Outbreak

by Stories of Suspense

Rating: mature
Tags: Adventure, Dark, Romance
Length: 36257

As a political crisis with the newly allied Changeling Kingdom escalates, a killer virus outbreak threatens the capitol city as Twilight Sparkle and her new partner Seymour try to resolve the conflict.

Something sinister is brewing in the furthest corners of the world…

As Princess Twilight Sparkle begins to feel the pangs of divinity and faces the emotional and moral consequences of rejecting Flash Sentry, an unknown organization threatens the security of the newly allied Changeling Kingdom by sealing off the entirety of the changeling capitol city of Chitin with an unbreakable barrier of living, regenerating tissue. The still fresh-from-the-oven politician is soon tasked with traveling to the walled city to devise a solution with Dr. Seymour, an amateur biophysics professor from Canterlot with a distinctive ability to look deeper into situations than most others.

But when a swift epidemic devastates the city during their stay, Princess Celestia and Queen Chrysalis order an immanent contingency plan to sterilize the infection by leveling the capitol city- killing all non-infected citizens who do not leave by the declared execution time. Evacuation from the biohazard only proves more and more difficult after Twilight falls ill. Even with Seymour’s strong desire to return his new partner to the safety of Equestria, he may soon learn first-hand that some situations just can’t be forseen, and the ability to think on one’s hooves is one to be desired…

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-08-14 13:27:40 UTC

SS, DD

Ponyville.

Ponyville, the Equestrian Mecca of chaotic, antagonistic, and over-the-top cataclysms and travesties, had never been in a more peaceful state. Ever since the banishment of The Nightmare, the halt of the Changeling invasion, the reformation of Discord, the restoration of the tree of harmony, and finally the fall of Tirek, the small and joyous hamlet had hailed its resilience and success as a city as a direct result of one individual. Sure, the Elements of Harmony had to be unified to defend Equestria, but now almost none doubted that the world would be the same without the addition of a single mare to their community. In the truest sense of the phrase, this mare certainly was the glue which held the land of Ponyville, nay, Equestria, together.

This beautiful, talented, and influential young pony certainly couldn’t have it any better in life. Not only was she the prized student of Princess Celestia and the embodiment of the Element of Magic, clearly the most important and powerful of the elements, but she had all of the friends and loving family she could hope for, near infinite knowledge and learning capacity, and stood as the Princess of Friendship to boot.

Now, Twilight Sparkle was never one to be greedy, never one to wish for more than she had. She had always valued humility and solitude since her foalhood days. But her desire for companionship in knowledge had its own cost. Quite simply put, before Twilight had begun her studies on the most powerful magic of all- the magic of friendship, she had been a complete train wreck of a child. Even with her loving family and the fellowship of Princess Celestia, co-ruler over the land and embodiment of the sun, her lifestyle of sitting indoors for the majority of her life, pouring over vast tomes of literature, and her awkward, antisocial mannerisms transformed her into a shut-in, too experience-deprived and socially retarded to function in a larger society.

Her life had changed dramatically on that first day in Ponyville on the annual Summer Sun Celebration. It was there where she had met the five mares who would expose her to a whole new world of laughter, loyalty, honesty, generosity, and kindness toward others. With chaotic event after chaotic event, Twilight Sparkle would grow each and every day into a stronger and better mare, eventually being coroneted as princess. Twilight had broken through her thick outer shell with the help of her friends, family, and the city of Ponyville. She had tackled and conquered both demons from her mind and threats from the outside world. She had been reborn- reborn as a better mare, a mare able to laugh, live, and love the world she was in.

Yet with every blessing she had, and was truly thankful for, Twilight Sparkle and all of her infinite wisdom could not seem to shake a peculiar feeling, the feeling that something was missing in her young life…

Chapter I

Same Shit, Different Day

The day had begun just as any other winter day in the now peaceful town. It was mid-afternoon in early February, snow coated the sides of the street, lovingly plowed into piles by the town’s earth pony workers and weather patrol. Icicles hung from a few eaves in the wood-frame thatched houses as a cool wind blew water droplets caused by melting snow in the afternoon sun. Ponies of every race, color, age, and creed bustled about snuggled in their warm, fluffy saddles, coats, and boots as they went about their afternoon activities.

In a nearby building named Honest Abe’s Fresh Produce and Grain Outlet, several of the townsfolk were situated around the checkout aisles. The storefront was filled with a couple of dozen ponies or so, each waiting their turn for assistance by a friendly counter worker. Among these ponies stood Twilight Sparkle- the town figure of royalty, a bouquet of white and yellow flowers wrapped in her purple aura, struggled with a trivial bit of modesty at the front of the line.

“Your highness, please…” begged the clerk. “…I’ve been such a huge fan of you ever since you moved into Ponyville! Why don’t you take these flowers for free, as a sign of admiration for everything you’ve done?”

“Oh, no… I couldn’t.” Twilight hastily but respectfully declined. “I’d feel much more comfortable if I had paid for them.”

“Are you sure, your highness?” the swooning colt behind the counter questioned.

“…Please, just call me Twilight.” Twilight insisted, still not exactly used to everyone calling her by her more prestigious title. “I’ll just pay with cash today, if you don’t mind.”

“…As you wish.” the counter attendant complied, smiling back to her as he rung up the young princess. “Your total comes to four bits.”

Using a wing to clumsily grab the side of her saddlebag, Twilight sifted through the fabric to find the coins she needed to pay for the floral arrangement she had placed on the counter. Finally locating her stash sealed in a small purple coin purse, the alicorn popped the pouch open and brought the coins to the table- a generous ten bits.

“You can keep the change for your… very kind offer.” Twilight spoke, earning an adoring expression from the bashful colt. As the young stallion began to sputter gibberish, Twilight closed her coin pouch and placed the flowers in her bag.

The colt remained in a sort of trance.

“…Um, are you alright?” she kindly but nervously asked.

“…I WILL NEVER SPEND THESE SIX GOLDEN TOKENS FROM HER MAJESTY.” the colt finally announced in a monotonous tone, ogling almost religiously at the change before him.

“Ooookay… Thanks, I guess.” Twilight feigned a wide smile, the corners of her lower eyelids turning up. “I think I’ll just be going now… have a nice day, sir…”

As Twilight began a brisk retreat from the situation, she heard the colt call after her in a nervous bark.

“I-I LOVE YOU, TWILIGHT SPARKLE…!”

With those odd words buzzing in her head, Twilight exited the store, mumbling under her breath while rolling her eyes.

…Creepy…

Twilight Sparkle had learned over her several months as an alicorn princess that such adoration from citizens in Equestria would be quite commonplace. Case and point, the grocery store assistant. But who could blame them when having both wings and a unicorn horn denoted you as a goddess among mortals- a symbol of beauty, purity, and great importance. Not her of course, while she continued to adjust to having a greater role in society rather than just sitting in a musty old library all day. While her friends and new position of power had helped her break out of her shell, she still at times carried the social aptitude of a seabed sponge.

“…Ugh… I just wish that people would stop referring to me as a political figure.” Twilight sighed, walking home through the icy streets with groceries in tow. “Whatever happened to ‘Librarian Twilight’? Or ‘Book Council Twilight’? Or ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Twilight’? Nope… just Princess, Princess, Almighty Princess…”

Twilight often found it frustrating to be revered by so many, even in her favorite city in Equestria. Everywhere she went, she was greeted by at least a few townsponies who had been completely taken with her. Oftentimes, the most stable-minded of ponies mistook her for a miracle worker- frequently mistaking her old oaken library as a hospital, a business center, even a regal palace. Not to mention the many adoring stallions, and even a few mares and children who had fallen head over heels for her just because of her status and great national importance. And then, of course, was the odd stalker or two who followed her to every important event, eager to spend even a moment in her presence. Those who searched each trash bin outside of the Hayburger for her discarded napkins to place in their shrines. Just typical reverence stuff.

Nevertheless, she had no time to worry about such trivial matters and mentally scolded herself for even succumbing to these thoughts. She had business to attend to. Soon she would be reunited with her mother, Princess Cadence, and her brother, Shining Armor for lunch at a quaint local restaurant. She had bought the flowers in her bag to surprise her mother for the occasion, knowing that she preferred daisies over almost any other floral arrangement. It was on her way home from the store, actually, that she would meet her lunch companions. Flowers in tow and confidence returning in her mind, Twilight Sparkle headed for her favorite higher-end local eatery.

Twilight Sparkle was not at all amused. It had been nearly forty minutes, and still so sign of her lunch companions for the day had shown hide nor hair. Twiddling an empty glass of lemon-water in her hooves, the violet princess violently plotted to ensure that the suffering she had experienced would be doubled back on her family- in a rational and non-violent manner, of course.

“…Chew me out at the wedding? Fine. Constantly pester me with eerie personal and relationship advice? Go ahead.” She fumed. “But if there is ONE thing I cannot bear, its tardiness!”

Twilight grasped the fresh lemon slice on the corner of her glass and squeezed it into the last of the water at the bottom, downing the soured drink as though it were a shot of tequila from Appleoosa. In frustrating times like this, the mare would typically prefer red wine to satiate her irritability, but she figured it best not to drink in front of her mother. But the length of her wait was slowly beginning to cause her to think otherwise.

Fortunately for her, she wouldn’t need to cling to this growing desire as a familiar voice called out to her, seemingly in a hurry to meet the princess.

“Twilight, honey!” called the voice of Twilight Sparkle’s mother, Twilight Velvet. The sudden vocal summons caused the young alicorn to turn and meet her gaze. “So sorry we’re late!”

It’s about time…

Soon, the three empty chairs at her table had been filled by her mother, and her brother and his wife. Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence took the chance to greet and coddle their favorite other family member with hugs, nuzzles, and a few kisses.

“Fashionably late again, are we?” Twilight sighed as her brother rummaged through her mane with a strong hoof. “You’re lucky I’m not Princess Luna.”

“Oh, hush now Twiley.” Shining laughed. “We got held up at the train station.”

“Oh, did you now?” Twilight played along.

“Yes, as a matter of fact.” Princess Cadence explained. “We had to rush over here just to make sure you wouldn’t leave us. We know you’re probably very busy.”

“Yeah, busy… let’s put it at that.” Twilight mumbled. “So, we all ready to eat?”

“Oh hell yeah!” Shining Armor cheered. “I haven’t eaten anything since that corndog deluxe at the train station back home!”

“Oh, Shiny…” Cadance sighed.

After a good twenty more minutes, the party of four was happily chowing down on their meals. Twilight had decided upon an expertly-toasted Panini sandwich stuffed with green olives and daffodils, while her brother and her sister-in-law shared a large platter of sizzling stuffed bell peppers. Her mother decided that the best course of action was a wine-seared dish of vegetable-kabobs with white wine. The family had made small talk for the last several minutes, but nothing too serious had popped up in conversation just yet.

“Twilight, dear, thank you so much for these flowers!” Twilight Velvet thanked, ogling the bouquet she had set on the table next to her. “You know how much I love daisies… They’ll look great in that new vase I got- the colors match just right.”

“Well, I just was in the store…” Twilight spoke in all modesty. “I guess I decided to pick them up while I was there.”

“Well, either way, that was very thoughtful honey.” her mom concluded.

“Well, you were worth every bit.” Twilight laughed. “You know, some fan-boy of mine tried to give me those flowers for free as a sign of admiration. I thought it was more like a sign of obsession, though.”

“Oh? An obsessed fan-boy?” Cadence inquired.

“Oh you wouldn’t believe what some of the stallions, and mares, do in this town.” Twilight explained, sipping at her re-filled water. “That incident at the store was only a mild case compared to them. These ponies see me as a goddess now, even when they knew me as a unicorn. It’s a bit stressful… and a little disheartening to know that I’m just a political figure now.”

“Well, who could blame them for thinking that, Twiley?” Shining laughed. “You are quite possibly the most revered pony in all of Equestria! Everypony knows you, and for good reason. You’re a practically our savior.”

“Shining, please…!” Twilight begged. “You’re making me blush!”

“Well, perhaps it’s you who has the problem, not the town…” Cadence began.

“Huh?”

Cadence nodded her head and continued explaining to her favorite little alicorn.

“Twilight, you need to learn how to switch off every once in a while.” she spoke. “When I became a princess, I felt a lot like you’re feeling now. I wanted to go back to the days where everypony loved me for me, not my title.”

“Exactly my point!” Twilight protested. “Just because I have wings doesn’t make me any different of a pony, right?”

“Of course not…” Cadence consoled. “…But it does mean that ponies will naturally look up to and revere you as divinity. Being immortal has a certain sort of appeal to it… plus, look at everything you’ve done for Equestria: Nightmare Moon, Discord, the Changelings, Tirek, Equestria in all sincerity owes itself to you and your friends… but mostly you, you know?”

“…I just want to have everyone love me for me, like you said.” Twilight sighed. “But being this figure of almighty power and wisdom really doesn’t help that.”

“Twilight, sweetie, I know your pain and frustration…” her mother interjected. “But it’s time for you to move on from that. You’re smart… you know that this royal treatment won’t stop, don’t you?”

“…I guess not…”

“So then, why worry about something you can’t change?” Shining questioned.

Twilight Sparkle pondered the question. In truth she knew the answer, but she didn’t know how to pin it down with words. Every time she tried, they slipped right through her hooves before she could grasp them. So naturally, only one response would suffice for now.

“…It’s complicated.”

After a few moments of awkward family silence, Twilight attempted to start a lighter conversation with her visiting relatives.

“…So, Cadence…” she asked. “On a lighter note, how are your plans for the foal coming along?”

“Well, unfortunately, we did get the results of our struggles back.” she explained. “It pains me to confess that we can’t have a biological child.”

“Oh, gosh…” Twilight apologized. “I’m so sorry…”

“Yes, it’s definitely sad.” Cadence sighed. “However, we have been thinking about adoption. And I must say, the idea to give a poor foal another chance at life with a loving family seems very appealing, especially considering the alternative.”

“Other options?” Twilight questioned.

“Well, you see, the reason behind our inability to conceive is the fact that Shining here is infertile. We don’t know why, but his… stuff… just doesn’t work. Don’t get me wrong, I love him with everything I have…”

“But no matter how many times we try, even when the act is complete…” Shining interrupted. “My genetic material is just… defective.”

“I never knew that… I’m sorry big brother.” Twilight again apologized.

“Twiley, it’s nopony’s fault.” he explained. “It’s just the way it is. And even still, we’re going to start a family. That’s all that matters in the end.”

“Right.” Cadence affirmed, kissing her husband lightly on the cheek. “And with the other option being a surrogate father, we’ve decided that adoption is the best means of achieving that end.”

“Oh, I see.” Twilight stated, now aware of every alternative to her married brother’s plight. “Have you… found the right one for yourselves?”

“Well, no.” Cadence confessed. “You see, the wait list for a healthy baby is quite long. Sometimes it takes up to ten years before the finalization and actual adoption can be placed. There’s just such a high demand for healthy babies that even us princesses can’t speed up the process by much.”

“So given that disheartening information, Cady and I have been thinking that we should give some poor foal with a disability a fighting chance. Being at our status, we don’t believe there should be any problem with giving our adopted child all of the things he deserves.”

Twilight Velvet turned to respond to her son and her daughter-in-law.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea!” she cheered. “It must be such a humbling experience to take in a hopeless little foal, to give somepony so young and vulnerable a chance to grow up in a loving setting.”

Twilight Velvet grasped her adult son’s cheek in a strong pinch of light-purple magic, twisting it from side to side.

“I always knew my little Shiney-Winey would grow up to be such a charitable and loving father… biological or otherwise.”

“Mom…” he groaned. “I’m thirty-one…”

“And you’re still my baby boy, aren’t you?”

“Hrmmm…”

Twilight actually felt good about the day. Something about being with her family in these cute, but embarrassing moments was one of the things she lived for. To see that her mother was still the same aging mare she knew as a unicorn, to see that her brother was still so fun to pick on in public. The discomfort of being an alicorn princess seemed to fade away when she spent time with her family, only a little, but just enough.

“Hehehe… you all are so amusing…” Cadence giggled at her husband’s embarrassment.

“Oh, trust me, dearie…” Twilight Velvet laughed with the pink alicorn, shortly before turning a sinister smile to her daughter. “There’s much more child embarrassment where that came from.”

“What now?” Twilight questioned her mother before taking a nervous sip from her glass.

“Oh come on, Twilight.” she responded. “Surely you aren’t planning to go on forever without finding some nice stallion, are you?”

Twilight Sparkle gagged violently on an ice cube, causing her to cough it out onto the table. Regaining her senses, she immediately began her protest of such an idea after her coughing fit had died down.

“Ulp! MOM…!” she exclaimed. “Please, not THAT topic again!”

Cadence was soon to join her mother-in-law in her efforts to humiliate Twilight.

“Oh?” she mused. “Having a hard time finding that special somepony, are we Twilight? I can certainly help you out.”

“Oh no, not you too…”

“You know dear, you need to switch off that big brain of yours sometimes!” Twilight Velvet chuckled. “How else do you think you’re going to find that lovable hunk of stallion to keep you warm at night?”

“GROSS!” Twilight gagged once more. “I don’t need you putting images into my head!”

In all truth, Twilight Sparkle was one of the few mares who really did find the act of love an unnecessary waste of time and energy, at least for her. There were just so many things that could throw away everything a lover had worked to earn, so many complicated protocols to learn about such a ridiculous social expectation. A love life was simply something that the studious princess believed firmly that she could do without. The fact that she found the act of sex incredibly awkward didn’t help the mare break free of her still relatively sheltered lifestyle either.

“Come on, you surely have your own urges to take care of, don’t you?” her mother asked. “It’s perfectly normal for a mare your age to…”

“No, mom!” Twilight defended. “I’ve never had anything like that!”

“Sure, Twilight…” Cadence sighed, rolling her eyes. “Whatever you say…”

“Uuugh!” Twilight groaned. “Why must you all insist that I find some random stallion to bend me over and rut me? Who do you think I am, some… cheap whore?!”

“Twilight, you’re being ridiculous.” her mother calmed. “I’m trying to say that you can tell us anything. It’s perfectly natural to be feeling the need to be mounted at your age. Why, that’s when your father and I met! I remember just weeks after that night, oh we were going at it hard enough to…”

“MOM!” Twilight complained. “I don’t want to have to imagine that!”

“Okay, okay!” Twilight Velvet stopped herself. “Sheesh, you’re worse than your father was…”

“Ugh… I’m sorry.” Twilight apologized, still straining to erase the unpleasant images that her mother had planted in her mind. “It’s just… I don’t need anything like that. I’m perfectly happy with where I am right now!”

“You’re not fooling anyone, Twiley…” Shining dismissed. “I’ve seen you making googly-eyes at that orange guard in the crystal palace.”

“Flash… what, NO!” Twilight continued to refute. “You’ve got it all wrong! I mean, he’s kind of cute, and he’s really nice… I’ll grant him. But I hardly even know the guy… he’s just some nice colt who helped me get my crown back. That’s all!”

“Honey, the most estranged of companions can make the best lovers, you know…” Twilight’s mother chuckled. “The new scenarios, the anonymity, the…”

“NO, MOM!” Twilight yelled. “Okay, I am done with this conversation. End of story!”

“Twilight, I’m sure if you just gave a bit of romance a try, you’d love it.” Cadence spoke. “Besides, I think that old Flash Sentry would be a great place to start! You know, he’s rather taken with you. He likes to talk about the time you two danced together at the fall formal in the human world more than anything.”

“…What?” Twilight questioned, now confused and a bit worried. “Oh great… the one guy I could see as a great friend has a crush on me now?!”

“It would appear so, Twiley.” Shining Armor confirmed. Surely you’ve caught him staring on at least a couple of visits to the crystal empire, haven’t you?”

“OKAY, ENOUGH!” Twilight declared. “…I’m sorry, but I really didn’t need to know that… now I’ll never be able to look at poor Flash the same way ever again. I really don’t have any feelings for him, but now I’m afraid that if I tell him, he’ll be hurt. And I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship… not after everything he’s done for me.”

“Twilight…” Cadence reasoned. “We just want you to be happy. We all thought you might be, you know, lonely at your age. But it seems that this whole subject is something you are defensive about. We never meant any harm by it.”

Seeing the faces of her loved ones twisted in concern, Twilight Sparkle couldn’t bring herself to feel too angry at her family. With a light sigh, she began an attempt to apologize for her grouchy demeanor.

“…Look, mom, Cadence, big bro…” she apologized to her extended family. “I’m sorry if I seem so cross with all of you. I just was going through a tough time this week with ponies worshiping me wherever I go. The last thing I need is to talk about a love life that… just doesn’t interest me.”

“…I guess I understand.” Twilight Velvet spoke up. “Honey, we’re sorry that we’ve tried to rush you into something you clearly aren’t ready for yet…”

Cadence nodded her head as her husband began to speak to speak to his sister.

“Twiley…if you’re not ready, we shouldn’t push you into starting a relationship with somepony.” he explained. “We’re sorry to have caused you any discomfort.”

“Here, here.” Cadence added. “It was wrong of me to jump into your mother’s wagon in an attempt to start you on a road that you’re not comfortable with as well. I’m sorry about Flash Sentry, too.”

“…Well…” Twilight sighed. “I guess it’s alright. I can’t stay mad at you all… I know you all just want me to be happy. But I’m just not exactly ready for such a thing as romance, at least not yet.”

“…I just never knew you felt so uncomfortable about romance.” Cadence added. “I guess I should have expected as much, given your personality.”

That one added sentence was enough to send the recently apologetic alicorn into another fit of anger. “Nice Twilight” was officially out the window now.

“…And what’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight questioned, glaring intensely at her former foal sitter.

“Well…” Cadence explained. “…Oh Twilight, you know we love you. But we all know that you aren’t exactly the most… subtle of mares. At least, when it comes to your social skills.”

“Oh, come on!” Twilight argued. “I thought I said that I was done with this topic!”

“Twilight, you're twenty-two years old. Most mares are either dating or married at your age.” Twilight’s mother added to Cadence's explanation. “If they have, then they’ve usually been dating for a few years… if not longer. I’m saying that something just seems off about you.”

“Uuuuuughh…Mom, there’s nothing wrong with me!” Twilight protested. “I’m just… not interested in stallions at the moment.”

“Not interested in stallions?” her mother questioned. “Twiley-baby, you know you can tell us anything… if you don’t swing for stallions, we completely understand. Lots of mares nowadays are playing on the other…”

“MOM!”

“Look, even if you aren’t interested in male companionship… we still love you all the same. We could never look at you any differently than…”

“I am NOT a lesbian, either…” Twilight groaned. “I don’t believe this! You tell me that you’re sorry to make me feel uncomfortable, then you turn around and just… continue!”

