//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: My Little Pony: Lights and Shadows - Part I // by OmegaTale //------------------------------// Fluttershy looked out the window as she sat in her seat. The mountainous terrain around the train told her and everypony else on board that they were nearing their destination. She glanced over at Rainbow to say something, but stopped herself, looking back out the window. “Did Spike look any better to you when we left?” Rainbow asked Twilight, who sat in the adjacent aisle. Twilight sadly shook her head. “It seems Ember’s condition has really made an impact on him. He has been on edge ever since we returned to Ponyville.” “Dang…” Rainbow huffed, looking down a bit. “Must be tough for the little guy.” Looking back to her book to continue reading, Twilight found it difficult to focus now that her little dragon had been brought up. Ember was the first dragon Spike had ever met who became his friend, so it made sense how worried he was about her. Although it seemed Garble had started turning over a new leaf, it was clear to Twilight that Ember was one of Spike’s closest friends. “Starfall?” she asked, lowering her gaze without looking over at him. “Do you think we should have asked Spike to-” Twilight turned to find Starfall dozed off in the seat beside her. He had his head propped up on his hoof while sitting upright against the corner of the seat. Twilight had told him to go to sleep early last night, why was he so tired? “Starfall?” Twilight repeated. With a bit of a snort, Starfall sat up, hoping Twilight hadn’t seen him with his eyes shut. He gave his head a quick shake and then, like lightning, took up a leisurely position with his hooves tucked behind his head, acting wide awake. “Yes Twilight?” he replied, a tense smile on his face. The princess looked at him, concerned. “Are you alright? You look awful sleepy.” Starfall scoffed. “Me? No, no, just resting my eyes a bit. Ready as ever!” Twilight raised an eyebrow in suspicion, an inquisitive look on her face. Starfall chuckled a few times, getting a grip of himself. When the princess returned her gaze over to Rainbow, Starfall looked outside the train window. He had left his armor behind this time for fear of it making him even more tired than he already was. As he thought this, the weariness slowly began to sink in again. Just as he noticed his eyes were closing on their own, he smacked himself in the face. “Stay awake Blitz!” he thought to himself. “Stay focused!” No longer able to hold it in, Fluttershy turned to her friends. “Why did the map call me?” she asked them, sounding paranoid. “Why wouldn’t it have been Pinkie Pie? O-or Rarity?” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Uh, duh? It’s because you are unique to the needs of the friendship problem!” she answered. Twilight looked past the question, recognizing a problem in how she asked it. “Fluttershy? Are you nervous about going to Griffonstone?” “W-what?” Fluttershy blurted out, sweat rolling down her head. “N-no, of course not.” “Wait….” Rainbow said, catching onto what Twilight had. “Are you still afraid of Gilda?” The shy pegasus shriveled away from them, wishing she had never asked. Rainbow leaned towards her, saying, “Come on Fluttershy, that was years ago. She’s changed.” Taking in a breath, Fluttershy kept her composure. “I know, it’s just…..” she trailed off, looking down at her hooves as she tapped them together. Remembering their only encounter together, the pegasus shuddered at the thought of meeting her again. “I would rather us find the friendship problem and return home as fast as we can.” The train’s whistle stopped both Twilight and Rainbow from pressing the topic. Before it ended, Fluttershy was already on the move to get to the door. The Hyperborean Mountains towered over the lands around it, giving the ponies a stunning view of the world. A voice-like wind carried across the range of mountains, breaking on the rocks like a soothing breeze. It was nearing noon, so the high peaks were lit in entirety by the sun. Fortunately, taking the long, winding path to the summit was unnecessary, being that all four ponies could fly straight up to the city themselves. Griffonstone was on the rise once again; the once broken-down houses were being rebuilt, the library was currently under construction, and the skies were filled with griffons, each busy with their own tasks. The castle was the only part of the city that remained the same, deserted and left in relative ruins. Twilight was the first to land and take a step through the great arch that sat just outside the city entrance and residential district. She smiled at the sight of the griffons working together much