Chapter 3: Emergency in Equestria
Whirl and Princess Luna were flying around the grounds after their trip through the hedge maze. Both of them were lost in the fun until one of the guards flew up to the pair. “Your highness! Princess Celestia requires your immediate council!” He said as he gave a salute.
Princess Luna sighed. “What does she need private?” She asked in a exhausted tone.
“King Sombra has been sighted in Caterlot. Captain Armor is wounded. We have been searching for you all day your highness.” The guard said never dropping his salute.
Princess Luna gasped. “Whirl, come with me. We may require your help.” She said as she started to fly down towards the castle.
Whirl and the guard followed her in a ‘v’ formation. “Who is King Sombra princess?” Whirl asked as they flew.
“He is an evil unicorn who took over the Crystal Kingdom a thousand years ago. Recently he was thought to be slain, but no part of him was ever found. How could he have returned? How is this possible? And how did he get his hooves on the smartest captain we have?” She asked herself as they flew.
Whirl shook his head. “I don’t know princess. But I will do whatever I can to help.” He said confidently.
They landed on a balcony and walked inside. The room they had entered seemed to be a bedchamber of some kind. “Sister! Where have you been?!” A voice boomed from the door. Princess Celestia had just walked in as they entered.
“I am sorry sister. I was in the maze with Whirl.” She said as she gestured to Whirl
Whirl simply held perfectly still in a bow he had formed when he saw the other princess arrive.
“Stand up Whirl, there is no time for pleasantries. I sent your friend Sonic Flare north to the Crystal Empire to deliver a message to it’s princess. However I have another task for you, if you are willing.” Celestia said as she started to write. “King Sombra is blocking my communications out of Canterlot. I need you to take this letter to the librarian in Ponyville immediately.” She rolled the scroll and tied it.
Whirl took the scroll and looked to Princess Luna. “I will do it for you.” He said as he took out his sunglasses. He put the scroll in his saddle bag and turned to the door.
Princess Luna stopped him. “Wait.” She looked at him with concern. “King Sombra will try to stop you… please… please be careful.” She said with a concerned voice.
Whirl smiled and put a hoof on her shoulder. “I promise I will be back after I deliver the letter.” He said as he looked into her eyes.
Princess Luna smiled weakly. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I know you will.”
Whirl turned back towards the door and trotted out. He jumped off the balcony and streamlined straight down. Just before hitting the ground he turned upwards and flew over the walls. He was quickly on his was back to Ponyville.
Princess Luna kept her eyes on him until he was out of sight. “He will be fine. He is strong and resourceful.” Princess Celestia said as she put a hoof on her sisters back.
“I know he is.” Princess Luna said with a smile. “I know he will be back with the elements in tow. I think he loves me…” She said with a smile.
Princess Celestia nodded. “I know he does. But right now we need to focus on the defense of Canterlot.” She said as she turned to her table. She spread out a map of Caterlot and Princess Luna joined her by the table.
****
Whirl was almost to the edge of Canterlot. The moon was high and he could use the darkness to avoid King Sombra, or so he thought. He flew near the edge of Canterlot and he heard a voice echo in his head. “Messenger sent by the princesses? You will be consumed by the shadow!” Whirl didn’t even hesitate as he heard the words, he helixes to the right narrowly avoiding a shadowy tentacle. He looked down and the shadows were leaping at him from the ground in the form of tentacles.
He was dodging and weaving through them. Just when he was about out of range one of them hit his back left hoof. The pain was unbearable! It sent him in a spiral down towards the earth. Black crystals grew on his leg and squeezed it tightly. He straightened his flying out when he got the chance. He felt substantially weaker, he was losing altitude as the covered hoof dragged him down. “You made a promise!” he thought as he descended. He landed with a thud and kept his back hoof off the ground.
He started to walk towards Ponyville as fast as he could, doing the best he could to ignore the pain in his leg. It felt like an anchor that was attached to his limb as he walked. Every now and then he would fly for as long as he could.
****
Flare was getting exhausted. He had been flying non-stop for six hours. “Air was right… I need to work out more…” He thought as he flew. He looked ahead and saw a massive wall of falling snow ahead. He sighed and pulled out his goggles from his saddle bag, at least part way out before they got stuck on the zipper. “Oh come on!” He yelled in vain as he tugged. He made one last effort and pulled hard. This proved to be a fatal mistake as it tore the bag from it’s strap. It plummeted down towards the earth with great speed, Flare quickly got his goggles on and took a dive.
