Gryphon A Second Chance

by RedSavant

Nightmares and Alfalfa

And here's chapter 2. First off, I'd like to apologize to everyone who seems to have been misled into thinking this'll turn out GildaShy. Apparently writing subtext isn't something you can just turn off. So, sorry for that, GildaShy fans. It's GildaDash.

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"Hey there, Moondancer. Where ya goin'?"

The silvery-gray filly froze in place as Gilda spoke up, her wings rising involuntarily from the surprise. It was just a thing that happened to pegasi – some kind of excitement reaction, she'd seen it a million times – but it made them, especially the jumpy ones, easy to read… and Moondancer was one of the jumpiest ponies Gilda knew. The pegasus, looking rather like an eaglet caught with her claw in the squirrel jar, turned around to face Gilda as she stepped out from behind a building, and let out a rather weak chuckle as the gryphon joined her on a nearby puff of cloud.

"Oh, hi, Gilda. D-didn't see you there." Moondancer tried, with some success, to furl her wings. Gilda felt some predatory satisfaction; it had been extremely boring holing up on Level One. Cloudsdale didn't get much first-level traffic, even in the central avenue, and she'd been there for nearly an hour with her eyes peeled for somepony she could easily collar. Moondancer fit that bill. "Going?" the pegasus continued, with another annoyingly weak laugh. "Aha, no, I wasn't really going anywhere in particular, really…"

Gilda raised an eyebrow. "That's a fancy-ass skirt for 'nowhere in particular'," she said, mocking Moondancer's high voice. "About right for Sunstroke's party, though. Funny how I heard that got canceled."

"Um, it is," Moondancer replied, leaping a bit too eagerly to agree. "Canceled. It, yeah, that got canceled. So I'm going home now. See you around…" She hopped into the air, wings out, only to be pulled back down as Gilda threw a seemingly friendly arm around her shoulders.

"Canceled, huh?" she asked. "Guess that makes sense, yeah. All those ponies I saw going to Sunstroke's house must've been going to help him move all the party stuff they wouldn't need." Moondancer opened her mouth – probably to agree, which would've pissed Gilda off, so she patted her firmly on the shoulder and she shut her mouth again. "Listen, Moondancer," she said casually. "You're cool, right? You wouldn't lie to me?"

Moondancer tried to speak up again, but Gilda patted her again, harder. "Listen, you little filly-fooler," she growled softly. "You suck at lying, so quit insulting me and fess up." The little pegasus quivered next to her; she was staring at her hooves. "This is the fifth time so far some party's been mysteriously 'canceled' right after I heard about it. So tell me." She leaned down, wicked beak inches from soft pony nose. "What's. Going. On."

"I… I…" Moondancer trembled, her eyes darting all over the place. "The… the truth is…" she swallowed hard, then squeezed her eyes shut and shouted: "Everypony hates you, Gilda!"

Gilda was so shocked that she let the silver filly go. Moondancer immediately burst up out of her reach and hovered there, glaring at her.

"That's right, everyone hates you," she said, angry tears standing out in her eyes. "Birdy Blue heard what you said about him, you know! And none of us thought it was funny, either! We just laughed because we were scared of you!" She blinked fast, trying to clear her eyes. "You changed, Gilda! You used to be so cool, and everyone looked up to you!"

"They never did," Gilda cried, taking an angry step forward. "Don't you lie to me!"

"We did," Moondancer replied hotly. She'd failed in keeping the tears back, and hot liquid sprinkled Gilda's claws as the pegasus shook her head. "Everypony wanted to be like you, but you're so different now! You changed. You got nasty, and cruel, and mean." She hiccupped. "Y-you just couldn't stand it when-"

"Don't you dare," Gilda snarled, but it was too late.

"When Dash left you here alone," Moondancer cried. Gilda roared in fury and launched herself into the air after the pegasus, but she didn't get far. Her left wing crumpled into a charred wreck, and she fell to the cloud, landing badly. When she picked herself up, a ring of ponies surrounded her, watching her silently – all ponies whose names she knew. Sunstroke and Milly and Birdy Blue and Pinkie Pie and Moondancer… and, standing right in front of her, Rainbow Dash.

"Dash," Gilda cried, standing. "You came back-" But Dash merely looked at her for a long moment, then her eyes flicked to the burning stump on Gilda's back. Her vibrant pink eyes filled with an emotion more painful than scorn, crueler than hate; she pitied the stricken gryphon, and her expression pushed steel blades into Gilda's heart.

"No," Gilda croaked. "Dash, no… I can still… still fly…" She stumbled toward the beautiful blue pegasus, but the cloud she stood on grew soft and yielding and caught at her feet. The other ponies in the circle now wore Wonderbolts uniforms; they took off in pairs, filling the air with thunderclouds that blotted out the sun. As Gilda watched, mired in cloud to her knees, Dash set her own goggles down over her eyes and turned away.

