//------------------------------// // Intro // Story: Where's the Beef? // by Mare Macabre //------------------------------// Fluttershy let a long, slow breath seep from her parted lips. Hot, humid, metallic air vented from her throat and diffused into the wind, spreading the morbid smell with the light breeze that swept over her. The tip of her tongue poked out, pushing her lips further apart, and traced a careful circle along the edges of her mouth, dampening the dark red that stained her bright yellow coat. Her eyelids drifted together, another complacent sigh slipping out as she let mixtures of endorphins and the cooling sensation of evaporating sweat wash over her tired body. She would have been content to lay that way for a while longer – back to the soft grass, her wings outspread, her fore hooves slowly massaging her belly – but a reluctant glance at the sky urged her to her hooves. She was slow to comply, her legs shaky as she continued to recover from the vigorous bout of exercise the outing had afforded her, but, despite her wants, she eventually found her way onto her steadying hooves. She lingered a moment more, glancing longingly at a mess of red behind herself, before finally starting through the woods back to her cottage. Fluttershy let her mind wander as her hooves carried her through the light vegetation of the outer Everfree Forest. She conversed idly with her inner voice, asking vague and sweeping questions and then answering them at length herself. She wondered about the start of her new pastime, and was reminded that it had begun simply with a gifted fish from her friend Harry. She’d accepted the gift politely, anxious about upsetting the great grizzly, but he had apparently been determined to see her eat it. She complied – hesitant, revolted, and mildly offended by the bear’s insensitivity – but, even after only her first bite, she knew she’d discovered something that might become her own ruin. Fluttershy absolutely loved the taste of meat. The pastel pegasus pony moved on autopilot, retracing her careful steps through the woods and arriving in her back yard within minutes. She awkwardly held a hoof to the side of her face and turned her head, avoiding eye contact with any of the animals gathered in her yard for their regular meal time. Some of them conveyed their discomfort with quiet chirps and chatter amongst themselves. Others flat out turned and took off, their respect and love for the kind-hearted pony turning to confusion and fear. Angel, who had waited in the doorway for her return, simply stepped out of her way as she entered the house, but Fluttershy noticed he gave her a wider berth than she remembered him having done before. Once inside, she quickly made her way to the bathroom and showered, scrubbing the lingering reminders of her hunt from her face and neck. That done, she returned to the kitchen at the back of her house and began to prepare meals for all the little, and not so little, friends that had gathered behind her home. In minutes, she had made all the proper arrangements, and opened the door to allow her woodland guests to retrieve their food. “Okay, everyone,” she beamed, leaning out the door, “Dinner’s ready. Could you all come make a line?” The assembled creatures shuffled slowly into file, some of them hanging disorderly around the yard. Fluttershy’s expression dropped as she watched the animals nervously wander closer, none apparently wanting to actually approach her. Her wings folded at her sides, her head lowering, and she moved from the doorway and quietly sat down in her kitchen. She stared at the floor, her breathing slowly becoming labored and eyes stinging as she fought a losing battle against the tears that welled in their corners. A sound thud snapped the despondent pony from her thoughts though, her eyes shooting up and fixing themselves on Angel bunny as he carried a heavy bowl of food over his head out the kitchen door. Angel stumbled as he made his way down the stairs, but managed to carry the bowl all the way out to the front of the line. He threw it down with a thump, glaring daggers at the squirrel that lead the line. The squirrel winced at Angel’s angry expression, flinching as the rabbit began to chew him, and then the other animals in general, out for acting the way they were. He gestured to the bowl, then to the house, demanding to know what, if anything, had changed about the mealtime tradition, and crossed his arms in a huff as some of the assembled animals started to reach for excuses. The pearly white bunny snapped his head toward a bird, his eyes narrowing to slits in response to the accusation it’d made. The cardinal faltered, looking away as Angel laid into him for suspecting Fluttershy of trying to fatten them up. The squirrel at the head of the line turned to his fellows, exchanging looks of reassurance and nervousness, then stepped around the bowl so they could lift it between them and move to their usual eating spot in the yard. Other animals watched their example, looking at Fluttershy with downtrodden expressions of apology and regret, then began to file into the kitchen. Fluttershy