This Means War!

by Whirl Wind

Chapter Four

Chapter four: The Final Stand

The rain poured down on the train as it pulled into the station. Two guards stepped off the train supporting a green pegasus between them. Whirl Wind looked up to the sky and saw the dark overcast cover the empire. The two guards started to walk forward and Whirl hobbled along. Nopony was on the streets today but many looked out the window at Whirl with anger in their eyes. Whirl saw them looking out the windows and stopped looking around.

Finally they were under the cover of the castle as they got underneath it. The guards took Whirl inside and lead him up the stairs. Whirl felt overwhelming joy over his current weak state, he was about to see Princess Luna for the first time since Canterlot. Once they reached the top of the stairs they entered a large hall that lead to various rooms in the castle, one of which was the throne room. The doors swung open and the three entered. Whirl saw an alicorn on the throne but it was not Luna, it was Princess Cadance.

“Your highness, we have been ordered to deliver this prisoner to Princess Luna.” one of the guards said.

Princess Cadance’s mouth was agape at the sight of one of the most hated generals in King Sombra’s army. “I am surprised he is so… intact.” Princess Cadance said coldly.

Whirl gave a nervous gulp and his expression turned to the most frightened look. “W-well…”

“Silence! Your crimes do not allow you to speak!” Princess Cadance yelled.

One of the guards finally spoke up. “We were told that this is not General Wind despite the fact that this pony arrived in Ponyville in his armor. We were also ordered not to harm him in any way.”

“And who gave these orders?” Princess Candace asked in the same cold voice.

“General Flare your highness.”

Princess Cadance’s expression turned to surprise. “Take this pony to Princess Luna immediately. She is in her room.”

The two guards nodded and walked out of the room with Whirl in tow. Whirl sighed in relief as they took him away from hateful eyes. “Nopony understands…” Whirl said under his breath. One of the guards scoffed.

“What is there to understand? You killed thousands upon thousands of ponies.” the guard said in a voice as cold as Cadance’s.

Whirl sighed sadly and kept his mouth closed. The trio finally arrived at Princess Luna’s room after a long walk of silence. One of the guards knocked on her door. “Enter…” a voice said from the other side. The guards pushed open the double doors and took Whirl inside.

“Princess, we have a prisoner we were ordered to take directly to you.”

Princess Luna turned around and her eyes widened at the sight of Whirl Wind being supported by the two guards. “Leave him, then leave me.”

“But your highness…”

“There is no need to fear, leave me with him.”

“We have a message for you from General Flare.” one of the guards said as he left Whirl’s side to whisper in Luna’s ear. Whirl tried to hear what it was but he couldn’t. The other guard had let go of Whirl and he fell to his knees. Both of the guards left the room and closed the door behind them. Whirl panted on the floor and looked up at Princess Luna, he smiled widely and tried to stand in vain. He quickly fell back to the floor. Princess Luna looked at him with a neutral expression.

“Princess Luna… it’s me… Whirl Wind.” Whirl said as he reached out a hoof for assistance.

Princess Luna didn’t move. “How do I know it is the real you?”

Whirl frowned. “Didn’t Flare tell you?”

“All he told me was that he wasn’t sure if you could be trusted.”

“But I…”

“What can you do to make me believe you have changed? How can we ever know if it is you?”

“You… you can’t.” Whirl said as his eyes started to tear. “I guess I can’t really show you anything. It was me who killed all those ponies, but it wasn’t me at the same time. I… I should be punished for what I did…”

Princess Luna looked at him with her same neutral expression. “What punishment do you propose.”

Whirl looked down at the ground. “Death… would be too merciful… A life sentence would be to easy… I deserve torture… the worst torture that can be mustered up by the most ruthless ponies…”

“You would accept punishment even if you were not General Wind?”

Whirl nodded and sobbed. “Yes… I can remember their faces… the look in their eyes as their life drained away. I remember crying out inside of my own mind, hoping that it would cast out the evil within me. One… one pony… he understood… he told me before he died… ‘I understand…’ were his last words.”

Princess Luna walked up to him and sat down in front of him. “I know, I debriefed him when he returned with our spy. He told me about what he saw in you, what he saw in your eyes. What I see you your eyes now.” she said with a smile.

Whirl looked up at her with a soaked face. “He… he is alive?”

Princess Luna nodded. “Yes he is, he is still recovering from his wounds but he is alive.”

