On The Wings of Wind

Zephyr was sitting at the breakfast table with Scootaloo when they heard the tell-tale noise of mail getting dropped off. When he got it, he was surprised by the presence of the turbo mail as he opened it. "Huh... it's from mom."

"Really, what does it say?"

"The letter says she's coming to visit soon with Squall." That got Scootaloo excited. "Guess she's feeling well enough to travel, but I wonder if dad's getting left behind again?"

"Yeah, poor dad seems to always be stuck with work nowadays, huh? I do wish he could visit more... I also wish I could be home to greet mom, but I still have school."

That got a chuckle. "I'm sure she'll make time to visit you during recess. For now, since I don't know when she'll get here, I'll stay put to greet her."

"Alright, then I'm off!" Scootaloo grabs her saddle bags and heads out the door.

An hour later, there was a knock on the door. When Zephyr answered it, Harpsong and Medishy were both there with Squall. "Hey Zephyr!"

"Hey mom and dad! How are you!"

Medishy chuckles. "Doing alright. Harpsong's been getting the full-course treatment of what being the mother of a newborn is like."

"Yeah... the stories could never prepare me for the sleepless nights and the crying." Harpsing giggles a bit in spite of her tiredness. "Honestly, I'm cheating a bit by having Medi as my husband, since he's already raised two newborns. Thankfully Squall has calmed down enough that we felt we could travel with him."

"Aau!"

They all noticed Squall reaching out for Zephyr, which surprised Medishy. "When he's not crying or being whiny he's more friendly, but I've never seen him this excited!"

"Aaand third time's the pattern." Zephyr takes his baby brother from Harpsong, earning a happy giggle from the infant. "Seems Pegasus babies like me for some reason, considering it's happened twice in the past."

"Actually, it works out! Did you want to look after your brother for the day? Medi and I were invited by Ms. Cheerilee to address her classes as principal and vice-principal of another school."

That made Zephyr uncertain. "Are you sure? Yes I have babysitting experience, but it was with one-month old foals. Plus, I don't know how well Squall will take being separated from you two."

"We did think of that, but we also didn't want to subject him to so many new faces at once at the school. Even if you go around town with him, it should still be less sensory overload for him." Medishy pats Zephyr on the shoulder with a reassuring smile as Harpsong transfers some baby supplies into his saddle bags. "Have faith in your own abilities, son. Plus, it'll help Squall become acquainted with you!"

"Alright... then good luck at the school!" Zephyr nuzzles his parents, who both nuzzle Squall quickly in turn before heading out. When they were out of sight the baby did become a bit whiny, but just like with Pound a while ago he was comforted by his big brother's presence. "Let's stay put for a bit so you can get used to the new environment. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere!"

After Squall calmed down again, Zephyr decided to head towards Fluttershy's cottage to see if she was in. As it turns out, she was on the way with Pinkie Pie there as well. "Zephy! Haven't seen you all day!"

"Hey, girls. Guess who decided to visit?" Pinkie had to resist with all her might not to squee loudly at the baby in Zephyr's primary wing-nook. "Mom and dad had to go to Cheerilee's school and didn't want to overwhelm Squall, so he's with me."

Fluttershy smiles at her baby brother. "Hi Squall!" She was caught off guard when he reached his tiny hooves out to her. "D-does he want me to hold him?"

"Go for it, Shy." After Fluttershy took hold of Squall, the baby buried his face into her coat with a peaceful look. "I wonder if your 'atmosphere' reminds him of mom?"

"Oh, that's good... I'm glad he likes me!"

"... Hm..? Who's this..?" Zephyr was caught off guard by a grey Earth Pony with dark-purple mane and teal eyes.

Pinkie gasped at that. "Right, you two haven't met yet! Zephy, this is my big sister who came to visit me, Maud Pie! Maud, this is Zephyr, Fluttershy's older brother!"

"Ah, Pinkie's older sister? A pleasure to meet you." Zephyr bows with his primary wing. "I owe your sister much."

Though she didn't show it, that information did surprise Maud. "Nice to meet you too..." She looks back at the rock she was looking at earlier.

Pinkie noted Zephyr's confused look. "Don't worry, she's a rock expert! She even has a pet rock!"

