Restart: After it all.

by Netap

Rating: teen
Tags: Comedy, Fluttershy, Sex, Profanity, Discord, Violence, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Pie Sisters, Marble Pie, Zephyr Breeze, Romance
Length: 14567

With Discord finally defeated, Zephyr Breeze retires to a small town to hopefully live the rest of his life in peace.

Time after Time, Death after Death, Restart after Reset.
How many times has Zephyr Breeze been through this?
How long has he spent reliving the same two weeks?
Well, It's over. It's finally over.

Discord has finally been defeated, And Zephyr Breeze can finally return to a normal life, away from all of the Chaos.

Only that, after being in a time loop for so long, having a Normal life is harder than it seems.

This Story takes place after the events of my discontinued story, Restart.
There will be flashbacks to explain what happened, so don't worry about needing to read it.

Featured on 27/06/2023

Published 2022-10-22 11:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-05-24 21:56:33 UTC

Chapter 1

How long has it been?
A year? Two years? Three? Ten?
Zephyr Breeze stopped counting.

Every time he gets close to beating him, to stopping him, delaying him even. He dies.
He fails.
Again and again and again, Over and Over.

A snapped neck, a bomb exploding prematurely,being dissolved in acid, having his skin turn inside out.
If you can think of a way to die, Zephyr Breeze has probably been through it.

And when he finally succeeded, after years of reliving the same fourteen days over and over, It was over. No big celebration for finally saving the world, Not even a card saying Good Job.

Because nobody knew that Zephyr saved the world, And if things are to continue as they are, Nobody will.

Zephyr Breeze was pathetic.

Everybody who knew him could agree, Zephyr Breeze was a waste of space.
Even his Parents didn't love him as much as they loved his sister.
because why would they? She was an Element of Harmony, one of Equestria's six magical guardians of friendship.

And he was a Pegasus with the Talent of special talent of Giving Up.

Maybe that was why Discord chose him to try and change the fate of the world, Have the least talented pony do something that requires talent.

What a joke.

Even his win against Discord was pathetic.
Using his life as some sort of show to watch, as he tries in different ways to stop him from ruining everything he holds dear.

The Sick Fuck.

But never mind that, It's over, Discord was defeated.
Zephyr was free.

And as he looked at the large check of lottery winnings he collected by memorizing the winning numbers and the suitcase that he packed, He knew he had to leave his dingy apartment in Manehatten.

Even if the chaos spirit was no longer there, he couldn't remain in that terrible apartment, hoping that the chaos spirit wouldn't come back into his life with a large neon sign proclaiming that the last few years of torture were just a prank.

He had to move, Somewhere no pony would bother him anymore. Somewhere he could live out the rest of his pathetic life without having to worry about world ending monsters or reality warping spirits.

And as picked up his suitcases and pocketed the lottery winnings, he exited his apartment, leaving his old life behind him.

But not before telling his Landlord that he's no longer using the Apartment, don't want any bills stacking up.

Rockville is a small town at the outskirts of Western Equestria, And in that small town a rumor was spreading.

"Someone bought the old Cabin near the rock farm." One pony said, drinking from a mug of beer.

"I heard it's a Unicorn Wizard who's going to be doing experiments on rocks" Another spoke before taking a bite of a potato fry.

"I heard it's one of those Criminal ponies from Neigh York trying to escape the authorities" A third pony said their piece.

And now the conversation in the only bar of that sleepy town changed to the recent news of a criminal gang in Neigh York being arrested.

"Maybe, I heard the Guards got an anonymous tip about those fellas." One of the ponies at the bar said before taking a sip of his drink.

"That's an understatement, My Cousin's a detective over there, The guards have been trying to find enough evidence to get a warrant on those bunch, and suddenly they get a note with all the names they would ever need" Another Patron said, talking about how the tip gave them enough evidence to wipe out one of the biggest crime families in the city.

And as the talking continued and the night went on, The bar eventually closed for the night.

Two of the Patrons from the bar started walking home.
An older Earth Pony Stallion, His Grey Mane under a large hat. Besides him is a younger Earth Pony Mare, With a similar grey mane over a grey-purple coat.

"So what do you think about the new pony moving into the old Cabin?" The Mare asked the older Stallion.

"Limestone, You know that my thoughts on our new neighbor are meaningless as we have yet to meet." The Stallion replied.

"But they're going to be our neighbor, Don't you have any thoughts about that at least?" Limestone asked in return, Prodding the older pony for answers.

"Limestone, I am repeating myself, I do not have thoughts about the new Stallion" He told her.
"So he is a Stallion, huh." Limestone whispered to himself as she tried imagining the type of pony that would willingly move into Rockville, Coming up with a boring, rickety, old grandpa as an answer.

Of course he'd have to be old and boring, Nothing interesting ever happens in Rockville.
Limestone Pie scoffed in disappointment.

Zephyr Breeze walked off the train and onto the Rockville Station.
The building is made out of large slaps of stone and covered with a thatch roof.

Seeing a building this old puts a smile on his face.

Out Here in the small mining town near the border, Zephyr Breeze can live without ever needing to think about Discord.
He can stay mostly off the grid, The money from the lottery will keep him afloat for a number of years.

And until the money ran out, Zephyr Breeze will live in an old cabin he bought for sale near Pie Family Rock Farm.

After Zephyr arrives at his new home, and unpacks the little he carried with him, He's going to live without worrying about the Spirit.
He can't just do nothing but stay in a cabin all day, that will be suspicious, and if the ponies are suspicious they start asking questions, and when they starts asking questions his dream of living away from trouble would have failed.
He's going to have to socialize.

He could almost hear the Chaos Spirit snickering, but he knew it was just his head.

"Time for a fresh Restart" He whispered to himself as he walked down the dirt road into the town of Rockville.

Author's Note

So yeah, this story is taking place in the same universe as my discontinued story, Restart.
Don't bother yourself with reading it, it's not that good.

Apparently when all of the stories you write involve comedy in some way or the other, trying to write a serious story about being stuck in a torturous time-loop is going to be hard, who would've guessed.

So this story will have a more lighthearted tone, It'll still have it's Darker moments, I hope I didn't misuse the tag, but it will mostly be a sort of Rom-Com.

But yeah, this is mostly a Pilot Chapter, to test the waters on this a bit.
So please tell me what you think.

Chapter 2

Do you know how it feels to be buried alive?
Zephyr does, he died that way several times.
Not because of Discord surprisingly enough.

It was in one of the earlier loops, His plan at the time was to kill Discord by giving him a poisonous Milkshake.

Now problem is, Zephyr doesn't know how to make poison, so he had to learn.

You might be surprised to find out, but learning how to make poison is Illegal, So he had to find somewhere to learn it Illegally.

Good news, The local crime family was recruiting new members.
Bad news, They're a crime family.

You don't just simply join a crime family, you first need to pass a test.

"I want you to take this bag and hide it somewhere nobody will ever find" The scar-faced Earth Pony told Zephyr while pointing at a large, pony sized bag.

Zephyr might not have been the smartest pony in the room, But he knew a body-bag when he saw one.

Now, If this was Zephyr from a few Resets ago, he'd be freaking out.
"You want me to hide a BODY!? I can't do that! If I get caught I'll be killed, I won't be able to save my adorable cutesy-tootsie big sister FlutterButter!" And then he'll try to get somepony else to do the job for him or something along those lines.

But not this time, Zephyr already died more than enough times to get the memo.
If he wants to get out of this loop, he's going to have to dirty his hooves.

And so he took the job.
He was caught by the police soon after disposing the body in a lake.
After telling the police he was in a time-loop which broke one of Discord's stupid game-rules, Zephyr had his Eyes roll into the back of his skull over and over like the wheels on a carriage, before they ground themselves to ash and floated out of his empty sockets.

He died again soon after.

So next loop he tried again, this time knowing not to hide the body in the lake.

Good news, The Police didn't catch him this time.
Bad News, A rival crime family did.
And the worst news, The Pony he was tasked to bury was none over than the husband of the daughter of the brother of the nephew of the cousin of the crime families head honcho.

Zephyr was fucked.
Before he could break the game-rules and reset the loop, He was knocked unconscious with a hit to the back of the head.

The next few minutes of his life might have been some of his worse.

When he regained consciousness, He tried opening his mouth to tell someone, anyone, that he was in a time-loop, and thus making him reset.
But he couldn't, His mouth was tied shut, and as he tried to move his legs or wings, he found them tied as well.

Looking around him, he saw nothing but total darkness, he tried moving his head but he couldn't see anything.
He was panicking.

