Chapters Let's try something safe, they said.
Let's try to find a destiny that would be super useful and get us a great looking cutie mark, they said.
Let's try ... botany!
Aw, don't look like that, Scootaloo. Flowers aren't namby-pamby. And they're not just for decorations either. They've got lots of uses. Crops, medicines, spells. There are lots of different flowers at the edge of the Everfree Forest. If we go exploring there, we might just find a beautiful or magical new flower that nopony's ever seen before! Wouldn't that be exciting? And no need to fall off of high places or slam into anything.
Scootaloo stole a reproachful sideways glance at her two fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. The orange pegasus pony felt like bucking the pair of them into next week. For now, though, she was somewhat preoccupied with galloping for her life and screaming for help.
The manticore was still some distance behind the fleeing fillies but gained on them with every stride. A wingless variety, he could nonetheless propel his leonine body at a ground speed beyond that of even an adult pony. Driven by hunger to the farthermost extent of his territory, he had spotted the pony foals at the edge of the forest and given chase, a chase that led him past the perimeter of his untamed wilderness home and into the realm of Equestria, specifically the semi-rural town of Ponyville.
"Quick! Into those thick bushes," cried Apple Bloom, the apple-green-coated earth pony. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, the white unicorn, followed without argument. The dense, bramble-infested undergrowth would be difficult for them to negotiate but impossible for a creature of the manticore's bulk.
As the Crusaders angled towards the undergrowth, a terrible noise erupted behind them. Still running, they screamed in pain and fear as a wave of scorching heat bore down on them, then screamed again as the inviting bushes just metres in front of them suddenly burst into flame.
What this breed of manticore lacked in flight, he made up for with fire-breathing. It was primarily a defensive weapon. He did not kill his prey with fire as it made their flesh too unpalatable. Nevertheless it had other uses against his quarry: flushing them out of hiding, slowing their escape with the pain of radiant heat and, as in this case, cutting off avenues of escape.
Panicking, the Crusaders changed their direction, further shrinking their head start, and ran parallel to the blazing thickets. The manticore cut across their angle of flight, gaining even more ground. The fillies could actually hear their pursuer's breathing behind them - steady, rhythmic, unlaboured. Simultaneously, it occurred to each of them that this might well be their last crusade. The three friends exchanged sorrowful yet grateful farewell looks. At least they'd be together at the end.
* * *
All four heads turned towards the sound of the explosion. A pale coloured cloud shot with blinding speed directly towards the manticore. The predator averted his sensitive muzzle just in time but the bulk of the volley of hard pellets thudded painfully into his side, while others landed at his paws, robbing him of traction. Hurt, surprised and off-balance, the predator stumbled and fell.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders stared in astonishment at the sight, and then at the pink, pouffy-maned, young earth pony mare responsible for both the salvo of sugared almonds and the peals of gleeful, high-pitched laughter filling the air.
"Smile, you're on Candied Camera!" Pinkie Pie pronked and gambolled beside her party cannon and pulled a gallery of faces, all but begging the great beast to retaliate.
With a menacing growl, the manticore rose from the mound of sugared almonds and was about to charge the mare when he noticed some movement from the corner of his eye. The Crusaders had pulled themselves together and were putting Pinkie Pie's diversion to its intended use. The manticore took up the chase again but had barely made a stride when two pegasus mares, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, swooped down from above, gathered the fillies in their forelegs and rocketed into the air. The hunter raced to their take-off point and launched a jet of flame up at them, hoping to inflict enough pain for one of them to drop their precious cargo.
"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness," Fluttershy wittered in a tone of voice that did little to ease the fears of her passenger, Sweetie Belle. An uncertain flier under most circumstances, the primrose-coated pegasus found steering difficult with her forelegs full, and did not know whether she could dodge the blast. Especially since she dared not look down from this height lest her wings seize up in terror. Thankfully, though, she could attain an exceptional aerial speed in an emergency: Rainbow Dash checked on her friend's behalf and saw that the rising flames had dissipated before they could do any harm.
"All right, we're out of range. Let's go." Rainbow Dash undulated her streamlined, sky-blue body towards the centre of Ponyville. The stronger of the rescue pair, she carried Apple Bloom under one foreleg while Scootaloo was tucked under the other. Scootaloo gazed down in wonderment from the majestic height—a height to which her own stunted wings would seemingly never take her—and blissfully absorbed the experience for all it was worth.
Rainbow Dash's triumphant grin gave way to a look of protective concern. She turned her rainbow-maned head to each of the three fillies. "Now, are you okay?"
"Oh, I'm a little shaken but I should be fine in a minute or two," Fluttershy replied gratefully. "And what about you Crusaders, are you all right?"
"Uh-huh," they chorused, Apple Bloom giving an understanding smile and wink to the eye-rolling Rainbow Dash. The Crusaders were used to Fluttershy.
"Are you holding on tight?" Fluttershy added.
"Uh-huh."
"Is there anywhere we can take you?"
"Uh-huh. CLOSER!"
"Oh dear," Fluttershy cried. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes again, although this time she could not help but smile.
His pursuit of the fillies thwarted, the manticore turned his attention to Pinkie Pie, charging after her with a long, low, angry roar. The fleeing earth pony responded by melodiously vibrating her outstretched tongue, partly to goad the beast and partly to quell the sense of primal terror she unexpectedly felt paralysing her limbs. "Can't catch me," she chirped for good measure.
A jet of flame singed the tip of her tail.
"Oh that's right, you don't have to." Pinkie unleashed a falsetto scream of panic and galloped ever harder, ducking down the side of an abandoned shed near the forest perimeter. The manticore raced after her only to find another pony mare in his path: an alicorn, or winged unicorn, with a purple coat and deep purple and majenta-striped mane and tail. She did not flee but stood her ground, head bowed and wings flared in an unmistakable display of challenge.
The manticore's eyes gleamed. The few prey animals who had dared face him in the past did not live long to regret their recklessness. He slowed his approach to give himself time to slip under her single-horned charge and seize her by the throat.
