Fluttershy looked a bit less worried when she came down, much unlike Gilda was.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting.” Shy said as she got back to her desk.
“Yeah…” Gilda simply agreed with a sigh.
“I know this might seem kind of sudden, but can I ask you about something?” Fluttershy could see the clear depression in the griffon’s eyes. “Please?” she asked kindly.
“What?” Gilda pulled a claw down her face with a grumble.
“Can I ask about your connection to Diamond Tiara?” Shy asked, and Gilda grit her teeth for a moment, saying nothing. She seemed oblivious, but gave her time. “I’m just curious, that’s all. I’m glad you are helping her, that is nice of you to…” she added carefully.
“Stop,” Gilda said stoically.
“Is this a difficult subject?” Dr. Shy caught on.
“Kinda, yeah,” Gilda answered back.
“Ok…” Fluttershy said as she nodded, looking like she still wanted to ask. “Um, is there a reason?” A pause. “Maybe why it’s difficult?”
“The kid is a pampered pony who thinks she’s all that,” Gilda replied simply. “That bothers me. It bothers me, a lot.”
“I see,” Dr. Shy noted again. “She’s lived in Ponyville for much of her life, and from one of the richer families. She’s kinda difficult, and has more than once...caused trouble.”
“So?” Gilda shrugged.
“Well…” Shy began, looking like she was treading ice. “I’m just wondering why you wanted to help her.”
Gilda felt like she was repeating herself. “Because her life sucks, the kid was a wreck, and well….I felt bad for her, ok?” she said, feeling strained. “Next thing is she’s all clingy. And...she sounds like a lamer version of me…” She looked down at that part.
“Um, oh….” Fluttershy looked a bit shocked at that statement. “That’s an interesting point,” She had a nervous smile, which wasn’t helping the upset griffon.
“More painful to me,” Gilda added. “At least with the other stuff going on.”
“Is that why you want her to…” Shy was about to ask the obvious question, so Gilda cut her off
“If it’s about that invite thing….” she grumbled back. “I know she’s not in the same pit I’m in, and she doesn’t have a ex-friend weighing her down, ok? So, just drop it.”
“O-oh ok,” Dr. Shy replied, a bit shaken by Gilda’s anger on the subject. “But, it’s not about that. It’s more…” Fluttershy tried to find the wording. “Do you want her to be happy?”
“Define happy,” Gilda replied looking at her claw. “I found out she wanted me for a mom.” Fluttershy looked downright flabbergasted by that, not even blinking as she dropped her pen in shock “That’s kind of how I took it too, yeah.” Gilda added with some enjoyment to the shock she caused.
Shy shook it off, or at least tried too. “I-I guess you m-made quite an impact on her.” she said. “That’s something to-”
“Be proud about, yeah,” Gilda finished for the pony. “Can we stop this now?”
“Er, ok,” Fluttershy replied. “Believe it or not, she has few friends she hold to that degree. More or less, and…”
Gilda, again interrupted. “You suddenly want me to be excited to be some kind of BFF or something?” Dr. Shy looked like she was unsure what to say on that. “Besides, can we go back a bit? That whole windigo thing?”
“I said I’d look into it later so….” Shy said clearly, and Dr. Fluttershy was likely to dodge it again. More than likely asking about other things the griffon did not feel like talking about.
So, Gilda dropped the thing. She dropped it hard.
“He had me mess up the town,” she said as direct as she could.
“What?” Fluttershy said in a surprised, low voice.
“He had me-mess up-the town,” Gilda answered again, much slower. “I burnt the tree, smashed the tables, and ruined the apples.” She let out a deep breath as she finished. “There I said it, now do something.”
Dr. Shy just sat there in shock again, not even blinking for a moment. That shock then became a rumble, a rumble the griffon could feel in her feathers, causing a few to stand upright like they just started arcing electricity.
Fluttershy’s eyes narrowed and her teeth clenched as a hoof met the desk with a thump. Gilda figured she was about to be yelled at, and braced herself for the coming fury. But, notably, didn’t come in the way she expected.
Shy let out a breath, calm as could be in an impartial voice. “Explain,” she asked, her voice still low. “Please tell me about this, Gilda.”
“I’ll tell you the parts I can, ok?” Gilda replied quickly. Shy just looked at her, not saying anything. “I saw the guy, but I didn’t know what he was. He told me about a game, even showed me he could stop my heart.”
She paused to see if the pony was at least understanding this. But Fluttershy still had that serious look, not even moving. Still not speaking, with her hooves crossed and an angry look.
“He showed up at times, mocking me and being annoying,” Gilda continued nervously. “Then he had me do some stuff, that’s when I got to breaking things in town. He kept telling me why I should so…”
“Did he kept telling you he would kill you?” Fluttershy asked in a serious tone, not even raising her voice.
