This Means War!

by Whirl Wind

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: Closure

Whirl awoke the next day as the sun shone through the window. He leaned up in his bed and felt a bit numb. He yawned and stretched lazily just as Doctor Ray came into the room. “Ah, good timing. How are you feeling this morning?”

“I feel a bit numb. Not really bad, it feels like I have not moved for a few days.” Whirl explained.

“I think you had a restful sleep. If you aren’t feeling any pain then I think we might be able to go home after this examination.” Doctor Ray said happily.

Whirl smiled then yawned again. “Oh yay…” he said sleepily. “Thank you for helping me so much.”

“It’s my job, and we are also friends now so I would gladly do it again even if it wasn’t my job. I might actually come by your home for a follow up visit.” Doctor Ray said as he started to take Whirl’s blood pressure again.

Whirl chuckled. “I’ll brew the tea.” he said with a smile.

“That would be great, I love tea. Alright, I think you are good to go. Let me go fill out the discharge papers while you go ahead and get ready to go.” Doctor Ray said happily.

Whirl got out of bed and stretched out a bit more as Doctor Ray left the room. He looked around the room at all of the gifts and wondered how he was going to be getting in all home. Whirl heard the sound of hoof steps walk through the door and he turned around saying, “That was fast Doctor… oh Derpy. What are you doing here?”

Derpy blushed deeply and looked away. “Oh uh, I was just coming to visit you. You were asleep yesterday and I wasn’t sure if I should wake you up or not.”

Whirl smiled and picked up the card Derpy had given him. “This is one of the best get well cards I have ever received.”

Derpy blushed even more. “Oh, thanks.” She said softly.

Whirl raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Are you okay?”

Derpy nodded but refused to make eye contact. “Yeah I am fine.”

Whirl walked over to her with a concerned look. He put a hoof on her head to check her temperature. “Well, you don’t seem to have a fever… why are you so red?” he asked before suddenly realizing what was going on. “Oh my, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

Derpy perked up and looked at Whirl. “You didn’t! I am just a bit nervous you know?”

Whirl nodded. “I understand, thank you for visiting though. You caught me just in time, I was just getting discharged.”

Derpy smiled. “Oh that is great news. Do you need help taking this stuff home? Because I have my saddle bag and it is pretty empty. If both of us fill our bags we should be able to take it all to your home.” She said happily.

Whirl was a bit surprised that she offered to help but he wasn’t about to say no. “That would be great. Thank you Derpy.”

Derpy smiled and started to fill her bags with his gifts. “It’s no big deal; it will be just like delivering your packages.”

“Does that mean we get to have some tea and talk again?” Whirl asked happily.

Derpy blushed again. “Sure, that was the best part about delivering to you. I always looked forward to ending my day with you…”

Whirl was blushing a bit too now. “I always thought it was nice to have you by. I mean I didn’t have a lot of friends before the war, but I always thought of you as a friend.”

Derpy smiled and continued to load up more gifts. “That is because we are friends. You are the only one who really talks to me at all and I really missed that while you were gone.”

Whirl put on his saddle bag and started to load up gifts as well. “Well, then we should hurry up and get to my house so we can talk again. I think you know me more than Flare does. I even told you about the time I met Whim and we went to the Everfree forest. Then I ran into a poison thorn bush!” he said with a laugh.

“I still think that going into the Everfree was a bad idea in the first place, all for some flowers.” Derpy said with a giggle.

“They were magic flowers and they helped him with his rock farm.” Whirl said defiantly.

Derpy giggled. “I’m sure. Well, I think that is it. Are you ready to go?”

“He will be after he signs out.” Doctor Ray said as he walked back into the room with a clipboard. “Just sign here and you can go.”

Whirl took the pen in his mouth and signed on the line. “There we go. Thank you again for everything Doctor Ray.”

Doctor Ray smiled and put the pen back on the clipboard. “You are very much welcome. Make sure you keep that eye patch on for at least two weeks.”

“That won’t be a problem doctor.” Whirl said as he and Derpy walked out of the room.

****

Whirl and Derpy talked all the way to his house about the days before the war and how things seemed to have changed in everypony since the war ended. As Whirl opened the door he heard a clatter inside and took his hoof off the handle. “Did you hear that?” he asked Derpy quietly.

Derpy nodded. “Yeah I did. Did you have somepony else over today?” she asked quietly.

Whirl shook his head. “I am going to go through the back, you stay here and I will let you in when I know it is safe.” He said as he stepped off of the porch. He was cautious not to be visible from any of the windows as he snuck around to the back. Stepping lightly he walked up to the back door and opened it quietly. The kitchen was empty but it looked as though somepony used his pots and pans. He silently crept to the entrance of the next room and peeked around the corner. What he saw shocked him nearly to death; there were streamers from the ceiling and balloons everywhere. Around the room there were all of his friends hiding and looking at the front door, presumably for him to walk in. A voice caught his attention and he turned his ears towards it. “Are you sure you saw him Rainbow Dash?” the voice of Fluttershy whispered.

“Yeah I am sure it was him, just wait a moment.” Rainbow replied in a whisper.

Whirl thought quickly on what to do next and finally came to a decision. He moved himself as close to the ground as possible and crept along the floor silently. He grabbed a few party poppers from a nearby table without getting noticed and snuck up behind Rainbow Dash. With a single tug from all of the strings the party poppers exploded with a loud BAM! Everypony in the room jumped and Rainbow Dash found herself holding Fluttershy as they both screamed.

“Who did that?!” Twilight asked as she looked over to where the noise came from. She saw Whirl Wind on the ground laughing and holding his sides. “WHIRL! How did you get in without anypony noticing?” she asked in shock.

Whirl couldn’t answer, he was laughing too hard. He merely stood up and walked to the front door as everypony calmed down from the sudden scare. Whirl opened the door and let Derpy inside. “It was a surprise party Derpy! But I gave them the surprise instead!” Whirl said with a laugh.

