Author's Note

Quick warning for the squeamish: This is a plague story, so in this chapter and multiple chapters from here on out there will be details as to the effects of the plague on the citizens of this world. While I'm sure it's not too bad and doesn't authorize a gore tag (yet) I still wish to warn yall ahead of time.

Chapter 6: A plague of purple

[Ponyville streets]

The group leaving the train station consisted of four individuals besides the Doctor, and three of said ponies looked like they had shared a few tears while Isaac had fetched Holy Lance and their bags, though they seemed quite certain it wasn't anything worth mentioning at the moment.

He would've pushed, but Marble assured Hollow that she had handled the situation and would tell him more later, and the Doctor decided to leave it at that. She seemed to have it under control, and that was enough for him.

Besides, the Doctor had bigger issues to worry about at the moment. Questions about this...whatever this was could wait for now.

"Tell me, Lance. Notice how empty these streets are? Even for an evening such as this there should be more ponies about right now, as most of their work schedules should've ended around now."

Carrying his duffel and the Doctors bag in his magic, Lance looked about as the group turned a corner and frowned, noticing for what seemed the first time how empty the town was, as not a single soul was in sight.

"Think they all got sick?" The unicorn asked, only for Twilight to shake her head.

"Since the time I last sent out an update to Princess Celestia, we've had a total of twelve sick, and those twelve have been moved to a solitary infirmary until more information could be gathered so the sickness shouldn't have been able to spread."

"It's more likely that they are hiding in their homes in fear. When a sickness spreads this hard, townsfolk tend to play it safe and not go out much." Hollow added on, noticing that every couple of houses they passed had window shades shuttering back and forth as the inhabitants inside peeked out to the world. "Until we can get a lid on this sickness, the situation here probably won't change."

"Ponies around here do scare easily, so they definitely won't be coming out until the all clear is sounded." Pinkie spoke up as they came to a stop in front of the only government building in town. "But it looks like we've arrived!"

Twilight trotted up to the door and opened it, stepping aside to allow everyone access inside.

"The mayor should be straight ahead in her office, but since the office itself isn't that big it will be only myself and the Doctor actually attending the meeting."

Giving a salute at that, Lance carefully placed the floating baggage on the ground and walked over to it, going to attention beside the bags.

"I'll stay out here and keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary."

Twilight turned to Pinkie, only to find that she had already moved herself and her sister to the bags, having decided to look at everything in Marbles possessions, much to said sisters annoyance.

"Me and my sister will chill out here with Mr. Lance!" Pinkie called out as she tried to peek at a notebook she pulled out, only for Marble to snatch it away and glare at her with a blush, intent on hiding the notebooks contents from her twin sister despite her current pleading to see it.

Hollow, watching everything unfurl before him, could only let out a sigh as he chalked it up to ponies being ponies...again. It was quite a common sight, and to be frank the Doctor was glad it hadn't unraveled further.

"Very well. Marble, you're in charge while I'm inside." Hollow stated, moving to the saddlebags and collecting the files from them before Pinkie messed them up by accident. "Myself and Princess Twilight will be back shortly, stay safe."

Receiving a nod and a good-bye wave from his companion, Hollow followed Twilight into the building, realizing just what she had meant earlier. The outside of the building itself was pretty big length-wise, but the inside was only a small lobby and a doorway that had to lead to the mayors office.

"Quite homely for a government building." Hollow remarked as he walked to the center of the room, eyeing a few chairs that seemed quite too small for him. "Then again, that's probably a good thing. Shows your mayor cares little for extravagant spending of taxes."

"The mayor has always put the town first when it comes to spending. She even does her own paperwork due to not having a secretary on hand, preferring to stay in the know about all of the towns current standings on an economical and societal level." Twilight explained as she held her hoof up to the door, going to knock before coming to a stop inches from the wood as she looked over her shoulder at Hollow.

"Doctor...can I ask you something?"

