A Better Place (2016 version)

by MJP

Where Else?

Text in teal is in spanish
Text in Brown and italics is Gilda's thoughts

Gilda sat in the middle of the small funeral chapel stewing to herself and fidgeting with the lace on the itchy black dress her sister, Lola bought her while one of her dead grandfather’s, older-than-dirt friend she never met was at the pulpit rambling about some crazy stuff that happened 40 some-odd years ago.

"Can't you show a little more sympathy toward Reggie? it would mean a lot to him. I mean, you were always his favorite."

Gilda probably should have realized that her actions were worrying her sister.Heck if she was in a bad mood, there was a good chance the entire province would know it.

"In case you haven't figured it out, Lola I'm not in much of a 'mourning' mood right now." Sure, Gilda loved her sister, it's hard to hate the only family that gives you the time of day.

Which is a typical weekend for Gilda Gryphonstain.

"Just chill out. I miss ol' Grandpa Gruff just as much as you do, Lola."

"Now if any of Mr. Wingert's family and friends would like to stand up here and share any of their memories of this great man...."

"You sure you don't wanna come up, he..."

"NOT IN THE MOOD!!!"

"OK, OK, fine!"

Lola stood to the pulpit and promptly made her speech. “Well i’ve never been close to Reggie recently, so I don’t have many experiences personally.” considering she was expecting Gilda to make the speech, she herself struggled to find the right words. "Heheh, Well, you've all met my sister, Gilda right?" no response. "Well, she was working at a radio station here for a while, unfortunately, the people she worked under were REALLY sleazy and cutthroat, and one day, she found out that she had lost her job and seemingly for no reason."

"I didn't say it was for NO reason I just said it was a STUPID reason."

Lola saw that she was getting no response and decided to "get on with it" so to speak. "Anyway, Gilda wasn't exactly in the best mood after this, and was really antisocial about it, however, this man, 'Grandpa Gruff' as she likes to call him, saw through the arrogance and happily took her in, and after that, Gilda was actually happy, probably for the first time in a while, and I bet that if the doctors would have found out about his condition sooner, she would have done anything to save him."

At that notion, Gilda stormed off to the bathroom, simultaneously holding back tears.

---

A few hours later, Lola Gryphonsatain was tapping her fingers on the dashboard of her sister’s car, hoping that her sister hadn't hung himself in the bathroom. However her extreme worries were proven false as her sister was heading towards her car, albeit with her purple eyeshadow running down her face.

"'Parently I ended up missing the whole funeral."

"Ohmygosh, areyouhurt?, ithoughtyoumighthavehungyourselforsomething."

"LOLA! I'M FINE I'M STILL ALIVE, I'M OKAY!!! I'M GOOD!!!!" while Gilda loved her sister she could successfully bet five bucks that Lola worried her way more then she worried. "Alright, since you already have your luggage in here, let’s get you the airport."

---

After driving 50 Kilometers and back from Pearson to drop her sister off at the airport she finally made it to the house of her a-ma Martina Leórazón, her only relative who wasn't either halfway across the ocean or dangerously weird.

"Hey there, a-ma sorry I was late getting here, I had to drop Lola off at the airport down in Toront-"

Even though her a-ma was practically in the same room as her she still looked confused, as if her granddaughter had just grown a separate head the only spoke Japanese.

Funny last I checked she could speak english just fine.

Gilda introduced herself again, in spanish "Uh, hello? I'm back from the airport, I had to drive all the way to Toronto and back."

"Pearson? what is that, like a new band?"

"Um, no, It's an airport, we live like fifty kilometers from it."

"Oh, that's right, pardon me."

"Are you sure you're all right, A-ma?"

"Oh, don't worry, Gilda I'm fine, now, let's have some dinner!"

Martina's house was not very big, so Gilda didn't have to walk far before entering her dining room and seeing several chairs and plates set up aside from her's and her a-ma's.

"Uh, were you planning on having company over?"

"Why yes, your Great Uncle Gabriel, and your Great Aunt Helen, they should be in the guest room right now. Hey Gabe, Helen!"

"Uh, Ama, I don't mean to be rude but they died before I was born."

"Oh, right. What year is this, Gilda?"

