//------------------------------// // Chapter 57: A Perplexing Pony Plague // Story: The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM // by FireOfTheNorth //------------------------------// Chapter LVII: A Perplexing Pony Plague “There’s ailments all around us in everything we touch and see . . .” While the news that Shadowmere had found something that could point us in the direction of the other Elements of Harmony was welcome, the fact that we’d have to go to the Imperial City to find it was not. I didn’t think anypony really knew we’d stolen the Equine Scroll, but I figured Star-Swirl probably suspected. Still, it was the only way we were going to find out about the Elements, and it would have to be done sooner or later. We headed back to Whitetrot to rest up a bit, and left for Seclusion the next day with the Equine Scroll. As luck would have it, a ship was leaving that very day for Leyawhinny. I just hoped it didn’t run into any “complications” this time. We sailed past the Pegasari Dominion with no problems. Either the Blackwings didn’t know we were on this ship, or they didn’t consider us worth the effort. Either way was fine with me; I got a lot more time in with the first volume of Minotauran Inquiries. We passed through the windigo blizzard, raging as expected, but the attacks and damage weren’t significant enough to impede our progress. Four days after we left Seclusion, the ship reached Leyawhinny late in the morning. Imperial ships blocked our path as we tried to near the docks. One of the military frigates about our size pulled up alongside our ship. Once the two ships were steady enough, an Imperial officer stepped over onto our ship. I had been up on the deck waiting for us to pull into Leyawhinny, and was in a perfect position to overhear what he had to say to the captain. “I’m sorry,” the officer, a bright orange unicorn stallion, said, “You won’t be allowed to dock at Leyawhinny today, I’m afraid.” “Why not?” the ship’s captain, a dark black earth pony mare, asked, “All of my cargo is bound for here and Bridle.” “There’s an ongoing disaster in the town,” the Imperial replied, “A plague nopony understands has taken most of Leyawhinny. Until it dissipates, the Emperor has declared the town under quarantine. Nopony in, nopony out.” “That’s terrible and all,” the captain said, “But what am I supposed to do now?” “I suggest you carry on to Bridle and unload your goods there,” the Imperial said, evidently getting tired of turning away angry ship captains, “Hopefully when you return the crisis will be over.” “That’s a real comfort,” the captain said, “You do realize what a pain it is to unload all the goods in the bottom of my hold first, don’t you?” “Of course I do,” he said with a sigh, “I’ve been told that by every ship captain I’ve had to stop. Now please, just leave quietly.” The ship’s captain grumbled the whole time the officer made his way back to his own ship, but complied with the Legion’s wishes and took us south, toward Bridle. I watched as Leyawhinny began to draw away. Surely there was some way to stop the plague. I was in a hurry to get to the Imperial City, but maybe just one stop wouldn’t hurt. “Excuse me,” I asked the ship’s captain before we got too far from the city, “Is there any chance you could drop us off before we get to Bridle?” ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ It turned out the captain was more than happy to accommodate my request. Down the shore was a small place called Fishermare’s Dock. At a signal from her ship, a small boat came out and picked us up, bringing us in to the shore, no questions asked. The entire process seemed a little suspect, but I didn’t ask the captain how she knew what this place was, and we left without the additional cost she could’ve placed on us for the extra distance we’d traveled. The trip to Leyawhinny wasn’t long at all. Passing through the forest, we managed to come in sight of it by late afternoon. Of course, the Legion had placed a barricade well back on the path to the city with guards posted to keep curious ponies from getting to close to the quarantined town. Camped nearby, just off the path, was a group of zebras I recognized immediately. “Sar’kei?” I called, hoping that it really was who I thought it was. “Sapphire, back in Unicornica again?” he asked as he rose from his campfire, “It’s been a month since we last talked, my friend.” “I know, it’s been a while,” I said, “But now I’m back.” “Sar’kei is glad to hear of your return, but if you wish to