Derpy giggled and walked inside. “Hello everypony. Someone gave you away; we heard a clatter and Whirl snuck through the back instead.” She explained to Twilight as Whirl found his place back on the floor laughing.

“The looks on your faces! Rainbow Dash screaming! It was all worth it!” he said in between his laughter.

Applejack chuckled and walked over to him to help him up. Whirl slowly caught his breath again from all his laughing and sat down in his favorite chair. “Well Whirl, what do ya think of the party?” Applejack asked with a smile.

Whirl looked around the entirety of the room and noticed the ‘Welcome Home!’ banner strung across the room. “It’s great! I can’t believe you all put this together for me. It is really nice.”

“Wait until you have tried the cupcakes!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she popped up from behind his chair holding a plate of cupcakes.

Whirl took one and took a big bite out of it. “Mmmm! Derpy, you have got to try one of these!” he said as he looked over at Derpy.

She was taking gifts from her saddle bag and was placing them on a table. “Oh um, that’s okay. I should probably be going actually.” She said as she unloaded the last gift. After she placed it on the table she promptly trotted out the front door.

“Derpy wait!” Whirl exclaimed as he ran after her. He caught her just as she took off to the skies. Taking off for the first time in a while made Whirl feel a bit old as he took off after her. When he caught up he noticed tears in her eyes. “Derpy, what’s wrong?!” he yelled over the rushing wind.

Derpy finally relented and landed on a cloud and Whirl landed right next to her. “I didn’t want to embarrass you by having your friends see me with you.” She said softly.

“What? Why would I be embarrassed? You are one of my friends remember?” he said as he looked at her.

She didn’t turn her head to look him in the eyes again. “Well it’s not that I am mean to them or anything it’s just… we have had some history with me and my mistakes because of…” she explained but was unable to finish the last of her sentence. She closed her eyes and turned away.

Whirl wrapped a wing around her and held her tightly. “What is it? You can tell me.” He said softly.

Derpy sighed and turn towards him with her eyes closed. She slowly opened them to reveal one of her eye had moved out of position and was looking somewhere else entirely while her other was looking right at Whirl. “My eyes get this way and bad things happen. Other times it is just me making big mistakes that lead to disasters. Like the time I accidently destroyed town hall with that storm cloud, even more so when I accidently bumped one of the support beams and it came crashing down on top of Rainbow Dash. Then there was the time where I was working the skies with a delivery crew and their truck when a bunch of stuff fell out the back and landed on Twilight. I didn’t mean for any of it to happen but it did and I am such a fool!” she said as she started to sob.

Whirl rubbed her back with his wing. “There, there. It’s okay. I am sure they forgive you for all of that. It is not your fault really. I mean you can’t help how your eye acts.”

Derpy leaned over, put her head on his shoulder and hugged him. “I know, but I shouldn’t be working at all. I am a menace to those around me.”

“Not to me, to me you are a great friend. That will never change.” He said as he rubbed her back some more.

“I used to wait until they were better before I came and delivered to your house. So you wouldn’t think of me as a freak like everypony else does.” She said as she cried on.

“I wouldn’t have cared. I used to be a freak too you know? I was the only pegasi who was always the ‘new colt’ in class. I never had money, I never hung out with anypony at all, and I certainly never talked to any mares. In fact, I made it a point to avoid everypony because they treated me differently for what I did. I know how you feel in that regard. But know this; you will never be anything less than a great friend to me. No amount of your mistakes will change that.” He said with a grin.

Derpy pulled her head away from his shoulder. “Really? You mean that?” she asked with a hiccup.

Whirl smiled and nodded. “Of course. You were actually my first friend here, remember? You made your first delivery the same day I moved in. Granted it was not my package but one for the previous owner. You introduced yourself to me and told me how you would be delivering all of my packages from then on. I invited you in for tea but you said no because you were too nervous. It took a while but after the fifth package you came inside and we talked well past sundown. To be honest, after that day I made it a point to order something whenever it was possible just to see you…” he said with a chuckle. “You mean a lot to me. I care about what you think of me as a pony; one of my worst fears was that you would hate me when I got back from the war. Knowing what I did and all…”

Derpy smiled. “I came to the train station to welcome you home… but the others muscled passed me like I wasn’t even there…” she said softly.

“You came to welcome me home? I am sorry I wasn’t more popular with the ponies who did greet me…” he said with a chuckle. “I am also for not saying any of this sooner, it seems like you could have used it.”

Derpy was tearing up again. “Thank you Whirl Wind… You mean a lot to me too… I actually… I mean that is…” she started to say but paused.

“Yes?” Whirl asked as he held her tight.

“I think I love you Whirl…” she said in a whisper.

Whirl blushed immensely. “You do? Even after the war and everything I have done?” he asked in shock.

Derpy nodded and blushed as well. “I realized it after you came home. After you were attacked I felt terrible, I wanted to come up and help but I was afraid. When they finally left you alone and I saw you so hurt I started to cry. I ran home and cried for the rest of the day…”

Whirl’s mouth was agape as she spoke, he didn’t know how to respond. “Well… I… I mean… I kind of… I mean I really… Oh my…” he said as he tried to find the words.

Derpy giggled. “It’s okay; you don’t have to feel the same way.” She said as she separated from the embrace.

Whirl let her go and watched as she prepared to take off. “Derpy wait…” he said before she took off. She turned around to face Whirl again. Whirl walked up to her with blushing cheeks. “I love you too.” He said as he twirled a hoof on the cloud. “You were my first real friend and you have also been the friend I have had the longest. I looked forward to your visits and prepared for them especially because I felt that you were more than a friend all along and I…” he started but he was interrupted by something that shocked him more than the party, a kiss. Derpy had leaned forward and put her lips to Whirl’s before he could finish speaking. They both moved closer continued to kiss for what seemed like hours.

