FANG For a FANG

Chapter 14 Family Struggles

Celestia was sitting on her niece's couch, catching up on her mail when one envelope caught her attention. With a quick, swift slash of her fingers, she tore it open and unfolded the paper within, quickly giving it a look over, mostly scanning and skipping to the end. But before she could take a look at what she was hoping for, the door flew open, and she snapped her head up to a tense-looking Fluttershy.

“Aunty,” she said calmly—too calmly; her tone of voice was clear, and Celestia knew she was in for it. With a blink and a sigh, she simply stated, “Hold on a minute; I have to—”

“I found out why you’re selling the house. And it has nothing to do with it being too big for you, does it?!” The younger of the two ladies set her hands on her hips, not letting an ounce of her attitude at the moment go to waste. With a raise of her head, Celestia stared blankly at Fluttershy, who was more than willing to continue. “Why didn’t you tell me my mother stole from the school?”

“How did you find out about that?!” Celestia’s hands shivered.

“Not important, what is—is the school, and for that matter, you.” She crossed her arms.

“Fluttershy, I—” her aunt tried to continue, but with the repositioning of Fluttershy's hips, it was all too clear she wasn’t going to get out of this by shit-talking. “Alright, fine!” Celestia snapped. “I have been trying to hold it together for days,” she swung her arms and stomped on the ground. “Your mother stole every cent from the school's funds! And now…” her voice grew loud only to falter. With a dip of her head, she gave in to everything that had been bothering her up until that point. “Now the school is facing bankruptcy… all thanks to your selfish bitch of a mother.”

“Auntie,” Fluttershy's arms dropped to her sides.

“Fluttershy, we could barely keep the lights on when you were attending. Why do you think we had you kids do all those fundraisers? Yes, some of it was to help you go to prom and graduation, but most of that money was to keep us from going out of business entirely.” Her aunt sputtered quickly; she wouldn’t let up. She was going to lay it all out on the coffee table—every built-up rage she had for the past few months. “Now, without that money, I can’t keep the lights on, let alone pay my teachers' salaries, the janitors, or the groundskeepers! We already had to let so many teachers go last year. Now over a hundred employees are going to lose their jobs, and nearly half a thousand students are going to lose their school!” Celestia rose from the couch and stood closer to her niece. “And it’s all because of your selfish mother! And I know exactly why she did it too!” With a furious swipe of her forearms, she continued, enraged more than Fluttershy had ever seen. But the young adult never let a single waiver of her expression change as her aunt continued to yell at her. She usually was someone who hated yelling—someone who was easily frightened by conflict. But she knew Celestia was not angry with her. That, and she knew she had to remain strong. Strong not only for Celestia's sake, but for her mother's too.

“She not only drained all of her pockets, she drained my bank account and the school’s just so she could let out that criminal. She isn’t kidnapped, Fluttershy! She and that criminal Discord are probably running amok, doing who knows what. She’s probably sleeping with him right now in some disgusting motel, like she used to do to all the gang members back in the day when you were just a child!

Fluttershy didn’t know what was worse: the idea that her aunt truly believed her mother wasn’t in danger, or the idea she was with her Discord. “Wait, my—dis,” oh, doesn’t matter,” she thought and shook her head back to the reality at hand. “Aunty,” Fluttershy finally let her voice break into sorrow. “If you’re broke, why didn’t you say something?” She tried to hug her, but her aunt stepped out of reach.

“Because, Fluttershy, this doesn’t concern you,” she shook her head. “You’re an adult. You live on your own, you’ve got a job, a car,” she raised her hands and slapped them against her sides. “You have a life, Fluttershy. I refuse to take you away from it. I just needed a place to stay, but I will be out of your hair soon enough, I promise—

“I can help you, I can—

“NO, You pay for your own apartment and your pets; it’s bad enough I’m mooching off of you as it is.” Her aunt shook her head and then set her fingers to the bridge of her nose. “If it wasn’t for the fact that I only have two hundred dollars in my wallet, the only money that no good sister of mine didn’t steal, I would have gone to a hotel and not here.” She grumpily stated before leaning herself against the wall, arms crossed. “If I ever see that woman again, it will be too soon, I swear!”

“Aunty!” Fluttershy gasped.

“She’s my sister! I do hope she’s alright, Fluttershy, but let’s face it—she never changed. Even after you were born, she never changed. Half the time, I’m the one who looked after you. At least she waited till you were out of the house, but the moment you were, she snapped back into the no-good brat she’s always been!”

