More than just a Feathered Friend

by MittenPatty

Ignition

Author's Note:

Yay! the 4th chapter!
Please take note that it took longer to release because ther's a lot more words.
P.S. I nearly cried while writing this, so be prepared! ( I think it was mostly because I was listening to a sad song, but whatever )

Chapter 4

Fluttershy rang the doorbell to Golden Oaks library. If anypony knew how to handle this, it was Twilight. Grasping Gilda's claw in her hoof, the Pegasus waited for her friend to answer the door. She then realized the griffon had been silent the whole way here and was now looking at the ground.

"Hey, It's okay," Fluttershy tried to get Gilda's attention. The griffon glanced up. "I know you feel bad about what you did, but Twilight is the wisest pony I know. She'll be able to help you for sure. Gilda smiled gratefully. Finally, the purple unicorn opened the door.

"Oh, hello Fluttersh- AH!" Twilight leaped back once she saw who the Pegasus had arrived with. "G-Gilda!? she was astonished. The unicorn had searched for days looking for the griffon, and here was the gentlest mare in Ponyville holding her claw like a lost filly. Fluttershy cleared her throat.

"Twilight, I'm here because Gilda needs some advice." The Pegasus informed her friend sternly. "When I found her she was, confused, shall we say." the unicorn narrowed her eyes. She looked the griffon up and down, trying to see any form of resistance of her being here, but she couldn't tell. Gilda had lost the confident glow in her, and her feathers drooped instead of being perked up and alert. She seemed like a hollow shell of her former self. Twilight smiled, trying to seem as friendly as possible.

"Alright, come on in!" She invited the two inside, moving out of the way to let them pass. Fluttershy trotted in, then turned around and waited for Gilda.

"It's okay," She reassured the griffon. "Twilight isn't mad at you." Gilda sulked into the library and sighed. Twilight cringed. She looks miserable! The unicorn gestured to the staircase.

"Shall we begin?" she asked. Fluttershy nodded and put her hoof around Gilda, reassuring the griffon. They went upstairs into Twilight's room, where Spike was reading a comic book by the window. The unicorn tapped him on the shoulder.

"Spike, would you mind going downstairs for a bit?" she whispered. The dragon frowned.

"Awww, but it's the best part!" he whined and looked up, gasping when he saw Gilda behind Fluttershy. The dragon changed his mind quickly.

"You know what, the Mane-iac can wait." he said as he bolted past the griffon and down the stairs. "Have fun you three!" Twilight smiled sheepishly, embarrassed Spike would do whatever she said with Gilda around. Shrugging it off, she walked over to her bed and pulled up a chair. She sat and pet the bed, signaling for the griffon to lay down. She slowly dragged her feet to the place the unicorn told her to go. Twilight leaned back in her chair and let Gilda through. She knew she was forgetting something. Oh, that's right!

"Fluttershy, could you please pass me that pad and pencil?" She asked pointing to her desk. The Pegasus strolled over to the writing supplies and picked them up. She trotted over to the unicorn, who had put her mane in a bun and was now wearing her reading glasses.

"Thank you." She said to her friend as she handed her the things. Twilight turned back to Gilda and cleared her throat.

"Ahem!" the griffon directed her attention towards the unicorn. The purple mare smiled, gracious for the griffon's cooperation.

"Good, now we can begin."

___________________________________________________________________

Rainbow Dash laughed as Pinkie Pie made a stupid face.

"Darn it, Pinkie!" she giggled. "You always get me with that one!" The party pony smiled.

"Thanks!" she squeaked.

It had been at least a day after the pink mare woke up. Doctor Stable examined her, and gave them both the okay.

"Her vitals are normal and her breathing is fine," He informed Dash. "Just try and keep the conversations short. Too much talking could damage her airways again." Now Pinkie was up and energetic. RD and the others visited her as often as they could, but still had to do their jobs during the week. The party pony told them not to worry, as she had made a lot of new friends around the hospital.

"Hey Pinkie, I was thinking," Rainbow began. "You know when it's time for you to be released at the end of the week?" The pink mare nodded.

"Yes?" Dash grinned.

