And a Mantis Shrimp Meets Discord
Fluttershy cradled the crystal bowl in her hooves, carefully carrying it to the table in the middle of her cottage and setting it down gently so as not to disturb the creature inside.
"What have you got there, Fluttershy?" Discord asked, looking up from reading the latest issue of the Foal Free Press.
Fluttershy peered into the bowl to check there was enough water. "It's a mantis shrimp," she answered quietly.
"Oh, I—" Discord started before being interrupted.
She beamed. "They're amazing, Discord. I'm so delighted that the Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures has given me the opportunity to study this one."
"I—" he said, attempting to speak again.
Fluttershy was normally quiet, but around friends and talking about a subject that personally interested her, it could be difficult to get a word in edgeways. "Did you know that our eyes have special receptors in them called cones, which allow us to see colours? We ponies have two kinds, allowing us to see green and blue, and a little bit of yellow."
Discord sighed. This was going to be one of those 'conversations'.
"And Twilight Sparkle told me that humans have a third kind of cone, letting them see colours on the infrayellow spectrum — they have names for them like 'red' and 'orange'. Can you imagine them naming a colour after such a drab, grey citrus fruit?! But apparently, to humans, oranges are a vibrant, warm colour."
Discord took a seat to listen to what Fluttershy had to say. Although he felt the content of her speech was unnecessary, he admired her enthusiasm for the subject.
"Butterflies have five types of cone. Oh, I wish I could communicate with insects like I can with the bigger animals. I'd love to ask them what it's like to see all those colours." She stretched out her wings and fluttered them gently in perfect imitation of the creature featured on her cutie mark.
Discord was about to tell her a few truths about draconequus colour vision, but decided against it.
"But anyway, this mantis shrimp has not two, not three, not even five, but sixteen different types of cone! Can you imagine that? When ponies look at a rainbow and see a band of yellow, green, and blue across the sky, a mantis shrimp must see an explosion of light and beauty. They must see 'red'… and 'orange'… and colours that even a human or butterfly cannot possibly imagine."
Discord smiled. Fluttershy's eyes sparkled with intelligence and passion as she spoke with animation about the creature in the crystal bowl.
Fluttershy held the bowl towards Discord, showing him the shrimp. "Just look at how wonderful they look. And that's just with our eyes. There must be colours on their bodies that only other mantis shrimps can perceive. They're a beautiful creature, aren't they?"
Discord nodded, privately thinking that the shrimp was only the second most beautiful creature in the room.
"Ooh… but be careful. You might expect such a beautiful animal to be gentle like a butterfly. But no! The truth is, the mantis shrimp is an underwater nightmare!"
Discord raised his eyebrows.
"It has two powerful appendages at the front of its body. They can accelerate faster than Rainbow Dash at her best. If a pony could move its hooves at even a tenth of that speed, it could throw a rock into orbit!" She thought for a moment before mumbling, "well, I suppose Maud can already do that, but still…"
Fluttershy got back on track giving her speech, which Discord couldn't help but think she might have rehearsed on the train home.
"Their little arm things move so fast that the sea around them boils. It's called supercavitation. The bubbles produced can create a shockwave that can kill the shrimp's prey, even if the shrimp missed its target."
Discord chuckled quietly while Fluttershy stabbed wildly at the air with her hooves trying to demonstrate the process.
"When the bubbles collapse, it produces intense heat and tiny bursts of light. Oooh! I do hope I get to see that. It's called sonoluminescence."
Discord peered at the shrimp again. It didn't seem to be doing that right now.
"It uses its little arm things to smash apart almost anything it wants to eat — from crabs to octopuses… octopi? No, octopuses. In Canterlot, they're even studying mantis shrimps to develop advanced body armour for the Royal Guard! Not that I approve of such things."
Discord nodded his head in understanding. Fluttershy would naturally be opposed to any invasive animal research, especially if it were for military purposes.
"I was very lucky to be able to get this mantis shrimp to study. None of the aquariums in Equestria have mantis shrimps — they tend to slaughter just about any creature they share a tank with! Not to mention they can easily break most aquarium glass."
Discord looked at the bowl somewhat uneasily.
"… Which is why this bowl is made of special reinforced crystal from the Crystal Empire."
Discord breathed a sigh of relief.
"And this is why the mantis shrimp is my new favourite animal," Fluttershy concluded. "Because in the presence of such light and beauty, it extols darkness. It is King Sombra bathed in marshmallow milkshake. It is the rainbow of death. It is bright. It is dark." She paused for effect. "And it is beautiful."
Discord clapped his hands — or rather his paw and claw — with genuine enthusiasm. "Very good speech, Fluttershy."
"Aren't they fascinating?" She smiled. "I knew you'd love them."
"Love them?" Discord asked. "Who do you think created them?!"