Plagues of Equestriaby FireballBlitzChaptersPrologue: Outbreak1: Epedemiology2: Evacuation3: SanctuaryPrologue: OutbreakIt had been about a week since The Haze began to spread throughout Equestria, the sickeningly thick orange fog growing from the remains of the Golden Oak Library, slowly crawling out and spreading to cover nearly the entire town in a matter of hours. Many avoided it at all costs, some were lucky, but most of Ponyville's population couldn't get out of it in time. At first, very few thought anything of it; other than some minor skin irritation, it didn't have any immediately harmful effects. However after about half a day the ponies that breathed the fog began to fall ill, and by the first night of the fog's consumption of Ponyville, half the town was in the hospital. Rainbow Dash noticed the fog and the illness that came with it, and wasted no time rushing to Canterlot, knowing Luna, Celestia, and Twilight would be there for an important meeting. She never saw just how terrible the infection became, not even when she returned with Twilight. In fact, the entire town seemed empty, as if they had all disappeared over that short time period. Twilight looked around uneasily, trying to get a gauge on the situation despite having almost none of the information. "Creepy," Rainbow Dash broke the silence with her observation, "just a few days ago there was a fog so thick you couldn't see your own hoof in front of you, and the townsponies were all sick as dogs. Never thought I'd be outrun by a bunch of bedridden ponies." Her joke was almost completely ignored by Twilight, who took a few steps forward and examined a strange stain on a nearby wall; a thick, red splatter roughly the size of a pumpkin. She examined it, looking at the edges, before letting out a shaky sigh. "Projectile vomiting, appears to be 90% bl-" she winced as her stomach churned at the suddenly noticeable stench of sick, she pulled away and covered her mouth with her wing before gulping. "blood... the rest is bile." Rainbow Dash shuddered at the thought of somepony throwing up that much blood, then looked around to see if she could spot any more suspicious stains. "I should do a flyover of the town, see if anypony's okay." She half suggested, not even waiting for Twilight to respond as she darted up into the sky and did a quick scan over the town, then another, and another. She kept her eyes peeled but couldn't see anypony or anything that would answer the litany of questions the mares had. "RAINBOW!" Twilight appeared next to Dash, startling her with her sudden scolding. "Stick with me please, we have no idea what's going on and I don't want anything catching you off guard." She let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding as she began to scan the ground. Rainbow Dash studied Twilight's expression, which seemed almost as if she regretted something, maybe not getting here fast enough? Twilight shook her head and met Rainbow's eyes. "Sick ponies don't just get up and leave town en masse, so my guess is a self-imposed lock-down. Come on, we gotta get to Ponyville General right away." 1: EpedemiologyRainbow and Twilight gently landed outside the front door of Ponyville General, looking up with great unease as they saw the state the building was in. Windows boarded up on the lower floors, shattered on the higher ones, blood stained shards of glass on the ground, hoofprints followed by the trail of something being dragged across the ground, and one of the doors was knocked completely off the hinges, and now lay flat on the hospital floor. Twilight stared in a horrible combination of awe and fear, her lip quivering as she assessed the damage, and letting her mind run. Could this have been because of me? Because of Celestia? I'm supposed to lead you and yet I've caused a plague, I'm so sorry, my faithful subjects. "Hey, Equestria to Sparkle. You good?" Rainbow Dash's concerned comment helped snap Twilight out of it. What's done is done, what matters more is that she helps her subjects, her friends, her family. "Yeah, sorry. Just... look at this place!" using her wing to gesture at the broken windows, she slowly steps towards the doorway. "Starlight and Sunburst are at the castle," Twilight announced, "they're part of a dedicated research team, so if we find anything we'll have to send it to them." She walked a bit up the stairs, not yet ready to go inside. "Remember, go slow. We don't wanna scare anypony...or anything." Her voice softened at her addendum, but she took a breath and walked inside, Rainbow Dash following close behind. The minute they crossed the threshold, the smell of blood and sick filled their noses, assaulting their senses. Rainbow Dash struggled to hold in her stomach contents, until a sudden pleasant smell entered her nose. Puzzled, she looked over at Twilight, who's horn was slightly glowing. "There, this should help. Smell spell." Rainbow Dash snickered quietly, and on any other day Twilight would've been so proud of her joke, but right now she was focused on making the most out of this expedition. Glancing around the narrow hallway, she instantly noticed a sign above a heavy metal door. Records. She trotted over and tried to open the door with her magic, yet all of her effort was fruitless. Locked. She moved to another door and tried to get in, but it was barricaded from the other side. Frustrated, she tried another door, and with little effort it slowly creaked open. Twilight slowly trotted in, Rainbow Dash close behind as they scanned the sight before them. What was once a patient's room was torn up completely; drapes torn and scattered across the floor, furniture smashed and flipped, and a long trail of a deep, dark red liquid leading from the bed to the window. The light flickered slowly to life, startling the two ponies, but allowing them to see more details of the carnage. The bed was surrounded by loose fur, entire chunks of mane, and a small white object that neither could identify from that distance, yet the size and other organic material lead them to believe it was a tooth. Neither went to confirm. Rainbow Dash turned to the behind them, the light causing a big red stain on the wall to shimmer, and for it to finally be legible. Celestia has abandoned us The words leaked and crept down the wall, forming a thick, red pool of blood. Twilight had noticed it as well, but did her best to save the gawking for when this all blew over. She began to rummage around the room, desperate to find some clues as to what had happened here, what could have possibly caused all this commotion. Finally, she found a small clipboard with a few pages of paper, speckles of blood splattered across the topmost page. Twilight turned to Dash and began to read aloud; "Name: Rare Find Sex: Stallion Species: Unicorn "Came in this morning complaining of intense fatigue, insomnia, and a lack of control over his magic. We did a check-up and found some minor irritation throughout the mouth and some in the back of his throat. We'll need to run some more tests, but this is the fifth pony to come in with these symptoms today. We're enacting a quarantine zone to study this infection and ensure the safety of hospital staff and patients. Until further notice, infected ponies may not have visitors." She nervously turned the page. "We've managed to get a decent understanding about this infection, we know that it comes from the fog that mysteriously engulfed Ponyville and seems to only transmit through inhalation. Snowheart and I are beginning the distribution of masks to everypony in town, hoping this slows infection rates even by a fraction of a percent, but it's still advised to avoid going anywhere near it. Symptoms seem to be worsening, Mr. Find has requested that his light stays off, as it causes 'a searing pain like the sun is being held straight to his eyes.' We dimmed it, and he begrudgingly accepted the compromise, still complaining about the pain. He seems more irritable, but he has been awake for nearly 27 hours at this point, so I don't blame him. The amount of infected patience has increased exponentially, we hardly have enough room for any of them, but we're doing what we can. We're upping the minimum antibiotic dosage, it's a temporary solution but it's better than nothing. Hour 28, Rare seems to be in even worse condition than before; he's developed a nervous habit of chewing on his lips, however it's now at the point where they're gone completely, giving a clear view of his bloodied teeth and gums. Aggression has increased exponentially and he's had to be restrained. As we left he kept screaming like a wild animal, complaining about hunger, screaming about "the Haze", and the burning agony in his eyes. The lights were completely off, the only light getting in was from the moon outside. I'm making myself a coffee, we need to make some kind of treatment before these ponies rip themselves apart." Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at eachother, the slow horror creeping up their spines as the story unfolded before them. Shakily, Twilight turned the page. "Time of Death: 2:19 A.M. Cause of death: unknown complications from the infection. I'll send him down for an autopsy report after the other deceased are examined. Every single pony who has come in here with the infection has died within two days, this is an outright endemic. We have to put as many resources into a cure as possible, this can not spread any further." Twilight turned to the last page on the clipboard. "I wish I had the words to explain what happened, I truly, truly can't explain it. If I hadn't seen it for myself, I wouldn't have believed it. The deceased ponies came back to life, almost all at once, and began to roam the halls. Most of our staff were astonished, it simply couldn't have been true, and in a sense it wasn't. They were moving, but they weren't alive, they walked as if their muscles were being forced to move, and they snarled like rabid dogs. Snowheart approached Ms. Berry, trying to provide care, but was met with a vicious, cannibalistic attack. I was able to escape and hide in the security room, checking the cameras and waiting until I could safely leave. It was hours before I walked back out, but it felt like days. The halls were completely empty, except for the remains of my fellow staff. Poor Snowheart's face was unrecognizable as a pony at all, all that remained was bone, chunks of viscera, and her eyeball. She's walking the halls now, despite no creature being able to survive such a vicious attack as that. I plan on leaving as soon as possible and trying to make my way to Canterlot, this is beyond anything ponykind can manage on their own, we need the princesses. Celestia save us all. Signed, Nurse Redheart" The two ponies sat in stunned silence at what they had just read. Surely it can't be true, right? Ponies coming back from the dead? Eating eachother alive? All because of this mysterious Haze that just appeared suddenly? Twilight's mind was racing with questions about how this was all possible, and her place among it all. At the very front of her mind was figuring out a way to prevent anypony else from getting infected. She hastily handed Rainbow Dash the clipboard with all of the pages, determination burning in her eyes. "Fly this back to Canterlot as fast as you can, Starlight and Sunburst need this information. If you see Nurse Redheart, make sure she's not infected, and bring her to the castle." Dash sternly nodded and bolted off towards the Castle, going fast enough to cause a sonic boom. Twilight watched on hopefully as her companion made her way to the castle, but her hope was short lived. Something shifted behind her, knocking over some debris. The princess whipped around to look down the cavernous hallway, scanning it for any signs of movement. Several seconds passed, but every one of them felt like eons as Twilight's focus remained unbroken. Slowly, a pony limped out of one of the rooms, their useless hind leg dragging awkwardly behind them. Twilight, still cautious, began to approach, worried that the pony had been injured, only for that worry to turn to abject horror as the leg disconnected from the rest of the body, a few strands of bloody sinew keeping it just barely attached. It turned to look at her, it's blank eyes piercing the dark hallway. She lunged back out the doorway, using her magic to pick up the broken door and put it back on the hinges, then using various pieces of debris around the entryway to barricade it. She breathed a shaky sigh of relief, before hearing hoofsteps nearby. She spun around and saw another pony slowly shamble out of an alleyway. Then another, and another. Before long, tens of infected ponies were surrounding her location, growling and gurgling as they closed in. Twilight stared at the faces of former friends around her, ponies who she fought so hard to save. She felt stunned for a moment, shaking, and quietly crying. She bowed her head solemnly. "I'm so sorry, I've failed you. But I promise I'll make this right." With that declaration, a bright purple flash emanated from her horn, and she was gone, leaving the horde to try and track her scent, to no use. Absent-mindedly, they dispersed, scattering in all different directions to hunt down the source of the noises they heard. With a shine of light, Twilight appeared in the throne room before the two princesses, who looked on with great worry. "Twilight, are you alright?" Luna asked, approaching her cautiously. Twilight gestured her away with her wing as she caught her breath, wiping the tears from her face. She took a deep breath and did her best to seem collected. "This has escalated beyond anything we've ever faced. We need all the help we can possibly get to evacuate all major cities." She trotted over to the door leading to the lab, where Sunburst and Starlight were studying a small sample of the Haze. Twilight glanced back over her shoulder towards the princesses. "We fucked up." was all she said as she slammed the door. 2: EvacuationManehattan, The big city, a city of opportunity, where anypony could make a name for themselves, and where all the successful business ponies can flaunt their status and success. Manehattan was known not only for the glamorous lives that the rich loved to display, but how everypony seemed to fit so flawlessly into the well-oiled machine that fueled the city's bustling economy. Ponies moved in unspoken organization, almost like ants, walking to their jobs and wherever they needed to be that day, perfectly weaving and intertwining in a sort of synchronization. It was this exact rush our hoof traffic that Trim Petals could not stand. She had come all this way to visit a local greenhouse with rare plants, she wanted to get up close looks at them and possibly help out the staff with taking care of them, but with the rushing rapid of ponies in the streets, she'd be lucky to get halfway there by sundown. She tried to trot her way around it, to call a taxi, and even tried casting a spell to disperse the crowd, but every attempt was fruitless, so she simply hung her head and sighed, electing to just wander the streets while she waits for it to all die down. Trim was on a park bench eating a cheap hot pretzel, unsure of what else to do to kill the time. That's when a booming voice echoed in the sky above. "Citizens of Manehattan, you are all in danger!" Trim looked up towards the source of the sound, and was astounded to see Princess Twilight flying high above the city, calling out in a voice loud enough to shake the earth. "A dangerous fog is approaching from the south, and with it brings a pestilence unlike anything we've ever seen before! I hereby order you all to evacuate the city, it'll be here any minute!" She could hardly believe what she was hearing, was a plague cloud really coming to Manehattan? What did she mean by "unlike anything we've ever seen before"? How bad could it be? Trim looked at the crowd, and only noticed a few ponies paying her any mind, most still moving along their routes to work and home. She returned her attention to the princess, who again spoke. "Those who cannot evacuate are advised to retreat to a designated safe-house, please, heed my warning!" Her voice sounded more and more desperate, almost as if she was about to break into tears. "There she goes again with that doomsday nonsense." The pretzel salespony next to Trim scoffed, rolling his eyes as he gave a pretzel to another customer. "The world ending ain't gonna slow my business down." The unicorn was stunned at the gross display of over-confidence, but she didn't want to stick around to see him proven wrong. She got up and began to make her way towards one of the shining purple beacons in the sky, an indication of one of the safe-houses. As the yellow door of the sanctuary entered her line of sight, she groaned to herself, noticing her path was completely blocked off