"No!" Gilda shouted, as Dash's rainbow trail burst into view and was immediately swallowed up by the treacherous dark clouds. She struggled against the cloud, but it did no good; it held her fast… until she felt it begin to thin under her feet.

The cloud parted, and, wing flapping crazily, she fell.

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Fluttershy was making breakfast in the kitchen. The sun had been up for an hour or so, and she had already made a trip into Ponyville to pick up some supplies for the creatures in her care – not least among them Gilda. It had crossed her mind before that oats and apples might not cut it for the sleek, powerful gryphon, but now she paused halfway through tossing a second bowl of alfalfa salad. Though she'd been avoiding the thought, wouldn't meat be more suitable for her grouchy patient…?

It wasn't like she hadn't dealt with carnivores before. They were fairly common in the Everfree Forest, and even though she rarely even entered the outskirts, she'd come across small, and not-so-small, piles of chewed bones more than once. She always did what she could for them, which wasn't really much, but she liked to think it gave the creatures some peace of mind. Even some of the critters in Ponyville were carnivores too, though – the families of ferrets by the river, for instance. Still, familiarity didn't really mean—

She was lost deep in thought when there was a colossal shout, followed by a heavy thump from the floor above. "Gilda?" she called, leaving the alfalfa where it fell and rushing up the stairs.

When she reached the head of the staircase, a strange sight greeted her: Gilda, tangled in the sheets and blanket from the bed, was lying on the floor, seemingly unable to move. She hissed in frustration and a bit of pain as she struggled against the cloth; her limbs were caught, and every time she moved her feet the twisted sheet pulled at her unbound wing.

"Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked, stepping closer. Gilda stiffened as she heard the pegasus's voice – with a sheet lying over her eyes, she hadn't seen her approach– but relaxed again after a moment.

"Been better," she growled, trying to furl her wing again. It didn't work, and she let out a pained and exasperated sigh that carried a few overtones of a lion's roar. "These damn sheets—"

"Here," Fluttershy said, guiding the edge of the sheet off of the gryphon's wing. A short time later, the tangled bedclothes and ruffled gryphon lay in separate piles, both looking slightly the worse for wear, but mostly intact.

"That never happened," Gilda spoke up eventually, standing. "Got it? You didn't see anything." She stalked over to the pile of sheets, nabbed the blanket with her beak, and got back into bed, pulling it inexpertly over herself. It was clear she didn't want to talk, and part of Fluttershy – a large part, to be honest – was fine with giving her her own way. But the other part – the part that got angry when her friends were hurt; the part that let her jump chasms – told her to step up, and she did. Carefully.

"Gilda, are you sure you're okay?" she asked quietly, sitting down by the head of the bed. Her rug was soft and plush, and comfortable underneath her.

One eagle eye poked out from under the blanket; it looked angry. "I said nothing happened, right?" Gilda said firmly. "Go away. I'm going back to sleep." The upturned edge of the blanket flopped back down. Fluttershy stood up quickly.

"Um, you can tell me about it!" She offered quickly, speaking fast to get the words out before she thought better of it. There was a stony silence from beneath the blanket, and Fluttershy continued on, shrinking back down to the rug with every word. "That is, if you want to and you wouldn't be too upset by it and you… you… ..." The end of the sentence degenerated into a quiet squeak.

There was no reply from the gryphon, and Fluttershy's head drooped. Still, she could tell that Gilda wasn't asleep and wouldn't be for a long time, and it seemed cruel to leave her alone with her nightmare.

"Um…" she spoke up again. "If you'd like, I made some food… oh! And once you feel strong enough, you can have visitors," she offered, injecting cheer into her voice. "I can go tell Rainbow—"

"No! No!" Gilda shouted, throwing the blanket off. There was a wild look in her eyes, but for once it wasn't anger – well, not predominantly anger – but fear. She didn't quite fall off the bed, but it was close. She calmed down quickly and settled her feet under her like a cat, looking troubled, and seemed at a loss for words. "Fine, I'll tell you," she mumbled finally. "You play dirty, pony."

Fluttershy parked herself back down on the rug, which was easy since Gilda's outburst had caused her back legs to give out anyway. The gryphon shot her an annoyed look as she got comfortable. "You blackmail all your patients like this?" she asked archly. Fluttershy shook her head meekly, and Gilda rolled her eyes. "Just me, then. Fan-frickin'-tastic." Fluttershy opened her mouth; Gilda suppressed a sigh and held up a hand. "I'm joking. Shut up."

Host properly chastised, Gilda stalled for another few moments before she began. She detailed what she could remember of the nightmare, though once Dash made an appearance, her tail began lashing and she had to clasp her claws together to keep from tearing rents in the mattress.

"That's it," Gilda finished dully. She seemed eminently interested in paring one of her talons with another; the quiet scraping sound was all that could be heard for a few moments. After a long minute, she looked over at Fluttershy, who had an odd expression on her face. "What?"

