Just Friends

by Macgyver644200

First published 30th of September, 2017

Zephyr Breeze knows now that Rainbow Dash will never love him like that. As he picks himself up, though, he finds she can still like him a whole lot.

(Friendfic)

Zephyr Breeze has never been a brave pony or a particularly able pony. He knows this. He lives this. And yet he's always tried to take the quick and easy way, hoping that the answer to his insecurities and loneliness could be found just over the next rainbow (or with it). Every time he just found more empty space, but it beat the alternative of accepting that he was a failure.

Eventually, though, he had to stop. After the worst day of his life, he finally started to settle himself, move forwards, and take responsibility. His life wasn't going to be a dream, but neither would it be a nightmare. And while he'd never own Rainbow Dash's heart, that didn't mean she wouldn't have a place for him in hers.

Rocky Start - One Week After Wigford

An eleven-year-old Zephyr Breeze whistled as he made his way outside. He was carrying too much to skip at that moment, weighed down by his lunchbox, a lump of cloud, and The Encyclopedia of Pneuma Cumulus. While the other foals would be running around playing tag or jumping off the swingsets, Zephyr would be beginning his career as a master sculptor!

He then walked over to the benches. A few foals saw him coming, then turned back to each other giggling. Zephyr scowled after them for a moment, but he just focused on his designated seat, his tail flicking to cover the burn on his leg. He quickly laid everything on the table and shoved himself into the bench. For a moment, he just sat down, glaring into space. Then he opened his book and started to read.

"Hey, Zephyr!"

After a moment, Zephyr looked up. His thirteen-year-old sister was sitting across from him. Zephyr gave her a nod. "Hey, Flutters. What's up?"

"Not much," Fluttershy said. "Ardor's been bothering me again."

Zephyr scowled as he looked up. "What happened?"

Fluttershy smiled back. "Nothing," she said.

Instantly, she leaned onto one elbow, as if that would make things less suspicious. That just made it much more apparent that she hadn't brought her lunchbox. Zephyr pushed his own over, but Fluttershy just pushed it back. He pushed it back, glaring at her. Fluttershy put in a little effort to push it back, but quickly gave in and opened it, taking out his selection of carrotsticks. Then she shut the box again. Zephyr knew she wasn't going to take anything else, so he just accepted that and turned back to his book.

After swallowing a bite of carrot, Fluttershy looked over at Zephyr's book. "Sculpture, huh?" she asked.

Zephyr nodded. "Yep. I had an idea last night, so I asked the art teacher if I could borrow some cumulus. He's even willing to freeze it for me."

"That's cool," Fluttershy said, smiling.

"I know." Zephyr had started to smile. "I mean, I actually have a whole bunch of ideas. I know, Shy-guy, I know; I'm not going to instantly be an expert, but I just know this is gonna' stick! Just wait; I'm gonna' be the next Piechelangelo!"

"HA!"

Zephyr's lips disappeared and he stood. The very next moment, though, Fluttershy had placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Just ignore him," she told him, her voice soft and soothing. "Tell me what you're doing."

For a few moments, Zephyr just glared at the foal who'd laughed, who was still smirking at him. Then he turned to Fluttershy, who was pleasantly smiling at him. She looked over at the lump of cloud. After a long moment of leaning against her hoof, Zephyr finally sat himself back down with a deep breath. "I was thinking of sculpting the Cloudesium."

Fluttershy just kept smiling. "That sounds nice. You going to do it just by hoof?"

"No," Zephyr said. "I'm going to need some paper clips to help carve out the arches. Maybe some toothpicks for structural support."

By that point, Zephyr was starting to calm down, and he'd started to ramble. He looked up every few moments, and every time, Fluttershy was seated on the other side of the bench, smiling and listening to him talking.

"ZEPHYR!"

Zephyr woke up. In an instant, he was twenty-five again and sleepi- siestando...ing, on his older sister's couch. Said older sister was glaring at him in her not-quite-hard-line-but-I-get-the-point way, and Zephyr quickly straightened up. "Flutter-bu...Fluttershy! I know, you said no siestas, but it's OK! I finished the chapter early!"

Fluttershy's face didn't change for a moment, but she soon turned away with a sigh. "Alright," she said. She walked over to a textbook seated on the coffee table. It was loaded with words, with only a few examples spaced out here and there. She turned it around and tilted it so that he couldn't see it. "What have you studied today?" she asked.

