While Zephyr didn't dream anything last night, it was very comforting for him all the same. Perhaps it’s because nightmares plagued me before and during my captivity.

When he started waking up, Zephyr became aware of something warm pressed against his side and under both wings. When he shifted his head to see, Fluttershy was still curled up by his side with a soft smile on her face. The same smile Zephyr always woke up to when the two were foals and she crawled into his bed at night when she was scared of something.

Am I really such a comfort to her?

Slowly removing himself from her bed and making sure Fluttershy stayed comfortable, Zephyr heading down into the living room. Some of her animal friends had already woken up and were now regarding him with curiosity. Once again noticing his harp, Zephyr decided to try playing it for the first time since arriving in Ponyville.

Remembering enough about tuning to do so, Zephyr attempted to play while holding the harp in one of his main wings. While most Pegasi could use their wings for more than just flying, Zephyr was always able to do more thanks to the fact that said wings felt like they had grip. With some of the things I held in my wings that others couldn't, that was probably a contributing factor to foals calling me a freak...

One attempt at playing the harp later, Zephyr grimaced as he kept going off-key for the only song he knew how to play. Eventually regaining his feel for it, he managed started playing the song properly, with few delays in the timing. As he started hitting all of the notes correctly, Zephyr noticed plenty of the animals gathering to hear his performance. It embarrassed him somewhat, but played on regardless, hoping it would contribute to the calmness the animals currently had.

As Zephyr hit the last note and brought the song to a rest, a soft sigh was heard from Fluttershy, who had her eyes closed while listening. "That was a beautiful piece."

That got a nervous smile. "It's... the only thing I know how to play on a harp."

"That doesn't mean it's not good." She shakes her head slightly as Zephyr put the harp down and started going into the kitchen, intending to prepare breakfast for the both of them, when she gasped. “Oh, your smaller wings. The feathers are all misaligned.”

Zephyr had a look and noticed what she was talking about. His secondary wings, because of how neglected they were, had their feathers going in almost every direction.

“Huh… I never noticed. I suppose I’ll straighten them out before I leave-- ack!” Zephyr was not prepared when Fluttershy started preening them. Because of how sensitive they were, every preened feather sent shudders down his spine.

When Fluttershy finished and the secondary wing feathers were in order, she noticed Zephyr was red in the face from the activity. “S-sorry. I knew they were sensitive, but I couldn’t just leave them like that.” She gives him an affectionate nuzzle before heading outside to feed her animals.

Why go to such lengths for a ‘brother’ you’ve only recently reunited with?

Stifling a sigh, Zephyr went into the kitchen to make pancakes for breakfast, hoping his sister would like them. They were ready by the time she was done her rounds. "Oh? You didn't need to."

"I figured something like this would make your day a bit more convenient. I hope they are to your tastes."

She smiles warmly at the gesture. "It will, thank you and I'm sure they'll be lovely. I need to head into town to pick up more food for the animals, so I won't be back right away."

Zephyr nodded at that. "Alright. There are some things I need to get done in town as well, so lets eat up."

I need to head to Rarity's to get my suit sorted out... even though I doubt she will do it for me. For convenience's sake, I'll see if I can buy a watch of some kind to keep better track of time, Celestia knows how I can forget the time all the time... hah...

After that... I think I'm free until the crusaders get out of school.

Deciding to try and get use out of his newly-preened secondaries, Zephyr started focusing on flapping all four wings in an attempt to re-synchronize them. It was more difficult than initially thought, but something Zephyr forced himself to do if he didn't want to suffer Rainbow’s wraith.

He had almost reached Ponyville when a thought shot across his mind, halting him on the spot with a paranoid look.

Wait, my back wings are exposed and the only ones who know are the girls and the crusaders! Just because my friends and the fillies accepted my wings doesn't mean the rest of the ponies would as well. Deciding against cutting straight to Rarity's, Zephyr made his way around the outskirts of town.

"There you are, Zephyr!" He dropped a bit more in the air when Twilight called to him. "I tried visiting you in the hospital, but they said you were cleared to leave that afternoon."

"O-oh... I uh, left for Cloudsdale with Fluttershy to get my work situation sorted out."

Twilight gives a concerned look. "Are you sure you're fine to be out and about? I'd thought Fluttershy would be more opposed to letting you out early considering how fretful she was over you when you were brought in. I know I would be."

So worried and concerned so soon after remembering me... why?

Noticing the look on Zephyr's face, Twilight shook her head with worried eyes. "You should keep taking it easy, okay? Like I said, I know I would be fretful over MY big brother if he was in a similar situation." She widened her eyes as she remembered why she called out to Zephyr. "Oh, but where is my mind today? I wanted you to come see something in the library quick."

This made Zephyr drop to the ground and backpedal a bit. "That's in the middle of town right? My wings aren't covered up! What if--"

She rolls her eyes and suddenly teleports behind Zephyr. Before he could even react, she started pushing him into town. "You'll be fine, Zephyr. The townsponies are more accepting than what you give them credit for... at least moreso than Manehatten ponies. Give them a chance."

"Alright alright alright, I'll go! Um... er... if you really want me to..." Zephyr had raised his voice against her only to regret doing so immediately afterwards due to his still fragile psych. Twilight stopped pushing him and he shrank to the ground away from her, giving her a worried look. Due to what happened the last time she pushed him around, Zephyr hoped she wasn't even madder at him for doing so.

She must of missed the reason behind Zephyr's worried look when Twilight rolled her eyes in amusement. "You and Fluttershy act pretty similar too. Don't worry, it'll only take about five to ten minutes of your time."

As Twilight started walking ahead, Zephyr followed her closely while wondering why she didn't erupt into flames on him. I've heard horror stories of unicorns turning their manes into fire in times of great stress and rage, so much to the point that I tried to make it a point to not tick any of them off. In hindsight, I failed that miserably with TWO unicorns.

It was difficult for Zephyr to not wince every time a pony looked at him and my secondary wings while the two headed through town. Many of the Earth Ponies regarded him with mild curiosity while most Unicorns looked only somewhat curious. A lot of the Pegasi, however, looked mildly shocked when they saw what was on display, which made Zephyr cringe in fear of inevitable retribution. The part that confused him the most on the other hoof was when some Pegasi like Ditzy saw him and, despite seeing the extra set of wings, gave a sweet smile and a wave.

After what felt like an eternity to Zephyr, the two of them reached the library. "A-alright... what is it you wanted--"

"Well look what the cat dragged in." Zephyr nearly jumps out of his coat when Rainbow spoke up in surprise. Seeing his reaction, she raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Geez, you really need to lighten up. You look like you're about ready to faint."

I don't understand! After what had happened, why is she so casual with me? Even her challenge yesterday noted her clear hatred for me, yet--

"Give the poor stallion a break, Rainbow." Another attempt by Zephyr at jumping out of his coat when Applejack sounded off, though she didn't see him. "Can you blame him after all he's been through?"

"I'm just saying!"

Applejack shakes her head before turning and seeing Zephyr's frightened expression. "Sugahcube, ya alright there?"

"Y-y-yes, I-I'm just p-peachy here!" When she deadpanned, he squeaks in fear and drop to the floor again. "I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you, return the favor! I pinkie promise!"

Now she was confused like Rainbow and Twilight. "Beg yer pardon? How are you going to return the favor? Wait, scratch that! What Favor and make what up?"

"I don't know, I'll just do whatever you want for how long you want!"

Now it was Twilight's turn to deadpan. "Are you sure you're okay? You certainly aren't acting like it."

"Nonono, I'm good, great, awesome, outstanding, amazing!"

"All I did was press A!"

Everypony barely heard what sounded like a young colt say something almost in response to Zephyr's uncontrollable jabbering. Three of them ignored it, but Rainbow deadpanned in the direction the voice came from.

Applejack shakes her head. The whole situation was making her feel a bit bad. "Zephyr, please be honest with us. Why are you freaking out so much?"

"A-aren't you mad at me for q-quitting the w-way I did?"

She sighs. "Ah'm not gonna lie, ah'm still a might bit irritated over it. But ah'm not going to hold that against you, not after what you said about yourself." Zephyr flinched again at the subtle reference to the fact that they knew what had been said. More than anything, I was confused.

