A nurse shouldn’t have to transfer. That’s what Nurse Redheart thought anyway. It was one thing to be assigned different rooms and floors but an entirely different district was so sudden. She couldn’t recall the last time she heard a nurse being assigned somewhere else for a transfer rather than a doctor.
The carriage jostled along the way as the medical mare sat within, bored and rather disgruntled. If the opportunity had been present to get a promotion she would have much rather chose that. It didn’t seem all bad, though. With the new place being close to the local hospital and her temporary home within a small, gated community it did sound rather cozy. Just that it didn’t feel right for her.
Ponyville was where her heart was at and possibly where it would stay. The doctor giving her the transfer had mentioned it wasn’t a permanent thing though she had her doubts along the way. Supposedly, she was to train a few nurses at the assigned hospital for several months and then they would reevaluate her position as deemed necessary. To her, that only meant prolonging the whole ordeal.
Sighing deeply, Redheart watched the landscape pass by and merely waited. The thought of her prior patients did make her smile a bit. That loud party pony always causing a scene or having random ponies sneaking around the hospital at night. Sure, it did annoy her at the time but she cherished the moments.
“Almost there, ma’am!” the stallion called to her from the front, still pulling the carriage along.
The only reply she gave was a mumble and nod. She wasn’t prepared to go but had no choice unless she wanted to be out of a job. Her mind drifted away again to pass the time as the white earth pony sat in silence.
Of course, anypony not wanting to transfer so suddenly would probably be thinking the same things or wishing the same wishes. Was she a special case? Not at all, but it didn’t keep her from hoping to come back to Ponyville sooner rather than later. Things would work out. They had to.
The carriage stopped quicker than the nurse was ready for as she almost slipped out of her seat. Her eyes took in the sight outside the window before seeing the iron gates and blinking. Her mind must have wandered far off for her not to see them coming up on the place. Instead of wasting time, the pink maned mare nudged the door open and stepped out, stretching her legs a bit.
“This is it, huh?” she asked, looking up at the tall gates and then to the sides along the high stone walls.
“Mhm, sure is a nice looking place,” the stallion said as he also took in the sight. “A bit strange they want to be a gated community this far out.”
Redheart turned to her driver and raised a brow. Now that he had mentioned it, it did seem a little odd for a place of possibly thirty houses to be secured so much and out of the way. It wasn’t even that close to the city to warrant such a thing. Those stone walls looked far too slick to even climb.
The white mare sighed to herself and shook her head. She was just looking for excuses to send a letter back and have them bring her back to Ponyville. Never had she thought she would get this homesick before.
“It’s probably nothing. Just ponies out here choose to live differently,” the nurse explained, mostly to herself.
“Probably,” the stallion agreed simply and shrugged. “I was told that you’ll be getting a new driver to bring from here to your work. He’s got set times so there’s no need for emergency letters.”
“Thank you. You’ve been real kind,” Redheart said as she hopped into the carriage and began tugging out her three suitcases full of clothing, supplies, and mementos.
“Need any help, miss?” the driver asked as he watched.
“I’m all right. I just wish I knew how to get their attention to open the gates,” she spoke while smiling warmly.
“HEY!” the stallion shouted with a hoof to his muzzle.
Oh, Celestia, that was loud! Redheart had nearly cowered from the sudden shout with how out of the blue it was. To her surprise, the gates rattled and seemed to clunk open from the lock as a pony from the side came into view. Their hooves pulled the metal poles to slide them open just barely enough for a pony to fit through.
“Well, thank you again,” Redheart mentioned and giggled lightly to the stallion.
“No worries. Oh, and your new driver will be coming to pick you up around nine in the morning and then drop you off back here about five in the evening. Unless you specify otherwise to him, that is.”
At least she got that bit of information before they parted ways. Who knows how many days she would miss or stand around waiting otherwise. The pony on the other side of the gate watched in silence at the exchange and giving a small glance back to the housing as they waited.
“I’ll be seeing you. Take care,” the nurse said as she waved a hoof and let the carriage driver take off.
Once the carriage was off and she could hardly hear his hoofsteps, Redheart pulled along her luggage and worked to getting it as close to the gate as possible. With the opening barely big enough to fit only her, she looked to the pony standing on the other side.
“Little help?” she asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. He could have at least said a welcome.
