//------------------------------// // Chapter 1:5 - Old Comrades // Story: Camaraderie is Sorcery // by FireOfTheNorth //------------------------------// Chapter 1:5 – Old Comrades Rainbow Dash sat perfectly still in the field, her ears twitching slightly as the wind swayed the wheat around her. Her sword was in front of her, its point embedded in the soft earth and its hilt within easy reach of her mouth for when her prey appeared. It was only a matter of time before the specter came to her; she just had to be patient. Her training with the Order of the Falcon had taught her how to be a fast fighter, but it had also taught her how to wait for the perfect moment to strike. She sensed the wraith the moment it came near. The smell of lightning and death, the slight change in light as the specter moved in front of the sun, the insignificant drop in ambient temperature, even the magical flux that accompanied a ghost shifting entirely into the mortal realm; Rainbow Dash recognized them all simultaneously. Her eyes snapped open, the pupils adjusting unnaturally fast to the light, and she pulled her sword from the ground. The wraith charged the Hunter, trying to embrace her in an ice-cold grip of death. Dash nimbly sidestepped and rolled to put some distance between herself and the specter. When the ghost charged her again, the Hunter swung her sword around through the apparition, causing it to stagger back in its equivalent of pain. Before it could recover, she impaled it through where its heart had been when it was alive. With a ghastly shriek, the specter dissolved into the air. “Hey, Rainbow Dash,” Pinkamena said, startling her just as she was finishing lowering her heartrate to a normal level. “Pinkamena! What are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash demanded as she spun to face the voice. “Watching you, of course,” the pink pony answered from where she was sitting in the field, just her head poking through the wall of wheat that separated the healthy crop from the wilted patch Dash had retreated to in order to draw out the specter, “You were amazing, by the way!” “Don’t you know how dangerous that was?” Rainbow asked as she began gathering up gritty wraith essence and watery ectoplasm—the only remains of the ghost—which would be useful for creating potions and bombs later, “You could have been killed!” “Are you or are you not the best Hunter in Ponieville?” Pinkamena asked as she stood up and stepped out of the waving stalks of wheat. “I should think my reputation speaks for itself,” Dash said, as she capped the vials containing the wraith’s remains and tucked them in her nearby saddlebags before sprinkling some salt over the area to be safe. Nothing would grow very well here, but the ponies who tended the field would probably prefer that over another wraith attack. Maybe. “Then I don’t see what I had to wor-ry a-bout,” Pinkamena said in a sing-song manner. “I didn’t know you were here, and even if I had, there’s no guarantee I could’ve protected you and fought the wraith at the same time,” Rainbow Dash berated her. “Got it. Next time, I’ll let you know I’m here,” Pinkamena said as she trotted off into the wheat field. “Next time?” Rainbow said, aghast. The Hunter tried to follow Pinkamena into the field and have a stern talk with her about not putting herself in danger like this again, but the pink pony had somehow managed to vanish without a trace. Rainbow sighed and rolled her eyes before grabbing her sword belt and saddlebags and trotting off toward the farmhouse, where she’d hopefully be paid for her work here. *** Rainbow Dash blinked her eyes rapidly to clear them of the water running into them from her dripping wet mane. From across the river, she stared down her foe, a river-guardian whose form was covered in damp sheets of hair. In its blocky ox-like face, two shining black eyes remained fixed on the Hunter as the creature stamped along the riverbank, its split whip-like tail lashing to and fro. Dash mirrored its movements, keeping a firm hold on her sword as she trotted closer to the bridge it had been ramming into driftwood when she’d arrived. Of the four horns that sprouted from the river-guardian’s head, Dash had successfully sliced through one of them and torn a shallow gash in its jawline, but the pointed horn on its other cheek and the two dangerous curled ones on top of its head were still intact. The twin rows of spines running along its back also meant that Rainbow Dash’s aerial superiority wouldn’t count for much in this fight; her wings would be far more useful to her in assisting her ground speed. The river-guardian placed a clawed foot on the intact half of the bridge, and then a second as it advanced toward the center of the river, causing the plank it was stepping on to buckle and crack as it went. Rainbow Dash ran a hoof through her mane to try to free the last of the water trapped there before she too advanced toward the center of the river. When she reached the edge of the collapsed section, she spread her wings and took off into the air before descending rapidly toward the river-guardian. As the beast swung a claw at her, she tucked her wings in, shot through its reach, and over its back. She extended her wings again as she neared its tail and prepared to slice through the thick extremity. The river-guardian