Garble groaned as he finally finished hugging all the dragons that were present during the Gauntlet of Fire event. Held by the previous Dragon Lord, Garble failed to take advantage of the opportunity to become Dragon Lord after Spike and Ember won the event itself. It hurt his pride so much, but what could he do? At least now Ember was in charge and not that annoying bastard Spike!
“Ughhhh please no more hugs! Garble begged aloud, feeling sick to his stomach after hugging perhaps every Dragon in Equestria. At least, those who were present the moment when Ember announced her new status as Dragon Lord...or "Dragon Lady" since she was a female. It took him two hours before he could finally travel back home! And his friends begging for more hugs did not make his situation any easier for him either! “Man those guys were weird…”
Garble groaned as he began to grow tried after an hour of flying. While he did originally fly nonstop to the Gauntlet of Fire event, he was worn out to near exhaustion after experiencing the challenges that it held. In all honesty, he thought of himself being more than capable to handle said challenge without the fatigue afterwards. Maybe hugging all the dragons was what really tired him out?
“Oh come on…” Garble slowly began to lower his altitude to an extent; two ponies were having a panic in the middle of a large opened field. Because of Spike's orders, he was forced to hug any living thing that he came across and even flying above them did not excuse him at all. He soon found himself hiding behind a tree, which was part of a forest at least thirty feet from where they sat.
“Honey, did you bring the carrot cake?” asked the male Unicorn.
“Oh dear, I think that I forgot to bring it!” said the female Earth pony.
“…” Garble was liking this situation less and less as he knew that he had to hug them. After all, while he hated Spike, a Dragon Lord’s word was law. Ughhh…let’s get this over with! he thought with frustration. He let out a loud groan before he began to make his way towards them in a sluggish matter. The type of sluggish matter that a youngling would do, when his parents punished him and sent him to his room with no dessert. Ponies…WHY does it have to be Ponies?!
“Honey, this potato salad is amazing!” praised the stallion. “Hmmm~! I could just eat this all day! Honestly my dear, I think that this may be your best-”
“AHHHHHHH!”
The Unicorn stallion froze as the horror of on his wife’s face confused him completely. “Honey? What-”
“HNN!”
“HGHS?!”
The Unicorn froze as he finally acknowledged the big red dragon that lowered himself. It took him a few seconds before realizing that this dragon was hugging him. Naturally, he still trembled because dragons weren’t exactly known for hugging ponies informally. Hell they weren’t known for hugging ponies at all! “W-What can I-I-I do for you-”
However, the Unicorn was interrupted as the dragon immediately released him and walked over to his wife, who was too scared to even scream again. The situation got even more confusing as she too received a hug from him. Both ponies looked at each other in shock, never expecting something as dangerous as a dragon to be so friendly. He did not even say a word as he released her and continued on his way, leaving the couple to be dumbfounded.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…Did…he…just…?”
“Yes…yes he did…”
Garble was super thankful that it was only two, no more, no less. After all, he couldn’t stand ponies since they were the opposite of what he was. Even though their soft furry bodies were easier to grasp, he felt more comfortable making contact with tough scales that were found on dragons. It may have sounded odd if you weren’t a dragon, but that was how he felt. Regardless, Garble was happy to have been spared of that awkward moment and continued to make his way towards the forest. While he wanted to fly away, he needed to rest his wings for at least half an hour. Hopefully, he would not come across anything else that he would be forced to hug.
*Fifteen minutes later*
“Nhhh I wanna eat something,” Garble complained. What he wouldn’t give for some delicious Emeralds or Rubies. He had finished the Amber trail mix that he brought with him beforehand, and needed to replenish his strength. Thus, Garble stopped and closed his eyes. “…” His spikes perked slightly, as he allowed his senses to guide him to a deposit of precious gem stones.
“THERE!”
Garble immediately opened his eyes and licked his lips as he began to rush to where he would find his next meal. It had to be quite the deposit, as his senses were telling him that he was not going to be disappointed. He continued to run for at least two more minutes before he found a large cave. Bingo!
“Hehehe, I am not starving today!” chuckled a greedy dragon. Garble immediately rushed into the cave and began to dig for his meal…
*Five minutes later*
“Hmmmmm…I needed that! HMMMMM!” Garble continued to chuckle as the sapphires he found really hit the spot. Now he was going to get home without any annoying distractions and not worry about hugging anyone else! “Alright, time to fly and-”
“AHHHH!”
