"Burst... don't tell me you lost your voice..."

One day after Strings had once again returned from Canterlot, Three Night's Grace had decided to hammer out an entire album for retail release. Since it had been some time since the Fillydelphia concert, everypony was fired up to release a new album since 'Life Starts Now'.

At least, that was the plan, but it was quickly discovered that Burst had lost his voice due to excessive practice the night before. Snare was exasperated. "Really? I get you're the most gung-ho about this whole thing but everything in moderation, fearless leader!" The nickname had still stuck around for Snare much to Burst's chagrin.

Zephyr scrunched his muzzle in contemplation. "Has he tried herbal tea to try and restore it?"

"The normal stuff, yes." Electron shakes her head. "But none of it helped at all. We need stronger stuff if we want to get started sooner."

"And before you say anything, we can't wait for Burst's voice to recover naturally." Strings had a flat look on his own muzzle. "Within two weeks time, I need to go back to Canterlot to help a major client with their affairs. Something about an audit coming up?"

"Lovely... does anypony know just WHERE we can get stronger stuff?"

Electron raised an eyebrow. "What about Zecora? She usually has potent stuff thanks to her living in the Everfree Forest!"

A realization crossed Zephyr's mind as he grimaced. "I... just realized I've never met her myself. How long have I lived here and I've never done that?"

"Well no time like the present!" Snare grinned, wondering if her band mate could handle traveling through the Everfree. "It's not like you were avoiding her like the townsponies in the past did. You just... somehow always missed her and never had a reason to go to her place yourself."

"It... can't be that hard. Twilight goes to her place every once in a while for tea and the occasional advice, so perhaps she has a more easily accessable location in the forest."

Burst tried to say something, but frowned when nothing came out. Iron decided to speak up. "... Just be careful. You never know with that place..."

Objective set and a decent idea of where Zecora's hut was, Zephyr made his way to the entrance of the Everfree. While the entrance did look somewhat imposing, having dealt with Sombra's shadow first did ruin any potential scare factor it might have had for the Falconite. After taking stock of his surroundings, he made his way in and followed the worn trail while flying.

A slight mist fell over the area which, while not terrible, did limit some of Zephyr's visibility while flying. Just as he considered flying closer to the ground, his primary wing nicked a branch and caused him to crash land in a field of flowers. Quickly getting up, he spat some of the blue petals out of his mouth. "Auuugh, so bitter... makes dark roast coffee seem PLEASANT in comparison. Guess I should stick closer to the ground..."

Finding the path again, it wasn't long before he saw a strange hut in the forest. Figuring it was Zecora's, he knocked on the door and the Zebra answered shortly after. "To whom do I owe the pleasure, if you wish to take my measure?"

Remembering that she often spoke in rhymes, Zephyr bowed. "My name's Zephyr Windstorm. A pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Zecora. Forgive me if it seemed like I was avoiding you before now, it just... happened."

"No need to worry, there was never any hurry. A pleasure to finally meet you, though i doubt you came here for the view." Zecora, while happy to meet a new pony, also recognized he was here for advice.

"I'll be sure to swing by for a proper visit when I find the time, but for now I have a band mate who's lost his voice. We tried the herbal remedies already in town, but they seemed ineffective. Do you have anything more potent on hoof?"

Zecora put a hoof to her muzzle in an amused smile. "A lost voice I can fix, easy to do for kicks." After a quick search, she found the herb mix needed. "Warn your fellow of this blend, it's rougher on the tongue than any could intend."

"Thank you so much! If you ever need a favor from me, don't hesitate to ask!" Zecora simply smiled and waved the Falconite off as he made his way back to Ponyville.

After following the brewing instructions, he gave the tea to Burst while warning him that it might not be the most pleasant taste. Sure enough, the Unicorn had a disgusted look on his face as he ingested the brew. "Ugh, I guess this'll be a lesson for me to not overdo it next time."

"Nice, it worked!" Electron cheered. "Now we can get the gears cranking now!"

Strings smiled. "I've heard Zebra's really know their herbal remedies. A shame Farasi is a bit hostile to Equestria right now, but Ponyville should count itself lucky to have such a capable herbalist nearby."

"I think Zecora settled in the Everfree because of how potent and varied its ingredients can be." Burst, now able to speak normally again, put that out there. "She even helped grow a flower that can cure Cutie Pox!"

"I promised her I'd visit her later to get to know her better. For now, let's get started. I had finished the first draft of 'Nothing's Fair in Love and War' before leaving, so have a look at it!"