reacted quickly, swinging its tail up at Dash, and she was forced to dodge, spinning around to face the river as she landed on the bank. The river guardian turned, and smashed through a support pillar with its claw, causing the section of bridge it was standing on to collapse into the water. As the beast shook pieces of the bridge from its body as it slogged toward land, Rainbow Dash threw a bomb its way. The Hunter shielded her eyes as it exploded in an array of dazzling lights that temporarily blinded the river-guardian. Enraged, the creature charged blindly toward where Dash was standing. She stepped smoothly to the side as the river-guardian charged past, and stabbed her sword into its shoulder, tearing a gash through the flesh. The river-guardian reacted much quicker than she’d expected, and it twisted its body to ram Dash with its bulk. The Hunter jumped back out of the way, but didn’t take into account the tail rushing toward her, which swept her legs out from under her. As she fell, she lost her grip on her sword, and it went flying from her mouth. Her blade hit the ground only a few paces away from where she landed, but she had no chance to retrieve it before the river-guardian stomped in front of her. Rainbow Dash did a backflip as the beast tried to head-butt her. As she landed, she threw a knife at the river-guardian’s face, but it bounced off one of its horns, doing no more damage than leaving a nick in it. Standing on her hindhooves, she used a flap of her wings to help propel her farther back as the river-guardian tried to ram her with its head again. From her belt, she pulled a firebomb and lobbed it at the monster, but the flames were unable to penetrate the thick, wet hair that covered the beast. When the river-guardian charged her again, keeping its head low, she took off into the air and tried to fly over the beast on her way to her sword. Once again, the tail got in her way and she was forced to dodge to the side, landing amongst the broken remains of the bridge. Her saddlebags were on the other side of the river-guardian; she briefly considered flying over to them to resupply on weapons, but instead she dove for her sword. Faster than it should have been able to, the river-guardian reversed direction and came between Dash and her blade. She was unable to dodge out of the way of its claw swipe, but as the massive paw connected, she was able to jab a knife in between the joints. Then she was thrown through the air, landing in the middle of the river. The river-guardian gave a bellow that sent waves radiating through the water and shook what was left of the bridge. Beams fell around Rainbow Dash, preventing her from taking off and escaping. Striking out in all directions, the Hunter fought to free herself as the river-guardian plunged into the river and advanced toward her. She was able to escape from the beams at the exact moment the river-guardian reached her and blocked her path with its massive bulk. There was no way out, except maybe under the monster, but Rainbow didn’t like her chances at being able to swim under a creature that could crush her just by lowering its body. They can’t be much worse than just standing here, can they? “Rainbow Dash!” Pinkamena’s voice came from the bank as the river-guardian lifted a claw to crush the Hunter’s body once and for all, “Catch!” Rainbow’s sword came spinning through the air, and she was able to maneuver just enough to catch it in her teeth. As the river-guardian’s claw came down, her sword went up, slicing through the foreleg at the wrist. Hair, flesh, and bone all parted before her blade, and a spray of purplish blood rained down on the Hunter. As the river-guardian staggered, it dropped its stump into the water to steady itself, and collapsed onto its side instead. Rainbow acted quickly, ducking under its good foreleg to reach its now-exposed belly. Entrails spilled into the river as she sliced a long gash through the monster’s underside. Giving a dying roar, the river-guardian’s eyes slowly closed and its form grew still apart from the occasional twitching as it released blood and organs into the water. “Pinkamena? Where did you come from?” Dash asked as she quickly fled the river, which was rapidly becoming polluted by gore. “I was just watching, and thought you could use some help,” Pinkamena said nonchalantly as the Hunter wiped her blade clean in the stamped-down grass. “How long were you watching?” Rainbow Dash asked as she trotted over to her saddlebags and sheathed her sword. “Oh, since before you were here. I tried to stay out of the way, but I saw that you were trapped and thought I should lend a hoof. I think that catches us up to the present moment.” “You were really here the whole time?” Dash asked skeptically as she stared Pinkamena down, eye-to-eye. If she was lying, Dash would know. “Absolutely,” Pinkamena replied, and the Hunter saw no trace of hesitation or deceit in the other mare’s eyes, only an earnestness and a frankly frightening amount of optimism. “Hmm, how ‘bout that?” Rainbow Dash said as she broke eye contact and went back to tending to her equipment, “Thanks for the assist. Maybe you should watch me fight more often.” As soon as the words had left her mouth, Dash knew she’d made a mistake. But it was too late now; Pinkamena had the idea in her head, and