"When was the last time you've been sick?"
3 months passed by and Gilda still felt that incredible sadness. It haunted her in the mornings just like it did in Fillydelphia. However, she found that the depression was no longer intolerable. Every day she found that she could handle the misery just a little bit more. Part of the reason was because Gilda accepted the fact that the sadness might in fact just be a medical or clinical condition. Maybe she would always experience this, and so she would have to learn how to handle it.
But one thing was for certain. She would never go back to Fillydelphia. She had never been in more control of her grief than she was in the presence of Ponyville. The country, small town atmosphere did wonders to her psyche, and by night she would fall asleep in amongst the clouds. It was the mornings that were excruciating, but by the mid afternoon, she would soar. There were three things in particular to cause such a reaction within her.
1. Big Machintosh.
She got major teasing from Rainbow Dash about it, but honestly, Gilda was always her happiest when around the big red stallion. She didn’t even have to have a conversation with him. Just to be in his mere presence was a delight in it of itself. Gilda was assigned to work with Big Mac on the farm because she was the only one, besides Big Mac, that could handle heavy loads. Although some of the loads they carried were excruciating, Gilda never complained. Because working alongside of Macintosh was simply divine. They walked everywhere together because of their job. They got to talk about many things and even if they couldn’t find anything to talk about, as stated before, it didn’t matter. Gilda had finally found that someone whom she could share in comfortable silence.
It was simply perfect.
Why he made her so happy was simply because he was so charming. He was a stallion of few words, but when he spoke, he spoke of urgent matters containing truth and importance. He was mostly a stallion of actions, and his actions were so pure, so kind, so gentle and selfless that Gilda couldn’t help but feel her happiest when in close proximity to his golden mane. Eventually, she realized that she was starting to like him more as a friend. She visualized and often fantasized the possibility of the two becoming something more. And so, by the end of the three months, Gilda vowed that she would ask him out on a date; even if it meant she would have to put up with jokes such as ‘I always knew you were a fan of beef,’ from Dash.
Rainbow Dash brought up the second reason why Gilda would never go back to Fillydelphia
2. Her new friends
She realized very early on that the ponies were no longer ‘dweebs.’ They in fact became very cool companions and always brought Gilda a smile when they had the chance to meet up. Rainbow Dash was still her best friend of course; but eventually, she found herself hanging out with each one of the mane six occasionally. She even found herself sticking around the bakery to help Pinkie Pie with some orders of cake. It struck her as odd that she was becoming a social creature. Back in Filidelphia, she tried her best to blend in. She learned to avoid conversation in the city. But in Ponyville, with her new friends, striking up a polite chit-chat made the sadness dissipate for just a little while. Applejack was practically like a sister to her. She did live with the Apple Family after all. Which lead her to her third reason why she couldn’t leave Ponyville.
3. Applebloom
Gilda realized immediately, from the first day of living with the Apple family, that Applebloom was just too damn cute to leave behind. She looked at Gilda with wonder and awe, and Gilda always found lots of humor and fun playing with the girl in her off time. She helped Gilda crawl away into that space where the depression was no longer relevant. Applebloom helped Gilda place that despair into the back of her mind. She (Applebloom) looked to Gilda like a new big sister, especially since Applejack sent Gilda with Applebloom to run small errands, such as picking up groceries. Gilda also assisted sometimes in picking up Applebloom from school, which gave the little filly extra points on the coolness scale. (‘How you getting home Applebloom?’ ‘Oh you, know, just riding home on a mother bucking griffon!’). Much like with Big Mac, a connection was brewing between the two, even though the connection was altogether different.
And so, because of these three things, Gilda found that she was able to tolerate the sorrow more in Ponyville than in any other place her life. She found comfort , and most of all, she found joy. There seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel, and the village was her gateway towards seeing said light. She could truthfully proclaim that the past three months were the best in her life.
But unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
After three months of serenity, Gilda was shocked with the news that a service was being held for the families affected by the derailing of train 411. Naturally, she was invited, being the only surviving member of the crash. At first, she was very hesitant to go. Gilda was terrified by what feelings would get brought up during the service. Her friends understood this entirely and stated that if she decided not to go, they would support her.