They only broke the kiss when they heard Rainbow Dash calling out for Whirl. “You should go back and party with your friends…” Derpy said softly.

Whirl shook his head. “Not without you, it wouldn’t be a party without you.”

Derpy smiled. “Okay, I’ll come. Only because you asked so nicely.” She said sarcastically.

Whirl smiled and they both returned to the party together. When they got back everypony gathered around and started to talk and asked questions to both Whirl and Derpy. Somepony put some music on and everypony danced to the rocking tunes. Whirl and Derpy danced together and sat next to each other when they got tired. “Time to open gifts!” Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted.

“Gifts?” Whirl asked in a confused tone.

“Yeah, we got you a few things that we think will make you happy.” Twilight said as she floated some gifts in the air over to Whirl.

Whirl took the biggest one and smiled. “This is so awesome everypony… thank you so much.” He said happily. He looked at the gift to see if he could figure out what it was. It was flat and tall. Finally unable to withhold his temptation he tore the paper covering it. When it was finally unwrapped he gaped in awe of the painting he had just revealed. It depicted Princess Celestia on the left side raising the run and on the right was Princess Luna raising the moon. Both had a spectacular glow behind them. He looked at the bottom of the painting at the signature and nearly fainted. “My… my… my… my… it’s… it’s… it’s… it’s… my… my… my… my…” he said weakly.

Twilight nodded. “Yes, it was painted by your sister.” She said happily.

Hearing the words from somepony finally made him lose it. He hugged the painting and fell out of his chair and onto his rump on the floor bawling. Everypony in the room had a tear in their eyes as they watched Whirl cry as he held the painting. Finally Derpy walked up to him and helped him back up onto his chair. She gently took the painting from him and set it down on the table. She then gave him a hug and he returned the favor with a sniffle. Once he felt better he broke from the embrace and looked around the room. “Sorry about that.” He said with a hiccup.

“It’s okay Whirl, sorry about the suddenness of it.” Twilight said softly.

“How did you find this?” he asked as he looked at the painting again.

Twilight smiled. “I found it in Ponyville’s art gallery. It took some doing but I managed to find a will written by your sister that stated in the event of her death all of her art work should be given to you.” She explained.

Whirl sniffled again. “It’s so beautiful. She really did make a masterpiece before she died…” he said with a hiccup.

Derpy frowned. “Oh my, I am sorry to hear about your sister.” She said sadly.

Whirl frowned as well. “It’s alright… I forgot you didn’t even know.” He said sadly. “Well, as long as there are no more big surprises I should be fine.”

Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack all kind of chuckled. “Well you see… there is more… Just… keep opening your gifts.”

Whirl was on the verge of breaking down again. Reluctantly he picked up another present and opened it. It was two books bound together, the top one had some engraved writing on it that read ‘The Journal of Star Glimmer’ and the other one read ‘The Journal of Written Word’. Whirl started to cry again but it wasn’t as dramatic as the painting. He set the books down on the table next to the painting gently. “I can’t read those now…” he said sadly.

Derpy was still frowning and had a sad look on her face. “Are those the journals of some of your friends?” she asked sadly.

Whirl shook his head. “No, those are the journal of my brothers. I lost my whole family in the war and if I am right this next present will have something to do with my mother…” he said as he picked up the last gift. He opened it up and saw a picture of his mother with her class. Whirl hugged the picture and said, “Oh mother… I am so sorry I took you away from them…”

Everypony in the room was silent as he held the picture. Then finally Derpy spoke up. “You didn’t take them away, King Sombra did.” She said softly.

Whirl shook his head. “No… you don’t understand… I was the one who killed them… I mean… General Wind did... he killed them all… personally.” He said as he started to bawl again.

Derpy clapped her hooves to her mouth. “That’s awful… I am so sorry…” she said as she hugged him.

“It’s okay. I feel a bit more complete now that I have these things. I can know that in the end they were happy.” He said softly.

“There is one more surprise. We want you to come with us to Appleoosa tomorrow to see your mother’s class.” Twilight said with a smile.

Whirl tensed up and froze. Derpy felt him tense and got concerned. “What’s wrong Whirl? That sounds like it would be a good thing.” She said with a grin.

“I can’t do it. I can’t tell them that I killed their teacher. I just can’t. They are probably still mourning for her, it would traumatize them.” He said sadly. “I won’t do it.”

Twilight nodded. “It’s okay; you don’t have to if you don’t want to. But just remember that the offer will always be open.” She said softly.

“Can we… can we continue this party some other time? I want to be alone for a while…” Whirl said sadly.

Twilight nodded again. “Come on girls; let’s let Whirl have some time alone.” She said as she led her friends out the door.

Derpy turned to leave too but Whirl put a hoof on her back to stop her. “I would like for you to stay if that is okay with you.” He said softly.

Derpy smiled and nodded. “Of course.” She said with a half-smile. She sat down on the couch and looked at Whirl with a smile.

“Thanks for staying Derpy. I didn’t want to be that alone.” He said softly.

“I understand. I was going to come back in an hour if I would have left anyway.” She said with a grin. “Do you want to talk about it? About the war? Maybe it will help.”

Whirl shook his head. “No, I have talked enough about it. I just wanted to have a regular conversation, maybe have some dinner with you or something like that.”

Derpy grinned a toothy grin. “Is this a date?” she asked happily.

Whirl chuckled and nodded. “I guess it is, sorry it isn’t all that romantic. The food is going to be great though.” He said as he started to grow a smile on his face.

Derpy giggled. “I don’t mind the lack of romance. I am just happy to be here with you.” She said happily.

Whirl smiled and stood up. “Well, what are you craving? I can whip us up almost anything.” He said with a grin.

Derpy tapped a hoof on her chin. “Well, I guess I could go for some muffins.”