Why?

Twilight cleared her throat. "Right. Zephyr there's something I wanted to give you. During our escape from the lab, we managed to get some research notes that I think will interest you. I wanted to get them to you yesterday, but I couldn't find you."

This broke Zephyr out of his stupor as she levitated a few sheets of paper towards him. Hesitating, he grabbed them from her aura with his right wing earning a snort from Rainbow. "There's THAT talent again, I'm almost jealous, except I'm not."

Without responding to Rainbow's slight snark, Zephyr read through the notes quickly discovering what was written down about his inherent magic and certain physical attributes. "I-I guess this is why... I reacted the way I did that one day."

"Ah'm a mighty sorry 'bout that, sugahcube. If ah knew that, ah wouldn't of done what ah did."

So my own magic is going to make me look racist against Earth Ponies... wonderful. It does explain some things I was confused about, like why I never seem to interact with Unicorns.

Rainbow got up and stretched. "Well I'm going to go practice some of my tricks. Remember Zephyr, you better be practicing with both pairs of wings for our rematch." With that, she flew out the window, leaving Zephyr slightly shocked.

Applejack sighs. "That mare sometimes..." She turns to him. "Look, if ya need anything at all, don't be afraid to talk to us. Yer also welcome back on the farm anytime you want, ya hear?" All Zephyr could do was simply nod dumbly as she exited the library.

"Ah, can I say something, Zephyr?" He turns to look at Twilight's smiling face. "I just wanted to say... I always believed that one day, everypony including you would come around and forgive each other for what had happened that day."

"You... always did? Even after the way I treated you in particular?"

That got a giggle out of Twilight. "Admittedly I was a bit sore over it... in more ways than one." Zephyr noted her attempt at humor and smiled a bit at it. "But after Pinky told us what you told her, I chose to believe that you weren't doing it out of spite or malice. Besides, I was the one who planned that whole debacle out, so I felt responsible for opening wounds that couldn't properly heal."

Zephyr shook his head. "That... still doesn't excuse me..."

"I understand that it'll take some time for you to mentally recover, so I'll say this much." Twilight walks up to Zephyr and pats him on the head. "Never forget that your friends will be there for you. After all, just as you sang at the Manehatten Concert, there's highs and lows of living, but there's always second chances."

Deciding not to question how they figured him out as the singer of Three Night's Grace, Zephyr could only nod before leaving the library. With those words in his mind, he once again flew towards Rarity's boutique, confused thoughts swarming his head despite any attempts to clear them out.

Upon landing in front of her door, Zephyr was about to knock before once again started having second thoughts about asking her for something like this. Still remembering the truth that he turned on them first, as well as the fact that they recently saved him, Zephyr was once again convinced he shouldn't be asking any favors. Best case scenario in his head, he should be grateful even if she had a steep cost for doing something like this, yet the worse case scenario added to the reluctance that kept making him hesitate after every attempt to knock on the door.

Unfortunately for Zephyr's mental state, Rarity suddenly opened the door having heard the tell-tale noise of a Pegasus landing. "Oh, I thought I heard somepony landing in front of my boutique. What can I do for you, Zephyr?"

"Err... um... c-could you h-help me with something?"

Knowing his current mental state, Rarity warmly smiled. "No need to sound nervous, dear. Come on in, I just need to apply the finishing touches to one of my dresses then I can help you."

She opens the door wider and trots to the back. Zephyr entered in a skittish manner, wondering what to should say or how to act.

Surely, she still hates me like the others... right? Then why was she so willing to...

"You can come to the back now, Zephyr. I'm all finished." A gulp of nervousness later, Zephyr headed into the back room where Rarity was, still giving him a warm smile. "Now what is it that you need of me?"

"W-well... my suit had something... happen to it. D-do you think you can fix it?" Pulling the suit out of his saddle bag, Zephyr gave it to her for inspection. Another inspection earlier revealed little tears on various parts of the suit due to being over-stressed, somehow missing them when Zephyr saw the cake stains last night.

