When Will it End?

by Whirl Wind

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight: Trial by Fire

“The bad news is… the trial starts in one hour and there is a large amount of journalists outside.” Princess Luna said with a frown.

“One hour… well… can we get Whim and Sunny to the court room by then?” Whirl asked with a chuckle.

“I have called for two wheel chairs to be here in thirty minutes. However, you must come with me now so we can get the journalists out of the way.”

“Okay, Derpy can you stay here and help these two get to the court room please?”

“Sure thing Whirl.” Derpy said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “See you soon.”

Whirl followed Luna out of the room and was instantly swarmed by ponies flashing cameras and asking questions loudly. The guards pushed through the crows and protected the two as they were followed throughout the castle. They past the court room and continued walking. “Why are we passing the court room?” Whirl shouted over the crowd.

“We are going to the grand court room. There wasn’t enough room in the other one.” Luna replied loudly. “Unfortunately we are going to have to leave the castle to get there.”

“Why is that unfortunate?”

“Because of the protesters.”

“Protesters?!”

“Yes, there are many ponies that do not agree to your trial. They have been standing outside of the castle for days protesting your imprisonment.”

“Can I say something to them so that we don’t have a problem getting to the court house?”

“I don’t see why not.”

They reached the front doors and when they opened up the uproar of sound doubled instantly. Whirl saw pegasi flying above the castle with signs that read ‘Free Whirl Wind’ and ‘No heroes in prison!’. Other signs were being levitated in the air by unicorns and the earth ponies were wearing the signs on their backs. All of them were in an uproar and trying their hardest to get to him. “Luna, can you get them to be quite please?”

Luna nodded and smiled. “BE STILL!” she shouted in her royal Canterlot voice.

The crowd immediately silenced and everypony’s eyes fell on Whirl. “Ponies of Equestria, please move aside and let us pass! I am thankful for your support however I chose to go on trial for my crimes! And do you know why?! Because I broke the law when I chose to go behind enemy lines and aide them to ultimately throw them down!” At this the crowd cheered loudly. “Listen up! Most of you are probably thinking my imprisonment was unfair! To this I say no! I knew that this would happen when I was flying to the Crystal Empire! Now some of you are probably asking if I would do it again, and to that I say YES! I would fight for Equestria, I would go to trial for Equestria, I would be imprisoned for Equestria and I would surely die for Equestria! Even now as I am walking to trial I am happy in the fact that Equestria has chosen to do the right thing despite who I am and what I have done! If we do not punish those who break the law, we would fall apart with anarchy and chaos! So I go now to face my crimes with my head held high knowing that whatever choice they make, I will be proud to take my punishment! Now if you would all please step aside!” The crowd cheered and started to shuffle to make room for the princess and Whirl to walk by. Once they made a path they started to walk along with Whirl and Luna as they approached the court house. They made it inside and things quieted down rapidly as they approached the court room. Inside the courtroom Whirl could see it was packed to the brim. He saw Flare sitting at his table in front of his wife who was holding their two foals.

Whirl was seated next to Flare and was able to take a better look around the room. All four of the princesses were seated on the left side of the room in very large chairs, on the right were similar chairs reserved for V.I.P.s, such as Twilight’s friends, and in the middle sat the council members from all over Equestria. Behind Whirl was and array of ponies that now included Sunny, Whim and Derpy. He shot them a smile and a wave and the whole court room erupted in cheer. A loud bang of the gavel quickly quieted them again. “Mr. Wind, can you please refrain from riling the crowd as we prepare for this trial?”

Whirl blushed. “Sorry, I was just waving to my fiancé.”

The council went back to their preparations. Flare leaned over to Whirl and whispered, “Wow, I have never seen you so calm. You are up for judgment in front of all of these ponies and I am your defense council. How can you just sit there as if nothing is happening?”

Whirl chuckled lightly. “Because it doesn’t matter what the sentence is. Look at that behind us. All of my friends are here and my best friend is my defense council. Even if I go to prison after this, I am just happy to have all of these ponies helping me by just being here.” he whispered with a smile.

“Well don’t celebrate just yet. I still have to defend you and they have one of the best prosecutors in Equestria. What if I can’t defend you well enough?”

“Sonic Flare, my dearest friend, even if I go to prison for the rest of my life I will know you did your best and you did all you could to defend me. I know you will do great today.”

Another bang of the gavel got everypony’s attention. “This court is now in session. This session is Whirl Wind versus Equestria. Mr. Wind, you have been accused of aiding the enemy in the attack on the Crystal Empire, how do you plea?”

“Not guilty your honors.” Whirl pronounced with a smile.

“Then let the proceedings commence. The prosecution may now make their case.”

The suited pony at the prosecutions table stood up and adjusted his tie. “Thank you your honors. Now, we have all heard that this stallion is some kind of hero, however there are some flaws to that assessment. Firstly, this particular pony is known by another name we have all learned, recently in fact, and that name is General Wind. The very general who destroyed the lives of countless ponies.”

“Objection your honors, the pony in question has been absolved of those crimes due to the fact that he was being controlled against his will by dark magic.” Flare explained.

“Sustained. Prosecutor, you will refrain from using that case during these proceedings.”

“Very well your honors. Thought you cannot say that it didn’t change the pony in question. Therefore I would like to call him to the stand.” Whirl stood up and walked up to the stand. “Mr. Wind, since you have been ‘freed’ of this dark magic… have you killed anypony?”

Whirl went a bit pale at this question, because he knew the answer to that question. “Yes…” he answered with a frown.

The audience gasped and started to murmur amongst themselves. “So, you admit that you have murdered a pony in cold blood?”

“No, I did not murder the pony in cold blood. When I first arrived in the Crystal Empire I was ambushed by two of the corrupted guards. In order to survive I… I was forced to kill the first pony… the second was knocked unconscious and turned to stone so that we did not have to kill him.” Whirl said in a shaky voice.

“We? You mean you weren’t alone?”

“As everypony should know, a lieutenant was behind enemy lines prior to the incident. That pony was the one who turn the other to stone before trying to send me out of the empire. When I refused, he tried to apprehend me.”

“Is said lieutenant here today to defend that claim?”

“Yes he is.”

“At this time the prosecution would like to call that pony to the stand.”

Whim used his magic to wheel his chair up next to the stand while Whirl stepped down. “Would you please state your name and rank for the record please?”

“Lieutenant Whim, first battalion in the unicorn militia.”

“Could you please verify Mr. Wind’s story?”

“I can. Whirl was in the alley I was hiding in when the two guards in question approached. I witnessed Whirl kill the first and quickly disable the other. Had it been me I would have killed them both, but he showed mercy and begged me not to kill the other. I turn him to stone so that he would not give away my cover when he awoke. When I attempted to apprehend Mr. Wind he fled. I am not sure what he did after that but later on I witnessed him attempting to escape with another prisoner. Bloody Marey ended up stabbing the other prisoner and using the same dark magic against Whirl to control him.”

“Did she succeed?”

“No, I later came to discover that he used the situation to gain her trust and ultimately betray her.”

“So during that time did Mr. Wind assist Bloody Marey to defend the Crystal Empire?”

“I do believe he assisted her in setting up the defenses to fail.”

“How can you be so sure he wasn’t helping her to strengthen the defenses?”

“Even as General Wind, Whirl had excellent strategic skills which is why Sombra made him a general in the first place. He was able to defeat two major cities and several of our smaller settlements. Had he not been freed of the dark magic he would have defeated us.”

“Mr. Whim we have established that General Wind cannot be used as evidence in this trial.”

“Then let me remove that from the record and replace it with this, Whirl Wind has proven to me that he has extreme knowledge in strategic placement of defenses and yet he left three extremely large gaps in his defenses that allowed us to take the city with as few casualties as possible. He did this intentionally to assist us in taking the empire back and we succeeded.”

“This is all speculation on your behalf however as you did not physically witness his planning.”

“Correct.”

“Thank you for saying that. The prosecution would like to call up Mr. Wind back to the stand please.” Whim wheeled himself back to the audience as Whirl approached the stands. “Mr. Wind, I would like you to answer one more question before I rest my case. Did you kiss Bloody Marey in celebration of your future victory?”

“I… did what I had to… to earn her trust…” Whirl admitted with a frown.

“Kissing the leader of the enemy isn’t exactly what I would call a move to hamper our enemy. In fact it signifies that you yourself had fallen for her and you were proud to assist her. I rest my case.”

“Very well, Mr. Wind, please return to your seat.” the lead council member ordered. “The defense may now make its case.”

“Thank you your honors.” Flare said as he stood up. “Ladies and gentlecolts of the council, I would first like to state something off the record.”

“You may proceed.”

“This pony has been the most honorable and most helpful pony to all of Equestria. Whirl Wind IS a hero and deserves our respect and admiration during this time.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes your honors. The defense would like to call Princess Luna to the stands.”

The audience murmured as the princess of the night approached the stands and sat down. “Order please. Proceed.”

“Princess Luna, it has come to my attention that you had communications with Whirl Wind during the meeting in question in which he planned the defense of the Crystal Empire, is that correct?”

“Yes, I used this to communicate with him.” Luna explained as she levitated the two pieces of diamond she used to communicate with. “This diamond was a gift to Sunny Plains that Bloody Marey stole from him when she took him prisoner.”

“To verify that this diamond is a means of communication, could you please give one half to the council?”

Luna levitated one half of the diamond up to the head council member who passed it around as Luna levitated the other half around the court room. “It has been verified by the council that this is a means of communication.”

“Now then, Princess Luna, could you please inform us of what you heard while Whirl was planning with Bloody Marey.”

“Whirl opened up the three distinct holes in their defense and then informed me other them before our attack went out. We used his information to attack and reduce the amount of casualties to a minimum. Off the record, Whirl commented that he nearly vomited in Bloody Marey’s mouth during the kiss because he found it to be as vile as the mare he was kissing.”

The crowd laughed and the gavel banged on the desk. “Order! Princess Luna, this council requests with the highest respect that you only offer pure evidence to the court.”

