Stained Crown: The Elements of Disharmony

by EbonyDanger

Quarantine

„This festival has been awesome!“, cheered Applebloom as she walked into the farm house. The yellow foal and her friends had spent the whole evening with Princess Luna, who had played several games with them. The Cutiemark Cursaders had shared their sweets and had enjoyed themselves. Applebloom still loved Nightmare Night for its mixture of fun and scaring.

Now the yellow foal dropped her basket on the floor. There were only some chocolate bars in it, which she had not eaten yet. Applejack pulled off her pumpkin and yawned with an hoof in front of her maw. „Eyyupp“, she mumbled, „And do yah know, what is awesome as well? That a certain little filly must go to sleep now.“
What? Already now? Pouting her lips Applebloom turned around and faced her older sister. „But AJ, Ah am“ – her sentence was cut off by a yawn - „not tired at all. And it cannot be that late already, can it?“

Applejack laughed hoarsely and patted her younger sibling at the backside of her head. „Your eyes are telling something different, sugarcube“, the farmer said, „Besides, it is already past midnight and I think, a cursader like you has to go to sleep, if she does not want to fall behind her friends.“
Applebloom rubbed her eyes and mumbled: „You are right. Scootaloo had the idea, that we should try scating tomorrow. She hopes, because she has got her scooter, it could be her special talent.“

„Aha.“ Applejack nodded in approval and pushed her sister towards the bathroom door: „Well, Applebloom, you are now going to brush your teeth. And then you go to bed. I will come and say goodnight.“ As Applebloom climbed on the small stool and snatched her toothbrust, her elder sister called: „And do not try to fool me like you have done last Nightmare Night. I will check!“
Her mouth already half full of toothpaste, Applebloom mumbled: „Sure, Applejack.“
Then the rhythmic sound of a brush being pushed back and forth filled the bath.

Applebloom's bedroom laid in the garret of the barn. It was a big room with green wall paper and a blue carpet. Her bed stood on the opposite side of the window. It was huge, had a warm mattress and a comfortable, oversized pillow. Applebloom already laid in her bed and looked out of the window. The moon was softly drifting between clouds and fogs, floating around out of the Everfree Forest.

The door cracked open softly and Applejack entered the room. She was without her hat, a sign that she too made herself ready for going to sleep. „Applebloom, are you ready to go to bed?“, she asked.
Applebloom sat up in her bed and smiled, yawning shortly. „Yes, AJ. Ah am.“ Applejack trotted towards the room and stopped in front of her. She rose to her hindlegs and placed her hooves on the blancet.

„Really?“, she asked, „Let me check your breath. Come on, breath on me. Breath on me.“ Applebloom let out a short sight and Applejack sniffed. „That seems to be alright“, found the orange mare. She softly kissed Applebloom's forehead. „Good night, lil' sis“, she mumbled. Applebloom snuggled into the pillow and closed her eyes. „Night, sis“, she whispered and drifted off to sleep.

***

The night shone over the farm. Cool, smooth darkness. An inkblack sky, sprinkled with stars. The moon was the only source for light. Its calm silver bathed the place and turned wooden bars, carts and cats grey. Winona, Applejack's dog, was snorring in her dog house in front of the barn, adding her own personal touch to the symphony of nightly sounds.

Shadows creeped over edges and walls, thrown by trees and the hut. The wind softly rustled in the leaves. Several shadows were thrown at the barn's left wall. They slowly started to change. The simple blackness flickered and blured. A purple shimmer pushed itself over the shadows, which now had the consistent off mist. Very slowly and casually the mist started to climb up the wall.

It softly followed the water pipe, which stuck like iron trees at the corner's of the house. The mist slowly enwrapped itself around the pipe and floated higher and higher, silently, patiently. It did not made any sound. There was only one light in a window. The fog carefully creeped closer and shifted itself partly, forming a silhouette of the helmet, Amentia had been levitating.

