“Will he be ok?” A female voice said. Whiplash knew the voice, but his mind was too fuzzy to connect any names.

“He should be. Everything seems to be in check, aside from the damaged skin.” Another voice said. Whiplash recognized it as well. His mind began to clear, allowing him to attach names to voices.

“Oh thank goodness. Does he need any further attention, or can I take it from here?” The first voice, Twilight asked. Whiplash groaned as sensation came back, sending a searing heat through his spine. A brief silence was his one and only response, until the voices resumed speaking.

“I trust you can keep him safe, Twilight. Good luck with the questions.” A door opened, and then closed. Whiplash slowly opened his eyes. His senses were flooded with the bright light, causing him to wince and snap his eyes shut again. He groaned once more, and tried once more to open his eyes. He glanced over when his eyes adjusted, and saw Twilight sparkle standing next to the bed he was resting on.

He was back in the library in which Twilight resided. “Ugh… Twilight?” he mumbled.

“How are you feeling?” Twilight asked.

“Like my backs been dipped into a pool of lava…” Whiplash groaned out. There was some hushed chatter outside of the room. Twilight glanced in its direction, before turning her attention back to Whiplash.

“You did have a pretty close call.” Twilight sighed. “A part of a flaming building fell on you after it was sent flying by an explosion caused by a fallen lantern.” Twilight trotted over to a chest of drawers, and opened one of them up. “If it wasn’t for rainbow dash, you’d probably be dead right now.” Twilight concluded. She retrieved with her magic a cloth, and proceeded back over to Whiplash, dipping the cloth into a bucket of water. When she reached him, she rested the cloth on his forehead. Whiplash gasped in surprise at how cold it was.

“You have a fever.” Twilight explained. “You must have fallen ill before the fire.” Whiplash watched the Unicorn going about her work. Something was troubling him.

“Why are you helping me like this?” He asked. Twilight turned a confused expression on him. “I mean, I’m grateful. I just… I’m not accustomed to anyone but my closest of friends helping me.” He said. Twilight sighed.

“There are a few reasons.” Twilight shook her head.

“Like?” Whiplash pushed.

“Well… I guess… I don’t know. I just wanted to help. Another reason is I need to ask you something.” Twilight said, pausing every here and there, trying hard to pick her words carefully. Whiplash nodded slowly.

“What kind of question is it?” he asked slowly.

“Do you know anything about the missing foals?” Twilight asked, her uncertain look changing to a much more serious one. Whiplash gulped. Somehow, he knew the question had to do with that.

“Uh…” He dumbly groaned out. “I… Well… Ugh, I know a little bit.” He finally said. Twilight leaned in a bit.

“Really? What do you know?” Twilight asked quickly.

“I know that they are still alive, and are in Ponyville. They are also… Not perceivable mentally. They can’t be seen, heard, smelled. Only felt by physical contact. If you want to know how I know that, it’s because I found them.” Whiplash admitted, figuring it would be best to just reveal what he knew. Twilights eyes widened.

“They aren’t perceivable…?” She muttered.

“Exactly. I may not be the most knowledgeable when it comes to magic, but I do know that such spells are possible.” Whiplash replied.

“But… Nopony in this town could have cast a spell like that.” Twilight said, her voice growing frustrated. “I should know, Even I can’t.” She looked back up at Whiplash. “Well, I am willing to believe you. After all, the parents of all the missing foals recently got a surprise mail delivery at their doorstep, messages from their missing foals. And it was confirmed to be their writing, so they are safe at least.”

“Do you have any more questions?” Whiplash asked. Twilight looked at him skeptically.

“Well, no…” the room fell silent. Twilight started fidgeting, pawing at the floor with her hoof.

Eventually, Whiplash sighed. “Well, if you have no other questions, I’d like to be alone with my thoughts.” He said, turning over slightly. His back stung horribly, but he ignored it. He could still feel Twilight looking at him, and began to grow uneasy. Finally, Twilight sighed, and left the room. Whiplash closed his eyes, and fell back into slumber.

<><><><><>

“You’re sure you’re going to be OK?” Lavender asked for the umpteenth time. I nodded as I fit on my helmet. The war was in full swing. We’d been able to drive off the besiegers at the castle, but Hopelock had survived. I shivered slightly as I remembered the look in his eyes. Now, it was our turn to go on the offensive. Discords palace in the sky was waiting for us, beckoning us to tear it form its perch, and be rid of that chaotic overlord.

“I’ll be fine, Lav.” I replied, shifting the helmet atop my head into a more comfortable position. After what had happened to Autumn, I had devoted myself to the fight, mainly to protect Lavender. She was the only friend I had left, and she and I had learned so much from each other. I wasn’t about to let it all go to waste. She wanted to fight with me, but she didn’t quite make the cut, and was instead assigned to help with aiding the wounded. Lavender nodded solemnly.

“Just… be careful, Lash. I don’t want anything to happen to you…”She rested a hoof around my neck, and hugged me close. I returned the gesture.

