Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie piled out of Twilight’s hot air balloon and made their way to the castle. The guards at the entrance smiled at the sight of Twilight.
“Good to see you again, Twilight Sparkle!” said one of the guards.
“Yes, hello,” said Twilight. “Is the princess very busy? We have a matter of grave urgency to discuss.”
“The princess always has time for you, Twilight. Go right ahead.”
“Thank you.”
Twilight and friends entered the castle. They passed by many attendants on their way to the throne room. Princess Celestia sat upon her gleaming throne. Her iridescent mane billowed, even without any wind.
“Hello, it is good to see all of you,” said Celestia. “To what do I owe this visit? And where is Fluttershy?”
“Fluttershy is the reason we’re here,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Yes, she’s been possessed by Forgotten!” said Twilight. “She’s turning into a monster!”
“I saw it myself,” said Applejack. “She’s got the devil’s eye! Like a burnin’ coal, just like the monster that sliced poor li’l Apple Bloom!”
“And she killed Angel!” said Rainbow Dash.
“We have to blow up the mountain!” said Pinkie Pie. “All the mountains! It’s the only way to be sure!”
“Do you know where she’s hiding?” said Celestia.
“Yes, she left a blood trail,” said Twilight. “We can easily follow her.”
“That may be a trap,” said Celestia. She stood from her throne, wearing a grim expression. “You were right to come to me. If Forgotten is swapping bodies, she may be legitimately unstoppable. But if I can stop her from hurting foals, even temporarily, I have to try.”
“There’s something more. I can’t be certain, but my studies suggest Forgotten may be the same being as Varinia.”
“I do not know that name, but it sounds as though she has a history of body swapping.”
“My books say Varinia once ruled Equestria,” said Twilight. “Surely you’ve heard of her?”
“That name is not familiar to me. If this Varinia were anypony significant, I’m sure I would have mention of her in my own records. But enough. We can discuss history at a later time. For now, I must deal with Fluttershy.”
----------
The dimly flickering light of a single candle illuminated a dank cavern. Fluttershy had spent the last few hours arranging and re-arranging her few meager possessions in the dark. No layout made the cave feel any more like home. Nor did the pictures of Fluttershy’s friends look any less hurtful in one sequence than another.
Hoofsteps echoed through the cavern, announcing the arrival of more ponies. Fluttershy extinguished her candle with a flick of her tail, then tried to hide. An exercise in futility, given the open emptiness of her chamber.
Princess Celestia rounded the corner, accompanied by two lantern-toting guards. Fluttershy cowered at the sight of the princess. She laid herself upon the floor, unwilling to even attempt to flee.
“H-hello, Princess Celestia,” said Fluttershy. “The others must have told you what happened. Please, just make it quick.”
Celestia approached Fluttershy and raised a hoof. In spite of her best efforts, Fluttershy could only close her right eye. The left remained permanently open, seeing everything. Gut-wrenching despair set in as she realized she would have to watch Celestia kill her.
The Princess’s hoof came down gently, though. Not to smash Fluttershy’s head, but to stroke her mane. A simple gesture of comfort, but an effective one.
“There, there. I’m not going to hurt you, Fluttershy. Please, stand. I only want to talk.”
Fluttershy stood, and did her best to calm down. Try as she might, she couldn’t stop trembling. “H-how did you find me?”
“That was easy. You bled all the way here. Are you all right?”
“Yes. I mean, no. I’m in a lot of pain.”
“What did they do to you?”
“A crow pecked out my eye. Then, Applejack and Twilight went crazy and attacked me. Applejack kicked me in the face and Twilight pelted me with apples. I ran, but they followed me to my cottage. And Rainbow Dash was there, and everypony sounded so angry. I thought they were going to hurt me.”
“I don’t doubt that. They are misguided, but I will try to talk some sense into them. I am so sorry for what happened to you.”
“No, I’m better off dead. I saw my reflection. I can hear the sounds I make when I try to talk. I know I’ve become a monster. I should be dealt with before I hurt somepony.”
“You’re not a monster, Fluttershy. You’re just undead. It isn’t a good thing, but it doesn’t make you a monster.”
“How can you tell?”
“Evil doesn’t worry about not being good. No part of the liching process changes who you are. You are the same pony you have always been.”
“So I’m not going to lose my mind and kill foals?”
“Of course not. In fact, your mind will be preserved for all eternity. As long as your phylactery remains intact, your thoughts and personality will be as they were in life. Your body will be…partially preserved.”
“Partially?”
“You won’t decay like an ordinary corpse, but…”
“But?”
Celestia sighed and put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “All of your skin is going to fall off. Slowly, over time.”
“W-what?”
“Your flesh is immune to death and decay, but will weaken until it pulls apart under its own weight. Within a few decades, you’ll be a skeleton.”
“Is there any way to stop it?”
“Forgotten’s crime was stealing foal blood to fuel her foul magic. She restored her own flesh with the taken lives of others. She was the only lich I know to have fought the process.”
“So, no, then.” Fluttershy quivered. “I don’t want to be a spooky skeleton.”
“It won’t be so bad. One of my former instructors at the School for Gifted Unicorns is a skeletal lich. New students were always a little uncomfortable, but they learned to like him.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He once called himself Cygnus the Undying, but he went by Professor Cygnus when I knew him.”
“Why past tense? What happened to him?”
“He embarked on a long journey. He told me he wanted to read every book ever written. He’d already read every book in Equestria by then, you see. He resigned from his position and left to travel the world. He still writes letters to me, occasionally.”
“That’s nice. But what about my friends? I think they all hate me.”
“They don’t hate you, they’re just scared. I’m going to have a long talk with them. Just give them time. Trust me, they’ll get used to the change and accept you.”
