FANG For a FANG

Chapter 11 Think A Little Bit

The week passed quickly, yet due to their argument, Fluttershy had to either walk or take the bus to work. Every time she went near the car, Discord would lock it, not letting her in. She couldn’t go to her aunt, or else risk exposing Discord. So instead, she walked. She did all she could to get out of the house and away from her aunt, who only reminded her of her missing mother. Her aunt was now grieving, believing her sister to be gone, and despite it only having been a few weeks, that didn’t help her at all. While she was already trying her best to move on, Fluttershy knew better. Tirek VON-Horn wanted something from her mother; he wouldn’t kill her—she was alive, Fluttershy knew it. But she had to admit, while the days passed by, there was definitely less and less hope for her mother, and the cops searching for Discord instead of the real threat only made things worse.

Walking through the streets of town, Discord’s mugshot was posted everywhere, labeled "armed and dangerous," a kidnapper on the loose.

She didn’t know what was worse: the fact that they actually thought that, or the fact that she couldn’t go more than two steps without seeing his face. Whatever feelings she had for him were all in her memory. Despite that, the dreams of being in his arms—the night of the dance, the night they first met—only continued to haunt her. She wanted to dream about anything else but him. She wanted to see anything else but his face. Instead, she raised her head and began thinking of her other crushes as she walked to work that Friday morning. Big mistake. Her heart ached even more at the thought of Big Mac's wedding.

With a gruff, sleepy groan, she fell over, only to catch herself on the traffic light post. “I could really use a friend right now,” she said out loud on accident.

“I’ll say, you look worn out,” chuckled a voice from behind her. She turned to see an ice cream vendor standing by his cart. The size of his cart, being so small, made the man look huge in comparison. While he wasn’t that tall, the size of his frame looked comedic as he opened the freezer and pulled out an ice cream cone. “Here, this should cheer you up,” he smiled, holding the cone toward her. Fluttershy took it silently, thanking him for the kind offer as she undid the wrapper. “Just don’t tell my boss; I’m not supposed to hand those out for free, but you look like you could use it. What’s on your mind, anyway?” he asked, kneeling over his cart. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow as she brought the ice cream cone to her lips. “Oh, don’t worry; it’s a slow day anyway,” he shrugged, his large shoulders.

The man was extremely muscular—in fact, a little too muscular. He looked like a bodybuilder, and the little white cap he had on, sitting on a small patch of shaved blond hair, along with his white shirt that looked way too tight, only made Fluttershy bite into the ice cream cone, hoping to stifle the oncoming laugh at how ridiculous he looked. “Owie, damn, that’s cold,” she said to herself, causing him to laugh along with her.

“Yeah, best not to eat it in one bite like that,” he replied with an innocent smile. “I’m Freddie, Freddie Bulk, but everybody just calls me Bulk. Can’t you tell?” he said, flexing one of his massive biceps.

She giggled at that before introducing herself. “I’m Fluttershy Breeze, nice to meet you, um, Fre— or Bulk. I’m alright, I promise. It’s just that, well…”

“Feel free to tell me. It’s not like I have a lot of customers today anyway,” he encouraged her.

But as she looked at him, her mind went berserk as she thought about what she could tell him. Should she tell him? He was a complete stranger to her. But as she looked at him, a certain wanted poster behind his head caught her attention. Discord's wanted poster. “I hate him,” she blurted out of nowhere, at least to Bulk.

“Him? Who—” But before he could finish his sentence, she began spilling her guts.

“He’s so arrogant, so full of himself, so rude, so mean, so handsome, so kind, so alluring, so distant! All I want to do is have him trust me, because if he doesn’t trust me, how in the world is our partnership ever going to work?” She stomped her leg and turned back to him. “And with my mother God knows where, and my aunt already acting like she’s dead, plus my old interstate mate with some other chick, I’m left driving myself crazy! All I want to do is smoke, but I can’t in front of my aunt who moved into my house! I already blew through my stash all at once, and I don’t get paid till later on today by my bitch of a boss!”

