"Everypony! Please, back to your homes immediately! Lock your doors, another pony has been infected with AE37U!"A loud, and very frightened voice boomed over the loudspeaker. The pony, quietly waiting in her large crystal castle in the middle of Ponyville, moved over to the window to see the commotion.
Large and gruff ponies covered head to hoof in yellow hazmat suits, were forcefully escorting a pony by her two front hooves to a large medical vehicle. Her back two legs were unmoving, paralyzed. Twilight watched as ponies looked upon the sick mare, their eyes filling up with horror as the pony screamed for help.
"My child! M-My child is still in the house! L-Let me see him, please!" She shouted. The two sturdy colts shook their heads, throwing her into the back of the ambulance.
Twilight wanted to think that this was just, maybe, a once in a lifetime experience. A traumatic event for her to remember in days past.
But, of course, this was not one of those times.
Many other ponies in this town had suffered that same fate as that poor mare. Dragged against their will to, what would most likely be death. Infected with that horrible disease.
AE37U.
Twilight never did know what the mix of letters meant in the name. It was simply, just a name to repeat when describing this unknown occurrence. It was, of Twilight's knowledge, incredibly spreadable. Ponies couldn't go nearly 10 feet from a pony with AE37U and not get sick.
It was awful to watch.
Everypony, locked up in their homes, shaking fearfully at the thought that maybe...
nopony could survive.
Was this unknown virus going to be the death of everypony in Equestria?
Was this the end of her adventures with her friends?
...Were they even still alive..?
...What would happen if..
"Twilight. T-Twilight? Twilight!"Twilight jumped at the sudden screech. She looked over, and saw Spike standing there. She shoved him away with her magic and watched as ponies fearfully stepped back out into the real world, life returning as normal once again.
"Now, I know you're worried about your friends with this new AE37U thing going around, but you need to look after yourself, too! You haven't eaten in two days, Twilight," Spike sighed. He held up a clean, white plate, a daffodil and daisy sandwich placed on top. He waved it around in front of her, Twilight taking it with her magic and inspecting it.
"...Spike." Twilight said quietly.
"..Yeah?" He replied dully, looking up at her.
"...Ponies.. are dying out there. I can't let that happen... as a princess. M-My duties.. something with my duties must have to be done here. If I leave these ponies out to die from this horrible disease..."
"...What will that make of me..?"
Spike cleared his throat quietly, and placed the plate on the castle's large windowsill.
"...That doesn't make you any less of a princess. You will still wear that crown on your head, Twilight- no matter what you do. It isn't your duty to help those ponies. If anything.. keep all these ponies in high spirits. They'll break if you leave them for too long with this AE37U stuff. Go, get Pinkie, or-"
"BUT WHAT IF SHE'S DEAD!" Twilight shouted loudly, and quickly shoved her hooves over her mouth to stop any more unnecessary words from coming out. Spike stood in shock for a quick moment, before standing back up straight and, without wasting any time, forcefully shoved Twilight off her wooden stool onto her four wobbly hooves.
"Alright. You're gonna go get all your friends and come back here ASAP. No questions asked." Spike didn't even give Twilight a moment to think- he just pushed her out the door with slow, forceful movements, and closed it as soon as she was outside.
"S-Spike! You-"
But she had no say in the matter. She was to go out and get her friends.
...
..In this hell forsaken world... she was going out to get her friends.
...Twilight liked that phrasing much better.
"Applebloom, get inside! We don't want you gettin' sick too!' Applejack yelled to her small sibling. She had been playfully jumping around in the grassy field, out where the cows graze, and didn't quite understand why she'd been yelled at.
"Sick? What'cha mean? If I get a cold, I can miss school tomorrow!" She responded gleefully. Granny Smith and Big Macintosh have already gotten inside, perched up in their rooms, both deathly scared of the new- incredibly spreadable- or so they've heard, AE37U. All the apples were taken inside, farming equipment put messily back into the barn; yet Applebloom stayed oblivious.
