ZephyrBurst

When Mal covered herself under the bedsheets, Zephyr knew what that meant, and he brought himself over to the bed. He sighed as he knew it was going to take him awhile to get to sleep. His thoughts were still on Mal and how the bed was no longer as comfortable without it being shared. Even so, after some time, sleep approached.

There was a banging sound in the distance. Easily ignored with the forgetful dream that was occuring in Zephyr's subconscious. The banging didn't stop, then a loud voice. Why do those guards have to speak so loud? Zephyr looked up with groggy eyes, giving a mumbled response to what he thought he heard. "I will not." He heard the creaking sound of a door, then a slam as a door in the distance closed. Zephyr looked toward the sound and caught a glimpse of Mal following a guard, then going out of view. He stumbled out of the bed to catch another glance to the mare, but only caught her back side as she, again, left the area out of view. He sighed and realized there was nothing else to do but go back to sleep, he was still tired anyway. He returned to the bed and laid on his front side with the sheets over him.

...

He was awakened by a loud banging on the cell door. "Get up!" Zephyr responded cold and angrily, he didn't want to talk to them or see them. "Go away!" The door swung open and the sound of hooves could be heard. Zephyr growled, he was ready to strike the first one that dared touch him. He looked up out of the sheets, glaring toward the cell entrance. "I don't want to talk to any of you!" The guard kept his cool, despite Zephyr's threatening tone. "It looks like you've been released early." He narrowed his eyes to Zephyr. "So you may want to drop the attitude."

Zephyr jumped out of the bed with surprise, stopping next to it so as not to startle the guard. "Early release? But why?" Zephyr couldn't believe he was actually questioning it. The guardspony didn't explain anything, it seemed he didn't know much of the details. Two others waited outside of the cell to escort him out. The area he was led through was familiar. They nearly backtracked their steps from the previous night. Finally he was led into an unfamiliar room where two ponies stood behind a desk, and his escorts left him with the two. One of them, being the lieutenant that Mal had spoken with. Zephyr tried not to look upset when faced before them, but his posture was a clear sign he wasn't happy, despite the good news. Simply being in this situation with these two ponies, who Zephyr was sure thought they were better than him, was enough to keep his mood sour. Luckily Bonfire was not among the two, nor was he seen as he was escorted here.

The lieutenant spoke. "You're being released early on the condition that you will complete no less than 100 hours of community service. The documents for your local department are here." He slid a sealed envelope toward Zephyr across the desk. "Show them these and you can get started, they will handle the scheduling." Zephyr noticed his saddlebags were also in the room, along with the invoice for the package.

Zephyr was thoroughly confused and couldn't hold back his question. "Why the sudden change in my sentencing?" He couldn't hold back his words. "Need the space for ponies that actually commited crimes?"

As Zephyr thought, the lieutenant did not like his response. "If you'd like, we can put you right back in the cells. It would be wise for you to watch your words." He was right. They were offering a lighter sentence and Zephyr saw that he was mindlessly being rude. He softened his otherwise, snide tone. Though he averted his eyes as he apologized. "Sorry... And I guess I should say thank you for letting me out much sooner."

The lieutenant responded quickly. "It's not me you should thank." Zephyr looked back toward the pony, a surprised and confused look on his face. "Huh?"

"Get your things and go!" The lieutenant spoke with a stern voice. Zephyr would waste no time doing so and straped his bags to himself, being sure he had the invoice and the paperwork for his community service secured in them. No other words were spoken between the ponies and Zephyr was led out of the premise. There was quite a bit of relief that the pony didn't start in on the weight of what Zephyr had done. He didn't want to hear some big speech about it.

Once he was out of their view, he took off to the skies, heading back toward Cloudsdale. After being in that cold cell for even one night, the freedom of the skies felt amazing. Zephyr smiled and enjoyed the rush of wind through his mane, never wanting to be in a situation like that again. On the way, he remembered his last words to Mal, that he would come to visit her. He thought about it, but knew he had better return to Cloudsdale as soon as possible. Once things got settled and straightened out as far his job and community service scheduling were concerned, he would go visit the mare. If he was going to show her that he followed behind his words, he had to keep to what he said.

...

Explaining the situation to his boss wasn't easy, but Zephyr was allowed to keep his job. Any other infraction and he would be let go however. Should be easy enough to follow, as he never got into trouble during his deliveries.

The community service was nothing too special or anything challenging. During his first, he thought back to Mal, and what the lieutenant had said to him. He was pretty sure it meant that it was her that was able to get the sentence changed. Something had to be done for that. As soon as he could, he would send a note to Mal, though what to write was beyond him. What could he say? The thought bugged him through most of the hours of that scheduled service. He finally decided on something. It would be short and to the point. The note would read:

Thank you.

-Your Friend

Zephyr Burst

He knew she was partial to gratitude and flattery, so the simple message was all that would be needed. The act itself would be enough for Mal to understand. His return address, should she ever desire it, was printed on the envelope. There was one other thing he could do for Mal. He would never expect anything in return, it was just something he wanted to do. Mal had made a passing comment about the beds in the cell being nicer than hers. While he knew she didn't covet material possessions, he was sure she wouldn't be upset. Of course he was sure she would want to test beds out, so he planned on buying her a new bed if she wanted when he was able to visit her.

To Zephyr's surprise, there was an emotional response to what was said. She seemed to be trying to hide it, he could see a slight glimpse of sorrow in the poor mare's eyes. Her pacing suggesting she was having trouble accepting what Zephyr spoke to her. He knew he had gotten to her in a small way, even if she wouldn't admit it. For that, Zephyr felt happy and relieved. When she got up to pace about, Zephyr reached out to pull her back, but barely missed her. He wanted the warmth her closeness brought. Why did she have to get up? The thought went through his mind as she paced back and forth.