better than they had been in the past. Granted, they still weren’t the nicest to each other, but it was a great improvement over their attitudes before. Having been the only pony here before, and been back to see Gilda in the past since her last visit, Rainbow was the most impressed by the griffons’ efforts to restore the city. “If only Pinkie were here,” Rainbow said, looking around. “Seeing the griffons this happy would make her go nuts.” Twilight managed a chuckle. “I’m sure her Pinkie Sense is telling her just how much she’s missing right now.” As Twilight and Rainbow led the group, Starfall hung back with Fluttershy, seeing her head lowered and eyes darting about. Whatever Gilda had done all those years ago must have had a serious effect on her outlook of griffons. Stretching out his wing, Starfall wrapped it over Fluttershy’s back and pulled her closer to him, offering a smile as she looked up at him. She blushed a bit from the embrace, but her sheltered expression told Starfall that she was grateful for his protection. Rainbow’s eyes darted around, hoping to see her old pal Gilda flying around somewhere. The four walked all the way through the city to the steps of the castle, but the griffon was nowhere to be seen. “Twilight!?” screamed a voice from afar. The princess hardly had time to turn before a grayish-blue griffon grabbed hold of her and hugged her tightly. “Ooooh!” the griffon yelled, sounding ecstatic. “It’s sooo good to see you again!” “Hello Gabby,” Twilight gasped, being squeezed like a doll. “Good to see you too.” The overzealous griffon released the princess and looked over at the others. “Hi Rainbow Dash! Hi Fluttershy!” The pegasi replied with a smile and a nod. Ignoring Starfall almost completely, Gabby looked back at Twilight. “Are you here to help with the restoration?” Shaking her head, Twilight replied, “Not quite. We were sent here by the Cutie Map to solve a friendship problem.” Gabby folded her arms, thinking hard. “Ummm….” She said to herself. “Don’t know anything about that; everyone here is getting along really well.” Just after the cheerful griffon said that, she waved at a few other griffons flying by, but they ignored her. “Hehehe….” She chuckled. “Relatively speaking.” Before contemplating how to find the friendship problem, Twilight thought of something she had forgotten. “Oh, Gabby? This is Starfall Blitz.” She introduced, raising her hoof to the pegasus. “He is my royal guard.” Gabby gasped in excitement. “Royal guard!?” She zipped over to Starfall, making him back up a step. “That’s sooo cool! I’m Gabby!” Starfall chuckled quietly. “Yeah, I figured that.” “Gabby?” Rainbow asked, getting the blueish griffon’s attention. “Do you know where Gilda is?” “Gilda?” Gabby replied, smiling wide. “Yeah! She told me yesterday that she was going to sell griffon scones in the City Square all day today!” Rainbow hoof-pumped the air. “Sweet! Twilight?” she asked, looking over at her friend. “I know we have a friendship problem to find, but can we go find her first? I can’t wait to see her again!” “I don’t see why not.” Twilight replied with a smile. “She may even be able to help us find the griffons that need us.” “Awesome!” Rainbow flipped in the air. “Let’s go!” City Square in Griffonstone was active, griffons flying all over. Twilight had never seen such an effort before, and the fact that they were griffons only made it more astonishing. Air traffic was practically non-existent, they all flew past each other fluidly without collision. “I wonder how they went from all being grouchy and lazy to this.” Twilight said to herself. Rainbow paid little attention to the sky, she was kept focused on the ground, eyes searching for her awesome griffon friend. When at first she did not spot her, Rainbow glanced up at the active sky, scanning with even more strain. Seeing nothing yet, Rainbow grimaced. “That’s weird.” The four ponies stood at the center of the square, seeing a few griffon stalls, but no Gilda. Twilight walked over to one of them, who was selling satchels. “Excuse me sir,” Twilight asked politely. “Do you know where we can find a griffon named Gilda?” The cleric took a quick glance around at all the other stalls, and then returned his gaze to her. “She’s usually out here by now.” He replied, shrugging his shoulders. “Her loss; those griffon scones would have made a small fortune on a day like today.” Rainbow flew up to him as well. “Got any ideas where she might be?” “Well….” He said, scratching his head. “I think she freelances as an exploration guide.” “Exploration guide?” Rainbow asked. “Yeah, you know, for those who want to explore the Hyperborean Mountains.” The griffon explained. “There’s a chance she could be