A morbid wind blew through the streets of Ponyville, heralding a dark night. In the diminishing sunlight, three fillies walked to their destiny.
“So what do you think it’s gonna be like?” asked Apple Bloom.
“I bet her story’s going to have a lot of action! Maybe even a fire-breathing monster!” Scootaloo replied.
“We might even get a story that makes sense,” Sweetie said. Then after a pause, she added, “Actually, maybe that’s going too far. But it’ll be a different kind of nonsense than Pinkie’s stories at least.”
“I hear she brought an ancient tablet back with her!” said Apple Bloom.
A pink figure rose up from below their gaze, as though phasing through the ground. “Hey there, Crusaders! Now where might you be off to?”
Unfazed, Apple Bloom shook her head. “Sorry Pinkie, we ain’t interested in hearing one of your Nightmare Night stories this year.”
Pinkie scrunched her eyebrows. “You aren’t?”
Scootaloo jumped in. “Trixie just went on a crazy time travel adventure with Fluttershy and Maud, and we’re going to hear about that instead!”
Pinkie lit up. “Ooo! Speaking of time travel, have I got a story for you!”
“Pinkie!” shouted Sweetie. “We’re going to Trixie’s wagon! We don’t have time for one of your stories!”
Pinkie squeaked. “Not even a teeny tiny chibi chibi story?”
“Can’t ya at least wait until we get to—”
“A long time ago, a princess and her bodyguard shared a secret. A secret relationship, that is! On a night very much like this one, they discussed something very personal…”
Tension was high with the kingdom of Thrace. A violent fight had broken out in one of their ports and everypony knew King Diomedes’s preferred method of resolving conflicts was conquest. Hoping to avoid this, a Thracian negotiating party was invited to Canterlot Castle, and it was for that reason that the active guards had tripled in number.
Particular focus was placed in protecting the kingdom’s greatest treasure: the elder princess, considered the most beautiful mare in the land.
Armored ponies littered the hall and one was even assigned to guard the princess in her own bedroom through the night.
“Ugh! I hate this!” Princess Rarity said, idly kicking her legs hanging off her bed. “Some ruffians get into a scuffle and we’re supposed to act like the world’s ending. And all these guards! You can’t imagine how stifling it all is!”
Rarity’s guard, the only guard she’d allow to stay in her bedroom like this, rolled her eyes. “I can take a guess,” said Twilight Sparkle.
“Wait, hold on,” said Apple Bloom. “You’re saying Rarity and Twilight were around back then?”
“Time travel, maybe?” suggested Scootaloo.
“I wouldn’t hear the end of it if Rarity time traveled and was a princess,” said Sweetie.
“Oh no, there’s no time travel involved here,” Pinkie said.
“Why are Twilight and Rarity there then?” asked Scootaloo.
“They aren’t our Twilight and Rarity! And to answer your next question, this isn’t another dimension.” Pinkie twisted her lips. “I think.”
“So you’re saying there was just another Rarity and Twilight back then?” said Sweetie. “That makes no sense!”
“Hey, you weren’t there! How do you know there wasn’t another RariTwi back then?” Pinkie said, pointing accusingly. She cleared her throat. “Anyway, Princess Rarity was complaining, and her witty bodyguard provided a snide remark, as usual. But the princess wouldn’t get discouraged that easily.”
Rarity put her leg across her forehead. “Locked up! And on Nightmare Night too, when we should be sneaking out to town and enjoying the festivities!” Before her guard could interject, she continued, “Honestly, at this point, I’d rather have a Thracian assailant take me away. There might actually be something exciting happening there.”
“Thrace isn’t known for treating its captives well.”
“Well then you’d rescue me, and wouldn’t that be exciting?” Rarity fluttered her eyelashes.
Twilight shook her head. “Rarity, you’re supposed to sit in on the negotiations tomorrow. If we want peace, it’s best to treat them soberly as serious negotiators, not the subjects of your flights of fancy.”
“No flights of fancy about the Thracians, you say? Not even if it involves you bursting into a room and fighting off twenty ponies—no, thirty ponies!—and rescuing me while I’m wearing a torn dress and you having to carry me all the way home?”
“Not even that.”
Rarity rolled onto her back. “Hmm, can we at least skip to the end of the story, where you’re so relieved to have me back that, once we’re safe, you press your lips against mine and our bodies are so filled with comfort that we can’t resist cuddling close and making out for hours?”
Twilight shook her head. “No.”
The princess shot up. “But Twilight, you actually have an excuse to be in my room all night this time! And you have that silencing spell up, so there won’t be a problem.”