A wary glance was cast back to the various houses and down along the road splitting some up the middle. They took a moment before nodding and rushing over to grab each piece of luggage and slip it through the gate before allowing her in. Such odd behavior for a welcome from a pony. When she was fully within the community, the pony quickly pushed the iron gate shut and nearly clipped the pink tail of the nurse with it.
“Hey! Watch it!” Redheart yelled. She was starting to already dislike it in her new hometown, if it could even be called that.
No apology was uttered as the pony took the extra suitcases and walked ahead. After a moment watching him, Redheart followed along with a roll of her eyes. Not the talking type, she guessed. At least he was helping with her stuff getting moved and showing her what house would be hers for the next several months.
As the walked, she noticed various ponies talking among themselves and some offering light waves. She did her best to wave back and smile to not appear unfriendly. Last thing she wanted was to spend the months ahead utterly alone more than she already felt. Making new friends would be a good idea.
It was a bit of a walk but nothing too far. After all, the whole community was rather small in itself. Her house was near the back end of it all. All around the place that tall wall of stone stayed up. It gave just enough room between it and the houses near it to not block the sunlight at least. With the iron gates and the tall wall it almost felt like a prison instead of a home.
Redheart let the pony lead her all the way up to her doorstep before he dropped her case and held out a hoof to show a key. There was a pause before she took it gingerly from him and watched him head back without a word. What a strange fellow.
Unlocking the door and stepping in, she was met with a sight she hardly expected. The house that was being paid for by her job had seemed to net her quite the space. Everything looked so clean and pristine that she thought they were about to tell her to conduct her to work at home. She could hardly believe how lovely it looked.
As she stepped in and pulled in her luggage, the mare spotted a letter laying on the kitchen counter. Guess they figured she would be hungry right away when she got in and go right there. The rumbling in her stomach indicated they were very right.
It took her a bit, but she finally got her suitcases set up to unpack them later. But she came right back to the letter as she grabbed an apple from the welcoming fruit basket set up on the dining room table. Other than spelling her name a little strangely, it seemed to be typical greeting. At least she had somepony wanting to greet and welcome her home.
‘Dear, Nurse Red Heart, we hope you enjoy your stay at our small community for the duration of your time here. Please note we do not condone excessively loud noises during the night, constant gate traffic, or anypony out past curfew. Other than those exceptions, we welcome you with open hearts.
‘Please note that groceries will be taken care of weekly and you only need to bring us your list. Upon your arrival, we will be holding a housewarming dinner down the lane at the overseer’s home. Curfew will be in effect from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. Under no circumstances must you ever be out during those hours.’
That was more than a little strange to her. For somepony to stress there was a curfew for the area seemed off. It could easily be nothing but for them to state it twice while trying to welcome her had her reading more into it than she probably should.
Her mind pushed it aside soon enough as she set the letter down and munched on her snack. At least she would be getting to know the others at a dinner soon. They hadn’t said which house but she could always ask. They probably just forgot and assumed she knew like if they gave letters to the other ponies in the small community.
Not wanting to think about the details, Redheart hurried to her suitcases and began to unpack. Various nurse hats and clothing were packed away in one case alone. She was surprised how many times she had to replace or wash one. The outdoor and relax wear seemed to have their own case as well.
Time was spent for a few hours of her getting to know her new home for the time being and making things comfortable to her liking. The bedroom was larger than anything she would need but having a bed to sprawl out on and pass out wasn’t going to get a complaint from an exhausted nurse after work. Even the clothing cabinet seemed more vast than what she had brought with her.
Hardwood floors covered nearly every inch of the ground. Even though the house was a mere one floor it had more room than her previous one. She wasn’t sure if she would get used to it or eventually have trouble going back. Though, that was going to be a ways off and she didn’t feel like thinking more on the subject.
Before long, she noticed it was getting later than she realized. Curfew would be in a few hours so she did her best to clean up and get ready for the dinner. The mare took a deep breath as she stared in the mirror and nodded. She would make it until she had to head back.
Her pink hair was pulled back into a more relaxed ponytail rather than the bun she preferred while working. As she stepped into the foyer she tried to think of anything that she might be forgetting. There was hardly much she could think of and so the mare opened her door and stepped out.
