Chapter 5: I Don't Need Your Pity
"Annndd, there! All done!"
Fluttershy softly but happily exclaimed as she finished wrapping layers upon layers of white bandage on Garble's back.
Garble opened his eyes and slowly crawled off the floor and his pillow. The bandage made his back and chest feel tight and constricted, and he could barely even feel his wings, let alone flap them. His back had been stiff before, but now he felt like such a mere groundling that could barely stand up on his own, almost like a baby cow just coming into the world.
And yet he felt such a soothing and relaxing sensation from not feeling his back and wings. His wings weren't flapping in the air full of pins and needles. His muscles covering his spine weren't in binding knots, everything felt like it was loosening.
Garble turned his neck a little to see the pony's hoofwork on his bandaged back.
"So, how does it feel?" Fluttershy asked him with a small smile.
"It feels... pretty good actually." Garble responded breathlessly. However, this changed quickly and he pouted angrily "I mean! Did you seriously have to put a bow in the middle of my back?!"
"Sorry, bows are the only ones I know to do and bows keeps the knot in for the bandage."
"So, how long do I have to be in this thing anyway?" Garble remarked as he turned his gaze away from Fluttershy.
"Not too long, actually. Only a month and a half."
"A month and a half?!" Garble exclaimed as he turned quickly back at Fluttershy. But as he does this, a quick jolt of pain returned to his back and made him groan.
"Oh dear. Please, sit down. You'll feel better." Fluttershy gently led Garble to the couch.
The young dragon reluctantly followed her instruction and sat down on the couch slowly. As soon as he did, he sighed in his relief from the pain.
"I know that... you're not use to taking it easy. But..." Fluttershy explained, "you can stay here with me and my animal friends while you heal."
"Now why would I do that, huh?" Garble harshly questioned.
"Garble, you need somepony to take care of you. And I think you would be better with off with me than just taking care of yourself."
With a warm smile, Fluttershy slowly yet sincerely placed her hoof on top of Garble's claw.
This took Garble by surprise. He arched his face and neck from the pegasus, but did not scold her for this act.
Suddenly, the glowing amber in the fireplace went out.
"Oh dear," Fluttershy proclaimed, "The wind must've...don't worry, I'll get a flash light."
When the yellow pegasus stumbled off the couch, Garble added "No need pony, I got it."
Garble stiffly walked over to the fire place. He lowered as far as he could, and opened his jaw. But before he could let out a flame, Garble heard a deep,masculine, but eerie chuckle coming from the top of the chimney.
"Aah!" Garble softly shouted as he backed away from the fire place. "P-Pony?! Did ya say somethin'?"
"No, I didn't." Fluttershy answered, now in the kitchen looking through her cabinets.
"T-Then w-who...?"
WHAM!
The front door slammed open with ferocious wind, pouring rain, and thunder.
Garble shouted in his shock, before rapidly closing the front door. He let out a quiet "Whew!" once the door was closed.
As he walked away from the door, a hard but powerful claw grabbed his face and pulled him off the ground.
Through the claws of his captor, Garble's squished eyes could see a long yet haunted face distorted in the shadows. He could vaguely see sharp horns on it's head, and a white tuff of fur on it's chin, and a gleaming fang coming out of it's mouth. But what terrified him the most was the creature's glowing gold and ruby eyes. They glowed like the Harvest Moon tinted with blood.
Garble could tell that this creature was not only as a strong as a grown dragon, but magic coursed through its veins. The teenage dragon could do nothing but stare at this unknown monster and waited for his doom.
"hELlo CLariCE," the intruder stated in his dark but twisted voice.
Garble's eyes widened as he saw a smile forming on the creature's face. "Soooo, you like scaring ponies huh? Well then..."
The monster brought Garble's face closer to his and uttered in his deepest yet echoing voice, "I'm sure that a dragon like you would appreciate some terror in return."
"Mmr!" Garble screamed, his mouth muffled by his enemy's tight grip.
The creature laughed at the dragon's terror. However, this laughter soon ended when a flashlight shined through the darkness and Fluttershy shouted, "Discord! Put him down! Now!"
Discord squinted through the bright light and uttered, "Fluttershy?"
Once his eyes readjusted, he dropped Garble to the floor like a sack of potatoes. He clapped his hands and magically brought light back into the living room. Happiness beamed on the draconequus's face as he exclaimed, "Fluttershy! Thank goodness!"