enter Leyawhinny, you may have bad fortune.” “I heard,” I said, “I was hoping maybe there was some way I could help.” “The Imperial soldiers will not let you near,” the zebra said, shaking his head, “This plague will kill all, I fear.” “Not if I can help it,” I said, “Is there anyone around that might know about it?” “Only in Leyawhinny itself would there be a witness, and you cannot enter without contracting the sickness.” “There’s got to be some way,” I said, “Maybe if I can get to the bottom of this fast enough.” “You cannot go near without getting sick,” Sar’kei said, “But I may have something that will do just the trick.” He pulled several bottles out of his packs that were lying in the camp nearby. I took one of the large phials as he passed it to me, and my friends did the same. “What are these?” I asked. “For a day these will grant you disease immunity,” he explained, “Use them to save this suffering community.” “Thanks Sar’kei,” I said, “You’re a lifesaver.” “Do you have a plan?” Mystic asked as I led the way off the path and into the forest. “Yes,” I said, gradually making my way toward Leyawhinny, “We’re going to get in there, find somepony to ask about this strange sickness, and then cure it.” “And if we can’t?” she asked. “These potions only last a day,” I said, drinking mine down, “If we can’t find a cure before they run out, we’ll have to leave. I just hope it doesn’t come to that.” Sneaking though the forest to get to Leyawhinny was fairly easy. It seemed that the sickness had either killed off or scared away all the local wildlife. I preferred to think it was the latter. No ponies waited outside of Leyawhinny’s gates, though large Imperial barricades with quarantine signs made it clear nopony was meant to enter. A separate, smaller door led into the guard tower beside the main gate, and it wasn’t barricaded quite as heavily. After shoving the barricades away, we discovered the reason why. The key was lying nearby, but the door could only be unlocked from the inside. Mystic coated the gap between the door and the stone with a blast of superheated magic, and the lock mechanism melted off, allowing us to enter. The streets of Leyawhinny were completely abandoned, though the sound of racking coughs seemed to be ongoing everywhere. Homes were locked up, keeping the victims of this plague inside. Yet, this obviously hadn’t stopped the sickness from spreading, as every home and storefront was boarded up, plague victims slowly dying inside. “Hello!” I called, my voice echoing eerily down the empty streets, “Is there anypony around?” Nopony answered my calls. I began to knock on doors, but I still got no response, even when I could hear and even see that there were ponies inside. I made it all the way to Castle Leyawhinny before I saw another pony outside. At the gates to the city’s keep, guards lay on the ground, some coughing and clutching at their chests and stomachs in agony, others already dead. They were too weak to stop me as I let myself into the castle. The plague had reached here too, apparently. The great hall was completely empty and nopony sat on the Count’s throne. We all split up and searched the Castle, but only Steadfast returned with somepony fit to speak with us. The Count staggered along, the old stallion supported by Steadfast a he entered the great hall. My earth pony friend helped him to his throne as we gathered around. “You ponies shouldn’t be here,” he rasped out between coughs, “Don’t you know the city’s been closed due to the sickness?” “We know,” I replied. “Ah, but you were just too stubborn to stay out, huh?” he said, cracking a smile that looked like it caused him physical pain, “Well, if you get sick, it’s your business. I wasn’t able to stop my whole city from coming down with this plague, and I won’t be able to stop it from taking you too.” “Actually,” Steadfast said, “We’re immune, at least for a day.” “Well, lucky you,” the aged Count said, “I’m afraid I don’t have that privilege.” “Is there anything you can tell us, at least?” I asked, “Anything that could help stop this plague?” “Well, I can’t tell you much how to stop the plague,” he said, “If I knew, I’d have done it myself. But, I can tell you how it started, or at least how I think it started.” “So, how do you think it started?” I asked. “Well, if you ask me,” he said, “The plague came because of what happened with those cultists. A while back, the ponies at the Temple decided to go out hunting for Draconequus devotees. Well, they found some all