//------------------------------// // Griffonstone // Story: My Little Universe: Season 5 // by EquestrianKirin //------------------------------// BOY, did things really change because of those pathetic snakes. To think that those two tiny snakes managed to collapse the watertower to flood and remove the homes of so many people with the only reason being pure enjoyment! The joy of seeing the horrified and down faces of everyone involved was what drove those snakes to do it, and the very thought was what drove the Crystal Gems in trying their best to find them and make them pay for what they've done. If even half of what the claims said were true, then these serpents had to be stopped one way or another. The more time they left them alone, the more trouble they could cause not just for them, but for anyone else around them. Someone like Acid, Cyanide, or Grootslang could cause all sorts of problems for them to fix up, and disharmony for many a person they would come across. Unfortunately though, ever since the watertower incident, all three basically had gone missing, not a sign of a scale, fang, or tail anywhere. For days on end, they've been trying, but it was difficult to try and relocate some lost snakes, especially sentient magical ones such as these. Outside the Beach House, it was only Pearl, Amethyst, Steven, and Connie. As Pearl and Stevonnie took some time for some much needed swordsmanship lessons (yes, they were trying that), Amethyst just quietly watched on and munched away with a rough feeling in her gut. Even if the snakes were nothing but liars, Amethyst still couldn't help but wonder about what Acid had said about the fusion thing with Steven and her, and seeing them so happy together at the end of that race only further proved it far as she knew. Amethyst tried for days to get her mind off of it, but whenever Steven and Connie were together when she was around, the thought just reoccurred in her head and left her feeling ... well, rough. It's not that she despised Connie, but the thought still lingered for a more negative opinion about Stevonnie altogether. Speaking of, it didn't help that Pearl wanted to try training with Stevonnie over Smoky Quartz. Stevonnie was doing very good against the Pearl clones drawn out, her sword finishing off one clone after another until all of them were gone and finished. "Bravo, Stevonnie! Oh, you two worked so well together," Pearl beamed. No, that didn't help Amethyst much, looking less than enthused about the whole thing itself, and gave a rough sigh. "Yippee," Amethyst groaned, but none of them really noticed her. "Thanks Pearl. It's a lot easier working this sword at this size," Stevonnie admitted with a smile, doing some practice slices at the air. "We all saw that, right Amethyst? ... Amethyst?" Pearl asked. Amethyst didn't really pay much attention at first, but she got back to it on the second call. "Huh? Oh, yeah, good, right." "You ok? You've been a bit down lately," Stevonnie asked. Normally, Amethyst would just say she was fine and be done with it, but she knew well that'll only make them go on further, so she had her own alibi. "Eh, I'm just thinking about those pathetic coils of rope," Amethyst admitted, trying to make it sound convincing. "Oh them. The others had been looking for days, I'm sure they'll find them," Stevonnie encouraged. It wasn't true, but at least they got off Amethyst's back about her behavior as of late. Steven and Connie, after hearing of the news, didn't take kindly to the venomous snakes either, as much as they got a grudge to Kevin, maybe even more. Pretty soon, the sound of the Warp Pad echoed from the Beach House, the signs of the Gems' return. As for which Gem exactly, it turned out to be Garnet herself, joined by Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. "Hey, you three! Any news?!" called Pearl, as they headed down. "Stevonnie!" Pinkie beamed, hopping over and hugging her. It had been a while since she had seen Stevonnie, the fusion laughing and fluffing the mare's mane. Boy, did the universe seemingly helped Acid in her point towards Amethyst though, the purple Gem feeling bugged more than anything. "No we didn't. UGH, come on, how hard can this be?!" Rainbow groaned. "They would hide after what they did," Stevonnie agreed. "Yyep," added in Amethyst. "Did Discord find something?" Stevonnie then asked. Pinkie quickly shook her head. "Nope nope nope. Mr. chaos got the sneezes after going through Rose's fountain, and took a break. He found nothing," Pinkie told them. Hard to believe that not even Discord could figure anything out. As they were discussing, Garnet took a look over to Amethyst and saw how she was sulking about something. She sensed too that they already tried asking, so Garnet just took on thinking a little bit. "Well, I'm tired of searching, and tired period. If it's all the same to you, I'm gonna call it a day," Rainbow decided, hovering a little bit and starting to head off on her way. Before she could go though, Garnet grabbed her by the tail with her thumb and index finger. "Not just yet." "Why? We've been looking all day, Garnet, and we