A New Hero

by Alex The Lone Wolf

It Ain't Easy Being Breezies

Episode 81 – It Ain't Easy Being Breezies

---

"Why'd you want to come here?" I asked Twilight, who led me inside the Castle of the Two Sisters.

"I just wanted to look up some spells while the others are getting ready for the Breezies." Twilight responded. "Maybe there's one that can help the little things?" She turned her head over her shoulder to look at me. "After all, they're so fragile. It wouldn't hurt to have something in case anything happens, right?"

"Yeah, I guess…" I looked around as we headed into the library. "I guess it's a good thing we cleaned up in here. It's not as…creepy anymore." Twilight returned a short giggle. "Do you think there'd be anything specific that could help the Breezies?"

"I donnu." Twilight pondered. "Maybe there might be a spell that can magically create a breeze for them to get back home. Right now, Rainbow Dash and a couple of other Pegasi are trying to create a small enough breeze for them."

"If the breeze has to be so weak, can't one pegasus just do it?" I questioned.

"It's complicated, I think." Twilight honestly shared. "You have to have the breeze just perfect, and you also have to take in account of the radius of the wind velocity, otherwise, a few of the Breezies in the group might fall behind for having a lighter breeze than the ones in the middle."

"Yeah…" I believed I understood what Twilight meant. "Well…as long as it gets them home, I guess they can do whatever they want."

Twilight looked through the shelves in the library. "It's a good thing that these books are still in alphabetical order. I wouldn't mind alphabetizing if they weren't, but I'm not sure how long it would take, considering we need to get back soon to watch the Breezies."

"Uh-huh…" I returned, scanning among the library and comparing it to Twilight's, which made Twilight's look like only a small section to the library of the Two Sisters.

"There's just so much I haven't read from here…" Twilight seemed to wander in thought. "Sometimes…I wish I could just…I don't know…stop time and read everything here."

"Yeah…?" I fiddled around with some books on the shelves while presenting a slightly worried expression for some reason.

Twilight noticed the look on my face. "Don't worry. If I had to choose between reading books or you all. With no doubt, I would choose all of my friends."

"I got you…" I answered, but still couldn't seem to put away the expression I held temporarily.

"Here's something." She stated when she grabbed ahold of a certain book and pulled it off the bookshelf. She flipped it open and expressed her interest upon reading the pages. "Oooh!" She analyzed. "Some of the stuff here is just a little different from what I know, but there are some pretty interesting and new spells here!" I joined her by her side to see what she was talking about. She raised her hoof and planted it on the current page. "Look at this one! Apparently, you can take on the form of living creatures!" She dragged her hoof on the page and stopped at a certain point. "And for safety measures, this does have a counter spell, so we can change back whenever we want."

"Would there be any actual use for this?" I asked.

"We never know." Twilight returned. "Hm…reminds me back when Fluttershy became Flutterbat. Only…she didn't completely take the form of a vampire fruit bat. It was more like she earned the instincts of a vampire fruit bat…and a changed a little in appearance."

"That sure was something…" I remembered as I rubbed my head.

"I'll borrow this book to read back in Ponyville." Twilight closed the book and began walking back out of the library. "We don't want to be late for the Breezies."

"Do you know what they look like?" I asked, catching up to her side.

"Only by book, but this'll be the first time for me." She responded, continuing to carry her borrowed book with her magic.

"However they look like…I'm pretty sure everypony in Ponyville will be outside waiting to see them…" I mentioned before we exited out of the castle to head through the Everfree Forest and back in Ponyville.

---

"That's too strong!" We heard Rainbow Dash yell out to her team of Pegasi, who were focusing their wings on following Rainbow's instructions. "We gotta slow this breeze down or we're gonna blow those Breezies apart!" They worked at moving just a little slower, providing a gentler breeze.

"Hey!" Twilight brought my attention and pointed. "There are the Cakes and Fluttershy!"

Continuing to hear a mariachi band play in the background where a bunch of foals and other ponies were in what appeared to actually be a celebration, Twilight and I walked to approach the three setting down a plate of cupcakes on a table.

"What I don't understand is why they need the Pegasi to make a breeze for them." Mr. Cake mentioned.

"Well, you see, it's the breeze that activates the Breezies' magic, and that magic protects the pollen they're carrying from being destroyed." Fluttershy happily answered.

"So, no breeze means no magic means the pollen goes bad?" He tried to hold clear.

"That's right!" Fluttershy returned. "And they only have two days to get that pollen back before the portal to their home closes. That's why it's ever-so-important that we help them make their way through Ponyville safely."

"We certainly wouldn't want to scare them and divert them from their path!" Mrs. Cake told her husband.

"Now you understand!" Fluttershy exclaimed in joy softly.

"Hm, you certainly know a lot about them." Mr. Cake stated.

"Oh, thank you." Fluttershy looked away in bashfulness, having to pull back the part of her mane that was beginning to hover over her face. "I went to see them gathering their pollen in western Equestria."

"Hey, cutie." I caught Fluttershy's attention, referencing the same exact word she used before she left on the train to see the Breezies the first time.

"Alex!" Fluttershy mentioned at the sight of my presence, rushing towards me to give me an embrace. When she pulled away, she noticed something different about how I looked. "There's something a little different about you."

I lightly smirked, knowing that she didn't know the news yet. I glanced at my uncovered wings and back at her. "I've got good news." I indicated as I continued to hold her hooves. "I'm A-Okay to fly now."

"That's wonderful news!" Fluttershy sounded as if she wanted to shout out in joy.

"But…" I had to list the slight catch as well. "Doctor said I had to take it easy. No rough flying and I can't take any…harsh impacts on my wings. They're still recovering for a while longer, but as of right now I can fly again. Shouldn't be too long before I don't have to worry about anything about them, so no problem."

"Well, I'm glad for you. I really am!" She expressed.

"I felt the same way seeing him before we left to stop by the Castle of the Two Sisters." Twilight joined in with a smile.

"Do the others know?" Fluttershy asked.

I shook my head. "I don't think so. But I think I oughta give them a little surprise sometime." I flapped my wings a bit to give off a little foreshadowing.

This blinding light began interrupting our meeting, but it certainly wasn't coming from me. "Uh-oh…" Fluttershy mentioned, looking at another area. She walked off to confront the source of this light, which happened to be none other than Rarity herself. "Um, Rarity?" Fluttershy called, seeing other ponies being bothered by it. "I, uh, hate to weigh in with you when it comes to fashion, but..."

