Chapter Nine: Derpy’s New Life
Wonderful, that is the word that best describes the way Derpy was feeling at that moment. Total fear, that is the word that best describes the way Whirl Wind was feeling at that moment. The rollercoaster reached the apex of its initial start, the top of the lift, and Whirl let out a loud scream.
“NOOOOOOO!” he screamed as the rollercoaster started to drop.
“WHOOOOOOOOOO!” Derpy yelled with joy as it went around its first bend.
When the ride was finally over Whirl was pale and shaking. “That… was… crazy… scary…” he said with a shaky voice.
“I don’t understand you sometimes Whirl. You fall faster from the sky than that rollercoaster and yet you are shaking like a foal. What’s with that?” Derpy asked with a laugh.
“Control, there is nothing controlled about a rollercoaster. It is basically a train that drops wildly around turns and loops.” Whirl said as he started to look better.
“Well at least you recover faster from this than you do a real train. What should we do next?” Derpy asked with a smile.
“How about we—“ Whirl started.
“OHHH! Look a hall of mirrors!” Derpy said excitedly as she ran towards the entrance.
Whirl sighed and followed along. “Hall of mirrors it is.” He said as he paid the attendant.
“Want to do a maze race today sir?” the attendant asked with a smile.
“YES!” Derpy yelled excitedly.
The attendant pressed a button and a second entrance opened up. “Now each of you take a hall and the first one out wins a prize.” Whirl and Derpy each picked a hall and got ready. “Three, two, one… GO!” the attendant shouted.
Derpy and Whirl dashed into their chosen halls and Whirl instantly slammed into a mirror. “Ow!” his voice echoed along with the thud in the hall. Derpy’s responsive laugh could be heard in the maze as well. Whirl shook the blow off and started to move forward again, shortly after he walked into another mirror and Derpy laughed again. “This was your plan wasn’t it?!” Whirl called out as Derpy laughed.
“No! I didn’t know you were this bad at mirror halls! I am used to seeing things all weird because of how my eyes used to be! I am so going to win!” Derpy called out as she cantered along with no effort.
Whirl smiled as she spoke. “I am so glad her eyes are better, she is so much happier.” He thought as he continued again. It didn’t take him very long before he again collided with a mirror. He let out a sigh and looked around, his bandaged eye had started to bleed under the bandage. “No, not now.” He thought as he put his hoof over his eye. He started to walk forward again, being a little more cautious this time. It took him a long time to get out of the maze and Derpy was waiting for him while holding a stuffed Princess Luna plushy.
“Look what I won for beating you!” She said happily as she swung it around.
“Look what I won for losing to you.” Whirl said as he took his hoof away from his eye. A small trickle of blood leaked from the bandage and started dripping on the ground.
“Oh my gosh! We need to get you to the hospital!” Derpy said in a panic.
“It can wait until we are done with the carnival. I mean, you have work tomorrow and the carnival ends the next day.” Whirl said as he tried to wipe the blood off of his face. The blood smeared all over his face as he tried to wipe it off. Derpy looked faintish as she stood and watched. Whirl noticed her looking pale and grew a concerned look on his face. “Are you okay?” he asked worriedly.
“So much blood…” she said as she looked away and wobbled.
“Not a fan of blood huh? Let’s go to the restrooms so I can wipe this off.” Whirl said as he started to trot towards the rest area in the carnival. Derpy followed closely behind with her new Luna plushy on her back. “Sorry about this Derpy.” Whirl said in a guilty tone.
“It’s okay, I was the one who wanted to go to into the mirror hall.” Derpy said a bit weakly as she started at Whirl’s face.
“Don’t look at me, you will just get more sick.” Whirl said with a chuckle. Once they reached the restrooms Whirl quickly walked inside and got a damp paper towel on his face. As he scrubbed the blood off, more and more leaked on. “Come on, stop bleeding.” He thought as he placed a dry paper towel over his bandaging. Still more leaked out around the paper towel and Whirl had had enough. He pulled the paper towel away and then tore off the bandage. What he saw nearly made him faint, a piece of his bone from his broken eye socket was sticking out of the skin. “DAMN IT!” he screamed in frustration. He placed a paper towel gently over his face and walked out the door. “We need to go to the hospital Derpy…” he said sadly.
“What’s wrong? I thought you said it was alright.” Derpy said in a worried voice.
“You don’t want to know. Suffice it to say that it is bad enough for me to have to go to the hospital.” Whirl said as he started to walk out of the fair.
“I think I can handle it Whirl. Please show me, I am worried.” Derpy pleaded.
Whirl sighed and pulled the paper towel away. Derpy saw the bone sticking out and let out a gasp. “We need to get a cab! That is bleeding too much! Help! Somepony help! We need fast transportation to the hospital!” Derpy called out in panic.
A couple of ponies pulling the hay ride wagon ran over with a load full of ponies. “What is the problem miss?” one of the ponies pulling the wagon asked.
Derpy pulled Whirl’s hoof away from his eye so the pony could see. “His eye is broken! We need to get him to the hospital immediately!” Derpy said as she started to tear up.