Twilight sighed and tapped her horn. “That silencing spell is the only reason we can have this conversation without the guards listening at the door telling everypony about our secret. It requires concentration, and I can’t do that while we’re making love.”
Rarity’s face lit up. “Ah, so you thought about it, then!”
Twilight turned away, and it was credit to her years of experience with Rarity that she didn’t blush. “It’s important to know the limitations of my spells.”
Rarity hummed and returned to kicking her legs. “Well if I can’t have that flight of fancy, let’s think… ah, Twilight, what scares you?”
“The kingdom collapsing thanks to its newly crowned queen failing to take her lessons into consideration,” Twilight said without a beat.
Rarity booed. “That’s not a fun fear, Twilight! What’s a fun fear you have? It’s Nightmare Night, after all!”
Twilight tapped her chin. “Nightmare Night… ah, there is actually something! Are you familiar with Bloody Moory?”
“I’ve heard of it, but I’m unfamiliar with the details. Something about a cow appearing in the mirror if you say her name?” Rarity then gasped. “Twilight Sparkle! Don’t tell me you’re scared of a foal’s tale?”
“Not anymore, but when I was growing up, I’d see the other kids talk about it around this time. Once, Shining had a group of ponies over and they decided to perform the ritual. Two of them would enter a dark room with a mirror, light a candle, then chant Bloody Moory’s name thirteen times together. The story goes that a blood-covered cow will appear and tell you who your future spouse is. But there’s a chance that Moory will be in a foul mood and attack, ripping out your soul and bringing it into the mirror with her.
“I was in the room with Shining and his friends, though I was sitting by myself and reading. The first pair went into another room and performed the ritual, and I could hear their chanting. While I was always a rationalist, it could still be hard to tell what was impossible at that age, and with every call to Moory’s name, I grew more and more nervous. Nothing happened when that pair finished and they came out laughing, but still, I couldn’t bear to hear chanting from the next pair and moved to my bedroom.
“It was a small house with thin walls, so I could still hear muffled speech, but not hearing the words themselves was a relief. It continued on like this for some time and I was really getting into my book when I heard screams. I broke into a cold sweat that stayed even when I heard the screaming ponies laugh as soon as they scrambled out of the dark room. My heart was beating fast and not even reading helped. Shining’s party continued without incident, but for days after that, I feared walking past mirrors, especially in the dark.
“But then I did some research about it and learned that staring into a mirror for a long time in dim light can confuse your brain’s ability to process visual information and make you hallucinate, including making your faces in the mirror distort and blend together into a horrifying cow-like figure. As such, I was no longer afraid of Bloody Moory.”
Rarity had been squeezing her cheeks together while her eyes sparkled for the entire story. It was a credit to Twilight’s experience with the princess that she didn’t let this distract her. Once it was clear the guard finished her story, Rarity squealed in delight. “My goodness! A foalhood story! I just want to go back and hold you while you cowered from the screaming ponies, stroking your mane and telling you it’s OK. So adorable!”
Twilight smirked. “If you behave during tomorrow’s negotiations, I could give you another foalhood story as a treat.”
Rarity clapped her hooves together in glee. “I’ll be such a great princess that Thrace will immediately submit to our kingdom upon witnessing me. Though, hmm, it might be a problem if they wanted our kingdoms to unite through marriage.” Her eyes widened. “Hold on a moment, you said Bloody Moory tells you who your future spouse is, right?”
“That’s the myth, yes.”
“Then let’s do it right now! If we close the curtains and put out the candles, this room will certainly be dark enough.”
Twilight shook her head. “Rarity, it’s just a game. I already told you it’s all your brain getting confused by the dim light.”
Rarity fluttered her lips. “Exactly! It’s a game! Though maybe it just didn’t work at your house because you were using a peasant trash mirror, not a proper mirror like I have. No offense.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “None taken.”
Rarity grinned. “Or, are you afraid of being in a dimly lit room with me?” She wiggled her eyebrows.
Twilight sighed. “Well, at least this will be quick. I’ll double check the curtains and then close them.”
Rarity pointed excitedly. “And block the light coming from under the door!”
The two swiftly made the preparations. Rarity moved some candles in front of her full-body mirror and extinguished the rest as Twilight finished her surveillance.
The princess and her bodyguard stood in front of the mirror, the candles showing only blackness behind them and shifting shadows over their faces.
“I can see why ponies would imagine monstrous faces staring at this,” Rarity said, then frowned at a violet glow coming from Twilight’s horn. “Darling, turn that off! You’re ruining the mood.”
“I’m just adjusting the strength of the silencing spell in case you scream.”
“In case I scream? Twilight, my precious filly, this is your fear we’re confronting! You’ll scream before I do. Even if not from the monster.” She winked. “I just winked, if you didn’t see.”
