Chapter 1: Just an ordinary day
Chapter 1: Just an ordinary day
Fluttershy was tending to her animals. Animals that included meat eaters.
She heard some rustling in the leaves behind her. Perfectly normal; but identifying what it was mattered. After all, just because she could talk to them didn’t mean they would listen.
Of course, this time it was just a deer, eating some leaves. "Excuse me Mr. Deer, but I need to feed the bear in this area. You really should go and eat your leaves somewhere else."
She found a suitable place for the dead pig to be placed. Give the bear a challenge, but solvable. Make sure it was solvable.
Not like that again.
She continued tending to her animals. Some snakes would need to be eating in a couple of days, and she needed to make sure that the field mice had given birth. No point talking to them.
It would do no good to get to know them only to see them eaten.
Fluttershy knew death; she worked with it every day. Every feeding. Some ponies thought her world was all kindness; no. Kindness was what she had to bring to her world of death.
That, her wits, and her awareness.
Her stare was a last resort. If she needed it, she had messed up. After all, it did no good to rely on something that required you to be able to meet someone in their eye, have the time to be able to catch their attention, not be caught by surprise, and have enough time to address them with speech.
Most ponies didn't realize just how risky that ability of hers actually was.
Most ponies thought she got her pigs from the Apple Farm. They didn't produce enough. No, if ponies really understood how many pigs she went through -- pigs, fish, and a variety of other animals -- they would probably be revolted.
Being social.
Interacting with other ponies. It was less of an issue now. Years of being around her fellow element bearers. Years of saving Equestria.
A sense that maybe they wouldn't attack her if they knew.
Interacting with other ponies. Letting them understand exactly what she did. Letting them understand that the bearer of kindness was also the mistress of death.
More noise from the leaves. Different this time. Not a deer. Identify.
"Mr. Cougar, your meal is on the hillside. You haven't been a big fan of hunting in the forest before, so I made sure to put your meal in the rocky section of the hills. Would you like me to change your hunting area for the next meal?"
Turns out, the cougar was just trying to be playful. This time. He went off to the hillside, without any problems.
This time.
This was Fluttershy's normal.
Dealing with other ponies was a chance for them to decide that she and her animal sanctuary was a potential problem. Something to be gotten rid of.
Dealing with other ponies scared her.
Dealing with wild animals that eat meat scared her less.
Being with her friends meant that she could let her guard down. But too much of that and she would not be able to take care of her animals.
Technically, what she did wasn't really necessary. She was not really necessary. The animals could survive on their own if no one took care of them.
Some of them anyways. Others would go poof. Fluttershy did not want to go poof.
What if others decided that she was a danger to them?
What if she did not pay enough attention to the animals around her?
Oh there were some things that she did not have to worry about anymore. The weather ponies made sure that she was not snowed in. After all, one day without food was manageable. Two days was potentially problematic. And no one wanted to do another three-day episode. There was a reason that story was not told to foals.
Equally, the Earth ponies made certain that there was plenty of fruit on her trees year-round. After all, nopony in Ponyville wanted her to run out of fruit. Again.
Especially not Luna.
This was her normal.
This was the normal for the Mistress of Death.