Fluttershy was not a pony given to earth-shaking revelations. She wasn't like Twilight, who had to understand how and why everything worked the way it did; for the most part, she just learned the ways of the world and accepted them for what they were. But now she felt the same rush of wonder she had the first time she'd ever witnessed a birth, and she couldn't help the smile that crept across her face.

Gilda didn't like it. "What's that for? Are you making fun of me?" She drew herself up to her full height, and even injured and bedraggled, the gryphon cut an imposing figure. Rock-solid muscles stood out beneath her tan fur; her golden eyes flashed dangerously. Fluttershy smiled beatifically up at her, not afraid at all. After all…

"You're in love with Rainbow Dash, aren't you, Gilda?"

Gilda froze. There was a deafening silence.

"What did you just say?" Gilda asked, sitting down.

Fluttershy, still smiling, stood up; the gryphon's head was still at twice the height of hers. "Oh, don't worry, I think it's wonderful!" she said. "I'm so happy for you!"

Gilda felt like her body had been pinned in place by that damned smile. "No, you've got it wrong," she managed. She was right back in the nightmare, mired in the cloud again, and she could only hope that it would open up and let her fall to her death already. "It's not like that. She's just…" A friend? Moondancer was your friend once. Wasn't Dash different, even back then? "Just a good friend, that's all…" The voice inside her crowed with laughter. Not after what you said to her, buddy! You've ballsed it up for good this time!

"She doesn't know, does she?" Fluttershy asked quietly, no longer smiling. There was a moment of silence, and Gilda shut her eyes tightly against the unfamiliar, painful tingling in them. She shook her head. When she trusted herself to open her eyes again, Fluttershy was looking at her strangely. Yeah, yeah; one more pony added to that count.

"I'm going home," Gilda said quietly. She stepped almost gingerly down from the bed, past Fluttershy, and headed for the stairs. As she reached the top, though, Fluttershy spoke from behind her.

"When you say 'home'…" The question was implicit in her voice. Gilda shrugged as best she could, not turning around.

"Cloudsdale, I guess?" she said. "I never had my own house there – rented from this dippy old pegasus. Might see if he still has room."

"Your wing won't be healed for weeks," Fluttershy reminded her gently. "How will you get up there? Or get around once you do?"

"Pay a pegasus with a cart…" Gilda started, but even as she said it her entire body shuddered with abject shame at the idea. Proud Gilda, who had departed Cloudsdale hurling insults, returning injured, pulled along in a cart like a shriveled old pigeon? No. Never.

"…Fine. Not Cloudsdale, then," she said, starting down the stairs. "Back to the Drackenridges…" …where she would be snared by a Cavesong or torn apart by a basilisk the first night she spent on the ground.

"I'll live in a hole in the damn Everfree Forest if I have to," she shouted, more at herself than at Fluttershy, "but I am not staying here!" She had reached the door now, and stretched out a hand to push it open.

"Why not?' asked Fluttershy softly.

Despite herself, Gilda stopped in pushing the door open. Behind her, Fluttershy stepped down off the staircase and joined her by the door, not pushing the gryphon's personal space. "You're not a bad person, Gilda," she said. "I'm sure of it. You just haven't been shown any kindness for a long time." She stepped back – one deliberate step, taking her out of the range at which she could get between Gilda and the door before it was opened. "I won't stop you if you want to go. But know that you're welcome to stay here anytime, for as long as you like – and I'll help you with anything you want to do while you're here."

The little yellow pegasus spoke quietly, but the conviction in her voice was unshakeable, and Gilda knew she was absolutely sincere. It wasn't an emotion she was used to feeling or seeing in others, and it made her uncomfortable – but it also felt… nice.

After a long moment, Gilda lowered her hand. The feeling of utter stillness in the air – which Gilda hadn't noticed until just now – broke, and both pegasus and gryphon relaxed subconsciously. Fluttershy stepped back over to the counter to right her spilled salad, and Gilda turned away from the door to watch her.

"Hey," she said after a minute, sitting back on her haunches. "Is that breakfast?"

Fluttershy looked up, scooping spoon in her mouth, and nodded. Gilda chuckled honestly for what felt like the first time in years, and shook her head.

"No grass for me, thanks. I'm sure it's great and whatever, but…" she waggled her fingers, displaying her talons. "I'm heading into the Forest for a bit. I'll be back." And she would be, she knew – and so did Fluttershy. She pushed open the door and took a deep breath of fresh air, her first in several days. It felt somehow even more refreshing than she'd expected.

"Hey… Fluttershy?" It was the first time Gilda had called her by name, and Fluttershy looked up, surprised. The gryphon was smiling at her – not frowning, not scowling, not even smirking. Smiling. "Thanks," she said. "For a lot of stuff."

Then she stepped out into the sun.

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Comments

[Chip Unicorn]

"You're in love with Rainbow Dash, aren't you, Gilda?"

Isn't everyone? *GRIN*

Nice story. Nice start of growth in Gilda's character...

...and Fluttershy is very, very patient. She is an angel!