The room was Applejack's bedroom. The orange farmer had just hang her hat to a heel in the wall. She yawned and by accident turned her face towards the window. In a fast movmenet the fog ducked out of sight, pressing itself against the sims like a few sticky, dirty algae. „Huh?“ Applejack trotted towards the window. She pushed it open and peeked into the darkness.

„Is anypony there?“, called Applejack. She perked up her ears and tried to listen. But there was only the rustling of the leaves, Winona's peacefull snorring and the chirping of a nightingale. The farmer narrowed her eyes and looked around. But it was too dark. She could hardly make out the silhouette of the carts in the backyard.

„Hmm, I thought, I saw something.“ Applejack rubbed her chin thoughtfully. She yawned once more. „Perhabs Ah am just tired.“ The farmer closed the window and pulled the carpets together. She climbed back into her bed, pushed the blancet over her body and softly snorred herself into sleep.

The mist immediatley flew out of its hiding place. It floated higher and higher. There at the roof's top laid a small window, which was the entrance to Applebloom's bedroom. The young mare had left the window a small crack open to get the cool night air into the room. The space was small. Way too small for a real pony or even small animal to get inside.

But for the fog it was more then enough. Like a slender snake it went through the gap, dripping on the floor like wet paint. There the blackish purple mist carefully stretched itself and shapeshifted once more. While strands of dark mist surrounded her and thickened around her body, a mare slowly came out. She had a sharp, elegant horn and massive, ravenfeathered wings were born from her shoulders. They were pressed thight against the body.

Cyan eyes gleemed pleased as they scanned the area. The door was closed and there was no living being in the room. Apart from Applebloom, who slept peacefully in her bed. A box and a cupboard threw shadow in the room, darkening the mare's coat. The Shadow-Alicorn's lips tilted back, revealing sharp fangs with a snicker. Oh, this is perfect. Way too perfect.

Cautiously and slowly Nightmare Moon approached the bed. Her mane and tail followed her movement, a dark violet fog, rippeling and sparkeling. The soft wooshes hardly made any sounds. The only thing Applebloom could hear was a whispering sound like wind, speaking to her. She turned around under her blanket. The moonlight shone on her peaceful face with the closed eyes.

Nightmare laughed quietly. Her mane and body twisted, becoming the purple fog once more. It made a fast, playful doge, before the Shadow-Alicorn materialised herself right next to the sleeping Applebloom. Another sinister smile plucked at the corner of her lips. Nightmare's horn started to glow cyan and parts of her foggy mane creeped into Applebloom's ear. „Sweet dreams are made of this“, whispered the intruder as the young fillie's face twitched and twisted from the peaceful soul into the stretched, painful grimace of a plagued nightmare.

***

Ponyville's hospital was laying in the center of the town. The large house had a main building, surrounded by two aisles. The roof was red like crimson and rather pointy. In the windows gleemed light. It was in the middle of the night, long after noon and the hospital was full. Way too full. Children and infants were sitting in the waiting room on chairs or leaned against the floor. They all were coughing and their dull eyes hang in their caves. They looked exhausted, extremly painfull and tired.

Applebloom was sitting close to a window on a chair, hugging herself. Applejack had wrapped a long, woolen scarf around her neck. Still the young filly kept coughing and sweating. There was a dirty liquid in her eyes, as if her tears were mixed with oil. She kept shuddering. Applejack had placed her hooves on the chair's backrest. Her worried eyes rested on Applebloom, before with a sight she looked at the door, where the nurse was calling another child in.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stood outside of the hospital. The home of the orange pegasus laid extremley close to the building. And as soon as she had spotted Applebloom going inside with Applejack, she had alarmed Sweetie Belle via a strange system of paper airplanes, ropes and bells. A warning system the Cutiemark Cursaders had invented to keep track of one another, if there was any problem. And Applebloom, going into the hospital in the middle of the night, was a problem.