“Very well, here is the biggest piece of evidence I can offer. After the attack was over Whirl offered Princess Cadance valuable information on how to repair the crystal heart and even saved her life when the spell backfired. Nopony who was intentionally trying to do harm would do that.”

“Thank you Princess Luna, could we please call Princess Cadance to the stands?” Flare asked respectfully. The princesses swapped places. “Princess Cadance, would you please verify that Whirl indeed risked his life to save yours.”

“Yes I will. Whirl saved my life and my empire. I do not think more is needed to be said.”

“Thank you Princess Cadance. The defense rests its case.” Flare said as he walked over and sat down. “How did I do?” he whispered to Whirl.

“Very well.” Whirl whispered in response.

“Would the prosecution like to continue its case against Mr. Wind?”

“No your honors.”

“Then this council will begin its deliberations.” the head council banged her gavel and proceeded to walk out of the room with the rest of the council.

Flare put his head down on the table and put his hooves over his head. “I hope I didn’t screw this up…”

Whirl put a hoof on Flare’s back. “You did great. I couldn’t have done better myself.”

Flare shook his head and moaned in disappointment. Several hours later the council emerged from the back room and took their seats. “The council has come to a decision. Based on the evidence given we have no choice but to find Whirl Wind guilty of conspiracy.” The crowd suddenly exploded with rage and the head council hammered her gavel down. “Order! Order!” It took a moment but the crowd quieted down. “We sentence the defendant to house arrest for a year and intense conditioning sessions. This court is adjourned.” the head council banged the gavel again and they started to leave the room. As the audience voiced its rage at the sentence Whirl was escorted from the room. Flare followed along and once they were out of the room Flare sighed sadly.

“I’m sorry Whirl… I couldn’t get you off…”

Whirl hugged Flare and pat his back. “You got me home and now I can be with Derpy again.”

“But what about the trial in the Crystal Empire?” Flare asked sadly.

“There isn’t going to be one.” Princess Cadance said from behind them. “Nopony in my kingdom wants to convict him. We simply placed one of our council members in on this trial and they helped with the sentencing.”

Whirl smiled and hugged Princess Cadance. “Thank you so much…”

Princess Cadance giggled and returned his hug. “It’s the least I can do for the pony who not only saved my husband’s life, but for the pony who saved mine. You two have saved my family and I thank you both.”

Whirl took a step back from the princess and looked at the others. “Thank you all for coming to support me… I am glad I was able to get off with such a light sentence.”

“Well, we might have suggested to the council that you get house arrest rather than dungeon time.” Applejack said innocently. “A lot of the ponies on the council are close friends with mah family so I was able to ask a favor on their behalf. The council was happy to assist.”

“Well, come on by my house sometime and I will find a way to repay you for that.” Whirl said happily.

“Don’t you worry about that one bit; ah was repayin yall for buckin in mah fields for no pay.”

Whirl smiled and hugged Applejack. “Thank you so much.”

Derpy wheeled Sunny around the corner and Whim was right behind them. “Hey! You never told me you kissed her!” Derpy said as she bopped Whirl on the nose.

Whirl blushed and frowned. “I… she… I hated it… and all I could think was how you would feel about it…”

“Whirl, I know that you only did it to gain her trust. But when you get home I am going to make you eat a lemon as punishment.” Derpy said sternly.

“I will gladly eat a lemon for you.” Whirl said as he kissed her cheek. “Can we go home now?”

“Yes, we have arranged for a guarded car to take you home. Once you get off the train you will be escorted to your home where you will stay for a year. You can go outside but you must stay within one hundred meters of your house. Other than that, you are free to do as you please.” Princess Celestia explained. “Congratulations Whirl Wind.”

“Well… let’s go face the journalists Derpy. Then we can go home. Whim, Sunny, I can’t wait to see you there.” Whirl said happily.

Whim nodded and Sunny smiled. “I can’t wait to be home with you brother.”

Whirl and Derpy walked to the exit and Whirl sighed. “There is another door you could use.” Luna said suddenly.

“No, you take that exit while Derpy and I will deal with the last bit of work. You ready Derpy?” Whirl asked with a smile.

“Yes I am.” Derpy said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

The others snuck out the back way and Whirl opened the doors. Immediately the noise level skyrocketed and flashes from cameras nearly blinded them. When they stepped out of the door they were bombarded with questions from all side. “Alright everypony, I will answer your questions if you will all quiet down!” Whirl shouted over the noise. The crowd started to hush down and the only thing that could be heard was the shutters of cameras. “Much better, now then… you, what is your question?”

“What are you going to do now that the case has been settled?” a journalist asked enthusiastically.

“I am going to go home and marry this fine mare here.” Whirl said as he wrapped his good wing over Derpy’s back.

“Do you think you got a fair punishment for your crime?” another pony shouted over everypony’s heads.

“Well, I think that this should have never happened. The only reason I was put on trial in the first place was to prevent the noble houses to claim favoritism and then make outlandish demands to the princesses.”

Everypony’s pencils and quills were rapidly writing down every word. “How would the nobles be able to claim favoritism if the princesses would have let you go?”

“Easily, the nobles would have pointed out my several flaws and my friendship with Princess Luna. Then all they would have had to do was prove their case and then get whatever they wanted.”

“Why would the noble houses do such a thing?”

“One word, greed. A lot of the nobles just want it all and they will do anything to get it. To anypony who doubts these words I say this, try working for a noble for a week and see if they treat you kindly. If they do, then you are lucky.”

“Are you saying that all nobles are greedy?”

“Did I say that? Or did I say ‘a lot of’? No, not all nobles are greedy. I just wish that they were all a bit more considerate of what they consider to be a ‘lower class’.”

“When you kissed Bloody Marey did you ever think of telling your wife?”

“Kissing Bloody Marey was the single most foul thing I have ever done. My wife knows that and she knew I was only doing it to protect Equestria.”

“Were you nervous when the prosecutor asked you if you had killed anypony?”

“I would say that I was sad. Killing is never easy and you will never get used to doing it. The moment that pony died by my hooves I felt immediate guilt and sorrow the likes of which I had never felt before. I… I never wanted to… I never…”

“I think that is enough questions for today.” Derpy said as she saw the absolute guilt ridden look on Whirl’s face.

They stared to walk through the crowd again and they were once again bombarded with ponies trying to ask their questions. Were it not for the guards, they might have been trampled. Eventually they made it to the carriage waiting for them and they were taken to the train station. Whirl sighed when he saw the train. “I hope I don’t get sick on the train…”

“We will cuddle on the seat and I will rub your tummy.” Derpy said lovingly.

Whirl smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek before they boarded the train and found their seats. Derpy laid down on the bench and Whirl laid down next to her. Derpy hugged him and started to rub his belly as the train started to move. Whirl let out a large exhale and closed his eyes. “Thank you Derpy…” he said as he took a deep breath.

“It’s just a train silly. You are going to be fine.” Derpy said calmly.

“I’m going to be… fine… augh… ohhh… window! WINDOW!” Whirl said as he jumped up and vomited out of the nearest window.

Derpy laughed and stood up. “I will get the trains medical kit and see if there is anything in there to help calm your stomach.”

Whirl heaved and vomited again. “Trains… I hate trains… BLOUGH!”

Derpy opened the medical kit and dug around inside. “Nope, just a lot of bandages. Looks like you are going to be very hungry when we get…”

Whirl interrupted her by vomiting again out the window. “I ONLY HAD ONE APPLE! WHERE IS THIS ALL COMING FROM?!”

Derpy frowned as she watched him heave over and over without anything coming up. “Honey, just sit down. I think you got it all out.”

Whirl fell from the window and sat down. He had a few more dry heaves before he flopped face down onto the floor. The conductor was walking through when he saw Whirl on the floor. “Uhhh, is he going to be okay?”

“Just a bit sick from the train.” Derpy explained.

The conductor pulled out a small white flat disc. “Here sir, eat this. You will feel a bit better.”

Whirl lifted his head up and saw the small disc and bit it right out of the conductors hoof. Just thirty seconds after he ate it he fell asleep. “What was that?”

“A sedative. We ran out of motion sickness medication two days ago.” the conductor explained. “Have a nice ride.” He continued to the next car.

Derpy looked down at Whirl and laid down next to him. She leaned her head against his and sighed. “Maybe we should have taken an airship…”

****

“Look, all I am asking is to transferred to Ponyville’s hospital. It will clear up a bed that doesn’t need to be filled. Come on, you already have Whim half way ready to go why can’t you transfer me too?!” Sunny asked desperately.

“I’m sorry but you just aren’t ready to be transferred. In your state you could easily collapse your lung.” Span said apologetically.

“I’ll be fine! I just want to go home…”

“I know you do. I want to be able to send you home but it would be irresponsible for me to release you for transfer.”

“Then I want to be discharged.” Sunny said defiantly.

“You are kidding me… you can barely move.”

“I can move enough to get out of here and go home. Now you can either transfer me, in which case I will have access to medical help if there is an emergency, or you can discharge me and let me go on my own. Either way I am going to be going home.”

Span sighed sadly. “You are putting me in a tough position Mr. Plains… I will prep you for transfer. Please find any possessions you might have had when you arrived…”

“Thank you, I owe you one.”

“Yeah well… if you make it.”

“I’ll be fine. I really can’t thank you enough for doing this.”

“You can repay me by not collapsing that lung while you are gone.”

Sunny got down from his bed and into his wheel chair. He took a couple of deep breaths and started to gently push himself forward. “See… nothing to worry… about…” he said in a winded voice.

“Take it easy, no need to rush. The airship won’t be taking patients to Ponyville for another hour. Let me go tend to my other patient and I will be back to wheel you down to the docks.”

Sunny wheeled himself by the door and waited for the doctor to return. When Span came back into the room he didn’t see Sunny by the door as he walked in. “Hey doc, I’m re…” Sunny started before the doctor yelped in surprise.

Span regained his composure. “You startled me… are you ready to go?”

“Yes I am. Why are you so jumpy doc?”

“Because I am trying not to get into trouble for transferring you. If we get caught I could lose my job for negligence.”