Surprise took hold as she saw two rows of ponies looking happily to her right outside her house. The mix of mares and stallions seemed to be a little creepy with their stares until they all shouted a welcome. Things felt far more natural after that, thankfully.
“I’m glad we got a doctor here! Your job must be so exciting!” one of the mares exclaimed.
“Oh, I’m just a nurse but it can be hectic,” Redheart replied while wondering if they had been waiting outside the whole time. “How long have you all been out here?”
“We were just about to knock,” announced a stallion further down the rows.
“I see. Well, I had a letter and-” the nurse began to say until she got interrupted.
“The housewarming dinner! Yes! We’ve come to show you the way,” one said and that seemed to signal them all to turn and begin walking down the lane.
Redheart stood still for a moment in confusion before she tagged along and tried making small talk to some of the ponies that actually would speak to her. One of them lived just across from her. The mare’s name eluded her but she figured she could ask again later. They all did seem friendly enough which was a relief after her initial arrival.
Bringing up the gatekeeper stallion made a few of them give her an awkward look but they kept moving. Supposedly, the pony that had met her at the gates was mute. Learning the news made the nurse blush a bit in embarrassment. She felt silly for being wary around them and taking offense in hindsight. At least she planned to apologize if he saw them again.
The ponies all walked along down the area until they gathered before a house a bit larger than most. It did have two stories compared to the others having a mere one though it didn’t look anymore special otherwise. Possibly why she never spotted it right away while coming in.
“This is it! Community overseer said to have a feast inside!” a pony called out.
Almost as if on cue, the door opened and out stepped a rather elderly pony. His stature was tall but nothing above the normal. His eyes were as bright as if he were still young though and his smile was just a tad eerie to Redheart.
“Welcome!” the overseer called out and laughed. The other ponies repeated and began talking to themselves as he walked closer to the nurse. “So you’re our new neighbor. Welcome to your new home, miss. I hope you like it here.”
“It’s very spacious of a home, for sure,” Redheart replied as they began to walk into the larger house. Everything was new to her, including the dinner she was invited to. “Kind of a lot to take in.”
“Oh, you’ll get used to it quickly,” the elderly stallion said while ushering her in. “Come, come. We have plenty to talk about, I’m sure.” His eyes glanced up at the setting sun before he paused in thought and went inside with the rest.
The medical mare gave a light shrug and moved along as she went inside. At least it did feel like she was welcomed. It was just that she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was still off. Those thoughts quickly went away when the scent of food came around and her stomach growled in hunger.
•••••
It felt like only yesterday when Redheart was welcomed into the small, enclosed community. The overseer was rather friendly and understood all her questions and weariness. She was thankful he had explained everything carefully for her, especially the time which she needed to be inside during the night. When asked he seemed to look a little uncomfortable but she didn’t press him on the matter. It was easier just to follow the rules instead of ask questions sometimes, and it wasn’t as if she went out during those hours as it stood.
To think, she had been there three weeks and only nearly missed her ride the first day. As routine as it was, the whole thing wasn’t as bad as she thought. The gatekeeper had grown more outgoing in waving to her and a few ponies had invited her to dinners or even lunch on her days off. All in all, things were relaxing if just a bit exhausting from work.
Emergency letters, which were directed straight to Celestia upon sealing, were given to all at the end of each week just in case the overseer couldn’t help in a matter. As hard as it was to believe, he did seem to have quite the knack for helping ponies complete tasks or just finding the perfect item they were missing. Redheart had slipped her letter into the nightstand just to keep them handy if the need arose.
The one thing that mildly worried the nurse was the coming cold weather. With it would bring colds to ponies and she’d likely be called upon for house visits just to tell them the same thing over and over. Heat a cold, cool a fever. Plenty of liquids. She just hoped she could leave work at work was all.
“Redheart!” came a voice from behind her.
Looking around, the medical pony spotted one of the few mares that had taken a liking to just chatting with her. In all honesty, Redheart enjoyed it just as much. It helped her feel like she fit in and that things were somewhat normal, minus the giant gate and walls and being however many miles from her true home.
“Oh, hey there,” Redheart greeted and waved. It was already getting a bit cooler out and many ponies, including her new friend, were dressing for it.
“I was wondering, did you read much?” the mare asked, tugging her beanie down a bit.
