The Horror of Happiness

by CrackedInkWell

Chapter 2: Tea Time

“What!” Double Diamond exclaimed, “You wouldn’t let Lovejoy join our community fully?”

Starlight Glimmer sighed, “Believe me, Diamond, as much as I don’t like this, the doctor has a point. He’s not sure how much longer he has to live, and having him go through the Equalization process in his frail state, I don’t know if he’ll even survive it. Besides, even if he does, what if he passes before he could get the chance to enjoy the life we’ve created?”

“But,” the pale pony’s eyes looked uneasily back and forth, “This isn’t right. How could you exclude him from our way of life? What if he’ll live for a couple more years?”

“And what if he’ll live for a couple of minutes?” the mare questioned as she looked out of her window towards the end of the street with the last house, where the village has gathered to move the elderly doctor’s things. “The thing is that neither he nor I have any clue how much time he has left. Not only that, but I don’t want the rest of the village to think that the Equalization process would be the source of his death. So... I think, for the time being, we just simply need to take care of him.”

“But, we could still teach him our ways, can’t we?”

Starlight gave a motherly grin as she turned to him, “Why, of course, we can. Just because he has a different cutie mark, doesn’t mean that he can’t learn about what makes this town so special. So for now, we’ll show him by example of what true friendship is really all about. If we’re lucky, maybe the good doctor will change his mind. But only when he says so.”

“That’s a great idea,” Diamond exclaimed, “Show by example! He’ll be joining us in no time.”

“We’ll have to see,” she looked back down at the last house on the right, “If our new friend might be up to it.”

---

By the time the sun was on the horizon, Lilly trotted over to Dr. Lovejoy’s new home. As she approached the front door, the yellow earth pony mare had to stop for a moment, for her ears had picked up something unusual. There was a sound that was coming from the house, a very beautiful sound that she hadn’t heard in years. It was a slow, dreamlike noise... she heard something that was truly rare. It was music being played on an instrument.

She knocked on the door, and it opened up to the orange stallion, “Well, hello again Lilly. Please do come in, I’ve just taken the kettle off the stove.” The mare did, and she was stunned when she walked through the door. Lovejoy noticed this and asked: “Is something the matter?”

Blinking, she replied, “This place is… luxurious. I’ve never seen more stuff in this home before.”

Raising an eyebrow, he looked at the converted living room. Yes, there was the row of books on the floor, several stacks of records lining up against the wall, a couch that came with the house, a simple table, a playing phonograph, a camera on a tripod, several photographs of nature scenes, a colorful rug, and Beethooven’s Moonlight Sonata playing. But other than those, the room was plain in his eyes.

“Why do you think so?”

“I mean, your library, and these photographs, not to mention all of these records too.”

“You mean to say that you don’t keep any records?”

Lilly shook her head, “The only phonograph we have in town belongs to Starlight Glimmer, but she only uses it for the Equalization House if anypony forgets about her brilliant philosophy.”

“But you don’t have records for pleasure, such as listening to music?”

“Not at all, we sing for music.”

The doctor stared at her before closing the door behind them, “Interesting… Well, would you care to sit down while I go get the tea?”

She told him that was fine. For a couple of minutes, she looked at the photographs that hung on the walls. Some were black and white, while others were in full color. They showed a variety of pictures from soft rolling fields of grain, to a forest of pine, a lonely sandy beach, even a still life of a park somewhere.

The doctor returned with a tray in his magic. A tray that held porcelain cups, little plates, a sugar bowl, and a teapot with a thick blue stripe and beside the cups were two silver teaspoons.

“Were you ever rich, Doctor Lovejoy?” Lilly asked politely.

“If you’re asking if I ever lived comfortably with the job I had, then indeed. Sugar?”

She gasped, “You have sugar? Then you really are rich.”

The doctor tilted his head, “First no music, and now no sugar?”

“Well, our little town is all based on the idea of equality. If there’s not much of anything to go around, it's simply banned.”

“Yet, I’m not exactly a citizen of your little town,” Lovejoy pointed out as he poured their share of the tea.

“That’s right, I’ve heard about your choice for not joining us. But I’m rather confused, what’s making you stopping from becoming part of the community?”

