The sun shines down upon Sweet Apple Acres as a cool wind blows through the apple trees. Sitting on one of these trees is a small clubhouse, with three fillies within.
Apple Bloom looks around at her three friends, smiling, “So, Crusaders, what are we gonna do today?”
Sweetie Belle grins, “What if we were to try gossiping?”
Scootaloo looks over at her, “Gossiping?”
Sweetie nods, “Yeah! Rarity does it all the time!”
Scootaloo shakes her head, “That’s dumb. Who wants to spent their entire life gossiping?”
Sweetie narrows her eyes, “Yeah, well, you’re dumb. Gossip is a lady-like way to spend your time.”
Apple Bloom looks between the two, “Now, girls, let’s not get into any fights.” She smiles, “Here, I have an idea. What if we were to become weather ponies!”
Scootaloo looks outside, “Clear. And it’s gonna be clear for the rest of today. Why would we become weather ponies when the cloud factories announce their schedules.”
Sweetie Belle moves up to the window, “Actually, it’s not clear, Scootaloo. There’s some clouds over there.”
Scootaloo trots over, “That’s odd, Rainbow said today was supposed to be clear.”
Apple Bloom giggles as she trots over as well, “Maybe she slept through the change?”
Scootaloo looks over, “Oh hardy-har-har.”
Sweetie Belle narrows her eyes, “Hmm, that cloud is an odd shade of nepeta.”
Scootaloo looks over, “What is nepeta?”
Sweetie Belle motions to the far off cloud, “A slight sickly green, like that.”
Scootaloo looks, only to narrow her own eyes, “Hey, does it look like it’s growing to you two as well?”
Apple Bloom looks closer, as the cloud slowly grows larger, and the green tint in it grows as well.
She looks to the other two, “Girls, we should probably get to the storm shelter, just in case.”
Scootaloo nods, “Yeah, let’s go there.”
Apple Bloom backs up, and turns to the door, “Come on, girls.”
Scootaloo follows her, but Sweetie Belle stays still. Her eyes are locked onto the glowing and growing cloud, “Are you... evil?”
Scootaloo turns to look at Sweetie, “Come on, Sweetie.”
Sweetie doesn’t pay her friend any mind, her ear twitching, “Plague?”
Apple Bloom turns around as well, “Sweetie, we gotta get to the shelter before it reaches us.”
Sweetie raises an eyebrow, “You know Twilight?”
Scootaloo steps closer, “Sweetie?”
Sweetie pauses, “Huh. So, it’s all magic?”
Scootaloo steps up right beside Sweetie Belle, “Sweetie, you alright?”
Sweetie nods, “Thank you for the warning.”
Scootaloo touches Sweetie’s shoulder, “Sweetie?”
Sweetie Belle snaps out of her trance state, and she looks over at Scootaloo, “Yeah?”
Apple Bloom speaks up, “You were staring at the cloud and talking nonsense, Sweetie.”
Sweetie glances back, as the cloud now gets closer and closer, “Huh.”
Apple Bloom motions to the door, “It’s getting closer, we need to get out of her now.”
Sweetie sends one final glance at the cloud, before nodding, “Yeah, let’s go.”
———
The sun shines high above Canterlot, as a squadron of Royal Guards and Night Guards rush around. Princess Luna and Celestia stand in their throne room, their eyes locked onto a single dead rat in the center of the room.
A thestral Night Guard rushes up to Luna, and salutes, “We’ve completed our search, Princess.”
Luna nods, “What did you, Commander Hypnos?”
The thestral nods back, “We didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, Princess Luna.”
Luna looks at Celestia, “We still have a problem, sister.”
Celestia nods, her eyes scanning the room, “There is a chance this might be a false threat, Luna.”
Luna shakes her head, “The rat is too big to be one of ours.”
Celestia looks back, “That is not entirely true. Rats can be large, Luna.”
Luna frowns, “If you-“
Celestia shakes her head, “You need not lecture me, Luna. I am not treating this like a joke. I am just saying there is a chance this is a false alarm.”
Luna steps closer, “Ordiria-“
Celestia narrows her eyes, “Luna, please. I was right there beside you.”