When Zephyr woke up the next morning, he felt like junk. He had strange dreams all throughout the night and he couldn't tell if he kept waking up to them. It was to the point his head and forehooves felt heavier than usual. Despite it all, he went downstairs to try and make breakfast for Scootaloo.

"Morning big... bro?" Scootallo had exited her room to see her brother in a very worrying state.

"Morning Scoots. Anything you want for breakfast in particular today? I'll try to make it as best as I can."

"Uh... are you sure you're in a good enough state to do so?"

That got a confused look from Zephyr. "What are you talking about? Sure I didn't sleep well last night but--"

"Not that. How are you going to do anything with your primary wings on your forehooves and your secondaries on your head?"

The question was so outlandish it snapped Zephyr completely awake before looking at his hooves. Sure enough, his primary wings had somehow migrated down to the outsides of his forehooves. When he looked in the mirror, his secondaries were on the sides of his head, right in front of his ears. "What..? Am I still dreaming?"

"Hit your secondaries, that'll confirm or deny if this is a dream." Zephyr did so and he shuddered violently. Scootaloo was so confused she was acting nonplussed about the whole thing. "Guess this is real life."

"I... how... what?! What's going on?!"

There was a knock on the door and Scootaloo answered it while Zephyr wracked his brain trying to figure the whole thing out. Rainbow Dash was at the door. "Hey, Squirt! Could you grab your brother for me, I need to talk to him about something."

Scootaloo didn't know what to say. "He, uh... is currently dealing with something right now. Both of us are really confused at the moment."

That got a raised eyebrow, but when Rainbow got a look at Zephyr her face puffed up with a massive snort of laughter. "O-okay, I think it's time to play 'let me guess'. Did you go into the Everfree yesterday?"

"Yeah, I visited Zecora for a herbal remedy for my band mate's voice loss."

"Alright that cuts down on the possible culprits, though I'm pretty sure I know what happened. Did you touch any blue flowers during your trek?"

Rainbow's uncanny accuracy perturbed Zephyr. "Less 'touched' and more 'crashed into and almost ingested one'. Seriously, those things were horribly bitter!"

"Of course you'd be more concerned with the bitterness, Mr. Sweet-tooth. You just had a run-in with a flower called Poison Joke!"

"Poison... Joke..? Any relation to Poison Oak?"

Rainbow smirked when he made that correlation. "Kind of. Instead of actual poison, those flowers pull a cruel 'joke' on you if you so much as brush against them. Results tend to differ between ponies, but yours and mine were pretty similar."

It finally clicked in Zephyr's head. "Wait so Poison Joke's effect on me was rearranging where my wings are?!" Scootaloo looked flabbergasted as well.

"Squirt was just as confused as you were since she wasn't friends with Applebloom during the time me and my friends were dealing with it. My wings got flipped onto my stomach, which kept me from flying properly. I'd say what effects the others had, but I'll let them say it themselves."

"Great... at least you could still fly at all when you were affected. I can't like this... at least not without looking like a complete fool."

Rainbow snickered at her boyfriend's exasperation at the whole thing. "Good thing I came to you first, then. I wanted to inform you that the wind currents have a 'rest day' today, so no need for any wind management. As for weather management, I'll deal with it all. Go to the spa and let the ponies there know you need the Poison Joke herbal bath to cure yourself."

"If you're certain, Rainbow. Thanks and good luck with the clouds, you'll have to deal with a lot since yesterday was a cloudy day." Rainbow salutes and flies off. Zephyr gives Scootaloo an apologetic look. "Looks like I can't make you breakfast today, Scoots. Best I can do is give you bits to grab something on your way to school."

"Aw, and I was looking forward to your pancakes today! Oh well..."

That got a raised eyebrow from Zephyr. "And here I thought you were getting sick of them."

"Nah, you make different kinds each day, so it's not that bad. Anyways, I should go. Good luck with curing your Poison Joke!"

Zephyr waves Scootaloo off before heading out himself. He instinctively tried to fly, only to remember his wings were kind of useless at the moment. "Great, guess I'm hoofing it."

As his luck would have it, the spa ponies had recently ran out of the herbal mix that typically would cure Poison Joke and it won't be until tomorrow until they restock. Not knowing what to do, he went to Twilight's while having to endure the shocked and confused looks of everypony else.

"Welcome, I'm just about to-- Zephyr, what happened to you?!" Twilight and Spike were shocked by Zephyr's appearance.

"I was informed by Rainbow that I had come down with an unfortunate case of 'Poison Joke' after my foray into the Everfree yesterday."

