• Published 16th Apr 2012
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Fluttershy's Bad "Hare" Day - Pegasus Rescue Brigade

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Chapter 1

CRASH!

Fluttershy sighed, glancing at the now damaged wooden birdhouse that had tumbled to the cottage floor. “Um, Rainbow Dash?” she asked quietly. “Do you think you could be just a teensy bit more careful?”

“Yeah, sorry,” said Rainbow Dash absentmindedly as she continued to dart quickly around the interior of Fluttershy’s home. “Now, where is your other suitcase?”

“In the closet,” Fluttershy said. She winced as Rainbow shot like a rocket into the hallway to retrieve it, but fortunately, nothing broke this time as the excited mare whizzed by.

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy began hesitantly. “I’m sorry, but, why are you so, you know… excited about this? I mean, you’re not even coming with me.”

Rainbow poked her head out from the closet. “I know that!” she insisted. “I’m just excited to think that you’re going. Las Pegasus is awesome, Fluttershy! It’s a lot like Cloudsdale, but it’s clear across Equestria! The ponies who live there are really interesting, because their culture is a little different than what we’re used to around Ponyville.”

Rainbow yanked the suitcase out of the small storage space with her teeth and tossed it in Fluttershy’s direction. The timid mare squeaked in fear and recoiled, allowing the large bag to thud to the ground in front of her.

“Besides,” Rainbow continued, oblivious to her friend’s usual meekness, “there’s so much to do in Las Pegasus! It’s a big city; even bigger than Cloudsdale. They’ve got way more shopping and dining and shows and clubs than anyplace around here, except maybe Canterlot, but everything in Las Pegasus is run with pegasi in mind, instead of a big old crowd of highbrow unicorns!”

“Well, that sounds… nice,” Fluttershy admitted, making good use of her favorite adjective. “But I still don’t understand why it matters to you; you already said that you can’t come along because of the big downpour you and your team have been organizing for Ponyville this week.”

“Yeah, I know,” Rainbow said, sounding slightly disappointed. “I guess just thinking about that place makes me get all worked up. You’re gonna have the best vacation ever, Fluttershy. Trust me.”

“I’m sure it will be lovely,” Fluttershy said. “But I need to make sure everything is perfect for my little animal friends while I’m gone.” She trotted over to the remains of the birdhouse on the floor. “And if these keep breaking, I’m just going to need to say around even longer until they’re all fixed.”

Rainbow Dash finally seemed to take the hint and lowered her speed slightly so as not to damage any more of Fluttershy’s knickknacks.

Fluttershy carefully lifted the birdhouse onto the table and began to fit the pieces back together. “Thank you for helping me pack, Rainbow,” she said. “Even though a few things got broken, it would have taken me much longer to do it all by myself.”

“No problem Fluttershy,” Rainbow replied. “I’m always ready to help out an old friend. Speaking of which, is there anything else you need me to do before I leave?”

“Well, yes, actually,” Fluttershy mumbled as she forced a plank back into place on the birdhouse. “If it wouldn’t be too much of a bother, could you go and get the tea started while I finish fixing this?”

Rainbow blinked. “The what?”

“The tea,” Fluttershy repeated. “I always have a cup of nice hot herbal tea before I go to bed. It helps me calm down and sleep better. And I do need to get enough sleep if I’m going to get up bright and early for my trip tomorrow.”

“Leave it to me!” Rainbow declared. The speedy pegasus launched herself into the kitchen, and Fluttershy winced at the loud sound of clattering cooking-ware that immediately followed.

Rainbow Dash hoisted the large kettle onto the stove and filled it with water from the small, clear natural spring that bubbled up from the ground in the corner of Fluttershy’s kitchen. A few minutes later, she nodded approvingly as the water came to a boil. After pouring the steaming liquid into a cup, she and opened Fluttershy’s cupboard and was shocked by the huge assortment of herbs and flowers found within.