Crossing his arms, Hollow considered turning her down for the sake of hurrying the process of getting to the mayor but decided against it. Twilight had been nothing but kind and respectful up until now and the Doctor would rather not be abrasive to ponies that treated him well.

"Go on, just remember we are on a timetable for those who are sick." Hollow reminded the mare as she turned the rest of her body to face him, her expression deathly serious as she gave a nod back.

"Thanks, and it won't take long." The new alicorn stated before breathing in deeply for a moment before letting it all out. "About those sick you mentioned...do you think that you'll truly be able to help them?" She stated plainly, her demeanor becoming almost melancholic as her ears drooped. "The sick have suffered for weeks and have been getting worse."

"I can't say anything for certain until I actually see the sick...hence the visit here." Hollow pointed out, decrossing his arms in favor of placing them at his side. "I can understand the hesitation in placing their lives in my hands, but I'll tell you what I told Princess Celestia: I will do everything in my power to help those who are sick, regardless of wealth or status or ability to pay me back."

"And if you can't help them? If the sickness can't be cured and they end up either dead to the sickness or a potential outbreak hazard?" Twilight pushed, stepping closer as Hollow knelt down, leaning in close as he let out a sigh.

"Once again, I cannot answer until I've seen the sick. You can push these questions all you want AFTER I get to examine one of the infected individuals. Until then I recommend you keep your composure and help me help your town, princess."

Twilight stepped back, blinking at the man before her several times before letting out a sigh of her own, her face showing just how tired of this situation she was.

"I'm sorry, your right. You haven't even seen any of the sick yet and here I am demanding you be able to know how to fix the problem." Shaking her head, Twilight looked up at the Doctor with marks of sadness in her eyes. "One of my best friend is among the sick, and I don't know what I would do if something happened to her or any of my best friends so all of this has been hard on me, especially now with you being a potential cure for the problem where both the local hospital and the Equestrian Health System have failed." She finished speaking as a few tears dropped from her eyes, starting to form a small blotch on the carpeted floor beneath her.

Watching the mare in front of him, a pony who had been all smiles and eager personality a few mere weeks ago, be reduced to such a pained emotional state hurt the Doctor to watch. If Hollow had been a different man he would've stopped everything and comforted the mare there and then, swearing that he would save her friends and town and make sure everything ended happily.

But that wasn't who Isaac was. Not anymore. And this Doctor had a job to do. He had a chance to at least try and save this town, and he would not be able to do so by wasting time on shallow words and promises he may not be able to keep.

Words don't bring back the dead, nor do they help the living stay that way. The only way Hollow could help the crying mare before him was to do his job.

"I understand all too well the pain of watching those you care suffer." Hollow stated as he moved past the princess and raised his hand to the door, knocking on it three times before opening it slightly before looking back at the purple pony behind him. "However, you are also a figure of leadership in this town, and the inhabitants of this town need you. So as I said before, keep your composure and help me by protecting the townsfolk that arent sick, that way I can do my job without worrying about them possibly getting sick."

Leaving the princess her time to herself to stop her tears, Hollow entered the office and closed the door behind him as quietly as possibly. Taking a quick glance of the room the only thing that caught his eye was a dark oak desk sitting center in the room upon a rather faded blue carpet.

Behind said desk, which was littered with cluttered papers and pens and other small things, was a pony bearing a tan-like color to her fur and a mane that bore two highlights of grey through it.

She also seemed quite absorbed in her paperwork at the moment. She hadn't even noticed the rather tall creature standing in front of her desk.

"I assume your the mayor?"

Hearing the unfamiliar voice snapped the mayor out of her funk, making her glance up from her duties only for her eyes to widen considerably as she pushed back a bit from the creature with her wheely-chair.

"Oh my goodness! I didn't even hear you come in!" The mayor squeaked out before she coughed into a hoof, regaining her composure much faster than the Doctor anticipated as she wheeled back to her original spot at her desk. "Now, what does such a...uniquely dressed individual like you need assistance with? I am sure your no resident of this town, so I am sorry to inform you that we aren't exactly in the shape to be accommodating at the moment to tourists."

