//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: This Means War! // by Whirl Wind //------------------------------// Chapter two: The spy, the Attack, the Mission and the Return Everypony in Ponyville was scrambling. They were all packing up and evacuating to where ever they thought was safe. Some fled to the Everfree forest while others took refuge in the mountains. The guards that were protecting Ponyville did not interfere, in fact if some had it their way they would be leaving as well. Reports from their informant had tipped them off to an attack incoming. All of them were preparing barriers, bottlenecks and other defenses but with very few pegasi they had little to no anti-air. Reinforcements would not be arriving for a whole day and the attack was said to be here in twelve hours. With Fillydelphia falling in less than two hours the whole situation seemed hopeless. A loud whistle echoed through the clambering. “Listen up!” Everypony came to a halt and observed a blue pegasi standing on top of town hall with a bullhorn. “We can not just abandon our homes! We must fight back the forces of King Sombra! We need every able bodied pony to fight in the name of the princesses! I am pregnant and I am going to battle, who is with me?!” Everypony started to murmur and look around. Then one red stallion stepped forward. “Eeyup!” he exclaimed. Then another pony stepped forward. “YEAH!” Soon pegasi from all over were falling in, the whole Ponyville weather team by the looks of it. Delivery ponies lined up as well. With a new sense of bolstered confidence they all went to the nearest guard station and put on armor. When the blue pegasi stepped down from town hall’s roof she was met by the red stallion who stepped forward first. “Mam, I don’t know who you are, but you can’t go into battle pregnant.” he said sincerely. “I know, I wasn’t really going to go to battle. I can’t risk the lives of two unborn foals. But what else could I say to get results like this.” she responded with a smile. “Well, I understand that. I sent my little sister off to Appleoosa when I heard of the war. Her and mah grandmamma are there now. I stayed behind to help keep the town together but… What is your name anyway?” “Air Mail. My husband is fighting in this war somewhere and I should be with him… but…” “No need to explain. Listen, I know that nopony here will stop you if you decide to leave. Go to Appleoosa and stay with my family. Tell them Big Macintosh says hello and hat you were sent by me. I will make it an order if I have to.” he said with a friendly smile. Air nodded and gave Big Mac a hug. “Good luck.” she said as she started to walk to the train station. **** General Wind was gathering what forces he had left from the attack on Fillydelphia. His lines were thin and his numbers were not what he would want them to be, but he had no choice. After only about threes weeks he had at least a thousand of each type of pony, which gave him plenty of room to strategize. Once he had a plan formulated he set out with his army. In twelve hours time Ponyville would be under siege and night would cover the land. He went to his tent one last time as his army marched outward. There was a letter on his map of Equestria. He picked it up and unwrapped it, a red powder shot out of the scroll and hit him in the eyes. He recoiled in pain and rubbed his eyes but it only seemed to make the pain worsen. The last thing he saw before he was knocked unconscious was a pony form that hit him. **** “WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY LEAD GENERAL IS MISSING?!” King Sombra yelled in a fit of rage. His horn began to glow and one of the messengers was crumpled into a heap. The other watched in horror as his partner was crushed like a bug. “He-he was last seen in his tent, then he just vanished your highness.” the other messenger finally said. “HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?! HOW COULD NOPONY SEE HIM GET TAKEN?! WHY WAS THERE NO EVIDENCE OF A STRUGGLE?!” At every word the entirety of Canterlot castle shook. “Do-do I order the troops to fall back your highness?” “NO! SEND THEM TO CRUSH PONYVILLE! I WILL LEAD THEM!” King Sombra exclaimed. The messenger ran out of the room without hesitation and took to the skies as fast as he could. King Sombra went to the armory to get outfitted in his armor. Without a leader the lines of King Sombra’s army were unorganized and unruly. They marched at an uneven pace that spread their lines thin and ultimately slowed them down. When King Sombra arrived he had to take time to regroup his troops before beginning to march again. He trotted next to his new advisor and asked, “How many forces are in Ponyville?” “One thousand, all land based ponies. The rest are civilians.” the pony responded. “We will crush them