"I really need to get something to do in here..."

When Zephyr saw Rainbow Dash again after her trip, she complimented him for a good job, yet it seemed like she gave off the impression of disappointment. When Zephyr pointed it out to her, she got rather defensive over it. It went downhill from there as the two started taking snips at each other again, though it was much more toned down more than before the race.

With pained acceptance, Zephyr has isolated himself from the rest of the community again by retreating back home after both jobs were finished. While Groceries were one of the few exceptions, Zephyr did his best to spread the shopping out as much as possible.

When Applejack heard about Zephyr's interactions with her sister and her friends, she made an inquiry as to why he wasn't anymore. His vague answer was that he felt like an obstacle and was getting in their way. She didn't look like she believed him.

From the way things seem, she must hate lies. That's good, I'll just keep lying to her and she won't get too comfortable with me.

Current status as is follows:

I'm avoiding Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and the Crusaders. It pains me to do so, but for the good of mine and their emotional health, it must be done.

I don't have to worry about Rainbow Dash and possibly Applejack. They most likely will turn their heads the other way when I leave, which is fine.

Rarity, I need to be wary of, but I think I'm in the clear with her. Twilight, I know next to nothing about, other than she's a librarian. For good measure, I'll see if I can't avoid them too.

After all... if you are alone, nopony can hurt you...

This lead to Zephyr's current conundrum. He never realized the need before, but the distinct lack of books to read, or any sort of entertainment in place for that matter, was beginning to wear on him. While doing various exercises can be both healthy and self-entertaining, It doesn't last long and he's otherwise left with a scarcity of things to do.

Putting the matter of entertainment aside, Zephyr started looking in the fridge to keep inventory. He counted milk, apples, celery, lettuce, apple juice, onions, tomatoes--

"Oh crap! I forgot sugar and flour. Guess I'm going back to the market again... stupid short-term memory."

When Zephyr started walking by Sugar Cube Corner, He took notice of two gruff ponies wearing golden armor standing outside the entrance.

Royal guards? Why are they here? Are they somehow in the middle of a drug bust? I always wondered why Pinkie Pie acted so hyper all the time...

Rainbow Dash suddenly jumps out the door before saying, "So... what do I have to do to become one of the Princesses royal guards anyways?"

Wait... actually, that is a decent question to ask. What DOES it take to be royal guard?

"Is the pay good?"

No answer.

"Hellooooo. Anybody home?"

Zephyr stood by in amusement as Rainbow Dash stares at one before making funny faces and noises. When she stuck her hoof in her mouth and made a fart sound, he found it hard to not laugh.

"Oooooh, you're good..." She heard Zephyr let out a snort of laughter which made her face him in surprise. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see you do all that. Hehehe, that face you made when you stuck your hoof in your mouth. Getting a little puffed there, Rainbow?"

She rolls her eyes. She did make somepony laugh, but it wasn't her targets. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up. I'm going back in. I'm bored." With that, she leaps back into the door.

Still chuckling, Zephyr walk past the store, ignoring the guards giving him a quick look.

"...Hah, phew... made it!"

Oh good Luna, not again... The Headaches, part six: Return of the Karma...

Zephyr turned around, just in time to see the guards block Fluttershy with their wings.

"Halt!"

"Who goes there?"

*Gulp* "no-one... never mind, I'll go home."

I mean... I guess I feel her on a nervousness level--

"It's alright sirs, she's on the list." Zephyr saw Twilight poking her head out and put her hoof on their wings before they retracted them. Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief before heading in. Meanwhile, all Zephyr could do was sit there and stare with a shocked expression, brain totally broken from the implied revelation.

Unfortunately for Zephyr, Twilight seemed to have noticed him and smiled. "Oh, Zephyr! Why don't you join us? I know he isn't technically on the list, but please let him in as well." And with that, she retreats with a nervious Fluttershy in tow.

Oh no no no no, she must be somepony super important if she can order royal guards like that! If I turn her down, the consequences could be ENORMOUS! Plus, I still don't know what's going on!

It took all of Zephyr's willpower to not start panic-dancing on the spot as he agonized over his decision.