Going as fast as he could he streamlined the snow around him as he chased down the bag. He managed to grab it moments before they hit the ground. He pulled up as best he could and the friction between him and the snow was causing a static discharge. It was awful, random shocks zapping his coat caused him to twitch in pain. Going at his speed the twitches caused him to lose control, he quickly found himself in a spin. He crashed and tumbled in the snow.
It was winter during his childhood all over again. Bullies taking him outside and throwing him in the snow. He came to when he heard hoof steps in the snow. His eyes cracked open, he saw a figured standing above him. Even through the fog of the snow he could make out a sort of shine on the figure. The cold soon became too much and he lost consciousness again.
****
One day, it had been a full day since Whirl Wind got hit by the crystal that was now affecting his leg. It had grown to cover the entirety of his back leg and even part of his hip. He drug it along on the ground, causing and indent as he went along. “Just… a… few… more… miles…” He thought as he pulled his leg along. Something was coming over the next hill, it sounded like wheels.
“Hey! Heeeey! Is someone there?!” He called out.
The wheels kept turning and a faint voice could be heard. “Hello?! Is somepony there?!”
It was clearly a stallions voice. Whirl was relieved when he got an answer. “Yes! Please hurry! I need help!” He said as he fell to the ground.
The wagon came over the hill with a red stallion pulling it. The speed of the wagons wheels had quickened. Soon the wagon had pulled right next to Whirl. “What happened to you?” The mysterious stallion asked.
Whirl was panting heavily, he was exhausted from hauling his leg around. “I got… I got… I got a message… for the librarian… in Ponyville…” He said between his pants. “It’s urgent!”
The red stallion nodded. “I was just coming from Ponyville. I am hauling a new apple tree to a friends house. I could take you to the library after I…”
“No time! Canterlot is in danger!” He said seriously. “We need to go now!”
The red stallion was taken aback from the sudden shouting. “Alright, I understand. I assume you can’t walk anymore. Let me make room in the wagon for you.” He said as he unhooked the himself. He shuffled the tree around a bit until there was enough room for Whirl to fit. “Do you need me to lift you into the wagon or…?”
“No. I got this.” Whirl said as he stood up. He dragged his leg to the back of the wagon. He bucked his back legs into the wagon first before jumping the rest of himself into it. “I am ready to go.” He said as he shifted around in the back. “We need to hurry though. Sorry for being so impatient earlier. But…”
“There is no need to explain. If Canterlot is in trouble then the librarian is the one to see.” The red mysterious stallion said. “What is your name by the way?”
“Whirl Wind. What is yours?” Whirl responded with a wince of pain.
“Big Macintosh. If you don’t mind me asking, what happed to your leg?”
“I was hit by some kind of spell from King Sombra.” When he said the name King Sombra the wagon suddenly kicked up in speed.
“King Sombra?! That unicorn put my sister in danger! He is extremely dangerous! We need to hurry!” Big Mac said as he ran at full speed.
“That’s what I said…” Whirl thought as he held on.
It didn’t take long for them to get back into Ponyville. Whirl heard the chatter of other ponies as they drove by. “Out of the way! This is an emergency!” Big Macintosh yelled as they entered the market district. Panicked ponies quickly moved out of the way as they ran by. Another voice sounded next to Big Mac.
“Big Mac! What is going on? Ya‘ll are s‘posed to be taking that tree to Fluttershy‘s!”
“ AJ! The stallion in the back has an urgent message to get to Twilight. King Sombra is back.” Big Mac said as he started to pull the wagon to a halt.
“KING SOMBRA?! How is that possible? We saw him explode after the crystal heart was put back!”
“You are going to have to come in and listen.” Big Mac replied as he opened the back of the wagon.
Whirl dragging himself out of the back. The crystal had covered his entire flank. When he got down he started to drag himself to the libraries door. Big Mac and AJ had already opened the door for him. Whirl was in agony as he pulled himself through the door. He let out a cry of pain and he closed his eyes. He fell to the floor inside of the library.
“Twilight! Twi! Where are you?!” AJ cried out.
“I’m coming! What is with all the…?” Twilight came into the room and gasped. “Oh my gosh! What happened to him?!”
“I have a…” Whirl started.
“King Sombra is back!” AJ interrupted.
“Yes and…”
“He cast a spell on Whirl Wind here.” Big Mac said over Whirl.
“Yes but that…”
“Oh my gosh, that must be incredibly painful!” Twilight interrupted as she poked the crystal.
Whirl let out a yelp of pain and grabbed Twilight’s hoof. “Canterlot is in danger!” He said as he pulled out the message from Princess Celestia.
Twilight took it and read it silently. “AJ, go get the others. Canterlot needs our help!” She said as she rolled up the scroll with her magic.