Whirl was turning a bit pale from the loss of blood and was unsteady. “Climb aboard, we can get you there in a flash.” The other pony pulling the wagon said.
Whirl and Derpy joined the ponies in the back, one of them was Rumble. “Mr. Wind! Are you okay?!” he said as he scampered over to him.
Whirl was breathing erratically. “Just an eye thing…” he said weakly.
Derpy was holding Whirl and cuddling him. “Everything is going to be okay Whirl.” Derpy said as she held him.
“Hey Rumble, leave the poor pony alone. He is hurt.” A mysterious black pegasus with a blue mohawk mane called out.
The wagon started to move at a quick pace once Whirl was fully settled. “It’s okay, he my paper colt. Who might you be?” Whirl asked weakly.
“Thunderlane, I am Rumble’s older brother. Rumble you didn’t tell me you delivered to Whirl Wind, that is pretty cool.” Thunder Lane said with a grin.
“I was the one who convinced him to go to the hospital in the first place. What happened to you eye Whirl? I thought the doctor fixed that up.” Rumble asked as he tried to move Whirl’s hoof away.
Whirl gently moved Rumble’s hoof away. “Just an eye problem…” Whirl said again.
The wagon hit a bump and it caused Whirl’s hoof to lift up then slam back down into his eye, the resulting pain caused Whirl to faint and his hoof to drop. Derpy gasped and tried to cover his eye again, but she was too squeamish to touch the blood. Rumble acted without thinking, he took out a small rag from his saddle bag and held it over Whirl’s eye.
“Rumble! Be careful!” Thunderlane said worriedly.
“I got it brother, don’t worry.” Rumble said calmly.
The wagon pulled up to the hospital and Derpy jumped off the wagon and ran inside to get a nurse. Rumble had to take the rag away when it wouldn’t hold any more blood. “What do we do now Thunderlane?” Rumble asked worriedly.
“Just wait for the nurses, unless you have another rag.” Thunderlane said as he searched his bag.
“I don’t have another rag, get out of my bag. You are making me unbalanced.” Rumble said as he tried to jump off the wagon.
Thunderlane was trying to get Whirl to the edge of the wagon, but he couldn’t move him. “Hey, you two are much stronger than me. Help me get this stallion off your wagon.” He called out to the two ponies that were now unlatching themselves from the wagon. They moved around to the back and started to pull Whirl off of the wagon almost effortlessly. Derpy had just come out with a few nurses and the doctor pulling a gurney. They quickly moved Whirl onto the gurney and wheeled him inside.
“What happened to him? Was he attacked again?” the doctor asked frantically and he started to inject him with pain reducers.
“No, we were at the carnival and we were walking through a hall of mirrors and he ran into a few and it’s all my fault!” Derpy said as she started to cry.
“It’s okay, but he has lost a lot of blood. He is going to need more. Does anyone know his blood type?” the doctor asked as he looked at the ponies who came in with him.
“O negative, he told me while he was telling me about his family.” Derpy sobbed.
“Dang, I was hoping you weren’t going to say that. We need to test everpony’s blood here for a match.” The doctor said as they wheeled Whirl into a room. “First we need to stop the bleeding, how long has the bleeding been going on anyway?”
“If it started to bleed inside of the maze then it was about thirty minutes.” Derpy said as she took a seat in the room.
“What? Are you sure? Because it should have stopped bleeding on its own by now if that is the case.” The doctor said worriedly.
“I am positive. I saw the clock tower as we were leaving the carnival.” Derpy explained with a sob.
“There must be something stopping him from halting his bleeding.” The doctor said in a panic.
“Magic!” Doctor Ray said as he walked into the room. “After he was released from King Sombra’s power a magical residue latched to his blood.” He explained as he started to use his magic to hold back the bleeding. “We are going to need somepony with more magical knowledge to help us stop his bleeding; I can only hold it for so long.”
“Twilight Sparkle!” Derpy said suddenly. She didn’t bother to explain as she ran out the door.
She quickly took off as she left the hospital, leaving everypony there confused. Flying as fast as she could she flew towards the library. When she arrived she banged on the door frantically. “Twilight! I need your help, hurry!” she screamed as she cried.
Spike answered the door and looked up to Derpy. “Oh, hey Derpy. Twilight isn’t here, she is at Sugar Cube corner with Pinkie Pie.”
Without saying another words she took off leaving Spike in utter confusion. “Sugar Cube Corner is not far!” She thought as she sped through town. She skidded to a halt outside Sugar Cube Corner and ran inside. “Twilight! I need your help!” She called out.
“Oh Twilight’s not here deary. She just left to go to Zecora’s home in the Everfree Forest.” Mrs. Cake said joyfully.
Derpy sighed in frustration and took off again. It didn’t take her long to spot Twilight heading out of town and she flew down in front of her. “Twi…light… need… help… Whirl… trouble… hospital…” she panted.
“Derpy, what’s wrong? Calm down for a second and catch your breath.” Twilight said calmly.