“Whoa, okay,” Bulk leaped back, holding his hands defensively. “Take it easy. Just breathe in,” he demonstrated, and she followed. “Breathe out,” and take a lick of that ice cream. It really helps calm the nerves, ya know,” he pointed at the object in her hand. She did as he suggested, finding the cold surge feel of the vanilla shock swirl clear her mind. “Yeah, sounds like you’ve got a lot to deal with, but if there’s any advice I could give, it’s that no matter how hard things get, you’ve got to look on the bright side.”

“Oh yeah? And what bright side do I have?” she snorted back.

“Well, for one, you’re alive, right?” he told her. In response, her mind went blank for a moment as she thought about it. “For another, you’re obviously in love with this guy. He’s probably going through a lot too, ya know. Sometimes, you have to think of the other person in a relationship like that and figure out what’s actually bothering him. Can you think of any—” Bull raised an eyebrow.

Fluttershy tapped her chin in thought about Discord's past. She didn’t know much about him, but the way he spoke, the way he carried himself, the look in his eye—it all felt familiar. Her eyes widened with realization. “Could it be—” she questioned to herself out loud.

“Ah, see? Now you’re thinking,” Bulk crossed his arms and nodded. “Yeah!” He held up a flexed arm. “That’s what I do when things get tough. I take a step back, breathe in, breathe out, and remember I can do it! I have the confidence I can.” “YEAH!” he yelled out louder, popping the veins in his neck. “Oh, oh, sorry! I just get so pumped when I think of it. It can really help you. Give it a try.”

She giggled at that and soon finished eating the rest of her ice cream before breathing in and out and yelling, “I can do this! I can—yeah!”

“Haha, there you go,” Bulk encouraged her, only for his watch to beep. With a startled look, he jumped in fright. “I wasn’t watching the time!” he yelled, snatching off his hat and closing up the cart for the day. “Sorry to run; it was really nice meeting you, but I’m late for my next job.”

“Your next job?” she tilted her head.

“Yeah, I’ve got like five, all working for the same boss. It helps pay for my gym,” he handed her a flyer from his pocket. “Not a lot of people in this town want to work out, so to keep the place running, I have to run back and forth, doing odd jobs,” he said, pulling out a hard hat before pulling down his ice cream cart with a dollar sign. “It was really nice meeting you, but I’ve got to go. Bye!” he yelled back, turning away with his cart.

She sat there, jaw dropped, watching him storm off before her own phone rang. “Oh, damn it! Crystal’s gonna kill me if I don’t get to work,” she yelled.

…

Later that night, Fluttershy found her aunt asleep on the couch, an entire half-eaten cake on her lap. She let a small smile spread on her lips at the sight before heading upstairs and quietly getting ready for the evening. As a large shadow crossed her path outside, she looked to see, knowing exactly who it was and why they were there.

Discord sat in front of his car, staring up at her, dressed no longer in his disguise, but in his orange suit. She gave him a nod from the window and headed downstairs, hoping she could get out of the house before—

“Oh Fluttershy, where are you going?”

“Too late,” Fluttershy rolled her eyes before putting on her best smile and greeting her aunt. “Uhm, Aunty, I uh—”

Her aunt gasped at the sight of Fluttershy standing in a green and blue gown. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a date tonight?” Her aunt whirled around and pulled her niece against her chest, gasping again. “Oh no, please tell me it’s not with that dizzy fellow!” her aunt groaned. Fluttershy momentarily winced at the smile, only for her aunt to scowl at her. “Fluttershy, I told you to—”

“It’s not a date! I got invited to a party, and Discord agreed to come with me.” She lied, thinking quickly on her feet.

“A party? And what kind of—”

“My boss,” Fluttershy spluttered out. “Yeah, it’s a business party, and I, uh, wanted to look nice is all. I’ll be back by midnight, I assure you.”

“Midnight!?” Celestia’s eyes nearly popped out of their skulls.

“Yeah, uh— I’ll see you later, Auntie—” she quickly dodged another question and went through the door, leaving her aunt with a puzzled look once more.
…

Once outside, she let out a defeated groan before joining Discord, who didn’t even bother holding the door open for her.

As she sat in the car again, she was caught between the awkward silence and wanting to work alongside him. But as she chanced a glance up at him, it was clear by the twitch of his lip that now was not a good time to say anything to him. So she retreated back in her seat as she thought about earlier that afternoon with the ice cream vendor.