“So you believe me?” he said as he looked back down with a sob.

Princess Luna put a hoof under his chin and lift his eyes to hers. “Yes I believe you, and no, you will not be punished. It will take some time for others to understand, especially those who had family in the army. Princess Cadance blames you for what happened to Shining Armor as well, I have not yet convinced her to see what has happened to you.” she said as she stood up. She helped Whirl to his hooves and walked him over to a chair. Whirl fell into the chair with a pained sigh. “For now you will stay in here with me. I can not trust anypony else to watch over you right now.”

“I want to go back…” Whirl said as Princess Luna started to walk away.

“Back to where?” She asked in a confused tone.

“I want to go help Flare defend Ponyville. King Sombra may have failed in his first attack but we can be sure he is regaining his strength as we speak.” Whirl said with a grin.

Princess Luna looked to him in surprise. “No. No you can not go back.”

“And I can’t stay here. Not while my best friend is out there risking his life. I want to have his back if things get worse.”

Princess Luna shook her head. “Whirl, Flare is a great leader now. He can handle himself.”

“I don’t doubt his new skills. I just want to be there for him.”

“Whirl, please listen to me. You can not go back, not while this war is going on. Everpony wants you dead except for Flare and I. And… I can’t lose you again.” Princess Luna said softly.

Whirl opened his mouth to speak again, but he couldn’t find the words.

“Do you know what I did after Canterlot fell? I cried… I cried for hours… Flare told me he would get you back to me alive. He kept his promise, and now that you are here you are not going back…” Princess Luna said in a stern voice.

Whirl looked at her with a surprised look. “What… you… cried for me?”

Princess Luna nodded. “And my sister… and the rest of those I loved… but the look on your face before you were trapped in crystal… that stuck in my mind for everyday we were apart. It made me cry every time I thought of it, no matter where I was.”

Whirl smiled. “Even though I was General Wind?”

“I knew that King Sombra had cursed you… he did the same to countless others. They will not be held responsible for his curses. When he is gone they will be welcomed home as though they were fighting for us. The only reason you have been singled out is because you lead them as though you were a normal pony. But only those who had seen the curse in your eyes would know of it. Like that guard General Wind tried to kill. When he came back and told me what was going on I knew that you would break the curse on your own soon.”

Whirl shook his head. “But… I didn’t break it on my own. Zecora… she captured me and gave me a potion. Zecora cured me…”

“Zecora? The zebra? I must remember to thank her when next we meet.”

“Me too, I owe her my life. She freed me so that I can see you, and Flare, and my home… for my own eyes… I am free…” Whirl said as he started to laugh before crying. “I can’t believe I am here… I can’t believe I am with you! This is the greatest thing I could have hoped for!”

Princess Luna walked over to him and hugged him. “This is the greatest thing I could have hoped for too.”

A knock came from the door. “Enter.” Princess Luna said happily. Princess Cadance opened the door and walked into the room. She glared at Whirl and then turned to Luna.

“Have you decided what his punishment shall be?” Cadance asked coldly.

Princess Luna shook her head. “This is not General Wind. This is not the one who imprisoned Shining Armor. King Sombra was the one who did all of those things.”

Princess Cadance slammed a hoof on the ground. “How can you say that?! This IS General Wind! He has killed thousands of ponies and helped to imprison your sister!”

“NO! He is the one who saved me from being imprisoned as well! He would have saved us all if he could have! But he couldn’t! He could only save me and King Sombra cursed him! Cursed him in the most fowl of ways! You have no idea what it is like to go to war against those you love! You don’t know what magic as dark as that can do to some ponies!”

Princess Cadance recoiled. “He… he…”

“HE IS NOT GENERAL WIND!” Princess Luna said in her royal Canterlot voice.

Princess Cadance finally relented. “Fine… if you say he is not General Wind, then he is not General Wind. I just wish you had some more solid proof than his word.”

Princess Luna’s expression loosened. “His word is all I need. If it would have been Shining Armor, you would be in my place right now.”

Princess Cadance nodded. “You are probably right. I’m sorry I shouted.”

“It is quite alright, but don’t let go of that anger. Just redirect it towards King Sombra, he has ruined all of our lives in one way or another.”

Princess Cadance walked up to Whirl. “So… you saved Princess Luna? Why were you there when the elements were trying to stop him?”

