Ponid-19

Trixie and Starlight quickly began making plans for their investigation. The arrogant, yet ditzy, magician was insistent upon the wearing of the traditional detective garb. She claimed that it would lend authenticity to their performance, however Starlight put her hoof down. She knew of the necessity for absolute secrecy regarding this mission. She didn’t want anypony else knowing of their locations, their conversations, or anything. She even told Trixie to keep her food choices secret.

“Everything must be done under a shroud of mystery,” Starlight said, “if we don’t do that, then our case could be blown before it even begins. We might even be arrested!”

“Arrested?” Trixie scoffed, “me? I think Twilight has too much respect for me. That, and she KNOWS what will happen if she gets on my bad side again…”

Starlight smacked her face with a hoof. “Trix, if you’re not gonna take this seriously-“

“Alright, alright, I’ll be more serious,” Trixie said, and then muttered under her breath, “but Twilight knows better than to mess with me.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

Starlight eyed her friend suspiciously, but then remembered the requirements she had set forth for the mission. She needed help, and Trixie was the only pony that could give it. Starlight had been through everypony else already. So she puffed out a long breath and steadied her nerves before telling Trixie to pack up her things and that they would leave Ponyville at the crack of dawn. “As soon as the roosters crow,” Starlight said, “we’re gone.”

“But…where in Equestria do we begin?” Trixie asked, “I mean, this seems like a rather huge operation, and we have nothing to go on.”

Starlight smiled. “You’re right, we don’t have anything…YET. We’re gonna start at the most logical place. The spot where every last bit of this nasty virus began. We’re going to The Crystal Empire.”

Trixie frowned questioningly. “Didn’t you just come from there, and didn’t you tell me that they’re being really strict about the ponies they let in and out?”

“Yeah,” Starlight said, “but we’re not going by train.”

“Oh…we’re going in my wagon, right?”

“Nope,” Starlight responded, shaking her head, “we’re gonna go by teleportation. If we do that, then I can just zap us into the Empire unannounced and unnoticed. We’ll be wearing the suits and masks that are required of everypony, and in them, we’ll look absolutely inconspicuous. Then, we can nose our way through town and find clues.”

Trixie’s frown dissipated slowly. She carried many questions for her friend, but she didn’t ask them. She was just glad that they finally got to spend some time with each other, especially since the sickness had broken out. The news reports were getting stronger and stronger by the day, and they seemed to have some kind of hypnotic power over everypony. The equines would stare at the television screens as E1 continued to break story after story of new citizens gaining an illness and nearly losing their lives. It was a sad sight to see, and with the new “friendly distancing” rules set in place by the Princesses, the sad became even sadder.

Starlight understood these things on a deeper level than most ponies, especially considering her background as a totalitarian. With a wince of pain, she remembered the lies she had spread to everypony and how they had completely fallen for her. She remembered the mares of the town coming to her for advice on various things. She would cruelly tell them the worst thing to do, and then watch in delight as they went and committed to the act. She remembered each stallion coming to her, begging for her hoof in marriage and telling her how much they adored her teachings. She had played with them, toying with their fear of losing friends, telling them that marrying her would slaughter their social lives. She had smiled as they went away weeping, loving the absolute control she had over everypony’s lives.

But now…she missed them. She suddenly wondered how everypony in her village was doing, and how much they enjoyed their new freedom and individualized unity in their cutie marks. She made a mental note to visit them while she and Trixie were on their journey. She also realized that it might be a good idea to speak with some of her former mental slaves about their thoughts on the virus. They would be far enough separated from the rest of Equestria that they wouldn’t impede the investigation. In fact, they might help it. Though she was nervous about seeing everyone again, she dug in deep and held to the philosophies Twilight had taught her. If they’re truly my friends now, she said to herself, then they’ll be perfectly happy to see me. Hell, they did invite me back for a festival! Perhaps I am still welcome there after all…

“HELLO! EARTH TO STARLIGHT!” Trixie suddenly shouted, startling the purple mare out of her thoughts.

“Ugh! Do you HAVE to yell like that?!” Starlight asked, “we’re not exactly following the friendly distancing rules right now, and I’d prefer not to get caught.”

Trixie sighed. “Sorry, but you just seemed to stare off into space for a while. Are you okay?”

Starlight nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. I’m just trying to map out where we need to go, and which ponies need to be let in on this query. Trixie…we’ve got the fate of Equestria in our very hooves. The information we uncover could very well lead to everypony’s complete understanding of what the virus is, why it exists, and where it came from. Then, Celestia and Luna can help create new-“

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Trixie said with a yawn, “look, I’m tired. I’ve been practicing magic all day, and if we’re gonna get going so early in the morning, I need sleep. I can’t do that with you yammering on about investigations and Princesses and destinies and all that.”

Starlight rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Alright,” she said, “good night, Trixie.”

“Good night, Starlight,” Trixie responded, “I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning.”