offered them all meek smiles as they wandered past her, retrieving their meals and returning to the yard, and let out a long sigh once the last had come and gone. She looked to the door, waiting, but soon stood and wandered to the doorway. Her eyes scanned the yard, her brow furrowed, but she soon spotted the missing member of her posse. Harry pushed a branch out of his face, flinching as it whipped his ear while snapping back behind him. He paused, glancing back at the yard as its usual lively conversations started, then sighed and started on his way once again. He stopped however, surprised, as a bowl of food appeared in front of his nose. He reared back from it, then looked past it at the smiling yellow face of the pony that offered it to him. Harry’s heart sank as he took in the forced grin, and he somberly refused the offered food. “Harry,” Fluttershy chided, “You need to eat. It’s autumn.” Harry stared at the offered food for a moment before hesitantly taking it, then looking up to start an apology. He was quickly cut off by a raised hoof. “You don’t have to say anything,” Fluttershy said softly, her smile waning. “I don’t blame you. You were trying to be nice.” She watched him lower his head, his paw drifting up to run down the side of his face. “...For what it’s worth, I did like the present.” Harry’s closed eyes tightened, his arm lowering and letting the food spill from his bowl. He leaned sideways against a tree, bringing his now empty paw to his face to join the other, and let the tension drain from his shoulders. Fluttershy flitted closer and rested a calming hoof on his arm, silently attempting to massage the guilt from her quietly crying friend. Harry slowly sunk to his rump against the tree, hesitantly putting a paw over Fluttershy’s hoof, and forced himself to control his breathing. He kept his eyes closed as he muttered an apology despite Fluttershy’s reassurance, then shakily got to his feet. Fluttershy helped him scoop the food from the ground back into his bowl and the depressed duo returned to her yard, meeting the now relaxed animals gathered around her house with smiling masks and friendly nods. Harry sat with his usual group of forest creatures. Fluttershy slipped quietly into her house. ____________ Angel drummed his fingers as he waited, watching the bathroom door with concern. It had been a minute or two since Fluttershy had finished brushing her teeth and the room had been quiet ever since. He began to worry, starting to push himself off the bed to assist, but stopped as the light beneath the door vanished and the lock let out a quiet click. Fluttershy wandered into her bedroom, her eyes unfocused and gait somewhat erratic. Angel watched her stumble to the bed and slip under the sheets, clearing his throat as she almost rolled over him. This seemed to rouse the pink maned pegasus from her waking dream and drew her focus to the little white rabbit nestled into her bed. “Angel?” she whispered. “What...you don’t want to sleep in the basket?” Angel frowned, putting a paw on Fluttershy’s shoulder and looking up at her with concern, and the pony let out a long breath through a sad smile. “I’ll be alright, Angel. You don’t have to worry about me.” The rabbit turned away from her and pulled her foreleg over him, adamantly snuggling up to her chest, and Fluttershy felt a stinging sensation return to her eyes. She opened her mouth, wanting to reassure the bunny that she was alright, but eventually just let the air inhaled for the statement leak out in a shaky sigh. She tightened her grip on Angel, nuzzling her chin on the top of his head, and the rabbit winced as she carried on beyond his point of comfort. He made no attempt to stop her, however. Selfish though he may have been, he would never deny something he felt Fluttershy needed so desperately. She eventually settled, and Angel was able to relax, quickly falling asleep in Fluttershy’s grasp. Fluttershy, on the other hand, lay awake long into the night reflecting on her morbid addiction. The act was an emotional rollercoaster every time, with highs higher and lows lower than any she’d ever experienced. The hunt was thrilling, yet the kill was heartbreaking. The meal was ecstasy, but digestion... Fluttershy carefully released her bedmate and massaged her sore stomach. Digestion was a nightmare. Even if she never got as sick as she did the first night, she always counted herself lucky if she managed to keep herself from vomiting. She just couldn’t properly digest the meat she so hated herself for eating. After her first violent illness after the fact, she’d hoped she wouldn’t even be tempted again, but the bold, savory, tender, primal... Well, needless to say, she was tempted, regardless of however unwell she felt afterward. Physically or emotionally. The moon was heavy on the horizon when Fluttershy’s churning stomach finally settled, her exhausted mind demanding that she do the same. She looked out her window, sleep tugging at the edges of her consciousness, and gave into the pull of her fatigue. “I have to talk to Twilight about this,” she murmured as she slipped into the dark.