Zephyr pushed his urge to hyperventilate down as he felt sweat start to form on his back. "Skin conditions," he said. "Last one was psoriasis. Patient presents with distinctive silvery lesions; treatment is sunlight and exercise." He paused for a moment with a brief smile before seeing that his sister's frown hadn't lessened in the slightest. His eyes briefly darting towards the book (before Fluttershy tilted it further away), Zephyr's eyes darted from side-to-side as he thought. "But if it doesn't improve in two months, refer the patient to a doctor for topical corticosteroids, possibly immunosuppressants."

He looked back at Fluttershy, who was flipping through pages and reading. Zephyr opened his mouth, but then quickly shut it as Fluttershy looked up at him. Then she looked back down, eyes passing over a particular passage. At last, her frown faded. "Alright," she said. "It looks like you can break for the day."

Zephyr sighed in relief, his heart almost stopping. "Thanks... Fluttershy," he told her.

Zepher started to stretch back onto the couch, vowing not to close his eyes. A quick hoof, however, stopped him from sliding down all the way. "That means you can do me a favor." Fluttershy gave him a quick, gentle push upright before walking over to the kitchen. "I have to be out today," she continued. "Recertification class, so I need you to do some grocery shopping." She picked up a pencil by the icebox.

As she started writing on the piece of paper stuck to the icebox door, Zephyr walked over to her side. To his dismay, the list went down to the bottom and started to go down the next side. His easygoing smug smirk planted itself onto his face. "That's a... lot of items," he remarked.

"Hence why I'm writing them all down," Fluttershy said. Finally, just before she had to turn the list over, she tore it off of the icebox and put it on the counter. "There's some money in the jar," she told Zephyr. "That is enough for groceries only, do not get anything else."

Zephyr smirked as he prepared to talk, but Fluttershy glaring at him wiped his smirk off his face. "I won't," he said. "I promise.

"Good." Fluttershy then stopped glaring at him. "You should know, the merchants here often overcharge. I've written prices next to every item. Don't worry too much about haggling. Just stick to that price and they'll accept it."

Zephyr nodded. "Got it." For a few moments, he silently looked over the list. He then looked over at Fluttershy, who was packing quill and paper into a large bag. "I...I could make casserole when I get back."

Instantly, Fluttershy's head popped out of the bag. "I'll be able to cook," she assured Zephyr. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, it's OK," Zephyr replied. "Honestly, it's been a while, so I want to make sure Chef Zeph still has the skills on the grills."

Fluttershy stared at him for a moment before replying. "OK," she said, starting to smile. "I'm looking forward to it." Then she picked up the bag. "Well, I'll be back in a few hours. I'll see you then."

"Bye."

Zephyr waved as Fluttershy left the cabin. Once she left, he turned to the list. For a few moments, he just looked down at it.

'What if they're closed? What if they don't barter? What if you run out of money?'

Zephyr bit his lip as his heart started to race, fears running through his mind. He started to turn away. Fluttershy had left him money. Would it really cost that much to hire a, what was it... a shopper?

Zephyr frowned at himself. Yes, yes it would. He'd already screwed things up: ponies would charge him through the nose and he'd already proven he couldn't work with animals. He looked at the door. Then he straightened up. He said he would do this, and he would. Zephyr Breeze used to quit. Old Zephyr Breeze. New Zephyr Breeze could do it on his own. He grabbed some saddlebags, grabbed the list, and marched out the door.

<<***>>

A few hours later, Zephyr Breeze felt little better. The merchants mostly stuck to the prices, only going a bit or two over. There was only one more item on the list, and even if the vendor tripled the price, he'd be just fine. Still, his nerves were still running high. Anything could go wrong. The saddlebags felt really heavy, and he could swear they looked a little worn.

And then he saw Rainbow Dash.

His first thought was to relax. No matter what happened, he'd remember being able to gaze upon her lovely awesomeness. It was almost instantly driven out of his head when she started looking his way and a sudden jolt ran through his body. Mouth dropping open, he leapt behind a nearby stall, only barely keeping the bag with the milk in it from smacking his cover.

She wasn't interested. She'd made that abundantly clear last week, and Zephyr was willing to admit that he might have been driving her a little bit up the wall. He wanted to try again with her, start over and be a little less clingy, but her little message last week... maybe he'd try again next week. With some protective clothing. He slowly peaked out again.

"Hello, Zephyr."