I-I guess I have no other choice... I HAVE to do this, or I may as well live outside of civilization for the rest of my life! I would like to try and avoid that.

With hesitation, Zephyr walked towards the entrance nervously. True to Twilight's word, the guards didn't block him, so he quickly slipped by, a hollow pit of nerves clustering in stomach.

A lanky yellow stallion walked out of the kitchen with a tray of mini pies, clearly very nervous himself. "How's everypony doing? Good? Good."

The mare that served Zephyr the other day was balancing a tray while standing next to--

P-Princess C-Celestia?

He had never met, but Zephyr heard tales of her regal, graceful, yet powerful form. White, wearing golden garments, and a billowing mane that looked like an aurora borealis. She was the Princess of the Sun in all her glory... sitting in a small town confectionery.

Zephyr was far from prepared for the mental shock and immediately started giving off a cold sweat. The last thing he was expecting to do during a quick run for sugar and flour was bear witness to the the esteemed ruler of Equestria, yet here she is. The fact that Zephyr could do all he could to not just have a mental breakdown on the spot was an achievement for him.

I'll just... sit off in the corner and hope no-pony sees me... Heart... pounding...

Quickly finding a secluded spot, Zephyr saw Twilight somehow being more nervous than him, with a strangely calm Fluttershy-- Damn these headaches... -- walking towards the Princess.

"Oh, you and your tender, loving care of little animals. I just know Princess Celestia is gonna love that about you. I mean, I hope she will... I mean, of course she will!" She was twitching a lot.

"Wow, Twilight. I thought I was the only one who got nervous at social gatherings."

My thoughts exactly... oh, why did I have to eat four apples for breakfast today? Maybe I can blame them for my heart trying to leap out of my chest...

"Oh, it's not that. I just want the princess to approve of my friends." This caught Zephyr even more off guard. His mind started reeling with reasons as to why Twilight answered directly to Princess Celestia.

"But she's met us all before."

No way... nowaynowaynoway ARE THEY ROYALTY OR NOBILITY?!

"And read about you in my letters." That managed to calm Zephyr's overactive fear a bit. "But this is the first time she's spent any real time with you. I want everypony to make a good impression. "

"Well, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. Besides, it's just a casual get-together, right?" Fluttershy was looking around, slightly nervous. Like she knew she just jinxed it.

"Don't touch me!" Zephyr gave a start before looking over to see Rarity in one of the dresses he saw at the boutique. "Watch the dress! Careful, you're gonna spill that on me! Oh, oh, that looks delicious. What is it? Oh, does it stain?! Keep it away from me!"

Why did you wear it, then? I want to ask that out loud, but I want to be left alone with my own bundle of nerves so I'll keep my mouth shut...

Fluttershy winced slightly. "Or... perhaps not that casual."

Ya think? The tension in the air is so thick, you could cut it.

"Uh... which is the salad and which is the appetizer again?" Looking the other way, Zephyr made notice of Applejack with a bib, which did wonders for his nerves as he bit down a laugh. He also noted her own cold sweating. "And which am I supposed to eat first?"

... you know what... I know I'm a bundle of high-strung nerves right now, but I feel like I have to reassure SOMEPONY they're doing something right.

Reaching Applejack just as she gave up, Zephyr got her attention. "You were on the right track, AJ. Coming from a Manehattener, The first thing eaten in a formal dinner is an appetizer, usually soup, then a "starter salad -- don't ask, it's weird -- then finally the main course. If you have the room, dessert is last."

Applejack looked as Zephyr in surprise before letting out a small chuckle. "Thank you for the lesson, Zephyr, but... ah'm not feeling hungry anymore... sorry."

"It's fine. Just... wanted to reassure somepony... I certainty don't feel reassured. W-when was this planned?"

"A few days ago. Honestly... it kinda caught me off guard too--"

"Whoo-hoo!" Pinkie Pie was jumping all over the place. "Cupcakes, candies and pies, oh my!" she hits herself with a pie. "Oooh! Chocolate fountainy goodness!" She gets her head covered in chocolate. It hardens, then cracks open, with her somehow chewing it all.

