//------------------------------// // What my Griffon Heart is telling me. // Story: Gift of a Griffon // by DragonflyDreams //------------------------------// "Grace, what is it? Did you find out something about Gilda? Does she have some secret special hobby? What is it?" As the two griffon friends hurried through the night sky, Gabby continued to ask questions. She had no idea what her short, clay coloured friend had discovered about Gilda, but she could barely contain herself. "You'll see." Grace replied. She wasn't exactly beaming with excitement herself, which confused her companion a little, but Gabby could tell that Grace wanted them to reach Gilda's place as quickly as possible, so she didn't dwell on the matter. After a good ten minutes, they arrived at Gilda's home. Gilda lived in a slightly rugged looking hut, situated near the base of a thick, leafless tree. Unlike many of the buildings in Griffonstone, her home had windows which could easily close, allowing her to bask in her own privacy whenever she wanted; Gilda was usually pretty independent like that. Gabby eagerly approached the door to the hut, but Grace placed a paw firmly upon her shoulder to stop her. "What is it?" Gabby asked, confused. Grace lifted her head, and gazed overhead towards the tall, twisted tree. "Up there." She whispered. Glancing upwards, Gabby noticed two dark figures resting on the lower branches of the tree. She recognised them instantly; the larger and more bulky one belonging to Gilda, and the smaller and thinner figure was Gilda's close friend, Greta. Greta was a pretty griffon with soft white and mahogany coloured feathers. She had a thin face, and unique but pretty green markings around her eyes. "T... they're just hanging out?" Gabby was a little disappointed, "I thought for sure she'd be playing the piano or dancing or somethi...." "Shhhh." Grace gently covered Gabby's beak with her beige lion paw. "just follow me." The short griffon crouched to the ground, and began crawling as quietly as possible toward the thick base of the tree. Gabby gave a nod, and copied her friends movements exactly. It soon became clear to Gabby that Gilda and Greta were talking, and the conversation sounded pretty serious. The two griffons approached the tree, and stood on their hind legs behind it to eavesdrop. They propped themselves up, using an even lower branch for support, to try and hear as much of the conversation as possible. "I just feel awful that it's all over." Gilda was telling Gretta in a shaky voice; it sounded as though she had been crying. "These past few weeks with the ponies have just been the best of my life, but now Dash is leaving. She could be gone months... and this is only the first time. I'm not going to see her for ages... I'm not going to see any of them." "Gilda..." Greta put a comforting paw on her friend's front leg, "you can still visit Ponyville, you can go and see Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy and whats her name... Apple Snack?" "Applejack." Gilda chuckled a little through her tears, "yeah, she's a character..." She rubbed her eyes before continuing, "They're all pretty great, but... I can't go back. Not when Dash isn't there. It would be so awkward, and I doubt they'd want to see me. Even Pinkie Pie. The whole reason we became friends is because of Dash; she's the one who kept inviting me to them. Now the parties are finished I have no reason to go back there, and I can't just turn up... I'm not sure they even enjoy my company at all. What do I have to offer? What reason would they even have, to want to hang out with me?" "Because you like them so much." Greta was not only smart, she was observant. "You always seem so happy when you're going to visit Ponyville, and you always have so many stories when you return." "I... hate to admit it." Gilda blushed, "but, ponies are pretty great. Like, take Dash for example, she's super fast - faster than me by far - and now she's an actual real Wonderbolt. That's just... so incredible. I can't believe how much she has accomplished." "It's really cool." Greta agreed, "but Gilda, you..." "And Pinkie Pie is just so happy all the time. She has this incredible radiance that beams out of her and follows her wherever she goes, making every pony around her feel good. It's almost like magic." "Pinkie Pie is a huge part of the reason we became friends." Greta said kindly, "I'm grateful to her, even though I've never personally met her." Gilda smiled affectionately at her companion, "Then there's Fluttershy. She's the most kindhearted of them all. The first time I returned to Ponyville, I expected her to be a little hostile towards me. I was a bit of a brute to her during our previous encounter." She hung her head shamefully before continuing, "but she wasn't. She instantly forgave me and wanted to introduce me to all of her animal friends. Then she and Dash started showing me all these different bird species, and we spent the whole day flying with them and helping fix their nests... Fluttershy is amazing with animals I'll tell ya." Greta considered trying to say something again, but she decided against it; Gilda clearly just needed to talk right now. "And Rarity - she's pretty awesome for a fashionista. Her and Dash showed me how to brush my feathers so they always look clean and have great