Garble froze as his oblivious nature had once again prevented him from acknowledging nearby ponies. His happiness soon converted into displeasure, as an adult pony was leading at least ten younglings who also shared his fear of Garble. Well this sucked for the once proud dragon.
“D-D-Dragon?!” stuttered a little filly with glasses.
“I-I never seen one!” said another.
“Look how big he is!”
“Wow they’re uglier than I thought!”
“Hey what the-” growled Garble.
“He looks scary!”
“Mr. Green Heart, do something!”
“Just stay calm!” said the head scout. He looked at an irritated Garble, who was far from impressed with his apprentices. As head scout, he had a responsibly taking care and grooming the gen of pony scouts! Okay Green, just talk to it, he decided. After all, dragons were intelligent to some extent.
“Huh?” Garble blinked as the stallion casually made his way towards him.
“Now Mr. Dragon, we’re simply here to explore that large cave that is right behind you and we mean no trouble whatsoever,” said Green Heart.
Garble crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow as a thought occurred to him: they were afraid of him. Hey wait a minute, I can actually avoid hugging these stupid ponies if they think that I want to hurt them! I mean, Dragon Lord’s word may be law, but I can’t help it if they run away from me, right? he wondered. He suddenly began to smile, loving the horrible, yet wonderful idea. However, his plan would be ruined as a young colt suddenly stepped forward and spoke.
“Hey…what’s he wearing?” said the young colt.
“Is that a shirt?” asked another colt.
“Oh crap-”
“…‘Free…hugs’?” read the filly with glasses. “Hey, maybe he’s a nice dragon!” she suddenly said, smiling widely at the idea.
“Really? That’s so cool! I always wanted to know what it’s like to hug a dragon!” said another young scout. All of her fellow scouts suddenly began to jump up and down at the idea, much to the displeasure of Garble.
“What- NO, I am not nice!” shouted Garble. “I hate ponies! Just seeing all of you makes me sick to my stomach!” he claimed, trying to give himself credibility.
“Nah uh! No dragon would walk around wearing a shirt like that around ponies unless he was nice!” said a young scout.
Oh crap!
“Now, now, scouts!” said the head scout who turned to the younglings. He was not liking with how the direction of this interaction was going; the last thing he wanted was to enrage a dragon. “I am sure that as long as we leave it alone, it will leave us alone!” he explained with a smile. “I’ve had plenty of experience with dragons and- EPPH!”
Crap does this blow! Garble whined. He continued to awkwardly hug the head scout despite feeling the need to vomit. After he released the stallion, he stared at the little twerps, knowing that they were excited for their turn despite his displeasure.
“Um…why thank you…”
"Dont mention it..." growled Garble.
"W-Well that's kind of impossible now...since I did kinda enjoy it..."
“Huh?” Garble turned his head to see that the stallion he recently hugged was blushing and looking at him shyly. Even with Garble’s stupidity, he knew what was going on. “WOAH I do not swing that way!”
“Never did I until now~” he said cutely.
“ARGHHH!”
*Five minutes later*
Thank the dragon gods Garble was able to get away the moment he hugged that last little pony, as he couldn’t stand being surrounded by them. He was too annoyed to even complain about it as he continued to fly up the mountain that he came across. He wanted to leave that all behind him and simply get home at a faster rate. However, the thought of having to wear this shirt, reminded him that he had to be bonded to the Dragon Lord’s word. Even if he tried to intimidate any living creature he came across, they would likely point out the obvious issue that he was wearing. He had to face reality and accept the fact that simply hugging the next living beings would things simpler.
Hghh… Maybe if I quickly hug whoever I come across from now on, it won’t be so bad; just quicker to get it over with, he decided. If only he didn’t need to wear this stupid shirt!
Garble stopped as he finally reached the top of the mountain and took a moment to glance at the landscape before him. If he glided from this peak, he would reach his home within the next hour and finally be done with hugging everyone! Thus, his optimistic side soon began to rise as he stretched his wings happily. “Alright, let’s do this-”
Garble paused his movements yet again as a green object suddenly appeared in front of him. Startled, he fell backwards after yelping in surprise. “HEGH!” Garble struggled to regain his footing, as two odd-looking creatures stepped out and began to stare into the distance just as he did moments ago.
“Wh-Where are we Rick?” asked the smallest one.
“In a fucked up universe Morty,” said the tallest one. He was holding an odd looking object that produced some strange sounds. “Where all visual aspects of this world is highly attuned to technical color perception. It’s like the god of this world knew that every living thing was going to experience high levels of ADHD while being high on marijuana without the positive effects. That or to make a profit in some way or form,” he explained, before reaching into his coat. He pulled out what appeared to be a flask before opening it and drank out of it.
