Dr Whooves MONSTER

Chapter 8

With the sight of the full moon rising in the backdrop, I stood in front of a nicely built White House with a picket fence. The air was chilly, but it wasn’t the frigid weather that had me shaking that evening. No, it was my nerves.

Just as she said, she wrote the letter the night before and I received it this morning. I was so fixated on learning how to dance that I hadn’t even thought about what I was going to wear to the party. Luckily for me, though, I was a doctor. So I quickly ran back, grabbing my white coat for work.

I would need to replace it afterward, but time was of the essence, and I had to use it. Besides, if tonight went well, ruining a pair of my pants and a lab coat would have been worth it. So I slashed a leg of my pants and cut the cost. Before adding in a design of a rib cage and some splashes of ketchup to stain it, giving it the appearance of a bloody attack.

With a knife in my pocket and my stethoscope around my neck, I was ready with my costume. With an inhale of my breath, I quietly encouraged myself. “Come on, old chap, you can do this,” before knocking on the front wooden door.

“Coming!” I heard Mr. Shy’s voice from the inside. Opening it, he greeted me with a nod as he stepped aside, letting Fluttershy come into view. She was gorgeous in her vampire costume. Even her fake fangs could not ruin her appearance. I began to wonder if there was such a thing that ever could.

She smiled at first, but the sight of my costume caused her lips to fall. “You’re a doctor going as…”

“A, a dead doctor,” I stuttered.

“I see.”

Okay, well, it was clear my costume wasn’t going to impress her, but my main focus was the dance. With a clear of Mr. Shy’s throat, he raised his hand, guiding his daughter to my arm. With that, I gave him a thankful nod, and off we went to the party held in the main halls of the church.

On the way, Fluttershy's nose twitched in the air for a second before she said something about the smell eradicating off me. “You used ketchup, didn’t you?”

“Too much?” I winced.

“No,” she said softly. “No, my nose will adjust,” she mumbled and gave her muzzle a quick rub.

Luckily, it was a short walk to the church. A crowd of monsters crowded the front doors, covered in spider webs and snakes. Each one was as fake as the monsters themselves.

We arrived just in time. With a wave of her hand, Princess Twilight herself greeted the crowd and announced

“Welcome to Nightmare Night! I hope you all have a wonderful time here in the halls. We have plenty of candy and a few drinks of alcohol, so no minors this season, I’m afraid.” She giggled as she noted the head of her young assistant, the dragon who was dressed like an old knight.

“Rules are rules, Spike, but feel free to trick or treat,” she said with a grin. “I’m not gonna drink; I just want to hit the dance floor—”

“Fine, you may serve drinks, but have none yourself,” I said with a chuckle.

The doors glided open, and there at the front was none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, dressed in a rather good knock-off of Star Swirl the Bearded. With a wave of her hand, she greeted the crowd and announced

“Welcome, my friends! I hope you all have a wonderful time here in the halls. We have plenty of candy and a few drinks of alcohol, so no minors this season, I’m afraid.” She giggled as she noted the head of her young assistant, the dragon who was dressed like an old knight. With a flash of light and a puff of magic, she disappeared. Probably went into the church, I presumed.

The party was underway. With a clap for the princess's trick and the sound of stomping hooves, the crowd quickly gathered in the main hall, finding an array of sweets that you wouldn’t believe scattered across tables. Punch and wine, all red, flowed out of a fountain, looking like blood.

The sight of bones and skulls, goblins and gargoyles decorated the gothic cathedral-like church, with plenty of spider webs to finish the spooky ambiance. Coupled with a foggy, snowy screen that was magically made, sliding across the dance floor, which had a few fake headstones, I do believe this was one of the near-spookiest places I had ever seen. Definitely the second unfortunately. But now was not the time to think of the first.

As the crowd of witches and wizards, knights and goblins, and all the other monsters the ponies and other creatures dressed up as filled the room, it wasn’t long before the music began playing.

The next song began to play and the crowd cheered as Rarity appeared and took my arm.

“Oh, Fluttershy! I’m glad you could make it, and Dr... ummm.”

I could tell she was trying to be nice, but the fact that she actually thought my name was Dr. Nuts and not Hooves caused my eyebrow to furrow as I presented myself. “Whooves Dr. Whooves. It’s nice to see you again, Lady Rarity.”

“Likewise,” she awkwardly smiled before turning back to Fluttershy.

“Didn’t Pinkie and Twilight do such a great job with the place? It actually looks like a graveyard in here!” she giggled.

“Mhm,” Fluttershy lowered her head under her hair.

“Oh, come now, dear. Remember, everything here is fake. There is nothing scary at all, understand?” Rarity encouraged her friend.

Fluttershy only gave a nod but tightened her grip on my arm. She was indeed scared. And part of me wanted to say something, but I couldn’t help myself. The fact that she was holding onto me so tightly only brought a smile to my face instead.

“Oh, and before I forget, you know Sir Aragon, he is my date tonight.”

Aragon, dressed like a golden medical knight, smiled before interjecting. “My lady, if I may,” he said, raising a hoof. “A dance, my princess.”

Rarity’s face went red as she giggled to herself, squealing, before clearing her throat. “You may, my knight in shining armor.” She pulled him not by his arm but by the collar of his suit and dragged him to the dance floor just as the next song began to play.

Fluttershy softly looked at the sight before noticing I had my gaze on her. With a blush, she nodded and quietly shifted in front of me.