Zephyr jumped to his hooves. Rainbow Dash was standing right in front of him, frowning. "Uh... Dashi-Rainbow Dash!" His smile stretched tense over his face, his eyes wide as dinner plates. "Fa-fancy seeing you here!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "At ease, private " she said. "I'm just down here to get lunch. By myself."

Instantly, Zephyr nodded. "O-OK," he said. "I'm pretty busy right now as well. Grocery shopping. Flutter-butter's busy, so she asked the new and improved Zephyr Breeze to go out and do it!"

The disdainful glare on Rainbow's face didn't let up a bit. "That's nice," she droned.

Still smiling a little too wide as the silence ticked on, Zephyr started looking around. Finally, his gaze settled on a random stall. "Oh, tarragon!" he announced. Very purposefully, he strode over to the stall and pushed a stem full of leaves across the table. "I'll have this," he said with a smile.

The stall owner, a very gruff green stallion, glared at Zephyr. "Five bits."

Zephyr rolled his eyes. "Oh come o-" Then he stopped, his smile gone. "Wait a minute..." He started shuffling around in his bag. A few seconds later, out came the list, and he started reading. A moment after that, he looked up, smiling as his cheeks turned red. "Uh, I mean, yeah! That works!"

Zephyr quickly tossed a handful of coins onto the stall. The stall owner glared at Zephyr and opened his mouth, but a quick glare from Rainbow Dash got him to quickly sweep up the coins and push over the tarragon. As soon as he got it, Zephyr let out a quick 'thanks, bye' before sweeping the plant into a saddlebag and trotting off. "Well, that's everything," he announced to Rainbow Dash. "Oh, thanks for the save back there."

She shrugged. "Eh, he's a jerk. Most of these ponies are. One of the few things I don't like about living here."

Zephyr nodded. "Yeah, they drag the whole neighborhood down." Then he chuckled. "Remember Old Man Neighdermeyer?"

Rainbow Dash's eyebrows creased a little as she shook her head. "Nnnno?"

Zephyr's smile sank. "Ah," he said. "Yeah, I guess he lived on the wrong side of town from y..." Then he cleared his throat and straightened up. "Well, thank you," he told Rainbow Dash. "However, I'd better get ba..."

Suddenly, Zephyr's jaw dropped open. "Oh no." He turned around, his teeth gritted. "Oh no, oh no, oh badbadbadbadbad!"

Rainbow Dash's eyebrow raised up. "Uh, Zeph? You OK there?"

Zephyr turned back to Rainbow Dash. "I think I forgot something!"

Down went the eyebrow as Rainbow Dash frowned at him. "So check the list," she suggested.

"It wasn't on there!" Zephyr countered. "It's something Fluttershy always gets, but it wasn't on the list, and I don't know if I have the money for it!"

Rainbow Dash shrugged, her frown letting up a little. "OK," she said. "Does she already have it?"

"Uhhh, maybe!" Zephyr closed his eyes, putting hoof to forehead. "I mean, she usually runs out of it quickly, but she might not have run out of it now." For a few seconds, Zephyr grunted as he tried to work his mind. Finally, though, his eyes opened again as he turned back to Rainbow Dash. "I don't know."

"Think about it."

"I am thinking about it!" Zephyr snapped. "That's what I mean by I don't know!"

Rainbow Dash's nostrils flared for a moment, but she visibly bit back her first response. "OK, relax. Just tell Fluttershy you think she missed something."

Zephyr snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you do that with her constantly looking down on you."

Rainbow Dash stared at Zephyr for a moment, her mouth dropping open. As Zephyr opened his mouth to apologize, though, she scowled and started up. "You're unbelievable," she hissed. "You know that? Fluttershy took you into her home after you mooched off of your parents for three months, then took you back in after you couldn't keep a job for more than an hour, and you're accusing her of being harsh with you? Based on the last few days, that's the only way you seem to do anything, buddy, so I wouldn't start badmouthing her!"

Zephyr staggered back like he'd been slapped. He opened his mouth, but a hollow feeling in his chest stayed his tongue. She was right. Even after almost becoming homeless and starving, he still fell asleep earlier that day. He still dawdled on his schoolwork. He was still the bad sibling. Gradually, his regret turned to a flare of anger. He frowned at Rainbow Dash, sniffed, then turned and started trotting off.

"Look out!"