no matter how fast Rainbow tried to kill it, she wouldn’t be able to. “Thanks, I definitely will!” Pinkamena promised as she bounded away over what was left of the bridge. Thankfully, that promise didn’t seem to mean that Pinkamena would be following Dash everywhere she went, for which the Hunter was grateful. However, she still wondered just what she’d gotten herself into with that thoughtless remark. *** Rainbow Dash soon learned just what Pinkamena’s intentions were. At first, it unsettled the Hunter that Pinkamena always managed to show up whenever she was fighting some beast. Soon, though, Rainbow Dash began to value her presence. The eccentric mare really did know how to stay out of the way during battles, and often served as a distraction to the monster that allowed Rainbow to quickly gain the upper hoof. Rainbow Dash even began to rely on her as she tried out new strategies. Pinkamena may not have been a Hunter, but it was still helpful to have a second pony present to assist, especially with laying down traps while Dash was engaged in battle. Eventually, Rainbow Dash began to seek out Pinkamena before her battles, and they would head there together. Afterwards, she would even share a small portion of her rewards with the other mare as payment for her cheers and aid during the fight. She could even afford to do so; things were going well to the point that Rainbow had begun to consider Pinkamena her good luck charm. Eight days from when Rainbow Dash had first caught Pinkamena observing her in the wheat field, the Hunter was slowly advancing through the trees at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Pinkamena hadn’t met her in their usual spot, and she was nowhere to be seen at Sugar Cube Corner, so Dash had left a message with the Cakes to let Pinkamena know where she was headed. Despite her wishes, this job couldn’t wait; two foals had been killed already by the creature she was tracking down, and she wasn’t going to let another fall prey to it. From the boar-like tracks, the monster she was hunting could have been any number of things, but the size was abnormal, somewhere between those of domesticated boars and their twisted and monstrous cousins. When Dash heard snorting up ahead, she drew her sword and advanced through the brush more carefully. At last her quarry came into view, a boar of exceptional size, but otherwise with no shockingly wrong features. It was definitely no ordinary boar, though; it’s eyes burned a demonic red and its fur was thick, matted, and entwined with vines. One of the many malicious woodland spirits that inhabited the Everfree Forest must have possessed a mundane boar that wandered too far into the forest, and was using it to strike at the ponies it so hated for settling so near and chopping down trees. The fur around the boar’s mouth was stained red, leaving no doubt that this was the same beast that had killed those foals. The boar had spotted Dash, and it fixed her with its hate-filled eyes, snuffling a bit before charging toward her with an ear-splitting squeal. The Hunter cupped her ears close to her skull to block out the noise, outspread her wings, and held her sword in a ready stance for when the boar reached her. When it was still ten paces away, a crossbow bolt emerged from thin air and went straight through the boar’s head from the side, killing it instantly. The fire in its eyes died as it stumbled and skidded through the dirt and moss, a faint green smoke drifting from the holes in its head. Cautiously, Rainbow Dash advanced through the forest with her swords still held in front of her. Somepony else was out there, and while she knew the direction the bolt had come from, she had no idea how far it had flown before striking the boar. The Hunter’s ears twitched as they picked up every sound, but few helped inform her of the location of the other pony. Whoever they were, they were good, but not good enough to evade detection forever, not by Rainbow Dash. A slight rustle as they passed a low shrub guided her to the area, and once she was close she was able to follow the scent of the oiled crossbow string. Her quarry was just through a line of trees and past a row of brambles, now. Moving swiftly, Rainbow Dash used her wings to assist in a jump that would land her in a small forest clearing where she’d be able to see her target. As she landed in the area, so too did her opponent, and they both froze as they alighted just a few paces from each other. Standing opposite Rainbow Dash was a griffon wearing Hunter’s garb and holding a crossbow in her left claw. “Rainbow Dash? Is that really you?” the griffon spoke first, cocking her head to the side. “Gilda?” Dash replied, realization dawning as she recognized this griffon. The two Hunters put away their weapons and embraced each other. Rainbow Dash had never expected to meet Gilda again, but here they were, reunited by chance in the Everfree Forest. “How long has it been?” Rainbow Dash asked as they separated. “It’s been eight years since you left the Order of the Magpie. How’s the Order of the Falcon been treatin’ you?” Gilda asked as she pointed at the clasp on Rainbow’s armor for attaching her cloak. “Fine; there’s plenty of Falcon Hunters in this area,” Dash replied. “I heard you settled down around here, but I didn’t believe it,” Gilda