“Whoa, alright I will keep my mouth shut. If anypony asks, we are going to the cafeteria.”

“Sounds good to me. Let’s get going before it gets busy again.” Span said as he used his magic to start wheeling Sunny out of the room. As they walked through the castle Sunny noticed how quiet things had gotten.

“Why is it so calm?”

“We aren’t expecting more patients until this afternoon. That is why we are transferring the lesser cases to Ponyville and to other cities throughout Equestria. We need the space.”

“Are there really others still out in the field?”

“Yes there are. We would have them be taken care of in the Crystal Empire, but they are stuffed with their own wounded.”

“Well, I am glad I can help make room.”

At last they made it to the docks and Span loaded Sunny up onto the airship. Sunny gestured for Whim to be quiet as he spotted them. Span quietly left the airship and Sunny waved goodbye as they were on their way. Whim wheeled himself up next to Sunny with a smile. “Hey, how did you manage to get the doctor to transfer you?”

“I told him I wanted to be discharged.”

“What? Why would you do that?”

“I want to be at home Whim. I can’t stand being away from Ponyville for one more second.”

“Well, I hope it was worth it. Try not to take too many deep breaths, there is no need to strain your lung.”

“I’ll be fine, just have to take it easy.” Sunny said as he exhaled.

“I’ll keep an eye on you, just in case.”

Sunny took another breath and exhaled slowly. “Taking it easy. At least I know I am doing better than Whirl right now.”

“What do you mean?”

Sunny pointed down at the train that was traveling in the same direction as they were. “Do you see who is poking out of the window?”

Whim squinted his eyes and saw a small green dot and something pouring out of it. “Is that Whirl… vomiting?”

Sunny nodded slowly. “Yup, wait… he is puking out of the train too?! That is priceless. I will laugh about it later though. Taking it easy.”

Whim chuckled a bit and stopped looking down at the train. “How can a train be so detrimental to you both but an airship isn’t?”

“I have no clue. I never tried to figure it out.”

“And you never tried to figure it out… Why not?”

“I have never been on a train this much in my life. I walk or fly everywhere.”

“Trains are the main source of transportation between cities and you prefer flying or walking?”

“Yeah, it is fun.”

“Walking hundreds of miles is… fun?”

“Well, I guess not for everypony.”

“I would have to say so. What would possess somepony to walk that far?”

“Desire to change one’s life. It can be very powerful.”

“Interesting. I have never been in that kind of situation before.”

“Of course you have, when you moved to Ponyville and started a rock farm. Were your parents excited about that?”

“They said it was not something ponies like us would do. I just told them I wanted to be different.”

“And they just let you go?”

“Yes they did. They told me to keep to tradition though. I was going to, but then I decided I wouldn’t be different if I did.”

Sunny exhaled again slowly. “No more talking… for a little while…”

“Alright, just sit back and enjoy the gentle breeze.”

Sunny nodded slowly and inhaled slowly.

****

The train came to a stop and Derpy shook Whirl to wake him up. Whirl moaned and opened his eyes slowly. “Are we there yet?” he asked with a slurred tone.

“Yes we are and the guards are here to escort us home. Let’s get up and go home.” Derpy said with a smile as she helped him to his hooves.

“Awesome…” Whirl said quietly as he started to hobble towards the door.

Two guards followed on either side of them as they stepped off the train. Derpy was helping to steer Whirl as she started to walk towards home. “It’s a few miles this way.”

“Where are we going again…?” Whirl asked, still dazed.

Derpy giggled. “We are going home Whirl. Home.” she said slowly.

“And who are these two nice gentlecolts following us again…?”

“They are the guards that are escorting us to our house. Do you two know anything about the sedative they gave him?” Derpy asked the guards.

“Well, it is very powerful you see…” one of the guards said tentatively.

“How long will he be like this?”

“Am I acting like something?” Whirl asked as he nuzzled Derpy’s neck.

“Like you had one too many at the bar Whirl.” Derpy said with a giggle as they stumbled a bit.

“Hey, I can hold my liquor. It was that dang cracker… it was salty… and flat.”

“Give it another hour or so miss.” the other guard said calmly.

“For wha? You trying to… to… what?” Whirl said as he looked around. “Hey look, it’s that place I live.” he said as if he was never happier to see his home. “Let’s invite these two in for some cider! They… they… ohhh… they are so shiney.” Whirl poked one of the guards armor repeatedly. “How did I get in your armor?”

Derpy pulled Whirl away and towards the door. “Thank you both for the escort. Come on Whirl, leave the guards alone so they can get back to work.”

“But they are so shiny and I am stuck in their armor!” Whirl said in protest as Derpy walked him through the door. “Derpyyyyyy I am stuck in their armor!”

“Then how are you in your house Whirl?” she said with a giggle as she let him flop down on the sofa.

Whirl looked around and then back to Derpy. “You save me!” he said happily as he threw his hooves up.

Derpy laughed and pushed him over on the sofa. “Close your eyes and go to sleep for a little while, you are so far gone right now.”

Whirl rolled onto his back and hummed. “Home sweet home…” He closed his eyes slowly. “I love you Derpy…”

“I love you too Whirl.” Derpy replied as he fell asleep. She walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. “Home sweet home indeed.” she said as she took a sip.

****

“No, no, no sir. This stallion was on the transfer list. He was a new addition today and he needs a room.” Whim tried to explain to the doctor unloading the ponies from the airship.

“Listen, we are full and he is not on the arrivals list. I can’t get him a room.” the doctor responded as he shuffled the papers on his clipboard.

“Then give him my room. He needs to be monitored; he has a spear wound to the chest, lung and back. You have to give him my room under the room of triage.”

“Actually sir, you don’t have a room either. You were sent here to be processed and discharged.”

“You are telling me that there is nopony here who has a room that doesn’t need it?”

“I-I-I-I… I’m sorry I-I-I-I-I….” the doctor stammered as he flipped through his papers.

“What seems to be the problem here?” a familiar voice sounded out from behind the other doctor.

“Ray, thank Celestia you are here. I have a mister…”

“Sunny Plains.”

“Sunny Plains here and he wasn’t on the transfer list. I can’t get him a room.”

“Go ahead and help the other new arrivals Imager, I will take care of this.” Dr.Ray said with a smile. The other doctor walked off into the crowd and Dr. Ray looked at Sunny. “Whirl, what are you doing here with a fake name?”

“Uh… Okay Ray, you have to believe the next few things I am going to say. One, I am not Whirl Wind… technically. Two, I am not crazy. My name is Sunny Plains now. I believe we met when I was here while I still had my horn. Do you remember that?”

“I remember a yellow alicorn with a white mane and tail.” Dr. Ray said skeptically.

“Okay good, now imagine that alicorn… lost his horn, lost his coat color aaaaand… is actually the separated dark entity that was pulled out of Whirl in order to save him from Sombra’s dark magic.”

Dr. Ray was a bit lost now. “What?”

Whim decided it was time to speak up. “This pony was the embodiment of the dark essence inside of Whirl Wind. In order to save Whirl from Sombra’s dark magic Princess Celestia pulled this fine stallion out of Whirl, effectively making two separate ponies. This stallion here was cursed by Sombra with a horn made from a dark crystal and it was removed by Princess Twilight, effectively freeing Sunny here from the dark magic as well. Then… well, Bloody Marey foalnapped Sunny here and Whirl went to save him and that is how he got this new wound that needs to be monitored lest his lung collapse.”

Dr. Ray nodded. “Fair enough, you know I can’t give you a room though.”

“What?! Ray, I thought we were friends.” Sunny said dissapointedly.

“Oh we are; that is why I am offering you home services. I can come and check up on you every day until you don’t need to be monitored. I assume Whirl is already home considering he was placed under house arrest, which is why I was so confused he was here.”

“I think you are right, we saw the train unloading ponies as we flew by.” Whim said happily.

“Then it is settled. You two head to Whirl’s house and I will be there at the end of the day to check up on uh… Sunny was it?”

“Yes sir. Thank you Ray, I owe you one.”

“Just make sure that there is some nice hot tea waiting for me.” Dr. Ray said as he trotted back to the crowd of ponies.

“Well, I don’t need them to tell me to go home. I can just go. Want me to wheel us to Whirl’s house?” Whim asked with a smile.

“Sure thing. Just… take it slow.” Sunny said as they started to move.

“Did you see the look on his face when you told him that you weren’t crazy?”

“Priceless. He was thinking I suffered mental trauma for sure.” Sunny said with a chuckle.

“I thought he would have you in a strait jacket in about ten seconds if I hadn’t stepped in.”

“That would have gotten me a room at least.”

Whim laughed a bit at Sunny’s joke. “True, but at least this way you can be at home.”

“You know, you look a bit like a tan Dalmatian with all of your frostbite.”

“That was random…”

“True none the less. I might even give you treat when we get to my house.”

“You are so funny; maybe you can be a comedian.”

“Nah, ponies get bored with accused mass murderers really fast.”

“Too bad, I was laughing it up over here.”

“I could tell. You can kick it into high gear now; I think I can handle it.”

Whim’s horn started to glow brighter and they were really starting to gain speed. “Almost like flying huh?”

“Not even close. Get us to the speed of sound and I will start to feel a little bit like it was flying.”

“I can’t do that with the wheel chairs, they would break apart. But I can go a little faster if you are up to it.”

“Go for it!”

“Hang on!” Whim said as they doubled their speed.

****

Derpy had just entered the den with a glass of water as Whirl sat on the sofa holding his head when she spotted a dust cloud heading right towards the house. “Um, Whirl… what is that?”

Whirl stood up and slowly walked to the window. His eyes squinted and he looked at the dust cloud roaring towards his house. “It looks like… WHIM AND SUNNY!” he shouted excitedly as he ran to the door and flung it open. He ran to Whim and Sunny as they started to slow down. “Hey! What are you guys doing here?!”

Whim slowly halted the wheel chairs with a smile. “We got transferred to Ponyville’s hospital but there was no more room so we were sent here. Sunny is here to stay, I am probably going to head home to check on my rock farm and tell Flare that you are home.”

