My Little Diseases

Chapters

My Little Diseases - Chapter 1 - Catalyst
My Little Diseases - Chapter 2 - Infection
My Little Diseases - Chapter 3 - The cure
My Little Diseases - Chapter 4 - the renovations
My Little Diseases - Chapter 5 - so much testing
My Little Diseases - Chapter 6 - the first subject
My Little Diseases - Chapter 6.5 - Fluttershy's gone...
My little Diseases - chapter 7 - nothing's working!
My Little Diseases - Chapter 8 - Lacking Sympathy...
My Little Diseases - Chapter 8.5 - patched up
My Little Diseases - Chapter 9 - so many colours.
My Little Diseases - Chapter 10 - Time for the hunt
My Little Diseases - Chapter 11 - Patient Zero
My Little Diseases - Chapter 11.5 - You're a failure
My Little Diseases - Chapter 12 - The Moon is Ours.
My Little Diseases - Chapter 13 - The Sun is Here
My Little Diseases - Chapter 14 - It doesnt end here.

My Little Diseases - Chapter 1 - Catalyst

Twilight was making her way through Ponyville, her wings spread wide as she walked through the streets toward the market square, which she was planning on going through, as a shortcut, toward the edge of town. Her saddle bag swayed a bit with her movements.

As she got to the market, many ponies greeted her, smiling wide and waving to the purple alicorn as she made her way past many tents, selling different products. From fruit and vegetables, to flowers, and even pet supplies.

The market was always busy with ponies. Either walking through to go home, or going through the pathway in the middle to go to another sales tent. It was always quite difficult to make her way through swiftly. Especially during this time of day. Many tents were able to restock as well, so everything was fresh. The air was filled with the different smells of products being sold, many spices, some flowers, some food being cooked in different tents.
It was very crowded and Twilight was somewhat struggling to get through, even as she was saying hi to everyone who greeted her.

Her hooves clicked along the stone path as she walked, so distracted by trying to get through the market in one piece, that she accidentally bumped into Pinkie Pie, who was purchasing extra confetti from a party stand.

The 2 ponies fell to the ground in a small pile, catching the attention of a few onlookers. The 2 ponies blushed a bit as they got up and brushed themselves off, before Twilight used her magic to gather up the bags Pinkie had dropped, and slipping them into her white saddle bag.

“I'm so sorry Pinkie, I didn't see you, are you alright?”
Twilight asked the party pony, as she pulled a leaf from her puffy mane.

“Haha, I'm alright Twilight don't worry, but you seem to be in a bit of a rush, where are you headed off to?”
Pinkie asked, finally getting to her hooves and checking the ground for any other items that may have dropped, before finally looking up at Twilight, their eyes locking. They couldn't help but smile at each other as their gazes met, and their cheeks reddened a bit.

After a moment of the 2 staring at each other, Pinkie cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck, before repeating her question.
“S-So uh… Where did you say you were headed?”

Twilight quickly snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head a bit, before responding in a slightly flustered tone.
“O-oh haha, i'm going to visit Zecora. She sent me a scroll asking for my help in the Everfree Forest. She needs some help gathering ingredients and believes having the extra help would help cover more ground.”

She explained quickly before giving Pinkie the scroll she had tucked in her own saddle bag for Pinkie to read over. Now that Zecora had spent so much time around ponies, she was able to write in ‘pony speak’.
But she preferred to talk out loud in her usual, rhyming dialogue. She felt more comfortable that way.

The scroll read:
“Dear Twilight.
I hope this scroll finds you well. I am writing to ask a favour from you. I need to gather more supplies from around my home, and I would like to formally request your help. I believe that the 2 of us working together would work a lot faster than just myself.

If you have the time,please come and see me at my home in the Everfree Forest, and I will take you to where my supply gathering clearing is.

Thankyou and see you soon

Zecora”

Pinkie finished reading the scroll and chuckled a bit.
“It's always strange seeing Zecora write in the way we speak, especially since she’s always rhyming when she speaks, she’s like a poet!”

Twilight laughed and nodded in agreement before taking the scroll back and rolling it back up so it fit snug back into her bag.
“You have a point there Pinkie. But I best get going, Zecora’s waiting for me.”

The pair then said their goodbyes, Twilight’s smile never leaving her face as she made her way out of town, past Fluttershy's cottage and toward the Everfree Forest.

As Twilight stepped into the intimidating woodland, the thick foliage and leaves cut off almost all sunlight, making the trek through the forest rather eerie, especially with all the creatures that roamed free within the woods, all the different properties that you’d never see in Ponyville. Such as the clouds moving on their own, or certain things being seen out of the corner of your eye.

The occasional twig snap was enough to cause Twilight to jolt in surprise, before she picked up the pace from a walk to a quick trot.
She had been in the forest many times, but the odd noise from an unknown direction would put any pony on edge. Soon enough she arrived at Zecora’s home, knocking gently on the door and calling inside.

“Zecora? I'm here! Are you home?”
After a moment of silence, Zecora opened her door, the wave of warm air washed over Twilight’s body, giving the alicorn a gentle embrace, along with the different smells of mixed herbs and spices greeted Twilight’s nostrils.

The alicorn always felt very welcomed and relaxed at Zecora’s home, and she found herself visiting more often nowadays, just chatting over a cup of herbal tea.

Zecora smiled wide to Twilight, always happy to see her alicorn friend.
“Ah, Twilight, so glad you’re here. You’re not usually free this time of year”

Twilight returned Zecora’s smile with a bright grin of her own, before responding.
“Haha yeah, normally I’d be in Canterlot planning the Grand Galloping Gala by now. But I managed to find some time to get away and come home for a bit to hand out invitations. So I thought I'd make some time and stop by.”

She explained before Zecora invited her inside. The aroma of mixed spices and herbs filled the air, and Twilight’s ears were greeted by bamboo windchimes, as the door bumped into them, and the warmth that radiated from Zecora’s open fire under her cauldron, always made the hut feel cozy and inviting. Especially during the colder months.

Zecora then spoke up.
“As the message in my scroll inquired, to refill my store, several items I require.”

Twilight nodded in understanding, standing beside Zecora and taking off her saddle bag with her magic. She sat her bag on a nearby chair so it was out of the way, before turning to her Zebra friend.
“Yeah, your scroll mentioned that you wanted to go to a nearby clearing to gather resources for your remedies. How far is this clearing anyways? I'm curious.”

Zecora then pulls out a map from a nearby set of cabinets. It was a map of the nearby vicinity, pointing to the clearing that they were going to. It was about a 5 minute walk from here.
Zecora then pointed toward the back of her home.
“I have many tools in my shack. Help yourselves to the ones in the back”

“Oh alright, thanks Zecora!”
Twilight responded before making her way out of Zecora’s house and around the back. There was a small wooden shack that was decorated with different masks from Zecora’s homeland, that she couldn't fit on the walls inside her home.

Twilight took a moment to admire the masks, all the different colours of paint and dye used on the perfectly carved woodwork to make the masks what they are, and what they mean. Different species' cultures always fascinated Twilight, and she had become very interested in Zecora’s culture recently, which prompted the more recent visits, not just for a friendly chat, but so Twilight could learn more about Zecora and her roots. Zecora, of course, was always happy to share this information.

Twilight then gently opened the door of the shack and poked her head inside. It was lined with shelves of different items.
Those being some empty jars, a few brown fabric bags and some protective gloves, which Twilight took for her hooves. She also spotted some common gardening tools in the back, such as a shovel, a pickaxe and a couple of sickles.
Twilight went for the shovel, and used her magic to put the gloves onto her front hooves.

When she emerged from the shack, Zecora was already there waiting for her, holding Twilight’s saddle bag in her teeth, along with her own bag on her back, Zecora also had a pair of gloves on her front hooves, and she grabbed one of the sickles from the shack, before closing the door.
Twilight took her bag and sat it down on her own back, her wings fitting comfortably on either side of the back strap.

With Twilight following close behind Zecora, they made their way to the clearing. It was fully surrounded in thick, dark trees, with a canopy so dense that it almost fully blocked out the sunlight. Say for the odd ray of sun that managed to fight its way through the leaves to shine through into the shadows.

The clearing was rather large, and would take any pony a good 5 minutes to walk around its perimeter.
Along the edge, as well as dotted around the clearings centre, were many different species of plant. Some bright blue and glowing faintly, some were bright red that stood proud. And others were a variety of colours that all looked like they could be dangerous just to look at.

Zecora smiled, looking at twilight and telling her to go in one direction, while Zecora walked in the other. Soon enough the pair were working their way through, collecting plants, wild herbs and vines.

Zecora was using her sickle to cut through the roots of the plants, while Twilight was uprooting the entire plant, so Zecora could make the most out of what they gathered. After about 20 minutes of gathering, their bags were nearly full, so many colours were mixed together, many different scents emerged between the woven sides of their bags, plaguing their nostrils and causing the occasional cough from Zecora and Twilight.

Twilight had decided to grab one more plant and call it quits before the scents got too overwhelming.
She found a glowing blue flower that stood proud on its own, almost picture perfect with the shadows of the forest behind it, and a singular, tiny ray of light shining on it.
Twilight smiled wide at her discovery and grabbed her shovel.

“Zecora! I'm going to grab one more and then I'll be done!” Twilight called out, getting a nod from Zecora in response.
Twilight then pushed her shovel into the ground, just an inch away from the plant, so she could also gather some of the roots.
It took a bit of extra force, as the ground was rather dry around the plant, before Twilight’s shovel suddenly broke through something that was buried in the dirt, that sprayed a black liquid into Twilight’s face.

Causing the Alicorn to drop her shovel, gagging and coughing.
Her eyes shut tightly as her face was caked in the thick spore and liquid mix that suddenly shot out of the ground. She tried to wipe her face clean, but she only managed to spread it further across her face.
The liquid clung to her fur, staining it and refusing to move with the efforts Twilight was making.

All the racket caught the attention of Zecora who came trotting over with worry on her face.

“My, Twilight, are you alright? I wouldn’t want you catching a blight.”
Zecora asked, with concern lining her tone as she saw the Alicorn still coughing violently.

“I don't… ugh… I don't know what happened, I tried digging up that plant and something sprayed in my face…”
Twilight explained as Zecora looked past her, at the plant that was now half uprooted.
The sun ray from earlier shone down into the small hole that was made, causing something to glimmer.
Zecora then walked over, gently shifting the dirt to the side with the shovel, to reveal that Twilight had broken through what looked like a glass sphere, the inside of it being caked in a layer of spores and condensation, with a singular tiny mushroom growing on the inside.

“Well that's strange, I do not recognize this sphere. Come, my home should still be near”

Twilight gave a nod, reaching out a hoof to try and reach Zecora. Her eyes shut tight to keep the spore filled liquid from flooding her vision.
Instead, Zecora nudged her muzzle under Twilight’s wing, promoting her to use that instead.
With Twilight’s wing resting across Zecora’s back, she managed to guide the purple alicorn back to her home. Where she gently sat twilight down and began making a bowl of warm water and a rag.

“First let’s get you clean” Zecora said softly, telling Twilight what she was about to do, since her eyes were still closed.

Zecora walked over to Twilight and began gently wiping the liquid away, the warm water managed to wipe the liquid away with ease. Her purple fur was now slightly darker around her face from the pigment of the spores and liquid mix.
Once Twilight’s face was cleared, the alicorn finally opened her eyes, only to be greeted by Zecora’s worried face.

“D-do i really look that bad?”
Twilight asked with concern, her ears folding back and her wings opening a bit.
The Zebra then took out a small wooden stick and signalled for Twilight to open her mouth, which she did.
She used the stick to hold Twilight’s tongue out of the way so she could look into her mouth better, only to see that her throat was stained black. Twilight had inhaled whatever spores were inside that sphere.

“It appears you inhaled that stuff to a high degree. Maybe we should stop for now, wouldn’t you agree?” Zecora asked as she put the rag away, and put her gloves into the nearby trash can.

“Alright well, I'm glad I was able to help out Zecora. Sorry for suddenly causing so much chaos…”
Twilight responded, before coughing a bit into her front hoof. She then used her magic to remove the gloves and throw them away in the nearby trash can.

Zecora simply gave a dismissive wave before opening the door, the bamboo wind chimes clinking together again, filling the room with their simple melody.

“You look rough, go home and rest. You have done more than enough, I can do the rest.” Zecora instructed with a smile, which was met with a simple nod from Twilight.

The alicorn picked up her bag, leaving the gathered materials on the nearby table along with Zecora’s load, before making her way out and back to Ponyville. Though not without a few small coughs and splutters.
Which surely didn't go unnoticed by some of the citizens. Twilight soon reached her castle, still coughing slightly as she closed the door.

“S-spike? Are you home?”
Twilight called out into the castle, putting her now empty saddle bag down by the door, and slowly walking through the halls of her castle.
Her hoofsteps echoed on the crystal floor, and the rooms shone with a grand display of small rainbow prisms that slowly faded the deeper she went into the castle.

She soon came to the castle’s kitchen, where she found Spike. He was making a cake with a new cook-book that Twilight had not seen before. Walking in, she peeked at the front cover, it was a cook book written by Mr and Mrs cake, all about baking and many different recipes they had discovered over the years.
“Baking through the years” the title read, and the front cover was the Cakes holding some baking equipment like whisks and baking trays.

“Hey twilight!” Spike finally said, he had seen Twilight come in, but was focused on counting some pony friendly, edible gemstones for his muffins he was making.
Once he had finished counting and putting them into separate containers by colour, he hopped off of his stool and hugged the purple alicorn.

“Hey… are you ok? You look rough. Did something happen while you were with Zecora?”
Spike asked, looking at Twilight’s half lidded eyes.

“Yeah.. We were almost done and something that was hidden in the dirt I had accidentally smashed open, spraying my face with some kind of liquid.
Zecora looked me over and asked me to go home and rest up. I don't feel right, I'm hoping some rest will do me some good, especially with the Gala coming up.”
Twilight explained, before smiling down at the dragon.

“I'm sure I'll be ok. If anything changes, I'll let you know.”
She then gave Spike a tight hug, wrapping her hooves and wings around him in a warm embrace, before making her way upstairs and to her bedroom, where she climbed into her bed, wrapped herself in her blankets, and drifted off to sleep.

My Little Diseases - Chapter 2 - Infection

It had been about a week since Twilight returned home from Zecora’s place. She had been in and out of her library, every day, for the whole week. Trying to figure out what was going on with her. Scouring through her books and reading each one, cover to cover, trying to understand why her body was changing.

While Twilight was reading a herbal remedy book, she heard a knock on the door, turning around, she saw that Spike was standing in the doorway with Rarity.
“Hey Twilight! Rarity’s here to talk about her part in planning the Gala!”
Spike explained, before inviting Rarity into the room, and leaving the 2 ponies to talk.

“Hey Rarity, how are things going?”
Twilight asked, she had dark bags under her eyes from the late nights of research, her body was beginning to change slightly from the substance she inhaled. It was only minor changes, but they were noticeable to a pony with an eye for small details, like Rarity.

Twilight’s bright pink magic was beginning to darken in colour, and the veins around the base of Twilight's horn had turned black, they were mostly obstructed by her mane, but when exposed, they were visible to the naked eye.
Rarity took a moment to look at Twilight’s horn as she noticed the black veins on her purple friend’s forehead, she gently moved Twilight’s hair out of the way to get a better look.

“Twilight.. Are you feeling alright? Your horn is different.”
Rarity asked, looking at her friend’s tired expression.

“I don't think so. I inhaled something strange at Zecora’s place and it's making me sick… I've been researching into what might be happening, but none of my books have provided any answers”
Twilight explained as she used her magic to put the books she had out, back on their respective shelves.

“Well… I was here to discuss the different coutures that I had made for the Gala, but that can wait, let's get you sorted first.”
Rarity responded simply, before picking up one of the books before Twilight had grabbed it, opening it and reading the front cover. The book was called “Lost Illnesses”. She then opened the book to the front page, which read:

‘Long lost illnesses. These diseases and viruses have been lost through time, either by the disease itself dying out, or ponies simply growing immune to it through vaccinations or evolution.’

Rarity then had a flick through, driven by morbid curiosity, trying to see if there was an article that Twilight may have missed, given how frantically she flicked through her books at times. But getting to the middle of the book, she found that one of the pages had been ripped out.
“Twilight look.”
Rarity said, holding up the book to her alicorn friend. “There’s a page missing.”

“But… How?”
Twilight started.
“This book was in mint condition when I got it in Canterlot. Spike! Were you eating my books in your sleep again!?”

Twilight shouted out to her dragon friend, only to be given a confused response.
“No, I don't sleep eat anymore, not after I figured out to eat a big meal before bed.”
Spike explained, as Twilight turned back to Rarity.

Rarity had now put the book away, and she began to explain what she believes they should do.
“Well, for now, I'd say if your books aren't giving any answers you’re looking for, have Spike look for the missing page around the castle, and we’ll go to Ponyville Hospital to see if they can give us any clue as to what’s going on. You never know, maybe the page got caught on something when your books were all transported here… Or… what was left of them”

Twilight nodded slowly in agreement, remembering the day she lost her old tree home to Tirek, losing almost all of her books, except for a select few of leather covered books. After a few moments, she thought about Rarity’s plan and smiled, before calling Spike over to get him brought up to speed.

“Spike, Rarity is going to go with me to the hospital, to see if this illness is known at all. The book that we found has a missing page, so could you look around the castle for it?”

Twilight asked, and Spike gave a salute and a determined smile.
“You can count on me Twilight! I’ll turn this castle upside down if I have to!”

Twilight giggled a bit and hugged Spike gently. Before saying goodbye and going with Rarity to the hospital.

On the way to the hospital, Twilight gave a few yawns and winced a bit, as the occasional wave of pain passed through her horn. Rarity gave her alicorn friend a concerned look as they walked side by side, and Rarity began to notice other citizens of Ponyville looking rather worried with each wince Twilight made, some of them whispering to each other.

Cutting through the town square and through the market, they soon got to the hospital, and walked into the main lobby, only to be greeted by Nurse Redheart at the front desk.

“Hello there Rarity, Princess Twilight, how may I assist you 2 today?”
She asked, her tone as friendly and welcoming as usual, her greeting almost instantly put the pair at ease before Rarity stepped forward to explain their situation.

“Well, Twilight here has been going through some odd changes, her magic colour has darkened and there's some dark lines at the base of her horn. She’s also feeling a lot of fatigue. Do you think you could have a look at her and help us understand what’s going on?”
Rarity explained, before Nurse Redheart looked at Twilight. The big bags under her eyes, the darkening horn base and the overall look of Twilight made her rather concerned.

“Alright, follow me”
Nurse Redheart instructed, as Rarity and Twilight followed her down a nearby hallway to one of the many examination rooms the hospital had.
Twilight sat down on the bed that sat along one of the walls, while Rarity sat in one of the many chairs available in the room.

Soon, Doctor Stable walked into the room and smiled wide at the pair, putting her stethoscope around the back of her neck.
“Hello, Nurse Redheart got me all caught up on what’s going on, so Twilight, with your permission I'd like to have a better look at you and see if we can determine what’s wrong.”

Twilight nodded to the doctor and allowed them to do a few quick tests. It was the usual routine. Checking her blood pressure, taking a few saliva samples, a blood sample and taking her weight and height.
Doctor Stable soon walked back into the room after running the saliva and blood tests, holding a clipboard.

She looked rather confused.
“How is everything doc?” Rarity asked, looking rather concerned, as Twilight had begun continuously coughing, as if she had something stuck in her throat.

“Well… We ran the tests, and her blood and saliva results came back saying there's nothing wrong. But just looking at Princess Twilight here, I can see that something is severely wrong.” Doctor Stable responded, her ears folding back as she walked over to Twilight, taking one more look into her mouth.

The black stain that was in her throat had now spread to the rest of her mouth, except for her teeth. Making her teeth look like they were floating in some kind of dark void. Twilight’s ears folded back and she looked at the doctor with worry.

“What do you think it is?” Twilight asked, worry growing on her face.
Doctor Stable put her hoof to her chin in thought.

“Well at the moment, you’re showing cold symptoms, along with the strange signs of your magic going dark in colour, and the dark lines around your horn. Any other doctor would say it's just a cold. But I have no idea what this would be… Ill take the results we have from your sample tests, and see if I can draw any other kind of conclusion… For now i’d say go home and quarantine yourself, just in case this infection is highly contagious.” The doctor explained, her ears folding back, feeling rather guilty that she couldn't do more to help.

Rarity gave the doctor a soft smile, while helping Twilight off of the examination bed.
“Well, we greatly appreciate your help. I'll take her home to get some rest, let us know if you find anything.”

The doctor gave a nod and discharged Twilight from the hospital, allowing the 2 of them to go back to Twilight’s castle.

Twilight was having a bit of trouble staying upright while walking, and had to lean on Rarity for most of the trip. This prompted some of the citizens of Ponyville to take notice and some tried to help.
Carrot Top ran over to the other side of Twilight, helping Rarity support the alicorn as they walked back to the castle.
Other citizens walked alongside the pair, making sure they remained steady, as well as being there in case Carrot Top needed to switch with anyone.

