The Honey-Glazed Carrot Test
It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, and on a day like this Apple Bloom was doing just fine, if a bit nervous.
As she rounded a curve in the path and came into view of Fluttershy's cottage, she admitted to herself that this was not her wildest stunt ever. She had made a batch of honey-glazed carrots, packed them into a saddlebag she now wore on her left, and came here to see if Angel liked what she had made. There were no ziplines involved, nothing was going to explode, and even if the worst happened there should not be much shouting. Then again, she had never heard Fluttershy shout; the caretaker had far worse ways of expressing her displeasure. Just that morning, Applejack had regaled Apple Bloom with tales of the vampire fruit bats and how Fluttershy had once been one of them, and joked that Apple Bloom should be careful on her visit this afternoon since apples ran in the blood of the Apple family. Applejack...had been joking, right?
Right?
Apple Bloom paused, just for a moment, to shove aside visions of what might happen if she accidentally poisoned Fluttershy's dearest non-speaking friend. Apple Bloom had tried one of the fruits of her labor, and it did not taste bad to her. She had walked all the way from Sweet Apple Acres and felt alright, no sudden cramps or urges to expel. There were butterflies in her stomach but she knew that feeling all too well, from the wide range of things her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders had suggested over the years in their mutual quest to achieve their cutie marks.
She felt slightly bad at leaving them out of this attempt, but food preparation ran in her family just like food raising. Her family would not let her sample their apple cider yet, but it was plain to see that the cider was quite popular, and then there were the pies, cobblers, fritters, and all manner of other apple products they made. So if her cutie mark was to be in cooking, she had reason to suspect her friends could not help her, but that was okay. Even if that did turn out to be the case, she would help them until they found theirs. That was what the Crusaders did, and that one nightmare that insisted they would kick her out and stop being her friends was just wrong.
Having calmed herself, she proceeded. Off to one side she saw Fluttershy conducting what looked like a rainbow-hued candelabra of birds sitting in a tree, training them in a new song for next week's spring festival, so she sat on the bridge's highest point to wait for Fluttershy to notice her. Many of these songs were supposed to be secret until the event, so Apple Bloom did not listen close, nor did she dare interrupt their rehearsal. It mildly pained her not to focus on the music, as the melody sounded sweet and almost perfect; even while trying to tune it out, she found herself gently swaying to its beat. Fluttershy's mane seemed a bit disheveled, suggesting that she had been working hard at her task for a while, but as Apple Bloom watched, the pegasus's fluid movements spoke of grace and poise as if there was simply no other state she could be in. Despite Applejack's tales, Fluttershy's wings looked as feathery as ever, not a trace of bat that Apple Bloom could see. When finally the caretaker glanced in her direction during a slow part of the music, Apple Bloom waved and resumed walking toward the cottage. Even if she had told Fluttershy she would be coming today, she would not dream of entering a sanctum like this unannounced.
As she opened the door, she discovered that while she might have been making a point not to spoil the surprise song, some of those in Fluttershy's care either did not know it was supposed to be secret or did not care. A small cluster of rabbits, squirrels, and beavers were having a dance party to one side of the large front room, apparently competing to see who could come up with the best moves in time with the music. Sinuous moves were apparently popular, given how many of the contestants were trying variants on a whole-body wave that went right through the rabbits' ears or the others' tails. She watched the contest briefly from a respectful distance, knowing well that wading among creatures that were thigh-high to her would only disrupt their fun, though she did mimic a few of the flashier moves, mentally noting them for the next time she went dancing.
Unfortunately Angel was not among them, so Apple Bloom kept searching. She wondered for a moment if she should look around outside, but even if Winter Wrap-Up had been a few weeks ago it was still a little chilly out, so she allowed herself the luxury of staying in an enclosed and heated space a while longer. Hearing a sudden commotion ahead, she proceeded to the kitchen, worried that Angel might be feeding already leaving him in no mood for her treats. When she arrived she found teams of mice cooperating to slice vegetables – mainly eggplant, bell peppers, squash, and tomatoes – and dump them into a pan for sauteing. She could not quite see what they were preparing, but the edge of the plate that was apparently to receive the result was prominently labeled, "FOR FLUTTERSHY" and "DO NOT STEAL HER FOOD". Her stomach growled as her nose registered a heavenly scent coming from the pan and plate, but caution and courtesy quickly won out over hunger. Not seeing Angel present here either, she backed out of the room and looked around.
Finally her eyes spied him, on a windowsill sitting motionless watching Fluttershy run the birds through practice. Curious, Apple Bloom crept upon him slowly and softly, until she saw his faint reflection in the window. His arms were crossed and a frown darkened his white fur. His foot tapped; at times it was not to the birds' beat, but as Apple Bloom watched it kept creeping closer to in tune until Angel noticed and wrenched it away again, each time scowling just a little more. Apple Bloom wondered what vexed the rabbit so, projecting her own experiences for want of anything else to guess by, until she was satisfied she knew what it had to be. "Don't worry," she said.