“I… do,” the nurse replied hesitantly. She didn’t know if she wanted to admit that one of her suitcases contained a few cheesy romance novels. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, I was kind of bored the other day and thought you might have some recommendations if you did. I’m always up for reading whatever,” said her neighbor.
“Hm, I guess I could lend you a book later. Just promise to give it back,” the medical mare teased and smiled.
The two giggled and agreed for the book exchange at some undisclosed time. Currently, Redheart was busy getting ready for an afternoon jog. She didn’t have much time off but she didn’t want to sit around when there was an opportunity to do something. Reading was mostly for just before bed.
Some visible stretches and lightly trotting in place gave the indication she was ready to move and her neighbor took the hint with grace. It would be nice to discuss the novel with another, Redheart thought. She just had to find a moment when she got home to give it to her since her jog was just starting.
The thought of the curfew came up as she began treading down the lane and let her mind wander. With no carriages to run back and forth she could lose herself a bit during her runs. It still boggled her mind why there was such a strict deadline for being at home. Technically, nopony would know if she decided to sneak out late one night, would they?
Her brow furrowed as she rested on the question for several minutes. It didn’t make sense for the overseer to know since his house was further down. If there were spells in place to tell when a pony left or entered a home then she would like to know, but nothing was ever told during that dinner with the neighborhood. Even so, it didn’t quite sit right each time she thought about it all.
“Just ignore it,” she told herself through huffs as she moved along. It had been three weeks and she could have time zip by if she just played nice and didn’t stick her snout in things.
•••••
With the dark night flooding the sky, Redheart laid comfortably in bed. Her eyes focused lightly behind her reading glasses as she held one of her novels in her hooves. She loved getting all cozy and reading about a handsome stallion managing to make a mare swoon effortlessly. The faint hint of a blush rose in her cheeks before she closed the book and set it aside. A small pause in her actions made her sit still before she shut her eyes.
“Shoot!” she cursed, flopping back against her pillows.
She had promised to bring a novel over to her new friend for her to read. The nurse sighed in her bed as she stared up the ceiling and thought to herself. Curfew was a couple of hours in already, so no going out. That is, unless they didn’t know.
It was a strange idea to be wary of disobeying a simple rule that probably no true enforcement. Yet, she still wasn’t sure if there might be more to it than the overseer let on. As much of a conundrum as it appeared, Redheart didn’t want to lose sleep overthinking it.
Instead, the white mare rolled over onto her side and blew out the candle. She could give the book to her in the morning. No sense stressing out over it and it wasn’t like there was a hurry anyway. It was an agreement with herself as Redheart pulled the covers up and wiggled into the mattress a bit to get more comfy.
She had just about let Luna take her into the dreamscape when she heard something. Her eyes stayed closed but an ear tilted to listen. It was an odd noise but she had heard something similar before. It was almost as if there was something tapping or moving against glass.
The nurse opened her eyes and looked up at the window above her bed. No, not from there. Her gaze moved around the room as she tried to pinpoint where it was. Quickly, she found the source of the light noise at her other window to her left. It sounded with the wind as well.
Instead of overreacting, her mind quickly determined there to be a low branch or twig from a tree rubbing against the window on accident. It would have to be a quick fix before work. A yawn broke her train of thought as she let her tired mind rest and finally entered the dreams with the Princess of the night.
•••••
“Sorry about yesterday,” Redheart apologized and offered the novel up. “I guess I just forgot about it.”
“That’s quite fine!” her neighbor replied and accepted the offer while giggling at the novel. “Into these often?”
“Just sometimes,” the nurse lied and looked away, trying to hide her smile. “Sorry to cut out meeting short today, just have to be ready for work and take care of a branch.”
“A branch?” asked her friend curiously while raising a brow.
“Yeah, it was rubbing against my window last night and almost annoyed me,” Redheart explained while turning back to look at her house. Odd.
“Dear, there aren’t any trees in your yard,” said her neighbor wearily.
It seemed that Redheart had noticed at the same time she was told that there were in fact no trees near her home. No branches had some unnatural reach over into her yard either. It was a little unnerving but there had to be reason behind it. Nothing just made a sound without a cause.
“Huh, I guess it must have been a pesky bird then,” the nurse casually mentioned before turning to face her now serious faced neighbor.
“Yeah,” her friend said quietly. “Just a bird. Don’t go checking on it, please. It’ll go away on its own.”
