Shadows are everywhere. They see all, know all, hear all. From within the shadows, I am as close to omnipotent as possible, and from within the shadows, all is mine. Celly has the light and I have the dark. Two sides of the same coin.
From within the shadows, I watched a certain feminine gryphon do his work. Every movement, every word spoken or written, every single last breath he took was seen by me, and I remembered. I am eternal after all. So I sat back and watched, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Though I could feel time ticking along, flowing past far faster than I liked, I waited. Soon, night fell and he retired to his chambers.
And still I waited. I watched as his servants retired for the night and as he did some late night reading. It was only once the entire household was deathly still that I emerged from the darkness. Though it was a new moon, it might as well have been day for me. I walked through the empty halls, easily slipping past the feeble defenses he had set up, and slipped into his room without any trouble. There he lay, snoring softly as he lay on his front, curled up in a ball.
With a touch of magic, he was shackled down and a quick search with my magic removed all the hidden weapons and zebra powder he had nearby. All it took was a bit more magic to seal the doors and windows with an enchantment only Celly would be able to break.
Then, plucking a feather from my wing, I trailed it under his nose. For a couple of seconds, there was no reaction, then he sneezed once, eyes snapping open as he did so. There was the usual struggling, muffled oaths, surprise, curses, and colorful language, before he finally settled down and growled at me. Even after a thousand years, things had not changed so much.
“No doubt thou art wondering why We are here,” I said as I sat down on the edge of his bed. “We could tell you lies, but the truth would be much simpler. No? The question to thou is, wilt thou listen, or wilt thou continue thy useless struggles?”
He raised his eyebrow as he stared back at me. After a moment he said something through the gag that I couldn’t quite make out. With a sigh, I removed the gag and gazed down at him curiously.
“Honestly, the chains are unnecessary.” He shifted. “If you wished to talk, there are ways to do so that are less risky, and do not involve breaking into my home. Really, I’d be much happier to talk to you anonymously in a cafe or something.” He rolled his eyes. “Regardless, yes. I shall listen. Would you undo the chains? Truly, they are not needed.”
“Why? You look so delectable in them,” said Nightmare through my mouth before I could stop her. I applied my hoof to my face and said, “Please ignore that. Nightmare has recently tried to rape thy sister, and now she has her eyes on thee. The chains are a mere precaution until we can settle matters and-”
A beam of magic hit Grace dead center of the chest. After a second of nothing happening, I breathed a sigh of relief. “And thou hath not been corrupted yet. That is a relief. Tell Us, have any of thy comrades acted strange lately? Perhaps strangely absent or ill before returning.Or even seeming a bit lifeless.”
“Yes. Of course I noticed the agents returning from their assignments weeks before they’re due and the extreme changes in their disposition.” He gave me a flat look. “They’ve been isolated, and are under watch until we can get back into contact with the laboratory.”
“Do not bother. At least not yet. The mutant changelings managed to escape, but we took care of the issue. We are afraid thy citizens may not recover from their ordeal.” I tossed the list of names onto his chest. “What about these gryphons?”
“I would be happy to review the list, but unfortunately I lack function in my claws to position the paper.” He shook his head. “But to be truthful, right now I’m slightly more concerned about the claim that Nightmare wished to bed my sister, and is now considering doing so to me.” He shook his arms and jangled the magical bonds. “The chains, please.”
They shattered and he immediately rubbed his wrists before pouring over the page. “Well some haven’t returned yet, others failed to report in when they entered the city.” He frowned. “Some of these aren’t even Wide Eyes, but senior military personnel. Where did you get this?” He looked at me. “Did Gilda give it to you?”
“From the laboratory turned hive at White Peak.” I jerked his head back to the paper. “Is this a full list of all the important personnel that have been there in the last month?”
He considered the list for a moment. “It is, yes. It’s missing my name, but other than that, it’s complete.” He looked to me. “Why? Are the chemicals somehow affecting their thoughts? They were not supposed to be test subjects.”
“The chemicals thou hast been using enhance magic. Now answer me this, what magic do changelings have and if they were amplified, which direction are they most likely to take?” Before the words had even finished leaving my mouth, I saw understanding in his eyes. “Mind magic. We have been there and We have experienced it firsthoof. A hive mind capable of integrating gryphons and ponies alike into it. A hive mind that has the potential to learn at an exponential rate.”
He looked at me, considering my words. “This is assuming you speak the truth. If you are, then yes, I will pursue the matter and stop the spread of the hive as best I can. Not that I don’t believe you, but I need evidence in order to chase up the issue. I cannot marshal the king’s resources without proof.”
“Then come with us. We seek purge this land of this taint, and unfortunately, there are too many of them for us to destroy using the ritual like We had planned. Their collective mind is stronger than We had anticipated.” I held out my hoof. “We do not know this city, nor its inhabitants, as well as thee.”
“Why wouldn’t Gilda help you?” He stood up. “If all you require is a guide to the city and an extra knife hand, I assure you, she is adequate.” He paused to glare at me, “Unless something has happened to her.”
“Except We are probably on thy most wanted list, the layout has no doubt changed since she was last here, thou hast access to resources she does not, and thou does not annoy us nearly as much.” I examined my hoof in the moonlight. “And something has happened to her. She decided to... ‘hook up’ with the showmare. She desires to take Trixie back to safety.”
He stared at me for a second before he sighed. “Honestly, the fact that she’s queer surprises me less than her heading away from danger.” After a moment he sighed. “I’m willing to help you, but really, I do require evidence. You destroyed an entire laboratory and attacked palace staff. For all I know, you’re the cause of the affliction and the reason we have not received word from White Peak.”
“Correction, Nightmare Moon destroyed a government facility and attacked palace staff. The same Nightmare Moon that attacked Equestrian Royalty.” I smirked at him. “We cannot be held responsible for the acts of our mad other half. In fact, as a representative of Equestria, We would have to pledge our help in ending her once and for all.”
“I have no interest in trying to punish a goddess for her crimes. Even without your political immunity, the sheer power you wield is enough to make such an idea stupid. Again, if you want my aid, I will need evidence. Or word from White Peak. Anything to confirm the existence of an infectious changeling hive mind.”
“White Peak won’t help in that regard then. I killed all the changelings there.” I began pacing around his room. “Have there been any recent or sudden earthworks or constructions? Any gryphons going missing?”
He nodded, “There’s always gryphons going missing. Sentient trafficking is a popular trade, and gryphon females are worth a lot.” He paused for thought. “Though, a surprising number of male gryphons, even from military backgrounds, have been disappearing.”
“Where?” I pulled out the map of the city I had picked up earlier. “Mark them out on the map.”
He took up the map. “Mostly in and along the city edge, but a few towns closer to city limits have been reporting high rates of unusual disappearances, as well as cases of hallucination in areas without a significant drug trade.” He looked to me after he was done circling several areas. “Would the issues be related?”
“Perhaps. What sort of hallucinations are we talking about?”
He shrugged. “That was not mentioned in the report. I can only relay the information that is relayed to me.”
“Very well.Any reports of disappearances or hallucinations or lifelessness from within this city?”
“Only along the edge,” he told me. “We have yet to see it occur closer to any major political hubs.”
“Just the edge? Nowhere else? No hallucinations or anything within the city center? Thou art certain about this?”
“Yes. Primarily, industrial and working class locations, with some more middle class areas also afflicted. But as someone who keeps track of most of the city’s movements, I assure you that the lower class isn’t as removed from the palace as many would like to believe.”
“That is most concerning.” I picked up the red marker and began drawing on the map. “When we were at White Peaks, the highest concentration of changelings was in this direction. A-”
“‘This direction?’” He repeated. “I’m afraid that’s not information I can really work with.”
“If thou wouldst let us finish. The epicenter of these disappearances and hallucinations seems to be out here in the countryside just outside the city walls. Though the spread is rather massive, it is linear and if thou draw a line straight down the center, it is a perfect line from White Peak to the city. Dost thou have information regarding when these reports were made?”
“Of course,” he scoffed. “What use is information if you don’t have a time frame?”
“Then thou can tell us and We can organize these reports. If our suspicions are correct, then we shall see a pattern moving from the north-east to south-west.”
He nodded, and began listing off dates to match each location that had been circled. Within the minute, everything had been color coded and we gazed at the map. Just as expected, there was a very clear pattern of drift as the changelings moved towards the city.
“Well... that is quite concerning,” he stated flatly.
“Nah, really?” mocked Nightmare.
“It doesn’t seem as though they have been moving forward though,” I commented. “They seemed to have stopped out in the farmland and are slowly creeping outwards in all directions. That is not good at all. If they manage to put the chemicals into the water or food...”
