Acquiring A New Taste
“How much longer is this going to take, mom?” Skyla asked for what had to be at least the fifth time this trip.
“We’ll be in Griffonstone in a couple hours” mom answered. “I’m sure you can find some way to pass the time until then.”
I had certainly found a way to pass the time. I had brought my second best friend, a nice thick sketchbook, along. I also brought along its cohorts, the pencil gang, and its trainer, the sharpener. We were on an airship, which was good, since Griffonstone was on the other side of a sea. We got on last night, though I had to carry Skyla onboard since she fell asleep while we were waiting for it to arrive. Dad was being the pack pony, carrying all our stuff. Even though we only had the essentials, some entertainment, and some snacks, I couldn’t quite shake the feeling I had grown accustomed to that something was missing. I knew nothing was missing, but the mind is a strange thing. At least, mine seems to be.
I was currently sketching out a human design. A couple days after mom told us we were going to have a little sister, I found a club at school that caught my interest. It’s a club for those interested in humans. Apparently, humans were this kind of mythological non-magical creature that walked upright like a minotaur, but was more slender, furless, and squishier. What they lacked in physical power, they made up with brain power and tools. Inexplicably, I found myself drawn towards them, like I found something I didn’t realize was missing.
My telekinesis has, coincidentally, improved by leaps and bounds. After hearing numerous concepts of what humans could do with their hands and how they manipulated things, I began imagining my telekinesis as an invisible arm. Immediately, my problems became moot, and one of the fillies there suggested I take up swordplay. It did sound interesting.
“Hey, Inova, can I have some of your pasta?” Skyla asked me.
“No” I said. “The answer is always no, so stop asking.”
“But I’m hungry.”
“Our last meal on here was twenty minutes ago, and they let you clear out all the leftovers since they’ll be restocking when we land. Now, could you please leave me be? I’m busy here.”
Skyla slunked away, to a destination I couldn’t care less about. I went back to my sketching.
We got off the airship the same way we got on it: Mom leading us, dad carrying our stuff, and me carrying a sleeping sister of mine. I’d say she sleeps like a log, but I’ve seen logs that rest lighter than she does. Admittedly, that was a captive pack of timberwolves taking a nap at the Canterlot Zoo, but my point still stands.
Fortunately, we had a chariot awaiting us. I put Skyla at one of the spots inside, then mom, dad, and I got in. “So, what’s going to happen?” I asked mom, who had been here and done this before.
“You’ll just have to wait to find out when we get to the castle” she specifically answered in a vague manner.
“Alright. But how will we deal with Skyla?”
“Don’t worry about that. How’s your human art coming along?”
I pulled out some of my less “classified” sketches to share, the papers floating between all four of us, but only facing three of us. “I’ve gotten pretty good at drawing them. They’re not like everypony else’s drawings, though.”
“How so?” dad asked.
“The sizes are all different. Especially the head. The ones I draw are smaller and more detailed.” I pulled out a comparison picture one of the other club members let me have. The proportions and detail levels were vastly different between the two drawings.
“I see” mom and dad quietly said. “Why do you draw yours so differently?” one of them asked.
“It just feels more right to me for some reason. Not that there’s anything wrong with the other style, but I like mine more.”
“You do seem to be more detailed in your drawings than a lot of other ponies” mom said.
“I do try.” I politely gathered up the drawings and put them away. “So, what are the griffons like?”
“What have you learned about them in school?”
“They’re part eagle, part lion, at least in appearance, the females tend to have sharper features than the males, they have a king and queen, and they hunt for some of their food.”
“They’re also less forgiving than ponies” dad added. “I’ve sparred with griffon soldiers before. When I train ponies with my shields, they stop after the shield is broken. The griffons don’t stop.”
I thought about that for a bit. It certainly sounded like the griffons were already better fighters than ponies, at least in that aspect. Maybe I could spar with a griffon. I got my notepad (one of many that Auntie Sparkle gave me and Skyla for our most recent birthday) and made a note of that idea.
Soon, a castle came into sight. It looked very solidly built, especially compared to Canterlot Castle. The walls were made of lots of large gray stones weathered from lots of age, lots of battles, and lots of weather. It looked like this castle had seen a lot in its time.
Seconds before we stopped, mom faced Skyla and said to her “new food awaits”. The effect was immediate, as Skyla shot awake almost instantaneously.
“New food?” she excitedly asked. “Where?”
“Calm down, Skyla. We’ll get to it soon.” As mom said that, our carriage came to a halt. Outside was a red carpet leading straight to the entrance, and on either side of the carpet was a row of griffon guards, armed with spears and trumpets.
