Onto the Pony Planet: Side Stories
Fluttershy Gets Meat
Admiral Biscuit
This takes place right after Chapter 6
“It would be better if you go,” Lyra said quietly.
“I only want to help him,” Fluttershy insisted, tears welling at the corners of her eyes.
“I know. But he's upset.” She turned her ears towards the bathroom down the hall. “He's sick—the woodchuck made him sick. It's making me queasy.”
“You're right.” Fluttershy's ears drooped further. She grabbed the dead woodchuck of the table and put it back in her bags, then trudged off in the hall, her head hung low.
She couldn't figure out where she'd gone wrong. The grubs—he looked kind of like an ape, and they sometimes ate grubs. Even Harry would, when food was scarce. It might not have been the best food choice, but surely if he were hungry?
To say nothing of the carrion. Both Lyra and Twilight had been certain he was a carrion-eater. Mr. Buzzard had found it and led her to it. Picking it up had been a little bit distasteful, but it wasn't like she'd never had to do that for her animal friends before.
After she’d crossed the bridge near her cottage, she walked a little ways off the path and set the woodchuck down behind a screen of shrubs. It was far enough away from her home that the smell wouldn't upset any of her animals unless the wind shifted unexpectedly, and she could tell Mr. Buzzard where it was. No sense in letting it go to waste.
She listlessly pushed her front door open and stopped in her living room, patiently waiting as her animal friends charged up to her and began excitedly chattering.
“He wouldn’t take the food,” she said. “I don't know why he wouldn’t eat.”
A flurry of fresh chatters broke out.
“No, Chip, I appreciate your offer, but he hasn't got the right kind of teeth to eat acorns. Yes, I tried grubs. They were very nice grubs, all fat and juicy. I brought a whole bag.” She pulled it out of her saddlebags; a small flock of robins, red-winged blackbirds, and a nesting cardinal flew over to it eagerly as she unknotted the neck and folded the top of the bag down.
“I don't know what to do.” She absently got out bags of seed and started filling food dishes. “Maybe . . . Lyra was wrong? It could have been a fish sandwich she ate.”
Fluttershy had tried little bits of almost everything her animals ate. Sometimes it was to be polite, sometimes to prove that she was offering food, and sometimes it was unintentional. She knew she'd be able to tell the difference between fish and red meat even with a blindfold on, but would Lyra?
Maybe. The unicorn had trained under a Neighponese maestro, and Fluttershy had seen her down at the lake fishing a couple of times.
She looked down as a fox bumped its head against her leg and gave a short, submissive whine.
“I know, Ms. Fox. I need to find food for him, so he can get better, like you when you broke your jaw.” She brushed the vixen's head with a wingtip. “You were so thin, remember? I had to cook down your food into a broth and—“
Fluttershy's eyes widened. Cook it.
He was no animal. He wore clothes, and Lyra had said he preserved his food in glassy fabric. And he'd had a campfire.
Why else would he have one, if not to cook his food?
Carrion was out. Without the right digestive system, it would just make him very, very sick. But fresh meat would be fine.
“You're so smart, Ms. Fox.” Fluttershy brushed her head again. “Yes, you are.”
Fresh meat. But where to get it? Most of her animal friends were small, as were their prey. Something his size would require a larger quantity of food, maybe as much as a couple of pounds a day. Even if she were to go ask Harry, or a cougar, it would be unfair to take so much of their prey—they needed it to live, after all.
She’d often enough had her raptors bring back some small prey, to feed another sick bird. If enough of them brought back one or two small animals each, she might have enough, although it would have to continue day after day, and the predation would be so severe that her tiniest friends would either leave her in horror, or mob her cottage for safety.
But the griffons—they had a network which distributed meat to their embassies. Gilda had talked about it, no doubt for the shock value, and some of the other pegasi had been disgusted at the concept, but Fluttershy had been fascinated. It was much more complicated than the pony system, because unlike grains, fruits and vegetables, fresh meat didn’t keep very long.
She was sure she was right this time. This was what Dale ate.
Tomorrow, she would fly to Canterlot, and buy some meat from the griffons.
• • •
It took her a while to find it, and even longer to work up the courage to approach the front gate. The embassy was an intimidating building, and if she hadn't been a mare on a mission, she would have turned and fled in the face of the two sentries.