His frowned and rubbed his eyes. “This is a nightmare. If half of what you claim is true, or any aspect of it all, then the entire Kingdom is at risk. Without the Kingdom’s security, Equestria’s safety is not guaranteed either.” He breathed out. “I can’t go to the king with this. I believe you, but the king’s an... emotional thinker at times. Your attack on the laboratory and massacre of innocents has permanently placed you in his general purview of ‘enemy’. I’ll help how I can, but honestly, there is only so much I can do. I have some resources at my disposal, but...” He grit his beak. “We’re in trouble.”
“Agreed.” I frowned at the map. “There have not been any reports in the central city so they probably have not poisoned the water as of yet. We can provide some buffer to the insanity, but if an outbreak occurs, We will not be able to save everygryphon. Not with the power we have available right now. We have to shut this down before it starts.”
“Oh, Elders.” He sighed. “We need all the help we can get. I need all the information you can give me on the changelings and how to combat them, and...” He turned and paced away. “This is going to take a while. I need coffee and parchment. There’s no time to waste. Go to my study, I’ll be there shortly and we can plan how to deal with this.” He frowned and looked back at me. “And then we need to discuss my sister.”
“Very well.” I stepped back into the shadows and when I stepped forward once more, I found myself in his study. “Not bad, not bad at all.”
A while later, the gryphon entered the room with a steaming beverage and several rolls of parchment. “Okay, so I believe the area that presents the greatest risk is Ashguard.” He sat at the table and unrolled a map of the region. “The area is directly in the way of the spread, and has one of the highest rates of unusual occurrences. It has a full bastion of soldiers, the entire Thirteenth Legion in fact, so if the area were to fall, there would be a hostile army on gryphon soil already. The river leading from it heads straight to Aviana, and the river has been dammed here, so it spreads into numerous smaller streams that affect most towns between here and the Great Spine ridge.” He paused for thought. “Oh, Elders. That’s fifteen percent of the Kingdom’s population along that one water source.”
“They do not seem to have acted yet, so we still have time.” I paused and Nightmare suddenly spoke out of my mouth, “How opposed are you to blowing up the castle?”
He gave a laugh. “If it’s truly an option. Just earlier this evening I would have scoffed at the suggestion, but now anything that’s a solution is an option.” He paused. “How do you propose we destroy the fortress, and what would that accomplish? We still don’t know if the Thirteenth is corrupt yet, so I’d rather not.”
“We need to enter and verify our beliefs, but to do so We need to shield everyone from the mind altering magic and as soon as the hive mind detects that, We fear they will act.” I rubbed my temples. “Could thou send some kind of order and see if they react to it? Neigh, if we do that it may tip them off.”
“This whole situation is a nightmare.” He grit his beak. “We should never have excavated the temple in the first place, it’s brought us nothing but pain. Um... okay. We need to confirm the extent of the damage. We can’t send operatives on their own, or they may be corrupted too... Is there any way you can shield someone that we send?” He tapped the map. “Ashguard isn’t even the only place at risk. We’re going to need eyes on the ground in... urgh. At least half a dozen regions. In total that’s... more operatives than I can provide.”
“Get us changeling blood. We can perform a ritual to wipe them all out provided We catch them off guard. There may be too many of them for us to take in a direct confrontation like we did back at White Peak.” I sat down and stared at the map.
He snorted. “So, our only option is to enter the region with limited intelligence, a limited number of knife hands, and put our trust in the Plague of Divinity herself. And that’s assuming we can locate and kill a changeling without alerting the hive.” He chuckled and sculled his mug. “This is a horrible plan.”
“We never said kill. All we need is blood. Though the hivemind makes it dangerous.” We sat in silence as we mulled it over. “The king’s crown, is there a way to duplicate the mind blocking properties of it?”
“I’m a gryphon, how would I know?” He asked irritably. “What I know of magic is limited to the use zebra powders and the capabilities of unicorns in combat.”
“Can thou make any more of the chemicals?”
“More of them?” He frowned at me. “Why would we want to synthesize more of the spirits damned stuff? We can, but... I just want to burn all knowledge of this and be done with it. Forget the king’s ambitions, as glorious as they are.”
“You were missing a piece of vital information,” explained Nightmare. “There was a ritual I concocted after I took control over Luna that allows me to... stabilize... the transformation.”
“Though we would not recommend it to thee if Nightmare performs it,” I snapped as I glared in the mirror. “She added an extra step that allows her to control the one who transformed. We barely managed to save Gilda from being her permanent pet, so unless We perform it, do not take her up on the offer.”
Grace just stared at me. “What was that about my sister? I’ve held off on asking because of more pressing concerns, but... tell me. What has happened to her?”
“She has become the first of the nightkin. A very prestigious position, but it was against her will. Nightmare transformed her in an attempt to make Gilda her sexual slave, but Trixie and I managed to stop her. She still has free will and should be moving towards the border with Trixie as we speak.”
Grace’s jaw tightened. “Tell me then, what exactly is a nightkin, and why would it benefit her and us to become one?”
“Slight. Song of Night.Curse. She was nightkin. One of many, We might add, and definitely not the most powerful or well trained.”
He stared at me. “So, you propose to turn me and my operatives into a legend told to cubs, and not only that, but you’ve already transformed my sister into some kind of... bat pony gryphon?”
“Please, she does not have bat wings, the potion thou has been brewing enhances magic and does not give bat wings.” I rolled my eyes. “She has slitted pupils, dark coloration, and some extra magic. If we do the same now, then we may be able to move fast enough and have enough strength to not get overwhelmed before we can perform the ritual.”
“So... you’re telling me this is real? That the fictional character my sister idolizes was real, and you genuinely plan to spread the power to dissolve into shadow at will to us?”
“Thou would not be able to replicate it anyways,” I replied with a smirk. “And we have read thy mind and thy sister resides in Equestria. Thou wouldst not act against Equestria even if thou wished to.”
He seemed to have a hard time understanding the implications of this. “How can I trust that you won’t use Nightmare’s mind controlling extra step? My sister trusted you as much as she would a manticore with a youngling, and judging by what you’ve told me, she was right to.”
“We have done nothing but help her. Nightmare is the one thou should be concerned about,” I snapped.
He frowned at me. “You’re lying. I can read ponies as well as anyone. What are you not telling me?”
“Nothing.”
“To quote my sister, ‘bullshit’. What are you leaving out?”
“We distracted Nightmare while she did her ritual so her control over Gilda was incomplete. There is no reason to believe she would refrain from doing the same to us while we worked.” I sighed. “More than that, we hath become... closer.”
“Closer?” he repeated. “Is that intended to comfort me?”
“It is not supposed to,” I replied. “But it may be a necessary risk. If she has limited control over thee, then we too, have limited control over thee and should be able to break it easily enough.”
“And yet that requires me to trust you. Again, we arrive at an impasse. How can I in good conscious, put the lives of agents of the kingdom and host to national secrets in your hooves?” He frowned. “You have not proven yourself remotely trustworthy in the past. You even failed to protect my sister, and that’s assuming your tale is true.”
“If thou prefers we can try storming the castle with an undersized force.”
He sighed again. “Yes, I really don’t have a choice do I?” He sat back in his chair and massaged his temples. “This is a nightmare.” After a moment he sat up. “Very well. I can get us a dozen good operatives by morning, and another thirty by the end of the week. And I’m afraid that’s the most I can offer without official backing from the king or the Wide Eyes.”
“Morning. We leave in the morning. Who knows how long they have been in position?” I began slamming my head against the desk. “We can try to free some of the gryphons there as we go, but We need to save our energy for the ritual.”
“A complete nightmare.” He sighed and stood up. “Very well. You have a ritual to prepare, and I have a dozen soldiers and intelligence operatives on leave that I need to dredge up from whatever hole they’ve drunk themselves to stupor in.” He gave me a small bow. “A good evening to you. Meet me here in the morning.”
“You make it sound as though we are leaving,” I chuckled. “All we require is moonflower nectar, but we are sure thou art able to find some. Oh, and salt.”
“Excellent. So now I have to acquire restricted magical supplies without alerting any authorities to its absence.” He sighed. “I have to go. You can get salt from my pantry.”
“A vial. We do not need much,” I called after him as he half ran out the door.
“Just don’t damage my house while I’m absent!” He shouted back.
“Well now, that went easier than I expected,” remarked Nightmare.
“Agreed. He is far more rational than his sister. The question now becomes, will our plan work?”
“We can only hope.”
“Hope is not a plan.”
The worst thing about the shit Nightmare did to me, was the eyes. We were traveling along the Changeling Wastes, so the first time I stepped into town they took one look and tried to kill me. After that Trixie started having to cast some illusion magic on me anytime we came close to anyone. That only lasted till the towns started getting common, and the desolate wilderness gave way to farmland. Basically, Trixie had to cast the spell constantly and it was wearing her out.
So now I have to wear sunglasses. Doesn’t sound so bad? Well, it wouldn’t be if they were aviators or wrap-arounds or those thick black ones Dash liked. No, I have shiny pink ones. Why? Because that was the only pair they had at the gift shop.