“Gee Rick, that’s k-kinda odd when you put it like that,” said the shorter one.
“No it’s f-fucking GENIUS Morty! BURP I-I bet this dimension is used for entertainment i-in s-some- BURRRP FOURTH WALLED DIMENSION!” The tall one took another long gulp before continuing on. “Think of the money t-that they would be makin’ BURP! LOTS of money involved!"
Morty was far from convienced as he continued to scan the land before him. He then said, "I don't know about that Rick. I-I mean, there's a lot of detail for a place that is suppose to be fictional..."
"DETAIL Morty?" Rick asked, taking a break from his drink. "BURRP! Oh yeah this place is s-s-so detailed that you know that the creators of this world take sleepless hours working nonstop desiging everything!" he said sarcastically.
"Oh come on Rick!" Morty argued, not liking his sarcastic tone.
"Give me a break; everything looks so simple, I bet a reasonable amount of this world's fanbase can make conviencing videos on Youtube with animation that closely remembers the actual show with accessable programs!"
Morty raised an eyebrow as he rolled his eyes and said, "Come on Rick; I doubt that this world was made for anyone older than a little kid..."
Rick actually chuckled as he said, "Hey, YEAH sure, whatever you want to believe Morty. But hey, if anything, I bet it’s a chick who is the god of this world, and a hot one at that! And I mean that in the most w-well BURP! Respective matter! I think that we can all agree that in this day and age, a woman is waaaaaaay BURRRPP! capable of being smart a-annnnnd beautiful Morty,” he explained before releasing yet another burp. He then began to drink yet again.
The buck are those things?! Garble wondered, as he never saw anything like them. They obviously weren’t dragons or ponies, and certainly not a griffin. No tails, no wings, very thin shaped bodies, lacking hair/fur/scales/feathers in a various parts. It brought such confusion that Garble failed to realize that his curiosity was getting the better of him; he was walking closer and closer.
“I think I found it!” said Morty, lifting himself from the floor and holding up what looked to be ordinary dirt. However, Rick was apparently pleased with what his grandson found.
“Woah Morty, that’s a new record!” he said, moving his device over the collected dirt. A few unique sounds were produced, and Morty smiled as he put his flask away before pulling out a sealed tube. “With this, my vegetable garden is gonna wreck this year! The properties in his dirt is unique to our world!” He collected the dirt and sealed the tube nice and tight. “Even just an ounce of this shit is gonna fertilize my tomatoes and peppers with fucking ease! And I’ll own that stupid old lady from across the street!”
Morty was actually horrified by that last statement. “W-What?”
“Yeah, Ms- BURP! Ms. Campelo h-has b-been wrecking my chances to win a blue ribbon every year!”
“B-B-But Rick, she is a cancer survivor!” argued Morty. “It keeps her going despite her old age and even as her husband died!”
“Yeah, caused by HPV! I am telling you Morty, that woman cheated on her husband before he passed away! Hell I think that she was a hooker in downtown’s ‘Le Slut’!”
“WHAT?”
“Yeah, they actually have a wall of fame and I saw her name! Kinda weird if you ask me,” Rick exclaimed.
Morty was horrified to know this new information about their kind neighbor. Yet another traumatizing moment in his life, thanks to grandpa Rick. “Oh Jesus Rick!”
“Yeah tell me about it… BUUUUUT the wings are surprisingly good! Can you believe it? Actual good food at a brothel Morty!” He took another gulp of alcohol and sighed. “W-What a time to live in…BUUUURP!”
As Morty shook his head slowly and did his best to get that image out of his head, Rick finally realized that something was right behind him. “…” He turned around to find a speechless Garble who was checking his entire stature. “Who the fuck are you?” asked Rick in a lax tone.
Morty lifted his head upwards to finally take note of Garble’s presence. “OH MY GOD RICK!"
"See Morty? I told you: simple design!" Rick said, gesturing towards how Garble appeared in design.
"WHAT IS THAT?!”
“W-What are you…?” Garble managed to ask. This was becoming a very odd day for him. Normally he would freak out, but this was just so fascinating to him that his fear was no where to be found.
Rick was seemingly offended by that question. “W-What, you never seen a drunk before motherfucker?!” he shouted, showcasing his alcoholic side.
“Uh, Rick? I think that he doesn’t know what a human is,” Morty pointed out.
“Huh? Oh yeah…” Rick began to sober up as he placed his flask away and wiped his mouth with his arm.