right, worshipers of Ponyrite.” “Ponyrite?” Mystic asked, “The Draconequus of Pestilence?” “That’s the one,” the Count said, “They wiped them all out. Shortly after that was when the sickness broke out. We thought it was nothing serious at first, just a common illness. Then, the coughing and the stomach aches came, and then the attack on the mind. It spread so fast that nopony was able to escape it. When the Emperor caught word, he had the whole town quarantined to keep it from spreading to the rest of Unicornica.” “So, you think all this has to do with the cultists of Ponyrite?” I asked. “Without a doubt,” he said, breaking into a coughing fit, “Probably some ritual they managed to complete right before their death, or else had set up to go off in case they were taken out.” “Anything else you can tell us?” Mephalda asked. “Nothing but that I’m extremely thankful for what you’re doing, or at least trying to do,” the Count said, “Not many ponies would risk their lives to help out so many complete strangers.” “Yeah, well, we’re different,” I said, “Thanks for the help.” The Count tried to wave us off as we exited the castle, but soon broke into a coughing fit. The guard just outside the gates that had been dying when we’d entered was dead now, his body lying still in the dust. If this was what all of Leyawhinny would become, we needed to find some way to end this plague fast. “Any ideas?” Steadfast asked. “He mentioned the Temple priests were the ones that killed the Ponyrite cultists,” Mystic said, “Maybe they’ll know something.” “Good idea,” I said, “Because right now I’ve got nothing.” We headed at once to the Temple, which was across town from the castle, but could easily be seen protruding over the rooftops. On the way, we encountered even more signs of the sickness. Food in vendors’ stands rotted away with nopony to attend to it, and the coughing came from everywhere, never stopping even for a moment. At last we made it to Leyawhinny’s Temple, an ancient structure of stone and stained glass. Incense greeted our noses as we entered. It seemed that even plagued by this terrible sickness, the priests didn’t stop in their worship to the Equines. Or maybe it was because of the plague that the rituals were ongoing. Many ponies on the verge of death lay coughing on the temple’s pews. Among them were a few of the priests for this temple. At the head of the room, only one priest was up and about, attending to the shrines and the calls of the ill. We approached the stallion, tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention as he finished his prayer to Julimanos. “Who are you?” the priest asked with surprise, “I don’t recall seeing any of you around before.” “Just got here,” I said, “We’re trying to find some way to stop the plague. How come you haven’t come down with it?” “I saw the sickness for what it was as soon as it appeared, a curse set upon our town by Ponyrite,” he said, “My fellow priests and I led the raid on the Cultists of Ponyrite, and we were the first to contract this strange illness. I went to work at once, trying to create a cure, and I eventually succeeded in curing myself, but by then the rest of the town had fallen to the sickness.” “So, there is a cure?” Mystic asked. “Yes, but I was only able to make enough for myself,” the priest replied, “I know there’s more of the herb I need growing outside Castle Leyawhinny, but I can’t leave all these suffering ponies alone while I get it.” “I could get it for you,” Mephalda offered, “What is it?” “Thistle branches. There’s a small cluster growing near the north gate.” Mephalda was off at once, soaring over the town. While she was out gathering the ingredients we’d need to make a cure, we continued our conversation with the priest. “Do you think you’ll have enough of the cure to end the sickness?” Mystic asked, looking around at all the sickly ponies. “Not even close,” the priest replied, “But hopefully I’ll be able to make enough to cure one of my brother priests enough that he can stay here and tend to the ill while I search for the true root of this plague.” “What would that be?” I asked. “The Shrine of Ponyrite. Once I cast a blessing upon it, the sickness will end. The problem is, I have no idea where the shrine is. There was no sign of one at the cultists’ hideout, so I have to assume there’s one built outside the town somewhere.” “While you prepare the cure, we could go search their hideout for any clues on where the shrine is,” I offered. “You’re welcome to if you think it will help,” the