“What the fuck are you looking at?” I snarled at the pretty and preened females who were smirking at me. “I swear I will end both of you, and it’ll look like a fucking accident!” Okay, so maybe this was getting me a bit ticked off.
“Look on the bright side, they complement your crown feathers,” chuckled Trixie.
I just growled at her as the two females moved away, still looking over their shoulders at me. I wish they were afraid, but it’s impossible to be scary while wearing pink sunglasses.
“I don’t care what they do and don’t match. They’re pink. Goddess damned pink.”
“You-” Trixie poked me in the chest. “-have an irrational hatred of the color pink.”
“No I don’t.” I pushed her hoof away from me. “I just hate anything that’s pink. Because it sucks,” and after a second I added, “dicks.”
My only reply was a facehoof from Trixie. “Irrational hatred indeed.”
I just rolled my eyes, not that she could see it. We walked in silence for a while until I spoke up. “I’ve been meaning to ask, would you mind teaching me a bit about unicorn magic?”
“Unicorn magic? Why would you want to learn about that?” asked Trixie.
“Well, not just unicorn magic I guess, but magic in general.” I scratched the back of my head.
I’m not sure I wanted to tell her about the way my magic was... changed. I needed to figure out what had happened and how this new... shadowy magic stuff worked. I felt different now. Restless at night, constantly uncomfortable during the day. I got less tired too. Things that used to wear me out fast, like weapon practice and exercise, took a bit longer now. And every time I flew, there was this... I don’t know how to describe it. It was just different, like flying was only the half of it.
“Back when I was going through the facility with Nightmare, I was caught off-guard by a few magical things. I don’t want that to happen again, not when all this weird shit keeps happening to us.” I looked over at her.
“So Trixie assumes you wish to know how to fight against magic?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Yeah, there’s that. But I was also talking about like... magical theory and how the different kinds of magic work, and what happens when they mix.”
“Alright...” She looked at me curiously. “Is there something you’re not telling Trixie?”
“Oh, hey, look at that.” I pointed ahead to a road sign. “Anibal Canyon.”
“You’re deflecting. If you don’t want to tell Trixie, just say so,” she muttered.
“No, Anibal Canyon’s where I grew up.” I smiled back at her. “Shit. It’s been so long since I’ve been near this part of the Kingdom.” I snorted. “I forgot it was out here.”
“Then come!” Without waiting for my reaction, she walking in the direction the sign pointed in.
“Hey!” I shouted and caught up to her. “I thought we were going back to the border.”
“Come on, a slight detour wouldn’t hurt. Plus, Trixie wants to see the place you grew up in, and surely you want to see it too.” Her tail smacked me in the face playfully as she broke out into gallop. “If you want to stop Trixie, you’re gonna have to catch her!”
I snorted. Way too easy. With a flap of my wings for a boost of speed, I sprinted alongside her and moved to tackle her to the ground. At the last second, she vanished in a blue pop and appeared a couple feet down the road. With a backwards look, she blew a raspberry at me before really picking up the pace. I had to admit, the girl was fast.
Still, I was a gryphon, she was a unicorn. Nature gave me a bit of an edge.
I jumped into the air and let my wings take over. Flying fast enough to catch up, but not too fast and overshooting, I landed on the ground in front of her and came to a complete stop. Instead of stopping like I expected, she ran right into me and... passed through me? Laughter came from behind me so I looked over my shoulder and there was Trixie, fading into view as she dropped her invisibility.
“Cheater!” I shouted and took off towards her again.
There was an explosion of smoke, obscuring everything from view and by the time it was gone there were five Trixies, all running along the dirt road. Clever girl.
Instinctively I tapped into my gryphon magic with the idea of kicking up a dust storm. Instead, I found myself in the retarded shadow view thing, and suddenly all the shade between the trees heightened. At the same time though, everything looked clearer, and even with the lame ass pink sunglasses, I could make out every grain of wood and spot of dirt.
Then I noticed something off about the five Trixies. Actually, make that four of them. Only one of the Trixies had a shadow. I mean a real shadow. The other ones had... fake shadows? I have no idea what the difference between a real shadow and a fake shadow is, but apparently I could tell them apart now.
“Gotcha!” I shouted as I grabbed the real Trixie and pulled her into the air.
She gave out a sudden shriek, before settling down and wrapping her forehooves around my neck. I could hear her soft panting as she buried her face in my neck, nuzzling me lightly. “How did you know it was me?”
“Lucky guess?” I answered and flew in low to land. With a quick gust, I had her settled on the ground, and still hugging me.
“And here Trixie was thinking you were going to take me for another flight,” she pouted.
“Well, if you want.”
I took off again and spun in the air as I did, Trixie’s mane blowing out wildly. I leveled out and slowly rose up higher with the thermals. It was a great view from up here. Peaceful, serene, comfortable with her in my arms, and boring as fuck. I dropped into a dive suddenly and she shrieked right until I leveled out and started to rise again. Normally I could only keep this up for half an hour or more before I got tired, but now I felt way less drained. Not saying I could carry her all day, but for a whole hour, maybe an hour and a half.
“This what you wanted?” I asked her as I settled into a steady glide again.
“Well Trixie was going to comment on how beautiful it was before you did that dive.” A mock glare was directed at me before she kissed me on the cheek. “Though it was absolutely boring up there. More tricks! Trixie demands more tricks!”
I looked at her for a second, before I simply let go. I dropped her, and she plummeted towards the earth with a squeal, me right next to her with my wings folded. My grin was as wide as a mile by the time I caught her and spread my wings again to level out. Maybe I calculated that a little wrong, because my claw touched dirt as we flattened out again, but the momentum helped me carry her upwards again and I barrel rolled as I did.
“How’s that?” I questioned as I rose up again, getting ready for another trick.
She was panting heavily and her cheeks were red. With both hooves wrapped firmly around my neck she stared me straight in the eyes. “Trixie shall assume you meant to leave it that close to the ground and it was all planned.” Then she decided to kiss me on the mouth with tongue and all. After a couple seconds I was forced to pull back so we didn’t plummet to the ground.
“Trix, don’t kiss me while I’m flying, I’d rather not crash.”
“Fine,” she huffed before she began kissing along my neck and nibbling at it playfully.
“Ohhhkaaay!” I shook us in the air and broke her concentration. “Looks like someone gets excited by flying. I think it’s about time to land.” I went to fly down, but then I spotted something just to our right. “Hey, look. Anibal Canyon.”
My old home looked just like I remembered it. Great big granite cliffs tapering off. Wooden cabins all along one rim of the canyon, and stairs chipped into the stone, leading to the canyon floor. Caves littered the walls, reminders of the tribal days, and all along the bottom of the canyon was hundreds and hundreds of houses. It wasn’t a city, but a fair sized town at least. The pinewood forests on the other side of the canyon were a nice deep green compared to the grassy plains behind us. I forgot how goddess damn pretty this place was.
“Well, it’s pretty at least,” she said as she followed my gaze. “Looks boring though. Considering the way you are, Trixie was expecting something more... exciting.”
I laughed. “Yeah well, I wasn’t always fucked up. I only lived here with my mum and dad till I moved out. That was when my life got... you know, interesting.”
“Do you regret it?” she suddenly asked. “All the, er, interesting stuff that made you leave. Do you regret any of it? If you could somehow change the past, would you?”
“Heck no. Fuck that,” I spat. “No way in Tartarus was I ever gonna go back to being... some fucking... wallflower after I started training. Shit dude, even with everything that’s happened, the idea of growing up some ugly, beefy female to get pawned off to a husband with a decent military career. Watching as Grace and my little brother actually get to do something, while I get to stay at home till my dad decided to marry me off to a nice boy... I mean, if that isn’t fucking awful enough, if I hadn’t met Calisto and the other girls, I’d never have gone to that summer flight camp, I’d never have met Dash, never have met you.” I looked at Trixie. “Even before...you know, what happened, I never fit in. I was never going to be happy with that life they’d lined up for me.”
“Yeah... boring town alright.Boring life.” Trixie suddenly smirked at me. “And Trixie cannot imagine you in a dress.”
I snorted. “I don’t know about boring. Like I said, I found a way. But yeah, you’re right. Me in a dress? Hah. Fuck that noise. Have I ever told you about the time dad put me in a suit and Grace in a dress while his brother was in town?” I chuckled. “He was so embarrassed that he had such a pretty son and handsome daughter, that he tried to convince my uncle I was the handsome son and Grace was the pretty daughter.”
I suddenly found myself under intense scrutiny. “Actually, you would look really hot in a suit.”
I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, you’ve seen my hometown. Let’s turn around and get back on the road.”
“That’s a bad idea,” said Trixie as she looked up at the sky. “Those clouds do not look friendly at all. It may be best to find a place to stay for the day.”
I glanced at the thick black storm clouds being moved into place. “Yeah you’re right, but we don’t have many bits. We can’t exactly afford an inn.”