Rarity, however, reminded Gilda that she was a small time celebrity, and if she didn’t show up, the media would go into a frenzy. There was even the slight possibly that her actions could be taken the wrong way, that they could be taken as ‘self-centered,’ and rude. Gilda, unfortunately, had to agree with this statement. All eyes of Equestria would be upon her whether she decided to go or not. It would look so much better if she toughed it out, rather than avoid the service.
And so, that’s how Gilda found herself dressed in black, sitting in worship house of Celestia and the outer spirits, as a preacher said the names of those who were deceased, and proclaimed loudly, “We pray for your soul.” Each time the preacher did this, Gilda became increasingly uncomfortable. Gilda was never a fan of religion to begin with. Neither was Big Mac, who was also seated with her on that day (AppleJack, Applebloom, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity were with her as well). But today, the words falling from the preacher’s mouth were affecting her.
She felt distressed by the whole experience, as anyone sane being would be. Things got even worst when eventually, the preacher brought up the name “Francis,” who Gilda immediately recognized as the stallion who sat next to her on the train, and stated aloud that the congregation was praying for his soul as well. She wanted to cry, but she couldn’t cry. Everyone in the church was practically staring at her already, being that she was the sole survivor. Thus, her job on that day was to be the rock; the anchor to which all other families could grasp upon and see how to handle catastrophe. But it was becoming difficult to keep up such an image.
All of this was giving Gilda the world’s biggest headache. It also caused Gilda’s thoughts to revert back to that ultimate question; ‘Why did I survive?’ Gilda decided that she had enough. She decided that tonight would be the night she would answer that question, and she would settle these unsettling feelings once and for all. All she needed was someone to put things into a better perspective. Again, her eyes fell upon the preacher, and she immediately realized what she had to do.
After the service, Gilda crept away from her friends and grabbed the preacher for a few moments and asked him if there was anyplace more private for the two to talk. The preacher pointed out that there was a confession box and so Gilda and he decided to meet there after he was finished speaking to all of the family members coming up towards him. This however left her friends in a state of desperation for a few moments. They had no clue where she was or where she even went to. They all stood outside the church desperately waiting for Gilda to return from wherever she went to and eventually Big Mac could no longer take it. So he took the initiative and reentered the church once more. It was easy to spot Gilda’s talons peeking out from under the confession box. Big Mac decided to sit inside the church and wait for her.
This is where things got a little too personal for Big Mac. Even though Gilda didn’t speak above a whisper, due to the silence surrounding the building, Big Mac could hear the two clear as day. It was wrong for him to peep into another’s private conversation, but the Big Red stallion couldn’t help it. It was like he was magnetically attracted to the conversation, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t leave.
Eventually, everyone who was waiting outside came in to discover why Big Mac was simply just sitting in one of the pews. And so, everypony eventually just took a seat and waited for Gilda to be finish talking to the preacher.
At the moment when everypony was inside, the conversation went something like this.
“I use to play storm ball a lot when I was younger,” Gilda told the priest. “I was the defensive tide in. I was basically the girl who got to jump over the d-line and totally sack the quarterback; a perfect position for a psychotic trying to vent out some rage.” Gilda laughed a little bit. The priest sat in respectable silence. This unfortunately caused Gilda to become uncomfortable and so she tried to continue the conversation. “Of course, this didn’t settle well for White Out,”
“Who?” The priest inquired.
“White Out,” Gilda responded “He was my colt-friend during my college years. Nice stallion; had his moments in the sack, but very friendly.”
Rainbow Dash smiled a little bit when hearing this for she remembered the colt plain as day. She only wished he was here now to witness this moment, the look of shock on his face would’ve been priceless.
“His talent was snowboarding and his cutie mark was a mountain, go figure,” Gilda commented. “Anyways, he was into extreme sports but he didn’t like the idea of stormball.”
“Which is?” The priest asked about the initial idea of stormball.
“Whether it’s agreed upon or not, the general catharsis of stormball is that you are encouraged every time you harm your opponent,” Gilda explained. “White Out could never do that. The kid was like a loving soul that could never do anyone any harm. Fortunately for him, I ended up having to give up stormball my senior year. Unfortunately for him as well, we were broken up at the time.”
