• Published 2nd Dec 2012
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Xenophilia: Further tales. - TheQuietMan

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12: The Blank Plague - by SpinelStride

The Blank Plague by special guest author SpinelStride
Chapter published 26th June 2013

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Everything was grey. Dull, listless, as though moondust had settled across Ponyville. Lero couldn't keep his bearings. One minute he was approaching a dreary-looking Sugarcube Corner, the next he was outside town hall. He couldn't tell any ponies apart; they were grey too, and if they still had cutie marks, their grey shades matched their coats and he couldn't make them out. He could make out horns and wings, but nothing more. The ponies who wandered around were as uninspired as their palettes, vaguely drifting from place to place without sign of intent. Finally, he spotted a mane he recognized. Barely. A series of gradations of grey had taken the place of the vibrant colors he loved so much.

"Rainbow!" Lero cried out, and surged through the crowd. She gave him a focus point, something to aim toward; Ponyville seemed to careen around him, but he drew closer to her and swept the now-desaturated pony into his arms. "Rainbow Dash!"

She looked dully into his eyes. "What's a rainbow?" And he couldn't hold her; she slipped away bonelessly, not trying to escape, simply wandering off in disinterest. Lero sank to his knees, eyes wide.

A thundering voice intruded on his shock. "Our apologies for intruding on thy dream, Bellerophon of Ponyville. We fear Our presence has caused this foreboding display."

He turned. A dark-coated alicorn stood there, her hair drifting to the side though no wind moved in the air. He could not muster the energy to say more than, "Princess Luna."

She bowed her head lightly in acknowledgement. Her voice was a roar from all around. "Thou must gather thyself, Bellerophon of Ponyville. This is but a nightmare; thy beloveds are safe. For now. But We must speak with thou, and thou must listen and remember. There is danger in Equestria, and thou and We alone are beyond its reach. And We are not certain of Ourself in that." She gestured around at the grey town with a wing. "This is a warning, Bellerophon of Ponyville. A plague has come to Equestria. It sinks itself into the very magic of those it afflicts. Unicorns fall most easily, and the other magic-strong. Pegasi and griffins and other denizens of the air next. In the end, even earth ponies, minotaurs, and even some of the beasts of the field yield to it."

Lero pushed himself to his feet. The colorless Ponyville seemed to lose distinction around him; he was hazily aware of being somewhere in Ponyville, but not any place in particular. Only Luna's presence was precise. He took a long, deep breath, then another, trying to settle himself. His chest hurt; seeing Rainbow Dash slip away from him like that struck him deeply. "It's only a dream," he muttered to himself, and added another breath. "So... is there a cure?" he asked, when he felt sure of his voice.

Luna's long horn swayed as she shook her head. "Alas, there is not. We have secluded Ourself from all contact in hopes of avoiding this plague, but Our Sister has no such option. She remains with her court, and thus it is all but certain she has already been infected, if not yet stricken. All is not lost. We can raise the sun and the moon as did Our Sister for Our thousand years of exile. The mages of Canterlot have suggested that the plague will break of its own; when a victim's magic has been drained to the last dregs, then the plague dies within them, and they begin to recover. Those with the most easily-accessed magical potential last, those with the most innate magics first."

Lero's eyes widened. "Twilight! I have to warn her!" He turned - but Ponyville had washed out entirely; he stood in a field of gray without so much as a distinct building in view, merely vague suggestions of generic structures.

Luna's wings flared. "Twilight Sparkle is Our friend as well, Bellerophon, yet We speak not of her peril alone!" she snapped.

Lero stopped and turned back to her. There was that note in her voice... "You're really afraid, aren't you?"

She glared at him, and opened her mouth... and then stopped and lifted a hoof to her chest, then moved it out and to the side while exhaling. Her voice was softer when she spoke again. "Th... You are right. Lero. I am sorry. I revert to mine older habits at times. But it is no less true. Twilight Sparkle and every pony in Ponyville will have a terrible time, just as every pony across Equestria - and every other inhabitant. It has already struck Fillydelphia's unicorns, and pegasi there have begun to lose their strength as well. The afflicted are weakened slowly, then wander in a fog, unknowing of themselves, paying no heed to anything else. Their very cutie marks, those who have them, fade as their colors do. In the end, they lose even the power of speech, left as though dumb animals, every drop of magic in their bodies consumed. It takes longer for those with more magic, both the loss and the recovery afterward."

"Then it's going to hit Twilight worse than anyone," Lero said. "But if anyone can find a cure, she can. Let me wake up so I can tell her and get her started." His chest wasn't hurting anymore; even though he knew he was dreaming, his heart was racing instead, needing to run to tell his herd what was going on.

"Thou dost... Ahem. You do not need to do that, Lero. I am not limited to a single dream at a time, when I choose to be. I am spreading the warning across Equestria to prepare. The Blank Plague does not strike all at the same time, nor does it take as long to recover for all. Those who yet have strength must tend to those who have succumbed, and be tended themselves when their turn comes. But there are exceptions."