Whirl raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know?” he asked as he looked around her towards Luna. “You didn’t tell her?”

Princess Luna shook her head. “I couldn’t. If I would have told her, there was a chance she would have given the order to try and capture you. While I would have given anything to have you back… I couldn’t risk the lives of anypony to rescue you… I’m sorry.”

Whirl nodded. “I understand, I am actually glad you didn’t… Anypony who would have tried would have died. Anyway… Princess Cadance I was hospitalized in Canterlot’s castle infirmary… after Flare and I got the elements of harmony into Canterlot.”

Princess Cadance’s expression turned to total shock, then a small flash of anger. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?” she said as she turned to Luna.

“It was not important at the time.” Princess Luna replied.

“Not important? I tried to kill him, I sent troops out specifically to kill him. Now you are telling me I tried to kill one of the ponies who sacrificed himself to save you and the one who got the elements of harmony into Canterlot in the first place.” Princess Candace said in an angry tone.

“Death would have been a release…” Whirl interjected. “Princess Luna kept all this from you so you would try to kill me, so that you would do what was right for Equestria and not what was right for me.”

Princess Cadance turned back to Whirl. “You really are a pony of honor Whirl, but I would have done it even with the knowledge of who you were. You were compromised and needed to be stopped. My judgment would have been fine. But… I am new to ruling an empire, I guess I understand why you made that call Luna.”

Princess Luna smiled. “I am truly sorry I did not trust you. I just did what I thought Celestia would do.”

Princess Cadance smiled as well. “Well, that still doesn’t tell me why you were with Luna when the elements and Celestia were imprisoned.”

Whirl nodded. “Indeed it does not. I wanted to see the elements of harmony at work, so I asked to be there in a wheel chair. They allowed me to watch and when King Sombra imprisoned the others… I didn’t hesitate to do what I could.”

Princess Cadance nodded in understanding. “I am glad that you did. Luna has been a valuable asset to the war effort. Without her we would have lost some of our key battles. Not the ones against you of course, you were a brilliant strategist and you certainly stopped us at every turn. You especially did well when…” she said before she was abruptly interrupted by Luna putting a hoof on her back. In her ramblings she failed to notice Whirl put his hooves over his eyes and the stream of tears flowing down this forehooves. “Oh Whirl I…” she started before Luna shook her head.

Whirl simply cried on as Princess Luna walked over to him. “We will give you some time alone. I will have dinner sent to you soon.” she said as she gave him a quick hug. Before she could react Whirl flung forward and hugged her back.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t want to do any of it! I tried to stop him! I really did! BUT HE WAS TOO STRONG! HE OVERWHELMED ME!” Whirl sobbed hysterically.

Princess Luna was taken aback but expected this at some point. She patted his back lightly. “Shhhh, it’s going to be okay. You are in control now. None of that was your…”

“I wasn’t strong enough! I wasn’t strong enough to stop him!” Whirl sobbed some more.

Princess Cadance was convinced now more than ever that this wasn’t the same pony they were at war with just the other week. She watched the tears pour down his face and couldn’t help but shed a few of her own. All Whirl reminded her was the Shining Armor was still trapped in Canterlot. Princess Luna continued to try and console Whirl as best she could, but she knew she wasn’t making much difference. Whirl held on to Luna tightly, he never wanted to let her go. A flash of lightning flashed outside of the window. Whirl opened his eyes and looked towards the window.

“Why is it so stormy outside?” he asked through his crying.

Princess Luna looked to Princess Cadance. Princess Cadance shook her head. Luna’s eyes widened and Cadance grew a concerned look. “Princess Cadance, prepare for an attack.” Luna said with a concerned tone.

Princess Cadance ran out of the room and raised the alarm. Princess Luna stood up and started to leave as well. Whirl tried his best to stand but he just fell out of his chair. Princess Luna looked back at him. “Stay here, we will handle this.” she said before she trotted out of the room.

“LUNA!” Whirl shouted as the door closed.

****

The sound of explosions blasted over the sound of thunder as King Sombra advanced into the city. “NOW IS THE TIME FOR MY REVENGE PRINCESSES!” King Sombra yelled over the commotion.

Princess Luna was at her balcony firing at the attacking troops while Princess Cadance brought the crystal heart to the throne room. King Sombra’s attack was so unexpected that he had pushed his troops deep into the city. “How did his forces sneak up on us? They were last reported moving south, away from here!” Princess Cadance shouted as she came into the throne room.

