Plague

Chapter II

“Twilight!”

“Twilight, wake up!”

Suddenly she felt ice cold, and that made her shoot out of bed.

“Rainbow Dash! Why did you do that?” Rarity said.

“To wake her up, duh! And it worked!” Rainbow replied.

Then they all looked at Twilight, who was shivering, wet, and scared out of her mind.

“Is ever’thing alright, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

Twilight looked around. She was in her library, surrounded by her friends.

“I... I had a horrible dream. It seemed so real...” she said as she curled up on the floor.

“There, there. It was only a dream. You’re safe now, with us.” Rarity said as she put a comforting hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.

“I... Guess you’re right. So, why are you all here?” She asked, slowly getting up.

“Well, Spike here said that you were mumblin’, so he went over t’ ya to see what you were mumblin’ about. When he got up here, ya started yellin’. He tried to wake ya up, but you wouldn’t.”

“That’s when we came in.” Rarity continued for her. “We came here, wondering where you were, because we had an evening picnic planned. When we came in, you were screaming and Spike was asking us for help!”

“They couldn’t wake you up, so I poured a bucket of water on you. Sorry about that.” Rainbow said.

“Which was rude, by the way.” Rarity replied.

“Well, it worked!” She shot back.

“Girls! She’s okay, and that’s what matters.” Applejack shouted, silencing the two mares.

“Thanks, all of you. I’ll go to the picnic, just give me about ten minutes to get ready first.”

She went over to her mirror, and picked up her brush. It took quite a bit more effort than usual.

She froze, realizing something.

Oh no. My magic really is weaker. So it wasn’t just a dream...

“Twilight? Are ya alright?” Asked as she was about to go downstairs. The others had already gone down.

“Applejack, you up there?” Rainbow called up.

“Yeah. I’ll be down later, go on to the park.” She replied.

“If you say so.”

With that, they left the library.

Twilight looked in the mirror, and realized how terrified she actually looked. She sighed and said

“I just don’t know Applejack. But this is only one dream, so I’ll get over it.”

“Okay, but if you need anypony ta talk to, I’ll be here for ya.”

“Thanks.” Twilight said as she finished brushing her mane. “So, how about we go to that picnic?”

Applejack smiled.

“That’s the spirit.”

In Canterlot, Celestia was meeting with a group of representatives. It was going as usual, talking about taxes, projects, some new ideas, etc. That normalcy was interrupted by somepony trotting in and whispering into Celestia’s ear.

“We are missing a sample of the Plague.” He said simply.

Her eyes widened momentarily, but she quickly regained composure. She faced the representatives and said

“This meeting will have to be postponed until tomorrow. Something has occurred that required my immediate attention.”

They all got up and left the room, leaving her alone with the messenger. She turned to him and asked

“Are you sure it’s missing? No mistake in inventory?”

“We are absolutely sure. Only three samples of the plague are kept- for safety reasons. Now, we only have two.”

“And which plague is this?”

He cleared his throat.

“The Mageonic Plague.”

The news hit Celestia like a train. This plague caused madness in ponies. It usually began with unicorns, but was known to be opportunistic. Back when it was discovered, she was lucky enough to isolate it before it caused a near extinction of ponykind.

“Keep this low-profile. I don’t want to start a panic. Alert the Guards, and tell them to search for symptoms.”

“Yes, your highness.” He said, bowing. He then left the room, relaying the message.

After the picnic, the six ponies and Spike headed home. It was well into the night, and they spent their time eating, playing around, going to the spa, and having an overall good time. They had all become very tired, and Spike had even fell asleep on Twilight’s back on the way home. She was feeling much better now, dismissing the dream as just a nightmare.

 But something still felt wrong. She could almost feel it in the back of her head.

When they got home, she set Spike down in his bed.

Then she noticed something.

She was still having difficulty with her magic. She reasoned with herself that she may just need to work on it to make it work better. So instead of going to bed(like she wanted to so badly), she decided to reorganize the books. She went downstairs, emptied the bookcases, and proceeded to organize them in various ways. First, she sorted them by weight, then color, then size, and finally back to their original order.

She now felt something odd about her magic. Every time she used it, the strange feeling in the back of her head seemed to slightly increase. She dismissed it as just being tired, for it was now well past midnight. She went to bed, but no matter how tired she was, she just couldn’t sleep. So, she got up and looked for a solution.

After a while of searching, she found a small book titled Simple Spells for Restless Sleepers. She looked within it, and found the perfect spell. She cast it, and trotted quickly upstairs. She was asleep as soon as she laid down.

“Hello again. I see that you think this is just a dream.”

“What!? Who are you?” Twilight said.

“That’s not important right now.”

“Yes it is! If you are giving me nightmares and messing with my magic, then it’s pretty important.”

“Not now. And I just want to help.”

She began feeling afraid again. Like last time.

“Oh nonono! Not again! Why are you doing this!?”

“I’m not doing this. That creature is the embodiment of your flaws, your fears, and everything negative within you.”

“What? How?”

She could now smell the strange scent.

