"What is this feeling?
"This emotional surge that I'm under? Will it lead to something fantastic oooooor just another blunder?
"Why is it sung inside of my brain? With where we are going, have I gone insaaane, in-saaaane?
"OOOOO-NO!!
We do not sing!
I don't care if it's up in our heads or if it's a parody of Fluttershy's ‘So Full of Wonder’ song!
Don't you remember the time that Plastic Man from D.C. Comics got frozen,shattered,and then spread across the ocean floor, existing as a disembodied consciousness that got -what was it- boys of summer? Stuck in his head?
What does that obscure reference have to do with anything? I don't know, it was just the first thing that-
"A-are you o.k., H.B.?" Fluttershy's soft delicate voice asks as it neatly cuts through the trainwreck of thoughts that could easily pile up in my head.
"Yeah!" I reply, forcing myself to break off the staring contest that I have going on with the ground. "Just fine, why do you ask?"
"Oh, it's just that, uhm," she pauses and glances quickly behind us. "your tail is twitching more than usual..."
"Haaa- it is?" Fet, is that something that I should be worrying about? She's still looking at you! "Uhm, I wouldn't really know about that. Cause like with my ears, I can't really control it."
She tilts her head and gives me a look of disbelief. Fet. Locks. Gotta look away. The cute factor that normally comes with the little ones is kicking in.
"Really?"
"Y-yeah," I reply rolling my eyes while sighing a bit. "Hence the hat."
"Oh..." she looks away momentarily. "Maybe that could be part of the reason that the animals don't trust you."
"Uhh..." Yup, stare blankly at her. That's sure to get the point across that I'm lost.
"Well, animals communicate with each other a lot more with non-verbal cues," she says looking away and tapping at the ground with the tip of her hoof. Ah, now I think I know where she's going with this. "Those that come to me for care or even adoption are used to being able to read somepony's full body language-"
"Aaand you think that if I were to ditch the hat, that would make them think of me as less of a threat?" Whoa! Tone down the sarcastic tone there H.B.! She's trying to help you!
"I-I mean, if that's alright with you, it's only a suggestion, I-I mean- I'm sorry..."
"No... it's fine," I reply, taking a deep breath through my nose before slowly exhaling. "I should be the one apologizing to you. It's just..." I'm grappling for words here. "I guess I've been avoiding the animals for so long that I'm getting a bit apprehensive the closer we get."
"That's understandable," she replies. "But the fact that you're willing to even come this far says that you're willing to give them a chance and do this-" she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before looking up at me all wide eyed and softly smiling."Then maybe they'll give you a chance."
Fetting. Fet. Locks. I guess that Fluttershy has two Flutterstares.
One that fills you with fear and one that fills you with hope.
"Yeah," I finally reply, trying to regain my composure after that blast of radioshy? Flutterrads? I'll come up with something later to describe this feeling. "I-I suppose you're right." I tilt my head towards hers. "I know there's not a lot of space, but you wouldn't mind stuffing this into my saddlebags?" I ask tapping the brim of my hat. "Please?"
"Not at all."
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The heat of the summer day was just starting to loosen its grasp at Fluttershy's cottage.
Thankfully for the animals that called this place even a temporary home, there were plenty of shady spots under its bows and more importantly, lots of refreshing pools of refilling water near the long grassy areas to play in.
All that really was missing from this picturesque scene wasn't the rapid chirps of crickets, nor was it the all too loud buzzing of the cicadas. By Celestia's beard, it was most certainly not that.
No, what was sadly absent, especially for one particularly pointy eared white bunny rabbit, was the soft splash of serendipitous pink and yellow that was his pony, Fluttershy.
Meanwhile, the tuxedo cat stalked something that was twitching amongst the tall greenery,the rat fastidiously tongue bathed himself.
While the burrowing owl quietly hooted in his den, and Nigel the fancy poodle laid near the stoop of the front door, sleeping and dreaming of his master's eventual return, evidenced by his random kicks and soft almost joy filled whimpers.
And as all the other animals did whatever it was that they did, Angel, his whiskers at the ready, his ears perked to their highest, and his little pink nose a twitch, per usual as of late, stood vigilantly watching the path that led to the market for signs of his mare’s return.
He did not know how much time had passed between when she had promised him treats and now, but the sun was drawing steadily closer and closer to the horizon.
