Starswirl trotted uneasily behind Princess Luna as they made their way through Canterlot. They were heading, he noticed, in the direction of the Canterlot hospital. He couldn't help but notice Luna's distress every time they moved out of the shade and into the sunlight. Clearly, she was not accustomed to life during the day. As they entered the building proper, the ponies within seemed caught off guard by the sudden appearance of royalty. Either gossiping amongst themselves or bowing before her as she passed, the Princess didn't seem to acknowledge these ponies much beyond the occasional nod.
It wasn't long before they left the public areas of the hospital behind them. Wherever they were headed, it was definitely not accessible by just anyone. Midway through their journey, Luna took a sudden turn and entered one of the hospital rooms, Starswirl hot on her heels. Inside, he found an old stallion, trembling in his sleep upon a sterile white mat. The unicorn hesitated uneasily. "Is he...?" Starswirl began, approaching the bed cautiously.
Luna nodded. "He is afflicted, like others here. We have kept many from the other villagers as to not cause a panic. We trust you will be discrete about our business here as well."
Starswirl returned the gesture. "Do we know anything about this disease?"
"It is of magical origin. If you wish to know more, you must see for yourself."
It took a moment for Starswirl's sleep-deprived mind to understand exactly what the Princess implied. Approaching the sleeping stallion, his horn was suddenly surrounded by a blue-black glow, which he touched on the stallion's forehead. Instantly the unicorn could feel the wild emotions brewing in the earth pony's mind, a mix of fear and desperation.
As he continued to pry, Luna's own horn began to glow, and suddenly his vision was consumed by utter, unforgiving darkness. Before the unicorn’s startled breath could leave his body, the scene changed again. They were no longer inside the hospital, but instead in what looked like Dodge City. A strange, ominous haze lay in all directions, limiting visibility to but a few feet. Starswirl’s head shot around wildly, trying to understand just what terrible fate had befallen him.
"Worry not. It was our intention to bring us here. You must see it for yourself," the forceful voice of Princess Luna echoed behind him, early scaring the wary unicorn to death.
"We're-"
"We are inside the mind of the afflicted, that is correct."
Starswirl sighed, taking in his surroundings. It was deadly silent, as if completely vacant, and the choking haze that surrounded them only contributed to the eerie, unnatural atmosphere of the place.
"Unless the sheer creepiness of this place can send a pony into a coma, I don't see anything that could cause all this."
"We must locate the afflicted. They are trapped here, and we must find out why.”
"You make it sound so simple," Starswirl muttered as he continued to look around. Luna gave an inquisitive 'hmm?', and Starswirl shook his head. "Nothing. Let's be on our way."
The two made their way across the false landscape, moving at a slow, cautious pace. With such low visibility, Starswirl wasn't about to go any faster without good reason, and Luna seemed to agree. Starswirl had been to Dodge City a number of times, but he did not recognize the individual whose mind they were now traveling inside. They needed to locate the stallion, and the most obvious places to look were his home or where he worked.
"Do you know anything about this stallion?"
"Enough to know where to look. You are quick to catch on, Starswirl of Canterlot," Princess Luna responded, quickly taking the lead.
"And what if I was unable to deduce this? Would you have let us wander this place until I did?"
"Perhaps. We needed to know if you were as intelligent as they say you are."
The Princess of the Night led him to an old barn near the edge of town. The age of the structure was evident even through the haze; parts of it were missing or partially destroyed, the paint was now an ugly gray color, and sides that were intact were overgrown with unchecked vegetation. The eerie scene only grew more unnerving as they approached, hearing laughter coming from inside. With a lingering look at Luna, Starswirl took the lead once more, pushing tentatively through the large doors of the structure with the Princess close behind.
Starswirl had thought the circumstances couldn’t get any stranger, but again he was proven wrong. Inside, they found a young foal prancing happily about, as if ignorant to its bizarre surroundings. The young colt was definitely the stallion they had seen in the hospital, but much, much younger. "It’s just like how I remember it!" the colt shouted happily as he ran around, excited about something the two visitors could not see.
"Are you...alright, sir?" Starswirl asked tentatively, the foal stopping dead the moment he spoke.
"I don't want to leave! You can't make me!" the little pony lamented, ears flattening against its skull as it fled deeper into the barn.
"I didn't…” the unicorn trailed off with a frown.
"He cannot tell who we are, Starswirl of Canterlot, or what we want. This is but a memory, one he does not wish to part with," Princess Luna explained, staring into the darkness of the barn. "We are enacting some part of the memory. No matter what we say, he will only hear what this memory dictates."
"How do we get him to realize it’s all a dream?"
"We must destroy the source," Luna stated, her expression unchanging.
"And how do we find the source?"
"We cannot," The Princess said bluntly, surprising Starswirl. "The haze you see around us prevents us from locating it in this world. In the real world, it does not have any distinct magical presence."
"That's quite the problem,” Starswirl responded with a thoughtful blink.
"This is not the only way it manifests. There are other, more violent cases down in Dodge City."
At this, a thought struck Starswirl. "Did you or your sister find any patterns related to the severity of the plague? Where they live, how old they are, that sort of thing?"
"A number of the earliest cases of the disease were moved from Dodge City to Canterlot. Their condition became like this after they arrived," Princess Luna explained, looking off into the barn absently, thinking. "You believe the change indicates a closer proximity to the source?"
Starswirl nodded with a smile. "It’s a start, at least."
The process of leaving the dream world was as easy as entering, at least for the Princess. Starswirl couldn't help but pity the old stallion lying before them as they came to their senses. They could do nothing for him now, but their objectives were clear. If nothing else, they might be able to prevent any more ponies from suffering a similar fate.