Twilight reread the first few words of the book. To say she was surprised by what she saw was an understatement; she knew perfectly well who the supposed author of this book was, but this was definitely not something she would write.

Nostramane from what she remembered was an accomplished apothecary living some five hundred years ago, as well as a supposed seer. She was known mainly for the latter unfortunately, as many ponies were gullible enough to believe in her nonsensical "prophecies" and seek deeper meaning in her words. There were even whole conspiracy theory circles dedicating their time on pursuing supposed leads and connections to her predictions It was of course a load of hogwash in Twilight's opinion, but nonetheless she was familiar with all her works, even if only to disprove them in a scientific manner.

This however… this was something new. An actual manuscript that seemed to be written by Nostramane herself, it didn't match any known book written by her. Twilight never heard of "The Plaguebearer" before, and judging by its cover it wasn't exactly a collection of made up prophecies. Curiosity winning over her earlier reluctance, Twilight turned a page, discovering it indeed wasn't a collection of prophecies. Instead, she found something much different.

…and in doing so he has brought my attention towards the far east, beyond the shimmering waters of the trackless sea, to the city of Coltcutta. The word of the town suffering from one of the oldest plagues known to pony kind was proof enough. He must be there, growing in power, preparing to cross the ocean and start his reign of terror in the lands under the rule of our Holy Protector. And I shall not sit idly back and wait for that to happen. Between my knowledge of medicine and the gift bestowed upon me by The Lady of the Sun herself, I shall conquer all the hardships he will place before me and prevent him from tainting my homeland with his wickedness. So help me Celestia!

Twilight didn't know what to think about that, the book starting practically from the middle. After a short inspection she realized that a few pages were missing, as if someone ripped them out, but considering the state of other books in this library it wasn't something all that surprising. Still, she lacked the context to those words and she could only guess as to what Nostramane was referring to.

Twilight turned the page and found the rest of the book written in the form of a diary. Entries were supplied with dates they were referring to, and they ranged from short and to the point notes to larger, more elaborate entries. Figuring she might learn something more from them, Twilight began carefully leafing through them.

Managed to board the last ship to Coltcutta this year. Captain sais journey will take about a month with favorable winds. Brought medical equipment –might prove useful.

Half way there. Hope wind does not change. Crewmembers getting more and more obtrusive; now I know why most mares loath traveling by sea.

Overheard conversation between crewmembers. They were talking about the latest news from Coltcutta. Seems like my suspicions are correct; town has problems with plague (name of disease not given). Possibility of enacting quarantine in city. Note to self: prepare plan in case of having to bypass quarantine quickly.

Reached Coltcutta. City looks impressive; architecture like nothing in Equestria, yet the picture is marred by the districts of the poor. As feared, city is on lockdown; no pony can get in or out. Tomorrow will try getting inside.

Managed to bypass quarantine (easier than expected). Looking for a place to set up and stay. In the meantime will keep eyes peeled for victims of plague.

Found group of victims on street near district of poor. Suspicions confirmed: discolored coats, blisters and open wounds, puss, and rotting parts of body clearly indicate l̴̥̺̳ͅẹ̺̙̲͓͇̕p͔̺̠̞̹͡r͈̳o̤̮s͕͚̙̠ͅy̩.

Twilight strained her eyes trying to read the last word. It seemed like if it was covered by some sort of stain, which would make sense around here. However, as she was about to continue reading, something caught her attention and momentarily distracted her from her research.

The room was filled with the putrid smell of a pony suffering from advanced leprosy, originating from the book at Twilight's hooves. Yet even with that morbid stench lingering in the air, Twilight was able to pick up another, similar smell. It was like if something was rotting away intensively, like if somepony just moved a mound of trash, releasing a cloud of odor. Gagging, she began searching for the source of the smell, hoping to get rid of it. For some odd reason however it seemed to originate from the book itself, mainly from the front pages which were now obstructed from view by the latter ones. Wondering what was going on Twilight turned the pages back, and nearly dropped the book once she got to the first page.

She couldn't wrap her head around what she had just witnessed. It made absolutely no sense, yet she was one hundred percent sure that she wasn't just hallucinating this. She doubted that her mind could come up with the picture of parchment pages being covered in rot, and not just any kind of rot, but the variety most common on a pony's body.