Luna narrows her eyes, “Yet here you are, ignoring it.”
Celestia steps right up to Luna, “Listen, Luna, for the last time, I am not ignoring this. I am simply-“
Luna interrupts, “Those years of peace have made you complacent, sister. We should have the entire army rallied, yet here you are, with naught but twenty guards.”
Celestia leans down, getting eye-to-eye with Luna, “Listen here, Luna, you have not the years of experience I now have. Do you know how many false alarms we had? Do you-“
She pauses as she hears a sound from one of her guards.
A cough.
Both sisters look towards the offending guard, seeing him cough again, a dark cloud coming from his mouth.
Celestia looks the guard in the eye, “What was that?”
The guard coughs again, the dark cloud coming out again, “Sorry, Princess, I used to be a smoker when I was younger. Must just be some smoke I kept in my lungs.”
As he says this, another guard begins to cough as well, the same black cloud coming out of his mouth. He says between the coughs, “Must be dusty in here.”
Celestia and Luna look at each other, as the other guards slowly begin to cough.
One of the younger guards collapse in front of them, coughing rapidly. He continues, not getting the opportunity to take a breath, until he can’t cough anymore. He chokes in front of them, the black cloud escaping from his mouth.
Celestia looks at him, her eyes widening, “Glittering Shield...”
Luna looks at her, “Sister, we need a shield! We must not let it spread!”
Celestia keeps her eyes on the young stallion as he slowly stops, dying before her, “Gl-“
Luna punches her sister in the side, “Celestia!”
Celestia looks over at Luna, and nods, “Of course.”
Their horns light up as a shield appears around the room, a mix of yellow and blue. They close their eyes, and fold down their ears as the guards continue to cough.
They are given pause as they hear the coughing all stop suddenly.
Luna slowly opens her eyes, seeing nothing within the darkness. Celestia looks around with her, both given pause as they hear a sound from behind them.
Keeeee...sssseeeeerrrrr
They both turn around, only to see two red dots staring at them from within the darkness. However, slowly, next to the red dots, appears a green light.
The light slowly becomes a figure, who breathes laboriously.
Luna looks at them, and slowly summons her sword, “It is as we feared.”
The figure speaks, “Thou wert right to fear. We art Plague, and we art thine end.”
Celestia narrows her eyes, “Harmony shall destroy you.”
Plague steps closer, “Harmony is naught compared to the awesome power of sickness. Twilight hath defeated us once prior, but nary another time.”
Luna steps forward, “Your Sickness is naught upon our shield!”
Plague laughs, “Our Sickness is awesome in it’s power, for it is pure magic! It surrounds thee now, magic.”
Celestia summons her own sword, “Luna, are you ready?”
Luna nods, “Of course, sister.”
Plague looks at the two of them, his form still obscure within the darkness, “Armageddon is upon thee. Run and hide. Only the worthy shall live.”
Luna shouts, and sends her sword flying through the darkness, cutting at the form of Plague.
Before her sword can hit, it is knocked away, as the red dots appear, and a dark figure obscures Plague.
A sword comes from the darkness behind Luna, blocked by Celestia’s own blade.
Plague moves towards the window, and a bright green glow comes, “Powers of Sickness, Powers of Death, Powers of Destruction, we call upon thee!”
Luna’s horn flickers as they shield outside does similar, and charges Plague.
The red dots appear in front of her, and she stopped in her tracks as swords emerge from the darkness around her, which she can barely block or parry.
Celestia rushes to help her sister, as the red dots glare at them.
———
Apple Bloom rushes to the doors to the storm shelter, looking as the cloud gets ever closer. Applejack looks down at her, and nods, “Mac, Granny, and I are going to make sure my friends are safe. Stay down there, Bloom, ‘til you’re sure it’s safe.”
Apple Bloom nods, “Don’t worry, Applejack, I’ll make sure we stay safe.”
Applejack leans down, and hugs Apple Bloom, “That’s good to know, little sis.” She stands back up, and looks at the cloud, “I’m sure this will all pass quickly. But, just in case, don’t open the shelter to anypony. Mac, Granny, or I will tell you when it’s all done. Just in case it’s changelings, our password is ‘Butter’, alright?”
