"Freak, freak, you're a freak!"

No... I'm a normal pony... aren't I?

"Freak, freak, you're a freak!"

"I'm not friends with him!"

Why... why do you betray me?

"Get out of here you mutant pegasus!"

Nopony... nopony likes me... nopony cares about me...

Earth... shaking... I'm... falling...

"BIG BROTHER!"

Zephyr woke up the next morning with a jolt and almost fell out of bed when the whole building felt like it shifted. Not caring about his bed-mane, he rushed out of the room and the hotel with a bad feeling in his gut. He was proven correct when he got swept off his hooves by the wind.

"What the hay is going on?"

Stabilizing himself in the air, he looked at the town to see that other ponies were not faring very well either. Pegasi were getting pushed around, Unicorns that had apparently rushed outside like he did were clinging onto houses and trees for dear life, and Earth Ponies looked like they were barely holding onto the ground.

"Hey Zephyr!" He looked over to see Rainbow Dash, the rainbow-maned Pegasus from last night, looking like she was going through Tartarus just to move ten meters. "If you can move around at all, get inside as soon as you can! The wind currents around Ponyville have gone out of control for some reason!"

"What is your Wind Manager doing!? On vacation or something?"

That got a grimace out of Rainbow Dash. "Close enough, he retired three days ago, saying he had enough of dealing with wind currents. It came out of the blue, too!"

Only three days? Normally wind currents remain inert in the last state they were in for a whole week before randomly going out of control. Why is Ponyville a special case?

"We've sent for another Wind Manager, but the closest available one is from Appaloosa, and they won't be able to get here until nightfall!"

Of course I could always try to leave, but even if I don't plan on staying here, just leaving them like this will leave a bad taste in my mouth. Alright... I might regret doing this, but here goes nothing.

"Anyways, you should get back inside and-- HEY! Where are you going?"

Looking back at her while flying up-wind, Zephyr managed to shout a reply above the roaring wind. "You should probably get shelter soon! I don't care how fast you are normally, it is completely useless in these conditions!"

He heard her shout, "what the hay is that supposed to mean?" But Zephyr ignored her in favor of staying focused on the task at hoof. He pushed through the typhoon with his larger-than-average wings to try and find the first wind current.

While not something a lot of ponies consider unless they're on a weather team, managing wind currents is just as important as managing clouds. Typically, designated Pegasi or Unicorns who are dubbed Wind Managers manipulate the currents in order to give nearby areas either a gentle, cooling breeze or a decently strong wind to spread flower pollen and seeds during the spring and summer. They can also magically charge the currents to create stronger winds at a later time. This is often used whenever storms are scheduled, as it not only ensures a more even distribution of rain over the land, but prevents the storm from overstaying its welcome.

Locating a wind current is simple, yet complicated at the same time. They are typically a sideways spiral made of four wind 'strands' that are colored a light green, with how far spread apart they are determining how strong the wind is. Most ponies go their entire life without seeing what a wind current looks like, due in part to the fact that you need to magically enhance your eyesight with "Galesight" in order to see them.

On top of that, Pegasi need to channel their weather magic through their hooves in order to interact with the currents similar to how Unicorns channel magic through their horns. As a result, because they are more adept at manipulating magic outside of their bodies, most Wind Managers are Unicorns. Pegasi Wind Managers are uncommon, but are still well known enough, as it takes years of practice in order to master the required channeling skills needed.

Pegasi who are naturally able to manipulate wind currents are rarer still. They still need to learn how to see the wind currents, but they don't need the training to manipulate the magic needed through their hooves. If this happens, usually the cutie mark depicts some form of wind to show this mastery, in conjunction with any other talents the Pegasus has.

As Zephyr fought the wind, he mulled over all the information in his head, wondering if he was blessed or cursed to be one of the 'natural born.'

No! Focus on the task at hoof.

