Plague in the Land of Equestria

Chapter 4: Quarantine

Rainbow Dash spent most of her flight with Spitfire silent, thinking about Soarin. The flight was relatively uneventful, with the occasional group of undead here and there. Rainbow Dash had never been to this part of Equestria before; it was mostly countryside, with no settlements or signs of life. The farther out they went, the more rare the undead became.

"This place looks safe. Why didn't you build a settlement here?" inquired Rainbow Dash.

"Too close to cities. The dead don't just build up in towns. When cities become very dangerous, survivors hiding in them will flee. Now, as you should know by now, these things really enjoy eating the survivors, therefore the undead will pursue runaways. Eventually the cities become safe and the rural countryside that you'd expect to be uninhabited by them are overrun. There have been places in the middle of nowhere that were worse than the PonyVille we just left," answered Spitfire.

"Tell me more of this 'quarantine zone'."

"Well, there are several settlements built all around Equestria that are made for taking the infected and locking them away from the rest of the world. This was designed to prevent a spread of this new plague, but as you can see, it failed. Now Royal Guards from Canterlot move around clearing out these quarantines of the infected, and now survivors are using them as shelter. But, as I said earlier, the dead follow the living, and now the vast majority of these zones are under a large scale attack. The one we're going to is the closest. Most ponies who heard of these quarantines tried to make a break for one. Some failed, some succeeded. Now I'll warn you, our zone is barely surviving. I don't doubt that in the next three days, it will probably fall to the dead."

"Thats what you and Soarin were talking about back when I was tied down," Dash realized. Spitfire remained silent. It was an hour before morning when the two arrived at the quarantine. Spitfire was right about 'large scale attacks'. This outpost was surrounded completely by an enormous mob of rotting meat, banging uselessly at the stone walls of the quarantine. Canterlot Guards roamed the top of the walls, ready to act at the first signs of being overrun. Rainbow Dash and Spitfire flew into the safety of the inner walls. Spitfire gave Dash a quick tour, showing her the supply room, the infirmary, the sleeping quarters, and the cafeteria.

"Any idea to where I can find my friend?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"What does she spend most of her free time doing?"

"Reading. She's an egghead."

"Check the supply room. We keep books there." Rainbow Dash nodded her thanks and checked out the supply storage room, which was an old warehouse with a scrap metal roof, which threatened to blow away in the wind at any moment.

Rainbow Dash slowly opened the large metal door and peeked inside. There were stacks of food, clothes, weapons, ammo, and books, but no Twilight. Dash thoroughly searched the rest of the compound, but to no avail. She cursed at her coming all this way for nothing, at her close friend being missing in the beginning of an apocalypse, and pretty much everything that had happened since the storm clouds moved in. It hadn't rained since Rainbow Dash first found Applejack, thankfully. If she and her group were caught outside in a storm, they'd freeze to death in hours.

Rainbow Dash would not give up the search for her friends, even though she had no idea where to look next. Rainbow Dash was about to decide upon returning to PonyVille and seeing if there was somewhere she overlooked when an idea struck her. What if Twilight went to Canterlot to meet up with Princess Celestia?

Rainbow Dash asked one of the guards to notify Spitfire that Dash was leaving. He nodded and grunted, and Rainbow Dash took off for Canterlot. It took some time to get there, and Rainbow Dash really wished she had brought some food from the quarantine, but it didn't matter. She had arrived at Canterlot, which was amazingly unscathed by the evil that surrounds it. Dash tried to fly in but found that there was a force field.

It does explain how this city isn't overrun, thought Rainbow Dash. She floated down to the train tunnel and saw two guards, on the other side of the force field. She managed to get their attention, and once the guards were convinced Dash wasn't infected, they let her in. Dash felt so much safer the second she was inside the force field.

"Are the Princesses here?" questioned Dash.

"Why do you want to know?" asked the guard, cautiously. He was grayish-brown with a golden helmet and spear, and his cutie mark was two spears crossed over a gold shield. He spoke with a rough, gravelly voice.

"I'm looking for a good friend of mine," answered Dash.

"I'm sorry, but I can't give out the information you seek," said a voice from behind. Rainbow Dash turned around and saw a captain of the Royal Guard. Everything about her had an air of authority. "Who is it you are searching for?"

"Twilight Sparkle."

"Twilight? The Princess's top student? Alright, I'll allow you to speak with Celestia." The captain strode quickly towards the castle. Rainbow Dash, usually the fastest, could hardly keep up with this pony. She was being respectful and sticking to the ground, and had to trot. When the two arrived at the castle gate, two guards pulled open the doors and let them inside.

"They'll be in the Astronomy Tower. You should know the way," said the Captain. Rainbow Dash nodded and headed to the Astronomy Tower.