“What's going on? Is Princess Twilight ok?” Carrot Top asked, out of pure curiosity.
Prompting rarity to give a brief explanation, just to get her up to speed.

“She’s contracted a strange illness that the hospital can't identify. So they’ve instructed her to go home and quarantine just in case it's contagious. But I don't think it is, I've been with Twilight all day and I haven't felt any different.”
Rarity explained, and Carrot Top nodded in understanding.

Once they reached the castle, Rarity thanked Carrot Top and the other citizens for their help, and guided Twilight inside.
With the help from Spike, they got Twilight upstairs and into bed, where she landed on the bedding with a soft poof sound, and her body laid heavy on the mattress.
Twilight then gave a soft groan and rolled over in bed, revealing that her torso was now covered in dark spots that seem to have formed under the skin. They were tough, almost like white heads, but were dark in colour.

With frantic worry, Rarity left the bedroom and went to the castle library, picking up a scroll and a quill, as well as some ink. She then called Spike to the library and they began writing a scroll to Princess Celestia.

“If there’s anyone who may have SOME kind of answer, it's got to be Celestia…”

The scroll said:
‘Dear Princess Celestia.
My apologies for the sudden urgency, but there is something wrong with Twilight… She has suddenly fallen ill with an unknown virus and we don't know who else to help her.

Her magic has gone almost completely black in colour, the veins around her horn and forehead are becoming visible, as well as also turning black. And as of this morning, she has developed some strange spots on her stomach that are darker than her usual fur colour, but I suspect they will soon turn completely black as well.

If you have any knowledge or any kind of explanation for this, please write back to us as soon as you can…

Kind Regards

Rarity.’

Spike then sent the scroll to Celestia in a small burst of green flame, before looking up at Rarity.
“Well… All we can do now is wait…” Spike said softly, tears coming to his eyes as he thought about Twilight and her current condition.

Rarity’s ears folded back and she hugged Spike tightly, comforting him the best way she could think of.
“It's alright Spike.. I'm sure the princesses will think of something…”

Rarity then remembered the lost page from Twilights book and asked Spike if he had found it.

"Oh... No. I searched all over the castle. I found a bunch of spare scrolls, some lost quills and even a comic book i had lost... But no book pages..."
Spike admitted in a rather defeated tone.

So until Celestia writes back... All they could do, was sit and watch Twilight's condition get worse...

My Little Diseases - Chapter 3 - The cure

It had been a full day since Rarity and Spike sent the scroll to Celestia, in that time, Twilight’s condition had gotten much worse.

Her breathing was shallow, her eyes were barely open, and her horn was leaking some kind of toxic viscus from the tip that ran down her horn and over her muzzle, staining her fur. The veins on her forehead had now spread entirely across her upper head, stopping just below her eyes.
She was laying on her side, because the pain in her torso was too great to lay on.
The spots on her stomach had gone completely black, just like Rarity had predicted, and were now becoming more blotchy.
Her horn had turned completely black, just like the inside of her mouth, and she didn't have the energy to do much except for move her head and her front hooves.

While sitting in Twilight’s bedroom in silent worry, Spike suddenly let out a belch that resulted in him receiving a scroll from Celestia. Rarity looked at Spike with wide eyes and trotted across the room.
“Was that from Celestia?”
Rarity frantically asked, and Spike nodded, quickly opening the scroll.

Spike then showed Rarity the scroll, and the 2 of them began reading it together.
It read.

‘Dear Rarity.

Thankyou for reaching out. I can assure you that I do know of this illness…
Though it is with my deepest regret that it might be too late for Twilight. Unless you act quickly.
The illness is called “the unseen blight”. It is a virus that attacks alicorns only, turning their magic into a toxic substance that will run through the bloodstream, and eventually attack their organs directly.

I will be sending Princess Luna to Ponyille to explain the cure and how to get it to work. She will be with you shortly. I wish you luck…

Regards, Celestia.’

Rarity and Spike stared at each other with wide eyes, and both began tearing up. Twilight was dying, and all they could do was sit and wait until Princess Luna arrived.

“T-twilight…?” Rarity says softly, prompting the alicorn to look at Rarity slowly, her half lidded eyes eventually finding the white unicorn.
“The infection you have is called the Unseen Blight.. And judging by what Celestia just told us, there’s a chance that you have at least a week left to be cured, before it's too late. But we can't be sure…”

Rarity explains, tears running down her cheeks, prompting Twilight to weakly reach out and wipe Rarity’s cheek.

“I think… I think I'll be ok… I have faith in you..”
Twilight responses, her voice hoarse and strained.

About an hour passes, before they hear something almost crash land on the balcony at the end of the hallway outside of the bedroom. It was Princess Luna!
Rarity frantically opened the door, her ears folding back and tears running down her face as she greeted the moon Princess.

Before Rarity could ask questions, the other elements of harmony came bounding in through the front door, and ran upstairs where Rarity was.

“Rarity? What’s goin’ on?! We saw Princess Luna fly over to the castle!”
Applejack asked, with the others looking rather concerned.

“Well, I'm glad you could all be here, as I don't know how long Twilight has left.”
Luna says, hanging her head slightly, causing the Elements of harmony to look between themselves with great concern.

“So Celestia sent rarity here a scroll.”
Princess Luna Started.

“This scroll explains what is going on. Twilight is infected with an infection called “The Unseen Blight”. It is a virus that attacks only alicorns, turning their magic into a toxic mucus-like substance that slowly enters the bloodstream and starts attacking the alicorn's internal organs directly. There is a way to cure it, but it's a very difficult procedure.”

Luna pauses, allowing everyone to process what’s just been said, before looking back at Luna, awaiting for her to explain further.

“To cure ‘The Unseen Blight’, a horn transplant must be performed. And that is why I'm here. The procedure can only be performed with alicorn magic, and a willing unicorn’s horn… Only once the horns are switched, and the alicorn’s magic is restored, will they return to a healthy state and make a full recovery. The main downside is that this procedure has a 100% mortality rate for the unicorn… The unicorn will not survive…”

As Princess Luna explained all of this, her head hung and her tone turned into a rather guilty one. The elements of harmony grew worried, as they listened intently to what Luna had to say.

“We learned this, because Princess Cadance was infected with the unseen Blight many moons ago. Long before Twilight had even moved to Ponyville. The procedure requires the use of the entire horn, and the unicorn that volunteered to save Cadance, didn't make it, because the unicorn suddenly becomes too weak to keep functioning, and passes away almost immediately after their horn is removed…”

Luna’s ears fold back as she finishes explaining what the procedure is, and she struggles to look any of the ponies in the eye.
The elements of harmony look between each other. The silence couldnt have been more loud. Until Rainbow Dash finally spoke up.

“Well then, all we need to do is find a unicorn who would be willing to give the ultimate sacrifice.”
Rainbow said slowly, her ears folding back.

“But who in Equestria would want to–?”
Applejack Started, before Rarity cut her off.

“I'll do it.”
Rarity stated, standing tall and confident. Causing everyone else to look at her in shock.

“Are you sure? you know what will happen.”
Princess Luna asks, and rarity nods, looking Luna in the eye.

“These last 2 days, I have been doing everything I can to help Twilight figure out what’s been going on, while trying my best to keep Ponyville’s citizens at ease about what’s happening. All our research and questions asked led to dead ends. The only answer we had was a vague scroll from Celestia that arrived an hour before you did Luna… I feel like it's the least i can do”
Rarity explained, adamant that she wanted to give the ultimate sacrifice to save her friend's life.
It was clear there was no changing Rarity’s mind, and the others couldn't help but tear up, as it dawned on them that they were about to lose one of their friends, to save another.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Spike all hugged Rarity tightly, a few of them holding back their sobs as they knew this would be the last time they saw Rarity alive.

“We’ll give you some time to prepare.”
Princess Luna said, before leading the others into Twilight’s bedroom, to see her and tell her what was about to happen, while Rarity made her way downstairs, asking Spike to follow her.

The white unicorn made her way into Twilight’s study, grabbing a scroll and quill, beginning to write. She was writing a letter to Sweetie Belle.

It read.
‘My dearest Sweetie Belle.
By the time you’ve received this letter, I won't be around anymore. I will have passed on from this world and moved on into the next, Im writing this letter to say….

I love you. You have been an amazing little sister to me and I cannot thank you enough for the amount of support you have given me throughout my fashion career.
You have always been there for me, during my best times, and during my not so great times.
We’ve had so many laughs, you and I, haven't we?
It's been wonderful, being your big sister, and it pains me to say goodbye in such an unruly way… But it must be done…

Take good care of Opal, the boutique is now yours to do as you please with.
You can turn it into the brand new, cutie mark crusaders clubhouse if you want!

I love you so much Sweetie Belle, and I wish you the best of luck for the future.
Lots of love
.Rarity’

Rarity set the quill down, tears running down her face and her breathing was shaky, she slowly turned to spike, putting the scroll in an envelope and passing it to him.

“G-go and deliver that to Sweetie Belle please Spike.. Won't you?”
Rarity asks, her ears folding back as she sees how teary the baby dragon was.
Spike burst into tears for a moment, wrapping his arms around rarity and burying his face into her shoulder.

“It's alright Spike… I'll be ok, I promise… But it must be this way…”
Rarity explains before sending Spike on his way to the boutique to deliver the letter to Sweetie Belle.

After a few deep breaths and drying her face, she makes her way back upstairs to meet the others in Twilight’s bedroom.

Everyone stood around her bed in silence, say for the odd snivel as they saw the condition Twilight was in.

A soft tune was playing throughout the room, it was coming from a music box that sat on the bedside table beside Twilight’s head. The alicorn was watching the little figure inside spin in small circles as the music chimed.

It was a white and gold music box that was gifted to her as a filly. She had brought it with her to Ponyville, as she used it as a method of keeping herself calm when things got too stressful.

The music chimed and looped from the little box, and once Rarity entered, Twilight went to speak.

“Girls… Just in case this procedure does not work… Please let me take this moment to say a few things…. Girls.. I am so proud of all of you… We have all come so far, saved so many lives together, and our friendship has grown so strong, that I feel like not a single thing could break the bonds between us… “

Twilight then turned over in bed a little bit, looking at Pinkie Pie directly.

“Pinkie Pie… I don't know why I didn't tell you sooner… But… I love you… And I have for a very long time… I've had feelings for you for such a long time, longer than I can remember… I know it's harsh, saying all of this now, but I want to get everything I wanted to say out into the air…”

Rainbow Dash scowled at this, her ears folding back, and she moved away from the group a little bit.

Twilight then moves her head to look at Princess Luna, who was struggling to hold herself together.
“Princess Luna… Can you please tell Celestia, that I am so sorry, that I wasn't more careful… None of this would have happened, if I had simply thought of what could happen from my actions.
And Luna.. Thankyou, for coming all this way to help me… And if it doesn't work, just know that you did everything you could.. And that’s more than enough… And Rarity…?”

Twilight paused for a moment, giving Rarity a chance to look at her.

“Thank You… For this… You have no idea how much of an impact you’re going to make if this works. Thankyou for being such a kind soul to me for these last few days…”

Rarity walked forward slowly, and hugged twilight gently, before stepping back, so Luna could get started.

“Alright… Everypony i’ll need you to stand back, Rarity, stand beside me please…”
Luna instructed, and everyone did as they were told.

Rarity stood beside Luna, and nodded slowly, signalling that she was ready and braced herself.
Luna’s horn lights up slowly, as she begins casting a spell to extract as much as the toxic viscus that was leaking from Twilight’s horn.
As Luna extracted the viscus, the blotches on Twilight’s torso began to slowly fade. And as that spell did its job, Luna turned to Rarity.

Rarity took a deep breath and nodded, and Luna’s horn lit up again.
A spell began to form a ring around Rarity’s horn that slowly began to dig into the skin, and dig out the bone from the skull to detach it.
Rarity cried out in pain, her ears folding back and her eyes shut tightly.

The other ponies in the room looked on in shock, some of them beginning to shout out in protest, as blood began to run down Rarity’s head and neck.
As the spell continued, more blood began to spray and run down rarity’s head. Her screams echoing throughout the room, and she was struggling to stay upright.

Pinkie Pie ran forward, helping Rarity stay upright, as the procedure continued.
After a few minutes that felt like an eternity, Rarity’s horn came loose from her head, and Rarity began to slowly go limp over Pinkie Pie’s back.

Pinkie hugged Rarity tightly, sobbing openly as Rarity passed away in her arms, all life fading from her body in an instant.
But there was no time to pause, as The procedure was only half done.

Luna then used Rarity’s horn and cast a 3rd spell on it, before holding it up to Twilight’s horn. The 2 horns merged together in a bright flash of light, and any and all viscus left in Twilight’s system evaporated, as Twilight's magic returned to its state of energy and magic, instead of a toxic substance.

Soon all sound fades from the room, aside from Pinkie Pie crying, and the music box…
Playing on loop again and again and again….

My Little Diseases - Chapter 4 - the renovations

The rain pattered against the ground, as many ponies gathered around an open grave, inside was a coffin, containing Rarity’s body… Her noble sacrifice did not go unnoticed, and many ponies gathered around for the funeral.

Everyone was dressed in black, their heads hung toward the ground, in a collective silence as the priest at the front of the crowd said a few prayers, as the coffin was lowered into the ground. Many sobs could be heard, others tried to hold themselves together,it was a very solemn scene…

SweetieBelle stood beside Applejack, along with Apple Bloom, wearing a fully black gown, her ears fully folded back, tears streaming continuously down her face as she openly sobbed as she watched her big sister be lowered into the ground. She was the first of the crowd to walk up, carrying a bouquet of roses with ehr lime green magic, which she slowly lowered on top of the coffin as it was lowered.

Soon the remaining elements of harmony followed, each of them throwing a flower of their own into the grave, along with the cutie mark crusaders and Spike.

The crowd stayed around the grave in a moment of silence as the priest, as well as other staff began filling the hole with dirt, finally burying rarity and leaving her in peace.
Slowly, the crowd began to disperse, each pony slowly going home, all except for Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie, who stayed behind after everyone left.

Twilight was dressed in a simple black robe, with a test and black gloves. She had made a full recovery, but the Unseen Blight had definitely taken its toll, and left a few marks behind. Twilight’s magic had remained pitch black, and her horn was completely white, from being replaced by Rarity’s horn.
She tried to keep herself well kept, but her mane was still slightly shaggy and her fur colour has darkened significantly in colour.

Pinkie’s mane was laying flat against her head, it hadnt poofed up since the transplant took place. Her ears folded flat against her head and she couldn't take her eyes off of the gravestone that had rarity’s name and cutie mark chiselled into it.
Pinkie only snapped back to reality, when Twilight opened her wing, using it to shield Pinkie from the rain.
Pinkie was wearing a black dress that flowed slightly behind her, her eyes had large bags under them, as she hadn't been able to sleep since the incident.

The 2 ponies looked at eachother, locking eyes for a moment and looking away after a moment. Ever since Twilight’s confession, they had been on rather awkward terms.
Unsure on where to take things. The silence couldn't have been louder, as the 2 of them tried to find something to say. After what felt like an eternity, Pinkie Pie spoke up.

“We should uh.. Get out of the rain.”
Pinkie said slowly, looking up at Twilight, who nodded in agreement. The two of them finally leave the gravesite, and walk toward Sugarcube Corner. Noone else was on the streets, all of them staying home and paying their respects to Rarity.
Because not only had Ponyville lost a friend, they had lost a neighbour, a sister, an acquaintance… And a hero…

When Twilight and Pinkie entered Sugarcube Corner, the 2 of them sat at one of the tables in the cafe section with a hot drink. They sat there together in silence, before finally, Twilight spoke up, and addressed the elephant in the room.

“Pinkie… About what i said… Before I was cured.”
Twilight started, causing Pinkie to look up from her drink as it swirled in her cup.

“I meant it… All of it. Not only am I proud of you, and the other elements of Harmony for all the adventures and battles we’ve accomplished together.. But I also mean what I said about my feelings for you…”
Twilight rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof, having a bit of trouble finding the words to say next.

Pinkie then reached over the table, putting her hoof on the purple alicorn’s other hoof that remained on the table.

“Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel the same about you..”
Pinkie said, her ears folding back and a small smile playing on her face. Though her mane never poofed back up, remaining flat, hanging to one side of her face.

Twilight couldn't help but smile back in response, both of their cheeks turning slightly red as they stared at each other. Their hooves resting on top of eachother, their eyes never leaving each other's gaze as they didnt say anything, just enjoying eachothers company.

A few hours passed, before Pinkie and Twilight left Sugarcube Corner, and began making their way towardTwilight’s castle, The 2 of them smiling lovingly at each other as they walked.
But, as they walked, Twilight soon broke their gaze to each other, and she looked ahead, her face changing to looking rather deep in thought, causing the 2 of them to stop in their tracks.

“What’s on your mind?”
Pinkie Pie asked, tilting her head at the purple alicorn, gently nudging her side to get her attention.

“I'm just thinking… I've caught this illness.. ‘The Unseen Blight’ Celestia called it… And Cadence caught it too, a long time ago… It's unclear if the Alicorn immune system can tackle this illness if we catch it again, seeing as both of us have now been cured with a horn transplant… I have a lot of science equipment in my castle from previous research. Maybe we can use it, and run some tests, and maybe make a vaccine for the other alicorns out there. Not only would it save other unicorns from passing away from such a procedure. But it could keep us Alicorns safe, especially since Flurry Heart is still young.”

Twilight rambled out loud, mostly to herself, but Pinkie listened intently. Twilight's wings ruffled as she searched her mind for ways to make this vaccination a reality.

“It's not actually a bad idea.”
Pinkie finally said, snapping Twilight out of her train of thought.
“I'm sure we can turn a room in your castle into some kind of research facility for this. It would be a huge achievement if you made this kind of breakthrough.”

Pinkie put her hoof to her chin in thought, before Twilight gasped and smiled wide.
“Pinkie! You’re a genius!! The castle’s jail! It's empty! Any creature that has caused any carnage around here, has been sent straight to tartarus! I don't plan on using it! We can use that as a research facility!”

The 2 ponies smiled wide at each other, before they broke into a full sprint, galloping toward the castle to begin planning the renovations needed, to turn the castle's underground jail into a research facility.

Many blueprints, planning and bought tools were used. Many days were spent transforming half of the jail into a partial lab. They figured they wouldn't need to use the entire room for their testing and so split the room in 2, saving 4 cells, just in case the jail did end up needing to be used for any reason.

Days turned to weeks, as the renovations began, half of the cell doors were destroyed, the cells filled in to make a flat wall, and the wall then plastered, boarded and painted white, making the section look more sanitary and official. They then filled the lab with all the science equipment Twilight had stored in the castle. Ranging from spare test tubes, to microscopes and chemical mixing stations.

After a month of hard work, the lab was finally ready to begin testing. Twilight looked rather proud of her and Pinkie’s work, smiling with and looking over at Pinkie, who was sliding a final set of drawers into place.
“Well. I’d say this is as good as we’re going to get. Pinkie, do you mind grabbing some extra supplies from upstairs? I’ll make sure everything is ok down here before we begin.”
Twilight asked, nuzzling Pinkie’s forehead as she walked past, watching her walk up the stairs.

Her white horn then lit up, the black magic surrounding it. It was still something to get used to. Twilight’s smile slowly faded from her face as she saw the black magic pick up a nearby clipboard that she was using to keep track of everything.

Giving a soft sigh, she also picked up a quill and began walking around the half lab, checking off everything they had. As Twilight was checking everything off, she heard a chuckle echo from the far corner of the jail. Dropping her clipboard in shock, she looked around, the same chuckle echoing throughout the room.

Twilight’s head whipped around as she tried to pinpoint where the laughter was coming from, before she heard a voice chime fron right behind her ear.“You really think you’ll succeed?”
The voice emanated around Twilight’s head… It sounded just like… Rarity?

Twilight turned around fully, going to respond, only for the voice to speak up again.
“I may have given my life to help you… But you’re really wasting your time on such a lost cause.”
Rarity’s voice hissed, sounding angry, and cruel.

“T-that's not true!”
Twilight shouted out into the room, her ears folding back, her wings spread.

“It's completely true darling.”
Rarity’s voice snapped back.
“You’re wasting your time on a vaccination that may never be needed. And you really think this kind of thing is possible to fight off? You nearly died to it, So did cadence… It's only a matter of time before precious little Flurry Heart gets it too!”

“THAT'S NOT TRUE! I CAN STOP THIS!”
Twilight yelled out, only to snap back into reality to see Pinkie standing there, holding a tray of chemical storage jars. Looking rather surprised at the sudden outburst.

“Uh…”
Twilight started, her ears folding back again. Before taking the jars from the pink pony and setting them down on the nearby shelf.

