//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11: Farewell 
// Story: Ponies on Red Dwarf 
// by Sound Shard 
//------------------------------//

Starbug
Lister snapped his fingers in front of Rarity's face, to no use, she was transfixed on some unseen darkness in the opposite corner. A lurking monster haunting her, and only her, vision. Sweetie Belle was at a loss of words. Yesterday she had been out with her friends, performing the great feat that developed from her and Scootaloo getting into a fight about the more dangerous games: a round of extreme embroidery. Today her house burned down, her parents held hostage, her older sister's best friend died, and a group of strange beings from another dimension watched the only thing they'd known for years upon years get blown to smithereens. If she didn't get her cutie mark in having the weirdest life ever, she didn't know what. Sweetie tried to think happy thoughts. At least it was over. Because of that fiasco, they both already knew Ivory lived... And grew to be a homicidal maniac paired with a glop of one of Equestria's most ancient evils. So much for optimism. Sweetie sighed.
Rarity heard snapping in the distance. And not just the continuous loop in her head of that thing that Ivory would become snapping her broken neck into place. A different snapping. One that could be heard over the ringing in her head, accompanied by a gurgling laugh. That horrendous laugh. The maniacal laughter of Ivory 2.0, the thing her best friend could and would become. Rarity began to sing quietly to herself Sweetie's old lullabies, so quietly nopony could hear. Just out of earshot, a whisper. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed. Rarity's entire life began to flash by at that point. Parts even she did not remember. Up until the age of 19. The birth of her sister, August 4th. A date she would never forget. Her sister, whether voluntarily admitted or not, was the best thing to ever happen to Rarity. A brooding sigh she heard above all else. A single, melancholy sigh. Sweetie Belle brought her back, with a simple exhale brought her back from the void.
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity exclaimed and jumped into her little sister's arms. Sweetie Belle caught Rarity in her arms. Sweetie felt something warm and cozy build in her heart and lungs, and migrate to her flanks. She looked down to see a heart and shield depicted on either side of her plot. Protecting hers and others feelings and wellbeing. These words rang thru her mind, a careful and unforgettable reminder of her talent. Sweetie smiled weakly. How proud the Crusaders would be.

Kryten sat under extreme pressure. He had never felt this emotion before! He knew love, joy, arrogance, anger, confusion, sadness, guilt, he was very good with guilt, and envy. But this emotion, this strange... tingly feeling in his upper circuit boards. This... feeling, of love, but different. He felt it every time he looked back at the two pony sisters. The smaller one now had a mark on her posterior. This hugging and friendship and love was... Kryten searched his databanks for the right word, and came up with... heartwarming. He looked over a Rimmer. Rimmer shed not a tear, broke not a muscle, and sat perfectly straight. He, personally, thought that this emotion was nauseating. He tried his best to ignore it. Having no such luck, he began to hum "Oh My Darling, Clemintine" very loudly. Twilight, sitting next to Cat, at Lister's usual post, grew annoyed. She caused a small explosion inches from Rimmer's face. The man shivered as the explosion literally passed thru him. He hated being a hologram. "Have you no respect for the dead?" he yelled. Twilight shrugged.
"Not for you," Cat stated. Rimmer glared.
Twilight studied the control panel in front of her. These buttons confused her. She had seen nothing of the sort before! Because of this, she itched to touch just one. She might kill the whole ship, or help a lot. She had no idea where to go from here.
A blue ship could be seen off in the distance. A Series X4 Advanced U78 Toyota Mining Ship.
"Bingo," she cheered under her own breath. Cat accelerated the ship. The Wayward Warhawk, salvation. Everyone's suffering could be over soon.
"Um, guys?" Rainbow tapped Kryten on the shoulder. "What are we going to do?"
"Rarity's in shambles," noted Sweetie.
"The mare I pledge allegiance to was evil!" Twilight yelled over her shoulder.
"I turned super evilly evil!" remarked Pinkie.
"And we almost killed somepony!" added Spike.
"I d-don't think I w-want to remember an-any of this..." Fluttershy stuttered. Others nodded in agreement. Kryten thought about this.
"I can erase all of your memories. I will remain with them until I clear my cache again. You will reawaken with no memory of ever coming to Red Dwarf, and us a different way of losing Red Dwarf," Kryten recalled. Suddenly, Holly's face appeared on screen, but she... he was a male again.
"Two catches. One, you'd lose me. Two, you couldn't blink," Holly nodded. Many happy greetings followed.
"Don't blink. Where have I heard that before?" Pinkie sat down to ponder. "A doctor fella. With somepony named Ditzy..."
"Never mind that now, Pinkie!" Twilight insisted. "We've got a breakthrough on our hooves!"
Rainbow cheered. "I can't believe it! We're going home."
"No, I'm not..." whispered Rarity. "Home is burned to the ground."
"That's horrible, ma'am!" Kryten exclaimed. "I don't believe you have nowhere to stay!"
"Start believing, mister. Unless you can warp our memories, there's no way around that," Sweetie snarled. "Besides! If I got my memory erased..."
"...you would forget your special talent!" Twilight exclaimed. Sweetie nodded somberly.
"Less than a breakthrough, you ask me," she mumbled. Rarity let out a sob, before standing up.
"I don't want my memory erased," she sniffled.
"Rarity, we have to!" Rainbow protested. Twilight nodded. "I mean, if we don't, some of the worst things to ever happen to us will be stuck to us like glue. If we were to keep up with them, hell, even I would be messed up in the head."
"There's no argument, Rarity, we're getting our minds wiped!" Twilight yelled. She shrank back as she realized she had yelled at everybody in the room.
"Well, we're ready to dock!" shouted Cat behind his back.
Wayward-Warhawk
"What do we do now?" Lister asked, examining the cabin.
"Toyota made one damn fine mining ship..." Kryten mused.
"What will we tell ourselves about Red Dwarf?" asked Cat.
"I suggest we blame it on Lister," Rimmer nodded. Lister jumped at the accusation.
"What?" he yelled.
"A fine idea, sir," Kryten agreed.
"What?!" Lister repeated.
"Well, sir, we could blame it on you, parking it on a planet for some apparent reason, I'll think of the reason and planet later, while you're in stasis."
"Who said anything about stasis?" Cat jumped in.
"Well, sir, we have no choice. Or else I'd have no time to figure out a good reason. I'm not very good with endings," Kryten explained. "I'll awaken you upon thinking of thinking of one."
"When should we go?" Twilight asked.
"Now's good as it will ever get, I suppose," Sweetie Belle sighed. Pinkie sniffed.
"I'm going to miss you guys!" she managed, on the brink of tears. A single droplet ran from her eye to her cheek, then to and off her chin, hitting the floor with a subtle splash. The room was so silent, that this was audible. "Let's get this over with."

Kryten stood with a mechanism in his hands, pointing it at everyone, standing in a circle.
"Ready?" Kryten asked. Rarity shook her head.
"We have to go, Rarity!" reminded Twilight. Rarity bowed her head before facing the mechanism once more.
A flash filled the room, dispelling the seven ponies, and dragon, away from the ship. The lot of them never knew anything happened. They returned to their homes, excluding Rarity and Sweetie Belle, who were cast to their front yard.
And Ivory Wisp died. Something to do with a mental disease, incurable, that made her brain think that every O she said was an I. But nopony really knew her. Her funeral was almost bare, except her boss, various coworkers, some fans of her books, and one single hooded figure nopony recognized.
At the end of the funeral, everypony left. Everypony except the hooded figure. The figure leaned over the casket, letting a lock of purple hair hit it, and whispered:


"I kept my eyes closed for you, Ivory. Don't make me regret it."