Zephyr remained quiet while she paced, he could see that she was thinking and didn't want to interrupt her. As he watched her, his previous mentioning of her being attractive popped back into his mind. He never really gave it all that much before this. Mal looked much more attractive to him when she wasn't scowling at somepony or angry. Of course, Zephyr knew not to say that to her, he would keep these thoughts to himself. Since he had a moment during her pacing, he couldn't help but admire her fair frame. Unfortunately that was stopped when she turned and started shrieking at him. It was a desperate attempt to deny Zephyr's words. Even Zephyr could see past it. There weren't any words that Zephyr could manage to think of. He wasn't much for words when he thought about it. Actions would speak more than anything he could say at this point and Zephyr figured a simple embrace would help Mal more than anything that night. Surely even a cold hearted mare like her would feel something during such a moment and during her mad shrieks, Zephyr got to his hooves and was about to approach Mal to give her the warm embrace he felt she so desperately needed.

He wouldn't be able to do so though, as a few guards came in and interrupted Mal mid shriek, and were heading straight for her. Apparently the two of them were not supposed to be in the same cell, in fact, now that he thought about it, there were far more cells than ponies in here. Somepony had messed up and now came to correct their earlier mistake. The guards were quick to grab Mal, and remove her from the cell. Zephyr wasn't sure why, he didn't think it through at all, and simply acted on impulse. He galloped toward the guards taking Mal away, he wasn't done speaking with her nor did he want her being taken away. Having to spend entire week in this cold cell alone would was going to be bad enough, and seeing how Mal could be around for just one of the nights would ease the process. He wanted somepony close that night, specifically Mal now that he had been so close to her, and these guards dared take her away. Zephyr took a direct route for Mal, ready to buck the guards away from Mal, he couldn't believe he was doing this. There was no hope for it, nor should he try for her, but logic and reason had escaped his mind at that point.

Mal and the guards taking her away were already at the cell door and Zephyr didn't make it there before being struck across his chest by an oncoming hoof, knocking him back. A commanding voice was heard, "Stand down!". Zephyr remained on his hooves and he refocused on his target, who was now out of the cell. He should have given up, but he didn't and took another blind gallop toward Mal, making it a bit further, but to no success. This time he was struck from the side by a rather large earth pony, who sent Zephyr sliding across the cold floor. The commanding voice spoke louder this time. "I said to stand down!" Zephyr did as he was told this time, though it didn't stop him from standing back to his hooves again, and passing the earth pony guard a glare. He didn't move from his spot as he didn't want that guard striking him again, thinking that Zephyr would be a continuing threat. Though he almost wanted the guard to approach him, it would give Zephyr a reason to strike. Then again, he really didn't want to be in here for even longer for assaulting yet, another guard. On another hoof, what's one extra guard added to his list of three that night?

Nothing else between Zephyr and the guard occured and the cell door was shut behind the earth pony as he left the cell. Zephyr looked toward Mal, who was now placed in another cell across the hall. He was upset and angry that they would come and seperate him from her like that, just when he was getting through to the mare. Zephyr felt he could finally have a friend and it was all messed up now. The only pony he really trusted with his past was now out of reach. He wasn't really sure if he liked the mare, he just wanted to be around her more that evening.

Zephyr stood at the edge of the cell, looking toward Mal and he called out to her. "I'll come visit you one day." He knew that was all that needed to be said. He didn't have the address on the package anymore, but he had gotten so lost during his search on the wrong side of Canterlot for her shop, that he had constantly checked back to the package to make sure he did read the address right. That address was burned into his memory. A sigh escaped him and he laid down at the edge of the cell, looking toward Mal. He was sure he heard a guard tell him to quiet down when he called out to Mal, but he was trying to ignore everything but the mare in the other cell at that point. The bed would be much more comfortable than the floor, but he'd go to it later.

Zephyr couldn't believe what he was hearing and as much as he didn't want to, he found himself believing what she was saying. It all made sense, and the more it all came together, the more empty and sad Zephyr began to feel. This mare's jaded way of thinking was making Zephyr very depressed. It made sense, but at the same time, Zephyr couldn't agree. It just felt wrong, for him, to agree.

"I..." The words came out rough, as if he was fighting to hold them back. "Actually agree with that." It was hard for him to verbally agree with her just like that. It felt wrong. Part of him wanted to just drop the subject and leave it as is, but it left him feeling sad. Simply dropping it and giving up wasn't an option.

"No... no I don't agree with that! How..." Zephyr lifted himself up again and turned to Mal. Reaching down, he put his hoof on her side and turned her to look at him. Of course it meant breaking what he had said to her earlier, but his simple action of turning her attention wasn't what she meant. If she wanted to hold it against him, he didn't care. Of course, the mare would be upset that he disturbed her physically like this, but no matter.

His voice gave off a hint of desperation, no longer holding the stale casual tone it had before. "I understand what you're saying Mal, I really do. I've lived like that my whole life, and while it went far smoother than my life has the last few months when I've been trying to make friends, it just felt so empty and lonely." Exhale. "Even my short-lived acquaintances have held some meaning or added something to my life. I..." He had to pause for a moment, as he was losing sight of the words he wanted to use. His expression showing his confusion. "I'm not the best at explaining what I mean. Uh, and yes, friends do create an attachment, but I feel they give back far more than they take. That attachment makes a feeling that... oh what's the word?" Zephyr was lost on how to finish what he had started saying. Sometime during his short statement, he had moved his hoof off of Mal, which was now rubbing his mane, further showcasing his own confusion.

Zephyr felt sad when Mal admitted that she didn't want friends. It's what he was trying to go for. She didn't specify why, though he was sure he knew the answer to it already. "Oh... I wasn't trying to flatter you. It was just what I thought."

He thought about her not wanting friends a little harder, it was really a sad thought to him that she didn't want any. Zephyr had nopony he could call a friend. He thought even this troubled mare would be a good friend to have, maybe the perfect one due to their similarities. There was nopony else Zephyr felt he could share his thoughts with like this one. She listened and responded in ways that no other pony would. He thought about ways to word it that could be in her favor. There had to be a way to get through to her. Zephyr knew now what set the mare off, so he knew his wording was important. Zephyr cursed his luck in his mind. Articulating things how he truly wanted wasn't a strong point of his. Still he would try.