She closed her eyes, and thought of Dale's gaunt face, and Kate's pale skin. Then she boldly marched up to the gate before she could change her mind.
“Um, excuse me?”
One of the griffons looked down at her disdainfully. “What do you want, little pony?”
“I, um, need some of your meat.”
The two guards exchanged a look and then began chuckling.
“Can you handle it?”
“It's not for me.” She looked back at her saddlebags. “I have bits—I can pay for it.”
The guard on the left only chuckled louder.
“It isn't funny.” Fluttershy stomped her hoof. “There are two sick creatures in the Ponyville hospital who might die if they don't get fresh meat.”
“This isn't a store,” the guard on the left said. “It's—“ He clamped his beak shut as his counterpart held up a talon.
“Hold on. You have injured griffons in your hospital? Why haven't I heard anything? Why hasn't the embassy been informed?” He moved forward, his talon tightening around his halberd.
“They're not griffons.” Fluttershy gave him a pleading look as she stepped back. “They're omnivorous alien apes.”
He exchanged a brief glance with his partner, lowered his weapon, and gave Fluttershy a very curious look. “You'd better come with me.”
He led her through the gates and to the main building. Fluttershy quailed as they passed by another cluster of guards and into the spacious atrium.
He paused outside a plain door. “Listen to me carefully, little pony. I'm going to take you to Commander Lleó Àguila. Your only hope of getting what you need is to tell him everything, do you understand?”
Fluttershy nodded meekly.
“Good.” He knocked three times, paused, then knocked twice more, before opening the door.
The room they entered was some kind of office. Two young griffons were sitting at a desk on one side of the room, while a griffoness was busying herself sorting papers in a tall wooden cabinet, which stood between a pair of doors leading further into the embassy. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a fourth griffon, his talon curled around a halberd, standing just behind the door.
Four pairs of eyes locked onto her, and she shrank away, moving closer to her escort.
He paid them no heed, but crossed the room in an efficient stride, opening the door to the left of the cabinet. He motioned for her to enter with a short head-bob.
She timidly stepped through, getting her first look at the griffon sitting at the big, polished desk. He had scars in his coat, and missing feathers on his head. An eyepatch covered his right eye.
He gave her a bemused look.
“Tell me why you are here.” His voice belied his appearance. It was quiet and almost melodic, not at all what she expected from a creature who towered over her. Gilda had been forceful and rude; he seemed amiable, even if his appearance was a bit unsettling.
“Oh, um, well, we have a pair of injured alien apes at the Ponyville hospital, and they're omnivores.”
“Alien apes?”
Fluttershy nodded eagerly.
“What are they like? Describe them for me, please.”
“Um . . . well, they're tall—about as tall as Princess Celestia, they walk upright like a minotaur, but they're not as broad-shouldered. They have manes, but no tails, wear clothes, and have a civilization on a distant planet.”
“How did you ponies come by them?”
“I'm not entirely sure,” Fluttershy said. Twilight had only filled her in on a few pertinent details, and she didn't want to bother the griffon with trivialities. “But they accidentally wound up in the Ponyville reservoir, badly hurt. They're in the hospital now, but it's the talk of the town that soon they'll have an embassy of their own in Ponyville. I heard that at the market.
“I tried to bring them some carrion, but it made him sick. I didn't offer any to the mare—the female.”
Commander Àguila raised his eyebrows. “You have a breeding pair?” he asked incredulously.
Fluttershy's cheeks reddened. “Um, well, I don't know if that's the plan.”
“What makes you think they even eat meat, then?” Àguila looked at her curiously. “A hungry griffon would probably eat carrion, if it was fresh. Not like you ponies.”
“Really?”
“Sometimes there just isn't enough prey.” He tapped a talon on the desk. “Though it's not an ideal choice.”
“A lot of my animal friends will do the same,” Fluttershy said reassuringly. “It's nothing to be ashamed of. But it made him sick! He was vomiting!”
“Maybe you're wrong. Maybe he doesn't eat meat.”
“Lyra says he does. She shared a sandwich with him at his home before he came here. If the meat were cooked, I think he could eat it.”
Commander Àguila opened his beak and closed it again, then tapped on the desk with his talon thoughtfully. Finally, he spoke.
“I think we can help you. Yes. I can have the chef give you some meat, and ice to preserve it. It has to be kept cold, you know, or it spoils.”
Fluttershy nodded.