Before Zephyr could even move his head at Rainbow Dash's shout, something big and hard knocked into him. The force made him spin on his hooves before he quickly fell to the dirt. For a few moments, he could do nothing, the wind knocked out of him and his head spinning.

It took him a moment to notice Rainbow Dash standing over him, her earlier scowl gone. "Are you alright?" she asked him.

Zephyr's head lolled from side to side for a moment before he shook it into alignment. He opened his mouth to answer, but he also tried to get up at the same time. Thus, his 'I'm fine' became a grimace as the left side of his body throbbed. Rainbow Dash looked at his left wing. "Looks like it's just sprained," she said. "Just walk it off, you'll be..."

Zephyr didn't hear her. Through the market was a road and further down the road was a cart, its driver unhitched and looking back at Zephyr. And under his wheels were the saddlebags. Out of one of them, covered in a wheel print, oozed a melange of thick, multicolored goop. The other was leaking milk. Zephyr stumbled over to the bags, poking the flaps open with his hoof. Just as he'd feared, half of the groceries had been squished, and the other half were covered in milk and broken glass.

His mind blanked briefly, then dived into overdrive. 'OK, maybe if I pick the glass out- no, I couldn't get it all! Well, maybe I could buy-no, I don't have the money! I could blame it on-NO! She would kill you, and so would Fluttershy! Oh, sweet Celestia, Fluttershy's gonna' kill you. She's gonna' kick you out and you're gonna' go back in the forest and you're gonna' starve...'

"...Zephyr? Zephyr?"

The next thing Zephyr consciously perceived, he was lying on the muddy ground, gasping for air and feeling like he'd just got off a dizzytron. Rainbow Dash was standing over him, staring at him. No, just looking at him, kind of concernedly. "Zephyr, are you OK now?" she asked.

Zephyr's vision finally focused after several seconds of blinking. Slowly, he moved back to his hooves and tried to stand up. "Yea-ow." He winced as his side flared up in pain again. "I-I think I'm... fine." He turned around and noticed that everypony around him was staring at him. Instantly, he turned back to the crushed saddlebags, which were now completely soaked. He felt his throat make some kind of noise as he half-staggered over to them. For several seconds, all he could do was stare.

Then he felt a hoof on his shoulders. "What's wrong?" Rainbow Dash asked him.

Zephyr took a few seconds to respond, just staring at the bags a few moments before sighing. "I... I can't," he said. "I can't replace them."

"Hey, relax," Rainbow Dash said, smiling and giving Zephyr a tap on his undamaged shoulder. "I'll pay for it."

Zephyr stared at Rainbow Dash for a moment, causing her smile to droop a little. He smiled, but that quickly vanished. "Fluttershy-"

"You'll be OK," Rainbow Dash told him. "But she doesn't have to know if you don't want her to."

Zephyr stared at Rainbow Dash again. Then, just as she opened her mouth, he sprung forward and hugged her. "Thank you!" he breathed. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

He felt Rainbow Dash freeze in his hooves once his rush of relief ran out. Then he felt her hooves wrap around his neck. "Hey, it's OK," she remarked to him.

Zephyr felt his heart lifting as he pulled away from Rainbow Dash, a small smile on his face. He wasn't about to be destroyed! And Rainbow Dash had hugged him! Better! "Soooo," he said "I have a little money left. What say we get some ice cream as well?"

Zephyr felt his skin crawl and his legs jitter as soon as Rainbow Dash's smile hardened. "Sure," she told him. "You want zap apple or tropic thunder?"

After a few seconds of Rainbow Dash scowling at him, Zephyr realized what he'd just implied, and he started to sweat. "Or we could just get the groceries?"

"That's what I thought."

<<***>>

A little while later, Zephyr gingerly shut the oven door. "Don't forget to stack the bananas just right," he called out to Rainbow Dash. "Otherwise-"

"-they spoil faster," Rainbow Dash responded, closing the icebox, "Rarity told me."

Zephyr reached into the saddlebags only to pull nothing else out. He let out a sigh of relief. "Beautiful," he remarked. "Everything's put away and Flutter-Butter will be none the wiser."

Rainbow Dash turned back around and slipped her saddlebags onto her back. "Don't forget to keep ice on that," she reminded Zephyr. "If it's not gone in two days, call a doctor."

Zephyr put his hoof up in a salute. "Yes, sir."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with a snort. "You don't work for me anymore," she said. "You can relax a little. Just don't try and hit on me again and you'll be fine."