"Exceptions?" Lero asked cautiously. "Some ponies might... never recover?"

Luna shook her head. Then paused and nodded. "There will be death, Lero. The very weak, those very sick with other maladies already, the very old, some ponies will not be able to tolerate being weakened further. But your friends are strong and healthy; I think they will recover quickly. The exceptions I speak of are three in number. We three. The magics of the sun, the moon, and of love are boundless, or as close to boundless as it matters. I have not the strength to spend all my life alone, raising both the sun and the moon, unable to meet another pony for fear of contracting this plague. I know this of myself. I have not the strength to live like that. But before I may risk myself, I must know that Celestia has recovered. But while she suffers from the plague, any pony who nears her will almost certainly be exposed to her sickness - and if the plague draws from the power of the sun, it may well be strong enough to overcome even a pony who has gained immunity to the normal plague."

Lero put his hand over his face. His thumb pressed to the right of his right eye, his fingers left of his left eye. "So you need the only completely magic-free person in Equestria to nurse the living fury of the sun until she recovers enough to take her job back - and then to tend to you while you go through the same thing?"

Luna nodded. "We are... I am not looking forward to it," she confessed. "But Cadence and Shining Armor are already en route to Canterlot, that you may tend to her as well. I am sorry, Lero. I know the thought of leaving your beloveds behind to do your duty is painful. But you must. You are the only one who can do this."

Lero shook his head. "If I'm going to Canterlot, I'm taking everyone with me. I am not going to leave Rainbow Dash to wander alone in the streets like that. Or anyone else."

Luna regarded him for a long moment. "Dost thou not think that their other friends will tend to them? Applejack and Pinkie Pie are earth ponies; it will not hit them for some time, and they will recover soonest. At least one of the Bearers of the Elements will likely be able to watch the rest. If the Elements themselves do not protect them."

Lero shook his head again. "I won't leave them."

Luna's horn quivered as she looked at him. "I am... unused to being refused. I could give you a royal command. But I have read Twilight's reports, what you have told her of your history. An Amareican, whose people rebelled against your world's mightiest rulers over nothing more than a tax on tea. I hesitate to think what you would do for outright love."

Lero tried not to be sidetracked. "It wasn't that simple. But I will not leave them."

Luna nodded again and turned. "Bring them on the first train to Canterlot, then. You are needed."

***

The train was waiting for Lero and his herd in the morning. Lyra awoke first and was halfway done packing for everyone by the time Lero's eyes opened; Twilight roused herself next, and it took the other three to get Rainbow Dash onto her hooves. A trio of pegasi in the armor of the Royal Guard were hovering outside when they opened the door; the three did not so much as introduce themselves before they set to loudly clearing a path for Lero to the station.

Luna's dream-warning to everyone else had been suffused with her usual level of tact, Lero saw. Ponies were looking at him being escorted by the Royal Guard, and he could already hear the panic growing behind the increasingly-wild rumors that were springing up on the spot.

"It came with him!"

"No, he's immune, they're going to make a cure from him!"

"It's gonna turn us all into humans!"

"It's gonna turn us all into horses!"

"We're all gonna die!"

"Cookies make everything better!"

"Oh, hi, Pinkie!"

Lero didn't think it was physically possible for her to have distributed baked goods that fast, but suddenly everyone in sight was munching on a gingersnap. Lero looked down. The hand that wasn't holding a suitcase had a cookie in it. He tried a bite. He gave serious consideration to turning around, sitting down in Sugarcube Corner, and never leaving again. He kept walking. And chewing.

"Hi, Lyra! Are you and Lero and Twilight and Rainbow Dash going to go get the super-secret SEVENTH Element of Harmony that can only be wielded by a human?" Pinkie cheerfully inquired.

Lyra didn't bat an eye. "If we were, could I tell you?"

Pinkie huhed. "Probably not. Then it'd be a secret and you can't tell secrets so you'd have to tell me something else except then you'd be lying so you wouldn't tell me something else so you'd just try to insinuate it and hint at it like you just did so that's totally what you're doing! Can I come?"

Rainbow Dash yawned and rubbed her face with a hoof. "Pinkie, it is waaay too early in the morning to be this perky, even for you. You got the dream from Princess Luna same as everyone else, didn't you?"

Pinkie bounced in place. "Of course I did, silly! But she didn't say anything about Lero going anywhere on a super-secret spy mission with a whole train to himself and Royal Guards all around and huh I feel funny."

Pinkie stopped bouncing in place. Her eyes blinked several times and her head tilted to the side. "Whaaa... When did everything get so... flat?" She reached out a hoof and waggled it vaguely around. "Hey... Why can't I reach outward? Where'd it go?" Her cutie mark began to ripple on her flank, and her colors began to fade. Twilight gaped, aghast.