“Twilight, please…”

“That’s it. I’m leaving.” Twilight grumbled, tossing some bits on the table. “Meal is paid for. I’ll talk to you all later.”

With a huff of grumpiness, Twilight Sparkle ran from the table and quickly faded into the scenery of the town. Twilight’s mother and brother sighed in disappointment.

“…Oh Twiley…” Shining grumbled, mentally smacking himself out of guilt. “…So, now what?”

“…I’ll go find her.” Twilight Velvet declared rather hastily whilst getting up from the table. “I’m sure we can talk this out if we just…”

“No.” Cadance commanded, gesturing for Twilight’s mother to sit back down.

“But Cadance, we need to…”

“Listen, she’s just having a bad day. She’ll come around sooner than later.” the princess of love explained. “The best thing we can do for her is to just let her calm down. Until then, we don’t want to put any more pressure on her…”

Heartbreaker

Chapter II

Heartbreaker

Frustrated and embarrassed beyond all belief, Twilight Sparkle had hastily bolted from her family luncheon to clear her mind. Her anger had carried her all the way back to her new crystalline tree house in search of an escape, which she had finally found in her most sacred of rooms- the royal lavatory, or in more uneducated terms, her royal bathroom.

Well, that went better than I’d expected… not.

As Twilight stewed in the steaming, fragrant waters of her bathtub, thoughts of her previous actions held firm in her buzzing head. Sure, she knew she could have handled the situation a bit more maturely, but that didn’t matter to her as much as her frustration with her mother and Cadence. The two certainly were poking and prodding at what they knew was sensitive territory for the young alicorn, but that wasn’t the main reason she was so upset.

No, the main reason for her distraught mood was that now she knew something she wish she didn’t- that one of the most helpful and friendly stallions she had ever met, one she had looked up to for his actions and righteous ways viewed her as some sort of love interest. Someone to work up the nerve to court one day, someone he most certainly would fantasize of intimate, steamy sessions with, hooves romantically intertwined, gentle kisses up the neck...

“GAAAH!” Twilight squealed, rubbing her temples. “Get out of my head!”

Twilight couldn’t believe that all of this time, she had been oblivious to the signs. As much as she hated to admit, Cadance and her brother had been right all along- Flash Sentry certainly did show signs of more than just a friendly interest in her. Now, worst of all, she would be the one who had to set the poor stallion straight. She hated the thought of crushing the pegasus’s hopes for a relationship with her- something that wasn’t his fault to begin with.

“…I’m sorry Flash…” she spoke to herself, plopping her hooves back into the bathwater. “…I just… don’t like you that way…”

“Who are you talking to?” called a young, boyish voice from the open doorway to the bathroom.

“GYAAAH!!!” Twilight yelped, flinging soapy water all over the bathroom walls. “SPIKE, DO YOU EVER KNOCK?!”

“What’s the big deal? You’re always naked.” her young, scaly assistant Spike reasoned.

“This is different, Spike!” Twilight scolded, causing the purple dragon to cringe. “You shouldn’t just barge into the bathroom when somepony’s using it… Uugh. What is it?”

“Well, Miss Snippy McMeanpants…” Spike grumbled, eliciting a glare from the alicorn in the tub. “There’s someone at the door for you… I think it’s that one guy you and I met in the human world when your crown got stolen.”

“Wait, Flash Sentry is here NOW?!” Twilight sputtered, nose now pressed against Spike’s.

“…Um… Yeah.” Spike answered, shrinking back from his surrogate sister’s freaked-out face. “Except oranger… and pegasus… y… er.”

“Oh nononononono!” Twilight mumbled under her breath. “I was NOT ready for this today!”

“Twilight, relax…” Spike calmed. “I’m sure we can just tell him that this is a bad-”

“INVITE HIM IN!” Twilight beamed. “Glad you thought of it! I’ll invite him in for some tea, then when we can really talk, I’ll let him know that I’m just not interested. Then, we can still be friends!”

“That’s not what I-”

“Thank you, Spike! You may have just saved the metaphorical bacon of our friendship!” Twilight thanked, leaping still wet from the tub to give Spike a large, wet smooch on the forehead. *Muack!*

“Bleah! Twilight, what gives?!” the dragonling called as Twilight wrapped her mane in a white towel, placing her purple bathrobe over her back.

“No time for more kisses, Spike! I have work to do!” Twilight called, sprinting from the room.

“…I’m taking a bath in the sink.” Spike grumbled, wiping his forehead with a nearby rag, closing and locking the door behind him.

Outside in the cold February air stood Flash Sentry in all of his white and blue royal guard armament clutching a bouquet of roses under his right front leg. The stallion rubbed the last smudge of snow from his breastplate with a wing in order to make himself appear more presentable to the one he harbored secretive feelings for. This was it. Today he was going to work up the nerve to ask her out, after his official business was over of course- duty came before romance.

"Come on, Flash... you got this." he told himself. "I'll give her the flowers, then ask her on a date- cakewalk."

Popping one last, very long hit of breath freshening spray with the previously-anti-smudge wing, Flash Sentry was ready.

The door opened, revealing the fresh-from-the-tub princess, who shuddered once the cold air hit her damp body.

"Well, hello there, Princess Twi... Twili..." Flash began to stutter at the awe-inspiring sight before him. Something about her robed and toweled appearance caused the poor colt to grow more nervous than he had ever been- she was just so enticing wrapped in that heavy garment.

"Flash Sentry, hi!" Twilight greeted with a similar nervous voice. "I didn't expect to see you here today!"

"I-I, um... Is this a bad time?" Flash questioned, blushing redder than a tomato.

"O-Oh, no... I just stepped out of the shower is all..." Twilight dismissed as calmly as she could, which admittedly wasn't very calm at all. "So... what brings you to Ponyville? N-Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything..."

"Oh- I um... was sent here to give you this letter from Canterlot's Department of National Security." Flash explained, trying desperately to collect himself in front of her.

"Oh, well, thank you." Twilight thanked. "Listen, why don't you come inside... I mean, it's cold out and I don't want you to catch-"

"O-Okay, I can come in..." Flash accepted, still beet red in the face, flicking his tail from side to side. "I-It is kind of cold... yeah... not hot and sweaty at all out here."

"Flash, a-are you... alright?" Twilight questioned, noticing Flash Sentry beginning to look as though he would be sick at any moment. Unfortunately, the pose she had entered had caused her towel-mane to shift, revealing a generous portion of wet mane to the stuttering stallion.

"Oh, I... I'm just feeling a little... bit..." Flash stammered, feeling sweat flow freely down his flanks and head spinning out of control.

"Flash...?" He could just barely hear Twilight call out to him. "Flash...?!"

Flash Sentry awoke slowly to the sensation of something poking and prodding around in his mouth- something thin and wooden. Once his eyes fully opened up, he witnessed two blurs above him which soon formed the shape of two mares- One Twilight Sparkle, the other a white-coated, pink-maned pony in a white nurses cap.

"Mr. Sentry?" the unfamiliar mare called to him. "Can you hear me, Mr. Sentry?"

"Unnn..." Flash Sentry gurgled. "...What...? What happened...?"

"Oh, thank goodness..." Twilight sighed a breath of relief.

"Twilight...?" Flash questioned, rising to sit up. Looking around him, he saw that he had been taken inside the crystal tree and gingerly placed on Twilight's red futon, a bright-pink blanket draped over top of his lap. "Did something happen?"

"I don't know." Twilight explained. "My towel came off my head, then you just... collapsed in the snow. A-Are you okay?"

"You're lucky you didn't hit you head." the nurse pony spoke up. "I'm Nurse Redheart, by the way."

"I... fainted?"

"You certainly did. Are you feeling any severe head pains? Does anything hurt?" Nurse Redheart continued.

"Oh... uh, no... I feel fine." Flash dismissed.

"Alright then. I think we can just call this a minor fainting spell." Nurse Redheart concluded, placing the used Popsicle stick in a special plastic container marked with an odd, black symbol reading "DO NOT USE".

"Thank you Nurse Redheart." Twilight spoke. "I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't just been passing by to see this whole thing happen."

"Yeah... thanks." Flash Sentry added.

"Don't hesitate to stop by the hospital if anything starts to become a problem." the nurse instructed the two. "Head trauma can come even when we don't know it's present. I must be going now... nurse stuff to be done."

Flash Sentry witnessed Twilight guiding Nurse Redheart out of the room and presumably back out into town. Gazing down at the pink blanket which covered him up to his chest, allowing his arms to lay freely on top, he realized that he was without his armor.

"My duds...!" he exclaimed to himself. "Where are my plates?"

Fortunately, it wouldn't take long for the stallion to locate his armor, neatly placed on a nearby table close together. At least he wouldn't need to explain to his superiors that his armor had mysteriously been clothesnapped by a mare. If his guy friends saw him right now in a frilly pink blanket being tended by a lady, he would surely have his stallion card revoked. With a little luck, Flash Sentry figured he could get his duties done, complete his personal errand, and swim out of this situation embarrassment free.

...Okay... Flash Thought. I can still salvage this situation! Think, what does Twilight like to talk about... Books! Books, yeah... and smart stuff... perfect. I just need to get up, put on my armor again, and she'll be swooning in no..."

"Swooning...?" Twilight questioned.

"GAAH! N-No, I meant, you were...!" Flash squeaked, realizing he had somehow been broadcasting his thoughts for all around him to hear. "Twilight, I-I didn't mean to-"

Twilight Sparkle let out an exasperated sigh. She knew this moment was bound to come up, just not this quickly. Unfortunately for her, in order to save their friendship, she would have to just go with her gut, something she knew wouldn't work as well as a carefully coordinated conversation like she had planned.

"Flash... we need to talk." Twilight began.

Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle sat opposite each other at her kitchen table, both having difficulty coming up with just the right thing to say. Flash knew, based on her earlier words, that this might be his last chance to save himself from being rejected by the pony he had developed strong feelings for, while Twilight tried to figure out just how to reject him while still maintaining a healthy friendship. As both sides of the same coin conflicted, Twilight was the first to speak.

"...Flash, you know that I care immensely about you, right?" she questioned the orange pegasus across from her.

"I know..." Flash responded. "I... I care about you too, Twilight. You know I would do anything for you."

"Thanks... you always were a great companion. I owe you so much for the way you helped me get through my ordeal in the other world..." Twilight confessed.

"... I did what I needed to." Flash added. "I couldn't stand to see you suffer like that."

"Flash, I need to talk to you about this crush you have on me." Twilight interrupted, causing the stallion's pupils to shrink to pinheads. "Cadance and Shining Armor told me about how you've been... admiring me whenever I visit the Crystal Empire."

"...Oh..." Flash mumbled. "Listen, Twilight... I just-"

"Flash, you really are one of the best friends I've ever had." Twilight consoled. "And I would do anything to make sure you were safe and healthy... but I just can't seem to view you in any other way..."

"...Twilight... I... wh-what about the blushing I've seen? you just seem so..."

"Maybe at one time Flash... maybe I did have a little crush on you." Twilight continued. "But that was months ago, and I guess I knew deep down that it wouldn't work out... you and I are just different, you know?"

"B-But...!"

"Flash, I'm so sorry... I'm just not interested in what you're proposing for us to be." Twilight concluded.

"...Okay..." Flash sighed, hanging his head. "Well, then... I guess I'd better be going then. I have a letter addressed to you from Canterlot. It was on the table when you took my armor off... and I brought those roses for you, too."

"Flash..."

"I'm okay... really, I am..." Flash lied, turning to leave the room with ears drooped and a sad expression upon his face. "... and I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable, Twilight... I'll see you some time or another."

Flash Sentry tried his best to hide his tears from the princess. He had never thought that today, of all days, she would push him back like that. He knew she meant well, but that didn't change the fact that his hopes for a romantic relationship with the mare of his dreams had been crushed before his very eyes. As he entered the stairwell to exit the large crystal palace, he heard Twilight call out to him one last time.

"...Ooooh... Flash, wait!"

Twilight Sparkle glided down the stairs to catch the leaving pegasus, hoping to try to at least cheer him up a little bit. Sure, she didn't want what he was selling, but Twilight also couldn't bear to see the poor colt so depressed.

"Flash Sentry... I'm sorry." She spoke in a sad tone herself. "I never meant to hurt you, and I'm truly flattered that you think of me in such a way... it's just that I'm not really looking for a relationship right now. Besides... I'm sure you could do much better than me if you looked around more..."

"...That's not possible." Flash panned. "I couldn't stop thinking about you from the moment I laid eyes on you... you were perfect in my eyes. You were everything I had ever wanted... attractive, sweet, intelligent, no one can top you Twilight."

"Flash, you're giving me too much credit... I'm not perfect at all." Twilight reasoned. "I'm sure there's somepony out there for you who's better than me. I just don't want us to fall out of touch... I care about you, and I just want to see you happy, nothing else."

By this point the poor stallion was at the door, just about to walk out. One more line escaped his lips before he did so.

"...You made me happier than anything else..."

And with that, Flash Sentry closed the door behind him and walked into the cold, snow covered town.

Summons from Canterlot

Chapter III

Summons from Canterlot

"...Huummmm..." Twilight Sparkle sighed, reclining upon a velvet-lined seat aboard the Ponyville express to Canterlot. Her mind still hummed with the disheartening events which had taken place earlier in the day. Now, well into late afternoon, Twilight gazed out from the window of her private boxcar at the land, colors of fresh evergreen trees mixing with the whit, snowy blanket covering the earth. She still couldn't believe what she had just done- she had just pushed away one of the only few stallions who had ever shown her a deep, true level of caring and friendship, and Celestia knew she felt just awful about it. She never meant to cause poor Flash Sentry so much heartache, but she knew deep down that his rejection was for the best.

Something else was on her mind at the present moment- the letter she had received from Flash urgently summoning her to Canterlot for  a meeting with Equestria's Department of National Security. Opening her saddlebag with a wing, Twilight levitated the parchment which had been brought to her earlier, beginning to read once more to ensure she knew what her summons were for.

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle

Your presence is requested immediately in Canterlot's Headquarters for National Security and International Affairs. Something has happened in the capitol city of Chitin on the southeastern coast of the Changeling Kingdom. Our diplomats report that the population is suffering a trading disruption due to the development of a large wall of black material around the city. The situation is sensitive, and we fear that another changeling crisis may be immanent.

Please report to Canterlot for a more detailed briefing. My sister and I will be present.

-With Love

Celestia

"Hey, watch where you're going!" a black stallion barked at Twilight Sparkle, causing her to lift her face from the letter she once again pulled out to read. "This ain't a library, toots!"

"S-Sorry...!" Twilight called out, noticing the stallion had his face buried in an open folder, which might have explained his rudeness to a figure of royalty.

"Dumb bitch..." the stallion muttered still nose deep in his likely confidential files.

The Equestrian Department of National Security buzzed with activity- ponies from every race and creed bustled about carrying odds and ends ranging from folder-bound documents to simple pitchers of coffee for the night shift. Twilight Sparkle had passed through these rapidly shifting ponies, dodging agent after agent to finally reached her destination- a large, steel door marked with the symbol of Celestia's sun. Two royal guards armed with some odd weaponry that Twilight had never seen in her life stood at each side of the door. Gathering her nerves once more, the alicorn stood to face the two guards, whom immediately accepted her inside on sight.

"Princess Sparkle, please step through." Greeted one guard- a white pegasus with a blue mane.

"Thank you." Twilight spoke as the door magically slid open, revealing a large, circular room with a silver table seated in the center.

By this point, Twilight was no stranger to hidden, sealed-off rooms located in the bowels of Equestrian government property. She'd attended many meetings to discuss everything from financial matters to relations with foreign countries. She had, after all, been nominated as a lead ambassador to the Changeling Kingdom after the fall of Tirek, working day and night in order to foster peaceful relations with the formerly violent country. There was, however, one member of the changeling race she did not fully trust- and most of Equestria knew why by now.

"Well, hello Twilight!" Greeted the gentle and motherly voice of her lifelong mentor, hero, and ruler- Princess Celestia. Standing with her sister in both of their starry-maned glory, the two ushered Twilight over to an empty chair seated in front of a red table cloth, a small sign with her name on it standing up just beside it. "Thank you for coming to speak with us on such short notice."

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight beamed, running to nuzzle both sisters. "Princess Luna!"

"Yes, we welcome thee, Princess Twilight." Luna greeted with a gentle smile. "Always our pleasure to have thy presence in our midst."

"Oh, thank goodness, some friendly faces..." Twilight continued.

The trio of princesses soon took their seats at the large, silver table. Once seated, two unnamed agents from the facility wearing golden badges walked in, carrying with them a projector and film reel. As they set up a large, white canvas to view the film, Princess Celestia began to make small talk with her former pupil.

"I take it you haven't been having the best of days, Twilight?" Celestia questioned, a caring smile on her face. "Care to share?"

"...Where do I begin..." Twilight panned. "First, my family lunch turned out to be a disaster filled with embarrassment and my grandchild-pushing mother."

"I understand that..." Celestia consoled, just out of her sister's range of hearing. "Sometimes I have that problem with Little Lulu over there..."

"Hehe... you?" Twilight giggled. "Come on... you're Princess Celestia- you can handle anything."

"Oh, you would be surprised Twilight." Celestia replied, donning a concerned expression once again. "But I can sense that there is something even more bothersome floating around up there... is there not?"

Twilight Sparkle dipped her head and sighed.

"...My friend Flash Sentry... he's done so much for my friends and I... he's an incredible stallion and an amazing friend."

"The other world?" Celestia questioned, knowing the answer in her head.

"Mmm..." Twilight affirmed, nodding her head. "...But why should I, of all ponies, have to be the one to break his heart? He didn't do anything wrong by having a crush on me... I just wish I could have made the confession a bit less painful for him. But now I'm afraid I'll never see him again... I just feel like a demon inside, you know?"

"Er-hem..." grumbled one of the projector technicians. "We're ready to start here, your highnesses."

"Oh, my apologies." Princess Celestia replied. "Sorry, Twilight, but we'll continue this conversation after our business here... okay?"

"N-No problem, princess."

Foreign Affairs 101

Chapter IV

Foreign Affairs 101

The dimmed lights of the conference room occupied by Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Twilight Sparkle served a quiet yet effective backdrop for a rather serious topic. Upon the illuminated projection screen lay two photographs depicting black-and-white scenes taken from the air over some city surrounded by huge, black walls. Twilight Sparkle sipped at her complimentary water as she listened to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna brief her on the images.

"As you already know, on the southeast of the Changeling Kingdom lies a port city named Chitin..." Celestia explained, pointing a hoof to one of the photographs on screen. "The area is roughly fifteen square kilometers in size, and holds a population of more than two million changelings- it is the second most densely populated city in the kingdom. This city is also home to the Central Hive, where our now neutral neighbor Queen Chrysalis resides."

"But herein lies the problem..." Luna added. "Roughly a week ago, the city and its surrounding provinces were surrounded almost overnight by a huge, impassible wall of a mysterious black substance which we have deemed to be living tissue... based on samples taken from the scene. This wall is proving to be quite a detriment to the city's trading capability."

"Alright then... So we have a huge city in a now loosely allied kingdom, and their trade industry is suffering due to the rapid construction of some huge wall of bug flesh?" Twilight tried to surmise.

"Correct." Celestia affirmed. "The only problem is, we have no Idea who or what could have been behind this wall's construction. We're sending teams to investigate, but we haven't had any success. Whomever is responsible has flawlessly covered their tracks and left not a trace in their wake."

Twilight Sparkle already had one idea.

"I'll bet this was just another of the queen's misdeeds." she claimed. "We've seen what that witch is capable of, and you of all ponies should know..."

"Chrysalis is the one who sent the distress call in the first place." Princess Luna interjected, causing Twilight to gain a confused look on her face.

"What?" Twilight questioned, still surprised from the answer she had previously attained. "SHE sent the call? SHE wants US to help HER?!"

"Twilight, you forget that you were an ambassador to the kingdom... we have every reason to believe that all of her misdeeds were only for the well-being of her spawn, even the attack on Canterlot more than a year ago." Princess Celestia reasoned, trying to make the skeptical mare understand. "Sometimes you need to trust even those who have wronged you in order to make things right, and right now, this is the only lead we have into whatever is happening in Chitin."

"But princess, we can't forgive what she's done to us!" Twilight argued. "We were lucky that nopony was killed when she attacked the city!"

"Twilight, please try to understand..." Princess Celestia pleaded. "The queen has met with us in private since the events in Chitin began. We could feel the worry in her voice, the way she behaved... her fear for her children was real. Twilight, you must just give her a chance... think of all of the other ponies that you gave a second chance- Luna, Trixie Lulamoon, Sunset Shimmer, Discord..."

"Princess..."

"Twilight, you have more of a natural talent for gaining the trust and friendship of others than anypony I have ever seen." Celestia concluded. "You're the best chance we have to help our new allies and build their trust... only you can face such a task with any hope of succeding."

Twilight Sparkle knew deep down that her mentor was right. Even when she had met with the queen in person during her peace talks, she could sense that something about Queen Chrysalis was different, and not in a negative way. If she could give Discord and Luna a chance at redemption, with success in both cases, perhaps she could give this former menace the same opportunity.

"...Okay." Twilight accepted. "I'll go and speak with Queen Chrysalis."

Celestia sighed, smiling.

"Thank you, Twilight... I knew you would make the right decision."

Princess Luna stepped into the conversation once more, pointing back up to the monitor where a large, detailed picture of the wall was presented.

"From what we know, the walls surrounding the city seem to be highly resistant to trauma. Even if breached, the wall will repair itself within seconds." she explained. "We have reason to believe that the right sort of chemical weapon could be effective in damaging the wall permanently. For that, you will need backup on this mission."

"Backup? Why not just my friends? The elements?"

"We don't want to lose you or have you in any danger, we assure you." Celestia eased. "But we can't just send in the elements... we don't know how the queen would react if we did. We're pairing you up with somepony we've hand picked for the task- you will be meeting with him this evening when he arrives."

"You assigned me a partner?" Twilight asked. "Who?"

"RIBONUCLEIC ACID- RNA." called a masculine, but somewhat geeky voice to a class of adult ponies in Canterlot's Royal University. Two ponies- one a blue pegasus and the other a green earth pony, stood near a chalkboard at the front of the room, listening to the eccentric speaker drone on while covering the black slate with complex terminology and diagrams. "Now, if we know that DNA, Deoxyribonucleic Acid- the source of all of our various traits which make us different from each other- is composed of a double-stranded helix of nucleotides and sugar, and that RNA is the product of splitting this helix in half,  we can essentially view this little strand..."

The professor finally turned to his students as he concluded his lecture. The stallion, a snow-white unicorn with a tar-black mane covering his temples, wore a set of round, nose-hugging glasses, which he adjusted with the white aura from his rather long unicorn horn that parted his long, black hair. His coat and mane were well-accentuated by a crisp, black leather jacket.