But there was no charge. There was no alicorn. She had not taken to the air nor darted to the side, she had simply disappeared. In her place was an orange-coated earth pony mare, galloping straight towards him, clutching a whirling lasso between her teeth. Staggered by this turn of events, the predator reflexively coughed out a stream of fire.
Applejack lowered her lasso and expertly guided it around the trajectory of the fire, without so much as singing the rope. She leapt past the manticore's head and ran behind him, drawing the lasso tight around his maned neck. The beast turned to follow her but was caught as if in a tangle of vines. Twisting wildly, he saw that Princess Twilight Sparkle, the vanishing alicorn, had re-materialised behind him. Unfamiliar with Equestrian magic, he had no way of knowing that she had cast a holding spell on him; nonetheless, he instinctively sensed she might somehow be responsible for his predicament.
He was not completely immobile, however. He thrashed his scorpion-like tail, shooting razor-sharp spikes at his captors. Applejack frantically but agilely danced and weaved away from the barrage. Twilight Sparkle, forced to concentrate on her spell, was more hampered in her movements and could not evade the oncoming barbs for much longer. A change of schedule was required.
"Rarity!"
About time, thought the ivory-coated unicorn as she galloped from the gloom of the derelict shed. She wanted to fight alongside her friends, not lurk on the sidelines like some dam in distress. Especially not in that dreadful old shed, with its horrid smells and beastly cobwebs and ...
A double-barrelled fusillade of spikes and flame streamed towards her. Rarity vaulted gracefully over them, shutting out the pain of the flames' radiant heat, and took her place between her two companions. She directed her spiralled horn towards the monster's sweeping tail. Her magic telekinesis was nowhere near as strong as Twilight Sparkle's but it was enough to force the tail away from the three ponies and back towards the creature.
"I think a spiralling effect would look fabulous, don't you?" Deftly, Rarity remotely twisted the manticore's tail into a tight spiral, arresting its movement and blocking the release of any more spikes. Applejack gratefully lifted her rope towards Rarity, who bit down on a section and dug her hooves into the earth. Pinkie Pie was there too—how she made her way past the manticore, her friends neither knew nor particularly cared at that moment—and did as Rarity did.
The predator stopped struggling. His tremendous power and speed came at the expense of stamina, and he sensed that further resistance at this stage would only exhaust him. Better to regain his strength and breath, find out what these ponies intended to do with him, and wait for the right moment to catch them off their guard and break free.
A shadow passed over the manticore. He looked up and almost reeled in astonishment at the sight of a dense raincloud looming a few feet above his head. Clouds did not come nearly this close to the ground in the Everfree Forest. Neither did they carry creatures atop them. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had ridden the cloud back to the battleground, having safely deposited the Cutie Mark Crusaders at Ponyville's observation tower. Rainbow peered smugly over the edge of the cloud, ready to douse any more flames that the manticore might loose. Fluttershy alighted from the cloud and hovered directly in front of the beast's dire face, hairless save for his eyebrows, maxilla and chin. The fear and self-doubt she had felt during her rescue of Sweetie Belle were completely absent as she held the manticore with a stern, even glare.
"What is the meaning of this?"
The manticore froze. No prey animal - no non-manticore creature at all - had ever communicated with him on such a level before. What was more, the pony's voice, despite its dainty, delicate femininity, carried a distinct air of authority. In spite of himself, the monster felt compelled to listen.
"The nerve of you," Fluttershy continued indignantly, "chasing after those poor little fillies, fighting their protectors, starting a forest fire. Explain yourself".
The manticore lunged forward as far as his restraints would allow and let loose a long, loud, low-pitched and aggressive roar. A sense of uncanny dread began to permeate Twilight Sparkle, seizing up her muscles, sapping her strength. Just in time, she became aware of the sensation and fought to keep her focus on her spell. My friends are counting on me, she told herself. It's just a noise. Noise can't hurt you. Noise. Cannot. Hurt. You.
"I understand that you have as much right to eat as we ponies do," Fluttershy replied, her voice less angry yet no less firm, "but this is Ponyville, in Equestria. Your hunting grounds are in the Everfree Forest".
Again the manticore lunged and roared ferociously. Twilight Sparkle almost buckled under the wave of terror that washed over her, almost lost control over her spell. Furious with herself for quailing at such a crucial time, she let her anger take the place of her fear until her strength returned, then renewed her concentration.
"Well I'm sorry if prey has been elusive in your territory lately," exclaimed Fluttershy, as a parent to a child misbehaving over a lost toy, "but if things were that desperate I would have been only too happy to help you. All you had to do was look for the property filled with critters. It shouldn't have been that hard to figure out".
The manticore responded with another roar, but shorter and noticeably quieter than the others, although still loud. Also, he did not lunge this time.
"No. You march straight back into that forest and think about what you've done. I'll meet you back here at lunchtime, if you're ready to behave, and we'll see about finding you some alternative source of nourishment. Now go."
Fluttershy pointed her hoof emphatically towards the forest, then nodded to her friends on the ground, who warily released the manticore from his bonds. The creature gave Fluttershy one last, lingering look then started back towards the forest.
"Wait!"
The manticore halted. Fluttershy's friends watched tensely as the delicate pegasus walked virtually unprotected towards the manticore's head.
"You still have a couple of sugared almonds stuck in your mane. Here, let me get those out for you."
"YEEEE-HAAAW!"
Applejack's whoop of triumphant joy greeted the arrival of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Rainbow Dash planted Apple Bloom onto the powerful back of her big sister before taking a delighted Scootaloo on a soaring, looping flight. Applejack galumphed around the forestside meadow as Apple Bloom hugged her tightly and warmly.
Fluttershy gently set Sweetie Belle down on the grass in front of Rarity, who ran with flooding eyes to her younger sister and nuzzled her joyously.
"We didn't go deep into the forest, Rarity. Honest! We just ..." Rarity silenced Sweetie Belle with five shushing sounds, the last long, gentle and soothing.