said, “Rainbow Dash livin’ in one spot? By Ponieville, no less.” “Well, what can I say? This forest is so full of monsters that my services are in high demand here,” Rainbow Dash said as she and Gilda started to head back out of the Everfree Forest, “What about you? I see you’re still in the Order of Magpie. Is Grandmaster Gruph still in charge?” “I don’t think the old sod’ll ever die or retire. He lost half his beak a few years back, but still squawks orders as harsh as ever,” Gilda answered, “Wallen still throws a coin in the lake every time he gets back from a job and wishes Gruph’d get knocked off, but no luck so far, and the lake is getting mighty full of money.” “You didn’t have that last time I saw you,” Dash pointed out the vertical scar that ran over Gilda’s right eye. “Some thug with a knife; he got what he deserved,” Gilda explained as she passed her claw over the wound, “Looks like we’ve both taken some damage.” “Yeah, a basilisk got me,” Dash said as she looked up at the hole torn in her left ear, “That was years ago, back when I was just starting out with the Order of the Falcon.” “It’s good to see you again, G,” Rainbow Dash said after an uncomfortable silence passed between the two Hunters. “Yeah,” Gilda replied, but didn’t continue the conversation any further. “Rainbow Dash!” Pinkamena called out as she bounded over a hill just as Gilda and Rainbow Dash emerged from the Everfree Forest, “I came as soon as I heard!” “Thanks, Pinkamena,” Rainbow Dash said as the pink pony came to a stop and dropped off Dash’s saddlebags, which she’d apparently retrieved before galloping over to where the Hunters had left the forest. “Who are you?” Pinkamena asked as she turned to face Gilda, and tilted her head. “This is my Hunter friend, Gilda,” Rainbow Dash said before the griffon had a chance to respond, “We used to train together as foal and chick.” “That’s right, and who are you?” Gilda said, annoyed that Dash had answered for her. It used to be the other way around! “The name’s Pinkamena Diane Pie, and I’ve been helping Rainbow Dash out,” Pinkamena said proudly, oblivious to the daggered look Gilda was giving her. “Is that so?” the griffon said slowly with narrowed eyes. “I’m going on ahead to pick up the reward,” Rainbow Dash announced once she had her saddlebags strapped on comfortably and her sword belt slung over them. “See if they’ve got any leather strips,” Gilda called after the pegasus as she flew away and grabbed Pinkamena’s tail as she tried to bound after her. “I think you and I need to have a talk,” Gilda said once she and Pinkamena were alone, “What kind of Hunter are you? Has some pegasus debased themselves to teaching earth ponies our secrets now?” “I’m not a Hunter at all,” Pinkamena said as she looked with concern at Gilda’s grip on her tail, “Actually, I’m a baker.” “You can’t be serious!” the griffon said incredulously, “You’re no more than a mere peasant? What’s your game?” “Game? What game?” Pinkamena asked as she tried unsuccessfully to pull herself free. “Don’t act dumb with me! A peasant doesn’t just hang out around a Hunter for no reason!” Gilda roared, but her demeanor changed when she spotted the coin purse tied to Pinkamena’s belt, “What have we here?” The mare was unable to go anywhere, and—as a Hunter—Gilda had no trouble quickly cutting the string securing the purse and snatching it away. “Hey, that’s mine!” Pinkamena protested as Gilda released her, but the griffon held the coin purse out of the earth pony’s reach. “I need it for food and lodging while I’m in Ponieville,” Gilda said coldly, “You don’t honestly expect me to defend the town from monsters on an empty stomach without sleep, do you?” “Rainbow Dash gave me that!” Pinkamena said as she continued to try to reclaim her money. It was true, every coin in the small sack had been given her by the Hunter after helping her out the past week. “So that’s what you’re up to!” Gilda hissed angrily, “It’s not bad enough that your kind treats Hunters like dirt and shirks on our payments, you also take money directly from our rewards for killing beasts that would easily tear you apart were we not here to protect you!” “It’s not like that!” Pinkamena protested. She hadn’t thought she was taking advantage of Rainbow Dash, but now she wondered if maybe she had been. Hunters didn’t make much money, and Rainbow had given her some of hers just for being around and helping out now and then. Was that really fair? “It’s a Hunter’s wages, and a Hunter’s wages belong to a Hunter,” Gilda said as she tossed the coin purse with her claw, watching as it rose and fell, “Y’know, just taking this back almost doesn’t seem enough, but I’ll make a deal with you. Stay away from Rainbow Dash for a while, and I’ll let you keep your ability to walk.” “Hey, I got the reward,” Rainbow Dash announced as she landed nearby and she threw Gilda a pouch of coins, “You did most of the work, Gilda, so it only seems fair that you have it.” “Doesn’t it just?” Gilda said and looked at Pinkamena as she tucked both pouches of coins in her saddlebags. “Where to now, Rainbow Dash?” Pinkamena asked, surprising Gilda. Maybe the griffon was right, but she didn’t think so. She’d decided not to take any more money Rainbow Dash offered her, but she wasn’t going to stay away from the Hunter entirely; she was her friend. She