„Can you see anything?“, asked Scootaloo worried. She was standing behind Sweetie Belle, who had climbed on a pile of firewood.
„Not really“, the unicorn admitted.
Are you blind? How difficult can it be to spot a yellow earth pony in a clinic? „Where do you have your eyes?“, called Scootaloo.

She ducked down and desperately flapped her wings to get up the ground. The orange feathers became a blurr in the corner's of her eyes and sweat ran down her mane as soon as she forced her weak wings into this effort. Why was it always so hard to fly? Her body needed wings twice the sieze those had.

Scootaloo clenched her teeth. Come on! Just a little bit more! The buzzing sound of her flapping wings filled the air. „Almost“, mumbled Scootaloo.
Sweetie Belle, who had not paid much attention to her fruitless efforts, had kept looking around. Suddenly she said: „Look! She is over there!“
„Where?“ Scootaloo lost her concentration. In a helpless and shamefull attempt to avoid crashing she snatched Sweetie Belle at the hips and both fillies fell on the ground.

The soft dull sound seemed to be heard by someone, because the front door opened. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo did their best to unknot themselves. „Applebloom!“, called the pegasus, who pushed free under the unicorn's leg. The two Cutiemark Cursaders smiled at their leader.
Applebloom squeaked in joy: „Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo! What are you doing here?“

Scootaloo said with a smirk: „Supporting a friend in need, what else?“ She poked Applebloom in the side.
„Are you alright?“, asked Sweetie Belle caring.
„I am...“ The young farmer's response was cut off by a new series of coughing. The dry, gasping sounds filled the air and Applebloom's head yerked forwards violently. Her voice sounded hoarse and her eyes shot close. She pressed an hoof against her chest, but she looked rather helpless.

Oh no... Worried the two ponies stepped closer and hugged Applebloom as if they could warm her this way. The door opened again. Hooves crunched over the grass and Applejack called anxious: „Applebloom, what are yah doing?!“ She grabbed her younger sister by the shoulder and wrapped the scarf thighter around her neck. „Yah will catch yahr death out here.“ With a soft push of the snout the orange mare guided Applebloom back to the door. „Come, sugarcube. The doctor is waiting.“
„Okay, sis.“

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle watched the two Apple sisters walking back into the hospital. The door closed and the warm light from the room was shut from the outside. The unicorn and the pegasus shared afraid and worried looks. Catching one's death out here. Applebloom's coughing. „She had felt awkwardly warm, hasn't she?“, asked Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo nodded. Worry eclipsed their face.

They did not dare to voice their fear, but both knew what the other one was thinking. Whatever Applebloom had caught herself, it was dangerous. Highly dangerous. So dangerous, that it might cost.... Stop thinking that, Scootaloo! Stop thinking it! You do not even know, what she has. It could be just the flue. It was a weak excuse.

„Come on“, said Scootaloo, „We have to find her.“ Silent and fast the two ponies ran around the house. They jumped on any object, that could help them look into the windows. Not only the waiting room was full of foals and fillies, but the surgery as well. Scootaloo spotted many familiar faces. His classmates Twist and even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon (although she felt no joy, seeing them as weak and sick as the others). There were not just foals her own age, but also infants. Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake. Oh my Celestia, this is not bad, this is terrible!

What had happened during this night? How did it came that almost all children in Ponyville were inflected by a disease? But what disease? It seemed to be the same. Scootaloo could tell, that everypony were suffering the same symptoms.

„I found her“, whispered Sweetie Belle. She already was standing on another window sims. Scootaloo carefully climbed by her side. For a short moment her face enlightened with joy, seeing the familiar face, but in an instant the worry returned. Applebloom sat on a cold metall table, the doctor was checking on her really carefully. She still kept coughing.

Scootaloo's eyes started to water. She shivered and pressed her ears against her head. Oh, Applebloom. What is wrong? The fear clung to her organs. It climbed up her spin and filled her head with horrible images, going so far to picture Applebloom's funeral. Scootaloo hang her head. Her tears dropped down her snout. A look to the side. Sweetie Belle too was crying. She leaned her head against the pegasus' shoulder.