Gilda signed, as this really wasn’t going to end well.
“That, and…remember that thing you said about getting under skin?” Gilda asked and Dr. Shy only nodded. “He know’s me, what’s going on in my head.” She wasn’t even sure how to word the rest, but she tried. “He kept telling me I’m just…” She needed a word. “...Lame to you guys. Like you guys would never really accept me. He told me you guys deserve what I did because you wanted only to punish me.”
Shy’s face seemed to soften a bit. At least enough to give Gilda the feeling she wasn’t going to fight another angry pegasus this week, and likely breaking the desk next.
“Do you regret it?” Fluttershy asked suddenly, catching the griffon off guard. “Not fear the consequences of this, Gilda. Do you regret it?”
“Can’t it be both?” Gilda answered with a question, with a poor bit of humor that the pony was unimpressed by, causing her to gulp from that look she was being given. “I got to the really good regret stage when that steam carriage blew up,” Gilda continued, and Shy just noted things down as she spoke. “With all the screams I heard, this stuff has me freaked out, ok? And from what he tells me, he’s going to do worse.”
The griffon paused then. She knew one other part, and even she was scared to speak of that. But somehow, that pegasus’ gaze was making her feel like telling it.
“How do you know, Gilda?” Fluttershy asked in monotone.
“He…” Gilda about whimpered, and gulped again. “He was there back in the north,” she said with a scared look. “The guard ponies…” she tried to say, but she trembled and was unable to speak.
“Other ponies reported what happened was from a wild animal attack,” Dr. Shy replied. “Are you saying he caused it?”
At that point the griffon broke.
“He used my body,” Gilda cried out as she broke down. “He’s a killer!” Fluttershy’s eyes leapt up from being narrow for a moment, looking fearful. “I don’t wanna be a monster!” she sobbed. “I wanted to be cool! I wanted to be awesome, not some monster that...”
Gilda couldn't find her way to finish that sentence, she just cried then.
“How will he destroy the town, Gilda?” Dr. Shy asked as she wrote quickly, looking back to the crying griffon with worry. But Gilda was unable to answer, her claws were over her face as she continued to sob.
The pegasus got up from her chair, quickly making her way to the couch Gilda was in. A bit without warning, she gave the griffon a hug which caused Gilda to yelp.
“You're not a monster, Gilda,” Fluttershy said soft and firmly as she held on. “You are a griffon.”
It was quiet for a moment as the griffon calmed down. “If you were a monster you wouldn't feel regret for any of this.” Shy used a hoof, to help the teary griffon look her in the eye. “So remember, you aren’t a monster, ok?”
“Y-yeah, s-sure,” was Gilda’s best reply.
“Can you tell me how he planned to destroy the town, Gilda?” Shy asked again.
“He told me we softened the town up, then his army rolls in today,” Gilda ended breathlessly.
Shy returned to that business look, jotting down more info on her desk and not saying anything else.
“You believe me at all?” Gilda asked, holding her head. “Or am I just in more trouble?”
“I don’t know right now,” Fluttershy replied, not looking up from her desk. “I need to get Discord here and tell him about this.”
The griffon sighed sadly then. The good news was something might be done to stop the coming storm. Bad news was everything else that came from her confession.
For obvious reasons, she felt like putting her claws back on her face. She might cry more, seeing how dead she was now. But she knew that wouldn't help, it never did.
“I guess I’ll still be the monster in the end,” Gilda muttered.
The pegasus had gotten back up, leaving her desk while the griffon wasn’t looking.
“I know one thing you didn’t couldn't have made up though…” Fluttershy said suddenly as she trotted over. “You did change, Gilda.”
“W-wha?” Gilda had looked up to see the pegasus had a soft smile. To be fair, this was likely the part to cause the griffon a natural heart attack. She gulped again. “W-what d-do you…?”
“You would have never have taken responsibility like this,” Fluttershy continued, sitting next to the trembling griffon. “Not after all you’ve tried to do, not unless it made you look good. You wouldn't be telling me this it you were just a monster.” Shy continued with Gilda wide eyed. “Not if it endangered yourself to the consequences.” She rubbed the griffon’s head. “You cared about others more than yourself, something other ponies thought you could never do.”
“The heck are you talking about?” Gilda wasn’t quite following.
Rather than answer immediately, the pegasus put a wing in Gilda’s shoulder, gently helping Gilda off the couch.
“We’ll talk about what will happen to you after we find out how to stop this.” she said as Gilda looked at her a bit confused. “I can tell you feel bad enough about this so let’s just head upstairs now, ok?”
The sun was still shining upstairs as the storm was not yet there still. In her current mood, Gilda had forgotten it was about lunch time now.
Fluttershy remembered though.