priest said, “It was built under Great Oaken Hall, to the south of here, in the wealthier part of town. Like all the rich residences, it will be well marked so you can’t miss it.” Steadfast, Mystic, and I left the temple just as Mephalda was returning with the thistles. While we looked into the cultists’ hideout, she agreed to stay behind and help the priest to make his cure. As he’d promised, it wasn’t hard at all to find Great Oaken Hall. An ornate archway proclaimed the mansion on the east end of the square to be our destination. Pushing the door open, we found nopony home. Yet, it didn’t look as if the sickness had struck this place. Most likely it was the priests’ attack that had cleared the building. We searched the mansion until we found the secret entrance to the cultists’ hideout. It was especially easy to find because nopony had bothered to close it. Through an overlarge fireplace we trotted, and then down a flight of steps stained with cultist blood. Built beneath Great Oaken Hall was a large cellar, but I suspected most of it had been walled off some time in the past to create the room we were now standing in. The raid from the priests had destroyed nearly everything within. We were surrounded by smashed tables, spilled potions, torn tapestries, and half-completed rituals. If there was anything of worth to find here, it wouldn’t be easy. “Well, this was a bust,” I said, looking through the broken remains of a pot that had once held some kind of incense. Mystic ceased sifting through the burnt remains of books, but Steadfast continued to move along the wall, tapping it with his hammer. He suddenly stopped as his taps caused a hollow, echoing sound. “Maybe not,” he said, and swung his hammer around at the portion of the brick wall he’d been tapping. The wall came down, revealing a hidden passage. “Wow,” Mystic said, shining light from her horn down the tunnel, “Looks like the priests missed something.” Mystic led the way down the tunnel, casting a spell that scanned for signs of danger. A few times she had to warn us to look out for tripwires and pressure plates. This passage must’ve led to something pretty important if it was booby-trapped so thoroughly. Mystic suddenly stopped as we neared the end of the tunnel, a small room in sight. A terrible smell suddenly came from down the passage, like rotting meat but much, much worse. A hulking creature shaped vaguely like a pony appeared at the end of the tunnel. It seemed to be composed entirely of flesh, but it was in all the wrong places. Bones protruded from its back, and feathers lined one of its forelegs. It lumbered around, searching for us. “What is that thing?” I asked. “A flesh atronach,” Mystic replied, “I’ve never seen one before.” With a grunt, the creature suddenly swiveled its ears (all three) around at us. Fire burned in its mismatched eyes as it caught sight of us next. “Well, now it’s seen us,” Steadfast said, drawing his warhammer. There was no room for us to maneuver in this passage, so Mystic put up a ward and pushed on toward the flesh atronach. It lurched toward us, swinging around a leg that seemed to be composed of mudcrab chitins as a club. At the last moment, Mystic caused her ward to flare up, the sudden blast of magical energy sending the atronach flying back into the room it had come from. We all rushed forward through the tunnel, spreading out once we entered the tiny room at the end. We had little time to look around, however, as the flesh atronach attacked us. I drew Dawnbreaker, slicing it through the abomination’s feathered foreleg as it tried to club me. The end of the leg fell to the ground, twitching, while Steadfast struck the atronach across the back with his warhammer, driving the bones through the body and out the creature’s chest. Mystic blasted it with fire, causing flaming chunks of it to fall to the ground with sick thuds. The flesh atronach wobbled unsteadily on only three legs, but it lurched toward Mystic and brought its clublike foreleg down at her all the same. With Dawnbreaker, I sliced between protruding bones on the creature’s back and through its torso, chopping it in two. Both halves continued to move, kicking around at us until Mystic completely roasted them with her magic. Only the pure magic energy seemed to kill the spell causing the flesh to move on its own. I kicked the foreleg I’d chopped off toward her, and she blasted it as well, reducing the flesh atronach to little more than a pile of glowing ash. Now that we weren’t fighting for our