"You don't do friendships? ... Why is that? I've heard it's a great thing. I mean, I wouldn't know, I don't have any friends." He didn't speak as if he wanted sympathy from the mare, so he spoke plainly. "But you really don't trust anypony enough for any sort of friendship? What about a pony to help you if you need help, or somepony to talk to? One could help you search for books on your kind of magic." He waved his hoof that was opposite of her side, up in the air. "I'm curious why..." He knew he was about to get a mouthful from the mare, and probably anger. If she was put off at all about light flattery, he knew this probably wasn't a good subject for her.

Zephyr stiffened his body at first when Mal pressed her body against his, but the immediate warmth and comfort it provided subsided any nervous thoughts. While Zephyr could sleep on his back, he felt compelled to turn toward her and drape a hoof over her. It would be much more comfortable in every way he thought, but considering it meant going back on his word, he decided fighting against that urge and remained in his current position next to Mal. And to his surprise, laying like this next to the mare was rather enjoyable.

He wasn't quite expecting Mal to say she respected him back. Any positive response from the mare seemed amazing in its own right. Zephyr smiled, even though Mal couldn't see it, he was sure she knew. The tension seemed to have subsided completely now. Considering her proximity and what she had just admitted to him, Zephyr was pretty sure she was finally comfortable with this situation.

"Funny you mention that, well... I guess not really 'funny', err... anyway. During the warmer seasons, I would stay out in the woods close to Manehattan whenever I could. There's... freedom out there!" Zephyr spoke in a hopeful tone. "You know the feeling! Everything out there is just so... natural... and..." Zephyr's voice starts to show uncertainty. "Uh, I don't know the words for it. I've never been all that great with words."

He thought about her fire statement. "I only tried to start a fire once, I had heard about how to do it, but I couldn't manage it then. Fire scares me a bit. I got a burn on my flank once when I stole from a unicorn. I... wasn't being very careful that time." He couldn't help but giggle a little, considering Mal wielded flame magic, and gave her a light nudge. "It wasn't you was it?" He spoke jokingly.

Zephyr gave a comforting sigh. "I'm glad I met you. You're easy to talk to and you say some very insightful things."

Geez, this mare really thought the worst in everypony. He couldn't be mad anymore, it was already past, though he did want to clarify. He was still sitting up, looking down to Mal. "I wouldn't accuse you of trying that, you don't sound too interested anyway." He kept his tone casual to hopefully keep the mood passive. "And it was never on my mind when I hit that pegasus. And in here... I mean I've stolen a lot of things from others but, I would never uh... well..." Zephyr's tone changed to reveal a bit of frustration. "What's the word?" He growled lightly. "I have trouble explaining what I mean a lot of times... forget it."

He finally laid back down, trying his best not to bump Mal at all, he still had to make contact with her side however. It was going to take forever to fall asleep, he wasn't tired, and he felt intrigued by this mare. There was so much he wanted to talk to her about. Finding another pony with a similar past was relieving, and though she was cold and distant, he still felt a kindred connection on some level. The word he was looking for had finally swerved its way into his mind, his ears shot up, though he stayed laying back. Zephyr knew that constantly moving about would be a bother and rather liked having another pony close by.

"Ah! I wouldn't try anything funny..." What Mal said earlier in the cell came back. So that's what she meant, it went over his head earlier, and he assumed she meant something else. "because I respect you." There was a word he had never been able to use. Though now that he had said it, he wondered about the response. It seemed every time anything could be considered a compliment, she snapped at him, though he caught her grins at his 'attractive' comments.

Zephyr could tell he hit a nerve with the question, and opted to drop it, especially considering she had also changed the subject somewhat. He started to notice a pattern, any time he mentioned something that could be rough to deal with, she seemed to snap at him. She had quite a lot of these it seemed, much to Zephyr's dismay.

Zephyr had a bit of anger behind his words, and he pushed himself up, lightly thumping against Mal's back as he did so. "You're right, they're not worth remembering. Not worth my time considering they would just leave their own helpless foal alone in a big city!"

He turned and looked to Mal, who was still turned away from him. Her ear caught his attention, part of it was missing. He wondered when that happened, and thought about asking, though he figured a question about a wound like that was sure to ignite another snarl from her. An even weirder thought raced through his mind as he looked at her. He thought to reach a hoof over and graze over her broken ear. He had started to when lost in that thought, but quickly remembered he said he wasn't to touch her. That was a silly thing to say, he thought, in hindsight.

Instead, there was another question that circled through his mind. He was so confused by what she meant, he needed her to clarify. In a concerned tone, "Earlier this evening, you whispered something to me... You said 'No good deed goes unpunished'. There was another word after, but I can't remember it. What did you mean by that?" The statement seemed so illogical, though Zephyr knew he wasn't that great at understanding words and articulating sometimes. (( Post referenced ))

Zephyr stood staring at Mal, he was pretty sure he caught a glimpse of a scar when she had panic'd earlier that evening, this confirmed it. Though it was worse than he thought. He wasn't sure what she was trying to do by revealing the scar in the way she did, but it certainly didn't take away from what he was staring at. To him, it revealed more about her experiences and hardships in life, which Zephyr could respect. He had scars of his own and knew each one had a story behind it.

His near trance was quickly removed when the mare had asked if he was still awake. He shook his head and brought his focus back. "Oh uh, yes, sorry." A soft sigh escaped. "I'm not that tired, but I'll try not to move about so much while you sleep."