There was a brief pause before the priest asked “Why did you have to give up stormball?”
“There was a cart accident,” Gilda stated. Then the silence returned once more. It lingered for quite some time, before Gilda spoke in a tone that easily expressed the nature of their conversation; which was confirmed to be serious.
“Look,” Gilda began. “The cart accident many years ago was just luck. I ended up in the hospital and apparently had something wrong with me, I can’t remember too well. The details are all fuzzy.” Then Gilda stated in a strong manner, “But I know, I know for a fact that the train accident meant something. The fact that I got up and walked away from something so catastrophic……..it has to mean something right?”
Again, the silence enveloped them like poisonous gas. Even her friends, who were unbeknownst to her, waiting outside, were anxious to hear the priest’s response. Finally, the priest let a long and contented sigh. It was a sigh Gilda automatically recognized as a sigh of disappointment. Then, as his voice trembled and wavered between boiling anger and sadness, the priest spoke.
“I’m sorry…….I’m….s-s-so…..so sorry,” The priest choked out. “I just can’t agree with you.” She heard the stallion gasp for air as the first few tears fell from his face. Then, he continued.
“My son was on the train with you,” he proclaimed. “He was returning home from missionary school. He was going to be a great stallion serving Celestia and the great outermost spirits……..and he was only 25 years old…….he was destined for greatness……and now he’s dead……..how am i……how am I suppose to say that you’re special and that the spirits have a greater plan for all of us…….when the perfect plan died before he could even tell his father goodbye?” Suddenly, the atmosphere surrounding the two changed. The tone emerging from the priest was no longer sad, but in fact, filled with bile and disgust. “You’re nothing more than a fluke. Mere luck. The spirits had nothing to do with your survival. You just slipped by.”
Gilda stood in her side of the confession box somewhat dazed. She couldn’t believe that such anger could be directed towards her. Of course, she experienced worst in the flight academy. But back then, she didn’t care. Today of all days, she actually was lingering on one’s opinion. Back in the academy, she used her tongue to strike down those who tormented her and leave them in tears, just like the ones she was about to release if she didn’t revert back to her flight academy days quickly. She decided to attack the priest with logic.
“200 ponies and other creatures, dead,” Gilda stated. “I emerge as the only one unscathed and with no broken bones. That has to mean something.”
The priest’s retort was filled with even more anger, and his voice rose up a few decibels. “My son’s skull was crushed open like a tin can. And you honestly expect me to believe that it was all for the best?” The priest then said his final words; the finishing blow to Gilda’s confidence in destiny and hope in a brighter tomorrow. “You’re worthless. That’s all you are.”
Suddenly, the door on the priest’s side of the confession box was flung open. Gilda watched in amazement as the priest was lifted from his seat with ease and thrown out of the box at record-breaking speeds. Gilda opened the door to her side to follow the priest out; to discover that it was Big Mac who was the culprit in the priest’s current abduction.
The red stallion practically threw the terrified colt against one of the pews and proceeded to hold his (Big Mac’s) hooves up to the priest’s throat and choke him out. Mac’s eyes were wide with rage. His mouth was opened and his teeth were clenched in an unpleasant, animalistic, psychotic snarl. He breathed heavily and screamed at the priest, “IF YOU EVER SPEAK LIKE THAT TO A WOMAN AGAIN, I WILL NOT HEISITATE TO RIP OUT THAT REPUGNANT BLACK PIT IN YOUR CHEST TO WHICH YOU CALL A HEART!”
It took several of Gilda’s close friends to pull Big Mac off the priest before the Golden Mane practically killed him. Of course, no one would’ve condemned such an action at any other time, but they were in a church. Just wasn’t the right place to kill a colt, even if such a colt deserved a slow gruesome death.
The ponies that tried to pull Mac of the priest were Applejack, Applebloom, and Rainbow Dash. The others (Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity), went towards Gilda and tried to console her. They told her the obvious truth; that the priest was nuts and that she indeed was not worthless. But the damage was already done. Gilda’s expression, while stone cold and solid, contained many tears as they went streaming down her otherwise reserved face. She walked out of that church cold and isolated.