would prove to Gilda that she wasn’t there just for the money, and then she wouldn’t have to worry about losing Dash as a friend or having her legs broken. “Actually, I’d like to spend some time catching up with Gilda, but we’ll talk later, Pinkamena,” Dash said before she took off into the air. Gilda gave Pinkamena a look that was anything but friendly before she followed Dash into the sky, leaving the pink mare standing alone at the edge of the Everfree Forest. *** “… then she gave me the stink-eye and flew off!” Pinkamena finished recounting her story to Twilight Sparkle later that day. “Well, Hunters are a fairly tight-knit group. Is it really a surprise that one Hunter would want to keep non-Hunters away from another?” Twilight said as she packed up a set of saddlebags, having only half-listened to Pinkamena’s complaints, “Spike, grab my family standard!” “That’s not it, Twilight. Gilda was just plain nasty,” Pinkamena protested, “I’ve never met somepony so rude. Well, I guess she’s not a pony. Somegriffon! I’ve never met somegriffon so rude. Actually, I’ve never met another griffon at all, come to think of it.” “Listen, Pinkamena, I have my own griffon-related problems to deal with,” the sorceress said impatiently as she stuffed a tent into Spike’s backpack, “A large band of griffons is passing near Ponieville, and Celestia has entrusted me with meeting with them and speaking to them about the summit in the spring. You’ll just have to deal with Gilda on your own.” “But Twilight …” Pinkamena started to complain. “Look, I tried to be kind, but you leave me no choice,” Twilight lost her cool as she tucked an aged tome into her saddlebags, “Have you considered that maybe you aren’t as charming as you think you are? Over time, your personality can honestly get a bit … irritating. Maybe Rainbow Dash just wants some time away.” “That can’t be true,” Pinkamena said, saddened at the idea. “I hope that this is not the case, but it might be good to consider that Gilda may not be the entire problem,” Twilight said as she trotted over to a bookshelf and brought one of the books over to Pinkamena, “Maybe reading Bayrun’s Guide to the Hunter will help. I don’t have time to do anything else to assist you.” “Ready?” Spike asked as he pulled his backpack on. “Ready,” Twilight Sparkle announced as she levitated her saddlebags onto her back. Pinkamena watched as the sorceress and her dragon page left Golden Oak’s laboratory, leaving her alone again. She sighed as she looked down at the book before her. Would it really hold the answers Pinkamena needed, or were books the only way Twilight knew to help? She supposed there was really only one way to find out for sure. *** Know members of the Order of the Bat by their purposefully ragged cloaks, cut to resemble a bat’s wings, and by their masked cowls. The Order of the Bat is the only Hunter Order known to consistently use headgear, which is shunned by other Orders for its restriction of peripheral vision. Hunters in the Order of the Bat are trained to use stealth as their most powerful weapon, and often use smaller blades than their counterparts. Some members in recent years have taken to performing assassinations at the request of heads of state in violation of the Hunter Code. A day after Gilda’s arrival and Twilight’s departure, Pinkamena was paging through Guide to the Hunter. When it came to reading, the mare was largely self-taught, so it was slow going. So far, the book hadn’t been terribly helpful, though it had contained some interesting trivia. As she sat in her small room in the precariously tipping tower that sprouted from the roof of Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkamena looked out over the rooftops of Ponieville and fantasized about ponies dressed as bats perched there in the night. Sighing, she turned back to the book and turned the page with her nose. Know members of the Order of the Magpie by their patchwork armor, assembled from whatever spare pieces of armor the Hunter can acquire into useful barding. Notice also that each Magpie Hunter carries around their neck a coin-shaped pendant bearing the symbol of their Order. The fighting style of the Order of the Magpie is similar in almost every respect to the Order of the Albatross—covered elsewhere in this book—and it is their philosophy that sets the two Orders apart. Hunters of the Order of the Magpie believe that non-Hunters owe them a debt for their service, and that they are entitled to take whatever they wish, even if no job is completed. For this reason, Magpie Hunters are rarely seen in groups larger than three lest they strip an area completely bare. When Pinkamena looked up from her book, she spotted a griffon Hunter landing nearby. Unless some other griffon had arrived in Ponieville (which was unlikely), it was probably Gilda, though Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen. With the naval telescope she’d received in Balte-maer years earlier, Pinkamena was able to confirm that it was indeed Gilda that had arrived. She appeared to be arguing with the barkeep at a tavern, but the telescope magnified only images, not sound, so it was impossible to know for sure. Pinkamena looked down at her book, then back out at Ponieville before deciding she’d done enough reading for that day. Twilight had told her to handle