****

Princess Celestia was walking through the remains of the castle to her former quarters. She bumped into Luna as she turned a corner and they both fell over with a thud. “Oh, I am sorry sister.” Luna said as she stood. “I am just a bit distracted.”

Princess Celestia stood up and helped her sister to her hooves. “Distracted with what little sister?” she asked with a concerned tone.

Princess Luna sighed and looked away. “I visited Whirl in his dreams. He told me that it was my fault that his family was dead, that it was my fault for everything that happened to him.” She said sadly.

Princess Celestia frowned. “I don’t think he really meant it Luna, he is probably just hurting over the loss of his family. In fact I am sure he didn’t mean it.” She said reassuringly.

“How would you know that sister?” Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.

Princess Celestia got an embarrassed look on her face and magically summoned a scroll. “He may have sent you a letter of apology and I may have read it. I didn’t mean to, I thought it was from Twilight.”

Princess Luna snatched the letter away with her magic and opened it up. “You read my mail?! How infuriating!” she said as she read the letter. “He is very remorseful though, I do think you are right sister.” She said as she rolled up the scroll again and bopped Celestia on the head with it. “Don’t read my mail next time.” She said as she turned around and left in a huff.

Princess Celestia merely giggled and headed along her way. As she walked through the castle she occasionally saw the relief efforts at work through the holes in the side of the castle, hardworking ponies lifting stone, lumber and other crafting materials. In just a week they had already rebuilt the throne room as well as the servant’s quarters. They insisted on rebuilding the princesses quarters first but they knew that the foundation of an empire is the ponies that help to build it. Having them rested and comfortable allowed them to work as hard as they did the previous day, that and it wasn’t as if it was such a tragedy that they must sleep in a tent outside of the castle. It reminded Celestia of the old days when she had to move from her previous castle to this one after the Nightmare Moon incident.

Princess Celestia finally made it to her former quarters but was stopped by sign that read ‘Structurally weak! Do not enter for any reason!’. She sighed and walked past her quarters to check up on the progress made by the construction workers. Meanwhile Princess Luna was writing a return letter to Whirl Wind. With a smile she wrote how she accepted his apology and did not think much of the words that were said. She wrote that she understood what he felt; although in a way she really did not. Princess Luna sighed as she wrote about how she knew how he felt. “I wonder what my parents were like…”she thought as she put her signature on the letter. She then rolled it up and sent it off to Ponyville with her magic.

****

Whirl Wind and Derpy were laying in front of the fire at Whirl’s house after finishing their muffin dinner. Derpy rested her head on Whirl’s back and sighed with content. The only real sound in the room was the fire crackling as they laid there and relaxed. Whirl looked over to the table where his family possessions laid and frowned slightly. He turned away and put his head down on his fore hooves with a sigh. “What’s wrong Whirl?” Derpy asked without moving her head at all.

“Nothing really. I was just thinking about what I am going to do now that I am home. I could get my job back as Ponyville’s weather analyst or I could try something else out.” He explained.

Derpy smiled and gave a small hum before she spoke. “Going back to work is definitely the right direction, but I can see your dilemma of where to work. If you are looking to do something new maybe you could ask Applejack if she needs help on her farm. I also know that the Quills and Sofas store is looking for someone to fill up an open spot also.” She said happily.

Whirl shook his head on the floor. “Applejack is the only one of those two I could even consider. A lot of ponies still hate me and won’t hire me at all so I have to look in places that have connections.”

“That’s true… Hey! You know Air Mail, Sonic Flare, and I all work for the postal office! Maybe we can get you a job there!” she suggested excitedly.

Whirl chuckled. “I don’t know. Delivering mail seems like it would require me going around town and delivering to all the ponies who hate me. I would come home with more bruises than a banana that got thrown off a cliff.” He said jokingly.

Derpy giggled at his joke. “That is true too. Well, I guess I know where you are going tomorrow.”

“Oh really? Where is that?” he asked as if he didn’t know.

Derpy reached up and bonked his head gently. “To Applejack’s farm silly.” She said happily.

Whirl rubbed his head jokingly as if it had hurt. “Ooowww. Okay, I will do that.” He said with a smile.

Derpy snuggled up against him more. “Good. It’s getting late though…” she said sadly.

“You don’t have to leave if you don’t want to. I have a guest room you can stay in if you would like.” Whirl offered with a grin.

Derpy let out another hum as she thought about it. “I don’t want to impose or anything.”

Whirl let out a small laugh. “Please, it is the least I can do for you. I mean you are my marefriend now. You are my marefriend right? That is what the conversation we had was saying right?” he asked nervously.

“No.” Derpy said seriously.

Whirl blushed a bit. “Oh, I uh… well…”

Derpy let out a laugh. “I got you! Of course I will stay.” She said as she nuzzled the back of his neck.

Whirl let out a sigh of relief. “Well, I should get the room all ready for you then.” He said without moving.

Derpy snuggled against him even more. “Nu uh, I am too relaxed for you to move at all right now.” She said with a grin.

Whirl let out another chuckle and closed his eyes. “Okay, just let me know when I should go get it ready.” He said softly.

Derpy closed her eyes as well. “Okay, I will.”

Whirl never did get the room ready because they both fell asleep shortly after they closed their eyes. “Alright, are you girls ready?” Twilight whispered just outside the window.

“Yes Twi, we’re ready.” Applejack responded.

Twilight’s horn lit up and a couple of earmuffs floated through the window and over Whirl and Derpy’s ears. “Okay, executing part two.” She said as she focused her magic again. The rug underneath Whirl and Derpy floated up in the air like a rugged board before they were teleported outside. Whirl and Derpy stirred a bit as they felt the cold air on their coats.

“Part three initiated.” Rainbow Dash said as she softly lowered a warm quilt over the two.

“Part four in motion.” Twilight said as she started to float the two towards the train station. Fluttershy hummed a lullaby as they headed towards the station to keep them asleep.

