Somewhat bereft, Luna decided that she would unpack that later. She left her little light in the dark and made for the door. A gentle, almost soothing thrum of noise washed over her. It was everywhere, but not too loud so as to get in the way of the mingling. Little cliques had already formed here and there. A few groups occupied some out of the way tables, while a couple more made this vague attempt at dancing and chatting on the cleared floor. On the far side was a counter with glass cutaways to show off the best confections and baked goods for the day.
The lights were low. And in the corner sat Gilda, leaning back in a chair at a table all to herself; her posture as wide, slumped, and comfortable as one could possibly get. Luna thought maybe this was an opportunity. So she took the long way around the low energy dancers to her. She gingerly tugged on a chair opposite to the lounging griffin. “Mind if I sit here?”
Gilda yawned, then looked her up and down. “It’s a free country, I guess.”
“I would hope my homeland still is, heheh.” Luna tried to keep a brave face as she sat across from her. “I’m Luna, by the way. A new friend of Dash’s.”
“Must be nice.” drawled Gilda, utterly bored. “But what’s a pony princess doing in podunk nowheresville?”
Luna chewed her lip. “I’m not really a princess.”
“Is that so?” said Gilda, sounding as though she didn’t really desire an answer. “You’re the princess subrace, ain’tcha?”
“An alicorn, yes.” Luna fiddled her hooves. “But, well, it’s complicated. And at any rate, I rather like it here, in Ponyville.”
“Well I don’t.” Here, Gilda finally looked Luna in the eye. “And frankly, I don’t get what Dash sees in this place either.”
“It’s calm.” said Luna, trying to maintain patience herself. “Peaceful, too. When there’s not eldritch monsters and dragons, anyway. Heh.”
“And that’s the problem.” huffed Gilda. “These country bumpkins have sapped that girl of her ambition. All she does is menial work, and laze around when she’s not doing menial work. She used to try so hard for her actual goal.”
Luna blinked. For a moment there, she thought she might actually understand this griffin, standoffish as she might well be. “Becoming a Wonderbolt?”
Gilda seemed almost taken aback. “Huh. Guess you’re her friend after all.”
That fond little moment didn’t last. How could it, when Luna’s memories of Trixie and Fluttershy and little Wick were still fresh? Her eyes sank. “Is that why you lash out? Because you resent this place for stealing away the Rainbow you once knew?”
Gilda slowly leaned forward, hunching over the table. When this got Luna’s attention, she subtly bared her talons. The niceties were over. “And what if it is, princess? What then, huh?”
Luna lifted her chin, refusing to shy away from the challenge. When one has fought dragons and knights and monsters from beyond the veil, what threat could one meager set of claws seem? “I do not wish to fight you. I want to put those days behind me. But I am ward here. I’ll protect the meek, should you ordain to harass them further.”
“Gag me with a spoon.” scoffed Gilda. “I’m taking my friend back, one way or another. So save your virtue signaling crud for someone who cares.”
“And you’re certain that’s what your friend wants?” asked Luna. She felt herself frowning, but she wasn’t fully sure where the pangs tugging on her heart came from. Perhaps she related to Gilda more than she’d liked.
“Yes.” answered Gilda plainly. Then, suddenly, she put on a shockingly cheery demeanor. “Yo, Dash, over here!”
Luna followed the direction of her beckoning claw, craning her head and clenching in her ruffled wings. Here came Rainbow and Pinkie, with a couple trays of sweets between the two of them.
“Well hey,” rasped Rainbow with an almost churlish grin, “if it isn’t two of my favorite creatures. What’s up, Luna?”
Pinkie helped her set the food down between them and smiled at Luna. “Hi again, Luna.”
Gilda took control of the conversation as she snatched up a cupcake into each claw. “We were just chatting about you, Dash. Gotta admit, Luna here really seems to get you.”
As she sat down, Rainbow held her hoof up to her chin. “Wow, really?”
“Well,” droned Luna, scratching at the back of her neck, “I’d like to think so. At least, I hope I do.”