by the constant flow of ponies, hardly any space between them all. She turned around to try and find another route, but what she saw made her heart sink. A thick orange cloud off in the distance slowly creeping over to the city, growing larger and larger as it got closer. She wasn't the only one to notice, as suddenly a crowd had formed along the edge of the city, all staring in terror at the incoming fog. "Oh no." Twilight's royal voice echoed across the sky yet again, "Look to the south, it's too late!" Trim tossed and turned as she slowly began to awake, her eyelids feeling like they were weighed down by sandbags, she needed a moment to reorient herself. She got up off of the cot, groggily looking around the building she was in, unfamiliar with her surroundings. The room she was in was small and slightly cramped with all the beds mounted on the walls. It's clear this was a place meant for a few dozen ponies, yet there was hardly a sign of any others, other than the messy sheets on a few of the cots. As Trim trotted to the door, she racked her brain trying to remember what happened or where she was. Last thing she remembered was the fog, then screaming, then trampling. Just as that memory came back, she winced in pain, putting a hoof to her forehead, where dried blood had leaked down from a small wound. Ah, right. she thought to herself, now remembering the crushing pain of a hoof stomping on her head as panicked ponies ran over her, a flash of white, then black. Even if she could remember who's hoof knocked her out, she attempted to mentally excuse it with the immense terror of that plague cloud rushing over the city. Moving past the splitting headache she could no longer ignore, she slowly left the dormitory and entered the hallway, illuminated by off-yellow lights that occasionally flickered. These safe-houses were hastily made, set up in various vacant buildings and spread out in specific sections of the city, Trim hoped that the other ones were more populated. Finally, Trim made it to the common area, which had been hastily turned into a cafeteria, and she felt relief wash over her body upon seeing a hoofful of other ponies. They were all scared, tired, and doing their best to stay distant from eachother. She noticed a particularly frightened unicorn, wrapped in a blanket and trembling like a leaf, so she decided to sit down and try to offer him some friendship and a sense of normalcy, maybe even try to get some answers. "Hey," she greeted the stranger, trying her best to look inviting, "I'm Trim, and you are?" The stallion looked over, pulling the blanket a bit more around his face as if trying to avoid eye contact. "P-Perfect Pace." he shakily responded with the tone of an injured rabbit. "N-N-Nice to meet y-you." Every word that came out of his muzzle sounded strained, as if he had to fight the shaking to properly speak. Trim thought carefully about her next words, she wanted so bad to ask a million questions, but his strained speech made it alot harder to get detailed answers. "Do you know how long we've been in here? I kinda just woke up." Her voice was calm, careful, almost as if she was talking to a scared foal. It was effective, as Perfect Pace looked over at her with bloodshot eyes partially covered by his dirty, unkempt blonde hair, a part of his appearance he previously put great effort into. "I-it's been t-three days." he sniffled and sighed, trying to stay collected and slow the shaking. "T-the fog came a-and...and..." The memory had finally forced out the tears he had been holding in for so long, following the already stained cheeks of the stallion. There was something he clearly didn't want to think about, and as much as Trim wanted answers, she wanted to help out more than anything. "Interesting. Well, how did I get here?" Trim's next question served the secondary purpose of distracting Perfect Pace from whatever memory was causing his shaking to worsen. "Princess T-T-Twilight brought you." his voice was more strained than before, as if every word made it harder to speak at all. Still, talking seemed to help distract him from the truth of the situation, so he tried to speak through the shaking. "Y-You were unconscious in the s-streets. She found you, s-said you're unb-b-bitten." The tremors in his voice were getting worse, and it seemed as if his voice was breaking with his resolve. "I-I'm s-so sorry." Trim's face softened as she put a hoof on the shoulder of the unicorn, trying her best to console him, but her hoof ran over an oddly cold sensation, and a series of divets. Fear overriding her compassion, she pulled the blanket off of him, revealing a large bloody stain down his entire body, all coming from a now-infected bite mark on his shoulder. Trim stepped back, horrified at what she was seeing, and Perfect Pace stepped away from her, his pupils now shrunk to the size of pinpricks as his breathing become more frantic. "I-I just- I didn't- I needed help!" His frenzied plee for understanding interrupted by several coughs, blood spurting out from his muzzle. "I-I'm sick! This is a place to help the sick right?!" As he began to cause a scene, the other survivor ponies began to watch in terror. Trim sat stunned, slowly shaking her head in disbelief at such an act of selfishness, she stepped back as Perfect Pace jerkily crept towards her. He looked as if the last shreds of sanity were leaving his mind, but still as if he was fearful for his life. "P-Please, t-the doctor ponies said it takes two d-days to spread, I g-got bit this morning, I s-should...should..." He began to sway slightly, before leaning over to wretch, out coming a thick, red rush of blood from his muzzle. As it stopped, he let out several labored coughs, and the scent of sick began to fill the room. It was too late, he looked up at Trim, his eyes now a milky white that seemed to reflect what little light was in the room, and he pounced onto her. She was paralyzed with fear, only able to put up her hooves in a futile attempt to defend herself as he attacked her, she couldn't even truly register what was happening as she felt the teeth sinking into her neck. She wanted to scream, as the other ponies in the room had wasted no time doing, she wanted to scream at the pain in her neck as her larynx was pulled out in the jaws of what was once Perfect Pace, scream as the sinew barely keeping it attached to her snapped and he went in for another go at her jugular. Yet, every attempt just sent a gush of blood out of the large hole in her neck, but it was all she could try to do. As the sensation of warm blood coated her neck, darkening her already green coat, she couldn't help but feel afraid. Then sad. Then nothing at all. 3: SanctuaryAs her alarm clock blared out the familiar sound of dutiful trumpets, Rainbow Dash let out an irritated groan, begrudgingly getting up to turn it off. She wasn't used to her new schedule; getting up as soon as the sun rose, running around Equestria all day, then not getting too sleep much until the dead of night. Although, she figured that little sleep would keep her functional for longer than no sleep at all, so she compromised. Ever since Twilight began issuing evacuation orders, Rainbow Dash had been put in charge of search and rescue operations, which of course she didn't mind, she was able to get survivors quicker than anypony else. Though, before she could go straight to saving the day, she had to grab herself a coffee, just something to give her a jump-start. The Haze had been rampaging for about a month now, and hardly any pony could sleep because of it, but Dash would just follow in Twilight's steps; drink some coffee and work through the day. Well, except Dash would actually manage to get some sleep by the end of the day. Rainbow trotted outside of Wonderbolts HQ and took off towards the industrial district of Cloudsdale. Despite being so close to ground zero of the infection, the plague clouds never climbed higher than two stories, which kept the city in the sky as the best option for a sanctuary. The Wonderbolts had agreed to let anypony involved in the rescue efforts stay in their barracks, even providing food, medicine, and clean clothes. Landing just in front of the door to the Rainbow Factory, where many survivors had been staying, the blue pegasus made her way inside and towards the break room. Usually, she wasn't a big fan crowded rooms; big groups of people talking over each other, every word meshing together