“Fluttershy! What do you want in your tea?” the cyan pegasus called.

“Anything is fine!” Fluttershy replied from the living room. “There’s lots of herbs to choose from. Just make sure you don’t use one from the top shelf.”

Rainbow struggled to hear her friend’s quiet voice over the whistling tea kettle. What did she say? she thought to herself. Something about using one from the top shelf? Well, alright then.

Rainbow fluttered up to peer at the contents of the uppermost shelf. It was laden with some of the most exotic and unusual plants she had ever seen.

Rainbow scrunched up her nose. “These can’t possibly taste very good,” she mumbled to herself. “But hey, it’s what Fluttershy wants, right?”

Rainbow snatched the most appetizing plant, a vivid purple flower with unusually shaped petals, and dunked it into the tea. She also grabbed a few other ingredients from the lower shelves that she was more familiar with, and added them as well. The contents of the cup slowly turned the rich brown color she had hoped for.

After the tea had steeped properly, Rainbow tossed the plants out the window and onto the compost heap, before returning to the living room, where Fluttershy was carefully hanging the repaired birdhouse back on the peg where it belonged.

“Your tea’s all done, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said.

“Oh, thank you Rainbow,” the yellow pegasus replied, smiling. “And I just finished the repairs. I’m finally all ready to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Sweet!” Rainbow said. “It’s starting to get late, so I’m gonna get going. See you next week, Fluttershy. Oh, and have an awesome vacation!”

And with that, the energetic mare was out the door.

Fluttershy giggled. Rainbow can be a little overzealous sometimes… she thought to herself, …but she really is a good friend.

The mare trotted into the kitchen to find the hot cup of herbal tea waiting on the counter. Not sure what to expect, she took a sip. The taste was a little unusual, but definitely not bad. Fluttershy silently resolved to ask Rainbow Dash which herbs she had used to create such a unique and surprisingly tasty brew. That is, if her colorful friend could even remember.

Fluttershy was grateful regardless, and serenely sipped the tea as she went to check on her animal friends.

Once she was satisfied that all the birds, rodents, and other small creatures were nestled away, the mare trotted to her own bed for the night. Thoughts of her trip the next morning floated in her mind, but, like anything out of her normal routine, they made Fluttershy feel a bit nervous.

A rapid thumping shook the mare from her worries. She glanced down to the source of the familiar noise and found herself looking into the grumpy face of her pet rabbit Angel, who was tapping his foot angrily.

“Angel Bunny, I almost forgot,” Fluttershy cooed, climbing back out of bed. “You want your bedtime snack, don’t you?” The mare reached into a basket and pulled out a fresh carrot, which she offered to the rabbit.

Angel glared as if to say “Took you long enough,” and grudgingly accepted the carrot, dragging it back to his den.

Fluttershy giggled as she took another sip of her tea. “Oh Angel Bunny, what am I going to do with you?”

Angel just scowled, but Fluttershy could see the appreciative glint in his eye, hidden behind his guise of indifference.

Fluttershy laughed softly. “I know you like to act like a grump. Just go on and eat your carrot.”

Angel disappeared, and Fluttershy sighed contently. She had arranged for her friends to take turns visiting her home while she was away on vacation, to make sure the animals had their needs tended to. After all, so many of them relied on her that they simply couldn’t go a whole week without somepony tending to them.

I love all the animals so much, she thought. And I know they love me… even if a few of them don’t always like to admit it.

She tipped back her head, drinking the last of the tea. I just wish I could tell them that myself; I want to be able to know each and every one of them personally, like I know my pony friends. If I could see the world through their eyes, it would help me take even better care of them…

Fluttershy glanced into her empty teacup; a single, purple petal sat at the bottom. Something in the back of the pegasus’ mind stirred at the sight, but she couldn’t put her hoof on what it was. Sleep was overcoming her, and so she set the cup down without a second thought about the strange plant fragment, and curled up beneath the blanket. Finally relaxed, she drifted into a deep sleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A flicker of early morning sunlight danced on the roof of the cottage. A beautiful morning was beginning; pleasant springtime temperatures and a gentle breeze made for perfect flying weather. Inside the small home, Fluttershy stirred beneath the covers as the first light of dawn reached her eyes.

