Animal Friends

by Jay David

Rating: everyone
Tags: Winona, Slice of Life, Tank, Owlowiscious, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Angel, Fluttershy
Length: 1484

Angel has a few things to "say" to the other pets

After recent events, Angel has come to the conclusion that, yeah, he's been kind of a jerk to other animals for most of his life. And there's one group in particular that he feels he needs to "speak" to. So, with Fluttershy's help, the tiny rabbit finally goes to give his fellow pets their due.

Will contain spoilers for "She Talks to Angel"

Published 2019-09-08 04:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2019-09-08 04:20:02 UTC

Animal Friends

Angel had never been the most humble of individuals. In fact, it would have been safer to say that you were less likely to find one with more infamous selfishness and annoyance as that little lapine. All who knew of him, be they ponies or anycreature else, knew that he was difficult to be around. Or, at least, that's how things used to be with him. For recent things had actually changed the little bunny somewhat, given him new perspectives and new ways of thinking. It was a hard pill to swallow, that maybe Angel had grown for the better, but the bottom line was that his carer, Fluttershy believed that he had. And if a pony as beloved as Fluttershy was willing to give her stamp of approval to her lifelong friend, then there were few who'd be willing to refute that claim. And yet, there was still the issue of Angel having been something of a pain to many of his fellow animals in the past, which was what today's little gathering was all about. Safely brought together in Fluttershy's cottage, sitting down with each other on her comfortable carpet, were the pets of her friends. Owlowiscious, Tank, Winona, Gummy and Opal. Angel sat beside Fluttershy of course, looking nervously to each of his fellow pets. Even Gummy, as laid-back as he usually was, couldn't help but glare at the rabbit, the latter now looking to his owner.

"Don't worry, Angel. Everything will be fine," she whispered to him encouragingly.

The small white critter remained unconvinced, especially when most of the other pets didn't even want to look at him right now, instead preferring to keep their focus on Fluttershy exclusively. Angel's ears drooped, and Fluttershy herself, sensing the bad blood in the room, cleared her throat slightly, gaining the attention of all the animals.

"First of all, I'd like to thank you all for coming. I really do appreciate you being here on such short notice."

There was a general response of quick animal noises from the others, like hooting from Owlowiscious. And so, after smiling to this, Fluttershy looked to each of them in turn before speaking again.

"Now then, I'm sure you're all wondering why I called you here. After all, I've never really asked all of you specifically to my cottage before, so you're probably a little confused as to why you were needed today."

The looks on their faces made it pretty clear that she was right, and after quickly glancing to Angel, she finally explained matters.

"Well, you're here because a certain someone has something very important to say to you."

Slowly, she looked down to Angel in earnest, prompting the rabbit to look away quickly. As soon as he did this, the other pets noticed, and it took no time whatsoever for them to put two and two together. They knew why, and more importantly who they were here for, and this caused about the kind of upset that you'd expect. There were barks and squawks and just general unhappiness all around, and even Tank retreated to inside his shell. But Fluttershy was having none of it, and lightly tapped the floor with her hoof. Such was her authority among animals that this was all that was needed to get them in line, bringing the clamour to a silence. Clearing her throat again, she resumed speaking.

"Now...I realise that many of you have issue with Angel, and not without reason, but I assure you he's a changed rabbit. And he wanted me to ask you here so he could apologise to you in person for all the ways he's been...well...unpleasant to you in the past."

The incredulous looks she was getting told her all she needed to know that this would be no easy task, and so she sighed in response. Yet, her smile returned, and she looked again to Angel, giving him a little nudge. The rabbit looked to her, seeing the encouraging look she was giving him in return, and listening well as she whispered.

"It's okay...go ahead."

Apologies were not Angel's strong-suit, it had to be said, but with Fluttershy backing him up, he at least had the confidence to step forward and get the ball rolling. He looked to all his fellow pets, none of whom liked looking to him all that much, and after blushing slightly, he began to speak. Well, "speak" would have been the only appropriate term, as he instead just made all the usual rabbit noises he was known for. And the thing about that was, as inconvenient as it was, animals often had a hard time understanding one another as ponies did understanding animals as a whole. So while he made his noises, the other animals looked to him like they had no idea what they were supposed to be hearing. Thankfully, Angel just so happened to have Equestria's foremost animal linguist beside him, who began to speak softly alongside him as he made his noises.

"He wants you to know that he's come to understand that many of his past actions and behaviours were unwarranted. They were mean and uncalled for, and he's truly, deeply sorry to have acted that way around you all over the years."

Owlowiscious folded his wings, prompting Angel to speak to him first, with Fluttershy translating of course.

"Owlowiscious? Angel says he's sorry that he rearranged all the books you'd been helping Twilight to sort out in preparation for a class she had to teach."

She blinked, looking down to Angel.

"You never told me that was you."

Angel blushed again, giving a quick shrug. Though slightly annoyed, Fluttershy was nevertheless keeping with the mood of forgiveness they were trying to get across, and after taking a deep breath, she continued translating.

"Winona, he says he's sorry that he replaced your favourite chew-toy with a water balloon just moments before you bit into it."

She paused, frowning to Angel, who again looked apologetic. She sighed, continuing.

"Tank, he says he's sorry for scribbling rude comments on your shell while you were asleep."

And then the next pet.

"Gummy, he's sorry he laughed at the fact that your eyes don't point in the same direction..."

She frowned.

"...which was especially rude, Angel."

The rabbit looked away, continuing with his apologies.

"And Opal? He's sorry he hid your bow among Rarity's bow-drawer so you wouldn't be able to find it."

The apologies had been completed, but the other pets continued to look to the diminutive rabbit with irritation. They knew well what he'd done, yet being reminded of all of it didn't really help their mood all that much. Angel held his paws behind his back, feeling very uncomfortable as he looked to them all. Fluttershy, though somewhat disappointed in hearing all the things her friend had been doing, nevertheless remembered why she was here and what they were trying to do. So, after taking a few calming breaths, she smiled to them all.

"So...he's said he's sorry now. Do you all forgive him?"

It was a tall order, that much was clear as the animals looked to one another. Angel rightfully worried that forgiveness was simply off the table on this one, but then, to his slightly confusion, he started to see Tank move closer. Although, being a tortoise, this took more than a while, but eventually, the green animal finally reached the rabbit. There was a tense moment, as all eyes were on Tank, and then, to their continued worry, his head retreated back into the shell. A moment passed, and when the head re-emerged, Tank appeared to be holding a marker pen in his mouth. Angel tilted his head, but did not react when, all of a sudden, Tank stretched out his neck and unceremoniously scribbled a moustache onto Angel's face. Dropping the pen, Tank smiled at his handiwork, all while Angel just looked annoyed. But then, to Angels' surprise, Tank moved forward and, of all things, hugged him. It was a surprising moment, especially for Fluttershy.

"Oh my!"

And the surprise only continued, as pet after pet followed Tank's example, going to Angel and hugging him until there was a full-on pet-themed group hug in the works. Fluttershy was naturally delighted about this, as was Angel, who felt as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Forgiveness had been given, and the mood of the room lifted immensely as a result. Fluttershy watched as the animals eventually parted, and she took this moment to smile sweetly to her rabbit friend, who of course smiled back. When that was over, she looked to them all, happily clapping her hooves together.

"Alright then...who wants some cookies?"

Author's Note

It took us a while, but FiM finally gave us an episode exploring Fluttershy and Angel's relationship. And yeah, it was pretty sweet :twilightsmile: