//------------------------------// // Part 10 // Story: Butterflies In Her Tummy // by Hivemind //------------------------------// Remi repeatedly pounded against the hard, wooden wall with his tiny, furry fists, causing quite the noisy displeasure in the cottage living room. He was so furious right then that all he could do to relieve his bursts of anger was to punch the toughest, most solid object he could find. Angel Bunny can be such a stubborn old mule at times. Was there ever a time when bunnies were just the normal, sweet, innocent creatures they were supposed to be? Out of all the animals in the cottage, in the nearby woods, or even in all of Ponyville for that matter, why did he have to get stuck with this one for a “friend”? Thankfully though, he would never have to worry about that white ball of hot-headed fur ever again. The dispute they had only minutes ago, debating why he always had to assist Angel with every little task that seemed too “hard” or too “tasking on his poor little legs”, had led to an ultimatum, resulting in an unfriendly breakup. They were no longer friends, and Remi could have never felt happier. The venting brown ferret felt a tug on his back leg. He quickly whirled around and sneered down at the face of a nervous and frightened young chipmunk, who politely squeaked at him, asking him to cease his noisy blows. Normally, his polite nature would most certainly cause him to keel over to the little guy’s plea, but his anger was far from cooled down. Remi crouched low to the floor, glaring at the terrified, striped rodent with piercing eyes. He expected the chipmunk to flee immediately, but that only prolonged his fit of inner rage when the chipmunk decided to take a stand, gathering up whatever courage that was left in his fragile form and outright refusing to leave. The little pest even had the rough nerve to stick his bright pink tongue out to emphasize his demands. Bad move. Remi’s eye started to twitch, and the hairs on his back began to stand up on end. Determined to send a message loud and clear to not just the chipmunk, but to all the other animals in the house, he released a great, screeching snarl directly at the chipmunk’s face, bearing his teeth and grimacing like a feral feline. Fearful for his life, the little chipmunk squeaked and scurried back into the living room. It dove underneath the couch, cowering behind one of its slightly larger relations for protection. All around the living room sanctuary, the birds, the owls, the mice, the squirrels, and all other sorts of small, defenseless creatures had gone quiet and fled to their respective dens in fear. Satisfied with this aggressive ploy, Remi rose onto his back feet and wiped white spittle from his lips before turning back towards the wall again, still filled to the brim with sweltering ire. As he resumed his brutal punching, still somehow ignoring the fact his paws were in terrible pain, a strange, new feeling began to rise deep from within Remi’s pumping heart; a feeling he had never once felt before. On the inside, truly, he felt terrible for what he had done to the poor chipmunk, but the anger that caused him to do it made him feel so…good. He had seen Angel do this once before, about a month or two back when he was stating his authority with one of the owl folk after he refused to share some of his favorite carrots. Of course, Angel was the victor of the dispute, which would have gotten ugly had the bantam devil not threatened the larger beast with brutal violence, leaving him to his dinner of champions. The days that followed after the inimical quarrel became mysteriously quiet. None of the animals left their shadowy dens while the big-eared predator was out and about, emerging only when it was dinnertime, or when their beloved pegasus caretaker was in the same room with him. A sudden, jarring sensation struck Remi. Was this the reason why the animals were always mysteriously hidden from view for most of the day? Now that he thought about it, there was no doubt about it. When he moved in with Angel all those years ago, the animals openly introduced themselves with polite gestures and smiling faces, and Angel did so as well, but when his caretaker announced the incoming arrival of an infant, everything went backwards. Angel’s once simple, joyous attitude suddenly vanished, leaving behind only a disturbed husk of unexpected anger and other negative emotions that caused his tiny, petty brain to go haywire. It all made sense now! The irritation, the frustration, and even the whole of Angel’s devilish little scheme, which thankfully he was no longer a part of. Angel was once a nicer bunny, but he was once a nicer bunny who was in control. The animals did not fear him, until now anyway, because he was not only polite, but was also his caretaker’s favorite animal. They must have figured that he had some sense of general authority alongside the gentle pegasus who cared for them all. Angel must have been living a pretty good life as second in command, and he had enjoyed it for so long that he had become accustomed to his life of luxury, and thus could not live a single day without having some sense of power and special attention, but with the announcement of a new arrival to the household, he feared of losing his superior position, hatching a plan that led him to the mud hole where he is today. Remi grinned like a cheshire cat, overjoyed that he had finally pieced it all together. He began to regret ever agreeing to help that insipid, vile rabbit, along with ever being his friend to begin with. Oh the things he could do with such juicy information. Good thing he had opposable thumbs. ~~~~~ Angel lay low behind a tall apple tree as he waited for his target to pass him by. A massive, red coated pony with a needle of hay between his teeth slowly walked through the expansive orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, toting a wheeled cart behind him while he whistled a jaunty tune. The little bunny thought about striking now, but knew that it would be too dangerous. A pony of that size and girth would probably not be the most attentive or alert pony around, but one wrong step and Angel could get squashed by the stallion’s thunderous hooves. But striking right there and then wasn’t part of the plan, not anymore anyway. Since Remi was officially no longer his friend, Angel had no way to ascend into one of the apple trees to pounce onto his target and used what he believed to be the ancient art of “rabbit-foo” bestowed upon his tiny, adorable form by the bunny god in the sky to subdue the lethargic, muscle bound pony faster than one could blink. Or maybe he just needs to stop sniffing his caretaker’s husband’s dirty lab coat when he comes home from work every afternoon. He didn’t know why, but there was something about the smell of strange, sweet smelling perfumes on polyester that seemed to take the edge right off. One minute, he would have nose buried in the fabric, and the next minute he was out in the garden trying to swordfight a intimidating-looking pumpkin with a