Fluttershy turned around in circles, letting out a groan of frustration at all this. But as she returned to the direction of her aunt, she collected herself as best she could and asked, “What are you going to do now? Sell the house? Find a new one? What? Tell me!” Her voice raised a notch. It was quite impressive for the normally shy and introverted girl to do so. Mentally she wondered if all the stress in her life was catching up to her.

“I will be fine… eventually…” Celestia added under her breath. “When I sell the house, it will be barely just enough to keep the school open for a few months. With a few fundraisers, I can get the money to keep the school going and I will find a place of my own; there’s no need to—”

“What if I figured out a way to raise the money without selling the house?”

“Fluttershy, you need—

“I understand why you don’t want my help, but it’s just like you said!” The young woman stomped her heel and stood up straighter. She was nowhere near her aunt’s height, but even so, it was clear she wasn’t backing down. “I’m an adult; I can do whatever I want. So if I want to help find a solution to a school that I very much hold dear in my heart, and a childhood home that has been in the family for years, are you really going to refuse me?” She tilted her head and stepped over to the taller woman by the wall.

Celestia’s eyes widened at the sight of her niece’s confidence. So grown up, so strong. An odd sense of pride and fury developed within her, as she muttered, “You remind me of your mother, and no, not in a good way.” She warned Fluttershy before fixing her own posture off the wall. “Very well, Fluttershy, the house doesn’t go up for sale until the end of July. I need the money by mid-August, so you have till then to scrape up what you can, under one condition!” Her aunt raised a finger. “Not a dime comes from your personal pockets, understand?” She raised an eyebrow at her niece. “You need that money for your own home; there is no need for both of us to go homeless, especially when you have all your pets to think about.”

Fluttershy mulled over her aunt’s request for a moment, but eventually gave a nod, silently agreeing with her, before heading back out the door.

“Where are you going?” Celestia asked, only for Fluttershy to reply, “To figure out how to save my home,” before loudly closing the door on her way out, leaving Celestia utterly speechless. For a moment, she fluttered her eyelids before returning to the letter in her hand that had sat there the entire time. She quickly drew her eyes to the end of it only to read, “Denied city loan.”

With a grumpy sigh, she muttered to herself, “Well, seems I might have lucked out with Fluttershy after all,” before tossing the paper in the trash can by the couch.

…

As she sat in the driver’s seat watching the road, Fluttershy mentally felt exhausted. If not for the fact she was currently not only technically driving a stolen vehicle, since it was Discord’s, she was more than certain she would collapse. Narrowing her eyes, the urge to smoke a joint was only growing stronger with every passing moment. Coming to a stop sign, she brought the car to a halt and mentally gave in for a moment, lowering her head to the steering wheel with a sound of pure defeat from her throat.

Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy raised her head just to check if there was anyone behind her. Luckily, there was no sight at all, which meant she could sit there for a moment or two and try to collect herself. A small, short glance at herself in the rearview mirror caught her attention. For a moment, she closed her eyes to study the woman in the mirror as she often did before. Somehow, she looked even more unrecognizable to herself than when she was a crying mess. Here she was driving a car of all things, when not too long ago, she took her bike everywhere. Not too long ago, she was so fed up with herself that she chose to change for the better. But looking in the mirror now, all Fluttershy could see was a woman way in over her head, with no direction to get herself out of it.

Yet despite this, she noticed there was something in her eyes, something that she longed to be forever and now had achieved: determination. And for a moment, a smile crept onto her face as she said, “At least I have that,” with a partially hearty laugh. One she was surprised she could even produce in a time like this. But when another person could be seen in her mirror, her eyes shot wide as she snapped her head back to find Discord stomping down the street along with Capper, arguing, judging by the look on his face.

…

“Discord, stop! Are you crazy? You can’t do this!” Capper yelled out as he tried to stand in Discord’s path. But with a swipe of his arm, Discord only pushed him aside and continued walking down the sidewalk.

“Shut up, Capper!” he barked as he increased the distance between them.

“Discord…” Capper quickly caught up to him. “If you do this, you’ll be—”

“Hey, what’s going on? What are you doing all the way out here?” asked Fluttershy as she jumped out of the car and jogged over to the boys.

“Oh good, maybe you can talk some sense into him because I sure can’t!” Capper rolled his eyes. “He’s trying to go down to the bank.”

“The bank?” Fluttershy cocked her head to one side, waiting for more.

“If what that kid says is true, then I have no other damn choice!” Discord stomped.