“Fluttershy, they can’t hear you.” Rainbow Dash whispered.

“I know, but maybe the vibrations will reach them.” Fluttershy replied happily.

“I don’t know if it works that way Fluttershy.” Twilight whispered stifling a giggle.

“Oh okay…” Fluttershy whispered so softly nopony could hear.

“Oh Fluttershy, you didn’t need ta stop sugar cube.” Applejack said kindly.

Fluttershy smiled and continued to hum her song.

****

Whirl opened his eyes slowly and felt that Derpy was still asleep on his back. He kept his head down and closed his eyes again. Then he realized something was wrong, he felt the earmuffs on his ear, he also felt like he was in motion. He opened his eyes again and looked around. It didn’t take him long to realize he wasn’t at home and he suddenly felt sick. “Derpy, wake up. I think we have been foal napped.” He said in a worried tone.

Derpy yawned and looked around. “Why are we on a train?” she asked sleepily as she took off the earmuffs.

Whirl was starting to turn pale the more he thought about it. “Ohhhh… I don’t know…” he said as he wobbled to the door. He opened it up and stumbled forward and fell on his face.

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay Whirl?!” Derpy asked as she ran over to him and helped him up.

Whirl was ghostly white as he stood up. “I… hate… t---“ he started before he dashed to the nearest window, vomiting out of it violently.

Derpy walked over to him and patted his back. “Not a train pony huh? It’s okay, I am not a taxi pony.” She said in a caring tone.

Whirl lifted his head back into the train car and sat down on the bench. He leaned his head against the wall and started to breath heavily. “Why are we here?” he asked weakly.

“What’s all the commotion out here?” Applejack asked sleepily. She saw Whirl and Derpy sitting next to each other and blushed. “Oh Whirl, you’re awake. Uhhh, I bet yall are wondering what you are doing on a train and such.” She said nervously.

Whirl weakly nodded his head as Derpy rubbed his back some more. Applejack sighed and said, “Look sugar cube, we know yall said that yall didn’t want to see your mother’s students but they asked for yall to come. They wanted to see the living family of their former teacher, and we couldn’t say no to the youngins” Applejack explained.

Whirl heaved a few times as he sat on the bench. “Why--- why a train?” he asked weakly.

“Well, we didn’t know yall were sickly to em. Sorry about that, but we should almost be there.” Applejack said as she looked out the window in front of Whirl. “Yup! We are almost there!” she yelled over the rush of air.

Whirl let out a loud sickly moan as he lifted his head to the window again to vomit. Derpy patted him on the back lightly again and rubbed it once he was done. “It’s going to be alright Whirl.” She said softly before helping him back onto the bench.

Soon the others were in the cart as well watching as Whirl tried his best to not heave as they pulled into the station. The train rolled to a stop at Dodge Junction with a loud hiss and Whirl was the first one off. The others followed him and helped him off of the ground again. He was starting to regain a bit of his color, but not quickly. Whirl wasn’t exactly the lightest pony so it took two of them to help him walk around. They got to the end of the station platform when a yellow pony with a bronze mane rushed over to them. “Hello again yall! Welcome to APPLEOOSA!” he said excitedly. He looked at Whirl and grew a concerned look. “Did yall drug him to get him here or what?”

Applejack stepped forward and bopped the pony on the nose. “No ya goof. He is not fond of train is all. Nice to see ya cuz.”

The pony smiled and said, “Nice to see you too. Should we uh, get him some help or somethin?” he asked in a loud whisper.

Whirl shook his head slowly. “No, I’ll be fine Mr…?”

“Just call me Breaburn mister.” Breaburn said with a grin.

Whirl nodded his head slowly. “Whirl Wind.” He replied as he started to move forward again.

“Can yall take us to the schoolhouse Breaburn? We are here on a special occasion.” Applejack asked.

Breaburn smiled widely. “Of course I can! Just follow me and we will be there in no time. Uh, here… let me help him out.” Breaburn said as he jostled himself next to Whirl to hold up his weight on his own. “Has anypony ever told you that you are big for a pegasi?” Breaburn asked jokingly.

Whirl chuckled a bit. “Only everypony who has had to do this after I stepped off a train.” He replied with a smile.

Breaburn and the others laughed a bit at what Whirl said and continued onward. Even though Whirl only lived here for about a month or so he still remembered some of the town, but it had changed quite a bit even still. So many things have been added and a few things removed from the town. “I see that you are all still progressing well.” Whirl commented as they passed the saloon.

Breaburn smiled brightly. “Yup! We just got done planting the second apple orchard and we added a few new homes for the town’s folk. How did you know we added new stuff? Have you been here before?”

Whirl nodded his head slowly. “I lived here for a month when the town was first founded. I left because there was nothing here for me really. Nothing against the town, I was just looking for home you know?” He said as he started to support himself.

Breaburn’s smile grew even wider, if that were even possible. “Well I’ll be! It’s good to have you back founder! Glad you like the improvements! Do you have any other family here?” he asked happily.

Whirl stopped in his tracks. It was as if his heart was being squeezed in a vice like grip. He put a hoof to his heart and sat down. Applejack kicked Breaburn in the shoulder. “He lost his family in the war Breaburn. This is a very painful time for him and you just made it worse.” She said sternly.

Whirl shook his head. “He didn’t know… it’s okay, I’ll be fine in a moment.” Whirl said sadly.

Breaburn walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder. “Ahm sorry I mentioned it so bluntly Whirl, it was unkindly of me.” He said sullenly.

A few tears dropped from Whirl’s face. “I said it’s okay, I just need a moment. Everything that is going on just hit me all at once. I am going to meet the class my mother taught every day with a smile, a smile that I will never see again, a smile they will never see again, because of me. I killed them! It was my fault I couldn’t protect them from me!” he yelled as he broke down. In his mind he could see the last look on their faces before they were dead, it was becoming too much for him to handle.