“Perhaps Trixie can perform a show in the town square?” The unicorn rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Or maybe an old friend of yours would be willing to take us in for the night?”
“We’re wanted, remember? It’s not a great idea to be doing a show in town.” I landed on the path outside town, and turned to her. “And I haven’t seen anyone from here for like... six years at least. Bloody Tartarus, the only one that’d still remember me is mum.”
“Then let us find your mother!” said Trixie as she began walking towards the town.
I followed after her. “Uh... Trix I don’t know. She hasn’t heard from me in years and she never knew what happened or why I left. And, you know, with my eyes and...” I looked at Trixie. “Well, I doubt she’ll be happy when she learns I’ve got a marefriend.”
“Who said anything about telling her we were dating?” Her body shimmered and a gryphoness stood before me. A damn hot one might I add. “And you’re forgetting about the disguises and you have sunglasses to protect your eyes. Come on, what other choice do we have?”
“A box in a back alley?” I said, and I was only half joking. “Might be less awkward.”
“Well you can stay in a box in the back alley and Trixie can use the remaining money to stay in an inn then.”
I snorted. “Alright I guess... I mean, if we’re only talking about one night...” I shrugged. “I suppose I should see her again.”
“Good. Now lead the way, Trixie is unfamiliar with this place.”
“I haven’t been here in years. I’m not sure I know this place.” I walked ahead of her. “Uh... pretty sure it’s this way.”
Even having been gone for years, my sense of direction was as strong as ever, and it wasn’t hard to find my way along the canyon rim to one of the log huts. Nostalgia smacked me in the face when I saw it, and I had to fight the urge to shout Grace and throw rocks at his window. He used to hate it when I called him Grace, said it was a girl’s name. So of course it was the only thing I ever called him.
The house actually looked good, like it was well repaired and stuff. It wasn’t run down and it didn’t have plants overgrowing everything. Either mum had help, or she had already married again.
I noticed that I’d paused at the path leading to the door. After a moment I shook my head clear and walked towards it. We stepped up onto the porch, and I hesitated before knocking. I waited, but when I didn’t hear anything for a moment I shrugged.
“Guess she’s not home. We better go find somewhere else.” I turned around to walk away when I noticed someone walking up the path behind us.
I recognized her straight away. Her purple crown feathers, the graceful way she walked. The beautiful feminine hips and flank. Her white wings, as soft as silk. Shit. Mum was even more beautiful now than she had been. Age had treated her well, and despite being older than thirty she was youthful.
She came to a halt as she spotted us, and a small smile touched her beak. “Can I help you dears?”
I went to answer her, when I realized she didn’t recognize me and the words caught in my throat.
“Gilda, you didn’t tell me your mother was beautiful enough to be a model,” whispered Trixie in awe. “She could be larger than Fleur in the fashion industry.”
“Grace had to get it from somewhere.” I mumbled before I stepped forward. I had to swallow before I said, “Hi... mum. Uh... it’s me... Gilda.”
Mum stared for a second until recognition flashed through her eyes and she rushed forward and hugged me. “Gilda!” She said aloud. “Where have you been? What happened- and I need to send a letter to Graciano and- your father! And...” She pulled back, and her gaze settled into a glare. “What have you done with your coat?”
I stared at her for a second, before I blinked and laughed. First time she’s seen me in years, and she’s most worried about my coat.
“It’s nothing mum. It just darkened on its own.” I looked over my shoulder. “Uh... mum, this is Tr- Adelina, and Adelina this is my mother... also named Adelina.”
Trixie just stared at me for a second before bursting out laughing. “You named me after your mother?” She turned back to my mother and did a sweeping bow. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance ma’am.”
Mum smiled and tilted her head, before giving me a curious look about Trixie’s way too low bow.
I shook my head to tell her not to worry about it.
“Well come in, come in.” She herded us towards the door and pulled it open. “We have so much to talk about. Sit down and I’ll get us something to drink.”
We were shepherded towards the couch and it wasn’t long till we were sitting down with hot drinks and a plate of dried meat between us.
“You have to tell me where you’ve been all these years,” and she paused before reaching across towards me. “And please, take those off. You’re inside, Gilda.”
I fought her hand off, and made sure the sunglasses stayed on. “They’re fine mum, no one’s gonna care. I’ve just been living in Equestria.”
“Gilda,” said Trixie, “take them off, it’s rude to keep them on indoors you know.”
I glanced at her, before shrugging and taking them off. I guess she was just gonna use her illusion spell or something.
“Thank you.” My mother smiled at Trixie. “Honestly, she can be so difficult.”
I just rolled my eyes.
“After meeting you, I have to wonder where Gilda gets her attitude from.” Trixie nudged me playfully.
“I wonder that too,” my mother gave me a frown. “Her father’s side, maybe?”
I just shook my head. “Anyway, so. How have you been mum?”
“Fine, fine.” She paused. “Well, your father passed away.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I heard.”
“You weren’t at his funeral.”
I sighed. “I know, I was in Equestria.”
“Your brother who was stationed in Zebrica made it back in time.”
I grit my beak. “Well I hadn’t even heard that he died till the week before last.”
“And whose fault is that?” My mother asked pointedly.
I glared at her. “Probably best that I didn’t go anyway. When you said he ‘lived life to the fullest’ I pr-”
“Gilda,” said Trixie.
“Whatever.” I crossed my arms and we sat in awkward silence for a moment.
“So,” my mum oh-so fucking pleasantly tried to restart the conversation. “What do you do?” She asked. “Are you married yet?”
I rolled my eyes. “No mum. I’m not married. I live in Equestria, who the heck am I gonna marry there?” Out the corner of my eye, I saw Trixie giving me a ‘subtle’ glare.
The real Adelina sighed tiredly. “I’m sure there are some nice gryphon boys.”
I snorted and laughed. “Yeah... no.” I looked her in the eye. “Unless you want me to screw a stallion.”
Trixie began coughing and pounded her chest several times before she sounded as though she wasn’t going to die on us.
“Gilda!” Mum chided. “There’s no need to be so crude.”
I rolled my eyes. “How about you mum? Any luck getting another husband now that dad’s.” I drew a finger across my throat.
Next thing I knew, my face was making contact with the table. Hard.
“I’m so very sorry about that ma’am. I have been trying to teach Gilda some manners, but it seems my lessons still have far to go.” Trixie glared down at me. “Now apologize to your mother.”
I glared back at her, before I brushed her hoof off the back of my head and sat up. “Sorry.” I said flatly.
“Now do that again as though you actually mean it.”
I snorted and glared at her, before turning back to mum and catching the hurt look in her eye. I hesitated and said, “Yeah, that was out of line. Sorry.”
Mum glanced between Trixie and me, looking quite confused. She turned to Trixie. “So, who are you? Are you one of the other girls?”
“No, she’s not.” I answered for Trixie. “Adelina’s my friend.”
“Please, Gilda. Let her speak for herself.” She smiled at Trixie. “You were saying dear?”
“We’re friends,” replied Trixie. “I’m a stage magician and Gilda helps me with all the non-magic stuff.”
Mother smiled at her. “Two females traveling alone can be dangerous. I trust you have security.”
“We normally do shows in Equestria so it’s a lot safer for travel, but yes, we hire security when travelling and when that’s impossible, we find a merchant train to travel with.” An all too sweet smile was plastered all over Trixie’s face.
“Well, a beautiful gryphoness like yourself, I’m sure you break hearts in every town you pass through.”
“More like bones,” I mumbled and rubbed my head where I’d been slammed into the table.
“I’m spoken for,” replied Trixie flatly.
“Ah.” My mother said. “And where does he live? Is he really fine with you traveling the world alone?” There was that oh-so subtle ring of judgment that all mothers have to have mastered in some bloody mandatory school of being a pain in the ass.
“She.” From the way Trixie’s eyes twitched, there was little doubt she was going to explode if the judgment kept coming.
My mother blinked, before her gaze turned to me very obviously.
“A female pony.” Each word was spoken with venom as if daring mother to comment on it.
She smiled pleasantly. “Well, I’m sure many fine suitors were heartbroken to hear that.”
“They were.” And then Trixie got that smile. The one that meant either me getting jumped or very bad things about to go down. “That’s why they have bachelorette parties.”
“Bachelorette?” My mother repeated sounding confused.
I spoke up to explain. “In gryphon society, the females are married young, so the idea of you know, actually deciding who you do and don’t want to fuck, isn’t really up to you. No bachelorettes.”
“Or as I like to explain it, gather up some girls, hire some hot guys, have a night of fun,” smirked Trixie. “I could tell your some really wild stories parties if you prefer. Both Gilda and I have worked such parties before, and let me tell you, it’s real fun. In fact, next time I get an offer, I’ll bring it to you, help pull that silver spoon out of your ass.”
Both me and mum stared at her in shock, before I barked out a laugh.
