//------------------------------// // It takes four to tackle Griffonstone // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// SugarCube Corner, day. Pinkie Pie was humming, having the time of her life as usual. She was mixing cake mix at rapid speeds, making some of the cake mixes fly onto her Slurpuff and Gummy. "This is going to be so great, Gummy! We have absolutely nothing to do today except BAKE! I've been waiting for just the right time to try Granny Pie's Super Special Triple Chocolate 15-layer Marjolaine recipe! It's gonna be amazing!" She looked over at a pot that had the recipe inside of it. "Jade! Wanna help?" "I'm not really a baker." She replied. "Okay! Suit yourself! Let's see. Nutty meringue, chocolate ganache, praline and nuts, cocoa flavoured buttercream..." Pinkie licked the cream of her hoof. "An hour per layer. That's 15 hours of pure baking bliss!" She went over to the oven, opening it as the first layer was complete. She took the pastry, placing it on the table. "Okay, Gummy! I think we're ready to start prepping the second layer!" That's when something was occurring with Cutie Mark. It was starting to glow constantly, which meant one thing. "Oh my gosh! My Cutie Mark." She suddenly gasped. "YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?!" "No." Pinkie leaned forward to both Jade and Gummy. "The map..." She whispered. "What map?" "Shh...it's a secret." She hushed Jade. "Could you all take over for a bit? Hopefully, this will be quick." Pinkie went out of the door. But she quickly came back inside, placing some baking powder down. "I'll just leave you with this baking powder. When the first layer cools, you all can drizzle some of the ganache over it. Slurpuff can guide you too. Buh-bye! And good luck!" She finally left. "...I don't know to bake though." All the way over at Twilight's castle, Pinkie Pie had been summoned by the map. Twilight was looking over the modelled Griffonstone that was on the friendship map. It had both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash's Cutie Mark's floating over it, meaning that they were the only two who had to go. "This is so exciting! The map is summoning you to Griffonstone! The very heart of the Griffon Kingdom." Twilight grabbed a book all about Griffon history. "I don't know if either of you have read Bygone Griffons of Greatness but Griffons were known to be-" "Rude insensitive bullies?" Rainbow Dash cut her off. "You mean Gilda?" Twilight turned to her. "Yeah, I mean Gilda! When she came to Ponyville she was a total jerk to all my friends! Especially Pinkie Pie!" "She was a bit of a party pooper." "Mhm." Rainbow nodded. "So maybe Gilda was a little rude. You still get to go to Griffonstone. And according to this book, it has a rich, fascinating history." Twilight opened up the book, reading the history behind it. "In ancient times, Griffons were known to be as greedy as Dragons, always hoarding their bits and other treasures. But all that changed when King Grover found the mysterious golden Idol of Boreas. Legend says the idol of Boreas was made from the dust of golden sunsets blown across the mountains by the north winds. Possessing the idol of Boreas filled the Griffons' hearts with pride. It's said that that one great treasure is responsible for turning Griffonstone into the most majestic Kingdom of all the land." "And why do you care so much about Griffons anyway?" said Rainbow. "It was actually Gilda's visit that made me curious. So I picked up Bygone Griffons of Greatness. And I've been hooked ever since! And now..." Twilight went over to the map, seeing that only Pinkie and Rainbow could go and not her. "Now you two get to see Griffonstone with your very own eyes." "Huh? Just me and Rainbow Dash?" "Hey, you can totally take my place if you want. I still have half a nap to finish." She yawned, not eager to head to Griffonstone. "Why don't you just come with us? I mean you are the princess of friendship!" Pinkie suggested. "No, no. If the map wanted me to go to the coolest Kingdom in all of Equestria and tour the palace, and see the actual idol that unites an entire species which would be super amazing...I'm sure it would've said so." She was clearly not happy about this. "You two can handle whatever the issue is just fine. I'll stay here and so important princessy things... I guess." "Well then, come on Dashie! We're going to Griffonstone!" Pinkie bounced off. "Fine..." Rainbow sighed. "That's the spirit!" Pinkie blew a party blower at her. The two of them were off on their