“But you just got here! Stay a while, your rock farm will be fine in Flare’s hooves for just a little longer.” Whirl protested.

“No sir, I have already let him do too much over time as it is. I need to give him leave for at least a week.”

“You know he is just going to insist on continuing to work right?” Sunny said with a chuckle.

“Of course I do but it is the gesture that counts.” Whim said as he turned his chair around.

“You are still invited to have tea with us when the doctor comes over.” Sunny called out as Whim wheeled out of there quickly.

“Tea with the doctor? You mean Dr. Ray?” Whirl asked excitedly as Derpy trotted up behind him.

“Let’s continue this inside where we can all relax.” Derpy said as she started to push Sunny towards the house.

“Derpy! It is so good to see you again!” Sunny exclaimed happily.

Whirl followed along happily and held the door open for Sunny. “So did you mean Dr. Ray or not?”

“Yeah, Dr. Ray is coming over at the end of the day for tea and to check up on me since they couldn’t get me a room.”

“That’s great, I will get the tea ready to be brewed.” Whirl said as he closed the door behind them. He trotted to the kitchen happily and pulled out a teapot and several teacups. He looked in the cabinet and saw one teacup that didn’t belong and took it out. It was a beautiful crystal teacup with Luna flying through the night’s sky on the side. Inside was a note that read

Dear Whirl Wind,

It has been such a long time since we met, almost a year in fact. I was rummaging through the castle’s wreckage and I stumbled upon this tea cup amidst the ruins and I remembered that Sonic Flare had not received it while he could. Next time you see him, make sure he receives it with my thanks, for encouraging you to assist me on that Nightmare Night that turned out to be one of the best adventures of my life.

Your friend forever,

Princess Luna

P.S. Tell Sunny the diamond is under his pillow.

P.P.S. Don’t ask how I was able to get it there.

P.P.P.S. Don’t ask how I got the teacup in your house either.

Whirl chuckled and walked out into the den with the teacup in his hoof. “Sunny, how did we forget to get Flare another teacup after the last one broke?”

Sunny looked up at Whirl and smiled softly. “The teacup that started it all, where did you get it?”

“It was in our cabinet. Luna asked us not to ask how she got it there.”

“Teacup? I am so confused… what is the teacup for?” Derpy asked in a confused tone.

“Last Nightmare Night Flare broke his wife’s favorite teacup, so he dragged me to Canterlot to buy another one. That is the same week Sombra attacked. It seems like it was so long ago…” Whirl explained.

“We have to make sure he gets this, for all of his help and then some.” Sunny said happily.

There was a lot of strain in the room as Whirl set it down on the table. “It’s like… looking into the very essence that changed out entire lives… it is making my heart ache a bit…”

Sunny nodded in agreement. “I… I’m sorry Whirl…”

“For what Sunny?”

“I… I need a hug…” Sunny replied as tears welled up in his eyes.

Whirl walked over and hugged Sunny lightly. “It’s okay Sunny, what is wrong?”

“I… I just remember… our family… I feel responsible for them…” Sunny said as he returned the hug.

“Oh shush you… we have both already agreed that it was Sombra, not us who did that. Don’t think about it anymore.”

“Alright… alright…” Sunny said with a sniffle. “Sorry about that… you can probably feel it too…”

“I do, but I know it is all okay now. We are home, together. Just sit back and relax now. No need to worry about the past.” Whirl said as he released Sunny with a smile on his face.

“You two… are starting make me cry.” Derpy said suddenly with a sniffle.

“Oh Derpy, honey I’m sorry. We shouldn’t think about the past year like that.” Whirl said apologetically as he hugged Derpy. Derpy suddenly flung her hooves around Whirl and started to sob hysterically. Whirl was taken by surprise and held her tightly while rubbing her back. “Honey what’s wrong?” he asked in a very concerned tone.

“I just love you so much… and we are finally home… and we are getting married… and… and… and… I am just so happy… but I am so afraid… afraid we are going to be apart again…” Derpy sobbed as she held Whirl.

“No… no… never again. We will be together forever, I promise.” Whirl continued to rub her back until she calmed down a bit. “Feeling better?”

“Yes…” Derpy said softly as she held Whirl.

“Okay, why don’t you relax a bit and I will make us all lunch.”

“No… just… stay here a little longer…” Derpy tightened her grip on Whirl and he chuckled a bit.

“You can make lunch with me if you want.”

“Pizza?” Derpy asked him in a childish voice.

“Whatever you want honey.”

“Muffin pizza?” Derpy asked in the same childish voice.

“Muffin pizza?”

“Hey, that was my idea!” Derpy said jokingly.

Whirl and Sunny both laughed simultaneously for the same length of time. “Oh Derpy… you are too cute. I think I might get diabetes from your sweetness. Let’s go to the kitchen and you can show me how to make muffin pizza.”

“Okay, but you have to carry me there.” Derpy threw herself at him and he caught her with ease. “To the kitchen!”

Whirl smiled and gave Derpy a kiss on the cheek before walking to the kitchen. “Okay, what is the first step?”

****

Whim wheeled himself through the gate of his rock farm. He took one hoof off of his wheel chair and set it on the ground. Every rock, every gem and everything else underground was felt through that hoof. “Home sweet home.” he said as he wheeled himself over to Flare’s house. When he got to the door he knocked on it gently.

“Who is iiiiit?” Air’s voice sang from the other side.

“Landlord.” Whim said playfully.

Air swung the door open and smiled. “Whim, you are home! Welcome back, come in! Come in and have some lemonade!”

Whim wheeled himself into the house and into the den where Flare was playing with his two foals. “Flare, how have things been on the farm?” he asked happily.

“Whim, good to see you! Things have been great, the last batch of marble you were growing came in wonderfully and I got it out with little issues.” Flare replied as he scooped up Solar Glider, his little orange filly with an orange and yellow mane and tail, and flew around the room with her while she laughed.

Whim chuckled a bit at Flare as Frost Star, a little purple unicorn with a dark blue mane and tail, simply stared at Whim. “Daddy, is this uncle Whim?” she asked as she continued to stare.

“Uncle Whim huh?” Whim asked with a smile.

“I figured you wouldn’t mind the nickname. I think you deserve it for giving me a job, a house and a future.” Flare said as he landed next to Star. “Yes Star, this is Uncle Whim.”

“He’s cool! He looks like a cheetah!” Solar said happily.

Whim chuckled and lifted Star up to his lap. “Well, you see these spots are actually frostbite. It happens when you stay cold for too long and it actually hurts a bit.”

“I didn’t bite you though…” Frost Star said in a sad tone.

Flare laughed a little bit. “No Star, he meant frostbite as in the actual frost, not you. Just don’t move while up on Uncle Whim’s lap until he feels better.”

“Uncle Whim, did you get to see the crystal princess while you were at the Crystal Empire?” Star asked excitedly.

“Yes I did Star, she is very pretty just like you.”

Solar giggled a little and Star blushed. “I’m not that pretty…” she said innocently.

“I am sure she would agree with me if she saw you. You are both very pretty little fillies.” Whim said with a chuckle.

“Whim is right, you two could be princesses if you wanted to.” Flare said with a smile.

“Really?!” Solar said happily. “Star let’s go be princesses and build a castle in our room!”

“Yeah!” Star said as she jumped down from Whim’s lap and followed Solar up the stairs to their room.

Whim, meanwhile, was holding his lap where Star was sitting. “A little rough on the takeoff…”

“Sorry about that, they have been so hyper all day.” Flare said with a chuckle.

Air came into the room holding a tray with a pitcher of lemonade and three glasses. “Here we are, one glass of lemonade.” she said happily as she set down the tray.

Whim levitated his glass off the tray and over to him. “Thank you Air.”

“Are you here for the rent Whim?” Air asked in a bit of a worried tone.

Whim chuckled. “No, I am not here for the rent. I am actually here to tell you something I have chosen to do with this house.”

“What do you mean?” Flare asked in the same worried tone Air had just a moment ago.

“Now, I don’t want you to upset with the decision I have made and I want us to still be friends afterwards, alright?” Whim said in a serious tone.

Air was almost in tears as she thought of the worst. Flare hugged Air with his wing and nodded. “Of course we will still be your friend Whim. So… what is your decision?”

“I have decided… that I want you two to have it. No more rent, no more paying me more than half your pay.”

The tension in the room instantly released and they both let out a sigh of relief. “You want us… to have the house? But you built it… it’s on your land…” Flare said in a stunned tone.

“Are you saying you don’t want it?” Whim asked jokingly.

Air flung herself and Whim and hugged him tightly causing his eyes to tear up in pain. “Oh Whim! You have no idea what this means to us! Thank you! Thank you!” she said happily as she cried tears of joy.

Flare pulled Air off of Whim. “Air, he has frostbite and you just squeezed half his body.”

“Right, sorry! I just got over excited…” Air squeaked.

“It’s okay… I expected it…” Whim wheezed. “I just didn’t expect it to hurt so much.”

“Really though, this means a lot to us Whim. Thank you.” Flare said as he sat down on the sofa with his wife.

“To celebrate, we should go to Whirl’s house later today and have some tea with him.” Whim suggested as he took a sip of his lemonade.

“That sounds great!” Air said excitedly. “I would bring my teacup but somepony broke it.” She poked Flare’s side a bit roughly.

“Hey, I tried to get you a new one… it just broke too. And I would have tried to get another one but I was kind of leading ponies into battle, you included!” Flare protested playfully as he poked her back.

“Okay, fair enough. Oh, did you tell him you are going to be racing in the running of the leaves race?”

“I think you just did so I don’t have to.” Flare said with a chuckle.

“Good luck with that one. This will be your first time running right?”

“Yup, and I am going to win.”

“Have ever ran a marathon before?”

“Well, no… but how hard can it be to run? I mean, I flew to the Crystal Empire without stopping.”

“Didn’t you crash?”

Air laughed mid sip and spit a little bit of her lemonade out before recomposing herself. “Sorry, but he makes a very funny point.”