doing that, but we rarely ever get tourists, let alone have them want to explore the mountains.” Twilight raised her hoof to her head, thinking. “Thank you.” The griffon nodded and turned to a customer who had just landed. The four ponies walked back off into the square as the princess delved deeper in thought. “I suppose she could be giving someone a tour,” Twilight presumed. “Which would probably mean she’ll be gone for a while.” “Awww…” Rainbow whined, distraught at not being able to see her friend. Twilight patted her on the back, saying, “Sorry Rainbow, maybe we’ll see her next time.” A loud cough interrupted the moment. “You again?” asked an old voice. Rainbow looked up and spotted that old coot from her first visit to Griffonstone. He balanced himself rather pathetically on the perch in the window, his neck craned as he looked down at the ponies. “What’s your name again?” Rainbow said, head tilted. “Grandpa Griff?” “That’s Grampa Gruff!” the old griffon shouted, losing his balance as he did, falling down inside his house again. Being that his door was fixed this time, the four ponies heard a loud thud and an old yelp from behind it. Gruff kicked the door open, stepping out with a cough. Rainbow sighed with a blank expression. “Twilight, Fluttershy, Starfall, this is Gilda’s grandad.” Immediately, the old griffon zipped up to Twilight, eyeing her up with his scarred face. “You’re an alicorn!” he pointed out, sounding withered. “What are you doing in these parts? Come to size up your competition, eh?” Twilight looked confused. “Pardon?” The senile grump looked around at them all. “You frilly ponies can’t stand the fact that we’re coming back into the game, and you’ve come to sabotage us!” “We’re…um, just looking for your granddaughter.” Twilight said, a bit weirded out by the advancing, old griffon. Gruff’s face went from suspicious to normal in the blink of an eye. “Ah, why didn’t you just say so?” he asked, turning around and walking back a bit. “Friends of hers I presume? You ponies and your sappy friendships…..” “Do you know where she is or not, gramps?” Rainbow said quickly. “Pipe down little missy!” Gruff retorted, spinning about and coughing some more. “We griffons have finally begun rebuilding our once great home, so you’re going to listen!” Rainbow lowered her head and groaned as the griffon cleared his throat. “Not long after you and your pink friend left Griffonstone, my granddaughter began to unite the griffons by showing us that having some bits won’t solve anything.” Gruff began, sitting down. “Apart from the pink one not knowing how to shut her mouth, the two of you must have taught Gilda something special that day, because since then, she has rallied most all of Griffonstone in restoring our home to its former glory!” Fluttershy seemed calm enough now that Starfall lifted his wing and stepped up beside Twilight, asking, “So is she your new leader?” Gruff blurted out a laugh. “My girl Gilda? The leader?” The griffon’s laughing caught him a sharp glare from Rainbow. “She could have been, but the moment the question was brought up, all she’s been saying is how much she doesn’t want to lead.” Rainbow was in slight disbelief. “Really? Gilda’s been saying that?” “Every time!” Gruff scoffed. “So now the whole of the kingdom has started bickering over who will become the new ruler, but I’m going to keep saying it should be her!” Starfall tilted his head, confused. “You were just laughing at the notion of her being a leader.” “I don’t need help remembering what I said!” Gruff snapped back, coughing a few times. “Now get going and find her already!” Twilight lifted her hoof, concerned. “You don’t know where she is?” Gruff raised an eyebrow at her before spinning around. “How should I know?” He began hobbling back into his house. “Haven’t seen her since yesterday.” He slammed the door shut and it fell off its hinges, landing on top of him. “Dangnabbit!” Looking around again, Rainbow began to become a little paranoid for her friend. Gilda was awesome, but something was off, and she had a bad feeling about it. “Twilight?” she asked, looking over at her friend. “I know it’s not why we came here…..but I need to find Gilda, something is wrong.” Twilight had wanted to finish up this friendship problem quickly so that she could return to her investigation about the dragon. She thought there was a pretty decent chance Gilda was just giving someone a guided tour in the mountains, bur the lack of tourists and busy schedule of the griffons didn’t fit with that theory. Just as the lavender alicorn was about to sympathize with Rainbow, events quickly took a dramatic turn. “Princess Twilight!” Gabby yelled, diving down to them, out of breath. “Come