"Discord, Reset me right not, I need another try" He tried saying, but with his mouth shut all that came out was gibberish and noise.

Luckily as soon as he tried saying that, the Chimera popped in.
The Chaos Spirit shrunk himself to fit in the enclosed space with Zephyr, a snap of his finger providing a small oil lamp, providing light to his surroundings.

"Zephyr my boy, Good to see you called. Now, Usually If you broke the game rules or died before stopping me I would reset you, But as you can see, You aren't dead" The Horse headed, Eagle Clawed, Dragon tailed, mish-mashed freak said smugly as he looked at the tied up Zephyr.

"You remember the rules, don't you? If you tell anypony about being stuck in a loop, You lose. If you tell anypony that I'm going to escape my statue in Canterlot castle, you lose. If you die, you lose. If I capture all the elements of Harmony and the Princesses, you lose." He said, each time he spouted a rule, he inched closer to Zephyrs angry face.

"And as you can see, Zephyr my boy, you didn't break any of the rules yet." He whisper into his ear, "And since you didn't break any of the rules, you didn't lose. And since you didn't lose, you don't Reset" A wide smile splits Discord's face as he spoke those words.

For the first time since the chaos-spirit's sick twisted game began, Zephyr was terrified.

He won't Restart until he died.
That was usually fine, When he reset it usually came after Discord killed him in a bizarre way.
It might have been painful, but it was fast.

Looking at the now lit space around him, Zephyr could finally tell where he was.

He was in a coffin, with a lit lamp burning the little oxygen he had left.
Maybe that oil lamp was a weird, sick way of Discord making his time easier.
He might be a monster, the worst thing in existence, the chaos-spirit that ruined the world several times over.
But he wanted entertainment, in his own sick way.

And seeing a pony lie in a coffin for five hours wasn't that entertaining.

"I'm not resetting you Zephyr, The game isn't over until you win.
You get how many tries you want, But you won't reset until you lose.
And you haven't lost yet" And with a poof of glitter and the smell of rotten eggs, He disappeared.

Leaving Zephyr to slowly suffocate to death, being buried alive by one of the crime families of Neigh York, for wanting to learn how to make poison.

That was the first time he was buried alive.

Reaching his new home, A small Cabin near the town of Rockville, Zephyr took a deep breath before inserting his new key into the lock and opening the door.

The Cabin was big for the price it was sold at, It had a single Bedroom, a single Bathroom, and a large open area to act as both the Kitchen, The dining room and the Living room.

It needed repairs, most of the furniture was old, covered in tarps collecting dust.
The only appliances that worked in the house were the stove and the toilet.

It seems he's going to need to buy a new shower-head and fix some water pipes, Buy an entire fridge as well.

But that didn't matter to him, He could afford to hire someponies to fix everything for him, he wasn't short on cash in any way, not after winning the lottery.
And if that also runs out, he knows some crime-family hideouts, those guys always have money.

But he wouldn't be hiring plumbers.
Zephyr Breeze came to Rockville to get away from the stress of the time-loop.
He's going to do as his Cutie Mark tells him, and take things easy.

And if that means he needs to buy a fridge and carry it all the way to the cabin and also install a shower by himself, then so be it.

He's been through worse.

Author's Note

Yeah, Chapter 2.

A bit of a look at one of Zephyr's loops, and also the rules he had to follow.

This story does not have an upload schedule, so please don't complain if I don't update for a while and then hit you in the back of the head with an update several months later.

Hope you enjoyed this little Flashback chapter, I'm planning to put a flashback every two or so chapters, just to give a little insight into what Zephyr went through.

Hope you enjoyed :)

Chapter 3

Surprisingly enough, the town of Rockville has an appliance store, It's located right in front of the hardware store.

And so with the bits deposited, Zephyr breeze thanks the cashier and takes his new appliances to his cabin.

Now he just has to install the new shower-head, place the fridge in its place, and change the pipes in the kitchen and bathroom. That's easy, just like building a bomb that doesn't explode.

Zephyr pauses to think about that metaphor before nodding to himself and carrying on home.

Bombs have some good metaphors.

"That should go there, this goes here, aaaaand Done!" Zephyr set down the wrench and looked at his newly installed shower-head.

Turning on the water to see if it works, Zephyr is happy to see that the water pressure hasn't blown up the pipes, sending metal shrapnel into his neck, bleeding him out.

And if Zephyr didn't die, then it's a job well done.

Now all that's left for Zephyr to do is buy some groceries for the newly installed fridge.

Wiping the sweat off his brow, Zephyr walks toward the door to his new home, intent on buying something to eat.
Perhaps bread and cheese.

After eating grilled cheese sandwiches for so long solely because it was the only thing he could make in the loop without buying groceries, Zephyr has managed to create the ultimate cheese sandwich. It had the ultimate springiness and softness of bread combined with the soft crunch of toast, melded all together with the fine touch of melted cheese, holding the two slices of bread together like bricks and mortar.

On his way down the path from his new house to the more suburban part of Rockville (As Suburban as a small town at the edge of civilization could be) Zephyr spots another pony walking the empty street in the opposite direction as him.

Seeing an opportunity to greet a new neighbor, Zephyr tries to walk towards them.

Luckily for him, or is it sadly in this case? The pony decides to go into one of the houses and slams the door behind them, leaving Zephyr alone in the street.

That is fine, Less Interaction means less Headaches, meaning less stress, meaning that Zephyr could relax.
And Relaxing and depressurizing is his goal, living all the way in Rockville, practically off the map, in the middle of nowhere.

If the Chaos Spirit ever manages to escape it's stone prison again it won't be able to find him, at least not as fast as it normally could.

Zephyr continues to walk at a steady pace towards the grocery store.

Cloudy Quartz is an important mare, she might be the single most important pony in Rockville, seeing as she's the closest thing to a mayor the tiny town is. Legally speaking, she's both the sheriff and the Mayor of the Hamlet.

That's right, Rockville is a Hamlet, the population of ponies living in it is too low to legally be classified as Village.

But as the most important pony in Rockville, Cloudy Quartz knows everything that's happening in Rockville.

From where her daughters are at all times, to when the train arrives at the station, to when the weather-ponies do their pegasus stuff with the clouds.

Point is, Cloudy Quartz knows everything about anything in Rockville, From the youngest foal to the oldest mare, from what allergies each pony has to which pony has a crush on who.

Cloudy Quartz knows everything about everything in Rockville, Everything except the newest inhabitant of the Hamlet, One Zephyr Breeze.

Most of the time when people move to Rockville, it's either because of the cheap land cost or, more commonly, to escape something.

Cloudy looked at the document about Zephyr Breeze she got from the Equestrian Population and Immigration Authority, or the PIA for short, and found some interesting facts about the young man.

A Younger of the element of Kindness, even if the gap is only one year in age. He was a classmate with Both the Element of Kindness but also the Element of Loyalty during his High-School days.

That's already a large flag to note, having connections to even one Element of Harmony could make someone a target for any manner of reasons, be they political or financial, but having a close connection with Two Element of Harmony? One of which being blood-related?

Cloudy Quartz knows how important the Element of Harmony are to the protection of Equestria, Her other job already told her enough about it, not even mentioning her own daughter being the Element of Laughter.

Looking at the rest of his file, She scoffed when she read that he dropped out of Mane Therapy school, understanding herself that Mane Therapy is nothing more than a fancy way to say Hair-dresser.

Moving on, After Dropping out of his college he lived for a few months in an apartment in Manehatten.
Only to according to all sources on the matter have an entire change in personality on the span of less than a week, shortly before winning the lottery and immediately after, he bought Flintstone Cabin, or the Old Cabin next to the farm as the other ponies in town like to call it.

The Point is that something happened to Zephyr Breeze during that week, something that caused him to leave everything behind him and move here to Rockville.

It doesn't help with the news of gangs getting busted and arrested keeps popping up.
It wouldn't be long before some of the ponies learn about Zephyr, About his connection to two of the most important national assets, and the large sum of money that he has.

That Stallion is either in danger, or is the Danger, hopefully he isn't both.

But none of that matters, being a mayor, sheriff, none of it matters right now.

Cloudy Quartz is going to visit the boy, not as a mayor or sheriff of Rockville, but as his neighbor who lives next door.

And if she manages to learn a thing or two to add to her list of things she knows about the stallion, then that just means she's lucky, doesn't it?

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

Chapter 4

No pony loves Dying, least of all Zephyr Breeze.

But sometimes things happen to you that you simply don't like happening.

One such a time when that happened was when Zephyr Breeze had to gather information about a corrupt politician so he could pass the information to a mob boss so he could get the key to a safe that another mob boss wanted.
All so the other mob boss could give him the address of an informant that knows something that Zephyr needs to know so he might have a clue on how to beat Discord.