things herself, and reading was not how Pinkamena Diane Pie handled things. The baker snuck down through the second floor living quarters occupied by the Cakes, and then out through the bakery into the street behind it. I would’ve made a good spy, she thought as she moved through the marketplace, not knowing that several ponies did, in fact, spot her as she crept around. That didn’t matter though; the only pony—griffin—that couldn’t know of her presence was Gilda. After creeping around some buildings, the Hunter finally came into sight. Gilda had apparently won her argument with the barkeep, and was sauntering away with a mug of ale in her claw while the pony glared daggers at her. Now that Pinkamena was able to get another look at the griffon, she noticed that her armor was almost as much of a hodgepodge as the mare’s own attire. You didn’t really notice until you looked for it, since the armor appeared to be a perfectly composed set of Hunter barding, albeit one made out of pieces of varying shapes, thicknesses, colors, and styles. Her pendent bounced against her chest as she walked, coin-shaped with the image of a magpie pressed into it, confirming what Pinkamena had suspected. Maybe that book was good for something after all. “Hey! That costs four shillings!” a baker called as Gilda dropped her mug and grabbed a loaf of bread from her cart as she walked past. Gilda paused, and the baker halted in her pursuit, apparently reconsidering her actions given the new demeanor the griffon was exuding. Pinkamena watched from beneath another cart as Gilda slowly turned to face the baker. “You want to charge me for this?” she asked skeptically as she squeezed the bread with a claw and made it crunch, “This? I can’t find a bite of meat anywhere in this gods-forsaken town, and now you want me to pay for this crumbly excuse for food? I’m out there riskin’ my life every day for your sorry flank, and now you’re gonna make me pay you for something I have to choke down just to keep going? Am I mistaken?” “Um …” the baker gulped as she looked up into Gilda’s eyes, for the griffon was now towering over her, “I suppose, in that case, I could give … give you a discount?” “A discount?!” Gilda fumed, “You think I can be bought off so easily? No, I’ll pay nothing for this bread, and I’ll take another loaf in exchange for forgetting about this incident and continuing to protect your town from monsters!” The baker had neither the time nor the courage to object as Gilda grabbed another loaf of bread from her cart and walked away. How awful! Gilda was practically a thief, though she didn’t even try to keep her theft a secret. Mayor Mare’s guards still paid for their food, though they did receive a discount (a sizable one if the business wasn’t quite up to code), but Gilda had rejected the very idea, as if it was more odious to be seen paying a decreased price than taking something without payment. This griffon definitely subscribed to the Order of the Magpie’s philosophy. Murmurings passed through the marketplace as Pinkamena emerged from beneath the cart. As expected, Gilda wasn’t making a very good impression on Ponieville’s residents. Pinkamena rushed to catch up with the griffon, staying out of her sight the whole time, though it required her to duck through a few houses. Somehow she ended up picking her way across the town’s thatched rooves as she followed Gilda; she would be fine so long as the Hunter didn’t look up or decide to fly. Gilda was walking through Ponieville’s public square now, where many ponies trotted through on their way to other parts of the town. Among them were Filthy Rich and one of his bodyguards, and Gilda walked straight toward the duo. As she got closer, the bodyguard moved to put himself between the griffon and his boss to keep the two from colliding. “‘Scuse me,” Gilda said as she spun last minute around the bodyguard and brushed past Filthy Rich. Maybe she has some manners after all. Maybe I misjudged her. The bodyguard watched Gilda suspiciously for a few moments before he turned around and caught back up to Filthy Rich. A few seconds later, Gilda tossed a sizable pouch of coins into her saddlebags. Or maybe I didn’t misjudge her at all. There was no doubt that what Gilda had just done was theft. She’d robbed Filthy Rich blind like a common cutpurse. Well, he could afford it, couldn’t he? The only pony in Ponieville with more wealth than him was Mayor Mare. Was robbing the rich so great a crime? After all, that’s exactly what that outlaw on the Grittish Isles had done, and he was considered a hero by the commoners. He gave what he stole to the poor, though. Then again, weren’t Hunters poor? It was still hard to justify Gilda’s actions. While Pinkamena was pondering what could and couldn’t be considered right, Gilda had gotten much farther away. The mare hopped across rooves and slid down to the ground in order to catch up with her. She kept to the edge of the public square as she moved closer to Gilda, ducking under carts and behind signs to stay inconspicuous. At the edge of the square, Pinkamena spotted Fluttershy trotting in with a brown-furred rabbit hopping at her side. A jolt of worry went through Pinkamena’s being as she saw Gilda go out of her way to approach the druidess. “Pardon me, I just want to get—oh!” Fluttershy said when she