Derpy took a deep breath before saying, “Whirl is in the hospital and the doctors need the help of a unicorn that knows a lot about magic so they can stop the magic that is causing Whirl to bleed out.”
Twilight let out a gasp and her horn started to glow. With a magical poof they were transported just outside the hospital. Twilight walked inside and Derpy lead her to Whirl’s room. The sound of a heart monitor going crazy and doctors shouting was loud as they approached. When they got inside they saw Whirl convulsing on the gurney they had him on. “We need to get his heart rate down now! He is crashing! Where is that unicorn that pegasus was getting?!” Doctor Ray shouted.
“I’m right here! What can I do?!” Twilight called out as she ran up to Whirl’s side.
“I thought I had dispelled the magic the last time it was here, but something made it come back! It is an anti-coagulant spell that doesn’t want to go away!” Doctor Ray yelled over all the noise.
“I can fix that, just give me a moment!” Twilight said as her horn started to glow. She grunted and a magical aura started to flow over Whirl.
“Derpy, I need you to go down the hall three rooms. We found a donor who was just outside and they are drawing his blood now. I need you to see if it is ready.” Doctor Ray said calmly.
Derpy ran out the door and ran down the hall to the appropriate room. “Is the blood read—Thunder Lane?! You are the donor?”
“Yeah, who would have guessed that I was O negative.” Thunderlane said with a chuckle.
“We have the first infusion ready. Take this bag to the doctor right away.” The nurse instructed Derpy as she started to fill another bag.
Derpy took the bag and quickly trotted down the hall. When she got to the room Whirl was in she noticed how much calmer things had gotten. The heart monitor was still running fast though. Derpy gave the blood to the doctor who immediately hooked it up to Whirl. Twilight was still performing her spell even though the blood had stopped. “Twilight can’t speak right now, but she told me to tell you something. She needs you to go to Canterlot to get Princess Luna or Princess Celestia. Twilight can’t hold the magic back for too long and she needs help. She gives it a week before Whirl Wind can’t be saved. You need to go quickly.” Doctor Ray explained.
Derpy clapped her hooves to her mouth and let out a whimper.
“This is no time to panic, you need to go now.” Doctor Ray said frantically.
Derpy turned around and dashed out of the room. She made a quick stop at Thunderlane’s room. “Thunderlane, I need to go to Canterlot but I can’t go alone! I will mess things up and Whirl’s life is on the line!” Derpy explained frantically.
“I can’t leave, I am Whirl’s only source of blood right now.” Thunderlane explained.
“We are going to need to call in your entire family if we are going to be supplying him with more blood.” The nurse explained as she trotted out of the room to call for Thunderlane’s family.
“I can’t go alone! Please, somepony has to come with me!” Derpy cried.
“I’ll go! I have always wanted to see Canterlot!” Rumble said suddenly.
“No! You have school Rumble!” Thunderlane protested.
“But big brother, if I don’t go Derpy might mess up and Whirl will die! I won’t let that happen!” Rumble said as he walked over to Derpy.
“Let’s get going then!” Derpy sobbed as she ran out the door.
“I’ll be back soon Thunderlane I promise!” Rumble called out as he followed her out the door.
“Rumble wait! It’s too dangerous!” Thunderlane called out after them, but it was too late.
****
Derpy and Rumble arrived at the train station and quickly bought tickets to Canterlot. Once they were on board they started to catch their breath. “What… are we getting… in Canterlot?” Rumble asked as he tried to catch his breath.
The train started to roll out of the station as Derpy spoke. “We have to get one of the princesses to come back with us to save Whirl. They are his only hope now.” She explained.
“Wow… how are we going to do that?” Rumble asked as he finally caught his breath.
“Whirl Wind is a personal friend of theirs, we will just tell them what is wrong and they will come.” Derpy said with a fake smile.
“You don’t look very sure.” Rumble said sadly.
“Well, I tend to have a habit of messing things up. I am worried that if I mess up this time, Whirl will die…” she said as she started to cry again.
“Don’t you worry, everything is going to be fine!” Rumble said confidently. “We got this!”
Derpy let out a giggle. “I can see why Whirl likes you, you are a lot like him.” She said as she wiped away her tears.
“I am? That is really awesome! I am like Whirl, the slayer of darkness!” Rumble said as he struck a heroic pose.
“Slayer of darkness?” Derpy asked with another giggle.
“It’s the title me and my brother gave him after I told him Whirl’s story.” Rumble said happily.
“Is that because he killed King Sombra?” Derpy asked curiously.
“No, it is because he defeated General Wind!” Rumble said as he leaped into the air and buzzed around.
Derpy was a bit shocked by his response. “You know… you know that he was General Wind right?”
“Well… he wasn’t really General Wind. King Sombra brain scrubbed him.” Rumble said as he landed.
“You mean brain washed?” Derpy asked with a giggle.
“Yeah, brain washed. If King Sombra hadn’t done that Whirl would have been the greatest general on our side, I just know it.” Rumble said with a smile.