“Human?” repeated Garble. What was a human? Would this explain why he’s never seen these creatures before? This was just too freaky! Regardless, as a proud dragon, he needed to maintain a strong bearing.
“S-So what are you? A-Are you a lizard or something?” Morty asked shyly. He was intimidated by Garble despite his grandfather being a few inches taller than him.
“What?!” Garble asked, now the offended one.
“What are you, stupid Morty?” asked Rick, before putting away his device and crossing his arms. He rolled his eyes in annoyance before he then said, “OBVIOUSLY he’s a dragon! Wings, claws, scales? What, you never seen Game of Thrones you little shit?”
“YEAH!” Garble growled in agreement. “Wait, what’s ‘Game of Thrones’?” he suddenly asked.
Morty glared at his grandfather with absolute disgust. “Hey at least I can watch an episode for ten seconds before being an asshole about the background!”
“Hey Morty, I have taste alright? I-I-I am gonna- BURP! Speak my mind about shit that I don’t like!” Rick argued stubbornly.
“Well your opinion doesn’t always matter Rick! Besides, I happen to think that there’s no issue with the background scenery in Game of Thrones!”
“Well you’re entitled to your wrong opinion!”
“WHAT?!”
“Why are you even here?” Garble asked, crossing his own arms and now feeling more comfortable with these strange-looking creatures. Humans were an odd bunch based on first impression.
“Oh well,” Morty paused, acknowledging Garble’s question. “W-We wanted to collect some particular dirt from your world, a-and we found it, so…”
“So we’ll be going now and- What are you wearing?” Rick asked, perking both eyebrows as he finally realized that Garble was wearing a shirt.
Garble’s embarrassment returned as they stared at what his shirt said. “H-Hey I don’t want to wear this, okay? I just have to!”
“Why do you have to wear it?” asked Morty.
“I can’t tell you!” whined Garble.
“Why not?” asked Rick.
“I can’t tell you!”
“Why not?”
“I just can’t!”
“Huh, maybe you lost a bet or something…?” Rick paused as he held his chin slightly while he thought about the situation here. He suddenly snapped his fingers and said, “Ah I get it now: you became someone’s bitch!”
“WHAT?!” snarled Garble.
“RICK!” Morty said sternly, not approving of his grandfather’s rudeness.
“Hey, I am not judging him or anything if he’s into that-”
“Oh forget it,” growled Garble. He groaned as he opened his arms and decided to get this over with. Something that he should have done had his curiosity not gotten the best over him.
Rick was distracted by Morty’s complaining just long enough to feel Garble’s hold on him. “W-WOAH buddy, I do not swing that way!” he said, trying to break free from the dragon’s hug.
“It’s not like that!” complained Garble.
“Then why the fuck are you hugging me asshole?!”
“I can’t tell you!”
“Urghh…” Morty rolled his eyes as he gave a few pats on his back, returning the hug before they broke away. “Yeah, you definitely became someone’s bitch.”
Garble and Morty immediately shared a sneer together for a good five seconds before he decided to walk over to Morty and give him his hug. Thankfully, Morty made it more tolerable compared to most hugs today.
“Um, it was nice meeting you!” Morty said, trying to force a smile.
“I hate you,” said Garble with a growl.
“Yay, can we go now? I want to get the fuck out of here,” Rick complained, pulling out his device and opening a new green portal.
Something was on Garble’s mind as he faced them and asked, “Wait, don’t you mean ‘buck’?”
Both humans paused and turned to look at the dragon. “What?” asked Rick.
“That word…‘fuck’…don’t you mean ‘buck’?” asked Garble.
“Why the fuck would we use ‘buck’? That’s just fucking weird!” Rick argued.
Morty was amused by the term difference between their worlds. “Huh, I guess your ‘buck’ is our ‘fuck’ in your world,” Morty pointed out.
“Huh, well go bucking figure,” Rick said. “Come on Morty.” As he and Morty were about to walk into the green portal, he stopped and glanced at Garble. “Oh and one last thing: if you r-run into your divide- BUUUURP! C-CREATOR or whatever is c-c-close to being your ‘leader’, t-t-tell her that she’s hot and stuff.”
“What- Why?”
“C-Cause- BUUUUUUUUUURP! I-I have a feelin’ t-that we’re coming back. And I got some WICKEN f-fantasies doing it with a hot creature!” he confessed. “Later!~” With that, he yanked his grandson into the portal where it then vanished, leaving a greatly confused Garble by himself.
“…What the actual buck???”
