The Reflectionby CrackedInkWellChaptersAct 1Act 2Act 3Act 1Author's Note As to the little tradition I have, that every October I must write something dark for the season of Halloween. Well, this year, on my version of The Twilight Zone, it calls for something unique and demands for a small but rarely used cast of characters. Act 1 You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of sound. A dimension of sight. A dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You have just crossed over into... The Twilight Zone. It was mostly because of the view of Unicorn Ridge that persuaded Forest Green to buy the farmhouse. If anything, it was perfect from all the criteria of everything he could want. It was quiet. The property was surrounded by flowing wheat fields. It wasn’t too big, too small, but just right to start his new, calmer life with his new husband out in the isolated countryside. “At least I can give you this,” his spouse, Water Color commented as they sat in the swing bench on the front porch. Watching the sun go down behind the mountains, “This is some of the prettiest country that I’ve ever seen. Of course, still nothing compared to you though.” “Ah stop it,” he waved a hoof at the one teasing. “I’m just glad that we’re able to get such a deal out of this place. “Three hundred a month for a house in the middle of nowhere is a good deal to you?” “Uh-huh, there’re no noisy neighbors for miles. We’re in the safest place in Equestria. And it’s the perfect environment for us to start up a family if we wanted to. That is if we get lucky,” he smirked at him. “Plus, it’s the ideal place for some new artwork.” “True. I already have a few ideas even before we signed the contract. Still, I’m rather disappointed that our things don’t get here until tomorrow.” “We have blankets and pillows, so we can sleep on the floor for the night.” Forest looked behind him at the front screen door. “Hey, it’s getting dark. Let’s head inside and light a fire in the hearth.” So the couple went inside of the dusty room, fetching the paper, matches, and wood to build up light and warmth for the house. Candles were soon lit all around to illuminate it from the crawling night. Eventually, the young spouse felt the need for a bathroom in which, on the way back, he noticed something that he didn’t before. While sitting on the toilet and making sure that the candle didn’t fall over on the edge of the bathtub, his eyes followed the pattern of the tiles up towards the ceiling. He blinked as he recalled that from the tour of the farmhouse that he didn’t notice a trapdoor overhead. After finishing his business, he called out, “Hey Water! Come in here, I think that real estate agent left out the attic.” “We have an attic?” replied his husband from down the hall. He soon emerged with a candle in his aura. “Where is it?” “Look up,” his spouse tilted his head upward, towards the little cord dangling from it. “You wanna open it up?” His artist husband hummed, “I think you might wanna step back.” After clearing out of the bathroom, he used his magic to pull on the cord. At first, it seemed that it was stuck. But after giving a good pull, the creaking wood and groaning hedges had folded over. A ladder collapsed over to the floor, giving the couple a fright as it smacked the ground. They took notice of the cobwebs and the cloud of choking dust that filled the air. Right above, where the ladder lead was towards a darker mouth of an abyss. Feeling the need to go first into the unknown, Water Color climbed up the steps, his lone candle still burning and he ascended into the darkness until he was swallowed up. “Well?” called out his spouse. “What’s up there?” “I don’t know yet,” he replied. “It’s really dusty up here, not to mentioned dark so I can’t see much of anything. But at least this place has a sturdy floor.” For a few minutes, hoofsteps were heard above they explored the previously unknown floor. “Hey, I found something!” Now wanting to know what he found, Forest ventured up the ladder into the dark attic space. It was kinda what he’d expected: thick installation on the interior part of the roof; a hard wooden floor; spider webs; dead bugs; dust and darkness. But in a corner, his husband went up to a shrouded, rectangle shape object. Carefully pull it off, it revealed to be a mirror. One that was still in its black, twisting but elegant frame of vines, and the glass, while stained with age, still served its purpose in showing clearly the couple’s reflection. “Huh? How long do you think this was here for?” the spouse inquired, his confusion reflected in the glass. His unicorn husband dragged a hoof through the thick dust. “It’s hard to tell, but I doubt that the last owners of the place didn’t know this was here.” “Does it say where it comes from?” Water examined the carved frame, even flipping it over only to find no indication of where, when or who it was made by. “I can’t see anything. Still, it’s rather weird that somepony would leave this up here in the dark.” “You know,” the earth pony mused. “We could hang it in the hallway. Since we’ve found it, I guess we might as well use…” he trailed off as he saw what was in the mirror. As the mirror was flipped back, he saw in the glass the reflection of his husband. But in tears, as if completely heartbroken and betrayed, the face he saw of his newlywed spouse was in misery. “Hon? Are you okay?” “Huh?” Water cocked his head back in confusion. Only that he didn’t see any sign of tears on his face. He blinked, “Were you crying just now?” “Crying? Why would I be crying?” “I just saw your reflection.” He glanced at the old mirror then back at his spouse. “It must be because of the glass that has aged over time. I’ve read somewhere that old mirrors can do weird things over time. So it must be that and the light. But for now, I don’t think we can take it down right now, we don’t have any nails to hang it up with.” He nodded, “Yeah, let’s get some sleep.” And with that, the two of them returned to the warm hearth. Submitted for your approval, a perfect portrait of a brand new couple that had just moved into a lonely farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. While these two don’t know it just yet, in this isolated place of Equestria among its beautiful scenery, are some hidden monsters. Unfortunately, these two have just become acquainted with one that seems like an innocent, household object. Case in point: a mirror of a dark frame and even darker glass. At first glance, this seems to be a common old mirror with its reflection stained and worn by time. But as we’re about to see, this couple known as Forest Green and Water Color, is about to take a good, hard look at this very object. In which they will get a glimpse, of the Twilight Zone. As expected, the cart of all of their processions, furniture and the rest of their canned goods had arrived the next day. The couple spent hours in unpacking the items, and furnishing their new home until they got it as they wanted. Water Color was able to carefully take the old mirror out of the attic and hung it at one end of the short hallway. “Well that was tedious,” the unicorn said as he sat down for his dinner of soup. “I didn’t think that it would have taken us this long. I think I’m going to be aching tomorrow.” “Same here,” Forest nodded in agreement. He sat on the other side of the tinny table that barely fit the breadbox-size kitchen. “However, I can say that we’ve managed to make this place feel like home. Still, it’s rather exciting, isn’t it? That we finally moved out from the noise of Manehattan to here. It’s so peaceful here.” “Doesn’t it make you the least bit paranoid?” the artist husband inquired. “I mean, the nearest neighbor is a good five miles away and there’s hardly anypony that has come up that dirt road. Have you noticed that?” “You have to remember that we’re in a place that’s not as populated as the city. After all, what danger are we in for moving way out here?” “That’s exactly my point. I mean, are there Timberwolves that live out here? Or some other monsters that larks in the woods in the field across from us? For all we know, something bad could happen to us and we have no means of getting help.” “Now who’s being paranoid?” his husband smirked. “Hon, we live on a more or less self-sustaining farm in the most boring place in all of Equestria where nothing bad or dangerous happens.” “Nothing good happens either.” Water Color muttered under his breath. His spouse was taken aback, “Excuse me? You mean you’re not happy moving here?” “What? No, of course not sweetie heart – I wouldn’t have signed those papers if I didn’t think it wouldn't be a worthy idea. I love the landscape we have here. I guess I’m just so used to hearing a constant soundtrack of the streets is all.” Forest leaned back in his seat, staring the steamy canned soup with a spoon. “I think it takes time to become adjusted to a place like this. Sure, I have lived in places like this before, but it took me a while to get used to Manehattan, especially when it hardly ever takes a moment to breathe. Still, it’s nice to go back to one’s roots (or