Apple Bloom smiles, “You got it, big sis. Be safe.”
Applejack nods, “Now, when am I not safe, little sis?” She smiles, “Be back soon.” She then rushes off into the orchard.
Apple Bloom looks after her, as she charges towards the cloud. After a second, she closes the shelter doors, and locks them.
Apple Bloom’s eyes slowly open, and she stifles a yawn. She looks around, seeing Scootaloo pacing around the shelter, while Sweetie seems to be lost in thought.
She stretches, “How long was I out, girls?”
Sweetie looks over, “Four hours.”
Apple Bloom blinks, “Really?”
Scootaloo paces some more, “Applejack should be back by now, but she isn’t. What if there’s something bad happening outside?”
Sweetie looks over, “There obviously isn’t. It’s not a storm, or we’d be hearing rain.”
Scootaloo looks over, “Then where’s Applejack? There must be some villain out there, and they might need us!”
Apple Bloom smiles, “I’m sure they’re fine, Scoots. They’ve faced worse without us.”
Sweetie Belle nods, “Like Discord.”
Apple Bloom nods, “Like Discord. I’m sure they’ll be back by tomorrow. But, just in case, let’s stay down here.”
Scootaloo sighs, and sits down, “It’s so annoying just having to sit here and do nothing.”
Apple Bloom smiles, “But it’ll keep us safe.”
Scootaloo looks over at her, “But I don’t want to be safe! I want to go on adventures!”
Apple Bloom shakes her head, only to pause as she hears a knock on the shelter doors.
Their heads all look towards it, and Scootaloo stands up, “Applejack must be back.”
Apple Bloom stands up, and puts out her hoof to stop Scootaloo, “Hold up there, we gotta hear the password first.”
A series of evenly spaced knocks comes from the doors, some with a short pause, and some longer. Scootaloo’s eyes widen, “Hey, that’s Horse Code!”
Apple Bloom raises an eyebrow, “Horse Code? Ain’t that something only Guards learn?”
Scootaloo nods, “Yeah, but Rainbow taught me.” Her ears perk up as she listens closely, “It says ‘Something has gone wrong. Have to get to Canterlot. Come with if you want to live.’ Sounds creepy.”
Sweetie Belle stands up, “I say we go.”
Apple Bloom looks over, “What? No, no way are we leaving without Applejack saying the password.”
Sweetie looks at her, “If what they’re saying is true, then we need to stay safe. If there’s a guard on the other side of that door, then something must be wrong.”
Apple Bloom shakes her head, “We are staying here and waiting for Applejack, and that’s the end of this discussion.”
Scootaloo looks between them, “I think Sweetie’s right. We’d be safer with a guard than hiding here.”
Apple Bloom looks over at her, “You too?”
Scootaloo nods, “Yeah. Rainbow Dash told me to always trust the guard. They’re trained for this.”
Apple Bloom pauses, and looks towards the door, as silence fills the shelter.
Apple Bloom slowly trots up to the shelter doors, with her two friends flanking her. She slowly unlocks it, and opens it up.
The sun fills the shelter, momentarily blinding the three fillies.
Their vision slowly clears, and in their blurred vision, they see a stallion standing in front of the doors, wearing dark blue armor.
Their vision slowly clears, as the stallion speaks. However, the voice they hear is a lot more high pitched than they thought, “Good, I was worried you’d not come.”
Apple Bloom looks as she sees the stallion for what he truly is. A thestral colt stands there, wearing oversized armor and carrying a small spear. Orange eyes, blue mane, and dark blue fur.
She takes a second to blink, “Umm, you ain’t a Guard.”
He nods, and salutes them, “I am Guard Recruit Hypnos, son of Night Commander Hypnos.” He puts down his hoof, “Something has gone horribly wrong.”
Apple Bloom slightly nods, “Right... how did you find us?”
He motions to the farmhouse, “I came in search for the Element of Honesty, and heard voices coming through from inside. I thought that she might be down there with you.”
Apple Bloom nods again, “And why were you looking for my sister?”
He points to Canterlot, where a dark cloud still hangs, “That. We need to gather the Elements and get them to Canterlot. If we can’t find them, then it is my job to get you secured, and Canterlot is sure to be safer than here.”