looked up at the individual before her, “I’ve never met a griffon before, do you think I could-” “Examine me, like one of your woodland creatures,” Gilda finished the thought, and it wasn’t even unlikely that Fluttershy would have said the same thing (apart from comparing Gilda to a beast), “I’m sick and tired of your kind thinking I’m just another exotic creature to examine! I’m a griffon! So what? Your ignorance is no concern of mine!” “Oh, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said meekly, wilting before the griffon’s anger. “Are you?” Gilda continued, acting very much like she wanted a fight, but she couldn’t have known that she wouldn’t find it in a pony as timid as Fluttershy, “If I wasn’t a griffon, I’d still receive the grief you put on Hunters! We kill monsters that threaten pony lives, and you berate us for it because it ‘eliminates the natural predators of other creatures, leading to overpopulation and ecological disaster!’ Give me a break! If you ask me, druids should be considered a blight, and dealt with the way Hunters deal with all blights!” “We just protect the forests, and-” Fluttershy tried hard to stand up for herself, but was cut off in her speech when Gilda slapped her across the face with a claw, knocking her to the ground and causing a collective gasp to rise from the nearby ponies, who’d dropped whatever they’d been doing to watch the confrontation play out. “What? You should all be thanking me,” Gilda said as she looked around at the stunned faces, “I just spared you her mindless blathering about the environment.” She’s gone too far! If she wants to threaten me or steal food and money, it can be tolerated and managed, but she can’t just start attacking ponies. Fluttershy never even had a chance to defend herself, and Gilda had it out for her the moment she spotted her! “I don’t want to see you or any other druid around this town again,” Gilda said firmly to the whimpering druidess curled up on the ground before she pulled out her sword and stabbed the rabbit next to her, turning the whimpering to sobbing, “There; I fixed your overpopulation problem and got myself something to eat in the process.” The entire square was silent as Gilda walked away without looking back, the dead rabbit slung over her back, and Fluttershy remained in the fetal position, covering her face with her hooves. Twilight Sparkle was wrong; Gilda was the problem. How to solve it, though? Obviously a confrontation was just what the griffon wanted, and it would give her a chance to hurt more ponies, so that wouldn’t work. Pinkamena had an idea that just might do the trick. *** “Alright, Pinkamena, I like a celebration as much as the next pony, but what’re we celebrating?” Rainbow Dash asked the next day in Golden Oak’s laboratory. Twilight had left in such a hurry that she’d forgotten to lock things up. Thankfully, Pinkamena was such a good friend that she’d taken the key and locked the laboratory up for the sorceress. That also made it easy for her to unlock it to prepare for a party. Technically, the main room of the laboratory was still a public area, so she wasn’t breaking any rules by inviting ponies into Twilight Sparkle’s home. “We’re welcoming Gilda to Ponieville,” Pinkamena announced matter-of-factly, and Rainbow Dash nearly choked on her drink. “What? Why?” the Hunter asked. “Well, I noticed that she’s been having trouble fitting in around here and appreciating Ponieville, kind of like Twilight when she first arrived, so I decided to throw her a welcome party just like I did for Twilight!” Pinkamena explained her logic (which seemed perfectly sound to her). “Are you forgetting that Twilight locked herself in her bedchamber and refused to partake in the party, and then the world almost ended?” Rainbow Dash pointed out casually. “Oh. Right,” Pinkamena said thoughtfully, wondering how those crucial details had slipped her mind, “Well, I’m sure it’ll work out anyway.” “I don’t know,” Rainbow Dash admitted worriedly, “I don’t think Gilda really-” “Dash!” the griffon in question interrupted her as she announced her entry, “What’s all this about?” Pinkamena took a deep breath, preparing to launch into a long explanation, just as she had with Twilight Sparkle, but Rainbow Dash placed a hoof over her mouth. “Probably best to let me do the talking,” she said to the mare before facing Gilda, “It’s a party in your honor, Gilda, to familiarize yourself with Ponieville.” “Great; I won’t turn down free food and alcohol, but don’t think you can convince me to stay in this town,” Gilda said as she trotted past Rainbow Dash and Pinkamena and began grabbing food, “Honestly, I don’t know how you stay put here, Dash. The ponies here’ve got no respect for Hunters; no decency at all.” “Maybe if you tried being decent to them . . . ,” Rainbow Dash said with narrowed eyes and a hint of ice in her voice as Gilda stuffed her face. “And have them stab me in the back? Ha! No way,” Gilda replied as she leaned back against the table and faced Rainbow Dash, “You of all ponies should know that the world is cold, cruel, and unfair, and you can’t trust anypony apart from your comrades.” “What do you mean, ‘me of all ponies?’” Dash asked, her features softening slightly. “Come on! First off, you’re a Hunter, so ponies are gonna treat you like dirt, regardless,” Gilda said