*“He probably is going through a lot too, ya know. You sometimes have to think of the other person in a relationship like that and figure out what’s actually bothering him. Can you think of any—”*

The answer was yes, of course. Discord had just gotten out of jail, and she didn’t even know why he was arrested in the first place. Sure, she knew the crimes he committed, ranging from theft to arson and even an attempted murder. But the last time she tried to bring it up, he all but avoided the question and played it off as a joke. As she tapped her chin, she soon began to realize he didn’t really treat her badly until the moment she said she pitied him. Though it was true, she did pity him for his horrid view on relationships, she now questioned how he even developed that view in the first place. Was it possible his heart was hurting? Was that what she saw in him? She always did, ever since the first time she looked into his ruby eyes—she saw something familiar to her in them. She saw herself in them, despite not knowing exactly what.

As she rested her head on her hand and chanced another look at him, she soon remembered the way he always acted. The confidence bravado, the way he’d switch personalities on a dime. Was it possible? Could it be? She glanced over at herself in the rearview mirror. She could see the very edge of his arm just behind her. She could feel the gears turning in her head as she finally came to her conclusion, as ridiculous as it sounded: he too hated what he saw in the mirror. It had to be. The pieces all fit, but what was it he hated so much? Could she help him get through it? If she did, would they finally be working on even terms? The only answer to that was to know more about him, but it wasn’t like he was going to talk to her. So who— Fluttershy’s eyes grew at the realization, and a small smile, one she hid under her long, flowing hair, crept onto her face.

Discord remained ever quiet as they drove up to the house of the only person Fluttershy might be able to get intel on Discord from.

Once they picked up Capper, who was dressed in the dorkiest tuxedo imaginable, given to him by his cousin, the three of them rolled up to Starlight's.

They walked into a large dining hall painted in a fancy purple and wood. All tables and booths were lit by the ambient lighting of candles and dimly lit lanterns, giving the place a sophisticated feel.

“Whoa! This place is a lot fancier at night than it is during the day,” Fluttershy chuckled, a twitchy smile on her face.

“Be on your toes; this is the enemy's territory after all,” Capper warned her as he looked around. “There’re no cameras in sight, but there are several tough-looking men keeping an eye on everything from the second floor.” He noted in his mind and counted them one by one. “Three doors, seven in total, huh? Not very good odds.” He mumbled to himself as he looked around the room again.

“Shut up, will you?” groaned Discord as he walked over to the front desk, tired of Capper’s pestering.

“Ahemm, miss, sir, can I get your name?” asked the man at the front desk.

“Uh, we don’t have a reservation,” Discord replied with a smile. “But if you can just get us a table, I’m sure I can make it worth your while,” he said, pulling out a hundred-dollar bill. Fluttershy thought it best not to ask where he got the money.

“Hmm, sorry sir, but if you do not have a reservation, we can’t let you in. Tonight’s totally booked, all bought out.”

“Discord,” the man raised an eyebrow. “Yes, we have a Discord at table six—the best table in the house. Are you—”

“Yes, sorry, but a friend booked me the table. I didn’t know they made reservations for me.”

“I see…” The man raised his eyebrow. “One problem: you’re supposed to come alone. I have it said here that your date has already been at the table, and it is just for two.”

“My date? Yes, I suppose they forgot about my friend. Mind fetching a few extra chairs at the table?”

“Sorry, sir, but like I said, we’re packed. I’m afraid your friends will just have to wait outside.”

“Alright then, please give a message to my date: ‘goodbye,’” he said, turning around only to bump into a man who was shorter than him but far bulkier and larger.

“We insist you stay, Mr. Grogar, sir,” smiled the man behind the counter. “Your friends can at least wait against the wall, where they won’t distract from the show.”

“Show?” Discord raised an eyebrow cautiously.

“Yes, we have a great magic show tonight for entertainment—one that I’m sure will impress. Now, I am Film, and this is Bulk. He shall be your waiter tonight. But if there are any problems, you can ask for me, the manager. Now, Bulk, take Sir Grogar to his date, and I shall see to it that his friends get to see the show at least.” He clapped and began walking in a direction. “Right this way, you two.”

“Great,” Capper rolled his eyes. Fluttershy looked at Discord, hoping for a solution.

“Connor, take Sky here and follow the good man,” Discord said, turning his head to face Bulk, who gave a nod and began heading into the room, leading Discord away.

