A day full of surprise
For crying out loud! Gilda?! REALLY?! Life is throwing griffins at me now?! Seriously, what the hell man? I couldn’t have one pleasant day outside without running into something like this? Noooo... of course not! That would be too easy! Well time to assess the situation. Dash and Pinkie are with me, we get attacked by Gilda, who looks quite pissed by the way... okay, I think I know what’s going on here...
“Hi dweebs! I missed you... but my aim will be better this time, I promise! I finally got out of all that ‘anger managment’ bologna, and now I’m gonna kill you both for humiliating me!” Gilda said, rage thick in her words.
“Ha! I KNEW IT! Man, I would be such a great detective. But then again, it was sort of obvious that you were looking for revenge.” I said, walking around her, inspecting her every detail, searching for weak points.
“Alright, who’s the nerd? New friend of your’s Dash? Or maybe the pink loser’s?” Gilda asked, her rage settled by her confusion.
“For your information, he’s a geek!” Pinkie shouted.
Gilda laughed before asking, “What’s the difference?!”
I finished circling her and stopped in between her and the two she was targeting.
“Oh there’s plenty of difference. For example right now a nerd would be screaming ‘not in the face’... I’m just going to politely ask you this one time to keep your talons off them.” I said threateningly.
Gilda then pressed her beak against my nose and aggressively asked, “And what if I don’t?! What are you going to do about it?!”
“Well I don’t like bullies... especially if they threaten my friends, so if you do continue with this senseless revenge quest, I’m just gonna have to stop you through force.”, I said showing no strong feeling one way or the other. Gilda roared in response.
I waved a hoof in front of my face and replied, “Phew, someone has never heard of mouthwash!”
Angered by my comment, she took a swipe at me but I was already prepared to teleport. I reappeared on a nearby tree branch.
“Oh ouch, that really hurt... THE AIR!”
Just as I had planned, her rage took over and she passed off the opportunity to attack Pinkie or Rainbow Dash to come after me. I just needed to keep her targeting me and away from the others for this thing to be in the bag. She took another swipe at the tree branch I was laying on only to have me teleport again about twenty yards away. The branch snapped like a twig in the wake of her raw strength.
“Hey! What did that tree ever do to you?!” I shouted off in the distance.
“Argh! STAY STILL!” Gilda shouted back with now bloodshot eyes.
She flew at me with great speed, going low to the ground to hit me head on. I prepared myself and waited till just the right moment. When she was in place, I jumped. My calculations were correct and her velocity was so high that she went right under me before I could fall back to the ground. I felt like I was in one of those badass car jumping videos. I had never been in a fight before, but I had to admit I was having a blast. I continued to predict and dodge Gildas strikes, but it seemed as though she wasn’t losing energy like I had planned. By the look of things, she could keep this going for hours. I didn’t have the time or stamina for that. She was even begining to land a few scratches on me now that I was getting tired. I needed a new plan. I looked down one of the alleyways, it was littered with a few cans and came to a dead end. I took a second to think about how I could use that, then it hit me. I ran down the alley and focused on the can for a moment before putting an experimental spell into play. Gilda came racing after me and found me around the corner.
“There you are! What’s the matter?! You done running?! Fine with me you dweeb!”
She flew straight at me and I didn’t even move. I just stood there waiting. Right when her talons were at my throat, she thought she had me, but her birdlike fingers passed through me and she hit the wall she couldn’t see... face first. I stopped the holographic projection that I beamed from the empty can and walked out of another nearby alley.
“Hey guy’s it’s over! You can come over here now!” I hollered to Pinkie and Dash.
Rainbow Dash flew over and looked down towards where Gilda had been knocked unconscious. “Whoa... How did you do that?!” She asked in astonishment.
“Simple. I used that can over there as a projector and set it to shoot out light in a rapidly flickering pattern like in a movie. Then I teleported over to the alley over there and used the mirror I saw earlier as a reference to set the image that was supposed to shoot out of the can. If Gilda was calm enough she would have noticed that my appearance was flipped and my cowlick was on the wrong side.”
Pinkie gasped “Did you figure out how to do all that just now?!”
I raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly. I didn’t see what the big deal was. Most of what I did was based off of common knowledge. Movie projectors, mirrors, and teleportation (which I had recently mastered). Anybody with half a brain could have did what I did but the reaction I got was alarmingly positive. They were stunned by a simple trick that was not unlike the tricks performed in our world. After we were done talking about how ‘amazing’ I was, Dash went over to the knocked out griffin. Her look was that of pure sympathy and regret.