quick! Gilda is trapped in the Abysmal Abyss!” “What!?” Rainbow shouted. Gabby turned about quickly. “There’s no time to explain! Follow me!” Rainbow and Twilight took off with Gabby immediately. Knowing that Fluttershy wouldn’t be able to keep up with them, Starfall stayed with her, the two of them trailing behind the other three. Gabby, Twilight, and Rainbow quickly found themselves on the outskirts of the city, the griffon leading the two ponies frantically to the rim of the abyss. In her panic, Gabby forgot where exactly they needed to be. Hesitating in the air, Gabby felt massive pressure on her. Twilight caught wind of her hesitation, knowing that this was the best time to get the facts. “Gabby! How do you know she is down there?” she asked. “After talking to you four, I wondered if Gilda may have been down by the exploration headquarters instead of in City Square.” Gabby explained, her eyes scanning the abyss’ rim to find the exact spot she was. “I flew over the abyss when I heard someone shouting to me. I recognized it as Gilda and I panicked…..I knew I wouldn’t be able to save her myself, so I went and found you as quickly as I could.” Rainbow landed on the rim and peered over into the abyss. “GILDA!” she shouted, her voice echoing and carrying for a long distance. There was a pause of a few seconds, everyone listening for a response. “Dash!” echoed a weak voice from far below, barely loud enough to hear. “H-help…!” A long way down the abyss, beyond sight from above, Gilda was lying down on a rock platform jutting out from the wall, her body in bad shape. “I’m coming Gilda!” Rainbow shouted back. Spreading her wings, Dash tried diving into the crevice, but the gale-force winds repelled her, sending her back down onto the ground. She recovered and tried again, but once more the winds tore her from the air. Twilight flew down quickly, helping Rainbow up. “The updraft from the abyss is too strong! We won’t be able to fly down into it like that, we have to think this through.” Rainbow swatted away Twilight’s hoof. “There’s no time for that!” she yelled. “I’ve been down there before, she doesn’t have long!” Starfall and Fluttershy landed as Rainbow turned back to face the howling crevice, referring back to her Wonderbolt training, trying desperately to think of a way to do this. Racing up alongside her, Starfall glanced down into the chasm. “Where is she?” he asked quickly, his eyes not spotting the griffon. “I don’t see her!” Fluttershy inched up to the rim as everypony else gathered, trying to quickly think of a way to save the trapped griffon. Gabby had left to get the climbing expert from the city. “Can’t you use a spell or something Twilight!?” Rainbow asked in desperation. “The changing winds are going to make it impossible to use!” Twilight replied, starting to panic a little herself. Not being able to control the situation or think of a plan began to affect her mentally. Listening was a strength of Fluttershy’s. Ears erect, she listened intently, her eyes staring down into the dark, loud crevice. Past the shouting of everypony, she could hear it. Her eyes followed the direction of the sound, pinpointing to one spot, possibly far out of sight. Gabby returned within a few minutes with Rainbow’s climbing guide from the visit before. Staring over into the abyss, the griffon assessed the problem, and got a very bad answer from it. “If she’s out of sight then we don’t have enough rope.” The griffon said grudgingly. “What do you mean not enough rope!?” Rainbow was having a total meltdown from the current situation. “Just tie another one onto it!” The griffon looked diminished, saying, “This is the only quality rope we have. You used a bad rope last time and you got stuck down there; that would only make this worse.” Seeing Fluttershy focusing on something in the abyss made Starfall fly over to her. Not wanting to lose sight of where she thought Gilda was, Fluttershy didn’t move even though she knew Starfall was beside her. “I think I know where she is….” Fluttershy told him, staying focused. “What? Where?” Starfall replied immediately. Pointing with her hoof, Fluttershy hoped she was right. Starfall focused on it as well, mapping out the abyss in his head. The updraft was too strong for a controlled approach, making wings useless. The chasm was so deep, yet so high off the ground that the winds were tearing at the rock itself. Eyeing the slants in the rock and the directional force of the air current, Starfall devised a plan, a risky plan. Looking down at himself, he clenched his teeth in frustration, wishing he had brought along his armor. “More weight.” He said to himself, looking over at the other ponies. “Rainbow! Come here!” Flying over to