Chapter Five
Patient is the Night
“Do we really have to stay on the roof like this?”
Roseluck covered her eyes for a moment, groaning under her breath. They sat atop Muffin’s house as the stars started peeking out for the clear night. Even if it was the only house they had access to that had a roof safe enough to sit properly on, as well as a good spot to lurk where Mayor Mare placed a bag of what was apparently money, Roseluck kept her gaze away from the edge.
They had offered their plan to Mayor Mare, who even suggested that a decoy be placed at the edge of town, rather than the amount of money that she did not have at the moment. Roseluck had only hopes to go on that this would succeed, but smiled anyway.
“Don’t worry about it, Roseluck!” Muffins took Rose’s hooves off her face to smile at her. She slung her arm around the earth pony, holding her close. “We wouldn’t let you fall. And hey, it’s only three floors.”
“Three floors,” Roseluck scoffed to the side. To distract herself, she sat back and kept her attention on the sky. She smiled at the bright moon and navy sky. “At least it’s pretty out tonight.”
“I love stargazing! We both do!” Muffins nudged the Doctor, adding in a wink. “Don’t we, Doc?”
The Doctor blinked, but then his face lit up with a toothy grin. “Yeah, it’s always a good experience. So many sights to see just by looking up. Wonderful, innit?”
Roseluck shrugged. “I guess.”
“Aww, c’mon. Wouldn’t you like to see what’s out there?” Muffins held her face against her hooves. “I bet there’s a lot to see.”
`“I never really thought about it. I’ve always just been a flower pony.”
Muffins’s lips pursed, but then her face lit up. “There’s probably lots of planets that have tons of cool plants and junk. You think so, Doctor?”
Doctor Hooves shot her a look, which she only giggled at. He rolled his eyes and said, “There are… I’m assuming billions upon billions of planets out there. I doubt even we ponies have seen all of them.”
Roseluck smiled. “I can’t imagine whatever sort of other flowers there could be.”
“Want me to... think of some?”
Roseluck glanced at him. And she laughed at his giant eyes, how excited and interested he looked. “I guess. What could there be?”
“Let’s see… imagine it. Flowers that change color and size, depending on the season—yes, ones that can last all year. But they hide away for a year before coming back, so it’s one year they’re there, another gone. Or perhaps you’ll like these sunflower-like ones that dance in the sunlight—literally, dance! They know all sorts of dance moves!”
Roseluck could practically feel her eyes lighting up. The images popped into her head, she imagined herself reaching out in front of her, and she could feel their petals right in front of her. She grinned at him. “You should write a book. Those sound amazing.”
He shrugged, but his rather smug smirk stayed. “You never know.”
Muffins went from keeping her eyes on different parts of the street, and floated over to them. “Oohh, we make such a good team,” she said, putting a hoof around each of them and pulling them into a side hug. “If only this didn’t take so long… I know! You should tell me about what happened with the Isos.”
“I didn’t tell you already?” the Doctor gawked. He scoffed under his breath. “Blimey, I’ve told you plenty stories, can’t believe I never brought it up.”
Muffins leaned toward them. “Well, now we have all night, so go ahead!” She rested her head above her hooves, silently pleading at the pair of them.
“You can start with that, Roseluck,” the Doctor said, pointing to her, “seeing as you and your friends were the victims of that.”
Roseluck pressed her lips together and quickly peered over the edge. “Well, it was really weird, when we saw what happened. Me and the others woke up, and all of our flowers were just… they were gone! I mean, most of them. There were a few left, but we had no idea what happened to the others. We just started panicking, but once we relaxed, we knew we had to find out what to do. We’d lose business if we kept losing flowers!”
“And that’s where I came in!” Doctor Whooves interrupted with great pride in his voice. Muffins noticed this, too, and giggled under her hoof. He failed to hear her and continued, “I remember inspecting the fields, and I had noticed a strange smell in the air. Like a mix of copper and oranges, of all things. A weird combination, but it was pretty nice, frankly.”
“What did that mean?” Muffins asked, eyes glowing.