Truthfully, Redheart found her neighbor’s reaction far more unsettling than the noise itself. There was something nopony was telling her but she had no idea what. Sadly, she had no time to ask questions. Her ride would be here soon.
“We can talk later! I’ve got to go!” Redheart called out as she off to the gates. There was weak wave given to her before her neighbor slowly stepped back inside and closed her door.
The ride to her work had her pondering all sorts of things. If there was something wrong then why wasn’t anypony doing anything about it? If not, what was there to be afraid of? Her neighbor had seemed so very off when she brought up the possible branch.
It didn’t help that such thoughts clouded her mind all through work. Probably her worst day at the hospital with so many small mishaps, though none that couldn’t be quickly fixed. She just wanted to know what was being hidden from her. It seemed that most or all of the ponies in the community would know if they had been there long.
What was the big deal? Was there something that happened during curfew? Redheart felt herself growing more frustrated than unsettled over the questions she kept coming up with. If it came down to it then maybe she would have a word with the overseer. She could already see it going nowhere though.
At the end of her shift, the nurse had come up with a dozen different questions to ask but all of them felt more accusatory than inquiring anything. She had made a few friends, one in particular seemed to enjoy talking with her, so throwing that out at the expense of knowing that maybe the curfew was just for keeping a proper sleep schedule didn’t seem worth it. Her neighbor may just get spooked easily too. All plausible.
Redheart sighed to herself on the way back home and gave a passive greeting to the mute stallion at the gate. Her mind wanted clarity but her heart knew it wouldn’t be worth causing a scene over, especially if it meant losing a new friend.
When she had walked to her house, the white mare stood still and looked over to her friend’s home. She was probably looking into everything far too deep. It was going to ruin her mind if she persisted. Just drop it.
Without a word, Redheart opened her door and entered her home. She would feel better and think more clearly after a good night’s rest. That’s all. A nice dinner and then off to bed. Sounded like a great idea.
•••••
The medical mare opened her eyes groggily as she turned over in her sheets. She knew it wasn’t time to wake up. The sun hadn’t even come out yet. What stirred her from her much needed rest?
As she laid still, the mare tried to let her eyes adjust to the darkness but it wasn’t her eyes that picked up the oddity. Her ears flicked as she heard the familiar noise again. It was a tad bit louder than the night before. Something about it made her stomach turn slightly while she stayed still.
If it wasn’t a branch then it could possibly be a bird but in the middle of the night? The sound persisted as she stared at the curtained window and waited. There was no rhythm to it at all. Just an odd tapping at her window in the middle of a cold and dark night.
The thought made her shiver when it was put like that. Either it was some prankster that was getting to her or just a dumb avian creature that didn’t know any better. At least, she hoped as much. What she didn’t want to admit was how scared it began making her feel.
Against her will, Redheart slowly and quietly got up and out of bed. Her hooves did their best to make as little noise as possible while she cross the room to her window. Everything inside her told her it was a bad idea no matter what. Even her neighbor had mentioned not to check on it, whatever ‘it’ was.
When she finally made it to the curtains, her hoof reached up and hovered against the fabric. She could catch the prankster in the act or scare off the bird. Or probably find something worse. There was a long pause as she stood still and listened to the tapping against her window, feeling chills run down her body.
Quickly, Redheart lowered her hoof and quietly hopped back into bed while curling up under the covers. There wasn’t any reason to disturb whatever was going on. It would go away on its own and leave her alone when there wasn’t a reaction, she was sure. It would have to.
That night was one of the toughest for Redheart to get any rest as the tapping never stopped until the break of dawn.
•••••
The tapping had been going on for about two weeks. Each night was spent with Redheart anticipating the noise and staring at her window for hours. She never once drew the curtains back and never touched them when the noise started. Perhaps she just felt to leave well enough alone. Her work was a bit slower and she had contemplated asking to be moved just to have all her questions left behind. Sadly, the higher ups assured her that anything else in the area was more expensive for the company and couldn’t be taken, especially over a month or two in.
She didn’t bother sending any other letters to them and just opted to cope with the strangeness of the community. Not once did she bring the tapping up to any other pony either. After her friend had acted so bizarre she felt it was best to keep it to herself. No reason to stir drama over a noise.