Sweetie Belle looks at the cloud, “What do you know about this?”
He looks over at her, “All I know is that something’s going wrong in Ponyville. Some sickness or something along those lines. Anypony with a cutie mark is going mad and feral. We have to hope that the Elements are immune to it.”
Scootaloo smiles, “Finally, some adventure!”
Apple Bloom holds up a hoof, “Wait, anypony with a cutie mark is going mad?”
He nods, “Affirmative. Only us without them seem safe.”
Apple Bloom looks to her fellow Crusaders, “Girls, y’all know what this means?”
Scootaloo grins, “Adventure?”
Sweetie Belle looks at her, “That we are safe and other ponies aren’t?”
Apple Bloom smiles, “Girls, we’re about to put a whole new definition to Cutie Mark Crusaders.”
Scootaloo smiles, “Awesome!”
Sweetie Belle nods, “I suppose you’re right.”
Hypnos looks at all of them, “I must request that you do no such crusading until such a time that you are prepared to. For now, I request that you follow my instruction until our mission is either complete or you are safe.”
Scootaloo frowns, “Buzzkill.”
Apple Bloom nods, “Yeah, what’s so dangerous anyway?”
Sweetie Belle pauses, “We should probably listen to him.”
Apple Bloom looks over at her, “Huh?”
Sweetie nods, “Yeah. We don’t know how dangerous this could possibly be. He seems to know more than us, so let’s follow him.”
He nods, “Your friend speaks sense. Caution is important to maintain in uncertain times. At a time like this, it is important to remain as cautious as possible, your life might just depend upon it.”
Apple Bloom looks to Sweetie, “You sure we can trust him? He ain’t one of us.”
She nods, “Yes, I believe we can. Come on, girls, what’s the harm in it?”
Scootaloo scoffs, “The harm is that this guy is really uncool. What would happen if Rainbow saw me hanging around with this dork believing there’s some sickness around?”
Apple Bloom nods, “He could be leading us into danger when we would be worlds safer in the shelter.”
Sweetie shakes her head, “I think we need to trust him. Canterlot is obviously the safest place. After all, the Princesses are there. Besides, he doesn’t have a cutie mark either.”
Hypnos looks at Apple Bloom, “If it makes you feel safer, I will become what you call a Cutie Mark Crusader.”
Scootaloo snorts, “You? A Crusader? You gotta prove that you’re worthy.”
Apple Bloom nods, “Yeah, not just anypony can be a Crusader.”
He nods, “Then perhaps I can prove my worthiness whilst we find the Elements.”
Sweetie Belle smiles, “What’s your plan, Hypnos?”
He smiles back at her, before losing it and nodding at the other two, “My plan is to go from furthest Element from center to the closest. Applejack was the furthest, which means the next one is Fluttershy. After her, we move to Rainbow Dash. Next is Rarity, followed by Pinkie Pie. Last is Twilight, as she is in the center of town. If we move in such a way, it will give all of you time to be experienced before we are tossed into the thick of it.”
Scootaloo smirks, “I’m sure we’d be fine without that experience. Rainbow already taught me how to kick flank.”
He looks at her, “Negatory. You may have learned how to injure, but you lack experience with these mad ponies. Our plan is never to attack, but to run.”
Apple Bloom raises an eyebrow, “We’re gonna run?”
He nods, “Affirmative. These creatures don’t feel pain like us, and they won’t stop attacking. I already learned the hard way when I stabbed one in the leg and it smashed me because of it. We do not wish to use lethal force against them, for they are still ponies. Therefore, we run. We run, or we hide.”
Sweetie Belle nods, “What if we get separated when we run?”
He looks at her, “In the event of separation, you three are to abandon the mission and flee to Canterlot. Do not wait for one another. Continue to retreat until you reach the city, and seek proper assistance from the Guard. If at all possible, you are to alert them to what has happened here. Make it clear that this is no joke, and do not stop pestering them until they send a team to investigate. Remember, it’s your safety above all else.”
He pauses, looking around at them.
He motions to the nearby barn, “Gather weapons, we set out as soon as possible.”
