Author's Note

for the end

Forget Me

Coco Pommel bolted upwards, basking for air. A world of pain socked her lungs dry. She did her best impression of a fish to take it all in, to simply not die. And as she stabilized, her vision started to clear. Coco Pommel had rubbed her eyes to remove excess mucus traces.

"I missed you."

Everything ceased. Even her ears halted, not daring to disturb that sacred voice.

"Juli- G-glace...? Is that you?"

"Yes it is, ma cherie... You know the truth now. And so here we are, step-sister to step-sister. Alone together." Julienne hushed, hunching over and pulling her up.

The world felt right again. Yet, all was silent. Not a soul stirred. Only the ruins of Ponyville General Hospital accompanied their stay in Ponyville. The shrouding mist had hung lowly about their ankles. For once, she could comprehend the desolation. Amidst the ruins of burned, skeletal homes and half-destroyed town hall, she spotted the common homes. Countless, booby-trapped houses and derilect apartments met her gaze.

Though the world was right again, it was twisted, utterly reborn. Ponyville, a place she used to have friends and family, was a patchwork shell of it's former self.

The very backbone of Ponyville, the foundation of community, slept soundly beneath them. Coco eyed the old Hayburger and Quills and Sofas just north of the hospital. Fondly, she recalled Rarity and Applejack. They used to be there for her, cheering her on with her theater career. Had they survived, wouldn't they have cared for her.

They'd have appreciated her without forcing it. She stared down and saw the bones of the earth, the many dead deep within. Applejack. Rarity. Her closest friends. Even if she'd never be with them, even if neither would love her, they'd actually stay.

"... I should've stayed away from you, Glace. I didn't need love. I needed someone to treat me like an equine being. I didn't need love at all." Coco whispered, finally up and on all fours.

"Even if you love me... what good does that do now. You're dead. And I'm a shell of what I used to be. I'm not pretty anymore and I have no one to take care of me. All I have is mom... and you. How do I feel about that?"

Julienne had taken her knife out and tossed it over. Coco Pommel caught the handle between her teeth. That's when it all came back to her. Glace had taken part in some of the beatings. In some of the abuse, she was the director, her own slavemaster. Had she ever loved her in the first place, she wouldn't have left her to father so many times. Coco Pommel tossed the knife away and watched it rattle the Ponyville greeting sign. A sharp, metallic frequency pierced her ears and made a chip in the blade.

"I know you love me now. But you helped Him... You hurt me, too. Why did you have to be yourself? Why couldn't you be the sister I wanted...?! Didn't you realize I needed someone?!"

Her teeth were red from all the clamping, all the gritting that tore her gums. Coco's heart stopped. The only thing she felt, aside from all her hatred, all her anguish, were hands on her cheeks. Julienne embraced her one more time and locked lips. The iridescence of her, of all the promises she made, to the lie of her sweet lips, drew tears from her eyes.

"Exactly, Coco. Why did I deserve to live if that was me...?" Julienne whispered, comforting her convulsing, sobbing sister.

"It wasn't your fault. Someone had to take the blame... Why not me. Hate me. Remember I was never there for you. And use your understanding to keep you strong. You were never weak, ma cherie. You were just neglected. Everyone needs to be taken care of... even mares like you: too beautiful for this world."

Julienne slipped away and kissed her goodbye.

"Julienne...!" Coco cried, trembling and reaching toward her.

"Mais non, ma cherie... You're alive. I'm gone. Mother isn't the monster you make her out to be. She'll take care of you. You need to live your life and find someone who loves you like you deserve."

Her loving sister kissed her hoof and closed her eyes. She smiled there, freezing in ice, stabbing her only lover where it hurt, the fragile heart. A heart made of glass, it could never be her's. Not now. Not ever. She wobbled in her smile, to kiss her soul goodbye and shower her with roses.

"Forget me."

Julienne was encased in ice, forever gone. The ice formed faults. And right before Coco could hold her, she shattered to pieces. When Coco woke up... she'd find a sliver of glass neighboring her flank. She gripped her peace in wobbling hooves. Her forelegs sprang backward to pierce her throat. And she fought herself to sink it in. Over and over, she struck the area around her throat. But something inside her remembered Julienne. And she sunk down crying, not a scratch on her.