Short Dead Ponies

by Toyloli

Bloody Mare Part 1

A Note from the Author
As per the previous story, Banshee on the tracks, this story combined elements of a famous literary work and ancient folklore. In this case however the literary work is based loosely on the folklore.

The Legend of Bloody Mary, as popularized by tv shows such as Buffy:Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, Twilight Zone and several dramas have retold a story of a spectral woman who answers to the name of Bloody Mary. Little known is that the legend in various forms can be traced back to 300 years with some interesting variations.

In the UK, the legend had women walk backwards at night holding a mirror and a candle while calling the name of Mary patron saint. By doing this you were said to catch a glimpse of your future partner, or possibly dead relatives.
In France, Germany and Scandinavia similar legends had a spirit who would answer questions when called in front of a mirror. Only the most recent, removing the religious overtones have a woman who died horrifically and is usually looking for a lost relative.

This story draws upon a variety of these elements, and then has a little fun with it. Please do not take it too seriously. And Always be careful what you say around mirrors.

Bloody Mare
Sweetie Belle huffed, jiggled up and down and puffed, grunting as she work.
"Come on! Get off!" She complained, wriggling around. "Oh For - I've had enough!"

Stepping back she glared at the cupboard angrily, "I know you always say important work should be done by my own hooves, but this needs magic!"
Closing her eyes, the small white filly focused then looked up at the rack of dresses and vests that lined her sisters closets. One by one, tentatively and with quite a fair bit of wobble they glowed and started lifting themselves off the racks to drift down onto the bed.

"Now be careful dear!" Rarity interjected, watching her sister from her position by the bed.
"Those are good dresses. Remember, everything is being donated to the fashion house!"
Sweatiebelle was being careful, with her magic spotty and underdeveloped she worked by hoof as much as possible, gently putting each of the items she retrieved into large cardboard boxes. Once they were in she turned her attention to the draws.

"Magic really is faster!" She commented,
"But more likely to damage things!" Rarity chided. Sweetie Belle attempted to magic the items, but soon found she would only handle one or two at a time magically. She used this on the larger items, one at a time then carefully picked the smaller items from her sister's draws and packed them around the larger ones.
"I swear!" Rarity complained, looking at the packing. "You didn't get packing skills from me! You should re-pack those so the clothes don't wrinkle!" she commanded.
Sweetie continued to work, appearing not to hear.

Rarity sighed.
"There are So many boxes!" Rarity decided, "You know I didn't realize I had this much stuff! It really was too much! I should have given some of it away Years ago!"
Rarity noticed her sister pull the draw from under her bed and cringed. The clothing inside was small.
"oh!" Sweetie Belle's dull eyes focused on the clothes, "So small!"
"I was so young then?" Rarity exclaimed.

"These are almost my size..."
Rarity raised an eyebrow. The items in the drawer had been some of Rarity's first dress items.
Trotting over to Sweetie Belle, she looked them over as her little sister drew them out, carefully. One at a time.

"I suppose...: she said, "If you really wanted them..." Rarities voice was choking up as she spoke, "I could allow you to take what you want..." Rarity looked around the room with a huff. "Couldn't really stop you, actually?"
Sweetie Belle pulled out several items from the pile. They were mostly in blues and yellows and while Rarity thought they were relatively plain herself she didn't begrudge her younger sister having them.
"I'll ask mum and dad if it's okay to keep these." Sweetie Belle decided.
Rarity's mouth went tight. "Oh this is so hard to watch." she insisted, a small tear came to her eye. "I'm sorry to do this to you!"

Rarity stepped in close to her younger sister as she worked, watching her face. Sweetie Belle seemed stoic, her expression hard and dry with dark rings around her eyes. Her lips were continually persed in concentration as she fought to keep emotion from her face.
She sighed.
"All my pretty stuff." Rarity whined, looking around, "All my things. But I guess there's no choice."

"There really IS too much!" Sweetie Belle complained.
Rarity turned and smiled at her sister weakly. "Yes. There is..." her voice choked again.
Sweetie Belle began taking the assorted makeup and dress items from the cabinets.
"I mustn't forget to pack her awards away!" Sweetie Belle reminded herself... "Or maybe I should leave them out?"

Rarity looked at her fashion and design awards awkwardly, and began to cry.
"I'm Sorry Sweetie-dear. I can't stay and watch this!" The fashionista complained. "It's too much! I'm going - I'm going Over To Twilights!" she explained for the sake of the room, then bolted out through the wall at high speed.