found nothing!" "Rainbow, Connie, Steven, Amethyst, and Pinkie, I'd like you all to go and check one more spot for me. I got a good feeling about it," Garnet instructed, Stevonnie unfuseing. Pinkie tumbled forward when they did that and fell onto the sand, but they were interested anyway. "Where to, Garnet?" asked Connie. Garnet adjusted her shades for just a moment, readying her answer. ... "Griffonstone." Wait, what? Griffonstone? That sounded fairly new for many of them, but Rainbow recoiled a little bit on that. "Griffonstone?" questioned Amethyst. "OOOOOO, home of the Griffin!" Pinkie said. "Yes, and it's there I want you to check for me," Garnet concluded. "Eh, I don't think that's one of your better ideas, Garnet. Mind if I take a pass?" Rainbow asked, reluctantly. The element of loyalty asking to pass on a favor? Now that DID surprise Garnet. "Rainbow! I'm surprised at you!" Garnet gasped. "What? What?! I can take a break from loyalty for a bit, can't I?" Rainbow shrugged, not seeing the harm of it. Rather than continuing, Garnet cleared her throat, and adjusted her shades again, her shades glistening in the light. It was then that Rainbow Dash got the idea, her front hooves rubbing together and a smirk on her face. "OH, I get ya. Come on, everypony, let's go!" Rainbow said, getting a headstart. "WOOHOO, road trip!" Pinkie beamed, bolting after her too. "Come on, Amethyst," said Steven, as he and Connie went off after them. Amethyst felt uneasy, but if they could get those snakes there, she might as well head off after them too. Soon, only Pearl and Garnet remained. "Oh, I do hope they get stopped soon," Pearl said. "Yes. Maybe even more. ..." ~~~~~~ Upon arriving in Griffon Gorge, be sure to pause and cast your eyes northerly, up the Hyperborean Mountains, taking in the breathtaking beauty of Griffonstone. Once in Griffonstone proper, go immediately to the palace and introduce yourself to the king. "Bygone Griffons of Greatness" was written a long time ago, and it ends with the coronation of the fourteenth king of the griffons, King Guto. I have no idea who's in charge now. Tell the king you've been sent by the Princess of Friendship, and you're there to help with relocation of our wanted criminals. If for some reason the king can't help, I'd try the Griffonstone library next. It's a little known secret that if you befriend a librarian, you can usually find out anything. Plus, as a bonus, there's a statue of King Grover outside! Photo op! And don't forget to sample some famous griffon scones. They're supposed to be the best. The main advice Twilight gave them on this Griffonstone place before they left for it, and it gave them basically the sum-up on the matter, though it did sounded like Twilight wanted to go there herself. It did take them all a pretty good while to get to Griffonstone, but eventually they did end up getting to the entrance of the place after a hearty climb up a mountain face. Amethyst trailed behind the whole group, and Pinkie stayed over in front. "Oh, this is so exciting! You guys are gonna be the first human Gem people to see Griffonstone in person!" Pinkie said excitedly as she hopped along. "Yeah. first Unicorns, then Pegasus, and now Griffons. What magical creatures don't you have here?" Connie figured. "Well whatever creatures keep popping up in your world," Rainbow answered casually, flying alongside them. "Well, anyway, sure sounded like Twilight wanted us to go on a fieldtrip for her huh?" Amethyst commented. "She just didn't want us to get in trouble," Steven figured. "I know but, really." Amethyst then shapeshifted into Twilight Sparkle as an imitation factor, and added in "Be sure to have plenty of bits. Griffons are generous as long as you share the wealth." Amethyst shapeshifted back soon afterwards. "What's wrong with that?" Connie asked. Amethyst sulked slightly, but answered anyway. "That basically translates to: give them money or they won't do jack for you." "Oh come on, You'll all love it when you see that Griffonstone is -" The sight of Griffonstone the second they arrived made them all stop in surprise. For one word: the place looked HORRIBLE! Many of the houses amongst Griffonstone looked less like houses and more almost incomplete. Stray straw and stick jutted out the rooftops and walls, only held together by ropes, and some had huge holes in them they were so ill repaired. Even the ground was all covered in dried grass and hay, and stray barrel tops, sticks and sheets laid in heaps everywhere. Dried up trees stood like skeletons with houses on their branches like nests, and just as messed up as the houses down on the ground. Other houses were made of wood, but they looked less like homes and more like old chicken coops. "A total dump," finished Pinkie, just before they heard another branch fall off another house. "Looks worse like my room," Amethyst admitted. Soon they were off and moving again, seeing the rather wrecked neighborhood as they went along. Roads were hardly any without something on the ground and making the place look a bit more messy. Griffons were pretty abundant too, and many of them had plenty