Many of his loops were like that, using the information he learned in previous Restarts in order to bargain for new information to use in the next Restart. All to get any bit closer to finding a way to beat Discord.

Back to the corrupt politician information.
The way Zephyr managed to gain that information was simple, yet deadly.

You see, The politician in question was said to be disloyal to his wife, Zephyr thought that one of the safest ways to get the information he needed was to get the wife in on the deal, she tells him the information and the Politician doesn't know.

Usually, an Idea like that would work wonders if you had the time to build a connection of trust with the Politician or his wife, getting closer to the knowledge you needed slowly as time goes by.

Zephyr didn't have that time. Each loop was 14 days or 336 hours.
So Zephyr did the next best thing, something he had to learn quickly in order to get important or powerful ponies to speak with him and give him the time of day.

Zephyr seduced her.

And oh what a time she had. The mare spilled the beans on her husband, of course she would, he didn't love her like this suave and charming, mysterious Pegasus did.

If only Zephyr could return her feelings on the matter. Truth be told, she wasn't really his type nor did he find any romantic interest in her.

She was gorgeous, don't get him wrong, but what he did, Sleeping with a married mare? It was simply business for Zephyr now.

Never before the chaos spirit entered Zephyr's life did Zephyr Breeze feel like the star of a crime movie or a secret agent novel.

He hated it. Playing with the feelings of mares for just a scrap of information? Killing ponies just because a Don told him to, all to cement his "Loyalty to the Family"

He kept telling himself that it was all to save Equestria, that he was killing and sleeping with them so he could one day defeat Discord.

The Politician found out about his Wife sleeping with Zephyr and hired hit-men to kill him.

Zephyr died, obviously, he was only a single Pony and he hadn't spent enough loops training in any form of fighting yet.

But as he bled out on the ground, beaten and bruised, He knew he was fine, he got the info he needed, and so the next Reset would move him closer towards the answer of how to beat Discord.

He hated it.
He hated how he had to sleep with mares without loving them, how he had to kill ponies to prove his loyalty.

but worst of all.

He hated how good it made him feel.

And seeing the Pegasus's cold dead corpse in the alleyway, Discord couldn't help but frown in disappointment before snapping his talons and Resetting the time-loop.

After stocking his fridge with newly bought groceries, Zephyr decided to call it a day.
The sun was still outside, slowly setting, and the stars haven't appeared yet.
But Zephyr was tired, and maybe for the first time in who knows how long, he could sleep early.

No longer does he need to spend every single minute of his days plotting and planning his next move, going over what he knows and what he needs.

He can just go to sleep now.

As Zephyr started walking to his new Bedroom - *Knock Knock Knock* -He stopped all of his movements.

Some pony was at his door and he doesn't know who.

Did the Lao-Chen find out about the tips he left the police?

Did the Towns ponies not know he bought the house and are going to lynch him for entering this property?

Or worse of all.

Discord is on the other side of the door, a high definition camera and a filming crew on hand so as to film his expression when he throws a large barrel of Fuck Yous at him and tells him that the time-loop hasn't actually ended and he needs to restart once more.

Slowly inching towards the door, Zephyr slows his breathing to try and hear who is on the other side.

"-op glaring Limestone, we want to make a good impression on the new neighbor" An older Stallion is heard on the other side of the door.

"Dad, I really don't think it matte-" That was when Zephyr opened the door.

In front of him stood four Earth Ponies, A Stallion and three mares, presumably the older pair of ponies were the parents of the younger pair.

The Stallion and one of the younger mares, the older one of the pair if looks are anything to go by were talking to each other while the mother and other daughter each carried what looked to be a basket on their backs.

Seeing that it's only a group of four on the other side of the door, Zephyr relaxes, though luckily none of them seemed to notice him tense in the first place.

"How may I help you?" Zephyr asks as he catches the attention of the four, a small smile plastered on his face.

The Stallion looks him up and down before starting "Hello, I am Igneous Rock Pie, Head of the Pie Family Rock Farm down the road, And My Wife and I decided to come and say hello," He looks over to the older mare as he says so, before taking a look at the baskets she and the younger mare were carrying "And we even brought a house-warming gift"

Zephyr takes another look at the four before perking himself up.

While out of his mouth, he said "Oh Excuse me, Please come in, make yourself comfortable, I hope you like water as that is all I really have to offer you right now, but please, come in" as he moved aside from the door in order to make room for the family of four.

In his mind, he was thinking something along the lines of, "Oh Crap Oh Shit, I don't have anything to offer them, I can't make my first impression on my new neighbors look bad, I don't get any second chances now, I need this to be perfect, Was inviting them to come in the right choice? Oh crap Oh crap, Why did no pony tell me that making a good first impression on a farming family is tougher than that of a crime family"

"We thank you for the invitation and kindly accept your offer" Igneous Rock Pie says as he moves past Zephyr into the cabin, taking the hat off his head and placing it on the coat rack in the entrance as he does so.

"Thank you for the hospitality, I believe we should talk more once we're all inside" The mother of the family said before she looked behind her to the two younger mares, "Come on Marble, Limestone, we can do our introductions inside" She said before she too entered the cabin.

The younger of the two mares, one who seemed to be around Zephyr's age hummed something before she also walked into the house, but not before stopping next to zephyr and giving him a small bow, as if thanking him for letting them in.

Leaving only Zephyr and the last Mare outside, one who seemed to be older than Zephyr by maybe three or four years.

She glared at Zephyr as if he already did something to piss her off.

"I thought you were going to be old" was all she said before she walked past him and into the cabin, leaving Zephyr outside alone with a single thought bouncing in his head.

"What the fuck do I do now?"

Author's Note

Yep, Zephyr spent so much time with ponies who could teach him how to defeat Discord, that he didn't actually have a normal, casual conversation with a normal pony for a very long time.

Basically, He doesn't know how to greet new neighbors, remember, he's a college Dropout that spent who knows how long dying over and over again. That's not the best thing to happen to your social life if you ask me.

And Zephyr is younger than Fluttershy by about a year in this world, and Pinkie and Marble are twin sisters by age, at least it's hinted at on the wiki, so Zephyr, Pinkie and Marble are all the same age.

Chapter 5

Zephyr knows how to make a good first impression.

At least he thinks he does.

He had to make a good first impression to be able to ask questions of the many crime families of Neigh York.

From the drug dealers of the Lao-Chen to the hit-men of the Coffin Maker gang.

He knew what to say to get on their good side, he knew he had to play small, safe, non-threatening.

You show respect to the boss, You don't interrupt them when they're talking, you agree with everything that they say unless its a direct attack on your character.

Bosses love a Kiss-ass, but they also respect a pony who can stand up to himself and doesn't take their shit.

You let them push you around, but you never let them turn you into a mop. Show some backbone, they respect that.

All that is to say, Zephyr Breeze can make good impressions on Criminals.

And even then there are some he doesn't get involved with.

You do not confuse the Lao-Chen gang with the Chen-Lao.

The Chen-Lao are a whole different can of worms that Zephyr is glad he will never need to deal with ever again.

So, Zephyr can make a good impression on most of the Criminal groups of Neigh-York.

So what does he need to do to make a good impression on a farmer and his family, who he has just moved in next door as their new neighbor?

To that, Zephyr doesn't have a clear answer.

"Would you like some water? Oh, Please take a seat." Zephyr told the Pie family as he led them to the dust covered table between the kitchen and the living-room.

"I would graciously accept your offering of water" Igneous Rock said as he pat one of the chairs next to the table, wiping some the dust off.

"I too wouldn't mind a glass of water, if you so kindly offer" Cloudy also took a seat after clearing dust off the chair and placing the gift basket on the table.

The younger of the daughters, the one that carried the second gift basket also took a seat on the table and put the basket next to her on the floor.

Zephyr soon returned to the table with four glasses of water and a wet mop.
He gave each pony a glass of water before he quickly went over the table with the mop, trying to clean as much dust as he could.

"Hey, why did you give me a glass as well? I didn't ask for any." The older daughter said as she took the glass offered to her and held it close to her eye, as if trying to look for something sketchy in the cup.

"Well," Zephyr stopped for but a moment to think of an acceptable answer "I didn't want to make you feel left out" only to continue before anypony noticed his pause for thought.
Well, Almost Nopony.

Zephyr Breeze was weird.

Marbalese (Marble) Augustine Pie couldn't put her hoof on it but the young stallion was definitely hiding something.
Or at least trying to hide.

