//------------------------------// // Into the World // Story: A Griffon Named Gilda // by Hodd //------------------------------// Mr. Adams was in the middle of a lecture when the unsteady crackling of the PA system flooded the room. "Gilda to the Director's office please." Gilda let out a groan before making her way out the door. Great, she thought. What'd I do this time? She made her way through the winding hallways, navigating turn after turn, finally finding the Director's (Warden's) Office. Without knocking, she pushed the door open, and strode inside. "Okay, what'd I do this time?" she asked the Warden sarcastically. The Warden observed the griffon through the small circular spectacles situated just at the end of her snout. "As you know, Gilda," she began. "This orphanage has a policy, and that is that only children are to be taken care of." Gilda raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, so?" The Warden sighed. "So, I'm afraid today you're legally an adult. We have no choice but to send you off." Gilda took on a look of complete disbelief. "But, but I'm only sixteen!" "Exactly. The legal age for a pony to count as an adult in society is sixteen years old. I'm afraid you must pack your things and leave." Gilda raised her arms in a shrug of incredulous disbelief. "So what? You're just going to throw me out on the street? Where am I supposed to go? And why was I the only one picked? I mean what about some of the other ponies? Some of them are at least seventeen!" "The other ponies? You say that as if you were one of them, griffon. This isn't about the 'other ponies.' This is about you. I'm telling you that you need to leave." Gilda was shocked at the blatant prejudice. "Well then how am I supposed to make money? How am I supposed to survive?" The Warden raised one eyebrow in complete indifference. "Ponyville might have some job offerings. Check there. Now, if we are done here, I have other business to attend to." The utter lack of empathy was like a punch in the gut. Gilda had lived here her entire life, and now, just like that, they up and dump her out on the street. "Fine!" she screamed, enraged by the Warden's complete lack of compassion. "See if I care! Who would want to live in this shit hole of a place anyway!? I'm outta here!" With that, Gilda walked through the doorway, and slammed it behind her, the loud thud echoing through empty hallways. She soon found her way to the front doors. With a heavy sigh, she opened them and stepped outside. It was her first real venture into the world. The sunlight struck her face as she flew out to the street. She touched down, and skulked away towards the nearest town, Ponyville, and a place where they had once taken a field trip. Her anger slowly subsided, and morphed into apprehension. The sneer on her face fell into a defeated frown. "Well what do I do now?" she asked out loud, still approaching the city limits of the small hamlet. Her thoughts soon drifted to her surroundings. Everything was so different from the orphanage. Each person had their own house! She could hardly believe her eyes. So much space, and yet she had nowhere to go. She made her way into the center of town, eying a bulletin board covered in posters, advertising different events. Her eyes fixated on one poster in specific. Junior Speedster Flight School! Now enrolling! Features include: -High Speed Flight Practice! -A Chance to Meet the Wonderbolts! -Free Food and Accommodation! =Free for a limited time!= *First sessions start in Cloudsdale tomorrow!* It was the last several bullets that caught her attention. "Huh," she said out loud. "Free accommodation and meals? Well, it's my best shot. Hmm, in Cloudsdale tomorrow, perfect!" Cloudsdale was always visible from her window at the orphanage, and she'd always wanted to go, so an opportunity like this was to good to pass up. She reared up, ready to take off, when a light red earth pony approached her. "Um, excuse me," he said. "Could you help me with something?" Gilda scoffed. "No way, dude, I've got somewhere to be!" And with that, she was off to Cloudsdale. The journey to Cloudsdale was easy enough, only slight turbulence disturbed her still relatively undeveloped flying skills. On the horizon she was able to make out the cumulous structures that Cloudsdale was composed of. The designated location for the flight camp, a large open clouded area filled with obstacles and flags was easily noticeable. She descended into the small congregation of ponies collected at what appeared to be the gathering place. She touched just outside the crowd, noticing a definite apprehensive and even fearful reaction from the ponies. Typical, she thought to herself. Scaredy ponies always too terrified to talk to the griffon. Her scornful thoughts were interrupted by the fast approach of a rainbow colored pegasus. "Hi," she said happily. "What's your name?" Gilda cocked her head, not used to the sudden introduction. "What," she said. "You're not going to call me a freak, or weird, or a mutt?" The brightly colored pegasus turned her head in confusion, and let a small playful laugh out. "Why would I do that? Griffons are pretty awesome!" Gilda was surprised at the fact that this stranger knew what a griffon was in the first place, not to mention the outgoing introduction she had given. The pegasus broke the silence once again. "Soooooo, like I said, what's your name?" A strange glow seemed to irradiate from the rainbow pegasus. Gilda let out a small laugh. "I'm Gilda." The pegasus smiled once again at her. "Awesome! I'm Rainbow Dash!" The two laughed softly. "You know what? I think we're gonna be pretty awesome friends," Rainbow Dash said, putting a foreleg around Gilda. Friends... That word bounced around inside her head again. She let a content smile show. She may have been alone only hours earlier, but she had already made a friend, and she wasn't about to let this one go without a fight.