“You know, I was actually excited to meet Gilda’s mother to see if there was some dirt I could dig up on her and tease her with, but actually, you’re just a bitch. I have no clue why we bothered coming here at all.”
After a moment I nodded. “Yeah, this was a bad idea. Come on, let’s go.” I stood up. “For what it’s worth,” I picked up a piece of the dried meat and put in my beak. “You still make the best jerky.”
“Gilda, we can’t leave yet,” purred Trixie in my ear. “I’ve still got one final gift for your mother.”
Without warning, Trixie took me in her arms and gave me a solid kiss on the beak. There was tongue, roaming claws and maybe a bit of moaning. Okay, a lot. Damn she learns fast. After a minute or an hour, Trixie pulled back, shot one last parting look at mother and walked out the door. All I could do was stand there and stare at her swaying hips.
After a moment I shook my head and glanced over my shoulder. “Later. Or, you know, never.”
I went to close the door when my mother said, “So that’s it?”
I pulled the door shut and walked down the steps. A moment later the door burst open and my mother strode onto the porch with her eyes wet with tears.
“So that’s it!” she shrieked. “The first time I’ve seen you since you ran away six years ago, and all I get is insults and no answers!”
I looked back at her. “Well, what do you want?” I jerked a thumb at Trixie. “She’s my girlfriend whether you like it or not.”
“I don’t give a shit about that!” She screeched.
I stared at her in shock. That was the first time I ever heard her swear.
“I want my daughter back!” She strolled down the stairs and stood right in front of me. “I don’t care if she’s with a minotaur or a transvestite goat! I want to know what happened to you. I want you to tell me why you ran away, and what you’ve been doing all these years. I want to know why you walk like a hunter, and why you lived in Equestria for so long. And I want to know why you have knife scars!” She jabbed a claw at my chest, before she fell to the ground sobbing. “I want my daughter back.” She choked.
I glanced around, expecting all eyes to be staring at us. Instead everygryph walked past as though nothing had happened.
“Come on, let’s get her inside,” whispered Trixie and I blinked in surprise at her lack of disguise. “Trixie may be great and powerful, but even she can’t keep up all these spells simultaneously.”
I bent down, and helped pick my mother up. We led her trembling and sobbing back inside and helped her back down on the couch.
“Please, Gilda.” She looked up at me, and I felt as guilty as the time I tried to break up with Trixie. “Just... don’t walk away again.”
I sat down across from her, and tried to find words.
“I know we never saw eye to eye. I know that you and I are so different that I can scarcely believe you’re my daughter at times. But you are my daughter. I love you, and I only want what’s best for you.” She looked across at a picture of my dad. “Please, I’ve already lost your father this year. I don’t want to lose you too.”
I opened my beak to speak, but smooth talker I am I had jack shit to say. Finally I choked a word out. “Shit...”
Trixie looked at me then at my mother then back at me. Then her disguise reappeared and she walked out the door. “Trixie will be back later once this emotional stuff is over and done with.”
I gave her a smile of thanks before I turned back to my mother. “Uh... I’m, er, sorry...?”
My mother just looked at me. “I don’t want your apology. I want the truth... please. Why did you go? Why are you here now?”
“Well... we’re here because I needed a place to stay.” I scratched the back of my head. “But, maybe it’d be better if-”
“No!” She interrupted me. “You can stay, just please... I’m your mother. Talk to me.”
I stared at her for a moment before I collapsed back onto the couch. “Oh, bloody goddesses. Um... Shit, I don’t even know where to start.”
“Why did you leave?” She begged me. “Was it your father, or me, or-”
“No!” I interrupted. “Fuck no, it wasn’t anything you did. I mean, yeah, I wasn’t exactly happy and we weren’t getting along very well, but I left because...” I trailed off. “Crap... I’ve never told anyone why I left... Look mum, it wasn’t your fault, okay?”
“But what about you? What have you been doing all these years, and why didn’t you try to speak to us again? Even if you don’t want to talk about everything, you have to tell me something.”
“I didn’t try write or whatever because I was twelve mum. I was alone and scared and I didn’t know if sending a letter would get you guys in trouble or not... or fucking Tartarus, mum. It’s not your fault that I left. I mean, yeah I was pissed at you, and that might have been part of the reason I never tried to see you again, but I swear it wasn’t your fault.”
“But where have you been? Why do you live in Equestria?”
“Er... Well I’m sort of a wanted fugitive in the Kingdom.”
She stared at me. “How? What did you do?” Her feathers bristled. “Is it Calisto?! I knew he was trouble. Did he drag you into this?”
“No!” I shouted. “This isn’t Calisto’s fault. I mean, yeah he has something to do with it, but it was my decision. Uh... look, you don’t need me to tell you that even when I was twelve, I wasn’t like other females.”
She just stared at me.
“I mean, look at me, mum. How could I ever be a happy wife? I had reasons to leave, but really I stayed away because it was the only way for me to be happy.” I paused. “I hate this awful fucking culture. I can’t stand it when someone talks down to me. Even if things hadn’t happened like they had, it was only a matter of time till I left anyway.”
“But your scars, and...”
“Let me put it this way. I earned my scars.” I stared into her eyes. “I know you don’t get it, but even with all the pain I’ve been through and all the goddess awful crap that happened I wouldn't change anything. I’m me, and the decisions I’ve made are my own. I wouldn’t have ever been happy with the life you had.”
She just stared at me before she wrapped her arms and pulled me into a hug. I hesitated before I awkwardly hugged her back.
“I just want you safe.” I blinked at how familiar those words were, and how I wasn’t the one saying them.
“Mum... I can’t stay here with you. I can’t just be ‘safe’. It’s too late for that, and... I don’t want to be safe. Shit, the idea of just spending the rest of my life in a quiet house is... I don’t even get it. I’m not even sure if I could do that.” I sighed and let go of her. Goddesses, I really did have nothing I could give Trixie. “From now on, I’ll try to stay in contact, but I can’t stay here, and I could never have been the gryphon you wanted me to be.”
“I-I just...” Mother sighed sadly. “I just want you to be hap-”
“Happy!?” My fist hit the table causing her to jump. “Sorry, it’s just, do you realize how judgmental you are? You drove Trixie up the wall and out the door, and considering how long she’s been around me, that’s fucking impressive.”
“Trixie?”
Oh. Shit.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Well you see my friend is actually a pony named Trixie.” Her eye twitched and I could see her claws curl up into fists, but she didn’t say anything. “Yeah, I’m dating a pony, you got a problem with that?”
A deep breath later, she looked me calmly in the eyes. “And you love this Trixie?”
“L-Love!” If I had been drinking something at the time, it would have been the most epic spit take in history, but as it was, I just choked on my own spit. “Hey, that’s a bit strong don’t you think? We’re only dating you know.”
“Well, have you two had sex yet?”
“No, but... honestly if Nightmare hadn’t stepped in we would have.” I scratched the back of my head. “And with the way things are going, I really doubt Trixie will stay a virgin for long.”
“But you are happy with her, correct?”
“Uh, yeah definitely. It’s just... I’m worried about her.”
Once more with the deep breathing, and this time, I could see her entire body shaking slightly. “Alright dear, as long as you’re happy. But a pony...” Before I could yell at her, a smile was back on her face. “I suppose grandcubs are too much to ask for?”
I snorted. “Honestly, given how crazy these last few weeks have been, it wouldn’t be too hard to convince me there was a way to make interspecies babies. But yeah, don’t get your hopes up.” I frowned. “And we’re sure as fuck not doing that, find a guy to get you pregnant thing.” I glared at her. “Don’t even suggest it.”
“I was more thinking adoption,” she replied.
“Oh.” I shifted uncomfortably. “Well, maybe? I mean, I’d be a freaking terrible mother. That kid would be so messed up.”
“You’re the more father type.” Mother let out a happy gasp. “You must wear a suit for the wedding and I know the perfect one!”
“Wait, what?” I looked over at her. “You’re okay with this?” Then I paused and frowned. “And seriously, what is it with me and getting put in suits? Trixie wants to do it, dad did it, now you?”
“Well... no, but you never listened to me, and at least you’re happy. I was hoping to marry you off to a handsome gryphon and have little grandcubs to teach bad habits to.” She chuckled as she looked out the window. “And that idea was mine actually. I’ve always said you’d look handsome in a suit and apparently your... er... marefriend? Agrees.”
I stared at her before I shrugged. “Well, if you’re... willing to live with it, then I won’t argue against it.” I shifted. “But really? That was your idea? You completely humiliated Grace! He couldn’t even look anyone in the eye for like a month.”
“No, my idea was to put you in a suit. Doing that to Grace was your father’s idea, though you have to admit, he could be a very high paid female model if he wanted to.”
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously, that was just damn mean. I mean, it’s not Grace’s fault he looks like you.” I frowned. “Heck, the gender inverse in this family is retarded. How did that happen anyway?”