As Rainbow Dash jabbed him in the chest, Zephyr nodded. "Understood, ma- Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash smiled at him. "Well," she said, "if you don't need anything else, it's time I found some lunch."

Zephyr opened his mouth, but then frowned and shut it again, his stomach roiling a little. "OK," he said.

"ZEPHYR!"

Rainbow Dash was in the middle of starting to talk when a squeaky voice sounded from the front door. Fluttershy dashed in, panting, sweating, and looking a little pale. "I just heard what happened," she gasped to Zephyr. "Are you alright?"

Zephyr stared at Fluttershy for a moment before he spoke. "Yeah, I'm alright," he told her, a small smile. "Some jerk didn't pay attention for a moment and clipped me in the side. A hoof-full of ice and everything's gonna' be A-OK."

Fluttershy kept her eyes on him as he talked. For a few moments, she stared him in the eye. Then she nodded, seeming to relax. "Ah," she said. "Yeah, that sounds right. OK. I'm glad you're safe." She took a deep breath, putting her hoof to her chest, then moving it out when she exhaled. Then she turned to Rainbow Dash. "Thanks," she said. "For being there."

"You're welcome." Rainbow Dash looked at the door. "Well, I'd better grab something to eat." With that, she headed for the door. "Bye!"

Fluttershy watched Rainbow Dash leave, then looked back at Zephyr. "How do you feel?" she asked, looking at his side.

"I told you, I-eee!" Zephyr winced as his wing throbbed mid-movement but he kept smiling. "I'm OK. I think, just a little lie-down, and I'm gonna' be good as new."

Fluttershy nodded. "OK," she said. "But don't fall asleep. You need to get used to staying awake all day."

Zephyr walked over to the couch and very gingerly laid himself down. Then he wiggled himself, getting comfortable. For a few moments, he just lay there. A momentary thought, though made him reach a hoof over to the table and push open his textbook. After moving it so Fluttershy could see it easily, he started reading from it. "Dinner should be ready in about fifteen minutes," he told her.

As Zephyr read, he could sense Fluttershy walking around to the back of the couch. Then he felt her tussle his mane. "Thanks, Zeph," she told him.

Zephyr smiled. "You're welcome, big sis."

Author's Notes:

So, I teased this a while ago, and it hasn't left me alone. Thus, here it is! Like my other stories, I don't really have an endgame with this, so I'm going to be partly making it up as I go. However, I have an idea for how things progress, and if I think of something, I'll be slotting it in the right place afterwards.

So yeah, ZephyrXRainbow friendfic. While I haven't seen the episode in question, I have read the transcript and looked through the gallery on the MLP wiki, and Zephyr kind of caught my attention. Part of this is I had a beloved cat by the same name, part of it is that he really hit close to home for me. So that got me curious, and when I get curious, I headcanon. I like what I've come up with so far, and I hope you enjoy it too.

Promise - Two Weeks After Wigford

“Zephyr?”

Fluttershy walked into the living room, where she saw her little brother on the couch. The cold packs had just come off, and Zephyr’s bruising had gone down. And it seemed he was reading one of his textbooks instead of sleeping. All good. “Zephyr?”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he just lifted his hoof up an inch. He really was reading, and he was in the middle of a paragraph at the moment. She didn’t get mad at him: she knew he’d respond in a moment. Instead, she just walked around to his head and stood waiting.

Finally, he looked up. “Yeah, Flutters?” he asked.

Fluttershy felt herself wince a little. Not from anything her brother was doing; his face didn't suggest anything was particularly running through his mind. No, she was worried about what was about to come. “Uhh, Zephyr?” she asked. “I was wondering... I’m having a friend over for tea and would you mind clearing out for an hour or two?”

Zephyr stared at Fluttershy for a moment, and Fluttershy could hear her heart pounding. Then he smiled. “Congratulations, Flutter-Butter!” he crowed. “Or should I say Flutter… uh, Flutter…”

Fluttershy’s heart sank as she sighed. “It’s not like that,” she groaned. “He’s just a friend.”

In response, Zephyr just snorted. “Yeah, right. I’ve seen you take friends home before. This is a ‘friend’.”

Zephyr raised his hooves to make air quotes. Blushing, Fluttershy stomped one of her hooves. “Zephyr!” she snapped.

Instantly, Zephyr stopped smiling and straightened up. “Sorry.”

