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// Gold 
// Story: Periodic Ponies 
// by Indigo Steel 
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“Thanks again for helping me with this recipe, cousin Gustav.” Gilda said with genuine gratitude.

“It iz mah pleasure, ma cherie!” The Prench gryphon Gustav LeGrande replied with a proud smile, “This iz one of mah more ingenious creations...simple, yet spectacular!”

A third gryphon then flew in front of the other two, a plank of wood under one arm and a hammer and nails in her opposite claw. “Okay, I’ve finished setting up the signs!” Gabby said with her usual exuberance, “Just one more!”

She hovered to the top of Gilda’s pastry stand, setting up a sign which read, “GOLD BARS, 1 BIT EACH.”

The “gold bars” in question were, in fact, small sponge cakes with a banana cream filling, each one encased in a fondant formulated to resemble the metallic color of it’s namesake. There was no doubt in anygriffon’s mind how well they would sell, and not just because of the powerful drive of any griffon to seek out gold!

The quality and amount of ingredients used to make the small cakes made them more expensive than their current price, but that wasn't the point. This was a special product sale reserved for the Friendship Summit that was about to take place in Griffonstone; Gustav and Gabby were donating their time, skills and resources to help Gilda. As well as the local griffons, many visiting dignitaries were also waiting in line early, eager to try these delicious new treats...the unintended but serendipitous side effect being the dignitaries lightheartedly chatting and sharing mutual interests without the pressure of being in a formal setting.

As well as the money going towards improving Gilda’s bakery stand, the cakes themselves gave a subtle message: Gold was a glistening metal, valued and sought out for many reasons, from it’s superior conductivity to it’s more mainstream use as assorted treasures. However, this valued metal was not the only thing to be found in life; there were other things just as good, just as valued and just as gleaming, both figuratively and literally.

Or to put it another way...all that glitters is not gold.