, but... there's no telling if he'll find them. He's not really a god, you know. Just... really good with magic. He can be beaten just like anypony else." And he has been, more than once. My friends and I have done it.

But Discord was on their side now. Maybe he'd be able to offer the spell in time, or maybe he wouldn't. There was no telling yet. She hadn't heard from him in months. "Woah." Zephyr retreated from her. "You're telling me... even a pony who knows as much about magic as he does... even he doesn't have the cure?"

"Well, not a pony." She shook her head. "No, he doesn't. He has a way to maybe help some of you, but that's it. No cure."

"There's some other way through this," Zephyr said, retreating another few steps away from her. His wings opened and closed once, and a few broken feathers fell to the ground at his hooves. He obviously hadn't been properly caring for his wings. "Maybe Celestia has it, waiting in the wings. Maybe she's just giving the rest of us a chance to work things out, maybe..." He shook his head, and his voice still came out in a rush. "No, it's not happening like this. I'm sorry for wasting your morning, big sis. But I've got to..." He turned back towards her cabin. "Ponies to see, you know! There are a few more wizards to talk to. I'll be in touch!" And with that he galloped away, ignoring her shouts.

By the time Fluttershy finished feeding the animals and made it back home, she found her brother long gone. He'd only left a note, as well as a modestly sized pile of bits.

"Sister—when I went to the court, Princess Celestia gave me these to use to search out my own solution to this problem. Please take these in exchange for your trouble this morning. I have other avenues to explore, and hopefully the wind will take me to one that doesn't involve saying goodbye to the ponies I love. Keep sending me letters—I think you'll find your Princess friend will have a solution for us before I do.

-Zephyr"

Fluttershy stared down at the letter for a long time before she started to cry.

Comments

[Yami Vizzini]

None of them knew the worst magic of the curse was yet to come, sent forward into the future to steal the friends and family away from the ponies who had harmed Dirge most.

They harmed him?... Seriously, who was this guy?

Ugh, I'd forgotten just how obnoxious Zephyr was, front or not. And that's without the weird tribalism and polygamist stuff tacked on.

[Avatar Sprite]

And there goes my idea, sounds like this spell searches if it can't find them at the right time, so temporary death at the time of spell won't do anything to help

[SomeWhatClosetBrony]

Anyone else wonder what would happen if one of the curse ponies die before the year id over since the spell killed their future selves