Chapter 2- The Sickness
Three days passed by without leaving much of a chance for Rainbow to rest. More ponies had fallen sick at the weather facility, and she was working extremely hard to make up for the absentees. However, it was exhausting, trying to make up for everypony. Sure, there were others to help her out, but being who she is, she tried taking as much on by herself as manageable. At least she would be going to the Crystal Empire in the morning and finally have some time to rest.
She pushed through the door to her house, dropping her lunch pail on the floor and dragging herself upstairs into her room. Rainbow collapsed onto her bed, and closed her eyes without bothering to crawl under the blankets. Sleep crashed down upon her as soon as her eyes were shut.
Dreams instantly took hold of her mind, sending her back to that mysterious black unicorn. He was asleep this time, in the seat across from her. They were on a train, its rumbling motors rocking the car ever so slightly. There was an orange pegasus seated beside her, Scootaloo perhaps? It wouldn’t be the first time she’d been in a dream like this, however every time she was, there was something different about her. Yet, every time she tried to place what it was, she could never tell, her dreams were always a bit obscure there.
Rainbow watched the land race by outside the window and wondered briefly where they were going. She shifted her gaze to the stallion that haunted her dreams, watching his sleeping form. Nopony else was quite as well defined in her mind’s eye as he was. The cyan pegasus shook her head, then noticed that something jangled around her neck when she did.
This was the first time Rainbow ever noticed the stopwatch. Opening the silver trinket, she observed its contents. A stylized dragon was engraved in the lid, seeming to guard the clock below it. The clock itself was a mystery in its own way. It counted up to thirteen and had three hands; one for days perhaps? She wasn’t exactly sure how twenty-six hour days were supposed to work, but she didn’t question it. This was a dream after all. But the thing that puzzled her most was the fact that the hands were spinning counterclockwise. It was counting down, and something warned her that, if it were to reach the final hour, something horrible would happen.
Suddenly, the train shook and clouds overtook the sky outside. The temperature plummeted instantly, shocking the pegasus out of her thoughts. The train skidded to an abrupt halt, waking the unicorn across from her. Rainbow pricked her ears as she heard muffled screams coming from the car before theirs. The car door slowly opened and darkness seemed to fill everything. When her eyes adjusted to the shadows, she was greeted with a nightmarish creature. It was an alicorn-like creature made of shadows with crystalline blue eyes that glowed. Its size was easily greater than that of Celestia’s, and its presence filled the room. A clock was embedded in its chest, ticking erratically.
Rainbow had seen this creature somewhere before. It was a creature that didn’t even exist, but she had a nagging feeling that she had faced many of them before. They were wielders of the Void, born from its very depths. Then she remembered their name: the Fallen.
Rainbow’s eyes shot open. Moonlight filtered through the window and across her bed, creating unique shapes and shadows. She must’ve slept three or so hours, but felt no better for it. Weariness dragged at her bones as she propped herself up on one elbow and lit the candle on the nightstand. She grabbed the journal and quill at her bedside and documented her latest dream.
Setting the book back in its rightful place, she dropped back to her pillow, hoping that sleep would find her again. However, the pegasus found herself staring at the ceiling for hours as spontaneous thoughts drifted in and out of her mind, most of them about work. It would be a relief not having to go to work in the morning. Instead, she would do nothing except ride a train to the Crystal Empire with Soarin and watch the race.
Comforted by the thought of an entire day to rest, she folded her wings and gazed out the window to Luna’s moon. Silently, she prayed for restful sleep, devoid of the unicorn that haunted her so often. Sleep had almost engulfed her once more when something passed before the moon’s lunar splendor. Rainbow blinked twice to make sure her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. There it was again, a silhouette flying back and forth across the moon. Was it an owl? No, it was far too large. A pegasus perhaps?
Then the figure smashed through her window and skidded to a halt on the floor. It was indeed a pegasus… and one she recognized. It was the same purple pegasus from the Weather Facility. Rainbow leapt out of her bed and swiftly lunged for one of the shards of glass to use as a weapon in case it came to that.
The pegasus laughed at her. Rainbow knew she must look ridiculous to the stranger with her tangled mane, trying to sustain an aggressive stance despite her sleep deprivation. But it didn’t matter. This pegasus was intruding, and she intended to drive him out.
“Get out!” she growled around the glass shard gripped in her teeth.
“Oh! The legendary Rainbow Dash is upset because she can’t get her beauty sleep?” he retorted.
Rainbow Dash intended to lunge forward, but found that her hooves wouldn’t budge. Panicking, she glanced down and noticed that she was standing in some sort of liquid. She dropped the glass as she struggled to free herself.
“What have you done!” she yowled.
“I used magic,” the golden-maned stallion replied simply.
“But you’re a pegasus! You can’t use magic!” Rainbow felt her voice rising. She was trying to keep the fear out of her voice by converting it to anger.
“Well then, you don’t seem to know much about magic now do you? There are more types of magic than the sorcery performed by unicorns and alicorns. I specialize in alchemy, dear savior. That fluid you are standing in is a potion of my own creation.”
“Savior?” the cyan mare muttered.
“That’s right…” the purple pegasus stated, weaving around Rainbow’s immobilized form. “You are the one who has and will save us…” he whispered into her ear.
“I don’t understand,” Rainbow growled. “What are you talking about?”
