//------------------------------// // 5: Going Home // Story: Benefits of Being a Hippogriff // by Appleody //------------------------------// From the numerous happy zigzags to her flight path, it was pretty obvious Gilda was feeling pretty good right now. She’d faced her overwhelming fear of embarrassment, and even managed to save a friendship she deeply valued. What an improvement to the day. To think that wouldn’t have happened if she didn’t have a mammoth case of pins and needles. After a few giddy loops in the air and caws of elation, she finally settled into the warm feeling within her and glided gracefully down towards the train station. There were still a few minutes left, so there wasn’t too much need to rush. Upon closing the distance, instead of landing violently like usual, she made her best attempt to not make a scene. The only real noticeable sound being the light clop her hooves on touch down. This landing still drew quite a large amount of undesirable attention, seeing as ponies will always look at things that are new and different. It was the same for her when she arrived. Each of the ponies who looked seemed to appraise her appearance and one even waved. For a moment, Gilda debated on growling at the nosy herbivores like before. They should keep to their own business. Her earlier experiences however gave her some pause. And so, in a mild attempt at learning from them, she instead waved back and started to walk towards the awaiting train. As she continued on her way, a few stray voices started to invade her hidden ears. “Wo, is that a hippogriff?” “They eat meat don’t they.” “Say, that birds rear looks really familiar, and what a tail.” “Hey! What are you doing checking out other mares?” “Sorry, it’s just, look at that moon.” A slight nervous twinge over took the griffon at their observations, causing her pace to increase and altering her path towards that of the nearby ticket office. Luckily for her there was no que left, allowing the rushing bird to immediately interact with the moustached pony within. “Yes?” he asked politely when he noticed the newly formed que. He then had to wait patiently as the bird nervously scanned the various ticket boards surrounding his booth. Her worry seemed to steadily increase until she turned to him and sheepishly said, “We are a little unfamiliar with the modern system of admittance to thy carriage.” That was a little surprising to the ticket clerk, seeing as he did have a pretty good memory. “Aren’t you that griffon that came through here yesterday? You sort of stand out.” She did seem to be a little taller than before, but no other griffons had come into town for months. The sheepish demeanour the bird had, seemed to evaporate in an instant. Instead, it was replaced with the familiar irritation she bore on arrival. “That’s because griffons are awesome. Of course I know what I’m doing, see? I have a return ticket; you think I’m an idiot?” she punctuated her statement by shoving her ticket in his face. She then turned around, flicked her tail in the clerk’s direction and began heading towards the waiting train. As she began to walk away, the attendant just looked at the observing ponies and shrugged in confusion. Upon taking another look in the griffon’s direction, he noticed that she had paused and was looking back towards him. “Apologies, that was a little unbecoming of Us after that mistake.” She then continued on her way without waiting for a response. Wow, what a weird griffon. Wait… hippogriff. Maybe that was a different person after all? The clerk idly thought before returning to his work. “The nerve of that pony,” Gilda mumbled to herself as she closed in on her designated carriage. Who was he to judge her? She thought while also internally complaining about making such a basic mistake. Just as her claw reached up for the doors handle, she took a moment to notice her own reflection. “It appears We shall have to learn friendship together,” she surveyed, before stepping aboard. Moving down the aisle, the same thing occurred as before. Each pony she passed would take notice of her and some would start to wonder where she came from. One particular stallion wearing golden armour, even said to his friend, “that birds got a copy of the Princess’s cutiemark. Should we report this?” Trying her best to shut them out, she found her seat at the carriages window and began looking outside. Outside back towards where a certain cloud house was. The sight of a rainbow forming brought a smile to her face as she thought about her recent success. All because of a daft dream about some magic pegacorn. If she was real, Gilda would have to find a way to pay her back. As the thought floated through her head, she gently rubbed one of her dainty hooves. They felt just that bit more special today for some reason. Her musings were interrupted by the newfound rumble of the carriage, as it began steadily departing the station. “Welp, back to boring Griffonia,” she mused before deciding to try and get some rest across two seats. No pony would want to sit next to her. The word try was quite an accurate description, as the moment she mentioned her home country, the bird’s heart rate started to rapidly increase. It was a little, strange seeing as there was nothing interesting going on back home. Maybe it was just the settling of her nerves? Unbeknownst to the griffon, a separate set of thoughts from a certain misbehaving alicorn was becoming lost in the potential her holiday held. We cannot believe We are actually having a real holiday. All thanks to that simple magic show spell, and Our unusual companion. As the thought progressed, a talon affectionately started to preen some of the failing to sleep griffon’s feathers. The attention, though unexpected was welcome. Gilda really did need to take better care of her feathers. A wistful look formed on griffon’s beak as Luna began to ponder what was to come. Yes, We cannot wait to see what adventures she brings Us on! Maybe she will introduce Us to some of Griffonia’s legendary honour bound knights. Getting to practice swordsponyship with worthy opponents once more will be a dream. For her part, Gilda had never held a sword in any real meaningful way, and as for meeting knights? She felt pretty much the same way about them as she would any regular guard. That being mild contempt at them stopping her fun. Ooo, We wonder what it will be like to engage in one of their fabled legendary hunts? It has been so long since We have had any reason to hunt a real hydra. Assisting the local populace with their food supplies will be a worthy endeavour. It’s a shame that most griffons don’t hunt very often and all Gilda herself had hunted was small rabbits and rats. Not the kind of game the princess was really after. This train seemed to have so many stops. Gilda could potentially live anywhere. There are probably so many new interesting cities she will explore on her journey. We cannot wait to explore them. As Luna finally managed to supress her excitement to allow her unknowing co holidayer to rest, one thing became clear. She would try her very best to ensure the two of them had the best time together. Meaning, even though Gilda had never done any of the things Luna thought she had, the night princess would ensure she will have before they parted ways.