“Really? 'Cause it seems like you’re making a dumb one.” Capper nodded, making Discord turn on his heel to face him. In seconds, he closed the distance between them, his ruby gaze burning with rage.

“Listen here, cat boy!” he snapped, causing Capper to shrink back under Discord’s demanding presence. “I’m fucking responsible for all this shit, and I’m not gonna let this continue any longer.”

“Responsible? But—” Fluttershy tried, only to freeze at his furious gaze.

“That money your mother stole was my bail! Which means that school, your damn house—I’m the reason why you’re losing it!” He growled before letting out a sigh and lowering his head into his hands. “Your mother probably thought that once we were done with Von Horn, I could repay her easily once I was back in charge, but clearly, things didn’t go to plan, and now!” he said, his tone rising back in level with each word. “Now an entire stock of kids will lose their campus because of me. I’m not taking that chance.”

“Why do you care anyway? You never cared about anything but yourself!” Capper shouted sarcastically.

His tone of voice only made Discord’s lips twitch, but he calmly—too calmly—said with a chill in his next words, “Tirek is recruiting children. And sure, while some of those kids are probably going to a better school, how many of them are gonna end up like that kid? A dozen? Two dozen maybe! There are more lives Tirek and Chrysalis will use as cannon fodder. I can’t let that happen again!” He finished with an animalistic snarl, his fangs bared perfectly.

“And you think getting yourself caught is gonna help anything?” Capper retorted, despite the chill he felt, causing his left leg to twitch. His voice was shaky due to fear, but he carried every word with strength. Fluttershy had to admit he was brave for a somewhat cowardly cat type.

“If you go down, even if they don’t recognize you thanks to your disguise, the moment you reveal your identity to the bank teller, the security will arrest you! And most likely, they’re all dirty, working for Tirek! You’ll be playing right into Von Horn's hands.”

“Who said anything about registering?” Discord snapped back.

“What, you’re gonna rob the place?” Capper threw in sarcastically, with a wave of his arm.

“Is it robbing if all I do is take back what is mine? That money belongs to me! And not his little army!”

“Even so, you’re only going to get yourself arrested! No, you can’t do that!” Fluttershy yelled as she stepped in front of him, blocking his path along with Capper.

“Oh yeah? Any bright ideas?” He snapped his jaws at her.

“Not right now, but I’ll think of something!” She paused to take a deep breath and calm down. “I have to think of something before my aunt sells my home. Please, just give me a bit of—”

“You have till the end of this week!” Discord snarled before marching his way to his car. “If you don’t, I’m taking back what’s mine by force if I have to.” With his last words hanging in the air, he sat in the driver’s seat and slammed the door, its sound echoing off the quiet streets they sat in.

Capper let out an exhausted moan as he pulled his hand down his face before joining Discord, leaving Fluttershy to timidly get in the back seat, unsure of what to do next.

…

With the sound of a constant pen clicking that echoed off the quiet, blanket halls of Treehugger's empty living room, Fluttershy sat staring at a document that was as blank as her own mind. It had been four days since this fiasco began, and she now had to save her missing mother and somehow save her childhood home and school, neither of which she had any idea how to do. Her pen clicking only became more constant as she tried to think of an idea.

“Maybe sell chocolate,” she mused, only to realize that even door-to-door chocolate salesmen made very little, even for the cutest of kids, which she was not. Not to mention she needed real cash, not pocket change. What about an event, a show of some kind? Ooh, a concert! Maybe from the band or...” she paused, realizing how many were probably not going to care about a school concert, and instead went back to her clicking as she rested her head on her hand, propped up by her elbow on the table.

Finally, she set down her pen and gave a frustrated groan, followed by an impending sigh, muttering under her breath, “No, that isn’t going to work.”

Growing increasingly tired of looking at the blank screen, her gaze wandered over the room. Despite the constant smell of weed, it was actually a nice little place. Kept up decently, other than the corona shirt or jacket thrown across the couch or floor. There were many musical chimes made to center your aura, whatever that meant, hanging from the ceiling.

Fluttershy didn’t exactly understand everything Treehugger said, but she did like the gentle chimes that came from them when the air from the vent passed through, creating a strangely peaceful tune. She began to wonder if perhaps she should put one or two up at her home just because she liked the sound. There were also dream catchers and little unique trinkets all along the walls. Some more bizarre ones, like a rat tail, butterfly remains, and a stuffed owl, but generally, they were kind of nice to look at among her friend's strange home. In an odd way, the place made her feel more at home than her own apartment, surrounded by her pets, due to the increasingly reminding family dramas.

