ZephyrBurst

"You'll what? Roll onto your back?" 'She is so lucky that Max stepped in. She's got a lot of nerve saying something like that.' Despite the unwanted taunts from Silver, Zephyr was calming down. He knew he had to if he wasn't going to upset Max. Surprisingly, Max only commended the two of them instead of reprimanding them for their actions, which was quite a relief as Zephyr didn't care to listen to Max go on about how Zephyr needed to be more blah blah blah. He was sure Max would come up with something and make it condescending. But no, instead Max had the two battling ponies follow him to the town saloon. Zephyr remained quiet during the walk over, never looking at Silver, and only glancing at Max periodically. When the three of them arrived inside, Zephyr took notice to all the eyes on them. It made him nervous to know they were all watching him. He knew they were mostly staring at Max, but the idea of all those eyes possibly staring him down was still a bit nerve wreaking. When they sat and Max gave a nod, the eyes had all averted. It was almost as if Max had them all under a mind control spell, if such a thing existed. At least all that was over though. Zephyr thought back a moment on what Max mentioned. He said 'bed' and Zephyr really wanted one. To be more accurate, Zephyr just wanted to sleep, as he was tired. Especially after having that fight. Where he slept didn't matter, he had grown accustomed to being able to sleep just about anywhere. Max ordered yet, another drink, and from the looks of it, he was waiting for the two of them to make an order. Zephyr gave an answer. "I don't want anything to drink. But you mentioned a bed. I'd like to rest now." Zephyr looked upon Max with hopeful eyes. Sleep would be great and would get him away from these two for a bit.

It was perfect, Zephyr was about to trounce this mare into submission. However, all that was ruined when the mare suddenly got up and galloped ahead and one of Zephyr's hindlegs suddenly came with Silver for a brief moment. It was enough to send Zephyr falling to the ground on his back. He groaned as he hit the dirt beneath him and he looked ahead. There was Silver, slowly backing away with a sly grin, then suddenly, she sat back on her rump. Zephyr tried to figure in his head what had happened. The mare was not a unicorn, so she couldn't have done anything with magic. Zephyr rolled onto his front side and stood up to face the mare, who was a few paces away. She did something... what was it? He pondered a moment and saw the end of her tail flicking side to side slowly. It suddenly hit him... 'Clever girl.' It was an impressive little stunt, but Zephyr was too angry to admire it. His fur stood up and he took a step forward. How dare she sit casually like that during a fight. He snarled a threat toward her. "You're going to regret doing that. I'll make sure you..." Zephyr was suddenly cut off by Max, who had stepped in to stop the fight. Just in time too, for Zephyr was about to charge at the mare and start a real tussle. Zephyr calmed himself as much as he could and waited for Max to continue. He just looked to Max, there was no point in keeping his attention on the mare any longer. She wasn't the type to pull any cheap shots.

Zephyr was quite enjoying himself at this point. He could see the mare's embarrassment. This wasn't a sparing match anymore, the two of them seemed to actually be fighting at this point, and Zephyr didn't mind. It meant he strike her and get away with it since, to Max, it was probably still seen as practice. Zephyr was pretty sure Max knew nothing about fighting and if anything, he could simply excuse his behavior and say that both ponies are going to get at least a little roughed up in any sparing match. The mare had stopped fidgeting about. Zephyr was pretty sure she was concocting some plan to get away, but he'd be sure to stop it. Though he struck the ground and taunted her a little, he thought about striking her at least once in this pose. How satisfying that would be. However, the mare suddenly bit his leg hard and Zephyr yelped out in pain as he reared up, away from her muzzle of teeth. Zephyr would be sure she regretted that as he aimed to bring his forehooves to her backside on his way back down. She'd never pull that again after this. She bit hard too, leaving a mark on his leg. Yes, for that, he'd be sure that she left this fight with a bruise and some pain. Just as soon as he stomped back down. (( OOC: Sorry about the short post. Ball is in your court with this one now. ))

