Chapter 6: Whirl, The Student Seven, & The Princesses
In Equestria, Whirl had spent the night in her car mode in the lower levels of Twilight's castle, figuring it would be the best way to preserve her energy, since there was nowhere in Equestria where she could find a stasis pod, and when she had returned to robot form the following morning, she joined Twilight and Spike, who were getting ready to go somewhere.
"Morning, Whirl." greeted Spike. "Sleep well?"
"Yup." yawned Whirl. "It was a little weird sleeping in my car mode all night, since I'm not as used to it as I am used to being in stasis while in bot mode, but I could care less."
"That's good." nodded Twilight.
Whirl then noticed what Twilight and Spike were up to.
"Going somewhere?" she asked.
"Yes, actually." said Twilight.
"Where?" Whirl went on.
"The School of Friendship." replied Spike.
Whirl's optics lit up with excitement.
"Ooh, can I come to?" she bubbled. "I really want to see what it's like in person!"
"Well, sure, you can come." smiled Twilight. "In fact, maybe you could be a guest student. I'm sure the other students there would love to meet you."
"Great!" grinned Whirl.
Soon, Twilight, Spike, and Whirl were on their way to the aforementioned educational institution. When they arrived, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Starlight were already there, as were seven students that were each a different species: a male pale light grayish green Earth Pony with a shaggy Persian green and turquoise blue mane and tail, eyes in a gradent from watercourse green to Bermuda green, and an image of three lochinvar green sea turtles with Puerto Rico green shells, a white male Alicorn the same height as the CMC's with a smalt blue mane, tail, and eyes, a golden yellow scarf around its neck, and an image of a solar eclipse on its flanks, a summer sky blue griffon with a buttermilk underbelly, lochmara blue winks and tail tuft, moon yellow tips on his head feathers, beak, and talons, and eyes in a gradient from cobalt blue to Maya blue, a female French pass blue Changeling with a flamingo orange shell with Mona Lisa red spots, a semi-transparent rose bud red mane and tail with white spots, and scooter blue eyes, a carrot orange female dragon with salomie yellow scales on her belly, ears, and wing webbing, fuschia scales on her head and tail, eyes in a gradient from allports blue to bright turquoise blue, and saddle brown eyes, a pale pink female hippogriff with wings that matched her main coat, a mane and tail in bluish lavender and light sky blue stripes, a lavender beak, fuscia talons and hooves, eyes in a three-part gradient starting from blackcurrant purple, then to daisy bush purple, and finishing in a very light purple color, and wearing a royal purple band around her neck that bore two medium turquoise blue beads on either side, one puce red bead in the middle, and a two-toned fuschia seashell attached to it, and an Au Chico brown female yak with straw yellow fur on her face, a beige muzzle, paarl brown hair tied in braids kept in salmon red beads and bows, grayish green horns and hooves, eyes in a gradient from Highland green to Tacha yellow, and wearing a vista blue blanket with Monte Carlo green fringes with mint cream stripes on her back.
"Who that?" asked the yak when she noticed Whirl.
"I don't know." replied the dragon. "I haven't seen anything like it before."
"I hope it's friendly." the Changeling gulped.
"Don't worry, Ocellus." said Whirl. "I won't hurt you."
Ocellus, the Changeling, was surprised.
"How do you know my name?" she asked.
"She's been watching our show." laughed Twilight. "By the way, this is Whirl. She'll be joining us as a guest student temporarily."
"Why temporarily?" asked the griffon.
"I'll explain later." said Twilight. "Or Whirl will."
"That's right." nodded Whirl. "By the way, I know who each of you are."
Whirl introduced herself to the younger creatures, then proceeded to identify the griffon as Gallus, the Earth Pony as Sandbar, the Changeling as Ocellus, the dragon as Smolder, the hippogriff as Silverstream, and the yak as Yona, but she had never seen the little Alicorn before.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I'm Prince Solar Eclipse." the Alicorn replied.
"He's Princess Celestia's son." said Twilight.