“I made it most of the way, almost all the way. Close enough.”

“With that attitude, how can you fail?” Whim said with a chuckle.

“Exactly! See Air, he gets it!”

Air couldn’t help but laugh, this time without spitting lemonade. “He was being sarcastic dummy!”

“I know but you could have just agreed with him…” Flare said sadly.

“Oh don’t be silly, you know we both think you can do it.” Air said as she bopped him on the nose.

“Well, I think he can race. Winning might be a stretch. I hear Rainbow Dash and Applejack are racing again this year and this time they won’t be sabotaging each other. You got your work cut out for you.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence Whim. I just have to train for the next two weeks.”

“But you still have to do your chores.” Air said sternly.

“Yes dear…”

Air squealed excitedly. “We are home owners now!” She jumped up and down excitedly.

Flare laughed and joined her in jumping around the room. “I know, it is so exciting! Now we can pay for the foal’s flight camp and we can put money into their college funds and provide what they need to succeed!”

Whim sipped his lemonade and watched as they bounded around the room, quite gracefully in fact. “Enjoy the house you two. It is the least I can do for all you have done for me.” he thought as he finished his lemonade and slipped out the door without them noticing. He wheeled himself to the middle of his field and placed two of his hooves on the ground to get a feel of what had changed while he was gone. The feeling of his fields made him feel a long missed sense of familiarity. “Oh how I missed you my precious fields. Seems like Flare did a fine job tending to you. Wait… what is that?” Whim felt something large underground that was not there before. He wheeled himself above the object to get a better feel of it. His horn started to glow and he put his hooves on the ground. “What did Flare plant here? I didn’t tell him to… oh sweet Celestia…” Whim turned his wheel chair around and quickly wheeled himself back to Flare’s house and knocked on the door gently.

Flare opened the door with a smile. “There you are Whim, go for a stroll while we were celebrating?”

“Flare, what did you burry in my fields? The truth please.”

Flare stepped outside and closed the door. “Okay, I am going to be completely honest with you. One day while I was tending the fields I saw you planting the marble seeds you had… so I thought I would try planting something for you… it was an emerald that my brother gave me when I was little. I wanted it to be ready before you got back, I was actually going to dig it up today to see how it did… but you got home early and I forgot to do it.”

“Flare, grab your shovel and bring follow me.”

“Air, I’ll be right back!” Flare called out as he grabbed his shovel from the front porch. He followed Whim out to the field and Whim marked a spot with an X.

“Dig up your emerald Flare, if you can.” Whim said coldly as he moved out of the way.

Flare stuck his shovel into the ground and started to dig. Shortly after he felt a large ‘thunk’ and scraped the dirt of the top of the object he had hit. Flare expected to see his emerald, but in its place was a large brown rock. “I… I don’t understand… What happened to it?”

“It decayed! You can’t just arbitrarily plant minerals into the dirt! It takes hours of meticulous planning and care! Do you know how big this rock is?!” Whim shouted angrily.

“N-no…”

“It has rooted through half of my field! I won’t be able to grow here for months Flare!” Whim turned to look at Flare. Flare was just sitting there holding dirt in his hooves looking absolutely guilty. Whim sighed and helped Flare to his hooves with his magic. “Listen… Flare… I know your intentions were good in nature, but these aren’t your fields and you don’t have the necessary experience to plant minerals. Since you are my friend and I know for a fact you didn’t mean to do this… I will let it slide with no consequences.”

Flare looked up to Whim with a frown. “I am so sorry Whim… is there anything I can do to fix this?”

“No, I am going to have to magically dissolve the rock and then start to enchant the soil all over again.”

“How much is this going to set you back? I can work for only quarter pay until you make it up…”

“I said no consequences. Flare, I don’t do this for the bits it brings in, I do it for the joy of rock farming. Besides, I don’t need the money anyway.”

“I’ll still work twice as hard to make it up to you. I won’t just leave you hanging.”

Whim smiled and nodded. “Alright, thank you Flare.” he said as his horn started to glow. The ground shook a little and an emerald broke out of the rock and floated into the air. “I believe this is yours.”

Flare blushed and took the emerald in his mouth. “Yeah… shorry aout hat…”

“It’s okay. Go continue your celebration with your family and be ready to go when I tell you we are going to Whirl’s house for tea.”

“Whell oo.” Flare said as he took his shovel and started to walk home.

Whim started to dissolve the rock that was contaminating his field and sighed. “At least it gives me something to do.”

A few minutes later he felt the trotting of hooves approaching. “Howdy there, I heard yall are farmin folk around here and I wanted to extend a neighborly hoof of friendship.” a voice said kindly from behind Whim.

Whim wheeled his chair around and looked at the sight of Applejack. “You are one of Whirl’s friends right?”

“Right you are, mah name is Applejack. Ah’m from Sweet Apple Acres just from the other side of town.”

“Yup, I have heard of you, Element of Honesty and all. How can I help you today?”

“Ah just came down here to meet yall. Ah can’t believe that ah didn’t notice your farm sooner, which was mighty unneighborly of me.”

“No worries, I wasn’t looking to be noticed by anypony else besides my regulars.”

“Well, yall have been noticed by me and mah family. You are a rock farmer right?”

“Yes I am, does your family need rocks or minerals for some reason?”

“Rumor is, is that you can make ultra-fertile soil. Is that true?”

“Well, yes I suppose I can. I am guessing that you need soil for apple trees, right?”

“Yup, and some of the other farmers round here might be stoppin by later to place their own orders.”

“Well, I am not sure how much I can make right now. There was a little fiasco with part of my fields so I will only be able to fill one large order or two small orders at a time.”

“How large an order are we talkin?”

“Two tons for a large order and one ton for a small order.”

“Woowee, that is a lot of soil. Ah’ll take a large order, how long will that take?”

“Well, I can work through the rest of the day and part of the night and have it to you tomorrow.”

“No need to get it done that soon mister… well shucks, I forgot to ask you for your name.”

“Just call me Whim, and I insist on getting it to you as quickly as possible. I do have standards.”

“Well alright, just don’t let it get in the way of any plans you may have had. Also, don’t over work yourself, yall look like you were on the flank end of a flank kickin.”

Whim chuckled a bit. “Just a bit of frostbite.”

“Wait, now I remember yall! You’re the pony that was at Whirl’s trial! Are yall goin ta his house later for tea like the rest of us?”

“Is Whirl inviting everypony over for that?”

“He said it was goin ta be a returning home party. Pinkie Pie has already started to decorate and everythin.”

“Well, I regret to tell you that I will be busy filling your order. Tell Whirl that I will try to catch his next party.”

“Oh come on now, don’t you worry about my order today. It can wait.”

“Applejack, I have a…”

“Whirl can only come home once and he would want all of his friends to be there. Now ah insist that you put off the order until tomorrow.”

“Well… the customer is always right. I will get it started though.”

“Fair enough. See you at Whirl’s party.” Applejack said happily as she trotted away.

“She sure does have a way with words…” Whim said to himself as he continued to dissolve the rock.

****

“Pinkie Pie, enough! This is not that kind of party! It is just a… a… oh gosh…” Sunny said as he gripped his chest.

“Oh Sunny are you okay?” Pinkie Pie asked in a concerned tone.

Sunny exhaled slowly. “I’ll be fine, but you need to calm down for a second and listen… This party can’t be too excitable, that means no party poppers, no balloons, and only a little bit of sugary treats. It is a calm tea party.” he said calmly.

“Awww, so no fun? That doesn’t sound like much of a party.”

“There can be fun, just not too much. Maybe a nice game of chess here or there, a nice calm game of charades, or maybe even pin the tail on the pony. But no wild dancing.”

“Okay, I can get all that stuff too! Fun times for all!”

“Calmly gather the party supplies… I feel like my heart is going to explode if I don’t calm down…” Sunny said as he slowly wheeled himself to the sofa and laid down on it on his back.

Pinkie Pie rushed out of the house and Whirl walked over to Sunny. “Hey, you doing alright? You look a bit worn out buddy. I can call off this party if it is going to stress you out like this.”

“No, no. I will be fine. I kind of need this party too. I want to be able to play chess against Whim and see if I can beat him.”

“Ohh, let me know how that goes and I will play the winner.”

“Can you get me some water Whirl? I just don’t have it in me to make it to the kitchen.”

“Sure thing, just hold tight for just a second.” Whirl said as he left the room.

“You aren’t going to make Whirl slave for you while you are like this, are you?” Derpy asked as she entered the room.

“No, I only asked him for a glass of water… Did I seem like I was trying to enslave him or something?”

“No, I am just making sure you don’t take advantage of him while you are hurt.”

“Fair enough. I promise I won’t ask anything outrageous. Be warned though, he may come to me and ask me if I need anything then list off all of the things I could potentially need.”

“How would you know that?” Derpy asked with a giggle. Sunny simply smirked at her and let her figure it out. “Right, you are the same pony. I keep forgetting.”

“That is actually a good thing. I am glad that I am able to be my own pony and others will see me as such, even you.” Sunny said happily.

“Here you go Sunny, one glass of ice cold water.” Whirl said as he set a glass on the table.

“Thanks Whirl, I owe you one.” Sunny said as he picked up the glass and took a drink.

“It’s no big…” BANG! Pinkie Pie suddenly slammed the door open causing Sunny to spill his water all over himself.

“HEY! I got the chess board, the pin the tail on the pony and PARTY POPPERS!” Pinkie Pie said as she pulled the string on several party poppers.

Sunny jumped in fright at the sudden loud noise, as did everypony else. Sunny clenched his chest again and sighed. “I think I will be in my room…. until things calm down…” he said as he got into his wheel chair and slowly wheeled himself to his room.

“Pinkie Pie… didn’t Sunny tell you to lower the excitement down a bit?” Whirl asked in a concerned tone.

“Well… yes. But I am so super excited that you are home and this should be the best party ever and everypony should be able to enjoy it and…”

“Right, everypony should be able to enjoy it, even Sunny. This party is for him too you know?”

“Oh alright… no party poppers…”

“And no being too hyper.”