Zephyr had an idea that 'should' catch her off guard. "Then I won't give you that opportunity, and you better tuck those frilly little wings of yours in." As he neared the end of his short phrase, he wriggled his right forehoof out from her pin. It was just what he needed. Quickly, Zephyr brought his free hoof to Silver's head, possibly knocking her a bit senseless for a brief moment, but that was not his goal. He wrapped his hoof around her neck and pulled down as he, yet again, rolled to the side and forced her down. This time he had her on her belly. With his hindlegs now free, he lifted his weight momentarily and brought his hindlegs down on Silver's upper back and held her down, and did this in one graceful motion during his act of rolling her onto her belly. From here, he had Silver pinned down and his forelegs free. Zephyr nearly smashed his forehooves down on Silver's head, as it was the action he was so used to doing when he managed to pin in this position. He stopped himself and instead slammed his right forehoof right next to her face. Zephyr kept his weight on her and lowered his muzzle closer to her ear. "That could have been you... Are you holding back?" He was curious if she would try to break out of this, he was heavier than her, and had a good balance from this position. Maybe she would instead want to try again. He was pretty sure the mare was holding back. Zephyr had little respect for guards and knights, but he was sure they were better than this. She displayed that she could defend herself and showed some nifty techniques, but overall, Zephyr was not impressed.

Zephyr knew Silver didn't like that as she quickly pushed him off of her. A mental note was made for later reference. If this weren't practice, Zephyr would have rolled onto his hooves the moment he was able to, but he stayed on his back with a grin. Since Silver was a knight, he ranked her with the Royal Guard, and striking her in any way simply felt good. Showing any authority pony that they weren't above everypony always felt right. The knight didn't waste any time and pinned him down as she snarled. His hooves her pressed down and he immediately thought to headbutt her to stagger her, but she pressed her head to his. It was rather impressive to see she had thought it all through. Apparently she had been in a situation like this before. There were a few ways Zephyr thought might work to break out, he could possibly push her off, or roll to the side again with as much strength as he could muster. Instead he waited to see what the mare would do, as he was curious, though nervous since he was once again pinned down. "Now that you've got me pinned down, what are you going to do? Your hooves are being used and if you let up at all, I'll strike." He grinned, and thought about his words. It wasn't long though, for some reason, he felt bad. Given the chance, he figured he'd probably not strike her again... too hard. Maybe he was being a bit rough, it was just a sparing match. Whether he'd strike her or not, he wanted to see what her next move would be, so he waited and didn't squirm too much. "What now?" He did think of another way to distract her, but no... that was simply out of the question, even if this was a real fight.

This is what I was thinking. It's a bit too early to start losing faith in the series. I didn't start watching this series because I figured every episode would be like "Suited for Success" or "Party of One", most of the time, it's enjoyable because it's just fun to watch.That said, I would put this at the bottom of the show's episodes where "Owl's Well That Ends Well" is.

Silversword was finally into the action and even though Zephyr was supposed to be on the defensive, as Silver zipped past him, he tried to strike her. She was too fast for Zephyr to hit from his stance and her sudden quickened speed around him gave him a surprise. During their earlier tussle, Silver didn't do much in the way of retaliation and he was beginning to wonder if Silver was actually going to go through with this. Honor or not, surely she wanted to get him back for what she considered a cheap shot earlier. At least Zephyr saw it that way. Those worried thoughts were put to rest when the situation changed and Silver was on his back. The added weight nearly brought him to his stomach, but his sturdy build and stance kept him from being toppled over. Having some pony on his back like this left uncomfortable thoughts and vulnerabilities. Even though this was practice, he couldn't help but feel threatened by the act, and he immediately attempted to buck her off. It failed and the mare stayed on. It took a lot of energy to do that with a large weighted pony on his back and he still felt threatened. Zephyr had trouble trusting others, especially those which he held in low regard and respect for. He wanted the mare off his back and he shifted his weight to one side quickly and with a lot of force. The end result having Silver racing toward the ground and with Zephyr rolling on top of her, though he was belly side up. He didn't hear what she said to him when she ran by, and it didn't concern Zephyr.

I can't sympathize as you said you got huffy, which to me, says you probably said things you weren't supposed to. And someone's understanding of the rules can often be skewed from what they actually mean. It sucks what happened, but it makes sense they would replace a missing mod, specifically if you didn't get back with them at all about how long you would be out. I think a bit more understanding would have made the situation go a lot more smoothly. At least you're honest about it.