"...As the basic blueprint for our little friend the virus- bane of ponykind for millenia."

The class gave the professor a typical look- complete with some bright students paying close attention, while the rest either slept at their desk or conversed quietly with neighbors. Gazing up to the far-left corner of the auditorium, the preaching stallion had noticed one student appearing to be distracted in her own personal beauty.

“…How are the hooves coming along Crystal Flare?” The stallion asked from across the room, to which the nail-filing pony would immediately shrink back into her seat, hiding the tools of her vanity under the desk.

“…That’s what I figured.” he spoke, gaining a slight rumble of laughter from the rest of the class.

"...Anyway, this is a corona virus- one of the more standard designs." the white stallion instructed, pointing out a spherical diagram covered in protruding spikes on the blackboard. "Real softie, she isn't that hard to beat down. Just give her some flowers, nice romantic talk, a heavy dose of anti-symptom medication like Poniflu, I can't get a hold of any of that stuff in flu season but always worth a try. This is what we can see in the Common Cold, the flu, up towards more damaging viruses such as..."

The stallion stopped as something caught his eye. In the doorway at the bottom of the large lecture hall stood two rather beefy Earth Ponies dressed in black, sunglasses obscuring their eyes.

"...Can I help you?" the professor questioned.

"Mr. Seymour, if we're correct?" one stallion questioned without any expression.

"Maybe." the professor chuckled.

"...Yes or no, please." the same stallion questioned, beginning to get irritated.

"Uh, the first one." Professor Seymour answered, still keeping a dose of humor in the air. "Is something up?"

"We would appreciate if you would come with us, sir." the other black-dressed stallion spoke, flashing a silver badge.

"Am I in trouble?" Seymour questioned, fiddling with the collar of his jacket as the two men lead him across the campus greenway, positioned on his right and left side. "What's going on?"

"We don't know, sir." The stallion to his right answered. "Your security clearance is higher than ours."

"I have security clearance?" Seymour questioned, now even more confused than before.

"We're just here to take you to your train, sir." the stallion again instructed.

"...I have a train?"

Assignment Detail

Chapter V

Assignment detail

At the bottom of a short stone staircase connecting with the back-alley of one of Canterlot's busiest streets, two white royal guard pegasi opened a steel-gated door into a small concrete room occupied by a few vending machines. The two earth pony agents had led Seymour down to the area, and now instructed him to enter.

Upon entering the room, Seymour noticed a slightly older grey unicorn stallion, mercilessly beating a nearby soda machine while dropping a slew of Stalliongrad-accented profanities. His face lit up as he remembered just who this stallion was, and an overwhelming desire to call out to him had surfaced.

"Photon!" Seymour called, alerting his target audience with a loud, cheery voice. "PHOTON!"

"...Sucking... MEAL-WORM!" the grey pony concluded, giving the machine one more thump as he turned toward Seymour. Upon seeing the stallion's face a smile soon replaced the angry scowl he had worn up to the moment. "It's about time you show up!"

The two unicorns wasted no time throwing a rough embrace around each other, Photon patting Seymour's back as he did so.

"Ohoho! My friend!" he greeted. "You are always late to party!"

"Photon, my man, how long has it been?" Seymour asked, enjoying the company of his old school companion. "I haven't seen you since we went to that electronics convention last spring!"

"I know, I know!" Photon laughed, leading his pasty companion deeper into the facility, finally bringing him into a very large concrete room, illuminated by bright overhead lights. Within the room lay several dozen steel tables, each covered with an unassuming green tarp.

"They came and took me from my office, and I wind up here with all of these chemists, biologists, I hate these guys!"

Seymour had nonchalantly turned to lean on the nearest grey table as he and Photon continued their conversation regarding their unusual reunion. Upon contact, however, the green tarp covering the table shifted, allowing a black, gnarled leg to flop out from underneath.

"Well when you get kidnapped by government lackeys, you can always be assured that there's no need to-"

"OHOOIET!" Photon swore, leaping back from the table. "Bloody hell!"

"What's the matter, buddy? You look like you've seen a- DEAR LUNA, what the hell?!" Seymour exclaimed as he noticed the source of Photon's sudden scare, stumbling back onto his haunches much like his friend. "These...! Um, these are bodies!"

"I-I think we are in the wrong place here..." Photon responded, still shaking from his previous bout of fright.

"No, if you were in the wrong place, you would have both had your memory wiped."

Both stallions cringed at the sound of a sinister, dual-toned feminine voice emanating from the far entrance of the room. Emerging from the distant doorway stood an unusually tall, intimidating insectoid creature, closely followed by two smaller, similar-looking underlings. Each of the pitch-black creatures sported a large pair of clear wings, a gnarled, black horn, and long, black legs covered in large holes.

"Photon, changelings!" Seymour exclaimed, hastily retreating from the advancing trio. "What the hell are changelings doing here?!"

"You are asking me?!" Photon answered, following suit with his glue-colored friend.

"Be not alarmed, ponies." the larger of the three commanded. "We mean you and your city no ill at this time."

"Who are you?!" Photon questioned, still shrunken back from her intimidating voice.

"Photon, she was all over the news!" Seymour responded. "She was the one who attacked canterlot with an army of changelings last year!"

"SILENCE!" demanded the female insectoid, her voice echoing on top of itself. "While it is true that our past relations with Equestria have been as hostiles, we have urgent business to take care of."

"Eeep!" Seymour squeaked as his grey friend cringed in fear.

"As we were about to explain, I am Chrysalis, queen of the changelings and ruler over the Changeling Empire." the irritated queen explained. "Ponies, everything you are to be told in this room is to remain confidential until official news is released to the press. Am I making myself clear?"

"And why should we trust you?!" Seymour refuted. "We know what you did in the past, all of Equestria does!"

"I-I agree..." Photon interjected. "This could all be a trap for all we know. We don't even know why we are here!"

"If you will allow me to explain, we can get to that!" Chrysalis barked. "And as to why you should trust us?"

"Yeah, why?" Seymour again asked.

"Because..." Chrysalis sighed. "...As much as we detest to admit our own immanent crises to you ponies, Equestria is our only allied country with enough resources to turn to in our time of need."

Both stallions sat back in silence, trying to keep as far back from the queen as possible.

"...Good." the queen spoke, taking their stunned silence as justification to continue. "Now again, nothing discussed here leaves this room until an official press release can be justified. Am I understood?"

Both stallions nodded, not wishing to escalate the situation any further.

"...Between the hours of 8:00 and 10:00 this morning, 132 of my changelings in our capitol city of Chitin... died." Chrysalis explained, a somber expression upon her face. "According to those who lingered just a bit longer than most of the others, they had all been suffering bizarre symptoms for three days before their demise."

"Bizarre symptoms?" Seymour questioned.

"How does that warrant us being here?" Photon added.

"The 132 changelings present on these tables were all working in the same sustenance manufacturing hive for at least a week prior to their afflictions in various work programs." the black and green queen furthered. "We need your assistance in order to determine exactly what happened to them, and why this tragedy occured."

"A factory?" Photon muttered, pawing his chin with a hoof. "Could it have been some sort of nerve agent? A chemical accident?"

"We looked into that already." Chrysalis dismissed. "The victims would likely have died more rapidly in the event of a toxic chemical release- likely within hours or even minutes of exposure."

Seymour sat silently, rubbing his temple while Photon took another swing at explaining the ordeal.

"Does the factory deal with any sort of nuclear materials?" he questioned. "Radiation poisoning?"

"No, radiation would have taken longer to kill them- maybe years." Chrysalis again dismissed. "We did not detect any signs of radioactive isotopes in the factory, nor did the building deal with contaminated-"

"It's biological." Seymour interrupted, causing the two to look toward him. "Some sort of disease, probably."

Chrysalis nodded her head.

"Under two minutes- your reputation is well deserved, Mr. Seymour."

"Biological?" Photon asked his companion. "How do you know for certain?"

"Well..." Seymour began. "...The way I see it, we've already ruled out two likely causes. If the deaths occurred to long after exposure to be chemical-based and too soon to be due to radiation sickness, and given the fact that we know that this was not an act of random violence due to the present lack of media coverage, it can safely be assumed that these deaths weren't just a coincidence."

"Really?"

"Also, given the fact that she sent out for us- me being a biophysicist and you an expert on weapons of mass destruction, I think I know why she called us here."

"Your reasoning skills are impressive, white one." Chrysalis praised. "We suspect that a biological agent, hereby unknown, was the cause of these deaths."

"Then why did you need us?" Photon questioned, beginning to doubt the need for the two to be present. "You seem to know what is going on..."

"You will find out soon." Chrysalis replied, motioning for her two underlings to lead the pair into another area of the concrete structure. "We have set up a bio-containment ward in this facility to better understand what could have caused this sudden outbreak. Follow us to the ward... come."

"...I have a reputation?" Seymour whispered to Photon, who gave him a quizzical look before simply shaking his head.

"His name is Dr. Seymour- a new biophysics instructor from Canterlot Royal University." Princess Celestia explained, pointing to the photograph of the young doctor on the projection screen. "He's a bit wet behind the ears when it comes to teaching, but he's one of the brightest in the business. He should be more than useful in your endeavor to find a way to bring that wall down and restore Chitin's trade and infrastructure."

"We have also enlisted the assistance of a Dr. Photon Surge." Princess Luna added. "He's a foreigner from Stalliongrad- apparently the two have known each other for several years."

"Wait a minute..." Twilight Sparkle interjected. "How are you two sure that this guy is the right fit for this sort of thing?"

"He has quite a reputation for being able to look deeper into many situations than most other ponies- a sort of deep-reasoning skill." Princess Celestia answered. "He also possesses a profound knowledge of non-equine life forms, and we believe that he may be able to come up with an answer to Chitin's wall problem."

"I see." Twilight responded. "But does he have any experience in this sort of thing? I mean, just selecting some colt for a high-level government task seems a bit... risky, don't you think?"

"Twilight, there is an inherent risk with sending anypony out of the country... I'm sure you know that." Celestia reasoned.

"Well, yes..." Twilight spoke, still unsure of the circumstances of her assignment. "But I still think we should have somepony with more experience. I mean, he could get hurt, couldn't he?"

"Twilight, you will be fine. There hasn't been any cause for alarm in the city other than the walls." Celestia assured. "This will be a quick mission- two days tops, then you will be brought back here. We've asked the queen to up her patrols of the city in order to help maintain safety."

Twilight Sparkle gazed up at the projection screen, than back at her former teacher. The elder alicorn draped a wing around her protege, giving a sincere, reassuring smile and warm embrace.

"...Twilight, I promise... you will be okay. You and Dr. Seymour both." Celestia calmed. "You two are our best shot at getting more information, and at strengthening our relationship with the changelings."

"...Princess..."

"...Twilight, don't you trust me?" Celestia's motherly voice questioned. "Don't you trust your teacher?"

"...Okay... yes, I trust you." Twilight smiled. "I always have."

Gazing once more at the projection screen, and at the profile of her new partner, Twilight Sparkle weighed out the various qualities of the white unicorn.

"...So... Dr. Seymour." she spoke to herself. "Twenty-six, biophysics professor, Canterlot native... no political experience whatsoever..."

The two remaining princesses rolled their eyes, smiling at each other. She really was still the young, cautious thinker they knew and loved.

"...And this is my partner..."

Ravaged

Chapter VI

Ravaged

Back with the changeling queen, Doctors Seymour and Photon stood in a small, white-walled room illuminated by a single hanging light. The queen’s two underlings entered the room soon after the trio had arrived, carrying a large steel cart covered in various surgical tools and supplies.

“What is this place?” Seymour questioned, staring down at what he presumed to be another body lying under a white tarp on a cold, grey table similar to those in the larger room.

“The air is thick with freshener… It is making me sick.” Photon complained, holding a hoof over his nose. “Some sort of makeshift laboratory?”

“You catch on quickly… for a pony.” Chrysalis confirmed in her self-echoing voice. “You will be begging for more freshener within a few moments.”

Waving a hole-covered wing, Chrysalis silently instructed her servants to remove the tarp from the table. Once this demand was issued, the queen dismissed her underlings- levitating two plastic visors from a nearby table up to the pair of unicorns.

“Use these…” she instructed, causing the two stallions to strap on their masks.

Once each of the three were masked, the queen draped a sterile white apron around her neck, the garment covering the front of her body to prevent contamination to her torso and front legs.

Next, she pulled back the apron, revealing all of the gruesome sight within.

*FWOOSH*

“AYE, EBAT’ COPAT!” Photon cursed, reeling back from the sight. “Uugh, that is rancid!”

“Holy hell, is that a changeling?!” Seymour gagged. “That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen!”

The sight was more than vile, to say the least. Underneath the tarp lie a dead changeling- skin beginning to fall away from the edges of the body’s fine details. The corpse lay in a puddle of dark fluid which oozed from every bodily orifice- anus, mouth, ears, and eyes- giving off an absolutely putrid odor which immediately filled the room.

“Uugh, that thing reeks!” Seymour exclaimed, facing away from the disturbing scene.

“Collect yourselves… these are my spawn dying here!” Chrysalis barked. “We have work to do!”

“Ulp… s-sorry…” Seymour apologized. “I didn’t think I’d see something this… disturbing today.”

“Forgiven.” Chrysalis panned. “Now, back to the task at hand.”

“Are all of the bodies like this?” Photon questioned the insect empress.

“Affirmative.” Queen Chrysalis confirmed. “The victim before you displays the evidence of late-stage symptoms. Each case develops into this severe level of hemorrhaging within twenty-four to thirty hours of the first symptom onset, depending on various individual factors concerning each changeling.”

“I haven’t seen anything like this before...” Seymour interjected. “I’ve never seen these sort of symptoms in anything other than books.”

“We are unsure of exactly what has happened as well.” Chrysalis continued, grasping a scalpel in her dark-green aura. “But the worst is still to come, brace your gastrointestinal tracts.”

“Oh, this ought to be good…” Seymour whispered to his grey companion.

“Early symptoms resemble Pathogen E-123-7B.” Chrysalis explained.

“What now?” Photon questioned, having not a clue what the queen just spoke.

“Curse translation…” Chrysalis hissed. “It resembles typical influenza in pony terminology.”

“The flu…” Seymour added. “So acute, mid-grade fever and body aches?”

“Yes.” the queen confirmed, leveling her blade just above the fallen changeling’s midsection. “Within the span of a day, the symptoms progress rapidly into delirium, seizures, and severe internal and external bleeding. Fever elevates to very high grade.”

With a quick jab, Chrysalis buried the scalpel blade in the changeling’s torso, easily piercing the creature’s ribcage. A sickening slicing sound followed as she dragged the blade down vertically, opening the victim’s chest to reveal the horrors inside.

“Within three days, each changeling infected looked like this.”

“…Mother of Celestia…”

The inside of the changeling was an even greater mess than the outside- organs were perforated, mushy, or even dissolved altogether. Nearby bones had become porous and spongy. The odd illness had essentially turned the poor insect into a walking bag of dark-red soup.

“…A tragic sight, and a haunting one.”

“…What could have done something like this…?” Photon asked, visibly sickened at the mere sight of the changeling’s melted insides. “I do not believe there has ever been something this insane to pop up anywhere near Equestria.”

“My worries exactly- we believe that this may be an emergent disease, one never observed before.” Chrysalis spoke. “From this first outbreak, the mortality rate is one-hundred percent… all infected have died.”

“…My word...” Seymour sighed. “A hundred percent… How do you think the disease got to spread? There seem to be a very high number of victims in the span of a very small place… do you have any reason to believe that this could be airborne?”

“We do not believe so.” Chrysalis dismissed. “If it were airborne, the disease could have easily spread to hundreds more through the plant’s ventilation system.”

“Well, if the disease is not airborne, wouldn’t the changelings need to be in direct contact to spread the pathogen?” Photon reasoned. “Were all of these changelings on the same floor? The same area of the factory?”

“That is correct.” Chrysalis credited. “Of the 132 changelings infected, 57 of them worked on the same refining line on the top level of the plant. Each worked in close proximity to each other, maybe a few feet between each worker. Once the symptoms set in, they were taken care of by on site staff, while those at home rested in their family cavities- spreading whatever this disease may be to them.”

Seymour stroked his chin with a hoof before speaking up.

“Were there any medical staff ill?” Seymour inquired, now beginning to put each piece together.

“All medical staff on the affected floor became infected.” Chrysalis affirmed. “We have reason to believe-”

“That the illness is spread through direct contact with infected fluids… perfect.” Seymour interrupted.

“…Explain why your guess matches ours.” demanded Chrysalis.

“Well, if the disease was airborne, we would likely have seen significantly more workers and family members infected, but only one floor was ever exposed, even as those infected entered and left the building.” Seymour explained. “If 57 workers from a single floor on a sustenance processing factory became ill, they would have needed to come in contact with some sort of infected substance on the line, likely before treated with heat, cold, or chemicals. Let’s see… did this floor deal with processing animal tissue for food? I am well aware that changelings are not herbivorous by nature… and mainly resort to feeding upon emotion during shortages of food or abundances of love.”

“…Hmm… you are good.” Chrysalis complimented. “We deal with blorths on that floor- a large form of grub raised and used for food as livestock. Their meat is cut in the area where the infection occurred- blood is a common factor, it gets everywhere.”

“Well, I’d say we’ve found a reasonable explanation for the tragedy at hand…” Seymour surmised. “An unknown disease spread by direct fluid contact, high mortality rate, and we know where the outbreak originated.”

“Are we done here?” Photon asked, hoping for the best.

“Almost.” answered the bug queen. “We still have one more question to tackle… and we need an answer immediately. News of this outbreak hits Changeling News Network and the Equestrian Department of National Security in an hour.”

“What more could we need?” spoke Seymour.

“We need to know if this and our current barrier problem are connected…” Chrysalis concluded. “…Could this have been an act of war?”

ORDER 215 READY FOR PICKUP!

About thirty minutes had passed since Twilight Sparkle had been briefed on her upcoming assignment and the details of her new partner- just enough time for her to grab a bit of comfort food at Hayburger in a nearby food court pavilion. She didn’t need much just enough to give her a little bit of an emotional boost after such a stressful day.

“Here you go, your highness!” chirped a cheery young colt at the register. “Your total comes to twenty-one bits and four cents.”

“Thank you… and please, you can just call me Twilight.” she suggested, laying three ten-bit coins on the counter. “You can keep the change.”

“A nine-bit tip?” spoke the counter colt. “That’s awfully generous of you. Thanks!”

“Oh, you’re welcome…” Twilight chuckled. “Well, I’d better get going… thanks again.”

Twilight didn’t really feel like eating in public at the moment- she just wanted some peace and quiet to reflect upon her day. Only one place could satisfy her need for solitary comfort better than anywhere else- the Starswirl the Bearded Wing in the nearby Canterlot Archives. She knew that with the area being off limits to civilians, she could just find a place to sit down, eat in peace, and try to think of a way to salvage her friendship with Flash Sentry, whom she had emotionally crushed earlier despite her best efforts.

Shortly after arrival to the wing, Twilight picked a nice, comfy spot by a stained-glass window. Once seated, Twilight removed several items from her paper order bag- items including three double cheese Hayburgers, a grilled Hay supreme, two large orders of horseshoe fries, fried cheese curds, extra-large diet cola, and a chocolate milkshake. Taking hold of her supreme in her hooves, Twilight sighed in ecstasy once she sunk her teeth into the large, three-patty Hayburger, moaning in delight as sauce splattered her cheeks, a stray pickle exiting from the other side of her sandwich, delicious, pure soulful…

“Comfort food, Twilight?”

“P-Primfesh!” Twilight yelped through a face full of burger, launching chunks of hay onto the floor. Quickly swallowing her food, she tried to hide her embarrassment as well as she could. “I-I can explain…! I was just-”

“Twilight… it’s okay.” Princess Celestia eased, her motherly voice easily calming down the startled young alicorn.

“Princess Celestia… how did you find out that I was here?” Twilight questioned, beginning to regain her calm demeanor.

“Twilight, I know you too well for you to hide from me.” Celestia chuckled. “I just wanted to follow up on my promise from earlier…”

“…Earlier promise?”

“Flash Sentry…” the princess explained. “I recall that you were having some emotional troubles after your recent meeting… Would you like to talk about it? Just you and I?”

“…I would really appreciate that…” responded the distraught purple princess. “…you want me to begin with this afternoon?”

“I can spare some time before your partner arrives… why don’t you start from the beginning?”

“…Okay.” Twilight agreed, shifting to become more comfortable. She knew that this would be a long talk, and that her emotional fortitude would be tested at each turn. Gathering all of the mental notes she could pull up on the orange pegasus, Twilight began in her explanation. “I first met Flash Sentry after Spike and I went through the dimensional mirror in the Crystal Empire seven months ago.”

“When Sunset Shimmer stole the Element of Magic?” Celestia asked.

“Yeah…” answered Twilight, popping a horseshoe fry into her mouth. “While we were there, he really helped me to keep on my hooves…er, feet… when Sunset tried to throw a wrench in my quest to get my crown back. Believe it or not, he knew Sunset Shimmer, and dated her before discovering the kind of person she had become.”

“Really? He helped you to complete your mission?” Celestia inquired, thoroughly curious.

“He actually helped me to get the crown back in the end- you know, when Sunset went all demon-witch thing…”

“I never realized he played such a pivotal role in that whole ordeal…” Celestia responded, somewhat surprised at what she was hearing. “Continue?”

“Y-Yeah.” Twilight affirmed. “After the whole ordeal was over and Sunset showed remorse… he asked me to dance with him at the fall formal…”

“Did you?” Celestia questioned again.

“…Yeah… I really liked it, like a lot.” Twilight continued, a blush growing on her face as she smiled at the fond memory. “It just… felt so nice. He was just so wonderful, nicer than any other stallion I’d ever met- even when I met his pony form after returning home- he’s just the same.”

“…I suppose you had a bit of a crush on this Flash Sentry?” Celestia asked, draping a warm wing over Twilight’s shoulder.

“…Maybe I did… at one time.” Twilight confessed. “But I just don’t know for sure… I mean, he did make me fell things that nopony ever made me feel before.”

“Twilight… I think I know where this is going.” Princess Celestia tried to comfort. “I just want to make it clear to you that it’s okay to be unsure about a new feeling… especially if somepony else makes you feel that way.”

“I thought maybe I had found something in him that I hadn’t ever found before… but it just didn’t last for me.” Twilight continued. “The next time I met him was when Discord put Cadence and I through Tartarus on one of his little pranks. He stood on the train platform as a guard. We looked at each other for a while… he seemed shy, now that I think about it. But I guess I really didn’t even feel… well, anything that time- I just smiled and waved like some school filly to a passing friend.”

“So…” intervened the sun goddess. “…You believe that you were just going through a little crush before, and you didn’t feel that way for long?”