friendship task. As usual, they took a train to reach their destination. As the train moved along, it was nearing Griffonstone shortly. "Whatcha reading there, Rainbow?" Pinkie asked Rainbow Dash who was reading a book about Griffons made by Twilight. "Twilight literally wrote a book on what we need to do in Griffonstone." "You mean like a guide on how to figure out what problem we're told to fix?" Pinkie was hoarding some snacks over to her side of the seat. "And then some. It's like Twilight herself in book form." Rainbow Dash then started to mimic Twilight. "Always carry plenty of bits. The Griffons are sure to help you as long as you share the wealth." But to the multi-coloured maned pony's surprise, Pinkie Pie had wasted all the bits that Twilight gave them on sweet purchases. "Umm...could I borrow some bits?" Pinkie squeed. They weren't the only ones heading to Griffonstone, one trainer in particular who was venturing the pony world from time to time was none other than Paul, who had recently been seen with Aria last time. His journey was leading him to Griffonstone, so far he's only ended up in rough and tacky locations. And this was one of them. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had no idea they were about to cross paths with one of Ash's rivals. Their main objective was to speak to King Guto who was apparently the previous king. The current king is unknown to Twilight so when they come across him, they can tell him that the Princess of Friendship sent them both. And if that didn't work, they could always try a library and maybe they can get some photos along the way. Once they arrived at Griffonstone, they saw how...unpleasant it was. Actually, it was pretty pathetic. Pinkie Pie put it best as she described it as a 'Total Dump'. The way it was structured was so dry and crooked that it looked like some of the homes could fall apart at any moment. Not only that but some of them had holes in their homes. And the trees were either cracked, wilted or just laying on the ground. The Griffons didn't seem to care too much surprisingly. "Ugh. Maybe the map should've called Rarity instead of us." Rainbow Dash winced. "Excuse me, sir?" Pinkie tried to grab the attention of a Griffon, but it didn't pay her any attention. The pink pony then went up in his face. "This IS Griffonstone, right?" She asked. But the Griffin grabbed her face, pushing her aside as he went along his merry way. "Well, that wasn't very nice." "None of this looks nice." A voice answered her. It was Paul who also finally arrived here. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie turned to him, spotting the human that was here. "A human? Are you here to help the Griffons too?" Pinkie asked. "Help them? Nah. I'm just on a small venture to find a rare Pokemon. Couldn't care less about this dump really. I just heard there was one here." Paul responded. "Why are you colourful ponies even in a place like this in the first place?" "Well right now, I was thinking of heading over to the palace and ask the king what's going on?" Pinkie answered. "We don't have a king. Losers." A Griffon replied to her words. Not just any Griffon. It was Gilda. "Hello...Gilda." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at her. "Dash." Gilda did the same. "Pinkie!" Pinkie Pie followed up by exclaiming her name. "What are you doing here?" asked Rainbow. "Uh...I'm a Griffon. What's your excuse, dweebs? And what is that thing? A hairless monkey?" She pointed at Paul. "Hairless monkey?" Paul silently said. "Hey! These dweebs are here to help Griffonstone! And this is a human!" Pinkie went up to her. "Help at what?" "Well...we're not really sure. But it involves a map and Cutie Marks and a problem and-" "Bored now!" Gilda walked past her, heading off. "Well if you don't have a king. Can you at least tell us where the Idol of Boreas is?" "Haha! Don't tell me you really believe in that thing?" Gilda laughed at it. "You'd better believe in it!" An old gruff voice responded, coughing in the process as he fell over, exiting his home. "The idol was the best thing to ever happen to us Griffins!" "Oh great. Now you got Grandpa Gruff started." Gilda sighed as Gruff walked forward. "I'll tell ya the whole tragic tale...for a couple of bits." Their greediness was showing as he extended his claw out for some sweet bits. Rainbow Dash sighed, giving him 2 bits. The old gruff Griffon examined the bits by biting into one of them. They were real as he placed them under his hat. "The first Griffon King, King Grover, united