at least as closely as possible).” “Yeah… Yeah, I know. I need this after all.” Water said after a spoonful to swallow. “Lately my life has been so busy, especially before the wedding that I do want to take some time to really breathe. But you can understand how jarring it is from going from constant noise to nothing. That, and I have no idea how to farm.” “That’s why I’m around,” Forest smiled. “I was raised on one so I know how all of this is to work. Besides, the fields look promising, the wheat doesn’t look like it has any diseases, and once we’ve made it through the winter, we’ll have our own garden to grow everything we could ever want.” “Of course, there are no cows or chickens for milk and eggs.” “We’ve got enough money to send those over at our doorstep until we’re ready for that next big step in becoming completely independent.” “You sure that we don’t need electricity though?” The artist questioned as he too leaned back in his seat, looking at the lit oil lamps, “I kinda feel like we’ve gone back in time somehow.” “As long as we’re extra careful with the fire, we’ll be fine. Now then, let’s finish up dinner,” he lowered his eyes half-way. “We’ve been working pretty hard today, so why not give ourselves a treat at the end of it all?” “Subtle, aren’t ya?” Water Color chuckled as he tossed the spoon over his shoulder and grabs the bowl to down it all. Not to say that it did make somewhat of a mess. Forest Green rolled his eyes but still smiled. “Well, while you’re cleaning yourself up, I’m gonna go prepare myself for some bedroom fun.” With that, he got up and left the kitchen. Water Color meanwhile had to pull out a dishrag to wipe up the spill along his cheeks, neck, and withers while also drying the hardwood floors as well. He heard his spouse from the bathroom that it was his turn to get ready for bed, so he went into the hallway where Forest was walking over to him. “You know,” he said, “I think that for all your hard work, that you deserve something special, now that I think of it. But for now, let’s get you into the bathroom first.” His husband grinned as he watches his love turn around, seductively waving his tail as he walked down the hall. However, something else caught his eye as well. In the reflection of the mirror, he spotted an angry scowl on Forest’s face. A look of not just mere annoyance, but one that looked like as if he was ready to bite his head off, “What?” he asked. “Huh?” Forest craned his head back. “Did I do something wrong? You looked angry just now.” This gave his spouse pause, “What are you talking about? I’m not angry. Now come on, the sooner we get you to the bathroom, the sooner we can have some real fun.” “I thought…” he looked between him and the mirror but shook his head. “It’s probably nothing.” He muttered. Act 2Several days later, Forest Green had spent all morning tending to the garden to uproot the weeds that had been growing there. This gave Water Color some time alone with his canvas and the landscape that the front porch looked upon. He had spent his time adding one layer of color upon another, enriching the texture of the forest and mountains. It was strange to him how jarringly still this unfamiliar land was. For the past few hours after breakfast, only the chant of insects and small talk of birds were heard on that cool morning. The unicorn hoped- wished that something resembling civilization would break this calm. Sure, he and his husband have slept better than any time in their lives. But this natural silence was strange to him. Eventually, setting his brush aside, he decided to go inside to have a drink. As he walked in through the front door, the mirror from across the hall caught his eye. It reflected his tired face, the truthful exhaustion of continuous work. But after going into the kitchen, gulping down a cup of icy water from a pump controlled sink, he was about to return to his canvas when he paused at the mirror again. This time, he spotted his earth pony spouse. In the reflection that showed what was outside of the open front door, Forest was walking towards the farmhouse. It wouldn’t give Water any alarm if it weren’t for the look on his husband’s face. It was that of pure rage. The kind that combined with his calm steps indicated that he was ready to rip his throat out. But a quick glance towards the front door itself, it only showed Forest with the opposite expression: exhausted but glad. “Your painting is coming along,” he told him after pushing past the screen door. “And I must say that it’s gorgeous for what you got so far.” The unicorn looked between him and the mirror, “Hey hon, mind if I ask ya something?” “Well shoot,” Forest replied as he trotted into the kitchen. “I could use a break from all that weeding.” “Have you noticed something funny about the mirror?” “In what way?” The artist turned his attention towards the mirror once more, walking forward to it. “I don’t know really… Have you seen it reflect something that isn’t quite there?” No sound came from the kitchen. “I mean,” Water continued, “Like sometimes it would show you in a completely different mood or something like that?” Hoofsteps rounded over until his spouse was sticking his head into the hallway. “Wait, you’ve seen it too?” “Again, I’m not exactly sure,” the unicorn said as he lifted the mirror off from the nail in the wall, turning it over to examine it. “Maybe it’s because of how old this thing is or something, but I could have sworn that whenever I see your reflection in this thing, it looks like you were about to murder me.” “Really?” Forest walked out into the hallway. “That’s weird, because sometimes when I see your reflection in that mirror, I saw you as incredibly depressed – as if you were balling your eyes out for some reason… You don’t think that the mirror is enchanted or something?” “I don’t think so,” the artist put the framed glass back on the nail. “Otherwise, I would have picked up something wrong with it. But at the moment, I don’t sense anything out of place with it. Again, it could be because this thing is so old that the reflection might have become warped over time.” The earth pony stood with his husband, side by side, “Water, look in the mirror and tell me what you see.” He did so. “Well… I see you, and me. Two newlyweds standing in a hallway with the front door opened behind us. And beyond that is some of the most beautiful country that I’ve ever seen. What do you see?” “Looks to me the same,” the farmer turned to his spouse. “I guess it might be because our minds were playing tricks on us. Ya know since we’re in a new place and all that we could be imagining things. Like, have you read about that… what did your therapist call at that group session again?” “What do ya mean?” “Remember how we were in a room with a fella that would sometimes hear his mom call for him when it gets really quiet, but half the time he’d find out that she didn’t do so in the first place?” The unicorn tapped his chin with a hoof in thought. “I think it was called Phantom Calls. If I remember right, the doc said that sometimes we get used to seeing or hearing something so often that when we’re in a place that, while we’re completely cut off from it, our minds would fill in the gaps with something that we’re familiar with.” “Yeah, that’s it,” he nodded. “Perhaps that what’s happening? That we’re so used to seeing ponies that are depressed or upset so often that for some reason that mirror is filling in that missing gap.” Water raised an eyebrow, “So what? Are you suggesting that we’re going crazy?” “No, I’m just trying to give an explanation with that mirror thing…” he pointed to the object, but he also looked at it too in which, as clear as day, he saw his husband’s reflection in which he had a look of terror. Not only that, but he saw him take several steps away from him. However, a quick glance back at his spouse to not only see nothing but confusion on his face but that they were still side by side. “What?” he questioned. “I think it did it again. Only your reflection moved.” Water looked at the mirror for a moment before turning to him saying, “You know, I don’t think that this whole isolation thing is doing either of us any good. Maybe we need to see new faces so that we don’t go catch cabin fever in here.” “Hey, I’m not going crazy.” “No? Forest, we’ve been here for four days and while we may have each other, I think we do need to have contact with someone, like some of our friends for example.” “But we don’t know anypony here.” “All the more reason to get us to socialize so that we don’t go…” now Water trailed off as from the corner of his eye he saw his husband’s reflection. He saw his teeth clench, eyes razor sharp as he snapped his head over to him, took a step back to lift a hoof in the air, ready to strike. Upon instinct, the unicorn immediately moved out of the way. About to shout what Forest was doing when he saw that his spouse was more startled than furious. “What?” he inquired. “What’s wrong?” “Did you…” the unicorn looked in the mirror again, only to find nothing but their reflections, “Ugh, you know what? I think that this place is really