The cold whipped around us fiercely, the weight of the snow building on top of the covers made my choice of white blankets for camouflage somewhat moot, but it was still better than some vestige of color peeking out of the snowdrift that was slowly accumulating on top of us and giving us away. The cart wasn’t large; Mayor Mare and I taking up most of the space with Sweetie Belle and Spike nestled between us for warmth. I was freezing but the Mayor seemed as unperturbed as ever, she always kept a calm face, I suppose that was what made her such a capable leader…

“Mayor Mare...” I started to say but she shook her head.

“Marelyn, please… I think we’re somewhat beyond formality at this point, don’t you Twilight?” she said, a small smile edging onto her features.

“Uhm, Marelyn, you said you had been corresponding with the princess for a while, so… did you know that she…?” I halted mid-sentence to find the words.

“Did I know that the curse was killing her? Yes, I did,” she answered solemnly.

I choked, hearing that phrase, ‘…was killing her’ broke my concentration, it had been the word I was avoiding, and I knew she had looked ill before but… “Marelyn… do you think she’ll come out of this… ok?”

Mayor Mare looked pensive for a moment before shaking her head, “I respect you too much to treat you like a foal Twilight Sparkle, I’ll be honest then; Princess Celestia made no secret in her letters to me that she did not expect to survive the fight with the entity if it came to that.”

I had been expecting the words but hearing them out loud was something entirely different, I wasn’t stupid, I knew that in the state she was in and the fact that the very thing she was fighting was fed from her own power meant she had slim odds of coming out of it but… the princess had always been there, she was as much a part of Equestria as the earth and the sky. Whatever some of the more radical political theorists said I doubt anypony had ever seriously imagined having another ruler; it was like imagining that the sun would suddenly become green one day.

“W-” I choked up slightly at what I was about to ask but rallied and continued, “What will we do when this is all over? If things do get better and Celestia is still… gone…”

Mayor Mare just shook her head, “I don’t know Twilight, I truly don’t know.”

“Miz Twa’light? Miz Mayor? We’re at Fluttershah’s cottage,” Big Macintosh’s voice cut through the conversation, both Marelyn and I rustled about to free our heads from the weight of the snow-covered blankets. I saw that Mac was right, we were in fact stopped just in front of the little bridge leading to Fluttershy’s hut, it was barely noticeable though, the snow was covering it entirely, and it was even blocking the entrance.

“Oh dear, she may be trapped in her home,” Mayor Mare quickly extracted herself from the back of the cart and dropped into the snow, I remember mentally imagining that Fluttershy being trapped in her cottage was probably the best case considering some of the things wandering around out in the cold.

“Mac, keep an eye on Sweetie Belle and Spike please,” I said as I followed Marelyns example and dropped into the snowdrift forming around the cart, I shivered as the relative warmth of the cart was replaced by the freezing cold. Big Macintosh nodded phlegmatically and settled into the snow as I started after the Mayor.

I used my magic to clear away enough of the snow in front of the door for us to reach it, I pounded on the door, trying to rouse an answer, and I was just beginning to think she wasn’t inside at all when…

Creak… “Twilight…?” Fluttershy opened the door a crack and peered out, she looked exhausted and pale.

“Fluttershy, you’re here… good, look, bad things are happening in town, Celestia told us all to go to the Sweet Apple Acres farm, I have Sweetie Belle and Spike in the cart, Big Macintosh is pulling us there, get something warm on and…” I trailed off, her expression hadn’t changed at all throughout my slight tirade, she looked… worn. “Fluttershy… are you ok?”

“I guess… I’m all alone here, I was just making dinner… come in,” she answered in a flat monotone as she opened the door wider to allow us entrance.

“Uhm… sure, but we can’t stay, we have to get to the farm, you are coming with us aren’t you?” I said as Marelyn and I stepped tentatively into the dark cottage, there weren’t any lights and none of the candles were lit either. “Fluttershy, don’t you think it’s a little, uhm, dark?” I asked, she didn’t respond, just closed the door, stopping the flow of snow-flakes and icy wind and went into the kitchen.

