A Rabbit Hearted Mare

by MissytheAngle


Chapter Four: Soothing Tunes

Chapter Four

Soothing Tunes

Roseluck sulked into Daisy’s house. It was the first one the Doctor wished to check out. And really, with one house or the either, she wasn’t delighted to check inside for clues about a kidnapping. She did her best to block out the scenarios in her head as the Doctor observed the living room.

He checked every surface within the small room, and then some. Under the couch, in the bookshelves and in the books themselves, flipping through pages of flora and fauna. He peeked behind and then inside a desk drawer.

“What are you looking for?” she asked. She cringed as he opened a drawer.

His head appeared from the drawers and brushed his hair back. “Looking for anything out of place. Does this seem odd for her to have?”

In his hoof was a notebook paper, scrawled in bold ink writing. Roseluck took a look at the details, then at the very bottom. She snickered under her hoof. “No, this is just a letter she wrote to Noteworthy the other day. They write to each other a lot.” She took the letter in her own grasp, reading through it with nosy eyes. “Unless talking about their book club is anything suspicious.” She gave a weak laugh.

The Doctor shrugged and continued his search. And finally, as he dug into her note drawers further, she bit her lip. And she couldn’t hold it in anymore. Stepping forward, she said softly, “She really likes to keep things neat. She’ll be really upset if you keep throwing things around.”

“Well, I think she’ll understand our intentions.”

Roseluck opened her mouth, but arguing about Daisy’s house items felt so small compared to the situation at hand. Shyly backing away, she shut her mouth again and let him look around some more. And based on the exasperated look he wore every few seconds, she had a feeling this was getting nowhere.

“Let’s try upstairs,” he sighed and marched up the stairs. She hurried after him, her stomach clenching as hope faded further and further. As if each step made it slowly vanish. By the time she reached the top, the Doctor was already inside Daisy’s bathroom, tossing aside shower curtains and opening the cabinet drawers.  

Roseluck peered inside, and everything was as she last saw it. “I doubt there’s anything in here…” she whispered.

“Well, can’t hurt to check.” He even checked the top of the toilet, which made her roll her eyes a bit.

They investigated the room for anything out of place. Roseluck assumed he was checking for a clue of another pony who invaded the house, let it be a mane strand, dirtied carpets, etcetera.

Roseluck, for the most part, made quick glances in small corners. She thought back to when she last came into this room, when she was sure everything could be okay. Only it wasn’t, and now she was helping this odd stallion solve a sort of mystery. With a blink, she caught herself looking into a book. Dawn, a romance novel that was about as romantic as sandpaper.

“There really is nothing, Doctor,” she emphasized, slamming the book shut. “I don’t know if the other houses were messed up, too, but I doubt anything’s actually been done in here.” She pondered something, eyeing the book in her hold. She squinted. “Why… why check every corner, though? I mean, would the pony leave clues?”

“No, I was sort of hoping something would be left behind. Anything, anything! But… yes, every single house I’ve seen so far has been…” As if something dawned on him, he stopped his searching. She walked over to him, catching his wide eyes, that blank expression.  “It’s spotless. Completely spotless.”

“So what does it mean?”

“There’s not a single sign of a struggle whatsoever. Not a scuffle, nothing tossed out of place in defiance or-or anything. It’s baffling, like there wasn’t even a kidnapping.” He ran a hoof through his mane.

“So all those ponies just decided to-to leave Ponyville? Just like that?” As she said it, she grimaced, realizing her logic crumbled like dried leaves. Daisy and Lily wouldn’t just leave me like that! Never! None of them would leave out of nowhere, right?

“No, no no.” The Doctor shook his head vigorously. “There’s certainly something going on, but it’s something I’ll never quite figure out. It’s—” He blinked, and Roseluck spotted the burst of inspiration lighting in his eyes, but his expression did not make her feel any comfort. He looked rather tired. “It’s not your typical sort of kidnapping.”

“Wait, what do you mean?”

The Doctor burrowed his face into his hoof, groaning. “It’s the work of magic that has to do with them all going missing. I mean, it all adds up to that, but what magic and who performed the magic are still questions, among many, I might add, that aren’t answered yet. And there are too many spells to even consider.”

