It was all starting to come together. His plan was flawless; perfect in every way.
He executed each and every part of it up to now to the letter. Everything from slipping that note into Nurse Redheart’s desk, to setting up a perfect little surprise for his caretaker back home. There was nothing standing in his way, not even his caretaker’s husband, and the best part about it was that nopony would ever expect a bunny to be behind such an elaborate string of events. The time he spent piecing it all together was well worth it. Soon, Angel Bunny would be the sole center of attention in the whole house once again. No foals, no intimate romance, no nothing!
Angel Bunny’s soft, furry feet pitter pattered across the hospital floor as the white rabbit darted from dark corner to dark corner. Nighttime has fallen on the town of Ponyville, meaning that there was less staff traffic in the whitewashed hallways. He enjoyed the still silence and peaceful atmosphere that was brought with it. At the home of his caretaker, even the shortest moment of noiselessness was a luxury.
The gaudy snores of the fat chipmunks or the bold woodland rats nearly drove him to madness each night. The only thing that kept him from stuffing a pillow over their faces was the keen eyes and ears of his loyal friend, Remi, whose acute senses were more of an annoyance than a helpful tool.
From his newest shadowy hiding spot in the corner of the main lobby, Angel Bunny was startled by the sudden clopping of hooves on the hard tile floor. He froze, shrinking himself further into the dark corner, hoping to Celestia that the blackness would provide him with reliable camouflage for whatever was coming his way.
From around the bend of the left hallway, a teary-eyed Nurse Redheart emerged. Her face was stained with the grey creases of recent tears of sorrow. In her mouth, she held Angel’s crudely written note, also damp with the marks of weeping. The little bunny still could not believe that the nurse thought the note was real.
The grim, somber mare slowly moved up to the front desk, opened one of its drawers, and let the note fall loose from between her teeth, but instead of landing in the drawer, the thin parchment drifted through the air, twisting and gliding far away from the desk before coming to a rest on the polished floor beside her.
The white coated nurse stared down at the still note. Not a word, not a sound tearing through the silence, save the faint beating of Angel Bunny’s heart. The nurse stared down at the note for what felt like hours, looking down upon it as if it were a poor, deceased house pet.
Suddenly, the mare broke down, releasing the flood gates once again from her bloodshot eyes. Hospitals usually had strict rules governing noise levels, but the broken nurse seemed to care less. She turned tail and ran, speeding down the nearest hallway with her tears trailing behind her. Angel Bunny dare not move a muscle after witnessing such a saddening sight. A few moments later, he heard a door slam shut, giving him the all clear. Angel Bunny fled the corner and bolted towards the front door. He employed all of his strength to pull the heavy glass door as far open as he could. When a sizable gap was made, the white rabbit quickly slipped outside and dove into the nearest bush, his heart racing like a stag horn.
His mission was complete, and despite having deeply upset his caretaker’s sister, he congratulated himself with a mental pat on the back. Hopefully, his caretaker had not noticed that he was gone the whole day, but after such a hard day of work, he definitely needed something to eat. His stomach rumbled, and the thought of reentering the hospital to steal from its porous, tasteless food stores was out of the question. From the look of the moon’s position high above, it must have been near midnight, giving him plenty of reason to sneak into the cottage kitchen and swipe a few of his favorite carrots from the fridge.
But just as the thoughts of an enjoyable, hefty dinner flooded his mind, Angel’s tiny heart stopped dead in its tracks as a new worry suddenly popped in his head.
Remi.
He had forgotten all about his slithering companion. While they did not hang out as often as they used to, Angel cringed at the thought of seeing his ninja-like ferret friend wide awake and awaiting his presence at home.
In a strange twist, he noticed that Remi was starting to become awfully suspicious lately, despite his agreement to assist him in his quest for attention. Sometimes, the little ferret would question him about his day, most times out of curiosity, and other times with a cynical eyebrow raised in his general direction.
It was going to be difficult for him to explain to Remi what he had been for the last twelve hours. Of course, telling him the truth was way out of the question, and Remi’s outstanding senses would most certainly reveal where he had been recently. Even sterile had its own unique scent.
Oh well. Even if Remi had even the slightest sneaking suspicion of his misdoings, Angel could just offer him a few of his carrots and let the power of Remi’s constant hunger wipe his own mind free of all doubt. Either way, Angel was sure of it that his plans would succeed, unless Remi decided to blab out everything he knew to either of their caretakers, but then again, who speaks ferret anyway?
~~~~~
Nurse Redheart retreated deeper into herself, curling up into the fetal position on the soft sheets of the previously empty hospital bed she now lay on. Her face was stuffed deep into the soft cotton pillow as she continued to whimper, trying her best to hold back another tidal wave of tears.
“Never again…never, ever again…”
The nurse lifted her head out of the pillow, letting her chin move to rest upon it. She looked up at a nearby wall clock. It read ten minutes past midnight. All the patients were fast asleep by now, leaving only the late interns and a few of the other doctors to tend to the nighttime duties. Her shift was over, and she was free to return home at any time, but the sadness that came over her kept her weighed down.