Sweetie Belle didn't look up, respond or notice her sister leave. She had not even noticed her arrive. The young crusader worked hard for a good hour, till nearly every item of the room was packed in boxes and then, very carefully one at a time she levitated them out of the window and down to the ground floor.

Her mum and dad were in the kitchen when she came down, talking quietly. They noticed her immediately.
"Are you done dear?"
Sweetie Belle looked to her parents with the same week smile she had worn for the past week and ever since the death of her sister nearly a month ago, and nodded to them.
"I think I've got everything that's going!" she replied. "The only stuff left is whatever the Fashion house is coming to pick up from her workroom."

Sweetie Belle's parents smiled at their youngest. The unnatural quietness upset Sweetie Belle, but this was what things were like with Rarity not there. Lowering her head in a half nod, the small filly quietly trotted outside to sit in the sunshine and rest her eyes while her parents finished their afternoon tea.

She relaxed quietly, enjoying the play of the sun over her eyelids and the background sounds of passing ponies as they chatted. So close to town square she could hear snippets of conversation as life continued to go on around her. Silent. So silent compared to her loud and vivid memories. Momententarily, a shadow passed over her face and cautiously she opened one eye.

Her father's stood over her.

"You should go play little Belle." he told her. "Go spend time with your friends. There's nothing here your mumma and I can't handle!"
At first Sweetie Belle didn't respond, closing her eye again then, groggy from too much sun she got to her feet.
"Maybe you're right." She said eventually.

"I know I am!" Magnum gently prodded his daughter with his hoof, and she rolled forwards, breaking into a slow canter.
"Come back before sunset. Try not to worry too much, We'll handle the fashion house truck when it arrives."

Sweetie Belle took a breath, looked around the bustle of people and stretched her legs before following them to her destination. Sweetie Belle's legs always found her apple-born filly friend for her and she never had to think about it. It was just one of those things.

Diamond Tiara banged the porch of the schoolhouse building as though she were a judge declaring a guilty verdict, then gave Swift, Scootaloo and Featherweight a stare so withering that the grass under their feet started to turn the slightest shade of brown.
Scootaloo ignored it with a dismissive wave of her hoof, although Swift seemed a little impressed.

"You say that about Everything!" Scootaloo mocked.
"But it is! This is a total scandal and absolutely newsworthy I tell you! It has to go in the paper!"
"It clearly has to be made up!" Featherweight commented.
"Look," Scootaloo responded, "I admit ghosts are a difficult subject to nail down, and good for a tale - but it sure isn't likely and we need decent stories to draw in readers.Not -" she gestured in Tiara's general direction, "half baked rumours!"
"That's why I wanted to do this one!" Twist responded with a squeak in her voice. She held a pamphlet graphically showing a colourfully dressed Buddy Rockwell on stage with his guitar and a microphone in front of him..
"He's in town for two weeks! This is a chance to get an exclusive!"
For all of her insistent wording, Twist was having trouble getting her voice to go above a squeak, let alone loud enough to be heard by the arguing fillies..

Sweetie Belle chose this moment to appear beside the copper curled pony, where she looked at Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara. The pair glared at each other, stamping their hooves.
"oooh..." she commented, "going to be another fight?"
Twist turned her head to notice Scootaloo and shrugged with a sigh. "Yeah.." She sighed dejectedly.
"Scootaloo wants to write some sports event and Diamond Tiara want's to report on some weird rumour the posh fillies have been going on about." Sweetie Belle nodded sagely.
"What do you want to do?" the unicorn asked after a moments thought.
Twist held up the poster.

"It's a genuine story and a Genuine Mystery!" Tiara insisted.
"And it's lame compared to the Sunset Cup!" Was Scootaloo's retaliation, both unaware of Sweetie Belle's arrival. "This is what people are actually going to want to know about!"
"We can ONLY have ONE headline!"
Twist and Sweetie Belle watched the exchange as though watching ping pong, their heads swinging back and forth between opposing arguments.

"Guys!" When Sweetie Belle spoke up it wasn't so much a yell as just louder than normal. The arguing fillies stopped and looked at her expectantly.
"I say this should go first," she indicated the flyer, "the sports second page and Tiara's rumour in our usual column!" the unicorn explained. Both Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara's mouths dropped so far they almost touched the ground, and after a moments recovery both went to raise their voices again.
Featherweight seemed to think about this, up until now keeping quiet.

"Okay!" He said finally.
"But -"
"That's not fair!"
"Nobody's better than -"

"Majority Rule!" Featherweight interrupted,
"Twist should get first billing." Sweetie Belle followed up, "Her storie's the easiest and I'm sure she can get an interview!"
Twist blushed brightly but Sweetie Belle simply pat her on the shoulder. "You'll be fine. If you need to ask - " she hesitated. About to say 'My sister'. Sweetie Belle corrected herself to say "Twilight. She saved his life and got him here after all!"

