They had scurried through the city’s sewers for a day before they emerged at the dumping reservoir. They had waded through muck and sewage to rush back to the camp. They had to move fast. The Nightborn refugees struggled to keep up, but there were no complaints from them. Upon arriving, and after Cepheus allowed himself to be bathed and tended to by his wife, he met Andre in Starlight’s pavilion.
“I can talk to Persei,” he told a skeptical Andre. Starlight made a disinterested noise, and was sulking at the other end of the tent.
Andre didn’t seem to be convinced. “Did you see the way she killed Mayor Lavender? I don’t think anyone can get through to her.”
Cepheus sighed, looking down at his hooves. “I know she’s done terrible things, but…” he looked up at both stallions. “She’s my sister,” Starlight seemed to wince at his words. “She won’t hurt me. She’s a good pony. She just has a bit of a temper.”
“You mean she’s half-mad?” Andre said calmly. “Look, I know you love her because she’s your family, but she’s as bad as Ultra Violet now.”
Cepheus was finding it difficult to defend his sister after all she had done, but he believed that she could still be redeemed. “Just let me try. We have to use some kind of diplomacy. We can’t have another massacre like we had in Nocturnus. Perhaps we can talk to Nightmare Moon as well and try to arrange a deal where we escort the civilians to safety before the fighting begins.”
“There’s no point,” Starlight droned, staring at a bottle of gin in his hoof. “Not only is your idea naïve, but the situation has changed.” Andre seemed surprised by his pessimism. Starlight sighed, setting the bottle on his table. “I received reports from our agents all over Equestria that the Night Guard is abandoning their cities and rushing to Canterlot.”
Andre was shocked, and couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Why would Commander Necron abandon the ponies he was sworn to protect? It’ll be like the Nocturnus debacle all over again. The Nightborns he is leaving undefended are Nightmare Moon’s children, and I’m sure Nightmare Moon is not happy about this.”
Starlight nodded. “They’re burning hospitals too, and have you heard of the “cyst” chambers they found in Nocturnus? Necron has set up more of them in each city.”
Cepheus scratched his head with the back of his wing. “A cyst is a fluid filled pocket of flesh, kind of like an enclosed sac inside the body. By releasing the ponies inside each cyst chamber, we were in a sense releasing the contents.” He put a hoof up to his chin. “What does that mean?”
Starlight shrugged. “I have no idea, but what I do know is that the way the Night Guard are retreating and hiding behind Canterlot’s walls… it’s like they’re expecting something terrible to happen, and are fleeing. I think they are expecting the emergence of a fourth player in this conflict.”
“What?” Andre said, confused. “There’s us, the Scions, and the Night Guard. Are you saying some new variable will be introduced?”
Starlight seemed indifferent. “The interesting thing about the chambers is that they were not only containing captive Dayborns, but they were irradiated as well.
Andre stepped forward. “Could it be that they are experimenting with radiation and are planning to use it on us?”
Cepheus blinked. “Could that be Necron’s secret weapon? Some kind of nuclear device?” He shook his head, addressing again what had been weighing heavily on his mind. He stamped his hoof, showing enough anger to pique Starlight’s interest. “I will speak with my sister. When she shows up at Manehattan, I intend to confront her.”
Starlight started playing with a rubber band, stretching it and contracting it. “Did anypony notice that her eyes were somewhat jaundiced?”
“What?” Andre asked.
“Never mind,” Starlight said flatly. He had sat down on his chair with his hind-hooves set on the table, continuing to play with his elastic band.
Cepheus ignored Starlight. “I will talk to my sister, and I will attempt to make her give me the Element of Magic. Don’t try to stop me.”
Andre sighed. “It’s against my better judgment, but we have no choice here. Whatever Necron’s end game is, we have to be ready for it. It is better that we be united against a common enemy, than to be divided and fall against whatever the secret weapon is.”
“Acquiring the Element of Magic is important too,” Starlight muttered. “Meanwhile, we will make all haste to Manehattan. The entirety of Equestria is in upheaval. Riots have erupted all over the place. They are encouraged by the Scions’ victory in Nocturnus, and have become bolder. The Night Guard are already under strain, and while they are distracted, we can evacuate the Nightborn civilians while Cepheus “talks” to his sister.” The rubber in Starlight’s hoof broke. “And of course, I forbid anypony from going with him.”
Cepheus wanted to feel angry, but he realized he was only talking to a mirror. “Fine. I will face her alone.”
There was a moment of silence. Andre shifted uncomfortably. Starlight was staring at the bottle of gin again. Cepheus remained in his defiant pose.
A mare tore open the pavilion tent flaps and rushed inside. There were outraged cries from the guards posted outside, and they tried to grab her. The three stallions standing inside, stared in shock as the two guards wrestled the mare down. “Please!” she cried out. “I’m one of this clerks rescued from city hall,” she grunted, being pinned down. “I need to talk to whoever is in charge! It’s very important!”
Starlight made a dismissive gesture, bored by this development. “Let her speak,” he commanded the guards.