“WHY ME!?”
Luna shouted, standing in front of Celestia in the Canterlot Castle throne room. She was angry at her sister for sending her instead of going by herself to save Twilight.

“Twilight needed you!! And you sent me to save her instead?!”
The moon princess continued to shout at Celestia, her ears folded back and her nose scrunched up. She felt nothing but anger toward her sister. In Luna’s eyes, Twilight needed Celestia in her deepest time of need, and Luna was sent in her place.

“That’s enough Luna….!”
Celestia tried to calmly say, her ears folding back as she tried to calm down her younger sister. But Luna remained persistent, demanding answers.

“Why did you send me to do something you could have easily done!? Why did you send me, to save YOUR student?!”
Luna continued to shout, opening her mouth to ask another question, before Celestia raised her hoof, asking for a turn to speak.

“Listen… dear sister…”
Celestia started.
“I couldn't go… I didn't want to risk catching the Unseen Blight… I need to preserve myself for the future of Equestria.”

Luna’s eyes widened, her ears folding flat against her head, her wings spreading. She raised her voice even more, unintentionally switching to her bellowing princess voice
“So you sent me, to save your student, because you were scared of catching the illness, AND SENT ME KNOWING THE RISKS?! AM I JUST SOME DUD CARD TO YOU?!”

“That's not why I sent you Luna…!”
Celestia tried to reason, but Luna wasn't accepting excuses as an answer

“No!! I know why you sent me! You managed to rule for 1000 years while I was on the moon! You don't need me! And so you send me into the face of danger! TO SAVE YOUR PERFECT WHITE HIDE!”
Luna snapped, the 2 alicorns beginning to butt heads. The 2 of them began to get more angry at each other.

The shouting had prompted 2 guards to come sprinting into the room.
One of Celestia’s guards and one of Luna’s guards.
The 2 guards got between Celestia and Luna, creating a barrier between the 2 alicorns to prevent them from getting any more physical and end up hurting each other.

The guards didn't say anything, instead looking at each other as they guided Celestia and Luna away from one another.
Celestia walked away, staring at the floor as she walked away.
Luna slowly trotted away, tears in her eyes, her blood boiling with anger and hatred.

My Little Diseases - Chapter 5 - so much testing

2 months have passed… 2 months of testing, stress, struggle, and many failures. But, Twilight finally managed to get the vaccination made for all the alicorns out there, to keep them safe from the Unseen Blight, especially now she had accidentally unearthed its infection.

Twilight’s front legs and flank were now covered in scars, as Twilight needed more and more of her blood to test the vaccination prototypes. Seeing as she was cured through a horn transplant, and not through antibodies. So she was still very susceptible to the infection happening again.

The scars spread down the entire back side of her front legs, some deeper and fresher than others, while some were in the process of healing, but the scars would remain. More scars covered her flanks, causing her cutie mark to warp and become obscured by the amount of slashes that riddled her skin.

Pinkie Pie had stood by the entire time, making sure to patch up the cuts each time a new one was made, and helping Twilight with testing. The pair worked many sleepless nights, trying to make the vaccination for the unseen blight perfect, testing the vaccination on various small animals, monitoring any side effects, and changing the medicine accordingly.

Now the vaccination has been perfected. A white liquid that sat perfectly within a syringe. Twilight administered the vaccination to herself while sending 4 copies of the vaccination to princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Flurry Heart.

“I'm so proud of you Twilight,” Pinkie said softly, nuzzling against the purple alicorn.
“You managed to find a cure for an infection that was buried and hidden away for many moons. With a breakthrough like that, you could find a cure for so many other things!”

Twilight lifted her head in thought, Pinkie had an excellent point. She could find the cure to current infections and illnesses before they became a major problem. Twilight’s white horn lit up, the black magic enveloping a nearby notepad and quill; bringing it closer to her.

She began frantically scribbling notes down and smiling wide.
“What if we start completely from scratch?!” Twilight said excitedly, causing Pinkie to tilt her head in confusion.

“We can create illnesses and see if we can cure them before they become fatal. So if anything similar develops naturally, Ponyville will already have the antibodies for it!”
Twilight hugged Pinkie tightly and kissed her cheek, before galloping across the lab to some small crates where a few bunnies, birds, and ferrets were kept; all in their separate little cages, well-fed and hydrated. Taking out one of the bunnies and looking it over, the purple alicorn then turned to Pinkie again, cradling the bunny in her hoof.
“We can start with this one! We’ll make Ponyville the healthiest town in Equestria!”

“Uh… Twilight I think that’s a step too far. You’ve made amazing things and saved so many lives, you don't need to go this far…Ponyville is healthy enough with all the cures we’ve found. I don't think you need to make illnesses and viruses, just in case they pop up naturally.”
Pinkie said, rubbing the back of her neck, but Twilight raised an eyebrow at her.

“It's better to be safe than sorry Pinkie. Besides, at least we’ll be prepared if we plan! It's all about planning!” Twilight then hurried over to her lab desk, placing the bunny in a glass container, and placed the lid on top; making sure all the air holes were fully open.

“Don't worry Pinkie, if we work together like we have for these last few months, then we’ll be able to have more breakthroughs together. Sure it’ll take a lot more time than the unseen Blight vaccination because we’ll need to MAKE the infection first. But I think we both have the potential to make something amazing!”

Twilight exclaimed, her eyes wide, her smile playing her face with excitement, her wings ruffling at her side. Pinkie couldn't help but chuckle at Twilight’s excitement, it was refreshing to see her smile after all the stress of working on the Unseen Blight.

After finally settling down, Twilight looked at the glass container, holding the rabbit that she grabbed earlier.
“Well… I guess I can't stop you when it comes to these experiments.” Pinkie says. Her ears fold back as she speaks.

Soon enough, the pair started gathering materials from naturally occurring sources. This included plants from the Everfree forest, plants and foliage around Ponyville, and anything else they could find around the edge of town that could cause some kind of illness on its own.

Once their supplies were well stocked, they began working on combining the plants, foliage, and spores together which caused negative effects on their own, and attempted to make their own infections.

After 3 months of consistent research, experimenting, and refilling supplies. They managed to make 3 different infections

As the final, hoof-made infection was injected into an animal test subject, Pinkie left the room to grab more syringes, as well as test tubes to allow more of the infection to grow, while Twilight began monitoring the symptoms of each infection and noting them down, making sure to keep acute detail on everything.

As Twilight wrote these notes, her ear twitched, hearing Rarity’s voice echo in the room again. It began with soft laughter. The occasional whisper, before beginning to speak more clearly, almost as if Rarity was standing right beside her.

“Come now Twilight… Do you really think you can predict the future when it comes to infections? You really think you and Pinkie Pie can prevent your town from getting sick?”
Rarity snarked into the alicorn’s ear. Causing Twilight to flinch away from the voice, her ears folding back as she sharply turned to look at where Rarity’s voice was coming from, her horn lighting up defensively.

Only to be greeted with no sign of anypony in the room. Only for the voice to appear behind Twilight again, continuing from where it left off.

“Sounds like many big promises to yourself… That you’ll never achieve. And what will Pinkie Pie think if you fail? Or the rest of your friends…?”
The voice ended with a soft chuckle as Twilight whipped around, grabbing the nearest object she could in her teeth, which was a thick book.

Without even thinking, she threw it in the direction of the voice, a loud thud echoing through the room as it smacked against the wall.
Twilight snarled and her ears folded back, shouting into the room.

“I CAN, AND WILL SUCCEED!”
Twilight yelled, only for Rarity’s voice to cackle at her remark. Twilight looking around the room again, her wings spreading wide.

“LAUGH ALL YOU WANT! I’LL SHOW YOU THAT I CAN SAVE MY KINGDOM FROM SICKNESS!”
Twilight yelled once more, her voice bouncing off of the walls and causing the animals in containment to cower against the corners of their enclosures.

“Twilight?”
A voice called out from behind her, and Twilight turned around again, looking toward the exit, her horn lighting up, picking up another book.

“WHAT?!”
Twilight shouted, only to be greeted with Pinkie standing there, holding a basket with medical and science supples inside. Her ears folded back, looking a bit nervous.
Twilight’s horn suddenly dimmed, dropping the book as she realised what just happened.

“Oh… Pinkie… Im sorry, im just uh… Getting a bit worried that things wont go well. This is a WHOLE new can of worms we’ve got ourselves involved in. It could spread like wild fire if any of these animals escaped…”
Twilight explained with a sigh.

Pinkie slowly walked into the room, putting the basket down and going to stand beside Twilight, gently nuzzling against her.
“Look… I’m sure this kind of thing is scary. And it isnt too late to back out. At most, we’ll lose a few bunnies. Nothing else. You can go back to being Princess, being Celestia’s student and return to some kind of normal life.”

Twilight paused for a moment, slowly looking around the lab, at the equipment, the bunnies and ferrets they gathered, and the ones that were currently undergoing testing of the 3 infections.
She stood there in silence, her head slowly rotating as she looked around the room, at the cells, the equipment, the mathematics behind it all. Before slowly shaking her head and looking at Pinkie.

“No… We’re too deep into this to back out now. Those 3 bunnies are infected, so we cant release them without causing risk to everypony outside, or the natural wildlife… We need to find a cure for these 3 diseases at least before we can even think about stopping. I have symptoms noted down. But the animals are getting infected too fast. Its only been a few days and I’ve already gone through 6 bunnies.”

As Twilight says this, a Bunny in the clear containers coughs up a black bile and goes limp in the box, catching the attention of the couple as they looked at it for a moment in silence. Before Twilight gave a sigh.
“Make that 7…”

Pinkie put on her gloves and mask before walking over to the box the bunny had just passed away in, and was about to dispose of it, before the door of the castle rattled with knocking.
“That’s odd, are we expecting anyone?”

Twilight asked, to which Pinkie responded by shaking her head.
“You go and answer the door my love, i’ll handle things down here.”

Twilight says quickly before grabbing the dirty syringes she used on the bunnies, with her magic, while Pinkie went upstairs.
As Pinkie approached the door, she lowered her mask and let it rest under her chin, before opening the crystal door, only to be greeted with

“Fluttershy?” Pinkie spoke curiously, tilting her head, her dark ringed eyes locking with the pegasus.
“Is everything alright? We werent expecting you. Did the map call you here?”
Pinkie asked, quickly looking at Fluttershy’s flank to see if her cutiemark was flashing, but the yellow pegasus simply shook her head.

“No no, Im here looking for Angel Bunny, I cant seem to find him, and you know who he likes to run off.”
Fluttershy quickly explains, smiling softly to her pink friend. “Have you seen him?”

Pinkie put a hoof to her chin in thought.
“Hmm… I havent seen him around here, but you’re welcome to come in and see if he’s run in here without us seeing. He is rather slippery after all.”
Pinkie moves aside, allowing Fluttershy into the castle and closing the door…

My Little Diseases - Chapter 6 - the first subject

Fluttershy was sitting on the sofa of her cottage. Her ears folded back and her head buried in her front hooves. Ever since the funeral, she hasn't been taking things well. Much to her animals and Discord’s concern.

Fluttershy would still try to tend to her daily duties of feeding her animals, cleaning any animals that needed a bath that day, or tending to any injuries her animals had. Once her duties were completed to the best of her current ability, she would spend most of the day either in her room, on the sofa, or in her butterfly garden.
But one day, things were off.

“Discord?”
Fluttershy called out, causing the hybrid to teleport into the living room with her, tilting his head and folding his arms. He was carrying a large amount of bird feed with his tail, and had a basket of fruit in each hand. Which he set down to the side, smiling wide to his pegasus friend.

“Yes, fluttershy? Are we finally going on that tea party you mentioned?”
Discord asked, his little wings flapping excitedly.

“Uh, no not yet, we will a bit later. But have you seen Angel? He hasn't been home all day and I'm worried he may have gotten lost somewhere.”
Fluttershy asked, looking around.
She was rather concerned, but not to the point of panic. Angel knew his way around town with how much he travelled around with Fluttershy.

“Unfortunately not, I haven't seen that little hairball anywhere today. He may have gone to find another rabbit to hang out with or something. I don't know, I don't speak rabbit.”
Discord responded back, rather coldly, but Fluttershy knew it wasn't intentional..

Discord hadn't been in the best of moods recently either. Because Fluttershy has become rather inconsolable after Rarity’s funeral.
This had caused Discord to try and go above and beyond to cheer Fluttershy up, and it didn't always work.
This left Discord feeling like he wasn't doing his job right, at being a good friend.

Fluttershy smiled softly and put a gentle hoof on Discord’s shoulder.
“It's ok. I’ll go and look for him. And when I get back, we can have that tea party like I promised.”

Discord couldn't help but smile back at his pegasus friend and hugged her gently, before opening the door for her. As Fluttershy left, Discord turned to the animals in the cottage, who had gathered around in the living room.
“Alright you lot. Let's get this tea party all set up for Fluttershy’s return!”
Fluttershy began making her way toward town from her cottage, all the while calling out for Angel. Checking in bushes and beside nearby lakes and rivers. When she makes it to town, she checks every little nook and cranny she can find. Alleyways and even open windows of pony’s homes.

She would occasionally, and very awkwardly, stop ponies on her way through town, asking if they had seen Angel come through the area, showing them a photo of him. But all her efforts were fruitless.

This search went on for 3 whole days. All efforts were for naught. She had stayed at Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s houses during her search.
She had searched most of Sweet Apple Acres, with the help of Big Mac, Applejack, and Applebloom. As well as Granny Smith looking through the barn, to see if Angel was hiding in there. But again, their efforts were for nothing.

The very last place for her to check was Twilight’s castle. By this point, Fluttershy had lost all hope of Angel being found unharmed, or even alive. But she still pressed on. She was determined to find her beloved bunny pet

She slowly walked up the steps toward the door and knocked gently.
The knocking resonated on the inside of the castle’s lobby, which could be heard from the outside since Crystals were not one for being soundproof.

After a bit of waiting, Pinkie Pie answered the door, with a confused look on her face.
“Fluttershy?” Pinkie spoke curiously, tilting her head, her dark ringed eyes locking with the yellow pegasus.

“Is everything alright? We weren't expecting you here. Did the map summon you?”
Pinkie asked, quickly looking at Fluttershy’s flank to see if her cutie mark was flashing, but the yellow pegasus simply shook her head.

“No no, I'm here looking for Angel Bunny, I can't seem to find him, I've looked all over town and asked other ponies, but he hasn't been around recently. You know who he likes to run off. Discord hasn't seen him either, and i'm worried the worst may have happened”
Fluttershy quickly explains. “Have you seen him around?”

Pinkie put a hoof to her chin in thought, before shaking her head slowly.
“Hmm… I dont think ive seen him around here, but you’re welcome to come in and see if he’s run in here without us seeing. He is a slippery little guy after all.”
Pinkie responded with a chuckle, she then moved aside, allowing Fluttershy into the castle she then closed the door behind her.

As Fluttershy made her way through the castle, she went through each room, checking every small area the white bunny could have got into. But to no avail. Her ears folded back, her eyes going glossy as her mind began racing with ideas of where her beloved pet may have gone.

As Pinkie watched Fluttershy frantically search for Angel, she put her hoof to her chin in thought once more… Before a sinister grin began to spread across her face.
“Hey Fluttershy, why don't you come to the basement? We have left it open these last few days, maybe he’s down there.”
Pinkie Pie suggested, slowly walking away, waiting for the yellow Pegasus to follow her. And she did.

The pair slowly walked down the stairs that were in the middle of the hallway, walking toward the entrance of the basement. The bright lab lights almost blinded the pegasus as they came into view, causing her to squint.

Soon, Fluttershy’s eyes adjusted to the sudden change of light, and she saw the current state of the lab. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw the different animals kept in cages, some of them in glass boxes. Medical supplies were everywhere, and some small bloodstains on the table from previous tests.
It made her blood boil, and she looked at Pinkie with an angry look in her eye.

“Care to explain why all these little creatures are being kept in such small, cramped cages?”
She asked, her tone low, suddenly going cold as she looked at her pink friend.
But Pinkie Pie simply shrugged.

“We haven't had the space for any bigger cages recently, and if we kept them in the cells the basement has down here, they would all escape, because the gaps in the bars are too wide.”
Pinkie kept her explanation blunt and quick, wanting to give Fluttershy a simple answer that would hopefully calm her down, but it didn't work.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Slowly turning her head, she looked at an experimentation table that sat in the middle of the room, a single lamp shining on what was on top, which was the corpse of Angel Bunny. The snow-white bunny had recently died, with ripped skin, his organs spilled out on the table, his blood darker than normal, and his body covered in dark spots.

Fluttershy let in a sharp gasp, her eyes filling with tears, before suddenly whipping her head around to look at Pinkie, now even more angry.
“You KILLED ANGEL!”
Before Pinkie could respond, Fluttershy tackled Pinkie to the ground. Using her back hooves to keep Pinkie somewhat grounded, before using her front hooves to throw punch after punch. Hitting pinkie in any area that Fluttershy’s eyes laid upon. The room was filled with the sounds of Pinkie grunting, and the impact of Fluttershy’s punches. As Pinkie tried to defend herself, she managed to catch Fluttershy’s front hooves, preventing her from throwing any more punches.

“GET OFF OF ME!”
Pinkie shouted, before shoving Fluttershy off for her, clambering to her hooves, before lunging at her.

The fight continued at the back side of the basement. With Fluttershy gaining the upper hand once more. Managing to get a heavy buck to Pinkie’s side, sending the pink pony flying back.
Pinkie was slammed against one of the doors of the cells, hitting her head, a loud clang echoed throughout the room, causing the animals in the cages to squeak loudly, and start shaking.

Fluttershy looked at Pinkie with an enraged expression, before slowly turning away to free the animals. Only to be greeted with Twilight’s face being inches away from hers.

“Surprise!”
Twilight shouted, before suddenly throwing a punch directly to the side of Fluttershy’s head, sending her flying into the wall of the basement, knocking her out cold.
Twilight then dragged Pinkie’s unconscious body into one of the cells. Once the door was closed shut and locked with a spell, Twilight went to check on Pinkie.

Her head was bleeding from the impact, and some bruises were forming on her body from taking the brunt of Fluttershy’s hits. Twilight gave a soft sigh, and picked up Pinkie with her magic, as well as a first aid kit, and made her way to her quarters.

Laying Pinkie down on her bed, she began cleaning up Pinkie’s injuries and looking for the source of the bleeding. Thankfully the injury wasn't massive, and looked like it didn't need stitches. So she cleaned up the injury as best as she could and wrapped it tightly in a bandage to keep pressure on the injury until the bleeding stopped.

Once Twilight was done, she left Pinkie to get some rest, taking the first aid kit back to the basement. She then saw Fluttershy beginning to stir in the cell, and she couldn't help but feel angry at her. Twilight slowly made her way to the cell, using her magic to pick up a chain, with a large metal cuff on the end. She cuffed the chain around Fluttershy’s back leg, preventing her from getting within arms reach of the door.

Once Fluttershy was fully awake, she looked around in a panic, her ears folded back as her breathing began to quicken. She saw Twilight standing there on the other side of the door, and she took flight, trying to fly at Twilight and hopefully open the door. But the chain was suddenly pulled taut, and yanked the pegasus back, causing her to land in a heap on the ground. With a groan, she sat up, looking at the princess.

“Twilight, what’s going on? Why am i in here?!”
Fluttershy asked, her eyes going glossy as they filled with tears. Fluttershy spread her wings in an attempt to take flight again, only for the cell to suddenly be filled with the sound of 2 loud snaps back to back. Immediately followed by Fluttershy’s screams of agony.

Her ears folding back and her eyes wide as she felt blood trickle down her back. Looking at her wings, she saw that Twilight had snapped the bone cleanly in half, causing the sharp edge to break through the thin layer of skin and muscle.
Blood flowed steadily down her wings and back, as well as down her front legs, staining her bright yellow fur.

Fluttershy’s breathing was rapid, her sobs loud and pained. Her ears folded flat against her head, as she desperately tried to keep her wings still to prevent the pain from getting any worse.
Twilight raised an eyebrow at the yellow pegasus, before using her magic to hold Fluttershy’s wings open, causing her to cry out in agony once more. Twilight racked her brain for an idea, before smirking slowly, and walking toward the pile of leftover supplies they had used to make the lab section of the basement, picking up 2 large planks of wood, and some metal cuffs.

She then holds Fluttershy’s wings as wide open as she can, once again, causing a melody of screams and shrieks to ring out throughout the basement.
Twilight worked slowly, keeping Fluttershy’s wings pinned open with the wooden boards, roughly putting the metal cuffs around her wings, and inadvertently cutting some of her feathers.

Once she was done, Fluttershy couldn't move her wings at all, as they were weighed down by the wood, her face now soaked in tears, her sore eyes looking at Twilight.
Before Fluttershy could talk, she let out a yelp as a new spot of pain shot through her, as Twilight injected Fluttershy with one of her hoof-made infections, which she has named ‘Flightless Bird Syndrome’

Twilight made a few quick notes, noting down Fluttershy’s current condition.
“Fluttershy: Subject I.