When she exited the church, a strange sight caught her eye. Big Mac had brought the entire gang along by a giant wagon, which happened to be the same one that took her home from the motel three months ago. Standing next to that wagon, was a strange purple figure. From a distance, it was impossible to tell whether the figure was a Mare or a Stallion. The giant white trench coat and ridiculous mane style didn’t help much either. The figure appeared to be doing something to their wagon. What it was exactly, Gilda wasn’t sure. So, she did the rational thing to do, and called out to the figure, “Hey!”
The figure turned its head, and it appeared to be wearing a disguise over his/her face. This didn’t do anything to conceal the fact that the figure was caught off guard and alarmed by the fact that Gilda noticed her. This was self-evident by the way the figure took off after being discovered. Gilda also noticed that the figure sported…….crutches? she watched the figure wobble away and yes, the figure had to mini crutches on his/her two front hooves; the type of crutches that cerebral palsy patients had to use.
At this point, the rest of the gang came outside to watch the figure run away. The obvious question of “Who’s that?” was spoken by Pinkie Pie. Meanwhile, Gilda approached the cart and discovered that the figure left behind a note.
On the outside of the envelope, silver wording glimmered in the sunlight; which read ‘Limited Edition.’ What this meant exactly, no one was certain. The Apple Family and the others gathered around Gilda as she opened the envelope and discovered the letter inside.
There was no return address, no name, and no greeting whatsoever. The letter went straight for the throat with the question it asked. The question was a simple one, but one that left Gilda perplexed for many hours. It was also the can of worms; the inciting incident in the story of Gilda’s life.
The question was, “When was the last time you were sick?”
“Well,” Applejack commented as she hung up the phone and spoke to Gilda inside the Carousel Boutique. “I just got off the phone with your father, and now I understand why you wouldn’t want to hang out with the guy.”
Gilda sat in a big lofty recliner, while Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Big Mac were scattered around the place making phone calls and receiving faxes. The reason they were gathered here in Carousel was for two reasons. 1. It was closets to them once they left the church and 2; because they had some investigating to do and Rarity was the only pony who had a faxing machine in her home.
Gilda held up her face with her two front talons as she stared off in the distance, trying to lose herself in her own world. “Try living with the guy,” Gilda replied. Then, she asked, “Was he drunk?”
“That ain’t the half of it,” Applejack told her. “But anyways, you were right. He said he couldn’t remember one day you were sick.”
“Of course, he’s a terrible father,” Gilda answered. “So his opinion might not be valuable.”
“True, very true,” Applejack breathed.
Gilda breathed out a ‘humph,’ of boredom and deep thought. Then, she turned to Rarity, who was just in the far side of the room they were in. “Rarity,” she called out. “Any word back from the hospital?”
The white mare trotted to her side, and dropped the paper down on her lap. “I just got your medical records faxed in,” she stated. “Unbelievable. Other than the cart accident and the train derailing, you never have once been to the hospital your entire life. Even your allergy box is blank.”
Gilda was fascinated and astounded by all this information. Still, she needed more evidence before she could make her judgment. “Rainbow Dash!” she shouted. “Did you contact the flight academy?”
“Yep,” Dash replied. “And they just said they’re faxing in your records right now.”
The machine in Carousel Boutique buzzed onto life and chipped and chirped and chimed as it worked its magic. After a few seconds, the machine finally powered down and Rainbow Dash, Gilda, Applejack, and Rarity all stared at the records together.
“Incredible,” Gilda breathed. “I have never been absent from any classes due to physical illness.”
“That’s not the half of it!” Pinkie responded as she hopped around the room giddy. “YOU’RE RICH NOW TOO!!!”
“What?” Applejack asked partly stunned, and unsure of what the hay Pinkie Pie was saying.
“Yeah,” Pinkie answered back with. “It seems that, your boss from you old job was so amazed to see that you didn’t take one day off of work in all the time you’ve worked for him, that he offered you a 75% raise if you took your old job back!”