“Remember Discord? He was the embodiment of Chaos. If he exists, then why not the sins of ponykind?”

The fear and scent were getting stronger.

“That does make sense...”

She could hear the creature getting closer.

“You had better get some light. You need to get away!”

“No. This is just a dream. Nothing can hurt me, especially if I can’t even see it.”

“Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean that it isn’t there.”

“I know. But as I said before, this is just a dream. It can’t hurt me.”

She now heard it right behind her. The scent filled her lungs, and she felt its breath.

“Unluckily for you, this isn’t just a dream.”

She shrieked in both surprise and pain as she felt its sharp teeth closing around her neck.

Twilight woke up in a cold sweat.

That dream... I actually felt pain... She thought.

Then, she felt a warm fluid around her. She shot out of bed, racing to her mirror.

Oh no! I’m injured in real life too!

She lit up her horn to look in the mirror.

No wounds.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately went to change her bedsheets. Nopony was going to find out that she had wet her bed.

As she carried the sheets to be washed, she felt nervous. Every time something seemed to move, she flinched.

If this happens again, I must tell Celestia. She may know what to do.

After cleaning the bed sheets and bed, she tried to go back to sleep. However, she was too afraid of what her dreams may bring.

According to the clock, it’s four A.M. Maybe I can do some research of recurring nightmares, I might find something useful.

“Twilight, how long have you been up?” Spike asked as he walked drowsily downstairs.

She was surrounded by her ‘organized chaos’ of books.

“I’ve been up since four.” She replied.

“Why?”

She sighed.

“I had another nightmare. I’m sure its just coincidence, but I want to learn whatever I can to prevent another one.”

“Umm... Twilight?”

“What?”

“Are you okay?” He asked. Spike looked at her with a worried expression.

“Of course I am!” She replied. “It’s just a dream. What makes you think I’m not okay?”

“Well... it’s just that... you look linda out of it. Should I get some help?”

Then a thought crept into her head.

No. That will only cause trouble. They will think you’re crazy, and might lock you up.

“No, Spike. I’m fine.” She said, as she smiled and returned to her research.

This won’t help. Her thought said.

Of course it will! Twilight thought back.

Okay, you can try. I know that you won’t find anything useful. Oh, and by the way- you’d better exercise your magic.

I won’t forget. Heh, it's like I’m talking to myself, except I’m thinking to myself! What a wonder the subconscious is.

Twilight smiled again, and continued her search for information.

Meanwhile, Spike observed her from the other side of the room, feeling a mixture of worry and confusion.

Ever since she had that first nightmare, she seemed more... Distant. Spaced out. And maybe a bit crazy. If this gets worse, I probably should get a doctor for her. But I really hope that this is nothing. He thought.

Twilight’s mane was slightly disheveled, and she seemed quite cheerful for a pony who has recently suffered from a series of nightmares and a lack of sleep. She was actually humming as she went through the books around her.

I don’t want her to go through another ’tardy’ incident... Spike thought.

Little did he know, her sanity was slipping. For real this time.

I told you that you wouldn’t find anything to cure your nightmares. But look at that book, it seems interesting.

Twilight accepted the ‘voice’ in her head as either her conscience or that ‘helpful voice’ in the back of her head. It seemed friendly, and was very helpful. For example, it focused on other things for her while she was busy doing something. She read, it planned lunch. She made lunch, it reminded her of plans and tasks.

“Okay, I’ll look at the book. Wow, Spells of the Mind, Volume II. Dreams and memories. That really does seem interesting! Thanks!” She said aloud.

You’re welcome. I’m glad to help. It replied.

Twilight smiled.

As she read the book of spells, she had the feeling of being watched.

Top bookshelf to the left. Equestrian history. Rainbow Dash is there.

Without even looking up from the book, Twilight said

“Rainbow, unless you want to read some Equestrian History, get down from there.”

“What?” Rainbow Dash said. “How did you know I was there?”

“Hey, how did you know?” Twilight asked.

Because I am a part of your mind, I can use spells. You felt as if you were being watched, so I used a detection spell. It replied.

“Oh, ok. Thanks.”

“How did I know wha- huh? I just asked you that!” Rainbow said.

“I wasn’t talking to you!” Twilight shot back.

I know why she’s here.

“Then who are you talking to?”

Spike sent her to spy on you.

“None of your business, Rainbow!”

He thought you were going crazy, remember?

“Well, there’s nopony else here!”

See? They just want to find a reason to put you away.

“Get out! And tell Spike not to send anypony else here to spy on me!”

Dash went silent. Twilight was frustrated and confused with all the voices going on at the same time. She had had enough of this situation.

“I’m on to you! You all think I’m crazy, but I am not! Just get out now, before I show you crazy!”

Rainbow didn’t move. She just stood and stared at Twilight, shocked.

Let me handle this, I’ll deal with it. Just give me control.

“Have it your way.” Twilight said.

She suddenly felt as if she were pulled back into her own mind, into a darkness. Then, her eyes opened. She felt herself grin malevolently, but it wasn’t her. Whatever it was that was in her head now controlled her body- and she allowed it.