“I know it too. It’s a shame that such a good pony was treated so badly by everypony who crossed his path.” Derpy said sadly.
“I think everypony has learned what Whirl is really all about. Everypony knows he is kind and caring and awesome!” Rumble said enthusiastically.
“You forgot strong, he is really strong too.” Derpy said with a smile.
“Yeah he is! I don’t think I have met a pegasi as strong as him. Well, except for that Snowflake pony. He seems to be way stronger than Whirl.” Rumble said with a laugh.
“Snowflake is really big and strong, but his wings are so tiny.” Derpy said with a giggle.
Rumble let out a loud laugh. “Yeah they are! But he definitely makes up for it in power.”
Derpy nodded in agreement. “It is nice to be able to talk to somepony on the train. You should see Whirl on a train, he gets so sick.” She said with a giggle.
“He does? Why? Trains are fun!” Rumble said as he started to jump on his seat.
“It must be the way the train moves or it could be something from his past, a traumatic event or something.” Derpy said with a shrug.
Rumble settled back down and sat on the chair. “So are you and Whirl married or something? Do you have a family like mine?”
Derpy smiled kindly. “Well, no. We just started going out a few days ago.”
“Is that when you two met? A few days ago?” Rumble asked with a curiously look on his face.
“Well, no. We met just over a year ago and we have talked so much.” Derpy said dreamily.
“You have been going out then! Why not just marry him now? You two are really nice together?”
“How would you know what ‘good together’ looks like?” Derpy asked with a smirk.
“Well, my parents are good together and when you and Whirl are together you remind me of them.” Rumble explained.
Derpy was a bit surprised by that response. She tilted her head down and started to think. “It is true that I love him… but marriage… it seems like a big thing… Would I live with him, or would he live with me? Well I guess I would live with him because he has a bigger house. Rumble does have a point; we have technically been dating since we met. He didn’t really ask me though; he just asked if it were possible. Same thing I guess… I don’t know what—“ she thought before Rumble interrupted her.
“Hey Derpy, I think we are here!” Rumble said as the train started to slow down.
Derpy snapped out of it as the hiss of the train filled her ears. “Let’s get ready to get off. I want to get to the castle as soon as possible.” Derpy said as she walked to the door.
When the train stopped at the station, Derpy and Rumble quickly disembarked and started to run into the city. The streets were amazingly clean and tidy even if some of the buildings weren’t. As they dodged and weaved their way through the crowd they saw ponies rebuilding homes and others were moving supplies to others. When they finally got to the castle it was barred off by guards. Derpy walked up to one of them shyly.
“Um, we need to see the princesses. It’s an emergency…” Derpy said shyly but urgently.
“Sorry miss, the castle is off limits to the public until the castle is fully repaired.” The guard responded.
“Please, you don’t understand! Whirl Wind is in danger! He is going to die without help!” Derpy said frantically.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot leave my—“ the guard started before he was interrupted.
“Let her through, quickly.” Princess Celestia ordered.
The guards quickly got out of the way and let them pass. Derpy quickly bowed and so did Rumble. “Princess, Whirl is in danger of losing his life!” Derpy said as she started to shake.
“I know, Spike sent me a letter. We must go quickly if we are to save him. I have a carriage ready to fly, come with me.” Princess Celestia said as she trotted back to the castle.
Derpy and Rumble followed along quickly. “I can’t believe I am going on a ride with the princess!” Rumble said excitedly.
They quickly boarded the carriage and it took off when they were all settled. “I never got your name little one.” Princess Celestia said as she turned her head towards Rumble.
Rumble smiled widely. “My name is Rumble. It’s nice to meet you Princess Celestia.” He said politely.
“You are indeed brave Rumble, to leave your family to come here and get me. Your parents are furious, but I am sure I can convince them that your heart was in the right place.” Celestia said with a smile.
“I was ready to accept whatever punishment they were going to give me. I would do anything to help Whirl.” Rumble said quietly.
“That is very noble of you.” Derpy said happily.
“Indeed it is, you are going to grow up into a fine stallion someday Rumble.” Celestia said with a smile.
“Thank you both, that means a lot.” Rumble said happily.
“You know… I thought that it was going to be much harder to get you to come with us princess. Let alone get us to come with you on your carriage.” Derpy admitted with a smile.
“I don’t know why they sent you, Twilight knew she could have just sent a letter in the first place. I am glad to see that you are both willing to help Whirl Wind out knowing what he did in the war.” Celestia said happily.
“I would do anything for Whirl Wind, I am even thinking of marrying him.” Derpy said with a blush.
“Marriage, the ultimate testament of love, it is a big step indeed but it is one of the greatest steps you will make.” Celestia said as Rumble started to peek over the side of the carriage.
“Wow, we are going really fast!” Rumble yelled happily.
Celestia let out a small laugh. “Yes we are, I figured we shouldn’t make Whirl wait any longer than we need to.”
“How long do you think it will take us to get there?” Derpy asked worriedly.
“About another ten minutes dear. Don’t worry; we will get there in time to help Whirl.” Celestia said calmly.