"Huh... okay." When Zephyr approached the rock as well, he sensed something off. "Is it... no wait... may I have that for a second?"

"... Sure, not like it was mine." Maud picks it up and gives it to Zephyr, only to look on as he looks at it from different angles and putting it to his ear. "Are you studying rocks as well?"

"I don't think this is a rock." Zephyr tosses it up into the air and uses his wind magic to slice it clean in half. He then catches the two halves in said magic and looks into them. "Looks like I was right! This is a geode!"

He shows the inside of the rock, which was hollow with green crystals growing inside. Fluttershy was astonished. "How could you tell, big brother?"

"My hyper-attunement to wind made me so sensitive, I can even detect 'still air' if I'm close enough. Just like the air inside a hollow geode." Zephyr holds the two geode halves out to Maud. "You must have had your own suspicions with the rock if you were interested in it."

"... I did feel like the rock was lying to me about its nature..." Zephyr chose to chalk her explanation up to 'hyper-attunement to rocks' and left it alone as Maud took the exposed geode. "Thanks... I was wondering if the rocks of Ponyville were hiding secrets. This is a malachite geode. Keep it away from your baby brother, it can be toxic." Fluttershy held Squall against herself a bit more at those words.

After a while, Pinkie and Maud left to go hang out with another friend as the two siblings waved goodbye to them. "Both of you should start thinking about your candy rock flavors for your friend necklaces!"

Fluttershy noted Zephyr's confused look. "She likes giving her sister candy rock necklaces whenever they meet. Still... we were friends?"

"Considering rocks and wind don't usually mix well, our interaction being as positive as it was works for me." Zephyr adjusts his grip on a giggling Squall as he thought about something. "Could I get the full context? I feel like I'm out of the loop."

"Pinkie wanted us to be friends with her older sister, much like how you are. Thing is... she's a bit... difficult to be friends with."

"Ah, I see. As much as I love Pinkie as a friend, I feel like she's setting herself up for disappointment once she learns the fact that not everypony can be compatible as friends." Zephyr scrunched his muzzle at that. "When I put it that way, I feel like I'm relapsing back into my old mindset..."

Fluttershy quickly nuzzles her brother, much to Squall's joy. "You aren't, it's just something everypony has to learn one day. I suppose you just learned it much sooner than others..."

"Yeah... anyways, I'll see if Rainbow is free. I want Squall to meet her." Zephyr waves Fluttershy off as he heads out himself. He made sure to stop to feed and burp his brother when Zephyr noted Squall getting whiny even with his big brother's presence.

While going through Ponyville towards Rainbow's place, he happened to chance upon a very soaked Rainbow Dash. "Did you go swimming or something?"

"More like Maud unknowingly causing a tsunami on a lake." That got a baffled look from Zephyr as she shook herself dry. "Long story-- wait, is that?"

"Squall, meet Rainbow Dash!"

Zephyr gives his baby brother to Rainbow, who was overjoyed. "Hey, little stallion! You already look like a fighter!" She boops Squall's nose with her own, causing a giggle out of the baby. "He's a friendly one, huh?"

"When he's not hungry or cranky, but I just fed him so he should be good. My mom and dad are in town for the day and they wanted me to look after him until they were done at school."

"Which we are now, actually!" Medishy approaches the two with a joyful Scootaloo in tow. "Your mother's still taking care of some things, but we're almost done."

"How was school?"

Scootaloo grins as Rainbow gives Squall to her. "Boring until mom and dad showed up! Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were happy to see them as well!"

"Heh, of course." Zephyr looks at his father. "What will you do for the rest of the day?"

"Probably just explore with Scootaloo and Squall when your mother gets here. It's been a while since we were here, might as well."

Rainbow came up with an idea. "Why don't you visit my parents as well? I'm sure they'll be overjoyed to meet Squall! As for me, I need to head to Sugar Cube Corner to... give Pinkie the bad news..."

Zephyr quickly realized what Rainbow was talking about. "Oof... as much as it hurts, this'll have to be one lesson Pinkie will have to learn. All I can say is good luck." Rainbow nods as she heads out, clearly not looking forward to it.