"What if we threw YOU a party, like ya know, the get well kind." Pinkie's eyes were filled with joy. She leaned forward and squeezed the Pegasus in a long hug.

"Really?" she exclaimed. "That would be super-duper-fun-o-riffic!" RD wiggled free and chuckled.

"Hey, take it easy," she warned. "You know what the doctor said." The party pony snorted.

"Yeah, yeah, don't talk as much blah, blah, blah," she retorted, imitating Stable. "I'm fine, see?" no sooner had the pink mare said that when she broke into a fit of coughs. Dash was instantly at her side, checking to see if she was okay.

Pinkie eventually stopped hacking and lay down to recover.

"Are you okay?" Rainbow asked, worried. The party pony just nodded, and closed her eyes to sleep. She was obviously done talking for today. The cyan mare sighed and got up. She head for the entrance and turned off the lights.

"Sweet dreams, Pie." she blessed as the door slowly closed.

___________________________________________________________________

Twilight Sparkle sat by her bed, waiting for the Griffon laying in it to speak. Gilda said nothing, and just stayed not moving a muscle. Pretty soon the unicorn got impatient and turned to Fluttershy, who was sitting next to her.

"Can you tell me what happened?" she asked urgently. "Please, this is really important." the Pegasus shuffled her hooves.

"W-well, she was," she stammered. "She was, um..." Twilight groaned. This was going to take forever, wasn't it.

"Gilda was trying to, um, well..."

"I tried to kill myself." the griffon spoke out, taking the ponies by surprise.

"Y-yeah. That." Fluttershy said softly. Twilight looked at the griffon in concern.

"Gilda," she asked. This was serious! "Why would you ever think of doing something so horrible?" There was a brief pause before the griffon gave her answer.

"I tried to kill myself because," she stopped and gulped. " I'm in love with Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy gasped and covered her mouth with her hoof. Twilight smiled. Bingo. This was the moment she'd been preparing for! Time to put, "Dealing with your Lesbian Friend," into action.

"Gilda, just because you love somepony of the same gender doesn't mean-" the unicorn was interrupted as the griffon spoke once more.

"It's not about that!" she cried. "I could care less about what other ponies think of me!" the unicorn shrunk into her chair, startled by Gilda's outburst. Well, that was a waste of a good book.

"Then why would you-" Twilight was cut off again.

"I only did it because I know Dash doesn't like me back ," the griffon paused again to wipe the tears from her eyes. Fluttershy, who had kept her mouth shut for most of the time, finally said something.

"W-well, we don't know for sure if Rainbow loves you or not." she added softly. That set Gilda off. She burst into tears and curled up into a ball on the bed.

"I KNOW SHE DOESN'T!" the griffon howled. Twilight was baffled. She had never dealt with anything like this before.

"But-" the unicorn couldn't even finish her sentence as the griffon cried out again.

"SHE HATES ME!" Gilda sobbed. "I KILLED HER BEST FRIEND AND SHE HATES ME!" as the griffon wept, the two ponies just stared in horror. Did I just hear her correctly? Is she REALLY Pinkie's attacker? Not knowing what to do,Twilight approached Gilda, and hesitantly gave her a hug. Calming down a bit, the griffon pulled the unicorn close and whimpered.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." As the purple mare dealt with Gilda, she used her magic to levitate her pad of paper and quill. She carefully wrote a message to Fluttershy, who stood terrified that was in the same room as a killer. When she finished, Twilight turned the message over and showed it to the Pegasus.

Get me a blanket, some coffee, and a box of tissues. it read. Fluttershy nodded and went downstairs, almost running into Spike who was speeding up towards the bed.

"Is everything alright?" He asked in a panic. "I heard crying and screaming so I-" he stopped when he saw Twilight comforting Gilda, who was curled into a ball next to the unicorn. The purple mare looked up and saw the baby dragon standing there.

"Go help Fluttershy." she mouthed to him. Spike backed up wide-eyed before bolting out of the room. Twilight turned back to the griffon and began stroking her feathers.

"It's okay," she whispered. "It's okay..."

