Journal Entry Preface:
I was told I should write all this down. I may not be given another chance since once it’s complete; I believe she will be ready. I agree, this is a tale that must be told. When she reads this, hopefully she will understand. I begin at the Hospital, where we shall also end.
***
The Ponyville Hospital wasn't actually busy. The nurses had me waiting; others had arrived ahead and honestly, some looked worse than my case. I rubbed a hoof over the sweet pink mane of the turquoise filly in my lap. She coughed every once in a while, and tried not to be upset by the dirty looks I received from other ponies. At this moment, there are very few things i wouldn't give to be dead again.
The filly in my lap coughed, softly.. All I wanted was for her to open her eyes. She wouldn’t wake up, she looked so peaceful but nothing could bring her to open her eyes. I couldn’t believe my medical journals and thousands of years of experience and here I was. Waiting in a hospital like every other helicopter parent except; this may be lethal. No one dared to sit near me and anytime I looked for sympathy no one would return my gaze. There was a very important reason for this.
When you’re near skeletal and look as decayed and worn as I do, one begins to understand that sort of attention given to a pony lich such as myself. Most ponies are incredibly uncomfortable associating with the undead, especially one that will come back if you kill it.
Immortality for a price that I now believe was too high to pay.
Yes, I am a creature of darkness, a pony that read from the Necronomicon, the book of the dead. It’s pretty obvious that I had access to black magic that no pony should have. I also happen to be the personal assistant to Luna and, yes, I'm currently in a hospital with an earth pony foal laid across my lap. I’m doing my best to hold, warm, and comfort the filly as I’m seeking help for her health.
What I have to divulge in this final journal entry pertains to my profession and how it has changed me. Luna asks I look into the unsolved deaths of ponies. A very grim profession, I assure you, because I examine a body by raising the cadaver as a thrall, then question what is left of their mind and soul and begin my investigation from there. It’s about the easiest way to solve their deaths, really. One can’t help but die a little inside with such a profession, what with the various things that can happen to ponies.
Life Sapphire coughed again, and my attention drawn back to her, away from the staring eyes and dirty looks. She was certainly bluer than normal, and her cheeks seemed flushed as she tried to get comfortable against my black robes. The thin bone-white hoof of mine simply did not look like it belonged against her head, let alone anywhere near it. It had been only about a month and yet it felt like I'd had this little foal forever.
“Bone Daddy?” Nurse Redheart called, prompting me to look up at her.
“Yes?” I asked.
She didn’t answer me at first. She stared at me for a spell, her eyebrow raised as she looked me over. I didn’t blame her for ogling. Thankfully, before an awkward silence could grow between us, the nurse checked off a few things on the clipboard before speaking.
“The doctor will see you now.”
With that said, I wrapped my little Sapphire in the most gentle telekinetic bubble I could. I treated her like the lightest feather holding softly against the wind.
I walked to the examination room in silence. Nurse Redheart checked blood pressure, temperature, and heartbeat. The last one gave her a start, the expression on her face of surprise was unmistakable. Despite all my medical knowledge, despite centuries of study, here I was useless.
As she left, my mind drifted to other possibilities to get this filly to open her eyes. I wish my phylactery’s life sustaining effects didn't cause so much issue with appearance and degradation of my physical features. I would give anything to be treated like another concerned parent and not a monster. Something that only a month ago, I could have cared less for was now the most precious desire in the world.
Thankfully she left us in the examining room. As softly as a unicorn could, I used my magic to gently stroke the mane of Life Sapphire. This had to be the strangest sight Doctor Horses had ever seen, as he dropped his clipboard before slamming the door behind us. I held up a hoof to try to get him to be quiet but to no avail.
“You’re a lich!” he said. “If you’re ill--if that’s even possible for you—don't you just die and let the phylactery resurrect you?” As he was shouting, I placed both hooves against Sapphire's ears and she whimpered.
I turned my head back and took one step to the right. Doctor Horses saw the foal now, her blank flank and tiny helpless form. The good doctor glared at me, and his voice turned to a harsh, angry whisper, almost as if he didn’t want to wake her. I knew Sapphire would stay asleep through all this, so I didn’t worry much about his volume.
I held up a hoof, stopping him. “She merely arrived by accident... or rather royal order has placed her into my care. Her parents... are deceased. It was a rather unfortunate incident involving a maulwurf while they were visiting the changelings.” I paused to take a moment to look at that little filly, then hung my head in shame. “Much to my own protests, Princess Luna gave me a choice: either adopt her or send her to an orphanage.”
Doctor Horses eyed me incredulously, then turned to her. “And now she’s sick? Can’t say I’m surprised. You can't have a foal hanging around the dead; their immune systems aren’t fully prepared and...” His horn glowed as he began to take a physical exam using his magic. “Hmm. No, she isn't sick from disease?”
“Can you determine what’s wrong with her?” I asked, my shrunken, normally devoid and hollow eyes giving him the most pleading look they could possibly muster. “I’d give anything to see her running around and playing again.”
He stared back at me, grimaced, then sighed. “Alright, I'll perform a more thorough exam, though I’ll need to contact Princess Luna to verify the paperwork. In the meantime, why don't you tell me about...”
“Life Sapphire is her name.”
“Right, Life Sapphire,” he replied with a curt nod. “What do you know about her, how long has she been in your care? I need to know everything.”
So I told him.