She yawned and rolled over to climb out of bed, and almost immediately realized something was different. She felt disoriented; her movements felt all wrong somehow. Her forelegs seemed too short, and her body felt strange, as if she had bent herself into some position impossible for a pony to achieve.

What’s going on? Fluttershy thought. Quickly becoming panicked, she crawled toward the edge of the bed, struggling against her misbehaving limbs, before finally scrambling off the edge.

The fall from her low mattress to the floor was much longer than it should have been, and Fluttershy squeaked in surprise as she thumped to the wooden floor several body-lengths below. Looking up, she was even more shocked to discover that her small bed now appeared to be a towering structure in front of her. A quick glance around the room revealed that everything else was dramatically larger, as well.

“Every…everything has grown bigger?” Fluttershy asked aloud, and was shocked to hear her own voice; it was much smaller and squeakier than usual, and for somepony like Fluttershy, that was saying something. A startling realization came to her.

“Nothing is bigger… I’m just smaller!”

Fluttershy curled up on the floor, her thoughts racing as she tried to figure out what to do. Somehow, she had shrunk to a fraction of her original size. How could a pony suddenly become so small? And was there anything she could do about it?

Maybe Twilight could help. But there was no way Fluttershy could get all the way into town in her current state. She sobbed quietly, confused and afraid.

“Hey, kid,” came a voice. “Whaddaya think you’re doin’ over here?”

Fluttershy gasped. Someone else was here! Maybe she could still get help. She rolled over and stared out into the room, but the only other creature there was… Angel Bunny?

“I said, whaddaya doin’?” Angel repeated, in what sounded like a Neightalian accent. “Stop layin’ on the floor. We got work to do.”

“Angel? You’re… you’re talking?” Fluttershy asked, amazed.

“Yeah…” Angel said slowly, giving Fluttershy a bewildered look. “Look, kid, you don’t look so good. Did you get hurt or something?”

“No, I… I mean, I don’t know,” Fluttershy stammered. “I went to bed last night and woke up like this.”

Angel raised an eyebrow, and looked Fluttershy over more closely.

“Hey, wait a second… kid, are you tryin’ to impersonate the Main Mare or somethin’?”

“The… the what?” Fluttershy asked.

“The Main Mare!” Angel repeated loudly. “You know, that pony Fluttershy! You got the same fur, the same eyes… the same voice even! But you ain’t fooling me… even if you’re the spittin’ image of her, there’s still that crucial detail that the Main Mare is a pony… and you, kid, are a rabbit.”

“A rabbit!?” Fluttershy gasped. She turned to gaze in the direction of the large mirror against the wall. Angel was right; her yellow fur was still there, and her long pink mane lay draped over her head, but the rest of her looked completely different. A tiny twitching nose sat in the spot where her muzzle used to be, four paws had replaced her hooves, and two long, droopy ears hung haphazardly over her head

“I’m a rabbit!” Fluttershy wailed, collapsing on the floor again. “But how? How did this happen?”

Angel looked concerned. “Kid, I think you’ve probably always been a rabbit,” he remarked. “You sure you didn’t hit your head or something?”

“I wasn’t a rabbit last night!” Fluttershy said. “When I went to bed, I was a pony, like I always am!”

Realization crossed Angel’s features. “What are you saying?” he asked testily. “Kid, are you tryin’ to tell me that you actually are the Main Mare?”

“Y… yes!” Fluttershy managed to say, despite her increasingly rapid, nervous breathing. “I guess that explains why I can suddenly understand you. I’m a rabbit now, but I was a pony yesterday!”