Maybe it was a almost unnoticed pauses he took to gather his thoughts, maybe it the abrupt switch in tone he used when opening the door for her family, He almost seemed like he was judging them, looking for weaknesses, like a wolf staring down an unsuspecting rabbit, before he plastered the obviously fake smile on his face and invited them inside.

Maybe another thing making him suspicious was that he chose to buy and move to Flintstone Cabin instead of any other property Rockville had for sale.

There was just something about him that made him feel dangerous.

He wasn't muscular, not at all, She would be surprised if he was able to do even a single lap around her farm.
But it wasn't his muscles, no, it was his eyes.

Those eyes of his, are definitely the eyes of someone who saw more then they would ever admit, Marble is sure of it, if any of her detective novels are anything to go by, Zephyr Breeze had a first hand experience with death and he survived.

And now he's out here in hiding, hoping the Grim Reaper won't snatch his soul.

Yes, that has to be it, Zephyr Breeze is a Dead Pony living on borrowed time, and he's hiding out in Rockville so death wouldn't catch up to him...

Yes... It's all coming together!

Zephyr Breeze was murdered soon after he won the lottery, but the killers never found the money he had won, and somehow his spirit managed to return to his body and ran away with the money!

But that also opens up the avenues for more questions.
Who killed Zephyr Breeze?
How is Zephyr Breeze still alive?
and most important of all,
Is he seeing anypony?

Because he's kind of her type but she doesn't want to look like she's desperate but she also kind of is because she's 21 and still lives with her parents and never really had many friends because she's too shy to start a conversation with anypony and that kind of ruined her prospects for romance and she was fine with it at the start but-

Cloudy Quartz furrowed her brow as she ticked another mental check-mark on a list she's been compiling on Zephyr since she first read about him.

Because now she can say for certain.

Zephyr Breeze has killed at least one pony in his life.

Ignorant to the thoughts going on in the heads of his wife and daughter, Igneous Rock Pie was pleasantly sipping the glass of water his new neighbor gave him.

When he first heard that a Neigh-York City Slicker was moving in next door, He had his concerns.
Of course he had concerns, he dreaded imagining the noise a city pony would make.

Even if most interactions he had with city-folk was when he was visiting his daughter Maud in Manehatten.
Hearing that his new neighbor was himself from Manehatten, Igneous had some fears.

Rockville was a quiet town, nothing much happens in it, everypony knows everyone, and nothing interesting happens.
That was how he loved his town.

Igneous grew up in Rockville, he was schooled in Rockville, he took over the farm in Rockville and he raised his daughters in Rockville.

The only important thing to happen to Igneous outside of Rockville was meeting his darling wife Cloudy Quartz, all the way back in the day when he was still doing deliveries by himself, before the train tracks passed by Rockville.

He met her in Canterlot, he was sure it had to be love at first sight.

But he's getting ahead of himself, Igneous was looking forward to meeting Zephyr Breeze, he was expecting a rude ruffian, trying to stir trouble for the sleepy folks of Rockville, but surprisingly he isn't.

He's an earnest young lad who knows his manners.

Definitely someone he wouldn't mind having as a neighbor, Indeed.

After talking with the Pie family for a few minutes, Zephyr escorted them out of the cabin.

"Thank you for inviting us in, Now if you'll excuse us all, we shall take our leave, I'm sure you have a lot of work ahead of you in regards to cleaning the house." He wasn't wrong.

Zephyr looked at the floor and walls of his new house, the place was grey with dust, it would take a few days to clean it all out.

"Oh? What's that?" Zephyr looked back to Igneous, seeing him now communicating with the younger daughter, the one who hasn't said anything since he met her.

Marble was her name, Zephyr tries to remind himself.

"I see. Very well." Igneous turned back to Zephyr, "I'm sorry if it seems like a bother, but would you mind if Marble here helped you with cleaning the house, She doesn't have much to do at home seeing as it's a slow season now. Would she be allowed to assist you?"

Zephyr paused for less than a split second before reorganizing his thought and stapling the fake smile he perfected over several loops.

"Sure, I would be happy to have somepony help me clean up the place" He answered with fake enthusiasm, earning a small smile and a nod from the girl.

He couldn't bring himself to turn down her request, he had a new image to maintain, one of the kind and friendly neighbor from Manehatten.

Even if all Zephyr actually wanted to do now was to go to sleep and not wake up for a month.

Author's Note

So, Maud is still getting her degree in Manehatten.
Pinkie is obviously in Ponyville.
And all the members of the Pie family have differing opinions and thoughts on Zephyr Breeze.

With the police and Guards of Neigh-York cracking down hard on crime, and the recent defeat of Discord by the elements of harmony, all coinciding with a random pony from Cloudsdale and Manehatten getting a sudden change of character and a life changing sum of money, how long will it take ponies to put the pieces together?

Chapter 6

Zephyr woke up to the sun shining through his blinds, hitting him in the face.

He rolled out of bed before taking a nice warm shower.

He made a simple breakfast of eggs and toast before he ate it with a cup of coffee.

He was safe.

He exited his apartment, locking the door behind him, before taking a short flight towards the local park.

He started jogging after he dropped out of college.
No flying, just his hooves on the ground, on the warm summer mornings.

The calm breeze hitting his face, making his long hair flow in the wind.

It was a perfect morning.

He was safe.

After finishing his jog, he stopped by a food stand and bought a bagel.

Just because he dropped out of school, doesn't mean he has no reason to stay in Manehatten anymore.

In fact, Zephyr wouldn't mind staying in Manehatten forever, The job opportunities were many, and the salaries were high.

Its where the biggest companies in Equestria reside, after all.

But lets not think about work for now.

He was safe.

Finishing his bagel and returning to his apartment, Zephyr looked at all the dirt on the floor.

He decided to start cleaning, it might not be time for spring cleaning, but keeping a clean house leads to a healthier mindset.

He learned that from a book about spirituality, meditation and Feng Shui.

So Zephyr took a broom and started brushing the floor.

It was calm, the repeated movement of his legs holding the broom, the subtle movement of his wings keeping him stable, the sound of the hairs of the broom brushing against his floor.

It was calming.

He was safe.

After brushing his entire house, he returned the broom to the closet as he took out a bucket and a mop.

And he started the process again.

It was surprisingly therapeutic, cleaning the place you live in, maybe the book was correct after all.

It wasn't until he finished cleaning with the mop did he notice a room he missed.

"I don't remember this room being here" Zephyr thought to himself as he approached the new door.

But it was probably another closet that he didn't notice previously, it's not like anything dangerous could be in there.
He's in the middle of Manehatten after all.

He was safe.

Leaning the mop against the wall, Zephyr freed up his hooves before he gently opened the door.

and was promptly buried by what was inside, as the contents of the room spilled out and buried Zephyr under a pile of foul smelling, soft and wet materials.

Putting a leg over his nose as he held his breath, Zephyr slowly crawled from under the pile.

When he finally emerged, he was stunned.

Gone was his small yet homely Manehatten apartment, gone was the entire city of Manehatten itself.

Gone was the ground the city was built on, and gone were the clouds in the sky and the sun above them.

Where should have been asphalt roads and concrete building, were now mountains of corpses.

All slightly different from one another, but all of the same pony.

Of the same turquoise coat and blonde mane, of the same turquoise wings and the same pink eyes.

He was staring at a world made entirely out of corpses.

The corpses of Zephyr Breeze.

He was not safe.

The cloudless, sunless, empty sky soon turned grey, but not cloud grey.

The kind of grey you see on animal fur.

He was not safe.

Soon a large yellow circle appeared in the sky, empty, flat, before a smaller red circle appeared inside of it.

The red circle started to move around inside the yellow, shooting a beam that seemed to scour the corpses like a searchlight.

He was not safe.

Zephyr couldn't move, he couldn't run away, soon the searchlight stopped on him, and disappeared.

The red circle disappeared soon after, followed by the yellow circle and the grey sky.

He was not safe.

Zephyr tried to move, but his legs wouldn't listen to him.

Soon a familiar voice sounded out from all around him.

"You thought you could escape?"

He felt something touch his legs, looking down, he saw the corpse he was standing on was looking straight at him, before it moved and grabbed his leg.

If Zephyr could have moved, he could have easily flown away, faster than the slow moving corpse.

But he couldn't.

"You thought you could just leave after all you've done?"

He knew he recognized that voice, but he wasn't sure from where.

Another corpse moved to hold his leg.

"You thought that this would end when you moved to Rockville?" the voice continued, Another body grasped on to Zephyr.

Slowly, more and more corpses moved to grab Zephyr, their weight slowly pulling him down into the see of bodies.

He was not safe.

