//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Pone // by the Horse Writer //------------------------------// It was a beautiful new day. Celestia’s bright sun rising on the horizon, shedding its golden light upon Ponyville’s fields, with little critters roving to and fro. This was especially true in Fluttershy’s residence; birds chirping, busy cleaning themselves for the day; rodents of all kinds waking up from their slumber. Only one being had not felt the joy of creation- Angel Bunny, the eternally grumpy rabbit. Although Angel had a tendency for the grouch, this morning he indeed had a solid reason for it- within his mind, at least. Fluttershy, who normally woke with the sun, had remained in her slumber. This in itself did not bother Angel, however; because of this, Angel had not gotten his morning carrot-and-lettuce salad, which he could not start the day without. A quite horrendous act indeed. Annoyed, Angel had left his waiting post at his food bowl and strutted over to his owner’s room, his rabbit feet softly tapping the ground. Although the pegasus’s room was up the staircase, which looked enormous to Angel’s small form, he had no problem with his mobility. After all, he is a rabbit, and -aside from being the best animal- rabbits excel in mobility. Reaching the top of the stairs, Angel panted a bit- not that he needed to, of course- and went over to Fluttershy’s room. Fortunately, the wooden-brown door was slightly ajar, allowing him to swiftly step inside. Finally inside, Angel took in the room. on the wall on his left were many wooden shelves, storing memorabilia and objects dedicated for special animal care. looking right, he saw a relatively barren wall, filled with only a single, full body mirror and some paintings. Finally, looking forwards, he witnessed his objective: Fluttershy’s bed. Approaching the bed, Angel took notice of the large lump underneath the green sheets. Someone had gotten a bit comfortable, he thought and smirked a little. He was tough, not heartless. Jumping upon the bed, Angel waddled over to the prone pegasus. "Flutters, wake up." He said, speaking in a rabbit language that only Fluttershy could understand. Seeing no reaction, he reached out to her and held her in her paws. “C’mon, wake up; I need that salad.” he spoke, gently shaking her. Waking her up has never been this hard, he thought. Not that I ever needed to, really. Suddenly, he saw a small twitch underneath the sheets. a small voice entered his ears; “mmhm…” moaned the butter yellow pegasus, and shifted around.  “All right… I’m up…” came a half whisper, as Fluttershy dug out of her covers. her head peeking out, she took a long, confused look at Angel. “Hey… Why… Why do I have a bunny in my house?” she muttered, her eyes slitted in confusion. “And what happened to my voice?” Angel raised his brow. “Heh, what do you mean?” he worryingly asked, the sacred meal momentarily forgotten. Hopefully she’s just messing with me. Not that she ever does… Stuck in his thoughts, Angel did not notice Fluttershy’s eyes and mouth slowly opening in shock, or the small, choked shout that came out of it. “AHH-” *** “Any more questions? No? Well then, class dismissed!” All right! I thought, the sound of shuffling students surrounding me. It’s not that I hate my classes -I chose to major in Biology, after all- but the human mind was not built to withstand 8 hours of constant studying. Sweeping the notebook to my bag, I swiftly left the classroom and departed for the school’s exit. Although the Biology lab is on the other side of the school, it is luckily quite a small school, and I do not have to walk much. That does mean, though, that I have to pass near the public restroom, which always exudes an unpleasant aroma. Nearing the terrorizing site, I watch as my friend, Paul, leaves the restroom. “Hey dude”, I say, momentarily frightening him. “OH,” he exclaims, releasing a breath. “Hi Dave. How was class?” he asks, being awfully nice for a student at the end of a school day. “Eh, not much. How about you?” I return, returning to my stride. “Tired, you know how it is.” “Yeah man, I sure do.” “Really, I can’t understand how you manage to stay here this late, like, three times a week?” he ended with a question as we passed by empty classrooms. Paul and I are quite different. Not too different, admittedly, but we have many differing characteristics. For instance, he does not share my love for sciences- He’s an amazing musician, but if you ask him to solve a quadratic equation… Well, you wouldn’t ask him again. “Eh, you get used to it. Though I wish I could stay here this late only a day a week. Must be fun for you.” I return. The unusual hour of 6pm had drained most students away, only leaving the crazy few stuck in this… hellhole. Walking the rest of the way in silence, we had finally reached the school’s exit. The wide yard, meant for storing hundreds of kids and teens waiting for their buses, was unnervingly empty. Thankfully, the large, blue gate signifying the exit was only a few meters away. I muttered a swift goodbye to the guard and passed the gate, Paul by my side; We had reached the point of splitting up. “Bye Dave!” he called out as we went our separate ways. “Bye Paul, see you tomorrow!” and I was alone. A short walk later, and I had reached the serene building which I called home. “Mom, dad, I’m home!” I announced, opening the front door. Receiving no response, I stand in the doorway, momentarily confused. Oh yeah, they went on vacation. again. I grumpily thought  as I closed the door. Guess I’ll be alone tonight. Walking through the living room, I headed towards the corridor, intent on reaching my room; though, I didn’t get far inside before I got tackled from one of the side rooms. Luckily, this was no mysterious intruder… “Laika! Be careful!” I declared, hunching at the excited Golden retriever at my feet. “Oh, how can I be mad at you…” In response, Laika had decided to lick my face. “Bleh.” I muttered. Well, maybe not as alone as I thought… *** I woke to a feeling of rattling. This was unusual, seeing as I had an alarm clock, though this thought had not reached my sleeping mind. A small, discontent mutter escaped my lips as I shifted around, trying to shake off the intruder. Seeing as the action did not improve my condition, I admitted defeat. “All right…” I mumbled. “I’m up…” Squirming around, I popped my head out of my -unexpectedly green- sheets. Outside of my comfy adobe awaited a surprise- A white, somewhat annoyed rabbit; Though I couldn’t tell you just how I knew its mood. “Hey… Why…” I began, brain lagging. “Why do I have a bunny in my house?” a quick realization fell onto me. “And what happened to my voice?” The rabbit did not answer my questions. Instead, it had done something much more surprising- and concerning; It spoke.  “Heh, what do you mean?” it said. It said. I may not be religious, but I could swear a quick prayer had left my mind at that moment. In my sudden panic, my brain had decided on the best course of action- perhaps in order to scare away the terrifying rodent, I had initiated a primordial defense mechanism. “AHH!”