“Some of my critters were complaining,” Fluttershy said as she sawed off another rotten branch and tossed it on the compost pile. “They were afraid the tree might fall on them.”
Applejack wouldn’t look her in the eye, just staring vaguely beside her with her jaw set.
“Somepony had to, and I thought I’d help—”
“You don’t understand!” Applejack said.
The trunk would take more doing. “We could mulch this, and all your trees would grow better.”
Applejack sniffled. “If—if Angel died, w-would you feed him to a starving wolf?”
Fluttershy stuck her spade in the dirt and leaned on the handle as she rolled her eyes toward the treetops. “I’d have to think about that.”
But as hard as Applejack tried to glare at her, Fluttershy just gave her a hug.
“Would it help if I said a few words?”
After a few seconds, Fluttershy barely felt a nod.
Not nearly enough is done with the Apples naming each of their trees, and all that goes with that. Brilliant work.
Yeah, I think most bronies would jump at that chance. I'm sure most of them would feed him to a non-starving wolf while he's still alive.
I love Fluttershy's response in particular.
10336526
That was the core thing I built the story around. I like the idea that she can be very circumspect about the realities of wildlife.