“I’m glad, you should have seen how calm he was. His bone was sticking out of his skin, it was so horrifying, but he was as calm as the breeze.” Derpy said calmly.
“War can make you used to seeing such horrors, especially in Whirl’s case. He actually witnessed horrors first hoof.” Celestia explained.
“It wasn’t really him, it was General Wind. But Whirl defeated him in a battle of the mind!” Rumble said excitedly.
Both Celestia and Derpy giggled. “One minute until arrival your highness.” The lead guard announced.
Everypony got ready to land just before the carriage touched down outside Ponyville’s hospital. They quickly disembarked and Rumble went to the front of the carriage. “Thanks for pulling us here.” He said politely before he followed Derpy and Celestia inside. The hospital was frantic with activity, everypony inside was shouting and scrambling around.
Celestia stopped one of the doctors. “What is going on?” she asked calmly.
The doctor gasped and bowed. “We are looking for more restraints your highness.” The doctor explained.
“More restraints? Why?” Derpy asked worriedly.
“Something is wrong with one of our patients, some kind of magic I have never seen before. He is going wild but we have got him restrained, well almost restrained.” The doctor explained.
“Where is Whirl Wind?” Celestia asked.
“Down this hall, five doors on the right.” The doctor said as he ran off to help find more restraints.
“Stay here you two, Whirl could be dangerous.” Celestia ordered.
Derpy and Rumble nodded and took a seat in the waiting room. Celestia walked down the hall and arrived in Whirl’s room. A loud crash came from inside and Celestia heard a scream from one of the doctors. Celestia opened the door and saw Whirl hovering in the room holding the heart monitor and the IV hanger. He was swinging it at the ponies on the ground trying to restrain him and she saw one of the doctors head was bleeding where Whirl had stuck him. Twilight was trying to use her magic to pull him down be Whirl wasn’t budging one bit. Whirl saw Celestia enter and he looked right into her eyes. Celestia saw a green glow in them and she heard the voice of Sombra. “Revenge…” it said hatefully. Whirl threw the heart monitor at Celestia then charged at Twilight with a piece of broken glass in his hoof. He grabbed Twilight and held the glass to her throat. “I will end her! Allow me to leave safely and she will be safe!” He yelled at Celestia.
Twilight wasn’t struggling, she was too afraid about what he was going to do. Celestia stared at him with a glare. “General Wind I presume?” Celestia asked coldly.
“Yes, and if you do not move I will kill her!” General Wind shouted angrily.
“Don’t hurt him princess!” Twilight pleaded.
“I may not have any choice Twilight, but I will let him pass.” Celestia said as she stepped out of the door.
General Wind walked Twilight out of the room with the glass still at her throat. “If anypony tried to stop me I will kill them!” He shouted as he dragged her down the hall.
“You won’t get away with this!” Celestia announced as she followed him down the hall.
General Wind soon reached to waiting room where Rumble and Derpy were waiting. “Whirl, you are okay! You… what are you doing?” Rumble asked as he saw what was happening.
“Whirl is not here right now, come back when you serve King Sombra!” General Wind said as he kicked Rumble aside.
Rumble flew into the wall and fell unconscious. Derpy let out a gasp and ran over to Rumble to see if she could help him. “Whirl what is wrong with you?!” She screamed in horror.
“It’s not Whirl! It’s General Wind!” Twilight yelled in a panic.
“General Wind… I thought he was dead!” Derpy yelled worriedly.
“That is what I wanted you all to think! Now then, I will be taking my leave!” General Wind said as he walked out of the door.
Once outside he knocked Twilight out cold and turned his attention to the guards that were now attacking him. Whirl threw the piece of glass and it stuck in the neck of the first guard. He then kicked the other in the face before taking to the sky. Celestia busted out of the hospital and chased after his while the doctors tended to the guards. She fired bolts of magic after him as she started to gain on him.
“Let’s see how you do in the forest!” Whirl yelled as he dove down into the Everfree.
Celestia followed him down and kept pace as best she could, but her larger figure made it hard for her to follow. Whirl barrel rolled through a hole in the trees and Celestia could no longer follow. She landed and stomped a hoof down in anger before heading back to the hospital. When she arrived she found Twilight up and being tended to by a nurse while the doctor had managed to save the life of the guard who had recently had a large piece of glass in his throat. “Princess Celestia! You are okay!” Twilight said in relief.
“Yes, but General Wind got away.” Celestia said sadly.
Derpy was just walking out when Celestia gave the bad news and she heard every word. “Whirl… is gone?” she asked as she started to tear up.
Celestia and Twilight turned to Derpy. “We will find him, don’t worry. Where did he go princess?” Twilight asked.
“The Everfree Forest, it is a smart place to hide out.” Celestia admitted.
“We can ask Zecora to keep an eye out for him.” Twilight said as she started to walk toward the Everfree.
“Twilight, you stay here. Derpy and I will go to Zecora’s home to tell her, you need to rest and have that bump looked at.” Celestia ordered.