“Yes… the problem really came about today at lunch when Cadence and Shining told me about how he always had, you know…” Twilight spoke. “…Special feelings for me. They told me about how he always talked about me, how he always got excited when I came to visit, even how he admired my looks when I would pass by him.”

“But you don’t think of him the same way, do you?” guessed Celestia.

“…I owe him everything for all he’s done to help me and my friends in the other world. He’s just a truly wonderful stallion, and I couldn’t bear to lose him as a friend… but I’m just not interested in a romantic relationship with the guy. So when he showed up at my door today with flowers, acted all nervous, even fainted on my doorstep-”

“You set him straight?”

Twilight did not speak, she simply nodded her head.

“…Twilight, I understand.” Celestia cooed. “You really admire him and everything he’s done for you, that’s wonderful. But he just feels something for you that you just don’t feel ready to return. No pony can force you into a relationship if you don’t want to get into one.”

“I know… and I’m happy that I got my feelings off of my chest in as direct of a way that I could.” responded the young princess, continuing her somber tone and facial gestures. “But after I saw what happened to him when I dropped that confession, I just can’t seem to live with myself.”

“He didn’t take it well… did he?” Celestia suggested.

“I just wanted him and I to be able to keep our friendship. I want him to find somepony that he’d truly fall in love with, not some insecure little filly like me. I told him that I only wanted him to be happy.” Twilight concluded.

“Twilight… It’s okay… really.” Celestia continued to comfort. “He will find somepony to truly be happy with… I just know a fine young stallion like him will.”

“But then he said…”

“He said?”

“…He said that I made him happier than anything else.”

“…I see.”

*Knock* *Knock*

The two princesses turned to find one of Celestia’s royal guards gently knocking on the doorframe into the private wing. He seemed to be attempting courtesy by doing so, but Celestia had an idea of what his arrival would mean for the two.

“Your highness?” the guard called.

“Yes, my assistant… what do you request?” Celestia calmly and comfortably answered.

“The professor you wished to summon has arrived.” explained the white pegasus guard. “He is waiting in the grand foyer right now.”

“Understood.” Celestia replied. “Carry on.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The guard turned and left the two to their business. With the knowledge that her hand-selected partner for Twilight had arrived, she turned to her former pupil and uttered a gentle command.

“Twilight... It’s time to go.”

Throwing a Wrench

Chapter VII

Throwing a Wrench

A short, vibrant fanfare of trumpets filled the foyer of Canterlot’s royal palace. The brass instruments adorned with flags bearing the royal insignia signaled the arrival of Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight Sparkle- both of which were in attendance to meet with the two unicorns that had been selected to accompany Twilight on her upcoming mission.

“Announcing their highnesses, Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight Sparkle!” called a dark-brown royal guard pegasus into a brass horn.

Soon after the announcement, a pair of large, red doors swung open, revealing both princesses in question. The two proceeded forward along a wide, red carpet spanning from the foyer’s main podium to the entry doors. Upon arriving at the bottom of the steps, Twilight and Celestia both were surprised to see that a third party member had tagged along- Queen Chrysalis, who gave the two an expression of urgency.

“Chrysalis… State your business here- you seem upset.” Celestia calmly ordered the large, hooved insect.

“My, my, princess… always blunt and to the point.” mocked Chrysalis, still visibly distraught under her scrutinizing guise.

“Queen Chrysalis, just tell us what you want.” Twilight furthered, growing understandably uneasy in the queen’s presence. “I came here to take care of necessary business, and I would not like to be held up.”

“Calm down, little Twilight Sparkle…” Chrysalis responded, not liking the negative attention she was receiving from a pony half her size. “The reason I am here will be explained shortly- for now, you may take care of business as you wish.”

“I will.”

Walking off to the side of Queen Chrysalis, Twilight’s assigned partners came into view- one a grey, hairy-face unicorn in a brown sports coat, the other being the pony she had been briefed on, Dr. Seymour. Both unicorns stood considerably taller than her, but still not as large as the accompanying changeling queen. With a light display of caution, Twilight introduced herself to the white unicorn.

“…Hello, you must be Dr. Seymour.” she greeted. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and I’ve been informed that you will be my partner for the assignment at hand… It’s nice to make your acquaintance.”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle?” Seymour replied as he and Photon took a bow in front of her. “I would never have thought to have a princess as my partner… It’s an honor your highness, truly.”

“Here, here.” Photon added, addressing Twilight’s royal status. “I am honored to be in your presence.”

“O-Oh, thank you… but you two can just call me Twilight… If you would prefer.” Twilight giggled, blushing at the two enamored unicorns. “Anyway, you must be Doctor Photon Surge, right?”

“The lady wishes to be addressed in simple and friendly… I like it!” Photon responded, nodding his head. “The pleasure is all mine… lady Twilight.”

Oh good grief…

“So, we’ll be lending you some help on the upcoming mission?” Seymour surmised. “We’ll give it everything we’ve got, Twilight.”

“I appreciate that greatly, Doctor.”

Chrysalis shook her head at the rather-too-friendly-for-her-tastes display before her. She believed that political meetings and partnerships were to be addressed only as such, that there was business to attend to and meetings should be kept short and on point.

“If it is acceptable to you ponies, I would like to share a vital piece of information to the group- one which may change the overall objective of this mission.” Announced Chrysalis. “We are on a time clock here, aren’t we?”

“Yes, of course…” the more distant sun princess offered. “You say that there is a piece of information which may alter the status of our mission, correct?”

“Yes.” affirmed Chrysalis. “…I do not believe we should discuss the matter in public. Is there any room where the five of us could speak?”

“We have a conference room just up those stairs…” Princess Celestia answered her question. “We can take this matter there. Follow me.”

The group of four ponies and a changeling empress were now seated evenly spaced around a large, marble table. Princess Luna had also been summoned to join the discussion, and promptly took a seat with her elder sister. With all in attendance, the conversation underway continued.

“…So now you are telling us?” Celestia questioned, reasonably annoyed with this delay in communication. “Why did you not explain this to us sooner, before we send two of our best scientific minds AND my own protégé into this situation?”

“I already tried to explain- we did not have sufficient enough information to form a complete story.” Chrysalis defended.

“But, did you not state that you knew that this was a disease outbreak, and that you knew of this for three days?” Questioned Photon.

“We knew of this only when the changelings had already died- I only found this information out myself this morning.” answered the queen. “I assure you that we never expected this to happen- I am as baffled at the coincidence of this outbreak with the wall’s appearance as well!”

“Wait, a wall?” Seymour asked, turning to Photon, who gave a similarly confused look.

“Don’t worry, I’ll explain later…” Twilight interrupted. “Please continue, Queen Chrysalis.”

“Well met.” responded the queen. “We have reason to believe that this will not be the last we will see of this disease, and as such, I would personally request a mission update. I would much rather have a wall we can live with temporarily than have whatever this is ravaging our kingdom.”

“I am afraid we will have to wait until the current mission is decided before changing course.” Celestia explained. “That wall needs to go, and we already have our two selected experts here- the only problem is that we cannot just send our own in now that we know of this outbreak.”

“Wait, you cannot be serious!” Chrysalis barked. “We are in the middle of a crisis far more dangerous than some blockade around the city- if this outbreak spreads, we could be facing a threat to the entire Changeling Kingdom!”

“This crisis could have been addressed if we had that information sooner, Chrysalis!” Celestia retorted. “Now we not only have to find a way to level the wall surrounding Chitin, but our ground information teams are in some sort of biohazard!”

Seymour tried to interject, but with little success.

“E-Excuse me, but I just wanted-”

“Moreover, this means that we have just sent Sergeant Flash Sentry and his squadron, some of our most valuable guards, into the hot zone!” Princess Luna added. “This was to be a simple information-gathering task. Now, thanks to your delay in vital information, we risk our own becoming infected!”

“Princess, if I may-”

“Wait, you sent Flash Sentry into that place?!” Twilight interrupted.

“Well… yes, we did.” Celestia confessed. “Twilight, please try to understand, we didn’t know anything about this…”

“Oh nononono…! We have to send somepony in there to pull him out!” Twilight

“Twilight, we cannot risk sending any more ponies into that city.” calmed the sun goddess. “Even if we were to pull them out, they would risk infecting Equestria… you need to understand that we have to quarantine-”

“Princess, Flash might still not have been exposed! We need to take that chance and bring him back home!” Twilight practically begged. “Please, Flash is my friend, and I can’t let anything happen to him!”

“Twilight, I know you two are strongly attached…” Celestia tried. “But even if we are to believe he has not been exposed, we still need to keep him there in a tight quarantine until he has passed the infectious period.”

“Well quarantine him then!” Twilight reprimanded, causing her mentor to become surprised. “But the least you can do for him is bring him back home, so his friends and family can at least know that he’s okay!”

“EVERYONE!” shouted Seymour, finally grabbing the attention of all others in the room.

“…Doth thou wish to speak, sir Seymour?” Luna grumbled, massaging her ear with a hoof.

“…Look, I’m sorry for the outburst, but I need to ask Chrysalis a few questions that I had earlier about this outbreak.”

“Speak.” Chrysalis commanded. “We haven’t all night.”

“Alright…” Seymour began. “Chrysalis, have we found out anything else about this disease since this afternoon? Surely you must have some of the changelings working on all of the samples you’ve brought over…”

Chrysalis nodded.

“We have, but we still know little about the problem.” she confessed.

“Any information is good information at this point…” Celestia added, wanting to squeeze every last drop out of Chrysalis.

“Well, we have determined that the illness is caused by a virus.”

“A virus?” Photon questioned. “So we cannot beat this monstrosity with medicine?”

“I’m afraid not, if that’s the case.” Seymour explained. “As much as modern medicine has helped us against diseases such as cholera and TB, we still don’t have what it takes to stop a virus… the best we can do is manage the symptoms.”

“Unfortunate, but true.” Chrysalis affirmed. “To be more specific, the virus looks to be tubular in shape- a long strand coiled on itself near the bottom much like a shoelace. On the surface of the virus exist thousands of tiny, hook-like structures which we can safely assume are used for attachment to cells.”

“Hooks, tubular shape… now I know I’ve seen this somewhere… at least something like it.” Seymour muttered, tapping his chin. “Queen Chrysalis, Princesses Celestia, Luna and Twilight? I would like to make a suggestion.”

“What do you suggest?” Celestia responded, eager to hear what was on the stallion’s mind.

“We are listening.” Chrysalis added.

Seymour smiled, then went in with his request.

“I would like to adjourn myself from this meeting in order to chase down a suspicion of mine about this virus.” he spoke. “I would just need to head back to my office at the university and look through my notes and my books- I know I’ve seen this somewhere in them while in graduate school.”

“We do not have time to dawdle…” Chrysalis denied, the moon princess joining in.

“We agree, your presence here may be required for a while yet.” added Luna.

“I would not need long, just a few hours… we can resume tonight after I am done.” Seymour negotiated. “I believe I may be able to correlate this virus to what I have seen, and that may be a good bet at the moment.”

Celestia looked up at the stallion, speaking words which would shock the remaining figures of royalty.

“…You are sure that this will be worth the adjournment of this meeting?” she questioned.

“I cannot guarantee anything… but what other way could we find some background on this virus?” Seymour reasoned. “If I find anything, we will at least have another piece of the puzzle.”

“…Alright.” Princess Celestia granted. “You have three hours, then we will attempt to figure this… thing out later tonight.”

“Understood, your highness.” Seymour nodded.

“But Celestia…!” Chrysalis argued. “We do not have time for-”

“We’re making the time.”

All in the room turned to the source of the rebuttal- Twilight Sparkle. Each wore expressions ranging from shock, to surprise, to gratitude.

“Look, as much as this situation is undesirable… I believe that Dr. Seymour may be right.” she spoke. “Besides… I’m willing to throw myself behind any effort that might help to keep Flash Sentry out of harm’s way.”

“…Your highness, thank you.” Seymour thanked.

“This isn’t about us, or my decisions…” Twilight dismissed. “This is about the Changeling Kingdom and about the safety of our own who are working on the problems within.”

Twilight then turned to princesses Celestia and Luna, asking for a favor regarding her friend in very-much-possible peril.

“Princess Celestia… Princess Luna…” she pleaded. “I know that this is a difficult decision to make for the country. But please… for the sake of my friend, please make the right decision.”

“Twilight…”

“Send us to get him out if you must… I’ll do anything to make sure Flash is safe… by the book or not.”

“…Okay.” We will discuss the matter while Seymour’s research is underway.” Celestia gave in. “Until then, Photon, Seymour…”

“We know what we need to do.” Seymour confirmed, his companion nodding his head.

Twilight Sparkle trotted slowly to the pair of unicorns before she would speak again.

“I’ll go with you.” she offered. “You might need another brain in the room… I know my way around any book, great or small. I think I might be able to be of some help.”

“…Thank you… Twilight.” Seymour thanked, calling her by her preferred name. “We could definitely use the offer.”

“Aah, what a team we will make!” Photon chirped, swinging a hoof in front of his torso. “Well Seymour, your highness, the prickly maiden of the textbooks calls- down and down the rabbit hole we go, where it leads, who knows?”

Photon, being slightly more skilled than his partner with more advanced spells due to his upbringing, teleported from the room, leaving behind a confused Twilight and slightly embarrassed Seymour.

“…Is he always like that?” Twilight questioned, cocking an eyebrow as she looked toward the remaining unicorn.

“Most of the time…”

Classroom Office

Chapter VIII

Classroom Office

Twilight Sparkle stood in the office of Doctor Seymour, accompanied by Doctor Photon Surge. The three had arrived just minutes before, and now attempted to sift through the admittedly cluttered space for any of Seymour’s books containing vital information on the virus responsible for the deaths of 132 changelings in the city of Chitin.

“Well, Dr. Seymour…” Twilight nervously spoke up. “It certainly is a… lovely office you have here.”

“Yeah, sorry about the clutter- I like to call it organized chaos.” Seymour apologized waving his white flanks in the air while digging through a low-set cabinet, his smooth, black tail swishing to and fro revealing an unusual cutie mark- an open eye  surrounded by four blue lightning bolts. “It may be messy, but I can find most of my stuff in here without any trouble… most of the time.”

Twilight blushed slightly as she caught a glimpse of the professor’s oddly toned plot, causing her to turn her head away to avoid any possible awkward moments.

“Lady Twilight, I would like to once again state how much of an honor it is to be serving at your side.” Photon praised, still smitten by Twilight’s royal status.

“J-Just Twilight, thanks…” she thanked, snapping back to reality. “Is there anything I can do to help out?”

“Well, I suppose you and I could start by-”

“Found it!” Seymour exclaimed, his front half still buried under the cabinet’s surface.

“Well bring it up, then!” Photon demanded, eager to get started.

*THUD*

“OW!” grunted Seymour, bashing his head on the wood paneling above him. “Ugh… A little loud, don’t you think?”

“You coming out of there or not?” Photon panned, causing the professor to pull out of the cabinet, clutching a large, hardback textbook in his hooves.

“Alright, alright…”

Twilight could tell the two must have had some strong personal connection based on their dialogue. Curious, she asked Photon about his past with the slightly-nutty biophysics instructor.

“So… you guys know each other very long?” she inquired.

“Four years, your highness… I mean Twilight.” the Stalliongrad unicorn answered. “I was twenty-four years old when we met at a graduate symposium, we’ve been keeping in touch ever since.”

“Believe it or not, I learned quite a few things in my field from this guy.” Seymour added, placing the heavy book on his mahogany desk, a plume of dust rising from underneath the book. “Man, it’s been ages since I must have opened this book… Hope I can still find what I’m looking for quick enough.”

“Well, you had better figure it out soon.” Photon suggested. “You know that the princess is counting on us to be back there post-haste.”

“I know, I know…” Seymour panned, lifting the cover of the large book. "Anyway, I met Photon in my first year of grad school. He and I hit it off pretty well, we went out for drinks, and we found that we essentially were chasing the same thing."

"Chasing the same thing?" Twilight inquired. "What was that?"

"We really wanted to do something more than just be a couple of scientists." Seymour answered, rubbing his temple with a smile. "We wanted to be heroes- real heroes."

"Not like the ones you see in the comic books." Photon added. "We wanted to be remembered for the impact we had on the scientific community- and what better way than by leading the next generation of scientists in their studies?"

Twilight smiled a genuine smile, she knew exactly what the two meant when they said "real-heroes." She knew the type- those who led more quiet lives, spending their days serving the community, fixing small problems, or dealing with and educating the youth. Ponies whom Equestria would fall apart without, even if nopony at large ever acknowledged their existence.

"Wow... that's actually pretty noble of you two." Twilight complimented. "I mean, it really takes a lot of maturity to teach... I should know. Even though you two could be doing some fancy doctorate research or working for the government in some exciting way, you chose to be professors- I really admire that."

Seymour smiled, blushing at the purple alicorn's compliments.

"Well, gosh... thanks Twilight."

Back in the conference room, only two of the three other figures of royalty remained- Princess Celestia and Queen Chrysalis. The two had been locked in an argument regarding Celestia's earlier decision for several minutes.

"This is absurd!" complained Chrysalis, smacking a gnarled hoof on the marble tabletop. "My people are dying, and you think you can just take a three-hour break from our most important conference in months?!"

"Have died, Chrysalis... have died." Celestia reasoned, rubbing her temples with both hooves. "We still don't know if this virus has spread beyond the factory, much less infected any other changelings. Besides, you know that we need to make sure the area is absolutely safe before we send any more Equestrian citizens into Chitin. The last thing we need is for this epidemic to grow into a pandemic!"

"Oh, so it's an epidemic now." Chrysalis interrupted. "An epidemic of what?!"

"Look, all we know right now is that some virus got into the factory and made a large group of changelings sick!" Celestia continued. "We have no clue what could happen next! We also don't know the level of danger it could possibly mean for our forces already in the city."

"If we do not act, there may not be a city left to save by the end of the week!"

This final proclamation left the two silent, each looking down at the marble table.

"...Chrysalis..." Celestia broke the silence. "Do you really want to know why I am so opposed to sending any more ponies into the city?"

"It's obvious- you don't want this disease to spread to them." Chrysalis panned. "I assure you, I am no fool... but the fact remains that we have never seen an illness like this in any sort of pony species- who could even know if this virus even affects you ponies?"

"Well, I know that we have seen this before in ponies." Celestia countered. "It already has jumped species... I was there to witness the effects."

Chrysalis fell silent.

"...You mean to tell me that you knew what we were dealing with all along?" asked the queen.

Celestia braced herself, she knew that ahead of her lay a long, revealing explanation. An explanation she had kept from everypony else, even the other princesses, in order to prevent panic in her citizens. She knew that telling Chrysalis would likely not help her win any trust with the changelings, but she was cornered. She knew that Chrysalis, once aware of any sort of interesting information, would travel around the planet and back until she got what she wanted- there was no escape from her prodding ear this time.

"Zebrican Hemorrhagic Fever..." Seymour announced to the two in his company. "...Ebola, as it is more commonly known. The virus seems to have been named after a nearby river in the region of its discovery."

"Ebola?" Twilight questioned. "I've never heard of such a name before... and I've read almost every modern medical textbook in print cover-to-cover..."

"Why then do you have a copy?" Photon joined in, curious as to how Seymour would have a book that not even Princess Twilight Sparkle had heard about. "Was it a requirement in your schooling?"

"Yes... It was." Seymour answered. "Though I don't know exactly how rare this book must be from what you two are telling me."

"Okay, well what does it say?" prodded Twilight.

"Okay, I'll read what it says from the beginning- but it doesn't look like much information at all." Seymour announced, adjusting his glasses before reading aloud to his companions.

Zebrican Hemorrhagic Fever- Ebola

Date of Discovery- Unknown

Region of Discovery- Ebul River Valley and Surrounding Jungle

Province/State of Discovery- East Zebrica, Zebire

Zebrican Hemorrhagic Fever (also known as Ebola or ZHF), family Filoviridae, is an illness caused by a newly discovered virus. The virus is observed in the shape of a long, coiled strand of lipid-encased RNA ranging between 10,000 and 14,000 nanometers in length. Similar viruses in this family include: Unknown.

"So, the disease is native to Zebrica... Zebras?" Twilight asked once Seymour had paused in his reading.

"That's what it says." he answered. "It also says that the age of the virus is unknown, and describes the shape and size observed. I'll keep going."

Though not a great deal is known about ZHF, the virus has been observed in both Zebra and Pony races with symptoms varying based on the time elapsed from exposure. The incubation (non-infectious) period of ZHF may take anywhere from three days to twenty-one days, based on a variety of factors (race, gender, mass [kg], etc.). Early symptoms resemble more common ailments with early-onset fever, cough, headache, and body aches.

"So, essentially this is the flu when it first starts being noticeable?" Photon assumed. "Who would have thought they had such a nasty fate awaiting them..."

"There's more... after those symptoms, it gets bad." Seymour continued.

Later symptoms occur between three and seven days from early onset. These symptoms include elevated fever, vomiting/diarrhea, confusion, delirium, and in some reports, seizures. A vast majority of patients with ZHF appear to show profound internal and external bleeding, with blood commonly see in the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, old scars, urethra, vagina, and anus. Victims of ZHF often die several days after more severe symptoms present themselves, usually of low blood pressure and dehydration.

ZHF appears to be highly pathogenic to the body, with death rates observed between twenty-five and ninety percent. The virus is highly contagious through means of direct contact with infected fluids (blood, saliva, vomit, diarrhea, etc.). The virus is known to be unable to survive outside of the body for long periods of time, rendering airborne transmission nearly impossible.

Seymour motioned the two to look at several pictures below the last line of text he had read. Photon wore an expression of severe concern, while Twilight winced, beginning to feel sick to her stomach.

"Mother of Celestia...!" Twilight gagged. "That's horrifying!"

"Bloody hell..." mumbled Photon, peering down at several photographs of afflicted zebras and ponies. "These pictures look just like what we saw in those changelings earlier today."

"Yeah, let me assure you Twilight... it's worse in person." Seymour added in. "We saw some changelings today who had died of something almost exactly like this."

"So, do you think we have enough information to present to the queen?" Photon questioned his snow-white friend.

"I might have a little more to do, but we shouldn't keep them waiting for long." Seymour answered. "Photon, will you go back to the conference room? If we're late, they'll want information anyway. You can fill in for us if we are, just take this book and keep the page marked. I'm unsure, but this may be all I have on the subject. Bring my bag with you if you want."

"...With bells on my hooves." affirmed the greyer of the two unicorns. Once he had place Seymour's saddle bags on his back with textbook in tow, Photon strained his body until his horn lit a golden-yellow. Finally, Photon vanished in a bright flash of light leaving Seymour and Twilight alone in the office.

"Well, there he goes again..." Twilight sighed. "He's a bit impetuous, isn't he?"