“Hey, that’s pretty nice, actually.” Dash smiled, idly fiddling with her cupcake’s wrapper. “Kinda wish the feeling was mutual, though.”
For the moment, the friction between her and Gilda faded from Luna’s mind entirely. “Oh? How do you mean?”
“I dunno. I guess I wish we hung out more?” Dash bit into her snack, as though hoping a full mouth might put an end to the awkward conversation.
Luna clutched at her chest. “My door is always open to you and the other girls. And the book club could--”
Gulping and wiping the frosting from her beak, Gilda interrupted. “Okay, that’s enough sappy talk. This is a party. Let’s have some fun.”
“Yeah.” chimed Dash, further cutting Luna off. “Why don’t we show those boring ponies some real dance moves?”
“Nah, I can’t jam to this easy listening synth garbage.” Gilda leaned back, corners of her beak widening into a grimace. “I swear, this decade of music has been so boring for you ponies. What happened to the riffs and kicks, the reverb? What happened to the challenging lyrics?”
“You seem… passionate about this.” admitted Luna.
Pinkie spoke up after polishing off her third cupcake, ignoring the curious eyes of those wondering where she put it all. “There’s all kinds of music for all kinds of tastes.”
“Plus,” added Rainbow, “the good stuff still exists. You just gotta know where to look.” But when Gilda seemed unimpressed, she offered something else instead. “Okay, how about some games then?”
“Ooh, yeah!” cheered Pinkie, holding a fourth cupcake. “Let me show you pin the tail on the pony, Gilda. I’m real good with sharp, pointy things.”
Gilda’s eyes narrowed. Something about the way this pink pony was smiling at her when she said that rubbed her the wrong way. “Say what now?”
“Oh Pinkie, you’re such a cut-up.” added Rainbow, not helping at all.
This wasn’t the first time Luna had been whisked away to play games. And partly, she hoped it wouldn’t be the last. She and Gilda were presented before a cork board with a very simplistic rendering of a random earth pony missing their tail.
“I’ll show you how first with Luna here.” cheerily announced Pinkie. She gave her a paper cutout in the shape of a tail with a push pin attached to it.
“So I just… stick this on the pony’s hind end?” Luna was perplexed at how simple this seemed. That’s when the complicating factor showed itself. Pinkie got up into her hind legs to reach her head, and wrapped a simple cloth around her eyes. “Ah. I see.”
“Uh, not anymore you don’t.” mused Dash, at which point Gilda and Pinkie both gently rumbled with laughter. “Ha, that’s kinda the whole point.”
“Duh!” added Gilda before another bout of more boisterous laughs.
Pinkie noticed a particularly perturbed swish of Luna’s hoof, and sidled up to her. She put her hoof over her shoulder. “Okay, calm down.”
Luna snorted. “Fine. But only for you.”
“Aw, c’mon, lanky. We’re just ribbin’ ya.” To mark her point, Gilda nudged her elbow against Luna’s side. Perhaps it was a little harder than intended. Or maybe that was intentional.
“Okay,” continued Pinkie, “now just walk forward, and try to get the tail as close to the right spot as you can.”
“Well, alright.” Luna sounded uncertain, and immediately started veering a little too far left. Her ears perked at a snicker, so she attempted to correct toward the right. And when she thought she was close enough, she nodded. Her aura floated the pin forth, and there came the squeak of parting cork.
“Hey, not bad for a first time.” Pinkie reached up and took the blindfold back before Luna could reach for it, revealing the tail attached to the pony’s knee. Fairly close, all things considered.
“Okay, our team’s turn.” jeered Dash, taking the blindfold and tail for herself.
“We’re doing teams?” Luna gawked as Gilda lined Rainbow up, and set her loose. She stumbled forth and landed somewhere on the hip. “Huh. Pretty good.”
Pinkie Pie was up. Luna blinded her and gave her the tail. She felt Luna’s touch on her shoulders, shuffling her side to side for the best angle. Then she let go. Pinkie took one stiff step forth. Then a second. And then she went down headlong into a full tumble, springing up before the board and pressing the first spot she could reach.