*Forty minutes later*
“Ah this is much better!” said Garble pleasantly. He was super happy that the desert was almost available to him, as he lived for warmer weather. Of course, some would say that he enjoyed more than most dragons, given they all naturally had personal taste. Regardless, he was thankful to finally be closer to his home and closer to being free from Spike’s stupid orders. Then again, he had to admit that it was pretty ballsy of Spike to make him do something that he would hate. It made him actually respect the now older purple dragon to some extent. Regardless, he couldn’t wait to relax and finally end this day for good. Garble glided to a lower altitude, finding himself closer to the ground and feeling the heat that was below him. It felt so pleasant, that Garble almost forgot about all the BS that he experienced today. It was if all of his problems were melting away, allowing him to relieve stress and slowly drift to a pleasant place within his mind.
“….ZZzzzzzz”
CRASH!
Garble immediately woke up as the sudden impact reminded him that he was not originally on solid ground. It was amazing that he actually fell asleep just from flying no more than a foot away from the ground. He groaned loudly as his vision was unstable and causing him to feel sick. He repeatedly shook his head while struggling to stand.
“THE HELL WAS THAT?”
Garble finally maintained his sense of balance when he heard someone shouting. He blinked for a few more seconds before finally seeing what he hit: a trailer. Oddly near the cliff that would allow one to travel to lower grounds, this trailer was only ten feet away from said danger. Especially since one who couldn’t fly, would need at least six hours to reach the ground by foot. It was odd considering that this trailer appeared to be in this very spot for at least a few days; there was dust and dirt all over it.
Suddenly, the trailer door opened and out came a pony who was wearing some odd looking clothing. He was wearing a yellow one-piece suit, blue gloves, black boots, and safety goggles. His face looked weary, as if he was irritated with his life and the sun was just making it worse. He then saw a confused Garble, who’s jaw dropped after he revealed himself.
“Yo, what the buck dragon?!” shouted the young stallion. He made his way towards Garble with little worry and asked, “The buck did you attack my trailer for?!”
“What-”
“Damnit Jessie!” shouted another voice.
Garble paused as a Unicorn stepped out of the trailer, wearing the same clothing as the younger stallion. Although his one was without a mane, carried a goatee, wore glasses, and obviously held an expression that indicated years of stress and life experience. He was by no means physically intimidating, but he was clearly not one who should be messed with.
“I told you that mixing these chemicals are a delicate-…” He paused as he looked at the confused dragon. “Can I help you?”
“What?” Garble. The tone that came from this pony irritated the proud drake, as this was the first time that any pony talked to him in such a matter. “I am a dragon in case you haven’t noticed!” he snarled angrily.
The Unicorn simply maintained the same expression. They looked at one another for a few more seconds before he slowly walked to the proud dragon. While Garble was only inches taller than the Unicorn, it felt as if he the shorter one. He stopped right in front of him and asked, “Can I help you?”
“!” Garble suddenly felt the need to take a step back. “Um…” His eyes avoided making contact with his. “I-I-I-”
“Huh, only a dent,” said the younger pony. He scratched his head as he examined the damage and added, “Well it’s still a bitch! … Hey you, why did you do this?”
Garble’s humbleness vanished after hearing “Jessie” calling him out. “H-Hey, I didn’t even see your stupid trailer! I was flying back home and the next thing I know, your trailer was in my way!” he exclaimed. “If anything, your stupid trailer shouldn’t be that close to the cliff!” Garble added angrily.
“We have our reasons…” The older pony then looked at Jessie and asked, “Jessie, just two more hours and then we’re good. Think I can get a nap until then?”
Jessie grumbled as he then sighed and rubbed his eyes before answering, “Yeah, that’s fine Mr. Wh- I mean, Heisenberg.”
“Good, and I’ll make us some coffee afterwards,” said Heisenberg. He looked at the dragon and said, “We’re doing some particular work. Work that is dangerous to those who happen to wonder by…such as yourself.” He then looked at his shirt and stared at it for a few seconds. “…” His eyes peered upwards and looked directly at Garble. “And judging by your clothing, you’re not the type of dragon who wants to get in trouble…do you?”
Garble remained frozen after hearing the Unicorn’s advice. All he wanted to do is nod and get out of here as soon as possible, but his stupid curiosity was getting the best of him. “What…are you doing exactly?” he managed to ask.
“Yo dragon, that’s something that is best left unsaid!” said Jessie, making his way to the two of them. He then said, “Look, we’re…scientists okay? We have very important work to do so please get the buck out of here? Seriously, it’s not cool!”