Healthy
Infection rate: 0%
Symptoms: None

‘Fluttershy has decided to generously volunteer herself for the infection ‘flightless bird syndrome’ while she’s here. I will monitor her condition, its progress, and the progression on making a cure in time before the infection becomes fatal.”

Twilight then put her notes on a clipboard, hanging it up by the cell door with a small hook, before beginning to walk away.

“Now... Was that necessary? She was only trying to find her pet. I feel like she has a right to be angry here.”
Rarity’s voice echoed out into Twilight’s ear, causing it to twitch. As the alicorn walked away, she looked over her shoulder at Fluttershy, who was now cowering in the corner of her cell.

“I did what was needed. Word can't get out about how these vaccinations are being made. And now we have a bigger subject that will give us more time to work on a cure before it kills her.”
Twilight responds coldly, and Rarity's voice responds with a confused tone.
“A cure to an infection YOU made. And what about the last 2? You barely know what they do, let alone if they’ll be able to be cured!”

Twilight then snapped back, her ears folding back.
“I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING!”
Her voice echoes out into the lab before she storms out, going to keep an eye on Pinkie’s condition.

About a week later, newspapers were being passed around Ponyville. The top story: “Fluttershy, Elements of Kindness, mauled by her animals.”
The story explains that Fluttershy was working like usual in her sanctuary, and had neglected to feed her bears, which resulted in them turning on the yellow pegasus, and mauling her to death. The photo accompanied by the story, was a shot of a patch of grass, with some discarded feathers, explaining that they matched Fluttershy’s.

Discord slammed the newspaper down, letting out a loud wail of despair, before opening a portal to his pocket dimension and slipping inside. Leaving nothing but the newspaper behind.

The town held a funeral for Fluttershy a few days later, the remaining elements of harmony attending. Including Pinkie and Twilight. Pinkie wearing a hat to hide her head injury.
They stood there in silence. As they looked at the photo of the element of kindness, lit by a single candle.

My Little Diseases - Chapter 6.5 - Fluttershy's gone...

The news has been out for over 2 weeks now. The remaining elements of Harmony were not taking the news well, they had lost 2 close friends, so close to each other.
Everyone had their own way of coping with the news of Fluttershy’s passing.

One night, the moon was high in the sky. The farm of Sweet Apple Acres had settled down for the night, all but one. Applejack, who had been taking the time to take care of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Seeing as Rarity had passed, leaving Sweetie Belle alone and Scootaloo hadn't seen Rainbow Dash since the funeral.
The 3 friends were currently asleep on spare beds in Applebloom’s bedroom, who agreed to let her friends sleep there.
Spike had also decided to stay at the farm for a while. He couldn't bring himself to be at the castle where everything happened, given all the screams he could hear from outside as he returned from returning Rarity’s letter to SweetieBelle.

He had decided to stay at the farm with Applejack, not only to help out around the farm by picking apples that hasn't fallen from the tree, but also to help keep an eye on sweetie Belle, as she hadn't taken the news very well, and was staying close to her friends like a piece of velcro.
He was asleep in the same room as Big Macintosh, staying on a small bed the farm family had made up of extra hay and blankets, it wasn't perfect, but it worked, and Spike managed to sleep fairly well. Though Big Mac wasn't such a heavy sleeper.

Big Macintosh stirred awake from his sleep, as he heard muttering and a small crash from the kitchen. Lighting a hoof-held lantern, he made his way downstairs, to see Applejack walking around the kitchen, cooking apple pie filling in a pot, preparing meals for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, for school the next day.
On the table in the middle of the kitchen, were 3 opened lunch boxes waiting to be filled with food.
Each box was metal, with a little sticker on the top, so the fillies knew whose was whose. AppleBloom's had an apple sticker, Sweetie Belle’s had a heart sticker, and Scootaloo’s had a lightning bolt. All of them were propped open with a water bottle, with a small bag containing an apple and a daisy sandwich inside.

“Sis…?” Big Mac said quietly, catching Applejack off guard, and causing her to drop an apple she had in her mouth. Applejack slowly turned to Big Mac, she was a mess. She didn't look tired or overworked, but she just looked messy. Her mane was rather out of control, her hide was grubby from cooking and doing her chores around the farm. She hadn't given herself the time to clean up from the day before.

Applejack gave Big Mac a soft smile, rubbing the back of her neck.
“Ah’m sorry Big Mac, ah didn't mean to scare ya. Ah’ve just been preparin’ the girls lunches for tomorrow.”
She explains, before turning to the stove and giving the pot a quick mix, not wanting the mixture inside to overcook or burn.
She then turned back to Big Macintosh, looking at him.
“Ah’m nearly done. Ah’ll head to bed soon, ah promise.”

“Look, sis, I know you want to give the girls a good experience while living here. And that’s very kind and generous of you. But you need to take time for yourself. Get yourself cleaned up. It’ll be good for you.”
Big Mac says, as he rubs his eyes, allowing himself to focus a bit more on his younger sister.
Applejack took a moment to think, before nodding in agreement.
“Alright, ya right. Ah’ll finish these meals for the girls, and take tomorrow morning to get myself cleaned up.”

This satisfied her older brother, who gave a soft smile, before hugging Applejack gently.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few days later, in the Wonderbolt academy.
Rainbow Dash, who had been one of the closest with fluttershy, had not been taking the news very well. Many sleepless nights, thinking of the good times the 2 pegasi had together. She had begun taking extra shifts, working on weather duty at Cloudsdale, or staying behind at the Wonderbolt academy, training way after the other academy members had gone to bed.

Rainbow Dash was actually training right now, flying through the obstacle course the academy had for students, weaving in and out of clouds and practising the many tricks and stunts the Wonderbolts always performed at shows. As she was about to weave around another cloud, a loud whistle cut her out of her thoughts, causing her to fly off course and crash into said cloud. At least the landing was soft.

With a groan, she looked down from the cloud, her dark circled eyes focusing on her captain; Spitfire, looking up at her.
She wasn't angry or upset. But she looked worried.

Spitfire called out to Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash… What are you doing training so late? You’re going to cause more injuries if you don't allow your body time to recover. Come down.”
That last sentence was more of an order than a request. To which Rainbow obliged, flying down and standing in front of spitfire. Her eyes were sore with large bags under them, her mane was more messy than usual, and some of her feathers on her wings were bent or clipped from many crashes due to being so tired.

“Look… I understand what you’re going through. Losing a close friend is never easy, but you can't do stuff like this to yourself. I've seen you train through the night, from sundown to sunrise, you haven't been sleeping.”
Spitfire started, pausing for a moment to look over Rainbow’s state again, the matted fur, the bloodshot eyes, the loss of weight from all the training. Not to mention the multiple bruises that lined her legs and torso from crashing so much while flying off course.
She then continued, her gruff voice at a soft tone, not wanting to cause Rainbow to become more upset than she already is.

“Listen… You’re going to end up seriously hurting yourself one of these days. Please, come back to your room in the academy. Wash up, eat something and get some rest. We will have time for more training, but now you need to allow yourself time… For the next week, I don't want to see you anywhere near these training grounds. I want to see you get some rest, get yourself cleaned up, and back to a more healthy state.”
Spitfire said, once again, sounding more like a command than a suggestion. And rainbow Dash simply nodded in agreement.

She then spoke up, her ears folded back, tears filling her eyes.
“I'm sorry Captain Spitfire… I just haven't been able to get the thoughts of Fluttershy out of my head. It's been keeping me awake, and I thought training would help clear my head.”
Rainbow Dash explained, her voice gruff and horse, She then began to walk back to her room after saluting Spitfire. Making her way to her room, before laying in her bed, and letting the urge to sleep take over her.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ah dont understand…” Applebloom said, looking over the news article once more. The yellow filly spread the newspaper out on the floor of their clubhouse, reading it over. Spike was sitting beside Applebloom, looking over the same article with her.
It was the news article that explained fluttershy’s passing.
It read:
‘Fluttershy: Element of kindness, found mauled at her sanctuary, by a pack of up to 3 bears. Leading to this event, Fluttershy had been feeding and taking care of all the animals at her sanctuary, a place for animals big and small to come and live in peace, or stay temporarily to recover from any injuries before returning to the wild.

While at this sanctuary, Fluttershy had neglected to feed the bears that were taking up residence at the sanctuary, causing them to attack fluttershy and maul her to death, leaving nothing behind but a few feathers and a strand of hair, which was later identified to belong to Fluttershy, through lab testing and DNA results.’

“Yeah… I don't get it either.” Scootaloo spoke up, looking over the same news article with Sweetie Belle.
“It isn't like Fluttershy to… Not feed her animals. She can talk to them, she understands them, wouldn't she know if any of them weren’t eating?”

“No you’re right.” Sweetie Belle spoke up, confusion playing her face.
The 3 fillies looked at eachother, each with their own confused expressions as they looked over the article over and over again.

“Maybe… we can ask Discord? Somethin’s fishy here… Maybe he can shed some light on it?” Applebloom suggested, which was followed by a moment of silence and a bit of pondering. It was the only idea they had for a while, what's the harm in trying it?
“Uh… I'll... stay here. I think Applejack and Big Mac will begin their chores soon, and they may need my help again.” Spike quickly said, an awkward smile playing his face, but the fillies accepted that reason, and got up to set off, giving the baby dragon a quick hug before leaving.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders made their way into the cottage Fluttershy used to live in. The cottage had become slightly run down due to the lack of maintenance, and the animals had all fled the cottage to either live in the sanctuary, or try their luck out in the wild. All except for 1 creature. Discord. He was sitting on the cottage’s doorstep, staring at the ground. He didn't notice the fillies approaching as he continued to stare at the ground, idly drawing random shapes in the dirt with his claw.

“D-discord?” Sweetie Belle spoke up, slowly approaching the Draconequus, but he didn't move. All except for a single ear twitch, indicating that he heard Sweetie Belle.

After a few moments, Discord began to look at the fillies. His eyes were sore from nights of crying, his fur, scales and skin were grubby as he tried to keep the cottage standing,and his body looked skinnier than normal.

“Hello girls…” Discord croaked, his tone monotone and flat. “What are you doing here? I thought you were living on sweet apple acres…”

Scootaloo walked forward, looking up at Discord with concern.
“We…. We wanted to ask you about Fluttershy. We were reading the paper about her, and it didn't make sense.” She started, before Applebloom piped up.

“Fluttershy never skipped a day of feedin’ her animals. Why would she suddenly stop feedin’ a specific animal, to the point of them attackin’ her?”
Applebloom questioned, looking over the article once more, since the girls brought the newspaper with them.

Discord put his paw to his chin in thought. The fillies were right, it didn't make sense. The Draconequus gently took the newspaper from Applebloom, giving it a once over, summoning a pair of reading glasses and having them sit on his nose.
“No you 3 are right. Something’s off here…”

Discord then looked at the fillies, giving a soft sigh.
“You said you had other questions, what were they?”

“Well…” Sweetie Belle began. “We know this may be hard for you to think about. But do you remember where Fluttershy was, the day that she went missing?”

Discord put his claw to his chin, his goat hoof tapping on the ground and his tail swaying slowly behind him. He stared up into the sky as he racked his brain to remember what happened that day.
“I don't remember much. All I remember was being rather annoyed toward her that day. And she said she was going to look for Angel. That was the last I saw of her… We had a tea party set up ready for her return…”

Discord then pointed to the table in the middle of the living room. It had a light green, chequered table cloth on it. There was a set of 2 tea cups and saucers placed on opposite ends of the table, with a teapot in the middle, that was originally filled with tea, but has since dried up, leaving the tea leaves at the bottom as a sticky viscous goo.
The table also had a large plate, which had a cake sitting on it, which has now gone stale and covered in a fine layer of dust.

The cutie mark crusaders peeked inside to look at the table, their ears folding back as they looked at eachother with concern for the Draconequus.

“Do ya remember where she went?” Applebloom asked, and Discord nodded.

“She said she was going to look through Ponyville to find her beloved fur ball…”
He responded in an upset tone, pointing in the direction of town.
“She went toward town and she never returned… Then I heard the news about her…”
Discord couldn't finish the sentence without getting choked up, tears filling his eyes.
The Cutiemark Crusaders looked at each other with concern, before giving a soft nod to each other, they’ve bothered Discord enough.

Applebloom stepped forward, touching his paw to get his attention.
“Ya know. The others are rather worried about ya… They haven't seen ya since the news broke out. They were fully expectin’ to see chaos break out everywhere, and they think something happened… Why don't ya go to sweet Apple Acres for a while? I'm sure they’d be happy to see ya.”

Discord looked at the yellow filly with slight confusion, before giving a soft sigh, running his talons through his mane.
“While I appreciate your concern, I think i’ll stay here for a bit longer.. I wouldnt want to intrude.”
Discord responds, before going back into Fluttershy’s cottage and closing the door.

“Well girls, if we’re going to get any more answers, there’s only one other place we can go.” Sweetie Bell said, as the fillies began to run toward Ponyville.

They began to make their way through town. Asking different residents of Ponyville, if they remember where they had last seen fluttershy before the news.
A lot of their investigations ended up in a dead end, or with them going in circles a few times.
Sweetie Belle even used what limited magic she had, to lift Scootaloo onto a low hanging cloud to attract the attention of some Pegasi to ask them if they had seen her.
Slowly but surely, they had asked throughout town, with all their investigations being nothing but a bust.
“UGH! This is harder than I thought. I thought we’d hear something that would add up to how fluttershy went missing! She was found in her sanctuary, and all we’ve got as answers is that she was looking for Angel.”
Scootaloo groaned in frustration, her ears folding back as they walked.

The 3 fillies were about to give up, before they saw Twilight's castle. They looked at each other again.
They hadn't asked Twilight yet, and it would be nice to see her again.

The 3 fillies smiled and ran up the castle steps, and went to knock on the door, only for it to open before their hooves made contact. Only to be greeted with Pinkie Pie, with some empty saddle bags sat across her back.

“Oh! Hello girls, what are you 2 doing here, I thought you were staying with Applejack.” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, looking rather surprised to see them there.

“We are,” Sweetie Belle began.
“We have been retracing the steps that fluttershy took before the news took out, because something doesn't sit right with us. We’ve looked all over Ponyville, and we haven't found any clues. Do you mind if we look in the castle for anything?”

Pinkie put her hoof to her chin, before giving a wide smile.
“Of course you can! Fluttershy actually came in here, thinking Angel got in here while the door was open. So go ahead, maybe there’s something here you 3 can find!”

As the cutie mark crusaders entered the castle, Pinkie trotted ahead at a rather brisk pace, hiding the panicked depression on her face as she walked away.
As the 3 fillies began looking in the rooms closest to the entrance, Pinkie made her way to the castle library, which was deeper down the hallway. Where she found Twilight going over her notes.

“Twilight, we have a problem.”
Pinkie quickly said, catching the attention of the messy alicorn, who pulled her gaze away from her papers to meet the pink pony.

“What is it Pinkie? Are we out of syringes again?” Twilight asked, slowly walking over and planting a kiss on Pinkie’s forehead, in an attempt to calm her down.
The pink pony smiled a bit, before quickly continuing with her explanation.

“Scootaloo, Sweetiebelle and Applebloom are here looking for anything that may involve fluttershy vanishing. Do you have anything we can use to hide the basement door before they see it?”
Pinkie quickly asked, occasionally looking out of the door to see if the fillies were getting any closer.
Twilight gave a quick gasp before trotting across the hall to the location of the basement door, which was beside the throne room.
Twilight lit up her horn, the black aura surrounding it as she aimed it at the closed basement door. She cast a spell on the door, putting a temporary camouflage spell on the door, making it look like part of the wall, instead of another door.

With a sigh of relief, the 2 looked at eachother, before seeing the 3 fillies walking over, confused looks on their faces.
Twilight walked over and the 3 fillies stopped in their tracks, looking at the alicorn in shock, this is the first time they had seen her since Rarity’s funeral.

“H-hey twilight….”
Sweetiebelle said softly, her eyes fixated on Twilight’s bright white horn.
Twilight immediately knew why, and she gave a soft sigh.

“Hello girls… Pinkie Pie got me caught up on what’s going on.”
Twilight explained, before sitting down in front of them, lowering herself down to their level.
“I understand that what’s going on is hard to understand. And I know what you 3 are like, you’re very determined to find answers. It's admirable, you stop at nothing to get what you’re looking for… But unfortunately, for this time, you’re going to have to leave it… There’s nothing else we can do… Fluttershy is gone, and we have to accept that…”

The 3 fillies looked at eachother, nodding slowly as their eyes slowly went glossy, filling with tears. Twilight quickly opened her wings and pulled them in for a group embrace.
“I miss her too…. I miss rarity as well… I miss them both… Just know you’re not alone in how you feel… And you’re more than welcome to come back to the castle if you need someone to talk to… Pinkie and I are always available.”

“T-Thankyou twilight.”
Scootaloo said, burying her head into one of Twilight’s shoulders.

“We greatly appreciate it..”
Applebloom said, her face buried on Twilight’s other shoulder.

“We’ll be sure to keep it in mind.”
Sweetie Bell said, still looking at Twilight’s horn.

Soon, Twilight released the embrace, and Scootaloo and Applebloom gave a bow before quickly leaving to go home, but Sweetie Belle stayed behind, catching Twilight’s attention. Her ears folding back.

“I know it's hard to look at.. Isn't it…?”
Twilight said, referring to her horn, and Sweetie Belle gave a soft nod.

The alicorn didn't say anything, simply walking back over and lowering her head to Sweetie Bell, who gently ran her hoof over Twilight’s horn.
“Rarity really was amazing… wasn't she?”
Sweetie Belle said, trying to hold it together.

“You have no idea..”
Twilight responded softly, her own eyes beginning to go glossy.
“She saved my life.. And I promise.. I will take great care of what she gave me… It's the least i can do… especially with everything she did for me…”

Sweetie Belle took a moment of silence, before embracing Twilight tightly, crying into her chest, and twilight quickly returned the embrace, tears running down her own face.
She always felt guilty for Rarity sacrificing herself. Especially since if she had just been more careful, rarity would still be here today…

“Do you think I can come and visit you again later? And we just talk, it may help.”
Sweetie Belle asked.

“That's perfectly fine.. You deserve to understand what has gone on.”
And with that, Sweetie Belle turned and left the castle.

Once Sweetie Belle was out of earshot, Twilight gave a soft sigh, drying her face with her hoof and giving a soft sniffle. She really did miss rarity, but she didn't want it to bring her down to the point of falling back on her findings. She turned to Pinkie, who had been standing there for the whole thing, and she gave a soft smile.

“Well… Shall we get back to work? I believe we have a certain Pegasus waiting for us…”
Twilight asked, her voice still shaky from crying, and Pinkis gave a nod, as Twilight cut off the camouflage spell to the basement door, and opened it, going down the stairs.

My little Diseases - chapter 7 - nothing's working!

She ached, she hurt, she could barely move, out of fear of causing some kind of rupture…
Fluttershy lay in her cell, laying on her side, as her stomach had begun to bulge from the amount of liquid gathering in her stomach, causing them to swell slightly.

Her wings were still held open with those wooden poles. The skin on her wings getting splinters from rubbing against the wood. The base of her wings had developed a large mass of bulbous spots, possibly filled with something. So even if she COULD move her wings, it would either be very painful, or never allow her to fly anyways.
Some of those same black spots had gathered on her stomach, causing the skin on her stomach to stretch and strain around them.

Her bloodshot eyes were too sore to keep open for long periods of time, and when she did, they were surrounded with Rheum. Along with almost the entirety of her eye whites, being completely red. She also had large bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. It was always hard to sleep on the stone floor since she arrived there.

Fluttershy let out a cough, which grew more and more violent, and chesty. Ending up in her coughing up a liquid. Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes, to try and see what bile she had brought up, only to be greeted with a red substance… Blood.

“T… Twilight…?” Fluttershy croaked out into the basement, trying to see past the bars and into the lab.
Twilight and Pinkie were on the other side of the cellar, on the section they had renovated into a lab. But they couldn't hear her strained and hoarse voice from across the room, as they were conversing over the cure they were currently trying to make for her. But who knows if they’d make the cure in time.

Fluttershy tried again, a bit louder this time.
“Twilight…!” She croaked again, and coughed up more blood onto her front hoof. She attempted to sit up, but only succeeded in holding herself up a few inches off of the ground, her back legs refusing to move on command.

The yellow pegasus slowly dragged herself across the cell floor, finding a loose stone, and pulling it from the ground.
Using what little strength she had, she threw the stone through the bars and onto the ground, the loud clacking noise it made got the attention of the two mad scientists.

They quickly turned to look in Fluttershy’s direction, a look of confusion in their eyes,
“Twilight.. It's getting worse…” Fluttershy said, before her front legs gave out, causing her to flop back down onto the ground, laying on her side again.
The purple alicorn quickly ran over to Fluttershy’s cell, the lab coat she was wearing bellowing behind her like a cape. She skidded to a halt at the bars and gently held Fluttershy’s hoof.