Pulling the papers Hollow received from Marbles saddlebags, Isaac placed them on her desk, tapping the one detailed with what was going on in the town pertaining to the sickness...something the Doctor really needed to get to reading over later.

"I was sent by Princess Celestia about the sick. If given the chance, I might be able to help the ponies who are suffering."

The mayor picks the document up and looks it over, her eyes roaming each line of the papyrus with diligent scrutinization before they land on the royal seal in the corner.

"So my request for help from the crown was answered? The princess believes you can help us?" The mayor speaks up, her tone a cocktail of both hope and suspicion. It's likely the Doctor hadn't been the first one to speak such words to the mayor, but if things went the way Hollow was hoping they would then he would be the last.

"I received herbical training that specialized in unique sicknesses and diseases, and as such the princess believes I am a way of helping where the Equestrian Health System cannot seem to succeed."

Looking up at him, the mayor seemed to be hesitant to accept his offer as she stood up and moved around her desk, circling the man once before coming to a stop in front of him.

"One question before I accept your aid in saving my town." She states before pointing at Hollows mask and trailing her hoof down to his boots. "If your goal is to save ponies and heal the sick, why do you dress in such dark garments? If you don't mind me saying so they don't exactly give the impression of somepony who's here to help."

Smiling behind his mask, the Doctor couldn't blame the mayor for her neither her curiosity nor where it was aimed. It wasn't exactly regular uniform for a nurse or doctor, especially not one who works with the sick. However, it was the last piece of where he came from, and even if it made his job harder Hollow would never stop wearing it.

"It's from my homeland, a place I probably not see again while I still draw breath." Hollow answered, an almost nostalgic tone in his voice as he spoke. "I bear these clothes because I made my oath to help others bearing these robes, and they will be on me until the day my job is done."

The mayor looks up at him for a minute or so with an expression the Doctor can't place. She seemed to be mulling over his words for a while before she went to speak.

"Very well. As you were sent by the princess, I would be foolish not to accept your aid." Returning to her desk, the mayor hoofed the papers back to Hollow before taking a seat once more. "Princess Twilight is currently handling the safekeeping and monitering of the sick. You will need to confer with her about their location and how to approach handling them, as well as the housing you have been given in return for your services."

"Very well. The princess should still be outside, so I'll ask her to catch me up." With a slight bow, the Doctor turned on his heels and exited through the door he had entered, giving a wave to Twilight as she stopped her from what looked to be pacing around the waiting room the entire time he had been gone.

"If you were that stressed about what I was doing you could've easily came in and checked in on us." Hollow remarked as he returned the papers in his hand to a pocket on the inside of his vest. "Though you didn't miss much, after telling the mayor I was sent by the princess she was eager to accept my offer to help the town."

"Thank goodness. I assume she's given the go ahead for things moving forward then?" Giving the princess a nod, Twilight motioned for Hollow to follow her outside as she spoke. "Good, then we can head to your housing and drop off your bags, then we can move on to checking in on the sick."

Exiting the building, the duo was met with the sight of a very red faced Marble as her sister was pestering her with multiple questions while a very amused Holy Lance watched from the sidelines.

"Oh, C'mon! Your telling you two sleep in the same bed and DON'T get busy! I've seen how you two act around each other, you act like mom and dad do whenever they think they're alone!"

Blushing even harder, Marble turned her face away from Pinkie...only to look straight at Hollow in the process, who gave her a wave and a mask-hidden smile.

"The mayor gave us the go ahead to begin working with the sick." Hollow informed the group, getting a small smile out of the still Blushing Marble.

"Then we shouldn't waste anytime in settling in. Those ponies need our help as soon as possible." The shy mare spoke up, trying her best not to look at her still giggling sister who pronked over to deadpanned Twilight who looked unamused by her friends silly mood.