getting to me too. I think that I’m going to start writing letters to see if any of our friends could come. I think at this point we’re going to need it.” Water Color awoke in the dark. He wasn’t sure why either, being it sometime in the middle of the witching hour, he should still be asleep. But for whatever reason, he just woke up feeling like something was out of place. At first, he couldn’t put a hoof on why. He didn’t feel thirsty or wanting to go to the bathroom. However, it occurred to him that the bed he was resting on was missing a certain presence. A gently feel confirmed that Forest was vacant. Flipping over towards the other side of the bed is blurry eyes picked up the glow of candlelight coming from the crack underneath the bedroom door. Curious, he lit up his horn slowly until it was a soft glow so that it didn’t hurt his eyes. Quietly he got out of bed and made his way towards the door to silently open it. “Forest?” He asked meekly. His husband was in the hallway, a candle in his hoof, just standing right there, facing the mirror. “Forest, what are you doing up this late?” “I didn’t wake you, didn’t I?” His spouse was quick in giving him a nuzzle. “Sorry if I did. I couldn’t get myself to sleep tonight.” The tired unicorn glanced at the ancient glass for a brief moment, “Were you staring at that thing all this time?” “Not really. I just thought I saw something in the glass.” Water yawned, “Please don’t tell me that you’re seeing ghosts now, are ya?” The earth pony shook his head. “I said I thought I did… like a lot of other things with this mirror. I swear, ever since we found this thing it’s like it has a mind of its very own like its haunted or something.” “Says the pony that told us that we’re just seeing things because of the isolation,” the artist rubbed his eyes. “Since the mailpony doesn’t get here until tomorrow, it might be weeks until we could get someone to visit us. I just hope our sanity holds up until then. It’s just been way too quiet here.” A sigh later, Water Color stepped right into the hallway, going behind his husband. “I think I might wanna take a drink of water since I’m-” He was suddenly cut off when his spouse screamed. “AH! What?” The unicorn was about to swing around when suddenly, Forest was right in front of him, grabbing both sides of his face to hold him still. “Don’t look!” “What?” Water tried to turn his head but his husband’s hooves wouldn’t budge. “What’s going on?” “Just don’t turn around.” He saw in Forest’s eyes that he was in shock. Horrified at whatever was behind him. “Just keep looking at me.” At the same time, he saw tears were running down his face. “Walk back into the bedroom, don’t look at it.” Of course, Water was confused as to what had gotten his spouse so startled like that. However, he did walk backwards into the bedroom, taking notice how Forest tried as hard as he could to block whatever reflection that was in the mirror. And as he quickly slammed the door behind him, the unicorn lit up his horn for light when unexpectedly his husband was hugging him. “Hey? Are you okay?” However, from the tears that were dripping on his shoulder, it was obvious that he wasn’t. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” This made Forest hug tighter. “I love you. You know that, right?” Water got a hold of him and was able to break the hug to see his spouse’s face. “Of course I do. Why are you crying?” For several minutes, the earth pony stallion couldn’t respond. His sobs hiccupped in which it took a long time for him to finally be calm enough to say to him without his words being broken. “We need to get rid of that mirror.” “Why?” “Water…” He gulped, trying as hard as he could to keep himself together. “I… I saw your reflection… but you…” There was a pregnant pause. Forest covered his muzzle as if he didn’t want to finish that sentence. “You were dead.” “Huh?” The farmer sniffed, “Hung from the ceiling. With a note around your neck that said that you… wanted to be free… and when I saw those eyes… It was so real looking.” Water’s expression paled. “How-” Before he could realize his slip-up, Forest’s eyes went wide. “How… what?” This time he grabbed him. “What were you going to say?” he questioned him. “It’s… It’s nothing hon. Really it-” “I KNOW WHAT I SAW!” the earth pony shouted. “Apparently you know something that I don’t. So out with it! How, what?” The unicorn showed all the signs of being really uncomfortable: folded ears; his eyes won’t look at his, and even his hooves were trying to turn away from him. It was like watching a frightened animal in a cage that just realized what he has gotten himself into. “I hope I’m wrong,” he said. “Because…” he gulped, “Because I think you’ve… just saw what I was… thinking…” Forest covered his mouth in total shock. “What?” “Let me test this,” the unicorn pulled his spouse towards the bedroom door, flung it open and stepped into the hallway towards the mirror. “Think of something.” While Water was looking at him in disbelief, Forest watched his husband’s reflection in which it had a completely different expression entirely. That of heartbreaking betrayal, and watched his reflection mouthed out a series of words like he was watching a silent film. “Do you see anything out of the ordinary in the mirror right now?” The Earth pony only glanced at it. “No.” Then it clicked to Water. “I think I know what this thing does: it shows to the other what we're thinking. Only I can see your thoughts and you can see with mine.” In the reflection, the artist saw his spouse with a hammer in his mouth as he reared up in order to smash the glass. At that same moment, Forest turned around, trotted into the living room and came back with a heavy book. “This thing must be destroyed.” And before Water could say anything, he threw as hard as he could at the mirror. While there was a loud bang, making the glass instantly crack out like a spider’s web, the reflection slowly reversed it until it was whole once more. In the mirror, he saw Water was backing away in fear while the real one stood still in shock. Forest couldn’t blame him. He was scared too. Act 3Since it became apparent that this dark mirror couldn’t be destroyed, the best that either stallion could do was to put it back into the attic. Even wrapped it in a sheet and tied it up until neither glass nor frame showed. But even when that thing had been removed out of sight, it already had planted a black seed in the couple. It had been a few days since that incident that night. Neither Water Color nor Forest Green had dared spoken to each other. They both knew why there was a potential fight to come out of it if they had the audacity to speak up of what they found out. Not just of what the mirror does, but of that hidden secret that they saw of their spouse. The artist noticed that the farmer hadn’t gone out of eyeshot from him. Watching him but still kept a distance as to not start that storm of words. Contrariwise, so did him for the sake of his own safety. While they tried to go on with their routine, they both thought about what exactly to say to explain themselves. Eventually, one evening, while both stallions sat down at the tiny dining room table – did their isolated silence break. “You know I would never hit you.” Forest finally said. Water looked up from his meal, “And yet, you’ve thought about it.” The earth pony narrowed his eyes. “Since when have I actually done it?” he questioned. “Water, for Celestia’s sake, you know that I never lay a hoof on you, even when we fought.” “Then why did I see your reflection do otherwise?” the artist responded in an icy voice. “I saw that you wanted to hit me. I saw how angry you got. Just what they hay, Forest? What reason do you want to punch me for? I thought you wanted to marry me. I thought you wanted to move out here.” “It’s not like that!” the green pony slammed his hoof on the table, making his husband flinch. Upon seeing that, Forest rested his hooves in his face. “And here I thought… I thought you were over your depression.” “Fore-” “I saw your reflection too.” The farmer pointed an accusing hoof at him. “After all that time in therapy, of all those medications and doctors… And how you told me that you were better now… And yet, I saw your dead body in that mirror.” “But I wasn’t really considering it.” “You were thinking of it.” Forest folded his forelegs. “I got a peek at what was going on inside your head, and how can… you scared me, Water. After seeing you hung on the end of a rope… How can I trust that you won’t act on it? How do I know that if I don’t turn around for a minute that you might…” He didn’t dare finish that sentence. “Why?” Water got up from his seat, “I was going to ask you the same thing.” He said as he walked and slammed the door to their bedroom behind him. The earth pony sighed. What exactly was he to do? This was supposed to be in the part of their lives in which they would be happy. But that mirror had to ruin it several times over! Of course, he knew that he can’t exactly break it… His eyes lifted towards the ceiling. Getting up, he marched down the hall towards the bathroom, where