easily.” King Sombra said arrogantly. “Sir, reports of reinforcements have been confirmed. There are two thousand heading from the Crystal Empire as we speak.” “No matter, we will be so entrenched into Ponyville by the time they get there that they will never be able to get us out!” King Sombra said with a laugh. “As you command sir!” **** General Wind awoke several hours later. He tried to move but found himself chained by his hooves. He was blindfolded and suspended in the air spread out, vulnerable. The clopping of hooves echoed on wood as he tried to struggle. “Ah you are awake, I was not sure how long you would sleep you fake.” A voice sounded through the room. “I will destroy you!” General Wind exclaimed as he struggled in the air. He tried to flap his wing only to realize they were strapped to his sides. “Who are you?!” “I will not speak to you, but I will talk to the one trapped and out of view.” “Who do you mean? There is nopony else here but me!” General Wind yelled as he continued to struggle. The smell of something strange hit his nostrils and he recoiled. “Get back!” he yelled defiantly. Something was shoved into his mouth and it pour liquid down his throat. He gagged and coughed when it pulled out. “What was that?! What have you…!?” he started to say before his head was wracked with pain. “Now then, I wish to talk to the one within.” General Wind let out a loud yell before going limp. “Whe… where am I?” A calm voice came from his lips. The blindfold was taken off to reveal his natural eyes. His vision was blurry for a moment then things came into focus. He was inside some kind of tree and masks adorned the walls. His eyes fell onto a zebra standing in front of him holding a blindfold. “Who are you?” “My name you will know later, I think that is for the better. Are you feeling well? By the looks of it you were living in hell.” the zebra said with a tone of sorrow. Whirl nodded his head. “I… I killed… so many…” he said as the memories of what he had done flooded into his mind. His body remained limp and he started to cry as the faces of the ponies he had slain came to view. The zebra walked up to him and placed a hoof on his chin. She forced him to look her in the eye. “Another potion or two should do the trick. It will take a while before you beat this sick.” “What do you mean? I am still General Wind?” Whirl asked in fear. The zebra nodded. “I am sorry you have to endure this, but it will be over soon, and him you will not miss.” Whirl’s eyes remained coated in tears. He looked back down towards the floor. “Th-thank you…” he said after an hour of crying. The zebra was working on another batch of potion when he said it. She looked over to him and saw some green in his eyes. “You are most welcome, but now I must cover you eyes before the General you become.” she said as she covered his eyes. Soon after he was thrashing about in his chains again. “YOU CAN NOT BEAT ME WITCH! I AM THE ALL POWERFUL GENERAL WIND! I HAVE SLAIN HUNDREDS IN THE NAME OF THE SHADOW LORD AND I WILL SLAY YOU FOR HIM AS WELL!” **** The fumes were filling Sonic Flare’s lungs with each breath. It was like having thick peanut butter cling to his throat, except it tasted horrible. The shadow refineries were the worst place imaginable. Flare observed as pony after pony was either drug in or simply tossed into the churning shadows. The cries of foals rang through the air as they were taken away from their parents. But that was all about to change. Flare placed devices around the entirety of Los Pegasus, devices that would disrupt all dark magic for at least three hours. The city was at it’s knees to his will. A hoof grabbed him from behind as he walked through the refinery. “What are you doing here?” the shadow pony asked. Flare smirked and took off the helmet to his disguise. “This.” he said as he pressed a button on his watch. In an instant the entire city exploded in a ray of light. Everything that was shadow was banished as the light soaked into everything. Flare ran to the cages where ponies were being held and kicked them open swiftly. “Everypony grab somepony else and get the hell out of Los Pegasus now!” Without hesitation the ponies started to lift the unconscious ponies and started to carry them out of the refinery. Flare ran out of the refinery and onto the streets. “Everypony get out! Hurry! Head for Ponyville!” he shouted as he ran down the street. Floods of ponies started to pour out of the buildings as Flare announces the evacuation. He had one more job to do. He ran back to the refineries and started to plant explosives around the support structures that held the building together. Wiring them each meticulously and carefully he made sure they would all go off thirty seconds after the shadows returned. Panicked ponies filled the streets as Flare