"Agreed, we'll stop by the house the princess obtained for you and drop off any uneeded items there, then I'll guide you to the shelter we have for the afflicted townsponies." Twilight told them, turning to lead the way as Holy Lance levitated the baggage on the side in his magic.

"So, what type of digs did we get for this job?" The stallion spoke up as they began to walk the still-empty streets of Ponyville.

"It's a really nice house a block down from my place with the Cakes!" Pinkie exclaimed as she pronked alongside the group, occasionally circling them as she did so. "It used to this funny doctor guy, though he hasn't been seen around town in a while."

"Dr. Whooves is on a business trip at the moment, at least that's what Rarity told me." Twilight butted in, looking unamused at her friends way of referring to the mentioned pony. "She overheard Derpy talking about it when the mailmare came in to have her saddlebags stitched up after her most recent...delivery."

"Aaaanyway, the doctor told the mare he might be a while and put the house up on the market, so now it's your house!" Pinkie finished, coming to a stop in front of a rather unassuming building among the other houses around it.

The house itself didn't have any major differences in design, minus the fact the outside walls were grey instead of the lighter color used on every other house the Doctor had seen in town. The door, windows, and roofs shared their appearance with their neighbors but the roofing seemed to look reinforced with more than just hay as there looked to be metal plating outlining the foundations.

"Hmm...not bad, looks better than the buildings back home that's for sure." Hollow commented, walking up to the door and twisting the knob and pushing the door open a tad. "Surprised it's not locked up, but with a small town like this I assume thievery and break-ins don't really happen often?"

"I've lived in Ponyville for only a few years, but in the time I've been here there hasn't been any crimes like that." Twilight responded as the group went into the house one by one behind Hollow (who had to duck a bit to get into the house at all), with Lance following the rear as he took the time to move the bags in behind him one by one.

"Really? There's almost zero guard presence out here at the moment so I'm surprised nothing like that happens at all!" Lance said, closing the door behind him as he turned his focus to the inside of the house and found himself just ad surprised as everyone else. "Um...is this a magic thing or did we enter the wrong house?"

The Doctor was currently sharing in the confusion the stallion had at the moment. As opposed to the rather simple sizing the outside of the house showed, the inside was much larger than expected. The main room had a serious amount of space in it and several empty tables and cabinets lining the walls, each one having almost no dust or signs of wear on any of the wood space. Even the roof above their heads was higher than what he had expected, allowing the decently tall Doctor to stand at his full height without worry for smashing his head against any hanging foundations.

"Do all of the residential buildings in ponyville have this level of accommodation?" Hollow asked aloud as he ran a hand across the foundations above him, feeling his gloved fingers running across the wooden beams as a smile etched across his face.

It feels like a lifetime ago that I handled such wood, whoever made this house was a master at their craft.

"I...don't know to be honest." Twilight admitted, lighting her horn as the room was coated in a lavender light for a moment before dimming, only causing the princess to frown. "I can sense some sort of mystical energy around this place, but the scan isn't coming up with any answers on what type of magic this is."

"Well, if we weren't on a timetable I'd look into it more but we do have a job to do so it will have to wait." Hollow responded, turning his gaze from the wood to the group, pointing a finger at the overly pink pony beside his partner. "Pinkie your not coming with us."

"What!?! Why?" Pinkie exclaimed in shock as she shot over to the Doctor, grabbing him by the legs and looking up at him from the floor. "My friends are sick and I want to help!"

"You can help by staying away from the sick and not risking further spread of the sickness. The less ponies that go the better." Hollow remarked as he turned to Lance. "Which is why my guard will be staying behind too. After all, with Twilight will be with us if something bad happens for now."

Blinking in surprise, Lance snapped out of it and stepped forward as he shook his head.

"Absolutely not, Sir! I was tasked with protecting you and those under your care, and I can't do that unless I am present with you!"

Watching the stallion for a moment Hollow sighed and chuckled lightly at the guards work ethic.