after jumping for the cord, he pulled down the ladder and climbed into the darkness. In the dark, he retraced his steps until he was able to find the object of their misery. “If I can’t break you,” he said aloud while lifting the glass onto his back. “Then I can at least remove you from our lives.” After throwing it down to the floor, hoping that the fall would break but since he didn’t hear any glass shattering, he climbed down and proceeded to take it into the hallway. By then, his spouse opened the door to their room, peeking out. “What are you doing?” “Getting rid of it,” he told him. “I’m gonna leave this thing as deep in the woods as I can.” “But you haven’t set hoof in-” Forest turned to him sharply. “If we’re going to save our marriage, I must remove this. If I can’t break it then it must be taken as far away from the house as possible. You can cry all you want, but I’m going to do something about it.” With that, he dragged the frame down the hall, out the front door, banging on the steps and through the dirt towards the woods on the other side of the house. Water trotted out to him, “You’re going to get lost out there! It’s almost dark.” “I don’t care!” his husband called out as he drags the mirror through the sagebrush and into the woods. Forest had a simple plan: drag the mirror away in a straight line from the house until he wasn’t able to see it anymore – and walk further than that. Sure, it was true that he didn’t exactly see what was behind him, as his flank kept bumping into trees and bushes along the way. And yes, it was also true that night was descending surprisingly quickly as he could hear the crickets making their songs. It was growing darker the further he dragged that cursed glass through the tall grass. But he couldn’t stop just yet. Not until it was far away enough to be out of their lives. Here and there, his ears would pick up the wind, the rustling of leaves on its branches, the snapping of twigs beneath his hooves, and even the call of the owl. And in hindsight, he should have grabbed a coat as the wind was bitterly cold against his hide. He was getting tired of pulling it with his mouth, but he didn’t want to drop it to have it rot just yet. “Forest!” he heard his husband cry. “Where are you going?” With a sigh, the earth pony rested the mirror against a tree in which, he saw in the reflection of the unicorn’s light. He turned around to see Water walking up to him. “Forest, what were you thinking? Go out here at night when you don’t know your way around.” “I’m trying to get rid of this thing,” he pointed an accusing hoof at the mirror. “The further away that thing is out of our lives, the better it’ll be.” “Oh for Celestia’s…” Water faced hoof. “Why are you acting like this? If anything, why are you angry at me for?” “I’m not.” “Are you?” the artist questioned, trying to see his spouse’s reflection in the moonlight that showed Forest’s anger in the glass. “I don’t understand what’s going on. In fact, I don’t get why I keep seeing your reflection that looks like that it wants to rip my head off.” “Oh really?” Forest stepped back to see Water in tears. “Then why do I see you bawling your eyes out? Is there something that you’re not telling me?” “Are we really having this right now?” “Well, we’ve haven’t so much as talked about it. In fact, isn’t that what couples are supposed to do? To be honest with one another and work out problems?” “By working out problems of course you mean not to stop to bothering to ask me about what should be done with the mirror?” “Hey, you weren’t doing anything about it!” “At least I’m not impulsively taking this thing out in the middle of the night where I could easily get lost!” Forest stomped a hoof to the ground, “Dammit Water! What do you want me to do!” Instead of his spouse shouting back at him, the unicorn’s gaze was on the mirror. Puzzled, he turned his head towards the reflection and gave pause at what they both saw. In the reflection, they saw their fight was continuing on – one stallion screaming at the other in silence. They were face to face, rage in their eyes until Water was the first to throw the first punch. In the mirror, Forest fell over. But before he could get back up, Water was kicking him again and again. But soon he slowed down, out of breath and in the light of the moon, his anger morphed to horror. Forest’s reflection remained motionless while the real one looked over to his spouse who was in shock. Glancing back in the mirror, the farmer saw how the unicorn knelt down, trying to get his lifeless body up from the ground before Water’s reflection looked directly at him through the mirror. He limped over to the glass up close, eyes full of regret and silently begging for forgiveness. “Water,” Forest spoke softly, “I think it’s about time that we leave.” He heard his husband sob in which to see that much like the reflection; it did show that he was crying now. “I-I’m…” he choked on his own words. Forest swiftly embraced him, wrapping his hooves around the distressed stallion. “Let’s go home,” he told him. The two of them turned away from the mirror, leaving it alone in the woods. By the time the couple was able to reach the farmhouse, both of them didn’t feel like going to bed just yet. Forest and Water lay in front of a burning hearth in silence as one stallion was hugging the other until he was able to calm down. “Are you ready to tell me?” the earth pony asked gently. Water sniffed, “I’m probably the worst husband ever.” “Why?” The artist looked at him, “You know why. That mirror… I saw that I’d… Oh Celestia, I’m so sorry. I was so angry about how you wouldn’t be honest with me that…” Forest hugged him tighter, “I guess it’s safe to say that we’ve both messed up big time.” The two of them watched the flames dance for a few minutes before the farmer said, “Look. I think that the only way we can break this is that we finally tell each other the truth. The whole truth. And nothing except, the truth. So, if this relationship is going to be saved, I guess I might as well start.” He took in a deep breath through his nostrils. “Water, I have a confession to make. That mirror was right, I was angry at you.” Water snapped his attention towards him, “Really? Why?” “It’s… It’s hard for me to say this,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “That for a while, I was angry at you that you weren’t satisfied moving here. I mean, after all the expenses of the wedding and was finally able to move out of the city, you just kept telling me how much you don’t like it here. I mean, we’ve picked out the house so that we could be happy here. Then… when I saw your reflection in that mirror showing you were absolutely miserable, I had this impression that I had sacrificed my hard earnings for nothing. That I was given the impression that you were ungrateful or something.” Water blinked, “And how come you haven’t told me this before?” “I didn’t want to start a fight, not after all the work we’ve put into moving out here.” “Oh…” the unicorn sighed in melancholy. “I guess I should have said something earlier. Forest… truth be told, I’ve misjudged this place.” “What?” He nodded. “You were right. I did want some peace and quiet, but I also want to interact with ponies too. We’ve been isolated here for weeks and I just… I didn’t want to show that I was depressed that I wanted to see friends or run into strangers now and then instead of this endless silence of boredom and how nothing going on around here. At the same time, you were so happy to be moving back into the country that I kept my mouth shut so that you won’t worry about what I think. Yes, I do want to move out here, but I didn’t think it’ll be so isolated.” The earth pony nuzzled his husband. “I guess you’re really disappointed in me, huh?” “I think we’ve really disappointed each other.” Water muttered. “Do you want a divorce?” Forest hummed for a moment, “Nope. I’m afraid that your thoughts and not your actions to murder me isn’t a good enough reason to do so. Yes, we’ve messed up. Yes, we kept secrets from one another when we had noble intentions to do so. But you know what? You and I both suck. But I don’t think that would make me from not wanting to be around you. Yeah, we’re not exactly perfect for one another, but I’m loyal to what we’re committed to. And that is to live as long as I can with you.” “You really want to stay with me?” “I think if you’re trying to get rid of me by simplify thinking of killing me... I’d think you need to do better than that.” While both of them chuckled at this dark joke, Forest instantly became stern. “But seriously, for now on, we need to be honest with one another so that something like that doesn’t happen again. Now, I have one question for you.” “What’s that?” “How soon do you want to move?” Their reflections of one another had taught both of them this important lesson: To hide the way the truth from the one you care for the most would not bring you any closer. While honesty can hurt, it could also set you free as well from disaster to one’s self, and your loved one. An important moral for any couples young or old, from the darker reaches of The Twilight Zone.