“Simply put, I’m dying and I don’t know how much time I have left. One lump or two?”

She put a hoof to her mouth, “Oh dear… sir… I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.”

The elderly stallion chuckled, “It’s perfectly alright. All I ask for at the moment is a peaceful place... surrounded by my beloved works of art and listening to beautiful music. Still, sugar?” Lilly asked for two lumps in her tea, in which Lovejoy gladly did. But before she could get the steamy liquid to her lips, the doctor stopped her. “Wait, before you do, may I have the liberty in taking your picture?”

Lilly gave him her wide smile, “Not at all.”

With that, the stallion put down the teapot and went straight for his camera in which he set it in front of her. “Just look right above the lens… look down a- there! Just hold that pose for just a second…” He snapped her picture, “there we go, I’ll have it developed by tomorrow morning.” While he set the camera aside, he made sure that the curtains were drawn, “As you were.”

To Dr. Lovejoy’s delight, the mare took a sip from her cup, “It’s wonderful! Best cup of tea I had in years.”

“An honor ma’am,” he took a seat across from her. “So since you’re here, can I tell you a little secret?”

“But Doctor Lovejoy, this village has no secrets to keep.”

The stallion chuckled, “Nonsense my dear, everypony, and everything has a secret. Why, if everything didn’t keep their secrets, half of the planet would be eliminated.”

Lilly blinked, “You have a very strange way of thinking.”

“Still, can I please tell you my little secret, please humor me for a moment?”

“Well… oh alright,” she said, putting down her cup on the table. “I’m listening.”

“Good,” the elderly stallion smiled warmly like a grandfather seeing his children. “You see Lilly,” he said as he took both hooves into his own and with a happy grin said, “You’re going to die in a minute,” added a pat on one of her hooves, “Isn’t it wonderful?”

Lilly’s wide smile had, up until now, began to diminished as she took what she heard in. “W-What?”

“You’re going to be dead in a minute,” he told her again without losing his genuine smile. “Congratulations by-the-way.”

She blinked, her head getting fuzzy, “This, has to be a joke of yours?”

“Oh no, it’s no joke. I’ve laced poison in the sugar lumps, so quickly! How do you feel?”

Lilly was starting to get scared, “Sir, I think I’d better leave.”

“Why? You’ll be on the floor by the time you reach the doorknob.”

She turned towards the door and felt that her hooves were heavy, “Lovejoy… I don’t think… this is funny.”

“Wait, there’s nothing to be afraid about.”

“Doc…” Lilly trailed off before she collapsed on the floor. Her forehoof tried to reach the door.

Lovejoy got up from his seat and went over to her, placing one hoof on her cheek, “Now now, don’t be scared. Just let that heaviness take over. You’re just going to sleep. Once you do, you’ll be truly free of every worry, every problem, and every trial you’d had to face. Just close those heavy eyes, and sleep.”

Her hoof shook for a few seconds until it lay on the floor like a doll’s hoof, and her head fell to the side. The mare’s chest was still.

“There, now to make the last minute touches,” he said as he levitated the cup over to the corpse, turned her cup over on its side of the plate, letting the poison spill onto the plate and the planks of the floorboards. He then levitated the camera to make a few adjustments before snapping a picture. “Thank you so much, Lilly, because you’ve been so polite, I’ll make sure to have your name carved on a rock somewhere tonight. You’ve been wonderful dear.”

He turned around to the kitchen to fetch a rag, “Oh, retirement is going to be so much fun.”

Comments

[zalla661]

This guy's a psychopath...

I'm just saying...

This has me on edge I can't wait to see what he concocts next.

[Jman14102]

Lovejoy got up from her seat and went over to her, placing one hoof on her cheek, “Now now, don’t be scared. Just let that heaviness take over. You’re just going to sleep. Once you do, you’ll be truly be free of every worry, every problem, and every trial you’d had to face. Just close those heavy eyes, and sleep.”

Everyone is equal in death...

[CrackedInkWell]

7038217
7038670 Of course this old, frail stallion is a psychopath. But it's his reason as to why that makes it all the more interesting.

Correction: Sociopath.

[Skye Mist]

Oh god.
Poor innocent mare.