Applejack let out a nervous laugh before seeing Zephyr looking away from the scene, eyes squeezed shut. "I can't watch... I can't watch..."

Suddenly Pinky Pie was by the Princess when she asks, "you gonna eat that?" Before promptly eating one of her cupcakes out of her magic.

Applejack shivered at how rude her friend was being. "Ah don't blame ya... ah'm far from the most sophisticated of ponies and even ah feel Pinkie's being a bit... much."

"Please don't mind me, I'm gonna... go pretend to be a statue in the corner..." All Applejack could do was wave Zephyr off as she dealt with her own nerves.

After putting some distance between him and the Princess, Zephyr observed the two owners of the trying to salvage the situation. After pulling away the pink pony with a "hey", they apologized and filled the tea cup every time the Princess takes a sip.

Okay, I know full well I have no room to judge, but that's being a little obnoxious--

The cup overflowed. "Gotcha!"

...Huh? What?

Twilight, who happened to be nearby, let out a whimper before the Princess turned towards her and Fluttershy. "And what about you, dear? Fluttershy, is it?"

Time for me to block that conversation out and finish my statue impression. My headache is already there, no need to make it worse...

The "party" continued for a while like this. There have been ponies looking at Zephyr curiously and the few who tried to talk to him only got few vague responses, usually something along the lines of "I am a statue... I am stone..." which certainly elicited a few concerned looks.

Princess Celestia suddenly stood up and said, "I'm sorry, everypony. I'm afraid I have to cut the party short." Twilight looked like she was stopped herself from spitting out her drink. "The mayor has requested an audience with me. Royal duty calls. Thank you for a wonderful time. It's been a joy getting to know you all better."

As she said that, she looked around the room. When her gaze rested on Zephyr, the poor stallion shrank back further into his corner before recommitting to the statue impression. Luckily for all the high-strung nerves, she got up and exited the bakery without second thought.

When Zephyr confirmed the Princess was gone, he had to resist hyperventilating while feeling like he just avoided a cannonball. Somewhere in the back of my mind I know she is a gracious and kind ruler, but my default paranoia being multiplied by my apple-induced high-strung nature put me on edge... to the extreme.

After most of the ponies have left, Zephyr quickly took his own exit as well. Remember that he still had business in the market--

"HEY"

Look Ma! I can see an entire village from up here. Freaking Pinkie Pie...

After slowly making his way back down from seeing Ponyville as a speck on the ground, Zephyr made sure to land in the market in order to grab what was still needed.

Princess Celestia, Town Hall.

"... And that concludes everything I needed to say. Thank you for taking time to listen to my concerns. " The mayor was talking to Celestia about general issues and the current status of Ponyville.

"I assure you it was no trouble on my part. However, I am slightly curious about a deep green Pegasus stallion that I saw during the party earlier."

The mayor thought for a moment since she was too familiar with said Pegasus. "You mean Zephyr Earthwing?"

"Indeed. I know that most of the ponies in town couldn't attend the party, but when I saw all the Ponyville residence after my sister's return, he was not among them."

"Oh yes, He moved in a short while ago from Manehatten to be the new Wind Manager. However, a lot of the residents think he's weird."

Celestia frowned. "Weird? Please elaborate."

"He's rather... 'out there'. He interacts with ponies just fine one day, the next he's shutting himself in his house refusing to come out or interact with anypony."

Celestia frowns. "Interesting... how much interaction has he had?"

The mayor sighed as she wracked her brain. "Not much. The only ponies who interact with him all the time are Rainbow Dash and the Apple family. To me, it sounds like he intentionally avoids interaction unless it's necessary."

The Princess mulled over it with a bit of a sad look. She often encourages her subjects to have meaningful friendships, which is one basis of her rule. To have one of her subjects intentionally avoid such a thing made her sad. I understand that it's unavoidable there will be ponies who'll fall through the cracks, so to speak, but I genuinely wish it wasn't so. I can't afford to show too much favor to too many ponies either or I'll end up setting a new expectation...

"I'll have my faithful student look into it for me. From the reaction I got from him during the party, talking to him myself would not be very productive..."

