//------------------------------// // 5: A Low Note // Story: The Rhythm of Love // by lockheed //------------------------------// I sat on my bed and watched the horizon out my window. It was almost time for the sunrise. I had always loved seeing the sunrise. It had been two days since I had talked to Lyra. They had all came and went again, the three of them trying to persuade me to let them in. Saturdays were usually the days that I slept in but this one was different. I'd been unable to sleep at all that night, so I figured I might as well stay up and watch the sun come up. The sky began to get lighter on the horizon and the birds started singing in the trees. On the nightstand sat my record player, an old vinyl record still turning with a small pop every second or so from the needle hitting the end of the record. I reached over and lifted the needle off the record. No sense in wearing out the needle if I didn't need to. The first rays of the morning sun appeared over the horizon and shined down on Ponyville. I watched it with a sad smile and a heavy heart. Not a bad sunrise for a Friday morning. As I sat and thought about what I'd planned for that day, I thought about all the things that had to go along with it. Find somepony to feed the cats for me, I had to run by city hall and pay the water bill, have Derpy hold my mail at the post office, make sure all the money from the cash register was in the safe. Damn, there was more to do than I thought. A knocking on the front door made me turn and look towards the hallway. Getting up, I trotted out and heard somepony shuffle a bit on their hooves on the other side of the door. I stole a quick glance through the peephole and saw Lyra standing there. "Lyra!" I shouted as I flung open the door. She jumped back, clearly not expecting that kind of reception, and I quickly pulled her into a hug. "It's good to see you. Hey, um, can I ask you a favor?" She looked at me and then nodded her head, confused about my sudden mood change. "Awesome. Can you maybe take care of my cats for a few days? They're no trouble really. Just put some food out in the morning and the evening and check their water. Maybe scoop the litter box every other day but other than that they're really low maintenance." "Where are you going?" She asked as she followed me inside the apartment. "Oh, there's a, uh, expo in Manehattan for earth pony friendly instruments. I figured I'd go there and see what they have. Maybe some of those in the shop would bring more ponies in. Not very many earth ponies looking to buy a grand piano after all." I told her. Wow, I was amazed how fast I could think up a lie. If my plan failed then maybe I could go into politics. "Yeah, I know I haven't seen many earth ponies or pegasi that play the lyre. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you to learn the piano." She replied as I fed the cats for the morning. "Alright. Well they're good for this morning so you shouldn't have to worry about them until this evening. I still have a few errands to run before I leave if you'd like to join me." I offered as the cats entered the kitchen and began eating. "Nah, I really should get back to the shop. Bon Bon needs help wrapping some new candies she made last night." Lyra said and we headed over to the door for me to show her out. I opened the door and she was about to leave when I grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. "I'm gonna miss you." I told her as I squeezed her in my forelegs. "Rhythm, it's just going to be a few days. It's not like you're dying." She said with a small laugh at my action. "Yeah but, Manehattan isn't known for ponies not getting mugged. You never know who might pull a knife on ya there." I said as we broke the hug. We both nodded at that and I smiled at her as she started down the stairs and then wandered down the street towards the candy shop. Once she was out of sight, I went down to the shop and opened the cash register. I pulled out all the money and put it in a paper bag. Now that it was in the bag, I carried it back upstairs to the safe in grandpa's old office where I locked it inside. Now that that was done I could head for the post office and then city hall. I checked my saddlebags before I left the house and made sure that I had everything I needed for the day. Bits for the water bill, string, bait; it was all there. Perfect. With a sigh, I walked outside and shut the door. I opened the door of the post office and smiled to the grey mare behind the counter. "Good morning, Derpy." I said as I sat in front of the counter. She smiled back as she swallowed a bite of her late breakfast. "Good morning, Rhythm. I think I already dropped off your mail for the day." She said as she put the lid on the plastic container of muffins that sat in front of her. "Actually, I'm here cause I'm gonna need you to hold all my mail until further notice." I told her as I slipped the saddlebags off my back. Derpy looked at me a bit funny as I sat up my bags to keep them from spilling. "Are you going on a trip?" She asked me as she set the container of muffins on a shelf under the counter. "Of sorts. Manehattan for an instrument expo." I explained. Her mouth formed an O as she nodded in understanding. "That makes sense." She said before picking up a pencil with her teeth and writing a note to hold my mail there. A gentle tap sound came from her side of the counter as she set the pencil down and smiled at me. "Is that all you needed?" She asked, her smile making me almost feel bad for what I had planned. "Yeah, I think so." I replied as I slipped my saddlebags back on. She stopped whatever she was doing and looked at me across the counter. I noticed her stare and looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. "Are you alright?" Derpy asked me as she came around to stand in front of me. I fidgeted slightly but not enough for her to notice. "Fine. Peachy as pie!" I told her. Wow, if I had a bit for every time I'd lied and told somepony that I was fine, I'd never have to work again. She seemed to think it over a she watched me, looking for the slightest hint of lying. "If you say so." She said before returning to her seat behind the counter. I started to leave but paused