The moment the blue flower was brought up, Twilight had a flat look. "Oh that stuff again... I'd rather not remember that. My horn went floppy and prevented me from casting magic."

"Wait seriously? The more I hear about it, it sounds less like a 'joke' and more like 'torture'..."

Now that the situation wasn't serious, Spike had a laugh. "Got a new name to add to the list: Zephyr Winghead!"

"Don't make me throw you again, Spike." To emphasize his 'promise', Zephyr extended the wing on his hoof towards the dragon. Now that he figured out how to move his wings as they were, his forehoof basically had double the reach it did before.

"Dude, that's creepy!" Spike was unnerved by the sight.

Twilight, on the other hoof, was interested by the implications of his secondary wings being on his head. Recognizing the need to cure him first she asked, "Have you went to the spa yet? They should--"

"Their stock was out and won't be restored until tomorrow. Also, I'm aware Zecora might have some as well, but I already visited her for help yesterday. I refuse to be 'that' pony who only ever visits when he needs help."

"Ah, alright. If you wish to simply wait it out, then I'd like to test something out with you. Would you like to come with me to Horte's Cafe?" Not knowing what else to do, Zephyr agreed.

When the two arrived, Twilight put an apple on the table. Zephyr stared at it with a confused look. "And... what are you doing with a random apple?"

"My original plan was to test out a transfiguration spell and turn it into an orange. However with your magic-capable secondary wings, which have bones made of a similar material to Unicorn horns, on your head, I was wondering if I could teach you some Unicorn spells like levitation while you're like this!"

Both Spike and Zephyr looked unsure. "Are you sure you'll be able to teach that to him, Twilight? It's a UNICORN spell for a reason."

"No harm in trying right? Now, Zephyr, follow my instructions!" With some directions and tips from Twilight, Zephyr was somehow able to lift the apple in a levitation spell like a Unicorn. Twilight was fascinated by what she was seeing. "For unicorns, the magic aura around whatever their magic is affecting is just the same color as their eyes. For you, it's the same wind-aura effect I've seen when your secondaries were at your sides."

Zephyr moves the apple around a bit with a frown. "I suppose it's easier to use spells and the like when your magic-casting 'appendage' is closer to your head. Though I wonder if I'll still be able to do this once I'm back to normal."

"You can try when you do. Now let's--"

"HI!!!" Pinkie suddenly swooped by and tackle-hugged Zephyr, which startled him so bad the wind-aura around the apple burst. Twilight watched with morbid curiosity as the apple hit the ground and fell apart like it had been diced.

"Pinkie..! Don't hug me for too long, remember?!" Zephyr gasped for air when the pink pony released him.

"Sorry, Zephy! But it's always nice to get a hug from a friend!" Pinkie Pie looked at the diced apple with interest. "What were you up to? Also, did you have a brush with Poison Joke?"

Zephyr straightened himself out with a sigh. "Twilight just taught me a levitation spell and yes I was affected by it."

"Ooh, I remember that! It made my tongue so swollen I couldn't speak!"

"And I remember it made my coat and mane so shaggy and long I couldn't do anything with them!" Rarity came along and pitched in to the conversation. "It was an utter disaster!"

Zephyr mentally applied two more points towards Poison Joke being more 'torture' than 'joke' before shaking his head. "Sounds like that flower really does target what you physically value. Rainbow with her flying, Twilight with her magic, Pinkie with her ability to speak, and now you with your style. Speaking of style, why are you wearing that cloak?"

"Oh, because of this!" Rarity reveals her stunning dress. "It's not quite finished, but I assure you it'll be my next masterpiece!"

"I swear, Rarity, how do you keep one upping yourself with-- oh crap." Zephyr quickly looks away with an awkward expression. "Sorry, I really shouldn't be staring at other mares like that..."

That got a mirthful giggle from Rarity, who was tempted to tease him but got interrupted by an exasperated Pinkie. "You had total-awesome-amazing fun and I missed out on it?! W-wait! What if there's more awesome amazing fun with friends happening somewhere in Ponyville right now that I'm missing out on too?! Godda go!" With that, Pinkie zipped off.

"Is... she going to be alright?"

Twilight let out a sigh as she figured out another spell she could get some practice in with the diced apple. "Pinkie's always like that. Though she does seems more hyper today than normal..."

"Well, I should probably get back to work on my dress. Good luck you two!" Rarity heads off as well.

Twilight, having already successfully casted a reassembly spell on the apple, smiles at Zephyr. "Want to keep going? Perhaps the more you practice now, the more it'll stick when you get back to normal!"