Twilight stared at the odd phenomenon, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. It was thanks to her freezing up she was able to notice something that both made her even more confused and sent a shiver down her spine. The layer of rot and decay covering the pages was growing, spreading along its surface, consuming the parchment in front of her very eyes. Confused beyond words, Twilight was still able to think at least partially logically, which led her to a frightening realization.

"If I don't hurry up the whole book may rot away." She whispered to herself, gulping down her nerves. Shakily, Twilight turned the pages back to the place where she left off and began scanning them in search for something interesting. It was moments like this she was thankful that she learned speed reading.

Managed to find place for my experiments. Placed out of the way, in quiet part of town; scarcely patrolled, so risk of being found out is minimal. Considering some forms of treatment I plan on testing it is preferable not to draw attention.

Cursory glance at nearest districts seems promising. Percentage of infected is high; at least 7% of population has l̴̥̺̳ͅẹ̺̙̲͓͇̕p͔̺̠̞̹͡r͈̳o̤̮s͕͚̙̠ͅy̩.

And again with leprosy being almost illegible. Twilight was beginning to wonder if it was some kind of attempt at redacting information, but didn't dwell too much on it. The rot was constantly spreading, not waiting for her to ponder such things.

This is getting frustrating! Even though I offer free treatment and a chance to be rid of their curse, I cannot seem to convince any of the local ill to come with me. It must have something to do with the strange custom they have here. I noticed this earlier and back then though it a curiosity. Now however I begin to see the real meaning behind this.

Castes. Ponies here segregate themselves into castes. One cast is responsible for say running an inn, while a completely different caste keeps the streets tidy. Interactions between casts is also limited and highly ritualized, to the point where I have difficulties understanding what is a custom here and what is day-to-day interactions.

The fact everything here circles around castes makes me an outsider in their eyes, and somepony not to be trusted. They choose either to limit their contacts with me, or ignore me altogether. I fear that until I manage to take care of this issue I will not be able to conduct much research.

Prize the Sun, I have found a solution! I have managed to spot a group of ponies responsible for helping the ill, I guess they belong to the appropriate caste. They do not seem to be held in too high regards, but alas –it is better to have a method of reaching to the ill than not have any. I shall attempt to emulate their behavior and acquire similar garb to the one worn by them.

Managed to get clothes similar to those of physicians. Immediate successful interaction with ill. Managed to convince a few to come with me and be examined. Note to self: need to procure several beds and other necessities for patients; forming a small l̤̫̭̯̥͙̼͟ep͖̩̲͝ŕo̰̪̹s͍͉͕a̡r̭̭͙͇̕i̟͘u̮m̭̝ needs to be my next step.

Tests conducted on ill prove beyond doubt that this is indeed l̴̥̺̳ͅẹ̺̙̲͓͇̕p͔̺̠̞̹͡r͈̳o̤̮s͕͚̙̠ͅy̩. Interestingly enough, most of the infected are not sure how they came down with the illness. Some of them state that they were infected in the classical manner, but two or three of them said something about being cursed by an evil power (possible lead!). Will have to investigate further.

Twilight's heart began beating faster after the last two sentences. It appeared that Nostramane had a similar experience to her own, at least when it came to the fact of something presumably being responsible for the spread of the disease. In fact, it seemed like she was going after whatever was causing the leprosy. While Twilight was still skeptical about the whole story with the Leper Messiah, she wasn't going to ignore a possible source of information on him.

First full-time patients are coming in, all of them from the poor districts (possible point of origin). Began treating them using all available resources, utilizing both classical methods as well as some less known or experimental. As of now results are inconclusive; need time to get anything solid. Right now the hot water treatment seems promising.

Did a few interviews with new patients. Apparently, not all of them originated from the poor district. As per local custom, infected with l̴̥̺̳ͅẹ̺̙̲͓͇̕p͔̺̠̞̹͡r͈̳o̤̮s͕͚̙̠ͅy̩ are ostracized and excluded from the community. They refer to themselves as untouchables (fitting, considering their condition). This means that l̴̥̺̳ͅẹ̺̙̲͓͇̕p͔̺̠̞̹͡r͈̳o̤̮s͕͚̙̠ͅy̩ is more wide spread than I initially thought.

Managed to get a few of the patients to talk. Asked them if they knew anything about the entity that spreads the disease. Five out of ten declined such things happening. Four refused to elaborate beyond that there is evil lurking the streets of Coltcutta. Last one mentioned only one thing before becoming silent and refusing to talk: Grandfather of Rot (possibly the Plaguebearer?)