of different combinations of different things: the heads being either eagle, falcon, hawk, or even owl, with the bottom half being tiger, lion, or some other type of feline. Regardless of what kind of mix match they had, the overall behavior of rudeness and roughness hung in the air with each and every Griffon they passed. "OK, we got the whole place to search in, so why don't we go in teams and split up for a bit?" Connie suggested. "Whatever will get this done quicker. So, who's going with who?" Rainbow asked. She wasn't as thrilled about being here either, so whatever could get it done she was willing to take. "OK, so who wants to go see the king?" "We don't have a king, losers." The new voice caught them off guard a little bit, and one of the local Griffons got their attention. This particular Griffon was a more standard looking one: half eagle and half lion as Griffons usually are. Her head had creamy white feathers with purple tips hanging off her head, and lavender circles around her eyes. Her beak and front talons were yellow, and her wings, leonine tail and hind legs were brownish in color, the wings darker than her fur. "Hello. Gilda," groaned Rainbow. "Dash," added the Griffon. "Pinkie!" beamed Pinkie. Connie, amethyst, and Steven already could sense some rough waters with these two. "What're you doing here?" Rainbow asked, pointing a hoof at Gilda. Gilda found the question a little stupid. "Uh, I'm a Griffon? what's your excuse, dweebs?" "Hey! These 'dweebs' are on a criminal hunt," Steven made clear, disliking Gilda already. "Hunt for what?" quizzed Gilda. Connie cleared her throat. "We're trying to find three snakes: Grootslang, Acid, and Cyanide. Those three had messed with the minds of our home people, destroyed my friends -" "Bored now!" Gilda cut in, rolling her eyes. Clearly this Griffon didn't give a hoot about their problem, and it wasn't sitting well with the three. "Well, can't you at least tell us if you'd seen em?" Amethyst asked. "If anyone seem em, they'd be supper right now, so go bother some other town," Gilda suggested, again not giving much of her care to them. Rainbow was probably enjoying this the least out of them all, her ears folded back and her eyes narrowing. However, with the idea Garnet said, they couldn't go: Acid and cyanide were here somewhere, and she wasn't going until she figured that out. "OK, let's get this over with: Pinkie Pie, Steven, you're group one, Connie, Amethyst, you're group two. Anypony needs me, I'll be looking over there. Goodbye," Rainbow suddenly said, taking off and flying away before anyone could say anything. Gilda just strolled away from the situation. Whatever was going on here, she wanted no part in it. As for the group, they all started heading off their own way. ....... "How in bloody - ugh. Cyanide, guess who found us?" "That Garnet must've foreseen us here. No matter though, it'll take them forever in this town, and by the sound of it they'll by flying at eachother in no time at all." "True, but suppose those Griffons rat us out?" "Then we'll practice our biting. Come on, let's see what we can do." ~~~~~~ Pretty soon, Steven and Pinkie started heading off towards one of the places in Griffonstone, treated to the rough nature of the Griffons and the unpleasant place along the way. Their main destination was the library of Griffonstone, but by the time they got there ... well, it wasn't anymore pleasant: the entire building collapsed for a start! "Maybe it's a good thing Twilight didn't come," Pinkie sighed, seeing the place. Steven couldn't help but agree, and seeing this, talking to a librarian was out of the question. Still, with this moment alone, Steven started to grow curious over what Rainbow's deal was with Gilda. Rainbow never mentioned the Griffon before, and by the sound of it they knew eachother at some point. "Uh, Pinkie? Do you know Gilda?" "Oh yeah, I meant the grouchy Griffon before. She was a hoot," Pinkie said, her head looking through some of the hay to find somepony. "But does Rainbow know her? I mean, what happened with those two?" Steven then asked. Pinkie popped her head out of the hay, the hay making a hay mustache beard combo on her face with thick eyebrows, all which she shook off easily. "Those two were besties before, but after a little party, they got nasty. Rainbow made funny pranks for the party, and Gilda set of each and every single one, and she just snapped, and left in a huff. We hadn't heard much of her since then. Well, until now," Pinkie explained, remembering her party for Gilda. It was a VERY long time ago, early day of Twilight the unicorn arriving to Ponyville to be exact, so it was a very long time since they last heard of the Griffon or anything to do with her. Closest they got was from the Griffon flying team for the Equestria Games, but no exact mention of Gilda. Steven felt sorry for Rainbow, losing her friend so easily like that. "Oh no! That's terrible, and all because of a few party tricks. And the rest of the Griffons don't look too cheery either," Steven said, downhearted. There was a sad moment, but suddenly a light bulb went off in both of their heads, both looking to eachother. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Pinkie with a smirk on her face. "I think you know what I think your thinking. Come on, let's find Gilda!" Steven announced, both Human and Pony going off on their way to find the Griffon. They got a friendship problem to fix! ....... AND Gilda just happened to be standing right there. She had a cart behind her with some sort of product for sale, though they couldn't exactly get what it was. Possibly a Griffon scone, though it looked more like a rock than anything. "You two about done yet?" Gilda asked in a scoff. "Gilda, happy to see you!" "That makes one of us. When're you five going to go?" Gilda asked, obviously not interested in whatever they're up to other than their leaving time. "Until every Griffon in Griffonstone has a big smile!" Pinkie decided, showing off her own smile. That was just what Gilda was afraid of. "I don't know if you'd noticed, but Griffonstone doesn't care about anything, and that's just the way we like it," Gilda made perfectly clear. Before they could go any further, a piece of wood ended up falling on Pinkie's head, giving Pinkie Pie an idea. "I know what this place needs!" "Fewer ponies and whatever you are?" "A song! I got this super duper happy song that'll make even the grumpiest Griffon grin!" Pinkie said. Steven was excited for that the pink mare had in mind this time, and waited egerly for the mare to start singing. Pinkie readied herself and inhaled a deep breath ... just for Gilda to pinch her muzzle shut. "Can't sing here," Gilda simply said, pointing to a conveniently placed sign, one showing a singing Griffon with a huge X over it. Well if that wasn't blunt, what was? "But how can you break into uplifting musical numbers without singing?" asked Pinkie. "Yeah, because that's our biggest problem - musical numbers," Gilda remarked sarcastically as she looked back to her scones. Then Steven got an idea. "How about a party? If there's one way to cheer someone up it's a good party," Steven decided. Pinkie couldn't agree more. "Right-o! where's the party store?" Gilda didn't even bother them with an answer apart from a 'you-can't-be-serious' sort of look. "... OK, how about cake?" Gilda just groaned. Well, that did it. "No singing, no parties, no cake?! WHAT KIND OF PLACE IS THIS?!" "You're welcome to leave AT ANY TIME!" Gilda bellowed, the sheer force of her yelling enough to launch Steven and Pinkie back into a stone wall. A bit rough, but it was painfully clear that Griffonstone wasn't going to be as easy as it would be at Ponyville. "Well that just takes the cake. No cake, no cupcakes, no scones -" Steven was cut short when Gilda cleared her throat. "I have Griffon scones. They're my specialty," Gilda stated, showing them her wagon. The Griffon scones didn't look too appealing, but there was still plenty so running out was out of the question. "We'll take one," said Steven, ready to grab one just for Gilda to swat his hand away with her wing. "Bits first," Gilda firmly stated, talon up in front with a scone in her other. Pinkie was willing to oblige, and tossed a few bits, so Gilda took that and shoved the scone in Pinkie's mouth. The taste was ... probably as rough as the rest of the town, Pinkie taking a few crunches just to get a decent bite. If anything, Steven was spared. "Well?" Gilda asked. Pinkie was a bit too busy chewing to even notice much. Like chewing down on a rock, though Gilda did notice that she didn't decide to spit it out or anything. "Wait. you like it? It's my Grampa Gruff's secret recipe," said Gilda, smiling for the first time since they came to town. Pinkie continued chewing, Steven cringing when they both heard a something break in her mouth. Eventually, Pinkie stomached the thing and actually swallowed it. No, it wasn't good, but she still tried to keep a good face for Gilda's sake anyhow. Her best try though didn't seem to sit well. "Whatever, no refunds. Doesn't matter to me anyway, I'm just trying to get enough bits to get out of here," Gilda groaned. That surely was interesting to hear out of a Griffon like her. Seemed the two got the same idea after a little bit. "We can help with that!" ~~~~~~ Meanwhile, Connie and Amethyst were still trying to find out their own thing when looking for Acid and Cyanide, at this point along the edge of town, but so far they were getting nowhere with it. Griffons passed them by, and none of them wanted to talk to them, and any they tried just ignored. The one they tried this time just roared at them and flew off - not a good showing at all. "Well, that's the seventh Griffon we tried, and got nowhere." "Yeah," Amethyst simply said. Out of all the people, she had to be put up with Connie for this little venture of theirs, especially since her problems revolved her in the first place. Connie had easily noticed Amethyst's troubles, and turned back to her. "Don't worry Amethyst, we're going to find those snakes," Connie reassured. But Amethyst knew darn well that wasn't exactly the case. sure she was mad at the snakes a little bit, but the fusion trouble was even more of a