finished his task. He saw how slow things were getting so he flew up to the highest building and flashed the light on top of it three times. Within moments carriages hauled by guards rode in and started to fill up. This picked up the pace as other guards redirected ponies to different towns across Equestria, though a majority were heading to Ponyville. Flare quickly made one last check to make sure everything was in place before he fled the city. Three minutes to go before the shadows took over again and the city was completely deserted. Flare retreated to the rendezvous point with a group of guards hauling ponies away. They were so far away from the city that there was no way the shadow would catch them. As if someone had turned off a light switch the city behind them turned to darkness. Flare started counting down. One of the guards look at him with a confused look. “Three… two… one… boom.” Flare said with a neutral tone. As he said boom a large explosion shook the ground and a lot of ponies screamed. The guard that had been looking at Flare jumped in surprise and picked up the pace with a worried look on his face. Flare chuckled and smiled at his job well done. He turned around and saw the burning rubble of what used to be Los Pegasus. “A necessary sacrifice.” he said quietly as he continued. His mission completed after a sore three weeks of dodging patrols and planting light devices throughout Los Pegasus in places where nopony would ever search, he took to the sky and started to fly to Ponyville ahead of the evacuation. He had only one thing on his mind, find General Wind and stop him by any means necessary, even if after all his efforts he had to kill him. **** King Sombra’s forces were camped outside of Ponyville. Contrary to General Wind’s plan, King Sombra had elected to attack a dawn rather than at dusk. Confident in his power King Sombra openly mocked the forces of Ponyville. Sonic Flare had just arrived during the night and checked in with the guards leader. “Report.” “King Sombra arrived just at dusk sir. Ever since he got here he has been sending threatening and demoralizing messages. He had also fired random volleys of magic which we have blocked successfully so far.” the lead guard said. Flare chuckled. “He has been sending messages? How?” “YOUR ARMY STANDS IN THE WAY OF MY REGEME! SURRENDER NOW AND JOIN THE SHADOW!” King Sombra’s voice echoed through Ponyville. Flare laughed out loud. “Really? Is he so arrogant as to give away his position just to threaten us?” The lead guard was shocked that Flare could laugh even though the battle would happen soon. “Sir, what is so funny about all of this?” Flare turned to the leader. “Simply this.” He picked up one of the enemy flags from beside the map of Equestria and planted it near Ponyville. “Do you see it now? They are there, what is close enough to them that would make this funny?” The leader looked at the map carefully. “Sir, I am afraid I don’t see what you mean. The closest thing to them is Ponyville and the Everfree forest.” “Exactly.” Flare said as he threw down a folder. The leader picked it up and opened it. The file contained pictures of a unicorn pony named Trixie, as well as all the information on her. “What does this unicorn have to do with… oh… oh my… OH WOW! When did this happen?!” he exclaimed as he read on. “Just over a year ago. I need one of your bravest soldiers.” Flare said as he took the file back. “That would be me sir. Allow me to go.” the leader said. “If you think you can do it, be my guest. I can take lead until you get back and you will come back. Make that an order.” Flare said as he gave him a salute. The leader nodded and exited town hall. Flare looked at the map again and chuckled. Then it suddenly hit him. “Why is King Sombra leading this attack? With every engagement we have fought him in he has always lost. This is an important battle, where is General Wind?” he thought as he walked out the door. He turned to the guard outside. “Where are our scouts, I need a report from them now.” The guard gave a salute before he trotted of to signal the scouts. He returned shortly after with two pegasi. Flare recognized them immediately. “Cloud Kicker, Cloud Chaser… you are the scouts?” he asked in surprise. Cloud Kicker nodded. “Yes sir, good to see you again Sonic.” Cloud Chaser smiled. “You are leading us now huh? Ponyville lead by one of it’s citizens, that is awesome!” Flare nodded. “Report.” he said in a slight dumbstruck voice. Cloud Chaser shook her head. “I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary, I have gathered up an estimate of how many we are up against. There are about one thousand unicorns, one thousand pegasi, and one thousand earth ponies.” Cloud Kicker nodded. “That is the number I came up with too for each group. There is