"He's always been excitable like that." Seymour chuckled. "I'm surprised he actually made it to parenthood myself."

"He has foals?" Twilight inquired. "He doesn't... look the type."

"Yes, he does actually." answered Seymour as he rummaged around a nearby desktop. "He has two daughters, one is three and the other is two- Blinky and Starshine."

"Have you met them before?" continued Twilight, very curious about the new information. "They sound nice..."

"HA!"

"Uh-oh, they're not nice?" Twilight corrected.

"Just wait until you see them at home... a pair of furry wrecking balls doesn't even nearly describe the damage those two cause on a regular basis." Seymour explained. "Well, I guess it's different when they're your offspring. I'm not exactly very... well rounded when it comes to children, especially the smaller ones."

"Oh... I see." Twilight concluded.

A sudden question popped into the professor's head. Seymour remembered something which peaked his curiosity from their earlier conference. He recalled Twilight becoming quite upset at the notion of one of her close associates being in the danger zone without any knowledge of the hazards present.

"Hey, can I ask you something, Twilight?" he questioned.

"Uh... sure..." Twilight responded. "What is it?"

"...I remembered you were getting a bit worked up over some guy that was sent into the city at the conference earlier." Seymour spoke. "I think he was a Flash... something."

"Oh, you mean Flash Sentry?" Twilight filled in. "Well, yeah... he's just helped me out with so many important things, and I didn't know that...well..."

"Go on..."

"...He had some romantic feelings for me, and I... kind of shot him down." Twilight explained. "I didn't mean to hurt him at all, especially not after everything he's done for me and my friends. But I did anyway, despite my best efforts. I haven't seen him since I told him, and I wanted to try to find him before we went off to Chitin to solve this problem."

"You two must have been close." guessed Seymour.

"I just never thought that making him so depressed might be the last thing I ever did for him." Twilight sighed. "Now, I'm afraid I might not ever see him again... that's why I need to find him when we're sent into Chitin."

"Twilight..." Seymour comforted. "...It isn't your fault. If you don't want to return his romantic advances, you don't have to."

"I know..." Twilight again sighed. "...But that doesn't change the fact that I feel so horrible inside. I just never want to see him suffer, you know?"

"Listen... the guy's a sergeant in the royal guard- I'm sure he'll be okay." Seymour continued. "But if you still are so worried about him, I'll make sure we set some time aside to try and find him. Would that make you feel any better?"

"...Yeah, yeah we could." agreed Twilight. "We're going there tomorrow, that means I could try to save our friendship if we can find him."

"Well, we'll try to find the guy, then-"

Seymour's train of thought was cut off by a pair of warm, purple hooves wrapping around his midsection. Did the princess of friendship just hug him, a lowly college professor, in such a way that stirred up butterflies in his stomach?"

"T-Twilight?"

"Thank you, Seymour." she whispered, letting him go. "You're really sweet, you know?"

Seymour began to feel just slightly uncomfortable at the odd situation, and needed to change the subject.

"...S-Sorry, that might have been uncalled for." Twilight apologized, blushing furiously. "I'm just so relieved that I might get to make things right with Flash, I guess I lost control for a moment.

"O-Oh, uh...no problem... hehe." Seymour chuckled oddly. "...Anyway, I told you that those symptoms are even more scary firsthoof, and I meant it."

"I'm afraid to ask... how so?" Twilight questioned against her better judgment.

"The first thing you notice is the smell." Seymour explained. "It's the most rancid thing you'd ever get a whiff of- just be glad you weren't there. Photon and I nearly lost our lunches after a single waft."

"Sounds bad..."

"Then, the queen took a scalpel and opened up one of the bodies. We wore our safety masks and aprons, but that didn't make it any easier on the eyes." continued Seymour. "We got past the ribcage and into the organ cavity... Celestia, it looked like a bomb went off inside of that changeling. His liver, stomach, kidneys, everything was just liquefied."

"That's probably one of the most disgusting things I've ever heard." Twilight grimaced. "...How do you think it got to all of those changelings?"

"I don't know." Seymour responded. "What gets me is how it ended up in the Chitin in the first place. I mean, it's not exactly a Zebrican jungle, it's a highly populated coastal city... and the virus was only ever observed in zebras and a couple of ponies staying in the area at the time. Also, changelings possess roughly the same immune system as we do, their body structure being so similar has advantages."

"So... we're essentially back to square one?" Twilight groaned. "After all of that effort?!"

"I'm afraid so..." Seymour sighed. "I just can't see a feasible way for the virus to jump continents like that. I mean, this outbreak doesn't even seem like it goes the way normal..."

Twilight Sparkle had noticed that her new partner had paused mid sentence, a concerned, slightly horrified expression plastered upon his face.

"Seymour? Are you-"

"...Oh no." the white stallion stammered.

"...Is there something I can do?"

After a period of silence from the biophysics professor, finally...

"Twilight, I need you to pull together as many possible relations with the Changeling Kingdom and any other country or continent you can find, specifically Zebrica." Seymour commanded, thoroughly shocking the young alicorn. "We need to figure out exactly who they've had any political affiliations with over their recent history- look through the archives, they'll have more information on politics than I could ever accumulate. Look for any possible tense or hostile relations, rebellious groups, angry worker factions in and out of the kingdom for the past... twenty years... yeah, twenty years aught to do it."

"E-Excuse, me, Dr. Seymour... but that's a massive search!" Twilight protested her partner's sudden demands for her. "I don't think we have enough time to-"

"Forgive me, your highness." Seymour apologized in advance for his next statement. "But the smartest pony in Equestria isn't up for a little research project?"

"Wow, you're a subtle one..." Twilight panned. "Alright, I'll see what I can dig up. What else is there-"

"Once you find the information you need, I need you to go back to the conference room." Seymour instructed, ripping a small book from a teetering stack on his desk. He smacked the book down on a coffee table as the others in the stack fell from the desk onto the floor. "If I'm late to the meeting, I need somepony to give as much information as possible while I finish up here. I'll meet you at the meeting as soon as possible, but I need a little more time to make sure my hypothesis is on the mark."

"O-Okay, I'll get to the archives then." Twilight obeyed, quickly trotting from the room. "Be there as soon as possible!"

Now alone in his office, Seymour yanked open a drawer on his coffee table and removed a spiral-bound notebook. Opening both his pulled book and notes, the unicorn mumbled to himself while staring intently at the pages of both.

"Come on, be wrong..." he whispered. "...For once in my life, be wrong..."

Classified Information

Chapter IX

Classified Information

Once again, Twilight Sparkle stood before a large, blue-steel door guarded by two pegasi wielding their same strange weaponry. With her, she had brought several rolled documents from the Canterlot Archives, all detailing information on the past relations between the Changeling Kingdom and several surrounding areas, Zebrica included among them. Twilight approached the two guards and gave a courteous bow.

Both guards looked to the princess, giving a bow in return.

"Princess Sparkle." they greeted. "The princess is expecting you inside.

"Thank you." she replied, a bit uneasy about one particular piece of information she had found in addition to what Dr. Seymour requested. The guards in front of the door stood aside, allowing the young princess into the grand conference room, where Princess Celestia, Queen Chrysalis, Dr. Photon, and hopefully Dr. Seymour awaited.

The door gave a loud groan as it creaked open, revealing two ponies and a changeling empress all seated around the same marble table she had sat at earlier.

"Twilight, thank goodness you're here." Princess Celestia greeted.

"What took you so long?" demanded Chrysalis. "I could have molted into a new exoskeleton twice by the time you got back."

"Yeah, good to see you too." panned Twilight.

Celestia noticed that Twilight was alone- her partner nowhere to be found.

"...Twilight, where is your partner?" she questioned, looking at an angle to see behind her student.

"He isn't with you?" Twilight questioned back, scanning the room for any sign of the odd but quirky professor she had been paired with for her mission. "I thought he might be back here by now... It's been nearly an hour since he asked me to go into the archives."

"It would appear so." Chrysalis responded, rubbing her hooves together.

"I told you he is always late to the party..." grumbled photon. "But nopony listens to Dr. Photon, nope."

Twilight rolled her eyes at the grey doctor's words before setting her gathered materials down at the far end of the table.

"So, Dr. Photon..." she asked, turning her gaze to the grey unicorn. "Have you explained much of what you found yet?"

"The entirety." Photon replied. "Every gruesome detail we found in that book has been told."

"It's true." Celestia affirmed. "We are definitely dealing with something bad here, Twilight."

All four in the room had fallen silent. Queen CHrysalis seemed to be the most distraught of the present ponies, and glared intensely at the sun princess before raising her head to speak.

"Princess Celestia..." Chrysalis began. "We have beaten around the bush for long enough. And still you avoid my question... how do you, of all ponies know about this virus to such a great extent that written information has been published?"

"Chrysalis, I must inter-"

"She's right, princess." Twilight interrupted, causing the others, Celestia included, to look toward her in surprise- Celestia's own little pet project now looked to her with a certain degree of suspicion and concern- a crushing level of such emotions which would drown out all other activity in the room. "I was about to ask the same thing."

"Twilight..."

"When Dr. Seymour sent me to the archives to find some information on the virus, he asked that I look back over a twenty year span for ay relationships between the Changeling Kingdom and its surrounding provinces, including a large part of Zebrica." she explained. "But that's not all I looked into."

"Explain yourself, little Twilight Sparkle." Chrysalis demanded.

Twilight took her seat, preparing for the long line of questioning she had for the princess. In her search at the archives, she had found something that she believed her mentor had been hiding from the others, and she intended to bring the information in question to light.

"While digging through the parchment in the archives, I had a bit of an epiphany... much like you all are talking about." Twilight continued, bringing a rolled piece of parchment from a bag she had borrowed from the library. "Chrysalis, you say that this is something you've never seen before, right?"

"That is correct." the insectoid confirmed.

"...And Princess Celestia, you said earlier that you weren't aware of any sort of virus such as this one?"

"...I... did say that, yes." confessed the elder goddess.

Twilight nodded, setting and unrolling the parchment on the marble tabletop. Inside, several maps with detailed descriptions littered the unrolled pages, each detailing horrid, eerily similar sights to those she had witnessed in her new partner's books, and that Photon and Chrysalis had observed firsthand earlier that day.

Celestia, on the other hand looked fairly concerned- like an adolescent whom had just been caught doing something wrong.

"If you haven't seen this sort of an outbreak before..." Twilight pressed. "...Then why is there so much printed information on something called Zebrican Hemorrhagic Fever, or as you like to call it, Ebola?"

Celestia fell silent, lowering her head in a mix of disgrace and guilt.

"...I knew it was only a matter of time before you uncovered the truth, Twilight." she admitted.

"Princess... why didn't you just tell us?" Twilight pressed, visibly saddened and scared- had her teacher not trusted her? Did she want to hide something wrong that she had done, even from her most loving and understanding subject and friend? Why did she not just come clean to her, of all ponies?

"...I didn't think you would be ready to handle the truth if I just told you right off the bat." confessed Celestia. "Twilight, you don't understand. This isn't like anything you have ever seen in your life... I know you've faced your fair share of troubles and crises, but this time is just so different."

"...Why don't you trust me, princess? Even after everything we've been through together..."

"Because, Twilight, this virus is probably one of the scariest things I have ever seen in my three-thousand years!" the princess retorted, causing twilight to shrink back in fear.

"I-I just wanted to-"

"...Twilight, forgive me for that." Celestia apologized. "It's just that I didn't think telling you would be a wise idea, I thought you would eventually find out on your own... and you did."

"Does that mean you're finally going to fill us in, princess?" Chrysalis intervened. "Are you finally going to give us some real information, or are you just going to sweep this under the rug as well?"

"...I suppose it is time for me to explain myself." Celestia admitted. "Twilight, are you sure you're ready to hear this? It only gets more gruesome as the story goes along..."

"Princess, we need that explanation- it could help us figure out how those changelings got infected." affirmed Twilight. "Please, just tell us the story."

"Very well." sighed Celestia. "I suppose that I should start from the very beginning..."

In a land far from Equestria, across the great waters of the ocean stood the tall, lush canopy of a vast jungle. Blue skies hung overhead, rolling mountainous hills covered in trees loomed in the distance. The call of birds rang in the air, leaves rustled in the wind. The setting was truly as primal, as untouched as could be...

...Until the serene backdrop of jungle sounds was interrupted when a large explosion shook the rainforest floor, throwing several pounds of dirt into the air in all directions.

The jungle floor, hidden by the pristine canopy, lay soiled with the blood of the fallen- many small, repetitive metallic pops rang through the steamy air as two conflicting armies sent volleys of lead slugs through the jungle with lethal, tube-like weapons hidden from common civilian knowledge. The scene was nightmarish- soldier after soldier fell to gaping wounds in their bodies while others covered their respective retreat or advance.

This was jungle warfare at its finest- and most gruesome.

...It was thirty years ago when we first observed the Ebola virus in the jungles of East Zebrica. Zebire had been in the throes of the Zebrican Civil Wars for more than a year when we received a distress call, asking for our assistance to repel a tyrannical government force which had been laying waste to the country for decades. The zebra population finally had enough of their government's constant degradation, smuggling, warmongering, and fascist ways. With help from some of our own carefully-selected soldiers, we agreed to assist the struggling resistance gain their basic freedoms, as we have with many despotic third-world countries throughout history.

In the middle of a large clearing, soldiers bustled about behind a fence of logs between various small huts and thatched buildings. More dirt tossing explosions erupted from just beyond the hastily erected barrier between the camp and the violent jungle, startling those who carried supplies and injured warriors into and out of the slum-like campsite.

Near one large hut adorned with several white sheets stood a small squadron of Equestrian Royal Guard pegasi wrapped from head to hoof in black hazmat gear, each protecting a large, imposing figure in the same fashion of clothing- a figure which could be identified as none other than the benevolent monarch herself, Princess Celestia.

Three weeks into our own ground forces being deployed in hostile territory, I received a worrying letter that one of the jungle refugee camps we were supporting had fallen victim to an outbreak of some sort of mysterious illness. Naturally, I went there myself to observe the situation- some of our own stallions had been positioned there, and the message stated that several of them had fallen ill. Once we arrived, I met with the main doctor on the campsite, he showed me what we were dealing with.

"Men wounded in battle we can handle." spoke a dark-skinned zebra wearing circular glasses and a medical apron as he led Princess Celestia and her accompanying guards through a makeshift field hospital. "But this strange disease..."

To either side of the group lay the wounded- Zebrican and Equestrian soldiers on surgical tables being tended to by nurses and similar staff. This was not the group's destination, however, as the real reason for the summons lay on the opposite side of a large, white sheet draped from ceiling to floor, a crude black biohazard symbol spray painted upon it. Inside, more than a dozen lay sick, displaying symptoms of fever, profuse sweating, and a cough.

"...Forty men dead this week, nineteen the week before." explained the Zebrican doctor.

"...H-Hey, y-your Princess Celestia...!" one of the ill Equestrian soldiers, a white earth pony with blonde mane, called out in a weak, raspy voice. "P-Please, you gotta get me out of this shithole!"

"Shhh... do not worry, my little pony." the princess comforted, retrieving a rather large hypodermic needle from a pouch on her suit. "We'll get you back home... but first I just need a little blood sample, okay?"

"Th-The back room..." the infected pony sputtered. "They take you there when you get sick... and you don't come back out..."

"The disease is spreading like a fire." The doctor interrupted as Celestia stuck the stallion's hoof with her needle. "We need supplies: plasma, penicillin..."

"Do not fret." Celestia spoke through her re-breather, pulling the plunger on the syringe to collect a vial of the earth pony's blood.. "We'll get you what you need as soon as we can."

"I-I'm gonna die, aren't I?" sniffled the suffering stallion. "I'm gonna die here..."

"No, no no no... You're not going to die, dear." Celestia tried to console, rubbing the stallion's forehead with a well-protected hoof.

"Listen, you gotta t-tell my girl I love her..." begged the ill pony.

"No, you can tell her that yourself when we get you all better... Okay?"

Once we collected a sample to research what was making those poor soldiers so sick, the doctor on site took me around to that back room that the stallion had mentioned. That was where they were keeping the bodies of the deceased, a sort of storage area before the bodies would be burned en mass. When I saw what was under the tarps they used to cover the bodies, I nearly became sick myself. It was one of the most horrifying things I had ever witnessed.

"The only way we can hope to control the disease is by burning the bodies... but even that has its limitations. We are losing much of our hospital staff to the ravaging illness, and soon we fear the camp will be history." the doctor explained, pulling back a blue, blood-coated tarp to reveal a mass of dead bodies- zebra and pony. "The men in there are in the early stages of the disease... within several days, they will look like this..."

"...By the sun's rays..."

"...We were supposed to have a shipment of supplies delivered to the camp, and to return with any of our sick and injured troops." Celestia began to wrap up. "But before we could, the campsite had already burned to the ground, we didn't have any explanation as to what happened."

"That's... That's terrible." commented Twilight.

"I know... It was a tragedy beyond belief." Celestia sighed. "But since that outbreak, we've never seen any other occurrence of the disease caused by the Ebola virus- not even in Zebrica. The civil war resolved itself in time, and the outbreak faded into history... whichever parts of it weren't written down, at least."

"And I'm guessing that you were the one who selected just what was written?" Chrysalis suggested, lowering a brow in suspicion.

"I did not want to cause a panic, Chrysalis!" Celestia defended. "My ponies have never seen such gruesome means of death, they just weren't ready to know of the event on a large scale. We've never had any reason to pursue the matter since then, either way."

"...I think I understand now, princess." Twilight comforted, placing a hoof to her mentor's large shoulder. "You did what you needed to do, but things just didn't work out in the end regardless... I'm sorry to have pressured you into revealing such a traumatizing event."

"Twilight, it isn't your fault." Celestia smiled to her student. "This whole thing just happened on its own. It's nobody's fault..."

"I wouldn't say that just yet..."

We're Going to Chitin

Chapter X

We're Going to Chitin

"Ah, Dr. Seymour... you've arrived." Celestia announced, subtly but effectively shifting the conversation.

"What held you up?" Chrysalis inquired, resting her chin on folded, holed hooves.

"I keep telling them you are always late to party..." grumbled Photon.

"Yeah, yeah..." Seymour sighed. "I'm sorry to be late, I just had to chase an unforeseen rabbit hole... but I may have found something that might help you all out."

"I believe we have covered much of what we needed to learn..." Chrysalis responded, turning her head up to glower at Seymour.

"Your friends here have effectively done your job for you while you were out doing the hive knows what."

"Chrysalis, please..." Twilight calmed. "Look, you'll have to excuse her, she's just having a difficult time with all of-"

"I beg your pardon?!" Chrysalis snapped, glaring at the purple alicorn. "I don't see you dealing with the death of so many of your children! Hold your tongue, prole."

"Um, excuse me?" Twilight retorted. "I believe it was you who came to ask us for help in the first place, so I wouldn't push my luck if I were you."

"Oh goodie, more demands from her highness." Chrysalis scoffed. "Perfect little Twilight! Precious little Twilight! Why don't you just go and solve our problem all by yourself? You seem to know everything there is to know about political crises."

"Listen, you overgrown insect..." Twilight insulted. "Don't think I've forgotten all about last year! If I catch any sort of foul from your end, there will be tartarus to-"

"ENOUGH!" Celestia intervened. "Both of you!"

Both shrank back in their chairs, glaring intently at one another.

"...Alright, Dr. Seymour." Celestia continued. "We need to know everything that you've found out. We are trying to figure out a few things in particular..."

"Lemme guess..." Seymour began. "You are wondering why this illness killed these changelings in only three days, despite the virus being almost identical to Ebola under the microscope?"

"Well, yes actually." Celestia admitted. "I'm unaware if you've heard any of my previous tale, but I have seen this virus thirty years ago in Zebrica. But the Ebola I saw took up to two weeks to do the sort of damage we've seen in just three days, or so the queen here reports."

"It certainly does not make any sense when you put it in those terms..." Seymour replied, sitting down at an open chair. "Especially considering how similar changeling anatomy is compared to that of equines- the organs, tissues, bones, everything that isn't their wings and exoskeleton. The blood vessels the virus seems to go after are very much the same as our own."

"I didn't know that changelings and ponies were so alike." Photon spoke up, rubbing his chin with a grey hoof.

"They are very similar, like Dr. Seymour states." Queen Chrysalis added.

"Another question I have about this whole fiasco deals with the logistics of the outbreak- How did Ebola end up, without any trace, in the Changeling Kingdom thirty years since its last recorded epidemic, more than 2000 kilometers from Zebrica? Tell me you weren't thinking of the same conundrum."

"...We were." Celestia admitted, genuinely surprised at the unicorn's sense or reason and forethought.

"Look, whatever accident may have caused this outbreak so far from its original point of discovery must have some sort of explanation..." Photon cut in.

"I was just getting to that." replied Seymour. "But if you want my opinion on the matter... I don't think there was anything accidental about this whole thing."

"What are you talking about?" questioned Twilight. "Are you saying that someone wanted this outbreak to happen?"

"Well, if you really think about this whole situation, it's easy to see a motive." Seymour reasoned. "It's obvious that many around the world still do not view the changelings with much favor... no offense, Queen Chrysalis."

"Continue." Chrysalis nodded.

"Right. And in their past year, the changelings have had to resort to desperate measures in order to support their country- such as invading Canterlot. But when the movement failed, the kingdom fell into an even worse state." Seymour continued. "It isn't hard to see why some individual or group may have a beef with the current changeling queen."

"So, let me get this straight..." Chrysalis interrupted, patting her hooves together. "What you are suggesting is-"

"...That this outbreak was a deliberate act against the Changeling Kingdom's government." finished the white unicorn. "I mean, look at what's happening here- we have an almost unheard of pathogen with a 100 percent mortality rate, the target of the outbreak was in the capitol city of one of the most untrusted empires in the world, and we are seeing such drastic differences in the span of the virus's life cycle. It's evident to me that we're actually not dealing with the Ebola we've seen before in Zebrica thirty years ago, but something very similar- an altered strain, if you will- a strain copied from the original Zebrican Hemorrhagic Fever virus with a few diabolical additions for incubation and symptomatic periods."

"Wait a moment..." Photon spoke. "The wall around Chitin! Both of these events in the same city at the same time sounds a bit too coincidental..."

"Exactly." Seymour affirmed. "From whom or what, I don't yet know. But I believe that this whole situation in chitin, paired with the erection of that impassible flesh-barrier, may have indeed been an act of war."

"...Are you suggesting that this outbreak is going to continue?" Chrysalis inquired, nervous as to the fate of her kingdom.

"Not just continue." answered the professor. "They'll get worse- we'll see more clusters of infected, higher death tolls, maybe even events outside of Chitin."

"Queen Chrysalis, I've been meaning to ask..." spoke Twilight. "Do you know of any changelings or groups in your kingdom that might have some sort of motive for spreading a disease? Angry work unions? Radical anti-government militia groups?"