“Okay! I also brought cupcakes from the Cakes and apples from the Apples and everypony’s favorite, carrots! From the Carrots!”

“That is great Pinkie, just tone it down a bit okay? We really need to keep Sunny calm. If we don’t, his lung could collapse during the party and we would have to cancel it to get him to the hospital, which is full so they probably won’t admit him so he would die. Do you want that?”

“No…”

“Okay, then why don’t you help me get rid of these balloons.”

“Okay…”

“That was a little bit extreme, don’t you think?” Derpy whispered in Whirl’s ear.

“Nope, I think it was just the right touch. Now she can help me prepare a nice relaxing party instead of a wild one.” Whirl whispered back.

“Alright then, I will go get the party cups and stuff then.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Whirl said as he grabbed a balloon and started to deflate it.

“Hey Whirl! Does breathing helium and talking really fast count as being hyper?” Pinkie asked in an extremely high pitched voice.

“A little bit, but that is not too much. We just need to keep Sunny calm, understand?”

“Yes sir!” Pinkie replied happily in her high pitched voice.

There was a knock on the door and Whirl answered it with a smile. “Hello? Oh my, Princess Twilight.” he said as he bowed.

Twilight giggled a bit. “You can stand up now. I guess I am going to have to get used to that.”

Whirl stood back up and smiled. “Come on inside, Pinkie Pie was just helping me take down the balloons.”

“Oh, is the party canceled?” Twilight asked curiously as she walked inside.

“Not by any means, we just can’t have one of these popping and causing a scare. Sunny’s wound is very sensitive right now and we have to keep everything pretty calm.” Whirl explained as he deflated another balloon.

“Oh, okay. What are we going to be doing for party games then?”

“Chess, pin the tail on the pony, stuff like that.”

“Ohhh chess, I would love to beat a couple of ponies at chess.”

“You might have your work cut out for you when it comes to me and Sunny. We used to play against our older brother, and he was really good at chess.”

“Sounds like a challenge to me.”

“It was a challenge.”

“Oh it is so on.”

“Whirl, where do you want the party cups?” Derpy asked as she carried in a large box.

Whirl set down the balloon he was deflating causing it to fly around the room. He took a lamp and some pictures off of a side table and put them away. “Set them in a circle on that table and I will get the punch bowl for those who want punch instead of tea.”

“What flavor punch do you have?”

“I tried a new mixture that everypony is sure to love. But I will not reveal its contents.”

“That worries me a little bit, but okay.”

“No need to worry, you will love it.”

“What is in it?”

“Just some a… wait a second, you aren’t going to get me that easily.” Whirl said as he poked Derpy in the side.

Derpy giggled a bit. “Were you going to say apples?”

“I am not saying.”

“Was it anchovies?!” Pinkie asked excitedly.

Both Whirl and Derpy looked at Pinkie with raised eyebrows. “No, no I was not.”

“Awww shoot, I thought I had you on that one.”

“Right, well I am going to go check on Sunny.” Twilight said as she politely exited the room. She knocked on Sunny’s door gently with a smile.

“Come on in.” Sunny’s voice said from the other side.

Twilight opened the door and walked in closing the door behind her. Sunny was sitting at a desk whittling away at a piece of wood. “How are you feeling Sunny? Are you experiencing any headaches lately?”

“Just a few mild ones, but I figure that is just because my mind was violated by Bloody Marey.”

“It is, she just told us that it would have some adverse effects on you, namely headaches. She said it would go away in a few months but you shouldn’t do any heavy lifting.”

“She just told you that, without any hassle?”

“Well, she didn’t tell us willingly… but she did tell us. She doesn’t have any power anymore so she can’t fight us.”

“Sounds pretty bad, you aren’t hurting her are you?”

“Of course not, we are just accessing her memories and her thoughts as we ask her questions. It is completely painless.”

“Is that what you are doing to me right now?” Sunny said as he set down his whittling tools.

Twilight recoiled in surprise and her horn stopped glowing. “How did you know?”

Sunny sighed and pushed away from the desk. “I spent the last year being controlled and freed by ponies trying to control my mind; I know what it feels like to have somepony else in my mind. I don’t care if you did it because you must have had good intentions, right?”

“Yes I did. I was making sure that no part of Bloody Marey was left inside of you.”

Sunny turned around and smiled at Twilight. “Okay, you may continue.”

“You are going to let me continue even though I did it without permission the first time?”

Sunny chuckled. “Twilight, you are the one pony I trust in my mind. Also, this will teach you to ask permission first when you probe your friends minds.”

Twilight chuckled nervously. “Right… Okay, what is the last thing you remember doing for Bloody Marey?” she asked as her horn started to glow.

“The last thing I did was argue with her about troop movements before I was able to regain enough control to spring Whirl out of her dungeons.”

“Wow, she can get quite angry. How did you manage to deal with her?”

“From what I can remember, I just toned her out.”

“That would make sense, most of the memories you have of her are all garbled. It is strange though, I can hear your voice calling out. Was that you trying to regain control?”

“Yup, I was fighting as hard as I could and it paid off.”

“Well, from what I can see you were able to distance yourself far enough away from her magic to keep it off of you. Sorry for not asking permission before accessing your memories…”

“It’s okay Twilight; friends forgive each other for their mistakes. Besides, no one seems to want to talk about it with me. I think that would be helpful for me to work past it.”

“What do you mean?”

Sunny sighed and wheeled himself closer to Twilight. “I am tired of holding in all this stress. Everything that has happened to me has been tiring and stressful. Every little noise is making me jump and panic and I am sure Whirl is experiencing the same thing but I am also sure he has talked to Derpy about it. Who do I talk to? Where do I turn?”

“Why not Princess Luna? She told me she snuck your half of the diamond under your pillow.”

“What?” Sunny said as he wheeled himself over to his bed. He pulled the diamond from under his pillow and hugged it tightly. “How… when… thank you for telling me Twilight…”

“You’re welcome. I will just let you be alone for a little while.” Twilight said as she left the room and closed the door.

Sunny wheeled himself over to the desk and set the diamond down. “Luna… Luna are you there?” Sunny sat there for a moment and didn’t hear anything. “Luna… please answer…”

A tired moan sounded from the diamond. “Who is in my room…?” Luna’s voice sounded tiredly.

“Oh Luna, did I wake you?” Sunny asked guiltily.

Luna’s image appeared in the diamond and she looked really tired. She yawned loudly and giggled. “Yes… you did. But it’s okay, I was going to awake in a little while anyway. That and I would rather be awoken by you rather than my guards. How are you doing?”

Sunny smiled and set his head down in front of the diamond and sighed. “Do you regret meeting me?”

“I do not. Why do you ask? Did I do something wrong?” Luna asked worriedly.

“No… no you didn’t… I was just wondering if I did anything wrong. I mean… I know I did things wrong but not because I wanted to but… did I do anything wrong with you?”

“Well, you are really ugly. I was meaning to tell you but I just couldn’t work up the courage. Good thing I like the ugly ones.” Luna said jokingly with a wink.

“Oh ha ha… I bet my new scar will make me even uglier.”

“Hmmm… poor Sunny. I wish that your wound was already a scar. Then maybe you wouldn’t be so down.”

“It’s not the wound that is getting me down… it’s just everything that has happened… and I want to just forget all the bad parts… I really don’t want to have this party but everypony is coming and they could all use a distraction… I just don’t want to party right now.”

“Then stay in your room and we can talk. I am sure everypony would understand if you wanted to rest.”

“You think so?”

“I do. Especially if you just let Whirl know and he can tell the others.”

“Good idea. Hey Whirl, come in here for a second!” Sunny called out. He gripped his chest and moaned a bit in pain.

A moment later the door opened and Whirl walked in. “Are you okay Sunny?”

Sunny lifted his head off of the table. “Listen, I don’t want you to cancel the party or anything but… I don’t think I can handle it right now. I am going to stay in here and talk to Princess Luna tonight okay?”

Whirl smiled and nodded. “Sure thing Sunny, just let me know if you need anything else.”

Before Whirl closed the door Sunny spoke up again. “Hey, just tell the others that I am going to be resting for the rest of the night and give me a warning before Dr. Ray stops by to check up on me.”

“No problem. Anything else?”

“No, thank you for being alright with this.”

“You’re welcome, have a good night buddy.”

When the door closed again Sunny turned back to the diamond and set his head down again. “So I have been meaning to ask you, should I dye my coat and mane again?”

“Maybe a dark blue?”

“Ohh like my lovely lady huh?”

Luna giggled a little bit. “It’s just a thought.”

Sunny shook his head. “No, dark blue would remind me too much of my little brother. I would never be able to look myself in the mirror.”

“Oh alright, sexy yellow it is then.” Luna said in a fake tone of defeat.

Sunny chuckled and tilted his head a bit. His eyes closed and he let out a sigh. “I feel… so bad right now…”

“Emotional bad or physical bad?”

“A little bit of both. Well, I feel pretty bad emotionally actually but talking to you is helping so much. I might move this conversation to the bed though if I can’t get my breathing under control.”

“Just go lie down on your bed, no need to wait.”

Sunny chuckled and opened his eyes. “But it would be harder for me to see your beauty.”

“Just look outside, I will be raising the moon in a few minutes.”

“I wish I could be there to see it.”

“Hold the diamond up to the east; you will see me and the moon.”

Sunny thought about it for a second. “It’s okay, I can’t go out there… the party is going to be starting any second and almost everypony is here.”

“Very well, keep an eye out the window then. I must do my royal duty.”

Sunny wheeled himself over to the window and stared out at the violet-orange sky. The sun fell behind the horizon and the sky turned dark blue with a silver hue from the moonlight. “Just beautiful…” he said as the stars started to appear in the sky.

“How does tonight look to you? I feel as though it is missing something…” Luna asked as she sat back down on her bed.

“As beautiful as my lovely love Luna and the only thing she is missing is my loving embrace.”

“Ohhh, smooth. Somepony has been practicing in their mirror.”