"Fine, you come along." Looking back down, Hollow used a finger to stop the pink attachment from speaking, placing it on her nose as he spoke up. "You, however, have no such orders and most likely know ponies that are also unharmed right? You should probably go check in on them for me, if you want to help. If anyone seems odd or not what your used to seeing them like let me know immediately."

Hopping to her hooves, Pinkie gave the doctor a salute and a smile that had her tongue sticking out of the corner.

"Will do, Doctor!" She affirmed joyfully before pronking over to her sister and giving her a bear hug, lifting the poor mare off her hooves and shaking her slightly. "Be good, little sister!"

Dropping Marble, Pinkie shot over and did the same to Twilight, who seemed mixed between enjoying the hug and not liking being shaken like a bottle of soda.

"Pinkie! Let me down!" Twilight told the extremely huggy mare with a smile and a small laugh, getting Pinkie to place her back on the floor before she waved bye to the guard.

"I'll see everypony later! Byeeeeeeeeee!" With zero hesitation, Pinkie shot out the front door, holding the 'e' of bye the whole way until she was far out of hearing range.

Watching the door for a moment, Hollow shook his head and glanced at Marble, who had a rather large smile on her face into the wake of her sisters chaotic antics.

"I still don't know how she's your sister by the way." Hollow said, smirking as he ignores the tongue Marble sticks out at him as he claps his hands together, pointing at Twilight with one immediately. "We are just about ready to head out, princess, all I need is one last thing before we go."

Dropping his pointing hand, Hollow moves to the baggage resting against the wall and picks up the one belonging to him. Opening it, Hollow pulls out the staff from withen and places it off to the side before grabbing the lantern as well, something that gave Holy Lance reason to speak up.

"Uh...I've seen bags being enchanted and all to hold more stuff, as my own duffel is the same...but why were you traveling with a lit lantern? Isn't that a safety risk?"

Attaching the lantern to the staff, Hollow shook his head as he ran a hand through the flames, yet felt nothing as they danced across his fingertips.

"Usually, yes. However, this was a gift from Marbles father." The purple flame stood strong as the Doctor spoke, giving off an warm light that seemed almost unnatural to the ponies looking on. "He said it was a keepsake he had used during his pilgrimage to Equestria, and wanted myself to have it while I traveled, saying it would be of great use to me."

Glancing at Marble, Hollow felt himself smile once more before he returned his attention back to the guard.

"But we've wasted enough time as is." Hollow commented as he motioned to the princess, who looked like she desperately wanted some more details to the staff, as he had never brought it up before with her and had apparently caught her interests with it. "Twilight, if you would please?"

Shaking off her primal desire for questions at the moment, Twilight gave a nod and lit her horn once more.

"I'll be teleporting us there, so if anypony gets teleport-sickness I'd suggest you prepare yourself." Pausing for a moment as Twilight saw Marble move to Hollow and lean against him the lavender mare couldnt help but mentally 'awww' at the sight. "Alright then, let's go!"

The group vanished in a flash of lavender light, leaving the house empty as the teleportees found themselves in a completely different building than before.

"So, where in town are we now?" Lance asked, piercing the silence as the unicorn took in his surroundings, noting how the room they were in was almost devoid of anything except four doors, one behind them and three in front side by side with plaques attached to the middle of them.

"This is the solitary ward in the Ponyville Hospital, though due to it not being used until recently the staff had to do some renovations to get it standard." Twilight began to explain as she guided the group to the middle door, the words "Screen room" written on its plaque. "The hospital itself is on the other side of town in relation to the house you'll be staying in, so for the sake of time I brought us here instead."

Opening the door with her magic, Hollow found himself being led into a room with two glass screens, one for the left and right sides with a table and a few chairs in the center of the room. The walls and floor were almost barren, with only a few filing cabinets and a rusty light hanging from the roof to show for decoration.

