Synch

by sunnypack

40 - Gruff: Not so Gruff

Gruff felt great. The ponies were friendly. He got paid instead of being expected to do work for no bits. He slept on a fluffy bed instead of granite. He ate better food.

Upon arriving in Canterlot Gruff got into a small altercation. It had ended quite favourably though.

Exhausted but victorious, Gruff stepped away from the unfortunate cider vendor. The vendor, or more accurately, vendors were running a quick buck business regaling of the curative properties of their cider. Gruff had taken one sniff and dismissed it as normal apple cider. Discontent to let the diamond dog go without trying to rope him into buying more cider, they had weaved a complex and beguiling lie about the origin of the cider and the apples gone into making it.

Gruff had initially listened but sensing dishonesty, tried to back out.

The two unicorn brothers, who introduced themselves and a gathering crowd as Flim and Flam, saw Gruff, quite stereotypically, as an easy target. Unfortunately for them, Gruff had been practicing his manners and when he finally spoke he did so in a very cultured and mannered accent that drew even the most high-class socialite pony into his speech.

He decried the preposterous claims of Flim and Flam and he put forward the evidence centred on his keen sense of smell and his own experience with quality cider. Unfortunately for Flim and Flam, he had extended family living in the Neightherlands where apparently the apples had come from. Gruff smugly reported that the Neighterlands had a horrid climate that made it impossible to grow crops and only gems were the only edible food source around.

The two scam-artists then packed up quickly and fled as Gruff had neared the end of his testimony. Some ponies had grumbled about losing good money to the Flim Flam brothers but most were glad they were gone.

Canterlot was a big place and Gruff wondered how he could find his teacher in such a big mess. He politely inquired to the local populace but unable to procure a name and matching no description, Gruff was unable to locate my whereabouts.

Disappointed he decided to seek work in the surrounding area while he waited for me.

Most jobs that were available were incompatible with Gruff. The myriad of fashion, design, waitering, bartending or other miscellaneous high class or hospitality jobs were not suited to Gruff. This was not because of Gruff’s skill but merely due to his appearance, for his bulk would initially frighten away guests no matter how much he smiled, though he was unaware that he also let his canines show.

Eventually he got a job working as a bouncer for a nearby club and was pleasantly surprised as to how easy the job was. Most patrons quickly settled down when Gruff came by and there was no funny business when Gruff’s shadow fell on them. Gruff reflected that I was right about getting a guarding job but probably not in the way I had imagined.

All in all, his life was amazing.

Gruff had moved up in the world. He was now the head security manager of a chain of pony-owned clubs around Canterlot. He had to have a bit of schooling but his boss, a friendly stallion named Mr. Sick Beats, had taught him the ins and outs of running the behind-the-scenes show on security around the clubs.

Mr. Beats was still relatively young but he was getting increasingly tired from the long nights and crazy shifts he had to pull in order to keep the club business running smooth. Gruff had been a rising star in his security ranks and Sick had recognised intelligence under the beef that normally smothered the other security workers.

Sick had given his protégé increasing leeway and responsibilities and Gruff had never failed to disappoint. Gruff was silver in both tongue and lash when dealing with recalcitrant ponies. Both clients and employees had quickly grown to respect Gruff for his straightforward manner and his witty responses. Normally, those had been enough to dispel any inadequacy.

With growing connections and a wider network of ponies, Gruff made friends with everyone he could meet. His enthusiastic demeanour shone through his rough looking persona and others were quickly overwhelmed by his charismatic undertones not typically seen from a diamond dog. Gruff reflected that his mother had taught him well.

By the time Gruff found out I was no longer in Canterlot he resigned himself to stay, awaiting my return. He had been a little too successful in his job as a security manager and he could no longer leave without dishonouring obligations he netted around himself. Trapped in a web of duties, Gruff had said his goodbyes without ever meeting me again.

He never got to thank that lanky creature that had trusted him and took him out of the dark confines of the diamond dog caverns but he vowed to one day pay him back.

