//------------------------------// // Look Before You Leap... (v2) // Story: Whatever It Takes // by RedScarWolf //------------------------------// *Just a warning, this chapter is going to be a bit graphic* Run. The only thought that ripped though her mind, was to run. She couldn’t take it, she didn’t want to see it, the very idea that she would disappoint Rainbow Dash was the worse feeling see could ever think up. She ran and ran, deeper and deeper, through the thickets, over the streams, her entire being was set to escape. It came to an end with a single misstep, a small root, just like the many she had evaded before, caught her hoof in just the right way. She tumbling to halt right into a thorn bush and for a while all she did was wail, not even minding the hooks that were catching in her skin. After a time she pulled herself out, only to drop a distance from where she fell. Bleeding, covered in mud and sap, she lay there for hours, with only her tears for comfort. When the tears ran out, she stood and finally took in her surroundings, all she could see was near pitch black forest. Left and right, forwards and back, nothing but thick canopy and congested wilds that did nothing but add to the darkness, and in all this she could only utter a single phrase. “Where am I?” she choked out, everything she had hoped this day would be was in ruins. She couldn't go back now, even if she wanted to, she was lost. Scootaloo pondered what she should do now, she didn't know how to survive in a creepy forest. In the end, with no other choice left, she made a decision, she picked a direction and headed off. Starting off slow, she made her way, wiggling through bushes and climbing over roots that seem to be getting bigger by the second. All the while the calls of unknown creatures stalked her every move. A chirp from up above, a growl from the bushes to her left, a snort that was far too close for comfort, the further she went the more encompassing the noises grew. When the sound of a cracking branch rang out, she saw them, the one thing she was always told to look out for near the forests. Timber wolves, an entire pack of them, they snarled and hissed, their wooden bodies creaking and snapping. When one howled, she ran, she ran as fast as her torn up little legs could carry her. Leaving a trail of broken screams, she barreled through the forest, spilling blood, sweat, and piddle for the wolves to follow. More than ever before did she feel the need to flee, the thought that she would be ripped apart and used for fertilizer to make more wolves was unfathomable. She cursed Sweetie Belle’s name for ever looking into those horrible mutts. “Help! Somepony help me!” she spat out between ragged breaths. Her muscle burned, her wings felt like they would fall off, but she couldn’t stop, they were right behind her, she could hear them snapping at her flanks. She couldn't die, she mustn’t die, she has to live, she needed to beg for forgiveness from Rainbow Dash, from Pinkie Pie, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and anyone else she might have offended. Finally the trees started thinning, a clearing maybe, she pushed herself harder. She practically soared out of the forest, only for her stomach to lurch at the sight before her. A cliff, a drop hundreds of hooves high, one thought dominated every signal in her brain. “I’m going to die.” She turned as her pursuers entered the glade, they tried to circle her, to pin her between them and her proverbial rock. She edged herself closer and closer to the ledge, debating with herself on what would be less painful. Except the ledge choose for her, with a blood curdling scream she fell and slammed into the cliffside on her way to the darkness below. ----------------- Waking with a startled gasp, Gilda stood at the ready in her makeshift nest, “What was that?” she nearly squawked as she inspected her ‘house’. Grunting with irritation, she moved to check the cave she has been living in for the past two years. While not her real home, it worked quite well for what she needed, that being a roof over her head and some walls for security. Along with a decent hunting ground of small, furry animals nearby and a plethora of wild fruits and vegetables growing both in and out of the cave, she made a perfect little predator paradise for herself. Now if only a sky bound male would come "trade" with her then everything would be complete. She rolled hers eyes at her nesting urges while she made her way to the entrance of her home, only to find a bloodied, orange pulp had been left a few paces from