Rainbow Dash might not be able to read griffons as well as ponies, but even she could tell this wasn't going well for her. What was worse, griffons seemed to have their own version of the pony herding instinct. As her conversation with Gilda became more heated, Dash could feel more and more pairs of eyes glaring down at her. Griffons perched on buildings, walls, and fences, each one of them staring at her with harsh predatory eyes. Even knowing she was somewhere in Equestria, some deep buried place in her mind wondered if she wasn't about to get attacked. If not by Gilda, than by the dozens of griffons watching them from all around.
"So... that's it, huh?" Gilda said, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Rainbow Dash. "There's nothing you can do. Nothing any of those 'magical princesses' can do." She turned away, snapping the canvas cover down over her baked goods stand. Her wings flexed and flared out around her.
"Well, uh... Twilight said not to be optimistic. She's doing everything she can, but..." Rainbow couldn't make herself meet her friend's eyes. She couldn't look at Gilda's face without seeing the place where the feathers above her left eye had never quite grown back. Somewhere under there was the scar she'd taken, taken because she was Rainbow's friend.
"Well isn't that just bucking fantastic." Without warning the griffon took to the air, leaving only a few stray feathers as she climbed rapidly past the buildings, over the walls, and out of Griffonstone.
Rainbow could almost pretend that many years hadn't gone by, and they were playing together, as they'd done when they'd both been young. But never in all those years had the griffon running away seemed to be in such agony. Rainbow Dash had seen less pain on the faces of her friends when they thought Tirek was going to end the world. Though I guess Gilda's world is about to end.
Had she been any lesser pony, that would've been the end of the conversation. Griffons might not have weather magic, but what they did have were powerful muscles and the will of predators. Few ponies had a chance of catching up to one who really wanted to get away. But Rainbow Dash wasn't just anypony.
She galloped forward a few steps, ignoring the stares of Griffonstone's residents all around her as she took to the air, tucking her legs close to her body and squinting as she settled into a pursuit. Rainbow Dash felt none of the usual joy that waited for her in the sky, none of the freedom that came with speed. Just now, she wasn't free at all. She wouldn't be free while somepony else suffered because of her.
"Gilda, wait!" she shouted, once she'd closed enough of the distance that she could see her friend's tail streaming out behind her like a racing flag. "We should talk about this!"
But if the griffon could hear her, she made no visible sign of it. No, wait... she was speeding up! Dash's eyes widened as she realized where Gilda was headed—back into the canyon where Griffonstone's own treasure lie buried. The terrible winds that waited within would batter Rainbow to pieces if she tried to follow within the canyon walls. She had to catch Gilda before she made it.
Rainbow Dash concentrated on her mission, letting everything else in the world fade to the same indistinct blue. "You must be honest with her," Twilight had said, back in her castle of friendship. "It's better not to encourage ponies to delude themselves—if they go the whole year thinking a cure is coming when it isn't, they'll leave so much undone."
"I don't think that's really our call," Rainbow had argued. "Twi, we aren't the ones who are going to die here. They're taking the stampede for us. Shouldn't they get to face it in their own way?"
"Yes," Twilight had answered. "With all the facts."
Maybe it had been wrong to come all the way out here to deliver such bad news. Maybe she should've done what she thought was right, and not say anything. At least that way Gilda could live the whole year without stress, and then at the end... well, it would end.
Just as they neared the edge of the cliff, where open ground transformed into a perilous drop, Rainbow Dash slammed into Gilda's back hard enough to take them both cartwheeling and tumbling to the dirt. Gilda was on her feet in seconds, her sharp beak glinting in the waning afternoon sunlight. "Why are you following me?!" she shouted, spittle flying into the air in front of her. "You've done enough, Rainbow! Leave me alone!"
Rainbow Dash blinked away a tear, recoiling from the verbal blow. It was true, of course, which is what made it hurt so much. "B-but... Gilda..."
"But nothing." Gilda advanced on her, tearing up the rough dirt and rock with equal ferocity. "You really want to talk? Well let's talk!" She shoved Rainbow back with one of her claws, so forcefully that Rainbow Dash went sliding. Maybe she could've fought, or at the very least gotten out of the way, but she didn't. "I got along just fine before you ponies came and found me here. Griffons didn't need any of that 'friendship' thing you're all so crazy about. It worked. Do you know why it worked?"
Rainbow sat up, but she didn't dare rise. Less than a dozen steps behind her was the cliff, and the endless void beyond. She had barely survived the last time she ventured below.
"I'll tell you why." Gilda didn't wait any longer for her answer. "Because when you live for yourself, you're bucking safe. Nobody can screw you over when you know that's what every pair of wings is looking to do. Nobody can stab you in the back when you're watching every pair of claws like a hawk. Nobody will have you killed for having the wrong friends because nobody has any friends!" Her voice rang through the empty canyon behind them both, echoing and stretching lower and lower.
For a few moments, it seemed to Rainbow Dash as though Gilda really would shove her backward into the void. She wasn't sure if she would've tried to fight back or not, at that point. Fortunately for her, she would never find out.