“Oh, dear.” said Luna. It didn’t sound good.
“Next time,” added an incredulous Dash, “don’t try to be fancy with it, girl.”
“Is it that bad?” asked Pinkie as she tugged on the blindfold. It was that bad. She had jabbed this poor cutout stranger right in the eye. “Oh. I see. But I guess they can’t anymore, ha.”
Rainbow took the tail and blindfold back. “Oh ho, Pinkie. That’s messed up, girl.”
“Yeah.” said Gilda, brows furrowed as she received the game pieces. “Seriously.”
“You’re up, Gilda.” Dash interjected, with a playful flick of her lion’s tail. “Get that easy win.”
Gilda took one step forward, but paused. With her sharp avian hearing, she picked up on those other two ponies’ idle chatter off to the side. She could tell the princess was closer, and that their backs were likely turned. So a wicked idea entered her head, as she veered right.
“Hey Gilda?” Dash was flummoxed.
“Ah, ah, Dash, no cheating.” Gilda could practically hear Dash’s brow quirk. She spoke over her shoulder. “Okay, no cheating on your friends. If it was a couple random rubes, I’d cheat.”
“Ha, okay, fair enough.” Rainbow made a zip motion across her lips. Not that Gilda could notice. Keeping quiet got harder and harder though, as Gilda curved further and further right, leading Dash to struggle harder to stifle herself. But Gilda crept on, unseen, until she was right behind Luna, who seemed to be eagerly hearing Pinkie out on flavors of milkshake she ought to try.
“Yow!” Luna bounced in place, coming back down with immense embarrassment as all heads turned on her. Craning her own head about to see what had caused this newfound sting, she discovered a second tail, attached to her flank with a pushpin. She grew indignant. “Hey now!”
Gilda took off the blindfold, feigning revelation at her so-called mistake. With a very falsely apologetic face, she told her: “Whoa, sorry, princess. Guess I wasn’t as close to the board as I thought I was.”
Dash meanwhile was doubled over, covering her reddened face and holding back, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “Snrk. Guess that means we lose. U-unless you girls wanna count that, I mean, heehee, it is pretty close to the real thing”
Pinkie pulled the pin, sending another tiny jolt through Luna. “You okay? Need me to kiss it and make it better?”
“Pinkie!” Luna grew even more indignant as she turned on her best friend. Noticing the snickering party goers, not helped by Rainbow now belting out laughter at the whole affair, she decided to lower her voice. “That is highly uncouth.”
“It was a joke.” pleaded Pinkie in a hush. “But you’re right, boundaries. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not you I’m angry with.” Luna’s gaze shot past her like an errant arrow, loosed from a bow with the righteous intent of pointed recompense.
So Pinkie took her hoof into hers, patting it in a soothing motion with a shush. “Hey, let’s not jump to any conclusions. That coulda actually been an accident. And besides, it was certainly less hurtful and funnier than her prior shenanigans.”
“Listen, I--”
“C’mon Luna.” pleaded Pinkie, getting in her way as she tried to step past. “We gotta give her a chance. For Rainbow.” Her face grew a little more hopeful. “And besides, I really feel my plan is working a little bit at a time. Before, she was more aggressive.”
Beyond her pink best friend, Luna could see Rainbow and Gilda chuckling over some shared jokes and mutual ribbing. Some other pony had ambled over, and Gilda began to gesture with her claw, like she was explaining something; and he genuinely seemed appreciative to have his curiosity satisfied. Luna’s ire began to fade like hot steam thinning out on the open air. “Fine. I suppose if I can change from a monster, there isn’t any reason Gilda can’t be a better griffon.”
Pinkie dragged her over to rejoin them. Gilda started to make a crack about the two of them being done nursing Luna’s wounds, but Pinkie moved on right away onto the next game she wanted to play. Before them she presented a vinyl mat rolled out on the floor. On it, there were four columns in a different color, with six spots each. But when Pinkie peered at the board as she slipped it off the table, she became nervous. “I hadn’t thought about this before, but I guess this could seem a little exclusionary.”