the cave mouth. “Oh Come On! If it’s that stupid manticore again I’m gonna gut him! I’m Not Interested” she screeched in protest, only to be startled once again when the pulp started to inhale loudly. “Oh feathers, this thing's still alive?” slowly, she reached and grasped the mass, she turned it over to find that was a filly, a young one at that. “By Gryphon! What’s a pony doing way out here near the border? What kind of dweeb would leave their fledgling out on their own in the Everfree?” With indecision in her eyes, she carefully started to pick the filly up, only to drop her. “No, it’s not my problem, I got my own issues to deal with.” Slowly she turned around and began her walk back to her cave, but stopped halfway when something caught her ear, “Huh?” Barely above a murmur, she heard the most pitiful of sounds, “Sorry” “So sorry, Dash” Gilda stared at the filly, “No, it’s some other Dash, can’t be Rainbow.” she grumbled but her indecision only grew. “Feathers!” she ran over to the broken filly with haste, she gathered her up and flew straight to her nest. After she laid her down gently, she rushed around her cave and gathered a few supplies, along with a bucket of water. She proceeded to wash the blood, mud, and whatever else off of the filly’s body with a soft rag. “Her eye's all smashed in. Nasty, I think I'm gonna to have to dig that out.” Gilda commented in disgust. With a claw, she quickly ripped out the remnants of the filly’s right eye, which made her to scream out in pain. “Quit your crying, I’m helpin' you! I hope.” Gilda cleaned the rag as much as she could, then delicately wiped the socket of any remaining debris. She pulled some alcohol, gauze, and tape from her supplies, and used her beak as a pair of cutters. She soaked one side of the gauze with alcohol then applied it to the socket, whereupon she taped it in place. “Stop Screaming!" "I really should have payed more attention in "First Aid" at flight school, I know I feathered that up.” Finished with the eye, she checked the rest of the filly’s body. “Her foreleg is all bent out of whack, there’s a chuck of ear missin', she better not be bleedin' inside too.” Gilda grabbed a couple of bones from her waste pile, she forced the filly’s right foreleg back in place, and used the animal bones and gauze as a splint. She moved on to the ear and taped the last of her gauze to it, she then dealt with all the minor cuts and scratches that are covering her body. "Crap, she isn't yellin' anymore, is that bad? She's still breathin'." she noticed after a few minutes of silence. "Whatever, I'll just get her comfortable" Gilda piled up the dried grass and soft sticks that made up her nest, she then slowly picked up the filly and set her upon the pile. She turned and grabbed the bucket of now filthy water, she flew outside to dump it and refilled it from the shallow pond she has been using as a source of water. She returned with the fresh water and grabbed a small bowl. "Drink this and don't choke." she filled the bowl with water and then pushed the lip of it into the filly's mouth. "I said don't choke stupid!" The filly sputtered and coughed on the water, but ended up drinking most of it. Gilda set the bowl down, she grabbed her blanket and covered the filly up "You better know Dash, I'll drop you where I found you if you don't." The filly simply coughs in response. ----------------- ...A Few Days Later... "Why does everything hurt?" the groggy, grumpy, and slightly grotesque Scootaloo whispered. She moved to stand but yelped out when her foreleg exploded in pain causing her to drop. "What are you doing, you dweeb! Don't move that leg." Scootaloo followed the voice and screamed again at what stood before her. A griffon, a creature she had learned about in school but had never seen. Just like she had heard, it really did have the head of an eagle and the body of a lion, but she never thought that it would be so large or that it's beak would look so deadly. "Stay back!" she commanded, she tried to scramble away only for her leg to burst into agony again. "I just told you stop movin'! Knock it off and stay put!" the clearly furious griffon screeched at her. "Please don't eat me, I taste terrible." Scootaloo croaked out between sobs. "Would you shut up! I'm not gonna eat you, numbskull! I saved your feathering life!" the brutal griffon squawked at her. Scootaloo continued to sob until the griffon moved away. It exhaled harshly "Calm Down. My name is Gilda, I found you outside my house. You were pretty messed up, I had to use most of my stuff fix you up." "You