Gilda was up with a shot, only to tumble back down onto the bed feeling exhausted. She blinked a few times, putting a claw to her face. Despite her head spinning, she quickly remembered where she was.
This was Fluttershy’s house again. Despite feeling shaken, she got herself up, still holding her head.
“I’m sick of these nights…” she said to no one.
“I know, because I was there.” When she heard that, Gilda let out a sigh, not even looking to see the speaker. She just shook her head, with “The Snark” was now in the room with her.
“What do you want?” Gilda moaned to the white, red stained pony.
“I’m sure they are still sleeping, so lets talk. Like the normal people do, huh?” the Snark explained as the griffon just sighed again, looking down. “Come on, be a sport!” She still wasn’t looking at him. “Oh don’t be like those deniers. Like those stupid little upstart ponies you hate.”
The p word had Gilda’s attention, she looked to him at last. The Snark had somehow moved, he now sat in that reading chair with a serious look.
“You will never believe, little bird, just how many thoughts creatures will deny having,” he added as he looked back at her. “If only to feel they are the better person then everypony else. It’s all so...illusionary, not even real as you put it.” He paused to smile, showing his blackened teeth, not as blue as before.
Gilda said nothing, she only moaned at that.
“Yeah, whatever…” was the best she came up with as she just sat on her bed.
“But you already knew that, right?” the Snark said as he got up, walking over to her without a sound. “A good pony cannot be wrong, that just what they believe after all. And if it could be wrong, it was a bad pony after all. It’s so hard to admit for them, but they were so honest back in my day,” he sighed with an air of nostalgia, but went back to the matter at hand. “So, what went wrong?”
He next sat next to Gilda on her bed. While the griffon just looked away again, and he again put a hoof on her shoulder. “They lie to themselves more than you do little bird, and that’s saying something!” He pointed a joking hoof at her chin with a chuckle.
“So?” Gilda muttered with a depressed look, and feeling more heavy. “What of it? You are just repeating stuff I already knew, so what?” He pulled her head up with a grin.
“So why should you accept this?” he said with a shrug to Gilda’s shaken face. “You’ve had enough ideas for things to do, and I’d like to help. Simple as that.”
“And what?” Gilda replied, promptly pushing his hoof away. “I heard enough stories to know this stuff isn’t free.”
The Snark got up, and began trotting a circle by the bed.
“You were already forfeit, you’ve been around long enough to know that,” he said, looking to her as he trotted. “And besides…” He was now in front of her, pointing a claw back, now without humor. “The game is already on little bird, no backing out now.” While GIlda just remembered that game, it didn’t help her mood. “Besides, remember what happens when you lose.”
She quickly knew what he was talking about, with or without that feeling of a claw around her heart. The glow coming off the white pony made it more clear.
“If you know what I’m thinking, then you already know I’m sick of being jerked around…” Gilda grimly noted. Despite real fear, she was still angry.
The Snark gave her a playful nudge and a chuckle. “I got powers!” he said like a someone with free candy. “Enough to fix all your problems easy like!”
“Like what?” Gilda seemed more interested, even kind of hopeful for a bit. “How are you fixing this then?”
“First things first, let’s head outside,” the Snark uttered, and in a flash he was at the window, lifting it open. “And lets get to that second rule of our little game, the fun one It’s a simple dare, so just follow my lead and things will go smoothly.”
“And what…” While Gilda had a concern, he knew already what she was going to ask.
“The little ponies are asleep, G.” he reassured. “They won’t find you if you go this way,” he then added, slipping outside. “I’ll see you at the orchard.”
With a “whatever” shrug, Gilda left out the window. Soon she was well into the sky.
The town was quiet to fly over, all the ponies at home asleep. But the best part, for Gilda, was that she felt she was flying free again. After being stuck indoors for months, or it felt that way to her, the griffon realized she had missed flight.