This thingy at the top is shown off to the side. http://gyazo.com/666ccc22aa963452085debbca6494693 I'm using Windows XP and Firefox (latest version)

I liked it except for the actual race segment at the end. But it's not a bad episode though. I was getting a "127 Hours" vibe from Rainbow's wing being stuck under the rock. I highly doubt it. Most of these were well into the conception stage before that anyway.

Holly gave Zephyr a puzzling look as if she was confused. He leaned away a little with his ears flopping back and wondered what he said that would spark such a look from her. Her answer solved it however and Zephyr sat silently listening to the mare talk about plants and the exchange between them and ponies. It was actually kind of interesting. His muscles seized up at the poke she gave on his side as he wasn't expecting it. The situation was a bit stressful when Zephyr really thought about it all. He wasn't expecting this pony to like him at all. But she did seem okay with it all now. Zephyr tried to think of what to say as she finished talking. He glanced over to her. "Yes..." He nodded slightly. "Anything happy is better I think." He realized that he admitted somewhat to being a criminal in the past, this wouldn't do. Even though it was subtle, Zephyr couldn't have just anypony knowing anything about his past. She probably thought he was just bluffing, but he had to make sure. He spoke somewhat nervously. "About all that stuff I said about being a bad and... those other bad things I said. I was just um... I just wanted to try scaring you off. It's not true what I said about being a bad pony." Lying wasn't something he liked to do, but if it kept this pony from knowing anything, even slightly, about his past, it would just have to go that way. Now he had to trying changing the subject and quickly went to a new topic. "So you live out here?"

Zephyr stayed in his defensive stance as Silversword approached him, ready for any cheap shots she may have. She did no such thing and Zephyr listened intently, though he still wasn't convinced and observed her carefully. He had struck her twice already and wasn't sure how much of a grudge she had for that or the sand in the face. The mare had surprised him with her words and even agreed they should not be Max' profit gains. Even more surprising was the way she handled the crowd and her words to Max. It gave him a newfound respect for her and he felt that maybe his hate for her was mistaken and misguided. She had a way with words that Zephyr found would be impossible for him to articulate properly. Zephyr's method for making the crowd go away would have just been to yell at them, telling them to go away, and threaten them that they would be next. He definitely wouldn't mind hitting a few more things. Luckily the crowd mostly dispersed after they had their bits returned to them and Silversword was ready to start right away. "I'm always ready!" Zephyr hadn't even finished his response to Silver before she leapt toward him. He quickly returned to his defensive stance, keeping an even weight adjustment among all his legs, and his wings snapped to his sides. Hopefully the knight wouldn't hold back.

Zephyr nodded at Silver's comment. "I'll do it all." Zephyr got ready for the mare's attacks when suddenly, he too noticed the crowd and comments coming toward them. He watched and heard Max take bets on the two of them. How dare he use them as some silly show ponies. Zephyr was here to do work, not perform for some bored townsfolk. His fight was with the mare and was nopony else's business. Zephyr's attention snapped back to Silver as he caught her move out of the corner of his eye and he got back into a defensive stance, ready to block her attacks, but she was simply approaching Max. He waited and watched. Zephyr gritted his teeth when he heard what Max had said. He was too upset to notice the wink and turned his attention quickly to Silver. There's no way Max could actually be proposing this. He hadn't done anything wrong and opting to replace either of them in this seemed silly. He heard Silver's offer to him. Zephyr wanted that key, but when he thought about it, there was no way Max could actually be considering letting Zephyr be on this project without it. He didn't want to go back to jail either. However, he wasn't about to be some showpony for him. He narrowed his eyes on Silver. "I want that key, but I will NOT be some show here! We practice just like you said. Don't hold back, I'm a tough pony, just hit me with everything you have." Zephyr lowered his center of gravity and got ready for the mare to strike. If they didn't fight, neither of them could win or lose. He hated the mare, but Zephyr had a lot to lose by being tossed out of this project. He suspected the mare might as well. If it was just as serious as his dilemma, then he understood what she must be feeling right now. Though for some reason she seemed oddly calmer than she should be if that were the case.

