Gilda crossed the threshold of Alkaline Grey's home, the taciturn-yet-caring unicorn and little Posie following close behind. She took a deep breath, releasing it through her nose as she absorbed the environment of her new residence. Well, she thought retrospectively, it is better than snow.
Posie immediately darted between Gilda's legs, her tiny wings flapping slightly to let her move faster. She disappeared into the kitchen; a few moments later, several loud thumps and clangs rang out.
Gilda looked at Alkaline questioningly. The unicorn chuckled and told her, “She's getting dinner ready.”
At the bidding of her host, Gilda went to the adjacent room to rest on a chair. Grey left to help Posie prepare the meal, giving Gilda a few moments to reflect on her current living situation.
She wasn't a guest anymore; she was stuck here for the time being. It wasn't ideal for her, obviously, but she honestly... kinda liked the unicorn. He looked totally awesome, and he had a cool talent—even though he acted pretty lame sometimes.
Besides, she owed him her life. If he wanted to try to impress her, she'd entertain him... at least for a little while.
Maybe, just maybe, she'd end up being impressed as well.
Alkaline Grey appeared in the entryway to the room and beckoned to Gilda, signifying that the meal was ready. The griffon hopped onto her paws and talons and strolled into the dining area.
The room was dominated by a rather large oval-shaped table. It looked like it could hold anywhere from eight to ten ponies of average size. Gilda's sharp eyes swept over it, noting the dust that had collected at all but two spots that were right next to each other on one end.
Alkaline Grey was, of course, sitting at the head of the table, positioned at the end of one of the curves. Posie was positioned just to his left, several vegetables sitting on her plate, a half-chewed stalk of celery poking from her mouth as she chewed happily.
Gilda instantly theorized that she was supposed to sit at Grey's right hoof, as if she were a maid or something. She decided to be bold in her own way. She hurriedly moved to the opposite head of the table from where the surprised unicorn sat, sitting at the peak of the curve and looking down the table smugly at her rival.
There were several moments of stunned silence, then Grey smiled. “If you'd like to sit here, you need only ask.” He removed himself from the spot he had taken, moved one seat down, and sat where he had intended Gilda to sit.
“I... uh....” Now that she had had her plans laid before her, she realized how dumb her decision had been. She was treating Grey as a competitor for the dominant member of the household when she had nothing to offer, and sitting alone at the other end of the table wasn't proving anything to any of them, least of all herself.
Sighing, she stood, moved awkwardly to the opposite end of the table, and took the seat that Grey had relinquished for her.
Posie, her mouth still somehow full of celery, began trying to talk to the griffon, tiny half-chewed pieces of vegetable flying from her mouth. “Grey buys food every Thursday—”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Gilda glared irritatedly at the little filly. “I don't need a food shower, I came here to eat it!”
Instantly, Posie's smile faded, turning to a half-frown. “Oh, sorry....”
Gilda grimaced, instantly feeling stupid again. “Just... wait until you've swallowed your food, then tell me what you wanted to say, okay, dude?”
Posie's positive demeanor almost instantly returned as she nodded a couple times, then chewed a little bit longer before taking a gulp. “Grey buys food every Thursday from the fresh food market. He says it's worth the extra price to make sure we're eating the best stuff because he wants me to grow up big and healthy.”
Gilda smiled warmly at the young pegasus. “And I bet you will. You seem to like your celery.”
Posie nodded agreeably, then dove back into her light meal. Gilda looked for her own plate on the table.
In front of Grey were two plates of food: his food, which he had slowly and methodically separated into groups which she couldn't pick out the pattern of, and was now slowly eating one pile at a time—and Gilda's food.
“Hey, gimme that!” She reached across the table, snatched her plate, then deposited it in front of herself, grabbing a carrot and snapping off half of it in her beak.
Grey chuckled. “Very well, then; I'll allow it.”
Gilda glanced up distractedly from her plate. “Allow what?”
“Oh, allow you to eat. It was a joke.”
