Jamal had fallen asleep before Fluttershy got much information out of him. He didn't even have time to eat his clover, poor thing. She really wanted to find out more about human diet and behavior. The flat and grinding teeth suggested an ordinary herbivore, but then why did it have those four dog-like teeth?
Fluttershy glided down alongside the Catbalm Creek. Her flight control was better after the practice sessions with Rainbow Dash, but she still preferred to stay low. It was too early for the spawn in the pond to hatch, but maybe she could see the larvae stirring in their eggs.
She flitted above the trees and waved her hoof at former companions in a flock of sparrows. She could see the tributaries weaving in and out of the creek, glints between the dark brown of the forest floor. Squirrels ran between the trees. Flying snakes glided sunned themselves on the highest branches.
Fluttershy skimmed low and breathed the moist forest air. How could the big empty possibly compare to the rich and living ground? She took a few breathes in through her nose and out through her mouth. She wasn't stuck in Cloudsdale anymore.
Right on the edge of Gosling Bridge, Fluttershy caught a glimpse of vivid color. She reared up spun around, turning her straight flight into a slow descending circle. Rainbow had tried to teach her quicker ways of landing. Given that her Dash's landings usually ended in Twilight Sparkle's upper floor, Fluttershy was alright with taking the slow way down.
The beeches were thick in this part of the wood. Every now and then, the ponies had to cut down some beeches they didn't need for fuel or building because of their tendency to force out other plants by dripping poison onto the ground. Nature was so fascinating.
A plop and a flash of silver caught Fluttershy's attention. This was one spot she liked to toss shredded cheese into the water, just to watch the cautious fish gather and feed. Maybe Rainbow Dash liked to feed the fish too?
It looked Rainbow was wearing a cap. She didn't like to cover up her mane much, and it stuck out. Some kind of jewelry was glinting on it. She leaned back into a collapseable chair on the side of the bridge, waving a shiny black pole.
Fluttershy tilted her wings and swung in on a wider angle. She heard more splashing but she could only catch brief glimpses of her friend. There was a big red bucket next to her chair, and a little grill. She could smell the smoke now, as the wind eased up.
Silver glinted again, flecked with red.
Fluttershy slowly pulled down on the opposite bank. She heard a thick, wet wack.
“Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy said, noticing the quaver in her voice.
Rainbow Dash lifted up a bloody trout by the tail. A scale was hanging by a thread from the front of its face. It gasped and flapped its drying gills. Rainbow Dash brought it down one more time on the wooden slats, splashing skin mucus and sticky fish blood. The fish jerked once and lay still. Its eyes were already starting to cloud over.
Rainbow Dash brought up the fish for one more skull-crunching smack. Then she turned to Fluttershy.
Her face didn't look angry, or cruel, or even very hungry. She just had a calm, determined face, like somepony scrubbing the burnt bits from an iron skillet. That calm evaporated when the strange blue pegasus met Fluttershy's gaze. A gutless smile replaced it.
“Oh, um, hi Fluttershy. Care for a-I mean, have a seat?”
Her guilty eyes fled to the grill, to some fresh-picked lemons, a jug of cider, a plate painted with starlings in flight, and a very sharp knife. The plate had some bones on it.
Fluttershy drew a breath to speak. She didn't realize how long she'd been going without air. She expected to burst into tears or collapse, but her legs were firm and her ees were dry. When she breathed out again, she realized that she didn't have anything she wanted to say to this rainbow-haired pegasus in front of her.
The blue pegasus set the fish down, carefully. She tried to wipe the thick blood from her hooves. It smeared on her fur and the moist boards, but the glutinous clots didn't come off. The pegasus crossed her forlegs behind her back.
“Uh, I know this kind of looks bad, and I can tell your upset, but--” Rainbow Dash started.
Fluttershy walked up towards the pegasus. The pegasus flinched back. Fluttershy walked past her and looked into the bucket. The fish inside it were alive.
She picked up the bucket.
“Hey, what are you-” the blue pegasus said.