Before lifting himself onto the bed, Zephyr straightened his forelegs and pushed his body back, lifting his rump in the air, and extending his wings fully. He grunted lightly and let off a satisfied low sigh during his stretch. Afterwards, he placed only his forehooves on the edge of the bed. "You're still very attractive." A grin slipped through, though he only meant it as a simple compliment and nothing more. He pushed down with his forehooves and lifted himself on the edge of the bed and rolled onto his back, just next to Mal. The bed was indeed big enough for two, but he found that his side had still made contact with hers. It didn't matter, Zephyr figured he might as well enjoy having a warm body close by, rather than worry about upsetting the mare.

Due to the silence, Zephyr figured he would confirm what Mal had taken a guess at earlier. "You guessed right about me... I'm also an orphan. My parents left me on the streets of Manehattan when I was a foal, so I learned to take care of myself. I honestly can't remember their faces, like it matters. I obviously didn't need them anyway." Zephyr hadn't displayed much emotion in what he said. The thought of being left alone by his parents seemed normal to him at this point. He paused a moment and became curious. "What happened to you, how did you lose your parents? I mean... if you feel like sharing that is."

The longer the evening went on, the more insightful Mal appeared to be. He would have to remember to apologize for his last comment to her. Zephyr realized he was only interpreting Mal as being mean or hurtful. He had seen it happen when it was directed to him, and he was beginning to see the mare in a better light. Though she was still crazy in his mind.

Her attempt to use magic to remove the sheet was humorous and Zephyr had to fight back a snicker. He had seen unicorns use levitation magic almost without thought. It seemed to come as second nature to them. Seeing Mal attempt to use it and fail was a rather humorous sight, and he let the sheet fall in front of him, simply listening to the mare. He couldn't help but smile when she took a guess with her orphan comment. The smile, he was sure, would give enough hint to the mare that she had actually guessed it. There didn't seem to be any point in mentioning it at that moment. He was so used to the thought of being an orphan, that it usually didn't bug him, this moment being another of them.

Her offer wasn't what he had thought she would ever think to suggest. It caught him offguard, though it wasn't a bad idea. The floor was cold and hard, the air was cold, it just made sense. He stood at the side of the bed, giving a slight grin. "Oh please Mal." He rolled his eyes sarcastically. "You're a very attractive mare, but..." Zephyr paused and rubbed his mane in thought. "But uh... I lost my train of thought..." He brought his hoof back down and returned his look to Mal. "It doesn't matter. I've got no intentions beyond keeping warm for the night."

The thought of sharing a sleeping place with another pony would normally have made Zephyr nervous. It meant being vulnerable, but Zephyr had an understanding of Mal, or at least he thought he did. He knew enough that she wouldn't try to bring any harm to him during the night. The idea seemed solid. "... Okay, we'll share it."

Repe... twa? Is that what she said? What's a magical repe-twa? Zephyr put it in context and figured it had something to do with her knowledge of magic. Thinking about it made him forget for a moment that Mal sounded nervous in what she was talking about.

"That's a good question." He dug at the floor and looked down a moment. "I've actually given it some thought before. When I was younger, usually my only concern was finding my next meal while avoiding those types." He pointed a hoof to the bars. "I would..." Zephyr paused and sat back on him rump, bring a hoof up to his chin in thought. "Well, you're right, delivering packages was never on my list of things I wanted to do. I'm only looking to be happy, I just haven't quite figured out what it is that does that yet." He put his hoof back down, making sure to look to Mal's eyes.

Zephyr's tone lightened up. "I'm good at taking things from ponies without them knowing and if I need to, I can fight well." Zephyr made various gestures as he spoke, sometimes looking away along with his gesture. He could quickly tell this isn't what Mal meant, and he frowned a bit while his ears when back. "Well uh... I didn't have any real schooling for flying or anything, but I can fly really well. I think I might even be better than most pegasus at it, and I really love flying! I just haven't found anything that goes well with that." Despite the subject matter, Zephyr kept his tone light. For some reason, he felt at ease telling Mal about some of his troubling past and lack of proper education.

Zephyr stood back on his hooves and made a moderate pace back toward the bed. "And I'm just trying to be kind in letting you have the bed and sheets without any fight. Why does everything with you have to be so..." As he looked into Mal's eyes, he could tell she was not amused. Zephyr pinned his ears back, but his expression didn't follow through with his ears. "... Okay yes! I do want the sheets, but I'm simply choosing to be nice here. Would it hurt you to just accept a single act of kindness without some mean comment?"

Zephyr heard a bush rustle behind him and glanced back, noticing that it was probably the breeze causing the disturbance. A big surprise awaited his returning attention as the mare had suddenly knocked him over and pinned him down with her hooves. His first thought was to quickly get the mare away from him. In a back alley fight, he would never allow himself to get pinned down like this. Zephyr was just about to push the mare off of him, but her excited expression and quick verbal follow up signaled that she was not threatening in any way. Though the mare was stronger than anticipated, Zephyr felt he could probably push the mare off, definately with ease if he unbalanced the mare.

After the mare pressed her nose against his, he quickly removed any further thoughts of pushing the mare away, rather enjoying her proximity. Her action was initially unwanted, but if this is the kind of relaxed feeling mares can bring, Zephyr had no objection to her pinning him back. A smile grew on his face as she continued to keep her nose on his while she spoke. He could definitely get used to this, bring from such a cute mare. Zephyr had missed a bit of what the mare said to him, he tried to focus, but his mind wandered a bit. Mostly about the two of them taking a tail wrapped walk through a breezy forest, enjoying strawberries. This very mare's strawberries no less.

So she wanted to team up with him. Zephyr actually kind of liked the idea. Could be interesting and if it meant he would see more of this rainbow maned mare, he was all for it. Though something in his mind told him that maybe it wasn't such a good idea. Could the mare actually be trusted to partner with? She could possibly just remove him from the picture when he wasn't needed anymore. And he didn't know anything about sales. As he thought about it more, partnering with this mare simply to see her more, was rather silly to him. He reminded himself not to get so worked up over some mare he barely knew and would probably just throw him out of her life at the earliest possible convenience. He remembered back to that mare he had gotten all gooey eyed over in Cloudsdale that suddenly disappeared. Zephyr reminded himself that even his own parents tossed him to the side.