"Just leave everything you did behind?"

He was not safe.

And as Zephyr's head was submerged under the sea of dead Zephyr's, he finally recognized who that voice belonged to.

"We really are pathetic, aren't we" The bodies around him all spoke simultaneously.

The voice was his own.

Zephyr woke up with a start, he was sweating profusely and his breathing was erratic.

"It's just a dream, It's just a dream, It's just a dream" Zephyr repeated to himself, trying to calm down.

Looking outside of the window, he saw it was still dark out, the sun hasn't risen yet.

Zephyr tried to return to sleep, but he couldn't.
So instead he spent an hour just lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

Soon he forgot what the dream was even about, but he still couldn't get back to sleep.

He knew he was safe.

Discord was defeated, he was out of the time loop, he wasn't going to die.

He was safe.

So why did he not feel safe?

Chapter 7

Fluttershy was afraid of many things.

She was afraid of lightning and she was afraid of ghosts.
She was scared of Hydras and she was scared bones.
She was scared of loud knockings on her door, and she was scared of tapping on her window at night.

But one thing she will never be afraid of is her family.

Her father, one of the gentlest ponies she knew, a Pegasus who works almost all the time just so the vacations he has with his family would mean all the more to her.

Her Mother, the kindest pony she knew, a Mare who would spend hours knitting little sweaters just so her potted plants would have something festive to wear for the holidays.

And finally, the outlier of her family.

Her Brother, the loud one of her family. Whenever her parents would talk quietly, he would grab hold of the conversation and change the topic entirely.

Sometimes he was annoying, acting like he could do whatever he wanted because he was the only one in the family who had something to say and had the, excuse her language for a bit, balls to say it.

He also never put any effort into what he was doing, or whenever he did put in the effort, he quit after a few weeks. Moving on from one thing to the other, simply drifting through life.

Like a breeze.

But even so, Zephyr Breeze was her brother, and she would always love him. Because that is what a big sister should do.

So when she got a letter from her parents saying that Zephyr hasn't sent them any mail, she was worried.

Very worried.

"Quit looking glum Fluttershy, I'm sure it's nothing." A blue Pegasus with rainbow-colored hair told her best friend as she watched her drink an entire strawberry milkshake in three gulps.

Sitting at a table in Sugarcube Corner, Fluttershy was drinking her worries away.

Turning to look at her friend, not bothering to wipe off the milkshake mustache on her lip, Fluttershy spoke.
"Rainbow Dash, this is Zephyr we're talking about, He always answers the mail. It's one of the only things he's known to do. If he suddenly stopped answering letters, he could be in trouble. he could be injured, or, or maybe he's injured and in trouble?!" The Yellow Pegasus shook her head around, worry plastered on her face "Ooh I knew him living in Manehatten all alone was a bad idea."

Sighing to herself, Rainbow Dash decided to offer Fluttershy an Idea she would never in a million years think of doing.

"What if," She started, catching the attention of the Yellow Pegasus, "we go to Manehatten and visit him?"

This suggestion, Rainbow will later learn to regret, as the suggestion of going to Manehatten spoken at Sugarcube Corner, has awakened a beast which none can control.

Pinkie Pie.

"Oh are we going to Manehatten, just the three of us? Like a little get-together? You know I have a sister who's studying in Manehatten right now, maybe we can visit her when we're there? Why do you want to go to Manehatten in the first place? Does the reason matter? I like your new Shampoo Dashie it smells really good. You have a little thing up here Fluttershy," The energetic pink pony moved her hoof to scoop up the frosting on Fluttershy's face before eating it in one big bite.

Yes, Rainbow dash was already regretting her decision.

Sitting on the porch outside of his Cabin, Zephyr blew into a cup of tea.

He couldn't get back to sleep the night prior so he spent it cleaning his house, After finishing he made tea out of warm water, honey and sugar.

He really needs to buy actual tea.

As he was sipping on his cup of false tea, he spotted a figure walking up the hill toward his house.

Slowly finishing his tea, Zephyr took a deep breath and stood up, leaving the cup on the porch as he did.
Walking down the hill to see whoever it was that was coming over, Zephyr was surprised to see Marble Pie.

He knew he agreed to let her help him clean his house, but they didn't actually agree on a time, and he also kind of already finished cleaning the house.

Making what was going to happen next kind of awkward.

"But that was normal," Zephyr told himself, "I was Awkward before the whole... thing, Me being awkward now means that I'm fine. right?" He didn't know why he said that as a question, who was he asking?

Of course, he was fine, Discord was defeated.
And he will continue to be fine.
He spent years making sure that Discord would no longer hurt any pony.
He succeeded, sure the method of success was a disappointment, but he succeeded nonetheless.

Everything should be fine.

So why does Zephyr not feel fine?

Zephyr doesn't know how he got into this situation.

Trying to explain to Marble that she doesn't need to help him somehow ended up with him being invited to eat dinner with the Pie family.

"I'll see you there," The mare whispered before going back home.

And as he watched her trot back to the Rock Farm, a single thought flashed through Zephyr's mind.

"Dealing with Criminals and Monks was way easier than this."

Followed shortly by, "I wonder what her family will make for dinner?"

Author's Note

Almost four months later, here we are.

Still zero down-votes on this story, I'm actually impressed.

See you in the next chapter three months from now :eeyup:

Chapter 8

Zephyr Breeze made sure his breathing left no noise, keeping his location hidden as he lay on the roof of his house, staring at the dead trees that surrounded his new place of residence.
Any one of those trees could be a hiding spot for a dangerous assassin, or even worse, Discord.

Many plans went through his mind as he thought about what to do with all the dead vegetation, reaching the conclusion that trying to start a garden is the most reasonable path to take in order to both get rid of the danger that surrounded him, but also keep his image as a totally normal, not at all peculiar, Regular Pegasus from the Big City.

And with a plan in mind, Zephyr Breeze flew down from his roof, making nary a sound as his hooves touched the ground, and walked inside, intent on making himself presentable for the dinner that Marble invited him to.

Fluttershy could not keep quiet, every bump of the train caused the timid Pegasus to mumble and mutter, her worries for her brother only growing by the minute.

"Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash told her, "You need to calm down, I'm sure he's simply busy, It's been what? Four weeks since his last update? That's nothing! I can spend months without sending a letter!" She tried to comfort her Best Friend, which only caused the Yellow Pegasus to start muttering her worries faster.

"Hey Girls, Once we reach Manehatten I'll take us to meet my sister, she's the best, I'm sure you'd like her! She could help us investigate what happened to Fluttershy's baby brother." The Pink Beast said as she lay on her stomach, her voice slightly vibrating from the movement of the train.

"Although, Leaving a young foal all alone in Neigh-York city is kind of a bad idea, even I can see that." Pinkie Pie added as an afterthought, "Why did you do that?"

Rainbow Dash looked at Pinkie Pie in surprise before she spoke, "Pinkie Pie, Zephyr isn't a baby,"

"He's not? Then why would Fluttershy call him one?" Pinkie asked as she rolled her body as to lay on her back, Her head slipping off the bench and almost touching the floor, "Fluttershy, It's rude to call Ponies, Babies."

Fluttershy only started muttering louder as Rainbow Dash massaged her head.

Knocking on the door of the farm, Zephyr Breeze made sure he was standing with his back straight as to show a good upbringing, but not too straight as to look like a stuck-up.
He lowered where his nose was pointed so he would look like he is staring up at whoever will be speaking with him, even though he is most likely taller.
He made sure his hair was tied back in a neat bun, leaving the rest of his hair to sweep to the right.
He put on a practiced smile, wide enough to be seen, but not wide enough to seem happy, a respectful smile.

And he waited for one of the Pie Family Members to open the door.

Knocking on the door of the apartment, Pinkie Pie was bouncing up and down, excited to introduce two of her friends to her sister.
Her smile was wide and energetic, showing off her pearly white teeth.
Her mane was messy and pink as usual, floofing up into her signature Afro.
Her friends kept a respectable distance behind her, close enough to be seen by whoever will open the door, but not close enough to seem imposing.

And they waited for the second oldest Pie Sister to open the door.

"Zephyr Breeze, Please do come in and make yourself comfortable," Igneous Rock Pie said calmly as he opened the door to the aquamarine Pegasus, inviting him into his home.

Zephyr nodded in greeting to the older Stallion as he walked into his home, "Thank you for letting me join you for dinner," He told him as he took a look around the entrance to the Pie farmhouse.

"Don't thank me, young colt, Marble is the one you should be thanking," Igneous told him as he walked him to the dinner table, pulling out a chair for him.

