Ponid-19

Clean Bill led everypony down some rickety stairs and through a large, thick metal door. Once inside, he clapped his hooves and everything roared to life! There were dozens of beakers, test tubes, wires, and all manner of liquids and solids running rampant throughout them. There was some purple juice running into a soft, blue sponge that looked awfully like cake. There was a yellowish liquid dripping into an empty beaker with a white circle drawn around a particular measurement. There were computers and screens everywhere, and all of them seemed to speak Clean Bill’s language. He would ask them to do something, and they would respond instantly.

It became apparent that he was not as insane as the ponies of the town would have everyone else believe. In fact, he was something of a genius! Underneath that ratty old structure, he had constructed a laboratory that would rival anything that a top university could offer. There were thousands of bits worth of material, all buzzing and beeping away. What was more impressive was the automation of it all. He didn’t even have to lift a hoof, and something new would begin dripping or swirling or mixing. Of course, he knew what it all was, but to his guests it was a wonderland filled to the brim with gizmos and gadgets that looked both dangerous and fun.

“Welcome to my haven of relaxation,” Clean said, “I hope you find it as interesting as I do.”

“Clean, how in the world did you get all of this?” Starlight asked, “I remember, back when I ruled here, all you had was a ramshackle test tube and your mind. I mean…this is…amazing!”

Clean Bill smiled. He thoroughly enjoyed how much she admired his work. As much as everyone else thought he was crazy, he was actually a very friendly pony, and an ardent supporter of Princess Twilight. When she came through the village and drove Starlight out, he considered it a major victory for everypony. Now, to see his old dictator transformed into somepony so caring and encouraging was almost too much for the veteran of life, and he wiped a small tear from his eye. She had never complimented him before, but he figured that the old utterance of “better late than never” applied perfectly.

“Thank you, Starlight,” he said simply, “that means more than you know. But, we do not have time to stand here and gaze about. I have important things to show you!”

He waved a hoof, and they followed him through the endless maze of ongoing scientific advancements, and through another metal doorway. In this room sat a projector, a screen, and fifteen or sixteen small seats. They all faced the viewing portal in perfect symmetry, and everypony was rather impressed by this. More and more of the villagers’ misconceptions about Clean Bill were unraveling before their very eyes. They expected to find a half-deranged lunatic foaming at the mouth and mumbling about some apocalyptic prophecy. Instead, they found somepony who was rough around the edges, but held a composed and constructive view of society.

“This is my projection room,” Clean said, “though, that might be painfully obvious.”

“Yeah…it was,” Trixie said dryly, earning a sharp foreleg from Starlight.

“Don’t mind her,” Starlight said, “she can be a little…nippy when she hasn’t had breakfast.”

“Or lunch, or dinner!” Trixie complained.

Starlight gave her a look of warning before turning back to Clean. “Please, continue.”

“Thank you,” Clean said, “I built this to show the residents of the town my experiments and the wonders of a life devoted to studying both science and magic. But…”

“But what, Mr. Clean?” Kite asked.

“Nopony has ever wanted to come out and see them. The rumors of my eccentricity and insanity have permeated the town’s thick atmosphere, and…and nopony likes me anymore.”

Starlight saw pain shoot through his eyes as he said those terrible words. She realized just how lonely the older stallion must have felt. She looked and saw sympathy draw its picture on Smooth Boulder’s canvas as well, and she knew that the two had a lot in common. Both had been ostracized by their fellow pony, both had been branded insane and fit for cells in any asylum, and both had once known the sweet embrace of a friend. She gulped as she felt her own tears begin stinging her eyelids, and she stepped forward and hugged the old scientist.

“I still like you,” she whispered honestly.

“Thank you, Starlight,” he said as she backed away, “but, enough of my troubles. There are slides I need you to see!”

With those words, he retreated behind the projector and everypony settled into their seats. They found them to be surprisingly comfortable, and Kite String felt like she was floating on a big, puffy cloud with the world about to be revealed to her. Her small orange eyes burst forth with curiosity and inquisitiveness, something which her mother took note of. She had received these elements of her personality from her father, and it only made Rose miss her husband even more. She suddenly bent down and nuzzled her daughter.

“I see you like the big screen, don’t you, Kite?”

“I do!” Kite said in wonder, “it looks like they could show a movie about all of Equestria at once!”

Rose chuckled and sat back just in time for Clean Bill to start the presentation.

“Here we go!” He announced before showing the first slide. It was a picture of a blue blob with tons of straight red spikes coming out of it. “This, my friends, is a picture of the hoof virus.”

“The what, now?” Trixie asked.

“The hoof virus, or PONID-18. It’s a strain of pony flu that deposits itself within the caves surrounding the very mouth of Tartarus itself. It is said to originate from the…various bodily deposits of the bats that live there, although no scientist in Equestrian history has been able to confirm this.”

“But…I thought that the virus was PONID-19,” Kite said questioningly, “what does PONID-18 have to do with it?”

“Ah, an excellent question, young one,” Clean said approvingly, “PONID-18 is the original virus. The next slide will show you…PONID-19 in its purest form.”

The next picture caused them all to recoil in shock! The same blue ball and spikes greeted their eyes, but there was something so different about this germ. Oh, it certainly looked just as frightening, but its personality had been altered.

“The…spikes…are…bent!” Starlight exclaimed.