Taking a glance at both screens, Hollow noted the one on the right had no lighting or way to see what the room on the other side held within, a stark contrast to brightly lit left side which had multiple hospital beds. Each bed held a pony that was hooked up to devices that from what the Doctor could tell seemed to be monitering their health.

"I assume those are the sick." Hollow said solemnly, his eyes on the differing states each of the townsfolk were in and how bad each case was going to be.

"Regretfully so, yes." Twilight answered, moving on his right as Marble moved to his left, the shy mare gasping as she took in what was before her. "The ponies in this room are those who got sick from seconhand exposure to the afflicted who got the sickness from contact with the vines."

Looking at the sick, Hollow reached into his vestments and pulled out the documents on the affliction, deciding to compare the notes to the site in front of him.
_____________________________
After the events of the vine attack on Ponyville, there was a small respite before the first recorded site of the affliction was found. Eyewitness reports state the pony by the name of Derpy Hooves had been suffering from a coughing fit while doing her rounds for the seven days after the vine attack, and had been around several ponies before the day of the incident, where she reportedly attacked the Element of Honesty while she way to the market square. While the pegasus had been contained and quarantined, there was no mistaking the fact she was unwell{see list later below for unique symptom list for patient zero}. However, several of the ponies she had encountered on her rounds were also slowly becoming sick after three days of close proximity to the mare had passed by.
_____________________________

Looking up from the papers to the sick, Hollows eyes jumped from patient to patient as he continued to glance at the notes in his hands, comparing their current conditions to the notes in his hands.
______________________________
After almost a week of research since the attack in the square, it became apparant the ponies who had been infected by close proximity to Derpy Hooves only started showing noticeable symptoms almost a week after being in contact with the mare, with worsening symptoms appearing on the hour after. Said symptoms show up in an exact order: In the first day of activity the afflicteds fur begins to mat down in irregular patterns on their body, followed by said fur feeling almost dry to the touch regardless of how much moisture is applied. In days two through five the afflicted begins to suffur from coughing fits and and suffer through dizzy spells and occasional vomiting, though it should be noted that the afflicted only seem to have these symptoms if around other creatures not infected and if the sick are isolated this step seems to not occur.
______________________________

"Doctor, is every-" Twilight went to speak, but was stopped mid-sentence by Marble, who quietly shushed her and shook her head.

"He's focusing, leave him be for now." The shy mare whispered, looking back up at Hollow for a moment before moving to the desk, sitting down in one of the chairs without making a sound. "When he gets like this it's best to let him do his thing, as it's part of his process. He'll be done soon."

Moving to the table herself, Twilight sat across from Marble just as Lance trotted over to her side, glancing at the dark room nervously.

"Princess, if you don't mind me asking what's in that other room? I might have been imagining it but I could've swore I saw something moving in the dark."

Taking a deep breath, Twilight looked down at the table for a moment as she collected her thoughts, something Lance noticed as he took a step back from the mare and sighed.

"Apologies, Princess. If it's something that serious I'll leave it be for now, I simply asked out for the safety of my charges."

"No, your fine. Once the Doctor is done looking at the other patients through the glass then I'll turn on the light in that room...he'll need to see what the other patients too." Twilight lamented as Hollow suddenly did a one-eighty, moving over to the table.

"You mean the ones who had direct contact with these vines I read about?" Hollow asked, getting a nod from the princess as he quickly moved to the other screen window. "Don't turn it on until I give the OK, I want to get a look into what your about to show me."

"Alright, let me know when and I'll illuminate that area." Twilight said, watching as the Doctor flipped the paper over and found what looked to be a highlighted section on the back.

______________________________
It should be noted that the infected who received direct contact from the vines have had a rather grotesque change compared to the ones listed above. So far, only three ponies are being affected this way, but the symptoms of a direct infection are far more severe than those who received it via secondhand exposure. Those who are directly infected spend the first week like the others, minus their behavoir slowly getting more erratic over time. During isolated confinement though, these patients began to suffur from abnormal changes to their body, such as odd bumps on the body that would release a purple pus and extreme shedding of fur and mane. The subjects also began to violently target anything not infected and had to be seperated. It is my belief that if a cure is not found then the other sick might slowly become what has become of those three individuals.