“But princess…” Twilight started.
“No buts Twilight, now go ahead and go back inside.” Celestia said kindly.
“Yes princess.” Twilight said as she turned around and went back inside.
Derpy looked at Princess Celestia with a confused expression. “You want me to come with you?”
“Yes, I need your help. Let’s get going.” Celestia said as they started to walk to the Everfree. “I read the reports written up by various soldiers and leaders of our military about General Wind. He is a brilliant strategist, a violent killer, and he is very efficient. However, he has one undeniable weakness, Whirl’s love for Equestria. One report in particular lead me to this conclusion, whenever General Wind did something horrendous his eyes returned to normal and Whirl came out. That is why I need you. If he sees you he might snap back to Whirl just long enough for me to take the spell off of him.” She explained.
Derpy nodded nervously. “Princess, there is something you need to know. Whirl is resistant to magic.”
“What do you mean? The only way he could be resistant to magic would be if he were exposed to it over a long span of his life.” Celestia explained.
“That is what I mean, his older brother used to use Whirl… for magical study. Whirl told me he had been resistant to magic ever since and I witnessed it myself not too long ago. Twilight had cast a sleeping spell on Whirl and he woke up several hours before he was supposed to and the effects wore off seconds later.” Derpy said nervously.
“That may cause complications.” Celestia said sadly.
“Complications? What do you mean?” Derpy asked worriedly.
“I am going to have to increase the power of all of my spells if we are going to stop him, however it will put his life at risk. I don’t see us having any other choice, he is too dangerous to leave roaming the forest.” Celestia explained.
“Isn’t there any other way?” Derpy asked with a frown.
“I am afraid not.” Celestia said sadly.
****
General Wind was flying through the forest at a great pace. “First I need to take care of that accursed Zebra that captured me last time. Then I will corrupt as many ponies as I can to rebuild King Sombra’s ranks!” he thought as he landed outside Zecora’s hut.
He walked up to the door and kicked it down. “Oh Zecora! We have some unfinished business!” he shouted as he ran inside. The room was empty, or so he thought. The sound of a rope snapping taught caught his ear and he was suspended by his back hoof from the ceiling. “TRICKERY! YOU WENCH! LET ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!”
Zecora walked into the room slowly. “I thought we were done with this, but I sense things are still amiss.” She said sadly.
“The only thing amiss is your demise!” General Wind said as he flailed about. He managed to grab a potion off of a shelf and break it on the ground, using the broken glass to cut the rope.
Zecora was on him in an instant with the same red powder she had used on him before. She threw it in his face and he went limp. “Something is wrong with you, perhaps it was my brew. Maybe it was not strong enough? Maybe General Wind is too tough?” Zecora said out loud.
“Or maybe he is the product of pure evil?” Celestia said as she walked into the hut. “Zecora, it is nice to finally meet you.”
“Ahh, Princess Celestia. What brings you to this part of Equestria?” Zecora asked as if nothing was wrong. She took what was left of the rope and tied General Wind up.
“I was going to warn you about General Wind, but it seems you were already prepared. How did you know he was coming?” Celestia asked curiously.
“I did not know what was going to transpire, I simply had that trapped rigged for ponies that burst in on a desire. Rainbow Dash in particular, she tends to break in quite a bit regular.” Zecora explained.
“It seems to have worked to save your life, it is a good thing your friends are rude sometimes.” Derpy said with a giggle.
“Miss Ditzy Doo! It is a pleasure to see you!” Zecora said happily.
“It is nice to see you too Zecora. What do we do now Princess Celestia?” Derpy asked worriedly.
“We wait for him to wake up, then we follow through with our plan.” Celestia responded as her horn lit up. The ropes around Whirl turned into chains before tightening up around him. “Just as a precaution.” She explained.
Derpy walked up to General Wind and gave him a kiss on his forehead. “You give me back my Whirl Wind…” she whispered.
General Wind’s eyes shot open suddenly and he started to struggle violently. “Release me witch!” He shouted. He saw the other ponies in the room and smirked. “I see you invited guests over. Good, I can kill them too.” He said with a smirk.
“Go ahead Derpy.” Celestia said.
Derpy walked up to General Wind nervously. She looked him right in his eyes. “Whirl, are you in there?” she asked softly.
General Wind’s eyes narrowed. “What is this? What are you doing to me?” he asked as he suddenly felt weaker. “You know what they are doing! Let me out!” “Never! I slipped up before and let you go! I will never do it again!” “I am going to make you let me out!” General Wind let out a howl of pain and his eyes flickered. “Now! It’s me Whirl! Hurry!” he shouted.
Celestia’s horn lit up and a magical aura wrapped around General Wind’s body. The whole hut started to shake as Celestia’s magic reached full strength. “He is resisting! I am not sure I can defeat him!” Celestia yelled over the sound of bottles falling off their shelves.
“Come on Whirl! Fight him!” Derpy shouted.