"Does Angel-Bunny know when Fluttershy-Pony will be back?" Was the question that broke the cotton balls' studious gaze game and caused him to jump a few inches off the ground in fright.
"Well?" The Rat asked, still continuing to groom himself, now moving onto the fluff of his little chest.
"No." Angel rolled his eyes at the rodent. "I, Angel-Bunny do not know when Fluttershy-Pony will return." He grumbled sitting up and crossing his arms.
"Fluttershy-Pony has been gone a really long time..." The Rat said between fluffs of fur between his teeth.
"I, Angel-Bunny, know this." he started, his brow furrowing.
"Gone most of the day, Fluttershy-Pony has been," The Rat almost mused, his little yellow eyes shifting ever so slightly in the bunny-rabbit's direction.
"I, Angel-Bunny know this," Angel retorted, his foot started to thump on the ground.
"Day is almost gone..." The Rat said, combing behind his ears. "Fluttershy-Pony could be spending time with 'not-a-pony-thing' animals keep going on abo-"
"I, Angel-Bunny, know this!" He shouted, throwing his paws in the air as he dangerously towered over the Rat.
Stumbling back, the Rat fought the instinct to bare his teeth. "Hey! No need for attack! Rat is just saying!"
Just as Angel was about to further grill the Rat, there came a clearly cainid yelping cry followed by the screaming yowling of a cat from the tall grass behind the cottage.
"Sounds like the cat has the fox by the tail," the Rat said, choosing to reach forward and sniff in the direction of the catastrophe rather than continue with his grooming regiment.
"I, Angel-Bunny, can hear that." He growled, staunchly returning his eyesight back to the path that his pony soon to come trotting down. His ears dropped down as the sounds of angry hisses and sharp pained foxy yapping continued.
"Angel-Bunny should look into that.." The Rat said, moving in the direction of what could be something very entertaining. "Unless, he likes the idea of Fluttershy-Pony coming back to animals at each other's throats. She would not be happy about that, would she?"
Angel glared down the trail.
As much as he wanted to be there for the moment that the yellow one returned, he really, really, really hated to admit that the Rat could be right about something.
"Fine!" He shouted, grumbling obscenities in his native lapine tongue as he stomped off to see what trouble the two predator pets had gotten up to.
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Foxiekins held his tail close to his little fuzzy chest defensively. The offending feline had arched his back, his tail puffed up and teeth bared as they hissed angrily.
Both of them glared at the other with narrowed eyes. Their instincts started to take over, and a question then soon formed on their minds of 'who was going to make the first strike'? It looked it was going to soon have a definitive answer as the black and white cat, eyes wide, began to prime themselves for a targeted attacking pounce!
Foxiekins snarled and yipped in kind; eyes darting about for an escape route or perhaps an exploitable weakness.
With the cat's haunches starting to wiggle, the vulpine knew his decision had to be fast!!
Just as he was about to strike, that's when the cat’s ear caught the dreaded thumping sound and glaring black little eyes of Angel, causing him to reconsider this course of action.
He slunk back with fluid feline grace, before resheathing his claws and licking a paw in an attempt to appear as if he was merely washing his face. This ruse, however, was failing to dissuade any further stern looks from the clearly dominant pet.
"What is going on here?" Angel asked, his arms in their usual angry-frustrated pose. "Why are you two fighting?"
"Fighting? I, Tux-Cat have no idea what Angel-Bunny speaks of." He meowed in reply, running his dampened paw over his face before once again licking it for another pass.
"Hey!" Angel shouted, pointing a single claw on his little paw towards the white-tipped muzzle. "You, Tux-Cat don't get to speak like that until a pony gives you a name!"
At this reinforcing of what seemed like such trivial rules for such a fragile peace between the species, The Cat’s ears folded down and his black tail swished irritatedly.
"Tux-Cat was given a name by the large hairless cats! It was, uhm," he paused, blinking and staring at the ground for a moment. "Meow-Stop-Leaves?"
"Who cares what crazy cat thinks he was named?! How will I, Foxiekins, woo mares if my lovely fluffy tail has been matted and wrecked with cat slobber!?" He lamented while holding onto his poor battered red and white tipped flag tighter than before.
"It is not Tux-Cat's fault if Foxiekin’s tail can be easily mistaken for a plump, juicy field mouse..." he said, glancing up mid paw lick,a predatory glint in his eyes.