Hot water treatment is the stupidest idea I have ever heard of! I cannot understand how the zebra shamans are able to control the temperature of the water as to not boil their patients. Even though I am a unicorn I cannot control the heat to such an extent. After the loss of two patients I will not continue to use this method.

Trying a different angle in my approach. Decided to use simple healing spells on affected areas of skin on several patients. Seems to lessen the swelling and closes the wounds. Subjects Patients still have no feeling in healed areas. Possible internal damage?

Patents begin to notice I do not ridicule them for speaking of the Grandfather of Rot. This brought several information to my attention. Seems like the Grandfather is an urban legend of Coltcutta, a campfire story of sorts. It speaks of an elderly pony in the traditional garb of a Brahmane (highest caste), stalking the streets of the city. He is supposedly covered with blisters and infected skin, and is said to have puss flowing in his veins. Legends say that he is somehow responsible for the spread of l̴̥̺̳ͅẹ̺̙̲͓͇̕p͔̺̠̞̹͡r͈̳o̤̮s͕͚̙̠ͅy̩, although it is not stated how exactly. Despite several differences from the depiction provided in "Somnum Exterreri Solebat", I am able to see similarities to the Plaguebearer, which leads me to the conclusion that he is in the city.

"Somnum Exterreri Solebat?" Twilight muttered softly to herself. The name ringed a bell, though she was sure that she never read the book itself. After a moment she remembered where she heard that name before.

It was listed on the Index of Prohibited Books, and if that was the case, it must have been a really vile tome indeed. Princess Celestia didn't make a decision to ban any book lightly, and most of those that were on the list spoke of unimaginable things, either relicts of Nightmare Moon's wicked influence or treaties speaking of things questionable at best. The fact that apparently Nostramane read one of those books was worrisome.

Decided to conduct autopsy of recently deceased patient. It is not something completely legal, but I have reasons to believe that it may shed some light on the nature of l̴̥̺̳ͅẹ̺̙̲͓͇̕p͔̺̠̞̹͡r͈̳o̤̮s͕͚̙̠ͅy̩.

Autopsy will be conducted on the body of one Swift Lance; age 38; male pegasus, infected. Prior to his demise he was one of my patients; was taking the illness better than most, showed most promise to be "cured" with the abandoned hot water method. His death is a mystery in itself, and I hope to uncover its secret.

Results of autopsy brought forth more questions than answers. Despite showing close to no external signs of l̴̥̺̳ͅẹ̺̙̲͓͇̕p͔̺̠̞̹͡r͈̳o̤̮s͕͚̙̠ͅy̩, patient had his internal organs strongly affected (most medical treaties fail to mention that; magical healing of patients postponed until further notice). Surprisingly enough, it was not l̴̥̺̳ͅẹ̺̙̲͓͇̕p͔̺̠̞̹͡r͈̳o̤̮s͕͚̙̠ͅy̩ that ultimately killed him. Patient seems to have died of myocardial infarction. That and the fact that the patient was found curled in his bed leads me to believe that he was frightened to death by something. Will need investigating.

Interrogated patients closest to Swift Lance. Two patients mention hearing muttering coming from deceased. Apparently victim of a vivid nightmare; may be the reason behind heart attack.

Noticed something odd. No matter how far from the l̤̫̭̯̥͙̼͟ep͖̩̲͝ŕo̰̪̹s͍͉͕a̡r̭̭͙͇̕i̟͘u̮m̭̝ I find myself, each time I go back I make the same amount of steps. Always the same amount: exactly 2986 steps. Odd.

Close to no progress. Patients begin suspecting I have no idea what I am doing. I cannot blame them –I am in the dark. Some mutter of leaving and searching for other physicians. Did not decide what to do with the knowledge.

Mortality rate of patients increased by 50%. No idea why. Patients seem to develop advanced stadiums of l̴̥̺̳ͅẹ̺̙̲͓͇̕p͔̺̠̞̹͡r͈̳o̤̮s͕͚̙̠ͅy̩ unnaturally fast; the best I can do is provide them with painkillers and wait for the inevitable. Still, what could have spurred the disease to advance at such a quick rate?

Running low on medical supplies. Need to get hold of some more (local physicians perhaps?). For the time being lowering distribution of drugs to patients by half.

