On The Wings of Wind

"Wait, you want to outright train me into being an official Royal Guard?!"

Zephyr got that news not too long after the event at the Crystal Stadium with the flag-carrying contest and the reveal of the Equestria Games theme song. Shining armor had sent a missive for him to come to the Crystal Castle before he could leave for Ponyville with everypony else.

Cadance, who was also there, shakes her head in amusement towards her husband. "I'm pretty sure I know why he wants you to properly train you as one. It's because his sister is officially a Princess now."

"W-well forgive me for wanting to keep Twily's safety in mind! Besides, Zephyr has had stints as both a Guard and a Soldier, not to mention his ability to use wind magic in various ways!"

Zephyr scrunched his muzzle at the explanations. "Firstly, Twilight mentioned that she doesn't like it when her friends call her Princess, which is what I would have to do if I wanted to maintain some level of professionalism. Secondly, I have my jobs as wind manager and lead singer already. Thirdly... I'm not sure how my girlfriend would react if I'm with another mare a lot of the time..."

"I admire your loyalty to your love, Zephyr. Rest assured, I'm sure you two will be fine in this regard since Rainbow has her loyalty to you as well." Cadance thinks about it for a minute. "Also, I'm pretty sure Twilight won't care about "professionalism" if it's a close friend who is her personal guard."

The discussion was good, but Zephyr realized something. "Have you talked to your sister about this?" When Cadance gives Shining Armor a flat glance, he looks away nervously. "You haven't... have you?"

"W-well--"

"Shiny, I get you're worried about your sister, I really do. But you shouldn't do things behind her back like this. Remember how much you got reamed out for not telling her about our wedding directly?"

Zephyr snorted in laughter at that. "I nearly got blasted for knowing about it before her!" Thinking about it more, he comes to a compromise. "How about this: I'll take the training, but I won't actually be Twilight's personal Guard until it's absolutely necessary... or until you ask her about it and she accepts."

Shining Armor breathed a sigh of relief. "I can accept that. Besides, it's not like you'll never be far from her most of the time."

"If you're certain, sir Zephyr. But you should inform your friends and family before they leave." Zephyr widened his eyes and quickly flies out of the Castle, earning an amused giggle from Cadance. "Now Shiny, tell me why you decided to do this."

"Because... well okay, you already know about Twiliy's safety being a reason. However, when we were fighting back the vines of the Everfree Forest, he cited a reason why big brothers are born first. He loves his sisters dearly and a part of me wants to get him proper training to ensure he can better protect them and not just Twilight. Plus, while Rainbow Dash isn't the kind of mare who likes being looked after, I'm sure he'll want to be able to protect her as well."

It was then that Cadance remembered something. "He's also going to have a baby brother or sister some time in the near future thanks to his mother being pregnant as well. Perhaps you aren't completely out of line with this... though I would have figured you would use those reasons instead of just your sister."

"... I'm biased, okay?" That got a loud laugh from his wife.

"Aww, I was hoping to go home triumphant with you, big bro!"

Zephyr had just broken the news to his friends and family before they left on the train back to Ponyville. As expected, Scootaloo was saddened that she couldn't celebrate with her brother.

"Sorry, Scoots, but what happened during the Everfree Forest Invasion is still on my mind somewhat. I often wondered if me having more training would've prevented me from getting snared the way I had been." He looks at Rainbow. "not to mention that... other 'adventure' we had where I got captured so easily."

Knowing what Zephyr was talking about, Rainbow shakes her head. "I don't think it would've helped in that case because it was partially my fault, but I understand. If you're going to do it, then come back a full-fledged guard!"

"Heh, from what I'm told, I'm basically getting a couple years worth of training squeezed into a week. It'll be rough, but I'll pull through!" He nuzzles both Rainbow and Scootaloo before waving them off as the train departed. "Alright... no turning back now."

Going back to the Castle, he spies a couple familiar faces in the barracks he was told to head to. "Spiral Spear and Cobalt Feather? You two are here as well?"

Spiral salutes the Falconite. "Indeed we are. Captain... or is it Prince now?"

"I'd say Prince since he's co-ruling with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza" Was Cobalt's response.

"Old habits die hard I suppose." Shaking his head, Spiral clears his throat before continuing. "Prince Shining Armor wanted us to come here from Canterlot to help train the Crystal Guards. We were just about to finish up when he requested one last training session for a certain "recruit" that, despite prior experience, had not gotten trained properly. I guess that was you."

Cobalt smiled at Zephyr. "You handled yourself at Canterlot pretty well despite your lack of training. While your wind magic helped you make up for it, I'm sure Prince Shining Armor figured you need more physical training to help round you out a bit more."