into one large collection of noise. But for some reason, walking through the cafeteria and seeing so many ponies inside talking to each other made her feel a slow wave of relief, even if she knew none of the conversations would be positive. At least they were safe here. Finally, after getting to the break room and starting the coffee pot, Rainbow Dash kept an impatient eye on the machine. However, her concentration was quickly broken by a blurry mass of orange out of the corner of her eye on the balcony, followed by the distinct stench of smoke entering her nose. Fear hit her stomach like an anvil, and she darted out the door faster than she could properly think, much to the confusion of Applejack, who had been outside smoking a cigarette. Doing her best to avoid the embarrassment, Dash walked out next to her friend, leaning against the railing and doing her best to ignore the putrid smell of tobacco. She still wasn't used to seeing so many non-pegasi roaming around Cloudsdale, but if it were to be a safe space for everypony, then everypony needed to be able to walk on clouds. She could vaguely remember Twilight mentioning a rune or sigil, and something about Starswirl the Bearded, but she was way too tired to try and remember what it was. After a few minutes of silence, Rainbow decided to finally break it, otherwise her own racing mind would drive her mad. "I thought you quit smoking." Dash hadn't realized how accusatory her question sounded until it hung in the air for a moment, but the earth pony didn't seem to pick up on it, or was simply far too exhausted to. "Well, I did." Applejack replied, taking one last short drag of the cigarette before placing the butt in the ashtray she had set out. "But with all the apocalypse preppin' and whatnot, kinda hard not to fall back on old habits." Rainbow nodded, muttering in vague understanding before looking out at the vast fields between them and Canterlot. As she stared out, her mind began to wander; mainly back to Ponyville General, to the visceral sight of those mutilated ponies, those disturbing notes left by Redheart, and the deep well in her stomach still wondering if the nurse was even still alive. Just before the questions in her head could fully overwhelm her, Applejack spoke up. "So, uhh, how're rescue operations goin'?" Dash scoffed before standing straight up, still focusing on the empty plains ahead. "Well, out of 4 zones hit by The Haze? We've only saved a couple hundred, and most of 'em had to be kicked out cuz they'd been infected. If it weren't for Starlight's plague detection spell, we'd have hordes running throughout cloudsdale." Letting out a hefty sigh, she felt a sharp twinge of guilt hit her stomach. "It was...hard to turn them away, but we have no choice until the Canterlot Bureau of Disease manages to make a cure, Celestia knows how long that'll take." AJ nodded solemnly, giving a weak smile to try and show a bit of support. "Well, we oughta have faith in 'em. Sure, a cure'll take a while, but they'll make one. We've saved the world how many times now?" Dash raised her hoof to her chin to think for a moment. "That was rhetorical, Dashie." Just then, the door was pushed open by a noticeably exhausted Twilight, her drab sweater occasionally spattered with small coffee stains. She sat down the clipboard held up by her magic and took of her glasses, groggily rubbing her eyes with her fetlock, before taking a spot next to the pair on the balcony, both of whom elected to pause their prior conversation. "Hey girls." Twilight muttered, undoing the messy bun her mane was in and pocketing the hair tie in her saddlebag. Leaning up against the railing and looking back into the building, she seemed calm enough for Rainbow Dash to feel at ease, but something about her blank stare made the farmpony beside her feel as if something was off. "Heya." Applejack half-heartedly replied, placing another cigarette in her muzzle, unable to find her lighter before a purple spark appeared at the end, lighting it. She took a drag and sighed out a grey cloud, letting out a quiet "Thank ya." to the alicorn, who didn't seem to pay it any mind either way. "Ya hear anythin' from Discord?" Twilight snapped out of her trance-like thought and gave her full attention to Applejack, almost as if an "awake" switch flipped in her head. "No, but I know he has Fluttershy with him. I can only assume he's in his own dimension, but since Spike's never been to his plane of reality, he has no idea where to send our letters to. We just gotta hope we hit the mark by pure luck, but until we get a response we have to act as if neither will show up." She spoke with the same conviction as if she was giving a lecture, stating everything in a matter-of-fact tone. "Typical, he can fix everything with the snap of his paw and he turns tail the minute we need him!" Rainbow Dash indignantly shouted, catching the others off guard with her sudden aggression. "We don't even know if he can get infected! We're all out here risking our lives while he's holing up in another dimension. Unreal." She crossed her hooves and slumped down to the floor, huffing as she slid into a position that couldn't possibly be comfortable. Twilight adjusted her glasses and sighed. "We don't actually know how his magic will affect the Haze, chaos magic is really hard to predict, especially since our research has found that the plague has dark magic origins." As she spoke, she used her magic to pour two cups of coffee from the machine inside, levitating the mugs to herself and Rainbow Dash. "Dark magic is unpredictable enough as is, having severely adverse side effects on both the spell and the caster, the last thing we need is another element of surprise." "Dark magic?" Applejack inquired at the sudden development. "That means this was a spell, shouldn't we be tryin' to find out who did it?" The princess's ears folded back and a pit started to form in her stomach, because while Applejack was right, she already knew who caused it, but persecution wasn't necessarily an option. "My main concern is preventing further damage and creating a cure. But until then we need to keep everypony safe-" "Cuttin' this off at the source would be better than waitin', Twi." Applejack's voice was cold and stern, which is exactly what Twilight didn't want to hear. "What exactly would change if we throw them in Tartarus or encase them in stone? The cloud's already moving and it's completely independent of the caster, once we figure out how to stop the cloud, then we can point hooves." She put the still hot coffee mug to her lips and drank it all in a few greedy gulps. She slammed the mug down, wiped her muzzle with her fetlock, and made her way to the exit. "I've got to get back to the CBD, the cloud is en route to Las Pegasus and should be there in less than 24 hours." With that, she left, closing the door with a bit more force than she intended, but at this point she didn't care. Applejack and Rainbow Dash exchanged glances and waited for the sound of hoofsteps to fade into the distance, then to silence. "She's hidin' somethin'." Applejack took a long drag from her cigarette, putting it out and tucking it behind her ear. "I trust her enough to know she ain't gonna hide no magical maniac, but what ain't she tellin' us?" Before their conversation could continue further, a new set of galloping footsteps rapidly approached, before throwing open the door to the break room. Soarin, one of the many other wonderbolts who volunteered for the search and rescue program, frantically called to the balcony. "Rainbow Dash! We've spotted an abandoned survivor camp in the Everfree forest, it had medical supplies and this." He held up a note in his wing, quickly bringing it over to the rescue lead, who wasted no time in reading it. "Day 27 The infected ponies can't read, so I'll leave this for any survivors who need sanctuary. I've had a hell of a month, but I'm getting closer to Canterlot. I can see it from here, even at night that magic barrier glows just brightly enough to act as a beacon. I should be there within a few days, maybe a week if I run into any more infected. I've avoided using deadly force, I know that they won't extend the same courtesy, but at the end of the day these are still ponie; ponies I've passed on the street, ponies I was friends with, ponies I've cared for. It goes against everything I know to harm them, even if they want nothing more than to make me one of them. I'll leave at sunrise. Signed, Nurse Redheart"