Zephyr Earthwing, Town Plaza.

While he was wandering the marketplace, Zephyr had taken notice of a few posters depicting some kind of bird being put up by the guards from earlier. He thanked the stars that he finally recovered from his apple-induced high-strung nature. When said guards suddenly appeared behind Zephyr to ask him about "Princess Celestia's pet bird," he didn't rocket back into the sky.

Finding what I forgot was more of a pain then I realized. The flour was easy enough, but the sugar was oddly scarce.

Guess there's nothing more to it... I'll just head back home and bake some--

Hearing a noise, Zephyr took notice of a bird looking similar to the one on the poster sitting next to it. It... or rather she suddenly drew very pronounced eyebrows and a mustache in such a way, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Bwahahahaha. Okay, that's gold. A bird drawing facial hair that detailed is actually pretty funny." He stopped laughing when a few feathers fell off said bird. "Are you molting?"

"Philomena, where are you?!" Twilight's voice sent Zephyr right into the nearby bushes out of fear of her newly-discovered royal standing.

After both she and Fluttershy passed by, he extracted himself. Letting out a sigh, he noticed the bird hid in the bushes with him. "I know it's none of my business, but are you, perchance, the "Philomena" they're looking for?"

Philomena, knowing he was remaining neutral in the whole thing, let out a small squawk of confirmation before letting out a few more.

To other ponies it was just squawks, but Zephyr could understand them just fine thanks to his special connection to birds. "You... want me to give you a ride in my saddlebags to Sugar Cube Corner?"

After another confirmation, Philomena brought out a couple bits she had found in the bush.

After a second, Zephyr decides to run with it. "Alright. I'll get you there in one minute or your bits back." Philomena let out a happy squawk and climbed into his right saddlebag, making sure nopony could see her inside.

Ensuring his passenger was secured, he turned to go back to the shop. It was a simple request, or so he thought.

When he saw Twilight and Fluttershy round the corner, apparently double-checking their tracks, Zephyr quickly jumped onto one of the roofs, much to Philomena's confusion. In fact, it actually took longer than a minute because he kept trying to avoid various ponies, including the CMC, Rarity, and Applejack.

When he finally got to Sugar Cube Corner, he gave the two bits back. "I... apologize for the delay. As promised, your bits will be ref--" He was cut off when Philomena let out a few chirps of concern as she pushed them back.

"Oh.. you're wondering why I'm avoiding everypony? I... guess I can tell you." Philomena motioned towards the bushes near the fountain and the two sat inside them. Letting out a sigh, Zephyr opened up to the bird.

"It's because I never planned on staying here to begin with. When I first came here, my plan was to just visit the town for a day before moving on to the next. I... have a hard time trusting most ponies to be friends because of all my bad experiences as a colt.

"However, I also understand that there might be those who are more genuine about their wish to be friends with me. Sadly... I'm damaged goods. All the 'friends' I thought I had, save one who I haven't seen in forever, always betrayed me in favor of winning favor with their peers. Now? I'd just rather keep pushing others away, both for their sake and my own..."

It saddened Philomena greatly, but she knew she could do nothing, even after she rejuvenates. The best she could do was put a comforting wing onto his leg, which he smiled at. "Thank you. Perhaps you should get going, it might not be long before somepony chasing you will find you in here."

After exiting the bush, thankfully out of sight of Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, Zephyr perched on a roof to observe the sequence of events. from Philomena's dramatic display, her bursting into flames, and Fluttershy's sheer despair at it all. The mare's tears caused another migraine in Zephyr, but he kept watching out of curiosity.

After the reveal that Philomena was a Phoenix and a heartfelt apology to Fluttershy, after some coaxing by Celestia, Zephyr took his leave after that. He felt that his presence there was insignificant, though Philomena lending an ear did help him feel a bit better.

Unfortunately, for his mindset, the Princess saw Zephyr fly away.

Author's Note

This is the first specific chapter I've heavily modified. I didn't like how... disconnected Zephyr felt from the whole scenario, so I let him interact with Applejack during the party and also let him get some time with Philomena.