Normally, this would be a stupid question, but considering the conversation she just had with her, she probably shouldn't be saying that.

"It's 2018, a-ma."

"Oh, well either way, help yourself to some tamales, why don't you?"

Gilda may not be the smartest person in the world but she definitely knew that Salsa was not supposed to taste like ketchup.

"Are you sure you grabbed the right bottle or something?"

“Pretty sure, yeah.”

"This is ketchup."

"Oh."

Gilda grudgingly sighed as she tried to eat her ketchup-covered Tamales, secretly glad she hadn't made enchiladas instead.

Yeah, A-ma's going nuts, but it's not like I've got anywhere else to go. My dad's cousins are about a million times worse, and besides, what's the worst that can happen?

---

The next day started out like any other for Gilda Gryphonstain. She woke up in the makeshift guest room in her a-ma's attic and she got a good view of the beautiful fall morning that was overtaking Canterlot City. She did what she would normally do every morning, she got up, got dressed in her trademark brown jacket, white shirt and green pants, dyed her hair a little and popped some toast in a toaster that was older than its owner.

"Hey, a-ma, I'm going to go out for a drive around town if you don't mind.”

There was no answer.

"Hello, A-ma. Are you there?” No answer.

Now she was starting to get worried, she went down to her bedroom and opened the door. She wasn't there

"Uh, oh."

---

Gilda spent the next few hours in a nervous wreck that would put her ever-so-overprotective sister to shame. It was a combination of her calling her a-ma's phone (despite knowing full well she left it here), calling Canterlot PD, and yelling in various rooms in the house, worried that her only living relative (that she wanted to deal with) was lying dead in a ditch somewhere immediately after her Grandpa Gruff died.

God, of all the rotten luck. At least I know how Lola feels every other week.

She was just about to call Canterlot PD for the umpteenth time when she heard a knock at the door. She made her way over to the door, hoping to find her grandmother just locked herself out of the house or something like that.

Well she was right about her grandmother, along with a girl she'd recognize anywhere.

Even without her rainbow-colored hair

Goddamnit I forgot Rainbow Dash lived in this neighborhood

"Is this YOUR grandmother, G?"

"Why, yes, yes she is, and don't talk to her like that." She then turned towards her grandmother "A-ma, ¿le importaría ir a la otra habitación? Tengo mucho que discutir con mi 'amigo' aquí". "A-ma, would you mind going into the other room? I have a lot to discuss with my 'friend' here."
"Pues sí, ahora ya no tiene que perder 'Leave it to Beaver' ". “Why, yes, now I don't have to miss 'Leave it to Beaver'." And with that, promptly headed towards her room. This now left Gilda and her old friend Beau Dashelli, or "Rainbow Dash" to her friends. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments, Dash wondering what Gilda wanted to say to her. She would totally be more than happy to see her friend after so many years...

"What the Hell were you doing with my Grandmother!!!"

… If they had left on better terms.

"What? What makes you think we were doing anything? What would I even use her for?"

"Probably to embarrass me or humiliate me, like you have done several times." While anyone else would have been happy to have the grandmother safe and sound, it's no secret that you say stupid and pointless things when you have held a grudge for over a year and a half.
"When have I ever embarrassed and/or humiliated you?"

"Ooooh, I dunno, THAT HOMECOMING PARTY A YEAR AGO WHERE YOU PULLED THE STUPIDEST PRANKS IN EXISTENCE WITH YOUR LITTLE PSYCO FRIEND INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW CATCHING UP WITH ME LIKE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO WHEN YOUR LONG-LOST FRIEND VISITS YOU!!!" Gilda slumped back down on her A-ma's couch. "'Specially if they worked their ass off at the worst radio station in history to get there in the first place."

"You're saying that as if I did that on purpose." Dash paused for a moment. "Okay, yeah, pulling those silly pranks instead of catching up was kind of stupid, but not nearly as stupid, as yelling at everyone for it and telling the entire world I'm a piece of beach footwear. Not exactly your best insult, G."