Cheering and giggling, Pinkie Pie cartwheeled past Fluttershy, who was sitting on the ground with a dazed smile on her face, taking in what she and her friends had achieved. The pegasus slowly swivelled her gaze around until her eyes fell on Twilight Sparkle, the only one of the ponies who did not seem to be celebrating their victory. "Twilight, is everything okay?"
"Hmm?" Twilight looked up, suddenly aware of how lost in her thoughts she had been. She put on a painfully unconvincing smile. "Oh yes, everything turned out just right in the end."
"But?"
The alicorn grew apprehensive. Her friends had become aware that not all seemed well and were gathering around her, wanting to solve whatever was troubling the princess. "It's ..." She wanted to tell them it was nothing and she'd be fine but she sensed they would not believe her. "I let you all down."
A cacophony of incredulous voices erupted around her, asking what in Equestria she meant by that.
"You were all counting on me to maintain that holding spell, to do my part like you were all doing. But when that manticore started roaring, I mean it was just a noise, right? But I just, I can't explain it, I just ..." Twilight tried to continue but no words would emerge from her gaping mouth.
"Plumb near turned into a pony pop-sickle?" suggested Applejack.
"Exactly!"
Exactly. With a gasp of hope, Twilight turned to each of the other rescuers. All were nodding and wearing understanding smiles, unambiguously conveying that they had experienced the same instinctive, petrifying primal terror that she had.
All, that is, except for proud Rainbow Dash, who chose instead to conceal her feelings with some blunt words of motivation. "So you got scared in the heat of battle. You still stood your ground and did your duty, right? Hello-o? That's what 'courage' means, Princess!"
Twilight felt her shame lift from her like steam from a wet towel in the sun. "You're right. I just, I ... I thought I was the only one."
"Of course you weren't. Are you crazy?" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, who for some reason was suddenly wearing a pair of outsized, spiral-lensed novelty eye-glasses.
"And even if you had been, I for one would think no less of you, Twilight Sparkle. My precious little sister Sweetie Belle and her dearest friends owe their lives to that well-drilled rescue plan of yours."
Twilight beamed, a pink film rising to her lavender cheeks. "Oh Rarity, a plan's only as good as the team who carries it out. We all had our jobs to do and, if I say so myself, we did them awesomely."
"Applejack had the toughest job," boasted Apple Bloom, with all the unbridled smugness an adoring younger sibling could muster.
"Oh yeah? Tougher than taking care of you?" Rainbow Dash shot back.
As the good-natured banter continued, Twilight Sparkle excused herself and flew over to the enormous raincloud positioned above the stretch of undergrowth that the manticore had set alight. The fire was almost out now but Cloudchaser and Bulk Biceps continued to patrol their dense nimbostratus, periodically checking the progress of the drenching downpour, while Thunderlane swooped back and forth, dispersing the thick smoke with his powerful wingbeats. Through the smoky haze, Cloudchaser spotted the unmistakable silhouette of the approaching alicorn, and gave a reverent bow. Her two companions saw her actions and did likewise. Twilight extended her right forehoof in a gesture that simultaneously accepted the firefighting crew's gesture of respect and told them no further formality was required.
"Well, everything looks under control here. Once you've given the mayor the all-clear can you please pass the word to Fluttershy as well? Terrific job, team. This won't be forgotten."
As the pegasi thanked the princess for her words of encouragement, snow-white Bulk Biceps reared up, thrust out his barrel-like chest and flexed his brawny forelegs in a characteristic pose of triumph. "YEAAHHH!" he bellowed lustily.
The slightly built alicorn mimicked the gesture with a self-deprecating chuckle, then bade the fire crew farewell and returned to her friends. A princess by neither birthright nor marriage but magical accomplishment, Twilight felt somewhat uncomfortable with displays of formality associated with her title and wanted to keep them to a minimum. As far as she was concerned her magical talent, prodigious though it was, did not make her any more important than anypony else. So she felt gratified that Bulk Biceps, an acquaintance at best prior to her ascendancy, was prepared to be himself around her.
On her return, Twilight apprised Fluttershy of the fire situation. "I guess all that's left now is to clean up all those sugared almonds."
"I'll do it," cried Pinkie Pie excitedly, dashing with blinding speed around past the old shed.
"Um, Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy called (in a manner of speaking) after her friend. "Maybe it might be an idea to let somepony else deal with the sugared ... almonds." Her voice trailed away as Pinkie Pie half-cantered, half-rolled back into view, her belly distended with the sweets.
"Too late," Pinkie Pie mumbled through her full mouth, "but why?"
"Oh, I guess it's okay now. It's just I was just hoping you and Applejack would help me get the food ready."
"Food? What food?" Applejack approached at the sound of her own name.
"Why, for the manticore of course! I said I'd help him find some other source of food, and who better to help me than you two?"
The two earth ponies exchanged uneasy glances as Fluttershy continued, oblivious to their discomfort. "Now I'm not sure what else the manticore could eat, so we'll need quite a variety. And he'll be extra hungry, what with the chasing and fighting and missing breakfast, so we'll need some pretty big helpings ..."
Applejack had heard enough. "Now just one apple-buckin' minute there, Fluttershy. Ah sure don't remember that part o' the rescue plan."
Fluttershy braced herself. For her, facing down an angry, ravenous, fully-grown manticore was a stroll in the park compared to a battle of wills with Applejack. Or with pretty much any other pony, she thought ruefully.
"Well, I was kind of thinking on my wings there. Caring for animals is my destiny and, dangerous or not, manticores need to eat too. What's more, if we can find some way to supplement his diet, it might alleviate the shortage of quarry in his territory, so he won't be tempted to stray into Ponyville again."
"That's all fine an' dandy but we just busted our hindquarters savin' family 'n' friends from that monster. Now we're s'posed ta drop everything and whup up a smorgasbord for him?"
Every instinct in Fluttershy's psyche screamed at her to shrink back, to avert her eyes, to whimper a pitiful concession and hope everypony would forget the exchange had ever happened. But she could not. For the sake of what was right, she absolutely could not. She stood to her full height, met her friends' indignant glares with her own winsome yet unflinching gaze, and determinedly kept her voice steady, without a trace of quivering.