"I should say not." answered the queen. "Even through a kingdom of millions, I am able to control each of my changelings through the use of many authoritative pheromones. Any sort of resistance would end in a swift death- one defected changeling can destroy an entire swarm."

"Oh..."

"Well, do you know of any changelings that have ever... flown the coup in recent years?" Celestia asked.

"Well, we did have one event now that I think about it." admitted Chrysalis. "Before I came to power, my mother, queen membrane, had lost a group of a few dozen changelings. But I never learned why that was... she took that secret to her grave. That was about twenty years ago, however."

"Twenty years, huh?"

"There were several beta females in the group, so they may have inducted a new queen for their faction." Chrysalis furthered. "If they had, they would have been able to reproduce. And with the rate of changeling reproduction from a fertile queen..."

"Their ranks could have grown exponentially." Seymour surmised. "We could be dealing with an entire kingdom of hostiles here. If that's the case, we'll be lucky if Chitin lasts very long at all, much less the whole Changeling Kingdom. We need to find that rogue group of changelings, and quickly."

Chrysalis shook her head.

"There lies the problem- we have not heard or seen from the renegade group since they left during my mother's time." she dismissed. "I would be surprised if the group made it past their first winter away from the central hive."

"Why would they not survive?" Twilight asked the bug queen. "Surely you all are a bit more advanced than your typical hive-minded insects, right?"

"Do not flatter us, Twilight Sparkle." Chrysalis refuted. "In many ways, we are exactly like lower-order organisms in our behaviors. Allow me to demonstrate..."

Chrysalis, seemingly without warning, snatched a nearby piece of paper and quill- a piece of parchment already containing vital information from the Canterlot Archives. Flipping the paper over, she began to draw a couple of crude symbols on the other side, earning a slight gasp of horror from the present bookworm in the room.

"P-Princess! She's defacing-"

"Let her go, Twilight... just let her go for now." Celestia calmed

Chrysalis had drawn four small cartoonish figures in a straight line down the page. She began her explanation with a large icon of her orby black crown.

"Up here, we have the queen- arguably and agreeably the most important member of any colony." she explained. "The queen is the alpha female of the entire kingdom, and she alone is the only fertile reproducing female in the connected empire. She gets the first pick on all food and substances to keep herself happy and healthy. If she goes, the entire kingdom goes with her if a new queen is not chosen within a couple of weeks."

Soon, she drew a line down an inch or so, and drew the symbol of the male gender.

"Below the queen lay the drones- their sole purpose is to fertilize the queen at her beck and call. Being as such, they are the only fertile males in the colony." Chrysalis continued, drawing another icon and line down the page. Her next piece of art turned out to be a shield with two spears crossed over it.

"Below the drones a considerable ways are the soldiers- all male. Sterile."

"And let me guess, the males here are all single-minded as well?" Photon guessed.

"Correct." Chrysalis affirmed, drawing a very long vertical line down to her next artistic destination. Once finished, she illustrated a crudely drawn hammer. "Finally, way below everyone else, we have the workers- all sterile females. They are the changelings we have seen dead from this viral outbreak- the ones that work in the factories, medical buildings, and in maintenance departments."

"So, unless they have another queen soon after leaving the current one, the new colony will die off?" Twilight surmised.

"You catch on quick, little Sparkle." the queen again affirmed. "So, if any of those renegades lived a full year, they would have formed an entirely new colony in the last twenty years. Other than that, I cannot think of any other political turmoil besides our past run-in with Equestria, whom we are now negotiating peace with."

Dr. Seymour stood from his chair, turning to Celestia and Chrysalis.

"Alright, I think I know what I need to figure something out." he spoke. "Queen Chrysalis, can we even get past the walls from the ground OR from the sea?"

"No, we're completely blockaded." the queen responded. "The only way in is by air."

"I see." Seymour groaned, turning toward the door. "Twilight, lets go. We have work to do."

"Okay." Twilight agreed. With a loud scoot, she exited her chair and joined the professor near the large blue doorway.

"Wait a moment, where are you two going?" the elder princess questioned.

"We're just going to take a little trip overseas to try and find whomever is playing around with lethal viruses..." Seymour chuckled.

"Wait a moment, you are going there?!" Photon asked in concern for his friend's life. "You could get killed!"

"Out of the question, you two." Princess Celestia added. "We can't allow you to go into that city while there is still a risk of infection..."

"Look, the only way we can have a shot at fixing this mess is to find whatever or whomever released that virus into the city before they can strike again." Twilight reasoned. "Besides, Flash Sentry is in danger. I... I have to know if he's alright."

"...You are sure?" the princess asked one more time, beginning to see Twilight's resolve. "If you go there, there may be difficulty getting you out of that quarantine zone for some time."

"Princess Celestia, we've made our decision." confirmed Twilight. "We're going to Chitin."

Heartbroken

Chapter XI

Heartbroken

It had been quite the busy year for residents of the Changeling Kingdom. Ever since peace talks began with Equestria, an influx of love energy had been provided at a constant rate as a bargaining chip. Changelings, once more filled with life energy, began to see their kingdom for the shit hole that it had been for decades under their love famine. Within months, the kingdom, or at least a majority of it, had been converted from a drab, impoverished community into a dynamic empire filled with never-before-seen innovations in the fields of science and business.

In the city of Chitin on the far-southern coast of the kingdom, the night life was a life to be had. Chitin had become a center for leisure as well as a hub of trade and research with restaurants, night clubs, casinos, theatre, and even local sports customs. Changelings from all over the empire would flock to the city after working in their required occupations or during their days off to drink, party, and regret doing so the very next morning before heading off to the factories.

One bar in the middle of the city, however, was not so dynamic on this night. Long past midnight, not a soul hung around the bar save for the tender and two pegasus stallions.

... you finally find...

...you and I... collide...

"...Fhanks." spoke a white pegasus pony dressed in a royal guard breastplate as he grasped a tray containing two pints of dark lager in his mouth. Turning from the counter occupied by a single, tired changeling worker, he approached his table, a cheap jukebox rapping up Pony Day's "Collide" in the quiet, neon-lit background.

"Yeah, yeah..." the changeling sighed in a raspy, feminine voice while wiping a glass with a white rag. "Just get out of here before one... I would like to go home tonight."

"Jeez, sorry to have bothered you." the pegasus grumbled after setting his tray on his table. "Drink up, pal."

Sitting down, he looked toward the other pegasus accompanying him- Sergeant Flash Sentry. He had been depressed all night, and sought refuge with this stallion in the bar hours prior. Flash silently took his lager and downed a third of the drink, a miserable expression still glued to his face.

"...Look, you really need to just accept what she told you." the white pegasus comforted. "You've been like this all day long now, and it's starting to affect your performance. Why can't you just, you know, move on with life?"

Flash remained silent, taking another swig of his drink.

"Okay, I understand being rejected as much as anypony else..."

"...Blaze, she made me so happy." Flash whined in a voice just as pathetic as his facial expression.

"And that's great!" the white pegasus interrupted. "You should be happy that she's even a friend of yours... you know, not many stallions can say they know Princess Twilight Sparkle on a personal level."

"That's not the-"

"You're lucky to have her as a friend." Blaze continued. "But it's time to just accept the facts- she doesn't like you the way you like her... it's nopony's fault, that's just the way it is."

"...I-I love her, man..." Flash sobbed into his hooves. "It's not fair...!"

"Flash, I know. You've told me ten times tonight." Blaze grumbled. "But believe me, there's nothing you can do about it now."

Flash looked up to his fellow guard, eyes red and puffy with liquid sorrow.

"...I'm sorry Flash, but I have to be your friend here- and as your friend, you need to be set straight." Blaze explained sternly. "You need to move on from her. You just had a little crush is all- you weren't ever in a relationship, nopony ended anything on a sour note, you're the only one who's in the wrong right now."

"But I just wanted to have her... It's not fair! What did I do wrong?!"

"Okay, now you're being childish!" Blaze reprimanded. "You didn't do anything wrong, she didn't do anything wrong! You two are just... too different, and you need to just find a way to live with that. You have to get out of this slump, Flash. We have a job to do here, remember? The guard can't have any foul-ups just because somepony is moping around all day."

...I remember when...

It was together 'till the end...

Now I'm alone again,

where do I begin...

Blaze observed Flash Sentry looking up even sadder than before, on the verge of tears once again at the ill-timed song slipping through the jukebox speakers. Looking around the bar, the white stallion glowered at the bartender.

...I cried a little bit...

You died a little bit...

We say there's no regrets,

I say you will forget...

"...Hey, who the hell put this on?!"

*Sniff* "It's on mix..." Flash cried, burying his face in crossed hooves.

"Oh for fuck's sake..."

Seemingly in the blink of an eye, Blaze had left from the table and was closing in on the jukebox. Once there, he yanked the electrical cord from the nearby wall socket, silencing the machine.

"Hey, hey!" the bar tending female changeling shouted. "That's store-"

"I'll plug it in when we leave, I swear." he dismissed, walking quickly back to the table.

"Okay Flash... I'm going to sum this up real short and sweet." Blaze scolded. "Get. The. Fuck. Over it! I shouldn't have to be talking to my commanding officer like this. But since nopony else has the stones to say what needs to be said, I have to do it myself!"

Flash just stared through teary eyes, the same as he had been doing all evening.

"Look at yourself! You're pathetic, a sergeant of the Royal Guard sobbing like a child who's dog died!" ranted Blaze. "You... you just can't do that! You're a stallion for crying out loud!"

Flash tried to speak, but no words would come.

"...When you finally get to acting like a stallion, you need to come back to the hotel and get some sleep. We have an early day tomorrow, and the squad can't afford to drag your sorry ass around all day long. Get to terms with this... thing before then, or you'll be dragging us down with you."

Leaving the table once again, blaze called to the tender.

"Check, please."

Up in the Air

Chapter XII

Up in the Air

Night had long since fallen over the world. Ponies, changelings, griffons, zebras, every race (for the most part) snoozed in their beds/cots/tarps/hammocks, anything to keep their bodies from the hard ground. Needless to say for those aboard the new zeppelin airship, "Harmony 1", ponies and changelings in transit to the city of Chitin slept well off the earth in five-star accommodation- each slept peacefully, warmly, snuggly in their soft beds, lavishing the silken sheets as they dream of wage raises and a warm bath in creamy, creamy frosting.

That is, except for one lavender alicorn.

Twilight Sparkle tossed and turned in her sleep- something causing her immense discomfort had ravaged her since her slumber began only a few hours prior. Sweat poured from her body as she groaned in pain until finally, she shot up in her bed, tossing the covers to the edge of the large mattress.

"Guuuh... uulllgh..." she groaned, feeling sick to her stomach. She needed water.

Getting from her bed onto her hooves was a struggle all in its own- she had never felt so weakened in her young life. Once upon her four hooves, she slowly but surely made her way to her bedroom door, opening it as silently as possible as not to disturb the other passengers around her.

Upon opening the door, however, Twilight felt a wave of humid heat hit her like a freight train. She could see that she was no longer in her cushy air-hotel room. Rather, she had just stepped into what appeared to be some darkened, demented hospital. As soon as she felt the hot air in her throat, the young princess coughed violently into her right foreleg. The cough left her feeling weakened, crippled even- as if something had been filling her lungs with fluid. Shaking off her cough, Twilight continued down the mysteriously out-of-place hallway on her quest for a glass of cold, refreshing H2O.

All around her lay ghastly images of the dead and dying- changelings and ponies alike lay in their beds, gagging on their own blood, sweat trickling from their bodies as tall, skinny figures in ghostly black robes oversaw them with cold, unyielding eyes. The visage of the hallway repulsed Twilight, causing her to bolt toward the nearest bathroom.

Once in the lair of the porcelain thrones, Twilight could feel another coughing fit come up. Cupping her hooves over her mouth, she let them come without resistance. Upon looking at her hooves afterward she noticed the morbid sight of her own blood coating them. Quick as a wink, she snapped her head up to the mirror in front of her, gasping weakly at the sight before her. Her face had become more pale than a fillet of fish, and a scarlet flush overtook her cheeks and nose. Her eyes were bloodshot and dry. Looking to her left, twilight found a random thermometer in a nearby sink. Quickly grabbing and unsheathing the instrument, she popped it into her mouth and awaited the telltale beep.

104.7 degrees Fahrenheit- she was sick, severely so.

Overwhelmed by fear, several tears made their way from Twilight's eyes onto the white counter below. Only the counter did not stay white for long- instead, her tears stained the counter top a deep shade of crimson, causing her to scream at the sight, falling back onto her haunches. Looking at her surroundings in a panicked state, she saw blood ooze from the walls, bubble up from drains, gurgle from the toilets, and seep through the tile grout. The nightmarish scene grew only more frightening when Twilight looked to her hooves, seeing deep-blue veins visibly protrude through her muscles, seeming to spread up her legs right before her very eyes.

"Gaaah!" she squeaked, scooting herself back to the doorway, realizing her most private of areas had left a trail of red behind her. Mortified beyond all rational thought, Twilight could now feel the spidery veins snaking up to cover her neck, then to her face...

GYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

Twilight Sparkle shot up in her bed, tossing the covers to the end of the mattress. Panicking and covered in a cold sweat, she darted her eyes around the room- still a comfortable temperature with a comfy bed beneath her weight. Looking down at her hooves, she saw that they remained their normal shade of vibrant purple. With them, she rubbed her eyes, looking down at the result- nothing out of the ordinary.

"...Phew..." Twilight sighed, burying her face in her hooves as she sat erect in her bed. "...Just a bad dream..."

Now that she had shaken her panic off, she realized just how thirsty she was. Making her way to her hooves, she groggily made her way out of her room and to the nearest restroom.

*Gulp* *Gulp* *Glug*

"...whew..." Twilight again sighed, setting her glass down on the side of the sink. Looking up to the mirror, she saw that her face looked quite normal, save for just a little bit of sweat left over on her forehead. "...That was one intense nightmare."

Satisfied with her drink, Twilight stepped away from the sink and re-entered the hall of Harmony 1. The halls, lined by large glass windows, displayed only the faint light of the stars in the dark. Luna's moon hung overhead, sheathed in cloud cover, offering a scenic view of the wondrous dark void of the night.

Her biggest fear since her discovery that her health was in tact had been that she had woken up her partner, whom was sleeping in the room next to her. This fear, however, alleviated itself when she noticed a faint noise coming from between the cracked door in the darkened room of her partner, causing a certain level of intrigue in the alicorn.

...Break... Chitin southern... Medical... 6...

Creeping closer to the opened door, her curiosity peaked as she overheard what appeared to be somepony talking.

"...Is somepony in there with him?" Twilight whispered, inching closer to the door. Once she had reached her goal, the inexperienced princess leaned in, pressing a cheek and a raised ear to the wooden frame, just barely making out the conversation inside.

...Quarantine of southern side of industrial district 17 in effect until...

Twilight, pressing her snout nearer to the crack in the doorway, failed to notice a small wooden doorstop in the darkened hallway- and promptly tripped over it. Within half a second, Twilight found herself falling through a rapidly opening doorway.

"UMPF!"

The next thing she experienced was a face full of carpet.

"W-Whoa! Twilight?!" Dr. Seymour shrieked in surprise at his partner careening into his room mere feet from his bed. "What are you doing in here?!"

Twilight picked herself up onto her hooves as quickly as she could, apologizing fiercely for her intrusion.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"Gah... It's alright, just gave me a little start is all..." Seymour dismissed, calming down to his normal chipper demeanor. "Hey, what exactly are you doing in here anyway, do you need something?"

"I was just... I was-"

"Hey, I said it was alright." Seymour sighed. "Calm down, sheesh."

"...Sorry... I just overheard somepony talking in here."

"Oh, the radio?" Seymour questioned, glancing over to an average-sized radio box- a new innovation courtesy of the Changeling Kingdom's recent technological and communications boom. "I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"O-Oh, no, no, no." replied Twilight, shaking her head vigorously. "I just... had a bad dream is all. I needed some water, then I heard something coming from your doorway. I decided to snoop a little bit... Sorry about that."

"Oh, it's no problem... I couldn't sleep either." Seymour explained. "I just decided to listen to the radio here to see if I could calm my nerves... I'm just real nervous about the mission."

It had been well known that the Changeling Kingdom had lacked a certain level of magical influence commonly seen in other countries such as Equestria. The changelings knew this, and actively sought ways to lessen the burden on their hive and colonies. One such recent invention had been long-range radio communication- a means of sending and receiving information unheard of in magic-dependent Equestria. The princesses saw great potential in these devices, and allowed their use in the kingdom of the ponies, though to a limited extent. Being joint Equestrian and changeling property, however, Harmony 1 came outfitted with many such devices, often one in each room. The devices may have been drab and bulky in appearance, and offered little more than an influx of incoming information and news, but they got the job done just as well as any magical scroll of paper if not better altogether.

"...What were you listening to?" Twilight inquired.

"Well, I decided to check Chitin's news for any sort of lead into our mission." Seymour admitted. "But I found out something terrible."

"What do you mean?"

Seymour turned toward his partner, his face showing an expression of urgency.

"We have another cluster." he explained.

"What?"

"The virus just got into another section of Chitin three miles from the original outbreak- the changelings are reporting an outbreak of a flu-like illness, but remember that's how those books said Ebola started off." the professor continued. "I don't know how or why, but I think whomever was responsible for the first outbreak just released a second attack."

"Wait, couldn't the virus just have spread on its own?" Twilight asked, hoping that the virus had indeed just gotten out of the quarantined sector by accident.

"I don't think so." denied Seymour. "If it had, we'd probably see sick changelings in between the two areas... but they said on the news that there weren't any infected except for those two sections of the city."

"...Oh..." Twilight sighed. "... Do we know how many are sick?"

"As of now..." Seymour responded, turning his head down. "...6,000 in that area- this time, they're all confined to a massive medical building capable of housing 200,000 patients."

"Gracious... We have to tell the queen about this!" Twilight commanded.

"Listen, Twilight..." Seymour requested. "We need to check that hospital immediately. If we don't figure something out, there will be more outbreaks soon, at least that's what I think."

"Agreed." nodded Twilight. "Quick, does that radio have some sort of microphone or something?"

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

A grey pegasus guard beat his hoof upon the door of a secluded room in Canterlot's grand castle. No response came for several seconds, causing the guard to rap on the door again.

*Bang* *Bang* *Bang*

Stirring from the bed at the rude noise at such an hour, a black insectoid raised her head from her pillow. Blue, scruffy hair fell in front of her face as she groaned and cursed the intrusion on her well-needed slumber.

"Yeah, yeah..." Chrysalis grumbled loud enough for the guard to hear. "...I hear you..."

Soon enough, the door to the changeling's rented room creaked open, revealing a bedraggled queen with half-slumbering eyes.

"...DO you have ANY idea what TIME it is?" she demanded, clearly not amused.

"M-My apologies for the intrusion... Queen Chrysalis." the guard faultered, intimidated at the sight of the queen before him. "But your presence is urgently requested with the princess."

"Why at this ungodly hour...?" the queen inquired before letting out a loud, very un-ladylike yawn.

"An urgent message from the agents you have sent into your kingdom... they said something about another outbreak of the virus. I'm here to take you to a secluded conference hall, follow me please."

No Parking

Chapter XIII

No Parking

After their eight-hour air ride aboard the airship "Harmony 1", Princess Twilight Sparkle and Dr. Seymour had finally touched down in the city of Chitin. Arriving at the early time of 8:45, the two were picked up from the air strip promptly by a team of changeling expeditors hired to ensure that the two arrived at their living arrangements without any trouble. With these helpful workers at their disposal, Twilight and her partner had done just that, and carefully unpacked their provisions for the next several days.

"...You know, I was kind of expecting something different for our hotel rooms." Twilight admitted to her partner as he assisted her by following up on the paperwork they had brought in from their research the day before. "Given what the queen told us about the kingdom, I half-expected something like-"

"Black, chitinous walls covered in green membrane-bound light cells?" Seymour guessed, flipping through the pages of his personal notebook. "Neon-yellow slime oozing about in said cells?"

"...Yeah, something like that." answered Twilight.

"Me too." Seymour responded. "But this place is awesome! I mean, just look at the beds- extra soft chaplain-class rooms, I've never sat on anything that comfy!"

"Oh boy... Are you sure you're twenty-six years old?"

"You know, I find myself wondering that sometimes..." Seymour casually responded, bouncing onto Twilight's bed. "OOH! Springy!"

Surprisingly enough, the rooms assigned to the two were even nicer than their five-star bedrooms aboard the airship. The walls were painted a deep shade of crimson, contrasting nicely with the luxurious, pure-white sheets covering their memory foam beds. Each room possessed a wall made entirely of glass panes, allowing an impeccable view of the city beyond. The bathrooms were immaculate and spotless, offering several wall-jets for showering into a deep bath tub, and red velvet carpeting offered a comfortable padding for hooves.

After he had finished bouncing about on Twilight's bed, the giddy professor darted into the bathroom, lavishing the marble floors and massive, deep sinks.

"And these sinks!" he exclaimed, eliciting an eye roll and giggle from his alicorn partner. "They're so big! I could probably take a bath in one of these babies!"

Hehe, a tad eccentric...

Seymour gave a slightly exhausted sigh as he exited back into the main room.

"Whew... Now that that's out of my system..." he declared. "I think I'll head back to my room for a nap after last night's endeavor to find a solid hour or two of sleep."

"Hey, don't you be going off to bed just yet!" Twilight instructed, laying several hair brushes from her personal collection neatly on her bed. "We're going to be picked up by CIDA any time now! They're supposed to be taking us to that hospital, remember?"

"Aww..." Seymour groaned. "I thought we didn't have to do that until later."

"We're lucky they gave us a chance to investigate that place at all." Twilight continued. "Count your blessings, Doctor."

Seymour shook his head slowly before turning toward Twilight again.

"Hey, you know you can just call me Seymour, right?" he offered, extending a hoof to her. "We're partners now- and any partner is a friend of mine, Twilight."

"O-Oh, sure... hehe..." Twilight giggled, an embarrassed blush forming over her face. "Sorry about that, I've just never met a doctorate professor who didn't like to be called by his title."

"Oh, no... It's not even that." Seymour calmed. "It's just that, since we're partners, why don't we just skip the formalities?"

Twilight, overtaken by her partner's words looked down toward the floor with her same smile and blush.

"Besides... you're starting to grow on me a little bit."

Twilight reached for the doctor's hoof with her own, attempting to affirm the friendship Seymour had been suggesting.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

"...Oh, that must be our ride to the hospital." Twilight interrupted, pulling her hoof away and eliciting a small frown from Seymour. "Shall we head out?"