"Erm... aren't I supposed to get Royal Guard mannerism training and things like that as well?"

"Not this time, since you won't become an official mainstay yet. While that could change if Princess Twilight Sparkle decides to have you on as a personal Royal Guard, we'll focus on the more physically demanding side first."

Picking up a schedule, Spiral starts taking a few notes. "Since a week isn't long, it'll be pretty grueling to fit everything in. Just to confirm, are you ABSOLUTELY sure you'll go through--"

"Yes I am. There are ponies, both present and future, that I want to protect and I want to get stronger for them. I'm tapped out in terms of my wind magic as far as I know, so all I have left is the physical training."

That made Cobalt nod in approval. "Well said. Now, I'm aware that you have been helping one Rainbow Dash with Wonderbolt training. That merely develops flying power, speed, and technique. What we'll focus on is increasing your other physical attributes like endurance, leg power, and even observational skills."

Zephyr remembered something. "My grandpa, Spearwing, was said to be a master observer. Even though I'm not biologically related, I hope I don't tarnish his memory..."

"You're not expected to be EXACTLY like your grandfather. That would be unfair since nopony will ever be the same as another." Spiral finishes his list before gaining a determined glare. "Alright, we're burning daylight hours. LET'S MOVE!" Both Cobalt and Zephyr salute at that.

Day 1 started with a general "overview" of how the training was going to go. It included a light version of all the training routines Zephyr was expected to go through when he actually focuses on them during future days. Since the two Lieutenants didn't want to overwhelm the Falconite so quickly, it was a fairly easy day.

Day 2 quickly proved that day 1 was the exception and not the norm as it was endurance drilling in the form of "leg day". While Zephyr didn't do it alone, as some other guards joined him for extra training, he felt somewhat pathetic when he gave out half-way through the run. The other guards quickly told him not to push himself since doing so causes more harm than good. Even so, Zephyr did his best to finish the run. Cobalt made sure to mention that, while there were training exercises specific for Pegasi, his Wonderbolt training regimes were more than sufficient for a replacement.

Day 3 was a bit unique in that it was a weapons training day. When asked what kind of weapon he wants to or has used, Zephyr mentioned both the spear his grandpa used to use and his razor-wind claws he can make with his magic. While the claws were more on-hoof, there wasn't much of a way to 'train' in using them so he defaulted to the spear. It quickly proved how woefully inadequate he was with it, but he stuck through with it.

It was during the night of day 3 when Cadance and Shining Armor decided to visit him. "How are you feeling, sir Zephyr?"

"Sore all over." Was his response as he winced. "It really put into perspective how much I overused my wind magic and wings for everything."

Shining Armor chuckled at that. "There was nothing wrong with how you did things before. However, improving more than just those might help you gain insight on how to further push yourself in those areas. Take it from me: I never realized physical training could help me strengthen my shields!"

"Hmm... I guess I'll defer to my senior's wisdom if that's the case. Even so, a part of me wonders if I'm even improving..."

"Truthfully, you won't see much during our limited time here. However, the idea was to instill the motions and ideas into you so that, when you go home, you can continue doing them whenever you have free time. Even if you're a Falconite, you're still a pony at the end of the day and improvement takes time and dedication."

Zephyr smiles at Shining Armor. "You really do feel like an older brother to me right now."

That got a giggle from Cadance. "Funny, I remember Shiny saying you felt like a younger brother to him!"

"Cadance!" That got laughter from the other two as Shining Armor cleared his throat. "Anyways, rest up because tomorrow will be strength training, both for legs and wings. While I don't doubt your wings will be strong already, we can figure out where you can go from where you are now."

"Alright, thank you for the heads-up! Have a good night you two!" Zephyr waves the couple off, though he was confused as to why Cadance gave Shining Armor a half-lidded eyes with a sly smile.

As Shining Armor warned, Day 4 was strength training, though Zephyr's wing strength was already plenty high. While he was given some ways to keep improving or toning them, the focus shifted towards primarily increasing leg and body strength. He was definitely lacking in that department, so it took a lot of effort to match his fellow Pegasi who were much stronger. Zephyr figured it was why Rainbow could easily overpower him whenever non-wing strength was directly tested.

Day 5 was observational training as a type of 'rest day' for the Falconite. Cobalt quickly noted that, while Zephyr can be observant of finer details, he tends to tunnel vision on what he's told to look for rather than remaining observant of everything else going on. On the other hoof, if he's given nothing specific to look for his skill level seems to drop and, outside of obvious things, passes over details that could be important. She made sure to give him various mental training regimes that can help with such things.