“Twilight, Fluttershy seems somewhat… ill,” the Mayor noted quietly, I nodded in agreement, something about this whole situation felt… wrong.

“Fluttershy? Where’s Angel at? Usually he’s here kicking at my hooves or has at least lobbed a carrot in my direction,” I asked with a tone of forced joviality.

Fluttershy came back out with a set of plates balanced delicately in her mouth and laid them out, “Oh, he went to sleep, it’s so cold out you know, the animals don’t like it when it’s this cold.”

I nodded, wondering if that was the reason, Fluttershy always got lonely when winter rolled around because her animal companions all went into hibernation. She came back out with a stew and set it on the table, “Fluttershy, you know I’m always happy to eat your cooking but… we really don’t… we don’t…” my nose rankled at the smell drifting off of the stew pot, something about it smelled… foul. “Uhm, Fluttershy, can you smell that?” I asked softly, a growing sort of nameless fear welling up in my chest. Something was wrong, something was very, very wrong here.

Fluttershy gave a slow and tired grin as she looked over at me, “Oh, it’s supposed to smell that way, see?” she lifted the lid of the pot releasing a wave of putrescent stench.

The mayor and I instinctively covered our noses at the smell, “Oh Celestia, Fluttershy what… what is that?” I asked, but faltered at the look on Marelyn’s face, it was twisted into a furious glare, I’d never seen her show that kind of emotion before.

“Whatever you are, you are not Emilé Fluttershy,” she practically growled.

“Aww… but Angel Bunny worked so hard to prepare this meal, he put his whole body into it…” the Fluttershy-thing whispered, a mad sort of glint growing in her eyes as her mouth stretched into a grin… then continued to stretch, the sickening sound of ripping flesh came as her grin tore the flesh raggedly as if along a poorly sewn seam up the sides of her face revealing needle-like teeth, black ichor began to drip from her eyes which had grown wide and bloodshot. The thing that wasn’t Fluttershy stood up on all fours, the aggressive posture was completely alien to the Fluttershy I knew, and somehow she seemed larger than she should have.

The mayor and I back up as the creature moved forward, its gait was… salacious… her hips swayed almost provocatively as she glared at us through bloodshot and dripping eyes. I gagged as I saw bits of her mane and coat falling in diseased bits, bare flesh revealed underneath to have a pallid pallor like a disease victim, her mouth stretched impossibly wide as she howled and launched herself at us, the ruined mess of her wings propelling her forward with more speed than they had any right to in their state. We leapt to opposite sides and the Flutterbeast landed badly on the loveseat in the corner, it toppled over against her weight and I heard a cracking sound, like breaking bone…

“Ooh… that felt gooooood…” it whispered as it rose, it’s head hanging at an impossible angle, it’s wide and bestial maw lolling brokenly, the voice hissed from inside her throat as her head slowly right itself, fitting back into place with several disturbing cracks as the vertebrae snapped back into place, her jaw realigned itself of its own accord and slid back into place as well with a dull pop. Its eyes rolled in its head as it looked from me to the mayor, “I think I’m in the mood for… WHITE MEAT,” she howled as she leapt from the wrecked loveseat.

“Marelyn!” I yelled as I turned to try and blast it out of the air with a burst of telekinesis and wishing fervently that I’d spent more time learning combat magic. Marelyn was ahead of me though, dropping low and lunging forward rather than trying to back out of the creature’s superior reach, she slid beneath the thing as it flew over her, it roared its fury as it landed and hack a gobbet of black ichor onto the floor.

“I’ll pick your tender flesh out of my teeth with your bones you little foals…” it whispered menacingly, the foul parody of Fluttershy’s mellifluous voice slithering blasphemously out its throat. It circled around us, still eyeing the mayor, I was at a loss, it was too fast, and I couldn’t target her quickly enough to let out a blast of force that would hit her without endangering the mayor…

I saw Marelyn twitch her head to the right, as if she had a fly in her ear, it was an ungraceful movement for a mare like… and again… twitch to the right and behind her.