“What’s this suppose to mean?” Fluttershy asked who heard Gilda’s words from the far left side of the room.
“I don’t know,” Gilda responded to Fluttershy’s question. She then focused her attention to everybody; including Big Mac, who was just requiring a glass of water from the refrigerator.
“But don’t you think it’s odd?” Gilda asked her audience. “I mean, not only do I emerge from Equestria’s most disastrous train accident in recent history unscathed and as the only survivor, but I’ve also, never once in my life, as far as I can remember, been sick?”
“Eyup,” Big Mac replied as he trotted towards her. “It’s like you’re Unbreakable or something.”
Gilda blushed a little bit as Big Mac stood right next to her. “That’s very kind of you, but I don’t think I’m that strong,” she told him.
“You put yourself down too easily,” Mackie told her. “You’re a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. And apparently, someone noticed,” Big Mac expressed as he motioned his head towards the note in her talons.
Gilda reviewed the envelope one more time. The silver lettering for the words “Limited Edition,” reflected off her face. “I only wish I knew what Limited Edition meant,” Gilda asked aloud.
“You mean that new comic book art gallery just outside of Ponyville?” A voice requested from the stairs.
The gang turned their heads to see Applebloom standing there on the stairs. She stared back down at them, dressed in her pajamas. Applejack was somewhat angry. “Applebloom?” she insisted. “What in the hay are you doing up? I thought I told you to go to bed. “
“We usually never sleep during a cutie mark crusader’s sleepover,” Applebloom answered to her sister. “And besides, Sweetie Bell heard voices so I decided to investigate.”
“What was that you said earlier about a comic book shop?” Gilda asked Applebloom.
“Oh, ‘Limited Edition’ is suppose to be like this comic book art gallery or something,” Applebloom said. “I don’t know much about it, but Pipsqueak from our school is big comic book fan and is super stoked for the gallery. It hasn’t even opened yet.”
A silence filled the room as Gilda processed this information she just received. Suddenly, the light bulb went off in her head. The idea she received was just so perfect that it had to be put into action at this very moment.
“Say Applebloom, how would you like me to swing you by there when I pick you up tomorrow from you sleep over?” Gilda asked the little Filly with a voice that, while somewhat genuine, contained false enthusiasm.
Applebloom was partly amazed by such a favor. She was speechless for a few moments. “Really?.....ok. That sounds great. But I have to see if AJ will allow me to go.” She turned to face her sister. “AJ? Is it ok if I go tomorrow with Gilda to the new comic book store?”
AJ was unsure of why Gilda wanted to go the comic book store in the first place. However, AJ was not the least bit concerned or worried. Gilda had proven herself to be a very reliable griffon and thus, AJ completely trusted her. Applebloom would be in caring hands. “……I suppose so,” Applejack responded.
“It’s settled then,” Gilda spoke aloud. “Me and Applebloom will head over to Limited Edition tomorrow.”
When the Apple family finally arrived home, and Applejack went inside, Gilda realized that at that moment, it was the perfect opportunity to ask Big Mac the big question. Before he stepped inside, she stopped him just outside the door.
“What?” he asked kindly and filled with some concern for her.
Gilda tried forming the words correctly at first, but when she opened her beak, nothing came out. He mind drew up a complete blank. This rarely happened, if ever happened to Gilda at all. So, she decided to start from the beginning.
“Look,” she said. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you…..but I’m not sure how to-”
Before Gilda could finish her sentence, the Big red Stallion laughed lightly and told her, “I already know what you’re going to ask me.”
“…you do?” The griffon asked surprised.
“Eyup,” Macintosh replied. “And the answer is yes.”
Gilda wasn’t sure if she heard him correctly. But once her brain finally realized what this meant, her heart soared with joy. “Really?” Gilda asked amazed. Then, she responded, “Oh man! That’s awesome. So…….where and when do you want to go on our date?”
Big Mac shot her back a strange look. It was a look of confusion. It immediately stopped Gilda’s soaring emotions. “What’s wrong?” she asked him.
“…….I was under the assumption that what you were going to ask me was if I could take care of your work load while you were gone tomorrow,” Big Mac told her.