As we stepped out, a squire offered to take our things, and none of us objected. Dad took the travel bags off and gave them to the griffon, who quietly went behind the guards on our right. To the left was a griffon I didn’t see, who announced our arrival to everyone in the area so loudly and so suddenly, I jumped a bit. He was quick to offer his most sincere apologies for startling me, so that’s good.
Our walk to the entrance was accompanied by the fanfare of trumpets. I was at least expecting that to happen. Mom used the telepathy spell to keep Skyla and I focused on the walk. I can’t really blame her for having to do that, as there were so many new sights to take in that both of us were kind of distracted.
After a few minutes, we arrived at a large chamber with a round table in the middle, surrounded by numerous chairs. Mom and dad took their spots while Skyla and I were directed to ours. All four of us were together, mom on my right side, Skyla on mom’s right side, and dad on Skyla’s right side. Across from us were two griffons of powerful statures, one male, one female. Around the perimeter of the room were numerous guards, armed and armored. At once, I felt safe and slightly endangered, but mostly safe.
“Greetings, Princess Cadence, Prince Armor” the male griffon said. “And greetings as well to Inova and Skyla. I am Emperor Steelwing, and I, along with Empress Aietos, welcome you to our realm.”
I could tell Skyla wanted to ask where the food was, but was holding back. “It’s a nice place” she said.
“Thank you, Skyla” Aietos said. “I’m glad to hear that. I’ve also heard this is the first time you and Inova have been to Griffonstone.”
“It is.”
“I’ll have a guided tour set up for you then. Shall we begin this meeting?”
“That would be nice” mom said. “These kinds of meetings are best kept short.”
“I agree” Steelwing said. “But we can’t have a good meeting on empty stomachs, right?” He clapped his talons twice, and a door opened, griffon chefs filing out with covered dishes on their backs.
“Girls, this is going to be the hardest part” mom said with the telepathy spell. “Your dad and I are used to it, so we can put up a passable facade.”
“Do they do. . . whatever they’re going to do every time?” I asked.
“Every time” dad answered. “And it never gets any easier for me.”
The covered dishes were neatly laid out in front of all six of us. Skyla was already sniffing around hers, and I curiously sniffed around mine too. Aside from the metal, I couldn’t smell anything of note.
“Now then, let us dine” Steelwing said. On his cue, the domes were lifted off our plates, revealing. . . something that I didn’t really recognize. It was a light brown piece of something with bits of black here and there, and it was on a bed of green stuff. I looked and saw mom and dad cut off a little bit with their fork and knife and take a small bite. Skyla, for once, was actually looking it over.
I cut off a small piece of my portion (I cut a bigger piece than what mom and dad did), and saw that the inside was slightly pink. I took a closer smell and decided it wasn’t a bad smell. I then took a breath and took a bite. I chewed it for a bit.
It.
Was.
Delicious.
I paid the rest of the world no mind as I cut more and more off, enjoying each savory bite. I don’t know what this stuff is, but I like it. The flavor, the juices, the texture! I had no idea that I missed this stuff.
I, unfortunately, ran out of it. It was then that I looked up and saw everybody looking at me, except for Skyla. Her portion was also gone, but she was also looking a little bit green. Personally, I felt just fine. “Is Skyla alright?”
Everybody looked to Skyla. She was looking a little dizzy. “mom?” she said. “I’m feeling weird. What’s happening?”
Dad leapt into action. Well, he more magicked into action, as he made a partial bubble shield and pushed Skyla’s muzzle towards it. Moments later, I turned away as I heard Skyla lose her lunch into the shield. I kept my gaze averted as the lost lunch was poured into a waste bucket. I did not want to see that. I heard a thump and looked to see what it was. Skyla had fallen backwards and she did not look good. “What just happened?” Skyla asked.
It was at that moment a realization dawned upon us: Skyla had never thrown up before. At mom’s request, Skyla was taken out of the room to rest and recover. All eyes turned to me, a bit of tension in the air.
“What?” I asked.
“Are you okay, Inova?” Aietos asked, the concern clear in her voice.
“I feel just fine. Also, what was that stuff?”
“Meat” mom answered. “What was it this time, Steelwing?”
“Steak from some of our finest livestock” the emperor replied.
“I liked it” I said. “I never knew anything this good existed.”
“Inova, can’t you feel the tension in the room?” mom asked.
I looked around at everyone. They still seemed to be waiting for something. And they were looking at me. It was like they were waiting for me to do something. Wait. . .
“Am I supposed to get sick like Skyla did?”
“That’s what we’re waiting for” dad said. “How are you just fine?”