“It’ll be ok Fluttershy… I know you’re scared.. But I promise I'm doing everything I can to find a cure. Just hold on, you’re gonna be ok.”
Twilight reassures the yellow pegasus. Before she could respond, she gave another chesty cough, bringing up another large splash of blood, it spread over the ground and got onto Twilight’s hooves.

Twilight’s ears folded back, her eyes widening as she began to worry for her friend. She then turned to Pinkie, who remained where she stood, looking over their notes.
She too was wearing a lab coat, as well as wore her flat mane in a ponytail to keep it from getting mixed in with anything, and she still had the black eye from her and Fluttershy’s fight. But it was healing steadily.

“What do you think Pinkie? We’ve gone through nearly all of our resources trying to get something to work. We’re against the clock, there must be something we can do.”

Pinkie gave a soft sigh, putting the clipboard down that contained Fluttershy’s notes on her infection progress.
“There are some herbs we haven't tried, but they’re deeper within the everfree forest. I read about them earlier today. If you want I can go and try to find some.”

Twilight nodded in agreement.
“That could work, The everfree forest has been very helpful so far, it couldnt hurt to go looking deeper.”

Twilight thought aloud, putting a hoof to her chin in thought before looking back at Pinkie.
“Just… Put your stockings on first, I don't want anything nicking you or clinging to your fur, that could potentially get you sick. You’re my right hand pony! I don't know what I'd do without your advice.”
Twilight quickly responded with a soft smile on her face, walking over to Pinkie and kissing her forehead before Pinkie turned to leave.

Pinkie Pie returned a few moments later, now wearing her tight leather stockings, they were thick enough to keep her legs protected from the plants that may nick them otherwise. As she walked in to say goodbye before leaving, she saw Twilight sitting in front of fluttershy, the bars of the cell separating them.

“Twilight….” Fluttershy croaked, gently putting a hoof on Twilight’s. “I know… you want to save me… But please… Just let me go. Put me out of my misery… the pain is too great… I can't..-”
Her sentences were cut off by Fluttershy suddenly coughing up a large glob of blood over the ground, it smeared over her face as she leaned forward to cough.
Twilight quickly got up to get some materials to clean up, but Pinkie was already on it, carrying a small box, she opened the door and stepped into Fluttershy’s cell. She used a rag to clean the ground, while using softer tissues to clean Fluttershy’s face.

When she was done, she offered Fluttershy some water, but she refused, turning her head away and slowly shuffling away from the pair.
Pinkie’s ears folded back, giving a soft sigh before closing the door again.

Twilight ran to the other side of the lab, going through her notes, frantically trying to think of a combination they hadnt tried yet. Her ears were folded back, her eyes were wide and glossy. She was panicking.
While Twilight tried to figure out what to do, Pinkie decided to update Fluttershy’s infection board.

Fluttershy - Subject 1
- Dehydrated, hungry, frightened.
- Infection rate: 45% (Stage 2)
- Symptoms: Black spots on wings and torso, thin skin on stomach, coughing up blood.

Pinkie then put the board back on its hook and turned to Twilight, who was still trying to find something, Anything, they could do.
“Hey… Twilight?” Pinkie started, snapping Twilight out of her thoughts.
The purple alicorn looked at Pinkie, tilting her head.

“I feel like… This is going too far. We should stop. Put fluttershy out of her misery and let her stop suffering. We’ve found a cure for the ‘unseen blight’ that cured you. And we’ve made princesses Luna, Cadence and Celestia immune to it too. You’re making these infections and using them on ponies, just under the idea that they MAY come into existence one day.”

Pinkie said, her ears folding back. She knew she was just as willing to do all of this like Twilight. But she wasn't sure if what they were doing to fluttershy was the right way to go about it.

Twilight slowly put her clipboard and quill down, her head tilting. She didn't look upset or annoyed, but more, confused.
“Why should we stop now? We’re so close to helping Fluttershy, her symptoms have slowed down thanks to this weak version of the cure we managed to make. We can save her, its possible, we just need to add the right thing to other batches of the weaker cure, to make it work completely. We’re making progress, and you want to stop before we reach the finish line?”

Twilight explained, holding up the large container that had the weakened version of the cure for Fluttershy’s ‘flightless bird syndrome’. As Twilight spoke, she got more and more upset.

“You can't just give up! We’ve got ourselves too deep into this mess. We made a cover story for her vanishing!”
Pinkie pie then cuts her off.

“Then what happens if she IS cured? We can't release her into the public again, everypony will think they saw a ghost!”
Pinkie shouted, getting upset at how adamant Twilight was being.

“If she’s cured, then we can let her live here until we find a cover story that explains why the article was wrong! Ive been thinking all this through pinkie! You’re in this too! You might as well see it to the end with me!”
Twilight shouted back, her nose scrunched up, her eyes now filled with anger, her wings opening to make herself look bigger.

Pinkie didn't try to argue… because truthfully, Twilight was right. Pinkie decided on her own will to join Twilight on this journey of science and trying to find cures for her made up infections. Even if she wanted to back out, the others will have questions, and they would want to know why they haven't seen Twilight since all this went down.

Pinkie slowly gave a sigh, at least wanting to get the last word in before storming out.
“You’re crazy… You have been from the start. Just crazy…”

Pinkie said that in a cold and almost heartless tone, before storming out. Twilight, not changing from her anger, watches Pinkie leave.

As Pinkie left the basement, she stormed toward the castle doors, she wasn't going to the everfree forest right away. She wanted some time alone before she could even think about getting what they needed for the cure. She took her lab coat off, discarding it on the ground before getting to the door, only leaving her bag and stockings on.

As she opens the door, she sees Rainbow Dash standing there, hoof raised, as if she was about to knock. Pinkie didn't say anything, just walked past Rainbow Dash and toward Ponyville.
Rainbow Dash saw the black eye on Pinkie’s face, and many emotions swam around her head. Anger, sadness, confusion.
Was Twilight hitting Pinkie? No… Twilight would never do such a thing…

Rainbow shook herself out of these thoughts and made her way inside.
“Twilight? Spike asked me to come and check on you! He’s worried about you and said it would put him at ease if I came and did a quick check-in.”
She called into the castle.

In the basement, Twilight hears Rainbow’s voice, and an all too familiar voice rang out in her head. Rarity’s voice… Spoke up in a sing-song tone.
“You’ve got company…~”

My Little Diseases - Chapter 8 - Lacking Sympathy...

“ITS HER FAULT SHE’S GONE!”
Sweetie Belle’s yells echoed throughout Sweet Apple Acres.
“She was so careless about getting infected!! Because of her, I had to lose Rarity!”

Spike’s eyes filled with tears as Sweetie Belle’s words cut deep. Hearing her talk so low about the pony that raised him.

“And I've said to you multiple times that we tried to get her to reconsider! We could have found someone willing to save her! BUT RARITY REFUSED! OUR HANDS WERE TIED!”
Spike yelled back, tears running down his cheeks. He cared deeply for both Twilight and Rarity, but he wasn't about to allow Sweetie Belle get away with yelling about his adoptive mother like that.

“IT'S NOT RARITY’S FAULT THAT TWILIGHT DECIDED TO GET CLUMSY!”
Sweetie retaliated, her ears folded flat against her head, tears of her own staining her cheeks as her hate filled gaze locked with Spike’s.
The 2 of them yelled back and forth at each other, Not noticing the rapidly approaching hoofsteps galloping from the barn.

“Rarity stuck to her guns Sweetie! We couldn't stop her! She didn't want anyone else to make the sacrifice! She felt responsible for not finding the answer to Twilight’s illness sooner!”
Spike shouted at Sweetie again.
The pair were circling each other at this point, slowly getting closer to each other. Sweetie Belle’s horn lit up and Spike gave a low growl.

Before somepony suddenly got between the 2 of them before anything broke out.
Looking up, it was Applejack, looking rather upset.
She was still rather scruffy from doing daily chores, as well as keeping up with the needs of the Cutiemark Crusaders.
Her fur was slightly matted from falling into the mud multiple times as well as just general neglect to keep up with her chores around the farm. Her hat now had small patches on it thanks to her hat getting caught on on a hook that left a large hole in it. Applebloom managed to stitch a nice dark brown patch onto the side of the hat.
She still had bags under her eyes, and tended to struggle a bit with everything she had to do.
But with the help of Rainbow Dash, who decided to also live on the farm for a while, things were getting a bit easier.

“Alright you 2 that’s enough! Why argue about something that has already happened! Rarity did what she did for a reason. And Twilight isn't clumsy if she didn't know what was going on! Now both of you stop arguing! I know the loss is hard, but lingering on the thought is NOT going to help anyone! Including you 2!”
Applejack almost commanded at the 2.
SweetieBelle gave a huff, slowly walking away and drying her eyes, making her way to the clubhouse.

Spike slowly made his way back to the barn, the tears starting anew as he thought about Twilight, and Rarity’s sacrifice. As he made his way into the barn, he saw Rainbow Dash stretching her wings and legs, almost as if preparing for a workout.
Spke stood there for a moment, waiting for Rainbow Dash to finish stretching before getting her attention.

“Uh.. Rainbow? I know you’re busy. But can I ask you something?”
Spike asked, causing the blue pegasus to stand up properly and look at him. She gave the purple dragon a soft smile, walking over and hugging him gently.

“How are you holding up spike? I know this is a lot to take in… And yeah, what did you want to ask me?”
Rainbow asked, tilting her head at him as she waited to find out what Spike needed. She may be a pro athlete, with the privilege of being part of the wonderbolts. But she still cared deeply about her friends, and that included Spike.

Spike smiled up to Rainbow, drying his face before speaking up.
“Well, I haven't heard from Twilight in a long time. And I feel like if I go to the castle, I'm going to find something I shouldn't... I don't know why. But my gut is saying I shouldn't go there. But I want to know if She’s ok… So do you mind maybe going to see if she’s ok? You’re a lot faster than any of us, so if anything DOES happen, you can get out of there quickly.”

Rainbow pondered the idea. She couldn't argue with Spike’s logic, she was a very fast and strong flyer. So if anything did get hairy, for whatever reason, she could get out of there fairly quickly.
“Tell you what, part of my workout routine actually takes place over Twilight’s castle. I tend to fly up to its peak and see what stunts I can do on the way up and on the way back down. So while I'm there, I'll stop by the entrance and see how she’s doing. I've been wanting to see how Pinkie is, as I haven't heard from her either. How does that sound?”

Rainbow Dash offered. It was more convenient too, as she would be able to get her usual workout in, while also checking in on her friends. A 2 birds with 1 stone situation! It was almost perfect.
Spike gave an enthusiastic nod and smiled wide, feeling a lot better knowing that someone would be able to do a welfare check on his adoptive mother.

Later that day, Rainbow Dash was doing her usual routine, flying around and over the clouds, her wings beating against the air, the wind breezing through her mane. Rainbow had never felt more free, than when she was flying.
She let out a few cackles to herself as she flew through the air, the joy and adrenaline of completing risky stunts in the air filled Rainbow with Pride. She felt so alive!

That was until she eventually got to Twilight’s castle and she remembered what she and Spike talked about.
She gave a soft sigh, a warm smile on her face as she flew down to the ground, making her way to the castle’s entrance.
But, just as she was about to raise her hoof and knock, the door swung open, revealing Pinkie Pie standing there, with a fairly angry expression on her face.
Rainbow’s eyes widened a bit as she saw Pinkie.

“Uh… hi?”
Rainbow tried to greet the pink party pony, only for her to ot respond. As she stepped out into the sunlight, Rainbow saw Pinkie’s healing black eye, and she became filled with anger.
Was Twilight hitting Pinkie?! Was their relationship abusive?!
The blue pegasus’s ears folded back and she stormed into the castle, looking around.
“Twilight? Spike asked me to come and check on you! He’s worried about you and said it would put him at ease if I came and did a quick check-in.”
She called into the castle. Her tone filled with anger and confusion.

Twilight was the Princess of friendship, how would SHE of all ponies think hitting someone was a good idea?
Soon she saw the door to the basement was open, and she looked down the staircase that immediately followed the doorway.
Making her way into the basement, she saw Fluttershy in her cell. Her eyes widening as she rushes across the room.

“Fluttershy?!”
Rainbow Dash exclaimed, looking shocked as she lit a nearby lantern to get a better look at her friend.
Rainbow put her hoof over her mouth, gagging slightly at the sight.

Fluttershy laid on her side, her wings no longer held open by the wood planks, as the black spots going along her wings had caused them to remain that way. The spots in question oozed with a white puss that ran down the bumps, into her fur, causing it to become sticky or matted.
The yellow pegasus’s fur had become thin and had begun falling out, and the spots on Fluttershy’s stomach had burst, leaving the skin on her stomach to become very thin, and stretched out.

Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes, looking up at Rainbow Dash, raising her head. Her eyes widened as she saw her friend.
“Rainbow.. Y-you have to get out of here!”
Fluttershy croaked out, her front hooves dragging her a few inches forward. Her eyes were surrounded with dark circles as she tried her best to tell Rainbow to run.

“Fluttershy! What’s going on?! Why are you like this? Who did this to you?!”
Rainbow Dash asked, questions spilling from her brain as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

Fluttershy went to respond, but only cried out in agony as the skin along her stomach suddenly became too far stretched and split open, causing all her internal organs to spill out onto the floor. The loud, wet, squelching sounds filled the room as her organs and an unusually small amount of blood spilled out of her torso.

Her organs, though, continued to work like normal. Somehow still keeping her alive. It must be an anomaly of her illness, but there wasn't any time to think about that.
Fluttershy looked down at herself, her eyes wide and filled with tears. Before she turned back to Rainbow Dash.
“There’s no time to e-explain Rainbow Dash! You need to get out of here!”

Fluttershy croaked as she tried to push the rainbow dash away through the bars, only for more hoofsteps to be heard from behind Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash slowly turned around, to see Twilight standing there, her wings spread, her hooves spread in a defensive stance. Her pupils had shrunk to mere pinpricks, and her gaze was on her friend.

“C’mon rainbow… Don't you know it's rude to enter someponies home and look around uninvited?” Twilight said. Her ears folded back as she addressed Rainbow.

“Twilight, what is going on?! You’re beating up Pinkie Pie and you’re keeping Fluttershy in this cell?! What are you doing to them?! Trying to kill them? I thought Fluttershy had been killed by a pack of bears, but instead you were keeping her here?”

Rainbow didnt know how to respond, instead allowing the questions to flow, before the thought of seeing Pinkie earlier crossed her mind. Only causing her anger to grow. She began making her way toward Twilight, slowly beginning to circle her.

“And what are you doing to Pinkie, causing her to walk out of the castle with bruises? What does she see in you… I bet if i had confessed my feelings before you… I would have been a much better partner than you could ever be… I had loved Pinkie for so long, but i didn't confess at the castle, because i didn't want to make such a dire situation, awkward from some half hearted confession. Then you go and confess to her anyway?!”

“You think I'm hitting Pinkie? No, Rainbow im n–”
Twilight began, before she was cut off by a sudden impact to her head.
Rainbow’s anger had only grown and she got closer to Twilight, before suddenly taking a swing and punching Twilight across the face, leaving a large hoofmark in Twilight’s cheek.

Twilight’s anger suddenly began to grow rapidly, and she swung back at Rainbow, before eventually a large fight had broken out between the 2 of them. Many punches, kicks and bites were delivered to each other's bodies, with Rainbow getting the upper hand.
Twilight ended up pinned by Rainbow. Her wings held down by Rainbow’s front hooves, causing the alicorn to give a grunt in pain.

Twilight’s horn lit up to fire a magic beam at Rainbow, but it was quickly cut off by Rainbow biting Twilight’s leg, breaking the skin and causing it to bleed. Once again, twilight cried out in pain.
Amidst the chaos, Pinkie Pie returned home, she was feeling a bit better than earlier, having gone on a long walk and visited Mr and Mrs cake at Sugarcube corner. Given how often Pinkie goes outside, and they saw how she was at Rarity’s funeral, they had grown used to Pinkie’s state of permanent flat hair and dark rings.

But when Pinkie came into the basement, she saw the fight happening and her eyes widened.
“What in Equestria is going on!?”
Pinkie shouted, causing Rainbow to slam Twilight’s face into the ground, keeping her pinned there, leading to a loud crack being heard as the result of Rainbow breaking Twilight’s nose on the ground.

“Pinkie!”
Rainbow began, trying to keep Twilight pinned to the ground.
“Pinkie, you shouldn't be living here with Twilight! Come with me! I can take you somewhere safe! We can be happy together! You won't be at risk of being hit by Twilight if you’re with me! You dont need to be part of this nightmare! We can even save Fluttershy!”

Pinkie listened to rainbow, before suddenly bursting into laughter, putting her hoof to her chest as she guffawed, causing Rainbow to become confused.
“W-what’s so funny?!”

“Oh Rainbow heheheheh. You’re sweet, but I can assure you… Twilight isn't abusing me.”
Pinkie began, wiping a tear of laughter from her eye.

“I love Twilight, we’ve done all of this together and worked very hard on our discoveries. And all of this? I'm part of this willingly! Twilight hasn't laid her hooves on me, this was from Fluttershy punching me after we got into a fight!”
Hearing Pinkie’s explanation of everything left Rainbow feeling embarrassed and rather upset.

Pinkie was part of this willingly?! But how!? She would never do this! Did twilight manipulate her somehow?! Why did the pony she love become such a monster?!
CRACK!

Rainbow’s throughs were cut off by a loud crack that filled the basement, accompanied by Rainbow’s screams of agony.
Rainbow’s shock had left her open for attack, leading Twilight to grab ahold of Rainbow’s wings with her magic. The sounds of snapping and ripping filled the room, as Twilight used her magic to pull Rainbow’s wings out of her back.
Blood flowed down Rainbow’s torso and legs, her eyes widening and tears flowing down her face as she screamed out in pain.

Soon enough, the pair of blue wings were separated from Rainbow’s body. Twilight quickly discarding them to the side before grabbing Rainbow with her magic and throwing her into an empty cell. Chaining her back legs to some metal cuffs, with long chains strapped to the ground.
Before injecting Rainbow Dash with a 2nd hoof made infection and closed the door.
Twilight looked over at Pinkie, her nose bleeding heavily and badly crooked from the break. She also had bleeding bite marks on her front leg, flank and neck. As well as many giant bruises forming over her body from the fight.

“Oh dear…” Pinkie said affectionately, walking over to Twilight and kissing her forehead gently.
“It's ok… Let's get you some medical attention and we can check in on Rainbow when we get back.”
Pinkie said softly, leading Twilight out of the room and toward her bedroom,
to get her in some kind of clothing to hide some of the injuries and not concern the general public, before making their way to Ponyville hospital.

As Twilight closed the door to the basement of her magic, rainbow’s shouting could be heard slowly fading as the door blocked out the sound.

“TWILIGHT! LET ME GO!! YOU FUCKING RIPPED MY WINGS OFF! WHAT DID YOU INJECT INTO ME?! LET ME OUT OF HERE BEFORE SPIKE–!”
The door slammed shut… Concealing Rainbow from the rest of the world.

My Little Diseases - Chapter 8.5 - patched up

Pinkie led Twilight into Ponyville Hospital.
She was obviously left very banged up after her fight with Rainbow Dash.
She decided to wear an old outfit to cover the majority of her body with a nice outfit to hide the injuries, so as to not make any of the residents of Ponyville worry while they made their way through town.

Twilight decided to wear her old birthday dress that Rarity made her, the plain yellow dress with a cute pink ribbon wrapped around the neck.
She also decided to hide the bite marks on her legs with some thick stockings that she found laying around, which were pure white, and actually complimented the dress very well, she didn't look too suspicious.

When they arrived in the lobby, they were greeted by Nurse Redheart, who gave them a warm smile and approached them as they walked deeper into the lobby.
“Hello Pinkie Pie! And Princess Twilight! How are you both?”
Nurse redheart asked, giving Twilight a bow as she approached.

Twilight couldn't help but give a soft smile as Nurse Redheart bowed to her. She never got used to such formalities.

“Well”
Pinkie Pie began.
“We need you to take a look at Twilight and patch her up a bit, she got herself hurt while practising flying and had a VERY rough landing.”
Pinkie explained, praying that the story was convincing enough.

Twilight gave an awkward smile to Nurse Redheart as she pointed to the main injury, her broken nose, which had slowed in bleeding, and the dried blood had dried against her fur, crusting it.

Nurse Redheart chuckled a bit at the predicament and gave a dismissive wave.
“Oh that won't be too much trouble. I get a lot of flyers coming to me for any random injury when they’re trying to make their wings stronger or trying a new trick, I'll have you out of here before you know it.”
Nurse Redheart reassured before leading the pair into a nearby examination room to take a closer look at Twilight’s injuries.

“Do you mind taking off your outfit, your highness? I’ll need to check the rest of your body for any injuries.”
Nurse redheart asked, giving the purple alicorn a soft smile.