Before Fluttershy knew it, she was trapped in a tight hug with Discord. He fussed over her and embraced her like panic stricken father, "You're alright! Did he hurt you?! Strangle you?! Pull your teeth out one by one?!"
"N-No Discord!" Fluttershy gasped, struggling in her chaotic friend's grip. "I'm fine! Um, could you...?"
"Hmm? Oh yes, of course." Then Discord gently placed Fluttershy back on the ground.
Meanwhile, Garble couldn't believe his eyes. One moment, this Discord was a monster ready to tear him apart limb by limb. But now, he's a giddy happy puppy acting over bearing over this pony. He followed her command at a drop of a hat.
But why? Garble thought to himself.
Suddenly, the front door opened again. Five ponies crawled in, soaking and dripping wet with deadly frowns on their faces.
"Girls!" Fluttershy cried out joyfully to the five ponies.
Their frowns instantly turned into smiles, they called Fluttershy's name before gathering her into a group hug.
"Oh Fluttershy, thank Celestia you're alright," said Twilight.
"Indeed,” Rarity added, “with that dragon we thought..."
But Rainbow finished her thought with great confidence, "Are you kidding? I wasn't worried for one bit. I knew that Flutters would take care of that ole dragon."
"Well, I did," Fluttershy chuckled nervously, "But not in a way that you would expect."
Fluttershy then noticed the soggy wet feeling of soaked manes dripping on her neck and asked, "Um, girls? Why are you all soaking wet?"
The Mane Six broke up their group hug and looked directly at Discord. Twilight muttered in an agitated tone, "Discord, would you like to explain to Fluttershy what happened to us?"
"Pfft! Have you ponies ever heard of a tactical attack?" Discord asked as he poofed himself a large, blue and puffy military jacket decorated heroic medals along with a tall Napoleon hat. "I figured that all of you can sneak up the dragon from behind while I distract him head on and rescue Fluttershy. If you asked me, I say that was a pretty good plan IF all of you showed up on time that is.”
"Woah," Garble whispered as he slowly backed away from Discord.
"How were we supposed to if ya dropped us off at least a half if a mile away from Fluttershy's house?!" Applejack scolded Discord, "Besides, YOU didn't even tell us yer plan first!"
"Yeah!" Pinkie agreed in a mad tone.
"Geez, I thought all of you were suppose to be the Elements of Harmony." Discord pouted while crossing his arms across his chest, "Not the elements of a complaint."
"Girls! Discord! I'm fine, truly," Fluttershy explained to the two groups. " Actually, at the moment, Garble is quite harmless."
"Gar-ble?" Rainbow said slowly, trying to process the new name, "Who's Garble?"
"I'm Garble," The red dragon huffed.
Then, he pointed his claw into Fluttershy's face and sneered, "And FYI pony, I'm not harmless!"
"Oh really?" Discord remarked with an unsettling smile. He grabbed Garble suddenly by the back of his head and brought him into the air. Garble started to pray for help silently to himself.
Discord's eyes glowed once more, and his voice went back into a shadowy tone. "Then, I guess there's no reason for me to hold back."
"Help me," Garble squeaked in his highest voice.
"Discord!" Fluttershy ordered. "That's enough! Put him down this instant!"
"Why should I?" Discord asked in a frustrated tone, "After all that he has done to you, why should I spare him?"
"Because he deserves a chance...just like you did."
Garble instantly felt Discord's grip on his head loosen. In the corner of his eye,Garble could see his captor's face soften gradually. He just couldn't understand this. This serpentine monster was putty in this wimpy pegasus's control, and... he was doing nothing to stop it! What was this pony holding against him?
Discord turned his head away from Fluttershy's sweet eyes, and his face hardened once more. "He tried to hurt you. I never did that. Sure, I teased you and mocked you to no end. But...never hurt you."
Fluttershy glided gently towards Discord. With her small hooves on the sides of his face, she then explained to him "That may be so, but you also didn't want to be my friend at first either."
His eyes returned to hers, and his gaze urged her to say more. "Others told me that I shouldn't be friends with you and that you didn't deserve my friendship."
"But, do you remember what I did anyway?" Fluttershy added with a smile.
Discord sighed, "You became my friend, and I became yours. And blah blah blah. Yeah, yeah. I get the comparison my dearest. You know Fluttershy, sometimes you're not as subtle as you think you are."
