//------------------------------//
// The Source 
// Story: Untold Stories of Equestria: Episode One & Two- The Great Plague 
// by Sparrow9642 
//------------------------------//

	Back at the library, Twilight scrambled through every book she could find with the assistance of Spike, hoping to find something on what was happening to not just Ponyville, but all of Equestria. Twilight used her magic to flip through the pages of the books, skimming  through each page, looking for any key words , but so far, there was no such thing.
"Come on! Come on! There's gotta be something here!" she muttered to herself out of frustration.
As she scrambled through each book, small droplets of sweat fell from her forehead, and she was too stressed to notice that she was nearly hitting Spike with the books she tossed aside. Spike dodged every book, while scrambling through any book he could get his claws on, hoping to find anything. The books he was looking through were mostly based on historic events that had happened in Equestria, and were intriguing, but not at all what they were looking for.
"Find anything, Spike?" asked Twilight.
"Not a thing," replied Spike. "Only things on Equestria history."
Twilight let out a sigh of frustration, surprised that there was not a single book in her library that associated with their situation.
"What am I going to do?!" exclaimed Twilight. "Princess Celestia trusted me in finding the solution to this epidemic, but I've been through every book I own, and have absolutely nothing!"
"Calm down, Twilight," said Spike. "I'm sure we'll figure something out."
Twilight paced back and forth, feeling completely helpless, until there was a knock at her door. Twilight didn't want to risk any chance of becoming corrupted, but she wondered if it could be one of her friends.
"I'll just have to be quick," she said to herself, as she paced toward the door, and unlocked every lock on the door. She quickly opened the door, only to see Pinkie Pie with her breath held. Her face was purple from lack of oxygen, so Twilight used her magic to lift Pinkie through the doorway, and shut the door.
Pinkie let in a huge breath of air, knowing she was safe from the epidemic. "Twilight! You gotta help me! All the people in Ponyville are acting crazy from something strange in the air! Nobody's even smiling!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
"I'm aware, Pinkie," replied Twilight. "I've been trying to find a cure, but there is nothing in my library that can help. I think I've been stumped."
"Is that why you're all "down in the dumps?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"Is it really that obvious?" replied Twilight.
"Absolutely, but you can't give up so easy! So what if the answer is not here? Sometimes a solution doesn't lie in text, but within yourself!"
Twilight thought about what Pinkie said, and realized that she was right.
"You're right, Pinkie!" exclaimed Twilight. "Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place for the answer to my problem!"
"That's the spirit!" replied Pinkie Pie.
"Only one problem; the solution lies in the Castle of the Two Sisters, which is wide open to air."
"Oh, come on, Twilight! You must know a spell of some sort that can prevent you from being exposed to the air!"
Twilight thought for a second, then remembered the spell Cadance cast to prevent her from catching Discord's supposed flu. "I guess I can try to alter a spell Cadance used to protect me from Discord's flu, so that it keeps the toxin in the air out."
"Great idea, Twilight!" said Pinkie Pie. "That's perfect!"
"However, if I mess up even the smallest bit on the spell, you know what happens then, so I suggest you take a deep breath, Pinkie," warned Twilight. "I have no idea if this is going to work or not."
Pinkie gulped at the sound of Twilight's words, along with Spike.
"You can do it, Twilight!" encouraged Spike. "You represent the Element of Magic, so this should be cake!"
"Thanks, Spike," replied Twilight as she prepared the spell. "Well, here goes nothing."
Twilight's horn glew with a hue of purple, as she pushed all her effort into the spell, and finished the spell, with all three of them being enclosed in an invisible dome of magic. The only problem was that Twilight had to keep using all of her strength, in order to keep the spell's alternations in tact.
"You okay, Twilight?" asked Spike.
"Yeah," replied Twilight. "This is just a powerful spell, and I have to put a ton of strength into it, unlike other spells."
Twilight struggled, as she made her way toward the door. "Take a deep breath, you two, because I don't know if this is going to work or not," she said, opening the door. "Brace yourselves!"
All three of them made their way to the outside of the library, where it was quiet, and every pony seemed depressed and sad, when it was just the effects of what ever was causing Equestria to turn topsy turvy. Twilight looked around for any of her other friends, hoping not to see them corrupted as well. Fortunately, she didn't see any of her friends, but was still horrified at the sight of Ponyville. She took a deep breath, so she could test if her spell had worked, bracing for the worst outcome.
Twilight didn't feel any sort of change inside of her, and was happy that her spell had worked.
"It worked!" exclaimed Twilight. "Now, if I can just keep this spell going, I think that we'll be okay."
"Thank goodness," said Spike, relieved that Twilight's spell had worked.
"Come on! We've got to get to the Castle of the Two Sisters!" commanded Twilight. "I just hope I can last that long, before my magic resources run out of juice."
"Sure you can!" encouraged Pinkie Pie.
"Right," replied Twilight, as she hurried in the direction of the Everfree Forest.