Clearing my throat, I gave a little bow and asked her the same question in the same over-the-top fashion as Sir Aragon. “My lady, if I may, a dance, my princess, of the fangs.”

The little adaptation brought a giggle out of her, and with a little curtsy, she handed me her hoof, at the very least. With it, I began to lead her onto the dance floor.

Now, the music of today’s youth, I’ll admit, was quite a bit more bouncy and upbeat with the guitar solo and the violin along with that claps, if not creepy vibe. The way it intertwined, I must confess, was quite a delight to the ears, if not louder than I would have liked. But once we made it to the dance floor, I was able to pop and lock, as the children say. To my surprise, the very second she began dancing, it was as if a bird in a cage was finally let loose. I quickly found myself outmatched by her moves. She was a fantastic dancer who, to my surprise, began leading me instead of the opposite. But I had to admit I didn’t mind at all. The fact is, once she noticed how uncoordinated I was, she was kind enough to step down to my pace, keeping within the groove as she led me through it.

“There you go, you got it! A bit rusty, but you got it!” she smiled innocently.

“I had to admit, I found myself dumbfounded. Here I was, wanting to be the one to impress her, to win her heart, and yet I was the one being led on. I should have been furious; I should have been humiliated, but her smile and sweet voice left me only with a grin as we danced beside each other and soon within each other’s arms.

How many songs we stayed together just having fun alongside each other and the crowd around me, I wasn’t certain at all. Though I was happy to see her smile at least. But I was sure she kept looking over her shoulder at her friends around the room, who were mostly busy with their own partners but often gave her a wave of encouragement. But it was clear, despite her smile reassuring them, the more we stayed on the dance floor, with the crowd, the more she began to close up, shy as always, and growing more uncomfortable by the minute.

“Woo! You sure can dance, but I’m afraid I can hardly keep up. Mind if we go catch some air? Perhaps a drink?” I smiled, though the truth be told, the air was not for me but for her.

I could see her lips twitch into a smile before she nodded, clearly relieved and thankful for the suggestion . “I don’t really drink much,” she softly said, her voice almost drowned out by the music.

With that, we headed out onto the porch. Only a few were outside, and with our arrival, it seemed they were ready for more fun, leaving us alone with no one around. With a grin, I knew this was my chance. Now was the time to ask if she would be willing to see a possible future with me. And so, once we settled ourselves against the stone towers of the church, I leaned in and put on my best smile.

“Having fun?” I asked. She only nodded, and to my enjoyment, didn’t try to walk away or undo how close we were. Not too far from her face, I looked into her eyes and took her by the hand, bringing it up to me. I was going to place a kiss on it; however, it was clear I needed to tread lightly with her.

She didn’t fight it, but I could tell how nervous she seemed that I had her hoof so close to me. Instead of kissing it, I nearly opted for holding it. It seemed to work, as she did not try to remove her arm from my grip.

“Fluttershy,” I chuckled as I began, “I am glad you agreed to come with me. You see, I must say I do rather enjoy your company, and believe me, like you, this too is quite out of my comfort zone.” I laughed a little harder.

She smiled but didn’t do much else, except blink from time to time.

“Fluttershy, I know I’m not the very best-looking or the richest pony, but…” I fluttered my eyes, trying my best to flirt with her. “I do indeed have the financials to support you, my dear. You want to be a vet, and that takes some hefty cash, I as. A doctor can easily provide if…” I paused, letting the air grow silent, and awaited her to speak. She seemed to be mulling it over in her head before finally speaking.

“Dr. Whooves,”

“Time Turner,” I corrected her with my first name.

“Time Turner, you are very kind, but—”

“But what? Come now, you’re a fine mare of marriageable age; certainly a future with me isn’t the worst thing. And I only ask for another date, not your hand yet.”

“I know, but…” she winced and then pulled her hand away from me, turning her back to me.

“I know you have better options, or so you think. But I can assure you, perhaps not strength, but wisdom comes with age. I’m far more intelligent than them, I can assure you.”

Turning back to me, she nearly whined. “It isn’t your age nor your intelligence that has me concerned.”

“My looks, then?”

“No.”

“Ah, so are you just looking for a rich cash cow? But I can assure you otherwise; I am plenty wealthy.”

“It isn’t your money either.”

“Then what, Miss Shy? Tell me, do you just not like me? Do so, and I will walk away, I promise.”

“I just want to enjoy myself, alright? I don’t want to think of this right now—marriage, children—the future. I just want to enjoy this moment right now.”

“This moment, huh?” I mused as I drew closer to her once more, bringing my face closer to her lips. She didn’t back away, letting me nearly kiss her. But it was clear by her expression that she didn’t want to, and had I forced it, I would have lost her for good right there and then. Instead, I backed off with a nod. “Alright, alright.”

“I’d like that drink now,” she stated in a tone I had never heard from her before. It wasn’t one of anger or rage, but it was in its clearest sense—it was an order. Raising my head, I knew that the only reason she requested it was to claim her space from me. Still though, it wasn’t a direct no, but if I didn’t at least obey, I knew I would never be given a second chance. And so with it, I asked, “Wine or spiked punch?”

“Wine,” she replied, watching my every move. Suddenly, I felt her father’s eyes the way she gazed at me. Something I clearly overlooked was how strong she truly was, instilled no less by her old man.

“As you wish, my princess of fangs,” I lightly bowed and headed inside, leaving her to her own thoughts.