//------------------------------// // Love Pie-Angles (Part 2) // Story: The Untrotted Path // by Luna Aeterna Solutae //------------------------------// The following morning's dawnbreak suffused Pinkie with a delicious warmth. The events and activity of the previous day brought a smile to her plump face as she sat down at her vanity and brushed out her mane. Having such ridiculously curly hair warranted an almost Rarity level of care, lest it knot and tangle uncomfortably. She thought of the soft chirruping noise Dash had made in her ear, and her smile widened. Love sang in her heart as she slid down the railing to the bakery proper and hit the floor skipping. Waving to her host parents, she raced out into the morning light and beelined towards the cloud-house constructed on the edge of town. She hummed to herself as she skidded to a halt. She selected a stone and closed an eye, tongue poking from her lips as she tossed it skyward. “Rise and shine Rainbow Dash! It's a brand new day and we got a lot of pranking to…” The stone clicked off something with a dull clank and an exclamation of “ow”. She plopped onto her haunches and stared as an eagle's visage stared over the edge of the little cloud-lawn. “oh.” Pinkie backpedaled slightly as the griffon cocked her head and stared at her, pupils dilating like she was tracking prey. Dash poked her head over and smiled, diving towards the ground and giving Pinkie a nudge with a hoof. For Dash, that was as good as a tight hug. “Hey Pinks. Gilda, this is who I was telling you about; my fillyfriend Pinkie Pie.” The griffon landed, and those fierce honey-colored eyes examined Pinkie like something she'd pick out of her teeth with a clawtip. Pinkie's ears folded back, and she tried not to breathe too heavily. Not much scared her, but a carnivorous creature that radiated aggression like the hen before her ranked pretty highly up on her list. “Sup.” Pinkie leaned into Dash and chewed her lip. She couldn't help but note the harsh burr of accent- between voice and the markings around her eyes, she seemed like a Griffonstone native. Griffons from Trottingham or the Griffish Isles were pleasant. Ones from the homeland… were not. Rainbow Dash seemed to be ignoring or oblivious to the tension. “Pinkie, this is my friend Gilda, from back in Junior Speedster's.” Her eyes sparkled with mirth and she sniggered. “Hey, remember the chant?” Gilda spread wings and took flight. Pinkie's mouth grew very dry. The half-lion, half-eagle beast was packed with muscle, and seemed half again as large as she was- and Pinkie wasn't a small pony. “Tch, they made us recite it every morning, I'll never get that lame thing out of my head.” Rainbow Dash stared and smirked. Gilda rolled her eyes and sighed. “Only for you.” In unison, they chanted. It even came with a dorky little aerial dance. Rainbow Dash had her signature enthusiasm, Gilda seemed like she'd rather do literally anything else. “Junior Speedsters are our lives, Sky-bound soars and daring dives Junior Speedsters, it's our quest, To someday be the very best!” To Pinkie, it smoothed everything out. Obviously Gilda cared very much for Dash. If she liked Dash, everything should be fine. She clapped, her hooves coming together with cheerful metallic clinks that underpinned her burbling giggle. “Oh that was awesome, and it gave me a great idea for a prank. Gilda, you game?” Gilda stared at her for a second, before chuckling. “Huh. Well, I groove on a good prank as much as the next griffon. But Dash, you promised me we'd get a flying session in this morning.” Dash rubbed the back of her neck and shrugged helplessly. “Yeah, uh, well, Pinkie Pie, you don't mind, do you? Gilda just got here, and she came an awful long way. We'll catch up with you later?” Pinkie felt her heart break a little as Gilda stared at her and rested a talon on Dash’s withers. “Oh. Um, well sure, no problem. Have fun you guys, I'll, uh, just catch up with you… later.” Later turned out to never come. She saw them in the distance repeatedly over the day, mostly at elevation. She even borrowed Cherry Berry's pedalcopter to try and interact with them on their level. Rainbow Dash was always happy to see her, but easily distracted off by Gilda, who grew more and more aggressive throughout the day. The final straw was when Gilda sent the copter plummeting back to Earth. That was when Pinkie went to Twilight for advice. Twilight didn't seem impressed. Probably because of the whole ink thing the day before, even if she'd laughed it off the time. Probably because she was busy when Pinkie burst through the door in near-tears. “So Pinkie Pie, are you sure that this friend of Rainbow Dash is really so mean?” She barely glanced up from her task of stamping and sorting returned books to be shelved. Pinkie Pie paced back and forth, chewing her lip. “Um, yeah. She keeps stealing Rainbow Dash away, she told me to buzz off, and she almost crashed the copter! I could have been very hurt, Twilight. I've never met a griffon this mean.” Sunset poked her head in from the kitchen, where she was preparing lunch. “Sounds to me like someone's jealous.” Pinkie pursed her lips and thought, scuffing a hoof across the flooring. “Ehm… Jealous?” Sunset rolled her eyes as she came in. “Yeah. Jealous. Listen, griffons are a little rude and standoffish, that's just their culture. If you keep bugging her she'll just get more angry. Plus… your marefriend is allowed to hang out with creatures that aren't you. Maybe give them some space?” Pinkie's shoulders slumped, and she nodded. “You're probably both right. Maybe Gilda isn't a big meanie grumpy mean-meanie-pants. Maybe