The coin finally dropped, the window, it must be dark for a reason so…

The thing lunged forward again this time keeping low this time to deny the mayor her previous method of escape, Marelyn had sidled into place just in front of the back window though so now…

“NOW TWILIGHT!” the mayor yelled, charging forward again, bucking her back hooves against the wall beneath the window to propel her forward and up to collide violently with the creatures skull, I heard a sickening crack but I had turned away just as they had moved and focused, loosing a torrent of energy at the window blowing not just the window out, a hefty chunk of the wall, I looked back to see Marelyn lying prone on the floor, unconscious. I screamed as I saw the thing bite into her side with relish, we had been wrong, we had been completely…

The thing screamed as light struck it, meager though it was the light was now pouring in. I saw its fur blackening and slough off like thick mud, it tried to back into the darkness but thanks to Marelyns gambit it had overcommitted. It staggered back, its joints creaking audibly before snapping like dry twigs, it fell to the floor, a huddled, screaming, twitching torso, as black ichor poured from the rents that were opening in its flesh. I seized Marelyn by the tail and dragged her away from the expanding pool. I thought I had seen horrible things in that place… that castle… but this was different… it was like Rainbow Dash all over again only worse somehow. I heard a sound like dry wood splintered and what was left of the thing’s rib cage splintered open allowing an ichor-soaked book to tumble out of the unholy mess. I nudged it with a touch of arcane power before lifting it and opening the pages which were somehow untouched, it was Fluttershy’s diary, the one the doctor in Trottingham had told her to start. I remembered her bringing it over to the Library one day, she seemed disturbed by something in it, and it had gotten even worse apparently, the insides had been covered in scribbles that she hadn’t put there, she said found it in strange places that she hadn’t left it sometimes and more scribbles kept appearing. I shook my head; something had been reaching for her and I… I hadn’t seen it, I had failed… and now Fluttershy was…

Tears starting rolling down my face as I realized what must have happened to Fluttershy, what that thing must have done to her.

“Oh… oh Celestia… I’m so sorry Fluttershy, I’m so-”

My words were cut off by a loud THUNK around the corner; I sat up, hoping against hope. I fumbled with the latch to the front door, finally I just swore, pointed my horn at it, and blew it open, Macintosh stood up straight looking around, “M-Miz Twa’light?” he stuttered out as I shook the splinters out of my mane.

“James, get in here, the Mayor is hurt, I’ll be right back, I’ll explain everything in a bit,” I turned and went back into the cottage, turned the corner and found…

A carving knife slammed partway into door leading to Fluttershy’s pantry.

I edged around the weapon carefully, remembering the attack in the Library, once I was positive the blade wasn’t going to suddenly free itself and attack me I sidled up next to the door and pressed an ear to it.

I heard a soft sobbing sound coming from within.

“FLUTTERSHY?!” I practically screamed, I heard the sobs immediately stop with a small hiccup.

“T-twilight?” her voice was pinched and strained, like she was biting back pain, I pointed my horn at the heavy padlock on the door’s frame and it fell open with a surge of power. The stink of unwashed pony and sickness hit me; I gagged slightly before moving down the stairs into the darkened pantry.

“Fluttershy, you’re alive… I thought you might be… that the thing out there might have…” I said as I moved in the darkness, I wasn’t able to finish the thought, the idea of losing another friend was too painful to even put into words.

“Twilight… where is she?” Fluttershy whispered.

“Gone, she boarded up the windows, I guess light didn’t agree with her, I’ll tell you all about it on the way to the farm,” I answered, snooping around for a candle before just shaking my head and conjuring some more light, my reserves of magic were getting dangerously low. The light glimmered softly as my head started to ache, a forewarning that I was stretching myself too thin; I caught a glimpse of a pastel coat scooting away from me. “Fluttershy, come on, we’re going to Sweet Apple Acre’s, Celestia told me to bring every I can find there.”

“I… I d-don’t think I’m in any shape t-to go anywhere Twilight…” Fluttershy said, her voice raw and halting.

“What? Fluttershy wha- Oh Celestia…” all of my thoughts fell to shambles as my light spread over my friend who was laying propped up against the wall. Her face was a tightened in a grimace of extreme pain, and I could see why; Fluttershy’s forelegs ended in two bloody stumps where her knees used to be, the ragged wounds were crudely wrapped in bandages made from torn food bags. Her eyes were haunted and distant, as she struggled to stay conscious.

“She took my legs Twilight…” she whispered, tears threatening her eyes, I thought then that the only reason she wasn’t crying was because she’d cried all of her tears out already, “I’m sorry…”

I could only stare aghast at what I was seeing; by some miracle Fluttershy’s medical knowledge had kept her from bleeding out but…

“T-t-there’s medical supplies at the f-farm Fluttershy… c’mon… we’ll get you better…you’ll be fine…” I said haltingly, trying to find words to comfort her, “C’mon… just… I’ll carry you out ok? Just… hold on.”

She shook her head, “Twilight-”

“SHUT UP! I’M GETTING YOU OUT OF HERE AND THAT’S FINAL” I snapped, I shook the panic off and moved towards her, “I’m sorry I yelled, but I’m not losing another friend you hear me Fluttershy? Now get the buck on my back or so help me I will kick you up the stairs.”

She sniffled a little but nodded, I backed up and knelt down, she managed to stagger on her back legs and lower herself gently down using her wings to balance. As soon as she was secure I stood, staggering under the sudden weight, I had carried her before though and I could do it again. The arcane exhaustion was starting to tell though; I staggered up the stairs and carried her up to the living room.

I looked out into the cold and shook my head, looking around I spied some blankets to wrap her in, “Fluttershy, do you have any cleansing tinctures or tonics? Anything to help with the… the wounds?” I asked softly.

“Uhm… I do… in the cupboard in the kitchen, below the sink, the first bottle on the left,” she answered, straining, I knew that stay conscious was becoming difficult.

“ok… ok… how do I… rrrrgg…. JAMES!” I screamed, I heard the pounding of hooves and suddenly the light from the doorway was eclipsed by a Big Macintosh’s massive red frame.

“Wha’s wrong Miz… Oh mah Celestia… Miz Fluttershah…” even he was staring agape at her wounds but he gathered himself far more quickly than I had, “Miz Twa’light, thar any cleanin’ supplies about?”

“I nodded, below the sink, first on the left, quickly, and grab some of those blankets to wrap her in; we can’t take her out in the cold like this.”

Big Macintosh nodded and went to retrieve the items; he came back as I finished gathering the cushions from the destroyed loveseat and was laying Fluttershy down on them as gently as I could with what little magic I could still muster without a blinding headache to soften her descent. Big Macintosh by-passed me and immediately went to work, unwrapping the make-shift bandages carefully with a dexterity belied by his giant hooves, I gagged at the smell, I knew that was bad, the medical texts I’d read said that if wounds started to smell like that… Moments later he was done, clean white strips of cloth where the dirty brown wrappings had been before, she was breathing a little easier too now that she was wrapped warmly in the blankets.

“Alright, can you carry her out? Looks like I’m walking from here on, with Mayor Mare out and Fluttershy… like she is… they need all the room they can get,” I said as I helped the bundle of Fluttershy and blankets onto Mac’s broad back.

We moved her out and into the back of the cart, I gave Spike explicit instructions not to unfurl the blankets and to keep an eye on both Fluttershy and Mayor Mare, he nodded with the stoic obedience I had come to rely on from him.

“Twi…light…” Fluttershy’s voice was a whisper, but it was different, it was weak and low, instead of soft and shy.

“Yea? Are you comfortable? Can I get you anything before we leave? Something to eat or dri-” I stopped as she paled at my words.

“N-no… n-nothing… to eat… nothing…” she whispered.

I moved in closer and motioned Spike away, he nodded, took Sweetie Belle by the hoof, and dropped off the wagon.

“Fluttershy… what happened to you? What did she…?” I started; part of me didn’t want to know the answer.

Tears started flowing unbidden from Fluttershy’s eyes at my question as she shook her head, “no… I don’t… I don’t w-want… to remember… my legs… Twilight… Twilight…”

“Fluttershy…” I said softly, nuzzling close to her, letting her cry on my shoulder for a while, at the end she whispered into my ear five words took several moment to register, it felt like my mind was trying to reject what she had said.

“…she made m-me… e-eat them…”