//------------------------------//
// Prologue, a strange illness. 
// Story: Insomniac 
// by Phoenix Quill 
//------------------------------//

Nopony in Equestria really knew where this strange new disease came from, nor how it managed to sweep across the nation so quickly. All of the correct precautions were taken, all non essential businesses were closed, and home delivery became the norm. 

For most ponies, everything was almost normal, the lights stayed on, ponies went to work at essential jobs, or stayed home with pay from the royal coffers now open to help everypony in need. The only real sign to an outside observer that there was an illness going around, was that the streets were all abandoned.

Naturally, a weakened Equestria brought about some of the most insufferable problems for Rarity and her friends. Celestia had seen it fit to boost her royal guard in Canterlot to protect that city built into a mountainside, but when it came to the rest of the country, they were either on their own, or relied on the guards at the nearest outpost. 

Unfortunately for Rarity, when it came to problems big enough, or, she secretly wondered too expensive for the military to handle, that meant that she would soon be getting a visit from Twilight to go and save the world. Again.

Now don't take it the wrong way, Rarity was always fond of visitors, especially from her five best friends, but ever since the pandemic gripped Equestria, she dreaded anytime she saw purple headed her way. It had seemed that there was almost a seventy percent chance that Equestria was in peril and it was all up to her and her friends to save the world, again.

Now at first it was interesting enough, anything to get a break from the monotonous nothing to do but collect unemployment checks for her temporarily closed shops, or sewing dresses that nopony would wear since they had nowhere to go. But by the time the Flim Flam Brothers from trying to take over Equestria by claiming that the disease was a hoax from Celestia, and they sent a small army of so called "truthers"  to put themselves on the throne instead. Well, despite how unprecedented that was, by the time it happened, Rarity and a few of her friends had found that they had a bingo on that years pandemic card.

Not too long after that, Rarity found out that she'd caught it. No doubt from getting too close to one of the protesters while trying to save the princesses. At this point, a vaccine had been just available that day, and Rarity wanted to be protected from that whole bit of nonsense as soon as possible, only to walk away with a shot in the flank, and the nurse saying that hopefully the vaccine will help her to get over it all sooner. 

The next two weeks were a blur in her memory, she placed a black ribbon at her door to mark that she had the plague that had been ravaging Equestria for a little more than a year now. After that, she remembered tossing and turning in bed, wheezing and coughing constantly, the feeling of immense pressure on her chest. A runny nose and sneezes showed up and left several times in that blur, along with several mugs of different teas, herbs, roots, berries, pills, tinctures, all that were supposed to help her to get over it faster.

After two weeks, she didn't feel any better, but her mind had adjusted to this feeling in her chest like it's being crushed, and slowly, her brain felt like a fog were lifting, leaving Rarity in a state of shock over how poorly she'd come out the other side. With a clean bill of health from her doctor, she went home and felt no better than she had yesterday, or a week ago for that matter. 

This is where our story begins.