“Huh?” Dash gawked at her, head tilted to one side. “Wazzat supposed to mean?”
“Well,” explained Pinkie, showing them the cardstock, “the spinner is supposed to give you a random color to touch with a specific hoof, but that’s just it. It’s only got hooves, no griffon claws.”
As though curious about them herself, Gilda lifted one claw and turned it over. “I mean, I guess if it specifies your front ones, I can like, translate it the right claw?”
“Wow!” gasped Pinkie, eyes beaming. “That’s a really good idea. You’re really clever, ya know?”
Her beak slacked for a moment. She awkwardly scratched at her fluffier chest feathers. “Oh, well, I mean, it seemed kinda like the obvious solution. Not that big a deal.”
“But mitigating conflict, even as small as this, can be key in cooperation and friendship.” Pinkie winked at her, but also, somehow at nobody in particular. “It’s a useful skill in ending conflict, which makes sure no one gets hurt.”
“Huh,” mused Luna, feeling rather proud, “eloquently put, Pinkie.”
Little divets in Gilda’s feathers formed where her brow wrinkled. “What the hay do you mean ‘no one gets hurt,’ what’s going on here?” She puffed up where her feathers ruffled all over her chest and shoulders, and she pointed a demanding claw at them. “You two up to something?”
“Gilda.” Rainbow pushed Gilda’s wings back down and smoothed down some of those bristling feathers. “Calm down, girl. You’re bein’ totally paranoid here.”
Those yellow eyes of Gilda’s darted between her friend and the princess who vaguely threatened her. She could tell it in Luna’s own eyes, her expression was an invitation to go ahead and start something, here and now. “Y-yeah, but--”
There came a flick, when Rainbow twitched her wrist and her hoof bumped the spinner. A plastic arrow hissed across the cardstock for a couple seconds. “Left claw yellow, Gilda.”
“Wait, when did you get that from Pinkie?” Gilda hesitated getting on the mat.
“I have my ways.” chuckled Dash as Pinkie peered at her empty hoof where she’d been holding the spinner. “Now left claw yellow.” While her griffon pal hopped to it, Pinkie approached her, appraising her with scrutinizing eyes over the bridge of her disappointed nose.
“I’ll have that back now, Dash.” After snatching back the spinner, her smile came back as though it had never gone away. “Luna, you’re up.” She cheerily flicked, and told her: “Back left on red.”
This time, Rainbow took the spinner much more politely. “Pinkie, front right on red.” After watching her hop alongside Luna, she spun again. “And I’ve got front right on green.”
When Dash landed beside her, Gilda a bit abrasively asked her: “Dude. How’re we gonna get colors now?”
Dash looked at her own hoof on a green spot, then over at the table where she’d left the spinner behind. “Oh. Huh.”
“I’ve got this.” declared Luna. With her horn’s magic, she drew the spinner onto the floor beside the mat, and gave the arrow a push. “Looks like… left paw on yellow for you, Gilda.”
“Hmmmmmm.” said Gilda, paw reluctantly taking another yellow spot. “And how do we know you won’t cheat?”
“Ha,” said Luna with smug confidence, “I suppose you’ll just have to trust I won’t attempt to cheat you after you jabbed my behind.”
Gilda shrugged, nonplussed. “Fair enough. If you do cheat, I guess I’ll kinda deserve it.”
“Well that’s shockingly mature of you.” posited Rainbow, giving voice to what the others were no doubt thinking.
“I’m--what was it again?” Gilda scratched under her chin. “Mitigating conflict, or whatever. Just, you know, whatever, let’s go.”
Luck came out in favor of Rainbow and Gilda; they managed to keep some distance from the other players without spreading themselves too thinly. Luna and Pinkie however, each had at least one limb under each other, Rainbow or Gilda, and themselves. Trembling, Luna gave herself another spin. “Let’s see here… back left blue? But I’ve already got my back left hoof on a blue spot.”