"Oh, there's too much purple on this, isn't there?" Rarity guessed. "I knew it! But Twilight refused to admit it."

"What?!" Twilight heard what Rarity said as she was right beside me. "I—"

"Oh, no-no-no-no-no." Fluttershy corrected. "It's the perfect amount of purple. It's just that there's an awful lot of sequins on your jacket."

"Oh, darling, please! One can never have too many sequins!" Rarity chuckled.

"You can if they reflect the sun, and the light catches a group of Breezies right in their eyes, and blinds them long enough to get them off their course so they never get home!" Fluttershy panicked internally at the thought of something going horribly wrong with the Breezies.

"I stand corrected!" Rarity realized the danger behind her outfit. "I suppose there is the rare instance where one can have too many sequins. I'll just take off my jacket." As soon as she did, she revealed yet another outfit that was way brighter than the last. "I suppose this won't do either?" She asked, believing it didn't help the cause at all.

Fluttershy only shook her head, flinching greatly at the sight of it.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had been observing the distance. Afterwards, she lowered herself towards Twilight and whispered in her ear, bringing a large grin to her face. "Everypony!" She exclaimed out in whisper and waved to catch the attention of everyone in the area. "It's time! Please welcome... the Breezies!" She directed their attention towards a huge crowd of tiny creatures that began breezing by. They looked liked butterflies…but they were also like tiny ponies as well… Huh… It was like a mix of the two actually. Either way, they were fascinating to see for the first time.

Everypony behaved amazingly and remained absolutely silent as they all watched the Breezies float by in awe. Fortunately, Rarity had already ditched the outfits she had been wearing, so there were no dangerous distractions.

"Lun! Arshen aifo!" One of them yelled in a very high-pitched voice.

"So... cute! Can't... take... it!" I could hear Pinkie want to burst out.

"Hold your excitement, Pinkie…" I warned, holding a hoof on her while I noticed her holding air in her cheeks immensely. After, I moved on to look for Fluttershy in the crowd to be with. Once I found her gazing up just like any other pony, I grabbed ahold of her and gave her a little smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Isn't it amazing?" Fluttershy asked, lightly strengthening her grip on my hoof. "It's beautiful to see how such adorable creatures exist in this world."

"I wonder about the same thing with you." I decided to answer a bit wittily, seeing as it was the perfect opportunity.

Fluttershy was a bit surprised to hear this, but she quickly recovered and blushed to pull herself closer to me. "Nature is so fascinating."

Being able to see Fluttershy take a foal out to see the beauty in nature that other ponies were too busy to see made me slip a meaningful sentence out.

"You're going to be a great mom…" I stated softly.

Fluttershy widened her eyes and her blush grew even heavier. "What?"

"W-what?" I immediately felt embarrassed. "I meant that, uh, you…"

All of sudden we heard panicking from above us, and all of the crowd gasped loudly, gaining Fluttershy's and my attention.

"Slow down the breeze for the other group to catch up!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed out loud.

"They're too far back! We can't connect the breeze to both sets of Breezies!" The Pegasus stallion that was helping her answered through the wind.

"What if we speed it up?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

"Then the first group'll be going too fast, and they'll get separated from each other!" The other responded.

Rainbow Dash could only look back, having no idea what to do as the group that had been separated somehow spun around uncontrollably in the ending breeze. Fluttershy only stared in pure horror, leaving me almost speechless just by looking at her face.

"Fluttershy!" I called her. "You're the only one here out of all of us that knows what to do with the Breezies. What do we do?!" I tried to quickly ask her for instructions while trying to not place pressure on her at the same time.

"Tanagretu nik mir! Maisegu de piripa!" We heard in the background.

Turning her head back to the Breezies, she gasped at the sight of the worsening condition they were getting into. She gasped loudly, sharply, and quickly attended to them. What Fluttershy had actually gone to do was save a Breezie from roaming too far away, stopping her gently with her chest. Afterwards, she hurried to the rest where one of the Breezies was shouting.

"Mekenar stuf!"

"He's right!" Fluttershy agreed, seeming to completely understand the language they spoke. "You must all gather as close as you possibly can!"

After, they all managed to quickly grab ahold of Fluttershy by either her tail, mane, or coat. As soon as everypony in the crowd saw that they were saved because of Fluttershy, they immediately began cheering loudly. Fluttershy landed near the nearest stump and placed them on there to receive cheers from them as well. I made my way over there by trotting.

"Mugudi saikendus?" The same one that had been yelling during the mishap asked Fluttershy.

"Oh, I understand the language of all kinds of creatures!" Fluttershy informed happily.

"You must be so proud." He answered with a kind of accent that seemed foreign here.

"Not very polite for the one who helped saved you all." I mentioned once I caught up, becoming a little annoyed to this creature's sarcastic response along with rolling eyes.

Before he had the chance to have a say, Fluttershy asked him a question in return. "You speak our language too?"

"I can. This lot can only understand you. Clearly, they're not the brightest bunch around." He really sounded like he wanted to purposely provoke and insult them.

As a just reaction, they all returned shouts of indignation towards him, to which he seemed to look back at in a "could care less" attitude.

"That was amazing!" Pinkie Pie screamed out loud behind us, having had brought the others with her.

"I'm sorry we couldn't get a breeze going that would get them back to the others." Rainbow Dash apologized.

"Oh, it's not your fault." Fluttershy assured politely.

"I, for one, am very proud of you, Fluttershy. Leaping into action like that." Twilight reminded her, causing her to blush in modesty and look back.

"So am I." I placed a hoof around her and appropriately snuggled her.

"I feel like I should design you a special hero's gown! Heh..." Rarity offered, gaining the nods of approval from both Pinkie Pie and Applejack. "Or a sash. At least a sash."

"Okay, okay, okay!" Spike suddenly ran into the scene, babbling about something. I know what you're all thinking! Why don't you just say it?!" He threw himself at Fluttershy's hooves, as if he desperately wanted forgiveness.

"Spike, what are you talking about?" I questioned, unable to comprehend what he was so upset about.

"I'm the one who messed up the breeze! It was an accident, I swear! I didn't mean it! I'm sorry! This is all my fault! I'm so, so sorry!" He cried in response.