“I can also give you a book on how to prepare meat. It's in Equus; sometimes we don’t bring our chef to diplomatic functions.”
“That would be helpful,” Fluttershy told him. “I’ve only ever prepared it for my animal friends, and they’re not too picky. Except for Angel.” She sighed. “I wouldn’t want to offend them with poorly-prepared meals.”
“Wait right here,” he instructed. He stepped around the desk and went through the door. Fluttershy noticed he slightly favored his right hindleg, and felt a pang of sympathy for the poor griffon. Sometimes it was hard to be a predator—animals were clever, and fought back. A lot of ponies found it hard to believe that some of her sparrows would harass hawks whenever they saw them, although she didn’t allow any of that in her cottage. It was a place of refuge for all animals.
Àguila limped past her and back to his desk. “That’s taken care of,” he told her. “A griffon will be here shortly with plenty of fresh meat for your sick apes.”
“Thank you so much.” Fluttershy smiled at him. I’m such a silly goose. All along I’ve been afraid of nothing. “Um, have you tried a teaspoon of molasses every day? For your leg?”
“My leg?”
She nodded. “I saw you limping. Sometimes molasses helps with stiff muscles. You can mix it with something, if you don’t like the taste.”
“I will consider it. Can you tell me more about these apes? What else do you know?”
• • •
Despite the weight in her saddlebags, she had a happy lilt in her step as she left the embassy behind. She’d gotten enough to feed them for a week, and Lleó Àguila had promised to send her two more shipments via the Friendship Express. He was unwilling to offer any more, unless there were a formal request from the Crown. But she was sure she could persuade him if they ran short before a deal were reached. He was such a nice griffon.
She would have preferred securing a long-term supply—if they really were making an embassy, then they were expecting Dale and Kate to stay around for a while. Still, three weeks would certainly be long enough for them to have healed, and surely Princess Celestia was negotiating with Dale’s tribe to get supplies.
And, on the slight chance that she was wrong again, she could give it to some of her animal friends, as a special treat.
The griffons were quite generous, she thought as she soared off the side of the mountain and banked towards Ponyville. And quite curious. I never thought that they were that interested in land-bound creatures, except as prey.
As soon as the yellow pegasus was escorted out of his office, Commander Àguila sprang into action.
His first act was to write out a contact report. Protocol demanded that every time an agent was approached, he document it. This would be the first he’d done since his forced retirement from the field, and while he’d always hated them, he was glad the gate sentry had had the presence of mind to bring the pegasus to him. A more junior griffon would have probably unintentionally intimidated her into silence, but his deceptively gentle voice and easy questioning had won her over.
After that was done, he scribbled out a quick note on thin rice paper. They imported it at great expense—nominally to use in the kitchen, but half of it was diverted to the espionage division. Once the message was encoded, the rice paper would simply be eaten, and no evidence of the message would be left behind.
He rolled up the note and limped to his door.
“You,” he ordered, pointing to his coder. “Transcribe this message for the telegraph. Append it to every telegram we send today—it’s urgent. The rest of you, come into my office.”
“I want to know what’s going on in Ponyville,” he said, as soon as the pair of agents were in his office with the door closed behind them. “We already got a memo about troop movement; the first major deployment there since Princess Celestia’s protege became librarian. We wrote it off as an exercise, but I have just recently come to learn that two alien apes have arrived, and no doubt the guards were deployed in anticipation of their arrival.
“There has been no word from the Crown on this. I want both of you to make contact with your spies as quickly as you can, and find out what’s going on. Leave no stone unturned, and leave nothing out of your report. If we do this right, we can get a jump on other nations, and we can give the ambassador a bargaining chip to use against the Princess. Screw it up, and I’ll see your heads on pikes outside the Eyrie. Have you got it?”
They both nodded.
“Then what are you waiting for? Get out there!”
Commander Àguila leaned back, a small self-satisfied glint in his good eye. They were good agents; by the end of the day, he’d know everything anypony in Canterlot knew.
He stretched out his leg and flexed his paw. “Molasses,” he said to the empty room. “I wonder if the kitchen has any?”
Very sneaky these Griffons are.
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You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, after all.
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Wait... I heard that the opposite of that turned out to be the truth or something.
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You might be right. Maybe it depends on what kind of fly you're trying to catch. I've got to figure that fruit flies go for sweet things, like bananas, but I suppose other kinds might like other smells. Hmm. More research is needed. I wonder if the Mythbusters has ever tested that adage?