The Royal Guards grabbed Lero and raced for the train as fast as their wings could carry them. Rainbow Dash grabbed Twilight and Lyra each in one foreleg and raced after the guards.

***

"I guess it makes sense. Pinkie must have a ton of magic to do all the things she does. I guess it's reacting differently to ponies with strong magic than Luna thought." Twilight was slumped on her side in a bunk; Lero was sitting in a too-low chair. Lyra was keeping Rainbow Dash occupied by showing her how to do constrained-space calisthenics, isometric stretches and exercises in the front of the car.

Lero could reach across the car's width easily. He did, running his hand down Twilight's mane. "How're you feeling?"

Twilight gave a shudder. "I think I can feel it. I feel tired, and my horn feels empty. But maybe Luna was wrong. I do have more magic than a normal pony, a lot more, so maybe it has to go through a lot more before it'll start affecting me. Maybe the Princesses will all be okay already when we get there." She closed her eyes. "It's the scientific hypothesis. Test that first. Makes sense. Pick the best idea and it happens."

Lero felt a sort of reverse-tingle across his fingers as her mane dulled. Tears ran down his cheeks as she trailed off, her eyes losing focus. He brushed at her ears, but she gave no indication she noticed. He stood. "She's caught it," he told the other two mares. "She's... down." Then he dropped to his knees.

Lyra nodded. "Rainbow Dash has a lot of magic in her, too." The grey striations in the other mare's mane were even harder to see than in Lero's dream. Her sleek, muscled flanks were untouched, aside from the loss of color. She was simply standing in place, swaying with the train's motion. Lyra leaned against Lero's side. "I never thought I'd be particularly glad to be a weak caster," she commented. Lero could hear the strain in her voice as she fought to keep herself level in the presence of such an unbearable omen of her own fate.

Lero hugged her and pressed his face against her neck as he cried. Lyra cried back against him. Then Lero jerked back and gasped. "The engineers! What if they come down with it?"

Lyra opened the door at the front end of the car. "You'd better be at the brakes if they do."

***

Lyra was still aqua when they arrived. The engineers were still on their hooves as well. Lero had to drape Rainbow Dash across his back and pick up Twilight to get them off the train. The Royal Guards kept their distance, but cleared the path to the palace. One of them bawled orders at the others, and two pegasi flew off, then eight returned with a chariot. Their helmets didn't cover their nervous expressions, but they didn't bolt when Lero climbed in and set down the two greyed ponies. They didn't dare take to the air, though, not if one of them might lose their magic on the way.

None did; Lyra was still moving steadily when they reached the palace. She pulled Lero down and kissed him firmly. "I'll watch over Twilight and Rainbow," she told him. "You have to go make sure the sun continues to fall."

Lero sometimes thought he should try to learn more about the Still Way's philosophies, if only to understand Lyra's references to falling. She'd loved his description of how the sun and moon worked on his world, his half-remembered high school science classes and the explanations about the moon falling so fast around the Earth that it always fell sideways, never down. He kissed her for now, and held her tightly for a moment, then went with the guards.

Celestia was not grey; the sun upon her flank was as brightly golden as it had ever been. But her hair and mane were a listless pink and her wings were at her sides. A half-finished bowl of soup was on a small, portable table in front of her, and her head was on a pillow at the side of a long divan. The guards fell back as Lero approached. He felt obscenely cheered that her hair had gone first. He couldn't blame her for it, but he just really, really, really, really hated her mane. Even after her spell had eased him of his outright terror in her presence, he couldn't keep from being tense, couldn't keep from remembering that first meeting. He tried to push it aside for the moment.

"Lero," she said. Or mostly said. "Lewo," it came out, and he noticed the pile of handkerchiefs stacked next to the bowl. "Thag gyu bor cubbig." She gestured tiredly with a hoof over toward one wall. A grey pony was slowly meandering between two pillars. "Dudibul Serbice was the lasd pony do ged near, and loog whud habbened do him."

There was a loud sniffle from the other end of the hall as a door closed. "Auntie Celestia? I think I'm starting to come down with it now..."

***

It was a long eight weeks before the disease finally ran its course. Lero ran himself ragged tending to both alicorns along with Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Lyra. The aqua-hued unicorn didn't lose her colors until almost a week after reaching the palace, and was back to herself within two weeks. Rainbow Dash was mindlessly gnawing at grass for almost four days before she started to recover, and wasn't back in the air for five weeks. Twilight Sparkle couldn't speak a word for almost ten days, and hadn't the strength to get out of bed until after even Celestia had recovered. Then Luna came back, and it was another eight weeks of Lero tending to her.

He rather liked the stained-glass window he got out of it, though.

Author's Note:

After much back and forth (and maybe a little touch of nagging from me), SpinelStride has continued this fantastic tale which you can find here.

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