Delicious Rabbit Chapter 3: Afterparty

>The party wound down eventually.
>Rainbow Dash did actually manage to finish her bowl.
>Not without much grimacing, and by the end she had to start washing it down with punch, but she did finish it.
>You dutifully recited the phrase she wanted you to say:
"Rainbow Dash has a stomach of steel and can eat anything a human can."
>Oh, how little she knew.

>Fluttershy ended up drinking three bowls of soup.
>You didn't put that much salt in, but she's still slightly tipsy by the end of the evening.
>Twilight was a little bit worried about her, so you offered to walk her home.
>"Thanks, Anon. Just make sure she doesn't fall off a bridge or something, okay?"
>"Hey, I can fly, you know. I'd fly right off that bridge, and into the sunset, with the birds singing and all my little critter friends dancing and everyone would learn a lesson about believing in yourself!"
>Okay, Fluttershy's a lightweight and can't hold her salt, so Twilight's more than a little bit worried.

>It's a nice evening tonight. Fluttershy hums along with the crickets as the two of you walk towards her cottage.
>"Anon, would you like come inside and have some tea?"
"I'd love to have some tea. Sounds like fun."
>Fluttershy giggles, and opens the door.
>Her face immediately droops into dissapointment.
"Are you alright?"
>"Oh, no. No I'm not." She falters for a moment, and looks like she might just stop speaking altogether, but manages to gather herself.
>"Angel Bunny's been missing since yesterday, and I was hoping so much he'd be back by the time I got back from the party, and he's not."
>Oh.
>Right.
>"I searched for him all day yesterday, and he's just not here. I know where he'd go and he's not there."
>Her voice wavers.
>"He can't make it on his own. I've taken care of him for years now, he'll starve to death or be eaten by some horrible monster!"
>"I'm scared he won't come back."
>She bursts into tears, and collapses onto the floor.
>You don't know what to say, so you just bend down and wrap your arms around her.
>She leans into your side, folds her wing around your shoulders, and pulls you close.
>She's warm.

>You pass the night simply enjoying each others presence.
>Fluttershy wants to be comforted, and you're more than willing to provide that comfort.
>Eventually you move from the floor to someplace more suited for sleeping, but she doesn't let you go.
>She just hugs you like a giant teddy bear throughout the night.
>Her fur is very soft.

>Dawn breaks, and you awake to a rooster's cry.
>No, fuck that. You're going back to sleep.
>You snuggle back under the covers and soft, warm, fuzzy pony.

>Some time later, you awake to the realization that the soft, warm, fuzzy pony is no longer there.
>That probably means you should get out of bed and acquire additional nutrients.
>Yawning, you pick your way out of the covers and look around for some clothes, before realizing you're still wearing the ones you had on last night.
>They'll do.

"Good morning, Fluttershy."
>She startles slightly, as she didn't see you come into the kitchen.
>"Oh! Hello Anonymous, I was just making breakfast. Would you like some hay oatmeal?"
"Not really. Humans don't eat hay."
>The yellow pegasus seems to deflate slightly.
"You could make me some eggs, though, If you like."
>She perks up immediately.
>"Oh yes, you mentioned you like animal proteins. I'll get some eggs from the chicken coop."
>You spend a couple minutes teaching her how to make scrambled eggs.
>She has a hard time actually scrambling the eggs, though. Pony mouths aren't quite as agile as hands, so you do the scrambling for her.
>Once you're seated and enjoying your breakfast, she takes her oatmeal over to the table and sits down.
>"Thanks for keeping me company, Anon."
>You swallow a mouthful of eggs.
"You're welcome. It was nice."
>"Um, Anon…"
"Yes?
>"That soup you made was really good."
>"If it's not too much trouble…"
>"Do you think you'll be making it again anytime soon?"
"I don't actually know. That secret ingredient was pretty hard to get my hands on and I only had enough to make one pot of soup. I have no clue when I'll have the opportunity to make it again."
>"Oh, can't you make something similar, at least? It's just so delicious…"
"Well, I could try. I might be able to find some substitute ingredients, but I can't promise it'll taste exactly the same."
>"Oh, thank you!"

>The two of you finish up eating.
>Fluttershy flutters off to go do town veterinarian things, and you head back to your house.
>You mostly do odd jobs here and there, things that require hands that the native inhabitants don't have.
>Unicorn telekinesis can only do so much because they don't get tactical feedback through their magic.
>They have to see everything they're doing, and that can get a little awkward sometimes.
>And it's not like the ponies would let you starve, anyway.
>As far as you can tell they live in some kind of part-capitalist-free-market, part-barter-economy, part-communist pony utopia.

>You open the door to your house, and find Pinkie Pie in your hallway.
>"Hi Nonny! I've been waiting all morning, I wanna talk to you!"
"You broke into my house because you wanted to talk to me."
>"Yup! I figured it ooooouuuut! Nonny, I know what your secret ingredient is!"
"Oh, really?"
>She can't have. Ponies don't eat meat, they've got no idea what it'd taste like.
>"You like the OTHER kind of cupcakes, don't you."
>What.
"What?"
>"You know, the juicy, red, kind."
"… Apple cupcakes?"
>"No, silly!" She leans closer to your face, and whispers: "Animal cupcakes."
>You don't even wha–
>Oh
>Oh shit
>She knows.
>You stagger backwards, your face blanching.

>Pinkie Pie grabs your shoulders, preventing you from falling flat on your ass.
>"No no, don't worry, silly! I'm fine with that. We don't care."
>"I mean, Rainbow Dash was friends with a griffon for a while, and they eat meat raw!"
>"Gilda turned out to be a meanie though, so she doesn't come around anymore."
>"We don't mind if you eat meat. But if you want me to keep it a secret, I will."
>Well, that's a relief.
>You let out the breath you've been holding, and collapse into a chair.
"Yeah, I'd like it if you kept quiet about this for a while."
>"Okie dokie!"
"How did you guess, anyway?"
>"Well, Rainbow Dash was friends with Gilda for a while, but I told you that already. They'd exchange letters, and Gilda sent her a recipe once! I tried making it, and it was pretty bad, and I forgot about it for a while, but I eventually remembered that it tasted kinda sorta like your soup! Not really like your soup though, definitely less creamy, but sort of the same, you know? And then I thought, well you're human, so you'd have different recipes than griffons but might use the same sorta stuff, and then I came over to your house!"
>"Oh, you'll have to tell Fluttershy you eat animal cupcakes, though."
"What?"
>"Fluttershy likes cupcakes! So you have to tell her. I mean, she ate three bowls of cupcake soup, remember?"
"Right, right. Uh, Pinkie, could you–"
>"And she wants your other kind of soup, too, so if you're going to get along together she needs to know."
"Pinkie! I need to go… do things. I don't want you in my house when I'm not here, okay?"
>"Okay! Bye Nonny!"
>Bounce bounce bounce goes the crazy pink pony, right out your door.
>Damn that mare needs, like, horse Ritalin. Or something.
>And you're not telling Fluttershy anything about what she ate. That's for sure.