"Fluttershy still loves you even if she's busy with others," she would have said, but Angel jumped after her first words startled him. He landed and whirled upon the intruder, eyes broadcasting enough pent-up frustration that Apple Bloom backed away a few steps. Rapid fire chirps and squeaks came from his mouth like a sonic machine gun. Apple Bloom felt her cheeks redden at the onslaught as she got a vague sense that this speech was one she should never repeat, even though she had no exact idea what the rabbit was saying.
Finally, apparently realizing that he was not being understood, Angel hopped down to the floor and stomped off, waving for Apple Bloom to follow him. He stomped right through the dance party, which oozed around him like lava around some drifting stone that refused to let the heat around it melt it into part of the flow. He stomped into the kitchen and eyed the chef mice, who eyed him back with knives held between them; Angel decided not to challenge them and moved along. Finally he stomped up to his destination and Apple Bloom, who had followed from a distance and weaved around the obstacles he had gone over or under, immediately understood his upset and fury.
Angel's bowl was empty.
Apple Bloom would not get so upset over such a thing. For her, such heartbreak was reserved for troubles with a coltfriend, or serious and long-term consequences lasting at least a day, though lately she had been thinking a week might be more appropriate. (She could still hear her older sister's muted chuckle when she had discussed this with her, and still wondered what had seemed so funny.) Going hungry for a short while was something some ponies she knew did on purpose to lose weight, nowhere near as traumatic. But even though she did not fully understand Angel's ways and whims, she knew his priorities were different, and the moods of creatures like him were more closely tied to their bellies. She remembered once making the mistake of getting between Applejack's dog Winona and dinner. Angel was, according to Fluttershy, even more that way.
She eyed the yellow-rimmed blue container, almost a third as large as her head and just barely too small for Angel to completely fit inside, and wondered briefly how such a little bunny could eat so much. Estimating from what she knew of pig and cow diets, even if the bowl was only filled once a day, it still seemed like more than he should be able to digest in that time. In any case, it was more than enough to hold what she had come to deliver, and surely his state was good fortune given her quest. She reassured him in the gentlest tone she could manage, "I don't know where she keeps your food, but I have something else for-"
It was then that she discovered that a bowl kicked up into her face could hurt. Her senses briefly scrambled by the impact, she vaguely registered Angel's stream of annoyed chirps fading off as he stomped away, masked by a gentle ringing in her ears. Fortunately the bowl had landed around her face, impacting her forehead and cheeks where her skull was strong. She dabbed a hooftip to those locations, and while they stung, no blood stained her hoof when she inspected it. Next she looked at the bowl, which had landed in front of her unscratched; when she gently nudged it, she felt it vibrating until she applied a bit more pressure and the ringing sound stopped.
After shoving the bowl back where it had been, she turned around and followed the chirps, back through the kitchen to the main room. She did not see him, but a moment of listening found the sound coming from up a stairwell.
She froze and gulped, a brief shiver washing over her and a cold flash following it. One rule Fluttershy had laid down was that Apple Bloom was never, ever to go upstairs in her house. According to Fluttershy, there were things that could hurt her badly; Applejack had appended that some might harm her just by seeing them. But at the same time, that was clearly where Angel had gone.
Perhaps she could still pull it off. One glance at the dance party confirmed they were only paying attention to each other and the music. The kitchen mice could not see her from here. Although she could not see Fluttershy, the music was still playing so hopefully the caretaker was still busy conducting. Thus suspecting she was unseen, she carefully laid one hoof on the bottom most stair, ears wide open for any chitter or yell demanding she stop. When none came, she placed a hoof on the second stair with only a smidge less caution, then another. She did not get up to a full trot by the time she was all the way up, but she was balancing caution against speed lest someone wander in and look up.
Her heart was beating fast when she ascended the final stair and rolled onto her side, lifting herself entirely out of view of the room below. She paced her breathing, drawing in much-needed oxygen in enough quantities to try to convince her body to stop its panic, while being careful not to make much sound with her hyperventilation. Once she was somewhat calm, she regarded the landing she found herself in. Two closed doors lead away, one ahead and one to her right. To her left was a window easily large enough for Fluttershy to enter through with a perch outside; Apple Bloom recalled seeing Rainbow Dash enter this way once, to which Twilight walking next to Apple Bloom had sighed and asked why Rainbow had such a problem with doors. Behind her there were more stairs leading up and the stairwell she had just ascended.
She could no longer easily hear Angel, so she closed her eyes and listened close for any sound, hearing nothing. The back of her mind started waving a danger flag, but she ignored it to listen further, until her danger sense got tired of being ignored and wrapped the flag over her mind's eye like a mental blindfold, which her consciousness took offense to but at least agreed to examine the flag.
The music had stopped.