“Connor, good nickname, Discord,” Capper groaned as he grabbed Fluttershy, now Sky, by the arm and followed Film, irritated at the fact they were being split up.

…

Sky and Connor were led to a wall in the back of the building, while Discord was led to table six, a nice round table lit by a candle literally in the middle of the room. To his surprise, not a person in sight sat at it except him.

“Here is your menu,” Bulk presented it to him and pulled out a chair for him to sit.

Discord took it cautiously, giving it a once-over as he sat down.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” Bulk asked.

“Your strongest alcohol, I think will do,” Discord grumbled. “And I want to try the chocolate cake. I’m not much for the fancy dinner here, so that will be all,” he told Bulk before handing back the menu and asking, “So where is my date, then?”

“Oh, Miss Starlight will be here in a moment. She’s just going to help her friend with the magic show,” Bulk replied before walking away.

“Starlight, as in the restaurant owner? What does she want with me? She’s not—” Discord tried to say, but suddenly all the lights went out, all except for the candles. A spotlight then shone on stage, catching Discord's attention.

“Hello and welcome! I am Trixie, the Great and Powerful! I shall dazzle you all tonight with my partner in crime.” A woman with white, sparkly hair said, dressed in a witch hat and a wizard cloak. “Oh, but as you can see, I stand up here all alone. Oh dear, I wonder where Starlight could be?” Trixie called out, looking over the crowd far and wide. “Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to do the show myself,” she chirped, before walking up to a colorful cabinet and pulling it along.

Tossing off her cloak to the side, the audience watched as it seemed to float in mid-air. No strings attached by the looks of it, as Trixie also tossed her hat over it, which actually did fall to the ground. She then opened the cabinet's top door and gave a little scream. “Ahh!”

Inside sat Starlight—at least her head and arms.

“Hello,” Starlight waved to the crowd, causing everyone's jaws to drop at the sight. “Sorry, Trixie, you forgot to put me back after our last show,” the head laughed.

Trixie gave a bow to the audience and opened the rest of the cabinet, showing Starlight’s body parts all in the wrong order, before closing it up again and tapping on the cabinet three times.

Starlight emerged in one piece, giving the audience a bow.

“There’s my assistant, folks!” Trixie called out to the crowd.

Discord rolled his eyes at the magic show, wanting it to be over as soon as it started.
…

Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Capper — now Sky and Connor — were given a table in the way back, clearly hastily put together. They weren’t kidding when they said the place was full tonight and could barely fit them in by giving them only a small table and two bar stools, not even chairs. Still, at least they would have a chance to sit down.

“Now’s my chance,” she thought as she watched Connor sit across from her. “Umm, ca—”

“Connor,” he emphasized, making quotation marks with his fingers. “Uh, I’ll have the soup, and please bring some bread,” he told the waiter. Fluttershy let out a pitiful sigh and threw out, “The chicken salad sandwich, please,” without even looking at the menu. “I’ve been here before,” she rolled her eyes and handed the waiter her menu. “Anyway, uhh, I was hoping, Connor, that you could tell me something.”

“Oh great, here we go,” he groaned to himself. “What did Discord put you up to this?”

“No, no, actually—look, I uh—” she paused as she realized she had to be careful. Despite his rude attitude, Discord was right; if Capper knew her importance, it could cause trouble. So what exactly was she going to say to him?

“Look, Sky, or whatever your name is, I don’t know how you got mixed up in this, but you seem like a nice girl, so I’ll give you some advice: whatever Discord has on you, keep your head down and with any luck, when you see an opening, run. Trust me.” He rolled his eyes.

Fluttershy blinked a few times as she began to think she could use that angle. “Uh—yes, yes, quiet. Look, I’m looking for something to have on him, to uh—get me out. So if you could—”

“Could what?” he muttered bitterly. “’Cause if you haven’t noticed, I’m already in a mess I can’t get out of; I don’t need another—”

“I just want to know what he was like before. Can’t you tell me anything?” she begged, putting her hands together.

“Before—like before he got arrested?” he asked, puzzled.

