Enchantè

                                                            Angel Alone

Life with Fluttershy had been a dream for Angel Bunny. Ever since he’d made her his pet, she had fed him, played with him, taken care of him. No more grubbing in the dirt, no more running away from predators, no fear of any kind. Now all that had changed.

When she hadn’t come back after a few hours that one night, he had gone out looking for her. She had never been out so long, and besides, he was hungry. He could have fed himself, but why bother when he had a perfectly capable pony at his beck and call?

He followed her tracks where they led into the Forest, and that’s where they stopped. He could see her hoof prints on the ground, but they were jumbled up with a great many more, along with a very strange scent.

From there the tracks disappeared, so they must have flown away. With Fluttershy! He knew he needed help to save her. So he raced back to the cottage, only to stop dead in his steps just inside the Forest. From his vantage point, he could see a great many animals, creatures he recognized, going in and out of the cottage. But the wind had shifted to his direction, and he caught that same strange scent.

Those weren’t the animals he knew.

As he watched, the cottage door opened, and out came Fluttershy! He was almost beside himself with joy, and was just about to run to her, strange animals or no, when he saw her strike one of the creatures and speak roughly to it! He had never seen her behave that way! Then fear gripped him as the chastened “animal” cautiously picked itself up and turned…turned into a pony! He looked at Fluttershy more closely.

Rabbits have excellent vision, a necessity for an animal that is featured highly on most predators’ menus. Even so he could scarcely believe what his eyes were telling him.

That wasn't Fluttershy.

He had never seen a look so evil in any creatures’ eyes, let alone hers. He didn’t understand what had happened, but he knew this place was no longer safe. So he crept away, dug a quick burrow into the ground and tried to think.

He could sense a storm approaching. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d spent time outdoors during a storm, but he knew he wouldn’t like it. Also, the falling rain would cover the sound of a predator approaching, making the storm a good time to get eaten. So he huddled miserably in his makeshift shelter, and hoped it would pass quickly.

As he waited, he realized that Fluttershy’s friends could help, if only he could tell them. The problem is his pet is the only one of these ponies that is smart enough to be able to speak with him, so how could he make such other dull-witted creatures understand? But then he remembered that creature that had turned into a pony. What if there were more of them? And what if Fluttershy wasn’t the only one who had been replaced? He didn’t know what to do. If he went into town, he stood the chance of being caught by those monsters with pony faces. If he didn’t find help, he knew he may never see Fluttershy again. The dread he felt from this last thought decided him: he’d risk going into town. Having made up his mind, he dashed from his hiding place and sped as fast as he could into Ponyville.

The storm had made the streets of the town deserted, besides being unbearably muddy. Angel slipped and slid through mud that soaked his fur, but he concentrated on his hearing and his nose to detect any ponies with that odd scent.

Crouching under an awning outside a shop, he tried to remember where any of Fluttershy’s friends lived. He’d only ever been taken into town by her, and had never needed to pay attention to where they’d been going. Now he wished he had. Then he remembered one of the places smelled like cakes and other sweet things, so he followed his nose to Sugarcube Corner. He remembered seeing that pink pony there a lot, and he hoped she was there now.

Making his way to the shop, he kicked on the door until somepony opened it. It was the pink one!

“Oh, you poor thing! What are you doing out here? Come in out of the rain!” she said.

He followed her inside, leaving a trail of muddy paw prints, and then began hopping up and down while pointing at the door. He had to make her understand!

“We can’t go back out there, silly! It’s too wet! Wait until the storm is over, and then I’ll take you back to Fluttershy.”

As Angel shook his head ‘no!’ several other ponies made their way into the shop to get out of the rain. As they did, Angel caught a now familiar scent, and he slowly turned to face the its source. It was her, the one who looked like Fluttershy! He backed away, and then turned and ran into the kitchen and out the rear exit.

“Hey, WAIT!” called Pinkie.

“Fluttershy” had spotted him, but she put on her sweetest voice and asked, “Oh my, Pinkie! Was that Angel?”

“I think so,” she said, “but he was so covered in mud it was hard to tell.”

“Oh, then it couldn’t have been him. He never leaves my cottage, especially during a storm. Still I better go look for the poor thing.”

She went out the back, with Pinkie following her. They stood and looked out the door.

“Do you see him?” Pinkie asked.

“No…it probably wasn’t Angel. Whichever poor bunny it was, he’s long gone now.”

Angel was indeed ‘long gone’. As soon as he’d made it outside and escaped, he ran as fast as he could back to the Forest outside Fluttershy’s cottage, and hid himself again.

None of them can be trusted. Couldn’t that pink pony smell her? He finally decided that she couldn’t, and that meant nopony else could either. Which meant he’s alone.

So began a pattern of waiting and watching. His days consisted of foraging for food, avoiding predators and all creatures with that scent, and watching the cottage for the real Fluttershy. He saw the fake one many times, and each time he did he felt both fear and anger. He saw her friends come and go, but he didn’t dare approach them while that imposter was there.

Once, he even saw a creature that looked like himself, in the company of the fake Fluttershy. This was almost too much for him.

Almost a month had passed, and he had just about given up hope, when he came back to his post one evening after looking for some food, only to see the door hanging open, and all the creatures gone. Cautiously, he crept up to the house and peeked inside. It looked as though a storm had blown through his home. The furniture was all out of place, cages were broken, and there was even part of a wall missing! Something bad had happened here.

He was just turning to leave when he sensed a creature behind him. Without waiting to see who or what it was, he started to run out the back and escape again, when he heard the creature speak.

“Angel Bunny? What happened here? Where is Fluttershy, my dear?”

The bunny stopped in his flight, and looked behind him. It was the black and white striped pony, with a very worried look on her face. Just to be sure, he cautiously hopped up to her and sniffed her. The scent of those creatures was all around him, but he could not smell any on her. She’s real! He rushed forward and hugged one of her legs, and started crying.

Zecora knew this could not be the same Angel Bunny she’d seen the day before. For one thing, this animal looked like he had been living rough for some time. Fluttershy had always been meticulous in his grooming, and this one had burrs in his fur. For another, he looked like he had lost weight, something that could not have happened in so short a space of time. Neither one of these things would have been true if Fluttershy had been taking care of him.

Looking around, the cottage looked like it had been the place of a battle, with none of the animals here. If she had not come by to walk with Fluttershy to the party, she never would have seen all this. Whatever was going on was serious enough for her to realize she’d need her potions. She debated going into town first, to warn Twilight, but her home was closer, so this decided her.

Speaking to the sobbing rabbit, she gently said, “Do not cry little one, for hope is what we need. Climb onto my back, to my home we’ll go, to get help with all speed.”

After he had seated himself, she said, “Hold onto me very tight, this will be a rapid flight!” So saying, she sped out the door and back into the Forest.

Night had fallen.