“I don’t know! He must have tricked our scouts some how!” Princess Luna said as she backed off of the balcony and into the throne room. “Guards to the battle field now!” she ordered the guards at the door. Princess Luna turned her attention to Princess Cadance. “What do we do now?”

“We protect the crystal heart at all costs. If Sombra gets his hands on it then it is the end of this war.”

“Then it stays here. We will have to protect it our last…”

An explosion rocked the room and a vortex of shadow funneled in the center of the room. King Sombra appeared in the center of the vortex and the vortex finally dissipated. Princess Luna didn’t hesitate to fire a volley of magical shots towards him. He easily deflected the magic and laughed. “Foolish princess. I have more power than you could imagine.”

“How is that possible?” Princess Luna asked.

King Sombra stuck his hoof to his neck and pulled down his armor revealing the alicorn amulet. “Just this magical artifact that I stole. Now, I am more powerful than you and this other whelp.”

Princess Cadance was about to charge forward when she was stopped up Luna. “Don’t, we can’t beat him with that amulet on. We need to trick him into taking it off.” she whispered to Cadance.

“You are sad Sombra! So sad you need to use a magical artifact to beat us! Why don’t you take that off and fight us like a real stallion?!” Candance said in a taunting tone.

King Sombra laughed again. “I don’t think so, I know I am not a match for you without it. Now then, prepare to be imprisoned like the rest of the fools who dared to trifle with…”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” a shout rang out from above. A spear plunged into Sombra’s back and rammed out of his chest, smashing the alicorn amulet.

Silence filled the room as the scene froze. Even the sound of thunder couldn’t penetrate the atmosphere. King Sombra fell to the ground. “How…?” he said with his final breath as his heart poured the last of his blood onto the ground.

Whirl flopped over off of Sombra and rolled onto his back with a grunt. “One pissed off pegasus…” he said with a chuckle.

Princess Luna ran over to Whirl and held his head up. Whirl let out a yell of pain and she put him back down. “Yeah, I think I might have broken a few things princess… might want to hold off on moving me at all…” he said with a chuckle.

“How did you get in here? How did you kill Sombra?” Princess Luna asked with a shocked tone.

Whirl was panting a bit when he answered. “Well, I know you told me to stay in the room but I don’t listen very well sometimes. I snuck in here while you were on the balcony with your guards and while Cadance was out getting the crystal heart. I flew up to the chandelier with all of my strength and watched as Sombra came in.” he said with a chuckle.

“But Sombra is a shadow, how did your spear harm him?” she asked softly as she looked over to Sombra’s body.

“On the way here I ran into one of Sombra’s soldiers. I disarmed him… actually he probably did more damage to me than the fall did. If there is one thing I learned about King Sombra while I was his general, it was how to kill him. During a training accident a drone swung his spear randomly and cut Sombra’s face. I noticed his blood drip down his cheek before he healed himself. Not wanting to end up like the new puddle formerly known as the drone, I kept my mouth shut. It was then that I realized that only shadows could harm shadows. That spear… is made out of pure shadow in the refineries…” Whirl explained with the occasional deep breath.

Princess Luna looked back at Whirl with a smile. “You… smart pony…” she said as she gave him a kiss. Whirl kissed her back for as long as he could before he coughed. Princess Luna pulled away and giggled.

“What now?” Whirl asked as he looked up at her with a wide smile.

“Now… We pick up the pieces and fix what we can before we start over. But first, we get Sonic Flare from Ponyville and go free my sister and the elements.” she said as she stood up. “I will go fetch a medical team, Cadance, watch over him for a moment.”

Cadance nodded and walked over to Whirl’s side as Luna walked out of the throne room. As she walked along the halls and out of the castle all she could see was confusion, ponies were watching as shadows started to melt off of the ponies they were fighting. Some found family while others found fallen comrades, for not all of the freed ponies were alive anymore.

“I need a medical team!” Princess Luna shouted.

A unicorn holding a medical kit made a final check with the pony he was with before standing up and walking to the princess. She lead him to the throne room where Whirl and King Sombra laid. “Well, if you need me to make sure they are dead…” the medic said as he glared at Whirl and Sombra.

“No, I need you to help the pegasus who killed King Sombra and saved us all.” Princess Luna said sternly.