our kind like we've never been united before or since! And he did it all with that incredible Idol of Boreas!" He rambled on about the tale as Gilda was mimicking him from the back. She had heard this too many times that the whole speech has been ingrained in her head. Pinkie snickered at it. "And that Idol brought pride to the heart of every Griffon that saw it! From one king to the next, Griffonstone and our golden idol were the envy of all other species! It held us together! Gave us an identity! Right up until the reign of King Guto. That's when Arimaspi came. To steal our Griffon treasure!" The monster he was describing was gigantic and had a singular eye, with an appearance similar to that of a ram. "King Guto tried to fight him off. But Arimaspi managed to get away with the idol. They say when our treasure fell into the Abysmal Abyss...our pride went with it. King Guto was the last king of Griffonstone! And we all lived miserably ever after. The End!" "That was the saddest story ever." Pinkie teared up. "Oh well...TOUGH TAIL FEATHERS! NO REFUNDS!" Gruff bellowed at her, flying off. "No wonder Twilight's book ended with the coronation of King Guto. Who'd wanna record a history that sad?" "It's not sad!" Gilda uttered. "Do we look sad to you?" "I'm off. That rare Pokemon can't be too hard to find somewhere here." Paul walked off to go and do his own thing. He found some small entertainment in that short story though. "Pinkie! I think I know why the map sent us here! We need to find the Idol of Boreas and bring glory and pride back to Griffonstone." said Rainbow Dash. "Hah! Here we go. Typical pony hero complex. None of us care about that dumb old idol! Don't you get it? We don't care about anything! And that's the way we like it!" Gilda replied. "I think Rainbow Dash is right! The map sent us here to fix some sort of problem." Pinkie was suddenly on Gilda's back. "The only problem Griffonstone is you!" Gilda bumped her off her back, making the pink pony crash on the ground. "Well, I don't care what she says. We're gonna find that treasure, Griffonstone cool again and get back to Ponyville." Rainbow Dash flew up. We'll cover more ground with Braviary on our side." Rainbow Dash sent out her Braviary. "Braviary! "Come on, Braviary. Let's find that idol!" Rainbow Dash and her partner flew off. "Wait, you two!" Pinkie halted them. "What about Twilight's advice?" "What? Taking a bunch of pictures?" "She mentioned finding answers at the library." "Knock yourself out." Rainbow Dash tossed the book at her. "But when you get bored with Twilight's tour book, we'll be at the Abysmal Abyss finding the Idol of Boreas." Both she and her Pokemon had finally left. Meanwhile, for Paul, his search for this rare Pokemon was ongoing. He ventured parts of Griffonstone until he himself arrived near the Abysmal Abyss. "Should be here? But where?" He searched the area, wondering where this rare Pokemon could be. That's when he spotted what he came here for. An Excadrill. "Exca!" The Subterrene Pokemon exclaimed, popping out of the ground. "There you are." Paul held out his Pokeball, ready to battle and catch it. However, Excadrill soon dug back under the ground, heading off. Paul sighed as he had just lost the Excadrill, but he knows he'll find it eventually. And how he's going to find it is by following its digging patterns and where it's headed exactly. Paul could see the dirt kick up due to Excadrill's movements as it was heading back to Griffonstone. "Back to that dump, I guess." He began to follow the Subterrene Pokemon back. Rainbow Dash had entered a small run-down shop for some equipment to help her down in the abyss. She requested a rope and a grappling hook as essentials. Braviary will be there to guide her down to the abyss and ever carry her out. With Pinkie Pie, she was actually headed to Gilda who was pulling a wagon. "Hey, Gilda! Word on the street is that Griffonstone has an amazing library chock full of answers!" "Word on WHAT street?" She turned to the pink pony. "Okay. Maybe not this street. But on the other street, your library is the talk of the town!" "The library's right there. So why don't you go on inside...and leave me alone!" Not wanting to be bothered by Pinkie anymore, Gilda made her leave. Pinkie approached the library, which really wasn't much a library at all. The whole thing had collapsed with all that was left being bookshelves with some books left in them but those had pages ripped out of them. "Maybe it's good that Twilight didn't come." Pinkie gazed