“We’d still need to find out where they are, too,” Roseluck added.

“Yes,” he said, sighing. “So there’s no knowing how they not only kidnapped them, but what they’ve done with them now.”

“Y-you think somepony… might hurt them?” Her voice quivered. “That they’ll do something to them?”

“No, no, no—well, I can’t say no, but we can hope they won’t. So let’s put that at a maybe, alright?”

Roseluck didn’t respond. She sat on her rump and sighed.

The Doctor straightened up and approached her, eyebrows knitted down. “You alright? Oh!” Realization dawned on his face. “I was rude again, wasn’t I?”

Roseluck nodded, eyes meeting his. “No, no, I get it. It’s fine. Just… tell me they’ll be okay. All of them, please. I…” She stopped talking, unable to finish her sentence out loud. How she needed them.

His mouth opened in an ‘o’ shape, and he lowered himself, as well, to meet her at eye level. “Roseluck, Roseluck, I told you. I’ll do everything to get everyone back home safe. Safe and sound, every single one of them. Your friends, the others. That’s a promise.”

Roseluck nodded, but hung her head in a bit of shame. He told me this already. Why can’t I stop worrying about something awful happening to them? “Ponies aren’t that bad. They wouldn’t do anything serious, I’m sure,” she murmured.

When she looked back up, he was smiling. “I’m sure. Now.” He stepped back, his expression stern again. “There’s nothing in this house either.” He jerked his head to the side, gesturing to the doorway, and Roseluck took the sign quickly. And they trotted down the stairs.

“So the other houses didn’t have anything, either?”

“There was nothing in Amethyst Star’s, Raindrop’s, or Pokey Pierce’s house. At this point, house searching hasn’t been helpful at all. We need to think of something else.” Wrinkles in his features appeared, and he shook his head. “But there’s bound to be something, somewhere.”  

Once they exited the house, Muffins flew through the street. She spotted them but kept flying, speeding by them. She let out a squeal and threw her hooves in the air. Stopping mid-flight, she turned back, panting.  

“Doc! There was a letter on the Mayor’s doorstep!”

Doctor Hooves looked shocked for a second. “Oh, well, what about it?”

“You should read it. It’s… it’s about the disappearances, she said!” Muffins exclaimed, eyes tiny. “I haven’t read it, but I was thinking you should first! C’mon!” Without warning, she took grip of the Doctor’s fetlock and dragged him to the Mayor’s building.

“Ack! Muffins, please!”

Roseluck hesitated, her hooves tapping the ground before she decided to follow them.

Mayor Mare stood in front of the building, holding the aforementioned note in her hooves. Upon their arrival, she glanced at them, eyes widening. “Oh, thank goodness. Doctor, can you take a look at this?”

She was waiting for him? Roseluck wondered, but then she said aloud to Mayor Mare, “So I guess the Doctor’s pretty big around town.”

Mayor Mare turned to her with a knowing grin. “When the Elements of Harmony are away, he’s proven to be a pony to call for when trouble arises. When he’s not wandering off.” She rolled
her eyes, her smile becoming more playful.

Doctor Hooves side eyed her. “Yes, yes, now let’s see that letter.”
 
Once Mayor Mare handed him the note, Muffins flew to the Doctor’s side. “What does it say?” Muffins asked, peeking over his shoulder to read the letter. She tilted her head, eyes darting back and forth.

Roseluck watched them both read it over. He scanned it once, then a second time but with furrowed brows. Her heart sank as his expression tightened into one of pure anger. Muffins finished it shortly after, and backtracked with her hooves over her mouth. “Oh my gosh!”

She hesitated to ask. “Wh-what’s in it?”

He lowered the letter, eyes sharp and darkened. He shot a glance at the mayor. “How did this letter get to you? Did someone send it to you? Anyone suspicious?”

Roseluck praised Mayor Mare for not folding under that intimidating glare. She simply replied, “No, actually. The letter was tacked onto the door a while ago, if I had to guess. There were no witnesses that noticed somepony doing so, either. Whoever it was must’ve slipped in and out with ease. Doctor, whatever’s done this, they know what they’re doing.”