Prologue: OutbreakIt had been about a week since The Haze began to spread throughout Equestria, the sickeningly thick orange fog growing from the remains of the Golden Oak Library, slowly crawling out and spreading to cover nearly the entire town in a matter of hours. Many avoided it at all costs, some were lucky, but most of Ponyville's population couldn't get out of it in time. At first, very few thought anything of it; other than some minor skin irritation, it didn't have any immediately harmful effects. However after about half a day the ponies that breathed the fog began to fall ill, and by the first night of the fog's consumption of Ponyville, half the town was in the hospital. Rainbow Dash noticed the fog and the illness that came with it, and wasted no time rushing to Canterlot, knowing Luna, Celestia, and Twilight would be there for an important meeting. She never saw just how terrible the infection became, not even when she returned with Twilight. In fact, the entire town seemed empty, as if they had all disappeared over that short time period. Twilight looked around uneasily, trying to get a gauge on the situation despite having almost none of the information. "Creepy," Rainbow Dash broke the silence with her observation, "just a few days ago there was a fog so thick you couldn't see your own hoof in front of you, and the townsponies were all sick as dogs. Never thought I'd be outrun by a bunch of bedridden ponies." Her joke was almost completely ignored by Twilight, who took a few steps forward and examined a strange stain on a nearby wall; a thick, red splatter roughly the size of a pumpkin. She examined it, looking at the edges, before letting out a shaky sigh. "Projectile vomiting, appears to be 90% bl-" she winced as her stomach churned at the suddenly noticeable stench of sick, she pulled away and covered her mouth with her wing before gulping. "blood... the rest is bile." Rainbow Dash shuddered at the thought of somepony throwing up that much blood, then looked around to see if she could spot any more suspicious stains. "I should do a flyover of the town, see if anypony's okay." She half suggested, not even waiting for Twilight to respond as she darted up into the sky and did a quick scan over the town, then another, and another. She kept her eyes peeled but couldn't see anypony or anything that would answer the litany of questions the mares had. "RAINBOW!" Twilight appeared next to Dash, startling her with her sudden scolding. "Stick with me please, we have no idea what's going on and I don't want anything catching you off guard." She let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding as she began to scan the ground. Rainbow Dash studied Twilight's expression, which seemed almost as if she regretted something, maybe not getting here fast enough? Twilight shook her head and met Rainbow's eyes. "Sick ponies don't just get up and leave town en masse, so my guess is a self-imposed lock-down. Come on, we gotta get to Ponyville General right away."
1: EpedemiologyRainbow and Twilight gently landed outside the front door of Ponyville General, looking up with great unease as they saw the state the building was in. Windows boarded up on the lower floors, shattered on the higher ones, blood stained shards of glass on the ground, hoofprints followed by the trail of something being dragged across the ground, and one of the doors was knocked completely off the hinges, and now lay flat on the hospital floor. Twilight stared in a horrible combination of awe and fear, her lip quivering as she assessed the damage, and letting her mind run. Could this have been because of me? Because of Celestia? I'm supposed to lead you and yet I've caused a plague, I'm so sorry, my faithful subjects. "Hey, Equestria to Sparkle. You good?" Rainbow Dash's concerned comment helped snap Twilight out of it. What's done is done, what matters more is that she helps her subjects, her friends, her family. "Yeah, sorry. Just... look at this place!" using her wing to gesture at the broken windows, she slowly steps towards the doorway. "Starlight and Sunburst are at the castle," Twilight announced, "they're part of a dedicated research team, so if we find anything we'll have to send it to them." She walked a bit up the stairs, not yet ready to go inside. "Remember, go slow. We don't wanna scare anypony...or anything." Her voice softened at her addendum, but she took a breath and walked inside, Rainbow Dash following close behind. The minute they crossed the threshold, the smell of blood and sick filled their noses, assaulting their senses. Rainbow Dash struggled to hold in her stomach contents, until a sudden pleasant smell entered her nose. Puzzled, she looked over at Twilight, who's horn was slightly glowing. "There, this should help. Smell spell." Rainbow Dash snickered quietly, and on any other day Twilight would've been so proud of her joke, but right now she was focused on making the most out of this expedition. Glancing around the narrow hallway, she instantly noticed a sign above a heavy metal door. Records. She trotted over and tried to open the door with her magic, yet all of her effort was fruitless. Locked. She moved to another door and tried to get in, but it was barricaded from the other side. Frustrated, she tried another door, and with little effort it slowly creaked open. Twilight slowly trotted in, Rainbow Dash close behind as they scanned the sight before them. What was once a patient's room was torn up completely; drapes torn and scattered across the floor, furniture smashed and flipped, and a long trail of a deep, dark red liquid leading from the bed to the window. The light flickered slowly to life, startling the two ponies, but allowing them to see more details of the carnage. The bed was surrounded by loose fur, entire chunks of mane, and a small white object that neither could identify from that distance, yet the size and other organic material lead them to believe it was a tooth. Neither went to confirm. Rainbow Dash turned to the behind them, the light causing a big red stain on the wall to shimmer, and for it to finally be legible. Celestia has abandoned us The words leaked and crept down the wall, forming a thick, red pool of blood. Twilight had noticed it as well, but did her best to save the gawking for when this all blew over. She began to rummage around the room, desperate to find some clues as to what had happened here, what could have possibly caused all this commotion. Finally, she found a small clipboard with a few pages of paper, speckles of blood splattered across the topmost page. Twilight turned to Dash and began to read aloud; "Name: Rare Find Sex: Stallion Species: Unicorn "Came in this morning complaining of intense fatigue, insomnia, and a lack of control over his magic. We did a check-up and found some minor irritation throughout the mouth and some in the back of his throat. We'll need to run some more tests, but this is the fifth pony to come in with these symptoms today. We're enacting a quarantine zone to study this infection and ensure the safety of hospital staff and patients. Until further notice, infected ponies may not have visitors." She nervously turned the page. "We've managed to get a decent understanding about this infection, we know that it comes from the fog that mysteriously engulfed Ponyville and seems to only transmit through inhalation. Snowheart and I are beginning the distribution of masks to everypony in town, hoping this slows infection rates even by a fraction of a percent, but it's still advised to avoid going anywhere near it. Symptoms seem to be worsening, Mr. Find has requested that his light stays off, as it causes 'a searing pain like the sun is being held straight to his eyes.' We dimmed it, and he begrudgingly accepted the compromise, still complaining about the pain. He seems more irritable, but he has been awake for nearly 27 hours at this point, so I don't blame him. The amount of infected patience has increased exponentially, we hardly have enough room for any of them, but we're doing what we can. We're upping the minimum antibiotic dosage, it's a temporary solution but it's better than nothing. Hour 28, Rare seems to be in even worse condition than before; he's developed a nervous habit of chewing on his lips, however it's now at the point where they're gone completely, giving a clear view of his bloodied teeth and gums. Aggression has increased exponentially and he's had to be restrained. As we left he kept screaming like a wild animal, complaining about hunger, screaming about "the Haze", and the burning agony in his eyes. The lights were completely off, the only light getting in was from the moon outside. I'm making myself a coffee, we need to make some kind of treatment before these ponies rip themselves apart." Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at eachother, the slow horror creeping up their spines as the story unfolded before them. Shakily, Twilight turned the page. "Time of Death: 2:19 A.M. Cause of death: unknown complications from the infection. I'll send him down for an autopsy report after the other deceased are examined. Every single pony who has come in here with the infection has died within two days, this is an outright endemic. We have to put as many resources into a cure as possible, this can not spread any further." Twilight turned to the last page on the clipboard. "I wish I had the words to explain what happened, I truly, truly can't explain it. If I hadn't seen it for myself, I wouldn't have believed it. The deceased ponies came back to life, almost all at once, and began to roam the halls. Most of our staff were astonished, it simply couldn't have been true, and in a sense it wasn't. They were moving, but they weren't alive, they walked as if their muscles were being forced to move, and they snarled like rabid dogs. Snowheart approached Ms. Berry, trying to provide care, but was met with a vicious, cannibalistic attack. I was able to escape and hide in the security room, checking the cameras and waiting until I could safely leave. It was hours before I walked back out, but it felt like days. The halls were completely empty, except for the remains of my fellow staff. Poor Snowheart's face was unrecognizable as a pony at all, all that remained was bone, chunks of viscera, and her eyeball. She's walking the halls now, despite no creature being able to survive such a vicious attack as that. I plan on leaving as soon as possible and trying to make my way to Canterlot, this is beyond anything ponykind can manage on their own, we need the princesses. Celestia save us all. Signed, Nurse Redheart" The two ponies sat in stunned silence at what they had just read. Surely it can't be true, right? Ponies coming back from the dead? Eating eachother alive? All because of this mysterious Haze that just appeared suddenly? Twilight's mind was racing with questions about how this was all possible, and her place among it all. At the very front of her mind was figuring out a way to prevent anypony else from getting infected. She hastily handed Rainbow Dash the clipboard with all of the pages, determination burning in her eyes. "Fly this back to Canterlot as fast as you can, Starlight and Sunburst need this information. If you see Nurse Redheart, make sure she's not infected, and bring her to the castle." Dash sternly nodded and bolted off towards the Castle, going fast enough to cause a sonic boom. Twilight watched on hopefully as her companion made her way to the castle, but her hope was short lived. Something shifted behind her, knocking over some debris. The princess whipped around to look down the cavernous hallway, scanning it for any signs of movement. Several seconds passed, but every one of them felt like eons as Twilight's focus remained unbroken. Slowly, a pony limped out of one of the rooms, their useless hind leg dragging awkwardly behind them. Twilight, still cautious, began to approach, worried that the pony had been injured, only for that worry to turn to abject horror as the leg disconnected from the rest of the body, a few strands of bloody sinew keeping it just barely attached. It turned to look at her, it's blank eyes piercing the dark hallway. She lunged back out the doorway, using her magic to pick up the broken door and put it back on the hinges, then using various pieces of debris around the entryway to barricade it. She breathed a shaky sigh of relief, before hearing hoofsteps nearby. She spun around and saw another pony slowly shamble out of an alleyway. Then another, and another. Before long, tens of infected ponies were surrounding her location, growling and gurgling as they closed in. Twilight stared at the faces of former friends around her, ponies who she fought so hard to save. She felt stunned for a moment, shaking, and quietly crying. She bowed her head solemnly. "I'm so sorry, I've failed you. But I promise I'll make this right." With that declaration, a bright purple flash emanated from her horn, and she was gone, leaving the horde to try and track her scent, to no use. Absent-mindedly, they dispersed, scattering in all different directions to hunt down the source of the noises they heard. With a shine of light, Twilight appeared in the throne room before the two princesses, who looked on with great worry. "Twilight, are you alright?" Luna asked, approaching her cautiously. Twilight gestured her away with her wing as she caught her breath, wiping the tears from her face. She took a deep breath and did her best to seem collected. "This has escalated beyond anything we've ever faced. We need all the help we can possibly get to evacuate all major cities." She trotted over to the door leading to the lab, where Sunburst and Starlight were studying a small sample of the Haze. Twilight glanced back over her shoulder towards the princesses. "We fucked up." was all she said as she slammed the door.
2: EvacuationManehattan, The big city, a city of opportunity, where anypony could make a name for themselves, and where all the successful business ponies can flaunt their status and success. Manehattan was known not only for the glamorous lives that the rich loved to display, but how everypony seemed to fit so flawlessly into the well-oiled machine that fueled the city's bustling economy. Ponies moved in unspoken organization, almost like ants, walking to their jobs and wherever they needed to be that day, perfectly weaving and intertwining in a sort of synchronization. It was this exact rush our hoof traffic that Trim Petals could not stand. She had come all this way to visit a local greenhouse with rare plants, she wanted to get up close looks at them and possibly help out the staff with taking care of them, but with the rushing rapid of ponies in the streets, she'd be lucky to get halfway there by sundown. She tried to trot her way around it, to call a taxi, and even tried casting a spell to disperse the crowd, but every attempt was fruitless, so she simply hung her head and sighed, electing to just wander the streets while she waits for it to all die down. Trim was on a park bench eating a cheap hot pretzel, unsure of what else to do to kill the time. That's when a booming voice echoed in the sky above. "Citizens of Manehattan, you are all in danger!" Trim looked up towards the source of the sound, and was astounded to see Princess Twilight flying high above the city, calling out in a voice loud enough to shake the earth. "A dangerous fog is approaching from the south, and with it brings a pestilence unlike anything we've ever seen before! I hereby order you all to evacuate the city, it'll be here any minute!" She could hardly believe what she was hearing, was a plague cloud really coming to Manehattan? What did she mean by "unlike anything we've ever seen before"? How bad could it be? Trim looked at the crowd, and only noticed a few ponies paying her any mind, most still moving along their routes to work and home. She returned her attention to the princess, who again spoke. "Those who cannot evacuate are advised to retreat to a designated safe-house, please, heed my warning!" Her voice sounded more and more desperate, almost as if she was about to break into tears. "There she goes again with that doomsday nonsense." The pretzel salespony next to Trim scoffed, rolling his eyes as he gave a pretzel to another customer. "The world ending ain't gonna slow my business down." The unicorn was stunned at the gross display of over-confidence, but she didn't want to stick around to see him proven wrong. She got up and began to make her way towards one of the shining purple beacons in the sky, an indication of one of the safe-houses. As the yellow door of the sanctuary entered her line of sight, she groaned to herself, noticing her path was completely blocked off by the constant flow of ponies, hardly any space