at the ruined library. That's when she came across the statue of King Grover which had a book on its face. "It's sad what happened to your town, king." Pinke was on the statue. But Rainbow Dash can't be right. This can't all be because of a missing hunk of gold." Pinkie then put her hoof on the half-broken beak of the state, making it talk. "You are right Pinkie! And you've got amazing hair!" She complimented herself basically. "Ah, King Grover. You old charmer." Excadrill was drilling underneath the town, causing some Griffons' homes to fall underground along with some of their stuff. Paul had been following the Excadrill's movements for a few minutes now. Paul had ended up bumping into a Griffon. The Griffon cawed at Paul, but the trainer responded by giving him a scowl. Paul's scowl was so intimidating and terrifying o the Griffon that it gently moved to the side, fearing Paul. Pinkie Pie then looked over at Paul and the Griffons, sparking an idea. "I know what Griffonstone needs!" "Fewer ponies?" Gilda replied. "A song! I've got a super song about smiling that's sure to make even the most grumpy Griffon grin!" Pinkie held her breath in, ready to break into song but Gilda halted her by placing her talon in front of Pinkie's face. "Can't sing here." She pointed at a sight that specifically showed the banning of singing and how it was not allowed. "But...how do you break into uplifting musical numbers with no singing?" "Yeah...that's Griffonstone's biggest problem. Lack of uplifting musical numbers." Gilda said sarcastically. "Well if I can't sing...then how about a party? If there's one thing these Griffons needs is some good cheer! Where's your party store?" She asked. But Gilda gave no response. "No party store? Uh...how about cake? Nothing cheers folks up like cake! Where's the bakery?" She asked once more but Gilda groaned, basically implying there was none of that. "No singing?! No party store?! No bakery?! WHAT IS THIS PLACE?!" Pinkie flailed her hooves around. "You're welcome to leave at ANY TIME!" Gilda bellowed back, launching the pink pony away. "Can't win against them, can you?" Paul spoke, kneeling down to track Excadrill. "I wouldn't say that. I just haven't gotten through to these Griffons yet. But maybe you can help me...uhh...what's your name?" "Paul. And I'm not planning on helping to cheer these grim griffons out. I'm too busy tracking Excadrill down." "You won't help? But you're a Pokemon Trainer! Aren't you all about helping?" "Nope. Not all of us. Plus it's not my problem, so I don't have to deal with it." Paul gazing at Excadrills movements as it kept making holes in the ground. "I agree with this guy. If it ain't your problem, don't bother." Gilda said. "Even though there is no problem here in the first place." "Well, that just takes the cake...wait, no! It can't take the cake cause there is no cake! Or muffins! Or Griffon Scones!" "Oh, we got Griffon scones. That's my speciality." Gilda referred to scones in her wagon. "I'll buy one!" Pinkie instantly dashed over. Gilda grabbed a scone which didn't really look like they would taste delicious. In fact, they looked more like rocks than scones. Pinkie was about to bite into it, but Gilda moved it back away from her. "Bits first." She put her other talon out. Pinkie pulled a bit from mane, lending it to Gilda. The grumpy Griffon forced the scone into Pinkie's mouth, force-feeding her. Pinkie Pie took a moment to bite on the scones, but they were incredibly hard. The crunchiness wasn't pleasant like any crunchy food at all. Not only that but the more she bit it the more she could taste the dry and bland flavour. "Well?" Pinkie kept chewing, trying her best to find a good part of these scones. "What? You like it? That's my grandpa Gruff's secret recipe." Pinkie finally stopped chewing on these rocky scones for her own sake. "Ow! I think I broke a tooth!" "Well, whatever. No refunds. I don't even care anyway. I just wanna sell enough of these so I can leave this lousy town." "I can help you with that!" Back with Rainbow Dash, she and her Braviary had arrived at the Abysmal Abyss finally. And they took a gander at it, seeing how vast it was. Rainbow Dash couldn't even tell how deep it was. She attempted to fly down there, but the wind currents were so strong it was probably a bad idea. "Alright, Braviary. I'm gonna head on down there. You hold onto this rope as hard as you can, alright?" "Braviary." The Valiant Pokemon nodded. It grabbed a hold of the rope with its beak, keeping it tight in its mouth. Rainbow