“Hey, even if I get wounded, I’ll have you there to help me in no time.” I smiled broadly at her. She nodded, forcing a smile in return. We broke the embrace, and I made my way out of the simple armory tent. The massive camp sprawled out over the fields in front of me. Every pony, mare, and stallion, had assembled under Luna and Celestia to launch an all-out assault on Discords towering floating throne. His chaotic capital floating above us, filled with strangeness beyond description.

Somewhere, a horn sounded. I turned my attention back towards Lavender, who stared at me with concern all to evident on her features. I nodded slowly. She nodded as well. I took off at a gallop to find my group. The battle-plan was simple. Luna and Celestia would take the front, and ascend upwards through the former pegasi, now turned mindless husks, that surrounded the floating islands. They would be surrounded on all sides by Pegasus-drawn carriages, which would have squads of earth ponies for the battle on the island itself, accompanied by unicorns to aid in support, healing, and ranged combat.

We’d be attacking from all angles and not give the enemy a hint of breathing room. This was the plan, but I had the feeling it wouldn’t be as simple as it sounded. After all, discord was anything but predictable. It took me a little while, but I managed to find the group to which I was assigned. Four pegasi dominated the front, having the carriage tied to them, while the carriage itself was filled with four earth ponies, and three unicorns. I hopped into the back. Now all we needed to do was wait for the second, and third horn blasts. Once we heard the third, the attack would begin.

Seconds ticked by like minutes, and minutes like hours. Finally, the second horn sounded. We closed the back of the carriages, and began to conjure up our shields to protect ourselves. Every carriage would have a temporary shield to ward off attackers, to allow us to gain as much ground as possible before actually needing to fight.

Finally, it happened; the third horn sounded. Every carriage shot up, following the two opposing colored lights of dark blue and bright white. I narrowed my eyes.

The battle had begun.

<><><><><>

Whiplash slowly cracked his eyes open. He was still in Twilight's library, still laying down in that bed, still with that horrible burning back, and still pondering a great many things. He heaved a sigh, and took in his surroundings a bit more closely. A window was adjacent to him, letting in noon sun-rays. There were vast bookshelves, filled neatly and tidily with a large amount of books. Whiplash glanced out the window. Ponyville was still as chirpy as cheerful as ever. All of the ponies outside mingling about, taking care of their everyday affairs.

Whiplash knew this wasn't the same Equestria he had left. Well, it was the same one, it was just so vastly different now that he didn't recognize it. He seriously began to contemplate how he had come to be here, the possibilities of what brought him here. It also began to sink in just how life for him was changed. He had departed from a world filled with misery and seemingly never ending chaos, and now he was in a world of peace and prosperity, filled with smiles and bright colors, and order.

As that finally began to sink in, fully, for the first time, he couldn't help but let out the biggest smile he had made in years. He was free. He was safe. He was alive. But he was also alone. His smile faded as he realized that. He had no friends, no allies. He had been struggling to get by ever since he crashed here. Whiplash shook his head, trying in vain to dispel the dark thought pattern that began to seep into his mind. Before he could do very much, his entire train of thought got shattered as the door opened. Twilight sparkle stepped in, wearing a warm smile.

“Feeling any better?” she asked.

“A bit.” Whiplash replied, shifting in place. His back stung in protest, but he ignored it. He looked over at Twilight, who now bore a serious look. The weight of her expression was enough to make Whiplash feel uneasy.

“Uh, is something wrong?” Whiplash asked, shifting uncomfortably.

“The foals are still vanished. And apparently, they're getting scared. Near as I can tell, they've been trying to communicate with other ponies, and a rumor is going rampant that ghosts are haunting the town.” Twilight said. Whiplash groaned.

“What do you expect me to do about it?” Whiplash asked after a moment of Twilight staring intently at him.

“I expect you to at least try and help.” Twilight said. “After all, you do seem to know more about what happened to them than anypony else, and everypony is getting scared.” Whiplash looked at Twilight for several moments.

“On the contrary, I know about as much as you as this point. I know they aren't perceivable, but that's about as far as my knowledge of the situation goes.” Whiplash corrected, tilting his head down and lowering his ears slightly.

“Well, can you at least help me find a way to reverse the spell?” Twilight pressed. Whiplash looked at her, uncertainly. Normally he would say no, but something compelled him to help. He pondered the matter for a second, getting a thoughtful look on his face. Maybe, he thought, this was the time for him to make amends for his mistakes. The chance he needed to do something right for a change. After what felt like an eternity, he slowly turned his gaze to Twilight.

“Ok, fine. I'll help.” He said reluctantly.

“Great! OK, I'll get my books out. We need to find any reference to a spell like this that we can.” Twilight said, suddenly beaming. She pulled a number of books off of the nearby shelf with her magic, and placed them next to Whiplash. “Start flipping through those. I'll head to the main section of the library and conduct my own search. If you find anything in these, call me. If not, come out to where I am, and give me a hoof, OK?” Twilight said rapidly.

“Uh, yeah. OK.” Whiplash said a she turned his eyes down to the twelve or so books by the bed. This was bad. He had never been able to completely learn how to read or write from Lavender. He picked up the nearest book with his magic, and looked over the cover. The book was entitled: “Legends of ancient magic.” Whiplash looked over the book, then flipped it open.

This was going to be a long day, Whiplash decided. But that was fine with him. He finally had the chance to get something right.