"Un...couth? Is that even a word?" Zephyr's expression twisted to show confusion. 'What does that even mean?' He didn't have much time to ponder it, as Silver charged. She was fighting back, but not in the way Zephyr wanted her to. He was ready for her charge by the time she reached him and he dug his hooves into the ground. As she reached, he bumped her back, but she was still able to knock him back a bit, she was stronger than he thought. 'This silly mare won't fight me properly. I guess maybe I should be the one to give in and spare with her how she wants.' She simply wasn't doing what Zephyr wanted her to do. Zephyr could brawl with somepony anyday, and while he enjoyed the fact that he was able to hit the knight a few times, he didn't get a chance like this to learn any new techniques from what he thought would be a professional. Zephyr stepped back and eased up his stance to one less threatening. "Okay, we'll do this your way. You said blocking earlier? Show me what you mean." Straight up asking seemed to be the only way to get this out of her, or maybe he could continue beating on her until he danceed her off enough. Still, Max was right there, and Zephyr didn't want to get thrown out of this for 'playing too rough'.

She recovered quick from the body check, and very well. Somehow she had been able to slip away from his strike and push him down on his back. He glared up at her and gave a quick reply. "How dare I? You say that to everypony that lands a hit? There are no rules in fighting. I simply gained the upperhoof and used that." He found her quick move impressive but her method of pinning him was less than stellar. His forehooves were still free. As he spoke the last bit of his short response, he struck Silver hard in her left side, which was clearly exposed due to her position, with his right fore-hoof. Then with as much force as he could muster, he pushed her off and rolled away from her, onto his hooves. He glanced to his side toward her, she was already standing as well. "I'm sure you can do a lot better, when is all that fancy training going to come in?" He had a feeling the mare was holding back. This couldn't be the extent of what she could do. Otherwise Zephyr would be disappointed, especially after the threat she made before lunch. (( OOC: No worries, short posts happen. Oh, if you feel I'm god modding at all, just let me know. ))

Max' words were not heard as he was fully focused on the mare in front of him. Just as planned, she got herself ready for impact. Zephyr was going to blindly charge and hope to see something spectacular from Silver, maybe some nifty takedown move. Sure he had his own ways of dealing with the situation Silver was in, but he was always looking for ways to improve upon that or ways to use another pony's own momentum and weight against them. He would study any moves that Silver used against him. He figured instead of asking, he could get to see and experience them directly. In the past, Zephyr often did the same when he had gotten into his many tussles due to his stealing and being caught. If Silver didn't block or misjudged and took a direct hit, it would still be satisfying as Zephyr really wanted to hit her anyway. Either way, Zephyr would be happy with the outcome and was willing to suffer through whatever pain that Silver would inflict upon retaliation. However, Zephyr made a split second change before reaching Silver and leapt over her, using his wings momentarily to give him enough lift to make it over. As he landed just behind Silver slightly to her left side, he knew she'd be keeping her eyes on him. One trained like her would know about never letting your opponent out of your sight. Zephyr used this as an advantage as well as her momentary confusion in his leap, and hit at the ground hard as he turned his body toward her to shove a wave of sand in Silver's face. Using this moment of blindness, Zephyr charged and body checked Silver, sending her back a bit. He wasn't done, and using her momentary stagger, he was ready to strike her with his right forehoof. He was half wanting her to turn this around in her favor. If she could, Zephyr really wanted to see it. Hopefully she didn't disappoint.

The answer was perfect for Zephyr and he smiled upon hearing it. The amount of bits Max put on the table added with Silver's was more than Zephyr usually saw in a single day. Generous wasn't strong enough of a word. Zephyr saw no point in adding any bits himself and didn't bring much anyway. He wanted to save them for something else, something was sure to catch his eye, either here or in Stalliongrad. Most likely the latter. Zephyr followed Max out, with Silver behind him. This little town was so... little. It wasn't long before reaching the edge of town where Max led them, who actually was encouraging them to fight. Zephyr held back a laugh but not his grin that followed his phrase. Silver seemed unsure of either herself, or this situation. Regardless, she put her cloak and sword to the side. "First, we will practice blocking. Or do you have anything you'd like to work on before that?" Zephyr was a few paces away, and quickly replied. "I like that idea, but first..." Without warning, Zephyr charged at Silversword, intent on striking her in the chest. No matter how this turned out, Zephyr knew he would be pleased with the outcome. What Max said would definitely hold true. He was very certain he knew how Silver would react, and was greatly hoping his prediction was right. As he charged, he made sure to pay close attention to what would happen next.