AJ nodded and left without another word. Whirl was panting from the pain. His vision started to turn black. “H-help…” He said as the crystal grew over his chest.
Twilight’s horn started to glow. “I will use my magic to counteract the crystal. Hold absolutely still.” She said as a purple beam shot from her horn. It made contact with the crystal and it started to recede slowly. Whirl let out a gasp of pain as it started to move. It was like he was in a vice that had been in a fire for days. He gritted his teeth and let out a groan. After a while the crystal was gone and Whirl fell to the floor.
Twilight was panting heavily. “There… all gone… I need to sit down…” She said as she fell to her flank.
Whirl lifted his eyes to her. “Thank you. But we need to discuss what the plan is to save Canterlot.” He said as he tried to stand.
Twilight shook her head. “Your job is done Whirl Wind. You just needed to get a message to us.”
Whirl fell back down, he was too weak to stand. “Listen, I made a promise… I will not break a promise to… my love…” He said softly.
Twilight walked over to him. She put a hoof on his shoulder. “Rest, we have to get everything prepared before we can go. I understand why you want to come, we could use the extra muscle. Big Mac, go to the mayor and tell her to start preparing Ponyville’s defenses… in case we fail.” She said as she turned to him.
Big Mac nodded and said, “Eeyup.” before he trotted out the door.
Whirl tried to stand up again. This time he managed to get up on all fours and shake. “We need to get to Canterlot…” He said weakly. He started to move towards the door when Twilight stopped him.
“Listen, we need a plan first. We can’t just run to Canterlot with no idea what to do. Especially in your state, you need to rest. Here, come lay down on the couch and I promise, I promise we will get to Canterlot.” Twilight said as she moved him to the couch.
Whirl didn’t have much choice but to follow her, she was nudging him and he was too weak to fight back. He finally gave up and laid down on the couch. “Please, we must hurry.” He said sadly.
“Hey, I made a promise. I just need you to trust me.” Twilight said with a soft smile. “My friends and I have saved Equestria more than once, and we have defeated King Sombra before. Who did you leave in Canterlot that you love to come give this message in the first place?” She asked with curiosity.
Whirl blushed and laid his head down. “Just… somepony amazing…”
“It’s okay, I am sure the princesses will keep all of Canterlot safe.” Twilight said with a reassuring smile.
“By putting themselves in danger… that’s the problem…” Whirl said without thinking.
Twilight looked at him with surprise. “Princess Celestia?” She asked curiously.
Whirl’s eyes widened. “No! No… It’s… It’s…” Whirl let out a sigh. “Princess Luna… I just… left her…”
Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder. “It’s her job to protect Equestria, there was nothing you could have done to make her come with you. But don’t worry, the princesses are the two most powerful beings in all the world. She will be fine.” She said reassuringly.
There was a knock at the door. “Come on Twilight, open up.” A voice called out through the door. Twilight opened the door with her magic. “Come in!” She called out. A light blue pegasus trotted through the door. Whirl recognized her as Rainbow Dash, the best weather pony on the team.
“Twilight, why are you here with my supervisor?” She asked as she walked through the door.
Twilight looked at Whirl. “Well, he was the one who delivered the message from Canterlot. I didn’t know you supervised Rainbow Dash.”
Whirl nodded and looked at Rainbow. “Hello RD, what are you doing here?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Rainbow trotted in and jumped on the couch. “I am here to save Equestria again. So Twi, AJ told me that it was King Sombra again. How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know Rainbow. All I know is that I trust what this stallion has said. Where are the others?”
“Fluttershy is coming, she is just getting somepony to watch her animal friends. With Spike visiting Breaburn and the Apple family in Appleoosa, she is kind of strained to find somepony. Rarity will be here soon too, and Pinkie Pie is behind you.”
“SURPRISE! Hia Twilight, Raindbow, Whirl! This is exciting isn’t it!? We get to go to Canterlot and see the princesses again!” Pinkie said as she announced herself in the usual way.
“Pinkie, this isn’t a vacation or a play. Equestria is in danger, we need to be alert and ready.” Twilight said seriously.
“Oooohhhh. Well, I am ready to save Equestria! Are you? Oh is Whirl coming? Why? Is he a mysterious seventh element or something?” Pinkie asked in a string of wild questions.
Whirl got lost half way through that jumble of words. “Element? What do you mean?”
While the others started to shuffle in Twilight explained the elements of harmony, why the princesses called on them, and why it was very important that he got here when he did. With the rest of the elements of harmony finally together, Twilight called them to order.