"You're right. I'm sorry. It wasn't fair of me to load those expectations onto you like that. Showing mercy to the manticore was one thing but this is too much, too soon. Especially for you, Applejack, what with Apple Bloom almost ... This is my responsibility and I'll deal with it. I'll see you later. You both did a great job out there."
With that, the pegasus turned and headed back towards her cottage home, satisfied. She had done it. The earth ponies' mollified expressions had made that clear. She had given in not because she was too weak to argue any further, but because she had overstepped the mark and she knew it. She would not have her friends feeling any trace of remorse out of the mistaken belief that they had browbeaten her into submission.
The rich, warm aroma emanated from the bubbling pot and mingled with the other scents hanging in the air inside the cottage. Fluttershy inhaled deeply, humming with approval and anticipation. Carefully, she clasped her teeth around the handle of the pot and carried it over to a thick board resting on the last remaining space on her dining table. She doused the flames on her stove, then turned back to the spread on her table. Every fruit, vegetable, grain and pulse Ponyville had to offer this season was represented. Some were raw and whole, some mixed as salads, some cooked into soups, casseroles or pasta dishes. Also available were offerings from Fluttershy's loyal laying hens, hard-boiled, scrambled, poached, devilled or made into fluffy, herb-rich omelettes.
Fluttershy cast her eyes over the wide repast and heaved a sigh of relief and fatigue. The process of planning, purchasing, preparing and presenting had pushed the poor pegasus pony to her limits. To make matters worse, despite the rapid response of the firefighting crew, the manticore's blaze had left several woodland creatures injured, distressed or homeless: as the destined steward of Ponyville's fauna, Fluttershy had had to tend to their needs before she could even begin. Taking on more responsibility than she could handle was a harder habit to break than she had imagined.
She caught sight of herself in a mirror and almost jumped. Her face was drawn and haggard; her pale pink mane and tail, normally sleek and flowing, were tangled and unkempt; and her wings were overdue for a professional preening. Still, that would all have to wait. For now, she had to attend to more important matters, such as keeping a cottage full of critters a safe distance from the banquet table.
"Uh-uh-uh," she lilted in gentle admonition to a flock of birds circling eagerly over a bowl of mixed berries. "We must wait for our guest to arrive." She turned around just in time to see a small, beady-eyed white rabbit reaching greedily for a tureen of vegetable soup. "Angel, no." Angel Bunny folded his forelegs and pouted but Fluttershy was unmoved. "Now now, what do you suppose would happen if I brought a hungry manticore here for lunch and there was no food for him to eat?"
Every single animal that had been hovering around the table backed instantly and fearfully away.
"Exactly. Momma would be most embarrassed."
* * *
"Now, don't feel you need to stand on ceremony. There's plenty for everyone so just help yourself."
The manticore cast an uncertain eye over the dining table while the other animals, watching with palpable anxiety, kept as far away as the cottage walls would allow. Slowly the great beast walked around the table, scanning for something that seemed both substantial and appetising, until finally stopping at a steaming bowl of viscous orange broth.
"Ooh, my pumpkin and sweet potato soup, with silky tofu for that all-important protein. Go ahead, try some."
The manticore sniffed the aroma of the soup with his protruding, triangular nose and took a cautious lap. Immediately, his nightmarish face screwed up in a snarl of distaste. He hurriedly wiped his tongue on the back of his forepaw. The few other dishes he tried resulted in similar reactions. Eventually he returned to face Fluttershy with a low, apologetic rumble.
"Not even the mushroom and spinach risotto?"
The creature shook his head.
"Well, I'm afraid that's all I have to offer. Although, I didn't have time to go fishing so maybe ..."
The creature snarled with distaste again and shook his head unequivocally.
"No, huh?" Fluttershy bowed with disappointment, then turned around when she felt a rapid thumping at her rear fetlock. Angel Bunny, smiling hopefully, was pointing towards the table. The pegasus nodded in resignation, and Angel and the rest of the cottage's resident critters swarmed upon the banquet.
"Where do we go from here?" Fluttershy wondered aloud. She toyed briefly with the idea of consulting Zecora, the zebra mare who made the Everfree Forest her home, but the prospect of leading a forest apex predator to the front door of a prey animal's hut did not bear contemplation.
A scratching sound at the cottage's front door and a string of excited canine barks interrupted Fluttershy's thoughts. She trotted to the door and opened it to reveal Winona, the Apple family's boisterous, brown-and-white farm dog, leaping in place and wildly wagging her tail. Winona launched her forepaws at Fluttershy's front shoulders and licked the pony's muzzle.
Fluttershy shrieked and giggled like a pre-school filly. "Stop it! Down, Winona," she squealed. The dog kicked herself off from the pony and rolled onto her back. Fluttershy affectionately stroked Winona's chest with her forehoof. "There, that's my good girl. Yes, you're a good girl, aren't you? Now what brings you all the way here, huh?"
Winona leapt to her paws and barked at length.
"Sweet Apple Acres? Why?"
"Apples, apple fritters, apple tarts, apple muffins and candied apples." Applejack proudly listed the baked goods on the display stand at her family farm. "Sorry we didn't have time to make any apple pies," she added.
"'Sorry'?" Fluttershy squeaked incredulously. "This is amazing! You didn't have to do this."
"Now, what kinda friend only does stuff she has to do?"
Fluttershy felt humbled. A busy farm worker who could have lost her younger sister to the manticore, Applejack had good cause not to assist in this matter. Yet she had put herself out anyway, for no other reason than that Fluttershy was her friend and needed help. The pair watched as the manticore paced slowly back and forth in front of the display stand, peering and sniffing curiously at the assortment.
* * *
"Thunderation, Fluttershy, that persnickety puss has turned his snoot up at everything we got!"
Fluttershy shuffled in anxious regret. "Oh no, all that time, all those ingredients. I'll make it up to you. I promise."
"Never mind all that. Just ..." Applejack closed her eyes for a few seconds, controlling her breathing so as to subdue her rising anger. "Get him outta here."
