Chapter 2
Now that the nightmare had reached the tipping point, Luna could see it was time to intervene. Quietly landing behind the softly weeping griffoness, the night Princess attempted a polite introduction. “Greetings young Griffon…” she began in an emphatic tone, before being immediately interrupted by the bird’s reaction.
Seeing as something had completely unexpectedly ambushed her when she felt most vulnerable, the young griffon immediately leapt away in shock. Not before attempting to make a threating swipe of her talons at the all-powerful alicorn. She then began arching her back much like that of cat, while spreading her wings. This was probably in an attempt to somehow scare away the Princess.
Luna took the display in her stride and sat patiently waiting for the cat to react a little more rationally. It didn’t take too long for the surprise to wear off, causing the griffon to slightly reduce her threatening posture, but not entirely. “What do you want?” she said in a begrudging manner not to dissimilar to that which the Princess earlier observed.
Seeing she had been given the opening she desired, Luna calmly exclaimed, “We were observing the dream realm on Our usual patrol, and noticed thou appeared to be suffering some distress. Is this correct?” She punctuated her question, by gesturing to a single tear that had just started to fall down the bird’s face.
Quickly wiping away the betraying droplet, the griffon quietly mumbled, “figures this isn’t real.” She then looked up to the taller alicorn and snapped, “and what’s my problems got to do with you?”
In a practiced manner from explaining so many times already, Luna smiled before saying, “as Princess of Equestria, ‘tis Our solemn duty to ease the burdens of all those who dwell within. That includes thyself. Even if thy tone is what We would consider… undesirable.” She is nowhere near as brash as that fool hardy minotaur.
For the first time, the griffon lost her glare and clearly started to become a little nervous. If the little step back her paws made didn’t tell Luna what the hen was thinking, her new tone did. “A-A Princess? Oh bugga.” With newfound nervous hesitation, the griffon moved to a seated position before asking, “okay, so, you’re here to help me out?” Her voice clearly possessed the tint of hope.
“’Tis our duty to help thou, help thyself,” Luna said while proffering a welcoming hoof.
The statement didn’t quite resonate with the bird, as she cocked her head in confusion. “How?”
“By giving thou advice on how best to proceed.” When all Luna gained was a flat stare she continued to say, “well, to start us off. Please tell Us what ‘tis thou believe bothers thee.” The words were more of a statement than a question, as Luna had already figured out the main issue. If she can admit the problem on her own, ‘tis half the battle.
The first response that came was quite weak. “Rainbow’s new friends, they ganged up on me. They wanted to make me look a fool in front of her.” The way she said it, it was clear she didn’t believe her own words.
Instead of flat out calling her new acquaintance a liar, Luna again raised her hoof and patiently asked, “is that truly what thou feels is bothering thee?” The only pony she is lying to, is herself. Hmm, birdy?
As the griffon’s resolve had already been cracked by the nightmare, it wasn’t long before another set of tears began to well in her eyes. After an audible sniff, she met Luna’s eyes properly. “What those idiots think doesn’t matter to me. It’s Dash. I-I said something I didn’t really mean… and now she… might not ever see me again.” She punctuated her words with a single suppressed sob.
Seeing the state she had driven the young bird to, Luna took a few steps forward before gently placing a hoof onto her shoulder. “We all make mistakes my little griffon. ‘Tis our duty to learn from them and rectify them.” Hopefully she will learn something today.
Once the words had managed to sink in, she whined, “but how can I fix it? That doesn’t tell me anything.”
“Quite simply if We are honest,” Luna nonchalantly said, while letting her hoof gently fall back to the ground. “Thou only need to seek out thy dear friend Rainbow, and apologise for thine actions. If she is a true friend to thee, she will grant thou the forgiveness thou art after, of that We guarantee.” She finished her words with a large smile. Hopefully with the ground work We have established, this young one shalt solve her issues in the morning. Speaking of ‘tis nearly time to lower the moon.
Rather than accepting the words like Luna had hoped, the griffon only covered her face once more. “I can’t just go up to her like that. I’d die of embarrassment.”
A little taken aback by the unwillingness to try, Luna asked, “so pray tell, what would thy own solution be?”
The result was entirely expected. The griffon only shrugged sadly, before looking off towards the river. “I don’t know. Just return to boring old Griffonia and try to forget all about this… I guess.” Abandoning thy attempts will serve no purpose. Maybe She will be more willing to listen if We show more interest?
Thinking her plan sound, Luna attempted to make a connection with her. “Ah, fair Griffonia. Such a unique culture,” she said in a wistful tone. There honourable ways were always so enticing.
“Nah, it’s just full of lame old griffons saying, honour this, don’t do that,” the griffon responded, shooting down the princess’s compliment to her nation, but losing a hint of her sadness.
Latching on to the tiny thread of a conversation Luna continued to try and connect with the young bird. “It has been well over a millennium since We have had the pleasure of visiting thy home country. Has it changed much?”
“You’re not really missing out, it’s changed into a dump,” the griffon admitted, ending any semblance of a conversation. We do not believe such a vibrant land could fall into such a state.
“Let us agree to disagree,” Luna said diplomatically, before being lost on how to proceed. Rather than flat out command the griffon to follow her instructions, she decided another attempt at proving the merits was in order. “We must protest thy desire to leave Ponyville without fixing this issue. The end of a friendship… ‘tis something thou could regret for the rest of thy life.” A fact We are all too familiar with.
With nothing left to say, the two sat quietly. Luna observing in thought, while the bird appeared to clutch at straws. Surprisingly, it was the griffon who finally broke the silence when she asked, “say, aren’t you an all-powerful pegacorn or something?”
“Yes, We are indeed a powerful ‘alicorn’,” the alicorn replied while emphasizing her species name.
That strand of hope the bird earlier possessed, seemed to return with much greater strength. “Don’t you have spells that could help me? Anything at all?”
The brash request for magic shocked Luna for a moment causing her to immediately say, “We cannot cast any spell upon Rainbow that would compel her in anyway. Thou cannot just look for the easy… wait a moment.” As she spoke, thoughts of other spells that could fix the issue crossed her mind. There are many charms that could entice this griffon to make the moves she knows she must. They are all quite invasive.
While thinking up these spells, she looked over to the griffon, who was rubbing her palms together in anticipation of what Luna might reveal. She is clearly desperate for assistance; she would likely accept any spell. A small selfish glimmer seemed to rise within the alicorn at that thought. This does present us with many opportunities, We have long desired a break from our sister’s presence. Maybe this being is the key? She could receive Our aid and We could gain a useful disguise.
“There is a spell that We can cast on thee to gain thy desired effect. But let it be known, it will come at a price to thee,” Luna finished in a warning tone.
A tone that the griffon gleefully ignored as she happily said, “as long as it gets Dash to stop hating me, I’m game for anything.” Game for anything, but straight up apologising it would seem. Well, do not look a gift griffon in the mouth.
“Before We cast this spell, may We ask thy name?” Luna asked while feeling a little guilty about not requesting it earlier.
“It’s Gilda, now lay the good stuff on me,” Gilda said with some slight impatience.
“Okay, prepare thyself, we are about to become very well acquainted.”
That gave the bird a moments pause, as she tilted her head. “What does that mean?” The question however came a little too late, as the blue glow from Luna’s horn soon became the only thing Gilda could see.