The medic didn’t argue, he walked up to Whirl and started to examine him. “This is going to hurt a bit, I need to check for broken bones.” he said as he started to press into Whirl’s ribs gently. Whirl winced in pain every time the medic touched a rib. “Sorry… it appears you have four broken ribs on the left and two on the right.” he said as he opened Whirl’s mouth. “No blood at all, so no internal bleeding as far as I can tell from just looking at you. I will need to do a magical scan… but it will be very painful with your broken ribs.”

Whirl nodded and braced himself for pain. Seeing that he was ready the medical began to use his magic to scan the internal organs. Whirl moaned in pain as the scan tore through his body. When it finally stopped Whirl was gasping for air. “Good news, no internal bleeding. But you have a few cracked vertebrae so it is important that you stay still while I mend them.” the medic said as he prepared his spell. Whirl braced again for more pain as the medic started to mend his bones. When all was said and done it wasn’t all that bad, at least until they had to fix his ribs.

The medic started to wrap Whirl’s chest with a cast. “When I am done wrapping this I am going to need to stand you up to set and mend the bones. This is going to hurt a lot but it is the only way to fix them on the field.” the medic said as he finished. “Okay, brace yourself.” The medic lift Whirl with his magic and Whirl cried out in pain. The medic flipped him over and stood him up. The cracking of bones could be heard as they were reset. Though the resetting was painful it was nothing compared to the mending. Whirl fell to his knees after they were mended and panted heavily. “There we go… low activity for the next month. Nothing if possible.” the medic said as he packed up and started to leave the room.

“Wait… am I… okay to travel?” Whirl asked as he got back to his hooves.

The medic stopped for a moment before saying. “Light travel.” he said before he left to tend to more wounded.

Whirl felt much better despite the recent resetting of his bones. He walked over to Luna carefully and smiled. “I am ready to go if you are. I think Princess Celestia has been standing long enough.”

Princess Luna smiled down at him then looked at Princess Cadance. “We will be back with your husband soon.” she said with a smile.

****

The train rode out of the station with a low rumble. It was hectic in the Crystal Empire as ponies were doing their best to recover from the battle. Nopony even noticed Whirl as he walked through town. When the train started to roll Whirl let out a sigh of relief. “I wonder how Flare is doing…” he said under his breath.

Princess Luna looked over at him. “What was that?”

Whirl chuckled. “I was just wondering how Flare was doing, since the war is over and everything…”

Princess Luna giggled. “I bet he is doing fine. I mean, he handled himself just fine in the battle for Ponyville. Somehow he managed to protect Ponyville with only fifteen percent in casualties. Our projections were a lot less promising.”

Whirl let out a small laugh. “I am willing to bet he cheated, he does that when things look like they might go bad for him. Like the time he filled our hoofball with helium because he thought it would make it go farther… it did but he still lost.”

Princess Luna laughed at Whirl’s story. “I am glad I made him a general. He seems to know how to come up with a plan, weather or not it is good.”

“Well, it seems like it was a good plan this time. I just can’t wait to be home. Well, I can wait just a little while. Huh, I guess it doesn’t matter, I am not going home to anything really. A house… one good friend… a job… How do I just go back to so little?” Whirl asked in a sarcastic tone.

“Ponyville will need you to help get them back on track. Analyzing weather is a great job to have and it will help Ponyville get back to normal.”

“Yeah, after the funerals…” Whirl said sadly. “Funerals I helped cause…”

Princess Luna sighed. “It will not be easy for anypony to move on, it seems as though it will be hardest for you. You must live with the atrocities performed by another. A trial that few ever face.”

“Speaking of faces… it is going to be awkward to show mine around anypony. This is going to be one interesting return.” Whirl said with a chuckle.

****

Flare waited at the hospital with his wife, Air. He held her hoof and smiled at her as lovingly as he could. “How are you feeling honey?”

“Feels like I took a spear to the side of my chest. But other than that, I couldn’t be happier. Our foals will be here, Frost Star actually turned out to be a unicorn! I can’t believe we beat the odds on that one! Little Solar Glider has my eyes, she is adorable. They both are. I can’t wait to see them!” Air said excitedly.

“I need to be going if I am to get there in time for the train. I don’t want to be late.” Flare said as he stood up and put on his saddle bag.

“You aren’t going to go in your armor?”

“Nah, the war is over. They don’t need me anymore.” Flare said with a grin.