The Doctor exhaled through his nostrils. “I’m aware. Search the town for anything suspicious. And take a small search team toward the forest, but don’t go in it. We don’t want to lose anyone else, in case that’s where this thing’s hidden.” He crinkled the paper when his grasp tightened, and it slipped from his hoof as he walked over to Mayor Mare.

Roseluck watched the letter float to ground. Muffins flew over to the Doctor, patting his shoulder and muttering unintelligible words of what Roseluck assumed were comfort and reassurance. It only made a surprising burst of curiosity burn within her, and she took the letter. And she started to read it.

It’s been a long time since I’ve come to Ponyville, but I’m not here for pleasantries. I’ll try to make this short. You ponies have something that you owe me.

Money. Lots of it. And I intend to get it back. And here’s how.

I have ponies held captive, and don’t plan on trying to find them. The second you’re seen, you’ll be next. I request two thousand bits to be placed at the edge of the town. Don’t try to play games with traps, either. I’m a stallion who is familiar with my work.

If you choose not to, or perhaps the money is unavailable at the time, then I understand. But understand that those ponies I took with me are not leaving anytime soon unless I receive that money back. I will not be returning them until two thousand bits are within my grasp.

Let’s do this peacefully. No one has to get hurt.

Soothing Tunes

Rose’s hooves shook.

No one has to get hurt.

The words on the paper looked strange to her now. She was blessed when the paper was taken from her hooves. Muffins appeared right beside her, but she barely addressed with her a quick sideways glance.

“He actually put his name, too” Muffins noted, tilting the paper on different sides. “Wow, he’s pretty sure of himself. Soothing Tunes…” She squinted.  

Ponies stood all around them, the news of the situation at hand catching their attention. Some looked horrified, and others had furious looks on their faces. Cries and shouts of different thoughts of the problem arose into the gentle and quiet town.  

“Can’t we just give him the money?”

“And what’ll that teach him? That capturing ponies will give him money?” another pony suggested with slight hope in his tone.

“We’re not a buncha teachers! Geez!” one groaned.

They all shouted, a crowd searching for some sort of justice coming together. Their sentences faded, only ringing in her ears. There were too many ponies around her right now. If they noticed her shutting her eyes, they did not say anything to her about it. And throughout it all, the letter’s words still banged in her ears.

Captive. Disappear. Hurt. Hurt, hurt! Oh please don’t…

“Roseluck? Roseluck!”

Her eyes snapped open. Muffins and the Doctor stood right in front of her. She had no idea who spoke, but both of their gazes look concerned.

“Are you okay? You zoned out!” Muffins exclaimed, throwing her hooves into the air.

Roseluck nodded her head. “Y-yeah. Sorry, I—yeah, I zoned out. It’s okay.” Their worried expressions stayed, with the Doctor looking a bit dubious, as well. She shook her head. “Do you still have the letter?”  

He didn’t say anything for a moment, but then cleared his throat. “Yes. And we have a bit to talk about it.” He rose his hoof, revealing the letter in his grasp. “Muffins, can we head to your house to discuss this?”

Muffins clapped her hooves. “Yes! I even have these tasty biscuits from the market, if you’re still hungry.” She walked over to Roseluck and wrapped a hoof around her. “C’mon, let’s go. I think you need it.”

“I… maybe… maybe I should go home now.”

Muffins’s eyes widened. “What? But we’re getting closer! You can help us!”

“How?”  

Muffins shrugged. “I dunno, but we can see how it goes.” She smiled again. “Please? The biscuits have strawberry filling!”

Roseluck hesitated, and then looked at Doctor Hooves, who smiled as well. Their kind smiles, and Daisy and Lily wandered in her mind. She nodded. “Okay, I’ll join you guys.”

***

Doctor Hooves began pushing a hoof through his mane, only to make an exasperated noise and smack said his face against the table. Their snacks shook, but Muffins and Roseluck said nothing. They scarcely exchanged glances as they waited. While waiting, they took turns looking over the letter as they ate the biscuits.

Roseluck looked over several particular lines but said nothing. Instead, she heard the Doctor clear his throat, and she picked her head up.

