A distinct knock came on a wooden door. Though loud and sharp, the sound was not unrecognizable as that of a pony’s eager hoof that awaited to be welcomed in. Fluttershy, who floated around the almost-corners of her quaint, wooden cottage, brought herself over to the window near the front door and glanced out, although she was sure of whom the knock of the hoof had belonged to. She nodded upon seeing the face of the familiar friend she had expected, her gently fluttering wings carrying her to the door that she then opened.
“Come in, Rainbow Dash,” the yellow pegasus’s soft voice genially invited.
“Thanks, Flutters,” answered the pegasus entering the building, a close friend with a brightly-colored mane striped with six vibrant colors of the rainbow.
“Another early morning visit, huh?” Fluttershy started while giggling and making her way back to a chipmunk who expectantly sat on the floor in front of a small, green bowl. The nature-loving pony flew toward a wooden shelf full of supplies and took down a bag of seeds, then smiling while shaking the contents into a bowl with a light clattering sound.
“Yep,” said Rainbow Dash. She looked through the window behind her to notice the dim, blue-gray sky that was not yet lit by the rising of the sun. “Just thought I’d visit before I had to move that storm over to Ponyville, heh heh.”
There was something serene about Fluttershy’s dwelling, everything within it. Though the animals were already awake, and some skittered about or made their own noises, it was all very calm and under control with Fluttershy’s newfound, quiet confidence. Normally such a peaceful setting might get on Rainbow Dash’s nerves, but she wasn’t quite awake enough to notice this early in the morning. It had become a sort of instinct just to drop by and see her close friend now and then before the day really began. It was a nice way to ease in to the events of the day, especially one that was bound to be busy.
“Well, have a seat, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy said. She glanced back at her friend with a smile before placing the large bag of chipmunk feed on its place on the shelf, then hovering over to a spot on the pale floor where an impatient bunny waited to be fed.
As Rainbow Dash found herself a place on the soft, light green couch as suggested, the little white rabbit defiantly raised an empty bowl into the air before his pegasus owner’s face. Fluttershy, however, did not show the agitation that Rainbow showed watching the scene from where she sat. The soft-yellow pony simply showed an uneasy sort of look and pulled a ripe red apple out of her saddlebag.
“Eat up now, Angel.” Fluttershy set the apple in the center of the snow-white bunny’s bowl. She then leaned down to nuzzle him on the side of his face. Angel sighed, but his expression softened. Rainbow Dash watched these gestures and simple changes of emotion in confusion. Angel casually proceeded to devour the shiny, fresh apple. Before long, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but speak.
“Uh, Fluttershy…?” She started, tilting her head. Fluttershy turned to look at her winged blue friend with wide, seafoam green eyes. It turned out that Angel had turned his huge, whiskered head to face Rainbow as well, with his barely-intimidating beady, black eyes and delicate pink nose. This caused Rainbow Dash to stop for a moment, rubbing the back of her head undecidedly. It felt to her as if the whole world was looking at her at that moment, or maybe it was just the suspense of not having a sudden or violent response from the unexpectedly intense bunny before her. But it was just a question, and hating to leave a friend waiting, the hasty pegasus continued. Perhaps a bit too suddenly after all. “W-why are you so nice to Angel?” She blurted out.
Rainbow Dash realized her mistake as soon as she said it, and to think she had uttered such a question as a guest in the house of such a kind, willing, generous friend! Fluttershy indeed looked taken aback. “What do you mean?” She asked, as simply as Rainbow Dash’s question had come.
“I…” The now feeling foolish mare trailed off. You know what? Nevermind. That’s what she meant to say. As much as she didn’t want to continue this mess and make the day continue peacefully perfectly without conflict, the explanation came rushing out of her mouth, the meaning of her question she hadn’t meant to reveal. “I mean, he’s never nice to you. He’s always pushing you around—Why…” She gulped. “Why are you always nice to him?”
Fluttershy stared at the ground. Her expression was hard to interpret when all Rainbow Dash could see was the top of her eyelids, facing down. But she assumed that the calm yellow mare’s look was one of disdain. She must have been holding back from giving Rainbow what for, the guest knew. After all, Fluttershy wasn’t always a pushover. Fluttershy could teach you a lesson
“Rainbow Dash, you know I’m not always the most patient, kind, obedient mare everyone expects me to be. And you know I could very well be very strict to Angel if I wanted to.” She lifted her head to give her friend a look of sympathy. “But the truth is… I just don’t feel it’s my place to.”