"So, will you please let Garble go? Please?" She pleaded innocently.
"As you wish." Discord answered, as he dropped Garble bluntly back to the floor. Again. Thus, making the sore dragon grumble in pain.
"Thank you Discord, for being such a good friend." Then, Fluttershy gave a quick peck on Discord's cheek before flying over to help Garble. This left Discord in a stunned, stiff, stupor state.
"Uh, Discord?" Rainbow asked. She tapped him on the shoulder, causing the statute like Discord to fall over like heavy stone.
"Are you okay, Garble?" Fluttershy asked, while assisting him off the wooden floors.
"You two..." Garble uttered while pointing his claw between Fluttershy and Discord, "you and that thing are... friends?!"
"We sure are!" she replied with cheerful confidence.
"B-but... how?"
"Well," Fluttershy tried to explain, "that's kind of a long story."
"Oh Fluttershy! Let me explain! I know how to condense the story!" Pinkie shouted while putting her hoof in the air. She took a long and overly dramatic breath in before rapidly going through the story, "ItallstartedwithCelestiawantingtoreformDiscordfromabaddietoagoodie. Yousee,DiscordusetowanttotakeoverEquestriaandmakeitrainchocolateraineverydaywithoutasingledullopofwhippedcreaminsight! Notasingledullop, canyoubelieveit?! Anywho, wefirst...!"
"Okay okay! I get the picture! Too much info, I get!" Garble roared while squeezing the sides of his head with his claws.
"What Pinkie is trying to say is," Fluttershy commented in a gentle tone, "Discord needed a friend when he needed it the most, and I became that friend."
"But why?" Garble asked, still not believing in this whole ridiculous story. "Why become his friend when he didn't want you around? And for that matter, why would a creature as powerful as he is make friends with a wimpy pegasus like you?"
"Why I outta..." Discord growled, stepping towards Garble and getting ready to punch him in the face.
But Fluttershy's raised front hoof stopped Discord in his tracks. "Let me handle this." she whispered.
She turned her attention back to Garble and said, "Garble, I guess what I'm trying to say is..."
"Stop." Garble mumbled coldly. He turned his back to her and stated, "Unlike your friend over there, I don't NEED a friend. And I will never need a friend. Friends aren't needed to survive in this world."
"But Garble, don't you get...?"
"No! I don't!" Garble quickly turned around to scream at Fluttershy, "So you can just stop! Stop with this whole thing! I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY!"
Despite his snarling fangs...despite the raging fire in his eyes...despite all his words...Fluttershy fluttered up to him and took his claw in her hooves.
Garble felt his face and his body loosen at her touch. His anger slowly faded from his mind. His eyes couldn't help but stare down at the gentle but sad looking pony.
She broke the silence with, "I know. But I will still treat every guest with the same amount of kindness. Whether they deserve it or not. I would also still lend a hoof of friendship, even when I know that sometimes...friendship can be impossible in certain circumstances."
Her words...he couldn't get rid of them. They echoed in his words. Her touch...his claw didn't want to leave her hooves...it was like his claws wanted to remember. Her tone...there was no malice, no lies,no schemes...only wanted seemed to be the truth for her. Her eyes...no longer wide with fear...but wide because she wanted to see through his eyes...possibly to see what was inside him.
He couldn't keep staring at her any longer.
He swapped his claw away from her hold, growled under his breath, and galloped on all fours out of her cottage.
"Wait! Stop!" Twilight called out to him.
"It's okay Twilight, let him go." said Fluttershy,
Fluttershy's comforting smile faded as she brought her eyes back to the front door. “It’s alright…” She finished with a whisper.
Garble watched Fluttershy's cottage from his perched view on the edge of the Everfree woods. Surprisingly, the rain was lightening up and the clouds were thinning out. Garble's tight wrapped bandage was loosened a little from the journey, and dampened from the easing storm. Yet despite this, Garble wasn't shivering or aching in pain. His body was numb, but his heart was pounding and warm.
In all his life, no creature had ever acted so sincerely, so truthfully, but strongly around Garble before. No creature certainly had never shown him...
He lifted his claw to his shoulder, wrapped in white by the wimpy pegasus's hoof work. He gave the cottage one last look before disappearing into the shadows of the Everfree.
The End.