He was adjusting his tie. “Sorry, just… despite this bit of evidence, it helps so little!” He picked up the piece of paper and smacked it. “Nothing! All we figured out is that the kidnapper has taken them during night time, and that he has them somewhere nearby, taking them away with magic. And for what? Money! It doesn’t change.”

“What doesn’t change?” Roseluck said, raising a brow in question.

The Doctor blinked then shrugged. “Well, in a sort of humble town like this, you’d think ponies would be less… superficial. That’s all. But nope.”

“We could just try to use a search team to find them,” Muffins offered, hoof in the air like she was in a classroom. She then scratched her cheek. “It’d be hard to start off, though.”

“They can’t be far, though,” Roseluck whispered, staring into her drink.

“Huh?”

“She has a point, Muffins,” the Doctor spoke up for her, which surprised her, considering she spoke quietly. She let him go on, though. “The pony tacked that note right in Ponyville. So they can’t be too far to track.”

“Doc! You don’t think… that they’re in the Everfree Forest, do you? It would be way too good a hiding place,” Muffins suggested, her pupils shrinking.

Rose’s face paled as she thought of Daisy and Lily in that treacherous forest. The monsters she’s heard of from stories, rumors that could very easily be true.  

“Yes, it’s highly likely, but considering the things seen in there, having a whole bunch of ponies in there doesn’t sound safe. So he’s got to be hiding himself and the others somewhere. A hole in the ground, a cave, or even try to make a treehouse, of all things!” He leaned onto the table, hooves holding his head as he lowered it slightly. “Somewhere to trap them.”

“So you’re just gonna walk into that horrible place? Is that safe?” Roseluck blurted, eyes growing wide at the concept.

“It’d be tricky. That’d take days to search,” the Doctor muttered. “That place is nothing in comparison to what I’ve seen—it’s a playground on the side, frankly! However, it’s a big space, especially for little ponies like us. And I’d rather not have you or Muffins here in the middle of that.”  

Muffins scoffed, still smiling. “I told you before, Doctor! I can handle myself just fine. But you’re still right.” She puckered her lips out. “Even if they are in there, it’s very big. So that doesn’t help.”

“There is something.”

All eyes were on Roseluck, causing her to shrink in her seat. The particular lines had come into her mind, but she had small hopes it would work. The Doctor gestured for her to continue, which she eventually did. She tapped her hooves together as she said, “Isn’t that pony going to come to town for the money? He said he wanted the money at the edge of Ponyville. Once he’s here, we can get him then, right?”

The Doctor sighed. “Yes, but he’s intent on hiding himself. So that would be… mighty risky, I’d say. Who knows what he’s capable of, if he kidnaps ponies for revenge schemes. Plus, we’re not even sure when this’ll happen. He’d want to do it when no one would notice.”

Rose backed away from the table, her face gradually lighting up. “The night time! The girls and I like to hang out at night to check on our gardens and watch the night sky, and almost always there’s hardly anyone out except for a few other ponies.”

“Not enough to really worry about, I’d assume?” the Doctor asked, but his smile told her he knew the answer.

“It’d to be too dark for anypony who wasn’t paying attention to notice him!” Muffins realized. “And the night lasts, well, all night. He can come at any time.”

“But we could if we’re watching out for him! The whole night!” Roseluck said, a smile painting her face.

“Are you suggesting a lookout?” the Doctor flashed a smirk, stepping closer to Roseluck.

Her excitement grew, and she wondered if it was obvious on her face. “Exactly, yeah! And once we find him, we can stop him.”

“Or even better; we can figure out how he’s taking them and where they all are, brilliant! God, why hadn’t I seen that? I’m really out of it with this one!” he exclaimed, a manic smile growing on his face as he threw up his hooves before his eyes met hers. “Wonderful, Roseluck. Knew you had it in you.”  

Roseluck turned her head to the floor to hide the wide grin on her face. “If it’ll save my friends.”

“That it will.” He turned to Muffins, his manic manner calming into a more somber tone. “We’ll set up a lookout tonight atop your house. It’s the closest to the edge of Ponyville, but we don’t have to worry about being seen. Don’t want to scare off him off.”

Muffins flew up, wings fluttering in a cheerful beat. “I’ll find some binoculars.”