Twilight smiled back and quickly agreed, explaining that the outfit was mainly there to keep Ponyville residents from worrying about her during their journey here.
Twilight quickly took off her outfit, folding it up and putting it to the side before setting onto the examination bed and laying herself out for Nurse Redheart to look over.

As Nurse Redheart looked Twilight over, she was very gentle, making sure not to accidentally cause any pain while examining her.
“Can you explain these bite marks on your legs?”
Nurse Redheart inquired, tilting her head at the alicorn.

“Oh, when I fell I landed in a bunch of trees, and there were critters living in those trees, like squirrels and other animals. And they bit me in self defence… Which I guess makes sense given how I just crashed into their home.”
Twilight quickly explained, trying to look as calm as possible, while mentally praying that Nurse Redheart would buy the story.

Nurse Redheart raised an eyebrow at Twilight, before looking back at the bite mark. It didn't make much sense given the size of the bite marks. But she knew she wouldn't get any other answer from Twilight or Pinkie, and so just rolled with it for now.

Nurse Redheart quickly grabbed some medical grade wound cleaner and began cleaning off any open wounds and lesions on her body before covering them up with bandages.
Making quick work of the minor injuries before turning to Twilight’s broken nose.

“Ok… Pinkie in my top drawer there’s a thick piece of rubber, it's normally used for supporting limbs while we cast them, but i’ll need it for this. Can you grab it please?”
Nurse Redheart asked, to which Pinkie quickly obliged.

Pulling out a cylinder of rubber that was about 2 inches thick. She handed it to nurse Redheart, which made Twilight open her mouth and bite down onto the piece of rubber.
“I’ll need you to bite down onto that, because unfortunately, this will hurt.”

Nurse redheart explained as she put a hoof on Twilight’s chin and the other along the bridge of Twilight’s nose.
Giving a quick count down from 3, a loud snapping noise echoed through the room, causing Twilight to bite down hard on the rubber and groan loudly, as Nurse Redheart quickly realigned the bone in Twilight’s nose to help it heal better.

The nurse then gently bandaged up Twilight’s nose, cleaning up around it as best as she could without tugging at the surrounding fur.
“Sorry about that, but it had to be done.” Nurse Redheart quickly says before taking the rubber cylinder from Twilight’s teeth and putting it on the side to be sterilised.

“Well… That’s you all done your highness. I hope you feel better soon, and come back in a few weeks so we can check how your nose is doing.”Nurse redheart explains, as Twilight puts her outfit back on, making sure it sat comfortably on her body before smiling at the nurse.
“Thankyou for everything Nurse Redheart. Ill see you in a few weeks.”

Twilight then made her way back to the castle with Pinkie, giving the party pony the occasional, playful nuzzle, kissing her cheek and wrapping her wing around Pinkie’s back.
Once they got home, they looked at each other with an evil, unsettling smirk… There’s a certain rainbow pony waiting for them to cure her of her current illness…

Time to get to work…

My Little Diseases - Chapter 9 - so many colours.

Rainbow sat there in her cell, pulling at her chains that kept a tight hold on her back legs. The chains rattled loudly as they were tugged, kicked at and yanked. Each noise echoing throughout the cell she was in. Before she paused, and turned to look between the bars of her cell door… Where exactly was she again?

She looked around at the lab that surrounded her cell. It was clean, pure white, say for the ceiling. There were 3 tables, one had plenty of science equipment, used for mixing chemicals and ingredients together to make different solutions. The other table had stacks upon stacks of paper, some written on, some plain. As well as a large, dried up ink puddle possibly due to an accidental spill of an ink pot. And the third and final table had what looked like clipboards on it. There were 3 of them, but the writing couldn't be seen because they were stacked on top of eachother. That table was the cleanest out of the 3, and Rainbow deduced that it was because it wasn't used as much.

The rest of the room was brightly lit with LED light bulbs, as well as a wall lined with now empty animal crates and animal food storage bags. Then there were a few personal touches added to the room, such as 2 coat hooks that were nailed into the wall by the door, some streamers that hang from the ceiling, giving the room a small touch of happy, light colours. As well as a rug that was in the middle of the floor, it was a dark purple rug, with a moon cycle pattern on it, which helped reduce echo within the room.
It made Rainbow sick to her stomach seeing how homey the room looked with it. Who would want to make a room like this comfortable?

Rainbow turned and continued pulling at her restraints, until she caught her reflection in one of the metal cuffs around her leg, she paused again, getting a good look at herself.

Her face was pale, and her eyes were bloodshot. Her mouth and eyes were surrounded in random colours, almost as if she had covered her face in paint.
Rainbow then looked over her shoulder at her back.
The space where her wings used to be, were now occupied by 2 stumps that had a single bone sticking out of the top. The entirety of them was covered in dried blood, creating a crusty layer that chipped away as she moved, leaving the fur stained and matted underneath. The blood had also dripped down her sides and front legs, which has now also dried.

Rainbow Dash gave a groan as she looked back at her reflection, before hearing hoofsteps behind her, slowly turning around to see Twilight standing on the other side of the bars. She was wearing a white lab coat, with the sleeves rolled up halfway up her front legs. The coat also looked fairly grubby, as if she had been rolling around outside in it. Many stains covered the coat, as well as the occasional tear and hole in the seams.
It looked just as dishevelled as she did.
She was crazy, out of control, with a few matts along it. It didn't look unhealthy, but it looked neglected.
Twilight’s entire body was still greyed out, as a side effect of the Unseen Blight she was infected with, all those moons ago.
Luna had mentioned permanent side effects to being cured, and this was one of them.

Cadence had just gotten lucky when she was cured, to go back to her original colouring.

Twilight’s eyes stared at Rainbow, her gaze felt heavy and cold, like she was staring into Rainbow’s soul. Her pupils were like pinpricks and she had large bags under them, as if she had spent many nights doing research before Rainbow had got there. She finally got a good look at Twilight, since when she first arrived, as she was blinded by anger and confusion at the time.

“Twilight…?”
Rainbow spoke up finally, her ears folding back, her eyes locked on the alicorn, trying to gauge what her motives were for keeping her here. She tried to speak, but had trouble speaking coherently.
“What’s going on… Am i.. Where… What are… Why…?”

Twilight didn't respond, instead picking up a clipboard from the top of the pile on the table. Hovering it in front of her along with a quill. Writing down Rainbow Dash’s symptoms as well as the current plans to work on a cure, while also updating Fluttershy’s information on an additional clipboard.
Twilight then begins mumbling to herself, it was faint, but illegible.

“Colours around mouth and eyes…. Wing stumps somewhat healed… Trouble speaking…”
As Twilight mumbled, she wrote down her notes, occasionally looking up from her paper, back at Rainbow. Her sunken in eyes locked onto the blue pegasus, her gaze was intimidating… scary… something Rainbow had never seen on Twilight before.

“..you can't keep me here forever!”
Rainbow suddenly shouted, before charging forward, trying to reach twilight through the bars. Growling as she tried to extend her hoof out as far as her chains and the bars would allow, trying to grab her former friend. Twilight lowered the clipboard, staring at Rainbow as she continued to try and reach for her.

Twilight’s pure white horn suddenly lit up brighter, with dark magic, forcing Rainbow back, and the chains clanked loudly against the ground.
“Aggressive…”
Twilight mumbled to herself, before she proceeded to write on her clipboard

“You won't get away with this!”
Rainbow shouted, trying her best to talk in coherent sentences, her brain struggling to come up with the wording, almost as if her infection was affecting her cognitive function to speak.

“Y-you uh… The Princess will find out and…. T-then you’ll be sorry! You’ll be, uh…”
Twilight quickly cut off Rainbow’s sentence, by turning away from her and beginning to walk away, before speaking up.

“The hole I dug is too deep to back out of. For both me and my love… I may as well see it through…”
Twilight explained slowly, before turning to Fluttershy.

“Subject 1..? Are you awake?”
Twilight asked, knocking on the bars of Fluttershy’s cell.

As Twilight attempts to get Fluttershy’s attention, Pinkie Pie walks into the room, she wasn't any better than Twilight. Her eyes were also tiny pinpricks, and she too wore a lab coat, though it was in a better condition than Twilights. She also wore thick, surgical stockings that protected her hooves, and a black, fabric face mask.
She was also carrying 2 bags of what looked like groceries.

Her flat mane was tied back in a ponytail and her tail was tied in a bun. And those eyes… they were distant, unfocused.. Until they landed on Twilight, then her pupils expanded, and she seemed to almost swoon over the sight of Twilight standing there.

“Hello Twilight!”
Pinkie said in a sing-song like tone. Catching the alicorn’s attention.
“I brought some food for subjects 1 and 2. Are they good to eat?”

Rainbow tilted her head. Subject 2? Did they mean her?

“I'm not sure Pinkie.”
Twilight explained. “Give Subject 2 her food, then check on Subject 1, she isn't responding to outside stimuli such as my voice, she may need to be looked over. We’re very close to finding a cure for her now.”

Pinkie gave a nod before unlocking and walking into Rainbow Dash’s cell, using a key that she kept in the pocket of her lab coat. Upon closing the door, she turned to Rainbow Dash, and laid some of the food out on the ground in front of her.
She was able to choose between a couple of apples, a ready-made daisy sandwich, and a pastry.

Rainbow Dash slowly made her way over, before taking the sandwich.
Once she had made her choice, Pinkie quickly snatched up the food and put down a bottle of water for Rainbow, before leaving and locking the cell door again.

Pinkie Pie then made her way to Fluttershy’s cell, and unlocked the door with a similar key. Upon entering, Flutershy gave no response to the door being opened.
“Subject 1?”
Pinkie Pie asked, but Fluttershy gave no response.
So, Pinkie reached out to touch Fluttershy’s shoulder. It was cold to the touch, and stiff.

Pinkie’s eyes widened in panic, as she dropped the bag, making her way over to the front of Fluttershy’s still body. The organs that were once working, had stopped functioning slightly, and upon closer inspection, Pinkie saw that the infection ‘flightless bird syndrome’ had rotted away Fluttershy’s organs, due to the infection reaching its final stages.
Pinkie’s eyes began to fill with tears as she called out to Twilight.

Fluttershy’s body was cold and grey. Her limbs were stiff and unmoving. The blood on the ground had clung to her fur, causing it to matt and clump together.
Twilight came over to inspect Fluttershy for herself, before the 2 lovers looked at eachother, tears beginning to run down their cheeks.

They were so close… So close to making a cure for this infection. But they were too late.
They began to weep, embracing each other tightly as they mourned the loss of their hard work, their ears folding back and their embrace tightening around each other. The entire time, Rainbow Dash was flinging insult after insult at the couple.
Rainbow Dash shouted about how disgusting their practice was, and how they shouldn't be going down this route for the sake of medical discovery.
Only for Pinkie Pie to grow angry at Rainbow, walking toward the cell and bucking the door. The clanging noise echoed throughout the room, and scaring the pegasus into silence

The 2 scientists slowly pulled themselves together. Drying their faces and looking back at Fluttershy's body… They had to get rid of it.

Pinkie swifty left to grab some cleaning equipment, while Twilight grabbed a nearby shovel. The same shovel that was used in the everfree forest all that time ago, the tip still stained black from the now dead spores from the ‘unseen Blight’.

Over the course of the next 4 hours, the couple managed to clean up the cell of all blood, gore and faecal matter, before disposing of Fluttershy’s body, burying her deep within the castle gardens.

“Well…”
Twilight began.
“We’re going to need someone to fill this space… As we need someone to test out this final infection I have to find a cure for…”

Pinkie then put a hoof to her chin in thought. They cant always rely on someone to stumble into the castle. Before Pinkie could come up with an idea, she saw Twilight, holding up a wooden bat, looking over it, her eyes shrinking to pinpricks again.
“Pinkie.. Care to do a bit of hunting?”

Pinkie’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks also, as she slowly grabbed the bat, a wide, crazed smile spreading across her face as she stared at the wooden tool, small giggles could be heard, before slowly turning into loud, manic laughter. Throwing her head back.
She knew just the pony to bring in, it was only a matter of time…

Pinkie ran out of the basement to plan out how to bring in their next test subject, while Twilight watched with admiration in her eyes.

“And why do you think sending HER is a good idea?”
Rarity’s voice spoke up.

“Oh… Long time no see… Didn't think i’d hear from you.”
Twilight responded simply, shrugging off the question as she went back to experimenting on a cure for the ‘manic colour syndrome’ Rainbow Dash had been infected with.

“Don't get me wrong… it's a WONDERFUL idea.. But how will she pull it off without getting excited and going overboard?”
Rarity asked again, her voice echoing in twilight’s head, circling around her like a fly investigating its next meal.

“I trust her…”
Twilight responded quickly. As she dropped a petal of Hearts Desire into a test tube, the concoction inside suddenly began to bubble and fizz…
“I always have… And I always will…”

My Little Diseases - Chapter 10 - Time for the hunt

It's been weeks… Months since Rainbow Dash’s funeral. The news reports that spread across Ponyville and Cloudsdale explained that Rainbow Dash perished while trying to perform a new stunt in preparation for an upcoming wonderbolts show. The incident caused Rainbow Dash to lose course while flying, and clip her wings with great force, causing them to become disconnected from her body.

The photo within the newspaper showed the evidence of said crash, showing one of Rainbow Dash's wings laying limp in a field below cloudsdale. According to the article, Rainbow was killed upon impact… It was quick… Painless. She didn't suffer….
The article also explained that the funeral would be held on the date of the cupcoming Wonderbolts show, and the Wonderbolts would perform said stunt in Rainbow Dash’s honour.

The ceremony was beautiful, everyone was there, It was a brilliant and majestic send off to the newest wonderbolts member.

Applejack stared at the article, before ripping the photo of Rainbow’s wing out of the paper, pinning it to her bedroom wall.
Her bedroom wall was covered in photos, letters, scrolls, and much more, each piece connected with red string and pins. It didn't make sense. Her friends were always careful with their professions.
Something was going on, Something was wrong, and she was going to figure out what it was.

As Applejack stared at the wall, she would occasionally pace around the room, trying to think of any potential links she may have missed. How were her friends being killed in their own profession? Flutershy was killed by animals? Rainbow killed by flying? It wasn't adding up, her friends were always so careful as to avoid incidents.

Soon she was cut out of her thoughts for a moment, upon hearing her door knock. She turned to look at her door, before walking over and opening it, Applebloom was standing there, with a tired looking Scootaloo.
She hadn't taken the news of Rainbow’s passing very well, staying up late at night in tears, her mane was more unkempt than usual, and her feathers were kinked from the constant shuffling in her bed, she gave a soft yawn, and looked up at Applejack, smiling softly.

“Hey Applejack…” Scootaloo croaked, her voice hoarse from crying so hard recently.
Applebloom looked up at Applejack, her ears folding back, her face lined with concern.

“Scootaloo’s been havin’ trouble sleepin’ again…” Applebloom explained. “Do ya think she can stay with you big sis? You’ve been carein’ for all 3 of us and she asked to see you.”

Applejack looked down at Scootaloo, a soft smile on her face, as she gently picked up the filly, laying her across her back.
“That’s no problem Applebloom, Scootaloo can hunker down with me tonight.”

Applejack then turned back into her room, carrying Scootaloo to her bed and laying her down on it. As she was doing that, Applebloom saw Applejack’s wall, looking over it.
“Ya lookin’ over everythin’ again? Sis its been months now… Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash arent here anymore.. Ah know it's hard. It was hard sayin’ goodbye to Fluttershy… She was an amazin’ friend to me. But we should let them rest in peace now…” Applebloom said softly, her ears folding back as she looked back at Applejack.

Applejack gave a sigh.
“Ah know ah may be overreactin’, but somethin’ ain't addin’ up… The news doesnt make sense. Our friends wouldnt be so reckless to allow themselves to get killed like this…”
Applejack explained, looking over the wall again once Scootaloo had settled down. The wall looked daunting, with how many connection strings had been put up, and all the ripped news sections

“Ah’ll be ok Applebloom.. Ya go to bed ok? Ah’ll settle down once Scootaloo’s asleep.”
Applejack explained further, before hugging Applebloom tightly and sending her to bed.

Applebloom closes the door behind her as she leaves, leaving Applejack alone with Scootaloo, who was already drifting off to sleep.
The farm pony couldn't help but smile at Scootaloo finally getting some rest, before looking back at her wall of evidence.
The photos of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, surrounded with news articles of their deaths, as well as photos of their funeral, and funeral speeches from the remaining elements of harmony, those being herself, Twilight and Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie and Twilight said similar things in their speeches. Explaining that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were amazing friends, and they were the best at their jobs. They also said in their speeches that Death comes in all shapes and sizes, and that even the best at their occupation make mistakes.
The ceremony after the funeral was wonderful, their headstones being placed alongside Rarity’s, surrounded by flowers that matched their mane colours. With Rainbow having specially bred roses to give a rainbow look.

Twilight and Pinkie Pie both checked in on applejack during the wake, asking how she was doing, as well as asking about the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Applejack thought back to that conversation…

”Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were as close friends to those 3 as they were to us.” Twilight had said. With Pinkie quickly following it up.
“Especially Scootaloo… I can only imagine how hard she’s taking this right now. Rainbow Dash was like a sister to her.”

“Ah know…” Applejack responded to them. Holding her hat against her chest. “The 3 are tryin’ their hardest to see the light in these tough times… Applebloom has been takin’ it in her stride to help her friends mourn however they need, and help them move on.”

Applejack shook the thought from her head for now, looking back at the wall she made.
She then realised that both Fluttershy and Applejack, were last seen going toward Ponyville.

“Did somethin’ happen there?” Applejack mumbled to herself, not wanting to wake Scootaloo.
Applejack then looked at the news articles again, at the photos, and the connection strings. She then began moving the strings around, only for her mind to finally make the critical connections.
“They never died doing their jobs..!” Applejack muttered, her eyes widening and her ears folding back.
Seeing that she had made all the red strings connect to twilight’s castle.

“They’re at Twilight’s castle!” Applejack exclaimed, as she turned on her heel, making her way toward the exit of her home.
If anyone knew where Flutershy and Rainbow Dash were, it was Twilight.

Applejack quickly skidded to a halt at the bottom of her stairs, as she saw someone standing in the open doorway of her home. It was Pinkie Pie. Her smile was wide, manic, crazy… Her eyes were the size of pinpricks, the bags under her eyes making them look sunken in on themselves.
Her flat mane swayed softly in the night time breeze, and in one of her hooves… Sat a sturdy wooden bat, the rubber handle being held firmly, ready to swing.

Applejack took on a defensive stance, spreading her hooves slightly as she kept her gaze on Pinkie.
“Pinkie Pie… What’s goin’ on…?” Applejack slowly asked

Pinkie stepped into the house, her hooves clicking menacingly against the ground.
“Well… Lets just say that ive been keeping an eye on you for a while… That little wall you’ve made is pretty interesting. I never expected the farm pony to play detective.”

Pinkie responded, ending her sentence with a chuckle, before stepping forward again.
“And it seems like you figured out our little experiment. But unfortunately, we can't let any information get out about our work… we’re making revolutionary medicine for our home town, we’re becoming a very healthy community here in Ponyville, but how can we get our medicine and vaccinations to work without a few test subjects..”

Pinkie’s smile widened as she continued to stare at Applejack, her
“And… Subject 3… We need a new test subject.”

That was enough for Applejack to make a move, She quickly ran toward Pinkie, barging past her and running out of her door, into the depths of the orchard.
She could hear her heartbeat resonating in her ears, tears began to cloud her vision, but she continued to run, weaving between trees and hiding behind thicker trees, hoping to lose Pinkie Pie in the maze of tree trunks.

“Aaaaaaplejaaack!” Pinkie’s voice called out. Followed by the wooden bat smacking against nearby trees, the knocking echoing through the trees, shaking Applejack to her core.

She could hear Pinkie getting closer. Her chest was beginning to ache from running so fast, her legs shook with fear, and her eyes continued to flow with tears. Her friend… Pinkie Pie… Was about to kill her!

“SURPRISE!”
Pinkie Pie shouted, jumping around the tree Applejack was hiding behind, and attempted to swing at her head. But applejack was faster, and managed to duck out of the way, before taking off running again.

Applejack’s heart pounded, her instinct for survival taking over as she ran as fast as she could, ignoring the pain in her joints and her chest as she tried to gain some distance between herself and the crazy pink pony that was hot on her tail.

“C’MON APPLEJACK! DON'T MAKE THIS HARDER THAN IT NEEDS TO BE!”
Pinkie yelled after Applejack, her hooves pounding against the ground as she ran after her.
Applejack managed to quickly gain some distance between herself and Pinkie, by weaving on sharp corners around some thinner trees, as well as just running as fast as she could.

She was physically a lot stronger than Pinkie Pie, as well as having more stamina through working so hard on the farm. So she was naturally able to gain some distance. Applejack quickly turned around, running in a different direction, back toward the barn.