“Alright, as you all probably know by now King Sombra is back and apparently he is here for all of Equestria, not just the Crystal Empire. We need a plan to stop him again.” She said as she looked at the ponies in the room.
“I don’t mean to be so blunt, but why don’t we just use the crystal heart again?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Because the crystal heart isn’t here and he isn’t going to risk falling for that a second time.” Twilight said in response.
“Um, Twilight. Why don’t we use the elements of harmony to stop him?” Fluttershy asked quietly.
“That is exactly what I was thinking, but first we need to get into Canterlot.” Twilight said as she tapped her chin.
“I can get you in…” Whirl said suddenly from behind the crowd.
They all turned to him with confused looks. “How?” Twilight asked.
“Last time I flew out of Canterlot…King Sombra focused all of his efforts on stopping me. I can distract him while you get in from the other side of Canterlot.” Whirl responded.
“We can’t let you sacrifice yourself to get us into…” Twilight started.
“This isn’t about me, this is about all of Equestria, this is about you getting into Canterlot to save us, this is about you. I am going back to Canterlot in two hours. I will be back here ready to go, if you are coming with me I suggest you be ready.” Whirl said as he walked out the door.
The rest of them just watched as he left. When the door was closed Rainbow suddenly asked, “What is wrong with him?”
Twilight sighed. “It’s nothing, he just left something very important in Canterlot. Even though I don‘t like his plan, I don‘t think we can stop him. We should be ready to go when he gets back.”
****
Flare’s eyes cracked open. He was warm, he was rested, he felt alright. His eyes opened all the way to reveal a crystal room. It was glistening with the light of the candles in his room. His eyes drifted around until they fell on a pony sitting next to a counter writing down something.
Flare’s head hurt and he let out a grunt. “Excuse me, but where am I?” He asked as he rubbed his head.
The crystal pony turned around and smiled. “It’s okay, you are in the Crystal Empire now.”
Flare’s eyes widened. He jumped out of bed and grabbed his bag. He ignored the pain in his head as he moved towards the door. “I need to see the princess immediately.”
The nurse was trying her best to get him to sit back down. “You can’t leave yet, you aren’t well. Please lay down.”
Flare shook his head. “No, it is too important. I was sent by Shining Armor to deliver an important message.”
The nurse gasped. “Prince Armor sent you? You should have just said so in the first place. Follow me, I will take you to her.” she said as she trotted out the door.
Flare followed her through many halls. All of which were made of pure crystal. He felt odd as he walked, as if he had taken a train to the head. He ignored the pain and moved on. They moved into a large room and at the other end of it was Princess Candance sitting on her throne.
“Ah, the mystery pegasus is finally awake. I trust you are feeling better.” She asked as she stood up. She walked over to him and smiled.
Flare looked up to her with a frown. “How I feel doesn’t matter.” He said as he pulled a scroll from his bag and gave it to the princess.
She read it with haste when she saw it was from Princess Celestia. She rolled it up again and looked at one of the guards near the door. “Go get me general Shield immediately.”
The guard gave a salute and trotted out the door. Princess Cadance turned to Flare. “So, you… you saved Shining Armor?” She asked softly.
Flare simply nodded slowly in response. He never expected the sudden hug that followed. “Thank you.” Princess Cadance said softly.
“You are welcome. I need to get back home.” He said as he pulled away from the hug. “I have a wife… and two foals on the way. I need to get back home.”
Princess Cadance nodded. “I will call a chariot to take you home. Unfortunately the trains are not going to be running for a while, but I will get four of my strongest to get you home.” She said as she looked to her other guard.
The guard nodded and left to get three more stallions to pull the chariot. “Is there anything else I can do for you?” Princess Cadance asked.
“No, you have done enough for me. I just need to get home as soon as I can.” He said with a smile.
Princess Cadance nodded. “I have a debt I need to repay. If you ever need anything, let me know.”
Flare nodded. “Well there is one thing. I think I have earned it.”
****
Whirl was ready to go. He was heading for the door when he suddenly stopped. On the wall hung a saddle bag that his father had given him. “Don’t open this bag, don’t wear this bag, don’t even LOOK at this bag until it is a dire emergency.” His fathers words rang in his mind. Whirl walked up to the saddle bag and opened it. Inside was a pair of goggles and a poster of the Wonderbolts. On the back was a letter written by his father.