“Everything will be revealed in time. For now, I have a proposition for you. Surely, you’ve noticed the fever going around lately?”
“Yes.” Rainbow had a bad feeling as to where he was going with this.
“The virus is known as Dragon’s Tongue. It is a disease that shows no other symptoms other than fever and extreme fatigue. However, after six days’ time…” He dramatically spun and glared directly into her eyes. His were the most unusual grey color. “That’s when you realize that the fever never stops rising. It just gets hotter and hotter until it melts the host from the inside…”
“That’s horrible!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in horror.
“Luckily, I have developed a cure.” He reached into a satchel that she hadn’t noticed he’d been wearing, bringing forth a vial filled with a glowing orange liquid. “You can use it to bring those close to you back from the verge of death.”
Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “What are you asking for in return?”
“Your precious light…” The pegasus turned his back to her and made for the window. “It’ll all make sense soon enough.”
“Wait! You… Whoever you are, you can’t just leave me here like this!” She flapped her wings furiously, trying to free herself.
“Here.” He said, smashing a potion at her hooves. The liquid counteracted the other freeing her, but she was too tired to try and attack the intruder. She swayed back and forth, glaring at the purple and gold pegasus as he climbed out the window and spread his wings.
He turned his head and said, “Oh, and if you dare think about declining my offer… Things around here are going to start getting very grim for you.”
He took off into the night sky, and Rainbow stared after him, scared and hopeless.
The next day, she rose and immediately took off for the Ponyville Hospital, determined to get the cure out and circulating as soon as possible. She hadn’t slept since the pegasus broke into her house. Even had she wanted to, she wanted to make sure the potion was safe. Rainbow had flown the cure to Twilight to run tests, which wound up taking until dawn. Luckily, it seemed to have no harmful side effects, yet it was unknown if the solution would actually work.
“The only way to know is to just let them take it and see if they recover,” Twilight had told her.
“And if it does, I’ll see if I can copy the formula and make more.”
Dash just hoped it would. She landed before the Ponyville Hospital, skidding to a halt in front of the door. The rainbow-maned pegasus charged in and rushed up to the desk, startling the nurse behind it.
“I have something,” she said, setting the bottle on the counter.
The nurse lifted the glasses off her nose and squinted at the curious orange liquid. “What is it?” she asked.
“It’s a cure for Dragon’s Tongue, the fever that’s been spreading around. It’s not guaranteed to work, but it’s the best option we’ve got.”
“I don’t know…” the nurse replied skeptically. She leaned back in her chair and looked Rainbow in the eyes. “How can I be sure this is safe?”
“I had Princess Twilight run tests on it throughout the night. If it doesn’t work, it’ll be no more harmful than water,” Rainbow promised.
“Well, I guess if the Princess says it’s safe, then I’ll give it a shot,” said the nurse, picking up the potion and squinting at it again.
“Thanks,” Rainbow said, turning to leave. “And if it does work, contact Twilight and she’ll make more. Just try to make sure they get it before the sixth day they’ve been sick, or else terrible things will happen.”
“What kind of things?” she asked.
“They’ll die. And it won’t be painless. Just make sure it doesn’t happen.” Rainbow exited the hospital and took off for her next destination, Cloudsdale.
As she navigated the cloudless sky, weariness bore down on her like a cool stone. She hadn’t had much sleep at all in the last three days. It was a miracle she could even function. Rainbow forced herself to the cloudy city regardless, determined to get the other bottle Twilight made to her hometown. And if Spitfire died… both she and Soarin would be devastated.
Wait a second; there was something about Soarin that she felt she was supposed to remember.
She dug through her sleep-muddled brain as she flew, reaching for the answer.
Then it hit her. The race! Rainbow Dash had promised Soarin that she’d be there. However, she couldn’t abandon those that needed her. Surely he’d understand, right? Well, she’d make him,
because her current task was just too important. She knew it had to be done as soon as possible or ponies would start dying.
While lost in her thoughts, she collided with another pegasus midflight. Rainbow and the other pony dropped in a tangle of wings and hooves before righting themselves moments later.
“Sorry!” Rainbow apologized; then she realized who she had crashed into. “Soarin?”
“Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?” he asked, his green eyes scanning over her.
“I’m fine,” said Rainbow, “Listen, I’ve got to go to Cloudsdale to deliver something.”
“But you’ll miss the race,” Soarin said, disappointment touching his voice.
“Trust me. It’s extremely important. It’s too much to explain right now, but I think I’ve found a cure for Dragon’s Tongue.”
“What?” Soarin had a perplexed expression on his face.
“The fever that’s been striking the pegasi around Ponyville and Cloudsdale. Listen, I’m sorry about your race, but I’ll make it up to you somehow.”
“No, I’ll go with you,” Soarin stated.
Rainbow Dash was so surprised her wings missed a beat. “What? But, why?”
Soarin shrugged. “I was probably going to miss the train anyways. And, you don’t look so well.
You need to rest.”
“That obvious, huh? You’re probably right. I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately,” she admitted, a bit ashamedly. She was pretty sure Spitfire wouldn’t have been caught looking unkempt. Rainbow was positive that she looked horribly disarrayed.
“Don’t worry, after we deliver your package, you can take a nap at my place,” he promised.
So together they flew towards the hospital… and unknowingly, their fates were about to be sealed.