“You’re gonna have to find another one, away from the edge of the mat there.” slyly informed Rainbow. She traded a confident look with Gilda. They had this in the bag.
Luna assessed her situation. “I’ll have to step over Pinkie for one, while keeping my other hoof under her on this other blue spot.”
“You could give up now, if you’d like.” It made no difference to Gilda.
Luna was already tipping, her shaking leg trying to raise up over Pinkie going low as she could for her. She grimaced, cheeks getting warm. “Who even created such a ruleset for a game, anyway? This seems to exist purely for ponies to get awkward with one another.”
“Th-that’s part of the fun.” wheezed Pinkie. Try as she might, she couldn’t get any lower while keeping stable across all her spots. As her stance widened, she felt her ankle brush up against Rainbow’s. “Everyone gets a little… embarrassed…”
“Ah!” yelped Luna when she couldn’t tip back any further and simply fell over backwards. With a sigh, she rolled off her back and onto her side. Her hoof went up when Pinkie tried to go to her, as nothing truly hurt. Not but her pride, at any rate. Hoisting herself back onto her hooves, she announced: “I’m okay, dear.”
“Heh, alright. But I guess this means we lose.” Pinkie gave the lot of them an awkward smile.
Gilda curled up her claws and bumped her knuckles against Dash’s waiting hoof. “Boo yah. We’re two for two, Dash.”
“Aw yeah, girl, you know it.” Rainbow got done snickering and looked over her shoulder at her two friends; they seemed a little dejected. As much fun as she was having, she couldn’t help but wonder if she wasn’t being a bit much. She strode over to them and said: “Hey, Luna, how about some punch on me. Show there’s no hard feelings for whooping you so good.”
After a brief look she shared with Pinkie, Luna dumbfoundedly asked her: “You want me to hit you? Rainbow, I don’t think--”
“Fruit punch, girl.” corrected Rainbow. “It’s a drink.”
Pinkie skipped along with the rest of them as they started ambling toward the snack table. “I thought we went over this, Luna.”
“I… forgot.” Bashful as she was about it, Luna kept shuffling along behind.
“Oh man,” chuckled Gilda, “you’re a riot and a half, princess.” She cleared her throat when she saw Dash shoot her quite the look from the head of the pack. “Ahem, no offense, of course.”
Upon arrival to the table, they noticed at last a mostly empty bowl. Perhaps, with a bit of scrounging, one could pour half a cup’s worth of punch. Pinkie stepped forth, popping bowl and ladle alike onto her back. “As hostess with the mostest, I’d better get more. Be back in a jiff, gals.”
An idea got into Rainbow’s head. “Why don’t you lend her a claw, Gilda?”
The moment felt like minutes. Gilda pondered at Dash’s suggestion, slack-jawed. “Um. Okay, I guess?”
Before she could object, Pinkie felt the bowl leave her person. In front of her eyes, Gilda held out the bowl for her, in the palm of her widened out claw. She beamed. “Wow, those are pretty dang useful. I bet they’d be really useful for holding onto--”
“Alright, don’t be a creep about my claws, dude. Let’s just go.” She shouldered past, her wings fidgeting along the way to the double doors in the back toward the kitchen.
Once Rainbow saw them go, she turned to Luna and told her: “Okay, good, we’re alone.”
“You wanted a moment alone?” gulped Luna. She set down the little saucer with the half-eaten cookie. It was a little embarrassing, but she was peckish. And Pinkie made the best cookies that she’d tried thus far.
“I kinda wanted to go back to what we mentioned earlier.” She leaned against the table, blowing her locks to one side, casual as she could seem. “You’re a cool girl, Luna. Even if you’re too bashful to eat a dang cookie in front of me, heheh.”
The crumbs weighed heavy upon her lip. Luna brushed them away and cleared her throat. “I spent so many generations living by a code of etiquette that states one mustn’t eat before all others are served. And old habits die hard.”
With a teasing look, Rainbow slid the tiny plate back to Luna’s side on the serving table. “Luna. Just eat the cookie, okay? You’re fine.”