The music had stopped and any second Fluttershy was going to come in looking for her and Apple Bloom probably did not have time to get back downstairs and was that the door creaking open already and she surveyed the exits in mounting panic.
The door to her right had a simple sign affixed to it, white on black in a font that was somewhere between bones and metal, saying simply, "FLUTTERSHY'S ROOM" and "KEEP OUT". Taking mere moments to wonder what a kind, innocent pony like Fluttershy would use such a font to protect before concluding she did not want to know, Apple Bloom put that door on her list to check last. Or never. Probably never.
Going down was not an option. Not only would it mean giving up, it was the surest way to get caught.
Out the window had some possibilities, though she doubted Angel had anywhere to go in that direction. But once she fed Angel she could go that way, and maybe jump or climb down the side. She filed that away as an exit plan.
Going up was logical, but as she gazed at the stairwell her mind filled with visions of each step being creakier than the last, drawing Fluttershy like a magnet. Her legs clapped together and refused to move while she thought of it.
That left the door in front of her. A thick red cross centered in its top half advertised the purpose of the room beyond, and a still-slightly-swinging pet door in its base betrayed recent use. Allowing herself a smile, mostly to reassure herself, Apple Bloom crawled up to it and squeezed her head through the flap, pouring the rest of her body and her bag through the opening like the jelly she was envisioning to help her negotiate the narrow passage.
Sure enough, this was a medical closet. Bandages and medicines and supplies were neatly stacked in bins on either side, largest on the floor, smallest on shelves toward the top. Right in front of her was a syringe as thick as her leg; for a moment she pictured a pirate version of herself using it as a peg leg, until she realized that would have the needle where what remained of her leg's bone would have been. Putting that thought aside with haste, she noted the room was somehow lit despite being enclosed. A moment's further observation spied holes near the top routing light from elsewhere, perhaps outside. Conscious of the fact that they could route sound outside too, Apple Bloom took note of where it was safe to climb from shelf to shelf. There was a miniature ladder on the back wall, rungs too small for her to use, but Angel had climbed it halfway up to the ceiling.
"Aaangeeel," she hissed, speaking as softly as she could while still being audible to the bunny. "You're going to get us in trouble!"
The rabbit glanced down at her, stuck his tongue out, and kept climbing.
"Angel, please, come down from there!" She opened her bag, pulled out a carrot about as long as her hoof, and held it up. "I just wanted to feed you this!"
Angel stopped, nose twitching, then peered back down at the carrot.
Apple Bloom smiled. "Smells good, doesn't it? You want it? You're going to have to come down-"
And down Angel came, letting go of the ladder, twisting in mid-air, and descending toward Apple Bloom with arms and legs spread as wide as he could, mouth wide open and slightly hissing.
"EEP!" Apple Bloom tossed the carrot up and backed into the door, rattling it.
Angel snatched the carrot in mid-fall and seemed to collapse in on the golden-orange ovoid, landing on the floor with a small thump and getting very still.
"Angel?" Apple Bloom blinked. "Are you alrig-"
The door creaked open behind her.
Apple Bloom slowly turned around.
As expected, Fluttershy was there, the shadow of a disapproving frown on her face. "You know you're not supposed to be up here."
Apple Bloom had seen the withered husks the vampire fruit bats had left behind. Images of herself as one of them now flooded her mind, infusing her voice with uncontrollable panic. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I just wanted to feed Angel but he ran away and he came up here so I followed him and I finally got him to eat..."
Fluttershy looked past Apple Bloom and smiled. "Oh. I see."
"...but now he's not moving..."
"Apple Bloom?"
"...and I don't know what's-"
Fluttershy looked into Apple Bloom's eyes, put a hoof under her jaw to close her mouth, and pointed behind the filly.
Dreading the worst, Apple Bloom gulped and turned around again.
Angel stared up at her, ears down, paws clasped, silently pleading.
Fluttershy giggled as she let Apple Bloom go. "I think he wants seconds."
Apple Bloom's jaw sagged open, then she recovered enough to fish out a second carrot and hand it over.
Angel's face lit up. He snatched the carrot and cuddled it, smiling and trilling happily, then bounded past the ponies and downstairs to properly savor it.
Fluttershy sighed. "He thinks I don't know he's stashed treats up here. I only put in access so he can fetch things in an emergency. But I think he likes your carrots."
Apple Bloom stood still, mind whirring.
"Now let's get downstairs. It's a bit dangerous in here." Fluttershy stood aside to let Apple Bloom exit.
Numbly, Apple Bloom complied.
"And did you bring anything else? I was hoping to have an apple for dinner – er, I mean, with dinner tonight."
Sometimes it all came down to context. There was no way Fluttershy could have known the thoughts in Apple Bloom's mind, nor that the setting sun's light through the window struck Fluttershy just so, making her grin appear fanged and her eyes slitted. Had she known these things, she would not have been so puzzled when Apple Bloom gave her a terrified look then passed out in a dead faint.