personal jab at her being than the snakes were. Connie looked to Amethyst and saw that it barely made her feel any better. "What?" Amethyst asked, feeling annoyed. "Eh, nothing, sorry. I'm just a little worried." "About what?" "Well, you. Amethyst, you've been down since Steven and I beat Kevin in that race. You sure everything's okay?" Amethyst stopped moving. Was it really that noticeable? Connie was right though, ever since that race she had been feeling rough on herself and with the fusion with Steven and Connie. "Amethyst," Connie stated again, more firmly. She really wanted to help her, but Amethyst felt more frustrated than ever. "Amethyst, I can't help you if you don't tell me," Connie then stated. That did it. "Ok, ok, you wanna know? You're the problem! YOU! Ok, there I said it!" Amethyst snapped. Naturally, Connie was taken aback by this. "Me?! What'd I do?" Connie gasped, appalled. That only frustrated Amethyst even more so. "You keep stealing Steven, that's what! That giant bird, the race, Pearl's training, the rock concert, Steven's been so giddy since he started fusing with you, it's like he forgot me! He and I were just fine until he started hanging out with you!" That accusation got Connie upset. Her stealing Steven? REALLY?! As this started, Acid and Cyanide slithered up behind a barrel and had a front row seat to the problem. "Wha-what?! I'm not stealing him! And so what if he and I are fusing more, Smoky Quartz is just -" "Is just what?! Useless?! Pathetic?! Not worth your time?! Go on, admit it, you like fusing with him more than him fusing with me!" Amethyst accused. "That's not what I was going to say at all! It's just there's, uh, more times to use Stevonnie over Smoky, that's all," Connie made clear, but even with that she was getting mad herself. "What do you mean all?! Steven's barely even bothering with Smoky anymore thanks to you!" "It's not my fault Steven's thinking like that! He's the one who makes that call, not you!" Connie snapped. "OH, OH, and what, you can? Just today you just said "Hey, let's fuse into Stevonnie" and that's all it took!" Amethyst yelled. At this point, Connie and Amethyst were inches away from eachother, the situation escalating greatly. At this point, Connie was losing her track of mind and was just flat out mad. "OK, so I did, I wanted Stevonnie to practice swords over me, is that such a big problem?!" "Actually YES! Smoky can handle those as good as Stevonnie ever could, if only you'd let me!" "I would've if you'd said something!" "Liar!" "I'm the liar?! Well at least I say my feelings instead of bottling them up all the time! Who said they were upset about those snakes earlier anyway?!" "I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO BUTT INTO MY LIFE, OKAY?! You think I like it when you force into my problems, huh?!" "How's anyone supposed to help you if you just shut up all the time?! I'm smart enough to know -" "What?! Smart? What's that supposed to mean?!" Their argument continued going for a while more, and during the time, Cyanide slithered around closer and closer. Oh, the joy of broken friendships were good on their faces, but both snakes needed to weaken the ranks all the same. Since they were arguing so much, neither had noticed how close the snakes even were. ... "If I had something on my mind, I try to say it and get help, all you do is sit there like a negative sponge and sulk all the time!" "You really want to know what I'm thinking?" Amethyst asked, equally angry but quieter now. "Out with it!" Connie demanded. "Alright. I think you're - ACK!" It happened. Cyanide took a strong bite at Amethyst's leg! Amethyst cringed on the sudden pain, and Cyanide made sure it effected by moving up and biting her gemstone too! It didn't crack from the bite, but the chemicals still got into it. Connie jumped back, but Acid made her trip, and Cyanide's extra bite got onto her arm as well. It wasn't venom, but the chemical Cyanide got into them made them stop moving and go numb and limp almost immediately (what a powerful tranquilizing power). Cyanide and Acid hissed to one another and looked to the two. "Well, that went swimmingly, didn't it?" "YOU," Amethyst said. "Yes, remember me? The one who planted the idea in your head, my dear Amethyst? Worked like a charm, didn't it?" Acid hissed. Amethyst would try to get her if she could move, but for some reason she was simply stuck and unable to budge. Same thing could be said about Connie. Both snakes took a look around to be sure no one noticed, and while some Griffons did see, they honestly didn't care. "Should we do something about the Griffons?" asked Acid. "They're too greedy with their bits to bother themselves. Come," Cyanide hissed, starting to drag Connie with her tail. Acid followed suite and did the same thing to Amethyst. Since the two were on the literal edge of town (and being on a mountain too), the two snakes knew exactly what to do with their little catch of the day: throwing the trash away. "Bye-bye," hissed Cyanide, before she and Acid tossed both of them right into the revenue! Being so limp, Amethyst and Connie couldn't do anything