as I opened the door. Turning back to face her, I saw Derpy look up from whatever she was looking at on the desk. "Derpy, what made you ask if I was alright?" I asked her. I know the few ponies that I talk to ask that, but Derpy and I had never really talked this much. "Your eyes." She replied as she made eye contact with me. "My eyes?" I asked with a bit of skepticism and curiosity in my voice. "They look sad. Even when you smile." Derpy said with a small frown on her face. "If you ever need somepony to talk to, just let me know." I nodded and left the post office, my brain working overtime to figure out how my eyes could look sad. They said the eyes are the windows to the soul but that was just ridiculous. There was no way you could tell somepony's emotions by their eyes. Was there? And her offer of talking to her, there was no way I could accept it. My problems stayed with me. I didn't need to be bringing somepony else down by telling them my problems. What if they didn't even understand? What if they laughed at me? What if they spread it through town that I was weak? No. There was no way I could ask somepony for help. It was all in that natural selection thing they taught us in school. Those who can care and fend for themselves survived. Asking for help was weakness. Or so I thought anyways. With all the thoughts running through my head, I didn't notice that I had reached the edge of the Everfree Forest until the loud cawing of a raven snapped me from my whirlpool of thoughts. And now that I was there, it was time to get down to business. I opened up my saddle bags and pulled out the string and the jar of revolting smelling bait that sat next to it. After a few minutes, I had a couple pieces of the bait tied to my saddlebags and a small necklace of the vile things around my neck. But if my plan worked then I would only have to deal with the smell for a few minutes after wandering in. Any pony who lives in Ponyville knows not to venture into the Everfree Forest. It's something they teach you from foalhood. All sorts of creatures lurked in there like manticores, hydras, and timber wolves. The kinds of creatures that could tear a pony to shreds in an instant. And that was exactly the plan. The bait that I had brought was a special type used to attract those kinds of creatures. And with my necklace of it, once something moved in then it would be extremely quick. With a deep breath and a quick glance back at Ponyville, I began my trek into the forest. It wasn't so bad at the edge of it where sunlight could still get through the treetops but the further in I wandered, the darker and scarier the forest became. Glowing eyes watched me from the shadows and insects as big as my hoof flew around, only to be caught in the web of a spider that looked almost as big as my head. I continued to make my way further into the forest and I could hear rustling sounds from the bushes around me. I knew what these sounds were. It was something stalking its prey. A predator had found its next meal and now began the hunt that would lead to it. That, was the sound of my death. I stopped in my tracks and stood, waiting for the creature in the bushes to appear. But when I stopped, it stopped. I started walking again and the rustling in the bushes resumed. I knew what this thing wanted. It didn't just want a hunt, it wanted a chase. With that, I began galloping as fast as I could and from behind me came a loud thundering sound as the creature chased me. I turned my head to see what it was and was met by two timber wolves running after me as fast as they could. While I was looking back, I'd failed to notice the tree root sticking up from the ground before my hoof snagged it and made me fall forwards. Now they had me. I heard a loud snarling as one jumped and landed with its forelegs on either side of me. It wasted no time in biting down on my back left leg, its teeth virtually shredding it. I screamed out in pain as dark red blood sprayed all over and began to pool under my leg, several arteries and veins being severed by the creature's teeth. That was not how this was supposed to go. The other had by now joined its comrade and had one of its paws resting on my side. I was breathing heavily by now, the pain being replaced by numbness as my body went into shock. From the corner of my eye, I watched its claws sink into my side then be dragged down as it sliced me open. When it pulled its claws out, I heard the a wet flopping sound of what I could only expect to be my guts spilling out onto the ground. Just as I began to slip from consciousness, I heard one yelp as if in pain and the other quickly began running away, a bolt of purple magic chasing after it. My eyes closed and I let out a sigh of contentment as a distant voice called after me. There was a distant beeping sound as I felt myself coming to. As the beeping got more and more clear, I became more aware of other things as well. Things like an oxygen tube in my nose and the disgusting smell of a hospital. I may not have liked germs but the sterile smell of hospital just about made me want to puke. Not to mention that the last time I had smelled a hospital, it was when grandpa's health went down just before he died. After the oxygen tube and the smell, I noticed the sound of music. The subtle crackling of a vinyl record on a turntable was one of the sweetest sounds in the world to me. Almost as sweet as the music really. After the sound of the spinning vinyl, I noticed what song it was that was playing. It was my favorite song. The one that had been my grandma and grandpa's song and the one that had shattered when Test Tube stayed the night. It was the old version of At Last. The silky smooth voice of a mare singing made the corner of my mouth twitch almost to a grin as I listened. My eyelids felt far too heavy to open but I kept trying and I finally managed to peek them open just enough to see that I was in fact in the hospital. Looking from the corner of my eye, I saw a record player sitting by the window where sunlight poured in through the open blinds. And then as my eyes looked the other way, I saw something I didn't expect to. There, sound asleep and looking like he hadn't left his chair for days, was Test Tube.