A dreadful silence filled the space between the two. Gilda stood there in front of the red horse, eyes widen with shock. Gilda had never felt so awkward in her life. All she could do was just stand there in front of him and utter the simple phrase, “…..oh.”
This caused Big Mac to laugh, hard. He laughed to the point that he was almost about to cry. Gilda got somewhat angry by his amusement and eventually asked the red stallion, “Hey, what’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” Macintosh told her. “It’s just……you’re really cute when you look like that.”
Gilda’s blush turned an even deeper shade of red. “…..stop teasing me,” she told him.
“I’m not,” Big Mac replied. “It’s Celestia’s honest truth. In fact, you’re so cute I will take up on your offer and I will go on that date with you.”
Gilda, again, was unsure if she heard him correctly. “Really?” she asked again.
And that’s when he said it; the words to which Gilda remembered, were the most romantic words she ever heard a stallion utter in her life. When by themselves and taken out of context, they really didn’t do much. But, when used at this moment, Gilda was spellbound and awestricken by the way the words fell from Mac’s lips. “I never was going to deny it in the first place.”
And that’s when it happened.
Gilda, happy as a clam, realizing that she was indeed going to go on that date with Big Mac someday, wanted physical contact with the stallion. Not wanting to appear crazy or rush into things, Gilda restrained herself and settled with an epic hug. Big Mac returned the hug with equal enthusiasm for what lied in store.
But it was when they pulled away that they realized a hug just wasn’t going to cut it. They eyes instantly locked on to each others like they were gemstones in a haystack. And they couldn’t bare themselves to look away from each other’s. They were just too perfect.
Gilda immediately realized the position she was in and logically she knew what was supposed to come next. But she had never found herself in this position so early in the dating game. They hadn’t even gone out on the first date and already, she was going to kiss him. It was so wrong in all logical sense but yet it was so right in an instinctual sense. It was almost…..magical.
They slowly lowered their heads towards each other and both of them unconsciously closed their eye’s realizing what was happening between the two. Gilda opened her beak slightly and before they knew it, they were both partaking in the most magnificent kiss either one of them experienced. It only lasted 5 seconds, but, as cliché as it sounds; it felt like an eternity between the two.
When they pulled away, Gilda noticed the look on Big Mac’s face. While satisfied with the kiss, Big Mac also appeared disturbed on some level and Gilda instantly recognized why.
“It’s the beak, isn’t it,” she said with a smile. “Don’t worry; you’ll get use to it. And I plan on getting you use to it soon.”
Big Mac, being a stallion of few words, returned her comment with a smile that was so sweet it could’ve given anyone diabetes.
They gazed into each other’s eyes for a long time, before Gilda recognized that they were getting cold standing outside the door and that they should probably be heading off to bed.
“Good night,” Gilda told Big Mac as she stepped inside.
The red stallion stopped her.
“Before we head on in, I got to ask you a question,” Big Mac stated.
Gilda was intrigued. “Ok, what is it?” she replied.
“I……I just don’t seem to understand the point of heading to that comic book store tomorrow morning,” Big Mac told her. “I mean, I understand why you’re going it’s just……what are you expecting to find?”
Gilda gazed down at the ground for a moment as she thought this over. The answer came to her quickly and she immediately recognized that it was nothing more than pure unadulterated truth.
“I’m expecting to find an answer to the question I’ve been asking myself these past three months,” She said.
“Which is?” Big Mac cautiously asked, realizing he was treading on delicate ground.
Gilda stared into his eyes and gave forth her reply.
“Why did I survive?”
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Watchin...
I Want See Were This Is Headed.
Faved and liked and really wanting to see how your gonna adapt certain things from the movie. Gilda as Bruce Willis? For the win!
I love this story. I bucking love this story.
Have a pony video.
1521177 Thanks for the Pony vid. Did you make it?
great chapter
1521621
Nnope.
Mac said Gilda was unbreakable and this video I found a fe months back crossed my mind.
But no, I didn't make the vid. My actual vids are either stupid or re-uploaded from other Youtubers
... I think this would warrant the Romance tag....
So just curious, but is Big Mac gonna end up being James McAvoy