Zephyr nodded in thanks and took his seat, the old Earth Pony taking a spot across him.

"So," The Stallion started as he looked Zephyr Breeze in the eyes, "How was your first night in Rockville?"

Zephyr made himself comfortable on the creaky wooden chair he was given before he answered the stallion.

"It was fine," He lied, "I expected it to be hard to fall asleep in the new bed, but I slept soundly with no problems," Zephyr hid the cringe he felt as he lied to his new neighbor.

"That's good to hear," Igneous nodded, "Remember," He told Zephyr, "If you ever need help, for whatever reason, feel free to come and ask," He extended his leg and pat Zephyr on his shoulder, his face was neutral while his eyes were smiling.

And Zephyr had to actively hold himself back from throwing the hoof off his shoulder, pulling on his arm towards him from across the table, and grabbing the nearest butter knife with his wings to stab the old pony in the eye.

"Thank you," Zephyr smiled with his mouth as his eyes remained neutral.

As the door to the apartment opened up, Pinkie Pie spent no time in leaping onto the pony who opened it, hugging her sister tightly.

"Pinkie Pie," Maudileena Daisy Pie said in a dull tone as she let her little sister hang off her neck.

"Maud, I missed you so much! Did you miss me? Who am I kidding of course you did! Here, I want you to meet Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, they need help finding Fluttershy's missing baby brother, and you're going to help us, Thank you!" Pinkie quickly told her as she walked and introduced her sister to her friends before hopping into her apartment.

"Ooh, how spacious, I'll be taking the couch!" She yelled as she pulled a blanket out of her Afro, laying herself on her sister's couch and immediately falling asleep.

Leaving Maud Pie to blankly stare at her sleeping sister before turning her head to look at the two other guests that came with her.

"Come in," She told them in her naturally dull tone of speaking before turning her back to them and walking back into her apartment.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash spent a few seconds just staring at the open door, before looking at each other and then back at the apartment doorway.

And with a nod to their heads, the two Pegasi walked into Maud Pie's apartment.

Author's Note

Guys, I'm sorry. :raritycry:
I lied. :fluttercry:

It hasn't been three months yet... :( :facehoof:

Chapter 9

"We need a plan," Rainbow Dash started as she sat at Maud Pie's Kitchen Table, her chin resting in her hooves as she held her elbows on the table.

"We need to search Zephyr's apartment, it definitely needs to have some sort of clue," Rainbow Dash continued as she looked at the three other ponies in the room.
Or more accurately, at the two waking ponies and the Pinkie Pie sleeping on the couch.

"Do you know where his apartment is?" Maud asked the two Pegasus in her dull tone of voice.

"I do." Fluttershy answered meekly, "I helped him pick the place, It was close to his school so I figured it was a good place to stay in while getting his education,"

"So we know where to start, that's something," Rainbow Dash nodded at her best friend, "We'll check his apartment for any clues and go on from there,"

"Yes..." Fluttershy mumbled meekly as her mind wandered to what might be happening to her brother.

"Let's grab some Zs," Rainbow said after nobody added to the conversation, "You wouldn't happen to have a guest room, would you?" She asked Maud.

The second oldest Pie sibling nodded her head before motioning for the duo to follow her, passing by the snoring Pinkie Pie as she led the two Pegasus to the guest bedroom.

All the while, Fluttershy couldn't help but imagine how scared and frightened her baby brother might be.

"He must be horrified..."

Zephyr Breeze kept a warm smile on his face as he looked at the bowl placed in front of him.
The meal reminded him of one of his past attempts at defeating Discord.

He managed to track down a monastery of Monks training in a certain martial art used to disable magical creatures. The Idea he had was that if he learned the martial art, all he'd have to do is simply use it to disable Discord from using his Magic, and stop the end of the world.

Suffice to say, that plan ultimately failed, but that's not what the bowl placed in front of him is reminding him of.

It was during one of his attempts to learn the Martial Art, that he decided to gain access to a secret training manual hidden in an inner chamber of the monastery.
He didn't have the time to climb the ranks naturally, so instead he cheated his way in.

By seducing one of the disciples, Zephyr gained access to the inner portions of the monastery. It was there that his plan came to fruition.
By entering the inner monastery and slipping away from the disciple, Zephyr Breeze managed to find and read the manual he was looking for.

The Monks tied him to a bamboo pole and placed him under a freezing Waterfall, where he soon died.

But that is irrelevant.
What is relevant to this story, Zephyr noted, was that the Monks used rock salt in their food, sourced locally from the mountain they were living in.

The Bowl Zephyr was looking at could only be described as the Equestrian attempt of the idea.

It was a rock in a bowl of soup...

"Why aren't you eating anything?" A voice called out to him. Zephyr turned his eyes to look at the eldest daughter of the Pie family, glaring at him for not touching his food.

"I'm just looking at it, I never tried something like this before," Zephyr lied with a straight face, nary a twitch of a facial muscle to indicate he was lying.

As far as most of the Pie Family was concerned, Zephyr Breeze hadn't spoken a lie since he entered their house.

And Zephyr will make sure to keep it that way.

Cloudy Quartz swiped another imaginary checkmark off her list of suspicions as she kept the Pegasus Stallion in the corner of her eyes.

She did not look directly at him, lest she acquire his suspicion, but she also couldn't ignore him for the entire dinner, lest her family start asking questions.

So with a subtle flick of her ear, she sent a message to her daughter.

"Maybe start eating before the broth gets cold, Or are you implying that you're too good for rock soup?" Not that daughter, The Smart One.

"..." Marble Pie barely nodded her head to acknowledge that the message was received.

Marble Pie didn't understand what her mother was trying to tell her, always keeping their short talks cryptically, but with Zephyr Breeze introduced to the mix, Marble was starting to understand the depths of what her mother's job were.

So when Marble caught her mother's subtle tick, she knew she needed to figure out Zephyr Breeze before the end of the month.

Who killed him? How did he come back? Why hide his death and reanimation? Is he a ghost or a zombie? So many questions that Marble needed answered.

"Good on you for catching on dear," Cloudy Quartz imagined her saying to her daughter, "You'll figure out what this Zephyr boy's past in the criminal underworld is, and I'll give you a good word when I'm next in Canterlot,"

"You'll make S.M.I.L.E yet,"

Fluttershy tossed and turned as she tried to catch some sleep, but she couldn't relax.

Her mind kept going to Zephyr and how horrified he must be.

"Again, I want to thank you for inviting me to join you, I'll be sure to repay you someday," Zephyr said as he finished drinking his soup, leaving the large chunk of rock salt in the empty bowl.

"There is no need to repay us," Igneous Rock Pie told him with a calm smile, "Marble invited you, and any friend of Marble is a friend of ours,"

Zephyr smiled at the old Stallion, his eyes briefly looking past him to the window above the sink.

"If something were to attack, the quickest way out would be to roll backward off this chair and head to the door, However, that is where the ambush is stationed in most cases. This window is looking out to the back of the house, on the opposite side of the door, It will be less guarded... The Window isn't big enough to pass through without hitting the wall, so my flight will be temporarily compromised... Survival depends on how many assailants there are and how skilled they-"

"Are you even listening to us?!" Limestone Pie raised her voice as she glared at Zephyr Breeze.

Zephyr blinked at being called out suddenly "It seems I spaced out," He thought to himself.

"I'm sorry," Zephyr told the family as they looked between Limestone and him "I was affixed by the small cactus next to the windowsill, I must ask, where did you buy it?"

Igneous turned his head to look at the small potted cactus placed on the windowsill, "That? I can show you two days from now if you're free," The Earth Pony smiled at the young Pegasus, glad to see him not match any City Boy stereotypes.

"I'll be happy to," Zephyr smiled.

And Zephyr hated it.

Author's Note

It's been a bit over four months so here's your update.

See you all again in another four months :)

Chapter 10

It was in the middle of the night when the Yellow Pegasus opened her eyes and quietly left her bed, trying her hardest not to wake her best friend up.

Fluttershy couldn't sleep, It wasn't rare for the timid mare to spend sleepless nights shivering under her blankets, Even after years of living right beside the Everfree Forest she couldn't help but find the tapping of the branches swaying in the wind frightening on dark and stormy nights.

But the night wasn't stormy, nor was it dark.

Quietly making her way down the small hallway of the apartment, Fluttershy's eyes widened at the glass door to the balcony in the living room, the view of Manehatten outside seemed almost Alien to the Element of Kindness.

Fluttershy looked to the couch, Seeing Pinkie Pie covered in a Blanket as she quietly snored away, fast asleep.