him, Rainbow was just about open for anything. “I have a plan,” he said, giving her a worried look. “But it is definitely not safe.” Rainbow didn’t look disheartened in the slightest. Looking back down at Fluttershy’s predicted spot, Starfall said, “We use the duo-dive, just like we did at the academy! We grab her, and pull her up together using the updraft!” Starfall gave Rainbow a stern look. “We’ll have to gauge the flow of wind together, it’s gonna be tough.” “Let’s do it!” Rainbow replied, determined. “We got this!” Twilight came running over quickly. “What are you two doing!?” Knowing they didn’t have any time to lose, the two pegasi faced the abyss. Flying up a few dozen meters, they dove down together, keeping their wings tucked in and their hooves locked on each other from behind. Into the roaring abyss they plummeted, the wind from the dive and current engulfing their senses. Predicting the flow of the wind, the expert flyers coordinated a bank to the left, dodging a gust that would have sent them into the wall. Spinning and spiraling past other gusts, they continued to fall further and further into the darkness. Coming up on Fluttershy’s predicted spot, Starfall prayed that she was accurate. Drawing closer and closer to their destination, their timing had to be perfect. “Now!” Starfall yelled. Both pegasi unlocked their hooves long enough to level out side by side, their wings catching the powerful updraft as they faced it together. From out of the dark and screaming winds emerged a platform. Both Starfall and Rainbow Dash slid across it, moving quickly to put their backs against the wall. Barely conscious, Gilda held onto the rock tightly, just a few feet away. Grabbing hold of the wounded griffon, Rainbow and Starfall pulled her to the wall of the abyss, the wind clawing at them. “Dash….” Gilda said slowly, sounding exhausted. Starfall looked up and all around, his eyes following the air currents to try and plan out their escape attempt. One look at the griffon told him that her wings were broken, along with her left arm. They were going to have to carry her; their ascent was going to be extremely difficult. Rainbow held her tight, both for the sake of the wind and because she was worried sick. “You hang in there, you hear me?” she demanded, her own voice shaking a bit. Gilda continued looking up at her with weary eyes and she attempted at a smile. A portion of the platform cracked and crumbled under the weight of the three inhabitants, falling down into the darkness. The pegasi looked down as the cracks moved further their way. A minute, maybe two, and the whole platform would be gone. There was no clean way out, riding the current along the chasm was hard enough, but using an updraft as powerful as this to ascend back up will be something no pony had ever attempted before. Putting Gilda’s talons each around their necks, the griffon held on as hard as she could. Starfall took her left side with the broken arm, believing he could hold onto her tighter than Rainbow. The three slowly stood as another portion of the platform fell away. “Ready!?” Rainbow yelled. Gilda gave a half-nod in reply as Starfall prepped himself, taking in short breaths. Waiting for the right gust, both pegasi leapt off of the rock, the pressure making the platform fall away completely. Using their wings, Rainbow and Starfall used the violent air currents to make them rise as it carried them further along the abyss. The two of them used every ounce of their aerial mastery to predict and feel the flow of the air, adjusting their wings in the slightest differences in order to maintain their increasing altitude. The first rogue wind gust struck them on Starfall’s side. They faltered, the current taking advantage of the angle of their wings and pushing them closer to the jagged wall of rock. They adjusted to the change in time to space themselves away from the wall, their climb continuing. Up above, Twilight and Gabby watched with worried eyes, trying to spot the two brave pegasi. A crowd of a few griffons began to line the rim of the abyss as well, having heard word of Gilda’s peril. “There!” Gabby shouted, pointing down into the abyss. “I can see them!” Twilight strained her eyes, seeing a mass of three figures moving along the crevice and gradually climbing up towards them. Knowing that the spell wouldn’t work at such range, she had to wait and hope. Rainbow clenched her teeth and took quick breaths like Starfall, the massive surge of wind pounding away at her back. The howling abyss threw wave after wave of wind gusts at them, leaving no room for error. Another strong gust struck on Rainbow’s side this time. Starfall anticipated it and braced before it hit, supporting