"It doesn't matter if you miss school tomorrow! What matters is keeping you from gettin' that sickness, so GET INSIDE!" Applejack's throat was sore from all of her recent yelling.
"Fine, fine! If we haf' ta stay inside, though, can't I at least invite Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle over??" Applebloom, even with agreeing to come inside, was still a burden to the small apple family as they rushed to close the door. Applejack just let out loud gasps of air as she watched Applebloom gracefully come inside.
Granny Smith's voice wavered as she tried to speak.
"Now- Applebloom. We don't wanna get inta' detail here, but please do stay weary of this here town right now. Any one of us could possibly have AE37U."
"Huh? AE37U? What's that?" Applebloom asked curiously. She placed her small hooved onto the supports of her walker, eyes gleaming with childish joy.
"It- It's- s-somethin' you shouldn't worry about. Just stay in your room for now until we give the 'okay' on coming out, alright?" Applejack tried to say calmly. Even though she was confused- she obeyed the older ponies' orders and headed off to her room.
"Alrighty, but if you don't say nuthin' for a while, I'm comin' out and checking on you!" She yelled from down the hallway. After a few moments of small hoofsteps, a door opened, and, just as fast, closed again, signalling that Applebloom was finally out of earshot.
"...Alright, y'all. I think us ponies are the most vulnerable to this here disease right now, so we gotta stay cautious." Applejack told the group of her, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith.
"E-Eyup," Big Mac tried to say. In reality, he was the most concerned out of all of them about anyone he knew coming down with said disease.
"We gotta stay calm though, ya' hear? Someone will find somethin' that'll make this all a thing'f the past. I promise," Applejack said reassuringly. They all nodded, and smiled, even though some were slightly forced.
"We're gonna get through this as a family."
This disease really was the thing of nightmares, but ponies only were seeing the beginning of it.
-That's what they all thought, anyway.
The streets of Ponyville lay barren as Twilight stepped light hoofsteps onto the concrete pathways with worry. She peeked into a few homes; only finding cowering ponies and terrified foals. Of course, she didn't want to be there; or, well, so she thought, but it was clear that she wouldn't be let back into the castle until her friends were found.
..To be honest, she was too worried about her friends to go home, anyway.
She began her way to Sugarcube Corner, one of the places she knew her friend Pinkie Pie resided at. It was a very fun building; pink and brown roof, the bright colors, and the feel of the whole place that made it seem like a candyland rather than a shop. She would frequent there whenever she wanted and sort of sweet treat, and they would always deliver.
Twilight was getting hungry just thinking about it.
Her steps were slow but meaningful, every so often catching a glance of the ponies worriedly looking upon the purple princess as she walked the disease-ridden streets.
...She stopped suddenly, feeling something. As if something, or somepony, was behind her.
She felt a slow gust of air hit her back and travel down to her hooves and into the ground below. Her mouth was unmoving, and a blank stare covered her face.
...
The air was heavy, wasn't it? Was it normally this.. claustrophobic..?
Twilight felt a strange need to just lay back down and return back to her castle and just assume her friends were alright.
..there's no way they need to be checked on.
..
Thoughts began to cloud her head like a catchy song, refusing to quit playing in her ears.
I need to go home now.
I need to get home.
I need to get home now or else I'll die out here.
I'm going to die out here.
There's no way-...
...
Twilight let out a shaky breath.
What was she doing?
Why was she worrying?
She gasped suddenly, feeling something brush her cheek with a slow and slightly cold hoof. She was petrified.
A quiet, but painfully terrifying sound played. Or.. was it just in her head..?