A peculiar thing happened to me today. I was out of the l̤̫̭̯̥͙̼͟ep͖̩̲͝ŕo̰̪̹s͍͉͕a̡r̭̭͙͇̕i̟͘u̮m̭̝ in search of a possible way to acquire more medicine when I have spotted an unusual pony. Judging by the blisters he was infected with l̴̥̺̳ͅẹ̺̙̲͓͇̕p͔̺̠̞̹͡r͈̳o̤̮s͕͚̙̠ͅy̩, so I attempted to approach him and convince to come with me. Before I was able to come within talking distance with him however he had disappeared into thin air. No idea if it was teleportation or simply a trick of my mind. Still, I cannot shake off the feeling that whatever happened today was not something normal.

Twilight reread the last paragraph, just to make sure. What Nostramane described there was so similar to her own experiences with the Messiah that it was uncanny. The whole journal suddenly became all the more interesting to her, and she was just about to get back to reading when she noticed something on the edge of the page. Half suspecting and half dreading what she would see there, Twilight chanced a look at the aforementioned part of the book and let out a silent gasp.

The rot caught up to her. Somehow, the slowly creeping mass of decay managed to spread fast enough to reach where she was now. At first it didn't make any sense to Twilight, but it quickly became apparent what caused this.

The rot was spreading at an alarming pace. Furthermore, once the now fast moving layer of rot reached one of the barely legible variants of the word "leprosy", the word itself seemed to get even more distorted before it merged with the rest of the rot, and it began spreading at an increased pace.

With this frightening discovery made, Twilight was forced to do something that she would never under normal circumstances even consider. A book containing knowledge on a subject she barely had a grasp on was right in front of her, yet she wouldn't be able to read through it fully, for it would soon be rendered useless. Biting hard on her lips, she forced herself to do what she considered a sin only slightly less severe than destroying a book.

She skipped ahead, condemning the knowledge written upon the parchment pages she bypassed to oblivion.

After opening on a random page Twilight immediately noticed that something had changed. Where before Nostramane's notes were written neatly and tidily, as per custom back in her epoch, now her diary was anything but. Words were crooked and uneven, and numerous ink blots littered the pages. It was still legible and Twilight wouldn't have too much of a problem to read it, but it nonetheless spoke volumes about Nostramane's state back then.

City Guard is suspecting something. Have to find different place for waste disposal. Will try dumping it in local medics territory, avert suspicions from me.

Subjects from group A show no change of their state. Most are catatonic, the few still conscious report increase of pain levels. Administering additional doses of improved formula. Group B has highest mortality rate; cyanide-mixture too toxic. 4 subjects expired last night.

Subjects from control group attempted escape. Managed to subdue most; 1 subject badly wounded (terminated afterwards to prevent further attempts from other subjects). Situation under control.

Ok… Maybe she skipped ahead just a little bit too far. This made no sense to Twilight; why would Nostramane change from a mostly law abiding physician wanting to help stop leprosy into a half-crazed sociopath treating her patients like prisoners? Was it the pressure that forced her to change? Or maybe it was something else? Maybe it had something to do with the "Plaguebearer" or whatever it's called? The answer to that lie somewhere within the book, and as much as it pained her, Twilight couldn't go back, not if she wanted to see the end.

My associates begin to question my methods. They do not say it to me directly, choosing to whisper behind my back. They say that I have lost the sight of our goal, that I have went down the path that would lead me to my doom.

The fools! They are the ones kept in the dark, they are the ones blind to the truth! Who are they to question me?! Were they blessed with the power to see the truth?! Are they haunted by him in their sleep?! NO!!! It is I that see it, it is I that he noticed and chosen as his adversary, it is I that know what is to come! They are but blind foals, kept in the darkness of ignorance, not to harm but to save their miserable, worthless lives!

They worry about the patients. "What we do here is immoral" they say. But what do they know, and why do they care? I pay them for their work, and they should not question my decisions. And the patients. They all are dead already, every stallion, mare and foal here are dead! They just do not know it yet, and as long as they are kept in the belief that they still have a chance they will serve my goals perfectly. It is for the greater good aft

I cannot begin to fathom what possessed me to drink last night. The stress of the situation is slowly getting to me it seems. I have written so much nonsense that it is staggering. I shall leave it how it is however, as a reminder of what alcohol can make me do.

