"So, Gabby..." Wind whistler asked, as the three ponies and one griffin emerged into a clearing. "Like, what are these 'kids' ya keep going on about?"
Gabrielle, Wind Whistler, Hollywood, and Applejack had come back to the Pony friend's hidden village, where the supposed 'kids' Gertie had mentioned were part of the pony friends. They found they had come to a clearing, filled with a bunch of tree houses connected by wooden bridges and rope ladders. But as the three ponies looked around, but couldn't see anybody else present.
"You sure those kids are here?" Hollywood asked, fluttering around among the empty tree houses. "'Cause this place looks totally deserted."
"That's just the way it looks, the tykes are here, don't you doubt that." The griffin smiled, then called out into the trees. "Hey,everybody! It's aunt Gabrille! I'm home!"
At that moment four baby animals came timidly working their way out of the surrounding trees, coming to surround the newcomers curiously. The four animals were confused by the arrival of outsiders, especially ones who were ponies. It was then that Gabby stepped forward, and spoke up on behalf of the newcomers.
"Everybody, these are Gertie's friends; Applejack, Hollywood and Wind Whistler." The Griffin explained. "They've here come to play with you, while The other adults are away."
When she mentioned Gerite, the others instantly calmed down, and began to talk to the ponies.
"Hi, my name is Hoppy!" An energetic pink Kangaroo with a pocket cutie mark came bounding up, a grin on his face. "It's really a pleasure to meet you!"
"Um, hello?" A little cow the same color of Applejack greeted them timidly, the little heifer with the falling leaves cutie mark looking away. "My name's Leafy, and I'm happy to meet all of you... I think..."
"Yo, I'm Woolly, the pink sheep of the flock!" An ewe with a ball of yarn cutie mark greeted them, her voice filled with spunk. "How yuz all doin'?"
"And I'm Nectar, the leader of the gang!" A little blue and white panda declared, stepping out in front of the others. "Welcome to the hidden village!"
"Oh wow, so these are the kids you were all talking about." Applejack replied, finally understanding. "You little tykes must've earned your cutie marks as children, and stayed the same age ever since."
"Yep! We never get old-literally!" Woolly agreed. "We're just that lovable!"
"Oh wow, this one's, like, a total comedian." Wind Whistler added, rolling her eyes. "As if we didn't already have enough of those around here."
"Do ya know any good games?" Hoppy asked, jumping around energetically. "We just love to play games!"
"Well, we could try tag," Hollywood suggested. "or maybe a game of ball?"
"Well, that kind of sounds like fun... I guess..." Leafy replied. "As long as we don't get hurt..."
The three ponies then began to play several games with the pony friend children, trying to keep them occupied. But they were about to discover, that these little bundles of energy might be a tad too much for them to handle.
"Hurry up, Wind Whistler!" Hoppy called back, bouncing ahead in a game of tag. "Ya can't catch me!"
"Oh yeah? Well, we Pegasus are just as fast on our wings, as you are on your feet!" The Pegasus zipped after him, chasing the kangaroo through the treetops. "You're not 'hopping' your way out of this one!"
Next they decided to play a game of tag, but things didn't exactly go as planned.
"Leafy, why are you hiding back there?" A puzzled Applejack asked, lifting a branch to where the little calf was cowering. "It's your turn to be 'it'."
"But A.J., my favorite part of hide and go seek is the hiding." Leafy replied timidly. "It's the one game that makes me feel the safest."
"Ohh boy, do you remind me of an old friend of mine." Applejack replied, rolling her eyes. "Though I don't exactly remember who."
Finally, they tried a game of hoofball... and discovered they were outmatched by the energetic little tykes.
"Awww, come on, Holly!" The lamb exclaimed, bunting the ball back across the net with her head. "Ya haven't managed ta hit a single ball across the net!"
"Sorry, Woolly..." The flutter pony gasped, trying to catch her breath. "But we flutters aren't built for a lot of activity!"
As the ponies continued to play with the kids, Gabrielle watched them from afar. Her face began to soften, seeing how the equines were treating the other animals, and she realized Gertie may have been right about the ponies. As she was contemplating this, Nectar came crawling up to her, and spoke.
"Um, Miss Gabrielle?" The little panda asked, looking down at the ponies. "Those new friends you brought, they're kinda awesome!"
"Yeah, I guess they're really not that bad, after all." Gabrielle replied with a sigh. "I guess I'd better go and talk to them."
When the three were taking a break from playing with the kids, Gabrielle approached them with a guilty look on her face.
"Hey, girl! How's it going?" Windy greeted her, a smile on her face. "You, like, said these kids would be a hoof-full, but they're, like, totally awesome!"
"Yeah, about that... look, I'm really sorry I doubted you girls." The griffin admitted sheepishly. "You made friends with the children easily,when I thought you'd simply hate them. I misjudged you, and I'm sorry about that."
"Well, I guess you really shouldn't judge a pony by her cutie mark." Hollywood replied smugly, fluttering around over her head. "We never meant any harm to you, or the other pony pals."
"I'm sorry! It's just... look, long ago the ponies you call the ancients lied to me, tricked me, and talked down to me." The griffin just scowled. "They acted like I couldn't even grasp the concept of friendship, just because I was a griffin!"
"We Ponylanders are nothing like the ancients, we're not arrogant or cruel enough. And we barbarian ponies are nowhere near the level of hypocrites the ancients were." Applejack shook her head. "You've always been too quick to judge ponies, Gabby. How could the girls have possiby known you'd eventually get your cutie mark, and take your place among the immortals?"
The griffin stared at the apple-picking pony in shock, having been called a name she had not heard since the time of the ancients. But the earth pony had already moved on, having gone back to play with the children once more.