"Á̷̧̻͙̭̞̬͔̠̃̈̿͛̊͝Ë̵͕̝̞̳̱̥̞̪́͛̆̓͑̕S̷̢̨̩̭̼͚̜͉̪̲̼̭̗̻̅̒͛̆̈́̂̏ ̵̪̬̣̳͑̓̌̌͗̒͛̆͂̈͘͜ ̶̢̢̪̮̦̎̏͋̾F̵̧̨͓͍͔͔̺̭̝̖͐D̵̡͉̭́̉͐̂̄̒͛͗͛̎̐̕̕S̶̛͈͒͆̑́ ̷̲̤͉̇̍̀G̵̢̬̥̬̹̺̟͙̪͔̺̎̆̆̎̈͗̓̎̈́͘H̷̡͇̥̋͑̅̓̾̓͌̑͛͘͝͝ͅJ̷̨͉̳͖͈͚̤͈͓͕͔̈́̆̆͌̕͠V̴̧̪̯̻̪̪̣̬̯̗̗̈͌̔̿͐ ̸̹̄̉͝B̴̞͙̻̭̖̖͕̅Ḡ̴̡̨̳̼͓̺̭̖̗͑Ḑ̴̨̙̫̙̩̳͖͈̥͊̑̈͑̽͊̋̎̚͝ͅͅĊ̸̞̀̆́̀̐̓͒̽͑͗̂G̶̨̨͔͚̔̉.̶̨̺͇͎̗̙͙̘̱̜̥͕̦̦̈͗͒̍́̐̿̇̎̏͂.̷̦̟̝̎͗̎̾͒̀͘͘͘͝.̵̨̨͓̩̱̤͖̠͕̮̳̈́̔̆̓̈̽̇̇̀̐̕̚͝.̵̛̙̀͆̀̌̑͌͋̈́̆͝H̸̡̗̜̦̭͎̱̬̹̯̥͂̊̒̔̾̀̎̕̕G̶̱͖̞̦̼̺̗̥͇͖͔̭͓͒̏̐͑͂̈́͒͘͜ͅ "
..it was static.
Why... was static playing?
The static sounded painful, as if somepony was trying to scream but the static was all that could come out. It sounded like words were supposed to come out as well, but they were muffled by the loud, chilling noise.
Ĩ̶͙̗̦̬͙̺͔̱͓̯̉̃́̍͋͗̕ ̵̨̡̯̘͎̮͚̥͇̹̳̎̈́͐͂̒͗̓̓̃̈͌͝͝͠ͅW̷̡͎̞̹̯͛̾͂̆̄̓̾͗̽͛͝ͅȈ̷̛͍̞̜̏͗̌̊̀̿͑̀̌̈́̕̕Ǩ̶̦̞̯͇̤̱͇̞̜̻̹̞̋̾̌͂̿̓̀̂̈́̎͝S̶̡̨̧̛̱͉͓̯͙͋̂͐̌͆̾͛̔̔̈̿̌̚͝ͅͅK̷̹͙͖̗̘̩̤̒̑̌̀͌͐̂̆̋͑Ḩ̵̧̣̬̘͇͚̭̪̲̪̝̖̼̇̍͋̇̔̒̿͐̃͝͠ ̵̢̢̗̗͇͎̣͒͒Y̴̲͚̳̥̮͚̓̑̔͊͗̂H̶͙͋̈́̔̂̽͘Ḩ̶̧̲̱̯̙̓̉̽̃̀̈́͋̏O̸̡̨̠̺̞̣̹͇͛̄̎̕͜͜U̴̡̧̡̱̣͈̣͍̳̬͚͈̺̍̇̓̏̈́͆̔͊̏͐͑͋͘͝ ̴͖̖̳̙̟̄̅Ą̵̣̳̻͕̮̦͓̈K̷̢̛̤̩͈͎͈̝̬͖̯̦̯̲̝͊̀̇̀̈́̓̏̒̋̆̀ͅL̶̪̭̰͖̲͚̠͙̜̤̆̄͊̃͆̈́̔͛̈́̕ͅL̸̨͎̻̦̖̻͚̄̅͐́̓̈͋̓͝ ̸̘̮̩̂̈́̄̽͐́͌͐̇̚Ţ̸̛̣͕̞̻̼̦̉̈́͗̇̀͆̇͂̓̈́͒̓̚K̴̡͔̪̼̥̠̦̥̺͇͙̙̫̫̀̈͑̏̽̋̏̽̀͐̅͋̈ͅŌ̷̡͕̜̰̝̩̒̆̊͌͒̊ ̵̢̟͖̠̰̳̰̯̮̱̙̺͚̤̃̿̈́͆H̸͓͖͒̔͒̉̾̔̊͊͑̃͗͠G̵̛͉͍̗̞̜̼̤͔̽͊͂͝H̴̨͚̳͙͎͇̍̅͗̐͘͜͠E̷̢̛̫̮̱̫̜̯͖͚͂̾̏͐̈̍̇̉̓͘͝͠͝͝ͅĻ̸̛̰͓̠͖̱̟̺͎̎́̑̈̑̒̽́͘̕Ĺ̴̡̨̢̡̮̙̱͕̙̞̱͎̩͋̀̿͗̔̾͋͊̆̽̅̓͝͝
Twilight tried to scream, but all she could to was painfully sit and listen to the sounds. She wanted to cry, but nothing was coming up.