"YOUKNOWWHATIMEANT!!!!" As arrogant as she was, she eventually had to admit that she was embarrassing herself at the homecoming party a lot more than Dash was embarrassing her. "Gaaaah, I hate it when you're right." She then buried her head in her arms. "I can't believe I held a grudge over THAT for a year and a half. I even brought my grandmother into this." She then shot up realizing she almost forgot the entire reason her friend was here. "Speaking of which, what was A-ma doing with you?

"Let's just say my dad found her naked in his bet with no clue how she got there, and the fact she kept calling him 'Reggie' among many other things that make me wish you had never taught me spanish."

"Whoa." Gilda was trying her best to remain calm, despite being the definition of "screaming internally".

"G, this is serious!!" Dash promptly Grabbed her friend's arm to establish her point. "Look, even after all the crap you did with Billy and his lackeys in St. Cloudsdale and even after what you did at homecoming, I still consider you as a friend, and as a friend, I'm telling you she can't live with you like this. The last time I met her she spoke perfect english, and didn't think random men were her husband. G, to be honest, unless you send her to a home, it's going to get get a whole lot worse real quick."

"ARE YOU CRAZY? SHE'S LIKE THE ONLY RELATIVE AROUND HERE.'

"Wait, don't you have your own home-"

"Lost my job along with my credit for my last quarter of high school a long time ago, and it's kind of hard to find a job when they find out you are a teenage dropout."

"What about your mom?"

"Qatar," Gilda replied bitterly.

"Do you know where specifically in Qatar?"

"She disappeared off the map a long time ago. All I know is that she is either dead or trapped in Qatar. She could be building a World Cup stadium right now for all I know."

"I know your father is dead, but what about his cousins?"

"Well, let's just say one of them will 'freak' if you don't call his pull-ups 'space pants' and if we don't have spaghetti for dinner. Every single day."

"That doesn't sound so bad, G."

"He's 27."

"Oh. But what about your sister and your mom's cousins?"

"Manchester, like 9 hours away."

"Oh. so your 'A-ma' the only close relative right now?"

"Yep"

"Well, I still think she can’t exactly live HERE anymore."

"I think you're overreacting a little."

All of a sudden her a-ma appeared in a bathrobe with her hair appearing to be standing straight up.

"Sólo tenía el baño más vigorizante." "I just had the most Invigorating bath."

"Ughhhh, I said it once and I'll say it again, I hate it when you're right."

---

“Hello Mr. Dashell. Dash said you wanted to see me.”

"Why yes, come sit down with me, and call me Bow Hothoof or Blake at the very least"

Gilda nervously sat down in a chair across from Blake while he picked up the chip bags, sodas, and waffle plates, among other things, and put them on the kitchen table. He then returned to the living room and paused the TV.

"Pardon the mess, I thought you'd come BEFORE the Blue Jays game."

"Eh, It's OK, that's why god gave us DVRs."

Blake then set the remote on the en table and sat down on the couch across from her. "So, I guess you finally took you A-ma, as you refer to her, to a home."

"Yeaaah, I had to once she started yelling at the fence to get a job. Technically, the city is talking with my family in England right now. she leaves tomorrow if Lola and Aunt Gina agree to it."

"I also understand you have a car...."

"Not one from this century. Gruff gave it to me before he died. The window doesn't roll up on one side, and there's an old Don Churchill tape that's been stuck in there since before I was born."

"Well, that explains it. Sorry about your Grandfather, by the way."

"It's alright, it's not your fault."

"Ok, then. And your mom's side of the family is in Manchester?"

"Mostly, yeah."

"Your dad's side?"
Gilda blew a raspberry "Just got on their road trip to the Provo honey parade, plus cousin Tripp is twenty-seven and still watches Dora the Explorer."

"Yeesh."

"Yeah..."

"And Your Mother?"

"Qutar."

"I see. So this is the only place in Canterlot you can go?"

"Yes."
"I see, Just wanted to make sure." He turned towards Gilda. "Don't get mad at me, but if you really want to live here, we are going to establish some ground rules. I understand that your are missing your last quarter of high school. would you mind explaining that?"

"Not really," Gilda grumbled. "It was a whole spell with one of my old boyfriends, I don't like talking 'bout it much."