***

„What are you two doing here? Shouldn't you be asleep by now?“ The cool, calm voice made them turn their head. Princess Luna was standing behind them on a small path. Her mane and tail sparkled in the darkness.
Sweetie Belle sighted. „Is this all a dream?“, she asked, sounding childlishy hopefully.
Luna shook her head and came closer. „I am afraid, this is very much real“, the Princess responded, „I sensed that something was wrong in the Dream Realm. Many doors were blocked with a sticky, black liquid. I tried to open them, but couldn't. Therefore I came to see, what was going on.“

Scootaloo sniffed sadly and dropped her ears even more. Sweetie Belle caressed her shoulder. Tears shimmered on her cheeks. „Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle?“ Luna's voice turned worried and symphatetically. She took a step forwards. Her wings trembled at the sudden movement.
„Applebloom is inside there“, explained Scootaloo, not bothering to look up.

Princess Luna rose to her hindlegs and placed her hooves on the sims. „In the hospital? But why?“ Her sapphire eyes watched the doctor pulling a small, wooden stick out of Applebloom's maw, taking a salvia sample. The yellow foal swallowed uncomfortably and rubbed her neck with an hoof. Her ears twitched. Applejack softly patted her back, muttering some words.

Sweetie Belle responded: „She feels warm and she has got a terrible cough.“ The unicorn looked at the Princess, begging for answers. „Princess Luna, what is wrong with her?“ Luna looked into the green eyes and felt Scootaloo's glance on her as well. That was a hard thing about being a ruler supreme. Everypony expected you to know the answer to every problem.

„I do not know“, admitted Luna with a shook of her head, „But I know how to figure it out. Come follow me.“ The mare let go of the sims and slowly trotted along the building, the foals at her ancles. Luna was guiding them to a smaller building behind the house. It had no windows, but a wooden door.

Luna explained: „Due to my night patrouls, I have the keys to the city.“ There were two iron heel, blocking the door from opening. Luna's horn flared bright blue and she used her magic to softly levitated the two nails out of their positions. They softly dropped on the grass beside her with a low jingle.

Luna rose an hoof and pushed the door open a slit. Warm orange light fell on her face and the two Cutiemark Cursaders. Luna looked at them and made an inventing gesture with her hoof. „After you“, she said. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo only starred at the leg. Due to the darkness the darkblue coat almost looked black. They almost seemed surprised or even suspicious.

Luna's smile frown awkwardly, before it dropped. Hanging her head slightly, she made her way into the room. „Dark coats kinda run in my family“, she explained the two foals with some hesitation in her voice, who followed her, „At least a part of my family.“

The Princess had lead her two protegées into the boiler room of the hospital. The orange light, which now filled the entire room, was coming from a huge central-heating boiler. Its warming fire was trapped inside a box of iron with small slits in its door. There was no furniture. Only a hole in the wall. In the dim light the two fillies could spot the silhouette of several pipes.

To their horror Luna was walking straight towards that hole. The blue mare turned around and she saw the uneasy of the two fillies. „Trust me“, Luna only said and smiled softly. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle came closer and looked at the dark entrance. Pipes formed knoted walls and dust laid on the metall. A rat rushed past them, quietly squeaking.

The three carefully entered the labyrinth next to the boiler. „Stay close to me“, whispered Luna. Her hooves barley made any sound as she carefully walked through the corridors. The hallway was so small, that the Alicorn had to press her wings against her body and ducked like a cat. The two fillies could easily follow, but there eyes were huge and they seemed to be impressed and nervous.