Act 1Author's Note As to the little tradition I have, that every October I must write something dark for the season of Halloween. Well, this year, on my version of The Twilight Zone, it calls for something unique and demands for a small but rarely used cast of characters. Act 1 You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of sound. A dimension of sight. A dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You have just crossed over into... The Twilight Zone. It was mostly because of the view of Unicorn Ridge that persuaded Forest Green to buy the farmhouse. If anything, it was perfect from all the criteria of everything he could want. It was quiet. The property was surrounded by flowing wheat fields. It wasn’t too big, too small, but just right to start his new, calmer life with his new husband out in the isolated countryside. “At least I can give you this,” his spouse, Water Color commented as they sat in the swing bench on the front porch. Watching the sun go down behind the mountains, “This is some of the prettiest country that I’ve ever seen. Of course, still nothing compared to you though.” “Ah stop it,” he waved a hoof at the one teasing. “I’m just glad that we’re able to get such a deal out of this place. “Three hundred a month for a house in the middle of nowhere is a good deal to you?” “Uh-huh, there’re no noisy neighbors for miles. We’re in the safest place in Equestria. And it’s the perfect environment for us to start up a family if we wanted to. That is if we get lucky,” he smirked at him. “Plus, it’s the ideal place for some new artwork.” “True. I already have a few ideas even before we signed the contract. Still, I’m rather disappointed that our things don’t get here until tomorrow.” “We have blankets and pillows, so we can sleep on the floor for the night.” Forest looked behind him at the front screen door. “Hey, it’s getting dark. Let’s head inside and light a fire in the hearth.” So the couple went inside of the dusty room, fetching the paper, matches, and wood to build up light and warmth for the house. Candles were soon lit all around to illuminate it from the crawling night. Eventually, the young spouse felt the need for a bathroom in which, on the way back, he noticed something that he didn’t before. While sitting on the toilet and making sure that the candle didn’t fall over on the edge of the bathtub, his eyes followed the pattern of the tiles up towards the ceiling. He blinked as he recalled that from the tour of the farmhouse that he didn’t notice a trapdoor overhead. After finishing his business, he called out, “Hey Water! Come in here, I think that real estate agent left out the attic.” “We have an attic?” replied his husband from down the hall. He soon emerged with a candle in his aura. “Where is it?” “Look up,” his spouse tilted his head upward, towards the little cord dangling from it. “You wanna open it up?” His artist husband hummed, “I think you might wanna step back.” After clearing out of the bathroom, he used his magic to pull on the cord. At first, it seemed that it was stuck. But after giving a good pull, the creaking wood and groaning hedges had folded over. A ladder collapsed over to the floor, giving the couple a fright as it smacked the ground. They took notice of the cobwebs and the cloud of choking dust that filled the air. Right above, where the ladder lead was towards a darker mouth of an abyss. Feeling the need to go first into the unknown, Water Color climbed up the steps, his lone candle still burning and he ascended into the darkness until he was swallowed up. “Well?” called out his spouse. “What’s up there?” “I don’t know yet,” he replied. “It’s really dusty up here, not to mentioned dark so I can’t see much of anything. But at least this place has a sturdy floor.” For a few minutes, hoofsteps were heard above they explored the previously unknown floor. “Hey, I found something!” Now wanting to know what he found, Forest ventured up the ladder into the dark attic space. It was kinda what he’d expected: thick installation on the interior part of the roof; a hard wooden floor; spider webs; dead bugs; dust and darkness. But in a corner, his husband went up to a shrouded, rectangle shape object. Carefully pull it off, it revealed to be a mirror. One that was still in its black, twisting but elegant frame of vines, and the glass, while stained with age, still served its purpose in showing clearly the couple’s reflection. “Huh? How long do you think this was here for?” the spouse inquired, his confusion reflected in the glass. His unicorn husband dragged a hoof through the thick dust. “It’s hard to tell, but I doubt that the last owners of the place didn’t know this was here.” “Does it say where it comes from?” Water examined the carved frame, even flipping it over only to find no indication of where, when or who it was made by. “I can’t see anything. Still, it’s rather weird that somepony would leave this up here in the dark.” “You know,” the earth pony mused. “We could hang it in the hallway. Since we’ve found it, I guess we might as well use…” he trailed off as he saw what was in the mirror. As the mirror was flipped back, he saw in the glass the reflection of his husband. But in tears, as if completely heartbroken and betrayed, the face he saw of his newlywed spouse was in misery. “Hon? Are you okay?” “Huh?” Water cocked his head back in confusion. Only that he didn’t see any sign of tears on his face. He blinked, “Were you crying just now?” “Crying? Why would I be crying?” “I just saw your reflection.” He glanced at the old mirror then back at his spouse. “It must be because of the glass that has aged over time. I’ve read somewhere that old mirrors can do weird things over time. So it must be that and the light. But for now, I don’t think we can take it down right now, we don’t have any nails to hang it up with.” He nodded, “Yeah, let’s get some sleep.” And with that, the two of them returned to the warm hearth. Submitted for your approval, a perfect portrait of a brand new couple that had just moved into a lonely farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. While these two don’t know it just yet, in this isolated place of Equestria among its beautiful scenery, are some hidden monsters. Unfortunately, these two have just become acquainted with one that seems like an innocent, household object. Case in point: a mirror of a dark frame and even darker glass. At first glance, this seems to be a common old mirror with its reflection stained and worn by time. But as we’re about to see, this couple known as Forest Green and Water Color, is about to take a good, hard look at this very object. In which they will get a glimpse, of the Twilight Zone. As expected, the cart of all of their processions, furniture and the rest of their canned goods had arrived the next day. The couple spent hours in unpacking the items, and furnishing their new home until they got it as they wanted. Water Color was able to carefully take the old mirror out of the attic and hung it at one end of the short hallway. “Well that was tedious,” the unicorn said as he sat down for his dinner of soup. “I didn’t think that it would have taken us this long. I think I’m going to be aching tomorrow.” “Same here,” Forest nodded in agreement. He sat on the other side of the tinny table that barely fit the breadbox-size kitchen. “However, I can say that we’ve managed to make this place feel like home. Still, it’s rather exciting, isn’t it? That we finally moved out from the noise of Manehattan to here. It’s so peaceful here.” “Doesn’t it make you the least bit paranoid?” the artist husband inquired. “I mean, the nearest neighbor is a good five miles away and there’s hardly anypony that has come up that dirt road. Have you noticed that?” “You have to remember that we’re in a place that’s not as populated as the city. After all, what danger are we in for moving way out here?” “That’s exactly my point. I mean, are there Timberwolves that live out here? Or some other monsters that larks in the woods in the field across from us? For all we know, something bad could happen to us and we have no means of getting help.” “Now who’s being paranoid?” his husband smirked. “Hon, we live on a more or less self-sustaining farm in the most boring place in all of Equestria where nothing bad or dangerous happens.” “Nothing good happens either.” Water Color muttered under his breath. His spouse was taken aback, “Excuse me? You mean you’re not happy moving here?” “What? No, of course not sweetie heart – I wouldn’t have signed those papers if I didn’t think it wouldn't be a worthy idea. I love the landscape we have here. I guess I’m just so used to hearing a constant soundtrack of the streets is all.” Forest leaned back in his seat, staring the steamy canned soup with a spoon. “I think it takes time to become adjusted to a place like this. Sure, I have lived in places like this before, but it took me a while to get used to Manehattan, especially when it hardly ever takes a moment to breathe. Still, it’s nice to go back to one’s roots (or at least as closely as