* * *
Fluttershy's discomfort was intense, and steadily rising. She did not really like flying for long periods and she especially disliked being the centre of attention. Yet she could see no other choice. She was leading an adult manticore—a predator with a spike-studded, scorpion-like tail, a lion's body and an unEquestrian face—through the main street of Ponyville, in search of some food source she had not yet considered. The only way to avert a general panic was to ensure that everypony who saw the monster also saw her, and could see that she was calm and at ease. If she was clearly not afraid then there was no reason for anypony else to be afraid, either. So she hovered a foot above the manticore's head as the pair searched the town for something else that might appeal to the creature's taste buds.
The tactic seemed to work. The other ponies stifled their instinctive alarm once they caught sight of the notoriously timid pegasus, and eyed the unlikely pair with fearful yet quiet caution.
Except for one.
"FLUTTERSHY! " Pinkie Pie squealed exuberantly, bounding from seemingly out of nowhere. The sudden, loud greeting sent the startled pegasus shooting several feet into the air, shrieking in terror. The tense wariness of the townsponies snapped like a wafer and they stampeded wildly in all directions, screaming and whinnying, until they were all shut tightly indoors.
Recovering from her initial shock, Fluttershy cast her dejected eye around the depopulated street as Pinkie Pie, oblivious to the panicked desertion, rattled excitedly on. "I've been looking everywhere for you, including places where you had no logical reason to be which, in hindsight, might have slowed me down unnecessarily. Anyhoo, this morning Sugarcube Corner took delivery of a huge, whop-tastic, faburrific shipment of nuts and Mr and Mrs Cake said the manticore could come over and sample some of them! Isn't that great?"
"Um, yes, Pinkie Pie, I really appreciate that." Fluttershy was still unhappy about causing the panic she had hoped to avoid but she was too grateful for another purely voluntary offer of help to let on. The three set off for the local patisserie, leaving Ponyville's main street empty, save for the lone figure of Applejack, towing her display stand up and down the street, trying to entice the townsponies with her one-day-only half-price special on her apple-based treats and wondering why nopony was venturing outdoors.
* * *
"Welcome, welcome, to Sugarcube Corner, the number one nucleus for all your nut needs!" Pinkie Pie's eager, rapid-fire voice rang out through the patisserie's spacious storeroom. Wearing a straw boater and fake moustache, she stood behind a display stand filled with assorted nuts. "We've got peanuts, filberts, almonds, pistachioes, walnuts, off-the-wall nuts. Cash in on cashews, or pecan exciting new taste."
The manticore clasped a scoop handle between his teeth, dug into a tray of macadamias and, with surprising care, rolled one of the round nuts onto a bench.
"Ooo, macamadamia nuts. Excellent choice but a super-hard nut to crack. Thankfully, we have a handy-dandy gadget here that'll snap that sucker like..."
Before Pinkie could continue, the manticore slammed the tip of his tail powerfully yet precisely onto the nut, the impact of a spike splitting the shell cleanly down the middle. He raked the kernel out with an unsheathed claw, lapped it up and chewed thoughtfully for a second, before he contorted his hairless visage with distaste and spat the nut out.
"Um, that's something nut tasters do to make sure they don't over-indulge, right?" Pinkie Pie asked hopefully.
"I ... don't think it counts if it flies across the room," murmured Fluttershy.
The other nuts the manticore tasted met with similarly unhappy results, and the creature showed no interest in any of the baked confections Pinkie Pie retrieved from the main section of Sugarcube Corner.
"Augh!" the pink earth pony cried in dismay, scowling at the half-chewed kernels splattered around the storeroom floor. "And now I have this disgusting mess to clean up!"
"I'll help you," said Fluttershy quickly. "Where do you keep your buckets?"
Buckets.
The two ponies gazed with chagrin at one another, simultaneously realising how useful a bucket might have been before the manticore started his tasting.
Ponyville's main street basked in the balmy glow of the radiant Equestrian sun. Spike, however, was in no mood to relax. Which was unfortunate, since Twilight Sparkle had allowed him a fifteen-minute break from his assistant's duties for that express purpose.
The normally bustling street was deserted, which could only mean that something had spooked the ponies into hiding. Again. Usually it was nothing, but there could just as easily be a real danger. Spike decided to made a beeline for Sugarcube Corner, a common assembly point for the panicked populace, at least so he could find out what the problem, if anything, was.
To help calm his nerves, the young dragon dug his clawed fist into the small hessian bag he was carrying and fished out an assortment of glittering, brightly-coloured jewels. He feasted his gleaming eyes on the jewels for a second before popping the gems into his eager mouth. He hummed in enjoyment as his short but powerful jaws pulverised the hard stones as if they were roasted peanut kernels. The sensation emboldened Spike somewhat; he was rather proud of his race's gemstone-eating ability.
Spike polished off a few more jewels before finding himself at Sugarcube Corner. He peered through a gap in the curtains of the main window; sure enough, a string of nervous-looking ponies was gathered inside. He waddled to the front door and knocked.
Having finished cleaning up the mess in the storeroom, Fluttershy wafted pensively towards the main street, manticore in tow. As she neared the shop front, she caught a glimpse of Spike's scaly purple tail just as he was apparently hustled into the patisserie.
Spike. Now there was a predator who had no trouble adapting to the pony diet, Fluttershy mused. Then again, there seemed to be scarcely anything that the young dragon wouldn't eat. Even ...
Especially ...
Fluttershy looked intently back towards the agitated-looking and increasingly hungry manticore. He was a predator, just as Spike was, and even breathed fire, just as Spike did. Maybe ... well, it couldn't hurt to try.
* * *
"Are you sure you don't mind? I hate to impose."
"Not at all, dear." Rarity trotted elegantly from the tradesponies' entrance of the Carousel Boutique into the delivery bay where Fluttershy and the manticore were waiting. Her horn telekinetically bore a smart display case, which she laid to rest on a trestle table. She then magically opened the case to reveal an array of dazzlingly beautiful gemstones of many varieties, shapes, sizes and colours. The unicorn's innate, distinctive magic enabled her to divine the stones from the deceptively barren outskirts of Ponyville. She typically used them to add an extra touch of glamour to the outfits she designed and sewed, although they also had bartering value.