Medishy looked curious but shook his head. "We'll head to your house to wait for mom. Hopefully we'll catch you before we leave for Manehattan." Zephyr waves his family off as they walk away, Scootaloo doing her best to walk while holding her brother. It was clear she wanted to be a good big sister.

"Ah... there you are..." Zephyr looks over to see Maud approaching. "Are you free..?"

"I am, yes. I thought you were visiting Pinkie Pie?"

"That... was my main reason for coming, but the geode you helped find made me want to research the nearby areas." Recognizing that the Falconite needed context, she clears her throat. "I'm currently looking to get my 'rocktorate' in rock science. While studying regular rocks is sufficient, studying geodes can boost your understanding since they can contain more pure minerals like quartz."

"Ah, I see now. Because I was able to find that geode for you, you're thinking maybe we can find more for broader research." Maud nods at that. "Alright, I can help. In fact, I know of another stallion who's free right now who could help us. Where do you want to mine?"

"The Rambling Rock Ridge. I get a good feeling from there."

In the more rugged part of the Ridge, Maud was mining out rocks for potential geodes while Big Mac was hauling them to Zephyr in a more stable part of the mountain. The farm stallion was more than happy to help and Maud not being a talker put him at ease. Zephyr's job was to take any of the rocks Maud deemed suspicious and double-check if they were geodes. The Falconite determined that if a rock gave him a strange feeling yet couldn't sense any 'still air', he'd cut it open just to be sure.

It wasn't long until there were a decent number of opened geodes. Maud came by just to check on progress. "These make me wonder if this area was the site of volcanic activity in the past... maybe a magma vent..."

"Maybe, could help explain why the farmlands are so fertile around Ponyville." Was Zephyr's follow-up take.

"Eeyup."

Maud started collecting some of the geodes. "I won't take duplicates with one exception. You two can have the rest."

Zephyr thought about it before deciding. "Big Mac can take the extras home. Before you say anything, think of it as payment for your hard work. I got it better than you two for my role here, so I'm not overly concerned." Big Mac wanted to object, but figured Zephyr was going to be stubborn about it and simply nodded.

"I got a good sample size thanks to you two, but there's a few more sections I want to check before we pack up. Be careful, though. It seems this area is unstable and I already spotted huge boulders that could cause problems if a rock slide starts." Big Mac and Zephyr nod at that.

"MAUD, I HAVE AN IDEA FOR US!!!" Maud widened her eyes in shock when she heard Pinkie shout that as she approached with Applejack and Fluttershy.

"Oh, Big Mac, ya' were here too?" Was all Applejack got out before the ground started rumbling. "W-what in tarnation?!"

"Rock slide!" Zephyr managed to call out as the rocks suddenly started rushing around them. He managed to take to the air and start dodging as he ascended higher to take stock of the situation. "Three massive boulders incoming!!!" Big Mac and Maud were able to stay dodging on the ground.

Pinkie was able to start avoiding rocks as well, but one hit her leg hard enough to distract her from her twitchy tail warning her of falling objects, leading to another rock hitting her in the head bad enough to disorient her. Applejack fared better, but took a bad step on one of the rocks and badly sprained her fetlock, causing her to fall down.

Fluttershy tried to fly away, but a smaller pebble hit her in the wing which dropped her and allowed a bigger one to pin her other wing. All three older siblings stopped dodging and planted themselves in front of their younger siblings to protect them.

Maud saw one of the massive boulders heading straight for Pinkie Pie and dove head-first into it, rapidly crushing it with her bare hooves, determined to save her younger sister. Pinkie managed to regain her orientation enough to see her big sister pulverize it, much to her awe.

Big Mac saw the second one heading right for Applejack and, like Maud, was not going to let anything else hurt his sister. With a determined look, he manages to buck the rock clear over the ridge's edge. Applejack was shocked at the display of strength from her brother.

Zephyr dropped back down to keep the final boulder from Fluttershy, using his primary wings to hold it back while planting all four hooves in the ground. Fluttershy looked terrified until she saw her big brother suddenly heave the boulder clear over her head. Despite being a Falconite with similar body strength to a Pegasus, he was able to pull it off.

With the younger sisters all safe, they were gathered to determine how much damage was done. Pinkie was fine, albeit still a bit dizzy from the head trauma as Maud hugged her with worry. "Thank you, Maud! That was amazing!"

