Chapter 2: A Thief's Heart

Grayback and Fluttershy walked into the kitchen of SugarCube Corner to talk amongst themselves. Fluttershy had been very surprised by the griffon's request to talk with her alone but she didn't think that she was in any danger. She knew that Grayback was a criminal but she also knew that he wouldn't do anything that could jeopardize his temporary freedom. She also knew that Gilda and the others were only a room away if she were to be in any danger. Fluttershy sat down at the lone small table in the room with Grayback and she politely waited for him to speak.

Grayback cleared his throat nervously as he stared at Fluttershy. The black and brown griffon was quite nervous about the situation he was in. Even he couldn't figure out why he had wanted to talk with Fluttershy so desperately. He didn't care what any of the other ponies thought of him so why should Fluttershy be any different? Yet when he looked at the yellow pegasus he couldn't help but feel strange. He noticed how beautiful her flowing pink mane looked as well as how pretty her eyes were.

Come on Grayback. he scolded himself. Get a grip man. You were a ladies' man before. You had griffons melting at the sight of you back in Grifforia. You can handle talking to one pegasus.

"So umm Grayback." Fluttershy began rather timidly in her usual quiet tone of voice as she stared at the griffon before her. It was clear that she was a bit scared of Grayback. "Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well I just want to talk." Grayback said to her in an unusually nervous tone. "I just want to get to know you."

"Oh." Fluttershy replied in a surprised tone. "Well I love animals. I love taking care of them and making them happy."

"Really?" Grayback asked with genuine interest. He was very curious to hear more about the yellow pegasus that was sitting with him. "What kind of animals?"

"Oh all kinds." Fluttershy replied as she smiled a bit. "Squirrels, rabbits, mice, and all others. I love all types of animals and I want to take care of them as best as I can."

"Well that's cool." Grayback said. "I guess you know that I'm just a thief."

Fluttershy looked a bit nervous as she nodded. She knew what Grayback was like and yet she couldn't help but talk to him. She felt like Grayback was similar to Discord in that both had some good in them. Fluttershy kept talking and part of her hoped that she might help Grayback find the good that she knew was somewhere inside of him.

"Grayback?" Fluttershy began timidly. "Do you mind me asking why you're a thief?"

The jet black griffon was a bit shocked by the pegasus' question. He tried to think of an answer but to his surprise he couldn't find one. Why was he a thief? Why did he choose to live a life of crime instead of choosing something more respectable? He looked Fluttershy in the eyes and once again found himself distracted by her beauty. While Fluttershy wasn't like Rarity she had a sort of appearance about her that Grayback found extremely attractive. He realized that the yellow pegasus was waiting patiently for his response so he just began talking.

"Well I guess it started when Gilda attacked me." he told Fluttershy. "I hated her for it."

"Because of the scar?" Fluttershy asked. "Couldn't they have healed it?"

Grayback shook his head in response. Not a single griffon had been able to heal the scar that Gilda had given him.

"It's 'cause she messed up my looks." Grayback said. "I had griffons that were head over paw in love with me. Once I got that scar they looked at me like I was some kind of ugly monster."

Grayback didn't know why he was opening up to Fluttershy so willingly. He had never said anything like this before in his life. He had never told anyone anything about his personal life. Even Psyke, Monochrome, and Chunker knew very little about him. The griffons back in Grifforia treated him badly once he lost his good looks but he had never admitted that to a single living soul. Why was he talking to Fluttershy like this?

What is wrong with me? Grayback thought furiously. I'm spilling my guts out to a total stranger. This isn't like me. Why can't I just keep my beak shut? So what she's pretty? She's still an enemy.

Fluttershy however was listening intently to Grayback's story. She looked quite sad when she had heard how he had been rejected by his former admirers all because of a scar on his face.

"I'm sorry Grayback." Fluttershy whispered sadly.

"Sorry?" Grayback asked in a stunned tone. "Why are you sorry?"

"Because you didn't deserve to be hurt like that." Fluttershy told him. "I never knew that you were rejected so badly."

The duo sat in silence for a while as Grayback mulled the pegasus' words over. He was extremely surprised at how Fluttershy seemed to sympathize with him. Any other pony in the town would have said that Grayback had gotten what he had deserved for insulting Gilda. After a few moments of being silent, Grayback continued to speak.

"After a month or so I started to change." he told Fluttershy. "I lost my looks and turned into this." he gestured to his dark body and his red highlights. "I felt like a monster so I guess I became one."

"Oh my." Fluttershy whispered. "That's awful."

"Yeah and that's why I started being a criminal." Grayback told her. "I met the others and we started our own gang of thieves. We took what we wanted and attacked anyone that got in our way. I didn't care what anyone thought of me."

Grayback explained how he had gone through towns and enjoyed the fear that was on the faces of the ponies he and his team robbed. He started to truly like being a criminal. When he went to Ponyville he knew that he'd find Gilda. He explained how he had attacked the town in an attempt to get Gilda to show herself. Then he would give her a scar just like the one she had given him. A moment of silence passed before Grayback decided to speak again.

"Fluttershy." Grayback began. "Why are you acting so nice?"

"Is there something wrong?" Fluttershy asked anxiously.

"I thought you hated me." Grayback said.

"I could never hate anypony." Fluttershy said. "I think everyone has good in them. You helped us during the war."

"I was saving my own hide as much as yours." Grayback replied. "I wasn't being a hero. I was just looking out for myself and that just happened to include helping you."

"But you still helped us." Fluttershy insisted. "You aren't a monster. I think you just need a friend."

Grayback's eyes widened a bit as he listened to Fluttershy. He would never admit it to anyone but he had been quite lonely during his time as a thief. He may have had his teammates but they were more like business partners rather than friends. They had very little conversation that didn't involve planning a heist or some other crime. Grayback had barely ever talked to the others. He kept to himself, he only spoke when he needed to and he kept his comments as brief as he possibly could.

"You mean you want to be my friend?" Grayback asked in a quiet voice.

"I think I do yes." Fluttershy told him with a smile on her face. "Everyone deserves to have a friend in their lives."

Grayback was completely stunned at what he was hearing. He couldn't believe that Fluttershy actually wanted to be his friend. He gave the yellow pegasus a small hug and then the duo returned to the party and began to dance with each other, much to the surprise of the other ponies in the room. Nopony could believe that Fluttershy was dancing with a criminal. Her friends were definitely stunned by what they were seeing. Fluttershy however smiled happily as she danced with Grayback as his eyes changed to a different shade of brown.