Slowly making her way to the balcony, Fluttershy opened the door and took a few steps outside, the sudden gust of wind whipping her mane into her face before she moved it out of the way.
The site that greeted her was beautiful.

Like ten-thousand fireflies, the city below her lit up with magic, street lamps illuminating the road for carriages, 24/7 stores with their lights on swinging their doors open as mares and stallions of all walks of life went about.

"It really is a city that never sleeps," She whispered to herself as she took her first real look at the Concrete Jungle.

But even the lights and glamour of the city couldn't calm her, as her mind kept returning to the reason she came to the city in the first place.

"Heya Fluttershy!"

At the sudden voice coming from behind her, Fluttershy eeped loudly as she jumped in fright, doing a 180 turn in midair and tripping over the metal table set outside, eyes widening as she tumbled onto the balcony floor.

"Oops, Sorry Fluttershy, Didn't mean ta spook ya," The mare who snuck up on her apologized sheepishly, not bothering to lower her volume as she grabbed hold of her friend and pulled her back onto her hooves.

"Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy whispered as she nodded in thanks to the Mare for helping her up, "I didn't wake you up did I? Ooh I'm so-" Fluttershy was ready to start apologizing before the Pink Earth Pony cut her off.

"Nah, I always wake up in the middle of the night for a drink," Pinkie explained before she held up a glass of water, "What about you?" Her voice lowered to a slower and gentler tone, "Are you okay?"

Fluttershy blinked as those words met her ears, sniffling lightly as the events of the past 24 hours finally caught up to her in full.

"No..." Fluttershy whispered as she turned away from her friend and rested her head on the Balcony railing, watching the ponies below her walk about like ants, "I don't think I am..." Her breath hitched as her mind once again wondered what could have happened to her brother.

Pinkie Pie's always-present smile flattened itself by a few degrees as the Pink mare placed her cup of water on the table, picking up the chair that Fluttershy tripped over before silently heading back into Maud's apartment, soon returning with a mug of hot cocoa.

"Here," Pinkie said gently as she placed the Mug on the table before sitting down on it, taking a sip of her water as she watched her Fellow Pink-Maned pony sit down in front of her, resting the side of her head on the cool metal table.

"Fluttershy..." Pinkie Pie sighed as she reached over the table and rubbed her friend's shoulder.
"Your brother... Do you want to talk about him?"

It was with that question, that innocent, simple question, that the floodgates opened.

"Zephyr Breeze is my brother-" Fluttershy whispered coarsely as tears rolled down her face, "He's the best little brother any sister could ever ask for, He-" Fluttershy's voice hitched for a moment as she hiccuped, "His favorite color is Yellow and his favorite food is Mom's Cloudsdale Pie, He's only a Year Younger than me, But he's almost twice as tall!" Fluttershy's voice cracked as she imagined the tall turquoise Pegasus that was her brother, who loved to annoy her by putting the snacks on the highest cupboard.

"Sounds like you-" Pinkie Pie wanted to say something but she was cut off as Fluttershy continued speaking.

"He's not the fastest flyer, but he can control his flight as expertly as a swallow! He- He Knows how to play the acoustic guitar, and he makes the best-roasted marshmallows this side of Equestria! His special talent is to never be stressed, That's why his mane is as healthy as it is! He always helps me when we go shopping for Mom, He manages to get the other ponies to help him all the time! He always writes letters to home about how he's doing and what's going on with him- and- and he never misses a letter!" Fluttershy cried into the steel table of the balcony, her tears dripping through the table and onto the balcony floor.

"BUT!" Fluttershy hiccuped as she wiped some tears from her eyes, "But he hasn't sent a letter in weeks, and I don't know what I'll do if something happens to him! The- There are rumors of the Guards cracking down on crime in the city... What if he got caught up in something horrible!? He could be hurt! HE COULD BE DE-WAAAAGHHH!!!!" Fluttershy cried loudly, causing Pinkie Pie to stand up and walk around the table to hug her.

Pinkie Pie wanted to do more, but sometimes all she could give was a hug.

"Don't worry Fluttershy," A third voice joined the group on the balcony as Rainbow Dash joined the hug, "We'll find Zephyr, You know that," The Rainbow Maned Pegasus said as she rubbed her best friend's back.

"But- But what if-" Fluttershy tearfully whispered, only for Pinkie Pie to interrupt her this time.

"No Butts Fluttershy! We don't have time for your jokes!" She said loudly as she pulled at Fluttershy's cheeks, turning her head to look at her, "We need to find your brother, you two can talk about Butts later!" Pinkie giggled before she rejoined the group hug, making sure to be fuzzier than ever before.

"Pinkie..." Fluttershy whispered as her Pink friend rubbed herself against her, her warm fur soaking up her tears like a fluffy pink sponge.

"Pinkie Pie's right Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash added as she put herself cheek to cheek with her Best Friend, turning her to once again look off the balcony at the midnight lights of Manehatten, "Zephyr Breeze is somewhere out there, and he stopped writing letters, tomorrow we're going to find him and ask him why, and only then are we allowed to talk about Pinkie Pie's butt!"

"Yeah!" Pinkie cheered as she joined the two Pegasus by placing her cheek on the other side of Fluttershy's face as all three ponies stared off into the midnight city. Sandwiching the Element of Kindness between a pair of cheeks.

Fluttershy sniffed as Pinkie Pie quickly raised her leg to wipe her tears and snot for her, "Thanks you girls," Fluttershy hiccuped as Rainbow Dash grabbed the Mug of Cocoa Pinkie left on the table and passed it over to Fluttershy to take a sip.

It was cold...

Fluttershy smiled as she took another sip of the cold Cocoa.

She didn't care about the drink, She had her two best friends with her, Keeping her warm and fuzzy, and they'd find her brother, she knew it.

Zephyr Breeze was going to be Okay.
Fluttershy was going to make sure of it.
It was her duty as Big Sister after all.

"Now that we talked about Fluttershy's Brother, Do you want to hear about my Twin sister?" Pinkie Pie asked the moment Fluttershy stopped sipping from the mug, not allowing even a second of silence to pass between the three friends.

"YOU HAVE A TWIN?!"

Bolting upright in the middle of the Night, Zephyr Breeze quickly rolled out of bed, his wings tucking themselves in so as to not hit his bedside table on the way down.

Landing on all fours, his body close to the floor as he held his breath, Zephyr counted to twenty, feeling his heart rate slowly but surely calm down.

"Oh? Is someone having a Nightmare?" Zephyr grimaced as the voice that never left him returned, knowing full well that it was just a figment of his imagination.

Zephyr didn't bother answering the voice as he stood up and entered his kitchen, opening a cupboard and pulling out a jar of herbs he made sure to buy.

"You know, If that remedy actually worked, You wouldn't be hearing me right now, would you?" Zephyr Ignored the voice as he silently moved through the dark kitchen, grabbing a small mortar and pestle before throwing a clump of herbs into it.

"Really, Are you just going to ignore me? After all we've been through? Come on, Don't be like that, We're like best friends by now, aren't we?" Zephyr mashed the herbs in the mortar calmly, not rising to his own mind's attempt at breaking him, waiting for the herbs to become a strong-smelling grey paste.

"Wasn't it fun? Didn't you enjoy it?" Zephyr shook his head to clear his thoughts as he moved away from the mortar and grabbed a pot of water, turning on the stove to start boiling as he grabbed some spices from his cupboards.

"You try and kill me, I laugh in your face, You fail once again, I turn your veins into gummy worms, You die, I snap my fingers, and we do it all from the beginning, Wasn't that fun?"

Once the water was boiling, Zephyr added the spices he picked up into the pot before pouring in the Paste he made.

"..." The voice didn't say anything, but it was there, breathing quietly in the background, waiting for a chance to pounce at the Pegasus's poor psyche.

Zephyr mixed the pot of boiling water in the darkness of the night, not bothering to turn on the lights and attract suspicion from any neighbor who might be awake.

"You know..." The voice added quietly, barely more than a whisper as Zephyr grabbed a ladle and poured the water in the pot into a smaller pot, now a green herbal remedy with a strong smell of spices and herbs, before putting it in his fridge for later.

"You can always retry again," It whispered in his ears as Zephyr Froze, his body shivering in disgust at his mind's sick attempt to even bring the idea up.
"You know the rules, All you have to do is-" The voice cut off as Zephyr took a sip from the soup ladle, the spicy green potion burning his throat on the way down.

Zephyr let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding as he felt his body relax as his mind cleared itself. Almost as if his mind was a rusty cast iron, and the potion he drank was hot and soapy vinegar that cleared away the specks of rust, leaving behind the metal underneath.