Suddenly he felt a hoof strike his face and he snapped back to reality. His ears were ringing but he could hear the gasps over it. He looked up to see who hit him when he saw Derpy standing over him with an angered face. She struck him again and yelled, “It wasn’t you! You are a strong pony who I have believed in ever since I met you!” She struck him again. “You are not General Wind, you were never General Wind! King Sombra was General Wind!” She went to strike him again but he stopped her. The tension was as tight as the cables on a suspension bridge and everypony was silent as the two of them kept their hooves in contact.

Whirl was bleeding from his mouth a little bit and spit a bit of it out. He had a shocked expression on his face, something was different. He felt good… really good. As he stood he pulled on Derpy’s hoof and pulled her in for a hug. She was crying and holding him tightly. “Don’t say things like that Whirl… You aren’t…”

“I know. I know.” He said as he rubbed her back. “Thank you Derpy, I don’t know why but I feel a lot better. Maybe you realigned my brain back into place or something.” He said jokingly.

Derpy chuckled a bit as she cried. “Sorry I hit you. I was just so angry at you for thinking you were weak when I have known differently.” She said sadly.

Whirl chuckled. “It’s okay. Let’s keep going okay?” he asked as he pulled away from the hug.

Derpy smiled and wiped away her tears. “Yes, let’s keep going.” She said as they continued onward side by side.

Everypony else was silent during the rest of the walk, most of them were confused as to what just happened. They didn’t seem upset anymore and they had their wings wrapped around each other as they walked. They reached the schoolhouse and Breaburn stopped just outside the door. “Alright, here we are gang. Yall go ahead and do what yall need ta do.” He said before he went to go do some chores.

Whirl took in a deep breath and turned to Twilight. “Do I just go in?” he asked nervously.

Twilight nodded and smiled. “Yes, they are waiting just for you.”

“Can Derpy sit in with me?” he asked just as nervously.

Twilight nodded again. “That should be okay. We will be out here waiting for you to get done.” She said as she and her friends turned to a place where they could wait.

Whirl took another deep breath and opened the door slowly. He peeked in and saw the foals were writing down something on their papers. The teacher noticed the door open and trotted over to Whirl. “Are you Raisey’s son? Are you Whirl Wind?” she asked with a grin.

Whirl slowly nodded. “Yeah, and this is Derpy. She is going to be sitting in with me, is that okay?”

The teacher nodded. “That will be fine. It is a pleasure to meet you both. I am Ms. Texton. Come on in and have a seat near my desk and we will get started in a few minutes.” She said softly.

Whirl and Derpy both walked in and sat in the seats near Ms. Texton’s desk. “Alright class, our very special guest is here today to talk to us. He travelled here all the way from Ponyville and is probably just as sad as all of you are about your teacher. Please give a warm welcome to Mr. Whirl Wind.” She said with the best smile she could muster.

Whirl stood up and looked at the class as they looked back at him. It was true, he could see the sadness in their eyes as he looked about the room. “Hello everypony. I am Mrs. Raisey’s son. I understand that you all miss her as much as I do, to tell you the truth I didn’t think that was possible but… I can see that you all do. She was a great mother and she was probably like your mother away from home in a way. How many of you noticed that she always wore a smile?” he asked as he tried to cheer them up a bit.

Everypony in the room raised their hands with a slight grin. “Do you remember what she said about her smile?”

Everypony in the room nodded and there were several ‘yeah’s and ‘uh uh’s in the room. “I wear this smile to make sure all of my students have one.” They all said in unison.

Whirl smiled and nodded with tears welling up in his eyes. “She used to say the same thing to me and my family too. That she wore her smile so that everypony in her family would wear one too.” He said as he wiped away some of the tears. “I uh, I didn’t really have anything prepared for this today. To tell you the truth my friends put me on the train while I was sleeping. Oh you should have seen my face when I found out where I was.”

“He was whiter than a ghost!” Derpy said with a giggle.

The whole class chuckled a bit as well. “Yes, I was very pale. I think the white paper in this room is a darker shade than what I was.” He said as he took a piece of paper and put it in front of his face. “How do I look?” he asked jokingly. The class chuckled and laughed again. “I’ll take that as a good. Now then, I found one last note from my mother the other day. It was addressed to you students. I don’t have it with me but… I memorized it.” He lied as he thought hard to make something up. “Dear students. We have had such a good time together. I want you all to know that even though I am gone, my lessons will forever be in your hearts. I don’t want you to be sad for me because in the end I was happy with the knowledge that I got the opportunity to teach you all. I know it is going to be tough and I know you are going to miss me, but I also know that you are a strong class that will grow up to be some of the most important ponies in all of Equestria, because you are already the most important ponies to me. Love Mrs. Raisey.” He said as he got a bit choked up at the end. A couple of students were starting to tear up as well. Whirl gave a big smile to try and help them out. “I want you all to know, that if my mother said that you are strong, it is true. I can see the fire of friendship in this classroom and it will drive you to the brightest future possible. I think the best way to honor my mother’s memory is for you all to do your best in life and prove to Equestria she was right!” he said enthusiastically.

The whole class uproared in cheers and laughter and Whirl turn back to Ms. Texton. “Alright foals, it’s time for recess! Go have fun!” she said with a smile. The class quickly poured out and went off to play. “That was really touching Mr. Wind. I don’t think I could have said it better myself.” Ms. Texton said as she wiped away a few tears. “I think it will be a little while before they are all ready to move on, but this definitely helped. Thank you.” She said with a smile.

“You are welcome. I was really afraid to come and see them today, but I got some sense knocked into me and some nonsense knocked out of me.” He said as he turned to Derpy who gave a smile. “Well, I think we should go before they get back. I am sure that they would be a little bit too hyper if I were still here.”