"Cool!" grinned Whirl.
"Well, come on, everyone, let's get the day started." said Twilight.
With that, everyone, including Whirl, went inside the school, and classes officially began, and Whirl took maticulous notes of every detail of the lessons. Eventually, lunchtime arrived, and while everyone else had proper food for their lunches, Whirl had another can of motor oil. During this time, Solar and his friends decided to get to know their visitor.
"So, Whirl, where are you from?" asked Gallus.
"I'm from a planet called Cybertron." Whirl replied.
Solar, Gallus, Sandbar, Ocellus, Smolder, Silverstream, and Yona were surprised.
"Cybertron?" asked Sandbar. "You know, Headmare Twilight once told us about that place. Is that the planet that's home to a bunch of robots that can change into vehicles?"
"That's right." nodded Whirl. "Although, I'm currently stationed in a place called Milford at the Rescue Bots Training Academy. I was actually teleported here from a Dimension Bridge my friend Hoist made that malfunctioned, so I'm stuck here for the time being."
"I see." said Sandbar. "So, how are you liking Equestria?"
"I really like it here." said Whirl. "But if I'm being honest, I miss the Academy very much."
"That's alright." said Ocellus. "Sometimes, I miss my Changeling family."
"Same here with my mom and my sister." added Sandbar. "So you are definitely not alone."
"Thanks." smiled Whirl.
Later on, classes were done for the day, and while the other students headed to the dormitory, Solar made his way to the main entrance.
"Where's he going?" asked Whirl.
"The train station." replied Twilight. "Since he doesn't live in the dorms with the others, he usually has to take the train to his home in Canterlot with Princess Celestia. Usually, one of us takes turns accompanying him to the station on a weekly basis, since it's not safe for foals at his age to be wandering through the streets alone without an adult."
"And whose turn is it now?" asked Whirl.
"It's Starlight's turn this week." said Twilight. "She'll be here in a second."
It was then that Whirl had an idea.
"How about I take him home myself?" she asked. "You know, since I can transform into vehicles, it might be much more convenient."
Twilight thought this was a pretty good idea.
"Yeah, go ahead." she said. "But I still think you should wait for Starlight."
Just then, Starlight entered.
"Sorry I took a bit." she said. "I had to pee real bad. I think I had a bit too much to drink at lunch."
"That's alright." giggled Twilight. "Well, Whirl and Solar are waiting for you. Whirl will be taking Solar home herself instead of the train if that's okay."
"That's fine." nodded Starlight. "I've wondered what it would be like to ride in a Cybertronian, anyway."
"Well, you'll get that chance very soon." said Whirl.
With that, Whirl, Starlight, and Solar went outside, and Whirl transformed into her helicopter mode.
"Hope you don't mind heights, Solar." said Whirl.
"Don't worry, I don't." winked Solar. "Besides, I think this'll be fun."
With that, Solar and Starlight climbed into Whirl and Whirl took off into the clouds. Solar gasped with amazement as he looked down from Whirl's windows.
"Wow!" he cried. "Everypony looks like little ants from this height!"
"They do, don't they?" asked Starlight.
Eventually, Canterlot Castle came into view.
"Where can I land?" asked Whirl.
"You can land right there." said Solar as he pointed his hoof at the spot.
"Okie-doke." said Whirl.
With that, Whirl began to descend, and soon, she was on the ground, and Solar and Starlight disembarked, then Whirl transformed back into robot mode, then they made their way towards the big doors that led into the castle. Two white Pegasus stallions wearing gold armor with blue crests and holding spears stood in front of the door, through which they allowed Solar and Starlight, but as Whirl tried to enter, the guards blocked her path.
"Halt!" barked the first guard.
"Who goes there?" asked the second. "Friend or foe?"
The first guard then noticed the Autobot insignia on Whirl's Mul-T-Cog badge, and his demeanor immediately changed.
"It's alright." he said to his companion. "She's another one of those Autobots. And Her Majesty told us before that the Autobots are to be treated as friends."