_____________________________________________________________________________

Fluttershy looked frantically around the library, trying to find the requested items. She near turned the place upside-down searching for them until Spike came down.

"What do you need?" he asked. The Pegasus sighed with relief. Surely HE would know where this stuff is!

"Um, we need a blanket, some coffee," She tried to remember the last thing. "Oh! and a box of tissues." the baby dragon nodded.

"Okay. I'll start the coffee." He waddled towards the kitchen. "There should be a blanket along with the tissues in that linen closet over there." He pointed at a nearby door. Fluttershy quickly ran over to it and looked inside. Sure enough, the things she needed were in there. The Pegasus grabbed them and flew upstairs. She handed them to Twilight.

"Thank you." the unicorn draped the blanket over Gilda and gave her the box. The griffon sniffed and blew her nose. Fluttershy got up and sat on the bed next to her and started rubbing her back.

"Gilda, we're not mad at you," she comforted. "We just want to know what happened." Gilda wiped her tears and took a deep breath.

"Okay." she agreed, and began her story. The griffon described how she had left Ponyville after the party Pinkie Pie had thrown for her. She had flown to a motel down South where she met Rusty, the filly who helped her realize her affection towards Dash.

Gilda stopped her tale for a short chuckle, remembering how she thought RD was a guy. Twilight raised her eyebrows.

"What's so funny?" she asked. The griffon smiled.

"Oh, it's nothing," she replied. "I'll continue."

Gilda explained how she got to Ponyille after a long flight. She found a box to stay in for the night, before Pinkie walked down the street.

The griffon's beak quivered as she started telling them what happened next. The mares became more and more horrified while hearing how it happened.

"I-I just couldn't control myself!" Gilda's voice cracked. "It was like I'd lost any trace of sanity I had, and just became what I truly am," The griffon choked out the last two words, wanting to get them off her tongue.

"A monster." Fluttershy wrapped her arms around Gilda, trying to calm the griffon down.

"Aw, don't be sad," she cooed. "It wasn't your fault if you weren't in control." Gilda shrugged her off, becoming panicked.

"But what about the rest of you?" she gestured to the two friends. "You must hate me too. I killed one of your friends!" Fluttershy and Twilight turned and looked at each other. Finally, the purple unicorn sighed and spoke.

"Gilda, Pinkie's not dead." She stared at the astonished griffon in the eyes. It seemed she was looking deep into her soul, as if things couldn't be any more serious.

"W-what?" Gilda stammered. "No! S-she was dead, I'm sure of it" Fluttershy had a sad expression on her face.

"She almost died, but luckily Neon Lights was on the streets and found her." she explained. "Pinkie's doing just fine in the hospital." The griffon collapsed on the bed, crying tears of relief.

"Oh, thank god!" Twilight wrapped the blanket around her, and she and the yellow Pegasus left the room to let her celebrate in peace.

____________________________________________________________

A bird zipped through the air, catching a mosquito in it's beak. Another bird flew over, snatching up a fly. The feathered animals played around in the sky, chasing each other through trees and diving trying to get the other off it's tail. It was like a competition for food. A race.

Pinkie Pie sat up in her bed, watching in silence as the two birds played. They both did flips and turns, catching and eating as many insects as they could. One reminded the pink mare of her friend, Rainbow Dash zooming through the air. The other resembled Gilda, the griffon she was no longer acquainted with. She stayed there staring out the window until knocking was heard.

"Come in." the party pony called softly.

"Surprise!" The door swung open, revealing her friends Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and RD wearing party hats. They all made room for Fluttershy, who was wheeling in a large cake. Pinkie was overjoyed. She could barely remember the last time a party was thrown for her!

"Awww, c'mere you guys!" The pink mare outstretched her arms, and all her friends piled in for the hug. In all the commotion, Pinkie noticed Dash was wearing a mischievous grin. The pink mare frowned.

"Hey, I thought you said the party would be tomorrow on Friday!" She exclaimed, confused. The cyan mare's smile grew wider.

"Well, then it wouldn't be a SURPRISE, now would it?" she laughed and everyone followed along with her.