The air was sticky and dust waved around them with every step. Hardly any light cut through the smooth darkness. A few wet blancets hang over the pipes and steam shot out of broken parts, hissing and fuming. „You don't have to tell me that“, mumbled Sweetie Belle, „Blimley, it is sinister in here.“

They were walking around a corner. Sider web's hang between the wooden bars, which hold the pipes and the corridor itself in place. Scootaloo looked around and bite her bottom lip. „Do not think, we are scared or something“, she mumbled, before her eyes rested on a thick spider in her web, which hang right in front of her face. The pegasus squealed in shock and clung to Sweetie Belle, who rolled her eyes.

Luna turned around. Her eyes glimmered amused. „Sinister?“ With a simple flip of her tail, she destroyed the web. They kept walking as the Princess adressed the two Cursaders: „There hardly is any place in Equestria, which is as beautiful as this one. Many ponies travle miles just to be here.“

The corridor was now going upwards and the hallway seemed to widen. „Here?“ Sweetie Belle lifted an hoof and looked at a dirty piece of blancet. The water soaked in her fur. „I am sure, Rarity would hardly take a step in here. And I am not sure, what should be so great about this place.“

Luna softly placed a wing on her shoulder. „That's because you are looking at the bowl, half empty.“ They have reached the halls underneath the hospital. The celling was the clinic's floor. There was a grid, through which the warm air, which fumed around here, floated out and warmed the patients. A lamp shone through the grid, standing on a nightstand.

Luna walked towards the center of the place. „Can you see this?“ The Princess carefully pushed several colourful shards to a small pile. „The tips of the Crystal Mountains of the Crystal Empires.“
Sweetie Belle responded annoyed: „Princess Luna, those are broken bottles. And they are not half empty, they are completely hollow.“

The Alicorn nodded towards the lamp and whispered: „The sun.“ Her sapphire eyes rested on the wall behind the two fillies. She smiled caringly and stepped aside with the words: „And in the north.“ Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle turned around. Their faces enlightened in amazement. The lamp's light was breaking through the glass shreds and threw a colourful rainbow at the wall.

„The Northern Lights!“, called Scootaloo. Luna stepped by the cursaders' side.
Sweetie Belle watched the wonderful play, before she whispered: „You were right, Princess. It is beautiful!“
The blue Alicorn sighted. „What is the purpose of darkness, if there is no light to shine the way, you are going?“, she asked, without demanding an answer. It was a simple lesson, hidden in a nice metaphor.

The harmony was broken apart as shadows fell on them. Luna looked up and so did Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They heard coughing sounds and spotted the orange coat of Applejack, who was standing in front of the bed. „Ah am freezing“, whimpered Applebloom.
Her older sister softly caressed her head. „Don't worry, sugarcube“, she responded, „Ah will give yah a second blancet and then you have it comfortable and warm.“ She kissed the yellow mare's forehead.
Applebloom asked worried: „What if I have another nightmare?“
„This won't happen. I promise.“

Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Luna ran after Applejack, who walked out of the room. Obviously Applebloom was so ill, that she had to stay in the hospital. The Cursaders and the Princess found themselves under a new room. It seemed to be the doctor's office for they spotted a table and several shelves, full of bottles of medicine and other medical supplies.

„How is she, Doctor?“, asked Applejack. Her ears twitched worried and she clenched her hat against her chest.
The sandbrown unicorn put of his small glasses and cleaned them. With a low sigh Doctor Horse explained: „Exhausted from coughing.“ His ears dropped and he looked at the shelves with the medicine bottles.

„It looks like Nightterror“, Doctor Horse explained, „She is the eighteen case in this day.“ The unicorn levitated several bottles and let them swirl around him while he examined the titles. With a frustrated shake of the head, he brought every bottle back in its place. „And I don't know how to cure it.“

Luna's ears turned around as she heard a whimpering sound. The mare had concentrated so much on the doctor's words, that she had not looked after the Cursaders. As she looked for them, she saw Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo running out of the boil system. „Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle!“, the mare called and ran after them.