but tumble down the cliff until they were out of sight of the two snakes. They heard a good sounding thud on the way down, and both snakes snickered to eachother. "So, that's that," Cyanide hissed in glee. "Maybe. Even if they made it, it'll give the others something to do." ~~~~~~ Back with Pinkie and Steven, those two were still giving Gilda a hand with her little sales as everyone else was still going around town. Gilda had just finished up another batch of the Griffon Scones, but just as one got out, Steven actually had the nerve to take a bite out of it. It wasn't as bad as the other scones, but not as good either. "The recipe's good, but it's missing one important ingredient." "Don't tell me. Friendship?" Gilda remarked, jazz talons and all the lack of enthusiasm. "... Uh, no, baking powder," answered Pinkie. "Lucky for you, I never leave home without it!" Pinkie answered, pulling out some baking powder from her mane. Only Pinkie would do that, but if it'll give Gilda a bit of a boost on her scones, then she'll just have to handle it. Gilda followed what to do, and in little time at all some delicious looking scones were baking inside the oven. Not only did they look tasty, but they smelled pretty darn good too. "Ah, Acorn Scones. That actually sounds pretty good," Steven said. Taking a few sniffs herself, Gilda actually had to agree on that. Her scones had been rather dull, so perhaps these new scones could give her some more bits for the trip of hers. "Doesn't matter, as long as I get my bits worth." "Trust us, Gilda, with these scones they'll be worth their weight in gold," Steven said with a grin. Gilda just sighed, but perhaps they had a point. The scones surely looked far better than how they did before. As they were baking the scones, a familiar blue Pegasus then flew off down towards, not looking very pleased with her results. "Not a thing. Pinkie, Steven, please tell me you found something," Rainbow asked, hoping for a better answer. "Yes-indeedie!" Pinkie said. That perked Rainbow's attention, the Pegasus airborne again. "Sweet! Where are those snakes at? They'll be stuck in knots for weeks when I'm done with em," Rainbow said, eager to get a good serving pf payback. "I didn't find any snakes." "Wait what? But you just said you found something," Rainbow remarked, no longer airborne. "I did find something: we found Gilda's sweet Scones and we wanna help her out," Steven said. Good for Pinkie, but Rainbow Dash was getting bugged about it. Did Garnet predict this right or not? "You guys wanna help, ok, but we're here to find Acid and Cyanide, remember?" Rainbow reminded. "I know we are, Rainbow, but look at this place. Can't we try to make this place just a little better?" Steven asked, starting to pull his puppy-dog eye trick on RD. Rainbow stayed quiet, and when Pinkie Pie joined in, RD had to let them do it. It was honestly hard to argue with them with those kinds of faces. She just rolled her eyes and sighed. "Oh alright. So what did you have in mind?" Rainbow asked. "I thought you'd never ask: may I present to you Gilda's Acron Scones!" Pinkie said, the oven finished and Pinkie pulling out the freshly baked Scones. Rainbow just needed a whiff of the smell to get her attention, Pinkie putting them up on the stand for Gilda. "So there's two of them?" Gilda whispered to Rainbow. "They're not bad people, Gilda, let's make that clear," Rainbow said sternly. As they were busy doing this, it was here that Acid and Cyanide slithered up from behind the stand, just out of sight from the Ponies, Human, and Griffon. They've had a close call earlier, but they felt ready to cause some more trouble for this group. And with the fresh batch of Acorn Scones sitting there, it was a good time to act on them again. Cyanide stared at the Acorn Scones and then turned to her fellow snake. "Go on then. Let's see what they end up as when we're done," Cyanide quietly hissed, Acid beginning to slowly climb up the stand towards the batch. She peered over the counter to make sure that the others weren't looking. Now was her chance. She got herself settled on the counter, her fangs at the ready to poison the treats. She opened her jaws good and wide, and was just about to bite it when - "Fangs off!" Gilda shouted. Caught! And for the first time too. Acid looked to them, startled, and she tried to high-tail it out of there, but Rainbow wasn't going to let them get away so easily. Acid and Cyanide slithered as fast as a snake could go, but in no time at all, Rainbow soon caught up with them, stomping on both of their tails with her hooves to keep them still. "Off the tail," Cyanide hissed. "No way! You think I'm gonna let you go like that?!" Rainbow yelled. Cyanide tried to bite her hooves, but Rainbow had to move back and let them go, otherwise get bit. They were free, but not out of trouble since they all found them. Cyanide gave a menacing hiss at them and tried for another bite, but Gilda pulled Steven back before Cyanide could. "You bad snakes had caused enough trouble!" Steven yelled. Cyanide hissed again, but Acid nudged her as a reminder to keep her from going too