“I just am, alright? Can someone explain what’s going on here?”
Steelwing cleared his throat. “Inova, your kind are herbivores. You mostly eat plants. What you ate was part of a carnivore’s diet. Ponies don’t handle meat very well. Do you even know where meat comes from?”
“No.”
“We raise and slaughter animals for meat. Pigs, sheep, and cattle are our meat animals. What you ate came from a cow.”
I was confused now. “Wait, what?”
What followed was an explanation on the difference between Equestrian and Griffonian cattle, along with the process used to get the meat. I was fascinated by the explanation, and I felt fine the whole time.
“Alright, I understand now” I said. “So, are we going to start this for real or should I just go stay with Skyla?”
“How about you go be with your sister?” mom said. “I think she needs you more than we do.”
“Alright” I left my spot, a griffon already ready for me at the door. “Oh, mom, dad, I finished off your steaks for you. Steelwing, Aietos, please pass my compliments to the chef. Oh, and can you also let them know that I have ideas? I think they’ll like them.”
“We shall do that” Steelwing assured. “But enough chitchat. Inova, go tend to your sister. Cadence, Shining Armor, we will begin our regular discussions soon.”
I wanted to know what was going on, but I left anyways. I followed the griffon to a medical area, where I saw Skyla laying on a bed. “Hi, Skyla.”
“Hey, sis” she said. “Are you alright?”
I sighed. “Yes, I’m fine. It seems I can eat meat with no problem, though a bit of ketchup would have been nice.”
“Was that what we were given? It just looked like one of dad’s cold sandwiches to me. It smelled kind of like one too.”
I facehooved at that. “Of course you, the only one who even can eat what he cooks, would think that.
“I think the reason they only takes small bites of it is to avoid getting sick like you did. Eating it at all is probably a gesture of some kind.”
“Way, over my head, sis. But if I got sick, how are you alright?”
“To be perfectly honest with you, I HAVE NO IDEA!”
“Wasn’t that just a little over the top for saying something like that?”
I shrugged. “Eh, it seemed to fit the moment. Do you want me to see if I can get you anything? Some water should help you feel better.”
“I’d rather have some dessert.”
I noticed a pitcher of water and a glass on the nightstand on the opposite side of the bed. I walked over to it and poured some of the water into the glass. “I’ll find you something. In the meantime, have a glass of water. Sister’s orders.”
“Oh alright then.”
I quickly found a medical griffon and asked about any cold desserts they might have that Skyla could eat. All they had available was plain vanilla ice cream. I was hoping for a bit more. Oh well.
I found the cafeteria easily enough and got some big dishes of vanilla ice cream. Apparently, word of my liking of meat had spread like wildfire. The griffon offered me a little something called bacon. I took it and took a bite.
Sweet aunt Celestia, I just found perfection. Bacon is AMAZING! I also got an idea right there, and asked for a few crispier pieces of bacon. I broke them apart with my magic and sprinkled the bits on what would be my ice cream.
“It’s beautiful” I said.
The griffon helping me was too amazed to say anything, but did nod and gave me a couple spoons when I asked if I could take the ice cream. I made my way back with no difficulty, aside from a few mistaken turns.
When I got back to Skyla’s room, I saw that the glass of water was empty, along with a good portion of the pitcher. I also noticed Skyla was not in the bed. A closed door in the room that was open before told me what I needed to know. I set the ice cream down next to the water pitcher and waited, resting my magic a bit. Yeah, I have telekinesis down colder than the ice cream, but I still need to strengthen my magic.
Soon enough, Skyla came out of the bathroom, wobbly on her legs. She also had a hollow look to her face. “Hey, Inova” she weakly said.
“What happened?” I asked as I went to her side.
“I saw a griffon eating some meat like what we got. I felt like I did earlier and rushed to the bathroom, but nothing came out.”
“Ooh. I think I’ve heard mom call that a dry heave. It’s happened to me before. Anyways, I brought us some ice cream. The one with red stuff on it is mine.” I lay down on the floor and floated the ice cream over while Skyla lay down with me. She was quick to dig in to her ice cream, though nowhere nearly as quickly as normal. I also dug in to my ice cream, and it was good.
“I’m already feeling better” Skyla noted after a couple bites. “I can see why you got ice cream while you were super sick before.”
“It helps get rid of that burn in your throat and calms your stomach. Truly, truly amazing.”
Skyla and I continued at our ice creams, and for the first time ever, I finished my food before Skyla did. Admittedly, I did remember after about the fifth bite that the bits of bacon were meat, and that prompted me to eat faster for Skyla’s sake. I got a serious case of brain freeze, but I think it was worth it.