Any sort of unusual medical circumstances in the Changeling Kingdom were chiefly handled by the Changeling Infectious Disease Alliance, or CIDA as it was more commonly known. Their expertise in the field of epidemiology and public health had to be top notch- more than two billion changelings across the vast empire depended upon them to minimize the risk caused by infectious disease spread through admittedly poor sanitation systems- especially in the industrial sectors covering more than seventy percent of the kingdom. Coupled with this, their rank in the colony superseded most soldiers, giving them easy access to details restricted from the common public. Ever since their induction several decades prior to the rule of Queen Chrysalis, commonplace outbreaks such as polio, cholera, malaria, and tuberculosis- diseases which had killed hundreds upon hundreds of millions over the changeling's long ancestry- had become much less severe due to their efforts. Furthermore, CIDA had been one of several international parties responsible for the discovery of viral illness only fifty years before the current throne. Naturally, the top-grade organization was the first to respond to the mysterious deaths of 132 changelings just the previous day.

Twilight and Seymour had accompanied a small group of agents in a CIDA chartered van to the hospital where the second reported outbreak had become visible just hours before. Both were on edge- partly due to the fact that neither of the two had ever ridden in such a machine before. As strange as it was to them, however, the changeling technological boom had made such an automatic vehicle rather common in the wealthier parts of the Changeling Kingdom.

"...Urp. I think I might be getting a bit queasy back here, Twilight..." Seymour groaned in the back seat of the standard-looking white van. "How long until we get to the hospital...?"

"Easy now Seymour, we can't have you getting sick all over changeling government property- they said it's a minimum of 100 bits Equestrian money to clean puke out of these cars..." Twilight explained, looking to Seymour with a soft smile.

"Ulp, I hope we get there soon..." Seymour continued. "I think I might hurl any second now..."

"If you do, you'll be walking to the hospital." Twilight frowned. "Don't even think about getting sick near me."

"We will arrive in a few minutes, you two." One of the changeling passengers cut in. "And you- white whiny one- try your best not to get sick.

"CIDA has you summed up pretty well, Seymour..." Twilight snickered.

"Oh, be quiet you."

Twilight shook her head before turning to the driver.

"Um, excuse me..." she inquired. "But shouldn't we be wearing some sort of protective clothing or something? I mean, this is a pretty nasty virus we're dealing with here..."

"The required preventative measures have been taken and you will receive light biohazard garments and facial protection at the destination." a female driver replied. "The illness is not airborne, so just do not touch anything and you will be fine."

"...Great." Twilight mumbled. "That really helps ease the tension back here."

"I think I just threw up in my mouth a little..." Seymour moaned, clutching a hoof to his snout.

"That's real good to hear, Seymour..."

After just a minute or two of driving time, the CIDA-logo van had turned into the open-air pavilion of the medical facility. Upon pulling into their destination, the changeling driver announced their location in accordance with protocol to the two foreigners.

"Here we are- Medical Facility 10-B, Chitin Southeastern." the changeling echoed through her feminine voice.

The hospital the two had been taken to could barely be viewed through the large mass of changelings gathered outside of the building. Multiple news teams were commenting on the chaotic scene as the unruly crown shouted and wailed at those guarding the hospital doors.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO US!" one changeling shouted at her oppressor- a large-bodied soldier wearing green and black camouflage with a red beret.

"WHAT ABOUT THE LARVAE?!" another protested.

Each time the crowd grew a bit too restless, soldiers planted in front of the many large entrance ways to the hospital would push them back, hitting onlookers with weapons that resembled those in Princess Celestia's story from thirty years prior.

"STAY BACK!" the guards commanded in unison. "NO CHANGELINGS ALLOWED INSIDE THE FACILITY!"

"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!" many unnamed members of the crowd hissed

"THE QUEEN HAS ORDERED COMPLETE QUARANTINE OF THE FACILITY! NO CIVILIANS ARE TO ENTER OR LEAVE THE BUILDING!"

Twilight grew quickly concerned at the unfolding scene, turning to the driver for answers.

"Um... how do you all suppose we get inside the hospital?" she questioned. "It doesn't look like it will be as easy as we thought it might be."

"You two have a level 3 clearance, you will be allowed in regardless of turmoil outside or inside of the hospital." the driver answered, handing Twilight and her partner a lanyard with a red-colored badge. "We are to take you two around to the main entrance- you will be met by soldiers. Just flash this security badge and you will be escorted inside the facility."

"What if they say no?" Seymour added, biting his lip. "They don't seem to be in a very friendly mood..."

"The queen has told them to expect two ponies with level 3 clearance- they dare not disobey our almighty empress." one of the other changeling agents in the back of the car spoke.

"...Well, guess we can't argue with that." spoke Seymour with a shrug of his shoulders. "But how are we going to get through all of these ten-zillion changelings?"

"Her highness could carry us over the crowd with relative ease." one CIDA team member suggested.

"What?! No!" Twilight protested. "I can't just carry a full-grown pony across 100 meters, no offense Seymour."

"Oh, none taken... hehe...he..." Seymour laughed, fearfully shifting his gaze down to his flanks. [i...]I knew I shouldn't have passed up that free fitness club membership...

"I could teleport us there, but that would take way to much energy to accomplish." Twilight explained, causing a previously inquiring changeling to lower her foreleg.

"Do not worry, Equestrians. We are merely playing to our humorous sides." the driver laughed.

"How professional..." groaned Twilight.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Seymour questioned. "What are we going to do about this crowd?"

"Subtlety will be our option, Equestrians..." the driver answered, finally garnering the trust of the two Equestrian Delegates.

Changelings moved about in a frenzied black mob, attempting to clear out from in front of the CIDA vehicle as the horn blared at the immense crowd. Huge clusters of frenzied female working-class changelings hissed and swore at the rude intrusion as they dodged the van moving slowly to the front entrance.

"...I could have thought of this..." Seymour grumbled to Twilight.

"You and I both." Twilight sighed. "I guess subtlety is out the window now."

The team inside of the van felt vibrations throughout the vehicle's chassis as many an enraged changeling bystander beat mercilessly on the side of the car. Every black, gnarled hoof emitted a metallic clang against the steel frame with each hit.

"...Um, they're beating on our ride..." Twilight spoke to the small group of CIDA agents. "Should we be concerned about this?"

"They are scared." one team member responded. Just try not to make eye contact and stay close to us when we leave the van."

"O-Okay..."

Shortly after passing through a razor-wire gate, the van had finally come to a stop- just clearing the mob of changelings. Once clear, however, the crowd of frenzied onlookers had morphed into large clusters of sick, begging changelings laying about on the concrete steps.

"...Oh my goodness..." Twilight muttered, clearly and visibly stunned at the sight before her- hundreds of sick changelings must have been present, many begging and pleading to armed guards for any help they could get.

"What the hell are they doing?" Seymour added, also mortified at the sight of so many suffering changelings. "They're just... ignoring them all."

The car had finally pulled to a stop in front of a set of black stairs leading up to the entrance. Without hesitation, several changeling soldiers cloaked in white scrubs and face masks rushed up to the van to closely examine whom and what was inside. One guard tapped the driver's side window, causing the female driver to roll it down.

"You are in a restricted area- you are to give proper warrant for crossing our barrier, or we are authorized to use lethal force"

"...Well, he sure seems nice." Seymour remarked in the backseat, easily hearing the officer's loud, commanding voice.

"Seymour, please..." Twilight whispered. "Now is not the time for jokes!"

"Sorry, Twilight." he apologized. "I'm just so jittery right now, it's like my nerves are all jangled up. I've never done anything like this before..."

"...It's fine, just try to be on your best behavior." Twilight whispered back.

"We have brought ambassadors from Equestria, and CIDA headquarters has given orders to take them to this facility." The driver spoke, flashing a CIDA-logo lanyard.

Taking the Lanyard from the driver, the officer walked a short distance to a small, green tent, leaving the car's inhabitants to the scrutiny of the other two soldiers.

"...Um, excuse me, sir..." Seymour questioned in a very nervous tone. "...I'm sorry to ask, but why are there so many sick changelings just laying on the ground outside?"

Turning a cold gaze toward the professor, the soldier in question decided to give Seymour just enough information to satisfy him, and nothing more.

"They just closed the hospital." he explained. "Too many sick changelings, we're overrun. There's no more space in the infection control wards, and we cannot risk putting the ill with the other patients."

"Wait, they CLOSED the hospital?!" Seymour exclaimed. "What about the other sick and injured who need help?!"

"No exceptions." the guard stated firmly.

"But, sir... forgive me, but that's not right!" Seymour protested, gesturing out the window with his forelegs.

"NO. EXCEPTIONS." hissed the guard.

"...O-Oh, okay then..." muttered Seymour, shrinking back into his seat.

Soon enough, the officer had returned with the driver's I.D. lanyard, handing it back.

"Please move along. We have determined that the situation is too volatile." he spoke. "Turn around and go home."

"Excuse me?!" the driver barked at the officer. "We have direct orders from CIDA to investigate the outbreak at this hospital!"

"I'm sorry worker, but we now require level 4 clearance to allow any entry into the hospital." the officer explained.

"This is an outrage!" the driver exclaimed. "We have an Equestrian princess assigned to this mission, directed from the queen herself!"

"...Wait, a princess?" the officer questioned.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle has been sent to investigate with one of the top virologists in Canterlot, Dr. Seymour." the driver retorted. \

Seymour's eyes went wide.

"W-Wait now, I'm not exactly a-"

"SHHH!" Twilight commanded, kneeing her partner.

The officer shook his head, sighing in defeat.

"...Very well, they may pass." he spoke. "Please follow us around to the screening station. We will get you all suited up there."

Medical Facility: Chitin 10-B

Chapter XIV

Medical Facility: Chitin 10-B

Twilight Sparkle and her partner, Dr. Seymour, had waited in a large, dark-green medical tent for the past forty-five minutes. Each underwent a battery of tests, blood samples, urine tests, horn shavings, and skin cell scrapings for the entire time. Now that the tests had finally been completed, and the two magical pony ambassadors had been poked and prodded to their wit's end, each sat in separate sections of the tent in order to avoid any accidental exposure of a sexual manner.

"...Um, is this really... necessary?" Seymour asked, fumbling with his magic to pull a small, blue medical gown over his flanks.

"Relax, unicorn." the changeling female in attendance commanded. "Are you not nude most of the time?"

"Well, yeah." Seymour reasoned, blushing a bright tomato red. "But something about wearing clothes like this just makes me feel a little more... self-conscious, you know?"

"Oh, I see."

Seymour was soon instructed to remove his garment from a soldier returning with his test results. Doing so, the now naked white unicorn sat upon his haunches upon a spinning observation stool.

"Mr. Doctor Seymour?" the soldier questioned.

"'Doctor' is not my name- it is a title." Seymour mumbled, crossing his forelegs. "So, can I go in now or what?"

"Yes, your tests have all come back clean." the soldier spoke. "You may pass through security."

"About damn time!" Seymour exclaimed. "I must have lost a liter of pee to you all, I've been poked with some of the most creepy-looking instruments I've ever seen, and my shoulder is still hurting from the blood tests you gave me..."

"Quiet, you foalish unicorn!" the soldier barked, causing Seymour to shrink back with a subtle *meep* sound. "Aye-yie-yie... I've never seen a grown male squeal like you have at the sight of a simple needle."

"Hey, lay off him would you?!" commanded a feminine voice from several feet in the opposite direction.

The guard stepped aside as Twilight finished her statement, trotting over to her partner.

"Well, nice to see the cavalry has arrived." Seymour joked, regaining his composure. "So, they give you the rubber glove treatment yet- wait, that probably wasn't appropriate... sorry."

"Keep talking like that and I'll raise your voice a few octaves, if you're not careful." groaned Twilight.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Seymour apologized. "Probably should have thought that one through..."

"Hey, it's fine." Twilight calmed. "...You don't like needles, I assume?"

"Nope. Hate them. Despise them. Loathe them." Seymour growled at the mere mention of his mortal enemy. "Just the itching, burning poke when they put it in your vein, piercing the tightly tensioned wall... it just makes me shiver whenever I think about it."

"That's oddly descriptive... I must admit."

"Are you two going to go into that hospital or not?" the soldier asked, irritated at the current small talk. "We have more and more cases coming in and being rejected from our overrun hospital, and you two are our only lead into what might have caused this!"

"Yeah, yeah... just show us to out protective garments and we'll head on in." Seymour grumbled.

"Hey, Seymour." called Twilight, tossing Seymour his trademark clack leather jacket. "Your jacket."

Seymour had anticipated the jacket's landing and moved to grab his favorite article of clothing. The white stallion was surprised, however, when his jacket was caught in mid-air by a bright-green field of changeling magic.

"No outside clothing permitted." explained the soldier, placing the wadded-up jacket into a resealable plastic bag. "We must prevent any and all unintentional contact with the virus. Clothing will be held in quarantine until you are determined safe to leave the building."

"Hey, that's my jacket!" Seymour complained, waving his hooves furiously in the air. "My dad gave me that more than six years ago!"

"No exceptions." the soldier panned, now growing irritated with Seymour himself.

"Seymour, please." groaned Twilight. "Let's just go and get ready. We've wasted enough time already."

Twilight Sparkle motioned for her partner to join her as she exited the green medical tent for the nearby preparation area. She could have sworn that she heard a soft whine from behind her as she left.

"...But, I love my jacket..."

The inside of Chitin Medical Facility 10-B held an even more ghastly sight than the outside of the hospital could ever hope to accomplish- five floors of the building had always been dedicated to the care of those sick with infectious diseases, holding enough rooms and treatment areas to hold more than two-thousand changelings in total. Unfortunately, the entire section of infectious disease control floors had been overrun to the point of there being absolutely no room left for the still-incoming sick. In the middle of the lowest floor hallway stood Twilight Sparkle and Dr. Seymour, each clad in thin, yellow biohazard suits which left no trace of skin below the neck visible.

"My word..." Twilight Sparkle spoke through her plastic face visor and white pullover mask. "There's just so many of them."

As Twilight and Seymour treaded carefully through the hallway of the lowest of the five floors, it became apparent that the building was indeed over-capacity. The single section of hallway they traveled through was lined with more than thirty or forty portable hospital beds. Simple stretchers occupied with less-fortunate changelings lined the walls and doorways, testifying the whole overloading problem. And once the stretchers ran out, many were laid on thin bedsheets upon the cold, hard floor.

"How could someone have done this to them?" mumbled Seymour, narrowly avoiding a begging changeling's outstretched hoof.

The two listened to the somber chorus of weak coughs, shivers, and whines of pain and discomfort- each one of the many changelings could clearly be observed as they suffered through what would likely be their own swiftly-approaching deaths.

"...I just don't know..." Twilight muttered back. "I've never seen anything like this in my life, it's horrifying."

"I really don't feel so hot right now with all of this... scenery, let's just meet up with that doctor they set us up with." suggested the white professor. "They said she's near here in a medical ward."

"Right, let's go see her."

Near the entrance to the hallway's main stairwell stood a rather odd looking changeling covered in a heavy biohazard suit- she was slightly taller than those around her, and her eyes glowed a shade of blue rather than neon green. Her head had also sported a small tuft of blue hair, smooth and silky. Nearby stood two similarly dressed workers, each explaining something to her that the two Equestrians could just make out from their distance.

"...Where are the supplies promised?" the taller female asked. "We are over capacity, and if we do not figure out how to house the incoming sick soon, I fear the changelings outside may begin to riot."

"We're trying ma'am..." one of the other two changelings explained. "But we are experiencing greater delays than we expected at first. We have no idea when we will get those shipments."

"Damn..."

Both changelings went about their business, leaving the taller female to herself.

"Excuse us, but are you Dr. Thrax?" asked Twilight as she and her partner approached.

"...Thank the queen you two have arrived." sighed the doctor. "Dr. Thrax at your service, my lady."

"O-Oh, thank you." Twilight blushed. "But you can just call me Twilight. This is my partner, Dr. Seymour- we've been asked to find you here."

"A pleasure to meet you." Seymour greeted. "So now that we're all together, how can we help you out?"

"Well, if you would come with me, it would be great if we could just skip all of the greetings and get started." suggested Thrax, pointing to the stairwell. "We need to go to the 7th floor, that's where my office is. We can try to figure this mess out there."

"Alright." Seymour agreed. "Lead the way."

The trio of Dr. Thrax, Twilight, and Seymour made their way uo the staircase to the next floor, each discussing the matter of the outbreak. Thrax was first to speak with an advanced apology.

"I apologize in advance if we changelings seem a little on edge." she explained. "But with all of the sick coming in, it's hard to deal with 14,000 infected patients. We're stretched thin as is, and we have no room for any more trouble."

"Wait, 14,000?!" Twilight exclaimed. "But this morning, Changeling News Network said there were only 6,000 sick! How did 8,000 more just appear in a few hours?"

"...Another attack, maybe?" guessed Seymour, giving his shoulders a little shrug. "If they knew about the chaos the second outbreak caused, it wouldn't surprise me if they went ahead with a third attack."

"That seems about right." agreed Thrax, shaking her head slowly. "We don't have the supplies or the staffing to keep up with the sick..."

"...So that's why you closed the hospital." sighed Twilight.

"Yes."

Thrax opened a large, black door leading into the next floor's hallway. Once again, the wailing and moaning of the sick filled the air.

"You two should just do what you came here to do, then get the hell out of the kingdom." Thrax warned, deep concern in her voice. "This kingdom is no place for soft-shelled ponies- there's nothing here you should throw your life away for."

"But, what about you?" inquired Twilight. "We can get you some help, if you are in such a bad situation. Why do you want us to just leave when the whole kingdom could be in trouble?"

"Because, you two have never dealt with this sort of disaster. Equestria is a land mired in happiness, prosperity, and an abundance of resources." the doctor lectured. "You have never had to deal with death before, and have likely not seen it with your own eyes, correct?"

"How do you know that for sure?" questioned Twilight.

"I can read your stunned silence and facial cues- you two are terrified right now." Thrax answered, a small smile creeping onto her face. "That doesn't come naturally to a seasoned veteran in the medical field. A calm mind is needed to deal with the sort of problems that they don't publicize in Equestria. But rest assured, they do happen even when you can't see them."

"...I guess I've never thought of it that way, sorry." Twilight apologized, gazing around the hallway- several glass windows showing up on her right.

"The changelings here are only in the beginning stages." continued Thrax, whispering low enough to stay out of her patients' earshot.

"By tomorrow, the bleeding will begin, and they will all likely die soon after."

"Uh-huh..." Seymour murmured, growing increasingly disturbed as the trio walked down the hallway.

Twilight could see her partner was visibly distraught by the hallway's gruesome scenery. She herself felt pangs of paranoia with the hallway being eerily similar to the one in her recent nightmares.

"...Hey, Seymour..." she called. "Are you doing okay over there?"

"I'm just feeling... kinda..." Seymour stammered, glancing through a nearby window- instantly becoming terrified beyond all rational thought at what laid inside. "...Kinda... oh my...!"

Changeling larva, helpless, innocent babies, lay in the room numbering in the dozens. Many shivered uncontrollably, while others cried miserably for their caretakers, but none came to their aid. Instead, the several nursery attendants in the room lay on the floor, most just shaking and coughing, while one thrashed about in a violent, mouth-frothing seizure- a more advance symptom of Zebire Hemorrhagic Fever.

Seymour, at a loss for words, gazed into the cute, but badly bloodshot eyes of one particular larval specimen. The changeling baby returned the most pitiful of teary-eyed faces, softly crying as it made eye contact. The tiny, caterpillar-like creature coughed once, it's infant lungs struggling for oxygen as it wailed.

"Haaa...! H-Haaaa!" gasped Seymour, reeling back from the window, threatening to fall back upon his ass. "H-Haaaaa!!!"

"Seymour?!" shouted Twilight from a few feet away.

Seymour said nothing in response. Instead, the grown stallion began to wretch uncontrollably, clutching his plastic visor with this front hooves.

"He's losing it!" Dr. Thrax shouted, alerting two nearby caretakers to assist in the situation. "HE'S LOSING IT!"

"Sir, do not remove your mask!" ordered one of the summoned caretakers.

"We need backup here! Code Blue!" spoke the other into her handheld radio. "Code Blue- One of the ambassadors is threatening to break quarantine!"

"Seymour, please don't-"

"Sir, DO NOT REMOVE YOUR-"

*BLEAAAACH*

Within moments, Seymour had ripped his visor and face mask off his body and violently thrown the contents of his stomach onto the floor. He kneeled over near a wall, continuing to vomit and wretch as Dr. Thrax shook her head.

"God dammit!" she shouted. "He's exposed! Put him in the isolation chamber, NOW!"

"Dr. Thrax, I'm so, so sorry!" Twilight apologized, rushing over to help her partner up.

"You shouldn't have brought him here in the first place!" Thrax berated, causing Twilight to turn around and look her in the eye. "Brilliant, just brilliant! You bring a completely inexperienced fool into the worst disease outbreak in recorded history, and now he's put the whole crew at risk of infection! What do you have to say in excuse? Huh?"

"Excuse me? I didn't choose him for this mission!" Twilight snapped back.

"He was assigned to you?" Thrax questioned. "Great, just great! What do you ponies think we're worth, sending a complete imbecile to help us out?"

"And just so you know, I don't have any experience here either. I've only been a princess for about a year, and I've never seen anything like this! Leave him alone, will you?"

Thrax said nothing and shook her head in disdain.

"...Amazing." Thrax grumbled, quickly turning to exit the hallway. "While my associates go and take care of 'pukey' over there, I'm going to actually get some work done. Ciao, princess."

And with that huff, she disappeared around a nearby corner. Once she had done so, Dr. Seymour was carried off to the isolation and observatory ward by the two previously summoned changeling nurses. This left Twilight Sparkle alone in the hallway, save for the other several sick and suffering changeling citizens.

...Wow, what a bitch.

Finally away from the sick and dying on the upper floors, and after an intense head-to-hoof scrubbing and sanitizing by biohazard workers, Twilight Sparkle had descended to the second floor lounge. She appeared upset as she beat her hoof against a vending machine, irritated that it had not taken her golden Bit as an acceptable payment method.

"Come on..." she groaned. "Here I thought the Bit was the universal currency, and they don't even have vendors in this Celestia-forsaken kingdom that read them!"

Giving the machine a quick (but rational and well-held-back) kick with her hind leg, the alicorn muttered something incoherent under her breath and hung her head in defeat.

"...Having some trouble, are we?"

Twilight knew that voice which called out to her from across the room. Turning to face her intruder, she found that it was none other than Dr. Thrax who walked toward the machine with a small copper coin.

"...What do you want?" Twilight grumbled. "Come to pick on us 'soft-shelled' ponies again?"

"Well, not quite." Thrax sighed. "Let me get that for you."

Dr. Thrax leveled her blue eyes with the selection Twilight had chosen, inserted her coin into the machine, and out popped a small bag of peanuts.