live in a cave?" Scootaloo sniveled. "Why's a griffon living in a cave?" "That's what's important to you?" Gilda eyed in perplexity, "Don't tell me you knocked your head when you fell. That's all I need, a brain damaged filly." "Fell?" Scootaloo enquired suspiciously "Fell from where?" "Where am I anyway?" "Why's my eye hurt so much?" "What's wrong with my leg?" "Who are you?" "Did you foalnap me?" "SHUT UP!" Scootaloo was back to blubbering, Gilda dropped her head into her palm. For a while the only sounds were that of a crying filly and an irritated griffon who muttered to herself. "Okay, okay, it's gonna be alright. Stop your crying, you're okay now." Gilda cooed at the filly while brushing her mane. Scootaloo snorted, "Who, who are you?" "My name is Gilda, what's yours squirt?" Gilda asked with a hint of serenity. "Scootaloo. I'm Scootaloo" "Nice to meet you, Scootaloo." They sat in silence for a time, both of them contemplated about what to say next. "So are you hungry? You've been out for almost three days, so you gotta be hungry, I have some fruits you might like." "Yeah, I'm Starving! Oh, Do you have any apples?" Scootaloo perked up at the mention of food, she tried to stand once more, but, luckily, was stopped by Gilda. "You're gonna to have to wait before you can start moving around like that. Your leg's still messed up and..." Gilda trailed off, she wasn't entirely sure on how to inform the filly about her eye. "Anyway, let me go get those fruits, they're not apples but I guess the look tasty." "Did something happen to my eye? Why's it all bandaged up?" Scootaloo asked, a little more perceptive than Gilda expected her to be. She ignored the questions and flapped over to a table that had a small bowl of fruit on it. She grabbed a branch of purple berries from the mix and returned to Scootaloo. "Eat for now, we can deal with that later." Gilda said while she handed the branch of purple berries to her. Scootaloo grasped the branch with her teeth and set in down. She methodically took a few berries into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. Gilda was vexed by the silence, she could feel it build up in the filly. "Will I see out of my eye again?" Scootaloo asked. "Look, I don't really know how to talk about that. Let's just worry about it later, alright?" Gilda answered a little too quickly. "I can take it, I'm a tough filly." Scootaloo insisted. "We can talk about it later, Now Eat!" Gilda responded sternly. "Just Tell Me!" Scootaloo snapped. "YES! I had to rip your feathering eye out! I didn't know what else to do! Is that what you wanted to hear?!" Gilda spat at her vehemently. She screeched loudly in a primal tongue, reared back, and slammed a fist onto the rockwall next to her nest. She stormed off only to come back a minute later, where she found the filly unconscious. "Now what? Hey, come on, wake up!" she shook the filly roughly, "Wake Up!" Scootaloo's meal came up instead, all over Gilda's arm, "Oh, Sick, she puked in my nest!" ----------------- "What was I thinking! I'm not this stupid, I should have just left her there!" Gilda flew above the trees with a rather swollen looking Scootaloo tied to her back. "I can't believe I'm doing this, and for some pony I don't even know" "I don't wanna go back yet." Gilda fumed, she flapped harder to gain more speed. "Stupid berries, how could I know she was allergic to them!" She groaned and pushed herself harder. She could see them now, the mountains that made up the natural fortifications of the griffon capitol. She also noticed the small squadron of griffons that flew in her direction, they only made her displeasure grow. They circled her once, then came up on ether side of her. The current lead, represented by his rose-tipped feathers, screeched at her. She returned the call, and the squad fell in behind her, showing that they accept her dominance as a violet-tipped. "Hail Gryphon! Violet Grizelda has finally returned, inform the Black at once! His glorious daughter has returned!" The rose-tipped extolled. "Belay that order! Get this pony to a medical station, Now! She's had some kind of allergic reaction from these berries." she handed over Scootaloo and the berries to the lead, "I'll go report to the emperor, you follow my orders or so help me, you'll be white again." "At once, my liege" the rose-tipped accedes, motioning to his squad of reds as they fly off towards the nearest hospital. Grizelda changed her course and headed to the emperor's tower, her father's tower, better known as the Gilded Spire. The very heart of the Gryphon Empire.