Twilight used her magic to levitate the cake platter over to Pinkie, and gently laid it on the party pony's lap. There was a message written neatly in frosting, probably done by Rarity.

Hope you get better soon! We love you! as Pinkie read, a tear came to her eye. She quickly brushed it away and smiled.

"Thank you all so much!" She squeaked. Everyone laughed and repeated the hug.

All of the ponies had partied through the night. The cake was long gone, and there were party hats scattered across the floor. Rarity had insisted she would help clean up, Pinkie told her no.

"It's alright," she assured the unicorn. "It can wait. I want the room to look like the fun isn't leaving." The pink mare grinned.

"Besides, This place needed a little decoration!" Rarity rolled her eyes.

"Oh, alright," she sighed. "But if you need anything, just spare me a call." With that Rarity left the room and closed the door. Pinkie rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. She smiled feeling the streamers and confetti around her as she drifted off to sleep.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Gilda woke with a start. She clutched the fuzzy blanket in her claws as she sprung upright in the bed. She groaned and shook her head groggily. What a nightmare. The griffon crawled onto the floor and walked towards the kitchen. Fluttershy was already there, cooking breakfast. The Pegasus stopped humming her tune when she noticed who had just walked in.

"Oh! Good morning sleepy head!" She chirped. Gilda responded with a weak wave as she sat down at the table.

"I had that dream again." She muttered. Fluttershy stopped stirring the pancake batter and turned around. She put the bowl down and trotted over to the griffon. She sat next to her and gave her a hug.

"The same one?" She asked softly. "Thats horrible!" Gilda nodded. She just couldn't get the events of that night out of her head. It occured about three days ago, but the griffon felt like it happened yesterday. Fluttershy broke the hug a put a hoof to her chin. After thinking for a while, the Pegasus got an idea.

"Oh! What if we went and visited Pinkie in the hospital!" Gilda's heart skipped a beat. She really did want to see her, but couldn't bring herself fo say it.

"I-I don't know." She mumbled. Fluttershy pouted.

"I'm doing you a favor by letting you stay in my cottage, so you should do yourself one by stopping by." The Pegasus smiled reassuringly

"I'm sure it won't be that bad!" Gilda groaned. That girl always gets me.

"Okay," she agreed. "But only for a little bit." Fluttershy's face brightened.

"Great!" she chirped. "We can leave after breakfast." Gilda sucked in air.

"W-what?" she stammered. "That soon?" The Pegasus flew back to the stove. She started pouring the pancake batter into a skillet.

"Uh, huh," she answered. "If that's okay with you." Gilda gulped. Am I ready to face her? To see how much damage I've done? The griffon shook her head. Yes, I can handle it.

A plate of daisy pancakes was placed before her. Fluttershy put her plate down and sat across from Gilda. They both ate in silence as time ticked by. The griffon tried to eat as slowly as possible, trying to delay the visit as much as she could. She finished quickly anyway, leaving Fluttershy to eat the rest of her meal.

The Pegasus excused herself and took her plate to the sink. Gilda did the same.

"Ready to go?" Fluttershy asked, motioning towards the door. The griffon walked up to the mare and nodded. They exited the cottage and into the warm spring air. A slight breeze ruffled Gilda's feathers as stepped off the porch. She closed her eyes for a moment to appreciate the gorgeous weather. She felt a hoof on her shoulder and turned to see Fluttershy with a reassuring smile plastered on her face.

"Lets fly." she said softly, then took off. Gilda spread her wings and did the same, following the yellow mare into the sky. She felt the wind slide through her talons as she dove through a cloud. The moisture flowed along her body as she flew, falling off in tiny dropletts.

"Woo, hoo!" The griffon howled as she soared. Fluttershy laughed and pulled up next to her. She smiled and pointed below them.

"Look." she cooed. Gilda did as she was instructed. She gasped as the world below her zipped past. Tiny houses were spread out along Ponyville, and ponies trotted about, carrying out their daily routine. The griffon's mouth gaped at the pretty sight.

"It's beautiful." she sighed. The mare next to gave a slight nod. Gilda thought of her as a true friend now, as she was always at her side when she needed someone. Is that what friends do? Stick up for eachother? Her thoughts were interrupted as Fluttershy began to descent. The griffon followed her to the front of a huge building, where they landed in a parking patch of grass.