"You said you were going to practice a spell yourself, Twilight. Wouldn't this be cutting into your time?"

Twilight grinned. "Not at all! If anything, I can see this as practice being a teacher should the need arise one day!"

"Alright, but I need to go soon as well. My band is in crunch time to get a head start on building a full album to release."

"Then let's get started!"

While the levitation spell was fine, nothing else a Unicorn could do was doable by Zephyr. Twilight was disappointed but accepted that, despite the wing rearrangement, he's still a Falconite and not a Unicorn at the end of the day.

Zephyr's band mates were amused by Zephyr's physical predicament but, since his voice was unaffected, chose to continue with production. The only issue the Falconite had was his primary wings constantly bumping equipment in a more contained space.

Eventually, everypony in the band heard a commotion outside. Snare was especially perturbed. "Do I hear... multiple Pinkie Pies?"

Electron took a chance and went to the front door. When she opened it, Pinkie Pie suddenly got in. "Hey, are you guys having fun? Is singing fun? Is playing drums fun? You must be having so much fun right now! Perhaps we can double the--"

"Pinkie, this is too much even for you!" Zephyr tried to shove away the overexcited mare, only for her to suddenly inflate like a balloon and pop, causing a pink ball of magic to go flying out the building. Everypony was shocked at the display. "W-what just happened?"

"No clue, but I did get a look outside. "Pinkie Pies EVERYWHERE!" Electron looked somewhat horrified.

"No joke? I know Pinkie is hyper, but this is ridiculous!" Snare crossed her forehooves trying to think about it.

"... The clones might be made of magic..." Iron had a thought. "... Old legend of the mirror pool. It can duplicate ponies..."

Burst raised an eyebrow. "Even if the clones have a different magical constitution compared to the real one, it doesn't explain why--"

"It might have more to do with MY personal magic." Zephyr had a thought. "As a Falconite, I get magically 'drained' by Earth Ponies. Perhaps the clones aren't as magically stable as the real deal and easily 'pop' with excess magic?"

"Let's assume for a minute that's actually what's happening. You sacrifice some of your magic to pop a clone, but how are you going to clear out the clones when there's SO MANY OF THEM?!" Snare wasn't in the mood to risk somepony's life just to clean Ponyville of Pinkie Clones when the real one wouldn't want that.

Zephyr tried to think on it when he remembered what happened earlier with Twilight. "I don't need to deal with the clones. I can verify the real one because SHE won't pop!"

Burst smiled at the idea but quickly frowned again. "It's an idea, but how are you going to verify which one's the real one?"

"I'll figure it out. You guys keep at the instrumentals of our songs, I'll go help with the Pinkie Pie Clone situation." With that, Zephyr slips out of the building without letting in anymore Pinkies.

As he wandered the street and dodged all the Pinkies he saw, he observed their mannerisms and words. Very quickly he noted a single-minded drive towards "fun" and being insufferably upbeat. So that's the common denominator of Pinkie... but I swear she's more capable of-- hm?

As he left behind the crowds of pinkies after convincing a few more clones he wasn't fun, he saw one lone Pinkie all by herself. When he got close, he saw tears which broke his heart. "Pinkie... are you alright?"

"Don't concern yourself with a clone... I'll just be here..."

"You know how much your friends and I hate seeing you like this." Taking the chance, he rubbed her back. She didn't pop and he could feel his magic getting drained. "You know what? I'll stay with you. It might not be fun, but there's a simple pleasure in silence."

Pinkie looked up from her spot at Zephyr, who sat across from her. "Why... are you so convinced I'm not a clone?"

"Hmm... I wonder that as well." Spying Rainbow approaching, he waves her over. "Hey Rainbow, what you up to?"

"Gathering any straggler Pinkies. We're about to find which one's the real--"

"Already done that for you." Rainbow and Pinkie looked shocked at the stallion. "If you really want an explanation, I'll accompany the two of you to where you gathered all the clones. However, I want you to promise me you WON'T let go of this one no matter what."

While Rainbow was confused as to what Zephyr had in mind, she could tell from his look that he knew what he was doing. Trusting her boyfriend, she picked up this Pinkie in a much more gentle manner. "Everypony is in the town hall with the rest of the 'Pinkies'. Let's go!"

When the two entered the hall, Applejack and Fluttershy were shocked at Zephyr's appearance, but decided to refrain from commenting until later. Twilight was suprised when Rainbow brought the Pinkie she was carrying to the front. "What are you two up to? We're trying to find--"

"The real Pinkie and it's done for you. It's this one right here."