“Uh-huh,” came her distracted reply as she focused once more on her food. There wasn't a full plate of food, but this was just the salad or appetizer or whatever, so she wasn't one to complain. She made short work of the plate, then looked up at the other ponies, noting that both of them had half a plate of food remaining. “What's takin' you slowpokes so long? Don't you wanna get to the main course?”
Grey gave Gilda an amused glance. “This is all we have for dinner tonight.”
“Huh?”
“I don't sell enough batteries to afford lavish meals; we eat light, and we eat healthy.” The dark brown unicorn glanced downward. “That won't be a problem, will it?”
Not wanting to seem greedy, Gilda shook her head. “Oh, no, of course not, dude! I was just expecting you to be more wildly famous, seeing as your batteries are so cool and all.” She paused, then realized that he'd told her before how little batteries he managed to sell. She opened her beak to say something, then decided otherwise and let it close.
The rest of the meal was finished in silence, Gilda staring at an empty plate while Posie and Grey relished their meager amount of food as much as possible.
Dinner being over, the next event on the list was to go to sleep. The trio departed from the table, making for the stairway that led to the rest of the house. Upon reaching the landing at the top, the griffon peered down a cramped hallway at the doors situated within: two on the left and one on the right.
Grey offhandedly told her what the doors were for. “First door on the left is a restroom, second door on the left is the guest bedroom—you and Posie will be sleeping in there—and the door on the right is the master bedroom, where I sleep. Any questions?”
“Yeah. Why don't I get the master bedroom?”
Alkaline Grey smiled at the griffon. “Because you're not the master, of course.”
“And what if I wanted to sleep in there anyway?”
Grey paused. “Well, you would probably be sharing a bed with me.”
Gilda barked a laugh. “Yeah, that ain't happenin', dude. I'll take the guest room.”
Grey led the group, popping into his bedroom first. Gilda followed Posie as she pranced happily toward the door of the place that the two of them would be sleeping in.
Just as they were passing Grey's door, he came back out, a book being held by his magic. “Ah, I'm reading Posie her bedtime story.”
Gilda rolled her eyes but didn't complain. Posie flapped her little wings to better reach the door handle, then opened it, displaying the contents of the room within.
There were two simple beds, two nightstands with a lamp each, a rickety wooden chair, and a simple rug. Nothing else.
Gilda examined the sparse furnishings with dismay. Grey, noticing her disappointment, told her, “Were I a king, I would offer the best for my guests. Sadly, this is all I have.”
“Yeah, yeah, I ain't complaining.” Gilda sauntered to the larger bed, tossing herself upon it, as Posie climbed onto hers. Grey grasped the chair with his magic and put it next to the nightstand abreast of Posie's bed, clicking on the lamp as he donned a small pair of glasses.
“Now, where did we leave off? Oh yes, the three little fillies were following Princess Luna in their dreams. They were seeing all kinds of wonderful things to do! They saw lands where there was candy everywhere, even the ground they walked upon. They also saw lands full of beautiful animals, from the little peeping birds to the great roaring bears. Finally, they saw a land full of peace, serenity, and quiet.
“'I want to go to the first place! I love candy!' shouted the first filly. 'I want to go to the second place! I love animals!' said the second filly. 'I want to go to the third place. I like peace and quiet,' said the third filly.
'Little fillies, you may go wherever your heart desires. Follow that which your dreams are made of,' said the great and kind princess. She sang the fillies a song as they each went to the place of their dreams.
Come little fillies,
I'll take thee away,
Into a land of enchantment,
Come little fillies,
The time's come to play,
Here in the garden of dreams.
Follow, sweet fillies,
I'll show thee the way,
Through all the pain and the sorrow,
Weep not poor fillies,
For life is this way,
Loving and beauty and passion.
Hush now, dear fillies,
It must be this way,
To weary of life and deceptions,
Rest now, my fillies,
For soon we'll away,
Into the calm and the quiet.