sharpened carrot stick, his fur in a ragged mess, and splotches of war paint smeared all over his face. …wait, what was he doing again? Before he could recall, the voice of a certain country cowgirl off in the distance caught him off guard. “Hold your horses, granny! Ahm’ just gonna check on the mail, nice and quick!” It had been years since he heard that voice. It was Applejack, one of his caretaker’s best friends and the very same pony that made delicious apple cider, bucked apples, and…was headed straight for the mailbox! Angel Bunny went into an alarming panic. He searched all around for his big red target, but in a land of similarities, even a giant can be lost from sight. He looked down at the sealed letter in his paws, then looked to the barn-shaped mailbox at the front gate near the farmhouse. With no time to lose, he gripped the letter between his tiny teeth and scurried through the apple trees, speeding through tall tufts of grass in order to conceal himself as he went. He arrived moments later, panting and out of breath. Angel jumped up as high as he could to reach the mailbox deposit door. After a few successful jumps, he slipped the letter into the mailbox and sped away as fast as he could, far away from the farm and the approaching country mare. ~~~~~ Overtime? You hardly knew the meaning of such a word. The last orders for today in relation to needed medication were all filled in, and in a little less than three hours of work, but you kept your lab coat on just in case Redheart’s sorry state kept her from delivering the next batch of order forms, yet it’s been over an hour since you finished the last order. Your lab equipment was all cleaned and sterilized, the floor was swept and mopped, and you even took some extra time off to polish the stained, metal countertops. With five, solid hours still left in the work day, you had no idea what to do. There were no magazines or books to read, and loud music in the hospital was strictly forbidden. Perhaps you should just take the risk and go ask Redheart if you could leave early. You knew she wasn’t in the best of moods, but it wouldn’t hurt to at least ask, right? You hang your partially used lab coat on a wall hanger nearby. You then grab your hospital ID tag and move towards the big metal door that sealed you off from the outside world, but as you reached for the handle to unbolt it, you hear somepony knock three times on the door from the outside. Curious, you peek through the glass porthole in the door only to find a somber-looking Nurse Redheart staring down at the floor. Her eyes were red and stained with what appeared to be the results of hours of crying. She looked worse than you thought. Being the good gentlecolt that you were, you unbolt and open the door and greet the white coated mare on the other side with a big smile. “You were…about to leave, weren’t you?” asked Redheart, looking up from the ground and into your wide eyes. “Oh!” you exclaim. “Did you not want me to leave, or are there more orders that needed to be filled? Because if you want—“ “No…you’re free to go. Go…spend time with Fluttershy…please.” “Is something wrong, Redheart?” You felt like a jerk for asking such a blatant question. Of course there was something wrong with her! You just hoped she didn’t take the wrong way and lash out at you with another emotion-filled outburst. The caring nurse fell silent, returning her gaze down to the ground. A few seconds later, she began to walk towards you. Being just a teensy bit on the cautious side, you began to step back, but the white mare just kept on coming closer. You felt mildly afraid as your back bumps against the far wall of the lab room. Redheart was now within mere inches of your face. You could only hope and pray that the good nurse doesn’t try anything…uncomfortable, allowing whatever the hay she was feeling to take control of her actions. Suddenly, the mare lunged forward, not for your lips like you had feared, but for your chest, wrapping her forehooves around it like a giant stuffed teddy bear. Somehow, that must have triggered the waterworks again, for she was now openly releasing yet another wave of tears, burying her face into your chest fur. “R-Redheart?!” you gasp, baffled by the mare’s impulsive move. “Please don’t leave her!” cried the nurse. “Leave who?” “What do you mean ‘leave who’? Fluttershy! I’m talking about Fluttershy!” “Alright! Alright! I hear you! I won’t leave her, I promise!” Redheart forces herself away from you, stumbling back a few feet before bumping against another wall close by. “Go home…” Redheart grunted, pointing her hoof towards the open door. “What?” you reply, taking a step closer to Redheart. “I said go home! Go home and stay there! Right now, and don’t come back for another week!” “A-a week?! How am I supposed to support—“ “Don’t worry about that. I’ll send you your pay in the mail…” Redheart’s tone of voice dipped down into a more calming state. The broken mare slowly slid down the wall until she came to a soft landing on her rump, leaning against the white stone as her breathing slowed to a smooth crawl. “Just go home, and be with Fluttershy…ok?” Too nervous to continue an argument with her, you nod your head in agreement. “Good,” said Redheart. “Go home, be with Fluttershy, and let her know that you’ll be there for her, no matter what. Don’t ask questions. Just…do it.” You nod your head once again and move slowly towards the door to take your leave. You worriedly glance at the gloomy mare one last time before slipping out into the hallway, maneuvering through the hospital up to the front desk, where you drop off your ID tag and walk out through the front door, your eyes still as wide as dinner plates and your face contorted into a silently bewildered, blank stare of astonishment. You had absolutely no idea what had just happened. It all went by so fast and so quick that your mind could not piece it all together in time before Redheart put you on an early leave. Speaking of which, why was Redheart crying so much in the first place? What could have possibly happened to her? It has been days and you have yet to find out. Was it the death of a patient, or some other saddening event in her life? You think back to the day when Redheart first found out about you and Fluttershy’s plans to have a baby. Every day before that was smooth sailing, with no problems of any sort. Why she was acting like this now, and with so much emotion so suddenly? These were just a few of the things that truly perplexed you. On a normal day, you relied on the street lamps to guide you back to your awaiting sweetheart back home, but with so much time still left in the day, you thought about doing something special for her. The farmers market was still open, and the flower sisters always had their floral specials during the daytime. A nice, romantic gift would be a surefire way to surprise her, and thinking ahead of your own excitement, you had the entire week off to spend time with her! It was about time you got rewarded for all your hard work. Could this day get any better?