Imprisoned

When Zephyr woke up, he was confused. He didn't understand the warmth against his side, or the hooves around his neck. He lifted his head, and a chin rolled off his head, landing with a thump on the leg below him. He turned and froze, his eyes wide in shock. He'd thought that was a cruel dream. His big sister was laying on the bed beside him, her wing draped over his back and her left foreleg on his neck. her eyes were closed and she was breathing gently. A flood of pink pooled around her chest. As he stared in disbelief at his sister, her eyes fluttered open.

Her turquoise eyes slowly opened and turned up towards him. She put her leg down and lifted her head, letting out a loud yawn. She smiled at him while he stared at her, trying to find something to say. Fluttershy gently placed her hoof against his cheek and kissed his forehead. Zephyr whimpered as she laid her chin on his head, pressing into the touch. Fluttershy nuzzled him before hopping off the bed. Zephyr followed and watched her as she puffed up a large patch of cloud. After, she sat down and patted the patch.

"Sit." The word wasn't a suggestion or a request. It was a command. He walked over, not sure what her plan was. He sat on the fluffy mound, his tail flicking. Fluttershy walked around behind him and sat back, pressing her hooves to his shoulders. He fell forwards and rested on his forelegs. She settled down beside him, her tail draped over his forelegs. In a single, swift movement, she got his wing spread over her legs. Zephyr tried to pull his wing back but Fluttershy kept a hoof on the feathers, glaring at him.

"Your wings need to be preened. Now calm down and let me or I'm telling mom about your lack of personal care." His eyes widened at her threat.

"You wouldn't" Fluttershy growled and shoved her nose up against his.

"Try me." Zephyr sighed and relaxed, allowing her to preen him. She nodded in satisfaction and began to preen him. Unlike of most pegasi, he had extremely thick feathers, making preening a bit difficult. As she straightened the good feathers and pulled the loose ones, her brother rested his head on her lower back. As each feather was put into place by his sister, he had to admit it felt nice. Over the past two months, he'd never noticed how much pain his wings were in. Now he was noticing. The pain was making him groan and move, his face scrunched up. Fluttershy looked at him and sighed before returning to her work. It took five hours for the one wing to be fully preened, though once it was the feathers were glossy and smooth. She then did the other side. When she was finished, Zephyr looked a lot more comfortable.

"Feeling better, Zeph?" He nodded and sighed, ruffling his now tidy wings. Fluttershy gently nuzzled him before jumping over him and heading downstairs for some food. Her parents gave her a kiss and some breakfast for her and Zephyr. When she went up, he was looking at the photo album again, though this time his eyes weren't dead. However, he wasn't smiling. When Fluttershy nudged him, he flicked an ear.

"Where were you? Over the past year. Why didn't you come back?" Fluttershy nuzzled him only to have him pull away. Zephyr looked up at her, a hurt look on his face. She looked down, her ears going down and starting to tremble. When she looked up, Zephyr was looking back at the album. His ears were also pinned back. She looked at the picture and saw it was the same one as earlier. The one of her playing with her one year old brother. She looked at him and sighed. They had been nearly as close as Twilight and Shining.

"You promised me you'd never leave me. Remember, when I got left behind at school and you came to get me? You promised me that you'd never leave me again."

"I didn't, Zeph. It wasn't my fault at all." Zephyr huffed, glaring at her. Fluttershy sighed and stood up, turning her cutie mark towards her brother. If he was going to believe her, he needed to see her scars. Zephyr looked up and his eyes locked on her scars, going wide.

"I was taken, Zeph. They were trying to find out what connected me with my friends." His eyes stayed wide as a look of horror passed over them. She walked back over to him and pressed against her brother's chest as she tried to stop trembling. Zephyr wrapped a foreleg around her shoulders and nuzzled her, sighing as he held her close to him.

Fluttershy was playing chess with her brother, with both of them failing gloriously, when Twilight came barging in. The whole Shy family turned and stared at her. She was gasping and her tongue was hanging out of her mouth. Fluttershy looked at her family before jumping off her seat and walking over to Twilight.

"What's wrong?" The panting Alicorn looked up at her friend and explained between breaths.

"Sombra's... out of... surgery. He... woke... up... and was... asking to... see... you. So you... should... probably... " Fluttershy was gone before she finished. Twilight looked up at her friend's parents, who were staring at her. Zephyr stood and went into the kitchen, coming back out with a large glass of water. Twilight wasted no time in gulping the water down.

Fluttershy's wings were buzzing as she shot towards the hospital. She was desperate to see if he was okay and to find out what his kiss had meant. When she got there, Redheart took her to Sombra's room. She stuck her head in and stared at the dark gray stallion. His hind legs were both held in splints and he was reading. The tip of his horn was repaired, probably thanks to Twilight. Fluttershy walked in, the gentle clipping of her hooves making him look up. A bright grin split his face as he put his book down. Fluttershy recognized it as a history book. He had a small pile of them beside the bed. Rolling her eyes, she smiled and walked over to him.

"Hey there, Fluttershy. I'm glad your okay." She smiled and sat down, after moving the book pile. Sombra sat up and looked at her, his scarlet eyes bright. Fluttershy smiled, albeit half-heartedly.

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy sighed and looked down.

"I... I was just wondering what the kiss before I escaped meant." Sombra's eyes widened and soon he matched Fluttershy's faint blush.

"Oh. Well... it was a spur of... of the moment. I'm sorry if I messed with your head." Fluttershy nodded and looked at him with satisfaction in her eyes. They talked for a while before she turned and left, allowing Sombra to sigh in relief. As long as she believed that, he was good.