"Oh, yes, of course." laughed the second guard. "Silly me."
The two guards then stepped aside.
"Sorry about that." said the first guard. "Go on inside."
"Thank you." giggled Whirl as she walked through the doors (Oh, by the way, I may have forgotten to mention before that Whirl was still under the effects of that shrinking spell Twilight used on her in Chapter 2) and into the castle, and she was awestruck.
"Wow." she gasped. "This place looks just as beautiful in person as it does on the screen!"
"Glad you think so." said a voice.
When Whirl traced the sound of the voice, she was greeted by a tall pinkish white female Alicorn with a long waving mane and tail in four different gradients; the first in a gradient from Viking blue to spray blue, the second in a gradient from medium aquamrine to tea green, the third in a gradient cornflower blue to Columbia blue, and the fourth in a gradient of two shades of mauve, one lighter than the other, eyes in a gradient from kingfisher daisy purple to mauve, and wearing a gold tiara with a purple lozenge-shaped gemstone on her head, a golden collar with the same gemstone around her neck, golden shoes on her hooves, and an image of a sun on her flanks. Solar was riding on her back. Whirl gasped in awe when she saw this particular Alicorn.
"Princess Celestia." Whirl greeted as she bowed in front of the monarch. "It's a true honor to meet you, Your Majesty."
"The honor is all mine." said Celestia humbly. "You must be Whirl. Twilight told me about you."
"She did?" asked Whirl.
"Yes." replied Celestia. "I honestly never thought I would see another Cybertronian here in Equestria. Still, welcome."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." nodded Whirl.
"Follow me, Whirl." said Celestia. "I'm sure Princess Luna is absolutely excited to meet you."
Celestia and her son then took Whirl into the throne room, where sure enough, there was Princess Luna, a Torea Bay blue Alicorn with a wavy Persian blue mane and tail that had a transparent purple heart purple edge and white sparkles, eyes in a gradient from dark cerulean to Persian green, a black tiara on her head, a black collar with a cresent moon around her neck, pale bluish-gray shoes on her hooves, and an image of a crescent moon on a dark purple background, on her throne. She was reading a GameInformer magazine when she saw her sister, nephew, and Cybertronian guest enter. She quickly made herself known to Whirl and vice versa, and Whirl, like with Celestia and with Twilight earlier on, bowed in front of Luna in respect.
"Say, Your Majesties, can I ask you a question?" Whirl then asked.
"Of course." Celestia nodded.
"Did Twilight tell you about how I ended up in Equestria in the first place?" asked Whirl.
"Why, yes, she did." said Luna. "And don't you worry, Whirl, we will do all that we can to find a way to get you back home to the Academy."
"Thank you." smiled Whirl as she bowed again.
"Say, Whirl, would you like to stay for a while?" asked Celestia. "You're more than welcome to."
"I would, but I've gotta get back to Ponyville." denied Whirl.
"Very well." nodded Celestia. "In that case, please be on your way."
"Bye, Whirl!" Solar called to Whirl as he waved his hoof.
"Bye, Solar!" Whirl replied as she made her way to the entrance.
Once Whirl was outside the castle, she transformed back into helicopter mode and took off again for Twilight's castle all the way back in Ponyville. Soon, Twilight's castle came into view, and when Whirl landed, she was greeted by Twilight and Spike.
"Welcome back, Whirl." said Spike. "How was the flight to Canterlot?"
"It was fun." said Whirl. "I even met the Princesses, and boy were they nice."
"Good to hear." smiled Twilight. "Now, you should probably take a rest. You must be tired after all that flying."
"Not a bad idea." agreed Whirl as she stretched.
With that, Whirl went to Twilight's study to have a good long rest, but even as she was settling down, she couldn't help but feel worried.
"I really hope they'll be able to find me a way to get home." Whirl pondered. "And I also hope that Hoist and the others will be able to get the Dimension Bridge fixed too."
End of Chapter 6