Pandemic

Twilight sat sipping apple juice from a straw as she rested. Her whole existence ached and she wished she had the strength to speed the healing process with her magic. She was useless lying there in the hospital and she knew that she should be out preparing supplies for the journey to this mystical cave the map was supposed to lead to. This was her one and only lead and it drove her completely mad not being able to follow it. She could be out finding the cure to this insidious plague but instead she was stuck lying in a hospital bed drinking apple juice with an I.V. in her arm. Twilight coughed into the apple juice suddenly and she winced and closed her eyes as her ribs exploded with pain. She reopened her eyes slowly as the pain ebbed away and she returned to her juice whilst trying to sink deeper into the pillow on the bed. Something wasn’t right with the juice; it had a metallic taste that spread through her mouth. She looked down into the juice to see drops of dark maroon red dispersing into the drink. She stared at it for a moment and then realized that she had coughed it up. She was puzzled at first because the doctor had stopped her internal bleeding and had assured her that everything was normal. She thought for a minute and then dismissed it as being left over from her ordeal the night before. She watched light start to slowly creep under the door in tendrils as the sun hit the windows in the hall outside her room. She coughed again a bit more violently this time and a bit more blood than last time spewed out of her mouth into her juice and onto her blankets. She was fascinated by this and puzzled again as she tried to determine why she would be coughing up blood. Her head began to ache as she pondered and suddenly a realization came to her.

Without warning the door flew open and Rainbow Dash came in and, seeing that Twilight was awake, began to query as to what to do next.

“You said you had found the key to the map so what’s next Twilight?” Dash asked. Twilight disregarded the question at first as she recovered from her realization.

“You ok Twi?” Dash asked cocking her head and looking closer at Twilight.

“Yes. I’m fine. I just need you to retrieve my papers from the library so that I can begin redrawing the map. We might finally be able to go searching for the last hope of Equestria” Twilight said as she snapped herself out of her trance. She couldn’t let on about anything besides, she could be wrong.

“I’ll go get ‘em. Anything else you need?” asked Dash. She was looking at Twilight suspiciously as if she hadn’t fully bought the ‘I’m fine’ claim.

“Parchment, quills, ink, and Spike so that I can dictate the instructions for keeping up the town and for the journey to him. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to use my magic to write” Twilight said as she tried to sink even deeper into the bed and pillow. She didn’t want Dash to suspect anything.

Dash was silent for a moment before speaking.

“Spike is dead.” She said rather bluntly. She had never been one for beating around the bush.

Twilight was saddened for this and she held grief for the baby dragon, but she was not in any way surprised.

“Find someone to whom I can dictate then. I do not want to hurt myself more by trying to write it magically” Twilight said as she contained her grief. She didn’t have any more time for feelings like this; it was time for her to stop this pandemic and every waking moment must be dedicated to it.

With that Dash left and headed for the library apparently forgetting her suspicions.

Dash headed down the hall towards the entrance of the clinic. Time was critical at this point as she neared the quest that she knew she would do alone. She had seen the blood on Twilight's blanket and had heard her coughing before she walked in. Her weakness was not only from her injury. Twilight was infected.