completely casually, not picking up on the tension Rainbow Dash was holding in, “But I was talking about what you told me about your father. That should teach you how unfair the world it. Don’t you just hate him for that?” “No,” Rainbow Dash said firmly, and Gilda opened her eyes a little wider in skepticism. “I don’t believe it,” Gilda said, “You told me he was always frustrated about something—if he didn’t have a job, then he was frustrated about not working, and when he had a job, he was frustrated by the work he did—and he took out his frustration on you. Can you honestly say that you don’t hate the pony that treated you like a living punching bag?” “At least he was there, unlike my mother, who abandoned me the moment I was born,” Dash practically snapped, and though there was steel in her voice, only Rainbow Dash knew how brittle that steel really was. “Even so, don’t tell me that you didn’t pay him a little ‘visit’ once you finished your training as a Hunter,” Gilda said as she examined an apple before tossing it to the side. “What are you talking about?” Dash asked suspiciously, a frown on her features. “It’s nothin’ to be embarrassed about; I know plenty of Hunter’s who’ve done the same thing,” Gilda reassured her friend, “Gods, do you think my mother—a griffon—really died from falling off a cliff?” “Are you saying she didn’t?” Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously, fearing the answer. She knew what Gilda was, but she never imagined she’d have gone this far. “No, she did, technically. Of course, she would’ve had a better chance of survival if I hadn’t broken her wings before I threw her off,” Gilda said with a smile and a wink. “You killed your own mother?” Dash asked breathlessly. “Please, it was no great loss, just like nopony would miss your worthless father if he died,” Gilda tried to comfort Dash, not realizing that she was only making matters worse. “We’ll pick this conversation back up later,” Gilda said as she spotted a figure entering Golden Oak’s laboratory, and gave Dash a pat on the shoulder, “I have some other business to attend to.” None of the ponies here knew why they’d been invited, so Fluttershy had no idea what she was getting into, except that it was one of Pinkamena’s celebrations and she could use something to cheer her up after the day before. The druidess’s eyes went wide when she spotted the same griffon that had struck her and killed the animal with her walking briskly her way. “I thought I told you to stay out town! Guess I have to teach you a firmer lesson!” Gilda said as she drew her sword and raised it to strike Fluttershy with the flat of the blade. Fluttershy cowered as the sword came down at her, but it stopped short when another blade intercepted it. “Dash?” Gilda asked incredulously as she saw the swordsmare who had stopped her. “What do you think you’re doing?” Rainbow Dash asked unbelievingly once Gilda had sheathed her blade. “This druidess was hasslin’ me yesterday, so I was teaching her a lesson,” Gilda responded, “Why’re you actin’ so surprised? We used to do this thing all the time.” “No. You used to do this thing all the time, and I see you’ve only gotten worse,” Rainbow Dash said, “There is no way that she was hassling you. Fluttershy would never do anything to warrant such a response!” “Fluttershy?” Gilda said, her eyes widening in recognition of the name, “Now I understand why you’re settled here, in the middle of nowhere. It’s because of her! Do you really think you can protect her forever, Dash?” “That’s not it at all!” “It certainly seems like it is!” Gilda huffed, “Why are you so fixated on this one pony, a non-Hunter, and even worse, a druidess-” “She saved me!” Rainbow Dash yelled, shutting Gilda up and drawing the attention of everypony in the room who wasn’t already observing the argument, “Yes, life was tough for me as a foal, and it was terrible at home, but I always knew I could run to Fluttershy, that I’d be safe at her home! If it hadn’t been for her, maybe I would have ended up just like you, cold and cruel and unfeeling toward others!” “What are you saying, Dash?” Gilda asked, taken aback. “Gilda, the reason I left the Order of the Magpie was because I disagreed with what we were being taught,” Rainbow Dash said, calming herself, “Hunters are meant to be protectors of ponies, not extortionists who bleed them dry of what little they have. I saw that and moved on, but you never did. Maybe we thought we were friends once, but that was a long time ago, and after seeing what you’ve become, I don’t think we can be friends anymore.” “Is that really how you feel?” Gilda asked after pondering what Dash had said for a few moments. “It is; I’m sorry,” Rainbow Dash said, lowering her head. “Fine,” Gilda said with barely contained anger, “At least now I know who you really are. You’ll live long enough to regret making this decision, Rainbow Dash. Then again, Hunters don’t have a very good life expectancy, do they?” With that statement hanging in the air, Gilda took off with a flap of her wings and crashed through a window on her way out. A silence filled Golden Oak’s laboratory as Rainbow Dash helped Fluttershy up from the ground. “Do you think Twilight’ll notice?” Pinkamena asked worriedly as she looked at the broken window, completely missing what was important, as per usual.