I'm honestly conflicted whether to be glad for what Fluttershy did, or angry for the griffon's deception... or wonder if he'll feel conflicted for the deception due to the kind medical suggestion she gave. XD
Your fics never cease to spurn my mind, eh? XD
Omnivorous Alien Apes would be a great name for a rock band.
Got an error here.
I wonder why she is so concerned. If I remember correctly he wasn't starving himself and they had already started moving foreword with learning his diet. Fish too. Maybe nopony gave Fluttershy the memo.
Oi vey. Fluttershy you stupid thoughtful pony. Would a breach of security this large be considered treason in Equestria? I'm pretty sure someone who did something like this on earth would get in pretty serious trouble depending on which nation they were in. Most would likely press charges of espionage at the least.
Interesting thought process. Does this mean Pegasi are more interesting to Griffons than Unicorns/Earth Ponies? How would they view humans I wonder. As prey? I hope not that would end . . . poorly.
All in all it seems that the Griffons are more espionage oriented than the ponies, but centuries of trying to outmaneuver somepony they cannot directly confront is likely the cause for that. Kinda like how in the Cold War the USSR and the USA couldn't duke it out face to face so they went spy and puppet crazy. I wonder how well the Griffons will stand up against human intelligence agencies.
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It's always a toss-up with things like this, isn't it? Nothing like a little quandary to puzzle over...
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It would be! I came up with Semi-Immortal Sorcerers once, when discussing the concept for a story. The rock band idea was my dad's.
Error corrected! Can't even blame my pre-readers for not seeing it; I added that line just before publishing and typo'ed the heck out of it.
5639257 True. Plus, you are good at making us readers think, eh? Case in point with the notes we recently discussed. XD
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She's concerned because she thinks they're too thin (compare a pony torso to a fit human's), and because she knows that for an omnivore, meat has a much higher nutrient density than plants. She'd also be aware that there are animals which require nutrients only found in meat.
Well, Celestia didn't banish her for stealing Philomenia, so I think overall their justice system is more geared towards intent . . . however, there are always consequences for things like treason, even if they were done with the best of intentions.
As you say, the consequences would depend on a variety of factors, not the least of which is the whim of the leaders. Obviously, since this chapter took place earlier in the story, we know that the ponies are aware that there was a security breach, and you can bet they're trying to find out where it originated.
I think that's a reasonable assumption. Unicorns are snooty because they can do casting magic, which non-unicorns can't--but pegasi and griffons can fly, and unicorns can't. The flight thing gives pegasi and griffons something in common, while the concept of being permanently grounded might be viewed with pity, or even scorn. In all honestly, the relationships between different sapient species, and the opinions each has of the other, is a marvelous thing to speculate about.
You have to be subtle when you're dealing with an opponent who controls the sun. But I think it's more in their psychology, anyways.
Obligatory Chip & Dale reference:
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When there are "sick critters" about, I would imagine that one would have a better chance of spontaneously growing a second head than one would of convincing Miss Shy to think clearly for any length of time.
Her heart's in the right place, at least.
Where has Fluttershy been hiding these raptors? More importantly, where does she get the fuel for their motorcycles?
cdn.hitfix.com/photos/5957199/Jurassic-World-parody_article_story_main.jpg
then, and embasee.
Obviously, since petroleum comes from dinosaurs, they make their own.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a7/Sinclair_Oil_logo.svg/1280px-Sinclair_Oil_logo.svg.png
Oops on the first, on the second.
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It's true her heart is in the right place. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop in regards to the griffins. I expect there will be a kidnapping attempt in the near future. Everybody is gonna want their own Space Ape.
5639220 I think we are in a situation of "fellow carnivores unite" as i can imagine that the gryphon diet has strained diplomatic situations with the ponies for centuries. Imagine, a new species of predator they could see as Proper Allies instead of this flimsy peace with the grass eaters.
Edit: Buck it, I shouldn't try to be clever from the bed at 5 in the morning. Ignore me, please.
It would be interesting how Griffins would take humans, if there is proper contact.
The catbirds are usually portrayed as tribal, opportunistic, and ruthless.. and not stupid. On one hand, I half-want them make some sort of aggressive move and get a proper slap back. On the other, I can see them being very, very cautious if they get a sniff of human tech. It's a simplification, but I picture a wild, unintelligent gryphon in the wild and see them sizing up that strange thing to see if they should eat it or avoid it.