"Perhaps we'd like to start with a lovely amethyst? I mined them today." Rarity levitated a purple jewel out of the display case and into the manticore's waiting paw. The creature stared bemusedly at the stone for a moment then, with a terse grunt, thrust the jewel under Fluttershy's muzzle. Rarity looked on uneasily. She did not understand the manticore's language but there was no mistaking what he was asking.
Fluttershy's eyes darted back and forth between the amethyst and the manticore's expectant face. Her teeth were unlikely to scratch the surface of the jewel, and she dared not try to swallow it whole. "No, that's okay, really. It-it's not something we ponies eat so much but I'm sure a big, strong, tough fellow like you would be..."
Before she could finish, the big, strong, tough fellow tossed the gem over his shoulder. The stone clattered noisily along the delivery bay floor near Rarity's pet cat, Opalescence, who leapt away with a disapproving yowl.
The manticore, who had not taken his intent eyes off Fluttershy, let out a menacing-sounding snarl, raising his pitch towards the end as if asking a question. Rarity's nervousness increased, only to grow even greater at Fluttershy's reaction. The pegasus had a gift for communicating with animals on different levels and her demeanour with them reflected this. Sometimes she was soothing, sometimes she was stern, but she was always in control. Now she was averting her eyes, shuffling her forehooves and speaking in a timorous, halting murmur. It was precisely the submissive body language that she normally exhibited when dealing with unfamiliar ponies who presented some sort of obstacle to her.
"Um, well, I guess I was, uh, kind of, um, half-expecting that, well, maybe you might, um, possibly consider the possibility of, ahem, eat-eating one of these, um ..." Fluttershy swallowed heavily before hoarsely choking out the pony translation of the word the manticore had used for the jewels: "... rocks".
The manticore greeted this nervous confession with an angry growl. His lips parted just enough to reveal all three rows of his terrible teeth.
"What? No! Of course I don't think you'll eat just any old junk."
"'Junk'? Those are freshly harvested amethysts!" thundered Rarity.
Then came the roar. The same long, loud, low-pitched, petrifying roar that had greeted the ponies during the fight earlier that day. Fluttershy had successfully suppressed the instinctive fear at that time by focusing on the urgent need to help her friends and avert endangerment to anypony else. Now, in her haste to atone for her insulting offer of the jewel, she had let her guard down. Her primal terror overwhelmed her and she collapsed like a spent balloon, leaking courage.
"I know this was all my idea, but..."
The monster cut off her quavering explanation with another roar, even deeper and louder than the last, and lunged so far forward that their noses almost touched.
"Oh please don't be upset. I'm doing the best I can," whimpered Fluttershy. She wanted to ascend into the air and flee but she literally could not move.
The manticore drew back a step, but it was not in retreat. He was preparing for another lunge. Or worse. Fluttershy noticed a long, deep inflation of the furious creature's torso and sensed to her rapidly mounting horror that his next exhalation would be no mere roar of anger. Unable even to close her eyes, the powerless pegasus braced herself and waited for the inevitable conflagration.
The hail of hard, cut-edged stones struck the manticore's face with surprising ferocity. He recoiled in pain and shock, a small tongue of flame erupting harmlessly from his yelping mouth.
In that instant, Rarity re-directed her telekinetic magic to the still-cowering Fluttershy. With a bellow of effort, she lifted the pegasus bodily into the air and galloped from the delivery bay as swiftly as she could. Once outside, the unicorn unceremoniously dumped Fluttershy out of the firing line, then stood panting in front of the entrance, facing inwards. Her telekinetic power was designed for precision and artistry, not load-bearing, and she fought to regain her strength.
"Fluttershy, get a firefighting crew here stat. Then find Twilight or Rainbow Dash and help them assemble our friends. I'll try to contain the beast here." Rarity quickly cast her eyes around the boxes stored in the bay, searching for a fabric that might make a suitable binding material.
"By yourself?" Fluttershy gaped in astonishment at her friend. The flighty fashion designer had been known to collapse in melodramatic tears at the literal drop of a hat, yet here she was unflinchingly standing alone against an angry flesh eater who was bigger, stronger, lither, faster and incomparably better-armed than she.
"No time to argue! That brute could get back up any second."
"Get back up?"
Rarity's eyes widened as the meaning of her own words set in. The manticore was indeed still lying prone, motionless, his face buried in his forepaws. Yet it must have been almost half a minute since she had hurled the caseful of stones at him. Surely he should have recovered by now?
Her cautious hoofsteps echoing through the delivery bay, Fluttershy crept up to the leonine creature, murmuring a question that Rarity could not quite make out. Without looking up, the monster replied with a succession of piteous yelps. Fluttershy turned and made her way back towards the exit.
"Did I really hurt him that much?" asked Rarity.
"In a way. You brought him to his senses, made him realise what he was doing, what he was about to do, all because I made an honest mistake. So now he's brooding."
"And well he might," Rarity huffed, "turning on you like that when you were just trying to help".
Fluttershy wilted. Rarity's words sounded sympathetic but she was speaking quickly and quietly, not looking at her, clear signs that she was straining mightily to suppress her anger. It was an anger well-founded. Fluttershy had brought a dangerous creature literally to her friend's doorstep and promptly lost control not only of him but of herself as well, leaving the innocent Rarity, armed with little more than desperation, to avert disaster on her own. The short-sighted thoughtlessness of her own actions staggered the pegasus.
"Words can't express how sorry I am to have put you in this situation, Rarity. I should probably just go." Fluttershy began to slink out when a sudden loud clearing of the throat stopped her. She turned timidly back, wondering what withering words Rarity had for her now.
Yet Rarity said nothing. She curtly tilted her head towards the manticore, still lying prostrate on the floor. He probably needed to go, as well.