"No kidding. Ah' never seen Big Mac buck something so massive over the horizon!" Applejack had newfound respect for her brother. Sadly, her injury wasn't something she could walk off.

"Thank you so much, big brother!" Fluttershy hugged her brother, her own injury simply grounding her for a while.

"I'm just glad you're all safe." Zephyr answered for all three older siblings.

Maud gives Pinkie a confused look. "Why did you three come all the way out--" She was interrupted by a series of massive thuds. "What the?!"

Applejack saw it first. "That there's a monster of a boulder headed our way!!!"

"That... that one's too big even for me!" Maud gasped out loud. She didn't know what to do until she saw Zephyr and Big Mac nod at each other and take positions. "You... you two are... right!"

"On the count of three, we strike!" Zephyr got nods from the others as they wind-up. "One... two... THREE!!!"

Maud punched it as hard as she could, Big Mac bucked it similarly, and Zephyr tossed a 'Wind Spear' after removing the Breezie Relic. From all three strikes, the boulder split into three segments with none being able to roll anymore.

The younger siblings all cheered over the boulder's destruction. Maud turns to her fellow elder siblings, a small smile on her muzzle. "I... feel like I understand you two better now. How much you value your younger sisters, just like how I value Pinkie."

Zephyr smiles. "It's just like what I told Big Mac before. Us older siblings are born first... to protect the little ones who come after."

"Eeyup!"

Fluttershy smiles at the three getting along. "Looks like Maud made new friends here after all."

"I... wouldn't call it 'friendship', per se..." Maud started saying.

"... but rather a camaraderie between us." Zephyr finished. "There's nothing wrong with that, though."

"Heh, ah' suppose it's a type of friendship-- ow!" Applejack tried to stand up, but her sprained fetlock caused her to go back down. She let out a yelp when Big Mac picked her up onto his back. "Let me down, I can walk jus' fine!"

"Nnope!" That got a sigh from her as Fluttershy wrapped her hoof up with bandages in a make-shift splint courtesy of Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie looks over at the boulder fragments before gasping. "Talk about a geode motherlode! Look at all those crystals!"

Each segment contained a rainbow of assorted minerals, from quartz to azurite to even magnetite. Maud looked at it with a gleam in her eyes despite her neutral facial expression. "This... even one segment alone would more than qualify me for my rocktorate. I think you two should get the other ones, as proof... that we will protect what is important to us no matter what."

Zephyr grins at that. "Alright, let's get everypony back home safely!"

"Thanks for visiting, mom and dad!" Scootaloo called out. "See you, Squall!"

"Bau!"

Harpsong smiled at that. "We'll be sure to visit again when we have the chance. Of course, we wouldn't say no to you visiting us!"

"We will when we can!" Fluttershy said as she nuzzles her departing family. She was able to hide her injured wings as to not worry them.

Zephyr chuckles. "Who knows when we can, but you'll know when we do!"

After waving the Windstorm family off on their train to Manehattan, Maud, Pinkie, and the rest of their friends approach the three left behind. "I know you said us older siblings come first to protect those who come after... but in your case, you really do have a little one to protect."

"I still feel vindicated in keeping to my Royal Guard training. Though... I'm amazed I was able to toss that one boulder the way I did..."

Applejack, with a proper support for her leg in place now, chuckles at that. "Ya'll be surprised how powerful ya' get when somepony important to you is in danger."

"Hysterical strength!" Twilight brought up while beaming. "I'm just glad you're all safe!"

Rainbow, while somewhat miffed she couldn't help protect her friends, was proud of Zephyr for his feat. "Seems to me a certain somepony wants to be a good big brother to look up to for a baby brother in the future."

"Why not?" That got a round of laughs. Maud was the only one who didn't but despite her stony face, she was jovial.

As the day winded down, Pinkie's friends were able to give Maud their hoof-made rock candy friendship necklaces. While she admitted to not liking candy, she stored them all for safe-keeping, especially Pinkie's. She was surprised when her sister gave her something different to go with them: Dark Choco-rocks. Zephyr had off-hoofedly mentioned chocolate being another good 'rock treat' candidate and Maud did like eating them thanks to their bitter flavor.