I'm just a big jealous judgmental jealous-jealousy-pants.” She turned and left them alone, too. She went to the market, hoping a milkshake would make her feel better. It tasted good, but didn't make her feel any better. She slumped at her table and sipped every so often, watching the ponies in the market. She watched Gilda land and thought about calling out to her, but restrained herself. She watched as Gilda scared Granny Smith. But that was a prank, surely. She watched Gilda snag an apple and bite into it. Probably a free sample sign Pinkie couldn't see, surely. The last straw came when Fluttershy accidentally bumped into her and apologies were met with Gilda displaying claws and roaring in her face. Pinkie's eyes narrowed. “She's a grump, and a thief, and a bully. The meanest kind of mean meanie-pants there is. No one treats Fluttershy like that. No. One. This calls for extreme measures, Pinkie Pie style.” Unsurprisingly, Pinkie Pie style involved a party. On all accounts, it was a great party. Pinkie listened to the chatter. Under one hoof, she thought Gilda's attitude might be improved by a party just for her. Under the other, ponies talked at parties. When ponies talked, Pinkie listened. She'd made sure that Gilda would arrive slightly behind everypony else. When she finally came through the door of Sugarcube Corner the party was in full swing. First, a test. “Gilda! I'm so honored to throw you one of my signature Pinkie Pie parties, and I really, truly, sincerely, hope you feel welcome here amongst all us pony folk.” She stretched out a hoof. When it was grasped, she pressed the joy buzzer concealed against her frog to the palm of Gilda's talon. The griffon jerked and grunted at the mild shock coursing up her forearm, but seemed to maintain her cool in the face of the crowd's giggling. She managed to continue for a surprisingly long time. But it seemed the party was designed to test the patience of a griffon. Pepper in the lemon drops, punch in a dribble cup. A can of paper snakes as a present. With every new, low effort but extremely annoying prank and bout of laughter, Gilda's powerful frame vibrated a little more and the cords in her neck stood higher with tension. The last straw was being blindfolded and jostled, and accidentally walked straight into a wall. The griffon rose, and snapped with a war-shriek. “This is your idea of a good time? I've never met a lamer bunch of dweebs in all my life.” She pointed a dagger-sharp claw. “And Pinkie Pie, you! You are Queen Lame with your weak little party pranks. Did you really think you could make me lose my cool? Well, Dash and I have ten times as much cool as the rest of you put together.” She vibrated with restrained hostility, making for the door. “Come on Dash, we're bailing on this pathetic scene.” Dash scuffed a hoof across the floor. “You know Gilda, I was the one who set up all those weak pranks at this party. So I guess I'm Queen Lame. Gilda's eyes narrowed. “Come on, Dash, you're joshing me.” Rainbow Dash looked up at the ceiling, folding her wings in tight. “They weren't all meant for you specifically, it was just dumb luck that you set them all off.” Pinkie Pie sniggered and nudged Twilight. “I shoulda known, that dribble cup had Rainbow Dash written all over it.” Fury had turned to hurt and disbelief. “No way. It was Pinkie Pie. She set up this party to trip me up, to make a fool of me.” Pinkie Pie frowned. “Me? I threw this party to improve your attitude. I thought a good party might turn that frown upside down.” Rainbow Dash might have been all of three feet tall, but she still pushed between Gilda and Pinkie with wings flared, hooftip scraping the floor aggressively. “And you sure didn't need any help making a fool of yourself. You know, this is not how I thought my old friends would treat my new friends. If being cool is all you care about, maybe you should go find some new cool friends someplace else.” Gilda closed her eyes for a moment. “Fine. When you decide not to be lame anymore, gimme a call.” Rainbow Dash hung her head as the door slammed behind her, and the space echoed with silence. Twilight cleared her throat. “Wow, what was that about?” Dash sighed and scuffed a hoof. “Gilda is… uncomfortable around ponies. I never noticed how… rude and mean she could be. Just because she's afraid of being judged doesn't mean she can act like that. I'm sorry she spoiled the party, Pinkie.” Pinkie shook her head. “If you wanna hang out with grumps, that's your business.” Dash gently rested hooves on either of Pinkie's chubby cheeks. The crowd let out a collective “awww” as she leaned to peck her nose. “I'd rather hang out with you.” The evening found Dash and Pinkie at the library. They sat on cushions close to one another, Dash studiously ignoring the way Pinkie's hoof cupped her own. Twilight had wanted the full story for a letter to Princess Luna. Sunset gently patted Dash's back. “I'm proud of both of you. It was very big of you to stand up for Pinkie like that, Dash. And Pinkie, it was very big of you to keep trying trying to like Gilda. It's very easy to see a partner's ex in a bad light.” Twilight smiled at her friends. “Spike, take a letter please.” Dearest Princess Luna, Today I learned that it's hard to accept when somepony you like wants to spend time with somepony who's not so nice. Though it's impossible to control who your friends hang out with, it is possible to control your own behavior. Just continue to be a good friend. In the end, the difference between a false friend and one who's true will surely come to light. Your true friend, -Twilight Sparkle. P.S. Mom says hello.