one thing I did notice that was out of the ordinary. General Wind is no where to be seen. I checked with the scouts from Fillydelphia and they say he has gone missing.” Flare’s expression turned to worry. He turned his head in the direction of King Sombra’s forces. “Missing? I wonder if one of our operatives…” Cloud Kicker shook her head. “Word is it was the gryphon king‘s forces. But we haven’t seen a single bit of them since this war has started and they have not chosen a side in this yet. I can tell you one thing is for sure, it was not one of ours that took him out.” Flare’s ears perked up. “How do you know he has been take out?” Cloud Kicker shrugged. “He is a monster, everypony wants him dead. It is not unreasonable to assume he is dead.” Flare turned around and headed back inside. “Dismissed…” he said as he closed the door. A loud crash could be heard inside as the two started to walk away. They decided to look in the window to see what had happened. Flare had kicked the table holding the map in two and was sitting on the floor with his hooves over his eyes. “He’s not a monster…” **** Whirl opened his eyes to a familiar sight, the zebra who had been tending to his ‘condition’ was giving him another dose of potion. Whirl smiled as the warmth of it started to flood his senses. “That truly is the best feeling in the world.” Whirl said with a smile. The zebra smiled, walked over to the wall and pulled a switch. The chains holding Whirl suspended in the air started to clink and lower him down. His hooves hit the ground and he tried to support himself, but you try being suspended in the air for days on end and stand up right afterwards. He fell to his knees and chuckled. “I assume this means I am good to go right?” “Indeed so, you are free to go.” the zebra said with a smile. Whirl tried to stand up again but he stumbled and fell again. “So, now that I am better… what is your name?” “My name is Zecora, and I make potions from all types of flora.” she said with a smile. She walked over to him and helped him onto a seat. “It will take some time for you to fully recover. It could take a day or an hour, one or the other.” Whirl chuckled. “So is… General Wind really gone?” Zecora shook her head. “Unfortunately he is not, it is not something easily forgot. General Wind will always be a part of you, he is now part of two.” Whirl frowned. “I was afraid you were going to say that… so I really was responsible for all of those deaths… all the ones I killed…” Zecora shook her head again. “No that was him not you. Always see it from that point of view.” Whirl stood up and slammed a hoof on the ground. “I have to go help my friends.” he said as he started to walk toward the door. “Which way to the nearest pony town?” Zecora didn’t try to stop him. “The nearest town is east. Be careful though, the forest is full of beasts.” Whirl nodded and opened the door. He quickly flapped his wings and took to the sky. Once he was clear of the top lair of trees he saw it was late at night, but to feel the cool night air again without feeling hatred inside was amazing. He looked up toward the moon and smiled. “I will be back soon Luna…” he thought as he saw the full moon. The lights of the town were lit and Whirl flew straight towards it. He landed just outside of town hall. This was the town he knew and loved, everypony here would recognize him. “GET HIM!” a voice yelled as Whirl was tackled. He hadn’t realized he was still wearing his generals armor. “No wait!” Whirl said before he was bound and gagged. “Take him to the general! He will decide what to do with this monster.” one of the guards said. Whirl struggled and muffled as he tried to speak. They ignored him and continued to drag him into the town hall. They stopped right in front of another pony and dropped him on the ground. “Dismissed…” the pony standing above Whirl said. Whirl tried to identify the pony but the light inside was too dim to make out any features. The two guards that had drug Whirl in walked outside. “You have a lot to answer for General Wind…” the voice said. Whirl muffled something through the gag. The pony walked up to him and removed the gag. “I am not General Wind!” Whirl said when the gag was removed. The pony above him scoffed. “You look like him, you are wearing his armor and you sound like him.” “Please, you have to understand! King Sombra put me under a spell, he was controlling my mind! But… I remember every moment of it… I remember the look on the faces of every pony I killed… I… I…” Whirl tried to explain. “I deserve to die…” The pony tossed another log on the fire that was illuminating the room making it brighter. “I don’t think you deserve to die… I believe you.” the pony said as the room brightened up substantially. He took off his helmet revealing his fiery mane. He set