"Here we are," the Pegasus exclaimed. "Want to go inside now?" Gilda stared up at the hospital. I'm ready for this. She turned back to the yellow mare.

"Yes." she answered curtly. They headed up to the front doors, side by side. Fluttershy went in with Gilda not far behind. The Pegasus trotted over to the receptionist counter. Nurse Snowheart was reading a magazine.

"Um, visitors for Pinkie Pie." she said softly. The clerk looked up and pointed towards the stairs.

"You know where to go." she grumbled. The two flew up and into a hallway. Fluttershy pointed to a door.

"That's her room." she said and turned to leave. Gilda called out to her.

"Wait, you're not coming?" The yellow mare looked at her with a passionate smile.

"I think you should greet her yourself." she insisted and walke downstairs before the griffon could protest. Glancing back at the door, Gilda's whole body seemed to freeze. She would be alone, with the pony she almost killed. The griffon started to head back the way she came. She was almost at the exit, when she stopped. She didn't know why, she just didn't move. Fluttershy's words came to her, as she looked behind her.

"Do yourself a favor," The griffon turned around. "You should greet her yourself" Gilda shook her head race towards the room. For Fluttershy, for Dash. The griffon knocked on the door. She held her breath,waiting urgently for something to happen.

"Come in," a small voice squeaked. Gilda bit her bottom lip, or beak. She reached out a talon and grabbed the doorknob. She took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes shut and turned, feeling the room being presented to her as the door swung open. She opened her eyes hesitantly to see the party pony sitting on a hospital bed, staring out the window. The griffon swallowed.

"P-Pinkie?" she said quietly. The pink mare's ears perked up at the sound of her attacker's voice. She slowly turned around.

"Gilda?" she replied. Once the party pony saw the griffon standing in her doorway she jumped and nearly called for the nurse, but didn't. Instead she let Gilda slink over to her bedside. The griffon looked her up and down. The pink mare had a brace around her neck, and was connected to heart moniter and water bag. I did this. I did this to her for no reason.

"I-I," Gilda couldn't even finish her sentance before bursting into tears. She collapsed beside her, sobbing.

"Why would I ever think of hurting you?" she howled. "I'm sorry, so sorry!" Pinkie was astonished. She didn't expect an apology from the griffon, much less for her to cry! Gilda covered her head with her claws while she wept, repeating her line over and over again.

"I didn't mean it, please!" The griffon kept bawling until a hoof was felt along her back. She looked up to see Pinkie Pie teary eyed, but smiling. Without warning, the griffon was pulled up and wrapped in a warm embrace.

"I forgive you." The pink mare whispered. Gilda choked and sniffed as she returned the hug. They stayed in eachother's arms for what seemed like hours, until Nurse Redheart knocked on the door outside.

"Visiting hours are over!" she called. Reluctantly, they separated and Gilda stood up. She wiped her misty eyes and looked down at the pink mare. Pinkie smiled with tears running down her cheeks.

"It's okay," she said softly. "Go." Gilda wrapped her in a hug one last time before turning to leave. The griffon glanced over her shoulder to see the party pony give a slight wave. She returned the gesture and looked back at the door. In a flash she was gone, flying as fast a bullet down the stairs. Pinkie watched her leave through her window and smiled.

"Thank you." she whispered.

Comments

[One Lucky Gamer]

Although I enjoy this story, I do feel like the whole idea/plot of Gilda attacking Pinkie and everyone getting over it so quickly just a little odd...

[MittenPatty]

4294354 wait till Dash finds out.

[ZaESims]

4294676

I fully expect RD to have a serious response, maybe even overboard, but everyone else seem to be treating the entire ordeal like a light breeze. I know love and tolerate, but you don't tolerate attempted murder. Where are the guards!? Where is the Flutter-rage?! Twilight should be dark magic attacking Gilda until there are no remains! It's excess violence, but that stage was reached with Pinkie's motionless body. I don't think Celestia would take to kindly to an element bearer being nearly killed.