Pinkie’s shouting had faded into the distance, and she could no longer hear Pinkie’s hoof steps behind her.
But she knew she wasn't safe yet. She needed to find somewhere to hide until Pinkie gave up the hunt. Thinking quickly, she decided to climb up and hide inside of the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse. She knew it wasn't the best hiding place, but it was better than being out in the open.

Applejack shut and locked the clubhouse door behind her, before climbing the ladder inside of the clubhouse, taking up a hiding spot on the top floor. Her chest was in agony as she tried to regain her shaky, terrified breathing. Her wide eyes darted in the direction of each window, her legs shook as they tried to recover from running.

Pinkie Pie soon found her way out of the forest, looking up and down the pathway that led toward the entrance of the farm. Panting slightly, pinkie began walking away from the barn and past the clubhouse.

Applejack’s eyes flowed with tears as she heard Pinkie walk past, her hoofsteps slowly fading away. Applejack took a moment to think about what just happened, beginning to weep quietly. Covering her face with her front hooves as tears flowed down her cheeks and made a small puddle on the ground below her chin.

‘Subject 3’? Pinkie didnt even use her name. She was nothing but a plaything to Pinkie now.
Applejack decided to stay in the clubhouse for a couple of hours. Wanting to be 100% certain that Pinkie was gone. She poked her head out of the top window, looking at her immediate surroundings, and checking the treeline for any moving shadows.

Once she felt safe enough to come out of the clubhouse, she did so. Unlocking the door quietly and slowly stepping out, onto the platform the clubhouse sat on.
Applejack looked at the moon as it hung high in the sky… It was midnight, everyone was fast asleep, the forest was finally quiet.

Applejack gave a shaky sigh of relief, before turning to close the clubhouse door, as the door closed, it revealed Pinkie standing right behind it, the moment the door was shut, Pinkie swung her bat, making contact with applejack’s head with a loud thudding sound.
“Nighty Night Applejack~!”

Applejack fell to the ground, quickly losing consciousness, blood flowing slowly down her head from the impact of the bat to her temple.
Once Applejack hit the ground, Pinkie chuckled softly, before her giggles turned into manic cackles. Her laughter echoing into the crisp night sky.

She then got an idea, her crazed smile spreading across her face once more. She walked down the steps of the clubhouse, picking up a large rock and bringing it back. She placed the rock down to the flattest side and made sure it sat flush with the ground, before resting one of Applejack’s back legs on top of said rock.

Pinkie then chuckled, before jumping on Applejack’s hoof that hung in the air, off of the rock, causing a large snap to be heard. As well as spraying some blood over Pinkie’s face and chest. Applejack’s back leg was now broken, blood flowed out of the gash caused by the bone suddenly breaking and breaching the skin and muscle.
Staining her orange fur and the wooden platform below.

Pinkie Pie then repeated the process with Applejack’s other back leg. Another loud snapping sound could be heard, with this breakage causing more blood to fly into the air and all over Pinkie. Blood flowed out of the gash, this one going a lot further out of the back of Applejack’s leg, the bone standing proud like a flagpole as Pinkie removed the rock from beneath the leg.

Pinkie then quickly wiped the blood off of the rock and threw it into the treeline, accidentally scaring some birds into flight from a nearby tree.
She then quickly scooped up Applejack’s body, laying her across her back, before making her way back to ponyville. Thanks to the cover of night, the town was empty, meaning Pinkie didn't have to worry about being seen by anyone.

When Pinkie arrived back at the castle, she quickly made her way to the basement. Twilight was standing there when she saw the beaten and bruised Applejack across Pinkie’s back.

“So… you caught her then.”
Twilight said calmly upon seeing Pinkie return. Pinkie eagerly nodded in response.

“As much as I love what she’s done here... Wasn't breaking her legs a bit much?”
Rarity’s voice spoke up, Twilight’s ears twitching in response to hearing it. Twilight tilted her head and walked behind Pinkie, looking at Applejack’s legs, smirking as she saw them both broken.

“Nice work my love..” Twilight started.
“Less chances of her escaping now.”

“I quite agree” Rarity’s disembodied voice responded, causing Twilight to chuckle, and Pinkie smirked in response.
Soon, the castle was filled with the crazed laughter of Twilight and Pinkie Pie.

My Little Diseases - Chapter 11 - Patient Zero

Applejack slowly stirred, holding the side of her head, feeling a dried, crusty scar that had formed while she was unconscious. Still fresh and in the process of healing.
She winced in pain as she ran her hoof over the injury.

She attempted to get up, only to cry out in pain and fall to the ground again, a shockwave of pain suddenly shooting through her back legs. Looking back, she saw her back legs were completely broken, and the bone had breached the skin. Dried blood stained her fur and caused it to become slightly mated.

“WHAT IN THE HAY IS GOIN’ ON?!” Applejack cried out into the basement she was being held in. Her voice bounced off of the walls. The basement was empty, the lights showing off the lab-like interior, which was messy and unorganized.
Applejack’s eyes widened as she looked around the basement, seeing the smashed lab equipment, the spilled samples, the scattered papers and notes.

She put a hoof out to the bars that separated her from the rest of the room, then she spotted something wrong with her front leg, looking closely, she saw that small holes had formed under her skin, causing the top layers of skin to become sunken in slightly, creating small craters on her hide.
Her eyes widening as she looks around her cell for something to look at herself with. She soon saw something glimmering on the ground of the cell, it looked like a piece of a broken mirror. Not questioning where it came from, she quickly picked it up, twisting and turning the piece in various directions to look at herself.

She soon saw a much more dense gathering of these small craters around her neck, with a dark red patch on the right side that looked like a fairly wide incision. Presumably where she had been injected with something.

“HELLO?! SOMEPONY?! WHAT’S GOIN’ ON?!” Applejack called out into the basement once more, her eyes filled with tears as she grew afraid of what was going on, with little to no way to defend herself thanks to her broken legs. She army crawled back to the bars at the front of the cell. Then she froze, upon hearing a low groaning sound coming from her left. Looking over, she saw what could be described as a deformed earth pony. Taking a moment to think, she picked up a nearby rock and threw it, landing a fairly accurate hit at a nearby ceiling light, causing it to swing.

What she saw in the neighboring cell shook her to her core. It was Rainbow Dash, but she had gone through a horrific transformation. Her legs had grown elongated, causing the skin to rip and shred due to the change being so rapid. Her muzzle and some small sections around her eyes were covered in various colours, like she had just gone through some sloppy face painting job.

Her wings stumps have healed awkwardly, leaving the stumps with some of the bone still sticking out. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot, with her sclera becoming rainbow-coloured.
Her fur and mane colours had become dull, almost as if the colour was fading from her body. And on top of that, her body was covered in what looked like blisters, or boils, each one being a unique colour, ready to burst at any moment.

Before Applejack could react, Rainbow Dash’s malformed body began to slowly walk into a far corner of the cell, almost as if drawn to it. Before awkwardly laying down on her side, enjoying the silence, even if it was forced silence through Applejack’s shock.
Soon enough, the basement was filled with the sound of what could only be described as water balloons popping, as each blister and boil on Rainbow Dash’s body suddenly burst open, spraying blood and puss all over her body, Rainbow Dash’s body growing still as the life, or what was left, slowly drained from her body.

“RAINBOW?!” Applejack called out, but upon getting no response, her ears folded back, tears beginning to stream down her face as she couldn't bring herself to tear her gaze away from the mangled corpse.
That was until the silence was broken by hoof steps entering the basement.

Applejack’s head quickly snapped toward the door, seeing Pinkie standing there with Twilight at her side.

Both of the scientists looked insane. Their pupils were the size of pinpricks, and they both had wide smiles on their faces as they saw Applejack had finally woken up. Their lab coats were disheveled, the sleeves ripped, the main jacket being covered in multiple stains from previous experiments. Twilight’s mane was mangled, matted and neglected, while Pinkie’s mane hung flat, perfectly down the side of her face, along with her tail.

Both scientist’s colours were also dulled down, almost as if they hadn't been washing. Twilight looked almost completely grey, whether that was due to the side effect of being cured of the ‘Unseen Blight’ or not, was hard to tell.

Pinkie’s sunken-in, dark-ringed eyes slowly looked away from Applejack and looked toward Rainbow Dash’s corpse. Her smile faded, looking almost disappointed as she walked over to the door, taking the clipboard that hung on the wall beside the cell door, and looking it over.

“Hm… Seems Subject 2 didn't make it Twilight.” Pinkie said coldly, her tone flat and deadpan as she spoke. Lowering the clipboard she held to look at her lover.

Twilight tore her attention from Applejack, looking at Pinkie.

“We lost ANOTHER test subject?” Twilight responded, her crazed smile falling also, being replaced with a look of anger. Before both scientists’ eyes began to fill with tears of frustration.

“When are we EVER going to succeed in finding a cure to these infections before they ACTUALLY manifest into real pandemics?!” Twilight shouted into the basement, rubbing her hoof against her temple, her head giving a small twitch as she wiped her eyes.

Applejack didn't speak, not wanting their attention to come back to her. Pinkie put down the clipboard and sighed, walking to a nearby set of drawers and grabbing her leg protectors, her face mask, and she tied up her mane into a ponytail.
Before walking to a nearby wall and grabbing an axe that she had recently borrowed from Sweet Apple Acres for another project.
She walked into Rainbow Dash’s cell, before the basement was filled with the sound of bones cracking, flesh being cut into, and the sounds of splashing could be heard, as a large puddle of blood and puss had formed on the ground, that Pinkie had to walk through to grab each piece, as she dismembered Rainbow’s body.
Soon putting them into a thick bag to bury later in the castle gardens.

“Do we have any other patients or is Subject 3 all we have left?” Pinkie Pie asked, looking over at Twilight again with a tilt of her head. Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought before looking over at a 4th cell within the room.

The cell, looking from the outside, was a lot darker than the others, as it went deeper into the wall, shielding the inside from much of the light. But as Twilight ignited her horn, and shone some light through the bars, into the cell, something writhed inside of the cell, making a soft gurgling sound.

Looking at the creature inside, it looked like 2 ponies had been melted together, their skin looking similar in texture to freshly hardened wax. 2 pairs of emerald green eyes looked up at the source of the light, and 8 legs emerged from the strange blob, dragging itself forward toward the bars, one of the legs reaching out, attempting to grab twilight.

Applejack looked on with wide eyes from her own cell at what she saw, her ears folded flat against her head as she watched the scene unfold. She then looked at something that was on the ground beside the creature. It was 2 hats, and some white and blue striped vests.

“Wait…” Applejack mumbled under her breath, before her eyes widened again.
“FLIM?! FLAM?!” Applejack shouted out of shock, causing Twilight to look over her shoulder at Applejack, smirking in a fairly sinister manner.

“Well aren't you quick to connect the dots Subject 3?” Twilight commented, before looking back at the melted pair, chuckling softly.

Pinkie Pie then grabbed the clipboard, looking over the sheets being held within the metal clip.

“Ah… ‘together forever syndrome’... Weren't we going to give this to Mr and Mrs cake?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head again, causing the purple alicorn to chuckle lowly.

Applejack looked horrified, her face paling before she turned away from the scene, retching and bringing up the contents of her stomach in the corner of her own cell, clearly disgusted at what was going on. Flim and Flam groaned loudly in response to Applejack’s reaction. One of the many melted, waxy hooves, reaching through the bars, the limb stretching slightly as it reached out toward Applejack.

Pinkie pie kicked the bars of Flimand FLam’s cell, causing a loud clanging sound to ring out.
“You be quiet Patient 0. You’ll have your meal later today.”

This caused the salesmen to slither back into a dark corner of their cell, the pile slowly melting together into one big pile, groaning lowly as small sections of the blob, reached out and ran along the walls, gathering up dust particles and small bits of stone, bringing it back into themselves.
“I will say…” Twilight began.
“This infection has evolved in so many ways. But I wasn't expecting these 2 to begin filter-feeding off of the walls and floor. We may need to conduct more research on them instead of waiting for them to die… It's obvious they won't be going anywhere any time soon.”

Applejack couldn't think of anything to say in response to all of this, what Twilight was doing, what she HAD done, to her friends, was barbaric… Her friends were dead, by Twilight’s hoof, and now she would be next.

Applejack’s eyes began to fill with tears, looking toward the door, she saw a familiar shape, it was the cutie mark Crusaders! Peeking through the doorway, looking horrified at what they saw, with Sweetie belle on the verge of screaming, though Scootaloo had both front hooves over her mouth in hopes of that being enough to stop her.

Applejack quickly looked over at Twilight and Pinkie Pie, who were deeply immersed in their conversation about their plans for Flim And Flam, to realize that the 3 fillies had witnessed so much.
Applejack quickly waved to get their attention, before silently shooing them away, mimicking writing on paper with her hooves, and pretending to put a crown on her head, hoping the fillies would get the idea.
They gave a nod and slowly backed out of the basement, being as quiet as possible to avoid being seen.

Once they were out of the castle, they sprinted home, Sweetiebelle bursting into tears, and Applebloom looking paler than snow.
“WHAT DO WE DO?!” Scootaloo yelled in panic, and Applebloom quickly turned to her Pegasus friend.

“Did you not see Applejack?! She was trying to tell us to write to someone!”
Applebloom responded, running as fast as her little legs would carry her, until they got back to sweet apple acres.

When the 3 fillies made it to the orchard, their running didn't stop, they began running around the farm, through the trees, and in the direction of the clubhouse in search of spike.

“SPIKE!!” The 3 fillies cried out as they checked every nook and cranny of the farm. Until Sweetie Belle made her way into Applebloom’s house, looking in each room, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.
She slowly made her way upstairs, and she saw Spike, standing in Applejack’s room, looking at the wall of evidence Applejack had made, his eyes wide with realization.

“Spike?” Sweetiebelle said softly, causing the baby dragon to flinch in surprise at her voice breaking the heavy silence he was in.

“Oh… hey sweetie belle.” Spike responded, forcing a smile and making her way over to the unicorn filly.
“Spike… There’s something very important I need you to do. Come with me.” Sweetie Belle instructed as she led Spike downstairs into the living room. She then rang the bell that hung over the house’s door, signaling for Applebloom and Scootaloo to come back.

When they came back, Spike saw the terrified looks on their faces properly. Their eyes were red and puffy from crying, their legs shook from how fast and hard they were running, and they were still slightly out of breath.

“What happened…?” Spike asked, looking very concerned for the 3 girls. And what Scootaloo said, only made Spike’s concern grow heavier.

Scootaloo took a step forward, her expression changing to be very serious.
“Spike…. Take a letter…”

My Little Diseases - Chapter 11.5 - You're a failure

Luna quickly landed on the balcony of Celesria’s bedroom, her breathing shaky, her eyes glossy, her fur having drops of Rarity’s blood on it.
The moon princess scrambled to wipe it off, tears running down her face as she thinks back to what she just did.

Rarity’s screams echoed in her mind, Everyone’s cries in protest as Luna performed the transplant. It all played in a loop in Luna’s head. Her breathing continued to get heavier, until her thoughts were cut short with the sound of Celestia’s voice bringing her back to reality.

“Is it done?” Celestia asked. Her back facing the balcony as she read through some recently received scrolls of upcoming events and meetings.
Luna didn't respond at first, instead just walking into the room, beginning to weep as she shakily walked over to her older sister.

She rested her head on Celestia’s shoulder, sobbing quietly.
Celestia looked over at Luna once she rested her head there, putting one of her wings over Luna’s shaking body, before her gaze returned to her papers.

“I asked you a question, sister.” Celestia says in a nonchalant tone, not sounding concerned about Luna’s wellbeing.
Luna simply nodded. Before standing up, shaking Celestia’s wing off of her.

“I… I'm fine… So is Twilight. The horn transplant went smoothly, and Twilight is on the road to make a full recovery…” Luna responded, looking at Celestia with her ears folded back. Giving a soft sniffle.

“Rarity’s dead.” Luna quickly states. “She sacrificed herself for Twilight’s life. She went through with the horn transplant. She wrote a goodbye letter to her little sister, before going through with it. A funeral will be held for her.”

Celestia’s eyes widened slightly at Luna’s news of Rarity’s demise.
“I'm sure the funeral will be lovely.” Celestia simply replied, giving a dismissive wave as she continued to read her papers.

Luna scrunched up her nose, her ears folding back, looking almost disgusted at Celestia’s response to the situation.
“You should have been the one to go. Sister. Twilight Sparkle needed you, she was on her death bed when I arrived. She should have been able to be saved by the princess that practically raised her as her student and taught her everything she knows today.”

Luna spoke in an upset and annoyed tone. Looking very upset at Celestia. She began to circle Celestia, but she paid Luna no mind, instead, continuing to read her papers, as well as beginning to write response scrolls to some of her papers to send off later that next day.

“I wouldn't have made a difference if you or I went, Luna. We’re both alicorns, we both would have been able to perform the transplant.”
Celestia responded coldly, looking up at Luna for a moment with an annoyed look, before turning back to her papers once more.
Celestia then turned to Luna, raising an eyebrow.
“Go and rest Luna. You’re tired, you have your duties to attend to later tonight.” Celestia almost demanded, pointing toward the door, while keeping her eye on Luna.

Luna refused to leave, getting angry at Celestia for not realising how serious this all is.
“Twilight NEEDED you, sister. Twilight has done everything you asked of her, protected Equestria from so many threats, and yet you refused to go and help her when she needed YOU!”
Luna snapped, snarling at her sister as she spoke, looking disgusted at how calm Celestia was.

“You need to understand sister. I'm over 1000 years old. My wings aren't what they used to be. It was better if you went because you would have got there a lot faster than I would.” Celestia tried to explain, but Luna simply rolled her eyes.

Celestia had been using that excuse every time Twilight needed something, whether it was help during a battle, or just a simple walk and talk. She would always dismiss Twilight, saying she was a lot older than she used to be, and Twilight turned to Luna a lot more, who was more than willing to help.

“Besides.” Celestia began. “I was too busy to go and help Twilight, And given how long you’ve been gone, I'd say the situation was handled, there was no reason for me to go. It’s done now.”

“TOO BUSY?!” Luna shouted, disgusted at what her older sister had just said,
“TOO BUSY! To help Twilight, too busy to prevent your student’s DEATH?! She’s come so far, and you believe that the Grand Galloping Gala is more important than helping your student?!”

Luna continued to shout, beginning to circle her sister again, who was slowly growing annoyed at Luna’s arguments.
She watched as Luna circled her. She now had her full attention.

“You’re a failure.. As a ruler, as a teacher, as a protector. You’d rather focus on an annual event, than the one student who has proven her worth to you, time and time again. You have your priorities back–”
Luna continued to argue, before Celestia cut her off.

“I AM NOT A FAILURE OF A RULER SISTER! AT LEAST I WASN'T GONE FOR 1000 YEARS! LEAVING THEIR SISTER ALONE TO DO EVERYTHING!”
Celestia yelled, immediately followed by Luna

“AND WHO’S FAULT WAS THAT? FOR NOT PAYING ATTENTION OR GIVING SOMEONE THE HELP THEY NEEDED!”
Both Princesses had resorted to using their royal voices at each other.

Their voices echoed throughout the halls, their voices shook the castle. Both alicorns horns lit up, and a fight had almost broken out, before the day and night guards of the princesses quickly rushed into the room, standing between Celestia and Luna, the night guards slowly backing Luna away.
Luna scowled at Celestia, before following her guards out of the room.
“Good luck planning the Gala, I won't be attending.”
Luna said coldly before leaving, slamming the door behind her.

As the weeks turned into months, the guilt of what she did weighed down on Luna, very heavily. And it was causing her to struggle with her duties of protecting ponies from nightmares.
She did the best she could, but she continued to struggle, which meant some ponies were experiencing more nightmares than normal during the night.

Including Twilight and Pinkie Pie, who relieved Rarity’s death over and over again through their nightmares. Causing them to lose sleep, and Pinkie took the heaviest toll, as she was the one who held Rarity as she died…….

“And now you’re telling me, that Twilight and Pinkie Pie are behind all of this?”
Luna asked the Cutie Mark Crusaders, as they explained what they saw in Twilight’s castle.

“They got mah sister, as well as Flim and Flam!” Applebloom explained quickly.

“And we saw Rainbow Dash die in her cell!” Sweetie Bell also explained. “She was covered in weird spots! And they all burst all at once! Thats what killed her!”

“But whatever it was, Twilight and Pinkie Pie made it happen!” Scootaloo explained in a hurried manner, her wings flapping frantically.

“I believe Twilight and Pinkie Pie are making diseases or infections or viruses, and trying to cure them before it kills the one they infected.” Spike theorised. Looking up at Luna with concern.
“But going off of what these 3 told me, they haven't succeeded, and lost Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash in the process.”

After Luna had all the information she needed, Applebloom showed Luna the evidence board Applejack had made in her bedroom before Pinkie Pie hunted her down. It had all the photos, the cover stories, and connecting strings on it still.
“Alright…. If what you’re saying is true, this can lead to serious consequences… I’ll go and pay Twilight Sparkle a visit…”

My Little Diseases - Chapter 12 - The Moon is Ours.