That shocked everypony, though Applejack heard the surety in his voice. "Now what makes you say that, sugahcube? Ah' thought we had to put these varmints through the test!"

Zephyr noted that Twilight was, once again, opting for a more complex solution. "Well, as I was observing all the Pinkies around town, I noticed they all had a single-minded obsession with 'fun' and were-- I'M TALKING HERE!"

The word fun was enough to make all the Pinkies in the room go wild again and one had gotten too close to Zephyr. He promptly wing-slapped her and she popped like the other clone, earning shocked looks. Fluttershy quickly made the connection. "You get drained by Earth Ponies! You're saying the clones can't handle even a little bit of extra magic?"

"Not what I was GOING to say, but yes that is true."

"Zephyr dear, how are you going to check each and every clone? You don't have infinite magic reserves and once you reach a certain point it'll stop working!" Rarity was deathly worried for her friend.

"I don't have to. I'll explain how I found her in a bit but bear with me." Approaching the Pinkie still in Rainbow's hooves, he holds his hoof-wing out to her. "Hey pull my wing!"

Pinkie did so with hesitation, only to get a raspberry blown at her from Zephyr. She once again didn't pop and it didn't click, but Zephyr's little joke made her laugh a bit. "I never thought I'd see the day Zephy would do a 'pull my wing' prank!"

Twilight instantly realized what Zephyr was trying to show and promptly blasted all the clones back to the mirror pool with the spell she learned. "You really did find the real Pinkie! That's one way to turn a curse into a blessing!"

Rainbow set Pinkie Pie down as she looked at her boyfriend in confusion. "How many clones did you pop before finding the real one?"

"Just one, and purely by accident. The clone invaded my band's studio and got too rowdy, causing me to shove her in annoyance. Imagine our surprise when she just... POPS like a balloon and was the reason why I set out to help solve the issue."

"But... how did you find me so quickly? Even I was convinced I was a clone..."

Zephyr smiled at his friend. "Because you're far more complex than anything a mirror could ever reflect. Continuing what I was saying before I got interrupted, all the clones had a single-minded obsession with fun and were insufferably upbeat. Those were the common denominators for a clone."

"Then... the one I was talking to before... the one showing far more emotion than a desire for fun..." Twilight began to feel incredibly stupid for going right to the complex solution. Rather than trust simple observational skills, she was going to put them all, including the real Pinkie, through a patience test that had no guarantee of working.

"I kind of cheated with my nature as a Falconite in sorting the rabble, so perhaps whatever test you were going to use might have worked. Even so, seeing the real Pinkie cry, something no mirror copy could ever hope to replicate, broke my heart. That's why I chose to sit with her until Rainbow picked us up."

Rainbow felt a twinge of jealousy towards Pinkie, but she viciously stomped it out with a hint of self-loathing. Get a hold of yourself! Pinkie didn't want this anymore than anypony else, yet here I am getting on her case for being paid attention to by Zephyr! I don't want to feel this way towards Zephyr either because I would have hated seeing Pinkie's tears as well.

Fluttershy smiles at the two. "I'm so glad you were here to help us, big brother! I... don't know what I would have done if the real Pinkie got sent to that pond mirror."

"Honestly, I feel like we all feared that. A Pinkie-shaped hole in our hearts would be impossible to fill, wouldn't it?" At those words, the 6 mares embrace each other, happy they didn't have to say goodbye today.

With that out of the way, Applejack cleared her throat. "Now that we got the more important business out of the way, what happened to you, Zephyr? Took a tumble in Poison Joke?"

"I swear that flower seems to be infamous around here."

Fluttershy grimaced at the memory. "T-that flower turned my voice super deep. It was embarrassing..." That got a flat look from her brother who couldn't even imagine it.

"Ah' got shrunk. You have no idea how hard it is to do ANYTHING when you're as tiny as a mouse!"

That was the last straw for Zephyr. "Poison Joke? More like Torture Oak, huh?" That got a round of laughs from everypony.

Author's Note

Yeah, I realized I never wrote Zecora before now and figured, while wanting to show Poison Joke's effect on Zephyr, it was a good time to do so. Special thanks to RhymeZone for helping me with that. Also, the Poison Joke effect was a toss-up between this or being a reverse Flutterguy.

If you want some help visualizing what Zephyr's poisoned appearance looks like, the head-wings make him look like a High Entia from Xenoblade while the hoof-wings look similar to Nargacuga leg-blades from Monster Hunter.