The rest of the entry, and the few next looked quite alike each other, limiting themselves to dry recounts of failed experiments and writing down statistics, mostly of the death toll of Nostramane's patients. The numbers were frightening to Twilight: there wasn't a day that somepony didn't die, and the death of only one pony a day was the absolute minimum. On average six to ten ponies expired daily, either due to the administered "treatment" (if one could call say amputating infected limbs treating leprosy), or by the advanced stadiums of the illness.

There was however one more statistic written on the sides of the entries. At first Twilight didn't know what they referred to, written in what must have been a perfectly legible code to the author but sadly not to her. The notes were just a duo of repeating abbreviations: SOP and TSOP, and both of them were accompanied by corresponding numbers, typically "1" next to SOP and a two digit number next to the other one. After seeing them on every other page however and quickly checking one to another, Twilight realized what it was.

It was the number of sightings of something, most probably the Plaguebearer. It made sense, the letters would then mean respectively "Sightings of Plaguebearer" and "Total Sightings of Plaguebearer". But if that was true, if she really saw the creature and not just a random ill pony, and if the numbers were correct, than the Leper Messiah, the Plaguebearer, appeared to Nostramane 40 times in the span of three months.

Twilight leafed through the book in search of something interesting, keeping an eye on the ever growing number of decaying pages. Unfortunately for her, the rot was spreading ever faster with each consumed piece of parchment. Twilight hoped that she would find something useful before the accursed mass of putrefaction would consume it all. And fortunately for her, she may have stumbled upon one such fragment.

The entry stood out to Twilight like a sore hoof. It was easily the largest out of any she had seen up until now, and it seemed that a great effort was made to write it down as carefully as possible. It might have as well been circled in red with a giant "Important" written in capital letters next to it in her opinion. So, losing no time for the rot to catch up, Twilight dived right into the centuries old text.

Today I have met an interesting individual. It happened to be the most helpful pony I had the good fortune to meet during my stay in Coltcutta. We have talked for many hours, and thanks to his insight on the matter at hoof, I finally have some clarity on what I am facing against.

The pony I have mentioned is a foreigner like me. He came here from a country called "The Commonwealth", a nation to the east of Equestria. He also is a priest of some sort, though he does not recognize the Holy Light of our Protector, but a "Mother Creatrix" figure I have never heard about. "A priest of Faust" he calls himself, though his beliefs are of no importance to me. It is his vast knowledge of the curse plaguing this land and the Plaguebearer himself that matter.

Our discussion on the matter of the Plaguebearer took up most of my day, but it shed light on so many things that I cannot feel anything but gratitude for the time we devoted to it. The priest (who asked to be anonymous if I decide to record this) had access to "Somnum Exterreri Solebat", as well as books on similar matters written by his people for a far longer period of time than I had. He managed to garner enough knowledge to come up with whole theories on the source of origin of the Plaguebearer as well as who and what he actually is. The two most prominent I have decided to write down in hopes of coming up with a method of defeating him and putting an end to this plague.

The first theory speaks of an evil, malicious spirit existing far beyond our reality. It is a creature of immense power, on par with her Royal Majesty herself yet contrary to her beyond our reach. It is possible that the creature itself is the source of all illnesses, that he is all the diseases that plagued pony kind from times immemorial, and that he is all the sicknesses that have yet to strike at us. It can be the plague itself and live within all infected, be anywhere and everywhere at once, and in being so impossible to defeat. The Plaguebearer himself however might be something else entirely.

It is possible that the one we refer to as the Plaguebearer is nothing more than a construct of sorts created by the malicious spirit, a physical manifestation of its wickedness. It can be tied to one of its aspects, in this case l̴̥̺̳ͅẹ̺̙̲͓͇̕p͔̺̠̞̹͡r͈̳o̤̮s͕͚̙̠ͅy̩, and it can spread its filth, with each pony succumbing to it strengthening the evil standing behind it. End even though this thought itself is frightening, as destroying the Plaguebearer would not mean the end of the spirit or the plague itself, it is nothing compared to the second theory.

My learned interlocutor stated that it is entirely possible that the Plaguebearer may have a completely different origin, unrelated to any sort of hypothetical higher being that may or may not exist. The second theory is in this sense more trivial, yet frightening all the same, for if a lord of illnesses is not at work here, than what is? Apparently we, simple ponies, may be responsible for our own demise.

Magic is strongly connected to emotions a pony feels. Powerful emotions like love can bolster the power of certain spells, or create new magical effects outright. Yet not only positive emotions contribute to this effect. Negative ones, such as hate or wrath can create comparably strong effects, yet usually far more destructive. And if one pony can create powerful magical effects feeling mad, than what can a whole city filled with terrified, paranoid ponies do?