On the night of day 5, Zephyr got another visitor. This time Cobalt was the one who chose to talk to him. "I must say, despite your worries at the start, you're not entirely unobservant."

Zephyr shook his head. "Even so, you saw how I was without anything specific to look for. Heck, I can give you an example of how it has worked against me in the past."

"Oh? Do tell because it could be something you missed while looking for something else, or--"

"It was me being unobservant of Rainbow's feelings for me before she confessed... on top of me not even knowing what MY feelings towards her were before then."

That got a snort of laughter out of the normally serious Lieutenant. "When you put it that way, almost seems like a miracle you two are together."

"It... kind of is. Don't get me wrong, I love her dearly, but I often wonder what attracted her to me in the first place."

"Well let's think about it for a second then." The two jump in surprise when Cadance happened to come along. "Before you two got together, why don't we run through all your experiences?"

Zephyr, not knowing where Cadance was going, went through everything the two had done in the past. "I know what attracted me to HER, I told her as much when I made my counter-confession, but I don't know when it happened with her. And before you say anything, I'm not doubting her love in me considering everything we went through afterwards."

"Hmhmhm, I think I can spy a few places." Cadance had a sly grin on her face. "First of all, it's not uncommon for ponies who started out on the wrong hoof to eventually become lovers. Admittedly it's only so IF they get past their rocky start, which is what you two did."

That made Cobalt think. "Are you referring to the whole "opposites attract" concept?"

"Kind of since it's not always the case. Regardless, the initial 'trigger' was probably when you wiped out while trying to restore her during Discord's initial release. While it's possible she was looking out for you as a friend, it's clear to me something changed in her at that moment."

That made Zephyr scrunch his muzzle. "She... got her start after I nearly sacrificed myself to restore her..."

"Refrain from taking that the wrong way, please. Anyways, that was the start, but she began to develop much stronger feelings after that 'Mare-do-well' incident when you not only unequivocally supported her, but helped her see why she was out of line."

Cobalt grinned at the Falconite. "That's one way to get inside a mare's heart, huh? While she doesn't give me that impression, your stories made me think she was more brash in the past. Perhaps it was a mix of your support and your own loyalty that attracted her to you!"

That got a massive blush out of Zephyr. "I-I just wanted to help her succeed after seeing her both at her best and during her weakest times."

"In sickness and in health, Zephyr." Cadance giggles as she shakes her head. "Regardless, I hope this will reinforce your faith in her. You will have struggles with each other, but so long as you love each other you'll rise out of such conflicts stronger!" With that, Cadance leaves the hallway.

Cobalt clears her throat. "We got derailed massively there, but hopefully you can see why observational training is paramount to a guard. Even if you never actually become one, it can still help you in everyday life."

"Thanks, Cobalt."

Day 6 was more endurance training, this time dealing with High-Intensity Interval Drills. While it helped develop leg muscles, it also meant to improve his core and body. Thanks to the 'rest day' Zephyr got, he was able to do the drills without collapsing immediately but it was still rough on him. He was also given instructions on proper take-downs and arresting maneuvers. By the time he was done, Zephyr's body was right back to being sore.

On the 7th and last day, Shining Armor himself helped train Zephyr in "Patience Drills", meant to help Royal Guards maintain their vigil even during long stretches of inactivity. With various tips and tricks from his own time as Captain of the Royal Guard, Zephyr was able to improve his ability to both patrol for danger and remain alert at a stationary post.

As night fell and the drills wrapped up, Shining Armor gave Zephyr a scroll. "This is everything you've gone through during your training. Like I said before, you might not see much improvement with JUST this, since all this training was meant to take place over years. It'll help you with your routines should you continue doing them after you return home."

"Thank you very much, Prince Shining Armor. I'll do my best not to let this time go to waste!" Zephyr salutes as Shining Armor shakes his head in amusement at the title.

"ZEPHYR!!!" The two stallions gave a start when Rainbow Dash suddenly flew in through a Castle window. "F-Fluttershy! Fluttershy is in trouble!"

Zephyr's heart dropped into his stomach as he promptly launched himself with Rainbow and made a beeline back to Ponyville in the darkness of night. Shining Armor was left behind somewhat startled by the suddenness of it all, but figured whatever is going on would be resolved so long as Zephyr maintained a cool head.

As the two flew at top speeds, Rainbow was able to fill in Zephyr on what happened. Zephyr was exasperated once he learned of everything. "Fluttershy turning into a bat-pony?! You've got to be-- no, focus on the job! Priority one is getting her back to normal!"

"Twilight has an idea, but we need to keep her still for it to work! Thing is, she's too evasive for us to lock down!"