“But I thought you looked sexy in your armor.”

“Not as sexy as you did. I can’t believe you stayed! That was crazy! What were you thinking!?” Flare asked with a chuckle.

“I was thinking that I was going to protect my home. And you, what were you thinking when you joined the guards? And how did you manage to become a general anyway?”

Flare laughed. “I was the only pegasus in the Crystal Empire. So Princess Luna made me a general to represent the pegasi race.”

“You were the ONLY pegasi?”

“Uhh yeah, well… no. My superior officer was a pegasi buuuuut… I may have broken his wings, badly. Soooo…”

“So Princess Luna made you a general in his place? Wow, way to climb that ladder. You aren’t going to break my wings to become head mail pony are you?”

“I tried that already remember? That is how we met.” Flare said with a laugh.

“Right, after you struck me with lightning. I remember now!” Air said as she joined in the laughter.

Flare gave her one last kiss before turning to the door. He stopped only for one moment to put on his armor. “For you.” he said as he winked at Air. Air giggled as he left the room.

Flare walked through town and every guard he passed gave him a salute. Giving each of them a salute in return took time and was really repetitive. When he finally arrived at the train station he stopped the guards from saluting. “If one more guard salutes me and makes me salute back I am going to go crazy.” he said as he walked passed them.

A train was already unloading at the station as Flare arrived, but it wasn’t the train from Appleosa. He sighed in regret and sat down on a bench to await the train. Whirl and Princess Luna stepped off of the train to find Flare sitting there. Whirl smiled and ran over to him, tackling him into a hug. Flare was taken by surprise by the sudden tackle but was happy that Whirl was back. Whirl helped Flare onto his hooves with a smile. “How did you know we would be arriving?” Whirl asked with excitement.

“I didn’t! I thought you would head straight to Canterlot!” Flare said just as excitedly as Whirl.

“Not without you! You deserve to be there when we finally release the others!” Whirl said with a smile.

Flare shook his head. “I can’t go with you, I am waiting for a train.”

Whirl smiled and nodded. “When Air gets here she can come too!”

Flare chuckled. “Air is already here. She stayed and fought with us. I am waiting for my two foals to arrive. Frost Star and Solar Glider were born, both fillies, they stayed with the Apple family in Appleosa so that Air could stay and fight. She is waiting for me to return with our little fillies in the hospital.”

Whirl gasped and hugged Flare. “CONGRATULATIONS! Is Air okay though? What happened?”

Flare chuckled. “Air is fine now, she was wounded in the battle.”

Whirl sighed in relief when he heard Air was alright. “How did you manage to win with so few casualties?”

Flare laughed. “Oh that! Okay, so you remember Trixie right?”

Whirl nodded. “Who could forget?”

“Well, you remember the Ursa Minor that lived in the Everfree? Well, I kind of unleashed it on Sombra’s army, but here is the catch… It’s mother, the Ursa Major showed up too! It was crazy!” Flare explained with a smile on his face. “So, who was the one who took Sombra down finally? It was Luna wasn’t it?”

Princess Luna, who had been listening to the two reminisce, shook her head. “No, it was Whirl Wind. He used King Sombra’s own weapons against him in a surprise attack. It was really heroic. Whirl, if Flare is not coming then we need to leave immediately.”

Whirl nodded. “Of course. Flare, we did it. We stopped Sombra and saved Equestria. Not too bad for a couple of regular pegasi huh?” he said as he bumped Flare’s shoulder.

Flare chuckled. “Not so regular anymore huh?”

Whirl shook his head and gave Flare another hug before he turned to Luna. “Let’s go and save your sister and the other Luna.”

Princess Luna smiled. “You finally called me Luna. I was waiting for you to feel that comfortable around me.”

Whirl blushed a bit. “Well… I mean… I jumped off of a chandelier for you and I would do anything else for you too. Calling you by name is a lot easier also.” he said with a chuckle.

Princess Luna smiled and boarded the train again. Whirl took one last look at Flare before getting on. “I will be back soon, keep the fire burning brother!” he said as he closed the train’s door.

****

The train rolled into the Canterlot station with a hiss. When the doors opened Whirl fell out the door looking absolutely awful. He may have been through a war, but trains still bothered him. Princess Luna followed him out of the train and giggled as she helped him up. “Not a train king of pony huh?” she said when he got on his hooves.