Dash had tied the rope to herself, ready to head on down. The pegasus hopped forward, falling down to the abyss as the rope was on the move. While those two work on finding the idol, Pinkie Pie was helping Gilda with an idea she hatched up. "Grandpa Gruff's recipe is good...but it's missing one important ingredient." "Don't tell me...Friendship?" Gilda sarcastically answered. "Uh...no. Baking powder. Lucky for you I never leave home without it!" Pinkie had baking powder stored inside of her mane...somehow. She got to work by having the baking powder become apart of these scones to really give them that pastry feel. She went over to the nearest oven, placing the scones inside. "Now just pop those in the oven and you'll have Griffon scones worth their weight in gold." The smell that the scones were giving off was actually pretty good. So good that a nearby Griffon had actually picked it up with her scent. But since she stopped to sniff it, another Griffon crashed into her, making her fall on the ground. "Greta!" Gild suddenly exclaimed. She ended up helping her fellow Griffon, but Greta moved away from her, flying off and not paying Gilda any attention. "Aha! I saw that Gilda! You may act like a gruff grumbling Griffon. But inside, you're gracious and great." Pinkie squeed. "What are you talking about?" "You just helped your friend up when she got knocked down." "What? Her? Greta's just some Griffon I know. We don't have friends here! I did have a friend once. But you saw how that turned out." Gilda sighed. That's when Pinkie Pie, once again, hatched an idea. "Oh my gosh! I gotta go find Rainbow Dash!" Pinke ran off. "See ya," said Gilda. Without her noticing too much, Excadrill had reached underneath her wagon, drilling a hole underneath. "Hm? Hey!" The wagon was about to fall inside the hole, potentially wasting all those scones in one go. Paul quickly took notice as he held his Pokeball out. "Electivire! Grab it!" Paul sent out his Electivire who used its tendrils to grab onto the wagon and Excadrill's claws. Not only did he end up catching Excadrill in his clutches, but he also ended up saving Gilda's wagon. Unfortunately, Excadrill managed to escape the tendrils as it went underground was once more, escaping Paul's sight once more. "Return." Paul brought his Pokemon back. "Uh, thanks. You saved my wagon." Gilda thanked Paul. "Don't thank me. I was only aiming to grab the Excadrill. Your wagon just got caught up in Electivire's tendrils." Paul responded. "You should probably keep a good eye out. Excadrill's constant drilling for a home could end up sinking your entire town in the process." Paul walked off, following Excadrills path once more. Rainbow Dash had carefully gone down the abyss with Braviary hold on tight. "Just gotta find that golden idol and get out of this place." Unfortunately, the rope ended up breaking in half due to it being pressed up against a rocky edge that was on the walls of the gorge, causing Rainbow Dash to fall, screaming. "Brav?!" Braviary looked down to see her trainer fall. Thankfully, she fell on another rocky edge safely, but her hoof was a bit damaged. "Ow! My hoof! Braviary!" She called for her partner's help. Braviary had to help its trainer immediately. It tried to fly down, but it encountered the same issue that Rainbow Dash had. Flying won't help due to the currents basically throwing its flying of balance. Rainbow Dash thought of getting Altaria to help, but that wouldn't help either due to the currents and she couldn't risk losing her Pokeball to the abyss. "Throw another rope down instead Braviary!" Pinkie Pie arrived, spotting Braviary who had a rope in its beak, ready to pull its partner up again. "Rainbow Dash! There you are! Forget about finding the idol! I've figured out how to solve Griffonstone's real problem! Scones!" "Scones?! What re you talking about?!" Rainbow Dash grabbed onto the rope as Braviary was pulling her back up. Unfortunately, the rope ended up being pushed by the currents once more, hitting another sharp edge. This caused the rope to break apart, shortening the length. "Oh come on! Braviary! Pinkie Pie! Get help!" "Alright! Don't go anywhere!" Pinkie ran off. "Where does she think I'm gonna go?" The platform that Rainbow was on breaking apart, splitting in half. "I hope I don't go anywhere!" Back at Griffonstone, Gilda took a bite at the new and improved scones, actually finding them delicious. Much better than the hard rocky ones from before. "Rainbow Dash is stuck on a ledge in the Abysmal Abyss! And