Gilda did a few tricks with a smile on her face. She even found herself laughing with joy for a moment, not even minding the light snow and cold breeze in her face at the moment.
“Get to these damn apple trees!” wherever “The Snark” was, that yell gave the griffon a jolt.
Gilda let out a grumble. No matter what, she was still playing by some rules. In a flash she flew to the orchard where her “friend” was waiting, being a bit of a killjoy now.
“Glad you could make it.” was his sarcastic response, stepping out from behind a tree. Quickly his unpleasantness left, going back to his gleeful self. “Now, let’s get a starter going for you.” While Gilda had to wonder what this meant, she felt a sudden chill in her blood.
“The heck?” Gilda muttered back, feeling the first sharp pain in her paws and claws. Soon even her guts felt frozen in ice.
“Ah, right, I skipped a bit!” the Snark said, rubbing his head absent laugh. His smile was absent to the griffon’s displeasure “I know you’ve felt it though, that chill in you. When you just want to see red, or black, and just let it go.” He trotted to her, not even crushing the snow he walked upon.
“What is with you creeps and trying to get into my head?” Gilda replied with a pained moan, clutching at her arm in an attempt to get it warm again.
“Like with stinkey pie, and the firm but fair dictatorship of bumble fly?” the Snark mocked back, flicking his now sharp muzzle with his now clawed hoof. “Now my game is all a matter of goals, progression, and getting strong enough to fight back against all your enemies.”
“Sounds fun...” Gilda added with a grim outlook. She now couldn't feel the cold, like it left her body. Now she just felt hot. “Except for the part with you sounding like a looney.” Despite Gilda’s mockery, the Snark still looked gleeful, causing her to face claw. “How are you going to get me that powerful anyway?” she asked.
“Like I said…” the Snark was now next to her again, catching her off guard. “I can help you, give you control. But first…” He jabbed a hoof into her chest. “You have to show me! Give it a go for me would you?”
“How the heck do you…?!” was Gilda’s word on it before she choked. She didn’t feel off, she felt something else.
“Just let go,” he said then with a rare serious tone with a claw in the air, arcing with energies. “Let that truth flow out!” Gilda could feel her flesh expand with power as he spoke. “The ponies lie to each other, to keep that one simple thing away.” The griffon let out a mighty roar that shook the trees. “And now, you know it well,” he added.
Things got weird for Gilda. But everything looked so breakable, frail to her. She slammed her claw into the ground, sending snow and even topsoil flying skyward. Even the winds seemed to move with her, bowing to he will. All she needed was a reason now.
“See that tree over there?” the Snark said, now out of view but the only clear sound she could hear. The weather was storming, even worse that last time, as the wind drowned out any other sound. “Hit it like it had my face on it.”
Gilda saw that her claws were now covered with ice, sharp and spiked. She saw that tree in question, the Snark leaping behind it, and took a fast swing at it. It exploded, much of it in splinters.
“Good, good, now we’re making real progress!” the Snarks voice said with pride, now next to her again. Her next swing was at him directly, or where he wasn’t now. “Oh, that’s the spirit, G!” the Snark added with joy, and in an instant his form was beyond several more trees. “Now come here, let nothing stand in your way!”
She didn’t, and the weather seemed to follow her rampage. The wind blew fast enough to break of the weaker branches of what still stood as snow fell rapidly around her.
Everything was in a clear view with nothing distracting her. More broken trees later, crashed through or blown over by the force. She could see the Snark drift off into a barn in the middle of those trees. He looked delighted to the sound of breaking lumber.
“This way now, you’ll love this next part,” he said, still in her head.
Gilda got there, faster than she knew how, like she had the wind at her back.
Within that barn was several baskets, barrels, and big containers of apples. Enough to feed a town and it’s parties, parties she would never see. She snarled at that thought.
“Now, let it all free,” the Snark said with that smile again, his body wavy and arms to his sides, inches from the storm brewing from within her. “Every ounce of that fury, now! Like the force of a storm, let me have it.”