"Editor! You have to put a stop to this!" Diamond Tiara had recovered from the shock of the interruption and recovered her chin from the ground but it was too late as Sweetie Belle was already walking away, "Where do you think you're going?"
"To find Applebloom. My hooves say she's this way!"
Scootaloo grinned, grabbing her skateboard and galloped to catch up.

"Hey! Not you Too!"
"We'll catch up later!" the small pegusus called back, "Once we have our stories!"
Tiara looked at Featherweight, the only pony left, with a scowl that could burn down trees. She smiled, backing away slowly, then ran!

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo talked as they walked, the unicorn's hooves leading her out of town, along the roads past apple acres and towards Fluttershy's house. Sweetie Belle nodded a lot, agreed a lot and took a little interest. While Pegasus races weren't particularly one of her interests she appreciated that her feathered friend enjoyed them and seemed to have a thing for Rainbowdash.
"And your plan is to be there to interview her before the race?" Sweetie Belle asked honestly,
"Heck yeah! And afterwards once she's won it! Also those dunderbolts -"
"- wonderbolts." Sweetie Belle corrected,
"- who keep turning her down will be handing out the awards. Or at least one of them. I thought about doing a profile!"
"Portrait is better." Sweetie Belle said, not hearing the conversation properly. Her hooves were telling her to turn off the road, and she looked at the underscrub nervously.

Scootaloo stopped. "Where ya going? Fluttershy's house is this way."
"Yeah, but I think -" Sweetie Belle blanched at the idea of the prickles, briars and insects she would encounter by going off trail, but entered the forest anyhow.
"You know what I don't understand!" The filly asked her winged friend, "Why does Applebloom have to look after Fluttershy's animal friends. I mean yeah - apple acres may be close to fluttershy's house but still!"
"I suppose it must be because she likes animals! Although -"
"Aaaaah, gangway!!!!" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo made a hole between them as Applebloom emerged from the woods, a wild turkey and a large pig chasing close behind. As they barrelled past the rush of air pushed both fillies hair back, requiring them to smooth it out again.

"Exactly, she's no good at it. Certainly nowhere near as good as Fluttershy was!"

A moment later Fluttershy came fluttering down the path after them, passing through a tree on the way -
"No no no, stop running! you're Scaring her! SLOW DOWN!" the yellow pegasus called out grumpily, she tugged on her mane, "AND I'M NOT SCARY!!!"
Fluttershy slowed down for just as moment as she passed between the two crusaders, wishing them a 'Good morning girls!' then continued on.

Scootaloo tipped her head to one side, looking around her confused. "Sweetie, did you hear something just now?"
Sweetie Belle responded with a confused look, "Applebloom screaming?"
For a moment Scootaloo mouthed as though to say something different, before responding with "You know - we should probably save her?"
"I'll get the net, you draw the animals attention!"

One brief roundup later and the animals, still shivering were back in or near fluttershy's house. The pig, with a rather bemused expression on his face, hung from a rafter in a net and the turkey pecked around the chicken yard allowing the chickens to eye him with distrust.
Applebloom was also shaken up, and sat in Fluttershy's rocker with a mug of instant soup between her hooves.

"I just don't understand what spooked them!" She was saying, "Although some of the weird sounds I hear around this house! I mean, I know it's empty now but -"
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle made a face.
"And how exactly do you know it's empty?"
Applebloom frowned at Scootaloo's comment. "You know as well as I, them that is dead do NOT hang with tha livin!" She declared. "Would be a horrid wassaname. Precedence!"
Sweetie Belle listened to the response and stared at the ground. "She's right." The unicorn responded. "I mean, we only saw Rarity and Fluttershy once. I don’t know why or how we could see them on Nightmare Night but we haven’t seen them since.

Scootaloo looked around, the cottage was silent, mostly un-lived in. Most of Fluttershy's animals had left and moved into the forest or to AppleAcres, only a few of them remained behind. For certain, nobody was looking after them when Applebloom wasn't there.
"I don't know if they're gone or not -"
"- They is." Applebloom interrupted,
"But I think Applebloom is right. You don't often hear about ghosts and there's always a special place, a Special occasion, a spell, mirrors..." Scootaloo shook her mane, "Can we stop talking about this please? It gives me the creeps!"