“Does it matter?”
I shrugged. “Fair point.” I looked out the window and saw the clouding over sky. “I better go find Trixie.” I stood up and turned back to face mum. “I’ll see if I can get her to apologize for, you know, freaking out like that, but she’s pretty stubborn and you’ll have to apologize first.”
“If I must. Perhaps you should go out and find her while I prepare dinner then,” she said out loud.
“Yeah, cool.” I paused. “Actually, Trixie’s a pony so... do you know any vegetarian recipes?”
“Um...”
I rubbed my temples and glanced out the window. “Alright, you know how to cook pasta right? Cook some pasta while I grab Trixie, and when I get back, I’ll slice up some vegetables and- What?”
Mom just kept staring at me with those wide, teary eyes of hers. “You know how to cook?”
“Um... yeah...?” I took half a step back, half wondering if it was too late to find an inn.
“And you know how to cook vegetarian.”
“Yes...?”
She let out one of those dreamy sighs that teenage gryphonesses got when daydreaming about some hot guy. “Oh, Gilda.”
“What the heck is that supposed to mean?” I frowned. “What is it with females and saying shit that’s like, just one or two words, but there’s like a goddess damn novel packed in just those two words. I mean, fuck, is ‘oh’ even a word?”
She flicked my beak and I flinched back. “No cursing in this house unless it’s during sex. Got that?”
I scrunched my eyes up. “Oh, ew, fu-” I caught myself when I noticed mum’s glare. “I did not need to hear that.” I stuck my tongue out, and I swear there was a bad taste on it. “Whatever was between you and dad was between you and dad. I do not need to know about anything about that.”
“If you want, I think I’ve still got some of my old toys that you can borrow if-”
“No!” I interrupted her. “Oh, goddesses please! Do not end that sentence.” I turned around, before I hesitated. “And you’re not talking about this with Trixie either! She’s not getting any ideas from you, and this shit is awkward enough as it is.”
“Oh? So Trixie would actually take me up on my offer?”
“No!” I shouted. “She wouldn’t!” Oh, please I hope not. “And you shouldn’t bring this up again. To anyone.Ever.” I stepped out of the living as her laughter followed me. Even when I was out of the house I could still hear her laughing at my expense. Surely she wasn’t serious. She couldn’t be serious. Could she?
I spotted Trixie’s track’s pretty easily, and I followed those down the steps leading down into the main town. I sighed. Shit, it could take ages to find Trixie. The tracks didn’t last on the stairs, and I had no choice but to just head down into town and search around for her aimlessly.
It took me a moment, but in a second I realized how easy it was to find Trixie. How easy? Follow the giant crowd. That’s how easy. When I found her, she was standing on a table surrounded by oh... at least twenty males and batting her eyelashes at every one of them. Oh. And she was doing magic.
“Come one, come all! Witness feats of spectacular mysticism performed by the Great and Powerful Adelina.” She rose back on her paws and in one hand she had a top hat, and in the other a wand. Seriously, where the fuck did she even get those?
I pushed my way through the crowd, and tried to get to Trixie before she did anything stupid. I got as close as I could to the centre, and there were a few of the burlier guys in the way that didn’t move when I tried to get past.
“Trixie!” I shouted and tried to get closer, but she either ignored or didn’t hear me. After a second I got frustrated and hit one of the males over the head. “Move, shithead.”
He blinked at me in surprise and stared dumbly.
I shoved past him, just as Trixie pulled another larger hat out of the one she had.
“Trixie!” I shouted, and finally she noticed me.
She looked at me and winked. “Well, well, well, it looks like we have a volunteer!” I suddenly found myself on the makeshift stage with a lot of angry males all around us. “Tell me, what is your name?”
I rolled my eyes and muttered for her to hear. “Come on Trixie, you know my name. Let’s just go already.”
“Your name,” she hissed in my ear.
“Gilda,” I said flatly.
“Well Gilda, thank you for volunteering for this highly dangerous and potentially deadly final act! Now watch every gryphon, watch as the Great and Powerful Adelina makes her vanish into thin air!” Wings flared open, she drew her fake wing over the ground, stirring up the dust as she danced around me. The entire time, she ran her paws over my body, sliding up against me sensually and licking my neck affectionately.
“Seriously, Trix.” I glanced over at the males who looked like they were caught between shocked horror and massive boners. “We’re in public.” Normally this sort of thing would get me going, but I was just feeling more embarrassed than anything.
She merely giggled at me and winked. Then she came to a sudden stop, flared out her wings, threw dust up everywhere and by the time I could see again, I found myself back in my mother’s living room while Trixie lounged on the sofa without her disguise.
I looked around in shock. “How did you do that?” I turned around and asked her. “There wasn’t a teleport pop or flash of light or anything.”
“A magician never reveals her secrets,” she replied smugly. “Now if you don’t mind, Trixie will use the shower.” A shudder ran through her body. “She’s not sure what’s dirtier, the dust or the leering males.”
“You certainly seemed to enjoy it.” I wiped my cheek where she’d licked me. “Seriously, the fuck was with that? Great Scars aren’t exactly open minded. I’m still surprised I convinced mom that you and me being together isn’t the end of the world.” I paused. “Oh, and you’re gonna want to apologize to her for snapping like that earlier.”
“Whatever,” she called over her shoulder as she opened a door and looked down the hallway. “Trixie is your guest so show her where the shower is.”
I led the way down the hall and to the left. “Unless it’s changed it’s just in here.”
“Very well.” She entered the bathroom and then immediately slammed the door shut in my face.
I blinked in surprise. “Uh... okay?” I took a step back. Did I do something wrong? Trixie was usually more... flirty and less... answering angrily with just one word. “Trix, are you okay?” I asked through the door.
“I’m fine!” A second later I heard the shower turn on.
I frowned, before I shrugged and turned away. If she wanted to talk about it, which she didn’t, but if she did, then it wouldn’t be through a door while she has a shower.
I walked into the kitchen and found mum at the stove. I washed my claws before I checked the pasta she’d put on and found it alright. I took it off, and checked the fridge for whatever pony foods mum had. She had some carrots and stuff, and even though there wasn’t too much to work with, I did the best I could and soon I had a tangy carrot and leek dish ready for Trixie. I turned around when I was done, and found mum staring at me with a bemused smile.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing...” she replied. “Just never thought I’d see this day.”
“What day?” I asked as I set the table. I made sure I left the salt and pepper in reach of Trixie in case I screwed something up and she wanted to adjust the flavor.
“You’re cooking, and you’re happy cooking. You, I mean, this.” She made a vague gesture at me. “Is just so surprising. You really like this mare, don’t you?”
“Is it really that big a deal that I’m cooking?” I glanced at the table. “I mean, yeah I like Trixie, but... I remember you making me cook when you were trying to get me to like all this wifey stuff.”
“Yeah, I made you cook. Do you even remember the lengths I had to go to in order to get you to cook? And now you’re not even making food for yourself. You’re making a vegetarian dish for someone else, and I know how much you hate vegetables.” Was she, was she crying? “I better be invited to the wedding.”
I rolled my eyes. “Mom...” I shifted. “Who says there’s gonna be a wedding? And what if it’s in Equestria, or I die or something?” I paused when I heard the shower stop. “Like I said, I’m not sure I could ever settle down.”
“Just tell me when the wedding is,” she repeated with a knowing smile.
I shook my head my head with a groan, just as the door opened and Trixie came in. I smiled at her.
“Hey, Trix. I think I might’ve gotten the recipe wrong.” I pulled out a seat for her. “But it should be alright.”
Trixie ignore the seat, walked right up to me, gave me a quick, but passionate kiss on the beak before sitting down. “Thanks and sorry about before. Trixie hates performing in front of leering males, makes her feel so dirty.” She turned her attention to mother. “And sorry about before, Trixie will admit she might have over reacted slightly.”
Well that caught me off guard. Trixie never apologized like that.
My mother must have noticed my reaction because she ignored it really damn well. “That’s fine dear. I apologize too, I was just... understandably shocked.” She smiled. “Honestly, I’m just happy Gilda found someone that can make her cook without needing to be spanked first.”
I groaned and facepalmed.
For her part, Trixie merely laughed. “Now that is something Trixie would pay to see.”
“Yeah, well anyone that tries is gonna end up with a lot less blood inside ‘em.” I sat at the table and began to eat my food.
“Gilda!”
I wasn’t sure who’d chided me, but then I realised they both did.
“What?” I asked glancing between the two of them.
Trixie merely rolled her eyes and took a bite out of her dinner. She blinked, stared down at it in surprise before taking a second, slowly bite. “This... This is really good. Not as great as something Trixie could make, but still a lot better than she expected.”
I smiled at her, happy that she liked my food. “Yeah, well. What can I say? Badass fighter, badass drinker, better than expected cook.”
“Gilda!” Mum turned to me with a frown. “What did I say about swearing inside?”