Whirl shook his head slowly. “Noooo… I prefer flying whenever possible.” he responded with a chuckle. He slowly started to wobble out of the station. “Lets hurry up, we don’t want to keep them waiting.”

Princess Luna giggled again at his unbalanced walk. “No, we surely do not. Would you like me to call a carriage for you?” she asked playfully.

“Oh ha ha, it isn’t that…” he started to say before he clapped his hooves over his mouth and ran to the restroom. After vomiting a couple times he emerged from the restroom to find a carriage waiting for him.

Princess Luna boarded and said, “There you are, we were wondering when you would be out.”

Whirl blushed and boarded as well. “Yeah, uhh… sorry about that.” he said as they started to move.

Princess Luna giggled and let out a sigh as they rode through town. Ponies everywhere were helping restore the city to it’s former glory. Even the nobles were assisting in the effort, which was a shock to Luna but if you love something enough you would do anything for it, even if it is just your home city. Whirl was keeping his head low so he wouldn’t get noticed. Every now and then a pony would recognize him and glare. Whirl let out a sigh and laid his head down on the floor of the carriage so his entire head was out of sight. Princess Luna looked down at him with sorrow, she felt bad that she couldn’t help him sooner. A slight bump shifted her attention forward, her eyes widened in horror as they reached what used to be Canterlot castle.

Giant holes covered the castle as though something immensely powerful had hit it in random places. The place resembled cheese more than it did a castle. Princess Luna stepped out of the carriage as they rolled to a stop. “Nopony goes in there until we can guarantee that it will not fall on top of our heads. Whirl, we are here, you can come out now.”

Whirl popped his head up and stepped off of the carriage. He kept his head low and followed Princess Luna towards where her sister and the others were held. As they walked next to the wreckage that was one the castle Whirl looked up at it as though he were ashamed.

“Whirl, what is wrong?” Princess Luna asked.

Whirl sighed. “Just… regretting the damage I did to the castle…”

Princess Luna nodded. “I understand, what happened exactly?”

“After Sombra freed me, he ordered me to turn this castle into something befitting his new empire. I took some unicorns and decided to start blasting holes in it.” Whirl said sadly.

Princess Luna giggled. “Well, you did a good job. I did the same thing once, with our last castle. It was overtaken by the Everfree forest long ago though. We will be sure to stop that from happening here.” she said jokingly.

“You… did the same thing?” Whirl asked in a confused tone.

“Well, when I first became Nightmare Moon I absolutely decimated me and my sisters castle. Not much left of it now.” she said with a laugh.

Whirl chuckled. “Well, we are just two peas in a pod huh?” he said as they reached their destination.

The six were held up in the air by dark crystals while Princess Celestia and Shining Armor were frozen next to each other. Princess Luna stepped up and her horn started to glow as she closed her eyes. Her hooves dug into the ground as her magic began to channel. A beam shot from her horn and a bright light formed on Princess Celestia. Soon the light spread in the form of cracks along the crystal structure. Soon cracks covered the entirety of the crystal structure. A pulse shot from Luna’s horn and hit the structure with a powerful force that made Whirl have to cover his eyes. He heard a loud shattering noise and looked up in time to see everypony fall to the ground.

Princess Luna was panting as she too fell to the ground. Whirl helped her back up then ran to the next pony to help them up. The six stretched and groaned with a slight pain.

“Ohhh… what happened? Did the elements work?” Rainbow Dash asked as she got to her hooves.

Twilight rubbed her head and stood up as well. “I think so, King Sombra isn’t here anymore.” she turned around and saw Whirl standing. “Hey, what happened to your wheel chair?” she asked as she looked around. Her eyes finally fell on the castle and she gasped. “What happened?! Did the elements do that?!” she asked in surprise.

Whirl shook his head. “You don’t remember anything do you?”

Princess Luna interjected. “They wouldn’t remember anything. To them it was like a long nap.” she explained.

“More like a long wrestlin’ match.” Applejack said as she stood up. “What happened to us anyway?”

“For the past few months… you have all been trapped in dark crystals. King Sombra used the power of the Alicorn Amulet to make the elements backfire.” Princess Luna explained.

Princess Celestia was helped up by Shining Armor. “What happened to Canterlot? What happened to Equestria?” she asked as she got to her hooves.

Princess Luna hugged her sister and said. “A lot sister… a lot…”