Twilight and the others managed to make to the Everfree Forest without any troubles, while noticing something else about the Everfree Forest. There was a large cloud of smoke coming from the center of the forest, which immediately made Twilight wonder if this could have something to do with what was going on throughout Equestria.
"A mushroom cloud!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie. "Maybe, there's a party going on in the Everfree Forest!"
"I don't think so, Pinkie," said Twilight. "This could be the answer to our problems."
"Then I guess I won't be needing this," replied Pinkie Pie, tossing her party cannon into a nearby bush.
Twilight studied the smoke cloud closer, estimating where it could possibly be coming from. Once she finished studying the smoke cloud, her heart sunk. "That's coming from Zecora's! Come on! We need to help her!"
Twilight, along with Spike and Pinkie trotted into the forest, toward Zecora's hut, where Twilight's estimation was correct. A strange smoke was coming from the chimney of Zecora's hut, and even out of every other opening of the small hut. Twilight feared that her magic wouldn't be able to withstand a mirage of the smoke, but Zecora was her friend, and she wasn't going to just abandon her. 
Twilight gulped, as she approached Zecora's door, and opened it, only to be nearly blown away by a large amount of the strange smoke, almost losing control of her spell. Once the smoke was clear, Twilight entered the hut, hoping to find Zecora safe and sound, but strangely, there was no sign of Zecora.
"Zecora!" yelled Twilight, still looking around for her.
There was no sign of her, but Twilight noticed something else; the cauldron where Zecora mixes her remedies was erupting large amounts of the smoke from before. The brew was a putrid color, and looked as if it were sick.
"What do you think Zecora is making?" asked Spike.
"I have no idea, Spike," replied Twilight. "This brew doesn't even look right, as if it's rotten."
Out of nowhere, a familiar voice spoke. "Indeed, you are right, my dearest friend, Twilight."
Twilight turned around, only to see Zecora standing. 
"What the hay!?" exclaimed Pinkie Pie. "How are you not corrupted by your own creation?! Are you magic?"
"Relax, dear friend. For this outcome, I did not intend," said Zecora.
"But, Pinkie does have a good point," said Twilight. "Why are you unaffected, while the rest of Equestia is acting crazy?"
"The reason I do not know, only that if not stopped, my brew will continue to grow," replied Zecora.
Twilight knew Zecora was right, and that now was not the time for speculation and judgement.
"How do we stop it then?" asked Twilight.
"Listen closely to what I say; the cure is not too faraway. Deep in the Everfree Forest, there is an ancient flower, but beware! It won't be easy to obtain it's power. Free your friends from their corruption, only then, will you be able to save Equestria, once again."
"What plant is it, and where can we find it, Zecora," asked Twilight.
Zecora grabbed an old book off of one of her tables, and opened it to a page, showing Twilight the plant.
"The Everfree Lotus," said Twilight. "Good. I know what we need to do. First step; gather the others and free them of their corruption."

END OF EPISODE ONE