Silently dropping the ladle and the now empty pot into his sink, Zephyr lay down on the cold wooden floor of his house, the old and dusty cabin on top of a hill at the edge of a small town in the middle of nowhere.

Thinking for a moment at the words the voice wanted to say, Zephyr let out a silent chuckle at what his broken brain tried to tell him.

Zephyr Breeze was Pathetic. He was a waste of Space whose Special Talent was Giving Up.

But even he found the idea hilarious.

"Nice Try Discord," The turquoise Pegasus chuckled to himself on the floor of the kitchen as he closed his eyes, "But I Win..." He let out a breath as he tiredly opened his eyes and stood up, his legs shaking in exhaustion as he made a note of all the new herbs and spices he needed to acquire.

Zephyr Breeze was Pathetic, but even he wasn't Pathetic Enough to commit su-

Zephyr Shook his head, clearing the thought from his mind. It wasn't even worth thinking about, just like that Demon, not worthy of a second of thought.

Zephyr Breeze Won.

So why did he still feel like a loser?

Author's Note

Don't worry guys, Zeph isn't going to go place a bed in the Nether, this was just his mind playing tricks on him.

Fluttershy and the Girls are supporting each other as Fluttershy finally lets her emotions out after that stressful day. :pinkiesad2: :fluttercry:

"Please be quieter, I am trying to sleep" Maud Pie must be furious at all the noise that's going on in her living room Balcony! :rainbowderp:

Also, I know it hasn't been four months yet, So this chapter is coming out a week early!

YAY!!! :yay:

See you all again in 4 months :)

Chapter 11

"Okay, Let's go check Zephyr's apartment for clues!" Rainbow Dash said as she stood on her back legs, her wings holding her up as she used her front legs to point at the door of Maud Pie's apartment.

"Yay! Detective time!" Pinkie Pie joined her friend in pointing dramatically at the door to her sister's apartment, "Come on Fluttershy, point with us!"

"Oh, umm, maybe later..." Fluttershy said with a meek smile, her eyes briefly looking at Pinkie Pie's sister, watching the Mare drink her morning cup of coffee.

"Don't forget your wallet," Maud Pie said blankly as her eyes turned to look at her sister.

"Oh! Thanks, Maudie!" Pinkie Pie smiled as she shoved her hoof into her mane, moving it around for a moment before she pulled out a small wallet, "Yep, still here. Thanks for reminding me,"

"Sure," Maud took a sip of her coffee as she watched her sister and her two friends leave her apartment, closing the door behind them as they loudly talked about which building they needed to get to.

"...They'll be back in the evening," Maud told herself before finishing her coffee and returning to her research papers.

That degree won't make itself.

Zephyr kept his face neutral as he noted mentally all the little things he needed to get for his new house.

"The herbs should be available in the Zebrican market," He noted in his mind as he closed the cupboard in his kitchen, his eyes moving to stare at the wall beside his window, "The Diamond Dog Triade should have some quality gear, I could easily get away with keeping a crossbow by pointing out the danger of living in the edge of Equestria..."

He walked out the back door of his cabin and leaned down to look below the wooden planks that made up the deck behind his cabin, his face briefly scrunching in discomfort before he wiped the emotion from his body, staring at the insect underneath his house.

"Getting an Exterminator means bringing someone from the outside over here, It'll be safer to make my own bug-repellent, The Kirin Yakuza over in Las Pegasus should have the ingredients I need," he noted to himself.

"I'll need to grab all these ingredients in a single trip, but passing through both Neigh York and Las Pegasus would take more than a day," He frowned at the idea before resigning himself to staying the night at a hotel, The less he has to leave his new cabin, the faster he can get to living the stress-free life he needed right now.

Because of course, he needed to live stress-free, he would have lost all his hair long ago if it wasn't for all the Time Resetting that he's been going through.

Zephyr Breeze opened his eyes and rolled out of his bed, He didn't wait as he flapped his wings and flew into his kitchen, a flick of his wing dropped two slices of bread into his leg and a weak kick tossed them directly into his toaster.

Without touching the floor he flew into the bathroom, his legs opening the medicine cabinet and taking out a box of dental floss, kicking the bathroom wall pushed him out of the bathroom and back into the kitchen, turning his body in midair, Zephyr caught the two slices of toast that jumped out of the toaster in his mouth, his hooves still not touching the floor as he gently let his wings carry him out of his apartment window and turn into his neighbor's balcony, they were still asleep.

Zephyr already knew that, so he grabbed the coat hanging from the clothesline and draped it over his body, turning his wings in as he let gravity take hold of his body for the first time since he woke up five minutes ago, the force of nature putting on the coat for him as he pulled his legs close to his body before spreading his wings back open, silently turning mid-fall back into a controlled flight, entering through the open window of a deaf Stallion in the apartment building below him, grabbing the hat and wallet left on the table before the Earth Pony could return to find his money and hat both missing.

Zephyr didn't wait to place the unassuming grey fedora over his head, with the coat also over his body he now looked like your average business pony.
He took the bits from the wallet and dropped them into his coat pockets, dropping the wallet into a trashcan behind him as he did one last turn midair and let his hooves finally touch the solid ground.

"Seven Minutes and Fifteen Seconds," He ignored the whistle of appreciation from the chimera only he could hear or see, "That's a new record Zephy-boo, You really got this part of waking up down, left right left right,"

Zephyr didn't listen to Discord, he was simply annoying him now, he had more important things to focus on.

Like trying to stop the end of the world.

Zephyr blinked as he found himself back in his cabin, his hoof resting against his cheek as he slapped himself to bring himself back to attention.

"Did I really live that same morning so many times I'm starting to daydream about it?" He mouthed the question silently to himself before deciding it was not worth it to think about it any longer.

He had some things he needed to pick up, he could worry about daydreaming of the time he had his skin turned into pasta and his flesh into meatballs some other time, that wasn't even that memorable of a death.

Even if the street cats started eating him while he was still semi-conscious.

Zephyr scowled as he once again slapped himself, "I really need to get those herbs,"

Walking back into his cabin, he grabbed a small bag and filled it with what he would need for his two-day long trip away from his house, before leaving through the front-door and coming chest to face with his much shorter neighbor.

"Oh, Marble Pie, I didn't expect to see you this early," He smiled at his neighbor, the quiet mare smiling at him, her legs fidgeting as if she was nervous about asking something, "I'd love to stay and chat a while, But I need to hurry for the train, I'll see you tomorrow," His smile turned apologetic as he locked the door behind him and stepped around the Earth Pony.

Marble turned her head to follow the Pegasus, her mind telling her she needed to be careful with the Pegasus-shaped ghost, but Marble knew she only had a limited time to figure out the living murder-mystery in front of her eyes.

And luckily for her, he was very pleasing to the eyes. Or at least her eyes in particular, Marble always liked tall stallions, not that she ever talked to any, but in the books she read all the tall stallions had-

Zephyr Breeze smiled gently as he sat on his train seat, his eyes staring past the Mare sitting in front of him.

Marble Pie stared at the blank eyes of a ghost, her mind lost in thought at ideas of what could have killed this Pegasus.

Zephyr Breeze and Marble Pie were on a train to Las Pegasus, And they won't be back in Rockville for at least 24 hours.

"So this is the place?" Rainbow Dash turned to look at her best friend, watching Fluttershy nod to indicate that they had indeed reached the correct building.

"Ooh, This building has a lot of floors, which one does your baby brother live on Fluttershy? If he lives on the top floor, would the ponies below look like ants? I always wanted to see the ponies below me like ants, because that meant I was big and tall, I was always shorter than my sisters, except Marble, she's not actually shorter than me, but her head is usually closer to the ground because she hunched over all shyly and such, like you kind of, she's technically also taller than me but she looks shorter and-" Rainbow Dash tuned out Pinkie Pie as she pushed open the doors to the apartment building and walked up to the-

"Elevator is out of service," Fluttershy read the sign in front of her, turning to look at the stairwell beside the elevator.

"Okay... Which floor is Zephyr's apartment again?" Rainbow turned to Fluttershy.

"Seventh floor," The Yellow Pegasus kindly told her friends, taking a deep breath to steady herself before she took her first step up the long flight leading to her brother's apartment.

"Don't worry Zephyr, I'm coming,"

Author's Note

Marble and Zephyr are leaving Rockville for a short while to pick up totally not illegal medicinal herbs and a crossbow.

Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash are starting in earnest their search for Zephyr.

A little look into Zephyr's time in the Loop, he managed to perfect his morning routine on the first day to save as much time as possible. He only has 2 weeks to defeat Discord, every minute counts.

See you again in 4 months :)