And so she did.
The blast shook the barn, even leaving an impression in the dirt floor, and blowing the doors off behind her. Gilda stood there breathing heavily, looking at her actions. Everything around her was covered with a sheet of black colored ice.
“How…?” she wheezed with surprise. Gilda felt like her mind skipped a beat, and her senses muddled. “That was…” she added as she took a few more breaths. The rush she had felt had left her for now, and she already missed it.
“Now you be careful with that power,” said the Snark, unhurt, and of normal pony size. “Good things can only last so long.”
Gilda felt her legs about to fall out from under her, but was wide awake with a quick jab. The white pony looked serious, even adding an extra hoof to keep her up.
“Come, come now,” he said. “We have one last dare to do for the night. And even you know not to stay for long after a prank, right?” Gilda got herself movie, not looking long at her handy work as she flew away.
“Now,” Much to the griffon’s surprise, the Snark was flying as well. Soaring without wings attached beside her. “We just need to go to that carrot patch not far away.”
“And then what?” Gilda asked, still feeling some of that adrenaline kick in her body still, she felt ready for anything.
“Oh, you’ll see.” The Snark faded out of view, vanishing like smoke.
Gilda took off, following with interest, and she was soon at said carrot farm.
“That ice you just lay down was a good piece of work ,” the Snark said, appearing out of nowhere near Gilda after she landed. “Black ice, it’s colder than cold. You could encase a tree in that, and it would die of frostbite in minutes.” He began to chuckle again, giving Gilda another playful jab. “You’d have to set it on fire to save it. It’s a riot!”
Regardless, and despite the power trip, Gilda was feeling annoyed again. “So, you want me to rush you again?” she asked.
“Oh, no no no,” the white pony said calmly, patting her back in a friendly way. “That takes up way too much of our, I mean your strength.”
“So what do you want me to do then?” the griffon said with a shrug. “This is your stupid game.”
“I know that they have a nice storage shed, full of nice carrots here,” the Snark said. “We just need to ruin it.” He pointed to a shack not far away.
“How?” Gilda asked as she held up a claw. “I’m already kinda spent from icing that barn.”
“Well, let’s take a look see.” He led her to the shack, gesturing her to the door. “Just remember your victory is needed. Life or death after all, you know?” The griffon pushed the door open. “Seem we got some of the fireworks for that little party at the end of the week here.” He looked back to her with glee, his smile enough to make Gilda wonder what kind of jaw he had. “Let’s get the matches.”
“Woah, we’re setting that place on fire?!” Gilda said with worry. Arson was a bit new, even for her.
“It’s not like you haven’t ruined anything before,” the Snark said, motioning to a small cart in the shack. “Why stop now?” He could see the griffon still looked unsure. “Oh, I know, first time jitters. It always starts that way, but in time it gets as natural as breathing.”
It was then Gilda felt that kick wear off, taking stock of the fact she had just smashed an orchard and iced over a barn. Things sunk in, and the griffon was now in a panic.
“How would this be natural?” she said with some shock. “This feels nuts!”
“Why would it not, little bird?” the pony said with a wave of his withering claw, the talons thin as ribs. “It’s not like you had a choice, with or without heart failure to worry about consequences.”
Gilda still felt hesitant, so he guided her to the cart with a gentle cold nudge.
“Believe me when I tell you, some things never change,” the Snark said as he guided the griffon. “Even if it meant the ruination of someone, it won't.” Glida still felt down as he guided her. “It just stays stagnant, lying when it says it cares about people they never cared for in the first place.”
“They have established their rules of fate and favor, what they choose to believe can say a lot on what they won't compromise,” he continued. “What they think of for evil for instance, perhaps?” He gestured her to push the cart as he continued alongside the griffon. Gilda, feeling no choice, began to push.
“You think you already know what it means to be someone's enemy?” the Snark kept talking, as Gilda felt less and less will to argue. “To be hated so hard? They can invalidate any belief of good you could ever have? Then you become an object then, an undesirable to be rid of forever. Just thrown away like filth.”