Zephyr found their responses to be to his liking. Feeling satisfied with things, he didn't add anything else. He was still concerned about the rooming situation and wondered when they would be shown the room. Zephyr reached for a utensil with his muzzle and cut the pie into thirds, though not very well. The pieces were uneven, but Zephyr didn't care and he took the mid sized piece and placed it on his plate. He was very skilled at this and nearly dropped it during its journey to his plate. He gave a quick glance to Silver and slid the pie to her before returning his gaze to the piece he had set for himself. His mouth watered upon smelling the sweet aroma flowing up to his nose and without any hesitation, he dug in. Zephyr wasn't a very messy eater and hated having food on his muzzle, so he tried his best to stay clean. After Zephyr finished his piece of the pie, he got down from his perch and turned his back to Max, glancing around the bar. "So what's happening now?"

Train with... her? Why does Max seem to keep making all these terrible ideas? Questions, concerns, or ideas... Zephyr had a few and was about to voice them. He was about to set Max straight with this. A line had to be drawn, but another idea popped into Zephyr's mind. This Destrier probably knew a lot about fighting that he did not, and he could use her for some of those techniques and pointers. Aside from that, all he had to do was plan a route. Max would just need to give him a map and where in Stalliongrad they were going. This wouldn't be that hard. As much as he didn't want to work with Silversword, her combat tips could prove useful, possibly even against her if it ever came to that. This would be perfect, he was always curious to better himself in that regard, and now would be the perfect chance. Zephyr gave a content reply, disregarding any manners for his previous and sudden outburst, as he did not know the social etiquettes tied to such an action. "I think that sounds perfect. Just give me a map of Stalliongrad and the place we're going and I'll have that to you by tomorrow night. And I think it's a great idea to have us train together. I'm sure there's things we can share with each other to help us in case things happen." It was two against one if Silver did voiced her vote against it and Zephyr knew this fact. Besides, Max had the final call on everything. Though now Zephyr had to make sure he could teach her something too. Maybe a bit about how street thugs think. He'd have to think on that, but for now, he was content to know there was at least something in his favor. He finished his sandwich and eyed the apple pie, ready to consume the tasty treat, when suddenly another idea came up. "Would either of you like part of this pie, it smells great." Zephyr only performed the gesture to help his cause, and it helped everyone else out as well. Nopony would know the difference anyway.

Oh great, now Max was just asking for her to ask prodding questions that he didn't want to answer. Luckily their food had arrived and Zephyr immediately started eating, not thinking to thank the waiter, though no one else had done so, to his knowledge. The food, whether it was suppose to taste good or not, did not matter. It was excellent to Zephyr as he had been hungry for most of the second half of the train ride. He had severely underestimated the travel time on the train and did not pack anything to eat, something he rarely did. He would make sure to never make that mistake again. Eventually Silver asked him a question, one which wasn't at all intrusive. He was happy to answer, seeing how it didn't include anything personal. "No. My delivery job only has me delivering east of the mountains that divide up the desert from there. I don't even have to fly over Everfree Forest, not that flying over it is that big a deal." He shrugged and went back to eating his food. His tone was friendly, but he didn't care to talk anymore to her. She didn't seem interested in any conversation and that was fine with him. He hadn't started on the apple pie, but he was looking forward to it. That would be saved for last. Now that he thought about it, he did have one more question for Max. He hadn't finished his sandwich yet and he put it down to ask. "Max..." He glanced to him. "If we're leaving for Stalliongrad in a week or so, what are we going to do here while we wait?" He very much wanted to know the answer to this. Especially if it involved working with Silversword. If so, maybe he could think of ways now to engage in as little contact with her as possible. He let out a satisfying belch without warning. Zephyr would have held it back more, but he hadn't felt it coming very well.