The second most reasonable theory states that the Plaguebearer is nothing more than condensed fear and paranoia fueled by the deaths of the victims of l̴̥̺̳ͅẹ̺̙̲͓͇̕p͔̺̠̞̹͡r͈̳o̤̮s͕͚̙̠ͅy̩. The locals have a legend about a being called the Grandfather of Rot, and it is entirely possible that when their fears took physical form and adjusted to way they imagined him. It might be real, a being of flesh and bone, or it might be just a specter conjured up by our fears, but nonetheless it can and does spread the disease, feeding off fear and death and growing ever stronger. And if that is the case, than fighting him will serve only to postpone his inevitable coming. For if he is conjured up by ponies themselves, then he may come back anytime there is a plague spreading amongst us.

This all is much to take in at once. I fear I may have overestimated my own powers while making the decision to come here. Compared to what may be lurking the streets of Coltcutta, I am but a fragile pony, trying to stop a rampaging dragon by using a stick. It may be wise to consider going back to Equestria and leaving this place to its doom. I shall start making arrangements, bit I will stay here for just a little longer. If Lady Luck has me in her favor I may be able to come up with a method of at least slowing the Plaguebearer down.

Twilight frantically tried to memorize as much as she could of this entry. To her, it was like hitting jackpot in a lottery –this was a real treasure trove of information, even if most of it seemed really farfetched. Both the idea of a higher being controlling diseases and of ponies' fears conjuring up a malicious spirit wasn't something she would readily believe in, but at this point she wasn't ruling anything out.

The layer of decay was quickly gaining up on her, so Twilight was forced to move along. She turned a few pages, again in search of interesting entries, and she quickly found one unlike the others, yet having a certain familiar feel to itself. Only after Twilight remembered to whom the diary belonged to did she realize what she was looking at.

The day has come that dawn will fall
The alabaster palace rots at its foundations;
The Sun will shatter at the groans of the dead
Triumphant is the Lord damned a thousandfold.

A Nostramane Quatrain, her preferred method of writing down prophecies. Twilight should have known she would encounter one sooner or later. She was almost tempted to chuckle at her discovery, if not for two things. One: the way the prophecy was written was off, not so much looking at its structure, but rather the messy hoofwriting. It was easy to deduce that Nostramane was under much stress while writing this, possibly scared out of her mind. The second thing was that it wasn't all of the entry. There was still one sentence left, one sentence that changed everything.

I will not allow this to happen, even if it will be the last thing I shall do!

She didn't have the time to ponder this as the rot was quickly covering the page. Forced to continue, Twilight flipped the pages frantically until she was relatively sure she was far enough from the layer of decay. Not even checking what page she was on she began hurriedly reading, hoping to find more answers.

14 of May, 587 Anno Celesis S̠͜O̖͎̲̹P̳̝͚͉̗͓ ̛͔1̧̲̞̰;̞̞͓͓̮̪̥ ̷͇̦Ṱ̞̭̞̪̹̬SO̫͘P̦̼̗̩̥̘͘ ̷̱͉̤̦̺̘̲4͈̣2̠̝͢

I have it! Now I know how to finally face off this monster! The Grandfather of Rot, the Plaguebearer has a weak spot I can utilize! It took me weeks to come up with this plan, but I am certain it shall work. If not, I will surely die a horrible death, but until then I shall clutch at the safeness of my plans.