I shuddered. “Don’t remind me. I’m eating.”
“Surely it wasn’t that bad?” asked Trixie as she took another bite.
I gave her a smirk. “I doubt you’d mind it so much, Miss Gryphon Lover.” I glanced at mum. “Oh, yeah. Mum, Trix thinks you’re a hottie. She compared you to Fleur de Lis.”
“Well I have to admit that Trixie is very stunning as well,” she replied as she ran a critical eye over my marefriend. “A very nice body, well-toned, nice complexion, takes care of her mane, has manners. Are you sure you’re into females? Because the only explanation as to why you haven’t had sex with her yet is if you’re straight as an arrow.”
I was too busy choking to answer.
Beside me, Trixie flushed bright red, but managed to speak, “Well Trixie has been trying, and has gotten close a couple of times, but Trixie is afraid things kept interrupting. Also, Trixie is afraid to admit she isn’t familiar with gryphon erogenous zones, and has been using what she knows of pegasus anatomy to fill in the gaps. Perhaps you could help Trixie?”
I couldn’t breathe, no matter how hard I tried. After a moment I managed to cough up the chunk of meat. Even then, my throat was too sore for me to croak out anything other than, “The fuck?”
They both ignored me.
“Well, preening is major one, I can tell you that. It’s very relaxing, and if done right, can be very arousing as well. The area between the win-”
“No!” I shrieked the moment I got a reasonable amount of air in my lungs. “Fuck me dead, we’re eating! If you have to talk about how you got dad up, wait till I’m not in the fucking room!” I shuddered. “And seriously, don’t give Trixie advice! She’s bad enough as it is!”
Trixie merely burst out laughing at my reaction. “For such a foul mouthed individual, Trixie has always found it amusing how much of a prude you are.”
“Blame the Equestrian sexual education system.” I told her flatly. “And I’m not a prude. I was ready last time you were at it, but then my insides started turning to jelly. Not my fault that that’s a bit of a mood killer.”
“Mmhm,” replied Trixie flatly.
“What?” I put the fork and knife on the table. “That’s not fair. We’ve only been together for like, two weeks. Just ‘cause I wasn’t ready to jump your bones first day doesn’t make me a Celestian puritan. And not wanting to hear about my mum’s sex life is perfectly fucking healthy if you ask me.”
Once more with the laughter. “Regardless, thank you for the exquisite meal.” Trixie stood up. “Gilda, if you could come with me, I’ve got a gift for you. Trixie promises we will be right back to Help you tidy ma’am.”
I blinked at her in surprise, before I glanced at mum who nodded permission. “Alright.” I stood up and followed her outside the room. “Seriously, I’m not a prude.” I said as I pulled the door closed behind me.
“I know, I was just teasing you. You’re just so cute when embarrassed,” she said as she lead me to my old room. “The gift’s on your bed.”
I frowned. “We’re gonna need a bit longer than that, Trix. I don’t know how quick you are, but the dishes aren’t gonna take longer than five minutes.”
She smacked me over the head. “I’m not on your bed, now am I? Get your head out of the gutter.”
I glanced at her, before turning to my bed. I blinked in surprise before I picked up her gift. With a grin I slid them over my eyes and turned to Trixie. “You’re the fucking bomb, Trix.”
Shades. An awesome pair of badass looking shades. They were a pair of sporty wraparounds with a band behind them to stop them falling off mid-flight.
“You’re welcome. Trixie had grown tired of your incessant whining.”
I pulled her in for a hug. “Come on. Let’s go help with the dishes.”
“Can I serve you?” I asked with a wide smile and lowered my head towards the ground in a bow. I looked up at Nightmare, and my heart fluttered when I saw the look in her eye.
The halls of Canterlot were stained in blood, and ponies lay dead everywhere from knife wounds and broken bones. Even though I was bloody and messy, I didn’t shower. I knew Nightmare loved it when I fought.
Her hoof touched the bottom of my chin, and raised my head up so she could look into my eyes. “Come, my pet,” she nibbled my cheek and I gasped with pleasure. “We have work to do.” She began to walk away, and I was so caught up in her beautiful smile that I only noticed it when she tugged on my collar. “Aurry.” She ordered and I scrambled after her.
Her blue armor shone beautifully on the moonlight, and in its reflection I could see my face. I gazed at her flank and cutie mark, and blushed when caught me staring.
Ahead of us, legions of bat ponies bowed as we passed, and slowly cleared away the corpses me and my mistress had made. I spotted a rainbow mane among them, but I was distracted by Nightmare’s beautiful voice.
“Aurry, come,” she said sharply.
I wilted and slunk after her. “Sorry mistress.”
“I’ll just have to punish you later.” She chuckled seductively.
Fear and excitement mingled in my chest and I struggled to keep up with her. She was so tall, easily as big as Celestia.
Soon we were outside the royal palace, and everywhere in sight were thousands of bat ponies. In the center of the courtyard was a pike, and on top of the pike, Celestia’s head rested. Her horn was shattered and her eyes leaked bloody tears as her mane blew against the wind. Her eyes roved over us and watched all. When they fixed on me they were full of pity.
Why she was sorry for me I didn’t know. As long as my mistress was happy I was happy. That was all that mattered. A circle formed around the fallen god of the sun, and chained up ponies were pushed into it.
“Slay them,” Nightmare ordered.
Without hesitation I flapped my wings and landed in the circle. I gazed at her with a smile on my beak as the chained up ponies were set free. I didn’t even notice when they started trying to kill me, crying names like ‘Chained Beast’ and ‘Whore’s Curse’. I only had eyes for Nightmare’s smile as I countered their attacks and spilled their blood. Nightmare loved blood.
One by one, they died screaming and bleeding. They were just so slow and weak, and didn’t know what they were doing. I knew what I was doing. I knew how to make my mistress happy. I felt a twinge of disappointment when there were none left. There were no more of them to please Nightmare with.
One of them gurgled, and begged “please”. I didn’t even spare it a glance as I crushed its throat. My tail wagged as Nightmare walked down the steps towards me, her canine teeth shining as she grinned.
“Well done Aurry.” She licked her lips and her wing tips made me shiver as they tickled along my spine. “Come,” she ordered and I eagerly followed her up the steps into the palace.
As the doors shut, I found us in her bedchamber, black rose petals on the floor and dark silk coating all surfaces. I shivered in excitement as her long elegant legs draped over the bed. With a wave off her hoof, she pointed at the ground at the toe of her bed.
I sat in front of her, fidgeting and barely able to contain my excitement as she looked me up and down. After a moment she turned her head to the right, and I followed her gaze to a blue unicorn. Or what once was a unicorn. Something about her tickled my memory, but I stopped caring about that the moment I laid eyes on Nightmare again.
“Take something from her,” she ordered.
I nodded happily and scrambled over to the unicorn. Her horn was shattered, her lips were sown together, and her legs were all broken at the knee. The only thing holding her up was the strings tied to the ceiling.
“What do I take?” I asked Nightmare as I drew my knife. It was so hard to think for myself, it made me so happy when my mistress did it for me.
“Hmm... last night you took her horn...” She tapped a chin to her hoof. “How about her tongue?” Nightmare suggested.
I nodded and eagerly cut the strings holding her lips shut.
The moment they were undone she croaked out a word. “Gilda,” she said in a voice that was barely above a whisper.
I rolled my eyes, she was speaking nonsense. Gilda wasn’t a word.
With one claw, I reached into her mouth and grabbed her tongue. It was slippery, so I put my talon through it to hold it better. The unicorn whimpered in pain as I pulled her tongue out, and with my knife I began to saw it off. It was slippery and wet, and it took a few tries before the blade cut in. A dull moan and hot air touched my palm as she struggled and shook in her cradle of strings. With a final ‘snick,’ her tongue came out and the blue unicorn with the silver mane hung limply as she sobbed and moaned wordlessly.
Nightmare chuckled happily. “You won’t be sticking that down my pet’s throat anymore. Aurry, come.”
I dropped the bloody tongue to the floor and ran over to my mistress.
“It’s time for your reward...” she purred in my ear as she pulled me up onto the bed.
I shivered with delight as her wing draped over my back, and she nibbled along my neck. I knew better than to interrupt or rush her, but I was panting with delight as she came to a halt over my flank. She began to nibble down my hind leg, and I rolled over on my back as she worked her way inwards towards my-
My left leg kicked involuntarily and I shivered in spasmodic delight. On my back I looked across, and found myself staring into the eyes of that unicorn. Tears leaked from her lavender eyes, and all I could see in them was pity and misery. She was begging me. Wordlessly begging me for something. Before I could figure out what it was, Nightmare’s mouth stole my attention, and petty things like unicorns without horns or tongues were forgotten.
My eyes slowly opened, and I lay still in bed for a moment. Then I noticed my claws were shaking, and I rubbed them together. Oh goddesses, that was...
