Ponid-19

At the very moment the first rays of Celestia’s sun poked their way over the far off mountaintops, Starlight and Trixie were flying through the very realms of space and time. What most ponies fail to realize about teleportation is that, though it may look quick and easy, it is actually a laborious process for the Unicorn performing the spell. Starlight had to remain absolutely precise with her aura, guiding both she and her magically underwhelming friend straight into the back alleys of The Crystal Empire’s capital. She understood the necessity for complete concentration, and had found it difficult with Trixie’s constant chattering at the beginning. But then she became awestruck by all the different colors and things that swirled past them and she shut right up.

Almost…there, Starlight thought as she saw a bright white light open up in front of them. She smiled as she realized that they had reached their destination. Like an expert tram operator, she pulled the brakes on her magic and dropped the two of them neatly on their hooves. They stopped and looked at the buildings that surrounded their alley, noticing that they were boarded up. They slowly crept forward and poked their heads out into the sunlight, looking at the wooden bars that prevented customers from visiting their normal places of business. They noted that red and black messages had been written on them.

“Hm…’closed due to PONID-19,’” Trixie read aloud, “seems like everyone here’s taking the virus very seriously.”

“Well, wouldn’t you?” Starlight asked.

“Of course!” Trixie defended herself, “I just don’t see why we have to wear these awful hazmat suits!”

“Oh, for Celestia’s sake, you’re as bad as Rarity!” Starlight snapped, “it’s just a precaution.”

“But what do we need to take precautions for?” Trixie asked.

“The virus!”

“I thought you didn’t care!”

“I do!”

“Well, then, why are you so into conspiracy theories if you care so much?” Trixie asked snidely.

“I do NOT have any theories!” Starlight exclaimed, and then quieted, “I just wanna know what’s going on and why. It’s an investigation, a search for the truth.”

“Whatever you say,” Trixie said with a pointed eye roll.

Starlight shook her head and looked around for a guard station. She and Trixie were already wearing their proper protective gear, so now all they needed was a green stamp of approval on their suits. She noted that the ponies who were coming to the Empire to help out or visit loved ones were given the aforementioned marking in order to keep them out of trouble with the law. Cadance had imposed such strict regulations that, were someone to be caught out without the green stamp, they would be forced into quarantine within the depths of the castle dungeons.

She finally located one of these stations and managed to float over one of the checkmark stamps without anypony noticing. She stamped herself and Trixie, and then quietly set the stamp back where it was. She nodded at her friend, who was becoming a bigger strain on her nerves than the virus itself, and the two trotted out into the open. They smiled when they realized that each guard they passed was leaving them be. We can pull this off! Starlight thought, now, if I could just find that pony I saw protesting everything…

“HEY!” A guard suddenly screamed, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Starlight and Trixie were frightened by the sudden vocalization, and turned to look at just who the soldier was yelling at. They noticed a frightened mare holding her small foal behind her. She looked at the ground and then back up as the intimidating guardian made his advance. They noticed that her lips quivered and tears came to her eyes as he got closer and closer. He seemed to relish every single step he took, as a hawk eyes its prey from high above before circling down and striking as quick as lightning.

He got six hoof steps from her and halted. “I’m not getting any closer!” He thundered, “Unlike you, I happen to FOLLOW the law! You know that nopony’s out without the green stamp! You know of the distancing rules!”

“Please!” The poor mare begged, “I’m just trying to get food for my foal! She’s so hungry!”

“We’re ALL hungry!” The guard roared, “but that doesn’t give you any excuse to put your fellow Crystal Empire citizens at risk!”

“I…I tried to get the stamp, but they turned me away!” The mare cried, “they said I wasn’t necessary to the daily operations of the Empire!”

The guard grit his teeth. “Well, if you aren’t necessary…THEN YOU AREN’T NECESSARY! Now, you’ve earned yourself a one-way ticket to the big house of quarantine! MARCH!”

“No, please, I’m begging you, sir, please don’t take me from my foal!”

“STOP!” Starlight suddenly yelled before trotting over to the situation. She got the respectable distance from the mare and pointed to her green checkmark, “she’s with me!”

“Oh, she is, is she?” The guard asked.

“Yes, sir,” Starlight responded respectfully, “and you can drop this entire arrest. I’m personally escorting this mare, and I’m under orders from Princess Cadance herself to do so.”

The guard’s eyes widened and he noticed, not only the green checkmark on Starlight’s suit, but also the All Access pass that she’d been given when she visited with Twilight. She had flicked it out into the open as an insurance policy against cases like this one, and it seemed to work beautifully. The guard growled a bit, upset at being unable to haul somepony in, and stomped his way back to the others.

“Thank you so much!” The mare cried, “I would hug you, but-“

“I understand, and you’re welcome,” Starlight said kindly, “please, what’s your name?”

“I’m Rose Garden,” the pretty mare said, “and this is my daughter, Kite String. I was going to get my daughter something special for her birthday tomorrow, but I guess the Empire Guard had other ideas.”

“Not to sound like a know-it-all, but…they are delivering to homes here, right?”

Rose nodded. “They are, but as it is, we’re barely making enough to live on. My husband died of a severe case of Pony Pox two years ago, and he was the bread winner of the family. I basically stayed home and took care of Kite. When he passed, I went out, learned a few things, and got a job as a travel agent, but…when the virus hit…”

“They decided you weren’t necessary and you lost your job,” Starlight finished.

Tears played with Rose’s pretty pink eyes as she bent her head and nodded. There seemed to be a pain so great within the heart of this complete stranger that Starlight suddenly saw her as a friend. She wondered if this was what Twilight felt like every single day, or every time she saw somepony knew to be loved and listened to. She felt compassion and deep sympathy for this mare, whose entire world had crashed in around her ears. She suddenly decided that the “friendly distancing” guidelines weren’t worth following in that moment and she stepped forward and hugged the mare.

“What…what are you doing?” The mare asked, “don’t you know what’ll happen if someone catches you?”

“I don’t care, Rose,” Starlight responded before backing up and looking her new friend dead in the eye, “I once had someone take pity on me and teach me just what it was like to have true friendship in my life. Now, I want to show it to somepony else. I know we’ve only just met but…I’m wondering if you and Kite would like to accompany us on our journey.”

“Where are you going?” Rose asked.

“Well, it’s more of a journey of discovery rather than a journey of destinations. We’re trying to find out why this awful virus exists and where it came from.”

“Well, it sounds very exciting, but…I just don’t know.”

“It would get you out of the Empire for a while.”

Suddenly, Rose’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Yes, we’ll go with you! I think we’ve both been needing a little time away from here. Perhaps some adventure would give us both the spark we’ve been looking for.”

“Starlight!” Trixie whispered harshly as she trotted over to join the small group, “what about our…you know…need for secrecy?”

“Trixie,” Starlight responded, “when it comes to friendship, all secrecy is obliterated. We’re fighting for that, and this is the way we’ll reconstitute it across Equestria. It truly is a great hoof step in the right direction.”