So lots of factors. But very much natural pride and aggression vs aliens that are both individually weak and horrifyingly deadly when the hammer comes down.
And that's just one species.
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I don't think he'd feel conflicted about it. He seems to be pragmatic and a patriot without being a dick about it. Plus, the meat and cookbook really will help Dale and Kate stay healthy.
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On the one hand humans are land-bound, on the other hand we built flying machines. If/when the griffons find out what kinds of flying machines we have now, their reaction will probably be a mixture of impressed/terrified.
Oh, Fluttershy.
Good chapter. It's funny knowing fluttershy was the one who put them into action.
Well, that was interesting.
It's been a while - is an update to the main story coming soon?
Yay for continuity!
5639588 they'll be terrified to know a single gunship can remove their entire air force from the equation. Hell I bet flak could be used to great effect even.
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I've also heard vinegar's better at catching flies. Of course, more damning still is the fact that you'll catch far more flies with manure than either honey or vinegar, so it's really not a very good idiom.
Otherwise I'd say it's perfect. Another great chapter from the great Admiral.
--Sollace
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Correction made; thank you!
5639588 both sides got something they wanted out of the negotiation. Fluttershy just didn't know the price she paid.
The head honcho also appears to be the grizzled veteran type, who refuses to admit he's past his prime and is itching for a fight to show all these whippersnappers he's still got it.
He's sleeping soundly tonight.
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We have, of course, already seen some of it, but there's more to come, you can be sure of that.
It's a possibility, that's for sure. Because
If that isn't a great title for a work of fiction, or a rock band, I don't know what is.
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I think that would be more of an issue at an individual level, rather than at a state level--the common pony might be creeped out by the idea, but Celestia would rather keep peace than go to war with them, for example. However, the griffons might rightly feel that they have much in common with humans, and might try to use that as a wedge to pry them loose from the ponies.
That's got to annoy them. The dominant species on the planet eats grass, and isn't very war-like.
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You've pretty much nailed it right on the head, there. They're smart enough not to do something really dumb, and patient enough that if they see an opportunity, they'll grab onto it. That's why Celestia reminded the ambassador that she knew he'd had a spy in Ponyville, without going so far as to actually say it.
\
Are you reading An Academic Visit, by chance?
Dale is going to be so overwhelmed by about the fourth different species.
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Thank you!
There will be more stories like this one. I tend to write character-driven stories, and I love casual dialogue between characters.
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But she did it with the best of intentions.
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Going to my pre-readers tonight or tomorrow.
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I think the flak might be a safer option. I'm not sure how and Earth aircraft would behave after hitting an Equestrian cloud.
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Well, the ponies should have plenty of manure available, if they want to catch flies. Heck, Night Soil's got wagonloads of it.
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As the saying goes, you pay now or you pay later.
Of course he is. Nogriffon wants to be stuck behind a desk.
5642826 Same as any other cloud I'd imagine. It takes magic to be able to walk on clouds so there's no reason to say it'd cause any harm.
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I'd say that's a matter of headcanon--there isn't a right answer. They might be no different than ordinary clouds, or they could be thicker--still too thin to stand on without magic, but thick enough that they'd cause real problems for a turbine engine if it sucked one in.
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It's been a while since I watched the show or any episode that shows it, but a quick way to determine this would be if Equestria has fog, and if that fog is meaningfully differentiated from clouds in how magic can interact with it.
On Earth, of course, clouds are fog, and the only real distinction is in the altitude where it resides. Go up inside a cloud, and it's just a really big hunk of fog that eventually occludes your vision. Clouds as shown in the show meanwhile have clearly defined edges and occlude vision with very, very little volume - a fog in our sense of the word made of that stuff wouldn't let you see your hand in front of your face.
But if the show displays fog that acts more-or-less the way it does on earth, especially if it can't magically bear weight or resist force via pegasus cloud magic, then that's canon proof that what Equestrians call clouds are substantially different from what we call clouds... at least, the clouds that we see close-up. This still leaves the possibility of earth-like clouds that co-exist with exotic equestrian ones, especially where the everfree is involved. What the mundane properties of these exotic clouds are pretty much remain up to headcanon, though.