"Oh, Spike, it's okay!" Fluttershy swiftly and softly assured. "It could have happened with any one of us."

Spike's tears immediately disappeared, grinning in relief. "Okay... Thank you!" He hopped towards Fluttershy, wrapping his claws around her neck and pushing her back a bit. Based on the look on her face, it somewhat surprised/shocked her as she slightly flinched and bit her lower lip in fear. Nevertheless, the shouting from the Breezies was what caught everypony's attention, as Spike had almost pushed them off the stump they were on.

"Uh..." Spike was swift to back off and away from the Breezies to avoid angering them again. "I'm... just... gonna stay over here." He remained an unnecessary large distance away from us.

"So, Fluttershy, you want us to get the breeze going again so these little guys can get a move on?" Rainbow asked.

On the contrary, all of the Breezies except the one "loudmouth", as Fluttershy would say, returned cries of protest, holding on to Fluttershy and not wanting to let go.

"Maybe we should wait just a moment or so." Fluttershy suggested, seeing as they didn't want to leave her side. "They've been through so much..."

Knowing Fluttershy was the expert with such matters, Rainbow Dash merely shrugged. "Just gimme the word when you think they're ready." She mentioned with a smile.

"Guess they must have been terrified after what happened." I turned towards the group on Fluttershy. "I can't really blame them. It may have looked just a little mishap, but to them must have been an utter catastrophe."

They nodded to agree with my assumption and some of them even flew over from Fluttershy to hang with me on my coat. I couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"What are you talking about?!" The one that stayed behind angrily spoke with his heavy accent. "The only catastrophe is not getting back home before it's too late!"

"Don't worry. You all still have plenty of time before the portal closes." Fluttershy guaranteed. "I'm sure you can just spare some time to relax after what happened."

He only turned around, crossed his forelegs, and muttered under his breath.

---

Fluttershy took the little Breezies to her cottage, where she allowed them to ease their nerves after that unfortunate disaster. I was with her decision, as I remembered seeing their little faces full with despair and confusion. I could tell they had no idea what was going on at the time, and it only seemed appropriate for them to take a breather before heading back. It was nice to see them grow comfortable once inside Fluttershy's cottage. Fluttershy had placed all their pollen on a table and made sure it stayed safe. There was time for introductions and for Fluttershy to learn their names. Meanwhile, they made themselves at home, unfortunately taking the birdhouses and even Angel's bed.

I would have wanted to interact with them as much as Fluttershy did, but I did not know their language, and Fluttershy couldn't translate for me every moment as she was fulfilling several of their requests.

"Oh, my, Twirly, you look like you need a blanket." Fluttershy spotted a shaking and shivering Breezie, who actually wore the same coat color as Fluttershy did. Fluttershy turned to me to ask for a favor. "Alex, can you grab me a tissue from that tissue box over there?" She directed.

"Sure." I returned and did so, easily giving it to her.

She placed over the Breezie, ending the shivers.

"Sanken." Twirly expressed, which I assumed was a thanks after the big grin.

"Oh, no problem!" Fluttershy responded and then lowered her head to face another Breezie sitting on the ground and holding up an empty thimble.

"Malenki?" She asked.

"Oh, did you need some more water?" Fluttershy was quick to grab the eyedropper in a small bottle of water and squeeze out just a drop of refreshing fluid. The Breezie happily slurped it, reminding me of how surprising it was that these tiny creatures took so little. "Now, who else needed a hoof-knitted sweater?" Fluttershy asked, presenting a super tiny sweater that would, of course, fit the body of one of the Breezies. Another one of them flew up and delightfully took it. Afterwards, they all cheered at Fluttershy's high level of hospitality.

"Wow, Fluttershy. You really are making them feel at home." I mentioned by the sight of their happiness.

"Well, you know." She answered. "I always love to help every creature in need. Especially something so cute like the Breezies!" Fluttershy paused and lowered her head a little shyly. She used her hoof to move a strand of her mane that fell in front of her face back in place. "You know…it…um…it…sort of…" She began rubbing her foreleg. "…makes me feel…um…like…"

"Hey there!" Applejack had suddenly opened the front door to the cottage. "Can we come in?" She presented Twilight, whom was at her side.

"Oh, of course!" Fluttershy responded after being a little startled. However, when she noticed Applejack trotting in, she quickly dashed to her and placed a hoof in front of her chest. "But watch your step!" She held her eyes towards the floor, leading the others to do so as well.

"Oop, sorry about that, little one." Applejack apologized to the frightened Breezie on the floor that she had almost stepped on.

"We just wanted to see if you thought the Breezies were ready to give it another try." Twilight explained as the Breezie that was on the floor climbed up Fluttershy's mane.

"Has it been an hour already?" Fluttershy faced me, unable to believe how much time had passed so quickly. "Oh, my goodness! Time flies when you're making sure little creatures don't feel that you're abandoning them to the cruel world." She mentioned, staring out the window to see a scenery didn't really depict what she meant.

"But they're not going to a cruel world, right?" Twilight clarified. "They're going home."

Fluttershy turned towards the Breezies, whom all stared back at her questionably. She looked at them a little oddly and proceeded to reply to Twilight. "Oh, yes, that's right!"

All of the Breezies swiftly sprung up to the air and used their wings to fly over to Fluttershy and release cries of protests, attempting to convince not to do just that. "On second thought, I don't think they're quite ready…"

"Are you sure about that?" I questioned, looking at them and feeling that they were fine. Physically, at least. I know they went through a rough patch, or leaf in this case, but they couldn't stay here forever…

Fluttershy nodded her head. "I'm sure they can stay just a little while longer."

"Supa laipas data kurpa!" The same rude Breezie that stood out from the others shouted angrily out from Fluttershy's couch. "Mise neku ersken laika maur! Siripat sulat!"

While Twilight, Applejack, and I returned puzzled faces, Fluttershy was the only one who held her jaw open in shock.

"Uh... what did he say?" Applejack asked.

"I'd... rather not say." With a strong flushed look, she strongly hinted that his words were too foul to repeat.

"Okay, well, I'm sure you know what you're doin'." Applejack turned around and began heading out. "No one knows rare magical creatures like you do."

"We'll just wait for your word." Twilight stated, leaving with Applejack.

"Thank you. I'll be in touch very soon." Fluttershy mentioned before closing the door.

