The Sunset Trilogy

by ocalhoun

Book 1 - Chapter II

Book 1: Equestria Burning
Chapter 2

Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but worry about her friends. Rainbow kept playing tough; she wouldn't admit to any hardship. Fluttershy would hardly say a word to anypony, and Rarity, oddly enough, tended to brush it away as if it were nothing... But Twilight knew them too well. She could see the tiredness in their eyes. It had been four days since she saw any of those three, and she suspected it was because they were secretly bedridden much of the time. Rainbow was playing too tough... she had learned more humility than that... and Fluttershy was being too quiet, did it hurt her to speak? And Rarity... Ponyville's biggest drama queen giving up a chance to wail about her despair? Not a chance. Something was up, which is why Applejack, Twilight, and Spike were now escorting their friends to the clinic.

Not just the ordinary clinic either... Whatever bug was going around had been hitting the town hard, and the special emergency tent had been set up for the first time since Pinkie's 'baked bads' incident. Using a quick teleportation spell, the five friends had managed to escape Pinkie's room earlier, leaving Pinkie presumably still locked inside, but Twilight was now beginning to wonder if Pinkie's prediction was already coming true. Her and Applejack were only able to get their friends to the clinic by force, and after spending a time there, Twilight could understand why. If the line Rarity was complaining about the other day was bad, this was a disaster. Ponies swarmed the tent, no longer even making an orderly line. Twilight had been there for hours already, and they weren't any closer yet.

An outcry began to break out near the center of the crowd, at the door of the tent. Twilight and her friends were just starting to try and figure out why, as a voice called out from the center, “QUIET!”

In the short, stunned silence that followed, a pony Twilight vaguely remembered, Nurse Redheart, is it? Jumped up on top of something – Twilight couldn't see what with the crowd in the way.

“We're now completely out of medicine, everypony!” The nurse shouted out. “So for everyone still trying to get treated, all we can do is recommend some warm soup and plenty of bed rest!”

This elicited a great deal of grumbling in the crowd. Twilight could only wonder how long some of them must have been waiting, only to hear that.

“We're expecting another shipment next Tuesday,” the nurse continued, which brought even more grumbling, and a few calls of “Tuesday!?!” from the crowd, but the nurse's last word entirely changed the crowd... a simple addition of, “hopefully,” just barely loud enough for anypony to hear.

As Nurse Redheart hopped down from her impromptu platform, the mood of the crowd completely changed, from resentful anger to worried fear. These ponies weren't used to the idea that help might not come, and it clearly shook them.

“Well, now that we wasted ALL morning here,” Rainbow said, turning to Twilight crossly. “What are we gonna do now?”

Twilight was saved from her chagrin by a sudden belch accompanied by a gout of green flame. Spike caught the letter and began to unroll it even before it hit the ground. “It's from Princess Celestia,” he said.

“Well what's it say, hotshot?” Twilight prodded.

As the crowd surrounding the clinic started to break up and head home, Spike began to read, “Her Grand Royal Highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, hereby issues royal decree numbered four hundred and eighty seven, in light of–”

“An official royal decree!?!” Twilight shouted, “I haven't heard of one of those outside of a history book! Nopony has! The last one was issued almost seven hundred years ago to–”

Twilight suddenly noticed her friends' glares. Sheepishly, she backed down a little. “Heh... sorry about that...”

Spike mustered a look of complete disdain and annoyance, and continued, “Now, if we can avoid any further interruptions... Ahem, ... In light of the sickness known only as the 'Fairflanks malady' spreading throughout Equestria, it is hereby decreed that this is a full-scale emergency, and all royal resources will be immediately employed to the finding of a cure... Repeat, all current projects will be put on hold until a cure is found. Any information should be forwarded to the desk of Healing Heart, president of the royal research hospital, fifteen-twenty Songwind's Lane, Canterlot. ... Residents of Equestria are advised to avoid all contact with infected ponies. Quarantine rules are in effect. Symptoms of the disease are as follows: a gradually worsening cough and sore throat, passing on to stomach ache and fever, leading to dehydration and fatigue, and then leading to death. Mortality rates are estimated at ninety-five percent. Our best pony doctors have been unable to make any progress. This disease seems entirely new, and bears no relation to the known cured diseases that we are familiar with, so any information will be most helpful. ... P.S. Be strong my little ponies, we will come through this. – Princess Celestia.”

Spike finished reading the letter, having paid more attention to his oratory skills than the actual message inside, and turning to his friends, he looked surprised to see that the reaction wasn't what his imagining of his oratory skills led him to expect. The five ponies – and quite a few of the ponies still lingering from the crowd – were all staring at him dumbfounded.

Rarity still laid on the ground, having fainted sometime during the letter, and Fluttershy cowered into a quivering little ball of yellow and pink fur. Rainbow Dash, as usual, was the first to spring to action. “So, what's the plan?”

The prospect of planning caught Twilight's attention enough to draw her out of her stupor. Plan indeed... But what can I do about this? I don't know anything about medicine, or know anypony who does... anyPONY... Twilight's face lit up as the idea struck. Come on girls! To the Everfree Forest!

Twilight was greeted only by confused looks, until Applejack deduced her idea. “Zecora! Let's go!”

The four ponies began to dash off... only to stop a moment later. Four? Twilight thought, Wait. Rarity! Twilight quickly trotted back to rouse her fainted friend. Wow... usually she just pretends to faint... but this time she really did! Still, a few shakes were enough to bring Rarity back to the conscious world, leaving the group now ready to go.

With an eye roll from Rainbow Dash, the now five ponies dashed off towards the Everfree forest.

* * *

“Come along, Hooves!”

Derpy Hooves hurried through the Ponyville's Stirrup Street as quickly as she could... which wasn't fast enough for Doctor Whooves, apparently. It wasn't easy when she couldn't keep from bumping into ponies and buildings and anything else in the way.

“We need to get out of here before the disaster comes.” He seemed pretty serious about that.

“What disaster?” She looked around and held her little Dinky closer than usual, even more confused than usual. “Everything looks fine.”

“This isn't a good place to talk about it.” The Doctor looked warily around at the ponies surrounding them. “I'm glad we could come back for your daughter, but I didn't mean to get back this late... the disease is already spreading, and we have to get out before we catch it, okay?”

Derpy still didn't know what he was talking about... but she had been traveling with him long enough to know that he was usually right. She rushed after him again, eager to get herself and her precious little daughter to safety inside the tardis.

* * *

Comments

[ocalhoun]

1780932
I know, right?
Thanks for giving it a chance!

[Vibrant lies]

Mhmm... Seemed interesting...