Rainbow Dash was flabbergasted. Out of all the ponies/animals Fluttershy had the right to talk down to, it was probably Angel. Out of all the times there were individuals who were snappy or rude or impatient toward the gentle mare, it was usually Angel who acted that way. Fluttershy had the authority, and she was in the place to get even with this…this bunny, Rainbow Dash thought.
Fluttershy could see Rainbow Dash was thinking that, and her expression was changing swiftly as she rethought what to say. She seemed unsure almost, in a process of thought.
“Okay, I know that may seem strange to you. I guess…there are some things you don’t understand.” Her eyes glanced across the room, first to one side and then the next.
“Well, no duh!” said Rainbow Dash. But she didn’t go on. She’d had enough “elaborations” of her sudden bursts of speech for that visit. It was time for Fluttershy to explain this mystery of her own. And, in fact, Rainbow Dash was curious. It seemed like there was more behind what Fluttershy had started to say than just some impulse like Rainbow own speech. Yes, it was interesting. So the energetic, rainbow-maned pegasus settled down.
“You see, Rainbow,” Fluttershy began. Giving personal eye contact, she was speaking to a friend. And Rainbow Dash nodded her on. “That dragon that we saw, the one that scared my friends, the one that threatened you, I needed to teach it a lesson. There are times and places when I feel the need to show my strength. But with Angel, I don’t want to “get even” with him when he’s harsh. It’s…It’s hard to explain… But it all started when I met Angel.”
I was a little filly, and it wasn’t long after I’d gotten my cutie mark. I had experience with animals—not much, but I knew how to communicate with them. I just had a way with animals, a special connection not many other ponies can find, as you know from…well, from my cutie mark story I’ve told you.
Um, anyway, I was drawn to the forest, yes. All of the pretty and cute and sometimes scary, and just altogether diverse creatures fascinated me, and the way they all worked together to help each other live… there was just a sort of connection between all of them, I learned, and it was so wonderful. The way the trees grew tall to make leaves for the bugs to eat and nuts for the rodents who skittered around the forest floors, and oh, how the trees housed the kind little birds and the squirrelies within their strong bark… And, well, sadly to say, some of the rodents had to go and become food for the bears and the foxes… But I knew it was all for the good cause of the forest! Yes, and the big carnivorous animals would breathe out air for the trees to breathe in, and they would even make fertilizer for the trees. This was all the way it was supposed to go. The parts of the forest helped each other. It was like a community.
And so I was curious, wanting to better get to know this community that I often visited. I took long walks into the forest to observe around me. It was usually bright and sunny in that place where tall, lush, green trees with sturdy trunks surrounded me. Oh, how it must be to be a tree, always kindly giving friends what they need. The animals I observed, scattered about every part of the forest, enjoyed my attention. I became an important part of their home, assisting any bird with a broken wing, helping little animals get their food, nurturing the plants that were in poor health. The creatures needed me, and in a way I needed them. They helped a nervous filly like me to keep my calm. And they reminded me that there is still kindness in this world, that there is still a willingness to help others.
Anyway, I was walking through the forest one day, a peaceful day, when I heard… a sound. It was like crying. A high-pitched squeaking noise. And I could hear distress in the voice. I was ready to help whatever animal was in need here, and it seemed like a little rodent was in some sort of trouble. So I rushed over, following that sound that came from behind a tree. I could see some quivering from the other side of the tree… there was a white ear waving up and down slightly. But I still didn’t know what was the matter, so I went to take a look. I was full of worry at this point, and my legs were quick, using a lot of energy with little effort.
But when I came to the area where the bunny actually was, the problem was nothing I had expected, and mostly because it was nothing I had seen before. A little white rabbit crouched near a tree crying loudly, but with no power in his voice. It was in deep pain, leg pain, as I could see. For his right leg was coated with blood, with menacing metal jaws digging into the leg of his with their spiky teeth. Some of the blood was…dark red, already dried, but mostly it was fresh and still flowing from the wound. It was a good thing I hadn’t come later, or…or who knows what could have happened? T-there would have been a greater blood loss already, that’s for sure… Oh my.
I didn’t know this at the time, but apparently someone had set this trap for the bunny to be caught in just like that. Now, this wasn’t just to harm the bunny, but it certainly wasn’t done in consideration for the bunny or its home. No, some ponies did this just to catch and k-kill a rabbit just f-for its fur coat. I saw this… And all I knew was that a little bunny was suffering.