“How long do you think she’s going to be out?” She asked softly.
“Oh not too long. From what I saw by tangling with her, she should bounce right back and be on her feet in no time, but there is the possibility she hit that wall too hard. We should probably take her to the hospital... just as a precautionary measure.”
* * * * * *
Shorty after getting our little griffin friend admitted in a room, she began to stir from her sleep. I asked Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash to stay outside until I had a chance to reason with her. I had seen a lot of anger like hers in my family members. I thought if anyone could make sense of her sudden outburst and attack, it would be me. I was just as skilled at analyzing people as I was at inanimate objects. Even though I could not relate to any feelings she may be having, I could probably figure out her mental status. She got a bit more restless and groaned. Yep, she hit her head a little too hard.
I walked up to her and told her, “Okay open your eyes and say ‘huh?’.”
Using my magic, I pried her eyelids open and she responded with a confused, “Huh?”
“Just checking for a concussion.” I said, releasing her. “You look fine to me. I’m no doctor but I’ve got plenty of medical knowledge. Here drink this.”
I gave her a glass of water which she finished in seconds. She groaned again and held her eagle like talons to her head. Knowing how to fix it I touched my horn to her head and imagined her brain. I lessened the swelling, decreased the sensitivity of the nerves around the area of impact and stabilized the blood flow to the veins within her skull.
“Feel better?” I asked.
“Yeah, much... how did you do that?”
“Well I already told you I know all kinds of medical info... treating a headache is no big deal.”
“First you hurt me, now you’re helping me?! What’s your deal?!” She asked, the familiar anger returning in her voice.
“Alright, first off... you attacked us. Also, I didn’t hurt you. You did that all on your own. And lastly, if you weren’t so blind with rage, you wouldn’t be here right now. Now... mind telling me what had you so upset?”
She got quiet but kept her furious attitude by folding her arms and refusing to look at me. This was always the hardest part. Getting someone who is upset to talk when they don’t want to. To break the ice you had to be gentle but firm enough to make them crack. This was even harder if you had no knowledge of the person or what could have caused them to lash out in the first place. I couldn’t say anything about the party that Pinkie threw for her because I presumed that this was what it was about and you can’t be that direct. I took the next best route and decided to ask a question.
“You said something about being ‘humiliated’? Want to talk about that?”
“Its all that pink ones fault...” She growled slightly.
And like that I was in. “Pink one? You mean Pinkie Pie? Weren’t you going after Rainbow Dash too?” I asked, acting none the wiser.
“She used to be my friend but she betrayed me! Pinkie threw a party and Dash set up all kinds of pranks that I fell for! I thought it was that pink dorks fault but when I called her on it, Dash said it wasn’t her! MY BEST FRIEND WAS THE ONE WHO PRANKED ME AND MADE ME LOOK LIKE A SPAZ IN FRONT OF EVERYONE! Because of what happened that day I was sent to ‘anger management’ classes!”
“Well it sounds like you overreacted to me. Pranks are supposed to be funny, they aren’t meant to hurt you. Sometimes you just have to roll with it. If you always let your anger get the best of you it will always blow up in your face.”
Gilda gave me a stare that told me she didn’t believe a word of it. I sympathised with her because I felt her kind of anger before and it was a hard hole to get out of. You always see everyone else as your enemy even if they are trying to help. You lash out and refuse to give way to anything but what you see is right in your fueled rage... and often dig your own grave because of the thoughts you come up are clouded with hate. I was going to give her an example of what could happen.
Sighing, I gently said, “Let’s perform a little science experiment...”
I levitated her glass and opened the nearby room refrigerator. After placing the glass inside and closing the door I willed the contents within to get colder by extracting the heat. Once I was done, I reclaimed the glass that was now covered with frost from the low temperature.
“Imagine this as the ‘cool’ and collected minds of the ponies in town. and imagine that stove over there as your ‘heated’ fury.” I said while walking over to a small stove that was provided in the room like the refrigerator.
“Now separate you both do fine, but if you come in contact...”
I turned on the burner and intensified the heat until there was a bright blue flame like from a blowtorch. I drifted the glass over the fire and it shattered violently. Looking over to Gilda, I saw her pupils go to pinpricks.
“To put it simply, if you don’t let go of your hostility towards Pinkie and Dash, you will destroy everything and everyone you care about.”
