adventure Angel Bunny and the Knights of the Round Stump

[Silver Letter 1,832]

Addendum: This story is an adventure with multiple short chapters. This is the first titled "A Price to Pay". Follow Angel Bunny's adventures from his home to unknown lands in the search of the mysterious Green Rabbit. 2424 words long. I would like to get some feedback on this so I can figure whether the story is worth building on and posting on fimfiction. For anyone that reads this, thank you. I welcome all reviews. Please note that it is a fan fiction meaning it won't bind itself to show canon.

 

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          The song he heard floating on the breeze was all for him, he reckoned. He heard it when in his forest one day. Well, only he calls it his forest; and with much earnest does he make all the animals know where the boundaries lie. He doesn’t bother with paltry things like signs or, Celestia forbid, a line of barbed wire. He makes do with his morning rounds along the imaginary border. It always takes him from the curve where the long lane leads to the south pond choked with reeds. Going to the east, he ends up over and about the field of tall grass and back where he began, the wooded hills. He was actually in a light slumber after his walk when the sound stirred him. He was leaning against a smooth root to one of his favorite trees. He looked above and saw the green canopy. He knew where every owl and eagle loved to perch and nest. Although he can’t go and visit them in their homes, he made sure to wave at them. It was his forest. 

          His arms rested, folded behind his head and supporting him up against the tree. The beautiful sound on the wind could be his on the other side of the world. He would always know everything about it. He rose to his paw pads and sniffs for her. If she was close enough, he could pinpoint her in an instant. His little resting place was in a small depression of soft soil where huge ferns grew all around. He could always relax, knowing that he had no enemies on his land; any friends he had, he knew by smell. If he can’t notice her then why can he hear the sound? Is she singing by the well? Or does she now tend to her animal friends? The wind picked up, shoving his floppy ear into his eyes in a blur of white. He shook his head and climbed the near ridge. Further than that, he went to the edge of the forest. By then, there is no sound and he looked from a high vantage point to the northeast. Perplexed, he sniffed at the air again. The rabbit figured that he was hungry.

          In his forest, there are many feeding spots for the taking but no trespasser ever wants to come across this rabbit. He has cultivated his image as being tough and easier to anger than an old mule that refuses to work. He never budges or gives ground to anyone unless his lord demand it which he thanks Celestia is a rare thing. He went to the edge where his forest bushes up against the commons, a low land soggy with river runoff and lots of little streams filled with gravel and bits of gold. He found a stash of vegetables that used to be a few seeds planted not long ago and eagerly began to eat.

          As he went and nibbled some cabbage, he distinctly smelled someone familiar. He lifted his head, already looking in his direction.

          “Sir Angel!” the bunny that approached him rapidly called out. Angel wished that Luna had given him a warning in his dreams that his ugly brother was coming to see him. He wasn’t ugly in the physical sense. He was blindingly white like a snow hare and had a charming face that could woo any doe. He also has the softest fur of any rabbit. He came to a halt within the boundary of Angel’s land, his feet kicking up wet leaves as he slows. He panted before speaking.

          “Where were you this morning? Our lord and friends were gathered and waited for you for some time but you did not come” he said, grinning at his annoyed brother.

          “They had no reason to expect me down by the river”.

          “I was sent all the way here to talk to you”.

          “I guess they did but I’m just surprised you bothered to call me by my title as I usually must urge you to do…when and if I allow you to come and visit” Angel replied with discomfort. “What was so important that I must be interrupted in the middle of eating”?

          “Maybe I just remembered that the last time I called you ‘Angel’ on your land, however many moons ago it was, you threatened to smite me until my kittens couldn’t recognize me” he jested.

          Angel has already had enough of his brother’s insolence. “You have no respect and no honor”.

          “Sure, Sir Angel” his brother said, purposely goofing up the ‘sir’ portion.

          Angel rose above the vegetables aggressively. “What do you want”?!

