Forget me Not

by Lupine Infernis

Epilogue

Rarity woke with a start.

‘The wraiths…’

She reflexively took in a deep breath and almost choked at the sharp pain that sparked in her chest.

“Ah…”

Her body ached and she felt cold.

But she was alive.

Rarity struggled against what felt like a pillow, so that she could see properly. It was dark, but she had opened her eyes to what seemed like ceiling tiles, so she must have been on her back.

Not buried in mud.

The wraiths and their leering grins haunted her as she shifted and panted, driven by the urge to know just what had happened when she pushed their cursed bones down into the earth. Down, where she should have been, too; her body pinned by the weight of the gloopy mud until her lungs were filled and her consciousness darkened.

“Hnf…”

She was shivering harder than ever, but finally, she was propped up against a wooden headboard.

And there…

And there were her friends.

Spread out over the room, slumbering peacefully: Pinkie Pie sprawled across a chair with her legs twitching, Applejack in another chair in the corner with her hat tipped over her eyes, Twilight sitting up against the wall with Spike curled up in her forelegs, Rainbow Dash snoring into the foot of Rarity’s bed, and Sweetie Belle and her friends cuddled up to one another in a spot near Applejack.

Rarity looked at her friends, realizing that they hadn’t forgotten her, and felt a strong pressure building behind her eyes.

“Finally awake, hm?”

She turned to the side and saw Discord sitting beside her bed; his tail was stretched out, and Fluttershy was sleeping on top of it, her lithe body rising and falling evenly.

“It’s been three days, you know,” He said with a charming grin unlike the ones he usually gave, and she came to associate with trouble. “But seeing as you saved everyone, I think I’ll hold off on the jokes. For now.”

Rarity felt warmth running down her cheeks. “Th-the wraiths…”

“Put down for good. They won’t be messing with anyone else now,” He chuckled and stood up as his tail detached with a pop, leaving Fluttershy undisturbed. He casually dusted himself off. “Rather ingenious how you dealt with them, I must say. A little too martyr-y for my tastes, but still ingenious.”

He stepped to the side a little, mindful not to step on anyone.

“Once the wraiths were gone, everypony came back through the fog. Frightened, obviously, but still alive. Some are still reeling from remembering how many times they had seen the wraiths around town, but they’ll recover. Even you. Fortunately, I got there in time before you spent buried for too long.”

He shrugged and rubbed his claws against his chest.

“You’re welcome, by the way.”

Rarity smiled, beamed happily, and buried her face in her hooves to weep.

“You ponies are so emotional,” He sighed without any real venom. “It’s almost enough to get me teary-eyed. Almost.”

Her crying woke the others, who blinked and stared sleepily for a moment before rushing over and gathering Rarity in a tight embrace.

“… It was a close call,” Discord said, his expression turning serene and content. “But thanks to you, at least we won’t forget it.”

Author's Note:

Note 1: If you've read my other horror story, "ice teeth", then you might be wondering if I have some grudge against Rarity since she suffers the most in these stories.

I don't.

I feel more comfortable writing stories when it follows the viewpoint of a single person - even if it changes every now and then because it's still only one viewpoint - but I couldn't make my mind up on who would make the 'main character'. Either of the Mane 6's views would be interesting, so I wrote their names on a piece of paper and flipped a coin to see which one it would land closest to.

Coincidentally, 'Rarity' was the closest both times.

Note 2: This story was inspired by the many times I would leave the fridge door open when I have midnight snacks.

Comments

[Gavier]

This story is too underrated.

[Bloody_Tofu]

Very well done. Definetly deserves more upvotes.

[Zaten the Changeling]

Upvote for just being plain GOOD.

[PaulAsaran]

You can has review!

[Lupine Infernis]

9027216
Thanks so much for the review. I didn't expect it to be rated so highly, but it's a pleasant surprise nonetheless

[Thought Prism]

After Paul's glowing review, I had to check this out. I was not disappointed, getting a sense of palpable dread that only built as I kept reading. Now to look into your other works.

[changeling khaos]

For a second I thought this wasn't gonna have a happy ending.

[Yami Vizzini]

Quite a ride! It built things up relatively quickly but still managed to keep escalating the suspense throughout. Plus I’m always glad to see Rarity being awesome.

The epilogue infodump did feel a little tacked on, but when you’re sticking to one POV I guess it can be necessary.

