Gone in 1800 Seconds

by True Blue Spark

#284. It's a Trap

The Prompt: Follow the White Rabbit.

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Dinner at Sweet Apple Acres was invariably a joyous, boisterous occasion. It could hardly be anything else, with a family famed across Ponyville for their cooking skills, a family that believed so strongly in working hard and keeping fed afterward.

Today the tomatoes had finally been ready to harvest, so Applejack had prepared some pasta and sauce, and a generous helping of apple fritters on the side, naturally. Apple Bloom dug in immediately, and Big Mac followed up with only slightly less enthusiasm. AJ took her place at the table, breathed deep the delicious scent, and bent forward to start eating as well.

SPLAT.

Several seconds passed in silence before Applejack deigned to move again. Swiping a foreleg across her face to wipe away the splattered tomato sauce, she glared at the little white rabbit that was standing paw-deep in her pasta. “Angel Bunny,” she said, ignoring Apple Bloom’s badly-suppressed giggling. “You got until I finish this sentence to get outta my dinner, or so help me—”

Angel hopped onto her napkin, then bounced to the floor, beckoning to Applejack as her eyes followed him. Now that she got a good look at him, he didn’t seem to have that usual air of barely concealed disdain. No, he looked... worried. Frightened, even.

“Angel? Somethin’ the matter?”

The rabbit nodded frantically, gesturing repeatedly in the direction of the door.

“What’s got ya so worked up? Is it—Is it Fluttershy?” Angel nodded again, and Applejack suddenly found herself on her hooves, with no memory of standing up. “What happened? Is she hurt?”

Angel didn’t answer, dashing toward the door as if there wasn’t a moment to lose. He pulled it open easily, looking over his shoulder as if to say, “Are you coming or what?” And then he darted out into the darkness.

Applejack swallowed, willing her hammering heart to shift back down into her chest. “I-I better go see what’s up. Y’all just enjoy the meal, alright?” Without waiting for her family to answer, Applejack galloped out the door at her top speed.

Fluttershy’s cottage wasn’t far from Sweet Apple Acres, but it was far enough for Applejack’s imagination to provide plenty of worst-case scenarios, each one worse than the last. What if one of the animals she cared for had slipped and lost control? What if something from the Everfree Forest had attacked her? What if something had gotten out of Tartarus? Cold terror filled her veins. If anything happened to Fluttershy, sweet, kind, innocent Fluttershy...

No, Applejack couldn’t think like that. She just had to believe that whatever was the matter, she’d get there with enough time to help. The alternative... was just too terrible to consider.

There was the cottage, a dim light flickering in the windows. Was there a fire? Applejack practically leapt over the bridge and up the path, slamming the door open with her shoulder. “Fluttershy!” she gasped. “Are you... Are you... you...

“...Huh?”

To say that the sight before her wasn’t quite what she’d expected would have been an understatement of massive proportions. A table had been dragged out into Fluttershy’s living room, set with two plates, a heaping bowl of salad, candles providing the flickering light she’d seen... Far from a disaster, it looked like a dinner date straight out of those romance novels Rarity was always trying to talk her into reading.

Applejack stared for a second, before confusion turned to frustration. “Angel Bunny, what in the wide, wide world o’—”

From the doorway, Angel flashed her a sneaky grin for a fraction of a second, then slammed the door shut.

Before Applejack could decide what to do with herself, a soft voice came from above. “Is someone there? I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting visitors...” Fluttershy tiptoed her way down the stairs, tentative as usual. When she saw the table and the pony standing awkwardly beside it, her face flooded with a blush that must have taken up most of the blood in her body. “A-Applejack? I—what—th-this is...” she stammered, eyes wide with awe.

Applejack groaned and tugged her hat down over her eyes. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, but one o’ these days, I swear I’m gonna punt that little furball clear across Ponyville.” She gestured at the table. “Angel Bunny thinks he’s pretty funny, I reckon.”

“...Oh.” Fluttershy’s voice took a sudden drop in volume, even for her. “I see. He really does mean well, it’s just...” She slowly made her way to the table, her eyes, wings—almost her entire body drooping. “I’ll just... clean this up. I’m sorry he bothered you.”*

Even straining to hear her as she was, Applejack couldn’t miss the tone of—there was no other word that fit—disappointment. It was like she’d swallowed an ice cube the size of a cider barrel, seeing Fluttershy so sad. Did she actually like the idea of... Did she really want to...?

“Actually—” The word slipped out involuntarily, but when Fluttershy turned to look at her, eyes glistening suspiciously, Applejack realized that the last thing she could do—the last thing she wanted—was to walk away. “I... I ain’t exactly interested in goin’ back to the dinner that bunny stepped in... so, well... reckon there’s no sense lettin’ this meal go to waste, right?”

Fluttershy’s blank stare gradually became a tentative smile, accompanied by another blush that made her look just as cute as a button, and Applejack found herself thinking that maybe, just maybe, she might have something to thank Angel for after all.

Not that she was going to give him the satisfaction of admitting it.

Author's Note:

I’ve finally written some more Appleshy! This is a criminally underrepresented pairing, in my humble opinion. I know they don’t interact very often in the show, but I just think their personalities and interests mesh up really well.

Anyway, I like the idea of Angel Bunny having hidden depths to him. Not just shipperbunny, although that’s a particularly fun way to play with it. He can be a jerk sometimes, but other times he really does have Fluttershy’s well-being in mind. But just because he’s doing something nice for her doesn’t mean he has to do it in a nice way.