I knew that all bunnies had to come to an end, and sometimes they had to suffer a violent death to feed their prey for the good of the forest, but this wasn’t for the good of the forest. Oh, no, it wasn’t good for the forest at all. It was harming, possibly killing the residents of the forest, and for no reason that would help this tree-abundant community! This was not good at all! I knew that.
But, even so… I didn’t know how to react. The knowledge of the urgency of the situation filled my mind. It overwhelmed me, just how very harmful and ill-willed and bad this situation was. I couldn’t handle it, I couldn’t! And so I just… I just stood there for a minute. No, it was more than a minute. I didn’t know how to react, Rainbow Dash. I didn’t. And I stood there helplessly, the bunny wailing and waiting for me to act, and… For a long moment it was like leaving him there to suffer; I’ll never do that again.
I’d been paralyzed with fear, feeling dumb and helpless. What was there to do? A bunny was caught in a horrible way. In such an urgent situation, it never occurred to me to help until the call for help shouted in my face. And it wasn’t just the high-pitched cry that had echoed in my ears all before. I… guess I ended up needing more than that. The little white bunny opened his eyes for a moment. With those little black dots, he looked at me with such sorrow; it was like he was saying “help me”.
Help me.
Of course.
Help him, like you helped all the other animals. None of the other animals you’d dealt with had been in this kind of pain before, caused by this kind of selfish act by a hunter pony, but it was time to defeat the fear of the moment, and go on and help this forest citizen. He, just like the others, was in need. Like a bird with a broken wing, or a chipmunk who’d lost his family. No more fooling around; no more fluttering around fretting and biting your hooves as if you were the one lost and afraid and in need of assistance. It was time to be strong.
And so, without thought, I grabbed a nearby rock, and I flung it with unexpected force at the side of the steel jaw trap, the contraption that I thought was holding the jaws so tightly together. And the jaws sprung open. The bunny’s furry leg twitched limply, then rising into the air without the weight of the machine holding it down. The entire body of the bunny followed, collapsing feebly backwards onto the ground.
As the creature closed his eyes, I was relieved. It was free. But my task was not over, I thought as I grimaced and scrutinized the gaping wound. Quickly I decided that it would need the care provided in my own cottage.
I hurried back, dashing out of the forest while holding the bunny by the scruff of his neck. My mother would be home as she usually stays, tending to the flowers while I’m playing outside with my animals. The trees blurred past me, and the wind whipped through my short, pink mane, the curls of which were unrecognizable as it trailed behind me like a banner. If I thought of lifting off the ground, I probably could have flown fast enough to beat my wind-speed record I’d shown that one day when the pegasi were transporting the water to Cloudsdale; nothing mattered but getting the bunny home and to proper care at that moment.
As the little, round-ish, greenery-covered house came into sight, my pace slowed to a sort of prance before I came up to the door to politely let myself in. I entered quietly, and hoped mother wouldn’t ask where I’d been. She was the kindest and gentlest pony you’d know, but I was in too much of a hurry even for her concerned questions. I set the bunny gently on the rug, then scampered to the bathroom cabinet to fetch some water and bandages. The little creature was right there where I’d left it, staring at me with concern when I came back. I could tell the poor thing was desperate for help.
Smiling comfortingly, I cleaned the wound the best I could, and wrapped the bandage tightly around. “This is going to hurt a little,” I informed. I was as kind as I could, but he still looked uncomfortable and a smile never appeared on his face. I understood why, though. I couldn’t blame him for his discomfort after such a terrifying event.
So the bunny grew to trust me over that day, and a few days afterwards. I told my mom about the little bunny I'd found and rescued, and she was proud of my deed as always, kissing my head supportively and reminding me she was there for help if I needed it.
But the bunny mostly just laid still, resting; I made him a soft bed out of an old pillow, and I'd bring him food and check on him just to see what would make him feel less bored or lonely now and then. Because I knew it was tough. It took a while for the leg to recover, after that kind of injury. I... I don't want to think about the injury itself anymore, but of course I had to remember things like that. It was important for me to know what he was through--that's something that would help us understand each other, I knew. And I kept thinking back to that day I saw him in the forest. Weak, cowering he was. Shivering from the pain. I wouldn't want to ever be stuck like that myself. He must have been brave to have gotten through so well. Most of all, my thoughts couldn't stop coming back to how I had handled the situation. I hadn't been strong like he was. I'd probably been even more scared in that moment than the tiny white rabbit had, and I was only paralyzed by a sudden fear, not a screaming leg pain.
