A Thousand Lives

Plague's doctor office was far from what most ponies thought of as a place of healing. This was intentional. The first reason for this deception was the fact that Plague had no medical licensing whatsoever. In fact the only thing he could reliably fix was a broken leg. The other reason was that he was a premier street doc. If a criminal had gotten a scrape in the night, they would haul themselves over to the Plague House, which if you looked at the business records was s imply a hotel, and ask if the plague was in. He always was. The way he had stayed in business to be the top doctor in the underground scene was two fold. One, was that most of his nurses were actually the trained surgeons, and paid as such. The other was that he was one of the most skill prosthetic makers in all of Equestria. If it hadn't been for his earlier experiments he could easily have been a royal doctor.

But he never spent time worrying about what if's. In fact. As he was sitting in his study with his on duty nurse, he was more worried about his uniform. While the cloak still fully covered him, his long, bird-like mask had a chip in it, revealing his yellow fur, though it still covered where a horn would be. An earth pony doctor was rare enough, no reason to show off who he really was. "Vell." He said, his accent clearly audible. "I feel like zis crack vill give avay my face."

The assistant, a zebra who had found Plague by being temporarily assigned to the palace, let out a short snort. "Your mask is fine, oh doctor of mine."

Though hidden by his mask, Plague blushed. The zebra mare was cute, and he had been debating asking her out for a while now. He knew her word choice was to keep up the rhyme, but he still hoped it was flirting. He raised himself up. "Yes, but you know as vell as I that Criminals come her for ze show of ze Plague Doctor." He began fidgeting. "But I vell leave it for ze moment. Is zat pony vith the info coming soon?"

The zebra stood, and affixed a cloak to her front, covering all but her muzzle. "Yes of course, oh doctor dear. Of him being tardy, have no fear."

Plague shuffled. That was definitely flirting. As much as he welcomed it he was at best a novice flirt. If somepony was being polite he could be called acceptable. His lack of social grace was another reason he worked with criminals after all. He moved towards his normal post for scheduled appointments. Behind the desk, standing tall. He raised his hood, making the glass inserts of his mask shine brightly above his beak. The zebra mare moved beside him, before whispering in a serious tone. "Skipping the rhyming, this one's from the castle. He made me as one of your nurses. He said he needed this info to circulate. Be careful."

Plague paused. Shaman's always rhymed, it was a cultural thing. If she had been willing to forgo it then this was important. He nodded. "Of course Zendra. I alvays show utmost caution."

Zendra giggled. "Of course not, silly Plague, though of his info he was vaugue."

Plague waited a moment before a knock sounded at his door, after a moment a robed pony walked in. His robe fully covered his body, making him seem to be a dark bedsheet walking around. Plague made sure to keep quiet about it. Ponies who never dealt with criminals seemed to think there was quiet a few more rules then there actually were. He nodded towards the pony. "Vhat is it you are wanting. I have been told you wish to part vith some invormation?"

The pony paused, before glancing at Zendra. Plague could feel the glare from under the hood. But the pony sighed and began speaking. "Yes, there is a dangerous creature in the castle. We wish for your to spread word of it to all members of the thieves guild and mention where it is staying when I can tell you."

Plague paused at that. He was not normally an informant, but bits were bits. He could buy the info, then sell it to his customers at a higher price. a perfect plan. He looked at Zendra, who slightly moved her tail in an affirmative gesture. He smiled beneath his mask. "Of course, I zink ve can come to an arrangement. How much vould zis cost me?"

The pony shuffled as if unsure. "Yes well, that is why I am here. The Eye would like your services if we manage to capture the creature. You come highly recommended for interrogation and intimidation. For the information the only thing we want is you to help us at a discount when the time comes."

Plague sighed. He hated being used for that. All he ever actually did was start talking in a threatening manner while wearing his uniform. Ponies were so skittish around a scary pony with an accent. But it was a fair deal. "Ver vell zhen, I vill do zis for you. Once ze are planned out, I vill be available barring major zurgery."

The pony nodded, before moving to a pillow and sitting down. "Well then, I'll give you the details. I'll pass all the info to the court alchemist when I get it." At this he looked at Zendra. Plague frowned. This was going to be a long meeting.