“Please, just a bit more for my wife. She’s starving, I tell you! Starving!”
“I think you need to learn what it means when someone says to leave them alone!” Gobrend said, shoving Bright Willow to the floor. The emaciated pony dropped his bowl of food, whimpering as he pitifully shielded himself from the gryphon. “Save your contemptible sob stories for those who care! You don’t think we’re all starving here? Well, now you may both starve until your next meal comes.”
Gobrend pushed through the small crowd of spectators, ignoring their glares as Bright scrambled to scrape his porridge from the floor. Others came to help, offering him kind words. Some even offered their own paltry meals in sympathy for the plight of him and his wife, as ponies are wont to do.
Muttering dark curses at the ponies, at the dogs, at the world at large, Gobrend was interrupted by a quiet clearing of the throat. Irritated, he turned, ready to offer the fist to the next idiot that didn’t quite get the memo before realizing there was no one there. The sound came again, but closer to the floor, and the gryphon slowly looked down in horror as it dawned upon him who had approached him.
“S-Spring, I—” he gulped, his throat suddenly dry. “Shouldn’t you be resting?”
“You pushed him,” the filly said simply.
His shoulders sagged. “Oh. So you saw that, did you? I admit I took it rather far, and I regret that, but—”
“Do you?”
“Spring, I only meant to—”
“To what, Gobrend!? You shoved Bright Willow down, belittled him, and then walked off as though you were in the right! And for what? For him asking for a little more broth? Or was it because he’s weaker than you and you knew you could get away with it! Is this you when I’m not around? A bully!? I thought you were a better person than that!”
Something in Gobrend snapped upon hearing that. “Now you listen here, Green Springs! The world isn’t nearly as cut and dry as you make it out to be. It’s an unfair, uncaring place! I keep telling you that, but it doesn’t seem to stick in your stubborn little head!
“The moment I allow one of those ponies to have anything the rest will come clamoring, begging for the same. The world doesn’t run on acts of kindness, Green Springs. The more you offer the more others will take, until you have nothing left to give! Regardless of what we do, there will always be hardship; there will always be hunger; there will always be misfortune.”
Gobrend clenched his talons. “These are the choices we have to make in the real world, because when there are no laws, no charities, no lines in the sand, you’ll come to find we are no better than animals. And everything I do, I do for your benefit! I make these kinds of decisions every day so you don’t have to!”
“Well I don’t want you to do anything for me if this is what happens because of it,” Green Springs said lowly. “I’d rather not be involved at all if that’s your excuse.”
Gobrend recoiled as if physically assaulted. “Y-You don’t mean that... You’re still exhausted after your last fit and aren’t aware of what it is you’re saying.”
“I know exactly what I’m saying, Gobrend Grasstalon! And if this kind of behavior is justifiable to you, then I also know you’re not as good as you pretend to—” Green Springs was interrupted by her own cough, this one drier and harsher than all the ones preceding it. As Gobrend set down the bowl he had prepared for her and stepped forward, she backed away, looking fearfully up at him. He trembled at the gesture.
“Who are you, Gobrend? Are you really concerned about me? About anyone other than yourself? Is Gobrend Grasstalon even your real name, or is that made up too?” she croaked.
Gobrend’s violent shaking stopped. He stood there silently, his face an emotionless mask.
Green Springs blinked away her tears. When he did not answer, she hung her head, picking up her own bowl as she walked past him. “...I’m going to see if I can go help Miss Amber and Mr Willow. I’ll tell them you had a change of heart and offered your bowl as an apology.”
Gobrend sat there for a long while, thinking. He lifted a talon, gazing upon the claws once made for doctoring and writing, now more suited for cruelty and destruction. Who was he? Was everything he did still for the greater good? Did he somehow lose himself along the way?
A furious growl snapped him out of his thoughts, and he followed it down a darker tunnel to discover a dog hovering over Brocarius, who had his hooves up in a placating manner, and another petrified dog who cowered in its presence.