I need YOUR help to save her!" Pinkie went up to Gilda. "Not my problem." "Of course it's your problem. She's your friend!" "Used to be." "Can't you remember when she was?" "Yeah...of course." Gilda started to reminisce. It took her all the way back to when she first arrived at the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp. Flashback Sequence Gilda was a small little Griffon who was nervous and shy, being around nothing but pegasi everywhere. Vastly different from her current personality. "Doesn't that Griffon know she's supposed to fly at the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp?" Three pegasi taunted. Rainbow Dash blew clouds at them in response. "Maybe she just doesn't wanna make you look bad!" Rainbow taunted back. She flew over to greet the newcomer. "Hey there. I'm Rainbow Dash. And you are?" "Uh...G-G-Gilda?" She replied, stuttering and unsure of herself. "You sure about that? Stick with me Gilda and those guys won't give you any more guff! Rainbow helped the young Griffon up as they both took flight. Gilda suddenly started to accelerate, spinning through some clouds. "Wow! You're awesome!" said Rainbow. "You too, Rainbow Dash!" She replied giggling. The two flew side by side, showing off the three pegasi. "Well, Gilda! Let's show these guys how it's done!" The two of them dashed down, passing past the pegasi like bowling balls, knocking them far away. "Junior Speedsters are our lives!" Gilda started the Junior Speedsters motto. "Sky down soars and daring dives!" Rainbow followed. "Junior Speedsters, it's our quest! To someday be the very best!" They both said at the same time. Flashback Sequence End. Gilda was done reminiscing, tearing up a small bit. "Fine! I'll help her! But that doesn't make me her friend!" "Duly noted! Except it does..." Braviary was still trying to figure out how to get to Rainbow Dash. The ledge was breaking apart ever so slowly, so it needed to act fast. As it decided to try a different approach. The Valiant Pokemon took the skies, gaining some extra speed as it soared towards the abyss. The speed it went at was actually enough to break through the wind currents, but only for a small bit as it was pushed against that rocky walls. Braviary fell down, damaging its wings from the impact. Thankfully, Rainbow Dash caught her Pokemon. Now they were both stuck here. "You did good, Braviary. Great job." "Brav." "Hang on loser! I'm coming!" Gilda suddenly exclaimed, having a helmet on and rope strapped onto her. She went down, just to save her friend, who she still didn't consider a friend anymore. "What took ya so long, doofus?!" Rainbow replied. Gilda raced down, but even she was pushed back by the abyss's fierce winds. She placed her claws on the walls, holding on for dear life. The ledge that Rainbow Dash was on had finally broken, making both her and Braviary fall screaming. "Rainbow Dash! I'm coming for ya!" Pinkie grabbed the rope that was attached to Gilda, plunging herself down. Not only that but she also dragged Gilda along with her. Pinkie closed in on Rainbow Dash and Braviary, managing to get a hold of them both. "Gotcha!" Gilda fell on a ledge, luckily saving the other two from truly falling down since the rope was still attached to Pinkie Pie. "Hold on you two!" Gilda moved forward, attempting to pull them up. But when she did, she noticed the skull of Arimaspi right there. The real deal. Not only that, but she also noticed what she thought was nothing but fiction. "The Idol of Boreas." She attempted to grab it, actually believing that it would end up restoring Griffonstone into a flourishing land. But for the other two, Rainbow Dash's hooves were slipping from Pinkie's grasp while her other hooves were almost slipping from her Braviary. It looked like it was going to be a close one. Not only that but he idol was slipping as well, close on the ledge and bound to fall into the abyss as well. Gilda was trying to reach the idol, but then she realised that the two were close to falling. She had to choose. A fabled relic that could unite her entire kingdom once more, or rescue the two ponies who actually somewhat care about her and her first-ever proper friend. Only one decision. She chose Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, moving up with the rope. With that, they ended up being saved by Gilda, avoiding certain doom. As for the idol...not so much. That was the end of it as it fell into the abyss. "The idol!" Rainbow exclaimed. "You're more important to me than some dumb chunk of gold." Gilda