violent. "Well, it had to happen sooner or later, I suppose. Though would you want to?" Acid asked. "Of course we want to: you've flooded Beach City!" Steven accused. The normally nice-hearted Steven wasn't gonna let the two snakes get away that easily. "Oh please, we made sure you're all out of there first. you should be thanking us." "THANK YOU?!" Pinkie gasped. The response made both snakes jump back. "Get to the point, get to the point," Acid quickly hissed, both snakes collecting herself. "Okay, fine, since we're feeling charitable how about a choice: either spend your time taking us in or save your little girlfriends?" Cyanide offered. It was quick for them to figure out who they meant by that. "What did you do?" Steven asked. "They're in the Abysmal Abyss. A little tiff and both went right off the edge. If they're still with us, it wouldn't be for long," Cyanide hissed with a evil snicker. However, Rainbow laughed. "HA, I don't believe you," Rainbow said, not willing to listen to them for a second, and she took a step forward again, stepping on their tails as she did. Both snakes had it and then launched at Pinkie Pie, wrapping around her neck and holding on tight, constricting her. Pinkie freaked out, not able to get the snakes off of her neck as they constricted tight. They didn't bite her, but they sure looked willing to. But however, one Griffon wasn't going to give them a chance to do anything. Gilda, not wanting to see somepony die in front of her (she had that much moral at least), chomped down on Acid's neck and yanked her off, the motion dislodging Cyanide too. Both snakes tried moving, but Gilda was already on top of them. Acid and Cyanide looked up to Gilda, just in time for the Griffon to release a huge, ear-splitting bellow of a roar right at the snakes! It was enough to break what confidence they had, and left them shivering for a moment. "Want to try anything else, snakes?" Gilda growled. Cyanide snapped back first. "Make all the threats you want, but it won't rescue your two girlfriends any faster," Cyanide said. As much as they hate the snakes, they had a point. If they were, off chance, telling the truth, the longer they deal with the snakes, the more danger Amethyst and Connie would end up in. "Gilda, what're they talking about?" "This abyss is just outside of town. It splits the mountain in two," Gilda simply said. Rainbow felt just angry, but ... "We're not done here!" Rainbow said, already getting a headstart. After Rainbow flew off, Acid and Cyanide slithered away as fast as they could. Pinkie tried to catch them, but all she did was smash into a wall, the snakes escaping once again. What a problem, but at least they know who they are. "Come on Gilda," Steven insisted. "Why?" Gilda questioned. Steven skidded to a stop. "They're stuck in the Abysmal Abyss, and Rainbow Dash need your help to save them!" "Not my problem," Gilda groaned, going back to her Scones to see if they were still good. Steven decided to pull a Pinkie Pie, and pop up from the other side of the counter. "Of course it's your problem! She's your friend!" Steven insisted. "Used to be." Gilda corrected. Steven started to feel a bit more serious. "Can't you remember when she was? You and Rainbow were the besties once upon a time, and you're going to let a little party stop that? Rainbow is an awesome pony to be friends with, and right now she's willing to give up the hunt just to save them. Are you saying you can't do the same for her? There has to be a time she helped you before." Gilda stayed quiet for a moment, starting to work her memory over a time that she and Rainbow actually were friends once upon a time. A great friend, determined, one to stick up for her ... tears even started to show up. "... UGH, fine, I'll help her. But that does not make me her friend," Gilda made clear. "Noted," Steven said, as Gilda started walking pass to catch up with the others. ....... "Except it does." ~~~~~~ While Connie and Amethyst did end up fallen down the abyss, but indeed the two were still alive, and for the moment down on a cliff face. Far too deep to climb up and too far high to climb down, the two were basically stuck there, and even if they could, the numbing effects of Cyanide's bite didn't wear off yet. Conveniently though, Connie and Amethyst both were laying on their backs, and facing each other feet first. It had been very quiet. "Can you move yet?" asked Connie. "No," sighed Amethyst. Strange how it was even effecting Amethyst, being a Gem rather than a human, but then again magic was always hard to explain. There was some silence for a bit, until eventually Amethyst finally broke the silence. "Look, I ... I'm sorry I snapped like that. I know I shouldn't be mad at you for fusing with Steven. Heck, I should be happy for you like everybody and everypony else .... but, what Acid told me at that race, a-and what's been going on lately with this fusion thing we have, I ... I guess I just felt left out, you know? ... Maybe I am just jealous." Amethyst just laid there and waited for a response from Connie. Now that they weren't snapping at eachother, both Gem and Human