"We need to go now, or we will never get home!" He spoke clearly now to have us both know how he felt. "I wish we did not need that stupid breeze to activate our magic, or I would just force you all to fly home right now! Why do we have to need magic to keep our pollen safe?"

"Um, now, Seabreeze—"

"Why are you giving in to these wimps?!" Seabreeze rudely interrupted her. "If they had not been so scared in the first place, this never would have happened!"

"But that is just not true, Seabreeze. It was because of a leaf, and you know that!" Fluttershy politely pointed out.

"Oh, please! They have no idea what they're doing out there!" He continued. "Like you said, we need as much time as we can get because they are so incompetent!"

"Well, I didn't say that exactly now, did I?" Fluttershy corrected.

If I had been sitting or flying, I would have crossed my forelegs in annoyance. "If that's the way you talk to them all the time, it's no wonder they don't listen to you."

He froze up a bit and then quickly turned to angrily face me. "Ganich ut ermda nipche edjonep!"

Fluttershy immediately widened her eyes and covered her mouth with both her hooves.

"What'd he say?" I quickly asked.

Fluttershy took a moment to regain her composure. It was that bad? "Trust me…" Fluttershy responded weakly as if she couldn't even talk. "You really don't want to know…especially if you love Princess Luna too much."

I looked back at Seabreeze with narrowing eyes. You're lucky you can hide behind your language…

"Hey um…!" Fluttershy noticed the discomfortable growing situation. "Maybe a snack will lighten the mood." She offered to everyone in the cottage.

---

After their coos of interest, Fluttershy happily went on to make them their snacks. Meanwhile, I could only be stuck in thought, wondering what Seabreeze had said. He had to say something about my mother if Fluttershy brought Princess Luna into this. Just the thought of him saying something unnecessarily insulting just got me angry. Even then, what could I do? Nothing really…

I guess my mood did lighten up when I saw how adorable the little Breezies were when they were eating their snacks. For Celestia's sake, there were even four to one cookie. Fluttershy handed me a few cookies, and they were just delish. By the time the most of them were done, a hoof full were resting peacefully on Fluttershy. One of the Breezies holding a full stomach burped all of a sudden and reacted appropriately. "Mi fargen."

"You're excused." Fluttershy expressed in an enlightened manner. Afterwards, she softly grabbed them using her tail and placed them on the couch. "Well, my Breezies, I think we can all agree that now that you've eaten and you have a little energy going in your breezy bodies, you're strong enough to face the breeze! I've loved having you here, and I hope I've made you all feel loved and special. But you have to go. Nopony here will deny that—"

"There is nothing special about these losers!" Seabreeze had to foully cut in again. "They cannot handle a simple breeze home! If they could just stick with the program and listen to me, we would be safe! At home!" He tone surprisingly lowered sadly. "Home, where every Breezie is like us!" I almost couldn't believe that he actually allowed several tears to escape his eyes before he flew past Fluttershy and towards her peephole, sighing greatly. At that moment, I actually felt sorry for him, despite all the garbage he had been spewing out of his mouth. I could tell that for some reason he really wanted to go home…and maybe all that badmouthing was just a part of it…

Yeah…I was starting to feel that it was time for them to leave. They had all gotten what they wanted and it had been long enough to feel the need to go back. Besides, the earlier they leave, the less of a chance they give Seabreeze to continue giving them a bad name.

"We should send them on their way home now, Fluttershy." I suggested, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

Looking away sadly for a moment, she nodded her head in return. "I do know that if you don't leave soon, you may never make it back, and that would be terrible!" She told the Breezies.

They remained silent until one of them sneezed. "Merte marshken farde." She said and then nudged Twirly, prompting an odd response.

"Merki marshken plumatu." Twirly included after coughing.

"I had no idea you all have colds!" Fluttershy translated in a shocked manner. "Really? All of you?" They all began coughing to apparently prove their point. However, this sudden display of sickness seemed a little too fishy… "Oh, dear. I can't let you go out there sick! What kind of a friend would I be if I made you go now?" She allowed them to gather on her left foreleg and held them close, gaining excited chatter from all of them.

"D'oh! Irde turten manes pudenhel! Nievo ut! Parde tarmen!" Seabreeze muttered the rest of his sentence inside a birdhouse.

"Uh…Fluttershy…" I called for her attention. "Can I…speak with you in the kitchen?" I requested.

"Of course!" She gently placed the Breezies down and followed me to the kitchen where we could speak in private. "What is it?"

Looking to the side towards where the living room was, I expressed my slight suspicions. "Don't you think…it's kind of weird that they got sick all of a sudden?"

"No. I think they must have had their colds for a while now." Fluttershy replied.

"Well…I mean…" I rubbed my head. "It's just…they were fine a while ago. Hours ago actually. In fact, if they really did have colds, how do you expect them to have rode the breeze up until here?"

"Well…maybe…" Fluttershy thought about it. "Maybe it wasn't so bad then. You know… Sometimes, you feel yourself getting sick, or sometimes you don't even know you're sick at first. But then after some time, you start feeling the symptoms of that sickness." I didn't know what else to tell Fluttershy. I wasn't sure that I was right to feel a little suspicious, and even if I was, I couldn't just…plain out tell her that she needed to see what I saw… "Oh, please don't worry, Alex." Fluttershy noticed my unconvinced expression. "Let them just stay a little while longer. I'll give them some medicine. It should at least make them feel better until they get home. Please…?" Fluttershy placed her hooves on my chest and pouted her lips while her eyes lightly shook. There was no way I could have resisted that…

"Okay…" I surrendered. "You're the animal expert after all. But please…you know they can't stay here forever." I reminded. "For their sake…just don't keep them here for long."

"Oh, thank you!" She squeezed me tight and hopped back out into the living room. "Alright, my little Breezies, I'm going to go ahead and make some medicine for you all and your colds. Meanwhile, you can just stay here for a little while longer until you feel better."

Disturbing to me, they all cheered loudly as if they felt absolutely fine. But Fluttershy just didn't seem to see that…

---

As Fluttershy was giving them their remedy, my eyes wandered to Seabreeze whom continued to stare at the peephole. And I swore, at that time, I somehow saw myself in him by just the way he stared out to what was a window to him.

"Hey, Fluttershy?" I called.

"Mm-hm?" She returned, continued to tend to the little Breezies.

