When the gang FINALLY got to Canterlot, they were exhausted. But all of them, even Inferno and Ruby, knew they must push on.
Once they passed the gates, things got scarier. Mist and fog gathered around their hooves, spiderwebs collected everywhere, and no ponies was seen. Buildings were boarded up, but it seemed as if nopony had gone to the capital city in moons. Even Solana and Lunar were gone.
"This is scary," Hummingbird shuddered.
"But it has a logical, and obvious, explanation." Ruby said. "Since the Plague multiplied, it must've been faster to consume everypony in one gulp."
Suddenly, trash cans to the right were knocked over and Elusive jumped into Scarlett's hooves. After a rat jumped out from the shadows of the alley, Elusive chuckled nervously towards his twin and left her. They continued down the main road but rats were the only movement.
"It's quiet," Pizza rubbed her chin with her hoof. "Too quiet.." And then there was another rat, this time accompanied by a sparrow hunting for scraps.
Once they reached Canterlot Castle, everypony prepared themselves for a scare. But there was nothing, not even rats. Of course, there was a mess inside and a few windows were broken, but no threat. Sundown could feel a dark presence, but he couldn't put his hoof on whether it was the Plague or not. Inferno squawked quietly and lit up her wings so they could see.
"Where did all the Plagues go?" Scarlett asked, looking behind the royals' thrones for traps or threats.
"To be honest, I'm not sure." Zach answered. "But our safety I cannot assure."
"I feel something dark," Sundown said. "As if the Plague is right next to us."
Hummingbird looked up. "It's not next to us!! It's above us!"
Then the Plague dropped down, looking for a battle resulting in a full belly.