The constant nights of that creeping tap after tap just disturbed her though. It was no branch and clearly no bird with how long it went on at times. All her reasons to explain it again fell flat and she just tried to go on with her life.
It wasn’t until one night that the tapping just suddenly stopped. There was no indication of it about to end or even where it went. Just quiet at night again. The strange thing was how it left Redheart feeling a little more lonely than before. She had grown used to hearing it and just waiting for dawn, but with it gone it felt like there was a chilling and empty void in its place.
More nights had to be adjusted to from the lack of a noise since. Things did slowly start getting back to normal until a particular night. One that brought on far more questions that would not rest until Redheart could get it off her chest.
That night was much like the others with no odd noise but a restless sleep or an attempt at it. Things were quiet and deep into the hours after dark while she did her best to force herself to go to sleep. Nothing worked and in time it came to her conclusion to just get a drink of water and maybe read.
The mare got up and headed off into the kitchen with little more than a candle to light her way. Every creak and groan of the floorboards seemed to just make her think of other noises to fill her ears and let her relax to some strange degree. Her hoof grabbed a glass once she found her way over and quickly filled it with some water as she sipped it and stood in thought.
Her eyes shifted over to the nearby window as she walked over and drank a bit more. Since there was no tapping then it wouldn’t hurt to peek out now, would it? The idea seemed to make sense but she hesitated at opening the curtains in the kitchen. What was there to be wary about anymore?
It was tough for her to continue but she pushed on. Her hoof lightly moved the fabric away just enough to peek outside and get a look in the moonlight. It seemed clear and rather fine. Nothing out of place and all looked well.
“Wait,” Redheart whispered to herself and leaned in, eyes squinting.
Looking out back she could see her other neighbor’s backyard and the house. Though, something was off about their home. The walls looked fine for the most part except one area. There was an odd design against it leading up to their window. It took a moment before she could actually understand what she was seeing, or at least what her mind tried to tell her.
A figure was leaning right up against the wall and standing on what she assumed were hind legs but they looked much too long. The head was barely peeking up into the corner of their window yet no pony ears adorned it. No tail was visible either and they seemed to have long and thin things upon their hooves, if they even had hooves. Almost like a dragon’s claws. The distance and darkness left far too many details out but Redheart could only be slightly thankful.
Her hoof dropped the glass of water in her shock making a rather loud crash. The thing’s head turned instantly in her direction and she closed the curtain again. Panic raced through her body as she tried to think of what to do before rushing back to her bedroom. She couldn’t help but resort to things she did as a filly and slipped under the covers of her bed while pulling the pillows over her.
She shook and closed her eyes tight, hugging the pillows to her head as she waited and assumed the worst. The candle in the kitchen would burn itself out eventually and she had no intention of going back in there, much less out of her bed at all, until morning. A light ease up on the pillows filled her ears with horror and she quickly pressed them back to her head. The poor nurse would hear that in her head until she passed out. If only she could have ignored her curiosity and not had that sound return.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
•••••
Redheart nearly screamed herself awake before realizing where she was. The pillows tumbled softly to the floor as she sat up and saw the sunlight hitting her curtains. No despicable noise was taunting her and certainly no creepy pony, if that was what she saw.
Her heart picked up pace before calming back down as she recounted the night and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe it was just some dumb peeping tom and she had been tired from the restless nights before. It was dark as well so details weren’t the best. Still, it was unsettling to see no matter what. There did seem to be something off about it, but she still chalked it up to slight hallucinations over being tired.
The medical pony nearly had another panic attack over being late for work before she remembered the day. Thank Celestia she had the day off. After everything she wasn’t sure she would be up to par for training or helping out. It would still be best to warn of the creeper about the community though. No sense hiding something like that.
Perhaps they’d congratulate her on informing them then everypony could have a peaceful night’s rest. It would be helping out and the overseer might even mention how nice it is to know so he can keep an eye out for them. The more she played with the idea the more it made her feel better.
It took her a while to wash up and eat some breakfast. Cleaning up the glass and floor was a little painstaking though worth it. Her eyes often darted to the kitchen window, almost expecting to see something there but she never pulled the curtains back. Again, she could only think to leave well enough alone.
By the time she had finally managed to force herself outside it was midday. Her neighbor across the lane greeted her in a cheery tone, obviously past the small hiccup from days ago of mentioning the odd sounds. Or was it weeks? Things were starting to blur a bit for the pink maned nurse.