“I saw,” Twilight said, playfully rolling her eyes. “I just playfully rolled my eyes, if you didn’t see.”
“Goodness! Rolling your eyes at a princess! If the spirit doesn’t say we are to marry, I ought to have you imprisoned. Now, we are to say her name together, correct?”
Twilight nodded. “Supposedly being in sync is important, so let’s go on three.”
They stared into the mirror together and counted down. Then they began the chant.
“Bloody Moory, Bloody Moory, Bloody Moory…”
Twilight’s silencing spell worked to not only keep sound from leaving but also to prevent sound from coming in. With no noise other than their words, and the candlelight turning their faces into flickering assortments of disjointed features, they created a space where it truly felt like anything could happen.
And yet, when they reached the last “Moory”, they simply stood there in silence.
“Well, that was a nice use of five minutes,” Twilight said. “Perhaps we can spend the rest of the night reading up for tomorrow’s meeting.”
Rarity waved her hoof. “Hold on, darling. It occurs to me, shouldn’t it rhyme?”
“What should?”
“Bloody Moory! Both words are spelled with double o’s, so they should rhyme.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “Princess, you can’t be serious. Your language skills are really this far behind?”
“I don’t mean in general! Good heavens! I mean in this particular case! I’m saying it must be Bloo-dy Moory!”
Twilight brought her face closer to Rarity. “Bloo-dy isn’t a word!”
Rarity brought her face closer to Twilight. “Maybe that’s how cows pronounce it!” Seeing her opportunity, Rarity closed the distance and gave her guard a quick peck on the lips. Her guard stepped back in surprise, with the candlelight seeming to show a bit of red on her cheeks, and the princess continued, “Bloo-dy Moory, Bloo-dy Moory, goodness that’s hard to say. But it does feel a bit more magical, doesn’t it?”
Regaining her composure Twilight sighed. “Alright, we can try it out, since we already have everything set up.”
“Splendid! On three, then.”
The mares chanted together, one more enthusiastically than the other. Locked together in darkness, they could feel their back coats standing up with every call to the spirit.
At the last chant, Rarity released a breath. “Well, that was a good effort, I’d say. And look, you can see something in the mirror. Are you seeing this, Twilight?”
A blurry red figure formed between the two mares’ reflections.
“I think so. Does it look like a cow skull to you?” said Twilight in an even tone that hitched ever so slightly at the end.
The red figure grew larger and large and came into focus. It wasn’t a skull so much as a face with too-tight skin, such that the lips and eyelids were pulled back, exposing white teeth and shaking white eyes. The figure’s coat was white and black at some point, but now it was the color of dried blood.
Rarity shook her guard in glee. “Twilight! Twilight! She’s here! She’s real!”
Twilight stood with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.
Two malnourished hooves reached past the ponies’ reflections and to the rim of the mirror. The hooves pulled and the red muzzle came through the glass, emitting a soft, “Moooooo.”
Rarity backed up with a smile as the bloody bovine spilled onto the ground. With a frown, she pulled at her guard, who walked back automatically.
The figure’s front legs scratched at the carpet, eventually gaining purchase and lifting itself up. With wide eyes and a wider grin, it looked at the princess and said, “The name of your future spouse is—”
Twilight screamed.
Moving too quickly to retrieve her weapon, the guard stomped her hooves against the monster’s head.
“Moo!” the spirit exclaimed.
Twilight grasped the monster’s head in her magic and smashed it repeatedly against the floor.
“Moohoohoohoo!” she cried.
Rarity stood aghast at this turn of events, but eventually rushed to the spirit’s side. “Bloody Moory, er, Bloo-dy, please finish your sentence!”
Thanks to Twilight’s relentless assault, which had switched to repeated body slams, the monster couldn’t get a word in.
“For goodness sake, Twilight, give her a moment!” Rarity said, pulling her guard back.
Now free to move, the spirit scrambled back to the mirror, fully cowed. The reflection rippled as she fell through, and she disappeared even as Twilight shattered the mirror.
Rarity groaned. “Twilight, I can’t believe how scared you are of commitment!”
Twilight horn sparked. “What?! Rarity, a monster cow ghost thing just came out of the mirror!”
“And she was going to say you’d be my wife!”
“Rarity, you know our positions wouldn’t allow it! You’re a princess, I’m just your guard.”
“You aren’t just my guard! Twilight, I will make it so we can be together!”
Twilight blinked rapidly as though her brain was resetting. “Rarity, we just had a major security threat! And until I figure this out, there will be no mirrors in the castle!”
Rarity’s face twisted in terror.
