Twilight lay under the blanket, the air becoming nearly unbearable, and through the floor she could feel the vibrations of her old friend pacing around as she seemed to search for her young sister. Something about the cloth kept the plague-ridden from finding them, and Twilight could feel the effects on herself as they lay there, her mind utterly lost as to where she was. It wasn't completely disorienting, but it was certainly confusing, and Twilight found herself constantly blinking to try and get rid of the odd vertigo-like feeling in her chest.
She lay there, holding as still as she possibly could, and trying desperately to comfort the shaking Sweetie Belle by her side. Rarity had gone through so much to protect her sister, it had driven her to the discovery of this enchantment on the blanket, it had driven her to the great rising pillars of diamond stone outside, and in the end she had managed to achieve what she had tried the hardest to do, she had protected Sweetie Belle.
Twilight's mind came to an odd halt as she felt the hoofsteps get closer, what if she accidentally tripped over the blanket? Would that give them away? Panic began to build in her heart, and she was too busy trying to sense the approaching Rarity to notice Lucid take a small needle from his coat and slip it into his exposed arm. Trixie wasn't.
The blanket suddenly lifted off of them all, the dark twisted eyes of Rarity glaring down at them in triumph as she pulled the sheet free. Lucid moved in a blur, giving Rarity barely a moment to process the biped as it grabbed her head in both it's hands. With a sickening crack, it broke her neck, her head now facing directly behind her. Sweetie Belle's eyes went wide and Twilight rushed to block her view, Trixie managed to lift herself up on her three legs and stand next to Lucid, giving him a distrustful glare for a moment before turning her attention back to the plague-ridden designer.
Another sickening crack echoed through the room and Rarity's head turned back around to face them. "Well that was a horrible greeting," she said with a small degree of anger. Trixie's horn lit up with magic and a barrage of basic arcane blasts began to fly at her opponent. They each collided perfectly, but Rarity didn't budge, didn't even flinch as they struck her. Trixie realized too late that she was not going to accomplish anything with this and soon found herself flying against a nearby wall. She hit it and a loud thump filled the air, then she slid to the ground.
Lucid looked to her, his expression unreadable behind his mask, but was soon caught in a pair of magical manacles. He was lifted from the ground and placed firmly against a nearby wall. He struggled against his bonds but to no avail, he was inescapably pinned. Rarity smiled incredibly wide as she watched her prey struggle in her grasp. With another flash of her horn Lucid's body fell limp, and then began to spasm. "I'm sure dear nurse red heart won't mind if I borrow that spell for a moment." She stated, watching as he began to writhe in pain.
"What are you doing?!" Trixie shouted from the floor as she watched him smack his head against the wall uncontrollably.
"Oh I'm doing him a favor dear. He had this horrible poison in his veins, so I've borrowed a memory from a friend and now I'm detoxing him." Rarity's tone held a dark undercurrent. Like a doctor who was going to amputate a limb, even though there were better options.
"You're going to kill him!"
"I'm going to free him!"
Trixie tried to cast a spell, but her horn only sparked pitifully. She looked to Twilight with hopeful eyes, but Twilight seemed to be having issues of her own.
Twilight couldn't bring herself to function. She knew what she should be doing but she just couldn't do it. Nothing was stopping her, or preventing her, she just... couldn't...
Sweetie Belle soon ran around Twilight, who was still immobile, and made a break for Rarity. "Sis!" She exclaimed as she approached, wailing heavily as she made her way to her demented sibling. Something happened to Rarity then, and for a moment her eyes lost all signs of madness, her magic ended, and she was fully envolped in the moment with Sweetie Belle.
By the time the plague part of her brain was able to regain control the moment had already passed. Lucid had fallen to the floor, barely able to move, and Trixie had managed to lift an odd blue needle from the man's hand. It pierced deep into Rarity's flesh and the plunger was quickly squeezed, sending the liquid into her blood stream. She had just enough strength to pull the needle out and toss it away, but she was quickly overcome. She fell to the ground almost immediately and her eyes closed.
Lucid lay still for a moment before managing to pull himself from the ground with some unknown pool of strength. He moved to examine Trixie, and after ensuring that nothing was broken he pulled her onto his back. Twilight managed to gain control of herself and lifted Rarity onto her back, much like she had done with Rainbow Dash before, minus the never ending struggle to balance. Sweetie Belle slunk along next to them, always glancing at her sister with a worried look.
The walk home was silent, both to avoid the attention of the plague-ridden, but on a higher level they were all just too ashamed to talk of anything. They had all failed, and if Sweetie Belle hadn't been there... All hope would have died.