volume. I even went to the spar with the two of them... and liked it! And Applejack... she's super strong. It's incredible. You should see the work she does on that farm, without breaking a sweat." "Hehe..." Greta chuckled, "and there's the Princess too, right?" "Yeah." Gilda answered, "Twilight is really clever, and incredible with magic. And she wanted to know everything there is to know about griffons and Griffonstone. I hinted that she should come and see it for herself but.... she never did." "I'm sorry Gilda." Greta didn't quite know how to respond to that. "That's alright." Gilda sighed, "I'm just, really going to miss them, all of them, but I doubt they'll miss me." "Why don't I come to Ponyville with you?" Greta suddenly piped up, "we can hang out with your pony friends together!" "I appreciate the offer Greta, really I do." Gilda rubbed her neck, "it's just, I don't know if the ponies really consider me their friend... or just Dash's friend, that's all. I'd feel pretty weird suddenly appearing in Ponyville uninvited, and hanging out with them without Dash nearby. None of the ponies ever told me it was okay to go and visit them after Dash leaves, so... I don't know if it is." "You clearly like Dash's friends a lot more than you thought you would." Greta sympathized, "but even you have a shy side Gilda, combined with our natural griffon-y pride. I guess I can see how suddenly turning up at one of Dash's friends' houses could be pretty uncomfortable. If only they knew how you feel." "Yeah, but what am I supposed to do?" Gilda sounded frustrated, "just show up one day and be all "Hey guys I've decided I want to be BFF's with you all so here I am let's hang out"? it's pathetic..." "It's not pathetic." Greta gently tried to reassure her, "but I understand your dilemma Gilda. If only you maybe had some way of letting them know how you feel without...." "Without looking like a total loser?" Gilda sounded pretty defeated. "If only, hey." ~*~ Back at the base of the tree, Gabby was close to tears herself. "Poor Gilda." She whimpered, "she misses the ponies so much. If only there was some way to help her..." Grace sighed, "Gilda really enjoys spending time with the ponies." She hinted, "it's like... her greatest pass-time. Now if only there was a way she could express it. She could send them a letter but... I don't think she'd be comfortable putting it in writing either." "Pooooor Gilda." Gabby wailed again, starting to sob. She was too busy feeling sorry for the tomboyish griffon to understand what her friend was getting at. Grace rolled her eyes, but remained patient; Gabby was smart, surely she would understand once she stopped crying. "Now... isn't there some kind of saying... about a picture being worth a thousand words?" Grace winked. There was a brief pause, and then... Gabby gasped. It was a huge, delighted gasp. "That's it!!!" She threw her arms around Grace. "I know what Gilda's special purpose is! I know what Gilda's greatest passion is! I know what Gilda's cutie mark should be!!!" Without missing a beat, she took her friend by the paw and dragged her away into the night. Meanwhile, Gilda and Greta bought their conversation to a halt, and glanced up in confusion, just in time to see two griffon silhouettes flying away into the distance at a rapid speed. ~*~ Back at Gabby's studio, the two griffon friends set to work on the most important and most challenging cutie mark to date. Varied designs and drafts were scattered across the floor, all depicting a similar image. The wooden table was covered with tested coloured combinations in the form of mini paint swatches, and brushes of all shapes and sizes lay close by. There were even a few wood carving tools, which Gabby often used to decorate her creations. "You know they probably aren't going to like that we were spying on them." Grace warned, as Gabby passionately shaped a piece of wood. "Ah don't worry." Gabby beamed at her friend, "Gilda already knows that I spy on her - she caught me in the square earlier." "That doesn't exactly make it better..." Grace couldn't help but smile back, "let's just hope that this cutie mark makes up for it." "Oh it will!" Gabby's blue eyes sparkled as she gazed at the perfectly cut pieces of wood. She made her way over to the sander and switched it on, steadily turning each piece to smooth down the edges. It was a pretty tough shape to do, with plenty of curved edges, but Gabby didn't give up; she never gave up on anything, especially not where her friends were concerned. Grace was getting a little tired, but she helped out as best she could by passing over glue and paint. Despite her incredible talent for clay sculpting and pottery, she wasn't too good at woodwork. However, Gabby's enthusiasm was rather contagious, and she was determined to make it through the night. After all, she hadn't seen Gabby this energetic since the day she returned to Griffonstone with her own cutie mark. Despite her fast pace, Gabby continued to work on the mark until the morning, determined to make it absolutely perfect for Gilda. Finally, the sun came up, and it was finished. Gabby gently lifted her creation up to the morning light, making sure the paint was dry, and the two griffon marveled in delight at Gilda's new cutie mark, which symbolized her greatest passion, and purpose, in life.