Fluttershy's Nature Show, Season Two

Fluttershy takes a deep breath. "Okay. Let's turn our attention to something more fun, hm?" she turns to the eagle. "Would you spread your wings for me, please?"

The eagle nods and spreads her wings out wide. It was a little hard to see when she was in flight or landing, because of all of the movement, but with her standing still, her full wingspan is truly massive.

"Whoa," remarks Rainbow. "How big are those?"

"The distance from wingtip to wingtip is just over ten metres," chuckles Fluttershy. "That's three times the span of an albatross, twice that of a chocobo, and a metre and a half wider than a roc!"

"Rocks don't have wings, though?" snorts Rainbow. "When's the last time you saw a stone flying through the air?"

"Earlier today," answers Fluttershy. "The one you kicked."

"Okay, one with wings, then..."

"Discord has a pet rock that can fly."

"Seriously? You're pulling that card?"

"All of this is irrelevant, anyway. Because when I said "roc," I was talking about the bird. You're not going to make fun of me like that kid in second grade, are you?"

"Which one? You're gonna have to be more specific; there were quite a few."

"Remember when we were learning about sharks, and he was trying to convince everyone that the best shark was the biggest one; the great white shark?"

"Yeah. He was wrong, though. Hammerheads look way cooler."

"And I preferred the chain dogfish for my species. And then I pointed out that the largest shark in the world wasn't the great white shark, but the whale shark."

"And then he called you stupid for believing that a whale and a shark could have babies together."

"That's the one."

"And then I called him stupid because he'd already accepted that tiger sharks exist, and tigers can't breed with sharks, either. Like, even less so, because tigers can't breathe underwater, and sharks can't survive on land."

"Loamsharks and sandsharks can," interrupts Fluttershy. "They mostly live in other countries, though, so I don't expect you to be super aware of them."

"Point being, if he's going to make fun of you for believing that whale sharks exist, I'm going to make fun of him for believing that tiger sharks exist."

"Oh, Rainbow, that was years ago..."

"You brought it up."

"Just to say that, just because "roc" sounds like "rock," they're not the same thing. Neither of which is the main subject of our video today. We're focusing on the giant crested harpy eagle, not the giant snowy sea hawk."

The camera turns back to the eagle, which has since closed its wings, and had been pulling apart and eating the snake it had brought back. Now that it's back in view, it wipes its beak. As it does, its crest is made visible; seven black feathers in a decorative pattern adorn its face like a tiara, fanning out across the back of its head. If seen from above or at level, it would be easy to see, but since the bird stands a metre taller than the camera, it wasn't very visible before.

As the eagle turns around, it warbles a bit. Fluttershy takes a step forward, but stops. "Actually, would you like to ride on her back for a bit?"

"I'm well aware of how it feels to fly," assures Rainbow. "And so are you."

"Yeah, but it's different on the back of an eagle. And our viewers might not know what it looks like, so if you take the camera..."

"Roger that." Rainbow moves around the nest, captures an admittedly gruesome shot of the torn-up jormungandr, then mounts the camera to her shoulder, as it had been while climbing. She then climbs up on the eagle's back.

"Now, hold on tight, but try not to kick her too much or pull out any feathers. Just hook your hands over her shoulders and hold on."

One of Rainbow's hands comes into view, and a moment later, the view past her shoulder and that of the eagle becomes the ground, which they start speeding toward. The rush of the wind into the microphone masks all but Rainbow's breathing as it picks up in pace, culminating in a loud "WOOHOO!!" as they pull out of the dive.

The trees rush past at an amazing pace, and as they turn around, the camera can see the ripples of their mach cone still shifting the boughs. Rainbow laughs triumphantly to herself, as that's one of her favourite parts of flying low over a forest.

Then they start climbing again. "I don't know if I should be telling you guys about eagle facts, or anything, but this one's, like, really strong. And that's coming from a great flyer such as myself. If anypony is going to convince you that an eagle is good at flying, it's gonna be me."

After climbing high enough to perform another dive, the eagle turns and goes into a spiral, spinning downward. Rainbow's arm is pressed against her back by the centripetal force, almost disappearing below her feathers until she breaks the dive into a glide.

The glide is immediately followed with a pained squawk. There's a moment of hesitation, then Rainbow has to ask, "Do you need to land?"

A sharp whistle is heard, and in the distance, Fluttershy can be barely seen, waving her arms as they approach. The eagle lands in its nest, and starts to cry out.

"Come down, Rainbow, quick!" urges Fluttershy, as Rainbow is already removing herself. The eagle caws loudly, then flags up her tail. "Something's wrong!"

"Of course it is!" answers Rainbow. "It happened while we were flying. What can I do?"

Fluttershy puts her hands on her head as the eagle cries out a few more times. "Sorry, Rainbow, but this is going to require the ability to listen to what she's saying, and react accordingly. I know you want to help, but..." she climbs into the nest behind the eagle. "This is something that I have to do. You just... make sure everything is okay, okay?"

Rainbow takes a deep breath. "Okay. Just tell me if you need anything; I'm on it."