          “It’s not me. Our lord wishes your immediate return. If I were you, I would grovel at his furry feet. I hear he’s rather furious”. Angel hated it when his brother played innocent and worse, when he lied.

          “Nonsense. He hasn’t been angry with me since…well, I can’t recall. I would say never actually”. Now, it was Angel that smiled smugly.

          Neither of the brothers really cared what the other thought. “Then go check for yourself” he said. “For now, I ought to return to our lord’s side”. He scampered away, down a long drainage ditch towards the north valley warren, as if pursued.

          Angel clicked his teeth, resolutely determined to smack the arrogance from his brother’s voice or at least to be there when someone else did. Angel didn’t hate his brother but he had lots of siblings; the one he had with ‘Sir Achrom” was the rockiest. Achrom didn’t even like being called ‘Sir’ and only had the title because he was one of the lord’s children, the leader of the warren that ruled all rabbits from Angel’s land to the edge of the Everfree. That silly rabbit doesn’t need to sprout wings to fly. His mind is always among the clouds.

          Angel tried to eat a little cabbage but each bite failed to nourish his appetite. He was a little squeamish when Achrom mentioned his lord. Knowing he can’t relax until he’s settled this little problem, Angel heads north to his former home. He knows every shortcut across the little streams to take him there as fast as possible and doesn’t miss one. His lord is not one to be kept waiting.  

 

          The home of the rabbits sat between the woods to the south and a river that can be swam across with little effort. The land with marshlands and ponds easily rivals Angel’s own land in its fertility. Angel’s claws tore the mineral rich clay as he crossed a few sandy islands across a brook. After that, he passed by many rabbit holes. He knew which member of the clan resided in each.

          Angel entered the center of his warren where the lord of the rabbit clan lived in a palace. It’s actually conspicuous as far as an underground home would be but the rabbits exalt it way too much. There was a massive tunnel in the side of a small hill surrounded by thick hedges and a few blackberry bushes. The tunnel was large enough for a cat to enter but it was heavily guarded at all times. It was also the only burrow to have an ingenious trap door set to block entry in case something unwanted tried to break in.

          Angel is sniffed briefly then let inside. This passes for warren security. The first run is rather dark as a tunnel would be but there is a light at the end of it. What kind of rabbit would live with light underground? Well, the Lord of Rabbits would. It’s definitely not normal but he is more special than others. He’s aged and has been around long enough to recall meeting ponies. He remembers how they learned to light up the inner chambers of the great burrow with torches even if they say it’s an odd practice. Newcomers get a sense of grandeur when they visit him.

          The lord and his knights are in the middle of talks when Angel arrived in the great chamber. This room has always impressed Angel every time. It was once a natural hollow in the ground but the rabbits found it and leveled the floor into a smooth dirt cover. It’s basically a half-cylinder shape, twice Angel’s height. In the middle, a central long piece of wood acts like a table for guests. Their lord serves out the finest food: radishes, carrots and other things. In the back, there is another tunnel leading out to the top of the mound. A flag, emblazoned with an ancient rabbit emblem, presided over the whole affair.

          “Ah, Sir Angel arrives at last” the Lord of the Rabbits proclaims. He is a rather plump individual, his years of strength long since passed into history. His claws are overgrown and look like shale. Rabbits seldom have the chance to age like he does but his cheeks grew large, making his eyes look like beady stones pressed into his face; not dissimilar to a pony’s double chin actually. He and his brother count among his descendants with many in his host barely related to them. His other children inherit different colors from his patchwork fur; he’s white, black, grey, brown, and even silver. Angel always wishes he could have inherited such desirable fur.

          The knights only assemble for the most serious of business. In their shiny armor plating, they turned their heads to see him. The red light often reflected off unblemished metal. Even Angel’s brother was there at their lord’s side and enjoying a juicy carrot slice.