[Imaginedom]

This fic is good. You did good. Good.

[Soge]

I love the atmosphere you built here, it is thick and menacing, and does wonders to sell the dread of the situation Ponyville found itself in. I also have to praise your characterization of Discord, still mischievous but helpful. It is a role he is hardly ever cast in, and it felt like a breath of fresh air. It is a bit too unpolished for my tastes, but as far as effective horror goes, you can't really go wrong with something like this.

[Zaid ValRoa]

I really liked this, for the most part.
I can't help but wonder if the story wouldn't have benefitted if the descent from normalcy to forgetfulness had been more gradual, letting the readers get that creeping sensation that something is wrong before hitting them with the full force of the horror dwelling behinf the veil of reality. As it stands right now, it all spirals out of control a bit too quick for my taste.
Then again, seeing how the main chapter is already over 11k words, perhaps expanding the story would have forced it to be much longer than needed, or broken into several chapters.
Speaking of which, I really could've done without the epilogue. Maybe it's just me, but I feel the main chapter ended on a great note and everything after that is just a happy ending for the sake of one. It's not that well developed either, if I'm being honest, since it's composed mostly of Discord telling Rarity what happened once the Wraiths were defeated.
Nevertheless, this was a great read, and I hope you keep writing and improving in the future.
Cheers.

[Crystal Aura]

A truly great read! Kudos to you, oh great author! And congratulations on being reviewed by the SA Team! Your story had the feels that led me to shiver in real whereas I never did while reading any other story. You are a master!

*bows*

200/100, I tell you!

[Lupine Infernis]

9325939
Thanks so much for the kind words. It was pretty awesome to be reviewed by the SA.

[Mocha Star]

I liked this. It was a bit shorter than I'd hoped because this could be a 35K word story, easy. But, like!

[Allsmiles]

(Okay, this was good.

I immediately thought of The False Hydra when I first read it, because it hunts based on memory erasure. And likewise, The Silence does pretty much the same thing. However I really enjoyed your Wraiths as a monster, the very concepts behind memory erasure as a defense mechanism and attack are terrifying.

I'm also glad that it got a happy ending. Frankly, I like it when they go through Tartarus, but survive at the end. In many ways, because this was terrifying, but nopony actually died, this is a very canon appropriate horror monster. So yes, very cool, very unsettling, and very gripping. Also, Discord maybe deserves a spot in the character tag? He was certainly awesome enough for it.

Anyways, I enjoyed greatly. Well done.)

[Eonex]

Horror stories are hard to get in Fimfiction (for some reason not many people have explored the genre), and I'm glad that your story was recommended to me.

I enjoyed how you slowly built up the pace of the narration, starting with Rarity forgetting something so inocuous as turning the faucett off. And then you forget your favorite recipe. Feeding your pet. Passages of your favorites books. Until you forget how to even walk. That's when you know you've been dealing with something very serious.

And the willingness of Rarity to sacrifice herself for her friends was very touching. And in the end all ended well. Off to the Favorites shelf!

[Silver Starlight]

Oh my god, the suspense! And I love when thrillers have a separate chapter for the definitive ending. Lets people keep to their own interpretations if they want. Faved!

[Ibliscorn]

Ooh boy, first Ice teeth and now I just finished this! You truly have a knack for horror! And again, poor Rarity

[Moosetasm]

then you might be wondering if I have some grudge against Rarity since she suffers the most in these stories.

I was going to make a comment about that on the previous chapter.

… But then I thought a bit… and now I think that it might be more than that.

Hear me out: In the show, Rarity has proved time and time again that, despite being a diva on the surface, she’s resourceful, resilient, and straight-up tough as nails. I don’t think any of the other Mane 6 would have weathered either of your story experiences as well as she.

[Gavier]

8523718
And the time has come! Not going to lie reading it again after almost 5 years of seeing it on a shelf was probably the best way to read it. I remembered pretty much nothing about it, but it all came with a strong feeling of deja vu. And after Scootaloo mentioned the bones, I remembered how it ended

And yes I completely agree with past me. This story deserves a lot more attention. In fact it's one of the few horror fics where the threat is still scary after being explained, instead of just being dangerous.

[Prince Polaris]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEES

[Crimson Eclipse77]

That was great and scary! 😃

[darklight731]

Suprised she survived having her lungs fill with mud.