Come little fillies,
I'll take thee away,
Into a land of enchantment,
Come little fillies,
The time's come to play,
Here in my garden of dreams.
“The first filly rushed into the land of sweets. She dove into cakes, she dove into pies, she dove into gingerbread houses. She ate the ground she walked upon, she ate the sky she looked up at, she ate the walls of every building she saw. Just when she thought she'd finished eating everything, she would find more delicious candy to eat.
“The second filly arrived in the land of animals. There were bunnies and kitties and squirrels and wolves, platypi and flamingos and tortoises and deer. Just when she thought she'd met all of the wonderful animals, more would come to see her.
“The third filly tiptoed into the land of silence. Here she was able to look at everything with a clear head and know that the world was beautiful. She saw little colts and fillies smiling in their sleep, she saw stallions and mares sharing dreams, she saw the twinkling stars watching over everypony. Everywhere she looked, she saw happy ponies enjoying the beautiful night.
“After they had explored their dreams, the three fillies came back to Princess Luna. 'What have you learned about your dreams, young fillies?' Princess Luna asked.
“'I learned that Equestria should be made of candy!' said the first. Princess Luna chuckled. 'I learned that animals should overrun Equestria,' said the second. Princess Luna chuckled again. 'I learned that Equestria is a beautiful land,' said the third.
“When the third filly said this, Princess Luna smiled and nodded. 'Yes, young fillies,' she said. 'A land made of candy will only exist in your dreams, because such a land would cause your stomach to ache and your teeth to rot if you were to live there.
“'A land full of cute animals will also only exist in your dreams, because such a land would cause the animals to eat all of your food and stay in your house if you were to live there.
“'A land full of peaceful, happy ponies exists all around us. We may go wherever we want in our dreams, but we can feel peace in the beautiful night. That, young fillies, is the Equestria you live in.”
Grey paused, the story finished. Posie said, “Again! Again! The song again!”
Grey smiled and said, “All right, but straight to sleep afterward.”
Before beginning to sing the song again, the unicorn glanced behind him at Gilda. The griffon was fast asleep.
Several hours later, Gilda awoke with a pain in her back. It felt like the mattress was filled with rocks instead of feathers.
She rose from the bed, tested the softness of the mattress, and found it was not, in fact, full of rocks. Her curiosity abated, she decided to take a walk around the house to wake herself up. The sun was just peaking its watery eye over the horizon, a drizzling rain promising a warmer day than usual.
As she tiptoed out of the room with a lightly snoring Posie, shutting it behind her, she noted that Grey's door was cracked open. She decided to see what the most lavish room would look like. She nudged the door open a little more, poking her head in.
Inside the room, there were several stacks of books, some laboratory equipment, and a small paper-thin pad in one of the corners. On top of the pad was Alkaline Grey.
Gilda withdrew her head quickly. The garish covers on the books led her to believe they were all children's books that he read to Posie; the laboratory equipment was likely to do with how he manufactured the batteries.
Where he was sleeping, on the other claw, was a total shock.
Grey may have the master bedroom, but he could only afford two beds: One for himself and one for Posie. Gilda imagined him moving the bed ahead of time in anticipation of her coming to live with him; he'd predicted that she would say yes, that she would end up in the room with Posie, and that she would end up living with the two of them.
She didn't much like being put in checkmate, but the griffon was more distracted by something else: He gave up his bed for her comfort.
Gilda should be the one on the ground, not Alkaline Grey. He lived here; this was his house. She didn't deserve the bed... he did.
Yet, he gave her the bed. She wasn't looking for a free handout, but he seemed almost happy to give up his small amount of luxury to make her happy. She wasn't going to argue his generosity.
She clambered down the stairs back to the living room, taking in the smell of the new morning through a partially opened window. She closed her eyes, enjoying the gentle pitter-patter of the rain as it splashed upon the cobblestones of the city streets. It was a beautiful morning.
