“Hey, you doin’ okay, Apple?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Well, you’ve been lookin’ really tired lately.”
“You implying that I can’t keep up with the orchard?”
“No, I’m implying you look tired, cuz.”
“Well, thanks for your concern, but I’m fine. Orchard’s growin’, fertilizer is workin’ and I’m keeping on top of it all. Couldn’t be goin’ better.”
“Right. And the mud?”
“What mud?”
“On your hooves. You look like you’ve been trudging through a swamp with how thick that gunk is.”
“Oh! That mud.”
…
“You gonna tell me why you’re covered in mud now?”
“Been diggin’ holes.”
“How many?”
“Lots.”
“Why?”
…
“Why are you diggin’ holes, Apple?”
…
“Apple.”
“I’m expanding the orchard.”
“Apple! You’re gonna—”
“I can handle it! Look, if I want enough money to get me and mine out of here and somewhere better, I need to put in the work. I hate havin’ those unicorn bastards—”
“Hey! Watch what ya say, cuz. You don’t know who’s listening in and those kinds of words are what get you into trouble around here.”
“I know, I know! But it won’t matter none once I get enough bits to get out of here. Just need to plant a few more trees, and harvest’em.
“Just a few more and it’ll all be over.”
Ringing blared inside the house.
Noteworthy groaned as he was brought out of his slumber. He stumbled his way out of bed and headed directly to the living room knowing that the phone was the source of the noise. It had rung every morning for a week since that first night and it was wearing at his already frayed nerves. As he came into range of the phone, he did as he had done every night prior. Noteworthy grabbed the receiver and slammed it down onto the carriage to hang it up.
But this time, he stopped just short of clicking the receiver into place. Curiosity burned within him as he wondered if he might hear the singing from before and in conjunction with how tired he was, it impaired his cautionary judgement.
Hesitantly, he brought the receiver to his ear. The dial tone greeted him, but he kept it close, leaning his whole body into the listening end of the phone. After a few moments, he was rewarded with the soft singing from before.
Straining his ears, he waited, hoping for the sound to grow louder. As if in answer to his plea, the chorus grew in volume, overcoming the insistent beeps of the dial tone. An innumerable number of voices sang in dissonant harmony. A chaotic symphony that was difficult to follow, but pleasant to listen to.
He sat down on the floor, letting his mind be pulled along with the music, thumping his tail in time to the beat.
Suddenly, a new sound began to resonate within the chorus. It was quiet at first but began to grow in intensity over time. Soon it was screaming, a single disjointed note that rang inside of Noteworthy’s head derailing his thoughts. He dropped the receiver as he cried out in agony, clutching his ear with one hoof. He pulled his hoof back when he felt wetness only to gape as he saw blood covering his fur.
Acting quickly, he hammered the phone back into its carriage and unplugged the phone from the wall. He then trotted quickly back to his room, unnerved by the screaming note and wanting as much distance as possible between him and that horrible noise. As he stepped past the threshold of his bedroom door, he heard a ringing sound behind him.
He turned back, horror dawning on his face, as the phone rang through the house.
Slamming his bedroom door shut, he huddled underneath his covers, pulling a pillow around his ears, desperately hoping to keep out the sound.
A moment later, the ringing stopped.
Noteworthy dragged himself forward, his hoofsteps heavy from lack of sleep. The ringing had taken its toll on his mind and it was making it hard to keep focus during the day.
“Mornin’, Noteworthy.”
With an immense amount of energy, Noteworthy lifted his head to look at Mac. He stood just behind the gate to Sweet Apple Acres, a shovel over his shoulder once again and mud caked onto his hooves.
“Morning, Mac,” Noteworthy replied weakly.
“Not sleeping well?” Mac asked.
“No,” Noteworthy said with a weary sigh. “My phone keeps ringing every night. It's been going on for over a week now.”
“You didn’t answer it, did yeah?”
“No, I…” the lie died on Noteworthy’s lips as exhaustion pulled at him. “Yeah, I did.”
“You hear anything this time?” Mac continued, staring intently at Noteworthy. “Like that chorus you mentioned before?”
He wanted to answer yes, but an inexplicable feeling stopped him. A sort of ownership over this horrid event that made him want to keep that knowledge to himself because it made him feel—
Noteworthy looked away from Mac’s gaze. “Just the dial tone. All I heard was beeping.”
Mac glared at him before looking askance with a heavy sigh. “Just be careful. You don’t want to overhear something you shouldn’t.”
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” Noteworthy replied.
Refocusing on the road before him, Noteworthy continued his trek into town, his eyes firmly to the ground. This was his problem to deal with, no one else. He would overcome this, he had to.
It was in his name.