* * *
The citizens of Ponyville had, by and large, emerged from hiding. Once Spike had learned the cause of their alarm, he remembered Twilight mentioning something about Fluttershy trying to work out some vegetarian food option for a manticore. Word had spread, and as Fluttershy and the manticore walked aimlessly along Ponyville's main street, the sight instilled mere unease, rather than panic, among the townsponies. Not that either of the distracted pair cared. They weren't even thinking about food anymore. They were too busy silently reproaching themselves.
Fluttershy kept mentally replaying the scene from the Carousel Boutique—thinking of all the things she should have said, the way she should have said them—and burned with shame at how quickly and easily she had let the situation degenerate. Interaction with animals was her defining skill, her destiny, and she had choked on it at a crucial moment. What happened to the assertiveness, the resolve, that she had worked so hard to build up? A long and fruitless day had eaten away at it, and her gemstone gaffe had been the last straw. Well, that would have been scant consolation to poor Rarity, had she found herself gazing at the smouldering ruins of her beloved boutique and home. Assuming she even made it out alive. The pegasus firmly believed in showing kindness to her enemies, but at what cost to her friends?
"Fluttershy?"
She looked up with a start. Twilight Sparkle was still some distance away—she knew better than to appear suddenly to the skittish pegasus—but her voice rang loudly through the unusually quiet street. Fluttershy's spirits lifted slightly at the prospect of a friendly face. Then she remembered the battle that morning, how Twilight had been frozen with terror yet did her duty regardless, and misery over her own failure at the boutique overcame her once again.
As Twilight drew closer, her face fell at the sight of Fluttershy's dejected countenance. "Gourmet tour of Ponyville not going so well, huh?" she asked gently.
"I've upset Applejack, I've upset Pinkie Pie, I can't even talk about what happened with poor Rarity, and I have nothing to show for it."
"I wish I had better news for you, Fluttershy. I've been doing some research on our guest here and, from what I can gather, his kind is exclusively carnivorous. They won't touch anything but meat, even in lean times."
At first the pegasus appeared to wilt even further but then a small spark of determination re-animated her, and she lifted her head to face the alicorn princess. "Then I guess I have no choice but to enact my emergency, fail-safe contingency plan."
"I give up."
The manticore started to cry out in protest but Fluttershy held up her forehoof to silence him. "I'm truly sorry, but my friends and I have done all we can for you. If you aren't prepared to eat the food we have to offer then you'll just have to take your chances back in the Everfree Forest."
The creature pondered this declaration for a few seconds, then gave a brief, rumbling reply that filled Fluttershy's previously implacable face with amazement and hope.
"You are? But, but you didn't like the taste of any of it."
The manticore's next utterance translated into the ponies' language as "True, but if there isn't enough in the forest to feed me then I might have no choice".
Fluttershy thought fast, excited by this unexpected turn of events. "We'll have to try a few different dishes, and I'll need to check up on you regularly to make sure you're staying fit and healthy. Are you sure about this?"
"Fluttershy, you and your friends have gone to a great deal of trouble to help me, even though you have every reason to hate and fear me. The least I can do is try."
A wave of exhilaration surged through the pony, bringing a broad smile to her face for the first time that day. This ferocious, fire-breathing predator was willing to try something he didn't want to, and would probably find difficult, for the sake of a group of prey creatures who had shown kindness to him. Her mind filled with an image of a grassy field on a gorgeous, sunny day, the huge manticore sitting incongruously amongst a collection of critters who would normally flee at the first sign of him. A copious picnic was laid out before the group. Fluttershy also envisioned herself, proudly describing the monster's lifestyle change to her friends, who had gathered to witness the scene.
"He joins our friends here for lunch every week. Don't you, boy?"
The manticore nodded contentedly, letting out a low rumble.
"That's a kerr-razy amount of food you've laid on there, Fluttershy," observed Pinkie Pie, her eyes even wider than usual. "How do you manage that every week?"
"It's an effort, I know," the pegasus replied, "but it's worth it. With this dietary supplement, the prey in his forest territory can recover their numbers, so he won't be driven to come hunting in Ponyville again".
"In other words, you're buying his good behaviour with a food tribute," snorted Rainbow Dash, hovering in mid-air with her forelegs folded in disapproval.
"Oh Rainbow, I'm just helping him like I would any other critter."
"But he's not just any other critter, is he? He's an apex predator," Twilight Sparkle pointed out. "I know I'm not the animal expert here but are you sure having him associate ponies with food is such a good idea?"
"He thought of us as food before this anyway, Twilight. And this isn't his favourite food. He tolerates it because he wants to avoid eating us."
"Are ya sure he's gonna keep wantin' to avoid eatin' us?" Applejack's eyes were flooded with grave concern.
"Why, yes. He's changed."
"And if he changes back, or throws another tantrum like he did in my boutique, what will you do?" asked Rarity. "Curl into a ball and beg for mercy again?"
"You don't understand. He's very sorry for what he did. He said so. We've put all that behind us and he's going to be nice and gentle with us from now on."
"Do you have any idea what you sound like?" asked ... Fluttershy?
"Wait, what?"
There, in Fluttershy's mind's eye, was her own self, glaring incredulously, growing and crowding the other ponies out of sight. "You're just making excuses for him. You remember how out-of-control he was, how dangerous he can be. What are your grounds for thinking it will be any different this time?"
"I ... um ... ohh!"
The sudden rush of questions and doubts began to overwhelm her. Her mental image began to spiral out of control, the sounds and colours rushing into a vortex that disappeared as quickly as it formed. Fluttershy found herself staring at the manticore, who was waiting expectantly for her to accept his offer.
"No. I won't risk you losing your temper again. You must leave Ponyville and never return."
Deflated, the manticore opened his mouth to plead for a second chance, before realising that Fluttershy had already granted him that chance, and he had let it go up in flames. Almost literally.
"I understand," he replied shamefacedly. "If I were in your position, I wouldn't be in a mind to forgive either."
"This isn't about forgiveness. I don't want to see you starve or thrown into Tartarus or anything like that. I forgive you, all right. What I'm afraid I can't do is trust you. Not when the safety of my friends and me is at stake. Trust is something you earn, something friends have. And while we might have been able to get along peaceably for most of the day, let's face it, we are not friends."