“What if they don’t?”
“Have faith in your friends, they’re good ponies. If I’m wrong, you can always make new friends. Time is something you’ll never run out of.”
“Who would want to be friends with a scary pony like me?”
“You have a good soul, Fluttershy. Just keep being you, and other ponies will see beyond your appearance. I must return to Canterlot, now. I’ll talk some sense into your friends. Farewell, Fluttershy.”
“Goodbye, princess. Thank you for talking to me.”
Celestia nodded to Fluttershy, then turned away and dropped her fake smile. Her guards stood at attention, right behind her. Celestia spoke through grit teeth, quietly so that her guards could hear and Fluttershy could not.
“Get me out of this icky place, now.”
Celestia’s guards turned and led the way out of the dark cavern, followed closely by the princess. Fluttershy watched the trio leave, then sat and stared into the endless nothingness that surrounded her. Alone, in the dark, with nothing to do.
----------
The trip back to Canterlot was uneventful. Celestia found Twilight and friends waiting for her in the throne room. Twilight came bounding up to Celestia as soon as she saw her.
“Welcome back, princess! Did you eradicate that evil spirit?”
“I most certainly did not.”
“Wh-what?”
“Fluttershy dealt with that evil spirit six months ago, as I asked. Forgotten is gone. All I saw was a lonely, scared, abused little pony.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! Didn’t you see her eye?”
“I did. I also saw the damage you and Applejack caused. You can’t treat your friends that way. You should know better! She’s taking this hard enough as is. Attacking and shunning her will only make things worse.”
“That’s not Fluttershy! It’s Forgotten!”
“Don’t raise your voice to me, Twilight. What makes you think Fluttershy is Forgotten?”
“Her eye! That evil, red eye!”
“Every lich has eyes like that.”
“But nopony just becomes a lich! It’s old magic. There are incantations, rituals—”
“That part confuses me, as well, but you’re jumping to conclusions. Forgotten may have cast a spell on Fluttershy as a final act of spite, but I assure you Fluttershy is not possessed.”
“What makes you so certain?”
“I spoke with her, and I detected no evil presence.”
“You didn’t detect an evil presence in the fake Cadence, either, and Canterlot was nearly lost because of it!”
“This is different. The foul magic used by Forgotten leaves a mark. It’s something that can be felt as clearly as the wind. An aura of corruption, if you will. Fluttershy has no such aura. Her soul is clean.”
“So you assume she’s not possessed just because she hasn’t yet killed a foal? Are you going to refuse to act until she takes a life?”
“That isn’t going to happen. If even a fragment of Forgotten’s soul were in Fluttershy, I would have felt it. You would have felt it. Fluttershy would not have needed to lose an eye for you to notice something strange.”
“What makes you think she hasn’t figured out how to hide her presence?”
“What makes you think she has?”
“Come on! It’s so obvious! Fluttershy talked to Forgotten, Forgotten disappeared, and now Fluttershy is a lich. She’s clearly Forgotten in Fluttershy’s body. How can you not see that? Stop doubting me and protect Equestria!”
“Watch your tone, Twilight.”
“Or you’ll what?”
“The last mare to tell me how to run Equestria spent a thousand years on the moon.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It is a warning. I am your teacher, and you are my student. Do not forget your place, again.”
“Then teach me! What is the lesson, here?”
“If you want to be a princess some day, you must learn to admit when you are wrong.”
“You’re one to talk!”
“I was wrong about Cadence, but you are wrong about Fluttershy.”
“How blind can you be? You are so full of yourself!”
Celestia glowered. “Apologize. Now.”
“I won’t apologize for speaking the truth.”
“I demand an apology.”
“What makes you think you’re owed one?”
“That does it! I was clearly wrong about your potential. You are hereby expelled from the School for Gifted Unicorns and banned from the castle. You may return when you’re ready to admit to your mistakes.”
Twilight recoiled from the announcement, but swiftly regained her composure. “You aren’t fit to mentor me.” Celestia’s guards approached Twilight. “Don’t touch me! I’ll show myself out.”
“One more thing. I forbid any of you from harming Fluttershy. That goes for everypony in Ponyville. If I find she has been attacked again, there will be dire repercussions.”
Twilight didn’t respond, or even indicate that she’d heard. She stomped out of the throne room, and her friends followed in stunned silence. Rarity stopped before leaving and politely bowed to the princess.
“Thank you ever so much for having us.”
“You are quite welcome, Rarity. I hope our next meeting is under more pleasant circumstances.”
“As do I. Take care.”
Twilight made it all the way to the hot-air balloon in silent fury. She broke down in tears the instant she was safely in the basket. Rainbow Dash wrapped a wing around Twilight, and held her close.
“I don’t care what Princess Celestia says,” said Rainbow Dash. “I believe you, Twilight.”
“But what if the princess is right?” said Rarity. “What if Fluttershy is still Fluttershy?”
“You didn’t see what we saw, sugar cube,” said Applejack. “Take my word for it. Our friend is dead, and somethin’ wicked done took up roost in the body.”
“Twilight was right about Cadence being a monster in disguise,” said Rainbow. “None of us believed her, and it was a big mess. She was right then, and I believe she’s right now.”
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash,” said Twilight.
“Blow up the mountain!” said Pinkie Pie.
“No, Pinkie,” said Twilight. “The princess threatened to punish anypony who attacks that monster. As much as I hate to say this, we have to wait until she kills again.”
“Y’all think Fluttershy is gonna come after Apple Bloom? You know, try an’ finish the job?”
“I don’t know, but keep an eye on Apple Bloom all the same. We’re dealing with a very old, very clever, very dangerous monster.”