Rainbow’s wing-angle change. Riding the wind more fluidly, the plan was working. Now half-way there, meter by meter the three rose higher, slowly approaching the open air. A double-wave of gusts came out of nowhere, striking both pegasi at the same time. They faltered once more, their fluid ascension ceasing as they struggled to reassert control. Not adjusting quickly enough, the gust slammed Starfall into the side of the abyss. Rainbow angled her wings accordingly, and Starfall used his other hoof to try and separate himself from the rock. Using a short burst of her strength, Gilda kicked at the rock wall with both legs, freeing the three of them from the pressure. Starfall caught the wind with his wings again and they leveled out. Luckily, his wings were untouched, and his adrenaline kept him from feeling much pain. Returning to their method of adjusting their wings to the wind, Rainbow and Starfall counterbalanced each other, rising a bit faster. Griffons now lined the abyss, watching intently. The guide griffon tied the one good rope onto a sturdy rock, a few other griffons helping keep it tight. She scaled down with the hopes of reaching them before another gust did them in. “Almost there!” Rainbow yelled, the power of the wind around her almost blotting out her voice completely. The griffon repelled down as quickly as she could, almost within range of them. Twilight watched with nervous anticipation, gauging whether or not they were close enough. Rainbow reached out for the griffon, who was nearly close enough. Starfall felt it coming, pulling Gilda and Rainbow as hard as he could while angling his wings to reverse their spots. A massive wind surge struck on Rainbow’s side and they couldn’t possibly stop it in time. Starfall was heaved into the rock wall again, this time with greater force. The collision had damaged his wings. The rogue gust sent the griffon clear up the wall, resulting in her clawing at the rock to stay put. The strike against the wall made them flounder, Starfall losing his grip on Gilda. The wind nearly blasted them apart from each other. But Rainbow wasn’t going down that easily. With a loud shout, she began beating her wings as strong as she could, nothing held back. Now injured, Starfall was little more than dead weight just as much as Gilda. But with fierce, determined eyes, Rainbow defied the abyss, flying up and riding the winds at the same time. “Come on Rainbow…” Twilight said quietly. With the lives of two friends in her hooves, Rainbow endured beyond exhaustion. Turning and spiraling with the air currents, she rose higher and higher to the cheering crowd above. Another huge surge occurred, striking the confident pegasus from her glorious ascension. Seeing the right moment, Twilight fired a well-aimed beam from her horn. The magic struck the wall that the three were falling towards, forming a portal. Rainbow, Starfall, and Gilda soared through the portal and emerged from another one that the alicorn had previously made. The portal only stayed open for a split second, the focus being blown away by the wind current. The griffons all cheered as they converged on the saviors. Rainbow was quick to help Gilda up, the approaching griffons helping to lift her up and carry her away towards the castle. Starfall remained on the ground for a few moments, catching his breath. Rainbow came over and helped him up as well, the two of them breathing heavily. “Nice….” Starfall gasped, looking over at her. “Nice job……and thanks…..” Rainbow managed a nod. “Don’t…..mention it….” Twilight and Fluttershy were quick to grab the two of them into a group hug. “You two are such showoffs.” Twilight scoffed, overwhelmed with happiness that they were back. She looked at the injured pegasus, saying, “Starfall, are you-” “I’m good.” He answered, wincing a bit as he flexed his wing. “I’ve walked away from worse.” The four of them were then escorted to the castle by the remaining griffons. Gilda hobbled out from the new infirmary, now residing in one of the castle halls. Gabby and the ponies sat in wait, rising when they saw her. “Thanks again Dash.” Gilda said, pointing at her. “Guess this makes us even then, huh?” Rainbow scoffed. “Ha, I guess it does for me, but now you owe Starfall here too.” Gilda glanced over at the stallion, eyeing him up. “Starfall, huh? Pretty cool name.” She play-punched him. “Thanks dude, you know, for saving me.” “Anytime.” Starfall chuckled, now seeing why she and Rainbow were such good friends. “Guess I should thank you too.” Rainbow added, looking over at him. “You spun us around so that it was you that hit the wall and not me.” Starfall shrugged his shoulders. “Knew that if it came down to one of us carrying