possible).” “Yeah… Yeah, I know. I need this after all.” Water said after a spoonful to swallow. “Lately my life has been so busy, especially before the wedding that I do want to take some time to really breathe. But you can understand how jarring it is from going from constant noise to nothing. That, and I have no idea how to farm.” “That’s why I’m around,” Forest smiled. “I was raised on one so I know how all of this is to work. Besides, the fields look promising, the wheat doesn’t look like it has any diseases, and once we’ve made it through the winter, we’ll have our own garden to grow everything we could ever want.” “Of course, there are no cows or chickens for milk and eggs.” “We’ve got enough money to send those over at our doorstep until we’re ready for that next big step in becoming completely independent.” “You sure that we don’t need electricity though?” The artist questioned as he too leaned back in his seat, looking at the lit oil lamps, “I kinda feel like we’ve gone back in time somehow.” “As long as we’re extra careful with the fire, we’ll be fine. Now then, let’s finish up dinner,” he lowered his eyes half-way. “We’ve been working pretty hard today, so why not give ourselves a treat at the end of it all?” “Subtle, aren’t ya?” Water Color chuckled as he tossed the spoon over his shoulder and grabs the bowl to down it all. Not to say that it did make somewhat of a mess. Forest Green rolled his eyes but still smiled. “Well, while you’re cleaning yourself up, I’m gonna go prepare myself for some bedroom fun.” With that, he got up and left the kitchen. Water Color meanwhile had to pull out a dishrag to wipe up the spill along his cheeks, neck, and withers while also drying the hardwood floors as well. He heard his spouse from the bathroom that it was his turn to get ready for bed, so he went into the hallway where Forest was walking over to him. “You know,” he said, “I think that for all your hard work, that you deserve something special, now that I think of it. But for now, let’s get you into the bathroom first.” His husband grinned as he watches his love turn around, seductively waving his tail as he walked down the hall. However, something else caught his eye as well. In the reflection of the mirror, he spotted an angry scowl on Forest’s face. A look of not just mere annoyance, but one that looked like as if he was ready to bite his head off, “What?” he asked. “Huh?” Forest craned his head back. “Did I do something wrong? You looked angry just now.” This gave his spouse pause, “What are you talking about? I’m not angry. Now come on, the sooner we get you to the bathroom, the sooner we can have some real fun.” “I thought…” he looked between him and the mirror but shook his head. “It’s probably nothing.” He muttered.
Act 2Several days later, Forest Green had spent all morning tending to the garden to uproot the weeds that had been growing there. This gave Water Color some time alone with his canvas and the landscape that the front porch looked upon. He had spent his time adding one layer of color upon another, enriching the texture of the forest and mountains. It was strange to him how jarringly still this unfamiliar land was. For the past few hours after breakfast, only the chant of insects and small talk of birds were heard on that cool morning. The unicorn hoped- wished that something resembling civilization would break this calm. Sure, he and his husband have slept better than any time in their lives. But this natural silence was strange to him. Eventually, setting his brush aside, he decided to go inside to have a drink. As he walked in through the front door, the mirror from across the hall caught his eye. It reflected his tired face, the truthful exhaustion of continuous work. But after going into the kitchen, gulping down a cup of icy water from a pump controlled sink, he was about to return to his canvas when he paused at the mirror again. This time, he spotted his earth pony spouse. In the reflection that showed what was outside of the open front door, Forest was walking towards the farmhouse. It wouldn’t give Water any alarm if it weren’t for the look on his husband’s face. It was that of pure rage. The kind that combined with his calm steps indicated that he was ready to rip his throat out. But a quick glance towards the front door itself, it only showed Forest with the opposite expression: exhausted but glad. “Your painting is coming along,” he told him after pushing past the screen door. “And I must say that it’s gorgeous for what you got so far.” The unicorn looked between him and the mirror, “Hey hon, mind if I ask ya something?” “Well shoot,” Forest replied as he trotted into the kitchen. “I could use a break from all that weeding.” “Have you noticed something funny about the mirror?” “In what way?” The artist turned his attention towards the mirror once more, walking forward to it. “I don’t know really… Have you seen it reflect something that isn’t quite there?” No sound came from the kitchen. “I mean,” Water continued, “Like sometimes it would show you in a completely different mood or something like that?” Hoofsteps rounded over until his spouse was sticking his head into the hallway. “Wait, you’ve seen it too?” “Again, I’m not exactly sure,” the unicorn said as he lifted the mirror off from the nail in the wall, turning it over to examine it. “Maybe it’s because of how old this thing is or something, but I could have sworn that whenever I see your reflection in this thing, it looks like you were about to murder me.” “Really?” Forest walked out into the hallway. “That’s weird, because sometimes when I see your reflection in that mirror, I saw you as incredibly depressed – as if you were balling your eyes out for some reason… You don’t think that the mirror is enchanted or something?” “I don’t think so,” the artist put the framed glass back on the nail. “Otherwise, I would have picked up something wrong with it. But at the moment, I don’t sense anything out of place with it. Again, it could be because this thing is so old that the reflection might have become warped over time.” The earth pony stood with his husband, side by side, “Water, look in the mirror and tell me what you see.” He did so. “Well… I see you, and me. Two newlyweds standing in a hallway with the front door opened behind us. And beyond that is some of the most beautiful country that I’ve ever seen. What do you see?” “Looks to me the same,” the farmer turned to his spouse. “I guess it might be because our minds were playing tricks on us. Ya know since we’re in a new place and all that we could be imagining things. Like, have you read about that… what did your therapist call at that group session again?” “What do ya mean?” “Remember how we were in a room with a fella that would sometimes hear his mom call for him when it gets really quiet, but half the time he’d find out that she didn’t do so in the first place?” The unicorn tapped his chin with a hoof in thought. “I think it was called Phantom Calls. If I remember right, the doc said that sometimes we get used to seeing or hearing something so often that when we’re in a place that, while we’re completely cut off from it, our minds would fill in the gaps with something that we’re familiar with.” “Yeah, that’s it,” he nodded. “Perhaps that what’s happening? That we’re so used to seeing ponies that are depressed or upset so often that for some reason that mirror is filling in that missing gap.” Water raised an eyebrow, “So what? Are you suggesting that we’re going crazy?” “No, I’m just trying to give an explanation with that mirror thing…” he pointed to the object, but he also looked at it too in which, as clear as day, he saw his husband’s reflection in which he had a look of terror. Not only that, but he saw him take several steps away from him. However, a quick glance back at his spouse to not only see nothing but confusion on his face but that they were still side by side. “What?” he questioned. “I think it did it again. Only your reflection moved.” Water looked at the mirror for a moment before turning to him saying, “You know, I don’t think that this whole isolation thing is doing either of us any good. Maybe we need to see new faces so that we don’t go catch cabin fever in here.” “Hey, I’m not going crazy.” “No? Forest, we’ve been here for four days and while we may have each other, I think we do need to have contact with someone, like some of our friends for example.” “But we don’t know anypony here.” “All the more reason to get us to socialize so that we don’t go…” now Water trailed off as from the corner of his eye he saw his husband’s reflection. He saw his teeth clench, eyes razor sharp as he snapped his head over to him, took a step back to lift a hoof in the air, ready to strike. Upon instinct, the unicorn immediately moved out of the way. About to shout what Forest was doing when he saw that his spouse was more startled than furious. “What?” he inquired. “What’s wrong?” “Did you…” the unicorn looked in the mirror again, only to find nothing but their reflections, “Ugh, you know what? I think that this place is really getting to me too. I think