“I can’t destroy him without killing Whirl! Hold on! I am going to try something!” Celestia said as she focused her magic even further. The hut was shaking furiously and a blinding light emanated from Whirl’s body. Everypony in the hut shut their eyes to protect them. When they finally opened them again Derpy let out a small squeak. General Wind pushed he to the floor before swiftly kicking Celestia in the face. Celestia was dazed as General Wind ran out the door and flew off.
“WHIRL!” Derpy cried out.
“D-Derpy…” a voice said weakly behind her.
Derpy turned around and gasped, Whirl was sitting there still chained up, his eyes were normal again. She ran up to him and hugged him tightly. “Whirl! How are you still here? General Wind just ran out the door!”
“I couldn’t destroy him… so I took him out.” Celestia said softly. “General Wind is now a separate being, he is the exact same as Whirl except for the eyes.”
Derpy just continued to hold Whirl tightly. “I don’t care where that monster is, I am just glad Whirl is back.”
“Can I be untied now?” Whirl asked with a chuckle.
Celestia’s horn started to glow and the chains vanished. Derpy helped him to his hooves and gave him a kiss. “Whirl I want to marry you! I love you so much and you have really bad luck just like me so this was always meant to be!” she explained frantically.
“A wedding! What a spectacular thing!” Zecora said happily.
“We need to take Whirl back to the hospital first. His mind is going to be very strained over the next few days, it will take that long for his mind to get used to being split like it is.” Celestia explained.
Whirl nodded slowly. “I can feel him still, he is scared and angry.” He said sadly.
“He should be scared! Princess Celestia is going to hunt him down!” Derpy said angrily.
“We will track him down and bring him to justice now that we are able.” Celestia said happily. “Let us depart. Zecora, I am sorry about the mess we made.”
“It is no problem! You did what you did for them!” Zecora said happily.
The three soon departed after helping Zecora clean up a bit. Celestia had to help carry Whirl with her magic. “I feel so torn apart, like I am two ponies again.” Whirl said weakly.
“You will feel him and he will feel you, but don’t worry. He is far away from us now.” Celestia explained.
“I don’t like how he feels, in a way it is kind of sad to see him from this perspective. I pity him.” Whirl explained.
“Why would you pity a monster?” Derpy asked worriedly.
“Because he was forced to be this way just as I was. King Sombra tortured his mind into thinking Celestia and Luna were the evil ones. It wasn’t his fault just as it wasn’t mine.” Whirl explained weakly.
“Even with his mind knowing what it does, it is what he chooses to do with that knowledge that makes the pony.” Derpy said sternly.
“That is true… I just understand how he feels is all.” Whirl said as he began to stumble.
Celestia caught him with her magic and helped him back up. “Not too far now.” Celestia said softly.
Soon after they had reached the hospital and as they walked in a lot of ponies gasped and screamed. “Don’t worry! It is Whirl Wind! Not General Wind!” Derpy shouted.
Doctor Ray came over to him and helped to support him. “Come on Whirl, I’ll get you a room.” He said as they started to walk deeper into the hospital.
“Rumble, where is Rumble?” Whirl asked weakly.
“Rumble is okay, I can get you the same room as him if you would like.” Doctor Ray said happily.
“Yes, please…” Whirl responded.
Doctor Ray took him to Rumble’s room quickly. Derpy and Celestia followed suit and entered the room. “WHIRL! Are you okay?!” Rumble asked worriedly.
Thunderlane trotted up to Whirl and kicked him in the face. Doctor Ray did his best to keep Whirl standing but he lost his balance and fell to the ground as well. “You bastard! How dare you hurt my brother!” Thunderlane yelled furiously.
Doctor Ray helped Whirl to his feet and Derpy pushed back Thunder Lane. “It wasn’t Whirl! It was General Wind!”
“Thunder Lane stop it! I told you that if he came back he wouldn’t be General Wind anymore!” Rumble said angrily.
“He has been hiding behind that excuse since he got back here!” Thunderlane said angrily.
“Would it make you feel better if I told you that General Wind is not even inside of Whirl anymore? He has been pulled out and is a separate pony now.” Celestia said as she walked into the room.
Everypony bowed, except for Doctor Ray who helped Whirl into the empty bed. “I’m sorry Thunder Lane, if I could have stopped him I would have. Rumble means a lot to me, he helped me out when I got back while others just kicked me in the face.”
Thunderlane didn’t say anything, he just over to Rumble’s side and sat down again. Rumble reached up and light kicked Thunder Lane with his fore hoof. “Dummy.” He said jokingly.
Derpy sat down next to Whirl and held his hoof. “It’s okay Whirl, just give it time for everypony to calm down.”
“I must take my leave, doctor if you could take me to Twilight Sparkle please.” Celestia said as she walked out of the room.
“I will be right back Whirl.” Doctor Ray said as she followed her out.
“I’m sorry…” Thunderlane said quietly.
“Say it louder Thunderlane.” Rumble said sternly.
“I’m sorry Whirl. I shouldn’t have kicked you.” Thunderlane said so that everypony could hear.