The hunter fell silent, unable to argue. Eventually he spoke up. "For what it's worth, because of your grace and generosity, I vow never to harm another creature in Ponyville again. Unless they're causing you trouble, of course."
"Thank you, I appreciate that," the pony replied with quiet pensiveness.
"No, thank you for doing your best to help me. Now it's time for me to march back into that forest and think about what I've done. I'm sorry for disappointing you. Goodbye." He turned back towards his home.
"Goodbye, manticore."
The two creatures walked slowly away from each other, the manticore's final words playing over again in Fluttershy's mind.
Back into that forest.
The forest.
"Of course, that's it!" Fluttershy galloped excitedly back towards the wilderness.
The rich, warm aroma emanated from the bubbling pot and mingled with the other scents hanging in the air inside the cottage. Fluttershy inhaled deeply, humming with muted acceptance. Carefully, she clasped her teeth around the handle of the pot and carried it over to a thick board resting on her dining table. She doused the flames on her stove, then turned back to the collection of animals exchanging uncertain glances while piles of leaves, nuts and seeds awaited them on the cottage floor. Fluttershy had dutifully continued to care for their needs ever since the manticore's visit, but with a distracted, mechanical air, her sweet lilt giving way to a defeated murmur, and the animals had all picked up on her mood.
"Go on, my friends. Help yourselves."
As the critters joylessly ingested their lunch, Fluttershy re-gathered the pot and trudged with it out of her cottage and past the perimeter of the Everfree Forest, near where she and her friends had confronted the manticore a week earlier. A short way in, she found a grey, jagged, domed boulder at the edge of a clearing. With a strength she could rarely bring herself to draw upon, she upended the boulder to reveal a shallow depression lined with hard-packed earth. She then tipped the soybean casserole into the hole and heaved the boulder back into place. The dish would lie in the underground larder for the next week, where the manticore could feed from it as and when he needed. Fluttershy would try different meals each week. If they could safely sustain him, this would hopefully increase the numbers of his usual prey and prevent him from straying from the forest again. Not an ideal solution, but the best she dared try.
Returning to the forest perimeter, she was so lost in thought that she was almost within touching distance of her five closest pony friends—whom she had been avoiding ever since the manticore's near-disastrous visit to Ponyville—by the time she noticed them. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle and Rarity stood side by side across the path, while Rainbow Dash hung in mid-air just above them. They waited wordlessly with expectant, unsmiling gazes.
The empty casserole dish dropped with a dull thump onto the forest floor as Fluttershy's lower jaw went slack. In panic, she turned and galloped back into the forest, whimpering with every step. Rainbow Dash overtook her in a second and, forelegs akimbo, hovered imposingly in front of her, blocking her escape. Resigned, Fluttershy slunk despondently back towards her waiting friends. If they still are my friends, she thought.
"I guess I had to face the music sooner or later." Her voice a hoarse near-whisper, she turned her head away and down from the other ponies and closed her eyes. "Let me have it."
"First of all, let's hear what you plan to take away from this experience," said Twilight Sparkle with serene sternness.
Fluttershy thought for a moment, wanting to choose her words correctly. "That although it's important to forgive our enemies, sometimes it can take more than that for them to become our friends."
"And?" the alicorn princess prompted.
"And whenever I set out to do a good deed I should always, always, consider any risk of harm I might cause others." Slowly, the primrose pegasus cast a hopeful gaze across her friends.
"Sounds like a lesson well learned. So, what do we think would be a suitable punishment?" Twilight asked her companions.
"Ah reckon one week's cold shoulder oughta cover it," answered Applejack bluntly.
"Starting from the day she invited that ruffian into Ponyville," added Rarity. The others made sullen noises of agreement.
Fluttershy greeted her sentence with a mixture of relief and sorrow. At least they still planned to be friends with her again at some stage. Nevertheless, the thought of having displeased them at all weighed on her like a sack of wet sand. "Oh-o-okay," she stammered quietly, turning back towards the direction of her cottage. "That seems fair. I guess I'll see you guys in ..." She ran a quick mental calculation, checked and re-checked her figures, then looked back to the others. "Um, I don't mean to be contrary but it's already been a week since then."
"It has? Oopsies!" Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes in exaggerated mock-embarrassment.
With a gentle squeak of excitement, Fluttershy turned from the goofily-grinning pink pony to her other friends, whose unimpressed glares had changed to welcoming smiles. They had forgiven her after all. Thrilled beyond measure, she cantered joyously towards them, only to grind to a halt and recoil as the nature and potential cost of her failure intruded on her consciousness for about the thousandth time that week. "How can you ever trust me again? How can I trust myself again?"
"Same way any of us trusts ourselves after we mess up, sugar cube," replied Applejack warmly. "Admit our mistakes, learn from 'em 'n' move on."
"Just as we have moved on from how upset we might have been with you," smiled Rarity.
"Taming critters is supposed to be my destiny," Fluttershy quietly protested.
"But aren't some critters harder to tame than others?" Twilight pointed out.
"Yes, but ..."
"Then who's to say you couldn't have managed it, given more time and somewhere there was less risk of harming ponies?"
"I guess." Fluttershy felt her spirits gradually lifting. The unhappy memory of the incident would never fully leave her mind but she could still carry on with the help of her faithful, adoring friends.
Rainbow Dash loudly clopped her forehooves together. "Well, all this learning about friendship stuff has made me hungry. How about we get some lunch?"
"Ooo, yes indeed," Rarity enthused. "I'm in the mood for a lovely egg white omelette with a fresh garden salad on the side."
"Or some spinach and mushroom risotto," Twilight chimed in.
"Me, ah could go for somethin' a little heartier, maybe some punkin 'n' sweet 'tater soup."
"Mmmm, and some fresh berries. I wonder where we could get all those," mused an innocently smiling Pinkie Pie.
Fluttershy also gave a smile as she led her friends back to her cottage. At least somepony around here appreciated her cooking.
THE END