Zephyr Breeze Finally Succeeds at Something
Rainbow Dash
Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there lived two sibling pegasi. The younger pegasus, Zephyr Breeze, struggled for years to make something of himself, but finally achieved the greatest feat of which he was capable. The ponies of Cloudsdale were so impressed that the mayor even sent letters to Zephyr's family, congratulating them on his accomplishment. One such letter made its way to Zephyr's older sister, Fluttershy; knowing full well Zephyr's tendency to waste her time, however, she asked her visiting friend Rainbow Dash to read the letter aloud to her whilst she fed a member of her household she actually cared about, Angel.
“...I-I'm sorry, could repeat that please?”
“Fluttershy, Zephyr is dead.”
Fluttershy absently set down Angel's bowl, and stared at Rainbow Dash in stunned – and presumably ecstatic – silence. After a few moments, she crossed the room and, unable to believe the good news, examined the letter herself.
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Dear Fluttershy,
I regret to inform you of the death of your brother, Zephyr Breeze. Your brother died yesterday at approximately 8pm as a result of hanging in an apparent suicide. Condolences have already been sent to the rest of your family. I sincerely regret that this message must bring so much sorrow to you and your family, and my deepest sympathy is with you in your bereavement.
Sincerely yours,
Boreas Gale,
Mayor of Cloudsdale.
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Now, the astute reader may be wondering how such a tall pony so easily managed to off himself by hanging – especially one so cowardly and pathetic, and thus unlikely to want to die from a good strangulation. The answer is quite simple. You see, Cloudsdale lies approximately 3000 meters up in the sky, and while the architecture does not greatly emphasize high ceilings, there are a great many windows and balconies with gorgeous views over the landscape of Equestria below; and so, with several feet of strong rope (including some to bind his wings), Zephyr managed to snap his neck quite cleanly. Altogether it was quite a clever feat considering what little material our Zephyr had to go by; you see, few ponies actually decide to take their own lives in Equestria, perhaps because most have friends or family that go out of their way to make their loved ones not feel worthless. Despite these hardships, Zephyr concocted a foolproof and frankly innovative means to his own demise, though his achievement was marred by his lack of consideration for the many foals passing underneath that day. Then again, consideration was one of his (many) great weaknesses.
Fluttershy sat down in her chair, shaking and holding herself in shock at the stupendous news, while Rainbow Dash looked on with obvious concern, perhaps wondering whether the celebration ought to be private, or if they should contact Pinkie straightaway to invite the whole town.
“Um... Fluttershy? Are you going to be okay?” asked Rainbow Dash. After all while it was important to let her friend have her moment of joy, there were the needs of others to consider here! Chocolate cake or vanilla? Pin the Noose on Freeloader or Hangpony? Fluttershy looked up at Dash, eyes brimming with tears of – one presumes – joy.
“Why? Why would he… Rainbow, you saw him! He was so happy when he graduated Mane Therapy School! What could drive him to… kill himself?”
At this point Fluttershy's face had become soaked with tears; not mere tears of joy, either. There was genuine shock and horror writ on her face; something had truly upset her.
Ah! It must be that he died so quickly and painlessly, rather than starving to death in the Everfree Forest. A more fitting end, perhaps, but Fluttershy had learned long ago that not everything could be perfect. Rainbow shook her head, casting her eyes downward.
“I don't know, Fluttershy, maybe he just… lost hope, somehow? Maybe... he gave up on mane therapy again, and couldn't handle it this time?”
"But we helped him through that! We taught him to face his fears and pursue his dreams. He may have fought us the whole way, but in the end we taught him he didn't have to live in fear of failure!”
"I know, but... maybe it didn't take? Or, maybe he just, like... didn't really say what he felt?"
Despite her friend's assurances, Rainbow was clearly growing more distressed as she thought about it. After a few moments of silence, Fluttershy spoke up again.
"Rainbow, I think I'd like to be left alone for a while."
“Are you sure? It's okay if you need me to be here.”
“I'm sure. I need to think about a few things.” She certainly did, like should she invite her parents, or should they keep the party to just friends? “But thanks.”
Rainbow Dash hesitantly got up to leave, though her face grew more sullen with each step. Fluttershy was hardly faring better, herself; one can only imagine the thoughts that might have been swimming through her head at the time, which made her so upset on such an auspicious occasion. She sat there in silence for several minutes after Dash left, before finally standing up and nodding to herself.
"I'll go and ask Twilight. She probably knows a thing or two about this, right? She can tell me what would... drive somepony to do something like this."
Oh, Fluttershy. Do you really think Twilight will tell you it's not your fault?
