Delicious Rabbit Chapter 2: Birthday Soup

Delicious Rabbit Chapter 2: Birthday Soup

>Do you smell that?
>Of course you do.
>It smells absolutely delicious.
>Angel Soup.
>Bunny Brain Birthday Broth.
>The six ponies in your house can smell it too, of course.
>The aroma permeates the entire building.

>Twilight Sparkle asks the first question.
>"What IS that smell?"
"It's a human tradition. Birthday soup."
>"It's very… pungent." Rarity tries to be tactful, but her honesty gets the better of her manners. "What did you put in it that would make it smell like… that?"
"Carrots, pepper, salt, onions, potatoes, and a secret ingredient."
>Carrots.
>You've cooked your food with the food the food ate.
>It felt appropriate, somehow.
>"A Secret Ingredient? I love Secret Ingredients! What is it? NO! Don't tell me. I'm going to guess!"
>Pinkie Pie is gazing intently at the soup, as if she could extract its secrets with her eyes.
>"It smells kind of… weird." Twilight seems better at the whole subtlety thing than Rarity.
>Rainbow Dash is looking at you like you've done something wrong. "You put salt in your soup?"
"Salt really brings out the taste of the rest of the dish. It's a very important bit of seasoning."
>Applejack frowns.
>"I ain't gonna eat salt before noon, Anonymous. I'm not that kind of pony."
"I know salt has intoxicating effects on ponies, but it doesn't on humans. I'm not going to get drunk, Applejack."
>Fluttershy finally says something.
>"I think it smells delicious."
>Reeeeaaaaallly.
"You can try it, if you–"
>"PARTY CANNON!"
>BANG
>Your house is thoroughly partified. The music begins.

>Your suggestion that they taste the soup was met with mixed reactions.
>Applejack was adamant that she wouldn't eat salt before noon, Rarity said it smelled horrible but with fancier words, Twilight was concerned that the secret ingredient might be harmful to pony digestive systems.
>Pinkie Pie wanted to taste it to find out what the secret ingredient was, Rainbow claimed she was awesome enough to eat anything a human can, and Fluttershy was strangely eager to eat her pet rabbit, even if she didn't know it.
>But eventually the former three gave in, "In the spirit of friendship and togetherness".

>Six ponies and one human gather around a pot of liquid.
>The steam rises into the air as the seven faces peer down.
>Spoons are raised, then lowered, then brought to lips.

>You made sure to thoroughly pulp and liquidize the brain.
>No floating chunks of rabbit cerebellum to incriminate you left.
>Just a rich, creamy, meaty, fatty broth.
>Which meant every single pony in the room was drinking rabbit brains.

>Rarity's face is a spectacular display of self control for about ten seconds, and then it collapses into a grimace.
>Twilight's face became a grimace the instant the spoon entered her mouth.
>Applejack swishes the liquid around her mouth a bit before swallowing.
>"This ain't actually that horrible a brew. I wouldn't serve it to royalty, but it's not too bad for something caterin' to human tastes."
>Rarity looks at Applejack like she just grew a second head.
>Pinkie has produced a detective hat.
"Tofu! No, wait, cream cheese! No, that's not it… beans and yogurt! No, I just can't put my hoof on it! What is that?!"
>Rainbow's frowning, but she's obviously determined.
>"Rainbow Dash isn't gonna be beaten by soup. Gimme a bowl."

>Fluttershy isn't speaking.
>Her eyes have closed, and she's trembling slightly.
>She hasn't even taken the spoon out of her mouth.
>She takes a ragged breath, and her spoon falls onto the table.
>You think she's had some sort of religious experience.
>"Can… can I have a bowl too?"

>Two Earth ponies and two Unicorn ponies watch as you place two full bowls and two spoons front of two Pegasus ponies.
>Rainbow grips her spoon tightly, glaring at her bowl, and Applejack speaks up.
>"You know Rainbow, nopony'd think less of ya for not eating that stuff."
"No pony would, at least."
Rainbow's eyes snap to yours.
>"What did you just say."
"You're chicken, aren't you."
>"I'm not chicken!"
"Yes you are. You're just a big blue four-legged chicken."
>"Oh you did NOT just go there, you overgrown hairless monkey."
>Rarity interrupts both of you at once.
>"Everyone, please! There's no reason to be insulting one another like that. Just because Rainbow doesn't want to eat a whole bowl of that… substance… is no reason to disparage her ancestry so."
"Suit yourself. Of course, everyone here will always remember the one time Rainbow couldn't put her stomach where her mouth is."
>"Oh that's IT. I'm going to eat this whole bowl, and you're going to admit that I can eat anything you can."
"Do it, quadrupedal avian."

>"E-excuse me, could I have another bowl, please?"
>Everyone. Just. Stares.
>While you and Rainbow were having your little argument, Fluttershy had eaten her whole damn bowl of brain soup. All of it.
>She blushes, embarrassed at suddenly being the centre of attention.
>"It's really good…"

>Dear Princess Celestia,

>Today I learned that sometimes your friends can have some really weird tastes.
>Sometimes they'll like something you think is absolutely disgusting.
>But that's okay, because they're still your friends.
>Even though they like something you hate, that doesn't mean you have to enjoy it too.
>If you don't like something, you don't have to do it, and that doesn't mean you can't still be friends.

>Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.