Angel crossed his arms, frowning. “As convincing as you look, I can’t say I believe you, kid,” he said. “I mean, ponies don’t just go around turnin’ into rabbits for no good reason.” He hopped up next to the cowering rabbit, glaring down at her as she quivered.

“Now, tell me who you really are,” he demanded. “Or else I’m gonna have to bring the boys down here to do some more investigatin’. And you don’t want me to do that, do you?”

“But… but I am Fluttershy!” Fluttershy insisted. “I’m telling the truth, Angel! Honest!”

“Not buyin’ it,” said Angel sternly. “It’s too bad you don’t want to come clean. ‘Cause that means you’re either crazy, or you’re hidin’ something, and our organization doesn’t like it very much when somebunny’s hidin’ something. Either way, it’s pretty unfortunate…”

Fluttershy cowered as Angel leaned in closer, wearing a threatening expression. “If you are Fluttershy, though, then you’re gonna have to prove it.”

Fluttershy gupled. "Um... how do I do that?"

Angel shrugged. "You tell me, kid. All I know is if you don't come up with something, there's gonna be trouble."

Fluttershy's mind raced as she desperately tried to think of a way to prove beyond any doubt that she was telling the truth about her identity Angel watched his companion deliberate, thumping his foot against the ground impatiently.

"I don't have time for this," he said finally. He advanced on the frightened rabbit in front of him. "Looks like you're coming with me for some more intensive questioning."

Fluttershy squeaked in fear, and did the only thing she could to protect herself. She initiated "The Stare."

Now, coming from a rabbit cowering beneath you rather than a pony towering over you, one would assume the power of this secret weapon of Fluttershy’s would have been severely diminished. Unfortunately for Angel, this proved not to be the case. In an instant, the rabbits’ roles were reversed. Now it was Fluttershy standing up and glaring sternly, and Angel curled up below her in a submissive pose.

“Okay! Okay!” Angel cried. “I get it! I’m sorry! You’re definitely the Main Mare!”

Fluttershy’s expression returned to normal, and Angel cautiously peeked out from behind his paws. He stood back up shakily and brushed himself off.

"Sorry..." Fluttershy mumbled. "I... I didn't want to have to do that."

Angel shook his head to clear away the lingering shreds of fear gripping his subconscious. “Don’t… don’t sweat it, kid… I mean, Fluttershy…” he replied. “At least I know for sure who you are now.”

Angel thumped one foot on the ground in frustration. “But that just leaves me even more confused,” he continued. “How’d you get turned into a rabbit in the first place?”

Fluttershy shrugged. “I told you already, I don’t know,” she whimpered. “I went to bed last night feeling just fine... I can only imagine what happened to me after that.”

She frowned. “And now nopony knows what’s happened, and all my friends think I’ve gone away on vacation, so they won’t be looking for me, and I’ll probably end up trapped as a bunny forever and-”

Angel grabbed Fluttershy by the shoulders. “Get a grip, ‘Shy!” he commanded. “This ain’t no time to panic. You gotta’ just calm down, and come with me, and once we’re safe and sound at my place, we can figure out what to do next. Capice?”

“O-okay,” Fluttershy stuttered.

“Good,” Angel said bluntly. “Follow me.”

The rabbit turned and darted off across the floor. Fluttershy attempted to follow, and succeeded only in stumbling over her new, large rabbit feet. Eventually, she managed to achieve a clumsy but effective gait, and followed Angel into his den.

The subterranean space was small, but not very dark, as Angel had created openings in the ground above as small light inlets. These tiny skylights lit the descending tunnel into the main chamber of Angel’s den.

Much to Fluttershy’s surprise, Angel had cleverly used discarded fragments of wood and cloth to build himself some makeshift furniture. The white rabbit silently gestured to a couch, and Fluttershy planted herself there.

“Now,” Angel began very levelly. “Let’s look at this one step at a time. What happened right before you went to sleep last night?”

