Here's where you'll find out about the Dragonheart Broken that Garble fears so much. Enjoy!
Ch. 11: What's Dragonheart Broken?
In less than a minute, the Ponies and their boyfriends have reached the side of the river. But when they got there, it wasn't Spike they found. It was Garble, who stood before them with his arms folded across his chest.
"YOU!" Rarity, Twilight, and Rainbow cried in unison. Marvin and Lionwing watched with surprise as their girlfriends and Rarity held up their front hooves to fight the teenage dragon.
"Whoa, Twily," Marvin said, placing a hand on the Unicorn's shoulder to calm her down. "You know him?"
"He's the teenage dragon who tried to hurt Spike," Rainbow yelled before tackling Garble to the ground. "What did you do to him, you creep?!" Lionwing rushed over to them as the teenage dragon struggled while the blue Pegasus held him down by his wings.
"I didn't do anything to Spike!" he protested with a growl. "I swear!"
"Don't you dare lie to me!" Rainbow spatted, raising her hoof to punch him. "Or I swear I'll—"
"Rainbow, calm down!" Lionwing cried, quickly grabbing her hoof. "He could be telling the truth!" She turned to him sharply with a look of shock and disbelief.
"You're not actually buying this, are you?!"
"I'm not entirely sure," he answered, "but it could be possible that Owlicious led us to him." Still not convinced, Rainbow stepped off of Garble who stood up quickly and dusted himself off. As he did, Owlicious flew up to him and landed on his shoulder. Garble didn't flick him off; he wants it to be a sign that he's on the Ponies' side.
"Looks like he was tellin' the truth," Applejack stated.
"Well, duh!" he snapped. "Of course, I was! I may have caused you namby-pamby Ponies some trouble, but I'm no liar!"
"Hey, watch it, kid!" Pyrus snapped, partially offended for Fluttershy. "That's no way to earn a Pony's trust." Garble just rolled his eyes at the older dragon before turning to the Ponies.
"You're right about one thing though," he said to them. "Spike's in trouble, and it's all thanks to that Discord guy."
"DISCORD?!"
"Yeah. He did something to Spike to make him suffer from Dragonheart Broken."
"Dragonheart…Broken?" asked Fluttershy, obviously confused as the others are.
"What's that?" asked Twilight.
"It's a condition that affects dragons between the ages of ten and twelve that have their heart broken by someone they love," Pyrus explained. "When a dragon has his heart broken from seeing his beloved in love with another, breaking up with him, or not returning his love when he confesses it to her, they go through a terrible transformation. They grow bigger and slightly older (probably up to a teenager's age), and they sprout wings from their backs (dragons like Spike only sprout their wings when they reach their teen years). When they do, they go on a rampage and attack those around them, starting with the ones who broke their hearts. If they're not stopped soon before they reached adulthood, they'll start destroying everything in their path as they devour pairs of lovers."
"Spike would never do such a thing!" Rarity cried angrily. "He has too good of a heart!"
"Well, that good heart of his is broken because of either you or Discord," Garble stated with a glare.
"What are ya talkin' 'bout?" demanded Applejack.
"Well, either Rarity shot him down when he told her how he felt about her," the teenage dragon answered, "or Discord tricked him into think it. Discord's most likely the culprit 'cuz Dragonheart Broken said nothing about the infected becoming gray in color."
"Definitely Discord," the others replied in unison.
"Isn't there a way to save him?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"The only way to save him before he reaches adulthood," Garble answered, "is if the one he was in love with heals his broken heart. That, or if someone else who's in love with him does so."
"And if that doesn't happen by the time he reaches adulthood?" asked Fluttershy, afraid of the outcome. In answer, Garble ran a claw across his neck to indicate death, causing the others to gulp fretfully.
"Then we better hurry," Lionwing replied. "Where is he?"
"He's with the rest of the gang," Garble answered, "by a cave at the outskirts of Winsome Falls. I can show you the quickest way there."
"There's just one thing I want to ask first," Twilight replied. "How did you know about Spike being in trouble?" Garble hesitated but answered, not wanting to loose their trust.
"He said that he can help us get Spike back into the gang. I agreed with it, and in return, he…had us help him capture your princess."
"WHAAAT?!" He fell back at their outburst before holding his hands up in protest.
"I didn't know he was going to fool Spike, I swear!" he cried. "I just wanted Spike back into the gang!"
"Why would you want that after what happened with the phoenix egg scenario?" demanded Rainbow.
"He may have been raised by you girls," he then said a little firmly, "but he's still a dragon! And…we missed our little Rookie Dragon, and he was starting to be like…a little brother to me…" Rainbow's face softened when he said that last part reluctantly.
"A little brother?"
"Well, wasn't he to you?" he asked more calmly. "I just…wanted the Spike I knew before back. The one who stood up to me when he refused to smash the egg." The others looked at each other and nodded, believing that Garble has learned his lesson and has shown that he cares about Spike after all.
"Don't worry nutin', par'ner," Applejack said to him. "We'll save faster than you can say, 'Apple fritter on a fryer'!"
"E-yup," Big Mac concurred. Garble smiled in reply.
"Thanks," he mumbled.
"Thank us when we save Spike, mon ami," Peter replied as those without wings climbed onto the backs of those with wings. With a nod of determination, Garble took off with the others right behind him, leading them to Winsome Falls with hopes of saving Spike.