FimFiction Link - Short ID: 527169/medusa
Published: Jun '23
Submitted as a horror, but what I liked about it was how it managed to, in just a thousand words, build the scary image of the titular Medusa before revealing her to be a pitiful creature more than deserving the PoV's seapony's mercy. The 'twist' that it's more of a Sad story than Horror worked well here.
This whole review is spoilers.
Medusa is a 1k horror story about the horrors of an inadequate healthcare system.
Well, ain't that a kick in the pants. One fears what's different, and Medusa sure is. I've seen a lot of what those deep sea diseases do to fish. Pretty messed up. You have to feel sorry for the poor Sea pony who had the bad luck to find itself victim to a parasite. As a result, it's ostracised from the rest of Sea ponies, kept isolated in a cave where somepony sometimes brings it food.
I do disagree with Reviewfilly in that it's more of a Sad story than Horror. I feel they both coexist pretty well. One thing I wonder is how much of a mercy it is to keep Medusa alive. In the real world, a fish that gets infected would never reach the degree it has afflicted Medusa. It would've died long before. But Medusa is still alive, covered in the chitinous tissue result of the parasite, making it look like a monster. All thanks to the kindness of the seaponies who still bring it food.
It's a pretty good story. I recommend it.