“You look a little rough,” her neighbor mentioned and smiled. “Hard night sleeping?”
“Something like that,” Redheart replied as she rubbed her head with a hoof. “Say, I have to tell you something. I think there’s some weirdo peeping tom going around the community.”
“What? What makes you say that?” the mare across the lane asked though she shifted uncomfortably.
“Last night I was getting some water and happened to look out my window,” said the nurse as she studied her friend.
“Why would you do that?” asked the neighbor in almost a hushed whisper. Her eyes were wide and staring at Redheart. “Why would you ever do that?”
“What? I just took a peek. The creep was across yard at the other house an-” Redheart tried to explain before the pony got mere inches from her ear.
“Don’t ever tell anypony what you saw. Ever. Don’t look out again. Don’t be out past curfew,” her supposed friend said and quickly turned away. “The overseer looks out for us.”
What had she got herself into? What was even going on? There was some secret that the whole community was keeping under wraps yet they were scared to even hear it mentioned or touched upon. Something was wrong and Redheart knew it. If the overseer really did look out for them all then why keep a secret from newcomers?
She had some questions she wanted answered and her mind almost hounded her to go demand questions from the overseer. It was possibly two steps she took down the lane before her neighbor called back to her. The mare was rushing up to meet her with a panicked face.
“Redheart, please,” she pleaded, tugging the nurse’s leg away from the direction. “Don’t go looking for more answers. It isn’t good for you. Just leave this place.”
“What? Why are you staying if you kno-” Redheart started before her friend spoke.
“I stay because I’m afraid. I’m afraid of leaving,” the neighbor mentioned and glanced around.
“What of? The peeper?” the nurse asked in confusion.
There was a solemn nod and the mare tugged more at Redheart’s foreleg until the nurse moved with her and back to their houses. It sounded like a strange thing to be scared of leaving for. Or even not contacting Celestia about.
“You can get a better place. This isn’t the best anyway,” the medical pony tried to explain.
“It’s not that. I just don’t want it following me,” her friend said as she glanced around.
“Then let’s just write to Celestia and Luna,” Redheart countered. It didn’t make sense to her.
“We have. They found nothing wrong,” the distressed mare said, sniffing a bit and trying to keep it together. “Whatever it is, it knows. It knows you saw it, too.”
The last statement made Redheart’s skin crawl. Some unknown understanding these ponies had of this thing was eerie enough. The fact the princesses couldn’t find it or at least anything wrong just made her think those emergency letters were useless.
She was about to ask more on the topic when the pony stumbled and collapsed right before her. The nurse was shocked at first but quickly began calling for help as she tried checking on the pony. It didn’t appear to be anything serious other than a faint. The stress had got to them and the poor mare just couldn’t take it.
A few other ponies that heard the cries eventually came around and helped her move her neighbor back into their home. Passing glances revealed the house was nearly identical to her own so it was easy enough to find the bedroom and lay her down. As much as she wanted to ask the others to watch over the passed out mare, Redheart couldn’t take the chance and sat by her with a damp cloth to press at her brow.
As soon as they woke up, she would be out of there. No point in staying in a crazy place like this. She just didn’t want to leave a pony in need either. The minutes spent tending to the mare in bed had the nurse constantly peering out the window at the sun.
Minutes passed and then hours were next to go. It was all too soon when the sun began to set and her friend still hadn’t woken up. The nurse stayed only a few more minutes before deciding it was best to let her sleep. It probably wouldn’t help to have her friend wake up in the middle of the night and see a pony in the dark of her room.
Redheart quietly but quickly moved out and shut the doors as she went. Her eyes darted around once she stepped out of the house and rushed across to her own home. By the time she shut her own door, her heart was thumping like crazy. It was too late to try and leave the community for good. As much as she needed the money and the job itself, it wasn’t worth all this.
Moving through the dark house, she told herself that first thing in the morning she would be out. No staying to tend any others if she could help it and certainly no more prying for answers. Just get out and move on seemed like the best idea.
If sleep could come easily after such a talk from earlier than she would have rested, but that was far from her mind. The nurse pony sat at her kitchen table in the dark as she pondered what she would tell her boss and more when she got back. Would she even try to explain things?