One strategy Zephyr often employs in wind-related disasters is going to the wind current furthest up-wind to make things easier on himself. After setting or fixing said current, he can then ride the wind to the other currents, cutting down on the amount of effort needed to get around.

Having already enhanced his eyes in order to see the currents, Zephyr spots a farm right below the current farthest upwind. The barn looked like it was ready to get blown over.

Not wasting any time, he flew up to the wind current. It was in a very tight spiral, somehow set to typhoon strength. Grabbing the current with his hooves, he gave it the hardest yank he could muster. The spiral widened to it's maximum width, and the wind in the area died down shortly afterward.

While still feeling the wind from the other currents, it wasn't nearly as bad now and the barn stopped shaking too horribly. Satisfied, Zephyr rode the wind back into town to find the other currents. He noted that the locations of the others are as follows:

-Over a place that looked like a carousel.

-Over the marketplace I was in yesterday, where he first met Applejack.

-Above the plaza, close to the previous one.

-The Hay and Stay hotel, something he mentally shook his head over.

-Golden Oaks Library

-Sugar Cube Corner

-Close to a rather large house made of clouds and rainbows falling off of it. Zephyr didn't know how the house didn't blow away, but decided it might have been tethered to the spot in some magical way.

The last one was over a small cottage that was close to a rather grim looking forest. Zephyr could see more wind currents above the forest as well, but they looked like they were outlined in black. Those were the more dangerous wind currents, as it meant that, while you could set them to a specific setting, more often than not they will just change strength a few hours later on their own.

So not counting any over that forest, there are nine wind currents over the town of Ponyville. No-where near as bad as dealing with fifteen of them in Manehatten.

Whew, I'm more exhausted than I thought. The last time i dealt with a situation like that was three years ago. Guess I got soft dealing with scheduled wind patterns.

After slowly making his way back to town, Zephyr landed near the hotel before falling over from exhaustion. this made him mentally grimace. When did I become so soft? This is pathetic...

"YIPPEE! YOU DID IT!"

Oh no... anypony but that pink mare please...

Zephyr barely had time to look over before a familiar pink blur tackled him and start shaking and hugging him like a rag-doll.

"ItwassoamazinghowyoujustswoopedinandstartedfixingourwindproblemfirstApplejacksaidthatshesawsomethinggreenflyintotownafterstoppingthewindandsavingherbarnfromcollapseandIinstantlyknewitwasyouafterthewindaroundSugarCubeCornercalmeddownaswell--

The only thing Zephyr managed during Pinky Pie's spiel was a voice-cracked 'ugh' in exhaustion and confusion. The way she was holding him kept him from saying anything.

"Sugahcube, lets try not to rattle him up any further. Give the poor stallion some breathing space, cos'darnit." Applejack arrived just in time to try and spare Zephyr from further suffocation.

"Okay!"

He was let go and met with the ground once again, albeit more painfully this time around. Feeling even more dizzy, Zephyr staggered onto his hooves. "Ow... If anypony needs me, I'll be in my room... In bed..." Getting up, he walked back into the hotel, with nopony bothering him along the way.

"Pinkie Pie, ah worry 'bout you sometimes..."

Applejack had turned around to look at her pink friend, who was bouncing in obvious joy, with a flat stare.

"Sorry but I'm just so happy that he managed to save Ponyville from having buildings torn down. The Cake's say that if the wind didn't die down when it did, we might of been roofless."

"Ah'm happy he saved mah barn as well Pinkie, but I doubt he appreciated getting strangled while getting his ear talked off."

Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing with an awkward, yet apologetic, smile. "I'll be sure to say sorry to him at the 'Zephyr Saved Ponyville From A Windstorm Disaster' party!" Applejack rolled her eyes, but didn't comment on it.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash landed next to her friends with an irritated look. "Have either of you seen the new pony around?"

Pinkie Pie beamed while saying, "yeah he just went into that hotel, presumably where he's staying currently! Get it? Current-ly? Anyways, why do you wonder?"