said with actual care in her voice as they all embraced a small hug. Now all they had to do was get out of here. Thankfully, they had help in the form of the only human here. Paul. "Send them up." Paul commanded his Froslass who had used Psychic to raise them up from the abyss. "Paul!" bellowed Pinkie Pie. He put his Excadrill hunt on hold for the sake of saving others who looked like they were in need of assistance. Just like how helped Aria back then. Excadrill can wait another time. "Are we more important to you than some rare Pokemon?!" "No." Paul replied stoically. "But, I couldn't let you guys fall to your doom. Even if I don't know you." "Good enough for me!" Returning to Griffonstone, Gilda gave her apologies to both of them. "I'm really sorry about how I treated you two." "Thanks, Gilda." Rainbow Dash replied. "Apology accepted." So did Pinkie. "I'm just sorry we didn't' get your idol back. Now we'll never be able to solve Griffonstone's problem." Rainbow was still fixated on that idol, believing it was that important. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. The map didn't send us here to find the lost Idol of Boreas. It sent us here to replace it with something better!" Pinkie Pie said to Rainbow. "Nothing's better than gold to a Griffon." Gilda shook her head. "That's because you don't have friendship!" Pinke put her hoof around Gilda, pulling her close. "If you can learn to care about each other again, Griffonstone could be a mightier kingdom than it ever was before! And you don't need some golden idol to do that! You just need each other!" "Woah Pinkie! That was...really sappy." Rainbow Dash winced. "What can I say? That's how I roll." Pinkie then noticed that Greta walked by, taking this opportunity. "Go on Gilda. Go make a friend!" Gilda puffed her chest as Pinkie Pie lent her the tray of newly baked scones. "I don't know Pinkie. Do you really think these Griffons are up for this? We aren't exactly in Ponyville, ya know?" Gilda took a scone, offering it to Greta. The result? Well? Gilda would end up telling her as she flew back to them. "Okay! So she was really weirded out until I gave her the scone. Then she tried it and said it tasted...good! That's the first nice thing any Griffin's ever said to me!" That's when both of their Cutie Marks began flashing, indicating that the problem had been solved. "Woah Pinkie. I guess that really was the problem we needed to solve. Well...we'd better be heading home." "What?! You want me to spread friendship here by myself!? How am I supposed to do that?!" uttered Gilda. "I haven't even made one single friend yet!" "No you haven't. You've made two." Rainbow Dash smirked. "Hugging! HUGGING NOW!!" Pinkie pulled both of them in for a hug, wailing. She then turned over to Paul who was taking his leave. "You too Paul!" "I ain't your friend just because I saved you. But you're tolerable so that's fine with me." "Where are you going?" Gilda asked. "I'm still continuing my Excadrill hunt. After that, I'm heading home. Then I'll probably come back to this world for another good Pokemon to catch." "Okay, Mr serious! We'll catch you on the flip side!" "Your optimism reminds me of Ash. Man, it's contagious." "Ash! You know Ash?! Why didn't you say so in the first place?!" Pinkie went up to Paul, placing her hoof around him. "That practically already makes us friends!" "Don't touch me." Paul grabbed Pinkie placing her down. "And why am I not surprised you know him? Oh well." Paul put his hands in his pockets, ready to leave. But, he could feel his stomach grumbling, in need of some food. "Actually...mind if I snack on those scones for a bit?" "Sure thing." Gilda nodded. They all went their separate ways with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie heading on back to Ponyville. Gilda had lent Paul and Greta some scones, filling their hunger. It was a small but growing friendship that would take some time to build upon. That's when the statue of King Grover had a twinkle in its eye as Pinkie interpreted that as the statue flirting with her. "See you later you old charmer." Pinkie said. "Uh, Pinkie. Who are you talking to?" "Nopony! Come on! Let's go home and see how Jade and the others did with Granny Pie's Marjolaine recipe! How did it actually go? Not terrible. Jade's baking skills were below average but thanks to the Slurpuff it was...less of a disaster. There was still a huge mess but the whole place wasn't in total ruin. Jade licked off the cake mix from her face, tasting it. "Yum." Chapter 131 End!