Gilda shivered as he kept going. At some point, she struggled to push the cart. She didn’t want to let herself cry, it never helped.
“Your victories will burn for them, and your suffering deserved time and again.” His tone became more cutting. “It’s what they want out of you now and you are sick of it.” The griffon stopped, glancing over to the smirking white pony, as she was tired of this talk. He knew it, but went on. “Even I know how good it feels to have someone to unite against, but is it unite or gang up little bird?”
“So what are you getting at?” Gilda asked, weak, angry, and feeling depleted. “So I’m freaking miserable from these ponies and the crud they do to me. AND?!” she yelled back.
“Because it doesn't really doesn’t matter to them, after all they only think they are the good guys!” the Snark yelled back. “And I’m here, as the best friend you could ever have. The friend that’s going to really help you, and not just give a mountain of false promises that they want to help.”
The white pony was in her face now, his calm blue eyes looking into her trembling yellow ones.
“What we do from now on?” he said, his voice clear and cheerful. “Is that we take them down every peg we can find they have. Then see how funny they find it, hum?”
The griffon stood there for a moment, the freak had a point. These ponies had it coming now.
She pushed the cart, now feeling much better. It was like a new fire had been lit inside, keeping her warm in the cold night. The ponies weren't going to hold her down anymore.
“Now that’s when you really get a chance to take stock on things to a larger level,” the Snark continued with Gilda no longer feeling upset with his rant. “We realize, in an objective way, that they only got in our way. Like a wall, that won’t allow you to move it.”
“For sorts like you and me, it's a simple riddle,” he finished, with Gilda only feeling more of a cheerful grin to her beak. “Do you want to writhe on the ground as they kick you? Or hurt them? Take what they enjoy, like they did with you? And make them suffer for every nasty thing they ever put you through. They will know, only then, you were the wrong bird to cross.”
That did it, Gilda felt much better, better than she ever knew. The confidence that had been fizzled out for so long lit back up.
“Where do I find a match?” she said with a happy growl.
The Snark looked overjoyed, happily throwing the festive fire starters into the cart, and more than happy to help her as she pushed the cart load back to the farm’s carrot storage shed.
Gilda struck the match and watched it burn in her claw. “Here’s to a happy partnership, G,” the Snark said with pride. “Now this is the cool stuff!”
Somepony is going to hate to see the aftermath of this, Gilda thought. That apple barn was a foggy, frozen mess, and now the carrot shed was a fireball. The pair quickly returned back to Fluttershy’s home, but the night was still young though for the griffon.
“There,” Gilda said with some relief. “I did it, so what now?”
“You should take a breather, after all you did good, very good job indeed,” the Snark said with a low chuckle. “You should rest as we ponder our next move.”
“How?” she asked, cracking her neck and claws. “I’m already on edge for all this. So why stop now?”
“Well, we’ve made a mark that’s for sure. little bird,” the Snark replied with a smile. “But even you know when to lay low right?”
“I’m near town, so how do I hide?” Gilda asked, her claw up. “Or you got a plan for that too?”
“Indeed,” he added. “I do.”
It was then Gilda saw his body begin to drift, no longer feeling like being solid again. His hooves were only simple shapes of such and his black mane now became more white, much like his eyes now.
“Love’s funny that way.” Gilda could hear, distorted in her ears.
And that was when a loud wail sounded.
Gilda felt like she was hearing a piercing shriek echoing from inside her head. She looked pleadingly at the Snark, who no longer even had a face or even a body.
A shapely mass that looked like a pony’s shape made from the air stood there. It looked in her direction as that sound still played. Mist swirled off it’s form as the griffon held her head, only then finding it was in vain.
The pain was disorienting and her body crumbled, writhing on the floor. She couldn't even tell she was screaming now as the griffon soon passed out from the suffering.