The two guards backed away, and went back outside to resume their watch.
The mare slowly stood up and dusted herself off. She had a violet tinge of fur, her eyes were a sharp, glassy pink, and her cutie mark was a stack of papers. “I was Lavender’s top secretary. I was also her sister,” she swallowed, wiping a tear from her eye. After pausing for a moment to suppress her grief, she continued. “I assume you all remember the container that we insisted you take with us?” She gestured at a stallion waiting outside, and he dragged it in. “Take a look see,” she said.
It was an ordinary looking crate, but Cepheus noticed a temperature control enchantment on it. It was very subtle, but the contents were being refrigerated.
Lavender’s sister cleared her throat. “A week before anypony knew the Scions were coming, Necron was distributing these crates to all the city’s barracks. Eventually, they were given to the city’s Nightborn only hospitals, and then, the leftovers were given to city hall before all the hospitals were burned.”
Andre had stepped forward, and lifted up the lid to the crate. There was a puzzled expression on his face as he reached in and took out a packet of some kind. “This has about two hundred of these things in them,” he said, examining the packet. There appeared to be a syringe, a small vial of sealed liquid, alcohol pads, and a small paper with medical jargon scribbled all over it. “What are these things?” he asked.
The secretary swallowed. “They are vaccinations. The Night Guards were inoculated first, then the other Nightborns in the city. It’s a common thing for the poor Dayborn hospitals to miss out on the premium medicines available at the Nightborn hospitals. So this was nothing unusual. Just another regular vaccination… or so we thought.” She swallowed, looking around nervously. “Commander Necron ordered us to dispose of the city’s remaining supply of the vaccines. I found this very odd, so I contacted the city hall in Manehattan. They reported the same thing. Lavender said that the Scions’ must not get a hold of these….”
Starlight and Cepheus had drawn close to the crate and were looking through the packages. Cepheus was intrigued. “Vaccinations for what?” he asked the secretary.
The mare seemed very uncomfortable. “Right before the hospitals were burned, the Night Guard took over the radiology departments. They were irradiating ponies, spraying them down with some aerosol, and shoving them all inside these things they called “Cyst” chambers.”
“So, we were right?” Andre asked. “These cyst chambers are indeed relevant?”
The secretary’s eyes went wide, she seemed horrified. “Those cyst chambers were traps Necron left for the Scions. When I got word that the chambers had been opened and the ponies released, I began to think… I used to have cancer, so I know.”
“I’m so sorry,” Cepheus whispered.
“Don’t be,” she said, staring grimly at the pegasus.
“A little known effect of radiation is that,” she paused, looking around at the three stallions. “It wipes out the patient’s immune system. The irradiated pony is completely defenseless against any infections.” She hesitated. “So… those Dayborn ponies who were locked up in those cyst chambers, their immune systems were destroyed.” She took a deep breath. “I believe that Necron introduced them to some kind of disease with the aerosol and locked them up, waiting for the Scions to arrive and liberate them.”
Starlight, Cepheus, and Andre gasped.
The mare pointed at the crate full of the vaccines. “All these things happening right before the Scions showed up is too much of a coincidence. The hospitals were burned so that the Scions’ ability to treat the disease has been crippled. They won’t be able to detect the disease until its symptoms show, and by then it will be contagious. Without a diagnosis, another thing the hospital labs would have enabled, they have no hope of curing their sick.”
Starlight looked at the crate, and then back at the secretary. “Are there more of these vaccines?”
“No,” she said definitively. “The only vaccines still available are all in Canterlot.”
They’re out of our reach, Cepheus thought grimly.
Cepheus approached the mare. “What can we do to stop this? Other than the vaccines, is there some kind of magical treatment we can use?”
The secretary began to cry. “I don’t know! I should have said something, but I overheard Lavender and Necron talking…” she became very still, her face stony, tears streaking down her face. “All I know is that, anypony not vaccinated…” she swallowed, “will be dead in seven to fourteen days.”
Cepheus, Andre, and Starlight exchanged glances.
Andre swallowed. “Necron’s secret weapon… it’s biological in nature.”
“The Scions have been exposed to the disease,” Starlight whispered. “As they continue their march to other cities, more cyst chambers will be opened, and the disease will spread far and wide.” Starlight grabbed one of the vaccination packets and held it up in the air. “We have to find out what these are intended to protect against! We have to find out what we’re up against!”
Andre shook his head. “We do not have the medical capabilities or the know-how! We have to inoculate all our Knights immediately. We have to issue a pandemic alert, the Nightborns may be protected, but our Dayborns are completely vulnerable! They’ll be infected the moment the Scions’ make contact with them!”
“Mother of Nightmare Moon…” Starlight whispered. “This isn’t about revolution anymore. This is about survival.”
“Persei,” Cepheus whispered. He stealthily grabbed one of the vaccine packets and hid it underneath his wing. “I hope I can get to you in time.”
“Mobilize the Knights!” Starlight called. “We have to march to Manehattan as soon as possible! We have to warn them that there is a deadly killer hiding among their ranks!”