between them all. She turned around to try and find another route, but what she saw made her heart sink. A thick orange cloud off in the distance slowly creeping over to the city, growing larger and larger as it got closer. She wasn't the only one to notice, as suddenly a crowd had formed along the edge of the city, all staring in terror at the incoming fog. "Oh no." Twilight's royal voice echoed across the sky yet again, "Look to the south, it's too late!" Trim tossed and turned as she slowly began to awake, her eyelids feeling like they were weighed down by sandbags, she needed a moment to reorient herself. She got up off of the cot, groggily looking around the building she was in, unfamiliar with her surroundings. The room she was in was small and slightly cramped with all the beds mounted on the walls. It's clear this was a place meant for a few dozen ponies, yet there was hardly a sign of any others, other than the messy sheets on a few of the cots. As Trim trotted to the door, she racked her brain trying to remember what happened or where she was. Last thing she remembered was the fog, then screaming, then trampling. Just as that memory came back, she winced in pain, putting a hoof to her forehead, where dried blood had leaked down from a small wound. Ah, right. she thought to herself, now remembering the crushing pain of a hoof stomping on her head as panicked ponies ran over her, a flash of white, then black. Even if she could remember who's hoof knocked her out, she attempted to mentally excuse it with the immense terror of that plague cloud rushing over the city. Moving past the splitting headache she could no longer ignore, she slowly left the dormitory and entered the hallway, illuminated by off-yellow lights that occasionally flickered. These safe-houses were hastily made, set up in various vacant buildings and spread out in specific sections of the city, Trim hoped that the other ones were more populated. Finally, Trim made it to the common area, which had been hastily turned into a cafeteria, and she felt relief wash over her body upon seeing a hoofful of other ponies. They were all scared, tired, and doing their best to stay distant from eachother. She noticed a particularly frightened unicorn, wrapped in a blanket and trembling like a leaf, so she decided to sit down and try to offer him some friendship and a sense of normalcy, maybe even try to get some answers. "Hey," she greeted the stranger, trying her best to look inviting, "I'm Trim, and you are?" The stallion looked over, pulling the blanket a bit more around his face as if trying to avoid eye contact. "P-Perfect Pace." he shakily responded with the tone of an injured rabbit. "N-N-Nice to meet y-you." Every word that came out of his muzzle sounded strained, as if he had to fight the shaking to properly speak. Trim thought carefully about her next words, she wanted so bad to ask a million questions, but his strained speech made it alot harder to get detailed answers. "Do you know how long we've been in here? I kinda just woke up." Her voice was calm, careful, almost as if she was talking to a scared foal. It was effective, as Perfect Pace looked over at her with bloodshot eyes partially covered by his dirty, unkempt blonde hair, a part of his appearance he previously put great effort into. "I-it's been t-three days." he sniffled and sighed, trying to stay collected and slow the shaking. "T-the fog came a-and...and..." The memory had finally forced out the tears he had been holding in for so long, following the already stained cheeks of the stallion. There was something he clearly didn't want to think about, and as much as Trim wanted answers, she wanted to help out more than anything. "Interesting. Well, how did I get here?" Trim's next question served the secondary purpose of distracting Perfect Pace from whatever memory was causing his shaking to worsen. "Princess T-T-Twilight brought you." his voice was more strained than before, as if every word made it harder to speak at all. Still, talking seemed to help distract him from the truth of the situation, so he tried to speak through the shaking. "Y-You were unconscious in the s-streets. She found you, s-said you're unb-b-bitten." The tremors in his voice were getting worse, and it seemed as if his voice was breaking with his resolve. "I-I'm s-so sorry." Trim's face softened as she put a hoof on the shoulder of the unicorn, trying her best to console him, but her hoof ran over an oddly cold sensation, and a series of divets. Fear overriding her compassion, she pulled the blanket off of him, revealing a large bloody stain down his entire body, all coming from a now-infected bite mark on his shoulder. Trim stepped back, horrified at what she was seeing, and Perfect Pace stepped away from her, his pupils now shrunk to the size of pinpricks as his breathing become more frantic. "I-I just- I didn't- I needed help!" His frenzied plee for understanding interrupted by several coughs, blood spurting out from his muzzle. "I-I'm sick! This is a place to help the sick right?!" As he began to cause a scene, the other survivor ponies began to watch in terror. Trim sat stunned, slowly shaking her head in disbelief at such an act of selfishness, she stepped back as Perfect Pace jerkily crept towards her. He looked as if the last shreds of sanity were leaving his mind, but still as if he was fearful for his life. "P-Please, t-the doctor ponies said it takes two d-days to spread, I g-got bit this morning, I s-should...should..." He began to sway slightly, before leaning over to wretch, out coming a thick, red rush of blood from his muzzle. As it stopped, he let out several labored coughs, and the scent of sick began to fill the room. It was too late, he looked up at Trim, his eyes now a milky white that seemed to reflect what little light was in the room, and he pounced onto her. She was paralyzed with fear, only able to put up her hooves in a futile attempt to defend herself as he attacked her, she couldn't even truly register what was happening as she felt the teeth sinking into her neck. She wanted to scream, as the other ponies in the room had wasted no time doing, she wanted to scream at the pain in her neck as her larynx was pulled out in the jaws of what was once Perfect Pace, scream as the sinew barely keeping it attached to her snapped and he went in for another go at her jugular. Yet, every attempt just sent a gush of blood out of the large hole in her neck, but it was all she could try to do. As the sensation of warm blood coated her neck, darkening her already green coat, she couldn't help but feel afraid. Then sad. Then nothing at all.
3: SanctuaryAs her alarm clock blared out the familiar sound of dutiful trumpets, Rainbow Dash let out an irritated groan, begrudgingly getting up to turn it off. She wasn't used to her new schedule; getting up as soon as the sun rose, running around Equestria all day, then not getting too sleep much until the dead of night. Although, she figured that little sleep would keep her functional for longer than no sleep at all, so she compromised. Ever since Twilight began issuing evacuation orders, Rainbow Dash had been put in charge of search and rescue operations, which of course she didn't mind, she was able to get survivors quicker than anypony else. Though, before she could go straight to saving the day, she had to grab herself a coffee, just something to give her a jump-start. The Haze had been rampaging for about a month now, and hardly any pony could sleep because of it, but Dash would just follow in Twilight's steps; drink some coffee and work through the day. Well, except Dash would actually manage to get some sleep by the end of the day. Rainbow trotted outside of Wonderbolts HQ and took off towards the industrial district of Cloudsdale. Despite being so close to ground zero of the infection, the plague clouds never climbed higher than two stories, which kept the city in the sky as the best option for a sanctuary. The Wonderbolts had agreed to let anypony involved in the rescue efforts stay in their barracks, even providing food, medicine, and clean clothes. Landing just in front of the door to the Rainbow Factory, where many survivors had been staying, the blue pegasus made her way inside and towards the break room. Usually, she wasn't a big fan crowded rooms; big groups of people talking over each other, every word meshing together into one large collection of noise. But for some