"I'm going to take Seabreeze out for some fresh air." This caught his attention, leading him to look back in surprise at me.

Fluttershy also turned her head to me in worry. "Oh…but he's so fragile."

"Don't worry." I assured. "I'll keep an eye on him."

"Okay…" Fluttershy allowed after a moment of hesitation. "Please be careful."

I nodded and then headed towards the door where Seabreeze continued to fly.

"What are you doing?" He asked, curious of my sudden action from nowhere.

"Just come on." I said and opened the door to let him out. Once we were outside, I could see the light breeze that began to form begin to stir him around a bit. "If you want to stay put, you might want to grab ahold of me."

"I'd rather be leaving right now that staying put here!" He responded, but nevertheless did as I suggested.

"I can tell you really want to leave…" I mentioned from his behavior inside and walked a little away from the cottage.

"Oh, you think so, Captain Obvious?" He replied sarcastically. "I was just angry because I was hungry."

"Hey." I furrowed my eyebrows as I was upset with his attitude. "You keep that up, and you're never going to get home."

"So, what do you expect me to do? Be nice and let those incompetent Breezies stay here forever because they're so lazy?" He questioned.

"Have you even tried to talking to them and figuring out why they're not as willing to leave as you are?"

"No. What matters most is that we get home right now!"

There had to be a reason why Seabreeze was such in a hurry to leave than the others were… "Seabreeze… I understand about the whole 'portal' thing back at your home…but why are you the only one freaking out about this? Freaking out to the point where you insult everyone, including my mother and me. There's something that's really bugging you."

Seabreeze didn't react in such a hotheaded manner this time. He turned his head from a show of sadness. "These Breezies don't understand why I want to leave so bad. They don't realize how much my family is important to me. They need me, and I need them. Those two are the most important things in my life…"

I began feeling extremely sympathetic for Seabreeze, seeing as it had made so much sense to why he reacted in such a way. "Wow… See…that's makes so much sense, Seabreeze." I almost placed myself in his situation, with his loved ones being the girls. "Why can't you just talk to them? If all you're going to do is yell at them, they'll just be bitter back at you."

"You don't know them like I do!" Seabreeze quickly responded. "When you are easy on them, they slack off and do nothing! Just like what's going on in there right now!" He pointed at the cottage. "That's why I yell at them because then they finally do something! If it wasn't for her and the breeze, I would have already had them getting back home!"

"Fluttershy's only trying to help your Breezie friends. After all, she did save you guys back when the breeze messed up." I reminded.

"Well, if she continues to baby them like she is doing now, they will never want to leave, and we will never get back home!" He almost broke into tears.

I sighed and felt guilt begin to lay down on me. "Alright. Alright. I'll…try talking to her. Just…" I looked at the cottage door and then remember the face she sent me when she wanted to keep them a little longer. "Just…give her some time with the Breezies. Whether or not they are sick, with Fluttershy's medicine, they should be feeling better soon either way. Then, I promise I'll talk to her in letting the Breezies go…assertively."

Seabreeze sighed. "You are the only one who seems to understand my need to get back home."

"Well…" I looked to the side in thought. "I've got a family too…and I sure would feel the same way if I was in your place." I then suddenly received the memory of my rush to find Twilight during the Canterlot wedding. "Yeah…definitely."

"I guess I must apologize for what I said about you and your mother back there." Seabreeze mentioned.

"You guess?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, okay. Fine. I'm sorry." He finished.

"It's fine… It's not like I really knew what you said anyway. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't have had this talk in the first place. Let's get back inside." I turned to head back until I saw Rainbow Dash flying away from the cottage.

"We just have to trust Fluttershy. She must know what she's doing." Rainbow Dash was heard saying as she fled away with the two other pegasi in her team.

"Do not tell me!" Seabreeze began to show huge signs of frustration. "She did it again! She will not let them leave so we can all go home!"

"Calm down." I tried to convince. "She just wants to be a kind pony. I'll talk to her."

I arrived at the front door and began hearing some active sounds coming from within. As soon as I pushed it open and walked inside, we were both surprised to the sudden change and well-being representation of all the Breezies inside the cottage. Their "colds" mysteriously vanished as they were all having a good time partying in up in Fluttershy's cottage. Even one of the Breezies was playing a saxophone from who knew where. Near the slide they must had made, Fluttershy lightly danced to the jazz the Breezie with the saxophone produced.

Growing absolutely furious, Seabreeze flew over to the Breezie with the saxophone, grabbed it, and wrathfully threw it towards the floor, breaking it apart and gathering the attention of ever individual in the house.

"Aww!" They reacted.

"Why are you spending your time on this?! I will never get home!" Seabreeze questioned angrily.

"Breezies, I must say, Seabreeze has a point." Fluttershy admitted. "I think it's time for me to get Rainbow Dash and her friends so they can create the breeze for you to get home." The lot of them grabbed ahold of her tail and frantically pulled on it, giving dismayed shouts. "Ooh... You're all awfully anxious... Oh, I don't want you to feel abandoned, or that I wasn't the kindest host I could possibly be..."

If it wasn't for the fact that they were on a time limit, I wouldn't have minded. But enough was enough.

"Fluttershy." I placed a hoof on her. "The Breezies need to go home now. I understand you want to keep these Breezies happy, but that's not going to be possible if they stay here and miss their chance to get back home."

"Ooh…" Fluttershy worriedly returned. "But look at them…they're so upset about leaving…"

"Their home is where they belong…" I reminded. "Seabreeze wants to return because he has others he cares for. I think they're forgetting about how much time they have left because of how much fun they're having here." I turned my head to face Seabreeze. "Right, Seabreeze?" However, he wasn't in sight, and there was definitely no trace of his voice.

"Seabreeze?" Fluttershy called and looked around. "Seabreeze?" She checked her hoof. "Has anypony seen Seabreeze?" She asked, but only received a shrug from one of the Breezies. She turned towards her door to notice that her peep hole was open. She galloped over to it and looked through to find any sign of him outside. After a moment, she gasped. "Where's he going? There's no way he can handle being out there on his own!"

"Well, we have to go get him!" I recommended. "Fluttershy, I'm sorry, but after we bring him back, we're getting the Breezies to go back home. It's for the best."

She only looked sadly away and didn't answer that, leaving me to open the door and prep my now useful wings to look for him.