"Discon... what?" He gave her an odd look as he tilted his head, then quickly moved on, shaking his head as he went to the next point. "Well, I'm sorry I assumed that about you. It was wrong." Zephyr meant it when he apologize, but his tone didn't lend itself to it. He looked away from the mare as he was bored of her and didn't really feel like forcing a conversation. He just wanted this day to end or for Max to give him a task to pass the time. As long as it was away from this mare. He looked away from the mare and his thoughts went back to Copper Key. (Mal) He remembered her name well and wished she would be open to sharing it with others except for him. Though secrets was something he knew all too well and why they were important to keep. A promise was a promise, so he would never repeat her real name. Thinking about what she said, he was the only pony that knew the name and the only one she was willing to share it with. The thought made him feel special, and provided a happy place away from the situation at hoof. Sure the tension had lifted somewhat, but he still had no freedom here. At least the knight could leave if she wanted to. Zephyr returned his focus to Max and sighed quietly, remaining completely silent otherwise.

Zephyr's ears twitched when Max ordered another drink. He had no idea Max would indulge like that, though he had heard that some ponies drink a lot more when they were under lots of stress. 'Maybe he was drunk in the cave... No, he probably wouldn't have been able to speak so well.' Letting the habits of other ponies he didn't care about bother him would be silly, so he dismissed the thought, he was more concerned with how Silver answered his question. Something about it rubbed his fur the wrong way, he needed more clarification. He responded to her wing showing very matter-of-factly. "No need to show them, I already caught a glimpse earlier." He put his fore-hooves on the table. "I mean unless you're showing them off, which if that's the case, I think they're okay." He only took a slight glimpse at her wings and was simply saying 'okay' in the small chance she just wanted some recognition as a pegasus. Though thinking on that more, he found it weird and dismissed any further thought on it. "There's something that bugs me about your answer. You said your sword makes it quicker to strike down dangers. These dangers wouldn't happen to be other ponies would it? Isn't killing against some 'knight code of honor' or whatever?" Giving a small hoof gesture as he spoke. "Even I wouldn't kill others to defend myself if I didn't have to." He knew the question was quite blunt and standoffish, but her wording confused him.

Roommates put in 'Batman Begins' so we watched that.

Yeah, going to wait on the episode before I listen.

The waiter took their orders and left the party of three alone in their awkward silence. Conversations wasn't something Zephyr was very good at, especially with ponies who had almost nothing in common with him. He ignored Max' comment about the drinking, and wasn't sure what he meant by it. The one time Zephyr indulged too much with alcohol, it left him sick and in an altered state of mind that he did not enjoy. After that situation, he never touched any such drink again nor had any interest in doing so. He never understood the drinking habits of others and chose to avoid being around it. The social implications behind it further destroying his interest in such activities as Zephyr preferred being in quiet places away from crowds. Zephyr didn't want to go back to jail and if Max' threats were true, he knew he needed to get along with Max, and unfortunately Silversword as well. Something needed to be said among them and if Max was the only one making any effort toward this, this awkward atmosphere would definitely continue on longer. Zephyr decided to look at Silversword and pick out anything about her that caught his attention that could be used for a conversation. Her sword, Zephyr always found weapons to be odd. While Zephyr understood why getting the upperhoof in a fight was important, he himself would often employ many means of leverage on his opponent, but a standard weapon always confused him. His preference was a good old fashioned hoof beating whenever possible. He kept his look at Silversword, trying to keep his glance neutral. He didn't care to look friendly, but he didn't want to look intimidating. Finally he spoke... "Is that sword you're carrying your preferred method to fight? Seems a bit impersonal to me, but I guess in your line of work, that wouldn't matter. I've always preferred more direct methods if it comes to a tussle." Maybe, just maybe, this could lighten the mood. He didn't know what else to talk about. Fighting was something he felt he was good at and seemingly, the only common ground he shared with the mare. (( OOC: I don't know if that would make it hard for Max to do much since Zephyr went straight to Silver. I wouldn't mind the posting order periodically changing if someone sees that it wouldn't mess things up. Anything that works as long as everyone is fine with it. Sorry for the late reply (well late for us), this may happen periodically this week. ))