          “I have, my lord” Angel replied. He sat at a seat opposite the Lord of Rabbits. Rabbits are a rather stubborn lot with their beliefs and Angel is no exception. He and his brother would never use personal language with the Lord of Rabbits unless alone.

          “Excellent. We have not seen you in some time”.

          “I know. Being away gives me much to think about these days” Angel said.

          “I hear you spend a lot of time sleeping. Sometimes in the forest or by the lake or even among pony folk” the Lord of Rabbits said amusingly.

          Angel frowned. “Many of them are my friends”.

          “They’re not your clan though” he tried to remind him. “Either way, you’ve spent so much time out there that you missed a guest that wanted to see you”.

          “It was a pony?” Angel asked. His ears perked upwards.

          The Lord of Rabbits snorted. “Of course not. It was a rabbit. An outsider”.

          “You should have seen him” Achrom butted in, snickering. “He was about your size but he looked as green as a cabbage. A real freak, am I right”? He nudged his knight friend beside him but got only a careful smirk.

          “A green rabbit? I guess I wish now that I’ve been here when that happened” Angel regretted.

          “I think you might be able to see him yet” the Lord of Rabbits said. “When he came he asked whether all the knights of the warren had been assembled here. I told him that yes indeed we were all here for our monthly feast”.

          “That you didn’t show up for” Achrom teased under his breath.

          “Anyway, he wanted to know why there was an empty seat and I told him that you live over by the forest. I inquired as to his interest in our knights. He mentioned that he wished to meet our finest for some grand task so I said that only one among us could claim to be our finest and that he was the one not present. The stranger was rather glad and asked me to present the distant rabbit with a challenge on his behalf”.

          “A challenge? I wonder what this green rabbit has in mind” Angel said, shifting in his seat.

          “He was a vague sort of character. He seemed unimpressed by your fellow knights in my grand hall”. A knight brought forth a long striped lance, thick at the handle and tapering to a sharp point at the end. “He made it clear that the knight may bring this weapon only. He will not appear if you bear so much as a knife with you”.

          “It is fascinating but I don’t know what he wants” Angel contemplated, at a loss for words. “Maybe it would be best to pass up his offer”.

          “Lord Angel, are you serious?” the Lord of Rabbits said incredulously. “For a noble rabbit like you, one that has entered the knights on merit rather than by name, will turn down the gentle rabbit’s challenge? It’s unheard of”!

          “Giving me this lance might be a challenge of a dangerous sort” Angel reasoned.

          His lord wasn’t buying it. “A knight doesn’t fear danger. If you would spend less time in this forest you call yours and more time with your fellow knights then perhaps you wouldn’t be acting so…tame. And when was the last time you had gone on a quest alongside our most gallant?” the Lord of Rabbits asked.

          “It was a long time ago” Angel replied. He lowered his head in shame and avoided his friends’ stares. “I’ve had things come up in my life”.

          “Are they more important than the warren? I feel that you’ve lived a solitary life for too long now, Sir Angel. I had a feeling that this stranger came for a reason. Such a task brought upon you is what you will pay for your selfishness” the Lord of Rabbits scolded. “If you don’t go and face this rabbit’s challenge then you can consider yourself stripped of your command of the Round Stump. Consider it my royal decree”.

          “But who would you replace me with, my lord?” Angel protested.

          His lord looked at his lamest son, Achrom. “I suppose it will have to be him”. Angel’s brother shot him a cocky smile.

          Angel was fuming in his head. “Are you serious? No other knight took up his challenge in my stead”?

          “I’m afraid not. No one dared to stand against this green rabbit”.

          “Fine, my lord. I’ll accept the challenge in all due faith and keep myself well in your good graces” Angel said through clenched teeth. His father knew how to get to him. Testing his loyalty always dug into his side. As the room full of cowards returned to eating and talking, Angel didn’t feel anything but dread. He stared at the long lance like it was dipped in poison. He knew it would soon be his to carry.