Golden Oaks Library, for once, had darkened windows.
The frosty light of Luna’s moon rendered lighting unnecessary, and presently rose upon the snow-covered streets of Ponyville and surrounding land, painting a picturesque image for the young alicorn sitting on the top of the highest platform of the hollowed-out tree. There was no telescope beside her, nor was there a journal to write into as she gazed out at the lunar body. Instead, she simply watched the Moon (Did she ever ask Luna what it was actually called? She’d have to check..) with eyes sharp and jaw set.
Twilight knew exactly what was wrong with her, and she didn’t care at all.
It was a moot point, now.
Time to get to work.
Whisper-quiet flappings of wings propelled her down into the interior of the silent tree. It was darker inside, outside of the areas where the moonlight arguably made it harder to see the rest from the sheer contrast, but she could see fine. Perfectly, really. The cold outside didn’t bother her, either.
In the back of her head, she heard the combination of a well-studied textbook and a school lecture stirring up, and she let it busy her racing mind and steady her hoof as she worked.
Pegasi, came Treatise On Equestrian Biology Revision 3, Section V: On Variation: Subsection Five: Ocular Difference Between Pony Races, naturally see in the dark and generally have vision to a higher degree than other varieties of pony. This is thought to have been developed as a natural adaptation to needing to both hunt prey and avoid predators while in the sky and on the ground. Similar adaptation has been found in the eagle.
She paused in the middle of lifting her definitely-not-trembling hoof from adjusting Spike’s blanket, and racked her memory. It clicked, and she found her eyes darting to the book she was thinking of. That one, she remembered, was not supposed to be read by her filly self until she was about twelve, but she had succumbed to the temptation and read it at ten.
She didn’t understand then, but Twilight was not the kind of filly to have given up on understanding something way back when, let alone now. Nevertheless, she went back to her business, the knowledge dimly playing through her head.
Dietary Habits of The Ancient Pony, Modern Canterlot Revision, Section VI: Pegasi, unlike other ponies, can naturally hunt and eat fish, much like birds. This is more a primeval practice than a modern or even traditional one, as natural aversion to injuring sentient and/or sapient life has driven them to mastering the art of agricultural development on clouds, and relations with the earth ponies never degraded enough pre-Unification for them to abandon food trade altogether. While ponies can and have acquired a taste for meat (see popular cases of the Canterlot Cannibal and the Manehattan Mareeater), they cannot properly digest it.
Instead, much like if a carnivore was given one of our grazing plants, it will pass through. Pegasi, however, can digest fish, although with time, their teeth have evolved back towards the flatter teeth typical of other pony races. Vestigial meat-eating teeth have been found on most pegasi, and developed canines have been seen on fossils. There has been protracted debate on whether or not it should be legal for pegasi to exercise their capability to eat meat, though they are capable of processing it, and heavy ethical implications if they are.
Twilight finished up a quick dusting of the reference section, and checked the clock. About midnight. Early for her to be even thinking about going to sleep.
She wouldn’t be able to right now, anyways.
She saw the time on the clock, and knew what was next.
Her hooves made nary a sound and the moonlight threw the world outside into stunning contrast, but she paid them no mind, simply walking down to the kitchen at a measured pace.
Dietary Habits of the Ancient Pony, Modern Canterlot Revision, Section VII: As earlier stated, prehistoric pegasi had the digestive capability and dental structure needed for digesting fish. This carried over into interbreeding examples for up to two generations. Earth ponies and unicorns display no capability whatsoever to digest meat usually.
And of Equestria’s mysterious fourth variation, the alicorn, which has been known to have the characteristics of all three races and exaggerated advantages of each, there has been no knowledge of, dietary-wise. Princess Celestia (may her name be upheld gloriously, et al.) did not consent to an examination of her own dental structure and was not comfortable with giving us details on it, and by her own admittance, there are no alicorn fossils currently available for study. Princess Cadence had much the same result with the added information that she would never think of eating another being, sentient or not.
They have, however, been observed (with full knowledge that it will be recorded) having a strictly herbivorous diet, as with the majority of ponies.
Twilight wrote up a parable in her head as she set the table in the basement.
A young student of a wise alicorn had once read a book and soon understood the question implied, and asked her beloved mentor about it, and what the ethical consequences were if her question was true.
The wise alicorn replied as follows:
“My faithful student, don’t worry yourself with such things. I would never think of doing such a thing. But consider it like this, if I did: Does the timberwolf think of the life its prey once had? Running its tongue over its sharp and deadly teeth, would it consider, if it were to have a mind capable of doing so, whether or not fulfilling its role in nature and obtaining its life-energy is wrong?”
Thus, the student was enlightened.
The student now was not yet wise, but she was an alicorn. And said alicorn was now thinking.
Her magic no longer strained with the weight of such a heavy object in its grasp, and so she bent reality to her will to bring the meal onto the table. It creaked from the weight.
Her eyes could see it just fine. Perfectly, in the darkness.
She ran her tongue over her teeth, starting from the middle, slowly going to the left.
Another thing the student had asked her teacher:
“Why do you never smile wide?”
So spake Celestia:
“Because that would not be very befitting of a Princess, would it, my little pony?”
She pulled the silverware from the kitchen drawer, and got it ready.
Scrape.
The timberwolf, now satisfied with its purpose in life, would have returned to its hunt unabated.
Scrape.
The alicorn, now satisfied with her thoughts, put them into speech, all alone, in the soundproof basement.
Scrape.
“While I may agree with my colleagues,” so went her imaginary essay, “on the capability of pegasi to eat fish, they have not taken this idea far enough.”
Scrape, clatter. Clumsy her, dropping these sorts of things. She shouldn’t have tried to use her hooves. She’d cut herself on it. No matter.
The knife shakily rose, and steadied in her magic.
“While historically we have found, say, half-digested fish and evidence of ancient pegasi fishing, it must be noted that seabirds and birds of prey could eat any sort of meat, though they would not require the comparably massive amount of calories which we do as ponies.”
She had grinned in the mirror after she had Ascended, before she went to bed that night, and she had seen what Celestia would not ever show a normal pony, not without heavy illusion magic.
She had felt the hunger.
She had experimented.
“So, logically, it must be guaranteed that an omnivorous pegasi would eat larger animals than fish on some basis.”
And soon enough, she had decided she needed to go farther if she was to ever make a proper theory.
“And being as alicorns are accepted as the perfect combination of all three races of pony, we must extrapolate that they would have better developed digestive systems than all three of the pony races, stronger teeth, and a greater need for a variety in their diet.”
“That would be the only biological way for them to sustain the massive amounts of magical power, lessened aging, endurance, physical strength, and height all in one.”
She had quailed at what she had done, initially, after the frenzy was over, and before that, she had cried in fear at just what she had gotten herself into, but that was all over now.
Her mind was clear and her purpose was right.
The timberwolf would have gotten its tongue caught on its teeth, after all.
So Twilight Sparkle, alicorn, smiled wide.
The knife went down.
Dear Twilight:
I have written to you to notify you that there has been an emergency.
Multiple ponies have disappeared from Canterlot.
There has been no sign of their disappearance.
They had no relatives and were, I’m sorry to say, homeless.
Please come with the Elements to Canterlot immediately, it may be an ongoing hazard.
-- Princess Celestia, Solar Diarch
Author's Note
First story, please don't eat me. :C
I once read this story, a long while back, where pegasi were able to eat fish.
I remembered that story when I read how horses in reality can acquire a taste for meat.
Alicorns are a mix of all three pony races.
This resulted.