It was a nice distraction, the room, but as her eyes drew back to the screen in front of her, Fluttershy was pulled right back into the task at hand. She slowly blinked and shook her head a bit, wanting to take a break but knowing time was of the essence. She knew she had no choice but to remain in her spot despite wanting to be anywhere else.

The problem was, the longer she sat there staring at a blank screen, the more her mind began to drift. And drift it did, to one situation she wished she could stop thinking of.

“Discord, oh why does he trouble me so?” she said out loud, remembering what Capper had told her and the awful crimes he committed according to his police file.

With that in mind, her curiosity started to grow, and soon she set down her pen and began typing the name Grogar to find out anything about him.

She remembered something about him; Mr. Grogar, his father, preferring to be called Discord rather than hold his father’s title.

After a few searches, she found the name in a newspaper article from over a decade ago. Reading through it didn’t tell her much.

“Today, the town of Newville is here to accept new constructions of properly owned businesses, funded by some of the most generous taxpayers. With that money, we will see a rise in new factories providing jobs—all thanks to Mr. Rich, who is currently working alongside the city and Mr. Grogar to put together the necessary contracts to ensure our future.”

She then clicked on his name, hoping to find anything more. What came up was little more than your standard personal file.

Lord Lokilius Grogar, born—— died ——, was a perfectionist, construction contractor who built a majority of the buildings in the city, including refurbishing City Hall in —— and contracts under Business Code 4 of the Cheesecake Factory and Car Manufacturer Wheels Are Us.

As she scrolled down his profile, Fluttershy noticed a long list of building constructions he was involved in, and it was nearly all the city except for the housing market. But was this the right Grogar? She remembered Discord saying that Mr. Grogar was his father, back when that one man called him by his name. And she remembered Discord saying that his father was a contractor, but that he also said it was as truthful as his disguise nemesis, Disy. So what was the truth, and how could she get to the bottom of it?

She soon began scouring the entire article, hoping to find a photo of him, only to have her eyes grow wide. There was no mistaking it. Except for his teeth and orange almost volcanic eyes, contrasting with Discord's ruby ones, he was the spitting image of his father. Discord looked so much like him it was nearly uncanny. He wore a bright blue business suit, had a goatee, and wore black gloves. There were some small differences. He wore his hair trimmed short, almost military-like, and looked nice. Even his beard was nicely kept, unlike Discord who kept his as strangely as his own mop head. Other than the small wrinkles here and there, Fluttershy would have mistaken him for his son in an instant. Which only begged the question: How did he die?

But before she could think of this anymore, the sound of a footstep coming down stairs caught her attention, and she looked up to find Bulk holding on to the wall to support himself. Not to mention shirtless.

“Bulk, you shouldn't—”

“I can't lie there all day; it's driving me crazy,” he groaned, thanks to the pain in his neck. “Besides, I'm healing; it's not that big of a deal,” he said, taking a shaky step off the wall.

It was amazing to see such a strong physical being, arguably in top physical state, shiver due to pain. He looked as if not a single person could ever hurt him. But in the end, he wasn't made out of stone. And as he continued to take shaky steps across the floor, Fluttershy could watch in awe and sadness at his physical state.

It wasn't like they knew each other that long. But in the short days, Bulk seemed more like a friend she could lean on for support than anyone. And considering his state, the opposite was increasingly true.

Is there anything to eat? I'm starving, he asked between groans and grunts as he moved his body over to the kitchen.

Yes, there's some peanut butter and jelly; I'll make you a sandwich. She hopped up from the couch and quickly rushed to his side.

She could tell by the annoyed glance she received from him that he didn't like being babied and wanted to get it himself. But since she got to the fridge before him, he didn't argue as she began preparing a snack. Instead, he generally guided his way to the counter and leaned over in wait.

She was about to offer him a seat when he said, “I’ve been lying down for days; it’s nice to finally be on my own two feet again.” He half-groaned the end of his sentence, wiping his forehead. Fluttershy quickly went back to making him a sandwich, and once it was done, she gave it to him on a napkin.

“Let me see your wound?” she asked, not waiting for him to respond. She quickly began to undo his bandages, exposing it to the air. It stung to have it unwrapped, but giving him the ability to move a little more, he didn’t complain as he munched on his sandwich.

The wound itself was now a black and purple bruise, and no blood was coming from it anymore. He was healing quite quickly for a gunshot—a testament to his health, Fluttershy guessed, as she checked it from both sides.