“That was just the scent of the creatures, and when they took the flowers, they left it behind. They took them to get home, so when she told me about what happened, I had Roseluck follow me through the forest to find them.”
“We didn’t go into the forest, thank goodness. But we had these weird glasses that could tell you where they were. They were… really tiny.” Roseluck placed her hooves close together, inches apart.
“Blink, and you miss it!” He grinned. “Yes. They could only be seen by the radiation that hovered around them due to their traveling. That’s why I had them, to find them! Yeah, once we found them flying toward a bridge, it took a little convincing to get them out, but I think we did a good job.”
“I didn’t really do much,” she pointed out with a raising of an eyebrow in disbelief.
“You helped!” he exclaimed in slight protest, perking up his muzzle. “You convinced the Isos to change modes of transportation and find flowers in the Everfree Forest to use instead.”
She gave him a casual shrug. “I would hate to see all of our work just gone, so I had to say something. Plus, there are tons of flowers in the forest, like the blue anemones and beardless iris.” Roseluck thought about it for a moment then added, “They were actually pretty easy going about the change. I guess they just needed something to take them home. Though one of them really liked the blue flower." She giggled. "It was practically spinning around. At least, I'm pretty sure."
“That’s awesome!” Muffins’ face lit up like a young foal on Hearth’s Warming. She even clapped. “There has to be more stuff we can talk about.”
Roseluck laughed behind her hooves. “You could tell me some adventures you two have been on. I guess you guys have seen a lot of stuff.”
“Oh, Muffins doesn’t want to hear those again.” He threw a dismissive wave, laying back to avoid her gaze. “Besides, we should pay attention to the streets.”
“Nu-uh! They probably sound better the second time.” Muffins lay back, placing her head over the edge of the roof and turning her head over her shoulder to look at the Doctor. “More stories! And I am watching the streets, promise!”
“Watch your head, Muffins!” Roseluck shouted, flailing her front hooves.
Muffins giggled. “Oh, I’m fine. Now, lesse. Oh!” She brought her hooves together. “Doc, you gotta tell her the story of the time… “
Roseluck kept her gaze downward, only looking to the side every so often to look at the Doctor or Muffins. And even then, her ears listened on with intent. His stories were filled with detail and lore that reminded her of glorious, world building novels. Visits to other parts of Equestria, through forests and even across the sea at one point. Yet they always returned to Ponyville, no matter how far they went.
As time wore on, and the night became pitch black, she saw that Muffins had fallen asleep as the Doctor finished his latest story, and Muffins curled by the window that led them to the roof as he went on. Something about sea ponies and a shotgun wedding with a crowd of thousands, only to be interrupted by an old lover stepping out. Straight out of a romance novel, she thought with a hint of awe.
“Doctor,” Roseluck whispered to catch his attention. She pointed at Muffins when he stopped. “Should, uh, we wake her up?”
The Doctor glanced at her. “Nah, let her sleep. She has been working hard the past few days. What with this and her job and her family, I’m surprised she still manages to join us. Since she’s often busy, she can’t really join in as much.”
Roseluck noticed him drifting off, but smiled. “She seems like a great friend.”
“Sweet mare, she is,” the Doctor said, smiling at the sleeping pegasus. “She was friendly towards me right from the start. As-as soon as I came to Ponyville, of course. She helped me get used to things, you could say.”
“Oh, did something bad happen?”
The Doctor did not respond, his focus fading. And it hurt her heart like every other time he did that. Only this time, she wanted to know. She was dying to find out. She gulped away her fear as best as she could.
“Did I, uh, do something wrong?” Roseluck blushed. Oh, that still sounds bad! Dang it! ”God, I’m sorry, I’m just… wondering.”
“No, no no no no,” he repeated in a hurry, even waving his hooves. He grimaced at her. “I never meant to make you think that. No, it’s not you, Roseluck. Not even close. You’re perfectly fine. Wonderful, even. Real smart, too.”
She brushed off the compliment with a dismissive wave. “Okay, okay. Then, um, is everything okay?” He didn’t respond, keeping quiet again. Her curiosity only grew, and she couldn’t help herself. “Did this guy take a friend of yours?”