“Thank you." Fluttershy took a moment to breathe before she continued. “He’s just a friend,” she repeated, “and I’m having him over for tea. We missed last week because of… things. It’s not your fault,” she told Zephyr as his ears drooped. “I just didn’t want to introduce you two just yet. But I don’t want to keep him waiting another week. So, if you don’t mind-”

Zephyr shook his head. “No, not at all,” he said. “I can find something to do for two hours. The house is yours.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Thanks. Do you need any money?”

“That's OK, I have some.” Zephyr got up off of the couch and started walking towards the door. “So, what’s there to do in town?”

Fluttershy walked next to him. “Well-”

She stopped as Zephyr held up a hoof. “Wait, no, don’t tell me,” he said. “I rise to surprise.”

Fluttershy briefly winced at that. “OK,“ she said.

Zephyr Breeze just chuckled as he walked out the door. “Don't worry! I can take care of myself for an hour or two. You just enjoy your da-”

Fluttershy pulled the door shut on her brother, then rolled her eyes. Then she made her way to the kitchen.

***

“Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow Dash looked up from her nachos. Ten seconds ago, she'd found her perfect park bench and parked herself in it. Combined with her notebook of Awesome Ideas and Worthy Old Sir's Certified Dragon Breath nachos, she was ready for another fruitful afternoon of writing. This time for sure, she'd find the perfect idea.

And then Zephyr Breeze bolted to her side. He was tearing down the path, eyes wide and shouting her name. It looked almost like he had witnessed a murder. Instantly, Rainbow Dash stood. “Zephyr!” she said. “What's wrong?”

Zephyr skidded to a halt right in front of her, just barely avoiding smacking her in the face. “What do you do for fun here?”

Rainbow Dash's concerned frown turned annoyed. “What?” she asked.

Zephyr backed himself up. “I may have overestimated my town-exploring skills just a teeny-tiny bit,” he explained. “Now I have no idea what I'm going to do for the next hour-and-a-half.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Go see a movie,” she said. “We have a movie theater, go see what's playing.”

In response, Zephyr began to turn pink. “Ah… uh, well…”

“If you need money-”

“I have money,” Zephyr retorted, his face turning pinker. “I just don't have it with me. By the time I remembered I forgot it, Flutter-butters's coltfri-uhh, the cold front had started up and, uh, sheee rushed me out to get some-”

Some loud giggling from Rainbow Dash made Zephyr stop. “Dude, relax,” she told him. “Much as she tries to hide it, we all know about her and Discord.”

Zephyr let out a relieved breath. “Ah, good” he remarked. “Fluttershy won't be mad about-wait, her and DISCORD?”

Zephyr scowled, then spun around and clomped towards the park exit. Rainbow Dash groaned. “What are you doing?” she asked as she took flight.

“Being a brother!” Zephyr shouted over his shoulder.

He stomped on. However, something weighty pelted into him, causing him to fall to the ground. “Relax, would ya?” Rainbow Dash told him. “He's reformed now.”

“So I heard!” Zephyr tried to struggle his way free, to no avail. “I just want to, rgh, double-check that!”

The weight on his back lessened a little, but it returned as soon as he tried to squirm away. “Don't worry,” Rainbow Dash droned, “a lot of us are still on the fence about it. He seems alright, though. Besides that Tirek thing two years ago. And the Gala last year. And the 'Blue Flu' scare...”

For a moment, Zephyr couldn’t hear anything. As he turned his head to see if Rainbow Dash was still on top of him, though, she put a hoof on his head and forced it forward again. “But, Fluttershy and Princess Celestia trust him, and that's good enough, I guess.”

Finally, Rainbow Dash stood up. After a few seconds of waiting, Zephyr slowly rose as well. “You OK?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Zephyr frowned a moment, but eventually answered. “Yeah, sure.” He smiled. “If you say Fluttershy likes Discord, I'm fine with that. What the Elements hath joined, let no bro cast asunder.”

Zephyr lasted about five seconds before Rainbow Dash glared him down. “OK,” he sighed. “I'm still not happy, but I'm her brother!” His face fell. “At least, I should be. Even if-”

A hoof on his face stopped him. “Let it go, dude,” Rainbow Dash told him. “That's the best thing you can do right now, let it go.”

Zephyr's face turned away, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well…”

“Hey, tell ya’ what.” Rainbow Dash walked back to the bench. “Why don't you help me with these stories I wanna write?”