She only reached them in the boiler room. The two foals were breathing heavily. Tears glithered in Sweetie's eyes and she sniffed. Scootaloo looked desperate and full of fear. Guilt flashed in Luna. You foal! You scared the heck out of them! „I am sorry!“, Luna called and made a careful step in the crying fillie's direction, „I should not have brought you here.“

Sweetie Belle whispered: „It is fine, Luna. It was perhabs good, that you showed us what is going on. We are old enough to know.“
Scootaloo asked: „Princess, can't you maybe heal Applebloom and the others? I mean, you are the guardian of dreams. You can change them. I have seen it.“ Hopeful eyes rested on her.

Luna flinched uncomfortably. She turned her head aside and avoided the glances. „I am sorry“, the Alicorn responded, „This is something I cannot do. This disease, it was made a way to not be cureable by my powers.“ Sweetie Belle's and Scootaloo's eyes widened in shock. Luna lifted her head and her sapphire glance burned into those innocent eyes. „Applebloom is the only one, who can slow the disease down. I gave my subjects the abilitie to change their dreams a bit, if they realize, they are dreaming.“

She opened her wings and pulled Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle in an embrance. Luna placed her head on their mane. The mare closed her eyes. She whispered: „But you can do something. Just stay with her. Show her that she is not alone. It may have an important impact on her strength.“ The two Cursaders nodded at one another.

Luna stood up once more. She ordered: „But now you must go home. I am sure, Rarity and your parent's are sick with worry. It is already almost dawn. You will have to go to sleep sometime.“
Sweetie Belle nodded and yawned. „Come, Scootaloo.“ The two Cursaders ran out of the boiler room.

Princess Luna followed much slower. She slowly walked to the hospital's main gate. Her hooves left dark prints on the cool gras. The mare closed her eyes and pushed her ears back. A low sight escaped her lips. Oh, Applebloom... It was like falling back in time. She had hoped, she would never have to face this again. But now she was on the other side of the coin. The victim, not the predator.

A clicking sound let her open her eyes again. Luna spotted Doctor Horse, coming out of the building. He had closed his eyes in pain. The stallion was levitating a shield, covered in dust, behind him. In a slow and feeble movement he hang the shield at the main door. Doctor Horse rose to his hindlegs and whiped the dust away. Shaking his head and rubbing his neck, he slowly walked back into the hospital to his patients.

Luna felt a lumb in her throat as she eyed the red captial letters on the shield: QUARANTINE. It seemed like it had been months, decades, scince Ponyville's doctor ever had the need to place this warning at his hospital. The Princess panted in shock and her eyes started to water. Oh, no! „Applebloom....“

Another sound reached her ear. Luna trotted through the streets of Ponyville. They were weirdly deserted. No light in the windows. The ponies shunned themselves away in a nameless fear. They did not feared the night, by Creator's holy powers no! They feared this disease, which had come over the town like the Black Death.

Luna soon found the source of the sound. Somepony was hammering nails in wood. This worker was living in a small, wooden house. A gas lamp gave him light. Luna carefully peeked through the open door, while she hide herself partly. The Earth Pony was standing at a table and worked at a object with a very certain form: A long stretched hexagon, made out of dark wood.

With a slow and sad movement the stallion grabbed the object and carried it to the opposite wall. He carefully placed the items there. Next to it stood several constructs, which all looked like the first one. The only difference was the sieze. Some were large enough to keep a fully grown pony, some were only filly or even foal sieze.

Luna backed away and her eyes widened. Tears floated down her cheek. Bittersweet shock. Coffins. Those pony was making coffins. Luna shook her head and flinched uncomfortably. She turned her head away, her ears against her head. „Applebloom.“ The mare spread her wings and took into the nightsky. Powerful flaps brought her into the direction of Canterlot.

While Luna had only seen the carpenter, there was also somepony else awake. Mayor Mare was dictating a fax to Derpy Hooves, which had the following words: „Repeat! Stop. Urgent help needed. Stop. Nightterror in Ponyville. Stop. Town in great danger. Stop. Please help us. Stop.“

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Thank you. I hope, you enjoy the rest of the chapters as well.