Fluttershy dumped the fish into the creek. Then she turned around. She looked over her shoulder, took careful aim, and kicked the grill hard. The coals sizzled in the shallows as the grill tumbled down with a pleasant metallic percussion.
“Look, I'm sorry, alright?” Rainbow Dash said, in the tone of somepony who is more angry than sorry, and still not as angry as they are scared.
Fluttershy climbed the railing of the bridge, angled her wings, and took off. Her heart was racing and her mouth was dry but she felt calm.
Fluttershy had really been looking forward to the school trip to Stormcloud Lake, back when she lived in cloudsdale. She'd liked seeing the fish, and she'd been really proud when she actually caught one until she found out what they were supposed to DO with the fish. She'd then been shocked when she told the other fillies and they didn't care. They'd made fun of her for that, but it was barely enough for Rainbow Dash to notice in between defending her honor and all that “Fluttercry” stuff.
Fluttershy really did not miss Cloudsdale.
Sooo, how does Fluttershy not know about omnivores? Bears are omnivores, and one just lays about her house.
Science!
...no? Okay.
(insert comic's image here because I couldn't find one small enough for some reason)
That, to me, doesn't sound like Fluttershy. I mean you can clearly see her feeding some otters fish in one episode.
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Bears have all sharp teeth tho. She's not familiar with our kind of dental configuration.
In an earlier chapter, I showed Fluttershy harvesting the dead fish from spawning. I also think she holds ponies to different moral standards than animals.
Thank you for the thoughtful feedback though.
Oh dear, I hope Fluttershy won't be too upset when she learns her new friend also eats meat....Well I'm sure Jamal will test the waters a bit before trying to mention it.
Though this could become a bit awkward:
Rainbow Dash: I'm sorry! I knew you were upset about the fish thing, but I really liked it so I just didn't tell you
Fluttershy: I know, and I appreciate you trying to protect my feelings, it just feels....strange that Pegasi eat fish since my parents never did or even talked about it before the trip
Rarity: I understand, darling. I was a bit surprised as well when I learnt about similar aspects of my heritage
Fluttershy: Unicorns also?
Twilight: Used to. The practice ended shortly after the founding of Equestria when Unicorns no longer needed to supplement their diet with meat protein, before then we had several sources of meat and there are a few pieces of legislation related to it. To be fair this was at a time when Unicorn society thought it was doing well for getting along well with other Ponies, we hadn't even thought about non-pony species
Fluttershy: What about Earth Ponies?
Applejack: Nah, we were the only ones growing food, we didn't have to find other sources
Pinkie: Actually we were opportunistic omnivores back then; usually we didn't eat meat but if there was a bad harvest we'd eat what we could find and Chancellor Puddinghead used to mix chicken gelatin into her pudding hat when she could so it would hold it's shape
Rarity: Are you alright, Fluttershy? This must be a terrible shock to you
Fluttershy: It is a bit of a shock, I thought Pegasi were the only ones to ever eat meat. But everything else was a long time ago, I know none of you would do any of that now.
Of course not
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That fish was already dead...
Also Nature.
Rainbow Dash killed the fish brutally.
Fish Murder.
Spawn-icide
Other Fish related puns..
Its like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
Yay, she'll be the pony most likely to try to protect the humans and probably won't give in to peer pressure.
It really is true, Fluttershy wouldn't have a problem with Rainbow Dash eating meat, so much as she would have a problem with Rainbow Dash eating meat. I'd suggest making her more upset at Rainbow personally, than trying in particular to save the fish, firstly because she doesn't want to see her friend as a beast, and secondly because she lied about it to Fluttershy. Dumping Dash's catch in the lake isn't quite as poignant as simply looking from them to her face and saying "I'm so disappointed with you."
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Thank you for the suggestion and thoughtful feedback. I'll think about it as I develop the Rainbow-Fluttershy interaction plot thread. =o
yeah...real Flutters would have no problem with fish..
plus we saw ponies fishing in canon episodes...