Ms. Texton nodded in agreement. “Thank you again for seeing them.” She said as they walked out the door. “Oh and Whirl, I am sorry for your losses.” She said sadly.

“Thank you Ms. Texton.” He said happily before he walked over to his friends.

Derpy rubbed up beside him. “That was amazing Whirl! They all seem so happy now!” she said excitedly.
Whirl nodded with a smile. “I am just glad you were there with me. I was losing track so fast.”

Derpy smiled widely. “Aww, it was no big deal. I was happy to lend a hoof though.”

His friends surrounded them the moment they came over. “Did you do well?” “How did it go?” “Did you choke up at all?” “Did they throw any paper airplanes?” they asked in a barrage of questions.

“Yes, well, no and no.” Whirl replied with a smile. “They all seem much happier now. I am just glad that they are able to know how much she cared for them, even if I lied about the letter, everything I said I know was what she would have said if she were still here.”

Derpy nodded in agreement. “I am sure that is so. So, how are we going to get home? I am sure Whirl is not up for another train ride.” She said with a giggle.

“Uhh, we didn’t think of any other way of getting home. Are you sure you wouldn’t be fine on the train Whirl?” Twilight asked with a concerned look.

“The train will be fine. Now, if you will all excuse me, I have one last thing to do. Alone. Meet me at the train station at… what time does the next train leave?” he asked with a chuckle.

“It doesn’t leave until later tonight, the train had a bit of a problem with a mess on one of the cars.” She said with a giggle.

Whirl blushed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his neck. “Right, um… well then I should uh, get going.” He said as he turned around and started to trot away.

Derpy went after him and stopped him for a moment. She turned his head around and gave him a kiss. Whirl was caught by surprise but he didn’t fight what was happening. He just closed his eyes and kissed her in return. He pulled away and cracked his eyes open slowly. Her eyes were locked on his only half open and she wore a smile. Whirl smiled as well and asked, “Would you like to come with me? Maybe I could use somepony’s help?”

Derpy nodded. “Sure thing Whirl.” She said as she moved beside him and wrapped a wing over his back.

The two turned around and started to walk away together. Once they were far enough away that nopony could hear them Whirl finally revealed where they were going. “There was a reason I wanted to go alone Derpy but I think that you should be there as well. What I am about to do is visit my family’s home. Where they lived while they were here and I don’t know what we will find. I am kind of afraid of what we will find.” He admitted with a frown.

Derpy nodded in understanding. “I thought that is where we might be going. I had a feeling ever since you said you lived here.”

Whirl gestured over to a medium sized home just to their left. “Here we are.” He said with a nervous gulp.

Derpy walked forward and pushed him forward with her wing. “No more waiting.” She said sternly as she pushed him up to the door.

Whirl put his hoof on the doorknob and pushed it down slowly. The door crept open and Whirl had a sudden flashback of when he was here before. The dark night’s sky loomed overhead and he heard screams. Suddenly his was thrust back into reality by Derpy waving a hoof in front of his face. “Whirl, are you okay? You turned all pale and your eyes turned green!” she said with a worried tone.

Whirl blinked his eyes a few times and shook his head. “Sorry, I just had a flashback to the night I was here before, when he was here before.” He said as he opened the door all the way. As he stepped inside his hoof steps made the wooden floors creak. There was another flashback and he was standing in front of his panicking mother and his father holding a spear. Whirl disarmed his father and stabbed his chest with a laugh.

Derpy was shaking him screaming his name loudly. Whirl blinked some more and took a deep breath. “Whirl! We need to get you out of here something is happening to you!” Derpy yelled with concern.

Whirl shook his head again and continued forward. “I need to see this…” he said as he took another step forward. Another flash and he saw his mother holding his father’s head in her fore hooves as she cried. She looked up to him with her smile and said, “I know this isn’t you Whirl. I know that this is King Sombra. Don’t blame yourself for what was not your fault.”

Whirl raised his spear and as it came down he found himself crying. Derpy was holding him in her fore hooves in a hug. “Whirl, what is happening to you?” she asked softly.

Whirl returned her hug. “They knew it wasn’t me. They knew! They forgave me! They forgave me!” he cried out.

Derpy rubbed his back. “Of course they did. They were your parents and they loved you.”

Whirl sobbed for a few more minutes before he calmed down. He slowly moved himself away from Derpy. She didn’t stop him from exploring around but he didn’t get caught in any more flashbacks as he looked at everything in his parent’s home. He gestured Derpy to follow him to his parent’s room. She went down the hall and entered the room with him. “I need your help to find something. It is a photo album. I don’t want to leave here without it.” He said as he started to look around the room. Derpy nodded and started to look around the room as well. Whirl pulled open the closet and found a large book sitting on the floor. “I found it…” he said as he picked it up.

He placed it down on the bed and opened it up. The first picture was the same family photo that Whirl had in his home. He closed the book again and put it in his saddle bag. “Time to go now.” He said to Derpy.

“You don’t want to take anything else?” She asked curiously.

Whirl shook his head. “Enough has already been taken from this house.” He said as he started to walk out the door.

Derpy followed along and didn’t question Whirl on what he meant. She caught up with him outside after closing the door to the house. “Now all we have to do is ride a train.”

Whirl sighed and shook his head. “I hate trains with every fiber of my being.” He said softly.

Derpy giggled. “I know, but the more you prepare for it the better it will be.”

“Just give me five minutes on the train and you will see that preparing for it does nothing.” He said with a chuckle.

Derpy let out a small laugh. “Let’s make it a bet then. I have fifty bits on you not vomiting once.” She said with a smirk.

Whirl laughed loudly. “Fifty it is!” he said as he stuck out a hoof for Derpy to shake.

Derpy took his hoof and shook it vigorously. “You just lost fifty bits.”