“Yes, anything! I really kind of need to know, it just might help me. Let’s leave it at that—please?” She winced and shook her hands toward him, begging for anything. “You knew him from before; you’re his student or whatever. I need to—”

“Okay, okay! Hush up, will you?” He raised a hand and leaned closer to her so no one would hear them. “I don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, but—” He took a quick glance at Discord, hoping he was watching them. To his relief, Discord was watching the magic show. Capper turned back to the lady across from him and began spilling what he could.

“Alright, so I don’t know him all that well. You see, when I was about nineteen, fresh out of high school, I got to hanging with the wrong crew. Some real big street thugs, to whom I borrowed money to help me pay for my mom—it’s a long story—but then I eventually met a gang leader by the name of Sombra, and his boss.

“Vonhorn?” Sky asked.

“No, Vonhorn was just another nobody; Discord was the leader of the gang, despite being the youngest of us all. He inherited it a year before from his dead father.”

“His father was a gang leader, then? How old are—”

“Not exactly. Discord inherited the power, sure, but his gang, the fangs, he made himself. It was a little club back in the day, but soon, within a year of his control, the gang spread like wildfire. Soon, if you were anybody, you were in the fang—at least in the south side of town.

“I owed his dad a lot of money, and so I was doing odd jobs when he suddenly went missing and Discord rose to the top. Rumors back then said he must have killed his old man and took the throne, but everyone is far too afraid to ask him to confirm it. When I first met him, to be honest, he wasn’t that much different—except he was a lot quieter.”

“Quieter?” Fluttershy tilted her head.

“The only people who ever talked to him were the gang leaders. He never so much as took a glance at me; no one except Sombra Shadows, Luna Star, Tirek, Vonhorn, his brother, Stygian and Lady Bug, could talk to him.”

“Lady Bug?”

“Crystal, Bug, yeah, she was a real pice of work.”

Fluttershy’s eyes shot up at the name.

“Though a lot call her Chrysalis. Anyway, thire the fang among fangs. He kept them close and everyone else distant, including me. From time to time, he would come out and teach us a few tricks, but otherwise, he kept to himself, partying with only those closest to him. Sure, I got invited to some of his parties, but other than sitting on his throne, marveling at some girls, he never really seemed like a bad guy. In fact, I remember a lot of the time, if any member, especially females, had any problems he heard about, he would often send one of his top minions to handle it.

“Minions?”

“The fangs of the fangs served not only as his elite but were pretty much subservient to him. That’s how he ruled us; that’s how Tirek rules us now. Though it’s even worse. Only one person is ever allowed to see Tirek, and I can’t get anywhere near her location. Without that, I’m afraid it’s all but a fever dream to get to him. Oh, but please—” Capper gave a nervous chuckle, “if you tell Discord that, he’d kill me.”

“Hmm, do you, uh, know why he got—”

“Arrested? No, no one but the fangs know, and none of them are talking. Even when I stepped up and became a new leader of the fangs due to Tirek taking on the top role, I still was never let in on exactly why he was arrested. I know the charges, but I don’t know the story,” Capper shook his head. “All I know is it has something to do with Luna. Discord and her were constantly arguing; I’m still amazed she ever made it to be one of his fang leaders.”

“Arguing?”

“She was the only one who ever got away with challenging Discord. And one thing I can tell you is that you should never test him like that; he hates that most of all.”

As she took in this new information, Fluttershy thought back to her experience with him—the way he snapped at her if she dared to challenge his views at the dinner, or how he snapped when she gave back the wallet he stole on the day they first started working together. She didn’t mean to, but just like her mother, she challenged him. Or, at least that’s what he must have seen in her. As she darted her eyes back to the man in question, one thing was on her mind: “What did my mother do to him?”

…

Meanwhile,

After another six tricks, Starlight jumped off the stage and joined him just as his dessert arrived, brought by none other than Bulk.

“So, you’re apparently trying to become the leader of the fangs then, huh?” She smiled as if it were a simple question.

“You’re no fang, so how in the world should I expect anything from you?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, I’m not a fang, but I do business with them all the time. And today—” she clapped her hands, and a net fell over Discord. “I’m afraid that this though is actually a personal endeavor, Hope you liked the show,” she called before the entire audience jumped up, tackling him to the ground.

Fluttershy and Capper both leaped up the second they saw trouble, but neither of them could dare intervene as the scene quickly turned into a dire situation.