Rabbit Tracks

by Krickis

Feeding the Fishes (Noodleverse)

When Spike was little, he had been given an aquarium. He didn’t remember getting it; as far as he knew, it had always been there. He had, after all, been a foal when he got it. His parents always said he was captivated by the fish within.

Of course, now that Spike was older, he wished he had a more lively pet. The fish were pretty and he still loved watching them, but would it really be that bad to get a cat or a dog? He swore he’d take care of them!

But Spike was eight years old. His parents insisted he was too young to take care of a bigger pet, even though they were impressed with how well he took care of the fish. Give it another year or two, they said.

So in the meantime, Spike took care of his fish. He monitored their water, and he gave them the proper amount of food. And the fish thrived. At least, until they died.

Fish did that. Sure, some breeds would live quite a long time. There was a particularly old cory catfish that had just always been there, as far as the colt was aware. That was his favorite. But even so, it did not come as a surprise when Spike went to feed his fish, and he found one of the little molly floating upside down.

That was just part of owning fish, though. His tank was large, and it held almost thirty fish in it. Most of them were tiny, and most of them only lived a couple of years. That meant that he did not think much of one dead fish, aside from being just a touch sad to see it go.

There was not much ceremony to the matter, but he did have his little ritual. He opened a drawer and took out a net, which he used to scoop up the small fish. Then he walked through the house, holding the net in his mouth. He made for the back door.

Along the way, he came across Twilight, who was sitting on the couch with a book. She looked up and saw him making his way past. She didn’t say anything; there was no need to. This was a common sight in the household.

Spike passed from the living room to the kitchen, and from there, he opened the back door and stepped out.

Before the door could shut, Twilight stepped out with him. She didn’t follow past the closed door, however. Spike continued alone into the backyard.

He walked over to the garden, sitting down next to it. He set the net down on the ground and used his hooves to dig a little hole at the edge of the garden. He made sure not to disrupt any of the flowers, only digging where there was just dirt.

When he decided it was deep enough, he took the net in his hooves and turned it upright. The fish fell into the hole, which Spike carefully buried again.

Then he stood up and made his way back to where Twilight was waiting. She smiled at him. “You okay, Spike?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Content with the answer, Twilight opened the door. Spike followed his sister back into the house, where the two of them stopped in the kitchen.

“Are you hungry?” Twilight asked.

Spike shook his head. “A little, but I didn’t get to feed the fish.”

“Well then, guess you better get to that.” Twilight opened a cabinet that was far too high for Spike to reach. She pulled out a jar of peanut butter. “How about I make you a sandwich for when you’re done? Peanut butter and banana?”

“That sounds great! Thanks, Twilight.”

Twilight nodded, and Spike left the kitchen.

Once he was back in his room, Spike put the net away, and took out the fish food. It was important that he keep his fish fed properly. They thrived in his care, at least until they died.

Spike was accustomed to death because of his fish. Sure, he knew he hadn’t really experienced what a death to a loved one would be like. And he wasn’t sure he ever would.

He watched as the flakes fell slowly through the water. The fish came up and bit at the flakes, and Spike thought about he would live through the death of every single one of those fish. He would be there, and they would die.

He did not get attached. They were almost more decorations than pets when it came down to it. But even so, Spike did everything he could for them. Because one day they would die, and he would still be there. He would bury them in the garden, where they would become food for the plants and live on as something else. He made sure every single one of them would get that.

After a few minutes, Spike put away the fish food and left the room. He walked back to the kitchen.

Twilight smiled at him. “There you are. I was just about to come find you.”

Spike was Twilight’s little brother. He was not a dragon, even though his whole family was. He didn’t mind that he was adopted, he loved his family so much, and they loved him.

But he was eight years old, while Twilight was seventy-eight. She was still young; full-grown, but a young adult. She would be moving out on her own soon, his parents had explained to him. She would find the place where she would settle down and spend the remaining centuries of her life.

And Spike would do the same when he was old enough. He would not wait until he was seventy-eight. He was an earth pony, and he would not live for centuries. One day, he would be gone, and his family would still be there.

“What took you so long?” Twilight asked as Spike pulled himself onto a kitchen chair.

“Nothing,” Spike said, smiling at the lunch Twilight had prepared for him. “I was just feeding the fishes.”

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Even with the roles reversed, Spike presents some fascinating and painful opportunities to explore differing life spans. Nicely done.

[Krickis]

11502961
Thank you, glad you enjoyed. I'm rather happy with how this turned out.