The mare backed off of Zephyr and started responding nervously, with her face flushed red. She must've gotten nervous after she realized what she did. Zephyr only had a light blush, had he not forced himself to remove these silly thoughts about the mare, it would've been much more noticable. He still wanted to be kind to the mare and he struggled to find a way to tell her that he couldn't help her.

He brought his right forehoof up and rubbed his mane. "Well, I uh... I don't know. I mean that sounds like a great idea, but I don't think I can help you with that." Zephyr was suddenly nervous and simply spoke most of the words he was thinking. "I mean you're really cute and uh... yeah... You're cute, but I can't help you." He shakes a hoof quickly toward Holly. "I don't mean I don't want to help you because I like the way you look. I just don't think I could do much for you."

Zephyr paused and realized that all of that was spoken to the mare. He couldn't believe he just said all that. Guess he was a lot more nervous than he thought.

Like Phil was saying earlier, I didn't find any problems with how Twilight was in this episode. We've seen a few times already that when a problem concerns Celestia, that Twilight will typically flip out more than usual. In this, it concerns her academics, which is the most important thing to her. It was shown as early as the pilot that her continued education is what she strives for.

He couldn't believe Mal was offering him the bed at first, but in giving it more thought, it wasn't all that surprising. His gaze softened again, though he wondered what was going on with this constant mood roller-coaster. Zephyr shook his head in response. "No, you can take it. I've slept in much worse places and the floor is only a bit cold." He eyed the sheet on the bed. "I just want this." He lowered his head and opened his mouth, ready to take the sheet off the bed, but stopped and brought his eyes back up to Mal. Zephyr froze a moment and thought about what it could mean for the mare if he didn't take the sheet either. The floor would be uncomfortable, but he wasn't lying when he said he'd seen worse, and thought on the upside of that.

He lifted his head and took a short step back. "Well... you can have that too." Zephyr was pretty sure the mare would simply say something angrily again or accuse him of trying to get on her good side, but stuck to what he had set out to do now.

Zephyr stared at Mal and sat down, then began to respond to what she said before offering him the bed. "You're right... about ponies not needing all these possessions..." He thought about what was going to happen to him after he was let out, and sighed.

Mal was somewhat right, this wasn't the worst night ever, but it sure was turning out to be a really terrible one. His thoughts on how everything was about to get worse, wouldn't leave. "Now I'm even more glad I don't have much of anything." He turned around and began walking away from the bed, speaking more with his head down. "I'm not going to have this delivery job anymore and I'm going to lose my home."

He stopped a few paces away and plopped down to the ground. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do now, but it looks like I've got a whole week to think about it." He lowered his to the floor. "I just don't want to go back to how I was before..."

He didn't want to think about these problems, not in front of this unicorn. She didn't care about any of this and probably wished he would shut up. He had to get this off his mind for now. Zephyr poked his head up and glanced back to Mal, speaking softly. "What is the only thing that matters? I'm honestly curious what you think about that."

Zephyr was taken aback by her statements and was lost on what to say. In nearly all of his encounters with others, it was just as Mal had said. But Zephyr had seen unexpected generousity from other ponies. What bothered him just as much was how she kept backing away. Now in the corner with no where to go. He knew approaching her would definitely provoke her to strike. Though he wasn't frightened of anything she could do without her magic, he still wanted to avoid it. He stood, with his mouth hanging open somewhat, listening to the mare's angry words.

He took one more step forward, putting him within reach of the bed. Any closer, he knew, could possibly frighten her enough to strike, and he stopped there. Zephyr kept a soft tone, or at least as well as he could. This mare was scaring him somewhat. "You talk big, but you're still backing away as if I have the intention of hurting you. And I say your opinion is wrong! Not everypony is like you..." Zephyr paused a moment and fully took in what he had said on a whim and kept going with that tangent. "I bet that's what it is, isn't it?! You're just like what you despise!" He took another small step forward without realizing it, putting on a slight tone of anger.

"Would you do that? Take advantage of somepony?" Zephyr stopped there as he was lost on how to say anything else that wouldn't come off as overly insulting. He only wanted to understand the mare better, and he simply couldn't believe she was all bad. Zephyr wanted to use himself as an example of change, but figured it only make her despise this whole situation more. He glared at the scared and angry mare. There was no where else for her to back off to anymore. He felt for her and thinking about it all, he couldn't blame her in this awkward situation.

Just when the situation seemed to calm down between the two and the evening seeming to go in a more positive direction, Mal shifted to her usual cold tone that Zephyr had come to know. It saddened him when Mal accused him of not caring, it stung a nerve. When it came down to it, he truly didn't care. What she said after sitting up, saddened him even more, and he disagreed heavily. He couldn't understand why she fought that the way she did. It was when Zephyr was able to help others that he felt the most fulfilled. Zephyr's first urge was to retort in anger and contempt toward Mal, but as he thought about everything that had happened so far, he felt sad for her. He felt compelled to befriend her even more, or at least come to an understanding with her. He figured her vile thoughts and opinions must stem from her lack of any real friends.

Her accusation and backing away hurt him as well. He wanted to at least get her to understand that he meant no harm to her. Zephyr took two paces closer to her, and spoke in firmly. "You're in no position to threaten me. Out there, you may have your magic, but in here, you're nothing but a frail unicorn, scared and backed in a corner. I'm much stronger than you and in here, you're weakened. I don't have to even think you're easy prey, you ARE easy prey!"

He took a small step closer and softened his expression, being only a couple paces away now. "But I have no intention of harming you. There's no reason to blame you for me ending up in here, my actions brought me here. As for stepping in the way, I did that simply out of kindness for another pony, but you keep thinking that everypony is out for themselves! I never expected any returned favors." He thought back on Max and how he didn't give Zephyr away even after he had nearly broken Max' leg. "I've seen even the worst of ponies extend help and understanding to others."