---

"He couldn't have gone far!" Fluttershy mentioned once she caught up to me.

I thought about it for a brief moment and felt the gentle breeze brush on me. I realized that the breeze gave me an idea of where to look. "He can't fly still with this breeze, so all we need to do is follow the breeze. Just keep an eye out for him!"

Fluttershy and I looked around in our specific search until she suddenly gasped. "Over there! The bees' nest!" She pointed and quickly went on ahead as I followed her. I could see Seabreeze slowly backing away from a group of angry bees that were absolutely deadly for his size. However, he ended at a dead end of the branch he was on and could only hug the tip in horror, clinging for his life.

As they pointed their sharp stingers at him, Fluttershy quickly and calmly came to the rescue. "Excuse me, bees? Can you please back off my Breezie friend? He didn't mean any harm. It was just an accident." The bees returned no type of response but only the sounds of their buzz and completely ignored Fluttershy to ready their stingers. "I'm working on a bee-type dance and was hoping you could help me?" Fluttershy stopped them and had placed on a bee's outfit as she shook her rump. "Does this bring to mind any images for you? Perhaps a bee?" However, the bees still showed no change in attitude and ignored Fluttershy yet again, bringing out her temper. "Excuse me! I have done nothing but be kind, but I guess that is not working! You bees know better than to hurt a helpless Breezie! I demand that you go away now, or you'll have to answer to me!"

The bees were now stripped of their hostility and only quietly returned to their nest.

"Menkyulen." Seabreeze shared once he realized he was free of danger. "Thank you! Thank you so much! Thank you for coming after me!" He expressed completely earnestly after noticing the both of us.

"Of course. You could've gotten seriously hurt out there. Ponyville is much too dangerous for you. One tiny acorn is a threat!" Fluttershy answered.

"Yeah, I know!" Seabreeze acknowledged greatly. "That is one reason why I have been trying to get us to go from the beginning!"

"You should have waited as I was talking to Fluttershy." I mentioned. "I understand how badly you want to go, but going it all on your own? Do you really expect to get back home all by yourself?"

"I'd rather try getting back home by myself than stay here and do nothing but wait for a time that may never come." He responded truthfully. "I don't even care about bringing back the pollen! I just want to see them again…" He referenced back to his loved ones as he slipped a tear out of his eye.

"Oh, my goodness." Fluttershy conveyed her realization as Seabreeze stated his reason himself. "I was just trying not to hurt any creature's feelings, but my displays of kindness may have cost you everything..." She added in a quick gasp and continued. "Time is running out, and you may never make it home!"

"That is exactly what I have been telling all of them! But they do not listen to me! Nobreezie ever listens to me!" He turned, showing me that he definitely had dealt with this an insane amount of times before.

Fluttershy exchanged a look with me before she went on to tend to Seabreeze. "Seabreeze, I understand your feelings are hurt, but it's hard for them to hear you when you're shouting and being mean. The message doesn't get across."

"But what about those bees?" Seabreeze pointed back as an example. "You were not nice to them, and that was the only way they listened!"

"Yes, but they had to go, and they wouldn't listen to me any other way."

"Fluttershy…" I said, grabbing her attention to nonverbally remind her what she had to do with the Breezies. She turned back to Seabreeze and stared weirdly for some reason.

I turned as well to see what caught her attention until I froze up for the moment. Something flashed in my mind, and I was sure that I saw something in his wing. But I couldn't explain any of this…

Fluttershy furrowed her eyebrows in determination and held out her hoof towards Seabreeze. "We need to go, now!" Seabreeze jumped onto her hoof without question and allowed her to take him back to the cottage.

At first, Fluttershy was rushing a bit in her flight, but once she saw Seabreeze having a bit of a hard time holding on, she stopped and gently continued along the way.

---

Once we returned, we saw the Breezies continuing their fun, even during the time we were away looking for Seabreeze. Fluttershy placed on a serious face and called them all up for their attention. "Every Breezie, please come up. Now." Silently, they did and all looked at Fluttershy to see what she had to say. "My dear Breezies, I had to rescue Seabreeze from serious harm, and now I know more than ever that you must leave before it's too late! You would never survive in Ponyville."

In emphasis and disappointment, Seabreeze crossed his forelegs and shook his head.

"Erski parli polin!" They all simultaneously shouted out and ran towards Fluttershy's hooves in an effort to beg her to do the opposite.

"I can't help you anymore." Fluttershy asserted, not falling into the trap like the last few times. "In fact, I wasn't helping you at all by being nice. Oh..." She shared a short moment of weakness but quickly turned back. "But the truth of the matter is that I must be firm!" She walked over to her front door and held a hoof on the handle. "You must go, now!" She opened the door and pointed outside.

They silently lowered their heads and finally did as Fluttershy directed, picking up their pollen on the way out. Seabreeze followed behind them, making sure no Breezie stayed behind. After they were all out, Seabreeze turned back to Fluttershy and nodded with a grateful smile, thanking her for standing up to them. Then, he continued on his way out.

Fluttershy had returned what was barely a smile and immediately sniffed in tears once they were all out of sight. I felt daggers pierce and stab my heart once I heard the depressing sounds of her crying. She closed the door and sat in front of it as tears continued streaming down her face.

I grabbed ahold of her and held her tightly.

"You did good, Fluttershy…" I assured gently. "You did good… You know it was for the best…"

She struggled through her words as she rubbed her mane against my neck. "I'm going to miss them all. I just can't help but feel…mean…making them leave like that…I wanted to see smiles if they left…not frowns…"

"I know…" I patted her comfortingly. "But sometimes…" I looked away a bit sadly. "We've got to do whatever takes to help the ones we love…no matter how much it hurts us…"

---

I didn't know what Fluttershy wanted to do after that. I didn't know if she wanted to go outside, or stay inside and burrow herself beneath her sheets. Fluttershy's whimpers and cries slowly came to a calm stop. It wasn't until a knock at the door that allowed a possibility for Fluttershy to leave her anguish. I left Fluttershy to attempt to rest her worries away while I went and answered the door.

"Alex." Twilight appeared from behind the door. "Where's Fluttershy?" She asked.

"She's resting inside… Why?"

"We've got a problem…" She mentioned.

"Problem? What problem?" I continued to question.

"The Breezies." She answered, slightly alarming me. "Rainbow Dash and the others can't find the right breeze for them, and we don't know what else to do."