A shake of the head, and he said, “Nah, it was—it was something else.” Roseluck saw his eyes wander to the skies, zoning out so far away. She followed his gaze only to see the glittering stars, and she wondered what he saw beyond that.
“I-I’m sorry,” she muttered, looking back at his spaced out expression. Would he even hear her?
He swallowed a lump in his throat, those brilliant blue eyes returning to reality as he blinked. “‘S fine. Nothing you could control. Something I couldn’t possibly control, either.” He sighed. “If only…”
Roseluck gulped, and rather than let the awkwardness continue, said, looking down, “So have you seen anything? I haven’t seen anything suspicious all night. It’s hard to see.”
“Nope. And surely, we would’ve heard something. Unless they took a different route…” He brushed the back of his head. “But how they planned to come into down, without expecting some sort of ponies watching out, does confuse me.”
That’s when she heard it, and she jerked up. A sweet melody flowed through the air, a haunting aria. Yet it was still beautiful, and she zoned out. Only when the Doctor called out her name, shaking her shoulder a touch, did she wake up.
“Music? Somepony playing so late?” Roseluck muttered, her ears twitching as she tilted her head about to find the direction of the noise.
“Sounds like a flute,” the Doctor noted, his eyebrows perked up, but she could see the shock . Perching his hoof on his forehead, he scanned the town for the source, as well. Both came up with nothing, not a single flute player in sight. “But where?”
“It’s somewhere out there. Far out of town.” The Doctor pointed out, then shouted, “Muffins, wake up! We need to get going, fast! That could be them.”
No response.
“Muffins?”
They looked to the Doctor’s side where they expected Muffins to be snoring in a peaceful sleep. Yet she had disappeared, slipping away from them without a noise. The window, before shut once they found the spot on the roof, was wide open, bubble printed curtains billowing inside. They were quick to get up and search the ground and even the sky.
“Where did—?”
“Doctor!” Roseluck screeched in desperation. She pointed and shouted, “There!”
The Doctor followed her hoof and saw Muffins flying in the street. She was heading toward the edge of town.
The music swelled, rising to a B note rather than a lower one. And she bent down to pick up the bag of fake money to place it into her mouth. Somewhere out there, the melody softened before she started heading out to Ponyville, and the other two watched in horror as she flew away.
“She wouldn’t,” Roseluck whispered.
“Of course she wouldn’t,” the Doctor objected, his words coming out in a rush as he watched. “I’ve known her this long, and it just isn’t in her nature. So it’s not her, but something with the music.” Realization washed over the Doctor’s face, with horror etched in his features. “No, no, no, no! Muffins! C’mon!” He raced to the roof window, running downstairs.
Roseluck trotted after him, but he was already heading out of Ponyville by the time she reached the street.
She looked around as she followed him. No signs of Soothing Tunes. Her stomach twisted. The plan failed. Herplan failed. And she and the Doctor were running to stop their friend from becoming a pawn in Soothing Tune’s game.
I can’t do anything right, can I? she thought with a bitter taste in her mouth. As she began catching up to the Doctor, she could hear his frantic voice calling out to his close friend.
“Muffins!”
She didn’t say a word, not even a single muscle twitched in response. She continued flying farther and farther, and with each fluttering of her wings, the distance between them increased. Even as the Doctor and Roseluck hurried their pace, they failed to catch up to her.
They left Ponyville behind and began heading toward the Everfree forest. Roseluck could feel her stomach clenching up.
By the time they reached the forest, Muffins had vanished deep inside. Not a pony to be seen. Roseluck looked around, hoping for a sign that she went in any other direction but north.
All that was around them, however, was Fluttershy’s empty, unlit cottage. The Doctor looked inside, his teeth bared. His expression tight and furious, he turned away with a swipe of his leg against the wall.
And he took a few steps toward the forest.
Rose caught her breath, as well as the Doctor’s movement. She gasped.
“Doctor, no!” she urged, grabbing him by his foreleg before she could think.
“What?!” he barked.
