//------------------------------// // The First Victim // Story: Epidemic: Equestria // by Sunstar //------------------------------// Cloudsdale drifted peacefully under Luna's moon. Luna had outdone herself as usual. Thousands of stars shimmered beautifully under streaks of hazy whiteness Luna had named the Milky-Way. The night was calm and peaceful. No breeze stirred the clouds. Cloudsdale was a beautiful place. Built entirely out of clouds, it was the only city of its kind. graceful spires of soft white puffiness reached for the moon. Skyscrapers decorated the Cloudsdale skyline. "Spitfire! wait!" A white stallion wearing a Wonderbolt uniform raced after a golden mare with a fiery mane and tail. Spitfire didn't answer. She kept reaching behind herself with her head to try and bite her own wings, a feat that was impossible due to the fact both mare and stallion were flying. Soarin was worried. Spitfire was acting crazy. Ahead, Spitfire succeeded in catching her wing. She jerked her head back with a mouthful of golden feathers. These she spat out. Soarin was tiring. He'd lost track over how many times they had lapped Cloudsdale, and his problem with numbers wasn't to blame. He was drenched with sweat from the unexpected workout. Already, he had called the other Wonderbolts, but nopony had shown up. Wait, Far ahead, several uniformed figures dove in front of Spitfire. One figure, nearly impossible to see on account of her small black body, opened her large black wings. She was the only one not wearing a uniform. Now Soarin knew why the other Wonderbolts had not shown up right away. They had gone to get Dainty Dish. Dainty flipped her body around so she was flying backwards. She brought all four legs up and bent them slightly. Spitfire spat out another mouthful of feathers. Dainty matched her speed with that of Spitfire and slowly moved in closer to the Wonderbolt until her hooves were touching Spitfires heaving, sweaty chest and undercarriage. She flared her wings, bringing Spitfire down to the cloud below. Soarin caught up to them as the other Wonderbolts all landed. Dainty was breathing a little hard, her large wings open to cool them off. "Spitfire, calm down. Tell us what is wrong." Dainty asked. Spitfire growled, her mouth flecked with bloody foam. Again she reached back and bit her wing. With a hard jerk, the wing tore free of her body in a violent crimson spray of blood that arched up into the night. Spitting out the wing, Spitfire turned and attacked her other wing. "Spitfire! Somebody quick, call an ambulance! We have to stop her from trying to tear her other wing off!" This came from Iceberg as the pale ice colored stallion tackled Spitfire, bringing the mare to the ground. Spitfire thrashed and bit any anything and anyone that tried to come close. A junior member took off for the nearest phone booth. "We have to restrain her somehow!" Dainty cried out, "Why is she doing this?" "I don't know!" Soarin dove out of the way of Spitfires flailing limbs, "She missed practise today too!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dash turned on her radio first thing in the morning right before making breakfast for herself and Scootaloo. The little orange filly was staying with Rainbow Dash while she completed flight school because Rainbow Dash's cloud mansion was close to Cloudsdale. Scootaloo walked into the kitchen groggily. She collapsed into a chair with a soft poof. "Never again." Scootaloo plopped her head on the table, "Am I spending half the night with wing cramps." "Next time, stop practising when I tell you to." Rainbow Dash chuckled as she rubbed the filly's wings. The once tiny wings had grown large and strong. Already, Dash could feel the still developing muscles under the skin and feathers. She knew Scootaloo's wings would grow even bigger. She hopped Scootaloo's body would grow more too, or they'd have another Dainty Dish on their hooves. "Breaking News! The wonderbolt Spitfire has died." the radio show Dash was listening to got replaced by a news bulletin, "Reports say Spitfire managed to tear off her wings and jump to her death despite the efforts of Dainty Dish and the other Wonderbolts to stop her. An Necropsy is pending. We'll bring you more as we get it. This has been a report of Komopony News." "Whoopee! They will hold tryouts and you'll win for sure!" Scootaloo shrank back at Dash's glare, "I mean, boo hoo, Spitfire can't be dead!" Dash's mind was blank. How? Why? filled her mind. Spitfire loved her wings. Why would she do something like that? The story had to be bogus! That's it, Pinkie Pie must have bribed the news station. It will come back on saying it was a joke, that Spitfire was alive and well. Dash stared at the radio. 'Come on, come on! say its just a cruel joke by Pinkie Pie!' Dash knew she was only trying to fool herself. While Pinkie loved pranks, even she wouldn't go this far, would she? No, Pinkie isn't that cruel. 'I'll perform three sonic rainbooms in a row if you come back and say it is a joke!' "Dash, why are you threatening the radio with a hammer?" Scootaloo finished her breakfast, "See you later. I've got school." "All schools are closed as are all shops and businesses in light of this tragedy." the radio news anchor said. "Yes! a full day of crusading!" Scootaloo thrust a hoof into the air, nearly upsetting her glass of milk. Dash turned, "It's gotta be a joke! Spitfire can't die! Shes got fans, her team, what if they disband the Wonderbolts? I'll never get to be a Wonderbolt! I'll have to get a job at the Rainbow Factory, which means no more time to fly, my wings will shrivel up from, what was that word Twilight used? disuse, and I'll never fly again!" "RAINBOW DASH, GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" Scootaloo took the hammer Dash was holding, "First, you have a job as the head weather mare of Ponyville, and second, they won't disband the Wonderbolts!" She brought the hammer down on the floor, which made no noise. Scootaloo brought the hammer down this time on her glass which shattered, startling Dash. "Have fun, scoots. I'm going to go see Twilight." Rainbow Dash took off, returned to clean up the breakfast mess, and left again, only to return again to clean up the broken glass, leaving Scootaloo watching her with a puzzled look on her face. Dash left again. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I see." Twilight nodded, listening to the stories the Wonderbolts were telling her of Spitfires last moments, "It sounds like Spitfire might have had Encephalitis, an infection in her brain." Spike was browsing the bookshelves as Twilight talked. He knew that Twilight would send a request in for samples of Spitfire's brain to confirm her theory. Absentmindedly, he pulled a book from the shelves. "Strange Medical Mysteries?" Spike opened the book. He found a section describing what Spitfire had done, "Twilight! look at this!"