Fluttershy must have had her resting cease once she heard of this trouble with the Breezies because she was swift to appear by us. "What?! The Breezies can't get home?!"

"Not if the Pegasi can't create an accurate and balanced breeze for them." Twilight returned.

"Oh!" Fluttershy released worriedly. "We have to help them!" Fluttershy fled out and down the road, leading Twilight and I to follow her.

---

Everypony else was gathered where the Breezies remained standing with their pollen. Rainbow Dash and the two helping her were too busy trying to complete a task that ironically proved itself to be difficult.

"It's too strong!" Rainbow Dash announced, seeing the leaves on the branch look like they wanted to be torn off.

"I can't do it any lighter!" The one with the bow in her mane stated.

"Neither can I!" The other stallion reported.

"Fly back! I'm gonna try and see if I can slow it down." Rainbow directed and then began to focus her concentration on doing just that. However, the breeze declined greatly, becoming to the point where it would be terribly slow for them. "Now it's too light! Oh, this will never get them home!"

"Oh, my." Fluttershy expressed after observing the situation. "Maybe it's because there are too few of them. When they started their journey, there was more of them to face the breeze together."

"So…you're saying that if there were more Breezies, they'd be able to handle the breeze that Rainbow Dash thinks would be too fast?" Twilight inquired.

Fluttershy nodded her head. "Yes. Even a few more would be a great help."

"I get it!" Pinkie Pie suddenly exclaimed. "It's like one pony having to eat a whole bunch of pie compared to a whole bunch of ponies eating that whole bunch of pie! Teamwork!"

"Yes…" Fluttershy slightly flinched at the idea of Pinkie's example. "I guess so…if you put it that way…" Fluttershy looked around. "But there's a big problem… You can find anypony to help you here in Ponyville…but all of the rest of the Breezies already left back home. Where are we going to find some more Breezies to help them?"

After she had been tapping her chin in thought, Twilight immediately gasped after hearing this from Fluttershy. "That reminds me! I've been studying an old spell book from the Castle of the Two Sisters I got earlier when I left with Alex." Twilight turned to Fluttershy and placed a hoof on her shoulder in praise. "Fluttershy, you said that we needed more Breezies to help them get home, right? Well, we can do just that!"

"…huh?" Fluttershy was becoming confused, seeing that we couldn't help them since we weren't Breezies.

However, since I was with Twilight at the time she looked through the book at the castle, I realized what she was getting at. "That spell you found in the book back at the castle!" I pointed out. "If you use that, we could definitely get these guys back home!"

"Precisely!" Twilight returned. "But…" She paused, feeling the need to warn us about something. "I haven't actually tested this yet, so it's probably gonna feel a little funny at first. But you're gonna have to trust me. Group up together."

"Uh…are you sure about this, Twi?" Applejack asked a little worriedly as everypony including me gathered.

"What'd I say about trust?" Twilight lightheartedly asked.

"Alright, alright, fine." Applejack surrendered.

"I love new ideas that make me feel funny at first!" Pinkie couldn't help but express her excitement.

Twilight began working her magic, leading to an orb of it forming and spreading out in a certain radius we were in. All six of us levitated in the air, surprising mainly everyone. Twilight shot a beam out to everypony that connected to her. Pinkie Pie was the only one that couldn't wait to see what would happen.

After I saw Twilight shoot the beam at the Breezies to involve them in the connection as well, I just remembered and realized what was going to happen to us…

Oh gosh…the transformation felt just uncomfortable. It honestly disturbed me to feel and see myself growing smaller in every part and growing new things in different places. It almost made me want to close my eyes, despite the transformation honestly not being that bad. It was clear that Pinkie had a fun time, as I could distinctively make out the giggles she let out.

Fortunately, it was only a matter of seconds that the transformation took place. And soon enough…well…look at that. We were all Breezies as well. Even this shocked the Breezies, since they possibly never believed such a thing was able to do. Nevertheless, they were delighted to see their problem see a breakthrough.

"Maifo flai batendud!" Fluttershy stood in front of both groups and faced us, speaking in a high-pitched voice too, along in the foreign language. This received looks of confusions from the girls. "Um, I mean, let's go!" Fluttershy corrected a bit sheepishly.

Rainbow Dash flew up to her partners to speak with them.

"You guys can handle the breeze, right?" She asked. The two looked at each other and then responded with a nod and small grin. "Don't let me down!" She stated and then returned back to us. "You guys might want to get ready. We'll be taking off in a few."

"Group together, everyone!" Fluttershy instructed at the front of the pack.

As the breeze began to help us move along, the formation consisted of Fluttershy in the front with Seabreeze nearby. It was Fluttershy's time to shine after all. Other than that, the girls and I remained behind, but still at the front of the group of Breezies.

Considering how the seven of us had joined this small group of Breezies, I say we made a big difference. The only thing I didn't know was how much time there was, and if we'd be able to make it in time.

---

During the journey, two of the Breezies suddenly fell apart from the group. Seabreeze noticed this and quickly rushed over to the two.

"Marskin farskin." One of them stated.

"Metar." The other answered, looking completely exhausted.

"You can do this!" Seabreeze surprisingly encouraged, most likely taking on from Fluttershy. "I am sorry for how I treated you before! It was not right that I called you names! I did not even really believe those things I said! I was worried we would never get back to our home, and I lashed out..." He explained his reasons for his actions. He looked back at Fluttershy to receive a proud smile from her. "I know you can do this! I believe in you! Hold on to me, let us join the group!" He grabbed ahold of their forelegs and brought them back to us.

I couldn't help but feel a smile coming on as well, seeing this new change of a leader.

Soon enough, we were led towards the canyon where I wasn't sure where we were going. However, Seabreeze pointed out an area towards Fluttershy and helped us turn in there. From there, I noticed him, for the first time throughout the entire day, actually smile. It was as if all his worries and troubles were gone once he saw that space in front of us still open. However, I noticed it slowly closing, meaning we didn't have long to stay inside.

Once inside, we all gasped at the sight that laid in front of us. It was…indescribable. It was like…an enchanted getaway place that only peace resided in.

"Holy mini-sized paradise!" Rainbow Dash commented.

"This is simply beautiful!" Rarity expressed her thoughts on the location as well. "So much inspiration. Where's my sketchpad when I need it?" She looked around as if her sketchpad would magically appear just for the occasion.