A wicked smile twisted Gobrend’s beak. Perhaps I’ll find the answer to all my questions here. And like that, he skulked into the tunnel, his chains dragging silently under the growling of the beast, eager to put his claws to good use.
"Where’s Gobrend?” the filly asked. “I haven’t seen him at all for two whole days! I’m beginning to really worry about him.”
Brocarius dipped his head in thought, closing his eyes. That idiot! Does he have some kind of death wish or something? To attack and nearly kill a Sapphire… He tried not to think of the harrowing screams he’d heard coming from deeper within the mines. Not much phased Brocarius, but this particular pack was well known for their brutality. There was a reason so few dared to raid their mines despite how lucrative the gems mined here were.
“He’s… He’ll be fine. He’s gonna be away for a little while, but I’ll make sure to visit him as often as possible to convey any messages he has for you.” But I owe him one; he really saved our flanks back there. If he hadn’t shown up when he did… Celestia, I don’t make mistakes like that. Still, I could use this to my advantage…
“Will he be alright? Can I see him? I don’t want him to think I’m still mad at him,” Green Springs pleaded. “Please, Mr Brocarius, I have to see him!”
“Give it another few days, Green Springs. I’m sure he’s just aching— I mean, he’ll be able to see you then.” By that time Hagley should get Gobrend everything he needs while we scrape together some Nectar. She doesn’t need to see him in his condition right now.
The filly was silent, huddling in Gobrend's covers. “I, uh, I take it you really like him, huh?”
Green Springs looked to the floor. “Mhm. I can’t smell his scent anymore, but being where he spends a lot of his time is comforting. He’s not… He isn’t angry at me, is he?”
Brocarius sighed, removing his glasses. “Gobrend is a… complicated gryphon. But you don’t come to realize just how deep the rabbit hole goes until you really get to know him. Unfortunately, as much as I’d like to, I feel I’ve hardly scratched the surface with that crazy bird. We’ve known each other for nearly two years and still he manages to surprise me! And I’m not accustomed to being surprised.”
“You knew him before?” Green Springs said. “How did you two meet? Are you friends?”
“Oh, uh, it’s... it’s—”
“Let me guess: it’s complicated,” Green Springs deadpanned.
“Believe me, it’s very, very complicated.” Let’s just say the dogs aren’t the first who wanted that cantankerous chicken dead. Brocarius hemmed into a hoof, noticing he now had the filly’s full attention. “You see, I’m a businesspony. I pride myself on getting done what needs getting done as efficiently as possible. Less headache that way. Gobrend, on the other hoof, is an... ‘adventurer’ of sorts. It’s his job to expose and exploit others’ weaknesses, and he’s very good at what he does. Naturally, his work and mine clashes every now and again: ‘Who deserves this widget more, you or I?’, ‘What contracts should be pursued and by whom?’, ‘Does the four-in-hoof look better than the full windsor?’ Things of that nature.”
“So… you’re enemies? Like Daring Do and Ahuizotl?" Green Springs asked, narrowing her eyes at Brocarius. "Why hasn’t Gobrend kicked your flank yet!”
“Hey, hey, take it easy! Sun, moon and stars I can see exactly why Gobrend likes you so much,” he said with a chuckle, lifting his hooves in a calming gesture. “As long as I can help it, nopony aside from my wife is laying their hooves on my flank. A lot of our disputes aren’t even face to face. Tartarus, I even had the guy work for me once! Though, uh, he didn’t really approve of how that turned out in the end…” he said, scratching embarrassedly at his shaggy mane. “Still, I’d like to get the guy on my side if we could see eye to eye for once. He’d make a valuable asset, and he and I would get so much more done together than we do butting heads.”
“...You’re a criminal, aren’t you?”
“Woah, woah, woah, wait just a second. Do I look like a criminal to you? Criminals are all muscular and boisterous and in-your-face, aren’t they? I fit none of that criteria.”