During the course of his job he had run into very interesting creatures, not only dealing with ponies. After I had left he acquainted himself with a rather friendly female dragon named Sharp. Her speech had been a bit odd but she was an amiable companion and they would exchange philosophy, knowledge and stories from time to time. Gruff sought company on particularly boring shifts when he had to cover for an emergency cancellation and he was glad for Sharp’s intermittent company.

One shift in particular did strike Gruff as atypical of Sharp’s behaviour. He recalled her puzzling actions…

The black dragon’s sinuous body curled up next to Gruff radiating steady warmth.

Gruff nodded appreciably at the gesture for it was a cold night in Canterlot.

“What brings you here, kind Sharp?” Gruff inquired politely, shifting his stance so he was more comfortably within the heat of Sharp’s body.

Sharp regarded Gruff in amusement.

“Thine speech, though strange, bears goodwill and I thank thee”, she replied easily.

Gruff grunted in friendly acknowledgement. He straightened his newly purchased woollen jacket that replaced his old frayed cavern-made design.

“That brings me to my former question, Miss. Sharp, what brings you here?” Gruff asked again, he had sensed the black dragoness had withheld something.

Sharp sighed, her breath sending a plume of smoke upwards. Her tail lashed as if agitated but Gruff did not know whether the same action was mimicked on dragons as it was on ponies. He decided to keep silent as Sharp debated with herself silently.

“Mine compatriots seekest to bring ruin upon my guild”, she replied gloomily, her wings rustling uneasily across her shoulder blades.

“Surely it could not be as you say?” he queried incredulously, though he though as an aside that this was the first time Sharp had mentioned she was part of a guild.

Sharp lashed her tail again.

“It is so, dear Gruff. Fear coated with ambition and greed hath turned my guild into the shadows- ” she looked away in shame “ -I hath stood idly by for too long and it hath brought ruin.”

Gruff leant towards Sharp, putting a comforting paw on her head.

“I have had a beautiful, kind, compassionate dragon tell me once: We know that both light and darkness are what defines one another. We know that life and death are what gives us purpose. We know that good and evil are what makes it interesting. But right and wrong are things they choose for themselves. Worry not for their actions, only concern yourself for your own”, Gruff consoled, pulling back his paw.

Sharp nodded, her gaze hardening with resolve.

“Yes, right and wrong is what they choose for themselves. But mine are mine actions alone”, I said resolutely and flared her wings in preparation for flight. Gruff took a step back.

“Farewell, dear Gruff, the learned diamond dog. Be safe mine friend”, she called back as she launched herself into the air.

Though the cold wind tore at her eyes and chilled her scales, Gruff’s paw still left a warm print on her armoured skull.

Author's Note:

Aaaand a short exposition of what Gruff had been getting up to.

Bear in mind the timeframes for these stories are made implicitly Gruff's parts have been set slightly into the future, Solid's part are slightly into the past, while the current movement of the plot relative to the main character is supposed to be the present.

I hope that hasn't confused you, experiments with writing will still be experiments!

Next Chapter: A chicken plots to take over Ponyville while Angel (the bunny) actually does so. Spike accidentally sends Twilight's fanfiction to Princess Celestia while Pinkie decides to ride a pony. None of these end well.

As always, my beautiful fans! Thanks for reading!

Comments

[Kurisu]

It's good to see Gruff doing so well in life. I really hope that he'll be able to meet the MC again. Something tells me that his services will be needed in the future (or that could be wishful thinking on my part). Anyway, good chapter! Can't wait for the next one!

[sunnypack]

Hello everyone I have finally put the first chapter out of its misery! Please don't be confused by the chapter reordering. If you feel you want chapter order preserved I am more than happy to keep a placeholder for the first chapter, if not, nothing else has been changed except a few grammatical errors and some mistakes in the first few chapters. Today I will going through all the old chapters of Synch and improving them (I find a lot of authors on fimfic always say they will do that but never get around to it) expect a lot of changes within 24 hours and less updates, sorry!

EDIT: I will also be putting an 'edit' tag on all chapters that I have edited (this will be in the A/N so as not to confuse).

[Amber flicker]

Well, at least Gruff's having a nice time.