When Scootaloo looked up she was rather surprised to find Sweetie Belle looking right at her with a disconcertingly alert look.
"What, do you mean by Mirror?" she asked. Scootaloo cringed.
"Oh, nothing."

Hearing the response Sweetie Belle nodded, got to her hooves and trotted around behind scootaloo. When she asked again she re-enforced the question with by rubbing her hooves on either side of her friends head.
"I said, what's this about seeing ghosts with mirrors?"
"Aaaaaaaooow!!" Scootaloo wriggled around underneath the two hoof noogie and tried to push Sweetie Belle off.
"Give it a rest you too, you're going to give me a headache." Applebloom interrupted.
Looking up, the white filly saw the concerned expression on her friends face and recognized it. Her father had worn a similar one that morning.
"It's just fun!" Sweetie Belle smiled, "Try This!"
Popping backwards Sweetie Belle began rubbing this time along Scootaloo's flank, against the grain so that it itched and tickled!
Scootaloo started kicking stamping at the ground trying to get away.

"hey hey, hehe, no! Stop!" Her head twisted this way and that trying to turn and get at her friend but Sweetie Belle fought on.
"Oh for, come on Sweetie!" Applebloom groaned,
"Alright!" Turning on the orange foal Sweetie Belle applied her magic, plucking a feather from Scootaloo's wing and using it to assult Applebloom's nose and ears!
"EEEP!" the Earth pony complained, sneezing and laughing. "we get it Sweetie! We get it, ha ha, please!"
"Y-hes, p... Please St-hahahappp!"
Sweetie Belle ignored the pleeds for a little while, tickling her friends until they were a little more tired before letting them go.

When she was finished, she lay down on Fluttershy's porch with her legs spread wide and her eyes closed. Unlike the city, Fluttershy's was private.
"You look like you’re in heat." Applebloom commented, laying down beside her in much the same way. Scootaloo simply sat on the porch with her legs underneath her.
"Doesn't matter if you two are the only ones to see me." the unicorn replied, "so... what were you saying about mirrors?"
Scootaloo groaned. "Diamond Tiara was talking about some, thing that rich ponies are doing. Where they walk backwards at night while holding a candle and looking in a mirror. And that supposedly you'll see your future husband or something."
Sweetie Belle frowned. "What does that have to do with ghosts."
"She said that you can also ask to see specific people. Nobody knows how it works. If you do it calling a ponies name you can see them, wherever they are in the world. Which I suppose is good for if they're in another town, or dead, or who knows what."
"So the mirror can let you see dead relatives."
Scootaloo shrugged and Sweetie Belle opened her eyes.
When she looked up, Applebloom hovered over her, watching the fillies face.

"Sweetiepie?" Applebloom asked,
"Yes?"
"Please tell me ya aint gonna try this! You hasn't even cried once that I heard of since your sister died. An while this could be a ways ta see her, it ain't going to bring her back. All its a gonna do is make it harder on ya!"
Sweetie Belle closed her eyes again, turning her head away and setting her jaw stubbornly.

"Rarity would tell -"
"- Ah know! Stiff upper lip! Only cry when ya want something!" Applebloom put a hoof on Sweetie Belles stomach. Noticing a second hoof Sweetie Belle looked up to see Scootaloo had joined Applebloom over her.
"It ain't gonna help you nun." Applebloom replied.
"Besides." Scootaloo commented, then struggled for words. "Tiara is gonna research it, so, and. If there's anything to it, you know that she'll make a huge fuss." the pegasus emphasized the last few words. "We have our own things to research - wouldn't you like to go to that guy's concert?"

The thought of attending a concert held and performed by the infamous Buddy Rockwell danced around in her brain for several moments along with other thoughts and dreams. Eventually, bringing her hind legs together with a clip and swinging them downwards she rolled herself into an upright position, surprising her friends.

"You're Right!" She said at last.
"Lets go to a concert!"

Diamond Tiara looked out her window at the large stage set up in the center of town. The sun was just going down after a long day, the final glow disappearing behind the horizon and if you looked closely it was possible to see the small light that was Luna's magic as she raced across the sky bringing out the stars and raising the moon and likewise, Celestia's light as she conducted the sunset.

Tiara frowned at the mirror in her room.
"Such a ridiculous myth!" she complained, "Only a Unicorn could easily do this, which made her wonder if only unicorn were supposed to, but the reports hadn't just been from unicorns and several of them had seen faces during the task.