“Now Jessie, no reason for us to rude,” Heisenberg said calmly. He began to remove his gloves before he reached into his one piece where he found his handkerchief. He wiped his bald head after removing his goggles. “My, such a hot day. Now would you kindly leave Mr…?”
“Um, G-Garble,” said the intimidated dragon. “A-And I would be happy to…um…” He cursed silently as he was in an awkward position; only now did he have the drive to hug them and move on. After all, a Dragon Lord’s orders is law. “…”
“Woah buddy, what are you-”
Jessie stopped as the dragon suddenly moved in and hugged him for only three seconds. Afterwards, he looked at the older stallion who turned his slightly towards him…only slightly.
Ah crap, why didn’t I just do it the moment that I saw both of them together at the same time?! thought Garble. Regardless, he still had to do this. Stupid Dragon Lord Spike! “U-U-Um…”
“Well?” asked the bald Unicorn.
Garble looked at him in confusion. “W-Well?”
The bald Unicorn continued to look directly into Garble eyes, showing no hint of kindness or sympathy towards a now timid dragon. It didn’t take him much time to understand that this dragon needed to hug everyone that he came across. Especially since he could have easily left them but didn’t and wore a shirt which indicated what his goals were. Even as Garble began to slowly tremble, he continued to give that same stare for at least twenty seconds before finally asking, “Well? Aren’t you going to me a hug? Or would you rather continue to stare at me like a dumbass?”
His sudden change of tone caused Garble to yelp as he immediately hugged the intimidating pony. “…I-Is it o-okay f-f-f-for me to b-break away…s-sir?” stuttered Garble.
“…” Mr. White blinked and took in a steady deep breath, causing his new dragon friend to tremble even faster. “My name isn’t ‘sir’…you know this, correct?” he asked calmly.
Garble trembled at a faster rate.
The stallion’s eyes slowly glazed towards him before he said, “Say my name.”
While Garble would have normally forgotten what the younger stallion said, the fear inside of him pulled through to better assist his memory. “H-H-Heisenberg-?!” he managed to yelp.
“…You’re goddamn right.”
With that, Garble immediately took that as a consent to release him, suddenly bolting past them and over the cliff. It was quiet, quiet enough to cause even Jessie to feel on edge despite having things under control with Mr. White. Thus, he made his way towards the cliff and spotted the dragon gliding towards the lower landscape. Jessie was not happy with receiving a random hug from a random dragon like that without an explanation.
“H-Hey, why did you hug us?!” he shouted, hoping that the dragon heard him.
“I CAN’T TELL YOU!” he shouted back, adding a tone of displeasure into his answer.
Jessie’s mouth opened, unable to believe what he just heard. “WHAT? YOU CAN’T JUST HUG SOMEPONY AND NOT EXPLAIN YOURSELF! YO, THAT’S RUDE DRAGON!” When he received no response from the fleeing dragon, “BOOO BITCH!” complained Jessie. That was hardly a satisfying answer to the young stallion. However, watching Mr. White suddenly appear beside him and tossed what looked to be a pizza box, changed his interest. "What-"
“Jessie, you really need to learn how to stop saying ‘bitch’,” said Mr. White. He slowly made his way into the trailer.
“Well maybe if you didn’t make him shit his pants, I would have an easier time getting a reasonable explanation from him!” argued the younger stallion. "Also, we had pizza?!" he added, noticing that it was a full pie.
"Please, that was in the fridge for a week; forgot to clean it out beforehand realizing that we forgot about it..."
As if suddenly on cue, a loud scream was heard from far below, indicating that the week-old pizza had hit its target...
*Ten minutes later*
“What the buck is going on today?!” Garble asked aloud. First Spike becomes Dragon Lord, then he has to hug all the dragons, then ponies, then some weird looking creatures, and now, just some scary scientist with his assistant! By the gods did he want to be home already and forget this day! Thus, he began to pick up speed, shorting the time that it required before he finally saw the mountain that held many caves. He suddenly smiled widely, knowing that home was finally within his reach. That and the smell of rotten pizza finally disappeared.
“Alright finally!” he said happily. As he picked up even more speed, a thought occurred to Garble: did he actually forget something? “…” He stopped smiling and blinked, realizing that there was something that he was expecting to run into before he arrived home. Thus, he immediately ceased his movement and scratched his head for a few seconds. “…Was…I suppose to do something?” It was very odd to Garble, as this sudden concern and hesitation brought fear into his mind. While he would be technically “home” and freed from Spike’s orders the moment he made contact with the mountain, he knew that this was way too easy.