could think a little more clearly. "Amethyst, believe me, you shouldn't be jealous. Smoky may not be out as much, but, look: She's stronger, faster, has her own signature Gem weapon. And Stevonnie ... at the end of the day, she's just a good looking human with a few sword tricks. ..." "Oh. OH, Connie," Amethyst said, slightly appalled herself at the revelation. "Why do you think I wanted to train with her?" Connie asked. Amethyst chuckled meekly, now getting the idea, though she should slap herself for what she did anyway. "Well, I feel kinda dumb for listening to Acid, huh?" "I would've thought the same thing if she told me," Connie said. "Heh. ... Well, I'd hug you right now, but my body won't let me." "Same here," Connie chuckled. "Connie! Amethyst! You down there?!" Connie and Amethyst perked up on hearing the voices. It was very vague, but they could've sworn they heard those voices somewhere before. "Did you hear that?" "No way, I think it's them - HEY STEVEN!! PINKIE, RD!! WE'RE DOWN HERE!" Amethyst yelled. They were indeed right: up on the cliff face, Rainbow, Gilda, Steven, and Pinkie were ready to go off down after them and get their friends back to safety. They got geared up with some suspenders and rope, and RD and Gilda look ready to go down after them. "If either of you let go, I'll come back to haunt you," Gilda made clear. "Noted," Pinkie and Steven said. Rainbow and Gilda then opened their wings, and in unison both of them made the jump. Steven and Pinkie kept their grip extra tight on the rope. Rainbow and Gilda dove down with wings spread open. The wind from the abyss made flying a bit of a challenge, but both fliers kept themselves close so they wouldn't crash into eachother on the flight down. The closer they got, the clearer Amethyst and Connie could hear them. Flying downward was easy, and soon they got right to them. "Connie, amethyst! you two alright? anything broken?" asked Rainbow. "Eh, we're fine, just kinda paralyzed by a snake bite," Amethyst joked, as both Griffon and Pony got both Connie and Amethyst handled. Gilda got Amethyst and Rainbow got Connie, but since neither could move right, they were mainly dead weight they had to carry up. both of them were willing to that though, and Rainbow pulled on her rope as a pull signal for the other two to begin aiding their flight back up. "Come on, steady," Rainbow said as they were flying up. Flying down in the hard winds was a tough challenge, but flying up the whipping winds was a different story, not to mention the added weight too. Combined efforts for everyone involved needed to be an all time high, and Gilda had to get the extra weight. Even with that though, Rainbow had a harder time gripping onto Connie, having hooves instead of talons. Suddenly, the Pegasus lost her grip! "CONNIE!" Rainbow quickly dove down to grab Connie again, but the harsh winds made the sudden drop a time hard to control. Gilda made a quick reaction: grabbing Rainbow's tail with her beak. Connie was saved, but Gilda had even more weight to carry now, but this Griffon was not a quitter! "HURRY!" Gilda groaned, straining to keep the weight in tact. Pinkie and Steven worked like mad to pull the group up, using all their strength as best they could ever muster, and eventually, they finally got the group all up. tired, but triumphant. It wasn't until they were fully up when they saw Gilda in her situation. Once finally up on land, only then did the Griffon release them, and everyone laid there for a moment before Rainbow got up her hooves. "ARGH! Those snakes!! First they mind-mess with us, then they steal Gems, then they flood Beach City, and now they tried to flat out take down Connie and Amethyst!! THOSE SNAKES ARE MINCEMEAT!" Rainbow screamed, losing whatever patience she had left. "Rainbow, Rainbow, breathe, breathe," Steven pleaded, holding Rainbow back so she could calm down. Gilda got up next, shaking off some dust from her fur and feathers. Rainbow sucked up her rage, and gave a rough sigh. Those two serpents probably would've slipped away by now (again). It was then that the Pegasus turned over to Gilda. "Thanks for the help back there." "Yeah, don't sweat it. If a friend can't save you from falling down the abyss, then what kind of friend are they?" Gilda admitted. "Friend?" Amethyst asked. "Yeah. What kind of friend blows everything from one party anyway? Seriously, I think your friendship's worth more than that," Gilda admitted. Mission accomplished! ~~~~~~ After a little bit more, Rainbow, Pinkie, Steven, Connie, and Amethyst were off on their way. Pinkie and Steven were stuck carrying them out, but it could be a lot worse. "Ok, so we didn't get those two snakes. But we still got a good amount of victory: Gilda likes Rainbow again, and Amethyst is feeling a lot better now," Steven said, trying to cheer them up. "AND Griffonstone now has a new line of Acorn Scones," added Pinkie Pie. "Yeah, but I hope this "not moving" thing doesn't last too long," Connie sighed. "We'll have Twilight check you out. Come on, everypony, let's get going," Rainbow said. And so with that note, off they went back towards home.