"I'll see what I can do, Rainbow. I'll stop at nothing to save her!" Rainbow silently prayed her boyfriend could do it.

When the two arrived at the moonlit Sweet Apple Acres, Zephyr was shocked by the ecological devastation going on. When they found their friends, they were staring at a shadow in a nearby tree. Twilight gives Zephyr a worried look. "Thank goodness you're here! T-that's Fluttershy up there!"

"It's--" Zephyr enhances his eyes with Galesight and saw what happened. Fluttershy had somehow turned into some kind of pony-bat hybrid that wasn't like typical bat ponies. Her wings and ears were massive and her fangs were oversized. "Have any of you at least TRIED to pin her?"

"She's too evasive!" When Rainbow says that, you know you have a problem. "And I get the feeling she's stronger than normal too! How can we get her still enough for Twilight's plan to work?!"

While he did have access to wind magic, Zephyr didn't want to risk hurting his sister. Remembering the training he just went through, he did his best to steady his emotions and analyze the situation. So Fluttershy somehow got combined with a bat of some kind. If I recall correctly most if not all bats, especially nocturnal ones, use echolocation for "seeing"... and it's sound based. While my 'scream' could be-- wait...

Zephyr thought of something and, while rough, it was a good first attempt on his part. "Somepony get me an apple as bait."

Pinkie was on the job and left as he formed a wind ball in his hoof. Everypony noticed it was white instead of light-green. Rarity was somewhat preturbed. "Zephyr dear, I sincerely hope you aren't going to hurt--"

"I'm not. This is something new I just got an idea for. I just... really hope it works." Pinkie came back with a fresh apple and put it in his primary wing's grip, which got the attention of 'Flutterbat'. "Alright, Shy. You want this one? You'll have to come get it!"

With that, he tosses the apple in the air a bit, which was a sufficient enough taunt to make Flutterbat launch herself towards it with a hiss. When she got close enough, Zephyr let his wind ball loose on the ground right underneath her, creating a piercing shriek that, while not too loud to pony ears, was so loud to bats it induced sensory-overload and stunned her.

Zephyr managed to catch his sister before she crashed and put her on the ground, pinning both front legs behind her back as best he could in an arresting maneuver. When the sensory-overload wore off, she immediately started struggling as Twilight prepared her spell. Even a sudden burst of wind from his body didn't make Zephyr let go. "S-Shy, please... I don't want to hurt you..!"

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow went onto the other side and helped Zephyr keep her foalhood friend still.

"Please... ah' just want my friend back!" Applejack pinned Flutterbat's hind legs as the three did their best to keep her on the spot.

Twilight was able to successfully cast the spell, which morphed Fluttershy back to normal. Once the process was done, she was let go of as she came to. "What...what happened?"

"Shy!" Fluttershy suddenly found herself wrapped up in Zephyr's wings as he hugged her. "I'm glad... you're okay now!"

"B-big brother? I thought you were in the Crystal Empire for guard training!"

"I'm more-or-less done, but I had to come back as soon as I could when Rainbow told me something happened to you." Zephyr breaks his hug to give his sister a smile.

Applejack came in with her own hug, which only confused the Pegasus even more. "But... what happened?"

"Honestly, I'd like to know as well. All I heard from Rainbow was that you had become an apple-sucking vampire of some kind." Zephyr shoots a look at his friends and girlfriend, who all suddenly look guilty.

Twilight, knowing what's coming, decided to tell the whole story regardless. As she expected, it ended up turning into a stern lecture from the brother about how "brute-forcing solutions with magic should only be a last resort and not a first resort". He didn't touch on the initial conflict because he had no expertise on either side.

Once everything was settled that night, Applejack promised to set things right the next morning. As the group started to head home, Pinkie had a thought. "So how was training, Zephy? Did you get stronger? You definitely picked up a few new tricks thanks to that!"

"Well... new tricks yes, but I need to keep doing various regimes if I want to increase my physical strength. Thankfully I have a list here that'll help guide me."

Zephyr reveals the scroll Shining Armor gave him and unrolled it. After reading a bit of it, his face turned into one of exasperation, which got a curious look from Applejack. "Something wrong with the list, sugahcube?"

That got a massive sigh from the Falconite. "Twilight... did you know your brother is a major ditz?"

"Huh? That doesn't sound like--" Zephyr shows her the list he was given. It was Shining Armor's shopping list for Cadance, which caused the Alicorn to puff up her cheeks in laughter. "Oh Shining Armor, even after getting married you never change!" that got a round of laughs from everypony present as a certain Unicorn was wondering why he had a training regime list rather than his shopping list.