Bulk’s massive neck and shoulders didn’t actually make it easy to see the wound. But to say he was lucky to be alive was an understatement. Had the bullet hit an artery, there would have been little she could do to save him that night. The fact that he never went to a hospital and chose to stay in Treehugger’s home healing made her all the more concerned about it.

“Wish I had some meat in this thing; protein's important, you know,” he grumbled as he tried to flex his arm, hoping to get a giggle out of Fluttershy, who only smiled at his attempts to joke around but turned away and threw the bandages in the trash.

“You should let it get some air for a while. But before you go to bed, it will need to be rebandaged.”

“Your the vet; I’m just the guinea pig,” he replied sarcastically, only to groan when he turned his head too quickly. “So what’s new?” he asked, hoping to have a normal conversation and ignore his pain.

“Not much,” Fluttershy replied, rummaging through the cabinets looking for the painkillers she bought for him. “Just trying to figure out what to do about my old school.”

“Oh yeah, I overheard. So what about the kid, what’s his name?”

“Thorax. We did unbind him, but he is currently spending the night at Capper's. If Thorax goes back to his home now, he might be in worse danger thanks to Chrysalis.”

“Your boss, what’s she like?” he asked just as she found his meds.

“Chrysalis? Oh, she’s…” she paused, thinking of the right words. “… unpleasant,” Fluttershy said with more disdain than she meant to. “She only became a vet for the money and has no heart for animals. That, and she never gets her hands dirty. If an animal comes in sick or injured, she leaves it to me or my coworker to deal with. Other than the initial check-up, she really doesn’t do much at all.”

“She sounds like a piece of work,” Bulk replied, taking the last bite.

“Yes, but working under her has given me the ability to keep an eye on her at least.”

“And?”

“And nothing. Not one thing in her behavior has changed,” Fluttershy rolled her eyes. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.”

With that, Bulk gave a little laugh, only to stop due to the ache. “So what have you thought of to raise that money?”

“Nothing as of yet.” She shrugged. “I have no idea at all what to do, but it has to be big, like a music concert or something, and it can’t just be the kids; it won’t raise

A concert, yeah that won’t do. What about a fair or, or a carnival. I mean a lot of us were carnies back in the day.

Fluttershy’s eyes nearly popped from her skull. With her expression, Bulk could bob his head, which only caused him more pain. “If I wasn’t shot already, I’d be startled for telling you this.” He smiled despite wincing. “That’s how we all met. We were all part of an absolutely terrible carnival—really more of a circus—and we hated every second of it. So when we got the chance to get out, Starlight did so and then did all she could to provide for all of us. That’s actually why her restaurant is so pricey. She bucks and dimes everyone, but I promise you it’s all for a good reason. None of us, including her, even own a house. We’d all be on the streets if not for her. Same with my gym. I tend to nickel and dime people just to help out.”

“Really? Wow, that’s…” Fluttershy was nearly speechless at the story. “That’s actually really sweet. But,” her eyes blinked rapidly, “a carnival? I don’t know if—”

“I bet they would help you; after all, you saved my life. We all owe you for that. And trust me, I think Starlight would accept if you asked her.” Bulk slowly nodded.

“Cou—could you?” she stuttered.

“Yeah… yeah, I could,” he said with a grin spreading across his lips. “On one condition.”

She tilted her head at his remark and waited for more.

“You help me get a date with Trixie.”

“A what?” Fluttershy giggled, making him grow red and lower his head.

“I’ve liked her for years, and…” he turned away, his face growing redder by the moment. “I just nearly died, and, and what if I never got to…” His voice broke as if all the air in his body had been sucked right out of him.

Fluttershy set her hand across her mouth, trying to hold in her laughter. “Sure, if we do this—the carnival—I’ll let you get a chance to spend some time with her, okay?”

“It’s a deal then,” he turned back to her. “I’ll give Starlight a call and we’ll set it up. Hey, the Fourth of July is only a week away! If we have a carnival run all the way through it, you’d make some good cash fast—all we need is a location.”

“I can get permission to use the school grounds; that won’t be an issue. My aunt is the principal, after all.” She replied with a growing warmth in her stomach, bringing her to a sudden and surprising stop. She hadn’t felt anything like hope for weeks now, and this small gesture was as if an entire truck had been lifted from her shoulders. It didn’t take everything away, but it was one less thing to deal with. A growing smile curved her lips, along with a new feeling.

“I’m hungry; do you want another sandwich?” she said, realizing she hadn’t eaten very well in days.

In response, Bulk could only nod as he watched her grab another slice of bread from the pantry.