reason, walking through the cafeteria and seeing so many ponies inside talking to each other made her feel a slow wave of relief, even if she knew none of the conversations would be positive. At least they were safe here. Finally, after getting to the break room and starting the coffee pot, Rainbow Dash kept an impatient eye on the machine. However, her concentration was quickly broken by a blurry mass of orange out of the corner of her eye on the balcony, followed by the distinct stench of smoke entering her nose. Fear hit her stomach like an anvil, and she darted out the door faster than she could properly think, much to the confusion of Applejack, who had been outside smoking a cigarette. Doing her best to avoid the embarrassment, Dash walked out next to her friend, leaning against the railing and doing her best to ignore the putrid smell of tobacco. She still wasn't used to seeing so many non-pegasi roaming around Cloudsdale, but if it were to be a safe space for everypony, then everypony needed to be able to walk on clouds. She could vaguely remember Twilight mentioning a rune or sigil, and something about Starswirl the Bearded, but she was way too tired to try and remember what it was. After a few minutes of silence, Rainbow decided to finally break it, otherwise her own racing mind would drive her mad. "I thought you quit smoking." Dash hadn't realized how accusatory her question sounded until it hung in the air for a moment, but the earth pony didn't seem to pick up on it, or was simply far too exhausted to. "Well, I did." Applejack replied, taking one last short drag of the cigarette before placing the butt in the ashtray she had set out. "But with all the apocalypse preppin' and whatnot, kinda hard not to fall back on old habits." Rainbow nodded, muttering in vague understanding before looking out at the vast fields between them and Canterlot. As she stared out, her mind began to wander; mainly back to Ponyville General, to the visceral sight of those mutilated ponies, those disturbing notes left by Redheart, and the deep well in her stomach still wondering if the nurse was even still alive. Just before the questions in her head could fully overwhelm her, Applejack spoke up. "So, uhh, how're rescue operations goin'?" Dash scoffed before standing straight up, still focusing on the empty plains ahead. "Well, out of 4 zones hit by The Haze? We've only saved a couple hundred, and most of 'em had to be kicked out cuz they'd been infected. If it weren't for Starlight's plague detection spell, we'd have hordes running throughout cloudsdale." Letting out a hefty sigh, she felt a sharp twinge of guilt hit her stomach. "It was...hard to turn them away, but we have no choice until the Canterlot Bureau of Disease manages to make a cure, Celestia knows how long that'll take." AJ nodded solemnly, giving a weak smile to try and show a bit of support. "Well, we oughta have faith in 'em. Sure, a cure'll take a while, but they'll make one. We've saved the world how many times now?" Dash raised her hoof to her chin to think for a moment. "That was rhetorical, Dashie." Just then, the door was pushed open by a noticeably exhausted Twilight, her drab sweater occasionally spattered with small coffee stains. She sat down the clipboard held up by her magic and took of her glasses, groggily rubbing her eyes with her fetlock, before taking a spot next to the pair on the balcony, both of whom elected to pause their prior conversation. "Hey girls." Twilight muttered, undoing the messy bun her mane was in and pocketing the hair tie in her saddlebag. Leaning up against the railing and looking back into the building, she seemed calm enough for Rainbow Dash to feel at ease, but something about her blank stare made the farmpony beside her feel as if something was off. "Heya." Applejack half-heartedly replied, placing another cigarette in her muzzle, unable to find her lighter before a purple spark appeared at the end, lighting it. She took a drag and sighed out a grey cloud, letting out a quiet "Thank ya." to the alicorn, who didn't seem to pay it any mind either way. "Ya hear anythin' from Discord?" Twilight snapped out of her trance-like thought and gave her full attention to Applejack, almost as if an "awake" switch flipped in her head. "No, but I know he has Fluttershy with him. I can only assume he's in his own dimension, but since Spike's never been to his plane of reality, he has no idea where to send our letters to. We just gotta hope we hit the mark by pure luck, but until we get a response we have to act as if neither will show up." She spoke with the same conviction as if she was giving a lecture, stating everything in a matter-of-fact tone. "Typical, he can fix everything with the snap of his paw and he turns tail the minute we need him!" Rainbow Dash indignantly shouted, catching the others off guard with her sudden aggression. "We don't even know if he can get infected! We're all out here risking our lives while he's holing up in another dimension. Unreal." She crossed her hooves and slumped down to the floor, huffing as she slid into a position that couldn't possibly be comfortable. Twilight adjusted her glasses and sighed. "We don't actually know how his magic will affect the Haze, chaos magic is really hard to predict, especially since our research has found that the plague has dark magic origins." As she spoke, she used her magic to pour two cups of coffee from the machine inside, levitating the mugs to herself and Rainbow Dash. "Dark magic is unpredictable enough as is, having severely adverse side effects on both the spell and the caster, the last thing we need is another element of surprise." "Dark magic?" Applejack inquired at the sudden development. "That means this was a spell, shouldn't we be tryin' to find out who did it?" The princess's ears folded back and a pit started to form in her stomach, because while Applejack was right, she already knew who caused it, but persecution wasn't necessarily an option. "My main concern is preventing further damage and creating a cure. But until then we need to keep everypony safe-" "Cuttin' this off at the source would be better than waitin', Twi." Applejack's voice was cold and stern, which is exactly what Twilight didn't want to hear. "What exactly would change if we throw them in Tartarus or encase them in stone? The cloud's already moving and it's completely independent of the caster, once we figure out how to stop the cloud, then we can point hooves." She put the still hot coffee mug to her lips and drank it all in a few greedy gulps. She slammed the mug down, wiped her muzzle with her fetlock, and made her way to the exit. "I've got to get back to the CBD, the cloud is en route to Las Pegasus and should be there in less than 24 hours." With that, she left, closing the door with a bit more force than she intended, but at this point she didn't care. Applejack and Rainbow Dash exchanged glances and waited for the sound of hoofsteps to fade into the distance, then to silence. "She's hidin' somethin'." Applejack took a long drag from her cigarette, putting it out and tucking it behind her ear. "I trust her enough to know she ain't gonna hide no magical maniac, but what ain't she tellin' us?" Before their conversation could continue further, a new set of galloping footsteps rapidly approached, before throwing open the door to the break room. Soarin, one of the many other wonderbolts who volunteered for the search and rescue program, frantically called to the balcony. "Rainbow Dash! We've spotted an abandoned survivor camp in the Everfree forest, it had medical supplies and this." He held up a note in his wing, quickly bringing it over to the rescue lead, who wasted no time in reading it. "Day 27 The infected ponies can't read, so I'll leave this for any survivors who need sanctuary. I've had a hell of a month, but I'm getting closer to Canterlot. I can see it from here, even at night that magic barrier glows just brightly enough to act as a beacon. I should be there within a few days, maybe a week if I run into any more infected. I've avoided using deadly force, I know that they won't extend the same courtesy, but at the end of the day these are still ponie; ponies I've passed on the street, ponies I was friends with, ponies I've cared for. It goes against everything I know to harm them, even if they want nothing more than to make me one of them. I'll leave at sunrise. Signed, Nurse Redheart"