"I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind for telling me my speed is useless!" All she got were two dumbfounded looks.

"Beg yer pardon?"

"Yeah he said to me; 'I don't care how fast you are normally, it is completely useless in these conditions'. Nopony tells me my speed is useless!"

"I'm pretty sure he didn't mean it that way, Rainbow." Twilight had joined with Fluttershy and Rarity, both of them looking frazzled.

Rainbow Dash shot an angry, yet confused look. "What the hay is that supposed to mean?"

"He probably meant that your speed wasn't very useful in extremely windy conditions like what we just experienced. Typically speaking, faster Pegasi are lighter than others, which makes them more susceptible to getting blown around. You are one exception possibly because you have more wing power compared to other lighter Pegasi, something that is more important when fighting wind."

Rainbow Dash sat down with an exasperated sigh. "The tone he was using certainly made it seem like he was calling my speed useless. You know how much I hate that, Twilight."

Applejack gave her a light punch. "Don't get your tail in a knot about it. Just bring it up with him and ahm sure he will tell you the same thing Twi just did. That issue aside..." Motioning towards Fluttershy and Rarity, she asked, "what in tarnation happened to you two? Get caught in the wind yer selves?"

Rarity huffed with mild irritation. "Well, I was busy trying to tie down all of the dresses I made, especially all of your gala dresses, because I was afraid my roof could of come off! Of all of the bad things that could of happened to them, getting them torn apart by the wind or, even worse, lost to the Everfree Forest was THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!" She didn't notice, but all she got were deadpanned looks from everypony except for Pinkie Pie, who had resumed bouncing on the spot.

"U-uhm, I managed to stay inside, but all of my little animal friends were all terrified and I was trying to calm them all down. I-It wasn't until the wind died down that they all managed to relax. I guess they w-were afraid of the house getting torn apart..."

Twilight looked around with a confused look on her muzzle. "Speaking of which, who fixed the wind currents? I haven't figured out how to do so myself, and the Wind Manager from Appaloosa stated that he couldn't make it until nightfall."

"That's because Zephy saved us with his wind powers! I mean, we should have expected something like that from him considering his Cutie Mark depicts a literal ball of wind, but still!" Pinkie Pie practically yelled. This caught the attention of a few ponies who were nearby trying to repair damages.

That also got a shocked look out of Rainbow Dash, but she quickly recovered with the statement, "I guess he is kind of awesome. Just not as awesome as me... though I'm still not letting him off the hook--"

Pinkie Pie suddenly started vibrating like she was getting a mini-doozy. "Wow haven't gotten one of those in a while. It seems something big will happen but not in the near future... hmm that's interesting..." This got a worried look out of her friends.

"Oh dear, whatever it is, I certainly am not looking forward to it if it is a bad thing..." Rarity stated in an almost overly-dramatic tone.

"I just hope it doesn't involve shady ponies coming to Ponyville looking to foalnap somepony for some kind of nefarious purpose! Oh whoops, I just remembered that I gotta go help clean up at Sugar Cube Corner!" With that, she bounced off, leaving her friends with confused looks, but ultimately wrote it off as 'Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.'

"Uhm, there's something I want to talk about to everypony. T-that is if you want me to..." Fluttershy shrank a little. "I-It's about Zephyr but I-I'll go into more about it later... w-when it's more convenient for everypony..."

Twilight gave her soft-spoken friend a smile. "Okay, we can meet up at the library at about five for that. I'll inform Pinkie Pie about it before I go back to check on Spike."

Everypony present simply nodded and split off to deal with their own damages, with four of them wondering what it was that Fluttershy wanted to say about Zephyr.

???

"Phase one of our plan is in order. All we can do for now is hope he isn't too stubborn. If he is, we go straight to plan B..."

Author's Note

Sometimes I can never tell if I'm improving or degrading with each chapter. once again, criticism is always appreciated.

Also, how many of you can guess what Zephyr's secret is? I won't explicitly state if you are right or not, but you can try anyways.