Luna retrieved the cookie she’d bitten. But before going for another bite, she asked: “What did you want to talk about, though, Dash?”
“It’s really cool you get me.” Dash shrugged. “Maybe I’m pretty straightforward, I guess.”
Luna gulped the last of her cookie and smirked. With her horn’s glow, she passed along one of the other cookies she’d stacked up for herself to Rainbow. Pleasantly, she told her: “There isn’t any harm in wearing a little pride on your sleeve.”
“Thanks.” Rainbow considered the cookie, thinking briefly on how many of Pinkie’s cookies she’d had over these past few years since she moved out here. “But what I was getting at is I don’t think I get you the same way.”
Ponderous, Luna set down her next cookie. “Hmm, you wish to know me better?”
Dash’s eyes twinkled in the low light. “We talked about hanging out more back at the Summer Sun Celebration, but it feels like we haven’t had the chance all summer. I dunno. I guess that kinda sucks.”
“It is a shame our schedules haven’t lined up more.” Luna reached her hoof out to her, placing it firmly on her friend’s shoulder. “But my door is always open to you. If you’d like to visit while I’m not busy with work, we can always chat a little.”
“Yeah. Okay. I’d like that.”
Now that she was warming up to her, Luna had to try again. “And of course, there’s always the book cluuuuub.”
“Hey, I thought you got me. I don’t do egghead stuff.” Rainbow begrudgingly bit into her cookie.
“Aw, but it’s a great way to engage your mind, and spark stimulating conversation with friends.” She put on a pleading face, realizing that wasn’t the way to put it to hook an athlete. “Listen, I’ll loan you a book we’ve read for the club, one I think you’ll love. It’s all thrills.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll think about it.” Rainbow looked up to her happy face. Luna’s grin was almost as infectious as Pinkie Pie’s.
Luna’s smile was not to last. Her ear flicked toward the kitchen at a clang that rang out even over the mild chatter and idle dance track. Through the ajar doors, she could see a platter wobbling to a slowed spin after having crashed to the ground. Her heart sank. “Something isn’t right.”
“What?” Rainbow watched her trot across the room. Her legs tensed up tight, mainly uneasy that they’d abruptly cut off their conversation. Should she follow after her?
Luna left her behind at the snack table. And when the double doors came up before her leading into the back, she charged right through them. Her eyes grew to the size of tea saucers as the scene unfolded before her.
“Just what are you planning, weirdo?!” shouted Gilda while shoving Pinkie’s face deeper into the punch bowl they’d prepared together. The only response she got was faster, more panicked bubbling over, the weight of her trying to push off the table straining against her angry claw. Gilda’s face screwed up tighter; it looked manic, yet somehow terrified of the very pony she was assaulting. “A-answer me, you little--”
“What is the meaning of this?!” barked Luna, much louder than she meant to. She couldn’t help it, though.
Gilda let go with a gasp. Pinkie and bowl alike tumbled off and away from the table, both spilling onto the floor into pathetic puddles at her feet. She felt the stickiness of cold red punch seeping between her claws, and began to feel a little sick. Something that almost resembled relief rushed through her when she saw Pinkie panting for air. “Oh, it’s you, princess. Pinkie and I were just having… a minor disagreement, is all.”
Luna’s gaze alone seemed blazing hot enough to melt the stone cold griffin. Her whole body trembled, and her baring teeth grit tightly together. She began to step forth, her stance widening like that of a rabid wolf having cornered a lone feline. Little did she care that cornered cats always scratch back.
But then a sopping wet Pinkie grabbed onto her ankles. “Luna, no. I-it really was my fault. This whole night, it’s been all my fault.”
“What the hay is going on?” demanded Rainbow from the doorway.
Her friends of pink and blue brought her back to reality, so Luna drew a long breath and let her heartrate settle. But the bitterness didn’t leave as she said to Rainbow: “Why don’t you ask your friend over there?”