"So...stinkin'...cute!" Pinkie included excitedly.

Of course, the sound of Pinkie's loud voice caused commotion from the Breezies that lived within. Those that were inside quickly confronted those that were with us, conveying their joy for the reunion.

But what specifically got my attention was Seabreeze. His eyes were staring at this one other Breezie holding something in her forelegs.

"No…way…" I was deeply shocked for what I saw and remained staring in high surprise.

Seabreeze rushed over to this female Breezie who held tears in her eyes as soon as she saw him. The baby in her forelegs cooed happily at the sight of his…his…father…

Seabreeze gently grabbed ahold of his son and embraced him dearly as his special Breezie only held her forelegs to her mouth as if she could still not believe he was right in front of her. She must had been so worried sick that he had not arrived home when the others did… Predictably, she wrapped her forelegs around him as he held their baby.

Before I knew it, Fluttershy and I had actually been holding each other's hooves, if that's what they still were, and staring at Seabreeze's reunion in tears.

"You okay, you two?" Applejack asked, noticing how we both we reacting.

"I'm just so very happy they got to be reunited with their family!" Fluttershy gasped lightly in her tears of joy.

Applejack drew her eyes over to the sight of Seabreeze's family and then back at us, smirking lightly. "Do I hear wedding bells?"

Both of our bodies jumped in shock, and we were frozen in some form of embarrassment until Rarity pointed something out. "We'd better get going before the entrance- well, exit for us, closes."

Applejack went on ahead to regroup with the others, leaving Fluttershy to share a look with me. Then, she took me along with her to express her farewells, not wanting let go of our connection. "Goodbye, Breezies. We must go now."

She was about to turn around until Seabreeze presented a flower to her. "To remember us by." He explained.

At that time, my eyes locked into that flower in that odd way again. There was just something about it!

Fluttershy allowed Seabreeze to place that flower in her mane.

"Thank you!" Fluttershy tearfully but gratefully thanked, hugging Seabreeze goodbye. "I'll miss you. I'll miss all of you!"

I shook my head, to shake off whatever it was that was bothering me. I extended a foreleg over to Seabreeze. "It's been nice."

He accepted it, sparing a few words to me as well. "Thank you for listening."

I gave a quick nod and proceeded to fly over to the portal before it closed while Fluttershy continued to wave back. We regrouped with the others and began going through the portal until Fluttershy stopped to look back with a hint of worry in her eyes.

Seabreeze sent one last positive expression to her, allowing her to grin and continue on through the portal.

"Whoa! That was a close one!" Rainbow Dash mentioned, seeing as we barely got out in time.

As the others agreed with her comment, I looked at Fluttershy and surprised her with a kiss.

With a blush, Fluttershy reacted to it. "What was that for…?"

"I just wanted to do that before we changed back…" I truthfully answered with a hint of embarrassment.

Fluttershy only returned a somewhat pleased smile at me.

"Okay, gather round." We heard Twilight say, gaining our presence in the circle. She then used her magic to zap us all back to normal without a hitch.

"So, uh…" Rainbow Dash began, slyly approaching Twilight. "I've always kinda wondered what it would be like to be a griffon."

Twilight returned a slightly peeved reaction, but then it transformed to a more mischievous one. "Not a chance." She shook her head and turned around to trot back, crushing Rainbow's hopes.

"You sure? What about a dragon?" Rainbow galloped after her, persistent to have her accept her offer. "No? It doesn't have to shoot fire!"

The others tagged along as Fluttershy and I stayed behind for a moment.

Fluttershy looked above at her gift. I followed along, seeing that same flash of rainbow run through it once again. Why…?

"It looks like I have something for the journal…" Fluttershy mentioned, snapping me out of it.

"Huh?" I asked.

"I learned a lesson today." Fluttershy began our walk back. "My experiences with the Breezies have helped me to see that kindness can take many forms, and sometimes being too kind can actually keep a friend from doing what they need to do. Pushing them away may seem cruel, but it's sometimes the kindest thing you can do."

"Oh. Right." I smiled lightly. "It's just like if we were to have a ki—" I quickly caught on to what I was about to say and stopped myself.

"What?" Fluttershy immediately asked, as if she actually knew what I was about to say.

"Heh heh." I nervously chuckled with a sheepish grin. "Nothing."

Fluttershy seemed to be a little disappointed that I didn't finish my sentence, but she smiled through it nonetheless. "I love you."

Able to escape the embarrassment from before, I returned to my mellow mood and nodded. "I love you too." I stated as I brushed up against her.

---

I finished telling Spirit all about the day as we sat on the balcony, especially about Seabreeze and his family.

"It made so much sense then, you know?" I referred. "The way he was so eagerly rude to get back home. He only wanted to see his…special someone and child…" I stayed stuck at the sight of them. "Makes me think…back at everyone I love…and how much I would do for them…" Spirit seemed to stare a little gravely at her finished ice cream and then away to the side. "I want all of us to be together forever…" I stared up to the sky. "But…it makes me a little sad to know that…well…nothing lasts forever…"

"Hey…" Spirit turned to me. "At least if you have memories of all the fun times you've had engraved in your mind…that's something, right?"

"Yeah…I guess." I answered.

But for right now, we needed to make every moment last…and cherish every single one.

Comments

[PoniesAndGames]

Uh oh....

[00RaiserGundam]

4613765 What do you mean by "uh-oh"?

[00RaiserGundam]

I am with Applejack on this. I can practically hear those wedding bells on the horizon already. Great chapter as always by the way.

[PoniesAndGames]

4613906 Kids. Great mom, You know what I mean

[00RaiserGundam]

4613912 Ah now I get it.

[Awesomo3000]

Aww, you wants kids, don't you, Alex? You sly dog...

[00RaiserGundam]

4615757 He's gotta propose to Flutteryshy first. But WHO KNOWS when that will happen?

[OneMadMuffin]

...Yeah, AJ, I do hear wedding bells.

Great chapter BTW!

[ThatNerdKid456]

Im pretty sure Seabreeze was a girl in the show

[AdamAperture]

4708491 No, male.

[Mr Pone]

"Oh. Right." I smiled lightly. "It's just like if we were to have a ki—" I quickly caught on to what I was about to say and stopped myself.

That should be foal, not kid.