Dear Whirl Wind,
My son, if you are reading this then it must be a dire emergency. If it isn’t an emergency, then I am very disappointed in your discipline. Whirl rolled his eyes then kept reading. These goggles were mine, when I was a Wonderbolt. Recognize the pony In the middle row, third over? Whirl couldn’t believe what he was reading, his father had always told him that being a Wonderbolt was a wasted dream. But there was his father, an earth pony, staring back at him with his smile. You are probably wondering how I was a Wonderbolt with no wings, well here’s the thing. Back when I was young the Wonderbolts had two teams, the air team and the ground team. I was the leader of the fastest earth ponies in all of Equestria. You have it in your blood to be the best of the best. Never forget that. Now, you go and do what needs to be done.
Love,
Your father.
Whirl was nearly in tears as he read the last of the letter. He put the goggles on and smiled confidently. Even though they did not go with his royal guard costume they gave him more confidence. Whirl walked out the door and headed towards the library. When he arrived he found all six ponies waiting for him. They were all wearing separate saddle bags depicting their cutie marks. They all stared at him in his armor. Even though it wasn’t real it was almost as good as the real thing. “Are you a royal guard Whirl Wind?“ Whirl shook his head, smiled confidently and started to walk out of town. Rainbow Dash trotted up next to him and stared at his goggles. “Those… those are real! Where did you get them? Are you a Wonderbolt in secret?” She asked with a grin.
“No, but my father was part of the old land team.” He said in response. “And no, this is not real armor, but it is real gilded steel so it is good enough.”
Rainbow was grinning madly. “Your father was a Wonderbolt?! That is so awesome! I have to get an autograph! And you say he was part of the land team? That was disbanded years ago. Not many remember that there even was a land team, but they were awesome!” She said in a series of questions that Pinkie Pie would be proud of.
Whirl chuckled. “I didn’t even know that he was a Wonderbolt. He left me a letter and these goggles for an emergency. It was meant to give me confidence… it worked.” He said seriously.
They were all moving at a good pace. They all spoke about the plan and how they were going to get into Canterlot. None of them wanted to mention Whirl’s part in the plan, they didn’t even mention his name. They just said, “When King Sombra is distracted.” It unnerved him a bit. Like he wasn’t going to make it at all. He kept his confidence up by adjusting his fathers goggles. As they were moving along the road they heard a chariot approaching. Whirl noticed a red coat that he would never forget. He flew up in the air and waved. “Heeeey Sonic! Flare! Stop for a moment.” He said as they pulled up.
“Whirl! Where are you going? Home is the other way, and why are you wearing your… you aren’t. You aren’t going back to Canterlot, are you?” Flare asked with a concerned look.
Whirl nodded. “I… I made a promise to her Flare. I can’t go back on my word.” He said with a frown.
Flare couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “But King Sombra is attacking Canterlot. How could you just go back.”
“Flare, if Air was in Canterlot wouldn’t you risk everything to help her?”
Flare nodded. “I understand. I… I want to go but…”
“I know, you have two foals on the way. Go be with your family. “ Whirl said as he gave his friend one final hug.
The chariot continued onwards and Whirl watched it leave. He closed his eyes and turned around to keep going. The rest of them saw that he didn’t want to talk and kept quiet.
When they arrived outside of Canterlot they were met with a horrifying sight. The place was being besieged by shadow. It was as if the whole city was under attack by the an evil fog. Whirl gritted his teeth in anger. “I will approach from the north. You will have five, maybe ten minutes to get in. If I survive… I will meet you at the castle.” He said as he trotted off without another word. He was scared of what was to come, he had to hold off an evil shadow for at least ten minutes. The most he had was his speed and in this armor he was slower, but at least he had something to protect himself from any projectiles.
He stood on a hilltop north of Canterlot. He was ready to do what was needed to be done. Whirl flapped his wings and closed his eyes, he adjusted his goggled and finally took flight. His eyes opened and he saw the shadow moving towards him. “Bring it on you piece of shadowy garbage!” He yelled as he dodged the first onslaught of darkness. But there was a second wave of darkness coming that he could never avoid. He closed his eyes and waited for the end. Suddenly he felt an impact and it made him open his eyes. It didn’t hit him from the front but from the side. He looked around and saw Flare giving him a salute in his night guard armor. Whirl smiled and started to dodge more of the shadow. Flare was doing a lot better than he was, mostly because Flare did this sort of thing for a living. Whirl felt something hit his wing, this time it wasn’t Flare, on the contrary it was a strand of shadow casting his wing into a crystal encasement.
Whirl went into a tailspin and tried his best to recover but he couldn’t move his wing at all. Flare had seen what happened and grabbed Whirl from behind, he tried his best to keep them in the air. They finally came out of the shadow and saw Canterlot. A barrier was keeping the shadow out now. They fell right through it and were falling fast towards the ground. Flare pulled up hard and they were starting to slow down but it wasn’t going to be enough. They hit the ground with a hard thud.