“Well,” said Gilda with surprising confidence, “Pinkie tripped into the punch bowl, see, and--”
“That is most certainly not what was happening!” shot back Luna, feathers flaring with newfound rage.
“Well she’s been saying weird stuff to me all night!” Gilda insisted. Her claws nervously twitched in the punch puddle as the two blue ponies started to talk over one another.
“Luna,” pleaded Pinkie, “Dashie. Girls. It was all my fault.” She wiped at her eyes, though they couldn’t tell if it was from the punch or if she was crying. “I thought if I made edgy jokes, it might make Gilda more comfortable around me, so I could be her friend and help her stop being mean. But it was dumb and so am I.”
When Gilda started to speak again with a little more reassurance, Rainbow cut her off. “Gilda, shut up for a sec.” She started to lift Pinkie off the ground with Luna. “What’s this about her being mean?”
“Oh c’mon, Dash. You know me.” A genuine desperation settled into Gilda’s voice as she pleaded. She took a tentative step toward Rainbow, who backed away, protective of Pinkie.
Upon seeing Pinkie like this, Luna thought back to her little chat with Sunset. This reflection opened a pit in her stomach that threatened to swallow all the rest of her up. Perhaps she might be right to be upset, but the response was entirely too extreme. And no creature deserved to be shoved into the tightest corner like this. She never wanted to feel that small ever again. Enough was enough. “Rainbow, your friend is a real problem. And all the rest of us have been too polite to say anything.”
“Elaborate.” After Rainbow’s request, Gilda tried again to defend herself. Rainbow held up her hoof to shush her once more, unaffected when her lion’s tail began to swish impatiently.
“Fluttershy bumped into her while walking a foal home yesterday.” Luna side-eyed Gilda as Rainbow nodded for her to continue. “She clawed at Fluttershy, and tossed the filly into some hedges.”
“And what about this mess?” she demanded, curt by this point.
“When I came in, Gilda was holding Pinkie’s face down in the drink.” Luna stood her ground as the anger grew on Gilda’s face. It was her standing tall now, while the aggressor shrank down.
“Is all this true, Gilda?” Rainbow finally met Gilda’s guilty, nervous eyes. “And don’t play dumb with me.”
“Uh, hello?” Gilda shrugged, aggressively so. “Have you not heard the creepy stuff she’s been saying all night? Jabbing this, cutting that?”
“If you were uncomfortable, you should have talked to me about it, girl.” Rainbow shook her head, and passed Pinkie along into Luna’s embrace, who had retrieved some dish towels with her horn. “And what about the rest of it, did you claw my friend and assault an actual child?”
Gilda scoffed. “We used to mess with kids all the time back in flight school.”
Positively offended, Rainbow’s face wound up tight like a corkscrew pulled to the brink. “We were kids too? It’s a little different now that we’re adults. Or at least, I guess I am.”
“Buzz off, Dash, I didn’t see you complaining when I tore that magician’s hat.” Gilda snatched a spare dish towel from the counter nearby and started wiping the red from her talons.
Rainbow sighed, sharing a look with Luna as she helped Pinkie dry off. “Maybe Luna’s right. Maybe that was too far. I know this sure was.”
Gilda threw in the towel. “You know what your problem is?”
“Oh yeah, what’s my problem?” What confused or disheartened expression she may have had faded, as Rainbow’s brow wrinkled in on itself.
“Ever since you moved out here to small town nowhere, you’ve gotten soft.” Gilda approached, and Dash didn’t back away. Luna and Pinkie eyed her warily as she ranted on. “You used to train every day with a fire in your gut. Now you’re sticking by this gaggle of freaks, and you haven’t made any progress. What happened to your dream? What happened to our dream, huh?”
“I didn’t just forget that we both wanted to be star fliers.” huffed Rainbow, exasperated. “But I also can’t forget who my real friends are.” She reached out and pushed her hoof against Gilda’s chest. “You’re going to go around town and apologize to every single pony you messed with. Starting with Pinkie.”
“Her?”