that I’m going to start writing letters to see if any of our friends could come. I think at this point we’re going to need it.” Water Color awoke in the dark. He wasn’t sure why either, being it sometime in the middle of the witching hour, he should still be asleep. But for whatever reason, he just woke up feeling like something was out of place. At first, he couldn’t put a hoof on why. He didn’t feel thirsty or wanting to go to the bathroom. However, it occurred to him that the bed he was resting on was missing a certain presence. A gently feel confirmed that Forest was vacant. Flipping over towards the other side of the bed is blurry eyes picked up the glow of candlelight coming from the crack underneath the bedroom door. Curious, he lit up his horn slowly until it was a soft glow so that it didn’t hurt his eyes. Quietly he got out of bed and made his way towards the door to silently open it. “Forest?” He asked meekly. His husband was in the hallway, a candle in his hoof, just standing right there, facing the mirror. “Forest, what are you doing up this late?” “I didn’t wake you, didn’t I?” His spouse was quick in giving him a nuzzle. “Sorry if I did. I couldn’t get myself to sleep tonight.” The tired unicorn glanced at the ancient glass for a brief moment, “Were you staring at that thing all this time?” “Not really. I just thought I saw something in the glass.” Water yawned, “Please don’t tell me that you’re seeing ghosts now, are ya?” The earth pony shook his head. “I said I thought I did… like a lot of other things with this mirror. I swear, ever since we found this thing it’s like it has a mind of its very own like its haunted or something.” “Says the pony that told us that we’re just seeing things because of the isolation,” the artist rubbed his eyes. “Since the mailpony doesn’t get here until tomorrow, it might be weeks until we could get someone to visit us. I just hope our sanity holds up until then. It’s just been way too quiet here.” A sigh later, Water Color stepped right into the hallway, going behind his husband. “I think I might wanna take a drink of water since I’m-” He was suddenly cut off when his spouse screamed. “AH! What?” The unicorn was about to swing around when suddenly, Forest was right in front of him, grabbing both sides of his face to hold him still. “Don’t look!” “What?” Water tried to turn his head but his husband’s hooves wouldn’t budge. “What’s going on?” “Just don’t turn around.” He saw in Forest’s eyes that he was in shock. Horrified at whatever was behind him. “Just keep looking at me.” At the same time, he saw tears were running down his face. “Walk back into the bedroom, don’t look at it.” Of course, Water was confused as to what had gotten his spouse so startled like that. However, he did walk backwards into the bedroom, taking notice how Forest tried as hard as he could to block whatever reflection that was in the mirror. And as he quickly slammed the door behind him, the unicorn lit up his horn for light when unexpectedly his husband was hugging him. “Hey? Are you okay?” However, from the tears that were dripping on his shoulder, it was obvious that he wasn’t. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” This made Forest hug tighter. “I love you. You know that, right?” Water got a hold of him and was able to break the hug to see his spouse’s face. “Of course I do. Why are you crying?” For several minutes, the earth pony stallion couldn’t respond. His sobs hiccupped in which it took a long time for him to finally be calm enough to say to him without his words being broken. “We need to get rid of that mirror.” “Why?” “Water…” He gulped, trying as hard as he could to keep himself together. “I… I saw your reflection… but you…” There was a pregnant pause. Forest covered his muzzle as if he didn’t want to finish that sentence. “You were dead.” “Huh?” The farmer sniffed, “Hung from the ceiling. With a note around your neck that said that you… wanted to be free… and when I saw those eyes… It was so real looking.” Water’s expression paled. “How-” Before he could realize his slip-up, Forest’s eyes went wide. “How… what?” This time he grabbed him. “What were you going to say?” he questioned him. “It’s… It’s nothing hon. Really it-” “I KNOW WHAT I SAW!” the earth pony shouted. “Apparently you know something that I don’t. So out with it! How, what?” The unicorn showed all the signs of being really uncomfortable: folded ears; his eyes won’t look at his, and even his hooves were trying to turn away from him. It was like watching a frightened animal in a cage that just realized what he has gotten himself into. “I hope I’m wrong,” he said. “Because…” he gulped, “Because I think you’ve… just saw what I was… thinking…” Forest covered his mouth in total shock. “What?” “Let me test this,” the unicorn pulled his spouse towards the bedroom door, flung it open and stepped into the hallway towards the mirror. “Think of something.” While Water was looking at him in disbelief, Forest watched his husband’s reflection in which it had a completely different expression entirely. That of heartbreaking betrayal, and watched his reflection mouthed out a series of words like he was watching a silent film. “Do you see anything out of the ordinary in the mirror right now?” The Earth pony only glanced at it. “No.” Then it clicked to Water. “I think I know what this thing does: it shows to the other what we're thinking. Only I can see your thoughts and you can see with mine.” In the reflection, the artist saw his spouse with a hammer in his mouth as he reared up in order to smash the glass. At that same moment, Forest turned around, trotted into the living room and came back with a heavy book. “This thing must be destroyed.” And before Water could say anything, he threw as hard as he could at the mirror. While there was a loud bang, making the glass instantly crack out like a spider’s web, the reflection slowly reversed it until it was whole once more. In the mirror, he saw Water was backing away in fear while the real one stood still in shock. Forest couldn’t blame him. He was scared too.
Act 3Since it became apparent that this dark mirror couldn’t be destroyed, the best that either stallion could do was to put it back into the attic. Even wrapped it in a sheet and tied it up until neither glass nor frame showed. But even when that thing had been removed out of sight, it already had planted a black seed in the couple. It had been a few days since that incident that night. Neither Water Color nor Forest Green had dared spoken to each other. They both knew why there was a potential fight to come out of it if they had the audacity to speak up of what they found out. Not just of what the mirror does, but of that hidden secret that they saw of their spouse. The artist noticed that the farmer hadn’t gone out of eyeshot from him. Watching him but still kept a distance as to not start that storm of words. Contrariwise, so did him for the sake of his own safety. While they tried to go on with their routine, they both thought about what exactly to say to explain themselves. Eventually, one evening, while both stallions sat down at the tiny dining room table – did their isolated silence break. “You know I would never hit you.” Forest finally said. Water looked up from his meal, “And yet, you’ve thought about it.” The earth pony narrowed his eyes. “Since when have I actually done it?” he questioned. “Water, for Celestia’s sake, you know that I never lay a hoof on you, even when we fought.” “Then why did I see your reflection do otherwise?” the artist responded in an icy voice. “I saw that you wanted to hit me. I saw how angry you got. Just what they hay, Forest? What reason do you want to punch me for? I thought you wanted to marry me. I thought you wanted to move out here.” “It’s not like that!” the green pony slammed his hoof on the table, making his husband flinch. Upon seeing that, Forest rested his hooves in his face. “And here I thought… I thought you were over your depression.” “Fore-” “I saw your reflection too.” The farmer pointed an accusing hoof at him. “After all that time in therapy, of all those medications and doctors… And how you told me that you were better now… And yet, I saw your dead body in that mirror.” “But I wasn’t really considering it.” “You were thinking of it.” Forest folded his forelegs. “I got a peek at what was going on inside your head, and how can… you scared me, Water. After seeing you hung on the end of a rope… How can I trust that you won’t act on it? How do I know that if I don’t turn around for a minute that you might…” He didn’t dare finish that sentence. “Why?” Water got up from his seat, “I was going to ask you the same thing.” He said as he walked and slammed the door to their bedroom behind him. The earth pony sighed. What exactly was he to do? This was supposed to be in the part of their lives in which they would be happy. But that mirror had to ruin it several times over! Of course, he knew that he can’t exactly break it… His eyes lifted towards the ceiling. Getting up, he marched down the hall towards the bathroom, where after jumping for the cord, he