Angel snorted as furiously as any rabbit of his size and stature could. "I, Angel-Bunny don't care about either of your problems!" He turned to the whimpering vulpine. "When Fluttershy-Pony returns, she will brush Foxiekins tail. " He then turned his head back to the cat. "And she will make sure the Tux-Cat gets fed."
The two animals stopped and thought about the prospect of their respective fantasies coming true.
"But!" Angel’s shrill, almost streaking voice came cutting through the respective ruminations. "Fluttershy-Pony will not do that if either of you two are squabbling and especially if Tux-Cat is hunting around the cottage!"
Just as the pair were about to concede to these harsh-sounding rabbit-revelations, they heard the sound of Nigels' silver dog tag jingle against his collar and the excited gasp of his mouth going ajar.
All of which could mean just one thing! Quick as lightning he bounded to the trio.
"Oh! Ooh! Ooh! She's returned! She's returned! Angel’s Fluttershy-Pony has returned!!" Suddenly he stopped, ears perked high and his head cocked slightly to the side. "And there's another pony accompanying her! They smell of... mint cream?" The poodle began to bounce in place. "Oh! Oh! Oh! That is the same smell that Nigel’s owner, Haut Monde uses to scent himself! Does Angel-Bunny think that my owner has at last come to take Nigel away from this place?!" He asked before racing away.
Foxiekins turned his nose to the air. "Unless Nigel’s 'Haut Monde' has been through strange one horn magic, Foxiekins thinks that he's going to be one sad puppy cause this fox smells a new mare!"
"So? Why is that so exciting?" Tux-Cat asked, casually sliding around to the fox’s other side.
"Why is that so exciting!?" Foxiekins exclaimed, paws raised and one ear droop in confusion at the question. "A new mare means new curples!"
The black and white cat glared at the vulpine, unimpressed with his explanation.
Foxiekins groaned as he ran a paw over his muzzle. He took a deep breath. "A new mare means that they could be looking for a pet. If the mare is looking for a pet, that means one of us gets adopted. If one of us gets adopted, that means that they don't have to share food, space..." he looked at his eyes glazing over for a moment. "... curples... now does Tux-Cat understand-" he began to ask, only to find the monochrome kitty had already taken off in the same direction as Nigel. "Hey!"
"Foxiekins talks too much! That name and warm bed belongs to Meow-Stop-Leaves, the tuxedo cat!"
"Wait! Come back here!" Angel cried out. "I, Angel-Bunny am not done with you two!"
Quick like, well, a bunny, Angel raced after the two felons and nearly caught up with them when something happened that made him stop and stare.
Nigel, whose endless excitement to have even the slightest possibility in seeing his beloved Haut Monde abruptly stopped at the edge of the path where it turned into a grove of trees.
As Fluttershy walked out, the poodle sniffed at the pony that had yet to present themselves.
Suddenly, his entire body language changed.
Cowering away, his ears dropped his tail tucked itself under his legs. With his eyes wide, Angel could hear Nigel's terrified whimpers and whines.
Fluttershy attempted to calm him down with something soft sounding, only to have the canine to yelp before turning tail and bolt back in the direction of the cottage.
"Not Haut Monde! Not Haut Monde!" He muttered, as he tried to scramble past Angel.
"Hey!" Angel shouted, reaching out for a grey fuzzy near the shivering poodle's paws. "What happened?!"
"Not-" Nigel began almost snapping whatever was attempting to come at him. He then pulled back, looking as if he had seen the rabbit for the first time. He then once more whimpered, his eyes darting back Fluttershy before turning back to the cottage. "N-not Nigel’s Haut Monde..." he stammered scuttling forward to safety.
=============================================================
As 'Nigel' turns tail and runs, that sense of dread hits me yet again. Not just the dread that this won't end well, but a different sort of dread.
A feeling whose analogy can be described as similar to the first time reentering a church after several years of denouncing the practice.
One part of you knows perfectly well and good that it's illogical to be afraid. It's just a building; brick, mortar, wood, wiring, carpet, and whatever else it happens to be constructed of.
The other part, the emotional part, doesn’t care about all that stuff. That part remembers the things that happened inside buildings one these it's heard about things that have happened to others inside other buildings like these. It worries, irrationally mind you, that if you'll burst into flames because of your turn to heathenism.
But then the other side, that rational little Yu living in my brain reminds us that Fluttershy is here and she promised that as long as she was there, she'd keep me safe.
That part of me that's still Mi however, is still going on about how maybe this is a bad idea and like those many years, despite entering the church being for a home brew live action roleplay lycanthrope game, that we shouldn't be here.