Luna stood at the foot of the stairs leading up to Twilight’s castle. As she made her way up the stairs, her shoes clinked softly, her wings spreading open with a soft fluttering sound. Her mane flowed gracefully behind her head as she moved.

Once she reached the top of the stairs, she knocked on the door gently, taking a step back and looking up at the grand crystal castle. This castle served as Twilight’s new home… A reward even, for defeating lord Tirek. And if what the Cutiemark Crusaders said was true, this castle may have become a gigantic house of horrors…

As Lua stared up at the castle’s front side, she heard the door creak open, and she looked back down. Meeting the gaze of Pinkie Pie.

She looked… insane… Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, her mane that normally hung flat by her face, was beginning to show signs of mess and knots, almost as if it was trying to puff back up, but not succeeding. Her Grey-Pink fur still retained the dull colour it had since Rarity passed. But what made it look more unsettling to Luna, was Pinkie’s gloves. She wore long, black latex leg covers that were covered in what looked like rainbow colours. Almost as if she had just jumped into a large vat of paint. But something about them shook Luna to her core.

“Hello there princess!” Pinkie Pie greeted with a wide smile, giving her a bow. “What brings you here?”

Princess Luna looked down at Pinkie as she bowed, feeling uneasy, like her gut was telling her to leave. As Pinkie stands back up, asking her question of Luna’s presence, she responds in a fairly hesitant tone. Trying her best to find the words that dont make her come across as suspicious.

“I uhm… I came to check on Twilight… I haven't seen her since she was cured of her illness. I wanted to make sure she was doing ok.”
Luna finally explained, giving Pinkie a soft smile, hoping it would convince her, and it did. Pinkie then stepped to the side, inviting Luna inside.

As Luna walked inside, she heard a bit of commotion coming from further inside, and she quickly pinpointed it to the castle’s basement.

Before Pinkie could stop her, Luna opened the door to the basement and descended the steps. Once they got to the bottom, what she saw disgusted her. Scattered paper work and broken equipment, small animal cages with rotting skeletons of rabbits, birds and ferrets, and the stains on the table from multiple experiments. But that wasn't the worst of it.

There was an old, clotted blood stain on the ground, staining the floor between the tables and the basement entrance. Luna’s eyes widened in shock and horror as she went deeper into the basement, seeing the cells at the back, and what was inside, almost made Luna empty her stomach right then and there.

Applejack slowly lifted her head, looking up at the moon princess. Her body was rotting away, many chunks of her legs, flanks and neck were missing, some had clotted blood all over the muscle, some missing chunks were still fresh and bleeding slowly. Her eyes were bloodshot and sunken in, with dark rings around them, making them look deeper than they actually were.
Some of the chunks had gone so deep as to reveal bone, with clotted or dried blood chipping off to reveal the off-white structure of Applejack’s body.

Applejack opened her mouth to speak, but only strained gargles came out, bloody foam spilling out onto the ground below her. She tried to stand, only to cry out in pain as one of her front legs snapped with a loud crack that echoed and lingered in the air, her bones becoming too weak to support her weight from how much her infection had advanced across her body.
Her body collapsed in a bloody heap on the ground, still alive, her breathing raspy, as she tried to refocus her vision on Luna.

Luna looked away, her whole body tensing and cringing at the snapping sound of Applejack’s leg, her eyes shutting tightly as she gritted her teeth, the sound clung to her mind like velcro, her ears folding back as she tried to regain her composure. She shook her head violently, as if trying to manually erase the image from her memory.

And the smell. That is what got to Luna the quickest. The smell of rotting flesh, along with the metallic sting of dried or rotting blood. It all quickly became too much.

She covered her mouth with her hoof in shock, her body convulsing as she gagged at the sight, before needing to turn away, losing the mental battle to not empty the contents of her stomach, her gargled groans swirling in the air as her breakfast became a chunky puddle on the ground between her front hooves.

She let out a sharp gasp as the bile slowly stopped extracting itself from Luna’s body, and she slowly lifted her head, her watery eyes focusing on Pinkie who had followed her into the basement, a worried look in her eye. How was she not reacting to all of this?!
How was Pinkie Pie able to stand in this basement, with the sights, the sounds, the SMELL, and not be disgusted by it all?!

“W-what is going on here?!”
Luna demanded, wiping her mouth with her foreleg as she looked back at the mad scientist in front of her.

Pinkie simply chuckled a bit, walking over to Flim and Flam cage, Luna's eyes locked on the ex party pony as she tapped the bars of the cage, causing the twins to slither forward, groaning softly.

“To keep a very long story short, after Twilight had figured out how to make a vaccination for the Unseen Blight she was infected with. She wanted to try and find a way to make vaccinations for other infections, she started with the common ones, such as the feather flu or chickenpox.” She explained. As she did a visual inspection of Flim And Flam, making sure they hadn't tried to harm themselves in any way since she was last there.

She then continued.
“But once she had figured those out, she began to think of ways more infections could slip through the cracks and make ponies sick. So to combat that, she made her own infections, and infected one of our many friends with them.”
As she says this, she nods her head toward Applejack, the last remaining element of Harmony left. Who let out a soft gargle as she turned away from the 2 of them.

“Then as the virus she made begins to do its job on trying to take out its host, Twilight begins trying to make a cure for the infection before it kills them… She hasn't been very successful so far, but our discoveries have helped us make huge steps forward. We’ve even been awarded the healthiest state in Equestria by Mayor Mare. Though she doesn't know how we got there, let's keep that little secret between you and i. Hehehehe.”

She finished her explanation with a simple chuckle, before looking back at Luna, who looked disgusted… angry… She began to approach Pinkie, who looked up at Luna with a simple smirk, looking almost confident.

Pinkie refused to move, her eyes locked on Luna, until her gaze was broken by a very slight twitch, as Pinkie’s gaze shifted from Luna, to something behind her.
It was only a split second, but that’s all Luna needed.

Before ducking out of the way, rolling to the side as Twilight swung a wooden bat toward where Luna’s head would be. Only for Twilight to miss, and unintentionally strike Pinkie Pie, knocking her to the ground. Pinkie’s body fell limp, still alive, but unconscious.

“PINKIE!” Twilight called out in a panic, keeping the bat tight within her grip as she ran over to inspect Pinkie’s bleeding head.
The grey alicorn slowly turned to Luna, her expression angry, her eyes filling with rage, as her insane, raspy voice began to shout.

“ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS STAY STILL!”
Twilight shouted. Before her wings expanded, giving one mighty flap as they catapulted Twilight forward, tackling Luna as she tried to get up. The 2 princesses began a physical fight between each other on the ground.

With Twilight throwing punch after punch, biting at Luna’s flesh in an attempt to throw her off and leave Luna exposed.
Luna fought back, throwing kicks and bucks of her own, when Twilight bit, Luna bit harder, drawing blood.

Soon the scuffle came to an end, with Luna on top of Twilight, her front hooves pinning Twilight down by her wings, keeping Twilight on her back. Luna punched Twilight across the face, in an attempt to knock her out.
Twilight took the hit, but did not go down, gave a growl, using her back leg to kick Luna’s chin, causing the moon princess to spit up blood over Twilight’s face, stumbling backward slightly.

Twilight gave a chuckle as she rose to her hooves, looking at Luna as she tried to orientate herself, her vision swimming, her body swaying.
Twilight simply lifted the bat with her magic, her voice muffled by Luna’s ringing ears.

“Night night Luna!”
Were the last words she heard, before the bat made contact with the side of her head, and her body hit the ground.
While Luna is out, Twilight casts a spell on Luna’s horn, causing a ring to develop around her horn that blocks her magic. Twilight then lifts Luna using telekinesis, and wraps a thick leather strap around Luna’s body, holding her wings shut, it was thick enough that it couldn't be broken with hooves alone. And she sealed the buckle with a shield spell, preventing Luna from being able to touch it.

She then floats Luna into one of the empty cells, chaining her back hooves to the back wall, and slamming the door shut, locking it tightly, before tending to Pinkie, cleaning up the blood and patching her up with bandages.
Once Pinkie had been cleaned up and put in her bed, she began writing a scroll, addressed to none other than Princess Celestia…

My Little Diseases - Chapter 13 - The Sun is Here

Celestia storms into the castle, almost causing the door to fly off of its hinges as she makes her way inside. She looks around the castle frantically for Twilight, Pinkie Pie and her sister, Luna.
“TWILIGHT SPARKLE! MAKE YOURSELF KNOWN THIS INSTANT!”
Celestia yells into the castle. Her voice bellowing off of the walls and resonating down the hallways.

Twilight slowly exits the basement, looking at Celestia, her bloodshot eyes were wide, her mane was matted and frantic. Her wings were spread wide open, showing kinked feathers and a couple of bald spots along the wing’s structure.
Her uniform was now missing its sleeves, showing the scars along the backs of her front legs, and her grey-purple fur gave a soft sheen in the dim lighting of the castle.

“So…”
Twilight began, her tone cold, and heavy.
“You show up for your sister. But you don't show up, for your student?” She asks, her eyes locked on the larger alicorn, getting into an almost defensive stance.

Celestia did not acknowledge the question, instead keeping her eyes locked on her former student. The 2 alicorns began circling each other as they continued to speak, waiting for each other to make the first move.

“I must say Celestia, you’ve been rather distant ever since I became an alicorn.” Twilight began again.
“Ever since you gave me a pair of wings, you’ve been lending all the fights to me, you’re much stronger than I am, and you know it. I have a lot of magic to learn before I can even be considered equivalent to you. Yet you still send me to do all the work for you. As if you didnt want to actually do your job anymore.”

As Twilight says all of this, Celestia’s body is tense, as if seeing Twilight in this state has shaken her completely, and she was trying to keep her composure.
Soon the 2 alicorns stop moving, with Celestia’s back to the entrance of the basement, and Twilight facing away from the exit to the castle.

“Twilight you need to understand that I gave you the power of royalty to give you a better chance at keeping Equestria safe. You have more power than you ever could if you had remained a unicorn.”
Celestia tried to explain, her tone was calm and collected, but as she continued to speak, her irritation and upset became more apparent.
“But now I see that making you an alicorn was a mistake. I'm very disappointed in the paths and choices you have made for yourself. Your friends are dead, you’ve kidnapped my sister and you’ve lured me here… to brag?”

Celestia responded, her ears folding back and her eyes going glossy, her concern for her sister growing stronger with the longer she looked at the deranged scientist in front of her.

Twilight spoke up with a smirk.
“Well, I agree that subjects 1 through 4 were unfortunately lost while trying to make this town safe from illness. But it hasn't been in vain. With our losses we have learned how to finalise our vaccinations through testing tissue samples from our passed away subjects. They’ve been distributed throughout ponyville, and hopefully if other kingdoms and cities say yes, then we can distribute them there too.”
Twilight explained, using her magic to summon a small book that she’s been using to keep note of all of her work. Showing one of the pages to the Princess.
It was the cure for ‘flightless bird syndrome’, the infection that Fluttershy had.

It read that the vaccine was finalised about a month after Fluttershy, or as stated, subject 1, had passed. And that the infection was treatable if it hadn't gone beyond its third stage.
Once Celestia was done reading, Twilight made the book teleport back into the lab in the basement.
“But of course.. We need a few more subjects to make more vaccinations. I mean, the 4 we have made work, yes, but we need more in order to protect the town from illnesses that could come into fruition in the future.”

Twilight finished explaining what’s been going on, her grin returning to her face, but Celestia wasn't impressed, and she spoke up again.

“Making you royalty was a mistake… You should have never been given such a title.”
Celestia scowled, snapping her words at Twilight, but she never broke composure, the smaller alicorn simply stood there, her eyes twitching as she listened to Celestia’s words.

“Too Late.” Twilight simply responded.
Before Pinkie Pie suddenly covered Celestia’s eyes from behind. Catching her off guard.
The sun princess reared upon her back legs, her wings spreading open and her head shaking from side to side violently, trying her best to shake her off.

As Celestia was distracted, Twilight rushed forward, her footsteps causing Celestia to back up a bit as she continued to try and shake Pinkie Pie off of her head. Once Twilight was close enough, she headbutted Celestia just below her chest piece, knocking the air out of the alicorn, and causing her to stumble backward.

After a moment, Celestia managed to shake Pinkie Pie off, and she caught a glimpse of Twilight running out of the castle’s door, spread her wings and take to the skies.
Celestia quickly followed suit, spreading her wings as she ran after Twilight, taking flight the moment she was outside.
The sky was filled with exploins of yellow and black, as many many magical beans were shot toward each other, given Twilight’s size, she was a smaller target, making her more difficult to hit, while Twilight was able to get a few hits on Celestia, striking her back legs, as well as the back of her neck.

As Celestia saw Twilight flying toward her. But as Twilight drew near, Celestia didn't see a mad scientist. She saw her student, smiling wide, determined to complete another mission. Her fur was normal coloured, she wasn't infected with the Unseen Blight.
Seeing that image of Twilight flash before her eyes, caused Celestia to hesitate, which gave Twilight an opening.

The purple alicorn gave a determined scream, as both of her front hooves slammed into Celestia’s chest. The 2 of them began falling rapidly toward the ground, Celestia’s back facing the ground. As Celestia tried to orient herself to take flight again, Twilight prevented her from doing so, by using her teeth to hold one of Celestia’s wings still.

Soon the 2 of them slammed into the ground, leaving a fairly large crater behind, Celestia’s back hit the ground first, knocking all of the wind out of her, and causing the sun princess to cough up some blood in the process.
Celestia laid there, weak and wheezing as she tried to get the air back into her lungs.

Pinkie Pie slowly exited the castle, holding the bat. Twilight smiled wide to her love, nodding slowly, before Pinkie jumped up and slammed the bat into Celestia’s wing, a large crack echoed through the sky, followed by Celestia’s cries in agony, and then another crack.
Pinkie Pie chuckled softly as she gave the bat to Twilight, who walked toward Celestia’s head, using her magic to lift her head up by her mane.

“What do you think Pinkie?”
Twilight asked.
“Do you think she’ll make a good test subject for our next vaccination?”

Pinkie Pie gave a chuckle, before nodding in response. The 2 mares slowly giggled, which turned into laughter, which turned into terrifying cackles, as Twilight lifted the bat, swung down, and snapped Celestia’s horn in 2.

My Little Diseases - Chapter 14 - It doesnt end here.

Celestia finally stirred… Lifting her aching head to survey her surroundings. She was in a stone cell, the barns of the door were thick metal, the gps too small to fit through. She attempted to cast a teleportation spell, but seiring pain raced through her head. She brought her hoof to her forehead only to feel that her horn had been broken off. Old blood trails stain her face from where her horn was severed.

Celestia gave a soft sigh, her eyes going glossy, but she tried to remain strong as she looked down at herself. She noticed her back was bare, no wings to be seen. Her mane had also been cut short to the point of nearly being bald, her tail had been given the same treatment.

She slowly stood. At least she had range of motion in her legs… She looked around her cell, and saw a strange movement in the corner of her cell, slowly moving toward it. She saw it was Flim and Flam, still fused together as a giant blob. The salesman twins look at Celestia slowly, giving gargled groans and moans. The sun princess rapidly backed away from Flimand Flam in shock, her rump bumping into the wall behind her.

“Well well well…” A familiar voice echoed through the basement, catching Celestia's attention. Looking out of her cell, she saw Twilight.
“I see you’ve met my little friend.”
Twilight continues, smirking as she looks at Flim and Flam, looking almost proud of what she’s done.

“Let me get you up to speed with those 2. Flim and Flam were injected with my hoof-made illness ‘Together Forever syndrome’ that forces 2 ponies together and become one. They should have died many moons ago. But either their bodies evolved rapidly to get used to this new way of life, or the infection isn't as fatal as I originally thought.”

Twilight explained, walking over to the door of the cell and tapping on the wall to get Flim and Flam’s attention. The giant blob slithered over, leaving what looked like a shimmering trail behind them, that akin to a snail.

She pulls out 2 freshly picked apples, using her magic to pull them in half, before feeding them to Flim and Flam. The 4 halves slowly absorbed into their bodies, dissolving upon contact, as if their skin was one big digestive system.
Celestia only recoiled in disgust as she watched this all unfold in front of her, looking at Twilight with her ears folding flat against her head.

“Twilight. I demand you release me. I have a duty to uphold, as does my sister.”
Celestia barked, her tone authoritative.
But Twilight simply laughed at Celestia’s demand, slowly pacing in front of the cell door.

“Do you REALLY think you're in ANY position to give demands?”
Twilight asked.
“Besides, you don't need to worry about your sister, she’s safe too.”

As she says this, Celestia sees Pinkie Pie entering the basement with a small basket resting across her back, she used a key to open the door of a neighbouring cell, only to reveal Princess Luna, sitting in the middle of her cell, her horn and wings were also severed, but her mane and tail remained. Her eyes were wide and her body remained still to any kind of outward stimulation. The only time she moved was when Pinkie Pie held a carrot under Luna's nose, which she promptly began to eat, before returning to her original position.

Her sclera were made up of many colours now, and she had the same, random colours layered over her eyes and muzzle. She had been infected with ‘Manic Colour Syndrome’ the same infection Rainbow Dash had.

“She made a wonderful test subject for ‘Manic colour Syndrome’. Given how our previous test subject sadly passed before we came up with any definitive cure, and there's only so much tissue sample you can get from an imploded body.”
Twilight recalled, giving a soft chuckle before moving to one of the many, messy and unorganised lab tables, picking up a trophy.

“I will say though, with all our breakthroughs, we’ve been deemed the healthiest state in Equestria! You should have come to that Party Celestia. It was amazing! As for the cures I mentioned. The one for the flesh eating virus and flightless bird syndrome, those vaccinations have finally been distributed throughout Equestria. And i'm very proud of how far my love and I have come.”
As she says this, she gives a loving smile to Pinkie.

“If you’ve been deemed so safe, then you shouldn't need to test more infections! You have all the safety you need! Just release me and my sister!”
Celestia demanded once more, attempting to reason with her former student.
But Twilight simply chuckled again, turning to Celestia.

“Even if I wanted to help you, you’re already too far gone.”
Twilight responded maliciously, before pointing to Celestia’s stomach. Celestia looked down, to see her stomach was covered in faint, black spots from the very infection, Celestia tried to hide away, the Unseen Blight.

“While I won't be able to monitor the progress of the infection given how the horn and wings are gone, it’ll be interesting to see how it affects an alicorn once it reaches its final stages.”
Twilight explained to a very confused Sun Princess.

“But… You vaccinated me… I'm safe from this, how am I infected?”
Celestia frantically asked, her ears folding back and her eyes wide, to which twilight’s manic smile grew wider across her cheeks, her ear giving a small twitch and her pupils shrank to pinpricks.

“Well, it's simple. Your vaccination was fake. I gave you a simple vaccination for the feather flu, while everyone else got the Unseen Blight vaccination. I've been ITCHING to get you to feel how i felt, when i was infected. The fear, the loneliness, the sense of dread. You sent your SISTER, to save me, when I needed you most. Now you get to experience, first hoof, how i felt, while i was praying for you to come and help me.”

Twilight then raised her hoof, to prevent Celestia from responding, before she continued to speak.
“Don't get me wrong, I'm eternally grateful for what Luna has done to help me. She saved my life, as did my best friend.”
Twilight pointed to her white horn.

“But I'm not about to forget what’s been lost, because you were ‘too busy’ to come and help me. And sent Luna, like she didn't have her own duties to attend to.”
As Twilight spoke, she continued to pace in front of Celestia’s cell door, her eyes locked on the former princess, as she watched the spots begin to grow slowly.

Celestia doubled over in pain as the spots grew wider, stretching her skin to accommodate the amount of liquid building up in them.
Pinkie locked Luna’s cell door and walked over to stand beside Twilight, as they watched the white pony writhe in agony from the rapidly growing lumps on her torso.

Twilight and Pinkie looked at each other with a smirk, before they began to laugh, and laugh… and laugh…

The end…?

Epilogue
Twilight shoved a soggy mop onto the ground, mopping up what was left of Applejack’s corpse. While she was cleaning, Pinkie Pie was testing vials of cures for Manic Colour Syndrome.
“Say.. Twilight?”
Pinkie spoke up. Catching the purple alicorn’s attention.

“I think there may be more infections that you can make, that may be…. Entertaining to work on. Maybe we can find other species… Like a griffin or a dragon..”
Pinkie suggested as she mixed some samples together.

“I suppose we can do that.”
Twilight responded before she returned to mopping the ground.

“What about them?”
Pinkie Pie asked, pointing toward… you.

“Who?”
Twilight asked.

“Them! The ones who have been watching our every move since our journey began! Do you think they’ll like our next experiments together?”
Pinkie asked again, looking toward you, giving you a wink. Twilight simply rolled her eyes with a smile, and continued to clean up the mess.