pulled down the ladder and climbed into the darkness. In the dark, he retraced his steps until he was able to find the object of their misery. “If I can’t break you,” he said aloud while lifting the glass onto his back. “Then I can at least remove you from our lives.” After throwing it down to the floor, hoping that the fall would break but since he didn’t hear any glass shattering, he climbed down and proceeded to take it into the hallway. By then, his spouse opened the door to their room, peeking out. “What are you doing?” “Getting rid of it,” he told him. “I’m gonna leave this thing as deep in the woods as I can.” “But you haven’t set hoof in-” Forest turned to him sharply. “If we’re going to save our marriage, I must remove this. If I can’t break it then it must be taken as far away from the house as possible. You can cry all you want, but I’m going to do something about it.” With that, he dragged the frame down the hall, out the front door, banging on the steps and through the dirt towards the woods on the other side of the house. Water trotted out to him, “You’re going to get lost out there! It’s almost dark.” “I don’t care!” his husband called out as he drags the mirror through the sagebrush and into the woods. Forest had a simple plan: drag the mirror away in a straight line from the house until he wasn’t able to see it anymore – and walk further than that. Sure, it was true that he didn’t exactly see what was behind him, as his flank kept bumping into trees and bushes along the way. And yes, it was also true that night was descending surprisingly quickly as he could hear the crickets making their songs. It was growing darker the further he dragged that cursed glass through the tall grass. But he couldn’t stop just yet. Not until it was far away enough to be out of their lives. Here and there, his ears would pick up the wind, the rustling of leaves on its branches, the snapping of twigs beneath his hooves, and even the call of the owl. And in hindsight, he should have grabbed a coat as the wind was bitterly cold against his hide. He was getting tired of pulling it with his mouth, but he didn’t want to drop it to have it rot just yet. “Forest!” he heard his husband cry. “Where are you going?” With a sigh, the earth pony rested the mirror against a tree in which, he saw in the reflection of the unicorn’s light. He turned around to see Water walking up to him. “Forest, what were you thinking? Go out here at night when you don’t know your way around.” “I’m trying to get rid of this thing,” he pointed an accusing hoof at the mirror. “The further away that thing is out of our lives, the better it’ll be.” “Oh for Celestia’s…” Water faced hoof. “Why are you acting like this? If anything, why are you angry at me for?” “I’m not.” “Are you?” the artist questioned, trying to see his spouse’s reflection in the moonlight that showed Forest’s anger in the glass. “I don’t understand what’s going on. In fact, I don’t get why I keep seeing your reflection that looks like that it wants to rip my head off.” “Oh really?” Forest stepped back to see Water in tears. “Then why do I see you bawling your eyes out? Is there something that you’re not telling me?” “Are we really having this right now?” “Well, we’ve haven’t so much as talked about it. In fact, isn’t that what couples are supposed to do? To be honest with one another and work out problems?” “By working out problems of course you mean not to stop to bothering to ask me about what should be done with the mirror?” “Hey, you weren’t doing anything about it!” “At least I’m not impulsively taking this thing out in the middle of the night where I could easily get lost!” Forest stomped a hoof to the ground, “Dammit Water! What do you want me to do!” Instead of his spouse shouting back at him, the unicorn’s gaze was on the mirror. Puzzled, he turned his head towards the reflection and gave pause at what they both saw. In the reflection, they saw their fight was continuing on – one stallion screaming at the other in silence. They were face to face, rage in their eyes until Water was the first to throw the first punch. In the mirror, Forest fell over. But before he could get back up, Water was kicking him again and again. But soon he slowed down, out of breath and in the light of the moon, his anger morphed to horror. Forest’s reflection remained motionless while the real one looked over to his spouse who was in shock. Glancing back in the mirror, the farmer saw how the unicorn knelt down, trying to get his lifeless body up from the ground before Water’s reflection looked directly at him through the mirror. He limped over to the glass up close, eyes full of regret and silently begging for forgiveness. “Water,” Forest spoke softly, “I think it’s about time that we leave.” He heard his husband sob in which to see that much like the reflection; it did show that he was crying now. “I-I’m…” he choked on his own words. Forest swiftly embraced him, wrapping his hooves around the distressed stallion. “Let’s go home,” he told him. The two of them turned away from the mirror, leaving it alone in the woods. By the time the couple was able to reach the farmhouse, both of them didn’t feel like going to bed just yet. Forest and Water lay in front of a burning hearth in silence as one stallion was hugging the other until he was able to calm down. “Are you ready to tell me?” the earth pony asked gently. Water sniffed, “I’m probably the worst husband ever.” “Why?” The artist looked at him, “You know why. That mirror… I saw that I’d… Oh Celestia, I’m so sorry. I was so angry about how you wouldn’t be honest with me that…” Forest hugged him tighter, “I guess it’s safe to say that we’ve both messed up big time.” The two of them watched the flames dance for a few minutes before the farmer said, “Look. I think that the only way we can break this is that we finally tell each other the truth. The whole truth. And nothing except, the truth. So, if this relationship is going to be saved, I guess I might as well start.” He took in a deep breath through his nostrils. “Water, I have a confession to make. That mirror was right, I was angry at you.” Water snapped his attention towards him, “Really? Why?” “It’s… It’s hard for me to say this,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “That for a while, I was angry at you that you weren’t satisfied moving here. I mean, after all the expenses of the wedding and was finally able to move out of the city, you just kept telling me how much you don’t like it here. I mean, we’ve picked out the house so that we could be happy here. Then… when I saw your reflection in that mirror showing you were absolutely miserable, I had this impression that I had sacrificed my hard earnings for nothing. That I was given the impression that you were ungrateful or something.” Water blinked, “And how come you haven’t told me this before?” “I didn’t want to start a fight, not after all the work we’ve put into moving out here.” “Oh…” the unicorn sighed in melancholy. “I guess I should have said something earlier. Forest… truth be told, I’ve misjudged this place.” “What?” He nodded. “You were right. I did want some peace and quiet, but I also want to interact with ponies too. We’ve been isolated here for weeks and I just… I didn’t want to show that I was depressed that I wanted to see friends or run into strangers now and then instead of this endless silence of boredom and how nothing going on around here. At the same time, you were so happy to be moving back into the country that I kept my mouth shut so that you won’t worry about what I think. Yes, I do want to move out here, but I didn’t think it’ll be so isolated.” The earth pony nuzzled his husband. “I guess you’re really disappointed in me, huh?” “I think we’ve really disappointed each other.” Water muttered. “Do you want a divorce?” Forest hummed for a moment, “Nope. I’m afraid that your thoughts and not your actions to murder me isn’t a good enough reason to do so. Yes, we’ve messed up. Yes, we kept secrets from one another when we had noble intentions to do so. But you know what? You and I both suck. But I don’t think that would make me from not wanting to be around you. Yeah, we’re not exactly perfect for one another, but I’m loyal to what we’re committed to. And that is to live as long as I can with you.” “You really want to stay with me?” “I think if you’re trying to get rid of me by simplify thinking of killing me... I’d think you need to do better than that.” While both of them chuckled at this dark joke, Forest instantly became stern. “But seriously, for now on, we need to be honest with one another so that something like that doesn’t happen again. Now, I have one question for you.” “What’s that?” “How soon do you want to move?” Their reflections of one another had taught both of them this important lesson: To hide the way the truth from the one you care for the most would not bring you any closer. While honesty can hurt, it could also set you free as well from disaster to one’s self, and your loved one. An important moral for any couples young or old, from the darker reaches of The Twilight Zone.