Right at that moment I witnessed something that I did not expect from the hardcore being in front of me... tears. Gilda started sobbing on the spot. I wanted to leave at that point since such emotional outbursts made me feel... well you already know. However I was compelled to figure out what could have caused her to break down like she had.
“What’s the matter this time...” I asked, practically groaning.
“I don’t want to hurt Dash... I just wanna be her friend again! But how could she forgive me now?! I tried to beat her up for Celestia's sake! I was just so mad that she gave up all of our history together to be with them. I guess I always saw her being on my side... we were the best of friends and I wanted to hurt her and... everypony. You’re right... I’m no good to anyone... I just hurt anything that comes close!”
That was all I could handle. “SHUT UP! My god, for someone who doesn’t like parties you sure seem to be throwing one hell of a pity party for yourself! I never said you weren’t any good, you’re just misguided. It’s in your nature to be fierce, I understand that! But instead of going after those who want to be your friends, go after the ones that try to hurt them. As for Rainbow Dash taking you back, I have a feeling she will do it in a heartbeat. She is the Element of Loyalty... she is loyal to her new friends as well as her old ones. I really do think she still cares about you and misses you as well.”
I was done being the voice of reason and psychiatric advice for one day. Gilda has more issues than I could solve within a week, but at least I pointed her in the right direction. I headed to the exit and went to leave her with her thoughts, but I remembered that there was one more thing I needed to tell her.
“Oh, and before I forget... go back to anger management and please take it seriously this time. Trust me, it will help you.” I gently shut the door behind me. Rainbow Dash was in my face the moment the mechanism clicked.
“How is she? Can I see her now?” She asked softly, a sense worry clear in her words.
“Her physical condition is fine, but mentally she is having a rough time right now. From what went on in there, I would suggest waiting a few hours... she has some things that she needs to work out on her own. I will say though that her primary concern is about you and how you feel towards her, so take it easy when you do talk to her.”
Rainbow laughed a little. “You sound like a real doctor!”
“Being in hospitals for most of your life will do that to you.” I said chuckling a little myself.
“Wait, you’ve been in hospitals for most of your life? Why didn’t you say anything?”
I literally face hoofed and responded, “Forget you heard that! I don't want anybody to know about me or my past... the results could be catastrophic.”
“You’re talking just like Rarity. How bad could it be?” She laughed.
I showed how serious I was by pushing her up against the wall with my hooves and giving her the death stare. “Catastrophic, disastrous, cataclysmic, fatal, or in other words... very, VERY bad! Do I make myself clear?”
Terrified out of her mind she barely managed to nod. I released her and left to return ho-, uh, I mean back to Twilights. Today was horrible in my mind. First I went out and ate a cupcake that I didn’t want, then I had to go toe-to-toe with Gilda, THEN I needed to console said griffin, and finally I almost blew everything by telling Rainbow Dash something she had no business hearing. Now I was just tired and wanted to go to sleep, though it was going to be on a pile of books that were getting rather painful. I only had planned on being here a few days before I could figure out how to get back, but since I had hit a dead end in the research department it looked like my stay was going to be permanent. My twenty two years of life were wasted. All I had strived for was for naught. Depression had never gotten the best of me before but now I could feel it setting in. Life was pointless now. I had worked so hard for so long, trying to make my way up the ladder of society so I could create a bit of peace in our world. Now that I was in Equestria, none of my talents mattered, my goal was no longer a priority. Everything here was happy and peaceful, how can you improve that? Sure there was a few things like the changelings, a pissed off hydra, or an over brandishing magician. There was no place for a guy like me. I needed an impossible situation in order to be satisfied.
My walk turned to an exhausted trudge by the time I reached the front door. I kept asking myself ‘Why should I even bother anymore? I’m just gonna wake up everyday as a pony and go through the same old crap like I did today... what’s the point of coming back here?’. I didn’t even want to use magic anymore, my mind was already in a haze so I just swallowed my pride and opened it by mouth. I just went to where my pile of books was and laid down. I noticed right away that my books had been moved when I hit the solid wood floor. I wasn’t in the mood for any games so I picked myself up and turned around to get Twilight. However now that I was focused on more than the floor and had my eyes open I could see that the place was set up for a party... and every one of the mane six was there.
Pinkie then sprung up in front of me and yelled, “Surprise!”
I only have one question for you all... what did I do to deserve this torture?