“She went through all this trouble to throw this party just for you, so you’d feel more welcome and less hostile here. And what do you do? You tried to drown her in her own punch bowl!” With each new accusation, Rainbow raised a little higher, until she leapt with a shout. She tried to calm herself when her hooves clicked back down. “That’s just not okay, Gilda.”
Gilda’s claws splayed open on the tiles, then closed back up as she tried to stay calm. She cast another disgusted look at the pink mess she’d made, trembling in that blue mare’s embrace. At long last she returned her gaze to Dash, now shrinking back down before her bulkier frame as she stood upright again. “Yeah? And what if I don’t?”
“Then I guess we have nothing left to talk about.” she replied with zero hesitation.
Gilda snorted, though she tried to feign like she wasn’t perturbed. “You really gonna pick this lame town full of hicks and one princess over me?”
“I’m not a princess.” chimed in Luna. But when Rainbow shot her a displeased look, she added: “Right, not the point.”
“I know where my loyalties lie. All my friends are here in this hick town.” Rainbow turned to offer her coldest shoulder, her nose turned high. “And if you can’t get along with them, I guess that’s just gonna be that.”
At first, Gilda’s heart sank. But she refused to feel low, so it rose again, beating like a drum. “Argh!” she growled, so loud that Dash’s mane seemed to billow. “I don’t need this, and I don’t need you.” She muscled through the gawking onlookers just outside the kitchen doors. “Outta my way, show’s over, jerks!”
With the bang of the shop’s door, Gilda was gone in the dark of night. And like the aforementioned show, the party felt as though it too was over at that point. Pinkie met the dispersing party-goers at the door to thank them for coming and pass out some of the uneaten sweets she’d baked on their way out.
When it was just the three of them, Pinkie told her blue friends: “I probably ought to wash the punch out of my hair.”
“Why don’t I clean up the kitchen for you, dear?” offered Luna.
Pinkie finally managed a weak smile for her. “You’d do that for me, dear?”
“She can with a little help.” announced Rainbow with a wink.
“There’s cleaning stuff in the supply closet in the corner.” pointed Pinkie. “Thank you so much.” She began up the stairs as they turned to get them. But then she stopped. “Do you guys think my idea was dumb?”
They halted, exchanging a concerned look with one another. Turning, Luna asked her: “How do you mean?”
“I threw a party to appease a bully. Maybe I was being a silly little filly, and you were right all along, Luna.” Pinkie’s head sunk; she couldn’t face them.
Peering over her shoulder, she saw Rainbow shrug, giving her nothing to work with. Luna sighed. “You know, something, Pinkie? If anything, I really admire your conviction.”
“Conviction?” She didn’t sound convinced.
Luna was, though. “I so love that no matter what, your first solution is to be kind and jovial. It’s something I really like about you.”
Kind? It felt so cruel to call her that. Pinkie’s shoulders trembled, and her head sunk lower, as though weighed down by that horrible letter she’d written in a fit of rage. “Y--” she gulped. “You’re being too nice.”
Her disposition sunny enough for the two of them, Luna told her: “I’m not, though. You are a true delight.”
“Thanks.” Pinkie fiddled with her hooves for a moment, before rushing up the rest of the stairs. “I’m gonna wash my hair and go to bed I’ll lock up later after you two finish and leave okay thanks again goodnight I love you… both.”
She was gone. Luna stared after the steps, hesitant for a moment. A cleared throat caught her attention, so she turned to find Rainbow offering her a choice of broom or mop. She decided on the mop, ambling on past toward the kitchen to fill a bucket. “Thanks for helping, Rainbow.”
Rainbow let her go for a moment, smirking all the while. Before Luna could slip back into the kitchen, she finally asked: “Sooooo ‘dear,’ huh?”
The shaft of the mop hit the floor with a clack, and Luna’s red face turned about. “Nothing’s official yet.” she mewled. “We’re taking this slow, and anyway, not a word of this, do you hear?”
“Yeah, yeah, I promise.” she lied through her teeth. “I just had to tease you at least once.” Rainbow hooted with laughter, which seemed to fade off into the night as the two of them got to work.