“…me, and now…her?” Redheart murmured, shaking like a leaf. “What’s next? I know our family has a history of this but...it just needs to stop. I swear, if that stupid, dumb, big-headed pony breaks Fluttershy’s heart…”
Nurse Redheart sighed, too full of wild emotions to allow her inner thoughts to get the better of her. She let out a great yawn, her eyelids becoming heavy and sore from having been crying for so long. She tried her best keep them open, but her efforts soon failed her, and the very moment her eyes were shuttered, the white mare fell fast asleep, snoozing quietly on the slightly damp bed sheets.
~~~~~
Darkness had overtaken the cottage living room, and every animal in the house was happily sleeping the night away, save one.
The wooden pole from which Remi hung from creaked softly as the brown, slithery ferret swung back and forth on it using his tail. Over the years, Remi found himself to have become extraordinarily skilled when it came to swinging on things. Tree branches, hoof tacks on walls, and even a delicate grape vine all held him aloft with ease. What started as a simple party trick his caretaker had taught him turned into somewhat of a hobby for him, where so long afterward he continued to curiously test his natural ability to hang off of high places.
What really made climbing and hanging by his tail such a grand enjoyment for him? Was it for the marvelous views? Originally, yes, but there was another, more special reason why he adored it so much.
On the ground, he was seen as a small, miniscule creature, forced to look up at those who were bigger than him; stronger and smarter than him. He didn’t mind being the little guy at times, but eventually, he became quite annoyed with it. Sure, there were animals much smaller than he was, but that doesn’t make him anymore skillful. Every animal is unique in its own special way, and despite his unchanging features, possessing an outstanding ability to ascend all things big and tall made him feel like a million bits.
From such great heights, he could look down at the world below him and see what the bigger and taller ponies and animals saw. Was he doing this to judge others just because he was now the one looking down upon them? Of course not!
Well, expect for one. A bunny to be exact, and one of his closest friends, even though he felt as if calling him a ‘friend’ was going too far.
When Remi responded to Angel’s sudden pleas for help on his strange quest, the little ferret expected nothing more than a simple, one day, easy scheme for just a little bit more attention, but when Remi was told of the ‘harmless truth’ , what that devious little bunny had in store was just taking things way too far.
It might not seem like it at the moment, but even though she had her mind set on a baby, Angel’s caretaker, Fluttershy if Remi remembered correctly, still loved her ‘little angel’ very much. Remi chuckled silently at the thought of their being any sort of angelic good within Angel’s cold, impish heart.
It perplexed Remi’s mind knowing that he was friends with probably the most ill-behaved animal in existence. Why did they become friends again? From what he could remember, it all happened when both of their caretakers moved in with each other. Angel seemed like a nice and polite young fellow at first, showing him around and introducing himself to the other animals in the cottage and whatnot. When both of their caretakers got married, nothing much changed afterward. Angel remained his friend, and they continued to do what they normally did as best buds. It was only when Angel’s caretaker mentioned the word ‘foal’ did it all go downhill from there.
Remi remembered it like it was yesterday. Only a day after Fluttershy’s little announcement, Angel Bunny called him to a private meeting. Angel explained his dilemma to him in great detail, showing that he had become use to a lifestyle of constant attention. Before the marriage, and if Angel was telling the truth, there was never a time in his caretaker’s cottage when Angel Bunny would not be by Fluttershy’s side.
Truth be told, Remi felt a little sympathetic when Angel presented his case with such emotion and ill-mood, though he still took to thinking it over first. There wasn’t much harm in wanting to be noticed every once in a while, right? Remi had no desire for such attention, mostly because he was fine with the level of attention he was receiving already, so what did he have to lose?
Eventually, they settled on a friendly agreement; Remi would offer his help, in exchange for a few extra snacks from the kitchen pantry, if Angel would keep quiet about his participation in his plans.
It has been nearly two weeks since they made that agreement, much longer than he had expected it to last, and already Remi could tell that things weren’t going to end well, despite his lack of involvement in whatever Angel has been doing lately. Most of the time, he would just stay at home and munch on a few peanuts or some other tasty morsel until Angel came around and called for his assistance. With the way he has been behaving lately, Remi couldn’t help but feel that his furry little friend was doing more than just finding ways to get his daily attention fix.
Curious as to how long he had been waiting in the dark, Remi snapped out of his deep thinking trance and looked towards a nearby coo-coo clock. Even though everything looked upside down to him, he could make out a full half-hour past midnight, well beyond the normal bedtime for the animals in the cottage. Angel should have been home over an hour ago. What on earth could be keeping him behind?
Remi could feel his eyelids getting heavy. He let out a quiet yawn, scratching the back of his head as drowsiness began to overtake him. Desperate to stay awake and wait for his friend’s return, Remi tried pinching himself, one of the oldest tricks in the book, or even slapping himself across the face, but alas, the dream fairy was calling him to rest.
Defeated by drowsiness, Remi slipped off his wooden pole and carefully leaped down to the ground, landing on nimble feet. As he sluggishly made his way to his little bed in the corner of the living room, Remi’s mind continued to flood with wild accusations and thoughts of worry. He cared for Angel deeply, as a friend anyway, but what should he do if Angel decides to do something really brash? Sleep deprivation kept him from thinking this no longer as Remi climbed into his tiny ferret bed and collapsed onto his tiny pillow, falling asleep instantly just as the front door of the cottage slowly began to creak open.