It felt terrible to be stuck in a pickle so bad that she felt anything she did was either the wrong thing or just pointless. Writing to the princesses was futile, as said by her recent friend. There was little else she could do now as it were other than sit in the dark. Then it happened.
The tapping came back but this time at her kitchen window. Redheart felt her white coat stand on end as she listened and did her best to stay as quiet as possible. The thing would go away at dawn and she could leave. Whatever it was could just keep tapping because she wasn’t about to check those curtains again.
Just as suddenly as the tapping had started, it stopped. Redheart’s ears perked up as she tried listening for it again. That was rather strange though she wasn’t about to complain. It was extremely quiet until she heard steps around the side of her house. They were slow and deliberate at first but then picked up the pace in an instant.
“NO!” came a scream across the lane.
Redheart recognized the voice. Her friend and neighbor had finally woken up. The nurse hopped over to the front door and leaned over to the window, she hesitated. The sound of those steps had moved all the way across the lane and there was a loud banging until something sounded like it broke.
The screams she heard after made her huddled against the wall and cover her head. Those weren’t just screams of fright and Redheart knew it. Her friend must have looked outside to see if it was dusk. Instead she saw that thing.
With a shaky hoof, the white mare carefully peeled away the curtain to peek across the lane. Her neighbor’s door was busted open with splinters of the wood everywhere. Where was her friend? The house was dark and she couldn’t see anything past the doorway.
Redheart swallowed her breath as she stared a long while before moving to her door. It technically wouldn’t be outside if she just stayed in the doorway, right? She wasn’t even sure this thing followed such dumb rules as that but it gave her a small bit of confidence. Unlatching the lock, she carefully pulled the door open and looked out.
Still quiet and still. Nothing other than the broken door was out of place. Redheart moved the door further open as she leaned out a little to try and see further into the house. As much as she wanted to call out to her friend her own fear ripped away any use of her voice. Her eyes looked along the other houses, none of which had anypony else checking things out nor any lights.
The sound of something across the way made her flinch. Something had dropped in the house with a loud thump. She was about to step out further until she saw a detail within the darkened doorway. It looked to be two shining beads but was hard to make out. It was when a thin leg stretched out into the moonlight that she recognized it.
Redheart stumbled back inside and kicked her door closed before running back to her room. Her own panic felt like she might even pass out from everything. The thing in the door had been staring at her and was stepping out of the house. She had looked into its eyes shining in the darkness.
Her hooves fumbled about her nightstand as she tried to pull it open while she felt tears welling up in her eyes. The mare struggled more than she liked before it slid open and revealed all the special letters for contacting the princesses. Even if it was useless she had to try.
It was a good idea until she heard the creak of her front door opening. The slow open of the wooden door on those metal hinges had them whine out through the house. She forgot to lock it. It took a hoof on the bed to steady herself as she felt as if her breathing might have her drop from hyperventilating.
Stumbling over to her bedroom door, Redheart struggled with the lock there and finally snapped it into place. It did help her feel a lot safer but still not completely. She wanted to go home. It was terrible in the community.
Looking down she saw something that made her cry out. Pale claws or perhaps fingers were sliding beneath the door and gripping the bottom of it. With how flat they looked it appeared there was no skeletal structure at all. It was unsettling in every sense.
Her eyes watched as she backed away, bumping against the bed. The thing almost seemed to pool beneath the door but still had slight form. It was something her mind couldn’t comprehend as well as she wanted. The thing had shape yet none at all. The pale color made it look like moonlight itself was seeping in under her bedroom door.
When one black orb popped up from it she felt her stomach tug hard inside of her. The formless eye stared at her as the rest of it starting pulling itself inside. Redheart panted in her heightened state of awareness before scrambling around the side of her bed and away from the door. She pressed herself into the nook between the bed frame and the wall while she sat in as little silence as she could.
Minutes passed and she could only hear herself breathing rapidly. The crumpled letters in her hooves were useless without a quill and light to write by. Each second felt like agony as she waited. It was inevitable.
Those claw-like appendages slowly moved around the foot end of the bed and curled against the frame. Redheart felt her eyes widen as the head of the thing slowly peeked around the side but only just enough. One of those dark eyes gleamed eerily at her as they both sat motionless and stared at one another. She couldn’t hear it breathing or see it move in the slightest after.
It just stared.