“Wait, why am I overthinking this?” he asked aloud. “I am just being stupid!” he added, suddenly flying again. Of course there was nothing for him to worry about…right?
“Almost home?”
“EHH!”
Garble suddenly bolted upwards out of fear, realizing that his sudden concern was not because he forgot something, but because he was being watched.
“…Really brave of you Garble.”
“E-Ember??”
The Dragon Lord smiled as she continued to fly in place, arms crossed and keeping her staff in hand. She slowly flew upwards in order to meet him at an equal level. “So, did you follow Spike’s orders and hugged every living thing that you came across?” she asked.
“I- Um, yes, I actually did,” Garble said honestly. “Wait, is that why you’re here?”
“I live here Garble,” Ember explained calmly. “I live on the mountain next to this one.” Ember gestured with her staff and pointed at a much larger mountain that stood behind the one that he lived in. Unlike his mountain, this one barely had any caves indicating less dragons sharing this one.
“O-Oh yeah,” Garble said, feeling humble yet again as he grew a blush. He looked to see that Ember was amused with his embarrassment; she was smiling at him. Ah geez! he thought with displeasure.
“So that was quite a serious of unfortunate events that you experience Garble. Good," said Ember, admitting that she was following him this entire time.
“Good???”
“Yes, ‘good’. It’ll teach you to be humbler and less dishonorable in the future, as I am quite displeased with how you acted at the Fire of Gauntlet,” Ember explained. She floated passed him and looked at the dragons that were active around the two mountains. “As the new Dragon Lord, or ‘Dragon Lady’ if you will, I expect my subjects to act better. Because how you act, represents me in the eyes of others, dragon or not.”
Garble held back a few grumbles as Ember continued to lecture him. Geez does she ever shut up? I can’t believe that I ever thought that she was hot, thought Garble. It was bad enough that she saw everything that happened to him.
“-Thus, I do believe that you should also hug every dragon that lives on the same mountain as you. Just to be sure that you learned your lesson,” Ember said, turning to face him once again.
Garble was horrified as his jaw dropped. “WHAT? WHY???” he shouted, not liking this at all. “C-Come on Ember- I mean, come on Dragon Lady Ember!”
“Sorry Garble, but you deserve it. Who knows, maybe if you show a more compassionate side, you’ll have an easier time meeting a dragoness who would like to spend the night with you,” she suggested kindly. She also smiled, trying to better convince Garble to become less stubborn with this.
“I don’t want to be compassionate! I-I-I’ll make me more like a pony like that stupid Spike!” argued Garble.
Ember sighed as she rolled her eyes. “Oh stop whining you big baby.”
“I am not whining!” he whined.
“Yes, yes you are. Look, just make sure that you don’t tell them why you’re giving them hugs as well. I think that it’s better to follow this in the way that Spike wanted, so that they think better of you,” Ember explained, beginning to leave him.
However, Garble followed as he then asked, “B-But the rumors of Spike ordering me to will spread, won’t they?”
“Don’t worry; I made sure to have a few words with the dragons that were present at the time. Hell that’s the reason why my father didn’t know,” Ember explained.
“Still!” complained Garble.
“By the gods- Garble.” Ember lost patience with Garble as she suddenly stopped and faced him, causing him to awkwardly cease his momentum. “Look, I am the new Dragon Lord, or ‘Dragon Lady’ if you will and you will obey my orders. Is that clear?”
“!” Garble was dumbstruck by what Ember said, causing his body to yield to gravity and slowly sink to the ground. After the miserable experience he had today, she was really going to make him do more of this? Even in his home, where he thought that he was supposed to be safe from stuff like this. After all, a dragon lord’s word was law. “…I-I…I-I-I…”
“?” Ember raised an eyebrow as she too began to lower herself and met him as he touched the ground. “What are you-”
“I-I d-d-don’t w-wanna!”
Ember’s expression changed completely. “W-What, are you…crying?” she managed to ask him.
“N-No!” he stuttered, trying his best to hold back the tears. “I-I-I just got some d-dust in m-m-my eyes!” Garble claimed.
“Garble, it’s okay; this isn’t something that’s going to kill you or anything-”
“P-Please! NO MORE!” he begged, now allowing the tears to flow out of his eyes. “I-I beg of you, Dragon Lady Ember! J-J-Just please d-don’t make me hug anyone else! I-I can’t take it anymore!” cried Garble.
“Garble…” Ember was speechless, as for the longest time that she’s known this dragon, he’s never cried. Even faking it was something that he was never seen to do, as he held a lot of pride with both his race and gender at the same time. Now whether this was the first time he was faking or not, just seeing him in this state was just depressing. “…Garble, stand up.”