Zephyr sat down where he was to present a less threatening stance and quickly continued so as not to be interrupted. "But I'll think about it from your point of view. I have nothing to gain by hurting you in here. If anything, all it'll do is get me even more time in this horrible place. That aside..." He felt no need to keep a certain aspect of his past a secret from her. "I don't steal from and hurt ponies anymore to get what I want." He kept his sitting position, wondering how the flow of the conversation would change this time, if at all. Zephyr was intrigued by this confusing pony.

ANOTHER IMPOSTER!! I SHALL STRIKE YOU DOWN!! Okay, maybe not.

Oh right, welcome to Canterlot! I believe we met once in irc. I hope you enjoy your time here, there's lots to see and do as well as fun people to chat with.

With all of her responses and negativity toward him so far, Zephyr was quite surprised to see Mal lighten up her words and demeanor. What she said did linger in his mind as he had responded to her previously. He did enjoy the freedom he once had of doing whatever he wanted and whenever he wanted.

He thought it odd, due to her previous hostility, for her to say 'no offense'. "None taken." He had thought to add a bit in about the other pegasus probably being more talk than anything, but kept that to himself.

As she spoke of the ward again, he slowly extended his wings and glanced to his right one. He was glad they unbound his wings when the two of them were secured in here. "I didn't know that. Are you sure I wouldn't be able to walk on clouds still? I mean, I suppose that makes sense." He gave Mal a quizzical stare, much like the one she had earlier. He gave his wings a gentle flap and did feel something that was very off from the norm. "You're right, it is different in here. I feel more weighed down." He sighed. "I'm just glad that's all it is. Being in this for a week with a headache like you said you were getting would be unbearable I imagine."

He sat down and thought of her earlier question. "As for why I jumped in the way..." He pondered on it a moment and couldn't quite remember the exact reason he did that and sat down where he was. A few bits of it came up. "Well, you did say some really nasty things, but I didn't think it deserved what that pegasus was going to do. It seemed unfair and I'm sure she wouldn't have gotten in much more trouble than she did over it."

He paused a moment and got up from where he was sitting and glanced over to see if the guard had moved. He had not, and was still reading and doing whatever paperwork it was that he had earlier. Satisfied, he turned a walked a few paces toward the bed. "Even that higher ranking unicorn was about to throw a spell at you, he'd have gotten no punishments for it either. If I ever catch him... I'll be sure to give him a real reason to put me in here." He stomped a forehoof down on the cold floor, creating a fairly loud echo. The guard didn't blow the whistle again luckily, but he hit something against the wall to announce his self proclaimed dominance and shouted. "CUT THE NOISE!" Zephyr's ears laid flat and he glared in the guard's direction.

"That is going to grate on my nerves." He glanced back to Mal, softening his expression somewhat. "I don't remember exactly what I was thinking, but I couldn't just let that happen. You're a terrible and vile pony from what I've noticed so far." He pointed a hoof toward her. "But what you said had some truth. And I can respect that you don't hide your opinions." He sat back down a few paces away from the bed and eyed a sheet at the edge of the bed. Before the two of them turn in, he planned to take that. She can have the bed he decided, but he wanted some barrier between himself and the floor. "Even if it makes you look bad, you don't seem to care what others think of you. It seems there are very few ponies out there who are unwilling to be themselves all the time."

Zephyr sat listening to Mal's story and rant with a bit of interest. She sure did talk a lot, though his ears flickered at various interesting points in her mini monologue. He wanted to interject at the mentioning of Celestia, as he didn't like it when other ponies put her down. He had nothing against the Princess, though he really didn't know anything about her. Zephyr stopped himself when Mal mentioned she said the princess was worthy of respect. Perhaps the mare isn't THAT crazy and out there then. Either way, he knew this was going to be interesting with her as a cellmate for the evening.

As she spoke of the wards and them giving her a headache, he thought back to a few moments ago when Mal had trouble breathing. They were probably connected. That would mean she was unable to use magic as well, which means she wasn't any threat to him. She had such a frail body, or at least it looked like it. He figured there wouldn't be any problems with her trying to provoke him, for whatever reason. He decided to leave the ward bit alone for now and focus on what she said about the guard picking on her. He did agree with her, but also wanted to focus on that for the moment, as they had some common ground there. If anything, it could make the evening a bit less of a hardship if they could at least get along.

"Well, you do make a good point about that. The guards do throw their very misplaced authority around. I can think of a lot of times when they would..." Zephyr paused, thinking about a few times in the past where he a major fallout with the guards. His somewhat relaxed expression twisted to reveal anger and he stomped his right forehoof. "Well, it doesn't matter, but that red unicorn from before just..." He growls lightly. "He better hope we don't run into each other alone..."

Zephyr paused for a moment, looking down. He stared at the floor just in front of Mal's forehooves, thinking momentarily, before shaking his head. He thought on her comment about it being the worst night ever. Was she meaning the headache completely, or did it include him too? Zephyr didn't care for Mal's approval, but he certain didn't want the evening to wind up with the two of them arguing with each other. He wanted a more casual conversation with Mal, something to make the time pass easier.

"I can think of much worse nights than this." He arcs his right forehoof around. "A well maintained cell and they're going to bring us a meal later, at least I think I overheard something about that. The confinement isn't the greatest feeling, but this cell certainly beats sleeping in some dark back alley gutter, wondering where your next meal will come from, and who you're gonna have to take it from."

The thought of revealing such a thing to somepony bothered Zephyr. Letting on to his past life isn't something he wanted most ponies knowing, for fear of the consequences and possible rejection, should they apply. But he wanted to talk about his past, or at least mention it. The more he talked about it, the easier it always is for him to deal with his past. While Zephyr definitely didn't trust Mal, as she was very off in some mental way, at least to him. He felt he could trust her with something like this. She may be a vile pony, but he felt she would understand this kind of thing and would know that it wasn't something to share with anypony else.