Zephyr's jaw dropped. “You-”

“Yes, I write.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “You wanna help me or not?”

Zephyr turned and took a quick glimpse down the path. Before Dash could call him again, though, he'd turned back to her and walked back to her side. “You know,” Zephyr said, “I used to edit the school's anthology magazine.”

Instantly, Rainbow Dash's eyebrows popped up. “Never heard of that one,” she noted.

Zephyr's chest puffed out. “Yep,” he crowed. “Produced the highest quality issue in ten years, according to Mr. Greenleaves.”

“What happened?”

That made him sigh. “They wouldn't let me submit anything, so I quit. And by the time I'd finished what I wanted to submit, I'd already graduated.”

Zephyr frowned off into space. Rainbow Dash frowned at him for a moment. Then, though, she looked back at her book. “OK,” she started, “first idea, a mare working in the weather factory for a small town- what's that look for?”

Zephyr straightened up and pasted a smile on his face. “Look?” he asked. “What look? What are you talking about?”

Rainbow Dash closed her notebook. “Something's wrong, buddy. What gives?”

The smile lasted a little longer before dying. Zephyr shrugged. “Well,” he told Rainbow Dash, “and don't lose your cool, I'm sure you can write a great story around that premise. However…” He paused, dragging out the word until he saw Rainbow Dash starting to get up, “is this story about you?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “No!” she groaned. “It's about a mare named Lightspeed.”

“But she's almost exactly like you?”

“No!”

Zephyr could see her freeze up, though, and he knew she was getting defensive. “Look, Dashi-Dash, self-inserts can be done well, but so many ponies have done it badly that I was just told to reject it.”

Rainbow Dash glared at him for a few seconds, but then she let out a sigh. “OK.” She picked up her pen and scratched through something. After a brief look over the rest of her page, though, she tore the page out, crumpled it up, and launched it into a trash can across the path.

Zephyr whistled. “Nice shot,” he noted.

Rainbow Dash didn't reply. Her nose was in the book, looking over the entries. Finally, after turning the page, she stopped. “How's this,” she said, “a young griffon moves to… Canterlot for a summer, where she meets a…” She scratched something out. “...a unicorn colt that helps her adjust.”

Zephyr paused, but nodded as she looked up. “That sounds good,” he said. “There aren't a whole lot of stories that star griffons, so that's definitely a plus.”

Somewhat stiffly, Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah,” she said. She stared into space for a moment. As Zephyr moved to talk, though, she hmmed. “I don't know,” she said.

“Based on a friend?” Zephyr asked.

“Yeah,” she answered, “and I don't want to screw it up.”

Zephyr nodded. “Good idea.” Then his eyes widened. “Gretta, right?”

“Gilda.” A second later, she turned and glared at Zephyr. “How did you-”

“Fluttershy told me about her,” Zephyr quickly answered. “They had lockers next to each other. ‘shy said she tended to scream into hers.”

Zephyr could swear that Rainbow Dash blushed a little as she chuckled. “Yeah, that was my fault,” she admitted. The chuckle stopped, though, as Rainbow Dash started to frown. “Didn't think she'd take it so far,” she muttered.

Zephyr thought of shuffling closer, but decided against it. Instead, he cleared his throat. “So,” he ventured, “she live here too?”

“Griffonstone.” Rainbow Dash crossed a line out of her book. “It'd take too long to collaborate with her. Let's go with-”

“Actually,” Zephyr said, “I spent a summer living with a few griffons. If you want, I can consult.”

Rainbow Dash considered it, hoof on her chin. “Mmm, nah,” she said. “This story's special to me and I wanna’ tell it right.”

A small pout formed on Zephyr's lips, but he wiped it away as Rainbow Dash looked up. “So, what's the next idea?”

***

“I still think the monkey story was the best.”

On the road to Fluttershy’s cottage, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “I don’t care what you think,” she told Zephyr, “I’m going with hockey.”

“I’m telling you, monkeys-HOOP!”

Zephyr had to brace himself as the hiccup threatened to knock him over and Rainbow Dash had to stuff a hoof in her mouth to keep from busting out laughing. “Ugh, I swear!” Zephyr ranted. “You saw me drink all that milk, right?”

The smile on Rainbow Dash’s face didn’t let up as she took her hoof out of her mouth. “Yeah, I’m sure you inhaled half of it,” she quipped.

Zephyr glared at Rainbow Dash for a moment, who just smirked back at him, before turning away. “Your stupid nachos.”

