My Little Diseases

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…”