“I don’t need practice to tell the truth.” Sunny wiggled his eyebrows and smiled.

Luna laughed so loudly it shook the diamond on his table. “Don’t do that with your eyebrows! It makes you look silly!”

Sunny kept wiggling his eyebrows. “Whatever do you mean? I think this makes me look super sexy.”

There was a thump on the other end of the diamond and Luna was rolling on the floor laughing. Sunny joined in on the laughter and held his wound when it started to hurt. Luna leaned back up and saw him bleeding. “Oh my, Sunny are you okay?”

Sunny chuckled a bit more and moved his hoof away from his chest. Some blood was leaking out of his wound in between his stitches. “My lung is okay, but I think I may have pulled my wound a little bit too hard while I was laughing.”

“We should be a little more careful with our enjoyment.”

Sunny tried to wipe the blood from his coat but he just ended up making it worse when he tore a stich. “AH! Damn… I mean dang. Sorry Luna, I shouldn’t swear in front of a lady like that.” Sunny said as he grabbed a cloth from his desk.

“Apology accepted, now go tell Whirl that you tore a stitch before it gets worse. Don’t make me order you to.” Luna said sternly.

“Alright, alright. I will be right back.” Sunny said as he wheeled himself out of the room. When he got to the den he saw that the six had arrived. Fluttershy was the first to notice Sunny’s predicament.

“Oh my! Sunny are you okay?” Fluttershy said as she leaped from the couch and gently flew over to Sunny. “Somepony get me a warm wet cloth please.”

Whirl quickly trotted to the kitchen and wet a cloth with warm water and wringed it out before walking back into the room. Fluttershy quickly took the cloth from Whirl’s mouth and started to dab it on Sunny’s wound. “What happened Sunny?”

“Oh I laughed too hard and it started to bleed. I thought I could wipe it off but I ended up tearing a stitch. Sorry for ruining your conversation.”

“Oh don’t you worry about that, let’s worry about getting this stitched up again. Whirl, do you have any stitches?” Fluttershy asked nicely.

“I don’t… My medical kit only has bandages and disinfectant.” Whirl said as he walked to the closet and pulled out the medical kit.

“Well, you said a doctor should be over soon so we don’t need to worry too much about the stitch, but we need to disinfect the wound and try to keep it from bleeding too much.”

“Here you go, one bottle of disinfectant.” Whirl said as he pulled out the bottle with his hoof and hoofed it to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy uncapped the bottle and took some cotton swabs from the medical kit and soaked them with the disinfectant before dabbing it on Sunny’s wound. Sunny hissed in pain and let out a small grunt. “Ouch… that stings…”

“Oh my, I’m sorry I didn’t warn you more before I did that…”

“It’s okay, sorry I tore the stitch in the first plAAAYYYCE!” Sunny yelped as she dabbed the wound again.

Whirl couldn’t help but laugh a little. “You took a spear to the chest but you can’t handle a little disinfectant? That is priceless.”

“Hey, this stuff stings!”

“Of course it does, nopony here thinks any less of you. Right Whirl?” Fluttershy shot him the first stern stare he had ever seen from Fluttershy.

“How could I think less of myself? I am awesome.”

“You’re darn right I aaaaaAAAAMMMM.” Sunny said happily as Fluttershy dabbed his chest one more time. A knock from the door startled Fluttershy and she jerked her hoof across Sunny’s wound tearing away two more stitches.

Fluttershy yelped and started to cry. “I am so sorry Sunny! I was startled!”

Sunny doubled over in pain and nearly fell out of his chair. “Oh sweet Celestia that hurts… Somepony get the door…”

Whirl walked over to the door and opened it up. “Dr. Ray, just in time. Sunny tore three stitches.”

Dr. Ray sighed and walked through the door with a medical bag following him in a magical aura. He set the bag down next to Sunny and pushed him back in his seat gently so he could see what was wrong. “Okay, so you tore thiiiis one on your own.” he said as he cut the hanging stitch out causing Sunny to wince in pain. “Then somepony else tore theeese two.” Dr.Ray pulled out the remnants of the last two stitches and started to stitch up the wound again. “And there we go. Try not to tear these ones.”

“Dang doc, did you have to be so cruel?” Sunny asked with a chuckle.

Dr. Ray chuckled a little bit. “Well, I just don’t have very many portable stitches and I thought it would be prudent to make my point.”

“Fair enough. I am going to go lay down now.” Sunny said as he wheeled himself back into his room slowly.

Dr. Ray turned to Whirl and smiled. “Welcome home Whirl. It is good to have you back.”

Whirl was chuckling a bit after what Dr. Ray had just done to Sunny. “Thanks Ray, it’s good to be back. Thanks for patching up Sunny.”

“I really didn’t expect to have to do that really, but it’s okay. I wasn’t expecting so many ponies to be here. Does this mean we aren’t having tea?”

“Of course we are having tea; I just wanted as many friends to be here as possible. I haven’t seen you all in so long. Come sit down and I will get you a cup.”

After Dr. Ray sat down Whirl hoofed him a cup of tea and another knock came from the door. Whirl trotted over and opened it up to see Flare’s family and Whim. “Hey buddy! Welcome home!” Flare said as they walked inside.

Whirl helped Whim wheel over the door frame. “Thanks Flare, I’m glad you could make it. Awww, they have gotten so big. Hey Star, hey Solar, how are you two tonight?” Whirl said as he kneeled down to their eye level.

Star and Solar hid behind Flare and Whirl let out a chuckle. “Aren’t you two going to tell Uncle Whirl how you feel?”

Solar popped her head out and walked over to Whirl with her head down. “You are really big…”

Everypony laughed and Whirl blushed. “Well, I am part earth pony. Earth pony stallions grow up to be really big, right Applejack?”

“Darn tootin’. Big Macintosh is even bigger than Whirl here.” Applejack said happily.

Solar smiled and looked up at Whirl. “Does it stop you from flying because you are so big?”

“Nope, not at all. I actually get a little more speed when I dive straight down.”

The little purple unicorn popped her head out from behind Flare and looked at Whirl. “Solar, is he safe?”

“Yeah Star, he’s actually pretty cool. He has a blue comet instead of orange like daddies.”

Star darted out from behind Flare and looked at Whirl’s cutie mark. “Whoa, that is cool! Daddy, daddy look he has your cutie mark but it is blue!”

Flare chuckled and picked up his daughters. “Yes he does, because he was inspired by your daddy to give skydiving a try.” he said as he flew over to the rug on the floor and sat down.

Whirl stood back up and walked over to his favorite chair and sat down. “That’s right, your dad and I have been friends since we were very young. I tried skydiving after he crashed into a tree and I loved it.”

“You loved it when daddy crashed into a tree?” Frost asked with a frown.

Whirl laughed a little bit. “No, that was a bad thing. I loved skydiving and I still love skydiving. I love it almost as much as I love Derpy.”

Derpy had just come out of the kitchen holding a tray of muffins. “Oh Whirl, you always know just when to say the right thing. Who wants muffins?!” she called out happily as she set the tray down on the snack table.

The two fillies leaped out of Flare’s grip and dive bombed the muffin tray. “They really love muffins Derpy.” Flare said with a nervous chuckle.

“Solar, Star, leave some muffins for the other ponies.” Air said sternly.

Solar turned around with a muffin in her mouth and frowned. Star swallowed what she was chewing on and said, “But mommy, they are so good! I love these more than any other muffin I ever had!”

Derpy giggled a bit. “Well thank you, I made them myself. I also made muffin pizza.”

“Muffin pizza?” pretty much everypony in the room asked at the same time.

Derpy smiled and walked back into the kitchen. “You are all going to stare in awe at this masterpiece of cooking. It is really something.” Whirl said with a chuckle as he took a sip of tea.

Derpy came back out with a huge tray on her back. On the tray had to be the most amazing muffin in the world. It was the size of a large bucket and had cheese and veggies on the top. “Muffin pizza.” she said as she set it down. Everypony did indeed stare in awe as she cut the first piece out of the muffin. Inside the muffin was more cheese and veggies that were hanging between strands of melted cheese. “Who wants the first piece?”

Solar leaped in front of Derpy with a smile. “I do!”

“Ah, ah, ah! You and Star can share a piece that big.” Air said sternly.

“Okay… Star come here and try this with me.”

Star put down the muffin she was about to chow down on and took a piece of the muffin pizza and tapped it against Solar’s piece like they were toasting and took a bite. Their eyes went wide and they just looked at each other for a moment. “This… is the best thing… in the world…” they said in unison.

Everypony in the room laughed a little bit and Derpy served up the rest of the muffin pizza to everypony in the room. When everypony had a piece she took one to Sunny in his room. “Sunny, pizza delivery.” she said as she knocked on the door.

“Come on in.” Sunny said happily.

Derpy opened the door and carried the plate the Sunny in bed. “Here you go, it’s muffin pizza.”

“Muffin pizza? Sounds delicious.” Sunny said as he took a bite. “Wow… this is amazing!”

“Thank you Sunny, have a good night.” Derpy said as she walked back out to the den.

Everypony was eating and talking to one another when she got back into the room and the last of the muffin pizza was gone. Derpy folded her ears back and sighed as she looked at the empty tray. “Derpy, I saved you a piece.” Whirl said as she saw her expression.

Derpy looked up at Whirl who was holding up a plate with a large piece of muffin pizza on it. She walked over to him and sat on his lap. “Now I know why I love you so much.” she said as she took a bite.

Whirl nuzzled her neck and smiled. “I thought you loved me for my looks.”

Derpy scoffed playfully and everypony laughed. SMASH! Something in Sunny’s room made a loud smash and Whirl went to go see what it was. “You okay Sunny?” he asked as he opened the door.

Sunny was slumped on his chair and his plate was shattered on the floor. “Sorry Whirl… I was trying to clean my plate but I felt weak and fell over…”

“It’s okay buddy, let me help you out there.” Whirl said as he helped Sunny into his wheel chair.

“I should be able to do it on my own… I promised Derpy I wouldn’t ask for too much help and I don’t want too much help but…” Sunny said guiltily.