Whirl chuckled and continued walking. When they arrived at the train station Twilight spotted them and ran towards them. “Hey Whirl! Hey Derpy! Good news! I was reading some of the books I brought for travel study and I found a spell that will make this trip easier for Whirl!” she said happily.

Whirl sighed and pulled out a bag of bits. “It’s fifty that I owe you right?” he said as she started to count out the bits.

Derpy nodded and took the fifty bits in her bag. “Thank you.” She said as she put it bag in her saddle bag.

“What was that all about?” Twilight asked.

“I lost a bet to magic. Go ahead and do what you need to do.” Whirl said with a sigh.

Twilight’s horn lit up and Whirl felt a bit dizzy. He soon fell to the ground and he started to snore. “He should be asleep for the whole trip. I figured since he wasn’t sick while he was awake this was the only way.”

Derpy giggled. “So, you couldn’t have put him to sleep on the train, at least while he was over something a bit more soft?”

Twilight blushed in embarrassment. “That might have been a good idea. Girls! We need some help getting Whirl on the train!” she called out.

It took all seven of them to get him up and in the train. Twilight and Rarity used their magic to lift him onto Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s backs so they could carry him. Derpy and Fluttershy guided them forward and made sure they could get through the doors. Despite their efforts they still managed to smack Whirl’s head on every door frame. They set him down on a bench and put his head on a pillow. “Do you think he will have a headache when he wakes up?” Derpy asked with a concerned look.

Twilight frowned and nodded. “Yes he definitely will. That was one of side effects of the spell, but we added to it by hitting his head on everything. He is going to need somepony to walk him home for sure.”

Derpy smiled and rubbed Whirl’s head. “I can do that. I assume he is going to be a bit loopy when he wakes up?”

Twilight nodded again and found her seat. “So what did you and Whirl do?” she asked with a smile.

Derpy pulled out the album from Whirl’s bag and opened it up. “We went to his home to grab this. Only this though, he said something about the house having too much taken from it already.” She said as she looked at the pictures.

The others came over and looked through the album with her. There was a picture of Whirl and his older brother hanging upside down from a tree by a rope with upset faces. Another picture was of Whirl lifting rocks that were more than twice his size. Every picture was in a different place in Equestria and some of them were in places none of them had even heard of.

“Whirl sure did a lot in his foalhood.” Derpy said as they finished looking at the album.

“I can’t believe that somepony so great had never been noticed before. I mean, look at this!” Twilight said as she turned to a picture of Whirl flying out of the water with a trail of water enveloped around him.

“That is so awesome! I need to ask him how he did that so I can add it to my routine!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly.

“Sometimes ponies work to be hidden away from others. I mean, he lives way outside of Ponyville and he rarely does anything else but his job. Maybe something happened in his foalhood that made him want to be alone?” Fluttershy said.

“Whirl told me that I was his first friend he made. Maybe traveling around made him antisocial?” Derpy said as she looked up to Whirl.

“That would make sense. I never traveled but I didn’t ever think I would need friends at all. I had my family though, I saw vary few pictures of Whirl spending time with his family. I can only guess what happened to make him so isolated.” Twilight said with a frown.

“I went against my father’s wishes.” Whirl said as he yawned.

Twilight gasped and her horn lit up again. “Don’t worry, I will get you back to sleep.”

“Don’t bother, my brother used to use me for his spell practice. I am very resistant to magic now.” Whirl explained as he sat up and rubbed his head. “Why do I have such a headache though?”

All of them chuckled nervously and none of them gave him an answer. “What do you mean you went against your father’s wishes?” Twilight asked as she tried to change the subject.

“My father wanted me to be a royal guard. For a long time I worked towards that goal, hence the pictures of me lifting rocks. I changed my mind the day I visited my grandparents in Cloudsdale. They took me to see the Wonderbolts for the first time. The Wonderbolts are the most elegant fliers I have ever seen in my entire life and I wanted to join them, hence the pictures of me doing all kinds of tricks. My brothers stopped spending time with me and so did my father. I didn’t really mind though, I was working towards a dream. I don’t think I will be part of the Wonderbolts now though. I wonder why my father never told me he was part of the land team until I really needed encouragement. I wonder why he didn’t want me to follow in his hoof steps and become a Wonderbolt as well.” Whirl explained. “My father never made any sense though. He used to tell me that he invented the goggles they used for flight teams; I guess it is possible now that I know he was a Wonderbolt. It’s so frustrating that I will never get to ask him any of these things.”

“I can only imagine. But think of it this way, your family has done some amazing things Whirl. You can make them all proud by continuing to do the amazing things you do already.” Derpy said with a smile.

“What amazing things do I do?” Whirl asked with a frown.

“You killed King Sombra, you avenged them Whirl. You have kept the weather in perfect condition since you moved to Ponyville. You have made friends with one of the princesses and the elements of harmony. You have inspired foals to do the best they can be and you helped them to move on. You lift amazingly heavy thing that most of us can only imagine to lift.” Derpy said with a smile.

Whirl smiled as well and looked down at the album. “I guess you are right. I never thought that I would be here like this, with friends like all of you. We all became friends because I did what I would have done for anypony, I kept you safe. I know it wasn’t my responsibility to do it, but that wasn’t the point. When the time came I acted in the best interest of Equestria. Little did I know I would be doing a lot more than helping some ponies into Canterlot. And you Derpy, I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I am glad that I did it, because I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“You were there for me every time I delivered to you. You gave me encouragement when things looked bad. And you didn’t make fun of me for my… problem. I never met a pony who wasn’t annoyed at me for doing something clumsy and I never expected somepony to not mind it at all.” Derpy replied with a large grin.

Whirl looked out the window and instantly turned pale. “Oh no…” he said quietly before he put his head back down on the pillow. Twilight’s horn started to glow again and she put him to sleep.

“I could see where that was going from a mile away.” Twilight said with a giggle.

Everypony on the train laughed and then went to find a bed to sleep in.