“So, why do you think you’re okay after eating that meat stuff?” Skyla asked me.
“I told you before, I don’t know” I said. “Maybe aunt Pinkie could help with this.”
“Nope” Pinkie Pie said. She was alone with a pony-length Gummy in her room, under a suspended hard hat.
“She should be able to help” Skyla affirmed before sighing. “We’re leaving tomorrow, right?”
“As far as I know, we are. You should just rest up for now” I told Skyla as she got back in the bed and I collected the ice cream dishes. “Drink plenty of water, stay resting, and when we’re back home, I’ll get you a large pizza with everything you like on it.”
“Really?”
“Yep. I’ll even see if Mr. Slice will make that pizza sandwich idea you came up with.”
“Thanks, Inova. You’re the best sister I’ve ever had.” Skyla reached out for a hug, a gesture which I returned. Hugs are nice things, especially if you and the one you’re hugging have soft fur coats. I found it quite enjoyable.
“I’m the only sister you’ve had.”
“Good point. But it won’t be like that forever.”
“Please don’t remind me.” I broke the hug and went towards the door. “I’m going to find where my drawing things are.”
“Can I have some of your pasta?”
“I’ll bring you some, but only because it’s a special occasion.”
“Thanks.”
It took me a bit to find a griffon who knew where our belongings were taken, and I think he was still new because we made multiple wrong (though close to correct) turns. The room set aside for me and my family was apparently on the opposite end of the castle. After taking a moment to gather my art supplies and a couple pasta containers (prepared before we left), I had the griffon guide me back. The trip back didn’t take as long since the route was still fresh in his mind. I thanked him once we got back to the medical ward and went into Skyla’s room.
“What took you so long, sis? Get lost on the way?” Skyla teased.
“As a matter of fact, yes” I answered. “Do you want the bow ties or spiral tubes?” I would have used the proper names Macaroni had gotten from one of his friends in Bitaly, but most of them slipped from my mind repeatedly, so I often stuck to the shapes.
“I’ll take the spiral tubes.” I floated the appropriate container to my sister’s waiting forehooves and opened it for her, a fork already inside. I liked to be prepared, and having a clean fork for each dish while traveling sounded like a good way to keep things a bit cleaner.
I enjoyed my pasta with Skyla. Things seemed to be a bit more normal now. All was peaceful, and all was well in the little world Skyla and I found our minds in.
Skyla was well enough when mom and dad came to visit around dinner time for her to leave the room. We had made a few odd pictures in the meantime by taking turns with a pencil and drawing our own things. My favorite was a forest clearing with a four portal arcing waterfall over a gazebo.
We went back to our room for dinner, where we had some more equestrian meals delivered. I quietly realized that, without meat, my meal was kind of boring. Looking back, nearly every meal I can recall was kind of boring. Maybe it’s because I have new knowledge of something I can eat.
After supper, we went to sleep. Our airship was scheduled to leave early tomorrow, and we needed to be ready. Also, I didn’t want to carry my sister while she was asleep again. That sucks.
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Don't vorry, ribs grow back *whispers to Pinkie* No zhey don't
Yay update!
All I can think is, "But horses can eat meat. It just doesn't provide as much nutritional value as traditional herbivorous meals."
Also, I think she'd make the best Griffonian Diplomat or the worst and probably get too close with the girffons. "Hey if you add this line to our trade deal, I'll throw in some extra bacon for you."
"Deal!"
7217141
I know that, silly. I learned about ribs way back in biology class. But that doesn't mean they can't be magicked back. I do have something else to say as well.
7217616 Perhaps that holds true for horses here on Earth, but these are magical equines on a whole other planet, so it could be that meat often makes them varying degrees of sick, and the rare pony that can eat meat doesn't because they learned that meat is not something for ponies to eat.
That bacon trick would more likely work with Skyla (if she could tolerate it). Inova would accept the bacon, but would either disregard or at least heavily scrutinize the line in question. After all, if you don't follow through when you're bribed, it's free stuff.
Lol. I liked this alot. Too bad noone quite realizes she maybe starving a bit from here lack of protein.
Makes me a bit sad that this seems to be a dead story for now. The first few chapters we're rough but not that bad.
I think most could come from this story. Stupid deployment timeline interfering with my pony
7217141
But ribs do baby back.
8327705
She's not deprived of protein, as a pony doesn't need meat to survive. It's just her past life's sense of taste carrying over.
Inova is going to have quite the surprise later. I feel sorry for Shining Armor. He's going to have to clean the bathroom she ends up destroying.