For all of our sakes, Princess...find a cure to this, or at least someone who can.
~Agent S.D
______________________________

"The three ponies who had direct contact with the vines and have been showing signs of sickness were all ponies I knew of and cared about...both townsfolk and friends alike." Twilight told the Doctor, having walked up beside him as he was reading, and staring down at her Hollow found nothing but pain in her gaze. "Applejack, my best friend I mentioned earlier, is in this section of the ward along with Derpy and Amethyst Star in hopes of keeping them safely contained until a cure is found."

Hollow felt his hands clench up as he turned to the darkened window once more. Steeling himself for whatever ghastly sight was hiding in the shadows, Hollow let out a deep breath and gave the princess a nod.

"Light it up."

Feeling Marble come up beside him, Hollow let his right hand move across her back as she pressed into him, finding the action oddly soothing while Twilight began to light her horn, reaching out with her magic to whatever source of light was in that room.

"Could it really be that much worse tha-Oh...Oh sweet Celestia." Lance began in a questioning tone, only to end in a whisper as the room was engulfed in light, revealing the three figures to the Doctor at last.

In the farthest left corner of the room from the window was what had to be the pegasus from the notes. Hollow could barely make out what was left of her blonde mane as most of it was gone, and whatever wasn't fur on her body was now covered in splotches of purple, with the excreting bumps doing their job as occasional driplits of the purple pus hit the ground beneath her as she continued to fly into the corner over and over.

Standing rather ominously near the doorway was what the Doctor could see was a unicorn, though only because her horn barely stuck out from the cluster of bumps around her head. This pony however had no mane left, and seemed to have almost all of her bumps closer to her head while her body was shaved clean of fur, replaced by the same splotches on the naked skin beneath. The poor things face was far from recognizable due to the buildup of pus blocking any trace of it.

And lastly, mere inches from the window and seemingly staring right at the Doctor was another pony, one of the earth variety if not of lack of wings or horn from the Doctors perspective. Her mane was still attached around the top of her head, most likely due to the brown hat on her head somehow keeping it there, but the fur from her body and tail was just about gone, replaced by the splotchy mess the others shared. However, since this was the only patient looking his direction Hollow got his first look at what the face of the infected looked like this far into the contagions hold.

The mare's eyes were far past bloodshot, there wasn't even any white left in them, with only the dilated pupils showing through the red veins. It was hard to tell, but Hollow could almost make out a orange tint past all of the splotches on her face... most likely the mares natural coat hanging on by a thread. Both the mares' nose holes and ears seemed to be stock full of that purple gunk that was seeping from the bumps across her body.

What stood out the most however was her smile. The mare was staring straight at the glass with a huge smile, allowing everyone looking at her to see the red and purple stains going across her teeth.

"It's like she knows I'm here." Twilight sobbed quietly, her eyes lining with tears. "Every time I come down here Applejack comes up to this window, even with the lights off. They can't look through this glass at all but she never fails to come to this spot when I into this room." Twilight turns away from her friend and curls up, using her wings to hide her face as she begins to break down.

Marble left Hollows side to console the mare while Lance had to excuse himself to go outside the room and hurl, leaving the Doctor the only one left to stare into the eyes of this plague before him.

As the sounds of Twilights sobs break the silence of the room, Hollow breathes in deeply before releasing it from his nose as he collects his thoughts.

I will overcome this plague. I don't care what it costs me, but I will save these ponies.

Turning on his heels, Hollow pockets the papers and begins to head to the door, only to stop and turn to his companion, who was still mid-hug with Twilight as she slowly calmed down.

"Get the princess to a state she can cast that teleport spell, I need to get back to our house and begin looking into this." Hollow told her, exiting out the room and leaving Marble to handle the princess.

After all, Hollow had a job to do.