I slapped myself. That was a dream. A nightmare, and not true, and something I should just get over. Everyone has bad dreams, and I had more reason than most to be having them now. It’s only natural that what Nightmare did scared me.
Then I noticed that Trixie was gone.
Maybe it was just that fucked up dream, maybe I was being overprotective, but I felt panic flutter my heart, and I searched for Trixie pretty desperately. I ran out of the room and knocked on the bathroom door.
“Trixie?” I asked, and barely waited for her answer before I pushed the door open.
I ran downstairs to the living room and checked the kitchen. When she wasn’t there I cursed to myself and ran outside.
“Trixie!” I shouted. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” I muttered. Luna was back, or those mutant changelings, or the Wide Eyes, or that fucking pink bitch followed me to-
I froze when I heard someone up on the roof behind me. Whoever had grabbed Trixie was still here! I spun around and flapped straight at the roof, instinctively touching magic as I did. My knives were out and I tackled whoever was up there to the ground, with my blades touching their throat. I froze when I noticed the kidnapper’s blue coat and lavender eyes. I stumbled back in horror and dropped the knives as I almost fell off the roof. I’d almost just hurt Trixie! I shuddered. That was too close to the dream.
“I’m sorry,” I said automatically as I stared at her. “Trix, I’m so fucking sorry.” I hesitated, still not trusting myself before I padded up to her. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“Trixie’s fine.” For the first time in my life, I saw her willingly not wearing her hat and cloak. “Can’t sleep?”
“Why are you up here?” I asked and looked over my shoulder. “What’s wrong? Did you hear something?” I was already stepping between Trixie and whatever it was.
“No. Trixie’s fine.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, before I realized how fucking dumb that was. “I’m sorry,” I repeated and sat next to her. “I’m just feeling paranoid.” I shook my head and glanced at her. “Why are you up here anyway?”
“Nothing.” She shrugged.
I blinked and frowned. “What’s wrong?” I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. “Is it about those males leering? I can break their legs if it makes you feel any better.” I was only half joking.
“No hurting them,” she snapped, though I could tell her heart wasn’t really in it. She didn’t even bother snuggling into me. If anything, she seemed to lean out of my hold.
I let go of her and moved so I was in front of her gaze. “What’s wrong Trix? You know you can talk to me about anything.... Well, anything other than mum’s sex life.” I gave a little smile, hoping she’d take the joke.
In the darkness, I just saw her shrug her shoulders. “Nothing is wrong. Trixie just gets pensive occasionally.”
“I don’t even know what that word means, but I’m guessing it’s moody or something.” I sat in front of her. “Come on, Trix. Talk to me.”
“Trixie is fine,” she snapped, “And pensive means thoughtful or something.”
I shrugged. “To me it just means you're bothered by something and you're hiding it.”
“Just shut up and hold me,” she mumbled.
I did the second part of that, and didn’t say anything for a while. “Please, Trix. For my sake, just tell me what’s wrong.”
After a moment's silence, she sighed and whispered, “I saw him in my dreams again.”
I frowned. “Your dad?”
She shook her head, but didn’t say anything.
“Who then?” I asked. Who could be in Trixie’s dreams? “And... what do you mean ‘again’?”
“No one important,” she replied.
“If you're dreaming about him, then you're either feeling guilty or you want him.” I fell to my haunches. “And if it’s the sec-”
“It’s not the second,” she growled.
“So who are you feeling guilty about?” I asked. “I mean, the only guy you’ve really crossed was that brain-dead you killed.”
“Yeah, and it’s not like he was a real gryphon or anything.”
I shrugged. “Nightmare said there was a chance they’d recover.” Then I got back on topic. “Come on, who’s got you feeling bad?”
“No one!” She yelled and vanished in a flash of blue light.
I groaned and facepalmed. “Magic sucks,” I said to no one.
I flapped my wings and flew down to the front door. I went inside and searched through the house for Trixie until I found her in my old room. She was sitting there, just staring out the window at nothing.
“Trixie,” I walked up and sat next to her. “Please. Talk to me about it.”
“Aren’t you meant to regret it when you kill someone?” she whispered.
I paused. So it was that guy... “I- Um... Shit.” Oh crap. This was... “I’m not sure I know the answer to that.” I swallowed. “I mean, you seem like you regret it.”
“I don’t.” There wasn’t even a hint of doubt in her voice as she said that. “I don’t regret it at all. Trixie... I... What am I supposed to feel?”
Holy shit. She was asking me? “I... don’t know, Trix. I have no fucking clue how anyone’s supposed to feel about it. I mean... guilty is what you’d think but... I don’t know, I never felt that.” I frowned. “You were protecting me weren't you? He was just a brain-dead and a bad guy.”
“He was still a gryphon with family and friends and wasn’t even under his own power!” She spun on me, hoof slamming into my chest. “He was still a sentient being! I-I-I’m meant to feel something! I’m meant to- meant to...”
“Regret it?” I suggested. “Trixie, you’re excusing him. You’re not even talking about yourself, just about who he was and what he did. What he did was try to kill me. What you did was save me.” I left out that I wasn’t worth saving, or I probably would’ve been fine if she just warned me he was there.
“What I did was kill someone.”
I paused. Shit, I’m really not the best with words. “Uh... Oh goddesses. Um... Look, Trix. What you feel is what you feel, okay? You can’t hate yourself for not feeling something. I mean, shit. I’m fucking terrified of myself and what I could do with the right reasoning. Nightmare was attracted to how much of a fucked up bitch I am. Next to me you’re a goddess damn saint!” I paused. “Crap, I’m getting off topic. Uh... you’re not the bad guy Trixie. Just cause you can’t pretend to be guilty doesn’t make you a monster.”
“But-”
“But what? Aren’t you the one that’s always telling me I shouldn’t hate myself? That I shouldn’t be afraid of hurting you?” I winced as I remembered just a few seconds ago I’d almost done that. “If you're worried that you're gonna turn into some mindless beast, well I can tell you that’s not gonna happen.” I paused for thought. “Unless you get hit with that changeling goop crap, or Nightmare decides to actually turn you into a monster.” Shit, that wasn’t the point. “I mean, uh... you’re not a monster. You’re not gonna be a monster. You’re too good for that.”
“Thanks...” She leaned against me and rested her head on my shoulder. “But Trixie should still feel something shouldn’t she? All good ponies should...”
I thought of answer. “Well... uh... what about the Elements of Harmony? I mean, when you think about it, they killed Nightmare... or tried to... But you’ve met her. You and I both know Nightmare’s an actual thinking sentient with her own goals and shit. I don’t know about you, but aren’t the Elements supposed to be like, the embodiment of good, or whatever? Do you reckon any of them hesitated for even a second when they took Nightmare down?”
Trixie just stared at me in surprise. “When did you get so smart?” she eventually managed to choke out.
I paused. “Uh... never?” I shifted. “Doesn’t mean I can’t be right or say something that’s not completely stupid every now and then.”
A weak smile appeared on her face. “Thanks, Gilda.”
Holy shit! I actually managed to help her with words! “That’s okay, Trix.” I pulled her in for a hug. “Are you feeling better or just pretending to feel better so I’m not worried?” I asked after a moment.
She nipped my neck for that comment. “I’m better, thank you very much.”
I sighed in relief. “Cool.” I let go of her, and rubbed my neck where she nipped me. “Come on, we better go to sleep now.”
“Yeah...” She didn’t move an inch.
I blinked. “Alright.” I lay down on my bed, and glanced back at her. “So uh... good night then?”
After a second, she trotted over and slipped into bed with me. “Stay with me tonight?”
I hesitated. “Yeah, sure.” I pulled the sheets down to give her room.
Her warmth immediately filled my side as she snuggled up against me with her back to me. Without so much as asking, she grabbed my claws with her magic and wrapped them around her stomach as she wiggled to get into comfy position.
“Uh...” A little pushy, but I guess Trixie was always like that. I settled in and relaxed, though I was still feeling restless from that dream, and my weird new... night timey-ness. Shit. It was gonna be ages before I got to sleep again.
“What about you?” whispered Trixie. “Why were you up so late?”
I snorted. “Nothing much... just a stupid dream.” I left out the part where it was completely fucking terrifying.
“You know you can tell me anything right?”
I rolled my eyes. “If you have to know, it was a bad dream. I woke up and went looking for you. I’m a big girl, I don’t need to be rocked to sleep every time I have a Nightmare.”
“Yes, yes you are, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need help sometimes,” she replied.
“Honestly, this isn’t something I need help with.” I draped a wing over her. “Don’t worry about it Trix. If there’s something wrong I’ll let you know.”
“Alright, I trust you.” She snuggled back into me and pulled my wing tighter around her while tossing off her blanket.’
“I don’t,” I mumbled into the pillow and closed my eyes.
I don’t know whether or not she heard me, but she gave me a kiss on the side of the beak.