Green Springs smirked. “Gobrend’s told me a bit about you. Not much, but enough for me to know not to take anything you say without a grain of salt. I know the best criminals are the ones who are smart, the ones who present themselves as normal, everyday ponies to hide their insidious nature,” she narrowed her eyes at the businesspony. “Like you.”
The silence in the room was audible. “Is that so? Well then, missy, if I’m such a bad guy, why aren’t I behaving like one?” Brocarius said, snootily lifting his nose into the air as he crossed his unchained forehooves. “Do ‘bad guys’ nurse innocent fillies back to health at no benefit to themselves? Is it a part of my ‘insidious nature’ to look out for my friends? Well, come on then, detective, I’m waiting.”
“I-I, um…” Green Springs’ face flushed as she gave a light cough. “B-But you—!”
“Aha!” Brocarius said, pointing an accusatory hoof at the filly. “You’ve been found out! Mayhaps it is not I who is the villain, but you!”
“M-Me!?”
“Yes, you! Who else would accuse a stallion of my stature of being evil other than an evildoer!”
“What? No!”
“Yes!”
“This is ridiculous!”
“You’re only saying that because you’ve been caught red-hooved, ne'er-do-well!”
Green Springs grumbled to herself. “You’re a real jerk, Mr Brocarius.”
“And don’t you forget it,” Brocarius responded with a wink before slipping his glasses back on. “Anywho, that’s enough of that. It’s about time I got going. It’s been fun chatting, Miss Green Springs. I hope you enjoy Volume Six of Daring Do’s Amazing Adventure Safari. If you ask me, that one’s got one of the best twist endings of the series!”
The filly smiled, waving her hoof before she remembered something. “Oh! Mr Brocarius, what about your plan!”
The stallion froze in place. “...What plan?” he asked icily.
Green Springs suddenly felt like she had made a grave mistake, remembering that for all his quirks and amicability she was still speaking with a complete stranger.
“T-The one you and Gobrend were talking about in the mines.”
“Miss Green Springs,” he said, turning around, eyes hidden behind the lens of his glasses. “Whatever are you talking about? The only ‘plan’ I have for today is getting some shut-eye.”
It was said conversationally enough, but the filly felt like pressing the matter wouldn’t be a good idea. “O-Okay, Mr Brocarius. Enjoy your day. And thanks for helping me…”
“Not a problem, Green Springs! Don’t let the bedbugs bite!” And as he left, so did the tension in the room.
Brocarius stepped outside of the cell, looking left to right and finding Hagley leaning against the wall waiting for him. “The coast is clear I take it?”
“That it is. The guards are rotating for their shifts. I only came to listen five minutes ago after checking up on the bird.”
“How is he?” Brocarius asked, his tone low and businesslike as they walked to his cell.
“Not good. They would’ve broke him if I weren’t there. But I gave him the antibiotics and patched up any wounds that weren’t readily healing.” Hagley shook his head. “In his condition he shouldn’t have survived what they put him through. He shouldn’t have survived half of it. Tough bastard, he is.”
“Hm." Brocarius said disinterestedly. "Yeah, he’ll pull through. That’s not even a concern. And—” he yawned, stretching out his hooves. “Goodness does it feel good to not be bound in those cold, weighty, uncomfortable—” he looked up to see Hagley dangling a pair of shackles in his paw. “Oh.”
“Sorry, boss, but we still have to keep up appearances. We're not outta here yet.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Brocarius grumbled, lifting his forehooves. Hagley secured the chains with an apologetic smile. “The next time I have the bright idea of getting myself enslaved, be sure to smack some sense into me, yeah?”
“Tried it last time, and your ideas only got worse. Remember how what was supposed to be a simple interception of love letters for blackmail escalated into one of the region’s longest-standing monarchies crumbling due to an illegitimate heir taking the Goldwind throne? The civil war the power vacuum sparked was devastating!”
“Hard to forget. We did make some good bits off of that particular conflict, though…”