(( OOC: Yay, I'm back, responses will be quicker now. ))

Zephyr was surprised again that Mal pushed the blame to him and used something in the situation as a way to do so. This mare was definitely stubborn and Zephyr couldn't figure her out. She seemed so hateful and resentful to everything. His expression displayed anger as he was about to answer her question when a loud shrill noise pierced his ears. Zephyr twitched, closed his eyes, and laid his ears flat to the side of his head.

As he reopens his eyes to see Mal, he was again about to answer her question when she lowered her voice and blamed the whistle blowing on Zephyr. He started to see that the whole conversation was going to go this route. Zephyr retorted and spoke in a low voice as he took a step forward. He wanted to make sure the mare heard him.

"At least the whistle isn't as bad as your screams." He grinned momentarily before changing to a more stern expression.

"And that stupid package is yours. I was delivering it that late because it worked well with my schedule tomorrow, which is none of your business. AND you had special instructions on there that if you were not present to receive the package, to just leave it on your roof. Which would mean it's fine to deliver any time." Zephyr sat back and thought about it. "At least I think that's what the special instructions said."

He returned his attention to Mal, keeping his voice low. "None of that matters anyway. Why would you want to upset the guards like that? Sure, I don't like them either. They're so... full of themselves." Zephyr put his weight forward, visibly frustrated. "But why do what you did? It makes no sense to try getting some random guard in trouble." Zephyr awaited the blue mare to resort to blaming him yet again.

It was a frightening thing to be drug along by the guards. While Zephyr didn't struggle, his hooves reluctantly brought him forward. His ears and entire demeanor drooped the farther along he went with the guards. This was the first time, even counting his time as a thief, that he had been apprehended by any guards. There were a few close calls, but nothing a bit of quick hoof work and flying prowess couldn't get him out of. He thought back on the moment and wondered if he could have escaped had he not been concerned with keeping himself integrated with pony society. Probably not, the guards in Canterlot seemed a lot more organized than those in Manehattan.

The side chatter of the guards as Zephyr was brought along frightened him more. He couldn't clearly hear anything being said. Not that it mattered if he was the subject matter, but the atmosphere chilled him. He made an effort not to make eye contact with any of them. Upon taking a glance to the blue unicorn, he noticed she was quite upset. Couldn't blame her though.

As they were told their sentencing, Zephyr gasped at the mention of one week. He could lose his delivery job in Cloudsdale over this. Especially considering he was arrested on the job and with the very pony he was supposed to deliver to. That thought would have frightened him more, but it slid to the back of his mind somewhat, as the fear of just being captured by the guard had taken a bigger hold. The thought that they could possibly dig up his past was frightening. Before this, his records were perfectly clean, but the huge gap in his life up to a few months ago could be suspicious. He had no prior work or personal records and references. He had begun to think that losing his job was the least of his worries.

While being escorted down to the cells, the blue unicorn had suddenly stumbled and began breathing somewhat erratically. He stopped to look at her, wondering what had happened to her. He began feeling a bit concerned for her and then another worrying thought approached. Did they do something to her, and would they do it to Zephyr too? She seemed to get her breathing under control, that was a relief. He was about to ask her if she was all right when the two of them were shoved into the cell. The door slammed shut and was locked magically and mechanically.

As the guards left down the hall, Zephyr glanced around his new temporary home. It was surprisingly clean and not at all what he imagined. There was a single wooden table in room and two wooden chairs. So this cell was for holding two ponies then. He ignored any further contents the table might have and took his eyes elsewhere through the room. There was a problem that he immediately saw. There was only one bed. Perhaps as some cruel joke to make ponies fight over it and force one to sleep on the cold floor, or it was an oversight by the guards and they forgot. Either way, it could be a problem.

Zephyr's eyes brought him lastly to his cellmate, who at this time was glaring at him. Wait a minute, why were they both put in the same cell? Sure it was a two pony cell, but it seemed the other cells were empty. It didn't matter as those thoughts diminished upon hearing what Malediction said to him. The question was silly and she even blamed him for the cause of her being in this place. That was upsetting, after trying to keep her out of harm's way earlier, she says this to him. And to think he felt any concern for her well-being. There had to be some reason for this, but Zephyr's immediate answers hinted that he was angry, that and his returned glare.

"Oh well EXCUSE me for looking out for anypony! How was I supposed to know that's what you wanted to do?! It's not like I can read minds!" He made a slight eye roll with that last statement. "And it's not entirely my fault we're in here! You JUST said you were trying to upset that other pegasus, which if I'm not mistaken, would have probably led you here anyway considering the reason they threw you in here. I'm not dismissing the blame, but you have yourself to blame too." The unicorn better not keep trying to lay all the blame on Zephyr, that was the most upsetting part of her snarl to him.

Without much notice, the mare's horn began to glow. With her statement, "I'll uh...I'll get those stingers out for you, no problem." he knew what she was doing. Suddenly his back end felt weird, as if somepony was feeling around his rump. His back end lifted up a bit, which caused him to lose his balance for a moment, and he quickly pawed at the ground with his fore-hooves a few times. Once he realized he wasn't going to fall, he relaxed somewhat, there was still the fact that she was feeling around his back end with her magic. He had to admit to himself, that despite it being a little awkward which caused him to blush, it felt rather nice. He looked at the mare exclusively at first, forgetting what it was she set out to do, and silently enjoying this little feat, till the first 'pluck' occurred. Zephyr didn't yelp, but it certainly sent a shock around the area the stinger was removed. He changed his glance to his rump, which was slightly elevated.