That was what bothered me. That thought nagged me. It was that I had hesitated. I was used to hesitating, Rainbow Dash. Like you already know, I've been scared to jump and fly as strongly as I can manage, for fear of falling. But that was hesitating from conquering my own fear--from doing something for myself. This time, I had hesitated to help someone.
I had hesitated to help that animal that had never done any wrong to me.
And that's what brought me so much pity for this long-eared, tiny-pawed ball of marshmallow-white fur. I kept seeing that longing for help in his eyes every time I passed by the little creature who lay helplessly on his puffy pillow bed. This was even when his eyes were closed that the notion haunted me, that for those few long seconds I had failed. I'm not supposed to fail to help animals; it's the one thing I do right.
And I guess he felt the same way. Well, maybe not as strongly, but he saw it the same way. Because as time went on, I was dwelling on those actions from days, maybe even weeks ago. I was worried, what would happen in the future if I couldn't act quickly enough? I had this fear of messing up everything... that must have gotten to me eventually, because I was acting differently. I... I must have been. Angel noticed. I had been shying away from his very spot on his bed, and I'd barely tend to him sometimes. He had to stomp his foot to get me to remember he wanted me to be there and paying attention. So I stayed by his side when I could. But then he'd be irritated every time I didn't. I remembered how important it must have been that I was there for him, and in that moment I remembered that I was important. He needed me to protect and care for him while his leg was still injured, and that kept me going.
Yet other times, my hesitant behavior would linger, and it seemed even as it was on fewer occasions that I'd let fear get hold of me and forget that I needed to help, Angel would react more angrily every time it happened. I remember once, I had rushed over to Angel with a smile after I woke up and went downstairs and saw him where he rested. It was time to wake up and start the day, except that he hadn't awoken yet. I thought I might as well give him some food, so I reached over for the container. But then... I didn't want to bother him. So I pulled my hoof back. And then I just stood there for what must have been minutes, knowing that he needed to be fed but too afraid to take action. I couldn't decide what to do!
Then Angel woke up, and he saw me with this terrified look. I think he could tell what was going on; he saw I'd been glancing at the food container, and he also saw me frozen with fear. And he gave this sudden glare when I next noticed him. His arms were folded as he looked at me. I had a sudden burst of reality then, seeing that someone was paying attention, this someone being the bunny who needed to be fed. This was what finally gave me the burst of courage to take action. It seems so silly now, needing courage to take a container of bunny feed and give it to a pet... Ah, but I can see there are things that I do nowadays that show actions not too different from how I let my emotions affect me then.
So that's how it came to be how it is now, I guess. Angel gets impatient and irritated sometimes, but it's because he knows that how I act sometimes because of fear isn't me. He appreciates the nice things I do for him, and I guess he sees me as a nice pony because of that. I helped him through that hard time, after all. When I hesitate, I'm not at my best. I'm not being me. I'm not doing the things I can, those good things for him or for other ponies, or even things that make me happy. Everything with him is here and now and he realizes when something's amiss. And when I seem lost... When I'm seized by unfounded fear... His emotions get the best of him.
Rainbow Dash sat for a moment, absorbing all she'd heard. Through the story she'd been filled with awe at both Fluttershy and Angel's perception of such deep emotional problems. In fact, she'd had no idea these conflicts were ever happening. That bunny had a strong heart. Or...something like that.
"He's still kind of a jerk, though," Rainbow Dash remarked tersely. "Like that time you told me about when you didn't give him the right salad, he makes you get every ingredient? Does he think he's your slave?" She evaded a carrot that flew through the air toward the general area of her head.
Fluttershy giggled, looking over at Angel. "Well, it is true that sometimes, even though Angel has good intentions, he does go about expressing it in sort of a rude way. We all have our lessons to learn, don't we?"
"I think you should be more assertive in reminding him to be patient and think about his actions. C'mon Fluttershy, you know no one likes vegetable projectiles in the face!"
"You're absolutely right, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy agreed. "I think we can all help each other be better ponies."
Angel looked at Fluttershy expectantly, not stomping his foot impatiently this time.
"And rabbits," Fluttershy finished.
