Is He Really A Savage?

by fluttercordlover232

Chapter 5

The harsh rain drove into Fluttershy's eyes, making her almost blind as she ran behind Applejack. She was a little slow due to her pregnancy, but that did not stop her as she raced through the dark and stormy night.

Please let him be alright... She prayed desperately in her mind.

Winona's bark was getting louder and louder with every step, indicating they were drawing closer to her...and to Discord.

The rain had eased up a bit. It was still raining pretty hard, but not so hard that it blinded her eyesight. Fluttershy burst through the undergrowth following closely behind Applejack. When she emerged, she stopped dead in her tracks...

Winona was standing at the mouth of a very small cave. Fluttershy couldn't tell if this specific cave was made with Discord's magic or if it was here naturally. The Everfree Forest was so big and there were many parts to it that have yet to be discovered, and Fluttershy had no desire to explore it.

Winona's bark snapped her out of her thoughts. The little dog on the other hoof could barely contain herself. She was so excited and pleased at her discovery that she literally could not sit still. Her hindquarters would wiggle excitedly as she tried to sit, making her rump lift off the ground!

Winona looked at the two rain soaked ponies expectantly and then looked inside the cave. After a few seconds of repeating the movement, Applejack and Fluttershy dashed into the black hole that was the cave.

---

It was dark and musty inside. There was still a harsh chill within the cave walls, but at least it was dry and kept the wind out. Fluttershy had no idea how she was supposed to find Discord. There was no light or sounds to indicate how far he was from her.

Just then, she heard ragged breathing coming from up ahead. She quickened her pace until she was practically running. There was also a sour and repugnant smell that hung in the air. With her experience with animals, Fluttershy knew all too well that that was the smell of an infected wound.

The ragged breaths gradually grew louder and louder and the smell grew stronger and stronger.

"Discord?" Fluttershy called through the darkness of the cave. Time seemed to slow down as Fluttershy, Applejack, and Winona continued to race forward. Never once looking back. Fluttershy continued to run blindly through the dark until she smacked into something, the force of the abrupt stop caused her to fall down backwards onto the cold hard stone floor.

"Discord?" Fluttershy whispered, "Is that you?"

There was no answer, only the sound of something shuffling. Fluttershy easily recognized the sound of a cloven hoof and the sound of a long toenail clicking on the ground. She knew of only one creature with that combination of sounds.

"Discord, that is you!" Fluttershy dashed forward until she practically bumped into him again. She wrapped her front hooves around what felt like his torso, as she still couldn't see properly.

"Oh honey I've been so worried I-" She felt his body moving out of her grasp. Fluttershy heard him move a couple of paces away from her before he stopped.

"Discord?"

He still said nothing. Even though Fluttershy couldn't physically see him, she could feel him staring at her through the darkness.

"What are you doing here?" Discord said in a voice so low it sounded almost threatening.

Now Fluttershy was confused.

"What do you mean 'What am I doing here?'. I've come to take you home that's what." She stated firmly.

He didn't reply, and Fluttershy only sighed. Just then, there was a faint flickering light coming from the back end of the tunnel. Fluttershy had to squint her eyes as the light grew brighter and brighter until...

Applejack emerged, carrying a hoofmade wooden torch with a bouncing Winona at her side.

Fluttershy smiled and sighed in relief.

"Oh Applejack, thank goodness it's just you!" Fluttershy said as she walked up to her.

"Wait, how did you make that?" She indicated to the fiery stick Applejack held in her hoof. "It is too wet outside to even make a spark, and it is too dark to see anything."

"Ah felt them sticks on the ground as ah was runnin' in here, they were dry enough that ah could work with em'. Ah only needed to rub em' together until literally sparks were a'flyin." Applejack explained with a chuckle.

Fluttershy smiled back and took the torch from Applejack. With it securely in her hoof, she walked over to Discord who was now visible thanks to the fire's light. He was sitting down with his back facing her and his head hung low. She quietly approached him from behind and walked around until she was in his line of view. She held the torch out farther in front of her to glance at the wound the police stallion gave him hours earlier.

Sure enough, the wound on his shoulder was caked with a mix of dry and fresh blood and it was seeping with foul smelling puss.

Fluttershy wrinkled her nose. Yep, definitely infected.

She turned her gaze away from the sight and looked at her husband, who turned his head away whenever Fluttershy tried to look him in the eye.

"Discord, look at me." Fluttershy put her hooves on both sides of his face and forced him to look at her, but before she opened her mouth to speak, Discord pushed her hooves off him and moved away from her. Fluttershy just stood there with her mouth hanging open, completely shocked as she watched Discord move farther from her grasp.