Before their conversation could continue, there was a loud crash and the room suddenly lit up. Guards rushed in through the broken doorway.
“Where’s the enemy?!” shouted one of the guards.
Twilight and Rarity both blinked with tight lips and looked around. The broken glass and impact marks on the floor certainly told a story.
“The princess seems alright,” another guard said.
“We heard yelling,” the first guard said. “What happened here?”
Twilight continued looking around.
Rarity cleared her throat. “There was a spider.”
Rarity suffered through a week where she wasn’t allowed to look at her reflection. There were also tense and ultimately successful negotiations with an enemy nation, but that was a minor issue in comparison.
The princess sat in her room, looking forlornly where her mirror was. Her eyes widened, shining with madness. “Oh Rarity, you look so lovely,” she said, adjusting her perfectly curled mane (she still had servants to handle that), turning side to side and admiring her imaginary reflection.
Twilight opened the door, carrying a cloth-covered object, and placed it where Rarity was staring. She removed the cloth unceremoniously, revealing a true and proper mirror.
Rarity gasped in delight then lunged forward. “Bloody Moory, tell me my future wife!”
Nothing happened.
“Er, Bloo-dy Moory, I meant to say.”
Twilight shook her head. “We won’t be seeing that bovine again. I performed several experiments and I was able to figure out the methods that Bloo-dy Moory used to go through mirrors. So I cast a spell to stop that.”
Rarity blinked. “You cast a spell?”
“Yup! It was pretty easy, actually. Reflections are connected through the sun’s light, and using that connection, I went ahead and cast a spell on the entire planet to make sure no spirit’s coming through a mirror again.”
Rarity turned away. “Oh.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Rarity, an assassin could have figured out this mirror trick and used it to kill you. Now that’s no longer an option. Not to mention the stories themselves say that Moory can attack ponies.”
“I know, Twilight, I know. It’s just, it’s sad, isn’t it? Fillies no longer get to meet Bloo-dy Moory. Because of this spell, there’s just a bit less wonder in the world.”
Twilight paused. “I guess I can see that. Still, your safety is my top priority. You’re more important to me than all the mythical creatures in the world.”
Rarity sighed. “Yes, yes, you’ve charmed me enough. In the end, it’s not like you’re planning to stop Father Hearth’s Warming or anything.”
Twilight twisted her lips and froze.
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Twilight, you aren’t planning on stopping Father Hearth’s Warming, right?”
“He has detailed surveillance of everypony and he can enter any building undetected!”
“Twilight Sparkle!”
Pinkie Pie nodded solemnly. “Twilight failed to stop Father Hearth’s Warming, but her enchantment lasts to this day, meaning no one for centuries has been able to meet Bloo-dy Moory.” Her expression shifted quickly to a smile. “But! If magic were to disappear and then come back, that’d probably unseal her, but that’s not going to happen…. Right?”
Hundreds of moons later…
Maritime Bay had opened its newest and seediest bar, and a purple unicorn with a blue mane knocked her hooves against the counter. “I want a Bloo-dy Moory!”
An orange earth pony mare with multicolored hair raised an eyebrow. “Izzy, I’m pretty sure it’s called a Bloody Mary.”
Unrelenting, Izzy continued hitting the counter while looking at a wall of reflective bottles. “Bloo-dy Moory! Bloo-dy Moory! Bloo-dy Moory!”
On the thirteenth chant, a red figure appeared among the bottles. If one listened closely, a distant moo could be heard…
“Uh, what was up with that epilogue?” asked Apple Bloom. “Is that supposed to be our future?”
“Maybe,” said Pinkie. “Maybe not. Who can say?” She winked.
“Is the spooky twist supposed to be that Bloody Moory still isn’t actually doing anything scary?” asked Sweetie.
“It’s kinda weird that Bloody Moory was nothing but helpful,” said Apple Bloom.
“Bloo-dy Moory,” corrected Scootaloo.
“I’m not saying that,” said Sweetie.
Pinkie stuck her tongue out. “Anyway, that’s it for my story, so you’re free to go! I think I held you up long enough to not get caught up in Trixie reading out that pharaoh’s curse.”
Simultaneously, the Crusaders shouted, “We missed a pharaoh’s curse?!”
“My work here is done!” Without changing her expression, Pinkie sank down out of sight and disappeared, as though she phased through the ground.
No longer impeded, the Crusaders grumbled and continued down the street.
Pinkie looked around. She was in a strange series of hallways, all with dank yellow carpet and yellow wallpaper. In the distance, she could hear a mechanical roar.
She scratched her head. “Well, this is a problem.”
Author's Note
Intended for early November, but certain events made it impossible to get into a writing mood at that time.
