Ponid-19

Twilight nearly burst into tears at the sight of her beloved niece. The small filly, who had just barely learned how to talk, lay in pools of her own vomit. It appeared that the three buckets laying underneath her bed were filled as well, and she just couldn’t wait for them to be replaced. Her normally bright white coat was dulled to a grey, and her bouncing blue eyes lay half closed in pain. She groaned as a tremor shook her tiny body, and another expulsion of the formerly eaten followed suit.

By this point, Twilight was in tears. She couldn’t bear to see her little bug like this. She wanted an embrace from somepony…anypony. Something to comfort her and reassure her that Flurry would make it through. But, thanks to the intensely contagious nature of the disease, everyone was standing a good length apart. Even with all the protective measures, there was still a good chance of catching it. Sicknesses tend to work in this manner, so everypony was being extra cautious. Thus, there was nopony to hug, so she bent her head into her hooves and cried deeply.

“Oh, Twilight…” Starlight said from her safe distance, “…it’ll all be alright.”

“No, it won’t!” Twilight wailed, “she’s gonna die, I just know it! I’ll never see her again or play with her again or…anything!”

Starlight noticed that Cadance’s head was bowed and tears ran from her eyes as well. The pain of this grieving mother was so great that she had no need for hysterics like Twilight. She just had to tilt her face in a certain way, and Starlight understood the horrible feelings that must have been coursing through her body. To watch one’s own offspring perish and be completely helpless to stop it? That must have been worse than Tartarus.

“I’m so, so sorry, Your Majesty,” Starlight offered, putting a hoof on her heart to signify her solidarity and kindness.

Cadance managed a small smile. “Thank you, Starlight. Your support is truly appreciated.”

“Support?!” Twilight wailed, “Flurry’s dying, and you’re talking about support?!”

“Twilight, calm yourself!” Cadance ordered firmly, “I don’t want anything to disturb Flurry. She needs her rest…she’s been struggling and battling so hard these past few days.”

Twilight seethed with rage and a terrible sadness. How could Cadance just stand there and not weep and wail at the sight of their Flurry Heart crumbling into dust? How?! Had she lost her love for the filly?! Twilight felt like attacking her former foalsitter, but forced her hooves to remain fixed to their spot. Still, she felt an overwhelming sense of contempt towards the pink princess.

As she raged away inside herself, her brother suddenly barged his way into the room and hurried over to his wife. He remembered to stand the proper distance from her, and then the following came out of his mouth: “Darling, someone escaped the Empire.”

“WHAT?!” Cadance shrieked. It seemed that she’d been awakened from her grieving slumber by this tragic news. “Bu-bu…but your guards…they were supposed to be keeping their eye out! Nopony got in and nopony left without the proper clearance from one of us! What happened?!”

“I’m sorry, Cadance,” Shining said sadly, “one of my guards just wasn’t paying as much attention as he should have, and somepony slipped out under the fence.”

Cadance sighed and looked at the floor. Her face once again took on a pained expression, as if this one pony’s actions could have dire consequences for all of Equestria. She appeared concerned for everypony, and judging by the new batch of tears that welled up in her eyes, the Princess of Love felt deeply for the population. She stomped a hoof on the floor, angry and upset at the apparent lack in her husband’s ranks.

“Did you at least fire the guard?” She asked.

“Of course, I did,” Shining said, “I won’t allow incompetence like that within my units. The only question is…what to do about the rest of Equestria?”

“We’ll have to recommend a complete lockdown of the borders,” Cadance said sadly, “I don’t enjoy doing that, as I want ponies and creatures from other nations to visit us, but…we cannot risk any further infection. We must also suggest a complete shutdown of every town in Equestria. Twilight, that includes Ponyville. It must be completely restricted, and ponies must stop seeing each other.”

Twilight gave a look of shock. This had all happened so quickly! Her eyes became wide as she realized that she carried the fate of everypony in her beloved village in her hooves. She thought of her close friends, and the ponies she saw every day. She thought of the foals in her town. But she also thought of their freedom and how happy they were living there. She just couldn’t infringe on that. Heck, she was the one who defended freedom and friendship. Were this shutdown to be implemented, she might never be able to gain those things again. She and everypony else would be isolated from each other…banned from even touching hooves.

“I…I just can’t,” Twilight said, “I love my friends too much to keep them apart.”

Cadance sighed. “I know of your deep affection for them, but it’s for the greater good! If everypony gets sick, there won’t be an Equestria to have friends in! Twilight…the foals…the elderly…those are the two groups who are at the highest risk. They must be spared, along with as many as possible. We’ve already got 300 cases in our town of 1,500 ponies, and the curve is only going up! We must think of everyone’s health.”

Twilight felt completely torn apart. Her loyalty to her principles clashed with her loyalty to the well-being of everypony. She remembered the oath she had taken when Celestia made her a Princess. She promised to defend everypony, even at the cost of her own life. She promised to look out for their safety, and ensure that they all led happy, healthy lives. But she also promised to conquer enmity wherever it might exist and turn it into pure friendship. She felt her entire life as a Princess go spiraling out of control as her mind seemed to congeal and then right itself. The question in her cortex was one that she never thought she’d ever have to answer: could she…ban friends from seeing each other?