Further on the matter of earth-like clouds in equestria though, is that barring a different source of lots of particulates(particles that water vapor can cling to to form clouds) or a post-industrial setting, any earth-like clouds will form the way they would over the ocean or amazon rainforest, which produces notably different results from any we normally see on land. A meteorologist, or even just someone who is familiar with cloud formation and its variances in different environments would immediately notice something was up even in an normal clouds only, unmonitored portion of Equestria.
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Before Friendship was Magic... It was nuts.
Nice little walk down memory lane there.
Fluttershy being the one who best understood carnivores and omnivores--it fits the show's canon. While other ponies have been shown using or preparing eggs or dairy, Fluttershy is the only one I know about that has actually been shown having caught/killed living creatures (fish) to feed to other living creatures. That's kind of impressive for a "kid's show" I think.
Nobody's judging you, Fluttershy. There's no reason to feel bad.
5642757 Another thing that this chapter made me ponder is the culture and traditions around the Gryphon dinner table, since our lead has already ventured into the realms of etiquette.
If Gryphons take more after cats than eagles when it comes to packs, how would their culture have grown around their feeding habits?
Would it be tradition that the pack leader, the highest ranking person at the table, or the one who had arranged for the food, serves his packmates and guests; a callback to the time where the leader allowed his pack to eat after the leader had finished? Would serving yourself be disrespectful, taking for yourself like a hyena or a scavenging crow?
Would it be a grave insult to serve soup or boiled meat to someone, implying that they're too old or too fragile to eat unprepared meat?
Stuff that appears in your head around those early morning hours.
Food for thought.
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Read it, but I think it jumped the shark a few times. Resorting to nukes is vast, vast overkill barring some sort of magical macguffin Even an aggressive economic or cultural takeover could be just as devastating.
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The upcoming chapter gives some more insight into what happened, and where.
I'm thinking either you read my fanfic where I detailed Fluttershy's thoughts and actions as she hunted, or we share the same headcanon background.
In my story, I mentioned that Fluttershy wouldn't relish the thought of hunting for her animal friends unless they needed it. We also talked about this in a few comments on OPP as well. I particularly like the line saying that Ms. Fox had a broken jaw, both for that reason and that it transitioned well into her realizing that the food needed cooked. I have no idea where the Neighponese eating fish headcanon came from, but I adopted that into my own story as well, only a little more subtly. In my own story, I said that Fluttersy didn't mind the taste of fish because she was a pegasus, but she refused to partake anyway. The first story I saw the Neighponese headcanon was The Sisters Doo, and it made quite a bit of sense there, but I suspect it goes back even further.
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It's a case of similar headcanon. I'd planned, back in '12 when I was first plotting out the story, to reverse the "OMG they eat meat" trope that was so prevalent at the time. Fluttershy was usually the one most freaked out by it, which made no sense whatsoever, given how many animal friends she has.
Aside from fish, I don't think FS would be a particularly good hunter; she'd most likely ask one of her other carnivorous animal friends to do it for her (although there are documented cases of horses killing and eating small game, so it is possible, and of course MLP-ponies could probably use snares or dig pit traps, or whatever).
Thank you! I was trying to think of a reason why one of her animals would need cooked food, and then I remembered my ex's cat who was so old and decrepit that she had to cook chicken breasts for it....
I don't remember where I got it from, either, but some of Lyra's character is influenced by Xenophilia, and that might have been the source (or Archonix's semi-official side stories). In the case of the Neighponese, it's sushi specifically; most other ponies eating fish would at least cook them first.
I've also read The Sisters Doo (and if you're reading A Gift From Celestia, I make mention that Daring is Derpy's sister, although I only refer to her by her official middle name--Dazzle.
5646184 Until now, it has been hinted several times that poneis do eat at very least sea food, and that fishing it, should not be a problem.
In the series, we definitely saw her giving fish to her otters (Dragonshy episode), and it didn't bother her in the slightest that she had them in her mout, while she did spit out the worms for the birds. In season 4 we were presented with Hors d'oeuvre at the party, who featured shrimps. For it to lend on a table for 'upper crust' treats, it must be acceptable food in Canterlot.img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140428211600/mlp/images/e/e4/Treats_turn_into_hors_d'oeuvres_S4E23.png
Fluttershy the intelligence leak – or "Flutter-spy", if you will.
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A lot of intel is gathered by sources (sometimes unexpected) giving something away that they probably shouldn't have.