"There is no reason this shouldn't work!" She reassured herself, picking up the candle between her teeth. Idly she listened as her parents closed up the house downstairs. Everyone was going to that 'Buddy Rockwell' concert and while there was no way she was going to miss out - Tiara was certain she was going to prove this myth first.
"I'll find out who my future husband will be, and then my parents won't bother me about finding a colt!" she insisted, before a half thought occured to her.
"Maybe I could use this to spy on people?" She squeed. "If this works then I could become the gossip queen of Ponyville!"

Satisfied that all the house was empty, she hitched her neck through the loop of rope hanging from the mirror. The mirror, a full length one from her bedroom was set up on a coaster with wheels, meaning it would follow her out to the hallway as she walked. There, Diamond Tiara set it up at the end of the hall, retrieved her candle and began.

Carefully, holding her candle between her teeth, Diamond Tiara started walking backwards, looking at her reflection.
"Come on..." She whispered to herself, "Come on...." She looked straight at her own reflection. If it was going to appear then his image would appear as though standing behind her.
"Come on...." At approximately five metres from the mirror, just as the light reflected in the mirror was starting to become dim - she saw it.

"eeeeee" She grinned widely. There standing behind her in her reflection was she shape of a hansom colt - nearly twice her height he had a strong square chinbone, thin legs and... Tiara blinked!
"Wait - Isn't that." she mumbled, and put down the candle as carefully as possible. "That cutiemark.... SNIPS ???"
Tiara's head spun. "No! No no no no no! I'm not going to end up with HIM. I can't tell them THAT! That's - NO!" Rushing forwards she kicked the candle - sending it flying across the floor and splattering wax everywhere. It rolled to a stop right in front of the mirror with Diamond Tiara in close pursuit.

"I don't care how handsome he's going to become! Show me somebody I LIKE. Some pony I can be proud to call a boyfriend!"
The figure of Snips remained in her reflection, flickering slightly in the poor light. Strangely - he seemed to be frowning.

"All right." she frowned. "Lets try that long view or whatever. Show me..." She hesitated, "Show me Buddy Rockwell!"
The adult Snip's was still frowning at Tiara in her reflection. Tiara backed up until he was just behind her.

"Show me Buddy Rockwell. Buddy Rockwell! Buddy ROCKWELL!"
"You really are an arrogant pony aren't you?"

Diamond Tiara almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of the voice. Spinning around she looked for it's source, before checking all the doors to the rooms in the house. certain that she was alone she returned to the hall - picked up the candle and turned to face the mirror.
Snips was no longer reflected behind her. Instead - a pale white unicorn stood there with a faint blue glow around her.

Tiara checked the hall, shaking, then turned back towards the mirror and backed up a reasonable way towards it.
"Who are you?" She demanded.

"Arrogant Earth Ponies. All you care about is yourselves. I show you your future, you demand that I change it!"
Tiara's blood ran cold. A pale white ghost ponie... Angry at the world.

"You... You aren't Rarity are you?"
The apparition smiled. "Bloody Mare!" She spat, then rushed forwards grabbing Diamond Tiara's mane between her teeth.

Diamond Tiara felt herself being pulled over, kicking she struggled against the invisible force. On this side of the Mirror, there was nothing there. But in her reflection - the pale white mare dragged her across the ground then up in the air to hang from the nail atop the door.
"No, Please!" She demanded, "Rarity, Stop!"
"Bloody Mare." the specter responded.
He head ached, her mane tugged. Diamond Tiara kicked and thrashed, her tiara for which she was aptly named falling off.
The candle was picking itself up from the floor and Tiara checked the Mirror. The reflection was grinning evilly, large gaping cuts had appeared on the specters body. The ghosts mane was green with mold and her teeth and eyes completely black.

Tiara screamed, eyes wide. With her hind hooves she kicked her Tiara towards her, picked it up.

And Slashed

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

Um how could Rarity be alive in one segment and be dead in the other, is Sweetie Belle seeing things?

Also "You look like you’re in heat." How would Applebloom know about that, unless this takes place years down the road from the show when the crusaders are older.

This could do with some clarifcation.

[Toyloli]

1596077
You clearly haven't been reading the stories attentively. Rarity and Fluttershy died at the end of Chapter one. They've been dead the whole time. And while their spirits are now back in ponyville they are still dead. I think what your referring to is the fact that I have scenes where you (the reader) can see the spirits even though the ponies can't. Also I'm assuming these fillies have the average knowledge of say, a nine year old (guestimated age).

If you don't think a 9 year old (especially a farm pony/person/child/filly) doesn't know about breeding and being in heat.. Then you clearly know nothing about children. They probably also have a basic understanding of romance, which we've seen in the show. I'm not however claiming that they are sexually active or know details so do not even go there. These stories aren't going above a NC13 rating.