"Oh," Fluttershy disappointingly gasps, once more breaking me out of what could be one of my many existential quagmires. "I'm sorry about Nigel, he's just been really looking forward to being reunited with his owner, Haut Monde."
"Uhm," Wow, Flutters interpretation of that poignant, apt brief, reaction was far different than mine! “I-It's okay, I-I guess we can cross dogs off the list of animals that tolerate me-eeee!"
Suddenly, that last syllable is forced out into a terrified 'whiny' sound as the sensation of something landing square on what I can only describe as the small of my back. Well, that is what it would be if I was still human.
"Oh! Foxiekins! What did we say about jumping on others curples?" Fluttershy softly exclaims in a stern-yet at the same time not so stern voice that only Flutters can pull off. Wait, my what?
"Uh... I'm afraid to ask, but what are 'curples'?"
"You don't know what curples are?"
"Uhm, no..." I reply suddenly learning the hard way that foxes have claws.
"They're your haunches..." she replies, a little blush spreading on her cheeks. "Your hindquarters?"
"Oh." I replied in a voice that's a little more than angry sounding in tone. Turning my head till I'm almost looking directly at my 'curples' and at the little red-orange fox that's sat upon them.
He then turns his head and he finds himself face-to-face with me.
"Pleassse kindly remove yoursss-"
I don't even get my last word out before the little red blur makes a terrified yipping followed by a confused scampering off my backside. But not before leaving some painful scratches!
"EEEP!" Fluttershy squeaks as she watches my face twist and curl into what I'm sure are some downright amusing forms. "Oh! I'm sorry! Are you alright?!"
"Yeah!" I reply, come on, push through the pain H.B.! You've been through worse! You've been magically branded, both sides! Remember?! "I'm fiiine." I hiss out, the quick pains already starting to fade.
"Are you sure? You're not bleeding are you? Oh let me see!" She says, moving to examine... my... backside...
"Yes! I'm sure!"
She pulls away, biting her lip before looking up at me with those soft, sad cyan eyes of hers. I can make out the smallest of whimpers before she goes to ask me a question.
"Are you sure you're okay with doing this today? After all, we can still wait till tomorrow..."
Good fetting Gaia. Right now I'm reminded of why, when asked, my last girlfriend, the knee that I keep nameless, except in a small box tucked away in a hidden corner of my mind, always said that she was a 'Futter-Pie' when it comes to personality.
So anxious, so unsure, always questioning little things. But that could be expected, what with her father and growing up in such a restrictive chur-
Hey! H.B.! You're doing it again! There'ss no time to go into this complexx and very traumatic backsstory involving her!
Fet, for once that stupid inner voice is right.
Fluttershy asked us a question and you need to answer! Just do what you will with her when she would lose the ability to believe in herself. She did say that she believed in you. Can't lose that bit of self confidence so soon, right?
"Yeah, I'm still sure," take a deep breath, H.B., with Fluttershy at your side things will be alright. "And yes, I'm sure that I'm sure." I add, already seeing the words form in her lips as she raised a hoof.
"Oh," she replies, that same hoof dipping before raising it once more. This time however her wings follow suit and her ears fold with classic 'shy-concern'. "Are you-"
"-Yes," I interrupt, already knowing where this line of questions is going. "I'm sure that I'm sure." She meeps a little, a nervous apt apologetic expression on her face. "I'm sure." I add for good measure.
She giggles involuntarily before covering her mouth and sheepishly looking away.
"I'm sorry..." she quietly apologizes.
Again. Flutters is reminding me of her.
"I-it's alright, like I've told you before, you don't have any reason to apologize. Now-" Alright, step forward out of the quiet, safe shade of this small grove of maple trees and into that harsh, open, bright light of the... I don't know... out of my comfort zone?
The sun, while not close to setting, is just starting to cast longer than normal shadows. And it's quiet.
Which is something that I've come to expect by now, but it'd be nice if there were other sounds to fill this unnatural void. Well, other than the clip-clop of hooves and the whispering of a warm summer breeze through the maple leaves.
Wait. No, I was wrong. There is another sound. A rustling in the grass and a frightened wordless gasping that's coming from somewhere... close?
"Where the fet... oh..."
Looking down, not five feet from where I'm standing, is a little white powder puff with an expression of pure, open mouth, wide-eyed, ear-drooping fear.