“Don’t be silly. If you need help, ask.” Whirl said as he started to pick up the large pieces of glass.

“Augh, this is so frustrating. Give me the broom, I will sweep this up.”

“No, just stay there and I will get it done. I’ll be right back with the broom.” Whirl said as he carried the glass out of the room. He tossed it in a trash bin and grabbed the broom before walking back to the room. The others were continuing to talk and reminisce. Whirl walking into the room to see Sunny trying to use a pillow as a broom. “Sunny… please just let me do this. I got the broom.”

“I got it already, see?” Sunny said as he held up the glass riddled pillow.

“The glass is sticking to the pillow Sunny. Just put it down and go lay down in bed.” Whirl said as he started to sweep up the rest of the glass.

Sunny dropped the pillow with a sigh and wheeled himself back to his bed. Whirl heard Luna’s voice and he smiled. “Sunny, you really should just rest until you are better. You are pushing yourself too hard.” she said in a worried tone.

“I’ll just push past it like I used to.” Sunny said defiantly.

“Sunny, pushing yourself now will cause you more harm than good. What if you would have collapsed a lung today? Do you really think that Dr. Ray could have stitched that up so easily? You need to rest until you heal otherwise you will die. I can’t lose anypony else Sunny…” Whirl said sadly.

Sunny was going to say something but he saw the look in Whirl’s eyes. “Okay… I’ll rest…” he said with a sigh.

Whirl picked up the dustpan with his mouth and smiled. “Fanks.” he said happily before leaving the room. When he was done dumping the dustpan he walked back into the den and it appeared that Flare’s family was leaving. “Awww, Flare are you leaving?”

“Yeah, we have to get the little ones home. You are so sweepy huh Star?” Flare asked in a childish voice.

Star nodded and yawned. “Mmmhmmm…” she said before she was picked up by Flare. She cuddled up against his chest and closed her eyes.

“I’ll be back tomorrow to hang out with you Whirl, wouldn’t want you to get cabin fever or anything.” Flare said with a chuckle.

“Thanks bud, sorry I won’t be able to visit you for a while.”

“It’s okay, just rest up that wing so that you can race me next year.”

“OH! One more thing!” Whirl yelled happily as he bounded to the kitchen. He came back with the Luna teacup and gave it to Flare. “Here you go; Luna wanted me to get this to you.”

Flare laughed loudly. “No way! She actually got one! Air, look, it’s the teacup I went to Canterlot for.”

Air’s eye widened as she took the cup in her hooves. “It’s beautiful, oh Flare…” She suddenly kissed Flare but the suddenness of the kiss caused her to drop the teacup. It seemed to fall in slow motion and everypony gasped, but just before it hit the ground a purple aura surrounded the cup and it stopped midair.

“I think that you should put this somewhere safe.” Twilight said with a giggle as she levitated it in front of Air.

Air blushed and took the cup and put it in her saddle bag. “Thank you, your highness.” she said with a slight bow.

“You’re welcome. I think it about time we all go home to get some sleep.” Twilight said with a smile.

Flare smiled and left with his family and soon the others left as well. Whirl sighed and slumped down into his chair with his hooves over his eyes. “What’s wrong Whirl? The party went great.” Derpy said in a consoling voice.

“I am just worried about Sunny… He is here, with a lung that is about to collapse, hundreds of stiches, sleeping alone… what if something happens to him at night? What if he has a nightmare and he tears more stitches? What if I lose him because I wasn’t there for him?”

“If you want, you can sleep in the same room as him. That way you can be there if anything goes wrong.” Derpy said with a smile.

“I don’t even think he wants my help… I want to do everything for him if he wants me to but he said he promised you and he would never break a promise because I wouldn’t if I had made a promise and…”

“Whoa wait, he took that seriously? Oh Sunny… I’ll be right back.” Derpy walked out of the room and knocked on Sunny’s door. “Sunny? Can I come in?”

“Sure.” Sunny’s voice sounded from the other side.

Derpy opened the door and walked in. “Sunny, I just wanted to let you know I was only kidding when I said ‘don’t enslave Whirl’. If I were in your situation I know I would ask him to lick my hooves cleaned if I were so inclined. If you need something just ask and we will get it for you, no matter what okay?”

“HA! See I told you she was only joking!” Luna said with a smirk.

Sunny sighed and shook his head. “Thanks Derpy, now my life belongs to Luna.” He said with a chuckle.

Derpy giggled a bit. “Is that really a bad thing?” she asked as she closed the door.

“Well?” Luna asked impatiently.

“Well what?”

“Is it really a bad thing that your life belongs to me now?”

“Of course not, it was yours before we even made the bet.” Sunny said with a laugh.

Luna giggled a bit and smiled softly. “Good, because the first thing that I am going to do with your life is make you stay in bed and relax until you are healed.”

Sunny’s jaw dropped and Luna laughed hysterically. “So not fair…”

“Fair or not, you owe me this!” Luna said as she continued to laugh.

Sunny laughed a bit too and shook his head. “Fine, you win. I will stay in bed until I am healed… or until I have to use the bathroom.”

Luna stopped laughing and looked into the diamond again. “You know, I can come visit you tomorrow night if you would like.”

“Yes!” Sunny said happily.

“Then I shall. You should get some rest; I can see how tired you are.” Luna said as her horn started to glow.”

“I’m not ti…” Sunny said as his head fell back. He fell asleep the moment he hit the pillow.

“Goodnight sweetie.” Luna kissed the diamond and placed it on her head behind her crown.

Derpy and Whirl had just finished cleaning the last dish from the party and both of them laid down on the sofa. “Tonight was great Whirl, everypony seemed like they were having a good time.”

“Yeah, it was pretty awesome to…” Whirl started before a clatter caught his attention. “Did you hear that?”

“Yeah, I think somepony is in the bathroom…” Derpy said nervously.

Whirl walked over to the bathroom door and knocked. “Hello, is somepony in there?” he asked politely.

“Whirl… thanks Celestia…” Whim’s voice said weakly from the other side of the door. “This is really embarrassing but… I can’t get up… can you help me?”

Whirl opened the door and saw Whim on his side in front of the sink. “What happened?”

“Well, I had gotten done with my… business… when I tried to get back into my wheelchair I slipped and fell on the floor. I didn’t want everypony to see me on the floor so I waited until the party was over before trying to get anypony’s attention… I’m sorry…” Whim explained with a guilty tone.

Whirl helped Whim up into his chair. “Hey, don’t worry bud. But this does worry me a bit. What if you would have been at home? You wouldn’t have been able to get anypony’s attention then.”

Whim thought about the prospect of falling down in his house and nopony hearing him call out for help, it made him shudder. “You’re right… what am I going to do…?”

“You can stay here if you don’t mind the sofa. I couldn’t let you go home knowing that you could potentially get stuck in your own house.” Whirl offered with a smile.

“Whirl, what’s going on?” Derpy asked as she walked into the bathroom. “Oh, Whim, what are you still doing here? The party ended an hour ago.”

Whim looked to Whirl as if he was unsure what to say. “Honey, Whim is going to be stay here for a few days until he can walk again. He is have a bit of trouble maneuvering in and out of his chair and he wanted to ask for some help.”

“Oh okay, but why did he stay in the bathroom?”

“Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go.” Whirl said simply.

“Alright, well I will get the extra blankets and pillows for Whim.” Derpy said as she left the bathroom.

Whim sighed in relief and looked at Whirl. “Thanks for not telling her I fell.”

“No problem.” Whirl said as he wheeled Whim out to the sofa. Whirl helped Whim out of his chair and helped him lay down on the sofa before covering him with the warm blanket Derpy had brought out. Derpy placed the pillow under Whim’s head and back hooves with a smile. “Let us know if you need anything Whim.”

“I think I will be fine… thanks again for letting me stay.”

“Anything for a friend.” Whirl said as he and Derpy walked to their room. They both hopped up into bed and cuddled next to each other. Whirl sighed contently and nuzzled the back of Derpy’s neck. “In bed at last…” he said with a smile.

Derpy wiggled around to get closer to Whirl. “Did you like my pizza muffin?”

“I loved it.”

“I knew you would…” Derpy said sleepily. Whirl started to hum a song gently. “What song is that?”

“Just something my mother used to sing to me when I was a foal…”

“Could you sing it for me?”

“My singing voice is terrible…”

“That’s okay... I am just curious…”

“Okay… here it goes… Floating on, the clouds up high, that drift slowly, across the sky. Drifting ooon a breeze, so gently it feeeeels, so niiiice. Go to sleep, my little foooal, one day you’ll awake, to meet your goal. You’ll walk into the light, building new hoope, for tomorroooow. Beating of your wiiings up high, above the clouds, above the sky, go on, don’t hesitate, don’t be afraid to shooow the woooorld now. Doooon’t fear, yoooou’ll be safe from now on, Cel-est-tia’s sun watching oveeer the woooorld. Deep inside so fervently your heart does beat, deeeep inside of you, memories of the past guide you to find your waaaaay, eeeeendlesslyyyyy. Keep ahold of your heart, Cel-est-tia’s sun’s watching over, the wooooorld. Floa-ting ov-er end-less moun-tains, oh so high, walk into the light, your heart will see the sun and you will find your way, just wait and seeeee. Fly-ing ov-er end-less skyyy, oh so high, tooooniiiiight, your heart will find the way and you will float awaaaay, toooo endless sleeeeeep.” Whirl sang gently. Derpy let out a soft snore and Whirl kissed the back of her neck. “Goodnight, Derpy…” he said before falling asleep.

Comments

[Whirl Wind]

2337265

That was the point. Anypony can kill, but it takes a special kind of pony to forgive and help somepony.

[Whirl Wind]

2337116

Well, you know me. ;)

[Old Diggy]

Whim chuckled and lifted Star up to his lap. “Well, you see these spots are actually frostbite. It happens when you stay cold for too long and it actually hurts a bit.”
“I didn’t bite you though…” Frost Star said in a sad tone.

I can't help but think that you both chose the name Frost Star and had Whim get frostbite just so you could make that joke.