Whither Must I Wander

by thelegendarytoothpaste

Chapter 9ine

Fluttershy sighed for what must have been the fifteenth time. She worried for her little bunny whenever he decided to rebel against her wishes, but it was also more than a bit exhausting. She was considering just tying a bell to his neck so he wouldn't get lost.

He'd always been a fiercely independent spirit. He was the runt of his litter. Before she died, his mother rarely let him sup. His siblings always got to her first.

When his mother passed away, the others stayed close together, but they shunned Angel. He was their black sheep. He had learned early on that he could not depend on his brothers and sisters, so he only depended on himself. When Fluttershy would come around with a bottle for him, he refused to nurse like a common baby and had to hold the bottle himself. It led to more than a few messes.

Fluttershy did, however, manage to teach him that he could rely on her too. It took time, but eventually Angel began to recognize her as the mother he never had; the family he never had.

She frowned. Angel never did forgive his siblings for turning their backs on him. One by one they were adopted by good ponies, and they always tried to give him an apology and warm goodbye, but he had none of it. His sister offered him her last carrot as her new owner waited, and Angel smacked it to the ground and walked off. The look of defeat on her face burned into Fluttershy's mind. She would have to take Angel to see his siblings again sometime soon. Perhaps he would finally be willing to put the past behind him.

That was the future, however. For now, they just needed to find Angel in the spookiest forest in Equestria. Preferably in one piece too, though Rainbow Dash was on the fence and would accept small pieces of Angel instead. Fluttershy wouldn't though. Stupid bunny, needing to be in one piece in order to remain alive...

"Girls, I can't thank you enough for agreeing to help me. If we all pitch in we'll find Angel in no time."
Fluttershy smiled from behind her mane at her friends. It took no more than asking for them to agree to help her. There was no trade. No favor for a favor. Simple friends helping friends.
She felt blessed to have them in her life.
"It's no trouble at all, Fluttershy. If we figure out a strategy, we will find him easily."
"Yeah! With me on the job, there's no way we'll lose him!"
Fluttershy rolled her eyes at her oldest friend. Dash did not exactly possess the Element of Humility.
"The question is, should we split into teams? Or split up completely?"
"Girls?"
"It's probably better if we do teams," suggested Applejack. "I can go with Rares, Pinkie with Fluttershy, and Dash with Twi."
"Girls."
Twilight shook her head a bit. "Well, I was thinking we do two teams. We can then split as needed to find each other easier and will ultimately cover more ground."
"Girls!"
"That's a little complex for the Everfree, Twilight," said Dash. "Then again, Everfree likes complex. Or hates it. One of the two."
"Girls!!!"
Everyone looked at Rarity, who was pointing at Fluttershy's hoof.
"Angel just saved us a trip."

The others looked at just where she was pointing, where they saw Angel Bunny himself panting heavily and dirtied, but otherwise uninjured. He looked like he just had a sprint with Tartarus nipping at his heels. He began to tug on Fluttershy's hoof in a panic, but she wasn't going to take any of his excuses. He wasn't going to be getting any ice cream for a week.

Actually, you know what? Two weeks.

"I'm sorry for bothering you, girls," Fluttershy said softly, all the while staring at Angel with utmost disappointment.
Just like that, any tension that had built up in terms of finding the little bunny dissipated. Rarity appeared to be visibly relieved that she didn't have to trek through the woods after all. All that dirt was no good for a coat as brilliant as hers, after all!

The others assured Fluttershy that it was no issue, and they were beginning to discuss turning their emergency get together into a simple meeting for tea when Angel began to act up. Sigh. He never had an off switch.

He would not stop tugging on Fluttershy's arm. She ignored him for several minutes before picking him up and softly scolding him. He wants more? Alright then, four weeks!

"Angel, that's enough. You already made me disturb the girls today. No more. Go to the time out corner and think about what you've done."

Angel would have none of it, though. He pointed with his free forepaw towards the trees, and tugged at Fluttershy some more. Her mask of stoicism began to melt when she saw the horror etched on the rabbit's face.

When she didn't respond right away however he was hoping she would, he just moved on to Pinkie. Then Twilight, then Applejack, Rarity, and finally Rainbow Dash. He would not stop pointing at the trees.

"I think he wants us to go with him back into the Everfree," said Twilight. "Angel, the Everfree is dangerous. I know you've seen timberwolves before!"

Five weeks.

Angel smacked his forehead, and then began to run towards the trees before beckoning them again.

Fluttershy got the feeling again. She could feel it in her gut. Something was either injured or sick in the trees. A helpless animal. It was the feeling of hair standing on end and dense foreboding. She knew. Something was very very wrong.

One hoof slowly moved towards the trees and the tunnel vision took over. Suddenly nothing else existed. It was as if she were in a trance. Another hoof moved forward.

Yes, something was definitely wrong. She just didn't know for sure what it was, but she was going to find out. Even if it did for some reason turn out to be nothing, she wouldn't feel right until she checked for herself.

Her heart skipped a beat and she let out a gasp. No. Nononononono.

She took off like a shot towards the trees with Angel, her friends clamoring after her in confusion.

In the distance, what sounded like a colt screamed. It was all the incentive they needed to double time their sprinting.

End of Chapter

Author's Note:

Thank you for purchasing this Early Access story and supporting the development of it as it becomes a completed journey. Your money feedback and support is important to us and we will forever be grateful.

This is, unfortunately, where the arc of the story you paid for ends. To continue reading, please pay $4.99. Hurry up for your discounted price of 0% off!

The story will continue free of charge. How was my early access impersonation?

Comments

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

i think you need to lower the price a bit. i almost couldn't afford it.

[thelegendarytoothpaste]

8690251
I already gave you 0% off. What more do you want from me?

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

8690615
Buy one get one free?