Roseluck skidded to a stop, and it took him a moment to realize she stopped following him. He looked over his shoulder, and her heart stuttered. Her mouth went dry, words failing her.
His eyes were wild, dark with fury and seething vengeance. Roseluck stepped back, feeling her back tremble. The stallion before her changed within seconds, turning into this angry, intimidating stranger. And she couldn’t turn from his haunting gaze. Tears stung her eyes.
“We-we can’t go in there now.” She stood in his path, those dark eyes still staring daggers at her, even if they had softened. “It’s too dark to see anything! You’ll just be… wandering around, and you’ll never be able to find her like that! We need to wait until tomorrow!”
“I’ll take my chances.” He marched forward.
Panic sent shocks through her body, but she pressed onward.
“Doctor, please, it-it-it’ll be okay. We’ll find her, I promise—”
“Oh, we will.”
“But not like this!”
He continued onward. And realizing where they were, Roseluck stopped cold in her tracks. She tried to call for the Doctor, but her voice was lost, trapped in her own throat. Biting back her fear, she ran into the Everfree Forest.
The shadows followed her. That was what she thought, at least. Every corner of the forest, no source of light could be found. She slowed her hoofsteps. “Doctor? Doctor Hooves?” she whispered in the dark forest.
A silhouette of a stallion appeared in her vision. At the same time, a creature crawled from a horde of bushes. The creature let out strange noises, its pincers opening and closing, and the stallion turned around, his eyes a brilliant blue.
“Doctor, we need to go now. Please,” she pleaded in a murmur.
He failed to listen. Again. She groaned and started walking toward him. Even as he continued forward, she followed after him, muttering his name with a slight beg. The deeper they would dive into the forest, the more horrors they’d face. Just the thought made fear grab at her heart.
Then the creature stood in front of her, directly between her and Doctor Hooves. A giant spider, furry with beady red eyes staring into her soul. She backtracked and froze. Her body could not move any longer. She thought of those sharp teeth, that noise it made with said teeth, the pincers. Inches from her skin.
It reached out to her.
“Doctor!” she screeched.
With his head turning over his shoulder, the Doctor’s anger extinguished enough to show a tired stallion underneath, whirling around to face her. She shut her eyes moments after. She expected fangs to dig into her, or the spider to drag her deeper into the forest, lost forever--
But nothing happened.
She opened one eye, and above her, the Doctor stood. He offered her a hoof, and she took it. Only then did she noticed that she was shaking, that she had fallen on her flank. As she observed his face, she saw the darkness in his eyes fading, his icy blue eyes returning. His breathing was still unsteady, however, and Rose even saw a few pieces of his hair sticking out of place.
He gestured at the spider, which backed away, and she almost swore it looked guilty. It poked at its pincers. Even if it did, she decided not pay further attention to it.
“The giant spiders here are surprisingly friendly at the edge of the forest. It just wanted to say hello, although I can see how you’d think otherwise,” he said, although his voice was void of any pride or cheer, as opposed to when he went on and on about various facts.
“Doctor, I know this is bad, but something good came out of this.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “How is this a good thing?”
It took all her strength to speak up, her mind scrambling for the pieces. “T-t-t-the music. It’s the music that takes them. While they’re sleeping, Soothing Tunes plays a song that hypnotizes ponies randomly and lures them to the forest. We know this now! I-if we stop him, we can free everyone!” She steadied her breathing. “But-but we can’t do that… not right now. It’s too dangerous out in the dark like this. We have no idea where we could go! Please.” Her voice cracked at the end.
“We go in there. Tomorrow, after getting some rest, we’re going into the forest. No more games.” Though his determined voice did not waver, his hardened mask broke in the end.
She began to grow hesitant and observed the entrance to the forest, began to think of excuses to not go. Noises of chittering, mysterious animals echoed from inside, and the night only made it more ominous.
But the Doctor’s worried expression crossed her vision, and she thought of Daisy, Lily, and now Muffins. Somewhere in that creepy place, held captive by a selfish, greedy musician…
Sucking in a breath, she said, “Okay. Tomorrow.”