“Hey, I said take it slow.”

Zephyr huffed. “I need sugar,” he said. He walked up to the door.

“You sure you don’t want me to stay longer?”

Zephyr and Rainbow Dash froze as the door started to creak open. In an instant, the two spotted the same bush and dove for it. The two collided and scuffled as they crawled down under the brush. The door opened just as the two ponies forced themselves back around to watch.

Out walked Discord, standing tall and smiling with Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash could feel Zephyr tense up next to her, and she laid a hoof on his back. “That’d be wonderful,” they heard Fluttershy say, “but Zephyr should be getting back soon.”

Discord shrugged. “So? I mean, I’ve got to meet him some time.”

“Later,” Fluttershy replied. “When he’s settled in.”

Rolling his eyes, Discord groaned. “I thought he was already doing that,” he grumbled.

On hearing a sharp breath, Rainbow Dash chanced a glance over at Zephyr. He was glaring at the two, his lips set in a firm line. Rainbow Dash quickly patted him on the back, but he tensed up in response. Thus, Rainbow Dash drew her hoof back.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, was scowling back. “He’s getting better,” she growled. “And I wouldn’t talk if I were you. Remember the gala?”

Discord opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Then he frowned, turning away from Fluttershy with a sigh. “Point. I...” His breath caught a little, then he deflated. “Ugh, well… y-you know.”

Fluttershy laid her hoof on Discord’s side. “It’s OK,” she said, her frown fading. “You’re not that person anymore. You’ve changed. And Zephyr can change, too. It might take him a while, but…” She smiled. “I think he’s going to make it this time.”

Discord smiled back at Fluttershy. “I love that about you,” he said. Then he draped his eagle claw over Fluttershy’s head, running his talons through her mane. “Don’t ever lose that.”

One more shared smile, and Discord snapped himself away with a poof. Fluttershy took in a contented breath, relaxing in the afternoon sun. Rainbow Dash then turned to Zephyr again. His face seemed unreadable, forcedly neutral. “Uh, Zephyr?” Rainbow Dash poked him. “Zephyr? You OK?”

Zephyr said nothing, his head not moving. Then, finally, *HOOP!*

Fluttershy straightened up and turned towards the bush. Zephyr’s eyes shot open. “Uhh…” Rainbow Dash tried to back up, but Zephyr got into a squat, shaking the bush. “BOOM!” A second later, he staggered out of the bush, his eyes rolling in their sockets. “W-well, Dashie!” he blurted. “Tha-haaaa… I’ve had softer landings.”

Fluttershy walked forward. “Zephyr?”

Zephyr shook his head before looking at Fluttershy. “Flutter-butter!” A big fake smile pasted itself over his face. “Well, as you can see, Rainbow Dash and I just dropped in.” He motioned to the bush, which Rainbow Dash was extracting herself from with a glare. “Funny you didn’t see us. We were racing back, must’ve broken the sound barrier!” His fake grin deepened. “Well, I’d better head in, get to work on studying. Unless you need me to clean anything up! Y’know, I’ll just give the area a once-over and do some spot-cleaning!”

“Zephyr...”

Too late. He was inside and the door was closed. Fluttershy’s outstretched hoof dropped as Zephyr walked around the living room, scanning for messes that didn’t exist. As Rainbow Dash walked up, Fluttershy turned to face her. “How was he?” she asked.

“Getting better,” Rainbow Dash said. “He didn’t try and hit on me and was actually rather helpful.” She watched as Zephyr moved into the kitchen. “How is he around you?”

Fluttershy watched as Zephyr moved into the kitchen and pulled a glass out of a cabinet. “The same,” she replied. “He’s actually doing what he’s supposed to and he’s only a moderate pain.”

There was a loud hiccup, then a crash as the glass fell to the floor. Zephyr growled and stamped his hoof down, then looked up. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy ducked away just in time. They listened as they heard Zephyr’s hooves stomping away. “I thought I knew him,” Rainbow Dash said. “Has he always been like that?”

In response, Fluttershy shook her head. “No,” she answered. “Sort of. I think it’s always been there, but it wasn’t always this bad.” She fell silent for a moment, shrinking in on herself. Before Rainbow Dash could do anything, Fluttershy straightened up. “So, how about some lemonade?”

Before Rainbow Dash could say anything, Fluttershy pulled the door open and walked inside. After a moment, Rainbow Dash followed.