Garble was wiping his face with his arm, trying his best to stop crying. “W-What?”
“Stand up,” she repeated. As he slowly did, her expression soften before she said, “I take it that now you learned your lesson?” When he nodded sloppily, she then stepped forward and actually wrapped her arms around him, much to his confusion.
“Eh?!” Garble’s blush returned, increasing to an extent that he prayed would go unnoticed.
“It’s okay Garble. It’s okay.” Ember held him gently in order to bring comfort to his feelings. Even as she felt him slowly hugging her back, she was not bothered at all. When they broke away, she said, “Better?”
Garble’s tears may have ceased, but his eyes were still red even as he felt well enough to give an instant nod. “Y-Yes..”
Pleased with what he said, she remarked with, “Good then, I’ll lessen your punishment slightly: you only have one more dragon to hug.”
While Garble wanted to complain, the idea of just one more dragon to hug before he was freed. “R-Really? T-Thank you, Dragon Lady Ember!” Garble said gratefully. His tears began to vanish and a smile began to form on his lip. “W-Who is it? It’s not your dad again, is it?”
Ember actually giggled. “No, it’s another dragon…”
3 days later
“…”
Garble stopped as he looked at the building that he was about to enter. He grumbled for a few minutes as he couldn’t believe that he was seriously about to do this. However, standing right outside the door for fifteen minutes was not going to make this any easier for him. Thus, he groaned loudly and walked inside…
“Hi, welcome to-”
Garble glanced at the pony who was standing behind the counter. Blue and with a red mane, Mrs. Cake’s expression froze as seeing a dragon enter her business was not something that she was expecting. Unless it was Spike of course, who happened to be sitting at a table with his friends.
“Sucks that you’re leaving tomorrow Spike,” said Fro as he ate some fries.
“Well Celestia does want me to see her, and I could use a break from Ponyville,” Spike pointed out.
“Well you have been working hard. There’s nothing wrong with taking a small vacation and stuff!” Rainbow Dash pointed out with a grin. “Working at the farm every day brings stress to your muscles and you do have to let them rest!” she pointed out.
Spike shook his head. “Rainbow Dash, I am kinda used to the hard labor. I mean, it’s not like I am going through any soreness or anything like that,” Spike explained.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she drank her milkshake. She sighed after taking a few sips before saying, “Well is it because you eat a lot of bananas? I mean, I figured that you would start feeling pain after a certain point. Or is it because dragons don’t get sore like ponies?”
“Yeah I’ve been wondering that as well,” Fro admitted. “You manage to do all that work like Big Macintosh and play soccer without showing any hint of fatigue. Big Macintosh told us that he has to skip a few games to ice his arms and legs! And he’s been doing this longer than-…”
“Longer than who?” Spike asked.
Fro said nothing his expression was becoming more and more amazed; his eyebrows were rising and his jaw was dropping slightly. He slowly lifted his hand gestured towards the direction of the counter.
Rainbow Dash was confused. “Curly Fro, what’s up with you-”
“Spike, do you have a cousin that you’re expecting?” asked Curly Fro, pointing behind him.
“What-” Spike turned his head to see that a familiar red dragon was standing behind him. He turned to face him with a raised eyebrow, not expecting to see this dragon so soon again. “Garble-? Why are you-UFFH!”
Spike was taken by surprise as Garble suddenly hugged him out of nowhere. The first thing in his mind was when he ordered him to hug every living thing that he came across while on the way back home. But that was days ago, and as far as he knew, Ponyville was not on the way to where a dragon would normally live. “…Why are you hugging me?”
“I can’t tell you…ghhh,” Garble grumbled with annoyance. He began to gently whine and whimper, indicating his dislike for the situation that they were in.
Oh yeah, I did tell him that... thought Spike. “…” He blinked a few times as he connected the pieces. “Ember?”
“Ember.”
“You poor bastard,” said Spike, gently hugging Garble back and patting his back. He then said, “Pinkie? Make that two sapphire milkshakes…”
"Make it three," mumbled Garble. "It took me hours to find this place..."
The End
Author's Note
Well it was actually fun writing a non-erotic story for once. Got the idea after I saw the ending of the Gauntlet of Fire, and I couldn't stop smiling after what happened to Garble at the end. I couldn't stop thinking about it and I hoped that you all enjoyed it as much as I did! 
Hope you enjoyed this story as I continue to write the sequel of "A different type of greed...", until next time!
Web Swing!