I will find him, or rather he will find me. I am sure that he will a̴͈͙̖̲̩͚̝t͙̻̘t̥͖̥̠̬͚̰ém̩̜̞̪p̷̮̗̹͉̹̗t̼͕̜ to stop me from spreading the word of his w҉̪ͅé͖͓̤͎̲̤̝ak̸n̘e̘̹̥̱͡s̱s͈, but I shall not be iͅͅn̟͚͘t̟̥̘̘̣̝͕i̸̝m͓͉̩͖͔̯ͅi̵̞̝͕̟d̫̘͍̥̜̕a̡̰t͙͚̳́ę̤̤̩̬̤d̰͚͚ ͖͙͇̥b͎͙y̯̮͈͇͔̻̤͠ ̱̻͙̗̤͈͙͠h̩͓̦i̷̹͈̞m̛̺̰̭͇͉ͅ. Let this diary hold the wisdom of ḥ̷̥̮͖o͚͈͕̠̹̳̥w̵̜͖͓̺̖ ̫̀t̴o̧̻͓̭͍̙̤ ͈̩̥͜d̲̯̦̬͓͖̼è͈f̦̯̙̫͚e̪͔͕͎̲̩͝a̗̪̖̫͕͇ṱ̜̩̪̲̦͡ t̡̖͎̬̗̤̙h̻̯̥̻͢ę͚ ͈̠̥P̫͔̖̫̼̬͍l͖̀a͍̰̹g̬u͏͕͖̲̳͚̙̲e̻̜̼̹b̧̲̹̦̞̼̻e͉͖̝̫̜a̜̭̩̠͎͖̘r͘e̶͚͈͈͓̩͉̣ŕ. Ț̸͉̞̦̖̯h҉̬̤̲͖e̮̭̩͈͜ ͕͍̯̞̰̩̥k̤̱͚̙̳̳e̪̫̩͎͞y͔͍ ͢t̸͓͕̺ͅo̴̯̙ ̵h̺̬̗͕i̘s̩͓͕̣̩͇̝ ̮͙̻̹͝p͈̦̠o͘we̢ͅr͈̺̹̯ ̻̝ li͉̰̲̤͔̳e̵s̬̤̤͚̤ ̰̺͠w͜i҉̠̪t͙̥̰̠̰h͏̼i̭̹͚̣͉̗͔n̸̖̼̤͉ ̨̙̖͙̱̘̩̫ẖ͕̣̙͎̭̯i̤͇͙̹̦̣͝s̙̬̩̥ ████ a̜͚͍̲̤̙̦n̪̠͍̮̖d̼̹̞̲͎̫͕ ̥̙̠͈̦̗t͙h̵͓̻̱͈̣̪̠e̸ ̟o̞͇ṉ̡̗̻̩͔̥l̼͘y̞̻͖̳͠ ͢t͉͈̳͚ḥ̺͖ͅi̝̥̯̳͟n̨̘̻̲̖͔g͓̩͕̀ ҉̻c̜̠̪͖̼̲̘a̡̳͇͔͔p̟a͏̠̬b̠͇͢le͢ ̢of̡̹̲̠ ̸w̘͢o̷͈̠u̧̙̲̣͓̺̙n̟̘̤d̙̀i̼̝̠̤̖͖n̞̗͔͖͚̠̻͢g̙͙̺̩͈̻͡ ̲̣̠͔h̩̤̥͉̣̠̰i̙̼͔̹ͅm̙̟̱ ̘̤̲̻̣̬̠i̼͖̭͔̺̙̠s͍̯͇̬̠̯██████

The rot caught up to Twilight, engulfing the contents of the page within moments and preventing her from learning about the Plaguebearer's, or rather the Leper Messiah's weak points. The decay consumed the parchment page within seconds, turning it into an unintelligible mass of flesh-like goop. The mare tried to turn the page and find out if she could learn something more from latter entries, but she couldn't. Her magic for reasons unknown refused to touch the fleshy mass, and her instincts were telling her that trying to turn it by hoof wasn't the best of ideas. She could do nothing more than stare as the book was quickly turning into nothing more than a pile of rotten flesh.

She couldn't believe this. Twilight had the answer right in front of her, and it was snatched from her before she could read it. It was like if some evil force was preventing her from finding out the method of defeating the Leper Messiah. It was as if…

… the Leper Messiah was trying to stop her. Why didn't she make this connection earlier? The rotting pages, the warped mentions of leprosy in the diary, it all made sense now! The evil spirit was trying to stop her from finding out how to defeat him, and it was successful at it. The only partially reliable source of information was right now lying on a desk, turned into an amorphous blob of rot. But why did he start only now? Why didn't the Messiah destroy the diary earlier? Unless… Unless he didn't know about it earlier. It might have learned about the diary's existence moments after she did. But if that was the case than it would mean she was followed…

"Oh my…" Twilight breathed silently, her pupils shrinking into pinpricks. What if she really was followed by the Leper Messiah? What if he was standing right behind her just now? Images of rotting and dying ponies flashed before her eyes, some of them terrifyingly similar to her friends. She was paralyzed by fear, her whole body tensing in a manner of seconds, and she started hyperventilating. "Oh please don't be there, oh please don't be there, oh please don't be…"

2986 Steps

by Verlax

Chapter Thirteen - The Plaguebearer