“I was packing for the vacation I was supposed to be going on today,” Fluttershy answered. “Rainbow Dash came over to help; the two of us got everything ready.”

“I was wonderin’ what all the ruckus was last night,” Angel commented. “Can’t expect to get any sleep with that crazy mare running around.”

Fluttershy giggled softly as Angel pouted. “After that,” she continued, “Rainbow Dash left, I fed you and all the others little critters, and then went to bed.”

“That’s it?” Angel asked incredulously. “You sure there was nothing else?”

Fluttershy tugged on her long ears as she thought about it.

“Oh, well… Rainbow Dash did make me a cup of tea before she left. I drank that while I was feeding the animals last night.”

She frowned. “But that detail doesn’t help much, does it?”

Angel shook his head. “Unless Dash is mixing up shape-shifting potions in your tea, I think that’s a dead end.”

A small detail suddenly flashed into Fluttershy’s mind.

“Well, actually… there was a plant I didn’t recognize in the tea. I saw an unusual flower petal in the bottom of the cup.”

Angel slapped a paw to his forehead. “Kid, why didn’t you say somethin’ earlier? That could be important! I’ll get somebunny to go check on that immediately.”

Before Fluttershy could ask for details, Angel hopped over to the entrance to another tunnel, and whistled loudly. A few moments later, two identical brown rabbits appeared from some deeper part of the network of burrows. The newcomers stood up straight and saluted Angel.

“’Shy, I’d like you to meet the Button Brothers,” Angel said. “They ain’t real bright, but they’re an okay crew in the end.” He turned to the two rabbits, who still stood at salute, and waved his paw in Fluttershy’s direction. “Boys, this is the Main Mare, Fluttershy.”

The Button brothers looked Fluttershy over for several seconds, until one of them cautiously spoke up.

“Boss? Isn’t the Main Mare… you know… a pony?”

Angel scowled and slapped his underling across the face. “Did I ask for your input?” he scolded. “This here is the Main Mare. Stop asking questions.”

The other rabbit stood up even straighter, if that was even possible. “Yes, boss. She’s the Main Mare,” he agreed.

Angel waved a paw, and the two brothers finally dropped their salute, looking relieved. Fluttershy hopped over cautiously.

“H-Hello…” Fluttershy said, extending a paw in greeting. “It’s nice to meet you both, but… I thought I had only one rabbit named Button.”

Angel smirked. “It's an easy mistake to make,” he explained. "There two are identical. Since you never saw them together, you ended up naming them both Button."

Fluttershy grinned sheepishly. “Oops…”

“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” one of the brothers said, shaking Fluttershy’s paw. “It’s good to finally the meet the one who even the Capo takes orders from.”

“The who?” Fluttershy asked. “I’m sorry, but… what does ‘Capo’ mean?”

“It’s just a bit of lingo,” Angel cut-in quickly. “It means I’m the boss. And lucky for them, the Buttons are smart enough to remember that detail, at least.” He glared at the brown rabbits, who once again, corrected their posture.

“Now listen up you two,” Angel continued, addressing his henchmen. “Out by the Main Mare’s bed, you’ll find a teacup, and sittin’ in that teacup is a little piece of a flower. Bring that back here pronto. You got that?”

“Yes boss,” the Button brothers said in unison. They both turned and scurried up the tunnel toward Fluttershy’s house. Fluttershy watched them go, before turning her attention once again to Angel, who stood against the wall, tapping his foot impatiently.

A few moments passed in awkward silence. Fluttershy sat on the dirt floor, inspecting her new bunny body more carefully. These new proportions were definitely going to take some getting used to.

Angel just stared up the tunnel, mumbling to himself about something. Fluttershy was able to catch the phrase "Should only take 'em about a minute." Wary of his impatience, Fluttershy attempted to strike up a conversation while the two of them waited.

“So, um, Angel?” Fluttershy asked hesitantly. “What exactly is it that you’re in charge of down here?”

Angel’s eyes shifted nervously. “Uh… I’m just the one who makes sure everything keeps running smoothly around here. Me and my crew keep everybunny… in line, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I do!” Fluttershy insisted. “I guess you do things that I can’t do myself, like clean the tunnels and help the other little critters find their way around down here! It’s so nice to know that you’re helping me with my job. It’s almost like you’re my assistant!”

Angel rolled his eyes. “Uh… yeah. I guess you could put it that way. Sort of.”

Fluttershy smiled.

A commotion in the tunnel signaled the return of the Button brothers.

“That was fast,” Fluttershy admitted as the two brown rabbits scrambled back into the cave.

“They only had to run across the room,” Angel said dryly. “Frankly, I want to know what took them so long.”

Fluttershy ignored her grumpy companion. “Did you find it?” she asked.

“Yup,” said one of the Buttons curtly, handing the bright, and slightly soggy, purple petal to Fluttershy. She only had a moment to look at in before Angel snatched it away.

“Hmm…” he mumbled, examining the petal. “It does look familiar, but I couldn’t tell you what it is.”

Fluttershy’s ears drooped. “But it’s our only clue!” she said. “Maybe it has nothing to do with all this, but I was hoping we could know that for sure…”

“Kid, relax,” Angel said. “Maybe I don’t know what it is, but I know somebunny who will. He doesn’t exactly live next door, but it’ll be worth the trip to get some information outta him.”

Fluttershy was intrigued. “Who is it?”

“You’ve probably met him before,” Angel admitted. “The fella’s name is-”

A loud sound from above cut Angel off. The door slammed open and the sound of hoofsteps indicated the arrival of another pony.

“Git up here, ya little critters!” came a familiar southern accent. “Ah got some breakfast for y’all!”

“Food,” said the Button brothers in unison. They turned and bolted from the den before Angel could instruct them to do otherwise.

“That’s Applejack!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “I forgot that she was coming by to feed the animals this morning. Once I tell her what happened, she’ll take me to Twilight, and I’ll be out of this mess by lunchtime!”

“Kid…” Angel warned. “I hate to burst your bubble, but I kinda’ doubt that you’ll-”

Fluttershy wasn’t listening; she dashed up the slope back into her cottage almost as quickly as the Buttons had.

Angel rolled his eyes again. “Ah well. She’ll figure it out for herself in a minute.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack grinned as an assortment of rabbits, squirrels, mice, chipmunks, and other creatures clustered around her hooves, gazing up eagerly. A group of birds and butterflies hovered above, looking equally excited to see her.

“Ah guess y’all must be famished,” the earth pony chuckled. “Sit tight, now. There’s plenty for everypony.”

Applejack opened the large bag of feed and spread it on the ground. The critters pounced on the food as if they hadn’t eaten in days.

“Whoa Nelly,” Applejack remarked. “Fluttershy said y’all would be feisty. Ah guess she wasn’t kiddin’.”

A gentle poke at her back hoof caused the earth pony to turn around. A small yellow rabbit waved its paws frantically at her.

“What’s wrong, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. “Don’t you want somethin’ to eat? Maybe you’d like a nice carrot instead.”

Applejack reached into her saddlebag and withdrew a carrot, which she laid delicately in front of the waiting bunny. However, the small creature didn’t appear satisfied; it pushed the carrot out of the way and gestured even more wildly.

Applejack stared at the rabbit for a few moments longer, and a look of realization crossed her face. “Oh! I get it. You're worried about Fluttershy, aren’t you? She’s just gone on a well-deserved vacation. She’ll be back in a week and in the meantime, the rest of us will take real good care of the lot of you, alright?”

The rabbit shook her head, and peered pleadingly at Applejack.

“You’re gonna be fine now,” Applejack insisted. “Just eat your food like a good little critter.”