"...Thanks, I guess." huffed Twilight, still angry with the doctor's previous scolding words. "So if you're not here to make my life more difficult, then what are you here for?"

Thrax sunk her head.

"I wanted to apologize for my words earlier." she explained, looking back up to Twilight. "I was strained to my wit's end, but that wasn't any excuse for me to fly off the handle like I did-especially not to an ambassador team sent to help us out. I'm sorry for the way I acted, truly."

Twilight loosened her scowl just a bit, popping a peanut into her mouth with her magic.

"...Well, I guess that I understand." she offered. "But I don't think I should be the one you're apologizing to- I think you should tell that to Dr. Seymour instead."

"That's the odd thing." Dr. Thrax countered. "I already spoke to him in isolation, but he insists that he doesn't remember me saying anything about him."

"He's probably still in shock from earlier." surmised Twilight. "I didn't exactly see for myself what got him so upset, but I'm guessing I probably would have reacted just as badly."

"That's another reason I came to see you again." interjected the changeling doctor. "I believe he may open back up a bit if you were to talk to him instead of me. He might be nervous about all of this medical business, and a good friend might help him regain his sense of security."

Twilight smiled softly at Dr. Thrax.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I just met him yesterday." she explained. "But sure, I'll go and talk to him if it might make him feel better. Do you know where he is?"

"Yes, the observation chamber isn't far." Thrax spoke. "Just follow me down to the first floor."

"Okay then, lead the way."

Just about a minute down the hallway, Twilight couldn't help but notice how much of a difference there seemed to be in the atmosphere than what she had seen above. Down on the second floor, the hospital seemed rather normal- changeling doctors and nurses conversed in the hallway, a couple of non-infected patients were wheeled about the halls, and there was a stark absence of any coughing, groaning, or crying. Business as usual for the untrained, inexperienced, or absent-for-this-day-in-particular eye.

"...Wow, if I hadn't known what I was getting into today, I'd assume that the hospital wasn't having any sort of a problem today." Twilight spoke. "Sure is a different mood than the one upstairs, isn't it?"

"Ignorance must be bliss to those working here in the less-needy floors." Thrax chuckled grimly. "But rest assured, every changeling here knows what's going on. It must be such a relief to not be responsible for infectious illness when something like today rolls around."

"I bet." replied Twilight. "Word tends to go around fast when an outbreak of this magnitude occurs."

The two passed by an occupied hospital room on their way to the ward. Twilight, however, couldn't help but notice the door was cracked, and what appeared to be Equestrian music was playing inside.

"There a pony in there? I know Equestrian songs when I hear them." asked Twilight.

"Yeah, he just came in last night. He's supposed to be released soon, though." Thrax answered. "I think it was a... Flash something-or-other."

"Wait, is he a pegasus? Orange, blue hair, shield Cutie Mark?!" demanded the alicorn.

"Yeah, why?" answered Thrax nonchalantly.

"Oh my goodness, Flash Sentry is here?! What happened to him?!" Twilight frantically exclaimed. "I-Is he hurt?!"

"Calm down!" commanded the doctor. "It was just a minor traffic collision. Just a couple of injuries is all... jeez. You know him or something?"

Twilight peered through the cracked doorway as quietly as she could, her eyes meeting what was indeed Flash Sentry laying covered to his chest upon a hospital bed. His right front leg had been bound in a sling, revealing the outline of a rough cast inside. His face had been patched up by a couple of band-aids. The injured stallion calmly listened to the radio nearby him.

"Hey, HEY HEY HEY HEY HEY!" Thrax exclaimed. "What do you think you're doing?! That's doctor-patient confidentiality protocol you're breaking!"

"I just want to go in and speak with him." Twilight explained. "I promise, it's just about personal stuff."

"Why? Dr. Seymour is just down the stairs from us."

Twilight shook her head.

"It won't take long."

Flash Sentry reclined lazily upon his bed, looking toward the radio on a nearby table. He had thought about what his squad mate had told him the night before, but still struggled to come to terms with the words Twilight Sparkle had left him with before he went on his separate way.

His silent reminiscing was interrupted as he heard the door creak open.

"...Flash?" a familiar voice gently called.

He knew that voice- it was the voice of Twilight Sparkle, the mystical mare which had captured his heart so many months ago. Whipping his head around, he mustered the most eloquent and level-headed response he could think of.

"T-Twilight?!" he sputtered. "I-I, H-Hey, it's you! Um, how are you today...?"

"Flash, it's alright." Twilight calmed, trotting up to his bed to meet his gaze. "Don't strain yourself, you need to just relax."

"...Sorry, it's just that I didn't expect to see you here." Flash explained. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Well, the princess and Queen Chrysalis sent me to investigate something in the kingdom." Twilight answered.

"Is it the viral outbreak?" asked Flash Sentry.

"...How did you know that?" Twilight countered, raising an eyebrow.

Flash shook his head.

"They sent me here too, my whole squad." he spoke. "We were tasked with finding any information on the outbreak by going door-to-door and asking questions."

"I see..." Twilight sighed. "...What happened to you?"

"Oh, that..." Flash spoke, blushing in embarrassment. "...I had a little too much to drink last night with one of my squad mates, then I tried to wander back to the hotel by myself. Not really the best idea with all of these motorized contraptions riding around... hehe... hum."

Twilight felt more guilt at that moment than she ever had before. She couldn't shake the feeling that Flash Sentry, one of her best, most influential friends, had gone out the night prior to drink off the pain she had inflicted upon him. On top of that, now he was hurt, and it was all her fault.

"Oh, Flash..." Twilight sighed, beginning to form tears in her eyes. "I never meant to-"

"Twilight, it's not your fault." Flash interrupted. "I... should have handled the whole thing from yesterday better. I'm the one who tried to wander home drunk without anypony to help me. I was just being stupid..."

"But, I never meant to hurt you like that yesterday." Twilight continued. "I just wanted to tell you how I felt- I never wanted you to get this upset over my... stupid insecurities!"

"Whoa, Whoa now..." Flash again interrupted. "Twilight, I should have handled it better. It was really my fault to begin with, and I'm sorry to have worried you so much. But you need to stop blaming yourself."

"...Flash, I'm so sorry about everything that happened yesterday. I just wanted to make sure that I could tell you and keep our friendship intact. But, now I don't know if you can even forgive me for causing this to happen."

Twilight held out her hoof and connected it to Flash's uninjured one, giving a firm squeeze. Flash responded in much an expected way- a sudden, short intake of breath and widening eyes.

"...T-Twilight, I promise we can still be friends... but I just though we could be something more, you know?" Flash explained.

"Flash, you don't need me to be happy- you're an amazing stallion and I'm glad to even be able to call you a friend." Twilight smiled down at him. "And I'm sure that you'll find somepony special one day, somepony even better than me."

Twilight leaned her neck in, close her eyes, and planted a gentle kiss upon Flash's forehead, causing a huge, tomato-red blush to appear on the stallion's face.

Retreating back, Twilight spoke one last time to the shell-shocked stallion.

"...Get better, okay?" she instructed, caressing his cheek with a hoof.

Using her magic, Twilight pulled the thick, white covers over the remainder of Flash's body, resting them just beneath his chin, and tucked the stallion in ever so gently, ever so warmly, ever so tightly before turning to leave the room.

"T-Twilight?" stammered Flash.

"Mmm?"

"...Does... did that mean..."

Twilight sighed, gently opening the door into the hallway.

"...No Flash... It doesn't." she said. "...My mind is made up. I'm sorry."

"...I understand."

Over a Bottle

Chapter XV

Over a Bottle

The steel door of the hospital isolation and quarantine ward creaked open slowly, revealing a lone stallion sitting upon a paper-covered examination table inside. The stallion was none other than Dr. Seymour, who had broken quarantine protocol just a few hours earlier after experiencing a mental breakdown at the most horrid thing he had ever seen. The stallion was clearly disturbed, looking somberly downward, not even noticing the subtle opening of the door where Twilight Sparkle stood on the opposite side.

"...Um, Seymour?" called Twilight in a soft, reasonable tone while giving a couple of taps on the inside wall.

Seymour looked to greet the mare in the doorway, still distraught over the events which had transpired earlier.

"Twilight?" he spoke. "You... didn't go back to the hotel already?"

Twilight shook her head and entered the room, taking a seat near the table on the cold, marble floor.

"Of course I didn't. I've been waiting here since you were hauled away earlier." she spoke. "Listen... about what happened this afternoon, are you okay?"

Seymour turned his head town towards the table, a couple of tears forming in his eyes.

"...They were just babies, Twilight." he sniveled, clutching his temples in his white hooves. "Poor, defenseless, innocent babies! They're all just going to... die, you know!"

"Babies...?" Twilight questioned, bringing a hoof to her chin. "You saw infected babies... my goodness."

"I-I'm a college professr, Twilight." continued Seymour. "A fucking college professor, not a trauma surgeon! I-I can't just look at something like that without having to throw up! It's just... indescribable how horrible that was, I'll probably have nightmares for years!"

"Seymour, easy now." calmed Twilight, getting up to drape a hoof over her partner's shoulder. "It's just you and me now, you should calm down a little. I know you must have had a horrible experience, but we need to get back to focusing on what we came here to do. Doctor Thrax needs our help, Queen Chrysalis needs our help, the whole city of Chitin needs our help..."

"...I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Twilight questioned. "For what? You didn't do anything wrong, it's just... you've never seen anything like this before."

"Twilight, Dr. Thrax tried to talk to me earlier." Seymour explained. "She told me that anypony who breaks quarantine procedure puts the entire team in danger, and she's right. I just couldn't contain myself, now what am I going to do? How am I going to live with myself if any of the staff who helped us get sick?"

"Seymour, it's okay." reasoned the young princess. "I know you didn't mean-"

"No, no it's not okay." sighed the professor. "What if something happens to Dr. Thrax, or her helpers, or... what if something were to happen to you just because I got scared?"

Twilight pressed a hoof onto Seymour's mouth, effectively silencing him.

"Listen, Seymour... you just got spooked is all that happened." she reassured him with a warm smile. "To tell you the truth, I'm scared too. I've never been involved in anything like this, but I can't be beating myself up every time something goes wrong. These changelings are depending on me, they're depending on us."

"Bfut tviwit I-"

"Shhhh..." Twilight whispered, inching closer to the white stallion's face. "...I wouldn't want anypony who wasn't just a little bit afraid to be my partner, you know."

"You mean that?" questioned Seymour. "Even if I almost got us kicked out of the kingdom?"

"Seymour, I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it." giggled Twilight. "I think you'd be out of your mind if you weren't scared. I understand how you must have felt. Don't worry about anything that happened. You just got a little bit overwhelmed is all, I probably would have done the same thing."

"Twilight..."

Twilight smiled back to her partner.

"Seymour, you're my partner." she concluded. "Like it or not, you and I have a job to do, and we're going to do that job together. I trust you Seymour, and I'll do anything needed to help you adjust to such a sudden, volatile mission."

"...Wow, t-thanks Twilight!" Seymour beamed. "That means a lot to me, you know."

"Hey, don't mention it..." replied Twilight. "...Partner."

The two remained silent for a moment before they heard a voice calling out to them.

"...Excuse me, Dr. Seymour and Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

The two turned their head to face the door leading out into the hallway, their eyes meeting a changeling disease specialist from several floors above.

"O-Oh, yes ma'am?" Seymour asked. "Is there a problem?"

The changeling shook her head.

"No, I'm here to relay that you have passed your quarantine screenings- we have determined that your risk of exposure to the virus is minimal."

"So..." spoke Seymour, rubbing his left front leg with a hoof in nervous anticipation. "...does that mean that I can leave this glass bubble now?"

"Yes." the changeling answered. "You may both leave when ready. Just speak to Dr. Thrax when you want to head out."

"Thank you." Twilight thanked. "We will."

The changeling nodded and left the doorway, leaving the two inside to their thoughts.

"Hey, Seymour?" Twilight asked, standing upon her four legs again.

"Hmm?" replied the white stallion as he dismounted the examination table. "What's up?"

"I know this might seem a bit sudden of an idea." Twilight explained. "But you look like you could use a drink tonight. Heck, I think we both could. Just a little something to take it easy for a few hours, you know?"

"Ummm..." Seymour mumbled. "...Sure, I suppose that would be nice."

"Alright then, we can go after we finish up our business here if you want." smiled Twilight.

"Okay, that sounds good to me."

Dr. Thrax sat upon a bench near the quarantine room where Dr. Seymour had been kept. She fiddled with a lock of her short, blue hair in the jagged edge of her hoof while looking over a piece of text held on a clipboard. Soon enough, the changeling medical director began to overhear a friendly banter between the princess and professor as they left the isolation pod.

"Ah, there you two are." she called. "I was beginning to think you'd be in there for the whole evening."

"Sorry about that." Twilight apologized. "Nursing a broken spirit takes more than a couple of seconds, you know."

"Oh, be quiet." grumbled Seymour.

"Hey, I call it as I see it." Twilight chuckled, rolling her eyes.

Dr. Thrax was taken by a bit of surprise as she witnessed a rookie college professor address a fully-fledged member of alicorn royalty with not even so much as a single formality. The whole idea seemed alien to her- she had never known her own queen to be so formal with anyone, even to the drones which kept her company in the most intimate of ways. To see an equestrian princess addressed with such friendly and colloquial vocabulary was more than a little shocking to her.

"Remarkable." she spoke. "Your confidence has returned tenfold if you can address a princess in such a way, Dr. Seymour."

"Well, to tell the truth..." began Seymour. "...We've kinda been skipping the formalities for most of our partnership. We thought it might get in the way of the mission, you see."

"I see." Thrax replied. "Well, I take it you two are ready to get out of this hell hole?"

"Yeah." Twilight answered. "Although, I wouldn't be so quick to call the changeling kingdom a 'hell hole', it seems a bit harsh in those terms."

"Yeah, I'm sure you have certain facets here that are worth a visit, don't you?" asked Seymour. "I mean, it can't always be sunshine and rainbows here, but that doesn't mean it has to always be miserable, right?"

"Well..." Dr. Thrax confessed. "Outside of the thriving city of Chitin, much of the kingdom still remains the same as it was before the invasion of Canterlot. Much of the nation is still impoverished. The queen tries her best to aid her children, but even she can't bear the weight of two billion of us alone."

"Well, yes." reasoned Twilight, looking toward Thrax with a concerned expression. "But that's why we're doing our best to help her and your kingdom. I mean, look at Chitin- it's really become a great, exotic city with an amazing night-life scene. How hard could it be to help the rest of the kingdom?"

"I understand what you're trying to say, and I sincerely appreciate it." Dr. Thrax continued. "It just doesn't change the fact that the queen has never been so stressed until just recently, and it's really taking a toll on her both physically and emotionally. It must be tough being a single ruler in such harsh, uncertain times."

Twilight had seen such a stressful existence herself. She recalled how Princess Celestia had to rule over the largest, most successful empire on the planet for the thousand years since her sister's rebellion. And she had to do so alone, as the only alicorn left in the kingdom of Equestria for the entire time.

"I know what you mean..." comforted Twilight. "Princess Celestia had to rule alone for one-thousand years. I've seen the sort  of dilemmas she went through on a regular basis before Princess Luna returned to rule by her side. Being an alicorn myself now, I need to face the reality that that might be my job some day."

"Hehe, I guess you're right about that." laughed Dr. Thrax. "But what of you, Dr. Seymour? Surely as an average citizen of Equestria, wouldn't you rather be back home than in a place like this?"

"Well, not necessarily." spoke the professor in question. "Some might say that Equestria has its own flaws. It's not a utopia."

"Really?" Dr. Thrax inquired. "That doesn't sound like the Equestria I know of."

"It's a capitalist society. Not everypony is cut out for that kind of constant pressure." continued Seymour. "Sure, it gets the job done most of the time, but it's far from perfect."

"He's right." Twilight added. "Sure there are great opportunities to be had, but at what cost? Your gain is somepony else's loss."

"Interesting." Thrax stated. "You two don't sound like any of the ponies I've ever met. Most of them just drone on about how the changelings should adapt to live more like Equestria- all the fun parties, spontaneous musical numbers, a free-enterprise market, all of the 'perfect' things, you know."

"Well, a lot of those ponies have become rather... insensitive to other cultures." Seymour reasoned. "Most of them grew up privileged- a modest living, loving family, the kind of neat stuff you're talking about. They don't really know the other side of the coin until they travel outside of Equestria. It's funny, and a little sad."

Soon enough, the trio of Doctors Seymour and Thrax and Princess Twilight Sparkle had reached the quarantine access passage to the city outside. The sky above had shifted in color to that of a gentle seaside sunset, complete with vermilion, crimson, and cinnabar. The sound of gentle waves cold just barely be heard through the dense walls which now crippled the city's infrastructure and trade economy. Once at the final doorway, the three were ushered through by a pair of armed soldiers as they finished their conversation.

"I guess I understand why you two seem so different now." spoke Thrax. "I suppose it only took an outbreak of deadly hemorrhagic fever to get any sort of real communication between the commoners of pony and changeling society to really be able to converse for once."

"Yep." nodded Seymour. "Sometimes it seems that the collective 'head' of Equestria is as hard as a rock. I bet it's because of how widely different your way of life is from ours... or something like that."

"It takes a bit of shell-shock to break free from the improper judgment of others sometimes." Twilight agreed, looking up to the noticeably taller stallion.

"Feh, amen to that." Dr. Thrax chuckled. "Well, I hope you two can forgive my earlier criticism... I sincerely apologize for the way I acted, especially to you Dr. Seymour."

"It's okay, I understand why you were so apprehensive." Seymour dismissed. "I put the team in danger, I should be the one who is apologizing right now. But I guess that's all water under the bridge."

"You're right." admitted Thrax with a genuine smile she had not shown the two all day. "Besides, we have more important things to worry about now. Listen, we already know where this virus came from. But now we need to figure out how it got into the city, and how it was spread so rapidly."

"Yeah, knowing what the virus is isn't much help if we can't see how it was spread to 14,000 changelings in a single day. I suggest we split up for the night." offered Seymour. "Twilight and I will try to come up with some sort of theory as to how this all could have happened, where the virus was released, and if we can find any patterns between the three clusters."

"I'll try to come up with some information on my end as well." Dr. Thrax replied. "Until then, stay safe you two."

With the last of her instruction stated clearly, Dr. Thrax returned to the hospital, leaving Twilight and Seymour behind her. In their time alone, Seymour turned to his partner with an expectant look on his face.

"...So, about those drinks?"

After a long, stressful day, night had finally fallen upon the newly-walled city of Chitin. The city's night life had once again taken effect with changelings and other visiting species heading out to party with friends and companions. Beer, wine, and spirits of all different kinds became the life blood of Chitin's nighttime debauchery. Casinos churned token after golden token where only the house really won. Street markets dispensed exotic foods and goods to the comfort-thirsting populace. Taxi cabs and motorized bicycles littered the streets, and unadulterated adult fun was the law of the neon-lit darkness.

In one little hole-in-the-wall bar sat two of the most important Equestrian guests to grace the Changeling Kingdom for quite a long time- Princess Twilight Sparkle and Dr. Seymour. Several empty shot glasses lay overturned on the table as a testament to their night on the town while the two laughed the night away after witnessing the horrors of the earlier afternoon.

"So you ended up passed out on somepony else's lawn, fully out and exposed for all the world to see?!" giggled Twilight Sparkle, holding a hoof to her blushing face to stifle her laughter.

"...It was a crazy night." Seymour confessed, chuckling himself. "Hey it wasn't my fault, They started it.

"Who started it?" questioned the alicorn, emptying another shot glass of the bourbon which had previously existed inside.

"The new limited-edition mini-shots of Cherry Ice Vodka, that's who!" answered Seymour, bursting into a fit of laughter which threatened to throw his chair backwards. "I must have lost count after... I don't even remember! GAHAHAHAHAAA"

"You're an animal, Seymour..." laughed Twilight. "How was the next day?"

"I really don't remember much about the morning... I must have still woken up a little wasted, and in a hospital bed." the stallion chuckled. "They said my BU... BI... BMI..."

"Blood Alcohol Level?" Twilight corrected.

"Yeah, that." Seymour affirmed with a wave of his hoof. "I was at double the legal limit. I'd been in an alcohol coma for more than a few hours, and even then I still had some kick in me!"

"Did you ever get in trouble for it?" asked Twilight.

"Somehow and miraculously not!" spoke Seymour. "I got away with nothing more than the worst migraine of my life!"

The two shared a healthy dose of uninhibited laughter before Twilight would speak up again, asking Seymour something she had meant to ask him since the two had first met. Something about Seymour just seemed odd- he wasn't like Flash, or Shining Armor, or any of the stallions she usually saw around. Most of the time they were either involved in the military or had a hand in politics, government, or special operations that were typically out of the public eye.

Most of them, at least, except for the white stallion in black she had met only a day before.

"So... you really aren't like all of those other stallions, are you?" she asked, crossing her front legs on the table.

"What do you mean by that?" chuckled Seymour.

"I mean you were hand-picked by the princesses to help me on such a highly sensitive task, but really don't seem like any of those guys from the royal guard or DNS, or any of those other three-letter government acronyms that they always seem to pair me up with." she explained. "You're... really not one of them, are you?"

Seymour rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Once comfortable, he answered the princess's prodding personal questions as best he could in his semi-inebriated stupor.

"Naah. Just a regular, boring college professor." he confessed. "Wrong place, wrong time I suppose."

"Well, I suppose that if there ever were a right place and a right time for that phrase..."

Seymour had shifted his attention away from the alicorn seated across from him and down to a shadow cast over the table behind him.

Noticing that someone was likely standing over him, he leaned his head back to catch an upside-down glimpse of the two earth pony agents who had taken him out of his classroom the previous afternoon.

"Dr. Seymour? Your Highness?" the lighter-colored suited stallion addressed the two. "Your presence is requested at the Queen's palace."

"Oh heeeey, it's my best buddies!" the professor drawled in his inverted position, earning a giggle from an amused Twilight Sparkle. "Hey, what brings you to this magical land of sentient insectoids?"

"Hehehe, hey Seymour..." laughed Twilight. "Aren't those guys the ones who came to pick you up from your class yesterday?"

"Hah, kidnapped me is more like it." answered Seymour, returning to a properly-seated position. "So, of what do I owe the honor today? Why don't you two join us for a drink and let me know, eh?"

"We'd be much more appreciative if you would join us for a ride to the palace." the same earth pony answered, losing his patience ever so slowly.

Seymour turned to Twilight with a devious smile.

"And what if I were to decline... just curious as to what might happen." he asked aloud.

The earth pony shook his head as Twilight Snickered loudly.

"Well, sir, we have no sense of humor... as you may be aware." he explained. "And we have a warrant to take you there by force if need be."