...What in the world was this..?
...She closed her eyes, and, finally, was able to omit a loud, startling scream.
The world around her seemed to stop. She was alone- she was alone in this dark world being infested by AE37U, the soon-to-be death of all ponykind and what will finally break the bond between her and her friends.
She felt like she had the right to scream.
...She was stuck in the scream for what felt like hours, until her voice finally died out and left nothing but a sad, lonely, and cold princess on the ground with true horror in her eyes.
Her breaths were slow and heavy, as if she had just run a five mile run, or had just finished a long exercise. Her eyes stayed glued shut, as she didn't want to see if the static creature she felt and heard earlier was still lurking around the midnight-haired pony. She could do nothing but sit in silence and wish it all to be over.
...Oh, what Twilight would give to have wishes be real.
"Luna, dear sister! What plans might you have this evening? I have a.."
Celestia coughed.
"...Problem- to discuss."
Luna took a glance over, to see Celestia looking down at a scroll, a quill entrapped in her magic being piloted by her horn as she wrote down small words on the scroll with ease.
"...Well, I do not see why not. What is there to talk about?" Luna asked. She took a few steps to get over to Celestia's throne, and took a gentle seat next to it.
"...Well, it is.. quite a problem... a disease has been spreading across Equestria at.. rapid pace. It is said to be so contagious that nopony can be near them without a hazmat suit or other safety precautions."
Celestia placed her scroll and quill down on the chair rest next to her, and took a sad glance at Luna before turning away quietly.
"...W-Wait- w-whatever do you mean? E-Everypony has been healthy- there's been.." Luna was at a loss for words, trying to disprove Celestia's statement.
"..I'm afraid it is true. It's placeholder name is 'AE37U', well- until it truly gets identified."
Celestia's voice cracked as she tried to speak.
"H-How long have you been up about this...? Celestia- this is truly bad for your health, I-" Luna tried to say.
"My health has nothing to do with it! I need to save these ponies from a disease that will ruin Equestria piece-by-piece!" Celestia shouted absentmindedly.
"I'm sure ponies can last long enough for you to take a rest. -Please, get some sleep and I will not be bothering you again."
Celestia sighed defeatedly, the bags under her eyes clear that she had been up for over two days straight.
"..As long as you keep close watch in my place, dear sister," Celestia agreed. Luna nodded joyfully, and quickly pushed Celestia off the throne and to the direction of her large sleeping quarters.
"I would do nothing less. Off to bed now!" Luna yelped. Celestia said nothing, and just began to walk to her bed in a haze.
'At least she was getting rest now,' Luna thought. She quickly placed herself on the throne, smiling at the feeling of the soft cushion under her body.
Now just to find out what ponies are so intimidated by!
It can't be so bad, right? A single disease is far too small to wipe out a whole species-
-Right?
