Of Fluff And Feathers

by Moowell

Caught in the Crossfire...

Fluttershy, Angel Bunny, and Discord looked out at the mayhem before them. Ponies everywhere carrying pillows of all shapes and sizes. Little ones. Big ones. Fluffy ones. Feathery ones. Plain ones. Embroidered ones. Ones with images on the case. Clean ones. Muddy ones. Dry ones. Wet ones. Stained ones. White ones. Colored ones.

And every last one of them used to beat the stuffing out of the pony across from their wielders.

"Discord... What's going on?" she asked the draconequus beside her as they stared down below.

"Hey, don't look at me! I had absolutely nothing to do with this!" he replied, raising his claws in defense.

"Really?" she asked sternly.

"As honest as Applejack, my dear Fluttershy. Though I must admit, it's made the morning quite interesting." Discord looked around. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to find a suitable perch." With a snap of his lion's claw, he disappeared.

Just then, a small pillow flew out from nowhere, directly for Fluttershy's nose. She squeaked, fearing that she would be struck, but Angel Bunny was quicker than the pillow. He leapt from her back and swatted the offending fluff to the ground with his feet. He landed on top of it and glared around, searching both for the one who threw it and for any others that dared to bring Fluttershy into this mess.

"Thank you, Angel! I thought that pillow was going to hit me for sure..." She leaned down and nuzzled his cheek happily before returning her gaze to Ponyville. "How did all this happen? And why haven't Twilight and the others tried to stop it?"

Angel merely shrugged before gesturing back up the path toward their home.

"I agree, Angel. It's much to dangerous to go into Ponyville right now. We'll have to wait until it all dies down." Angel nodded, then hopped back onto her back, and together, they walked back to her cottage.

Or would have, if Bon Bon hadn't just flown through some nearby brush and crashed into her.

Bon Bon stood up and shook herself off, collecting her pillow when she heard angry little squeaks coming from a bunny near her hooves. Not that she understood what he was saying, but she could tell he was mad. When he pointed at Fluttershy's prone form, she understood why.

"Sorry about that, little guy. And Fluttershy." Bon Bon bolted back through the brush just as Fluttershy started to stir. Angel just stared after her, his body shaking with barely suppressed rage. How could she hit Fluttershy, then just run off like that?! Angel stomped up to his mare's face and smacked it a couple times to wake her up fully, then pointed up the road and dashed off.

"Wait, Angel! It's too dangerous to go alone!" She chased after him, but her leg had been smooshed by whoever had hit her. She slowed down to a trot, nursing her limp all the way back home.

---

When she finally arrived, she heard sounds of ruckus coming from her house. Had the animals gotten rowdy while she was away? She hoped not. She would have to scold them if they were, and she really didn't want to scold them right now. Right now, she would love nothing more than to grab an ice pack, some warm tea, and a nap.

But when she opened the door, what she saw was completely unexpected. All the animals were standing at attention in rank and file, listening to the high-pitched squeaks of Angel Bunny from a stool on the far side of the room. When Angel saw her walk through the door, he chittered and squeaked again, pointing at her. All the animals stared at her silently, jaws dropped. Dirty coat. A favored leg. A pained expression as she limped inside.

"Um... Hello, everyone..."

Angel squeaked. The animals turned and roared in unison. He squeaked again. They roared again. One last time, they made their chant, and scattered, leaving an empty house and a very confused Fluttershy.

"Angel...? What was that all about?"

Angel's gaze softened as he looked upon her. He hopped down from the stool he was standing on and walked slowly toward her, chittering gently.

"W-what do you mean by that? What's for me?" she asked, leaning down to meet him at eye level.

Angel touched his paw to her nose and nuzzled her softly. Then he looked over her shoulder and his gaze hardened. Like a flash of lightning, he bolted out the door Fluttershy had forgotten to close in her confusion. Her eyes followed, and she gasped as she watched Angel climb onto Harry's the Bear's back, a bunny-sized pillow tucked behind the predator's ear.

With one long-lasting squeak from their leader, the animals roared their defiance and charged down the path toward Ponyville with pillows in paw, claw, teeth and beak to avenge their Matron.