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// Bite to Eat 
// Story: The Sparkle of Unlife 
// by Semivivus 
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Twilight cringed whenever she heard the noise she had been fearing for nearly a week now: Her stomach grumbling. She knew eventually she would have to eat… whatever it was liches ate. She was just hoping she would have more time to figure out what that thing was. She was unable to consume anything she tried, and she tried nearly everything. Neither grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy, or eggs could settle her slowly aggravating stomach, or slow the weakening she could feel in her body. She even managed to try a bit of meat and fish that Fluttershy kept saved for some of her more predatory pets, only to the same inedible result. 

She could tell her time was running short, every day her appearance grew more and more corpse like as her body began to waste away. Splotches of fur were beginning to fall out, showing her skin that had begun to dry and decay. The smell of her own rotting flesh was barely held at bay by constant showers and practically bathing herself in perfume she had borrowed from Rarity. She needed to find out what a lich consumed, and quickly, or they would have to hold a second funeral pretty soon, and Pinkie’s finances likely wouldn’t survive two best-friend’s death related celebrations in a month.

Gritting her teeth, she looked out the window at the moonlight dusted village that had been her home for the past few years. The town was silent at night, yet had a serene beauty to it that called to her. Perhaps a walk in the shadows would set her mind at ease enough for her to puzzle out a solution.

Stepping quietly as to not disturb the sleeping lizard in her house, she tiptoed out the door and into the gravel-paved road that lead to the main street (ironically, named Mane Street). The sound of the gentle stream running through town and the odd noises of insects, nightfowl, nightfowls eating insects, and giant everfree insects that ate nightfowl, were the only sounds audible to her ears.

As she walked along the road she took a deep breath, allowing the crisp night air to fill her non-functional lungs, only to stop in her tracks. She tasted something on the wind. Something good.

She began to slowly walk towards the strange flavour, before breaking into a sprint as the scent and taste grew stronger and stronger. It was a rich and hearty flavour like that of a warm soup on a cold winter’s day, though she couldn’t pick apart any of the ingredients that seemed to make up the aroma. 

As she grew closer she realized she was approaching Fluttershy’s cottage, and by this point there was no turning back. Whatever this delicious smelling thing was, she had to eat it. She was starving, she wanted it, she needed it.

Noticing that the cottage lights were still on, she rapidly knocked on the cottage door, wiping some of the drool from her mouth as she impatiently waited for the shy pegasus to let her in.

“Twilight? What are you doing here?” Fluttershy murmured as she opened the door a crack. Her voice was shaky… well, shakier than usual. The fur on her face was stained and matted with tears, and her eyes were red and puffy like she had just been crying. Wiping her eyes, the pegasus glanced at Twilight’s rather… frenzied expression. “It’s… really not a good time for a social visit.”

“I know, Fluttershy, but I really need to come inside. I’m starving and something smells absolutely delicious!” The librarian lich said in response, pushing the befuddled mare aside as she made her way into the cottage. “Were you having a late night dinner or something?”

Fluttershy blinked in confusion. Delicious? The entire cottage smelled like medicine and chemicals. How on Equus was that suppose to be ‘Delicious’? “Um… no. I was just… taking care of a friend. He’s really sick and doesn’t have much longer.”

Twilight was not paying any attention, following her nose and mouth towards the tantalizing scent. Her olfactory senses quickly lead her to a miniature hospital bed, like something out of a doll house. Laying in the tiny mattress was an even tinier squirrel hooked up to what was likely the worlds smallest IV bag. The squirrel’s eyes were barely open, and one didn’t need to be a vet to see how sick the poor critter was.

Fluttershy walked over and sat back down next to the squirrel. “Um… this is Stu. He’s… not going to be alive much longer. I was just keeping him company… in his final moments.”

Twilight, still, was not paying any attention. She was only staring down at the little creature. The squirrel clearly wouldn’t be edible for her… but why did it smell so good? Her thoughts were only broken by the sound of the tiny AKG (arcanocardiogram) attached to the squirrel. It had been beeping consistently for the past minute or so, but the rate was beginning to slow down. Each beep and pulse on the screen was slower than the last as the squirrel’s breaths grew more and more shallow, until finally… it stopped, letting out a low, long beep like a deflating balloon. Fluttershy stifled a sob as the squirrel slumped in its tiny bed, and all went quiet.

Twilight stared in awe as moments later, a glowing blue silhouette began to envelope the squirrel. It continued to form and grow brighter as the translucent squirrel-shaped figure rose up out of the departed rodent and began to float in the air. She had never seen anything like it before, and as Fluttershy was busy crying into her hooves, she assumed she was the only one who could see it. It might have been the most beautiful thing Twilight had ever seen.

So naturally, she leaned forward and took a huge bite out of it.

Instantly, her senses went wild. Energy filled every part of her body; the bottoms of her hooves to the tip of her horn felt stronger and healthier than ever before, even compared to when she was alive. She had never felt this good before, this strong, this powerful, this right. The feeling was intoxicating.

That was until she heard a small voice from the doorway behind her, coming from a young colt in a black cloak.

“Um… Miss Sparkle?”