The rabbit didn’t relent. Applejack sighed as she quickly fed the rest of the animals, and hurriedly trotted from the cottage, leaving the troublesome yellow rabbit far behind.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angel reclined on his makeshift couch, his front paws behind his head. He glanced over with causal interest as a very depressed-looking Fluttershy hopped dejectedly into the den.

“Let me guess,” said Angel slowly. “Your pony friend completely ignored you?”

Fluttershy sniffled and nodded. “I… I don’t understand why she wouldn’t listen. I told her plain-as-day what happened.”

“But did you consider that she might not be able to understand you?” Angel asked. “You couldn’t understand me when you were a pony. So why would Applejack be able to understand you now?”

“But I’m speaking the same language I always have!” Fluttershy insisted.

Angel shook his head. “Not quite, ‘Shy. You’re speakin’ like a rabbit. And you can understand rabbit now, too. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be havin’ this conversation.”

Fluttershy, refusing to believe it, tried another approach.

“But I can still understand Applejack just fine,” she argued. “Why is that if we’re speaking different languages?”

“Because our languages have the same words,” Angel replied.

This left Fluttershy very confused. “Then what makes them different languages?!” she asked, becoming infuriated.

Angel laughed. “You don’t get it, do you? She can’t hear you, kid!”

The white rabbit hopped up from the couch and began pacing around the chamber as he elaborated.

“I guess what I’ve been saying isn’t entirely accurate. There’s only one language, but there’s two different volumes. The ‘loud’ dialect is spoken by the bigger creatures; ponies, donkeys, zebras, griffons, and a couple of others. The ‘soft’ dialect is spoken by rabbits, and all the others little critters and birds. We can hear both, but we can’t speak the loud version, which, unfortunately, is the only one the bigger creatures can hear. As a result, the ponies and their relatives are convinced that we can’t talk.”

Fluttershy was shocked. “So… so all animals can speak after all?”

“Exactly,” Angel said bluntly. “Any other questions?”

Fluttershy tapped her paw against her chin in thought. “Are there any differences in the actual words at all? Or are they exactly the same?”

“Only one that I’m aware of,” Angel admitted. “Collective terms are based on the most common species. You ponies use terms like ‘everypony’ even when talking to other creatures. We smaller creatures, as you’ve probably noticed, use ‘everybunny’, since there are a whole lot of rabbits in the Ponyville area.”

“Oh. Well, that makes sense,” Fluttershy replied. “So, what about-”

“Kid, listen,” Angel interrupted. “I know this is a whole new experience for you, and I can see that if I let you, you’d keep throwin’ questions at me all day. But here's the bottom line: you can't rely on your pony pals to help you this time. Now, I seem to recall you wanting to try to do something about this sudden transformation of yours, and we ain’t exactly making any progress just sitting here.”

Fluttershy blushed. “Oops. I guess I got carried away.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Angel said passively. “But we got a long walk ahead of us if we wanna' go see this acquaintance of mine, so we should probably get something to eat before we go. Let’s head up to the cottage and see if the feeding frenzy is over yet. I got a special store of carrots safely hidden away from all those greedy good-for-nothings: private breakfast for the two of us.”

Fluttershy’s stomach rumbled in agreement.

“Come on,” Angel said as he hopped up the tunnel. “Feel free to eat all you want; you’ll need your strength. I have a feeling you and I are going to have a heck of an interesting day.”

"Why?" Fluttershy asked. "Do you think something bad is going to happen?"

"Not exactly," Angel said. "But I'm going to have to teach you a lot in a pretty short time. Ponyville may be a quaint little town to a pony, but trust me when I say it's an entirely different place to a rabbit."

He turned to his companion. "I'm going to have to ask you to cooperate and listen to me, for your own safety. Can you do that?"

Fluttershy nodded.

"Good," Angel replied. "Let's go eat."

He proceeded up the tunnel. Fluttershy swallowed hard as she followed, very wary of the unusual new adventure that lay before her.