the helmet down on the table. “The real question is, who do you fight for now?” the pony asked as he walked up to Whirl. Whirl squinted his eyes, then widened them again when he realized who he was talking to. “I fight for my brother…” he said with a smile. The pony standing above him shook his head. “Brother… you haven’t called me that in a long time. How do I know this isn’t a trick by King Sombra?” the pony asked as he stared at Whirl. “Flare I… you can’t know… you are right… if you think it is safer to leave me ties up then leave me tied up. I am just glad to be home, with you… Who knows, maybe I will see Luna soon too…” Whirl said with a slight smile. “You will, I promise. But first I need information, you were King Sombra’s highest ranking general. Tell me everything you know about his battle plan.” Flare said as he lifted Whirl into a chair. Whirl found himself overlooking a map of Equestria. “King Sombra will have changed everything once he knew I was gone. He may be a king but he is a fool. He never came up with a battle plan and when he did they were garbage. He has three thousand strong in his leading army and reserves all over the place. Nothing more than five hundred strong. I am surprised he is not attacking already… my plan was to attack at dusk the moment we arrived. How long until the reinforcements arrive?” “You knew about the reinforcements?!” “Yes, that is why we marched so soon after we too Fillydelphia. I knew it would never work but King Sombra forced my hoof. You have more than enough troops to stop him long enough to get your reinforcements. I can tell you what King Sombra might do, but I can not give you anything solid. I’m sorry.” “It’s okay, we have a plan. A plan that will turn the tide of this war.” “What kind of plan?” “I can’t tell you if I am to release you. Listen, I love you as a brother and I can promise you that nopony will hurt you if you stay tied up. But if I let you go others will try to hurt you. They are looking for blood and I don’t want them to have yours.” “I understand… but you can’t expect me not to defend my home.” “I expect you to trust me. I am sending you to the Crystal Empire, to Princess Luna. You will be safe there.” “Flare… I…” “No arguments. This is an order. I need you to follow it exactly.” “Alright… I will. Heh, General Flare. I can’t believe it. Did you ever think we would be fighting against each other in a war?” Flare shook his head. “I always imagined us fighting side by side… Never against each other.” “One more thing before you send me away… Take off my helmet and show it to me.” Flare walked over to him and took off his helmet. He turned it around and showed it to Whirl. Whirl saw that Zecora had covered the eye that was between two horns. “Smash the top gem on the helmet so that it never becomes uncovered.” Without hesitation Flare smashed the decorative piece. “What was it?” “A spying device, don’t worry it is only for sight not sound. He didn’t hear anything and Zecora covered the eye so he could not see.” “Then it is done… you are free.” “I… I am… You… you be careful. Promise me.” “I promise. I also promise that you will not be harmed by anypony on your way to the Crystal Empire. I do not blame you for anything General Wind did, nor should anypony else.” Flare said as he untied Whirl. “Take that armor off and you will be on your way.” Whirl took off his armor as quickly as he could and threw it aside. He felt truly free now. He started to laugh and then he started to cry. His hooves covered his eyes and he sobbed uncontrollably. “I’m a monster…” Flare came over to him and wrapped a wing around him. “No you are not… You never were… King Sombra is the monster.” “I didn’t fight hard enough… if I would have fought harder maybe he could have been stopped… maybe I wouldn’t have been General Wind at all…” “There was nothing you could have done. King Sombra is powerful and pure evil. He does not care how many die to serve his cause…” Whirl continued to sob and stayed silent. “Come on, lets get you to the train station.” Flare said as he picked Whirl up. Whirl nodded and followed him out of town hall. The two guards had dumbstruck looks on their faces as Flare supported what they saw as the enemy. “General Flare what are you…?” “I need to take Whirl Wind to the train station. This is NOT General Wind.” “But sir…” “No buts, this pony is not to be harmed under any circumstances, that is an order.” The two guards gave a salute before helping to support Whirl. “Where should we direct the train sir?” “To the Crystal Empire at once. Take Whirl directly to Princess Luna with this message.” Flare walked up to one of the guards and whispered something in his ear. “At once sir.” With that the two guards took Whirl to the train station and loaded him on a train to the Crystal Empire.