the other two out, you had a better chance than me.” Giving Rainbow a moment to revel in the compliment, Twilight stepped up. “I’m glad you’re safe now Gilda. How did you get stuck down there in the first place?” Lowering her head a bit, Gilda let out a defeated sigh. This surprised everypony, none more so than Rainbow, who took a step forward. “Gilda?” she asked. “What is it?” Looking back up at them all, Gilda looked both angry and upset. “A customer asking me personally to guide him down into the Abysmal Abyss. Thought it was weird seeing him want to go down there, but I took up the job anyway, figured I could use the extra bits.” Gilda sat down, trying to calm her nerves at recalling the story. “We found the skull of Arimaspi, you know, that big ugly thing from the last time we were down there? For some reason, seeing it made him want to keep going down further.” Gilda shook her head. “I knew going any further would be too dangerous, but he offered to pay me 1,000 bits if I did!” “1,000 bits!?” Rainbow echoed, her mouth agate. “He had brought down some extra rope, so I went for it, thinking we could handle going down a little further.” Gilda said, sounding sure of herself. “So we further down, for a while really, and it went just fine…..until, I saw it….” She looked up at them all. “The Idol of Boreas.” Rainbow nearly fell from out her seat. “Whoa, what!? You saw it again!?” “Yeah!” Gilda promised. “It must’ve fallen down to that platform the last time we saw it!” “What happened then?” Gabby asked. “Did either of you manage to grab it?” Gilda, all of a sudden, looked really angry. “Oh, he grabbed it alright….after he attacked me! “Attacked you?” Twilight asked. “The pony you were guiding attacked you?” “He wasn’t a pony.” Gilda huffed. “That’s the last time I ever trust a dragon!” A silence befell the group. It couldn’t possibly be…. “What kind of dragon was it?” Starfall asked with an inquisitive expression. “Big black one,” Gilda replied with a sneer. “Grayish underneath, had gold horns, and seriously creepy, red eyes.” Twilight couldn’t believe her ears. Here too? The dragon had come here? And found the Idol of Boreas? Excusing herself from the group, she trotted away. Watching her as she went, Starfall followed. “What’s up with them?” Gilda asked. “It’s a long story.” Rainbow replied. Now that it was just the four of them, Gilda took notice to the shy pegasus hiding slightly from the griffon’s gaze. She recognized her form Ponyville, that quiet, teary-eyed one that she yelled at. “Hey, ummm, it’s Fluttershy, right?” Gilda asked. Hearing the sound of her name from the griffon, Fluttershy attempted at a smile. “yes….?” Gilda scratched her neck with her good talon. “Listen, I’m sorry for how uncool I was back then. It’s bothered me for a while.” She said sincerely. “I was a real jerk, but I’m better now.” Holding out her talon, Fluttershy paused, surprised by this apology. “Friends?” Gilda asked, offering a sheepish smile. Fluttershy looked down at the offered talon and slowly shook it with her hoof, smiling in return, while still nervous. “Friends.” Fluttershy echoed. A glowing light shined on Fluttershy and Rainbow’s flanks. Looking down at them, their cutie marks inverted, coming together. “Wow…” Rainbow said, smiling as she looked up at Gilda. “Who knew?” Gilda’s eyebrow lifted as she watched their cutie marks glow. “Oh, right.” She nodded, then proceeding to shake her head. “Yeah, that’s still pretty weird.” Twilight stood at the entrance to the castle, deep in thought. Coincidences like this were the events that reminded her that the world was made up of more than just science. This monster was everywhere……the Castle of the Two Sisters, Fireglow, now even Griffonstone. There had to be a connection, there just had to be. Peering out from around the corner, Starfall stepped forward quietly, giving the princess space to think. Why was it that she could never stay at these new places for very long? Twilight knew that a vacation was impossible right now, but she wished she could just have some time to relax and feel safe. Looking behind her, Starfall sent a smile her way. “We need to return to Ponyville.” Twilight said, feeling pressured. “I have to figure this out.” Starfall nodded, saying, “As you wish.” Twilight then smiled back. “I’m happy you’re not hurt, you know?” “You and me both princess.” Starfall chuckled, he quickly shook his head. “I mean, Twilight.” The princess giggled a little, feeling some of the pressure on her lift. Looking down at her cutie mark, it showed that that the friendship problem had been solved. Impressed, Twilight looked back up at Starfall. “Guess Rainbow and Fluttershy are getting better at this than I am.”