Gilda dropped to her haunches less than a foot away, breathing heavily. Her wings were still partially spread, her chest puffed up in the way of griffons in distress.
Rainbow Dash remained quiet, at least until she was sure Gilda had calmed down a little. "I'm sorry, okay," she said again. "This whole thing is bucking awful. If I could take the curse myself, you know I would. It's me Dirge wanted to hurt."
The griffon's eyes narrowed, but she didn't start screaming again. "Oh, sure. It's easy to talk big, Dash. How long have we known each other? How many times have you said stuff like that before a big jump, or some new stunt?"
Maybe Rainbow was finally starting to make some progress! She wasn't going to give up, just in case. Besides... if this went badly, she had a feeling Gilda wouldn't be seeing her again before the end. Griffons had some strange funeral customs, and ponies weren't even allowed to get involved. She couldn't even say goodbye at a funeral. "And how many times did I jump after you?" Rainbow asked. Her voice cracked as she said it, but she didn't care. This might be the last time she ever talked to her old friend. Rainbow Dash wasn't going to leave with regrets. "Gilda, it's alright if you—" She sniffed, wiping away a tear. She couldn't let Gilda see though. Even now Rainbow Dash had standards. "It's alright if you hate me because of all this. I should've been fast enough to stop it. I should've seen... Equestria should've seen. It's fine if you never want to talk to me again. I'll understand."
She took a deep breath, rising to her hooves. Gilda didn't move to stop her. "Just don't try to undo what you've accomplished, okay? Griffonstone is so much better because of friendship. There are smiles on those streets now, not brawls. Maybe being my friend was a rotten idea... but it wasn't that way for the rest of the griffons. Take it out on me, not them. Okay?"
Gilda continued to glare. There were several tense moments, during which Dash couldn't take her eyes away from her friend's sharp claws. Griffons could really be intimidating up close.
The tense moment passed. Gilda sat down, and some of the anger seemed to leave her. Her chest flattened, her wings tucked in by her sides, and she looked down at the ground. She looked like a stuffed doll with only half the proper amount of stuffing—sad and pathetic. "It's not you," Gilda eventually said. She spoke very slowly, as though each word cost her dearly. "I know it isn't your fault. You came as quick as you could. I get that. But if the pony way is so great—if friendship and kindness and loyalty and the rest of those sappy droppings are really so great, how could a pony be so bad? Dirge wasn't just mean to us, he wasn't a bully. He's a murderer. Explain that one for me, Dash." So no, maybe her anger wasn't gone. It was just redirected.
"I don't know," she said. "If I understood what made ponies bad, maybe I'd be one of those egghead princess types." She rolled her eyes, gesturing at her forehead with one hoof. "But you won't see a horn on me, not ever. So I can only tell you what I've learned. And what I've learned is that ponies don't always do what you think they should. Even if they had really good lives—just take Trixie. Talented, best magic show around. But she goes and enslaves Ponyville because Twilight knew a few spells she didn’t."
"Dirge wasn't like that," Gilda whispered, her voice quiet and dangerous. She reached up, rubbing at the edge of her eyes with one claw. "The things he did... the things he said... I don't think he could've changed like Starlight did. He was a monster. If he wasn't already dead..." She ran her claws together, making an uncomfortable scraping sound. "You'd come with me, right? We could track him down... battle his evil minions, maybe have a duel during a thunderstorm! There'd be lightning, and thunder, and eventually..." She drew a line across her throat with one claw. "He'd get what he deserved, and he'd never hurt anyone again."
"I wish we could," Rainbow Dash said, though she had some different ideas about the ending. Never had any of her past adventures with the other Elements of Harmony had ended with a vicious revenge-inspired murder. But occasionally, as they had with Sombra or Tirek, the pony in question just couldn't be reformed. Sometimes they had to find other solutions. Rainbow wasn't going to lie and act like she wouldn't have been ready to fight alongside Gilda to get even. "But the cult's gone, Gilda. Celestia dismantled the whole hideout herself. Took all his evil artifacts and turned them to dust. If Dirge was still around, I'm sure she'd have thrown him down into Tartarus."
"So what do I do, then?" Gilda asked, turning away from her at last. She seemed to be looking back towards Griffonstone. "What I should do is get even. I'm even less into that magic stuff than you are, Dash. If the ponies can't figure it out, I can't. Who can I make pay for doing this to me?"
Rainbow Dash thought about that for several long seconds before answering. "If we can't get even... then I think the only thing left to do is make it so Dirge failed. He wanted you to hurt like he did. Wanted... wanted me to hurt." Again her voice nearly broke, but she powered through. "That's the only way we have to beat him now. You can make the next six months count. Maybe I can't go with you on a 'fight an evil cult' kind of adventure, but if you'd prefer to have an 'explore the whole world as quickly as possible' adventure, you know I'd be there! I've got enough bits, now that I'm with the Wonderbolts. What do you say? Forget about the pastries, and let's make this the best six months ever."
Gilda turned, staring at her from over her shoulder. "I... I'll think about it," she eventually said. "Don't you dare leave town until I decide." She glared back over her shoulder at Dash, but for the first time she could make out the barest hint of a smile.