“It’s okay Thunderlane, I understand. I feel like kicking General Wind in the face too. Heck, I might get that chance someday now.” Whirl said with a weak chuckle.
“So what’s wrong with you now?” Thunder Lane asked.
“My mind just got split into two minds. I am stretched far between two ponies, me and him. It has made me weak.” Whirl explained.
“That sounds like it feels terrible.” Rumble said worriedly.
“Nah, it’s not too bad sharing a brain with a psychopathic murderer.” Whirl said jokingly. Nopony in the room laughed but Rumble let out a courtesy chuckle. “Yeah, that wasn’t as funny as I wanted it to be. Derpy, can you do me a favor?” Whirl asked with a half-smile.
“What is it Whirl?” she asked with a smile.
“Can you go and let Applejack know that I will not be able to work for the next few days?” Whirl asked a bit weakly.
Derpy smiled and nodded. “Sure thing Whirl, I will go take care of that while the doctor sees you.” She said as she stood up and kissed his forehead. “Be right back.” She said happily as she trotted out of the room.
“Whirl, I thought you defeated General Wind. How did he take over again?” Rumble asked.
“I must not have defeated him like I had thought; he must have just hid away.” Whirl said as he closed his eyes. “I feel…” he trailed off as his heart monitor started to beep wildly. “Don’t think this is over Whirl Wind, we are the still pony and the evil is still within you!” “I am done with you General Wind. If you know what is good for you, you will stay in the Everfree Forest until you die.” “That is not very noble of you, especially considering how you pity me.” “Not noble of me? What is noble of you? Nothing. You are just a pathetic pony fighting for a dead leader.” “Oh you may think he is dead, but you cannot kill the shadows. I will carry on his work and ensure the enslavement of everypony in the land.” “You will try, but you will fail. I will make sure you will.” “It is you who shall fail!”
“Get me a crash cart!” Doctor Ray yelled to the nurses. They wheeled in a cart with a defibrillator and the panels started to charge.
“I will be your end!” “No you won’t, I am stronger than you!” “Is that why I am stopping your heart?!” “My heart beats for Equestria!”
“CLEAR!” Doctor Ray shouted as he zapped Whirl. Beep beep beep beep, the monitor sounded quickly before going flat again. “AGAIN!”
“Equestria will fall like you will right now. Goodbye Whirl Wind.” “It’s no use fighting the inevitable, but I can fight you!”
General Wind formed in Whirl’s mind as a physical being, as did Whirl. “What is this?” General Wind asked in a hateful voice. “Let’s end this now!” Whirl said as he clapped his hooves. A spear appeared in his hoofs and he spun it around.
General Wind followed suit and summon a sword. “You cannot win you know. I have been trained by King Sombra himself.”
Whirl chuckled. “So was I, remember?” Whirl said as he lunged forward and made the first strike.
General Wind deflected it with ease and made his first move, a slash to Whirl’s chest. A flash happened and armor appeared over the area where General Wind had swung. “WHAT IS THIS?!”
“My mind! Now get out!” Whirl shouted as he clapped again and a sword and shield appeared. He swiftly grabbed them and bash General Wind in the face with his shield before slashing at General Wind’s knees.
“His heart has returned to normal but he is not waking up. I am afraid he is in a coma.” Doctor Ray’s voice resounded in Whirl’s mind as an echo.
“A coma sounds bad for you!” General Wind mocked.
“It is by choice, I want a chance to kill you before you get away again!” Whirl shouted as he pushed General Wind back with a series of blows.
General Wind was summoning shields left and right to block every blow. “Fool! This is my mind too!”
“Not any more it isn’t!” Whirl concentrated and lightning shot from his sword.
General Wind took the lightning right to the face and recoiled with a loud howl of pain. “This isn’t over!” He shouted before he vanished.
Whirl was panting from exhaustion, but he still wasn’t awake. “Hello! Somepony help me!” he shouted out in vain.
“There isn’t much we can do right now. Some coma patients have been known to awaken to familiar sounds and smells but that is just speculation.” Doctor Ray’s voice sounded out again.
“I’m here! I can hear you! I can hear you!” Whirl said in his mind, then in reality.
Derpy tightened her grip on Whirl’s hoof. “Whirl, can you hear me?!” she screamed out in a panicked voice.
“Yes! I can…” he said confidently in his mind, but weakly in reality.
“Wake up Whirl, you can do it!” Derpy cried out frantically.
“I don’t think I can… he is holding me here…” he responded in a scared, weak voice.
“He? You mean General Wind is in there?” Derpy asked worriedly.
“No… he is away… but holding me… help…” Whirl said as he started to cry.
“Has Princess Celestia left yet?” Derpy asked Doctor Ray.
“I will go get her.” Doctor Ray said as he walked out of the room.
“Princess Celestia is going to help you Whirl, just stay calm.” Derpy said with a soothing voice.
“Sorry… I am a hassle…” Whirl said before he stopped talking.
“No you aren’t, you are perfect. A perfect pegasus pony.” Derpy said encouragingly. “And I can’t wait to start my new life with you.”
****