Now that he remembered what she was doing, he braced himself for the next few that would be removed. Small stings shocked the areas again, around where she removed the stingers. She had removed them all rather quickly, but for some reason she didn't stop searching. Perhaps she didn't know they were all removed and wanted to make sure they were all out. Zephyr didn't protest and returned his glance to the mare, letting her decide when to stop. He certainly wasn't going to stop her early now that all the stingers were removed. He figured she was just being thorough in her search, but just then, he felt her magic reach to his inner thigh. He tensed up his front end in reaction, digging his fore-hooves into the soft grass a bit. Why was she searching there? Was it a mistake, was she really being that thorough, or was she flirting? Zephyr couldn't tell. His face grew warm and a deep red blush could be seen, even through Zephyr's dark green pelt color. He didn't ask and didn't have much time to think about it before she stopped her 'search and pluck' spell.

He noticed her nervously rubbing her front legs together and smiled while he waited for her to finish her statement. "You definitely got them all." He glanced back to his rump, which he had planted on the ground once again. Small red spots could be seen where he was stung, but it was nothing bad. Zephyr looked back over to Holly, smiling. He gave a sigh of relief as the prickly feeling was gone. "Thanks for that, it would've taken me forever to get them out." He thinks back to what she said while he was busy trying to remove the stingers, somewhat remembering what she said. "You want to present your fruit to the Princess'? That sounds really nice. I've never had any ambitions quite like that. I hope you get to do that, it would be uh... interesting to do that." He taps a hoof to his chin. "You want to bring them to Cloudsdale?"

"That's for the best, they sting like, ow!" Zephyr was trying to pull the hornet stinger out of his rump with little success. He looked to be ignoring Holly in favor of that. He wasn't meaning to, the stingers had just dug in deeper, and were starting to sting more. He definitely must've sat on them after he ate that delicious strawberry. He must've looked silly curled up the way he did, reaching back in a vain attempted to get those stingers out. The possible ridiculousness of it wasn't a concern, stopping that prodding pain in the flank was on his mind. On the other hoof, he didn't want to be rude to the lovely mare before him.

He overheard her saying that he could have as many strawberries as he liked. His attention was split, he had a willful desire to get on the mares good side, though it wasn't something Zephyr was good at, and he also wanted those stingers out. He replied to her while trying to reach back to remove them.

"Thanks uh..." He glances at her momentarily. "Holly Dash, right?" And returns to his fruitless task. "But I won't eat too many, and they're really more than delicious, they're..." He stops and ponders a moment. "Well I don't really know the word." Again, attempting to remove the stingers while trying to compliment the mare. "But you really do make the best strawberries." Stopping to look back at Holly. "Probably the best in all of Equestria." His task of removing the stingers and his divided attention was proving to be difficult and he stops his wasteful attempts with the stingers and returns his attention to Holly Dash, most anyway. He wanted to ask for her help, but he felt awkward when the thought surfaced and instead, chose to try and ignore the prickly feeling in his rump.

He sits down carefully, facing Holly Dash. "Sorry, I can't seem to get them loose, I'll try again later." He took a strawberry out from the basket and plopped the fruit into his mouth, tasting the sweet fruity sugary mixed flavor. It was a perfect blend and Zephyr was quite enjoying himself. The scenery was nice. The sun shined warmly on the two ponies in the woods, while a gentle breeze whisked through their mane and tail. It was quite the perfect afternoon out there with a beautiful mare and great food... or at least it would be perfect. That prickly feeling was bothersome and with his previous display, he probably looked foalish to the mare.

No worries, it would probably be better to wait for others to get back into it anyway. I was expecting the After Part to fire off a bit more than this.

((OOC: Wait, this isn't a private RP between Zephyr and Holly Dash? [Achievement Unlocked] Hijacked a Thread! ))

Zephyr smiled while Holly magick'd a delicious looking strawberry toward him. He waves a hoof toward her. "It's okay, I understand what you mean."

He caught the wink... Zephyr never understood winks and could never figure out what the intent behind them was. He sat back on his rump and ate the strawberry offered to him. His face beamed with delight and his wings began rustling at his sides. The strawberry tasted amazing and he ate it slowly to hold the taste in his mouth longer. He closed his eyes momentarily and gave a satisfied sigh after finishing it. Smiling still, he looks at Holly.

"Wow thanks. That was the best tasting strawberry I've ever eaten!" He adjusts his sitting posture a little to lean back more. "You're both lovely and tal... OW!!" Zephyr stood to his hooves quickly as a sharp pain rose around his lower back side. He took a step back from Holly and looked back to see what had caused the sudden pain, and saw the bumps. It was the hornet stings from before, one of which, still had the stinger in it. He must've irritated it when he sat differently.

Zephyr sighed when he realized he would have to remove it himself. He turned to Holly and gave a fake laugh. "I forgot I had gotten stung a few times during the race. It's nothing to worry about."

Zephyr realized he had practically interrupted the mare with his question when she gave her gratitude for the compliment. First he gave an awkward compliment out of nowhere about her tail, which she gave a visual response to by swishing it around, though Zephyr didn't quite know what that meant. Now he's interrupting her. This wasn't going so well in Zephyr's mind. He was agitated, yet again, at his social inabilities. The mare hadn't answered right away, she seemed to have been in thought for a moment and she shook her mane again which waved in a beautiful colorful arc around her neck. Maybe her delayed response to his question meant she was trying to remember where those strawberries were.

They passed a few of those puddles of sap, though getting stuck in them wouldn't be a problem at all since they weren't galloping about. Zephyr nearly giggled out loud when she had stepped around a puddle with various strands of colored hair. Did she get stuck here?

"They're over here...Ah magicked them here when Ah got stuck,"

Zephyr was relieved to here it and again, had to keep back a laugh when it was confirmed. As he followed her toward the maple trees, he walked next to her silent, trying to think of something else to talk about. He kept his mouth shut this time, he didn't want to blurt out something like before. Just then, there they were. The strawberries had some sap on them, but what she said was probably true. He was about to eat one of the sappy strawberries when she mentioned she could sell them and he hesitated.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to eat these when you're going to sell them?" He completely missed the point when she said she would have to start selling them. "I don't want to take anything from you that you use to make your bits from."