lives, we were able to take a look around the tiny enclosure we were in. The priests had never made it here, and tapestries devoted to Ponyrite still hung from the walls. At the side of the room opposite the entrance was a table upon which sat a censer where incense had once burned, surrounded by candles burned down to stubs. In front of it was a book opened to instructions on how to perform one of the dark rituals to call upon the Draconequus. Two golden statues of Ponyrite reared up at either end of the table. The aspect of the Draconequus of Pestilence resembled Draconequi, dragons, and ponies. The overall shape of the body was very much draconic, with scales coating the flesh, and a long, lithe tail sprouting from its hindquarters. It was much more serpentine than any dragon I’d seen, however, closer to the shape of a Draconequus. The face, though draconic, had a very ponyish look to it, and the creature’s hindlegs ended in hooves, not claws. Hanging between the two statues was a golden amulet. I pulled the ends from the statues’ mouths and had a look. The amulet was circular, with a ring of gold around the edge and a disk in the center. Between the gold was a ring of blood-red ruby that shimmered oddly in the dim light. Upon the gold pieces of the amulet was an inscription in Draconequus that I couldn’t read. I tucked the amulet away in my saddlebags, hoping the priest could read the inscription and learn something from it. “I’m not finding anything,” Mystic said as she paged through the spellbook on the table, “Lots of instructions on rituals, but nothing on how to find Ponyrite’s shrine.” “I guess they assume anypony reading that book already knows how to find the shrine,” I said, “Well, I guess we’d better get back to the Temple. Hopefully Mephalda’s got the cure brewed up already.” We headed back through the tunnel to the cellar, keeping a close lookout for booby-traps. Then it was a simple trip back up through Great Oaken Hall and the short trot back to Leyawhinny’s temple. As we entered, we were comforted by the sight of another priest up and about. Though a little weak and wobbly, he seemed to be free of the sickness everypony else in the town suffered from. “I take it you were able to brew up the cure again,” I said to the priest we’d met on our first visit to the Temple. “Yes, but sadly only enough for one pony,” he said, “I hope you were more successful.” “Well, we didn’t find anything that might tell us where the shrine is,” I said, “But I did find this amulet. I was hoping you could read the inscription.” “This is perfect!” he exclaimed, taking the amulet from me. “Why, does it say where the shrine is?” I asked hopefully. “No, even better,” he said, “This amulet is bonded to Ponyrite. With a simple spell, I can make it lead us to the shrine!” “That’s great,” Steadfast said, “How long will it take?” “It will only take me a minute to prepare the spell,” the priest said excitedly, “Then we’ll be off to cure this plague!” ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ After casting the spell on the amulet in secret, the priest attached it to his horn, wrapping the chain around it. As he lit his horn up, the amulet levitated, pointing in the direction of the shrine. We followed him as he followed the amulet, showing him the way we’d come into the town, which was now our way out. The amulet led us north, and a bit to the west, and we were forced to detour once or twice when the forest became too thick. Eventually the amulet began to twitch with each new course change, telling us that we were getting close. At last, a break appeared in the trees, and within it a statue identical to the ones I’d seen beneath Great Oaken Hall, except made from stone. The priest removed the amulet from his horn and threw it to the ground, blasting it with his magic to destroy it. Next, he approached the Shrine of Ponyrite and began to cast spells upon it. As the magic built around it, the statue began to crack under the strain. Eventually it broke in half. A strange mist suddenly billowed out from the statue. I braced myself against it, but the priest reassured us that all was well. The sickness was being cured, Ponyrite’s dark curse being undone. The evil had been dispelled, and Leyawhinny was once again safe. Level Up Health: 300 Stamina: 270 Magicka: 290 New Perk: Lasting Effects [Alchemy] -- The ongoing effects of any potion taken now last twice as long. New Quest: Secrets of the Emperor – Travel to the Imperial City and find Talhooves’s Book of Secrets.