Ponid-19

The five ponies bade farewell to Shining Armor, who galloped off back towards his Empire. Starlight still had this terrible idea on her mind that Cadance might be evil and that her reactions to their intrusion into the town were all completely fabricated. Flurry Heart might still be alive, which, if it were true, was the most wonderful news she had heard in quite some time. But still, if Cadance wasn’t evil and Shining Armor’s theory was incorrect, then that would mean that somepony else had procured Flurry’s body by hook or by crook. She wondered who would do something like that, but then realized that those kinds of questions needed to be answered after she unraveled this mystery.

“Alright,” she said as she turned to head east, “let’s go.”

“Go where, Star?” Trixie asked, “I mean…that’s not the way back to Ponyville. The Orientated and Knowledgeable TRRRRRRRIXIE knows that!”

“Is she gonna do that all the time?” Kite String asked.

“Yes,” Starlight said in sheer defeat, “yes, she is. But, listen everypony. I know that the way back to our hometown of Ponyville is south of here, but I feel a need to return somewhere I know very well. There might be someone there who can help us. Come on!”

She began galloping at a full tilt in that direction, and the others followed in confused excitement. It was thrilling to think that they might be going to explore a new place and converse with other ponies. It was adventurous and somewhat daring, and more than a few of them began to think of the theme to a very popular series of movies about Daring Do. The musical strains wafted through their minds like beautiful aromas of heroism and cunning. They felt a certain sense of bravery begin flooding their bodies, and they galloped even faster. Some of them even passed Starlight, and she had to patiently call them back as they had no idea where they were going.

For two straight hours, they galloped along. Their hooves became sore and cracked as the sharp stones of the barren earth made themselves known. It took a toll on everypony, but none more than little Kite String, who had never gone that far in such a short amount of time. So it happened that she began to yelp in pain and her mother had to toss her onto her back and carry her. Kite grabbed onto Rose’s mane with her teeth and held on for dear life as the train of thundering hooves and flying tails raced along through the Celestia forsaken parts of northern Equestria.

Finally, they turned around a large rock and there, just down the hill, was the village that Starlight had dictated once before. She skidded to a stop, and the others managed to follow suit. She raised a tentative hoof and took a few moments to examine the town. She noticed, with a small sense of pride, that it had grown. No longer was it the two simple rows of cottages that looked exactly the same. There were many more, and they flooded the landscape. They all had their own individual personality and charm, and it reminded her a lot of being in Ponyville. She also noted the school, bank, and town hall that had been erected.

She smiled. I’m so proud of you, she thought, it seems you’ve taken your new freedom to heart. I’m only sorry that I was such an awful leader…

“What are we doing here?” Trixie asked, “are you trying to take over again?”

“Of course not, Trix!” Starlight snapped, “we’re here to see a pony who was smarter than all the other ponies in Equestria put together. He was even more of a brainiac than Twilight! Unfortunately, when I took over this town and forced the removal of all the cutie marks in sight, I also took away his intelligence. He became a shell of his former self. But he was still the only pony with any experience in medicine, so he became our de facto town doctor. Now, his true sense of keen insight might help us in our quest.”

“Might is a very strong word,” Trixie warned, “what if he can’t help us?”

“Then we’ll just have to find somepony who can!” Starlight responded, “but if I know him, I know that he’s studying this viral strain with every last second he can spare.”

With that, she led the ponies into the town. To her shock and happy surprise, it was teeming with life! There were ponies everywhere, and it seemed that whoever was leading the hamlet was doing an excellent job. She saw restaurants and shops and marketplaces. She even saw a dress boutique that was selling Rarity’s fashions. Her mouth continued to drop open as her smile abounded. Once again, that small sense of town pride welled up inside of her, and she forced herself not to let out a small trill of delight. Not only was the town buzzing, but there didn’t seem to be any sign of the terrible virus!

“Wow…” She breathed, “this is amazing!”

“Yeah!” Kite String squeaked, “but…it’s smaller than the Empire’s town was.”

“Oh, that doesn’t matter, Kite,” Starlight said, “what matters is that they’ve managed to build it up beautifully. I’m so happy for them!”

“Uh…Star?” Trixie asked, “aren’t we here to see somepony?”

“Yes, Trixie,” Starlight said in exasperation, “but at least give me thirty seconds to admire what they’ve done here! I mean, they’ve risen from the ashes that I led them into and managed to craft something for themselves. It’s absolutely stupendous!”

“Hello, Starlight!” A familiar voice suddenly broke in.

Starlight turned and her smile became wider than ever as she recognized her old friend, Party Favor. She noted that he was wearing a top hat and a cape, and she deduced that he must have been elected to some important office. “Party Favor!” She said as the two embraced, “oh, it’s so wonderful to see you!”

“It’s great to see you too, Starlight,” the stallion responded, “and I see you’ve brought some friends with you.”

“Oh, yes,” she said, “I think you remember Trixie from the last time I was here, and these are my new friends Rose Garden, Kite String, and Smooth Boulder. They’re from The Crystal Empire.”

Party’s face fell. “The Crystal Empire?” He asked, and then went on when Starlight nodded, “are they…free of the virus?”

“Don’t worry,” Smooth responded for them, “we’re all as healthy as horses!”

“Yep, Smooth’s right,” Starlight said, “they’re clean.”

“Good,” Party said, “because we haven’t had a sniff of the sickness come through here. Perhaps it’s because we’re so utterly isolated from the rest of Equestria. Either that, or we’ve stumbled upon some kind of dumb luck. As the mayor of the town, I feel that it is my duty to protect everypony, so I grill all of our visitors about their origins and their business here. We also ask that ponies who visit us get tested and remain in quarantine until their results come back. This way, we've been able to continue business as usual while still keeping an eye out for the virus. ”

“Party,” Starlight said, “we’re investigating the illness. We picked up some clues while we were in the Empire, but then Cadance threw us out.”

“Cadance? The Princess of Love?”

“The same,” Starlight responded to the shocked stallion, “and I believe that Clean Bill can help us.”

Party Favor sighed, and Starlight detected a note of nervousness in his eyes. “You…wanna see…Clean Bill?”

“Yes,” Starlight said.

“Alright,” Party responded, “but I have to warn you, he’s not the same pony he once was. Follow me, and I’ll take you to him.”