Rarity took it in her magic and inspected it, frowning at all of the little tears in the fabric much to Zephyr's growing nerves. When she saw the cake stains her eyes widened a bit, recognizing where they came from, but decided to touch on her gratefulness later.

While Rarity continued her inspection and made a mental list of what to fix, Zephyr simply stood there fidgeting and expecting her to decline. His gut kept making him think he didn't do anything to deserve any sort of favor and that he should be the one taking favors from her. I kind of knew what I was getting into coming here, as the coat had suddenly became one of the things dear to me as a relic of a past long gone, but sitting in the boutique at this point started feeling incredibly... wrong.

It felt wrong to the point where Zephyr's mental dam finally burst. "Look, I know you probably hate my guts and that I shouldn't be asking any favors, especially after you saved me, but this is actually very important to me and I didn't know who else to go to. If you decline or even charge a hefty price for it, I'll completely understand and will gladly compensate for my inability to take care some something properly. I've done nothing but cause misery to you and your friends, yet I ask for favors like your my friend even though you owe me nothing and that I should be the one to repay you--"

He was cut off when Rarity put a hoof up to Zephyr's muzzle. During his blabbering, he had unconsciously closed his eyes and there was minor tear build-up in his eyes. Opening them let Zephyr see Rarity still holding her hoof against his muzzle to keep him from further self-degradation. "That's quite enough, Zephyr. I'm sure one of the girls already said this and I'll say it again: none of us hate you anymore for what you did. You reacted in the face of apparent betrayal because we were unaware of your horrible past with such circumstances."

"But I--"

"Another thing is, I understand that everything that has happened to you might confuse you because all of your past endeavors with friendship never gave you the same results. Favors aren't a currency to be traded or sold. They are things friends do for each other out of the goodness of their heart, because we believe that by doing so we can help strengthen our bonds with one another and that we will be there for each other in our moments of weakness."

Suddenly, Zephyr remembered back to the night of the Gala and what Iron told him. "Believing in your friends and embracing that belief by forgiving failure..."

Rarity beams at those words. "Exactly!" She returned to a worried expression. "As such, please stop blaming yourself for something you didn't have control over. And stop thinking we all hate you, especially poor Fluttershy. She was worried sick over you after she confirmed you as her brother. If you keep thinking like that, it'll tear her apart."

Zephyr looked at the floor, partially out of shame. If my interaction with Applejack was of any significance, the girls were actively trying to make amends with me, yet I keep burying myself in the role of a wounded and victimized tragic hero. I'm... once again running away from my problems.

Rarity sighs and Zephyr look back up at her. "As the others no doubt have told you many times already, give yourself some time to recover, dear. You're still probably shell-shocked from your ordeal in that cold laboratory." She motions to the suit in her magic. "On a much brighter note, I can indeed fix all of this damage with little effort, no need to pay for any of it."

"Ah... yes... thank you."

She smiles and gives Zephyr a hug, inadvertently causing her magic to cancel out and drop the suit. "And I should thank you for what you did for me back at the Gala. Even though you fled afterwards, that's the most chivalrous thing anypony had done for me that night. It even helped convince me even before we heard of your plight that you weren't a hateful pony!"

Zephyr was able to smile at Rarity as she broke the hug. She deadpans at the grounded suit before picking it back up and putting it to the side. After a while, Zephyr said his farewells and exited her boutique, trying his best to suppress the self-loathing hanging over his head.

Making sure to get the watch needed to better keep track of time, Zephyr played with the crusaders but had the feeling they knew he was troubled, even if they didn't say anything.

After returning to Fluttershy's cottage, Zephyr found his little sister already making dinner. "Oh there you are, Zephyr. I was wondering where you were--"

She stopped talking when Zephyr abruptly hugged her from behind. "I'm sorry for worrying you..."

She sighs as she touches her brother's foreleg with a hoof. "You are alive and with me. That's all I need."

Author's Note

I know putting an attempt at a joke in the middle of a serious moment might break momentum for some, but it was something I had to do.

Also, Rarity's speech to Zephyr was inspired by the story: Asking a Favor. Give it a read if you haven't yet already.