"I see. Well, if you are going to live here and get a job, you are going to have to finish high school, Canterlot High School has just set up a GED class next year, I expect you to take it."

"Yeeeeah, I figured."

"Also, you are expected to do your own laundry and clean the guest room you are staying, as well as pitch in with cooking at least once a week. Even if the means bringing ome Clunky Burger or The Taco Hour"

"OK."

"Aso, keep your insults to a minimum here. I get that you aren't too keen on my daughter's - other - friends, but I want to be certain you are willing to at least try to be a little nicer to people here."

"Ok, no promises though."

"OK. So.......don't do drugs, don't touch my stuff, no burning down the house, no..."

"OK, OK, I GET IT, MR. DASHELL."

"OK, sorry! Middle School coach, force of habit." Blake then nearly fell over when Gilda jumped over to hug him.

“I will,” She said while crying tears of joy. “You can count on that."

"Ughhhh, your crushing my everything!!!!"

"Sorry!"

Author's Note:

Yes, Gilda is part mexican, I wrote it like that cause most drawings of Gilda as a human involve her having a darker skin than most EQG characters' skin tone that most people would otherwise associate with Mexicans, I made this a Torontoverse thing cause I doubt the main universe works like that, but i still want to explore that angle. so don't get worked up if something in a Torontoverse story is different from the main universes, also she is only part Mexican, Her grandmother and grandfather on her mom's side are Mexican and English, respectively, while her father's side is largely French-Canadian

Also, in case there is some confusion, Chapel and Pulpett are terms mormons use to reference different parts of a standard church, (the main room, and the front of the room where a person speak, respectively), no, this does not make Gilda mormon, it's just the terms me and my family use you may just call it something different

Also, sorry if you think Gilda is OOC, but really you shouldn't complain too much since this is an alternate universe fic.

Anyway, a lot of people use Gilda if they want a violent character or want to write an overreaction fic. but honestly, I think that deep down, Gilda's an ordinary girl (griffon) who just lets her arrogance and anger get the better of her at times (this might come into play later) I really wish more people would see Gilda that way, I mean, no one is really inherently a bad person (unless they are Zephyr Breeze, if so, what the heck is wrong with you).

also Leórazón (the maiden name of Gilda's grandmother) is an alteration of corazón de León, which is "lion heart" in Spanish, I thought it was fitting

I put all the translations of what Gilda and her grandma said in Spanish in spoiler text, sorry if it sounds off in Spanish I used Google translate cause I'm the whitest person ever.

also, i like to use real names in EQG stories (Rainbow Dash becomes Beau Dashell, and RainBlade/ Rainbow Blade become Blake Dashell), but if you read my last good story you'd know that.

---

and finally, thanks to Nightwalker for his editing work, have a scootaloo

Hello, I am MJP from the future, holy crap did I try way too hard to ground this story

Comments

[Fegelpone]

I can help you with some of the Spanish (people in the north of Mexico speak different to the ones in the center like me, so it might sound weird to them)

Uh, hola? Estoy de vuelta desde el aeropuerto, que tenía que conducir todo el camino a Toronto y vuelta

Uh. Hora? Volví del aeropuerto, tuve que conducir todo el camino hacia Toronto y de vuelta

¿Toronto lo es que, al igual que una nueva banda?

¿Toronto, que es eso, una nueva banda?

Oh, eso es, con perdón

Oh, esta bien, perdoname

¿Uh, estabas pensando en tener compañía durante?

Here “durante” is not necessary also it sounded better like “pensabas tener compañía”

Por qué sí, su gran tío Gabriel, y su gran tía Helen, thy deben estar en la habitación de invitados en este momento, oye Gabe, Helen

Porsupuesto que si, su tío abuelo Gabriel y su tía abuela Helen... The rest is good

Correcto. ¿qué año es esto, Gilda?

Correcto, en que año estamos?

Seguro que agarró la botella derecha o algo?

Segura que agarraste la botella correcta?

Sólo tenía el baño más vigorizante

Tuve el baño más vigorizante <- this sounds funny because no one use that word to describe a bath

[VampDash]

THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR GETTING GILDA.

[MJP]

7608818
thanks But now I use colored text for foriegn languages, so that's no longer necessary