"You shouldn't be here." He murmured.

"Neither should you." Fluttershy shot back. "Discord, why have you not come home? I've been worried sick about you!"

"This is where wild animals belong Fluttershy. You of all ponies should know that."

"What are you talking about? What does that have to do with anything?"

Fluttershy walked up to him again and put a soothing hoof on his uninjured shoulder.

"Discord, what is this about-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

He shouted and this time slapped her hoof away. This time however, he stayed where he was.

Even though Discord didn't physically move, Fluttershy still felt that he was far beyond her reach.

She heard him sigh and felt tears form in her eyes from the sound of it. Why was he acting as if he didn't care? Did...did he not love her anymore?

"Discord." Fluttershy whispered, "Please...Come home.."

Discord turned his head to look at her. "I am home."

Before Fluttershy could protest, he continued with what he was saying.

"Like I said before, the Everfree Forest is where wild animals, beasts, a-and monsters...like me..belong." His voice cracked.

Fluttershy felt hot tears fall down her cheeks. "D-Discord..what are you talking about? You're not a monster, you've never been one."

"I have always been one Fluttershy, today only proved it."

Fluttershy now understood what this was all about. The whole "incident" at their Secret Garden earlier in the day.

"Is that what this is all about?! Discord, what happened earlier didn't prove anything! I will it admit it frightened me when you turned on me as you did, but I know that was not you!"

Discord growled, "Then who was it then? Was it not I who turned on you?" He stood up and towered over her and held up his eagle claw with all fingers splayed. "Was it not my own claws that sliced through your beautiful coat?"

Fluttershy didn't know what to say, it was true that it were his claws that gave her the marks on her body...but at the same time it wasn't. It was like...his body had been possessed by some dark spirit.

"No Discord, it wasn't." She said confidently with her head held high. "It may have been your body, but it wasn't YOU."

Discord scowled at her. "That doesn't make any sense and you know it."

"What's the fun in making sense?" Fluttershy retorted.

It was the closest thing to a smile on Discord's face since she found him in this dark cave, but whatever remnent of a smile he may have had was gone as quickly as it came. He sighed and turned his back on her once more.

"That doesn't change anything! I could've k-killed you..." His voice broke and when he turned to face her she could see his eyes shining with tears. "C-couldve k-killed our son! I-I'm a beast F-F-F-Fluttershy! LOOK AT ME! I'm even made up of different beasts!"

He completely broke down, and in his despair he collapsed weakly on the cave floor. Lying in a heap with his head buried in his arms as he cried.

Fluttershy immediately ran over to his crumpled form, she too had tears rushing down her face from the state her husband was in.

"Oh, Discord..." She sobbed as she wrapped her hooves around his neck and nuzzled her head into his chest fur. She could feel the heat radiating off him, he most likely had a fever due to his infected wound, and the wind and rain certainly wasn't helping. Her suspicions were confirmed when she gently put a hoof to his forehead.

"P-please Fluttershy..d-d-don't...I...I don't want to hurt you..." He stuttered through his tears.

Fluttershy began to soothingly run her hoof through his mane. "But you won't."

Discord lifted his head from where it was hidden in his arms and looked at her. "How do you-"

"Because I know you Discord, and I know you would never hurt me on purpose."

He sniffed.

Fluttershy continued. "I know you did not do it on purpose, I saw you trying to resist whatever power you were under." She said as she remembered him thrashing and struggling on the picnic blanket. It happened after he was hit with that mysterious object...

That was it! That was what caused him to turn on her so suddenly! It wasn't his doing at all as he so claimed!

"I know what happened." She said with calm jubilation.

He sniffed again. "What?"

"I'll explain later, but let's get you home first and let me tend to your shoulder."

He didn't protest as Fluttershy helped him up to all fours and lead him out of the cave, not seeming to mind when he leaned heavily against her due to his bad shoulder. Of course, he could've used magic to heal it, but he felt it was rightly deserved after what he did to Fluttershy. He felt he deserved the pain...

Author's Note:

Phew!! I am soooooooooooo sorry this took so long guys!! Its just for some reason I haven't felt like doing it or have not been in the right mood to do it.

I'm pretty proud of this chapter and hoped you all enjoy it! Don't forget to comment!

The next chapter will not be very long, under 1,000 words. I was going to have this chapter be the last one, but I have already been working on it for so long I just wanted to get it up. Besides it wouldn't feel like a real chapter if I had too many things going on. Well, at least to me it wouldn't

Comments

[CloverStarshine]

THE FEELS! (plus how cute it was imagining Discord crying XD. I'm a horrible pony

[Dr midnight]

Can't wait for another chapter
also I feel sorry for discord making himself feel bad