Grace before Mealtime

by helmet of salvation

7. The Hurting

The hail of hard, cut-edged stones struck the manticore's face with surprising ferocity. He recoiled in pain and shock, a small tongue of flame erupting harmlessly from his yelping mouth.

In that instant, Rarity re-directed her telekinetic magic to the still-cowering Fluttershy. With a bellow of effort, she lifted the pegasus bodily into the air and galloped from the delivery bay as swiftly as she could. Once outside, the unicorn unceremoniously dumped Fluttershy out of the firing line, then stood panting in front of the entrance, facing inwards. Her telekinetic power was designed for precision and artistry, not load-bearing, and she fought to regain her strength.

"Fluttershy, get a firefighting crew here stat. Then find Twilight or Rainbow Dash and help them assemble our friends. I'll try to contain the beast here." Rarity quickly cast her eyes around the boxes stored in the bay, searching for a fabric that might make a suitable binding material.

"By yourself?" Fluttershy gaped in astonishment at her friend. The flighty fashion designer had been known to collapse in melodramatic tears at the literal drop of a hat, yet here she was unflinchingly standing alone against an angry flesh eater who was bigger, stronger, lither, faster and incomparably better-armed than she.

"No time to argue! That brute could get back up any second."

"Get back up?"

Rarity's eyes widened as the meaning of her own words set in. The manticore was indeed still lying prone, motionless, his face buried in his forepaws. Yet it must have been almost half a minute since she had hurled the caseful of stones at him. Surely he should have recovered by now?

Her cautious hoofsteps echoing through the delivery bay, Fluttershy crept up to the leonine creature, murmuring a question that Rarity could not quite make out. Without looking up, the monster replied with a succession of piteous yelps. Fluttershy turned and made her way back towards the exit.

"Did I really hurt him that much?" asked Rarity.

"In a way. You brought him to his senses, made him realise what he was doing, what he was about to do, all because I made an honest mistake. So now he's brooding."

"And well he might," Rarity huffed, "turning on you like that when you were just trying to help".

Fluttershy wilted. Rarity's words sounded sympathetic but she was speaking quickly and quietly, not looking at her, clear signs that she was straining mightily to suppress her anger. It was an anger well-founded. Fluttershy had brought a dangerous creature literally to her friend's doorstep and promptly lost control not only of him but of herself as well, leaving the innocent Rarity, armed with little more than desperation, to avert disaster on her own. The short-sighted thoughtlessness of her own actions staggered the pegasus.

"Words can't express how sorry I am to have put you in this situation, Rarity. I should probably just go." Fluttershy began to slink out when a sudden loud clearing of the throat stopped her. She turned timidly back, wondering what withering words Rarity had for her now.

Yet Rarity said nothing. She curtly tilted her head towards the manticore, still lying prostrate on the floor. He probably needed to go, as well.

* * *

The citizens of Ponyville had, by and large, emerged from hiding. Once Spike had learned the cause of their alarm, he remembered Twilight mentioning something about Fluttershy trying to work out some vegetarian food option for a manticore. Word had spread, and as Fluttershy and the manticore walked aimlessly along Ponyville's main street, the sight instilled mere unease, rather than panic, among the townsponies. Not that either of the distracted pair cared. They weren't even thinking about food anymore. They were too busy silently reproaching themselves.

Fluttershy kept mentally replaying the scene from the Carousel Boutique—thinking of all the things she should have said, the way she should have said them—and burned with shame at how quickly and easily she had let the situation degenerate. Interaction with animals was her defining skill, her destiny, and she had choked on it at a crucial moment. What happened to the assertiveness, the resolve, that she had worked so hard to build up? A long and fruitless day had eaten away at it, and her gemstone gaffe had been the last straw. Well, that would have been scant consolation to poor Rarity, had she found herself gazing at the smouldering ruins of her beloved boutique and home. Assuming she even made it out alive. The pegasus firmly believed in showing kindness to her enemies, but at what cost to her friends?

"Fluttershy?"

She looked up with a start. Twilight Sparkle was still some distance away—she knew better than to appear suddenly to the skittish pegasus—but her voice rang loudly through the unusually quiet street. Fluttershy's spirits lifted slightly at the prospect of a friendly face. Then she remembered the battle that morning, how Twilight had been frozen with terror yet did her duty regardless, and misery over her own failure at the boutique overcame her once again.

As Twilight drew closer, her face fell at the sight of Fluttershy's dejected countenance. "Gourmet tour of Ponyville not going so well, huh?" she asked gently.

"I've upset Applejack, I've upset Pinkie Pie, I can't even talk about what happened with poor Rarity, and I have nothing to show for it."

"I wish I had better news for you, Fluttershy. I've been doing some research on our guest here and, from what I can gather, his kind is exclusively carnivorous. They won't touch anything but meat, even in lean times."

At first the pegasus appeared to wilt even further but then a small spark of determination re-animated her, and she lifted her head to face the alicorn princess. "Then I guess I have no choice but to enact my emergency, fail-safe contingency plan."