"Uhm, o-oh. H-Hi Angel." Oof. All that confidence talk? Yeah, that's starting to melt away. And all it took was over a small rabbit.
"Angel?" Fluttershy gasps as she sees her beloved pet who looks as if he should be dropping chocolate jelly beans any time soon. "I-I didn't expect you to... uhm be greeting me here. I thought you would still be at the cottage..."
Wow, that was really awkward, and this is Fluttershy we're talking about!
"Fluttershy," speaking of all things awkward. "He's still staring."
"Don't worry, just let me have a talk with him to let him know that everything will be alright and that you're perfectly safe." She assures me going up to the fossilized lagomorph.
"Angel, I know you're scared, but it's going to be alright. I just wanted her to meet all of the other animals and see if any of them are willing to give her a chance. Don't you think she deserves a chance?"
Gawd, hearing Fluttershy talking like that and like... I knew it was coming, and it's really corny sounding, but I just didn't expect it to make me feel this... uhm, hopeful? I guess that's the emotion that's attempting to push a grin from my face.
"Y-yeah... Angel," I stammer, letting that grin spread over my face. Gawds, if it weren’t for the fact that I am in a land of talking and thinking animals, saying what I’m about to say to a rabbit would be really stupid. "All I'm asking for is a chance."
Fet. He’s not breaking out of it. His face is still frozen in the expression of what every horror-writer dreams of invoking in their audience. Which, of course, means that he’s still staring. Half of me wonders what nightmarish abomination he is seeing right now, if any that is. The other half says that somethings are better left unknown. Though... maybe if I asked nicely it would help?
"Uhm, please?"
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Angel had hopped over to the edge of the grove, hoping that Fluttershy had not brought whom he feared she had brought.
'She wouldn't. I, Angel-Bunny am still much more important to her than that... thing!' He told himself.
'She cares about me... and the rest of them.' He had assured himself in every bound.
And yet, with each movement forward, there was a creeping fear that was growing stronger and stronger.
At first it was difficult to pinpoint the exact sensation that was triggering this apprehension. But with as many times as that creature had passed within range of their safe abode it quickly became clear that there was a deafening silence, a lack of song birds that would normally accompany Fluttershy's return.
Upon drawing closer, that wasn't the only unnerving thing.
The wind on the trees carried with it an odor of old decay. Was it rotting wood and leaves? The smell of sick, mangled, festering flesh? Of food long forgotten and left to spoil and ferment?
Or was it the harsh musk of an unknown predator lurking in the shadows? The repulsive smell of its saliva dripping on the ground, its heavy, fetid breath polluting the air as it lay in wait, anticipating an obvious prey.
Just as Angel was a few more large hops to his pony, that, that was the moment in which a loud crashing noise came from the bushes causing him to freeze in place.
Foxiekins came bolting out from the tangled undergrowth, his fluffy tail at least tripled in size in terror!
Angel's head slowly turned to the entryway in the trees, the only bright spot being Fluttershy as she gasped at an unknown darkness, a blotting in his vision. As if a swath of the darkest of shadows had somehow stolen the light present within the trees.
Time felt like slow moving syrup that was holding the bunny in place, before whatever had stayed behind Fluttershy, most likely using her as a camouflage, a shield, stepped forward, the menacing sounds of dry sticks cracking more like bones under the weight of the thing’s hooves...
'Oh! Hhhiii Angel...' This mockery of was meant to be a pony wheezed from a mouth that was filled with far too many razor sharp teeth.
Fluttershy walked up to him, her voice attempting to convey a calming presence to this situation, but instead it arrived to his ears as a slow, twisted, warped muffled mess.
A calm sounding muffled mess, but a mess nevertheless.
'How can she be so calm?!' His mind boggled beholding the many details that had only been blurs from the cottage window.
Things like how the shadowy protrusions came out of its hooves seeped into the soil and spread pitch black cracks that seemed to taint and warp everything around it...
Or the way that its mane and tail writhed about as if it were made of an entire nest of black and brown snakes!
Then there were those eyes...
White voids encircled by thin black pinpoints causing them to take on the appearance of horrifying gaping maws.
"She deserves a chance," Fluttershy said, her voice fighting to overcome the eerie clinking of iridescent chains that wrapped around its various body parts.
"Yeeeaahsss, Angel," the thing blurbled, a second face appearing just at barrel level. "All We Are AssKing for isss a chaaanccce!"