Her reverie was suddenly snapped by a bitter wind which whipped into the living room, at once chilling her to her bones. She gave a quiet squawk of protest, moving to close the window, when she saw an officious-looking unicorn in a pressed suit approaching the door.
She shut the window quickly and began walking toward the door. Shortly after the knock sounded, she opened it to greet the pony on the other side.
“Hello, Mr. Alkal—who are you?”
“Uh... that's not a very nice way to greet someone, dude.”
“Ah, my apologies. I am Mr. Repo Zess, and I am here to speak with Mr. Alkaline Grey as to the current state of matters of his owning this residence; do you live here?”
“Yeah, just moved in last night.”
“I see. And this is now your permanent residence?”
They both were distracted from the conversation by the sound of hooves coming hurriedly down the stairs. Alkaline Grey rounded the corner, still blinking sleep from his eyes. “Gilda, I'll talk to him; you go wait in the living room.”
“What're you talkin' about, dude? We were just havin' a talk—”
“I'd appreciate it if you go wait in the living room, Gilda.” Grey's voice sounded hard as steel, yet commanded understanding. The griffon was lost for words for a few moments, then silently walked back into the living room.
Things had quickly turned dark and gloomy. The cold winds the pegasi were making had brought with them a host of roiling, thunderous clouds, the ponies up above hard at work to create some heavier cover. And here I thought today was scheduled to be nice.
She decided to listen in on the conversation between Repo Zess and Alkaline. The businesspony was speaking. “Mr. Grey, there are two residents here, and you can't even pay for one! What would you have me do?”
“You know that sales haven't been very profitable lately; just give me a few more weeks and I guarantee you I'll have all of the funding for two residents.”
“We don't have a few more weeks, Mr. Grey! Your talent is being a con artist, as far as I can tell, not creating those Celestia-damned batteries! I've been holding your payments for three months, now, three months! I have a family to feed, too! What would you have me do, Mr. Grey?”
Alkaline Grey sighed. “Posie, I know you're listening. Come here.”
The sound of small hooves hitting the stairs was evident as Posie rounded the corner. “Pack your things. It looks like we're going to be explorers for a little while.”
Repo Zess grimaced. “A third resident!? When were you going to tell me about this? Three residents living here! That's a lot of money you haven't been paying, Mr. Grey!”
“I'll pay it as soon as I have it.” The dark brown unicorn dismissed the suited businesspony, coming around the corner to the living room. “You heard me, Gilda; I guess we don't have a home anymore.”
The rest of the morning was very somber. Another light breakfast of fresh vegetables was eaten, Alkaline Grey chewing miserably, Gilda glaring at him, and Posie, seemingly oblivious of the situation, happily munching on a crunchy carrot.
Shortly afterward, they began packing. Despite this being his house, Grey had a very meager amount of possessions. He stuffed some of his lab equipment into one saddlebag, asked Gilda to carry some books for Posie, and placed the rest of the food that he had into the other saddlebag.
Letting his breath out in a slow, sorrowful stream, Alkaline Grey led the small group out of his home.
The drizzling rain this morning had been replaced with a light snowfall. It slowly joined its comrades on the ground, the banks along the streets being coated anew with fresh white beauty.
To Gilda, she saw only a cold, wet, miserable evening spent in it.
After several hours of pointless meandering, they ate a lighter than usual lunch and Grey decided he would try to sell some batteries. They went down an entire street block, the door being slammed in the desperate unicorn's face every time he told the ponies what product he was trying to sell. Electricity simply worked too well; there was no room for a portable lamp in the city, it would seem.
This took them several hours, Grey being invited into a home three times and departing with a crestfallen visage each time. Gilda, upon seeing each rejection, became gradually more and more irritated-looking. Finally, she decided that she'd had enough.
“What's the plan, dude? We can't just wander around Manehattan hoping for a free handout. Equestria doesn't work that way.”
“We'll figure something out. I promise.”
“Yeah, you promised me a home, too. That doesn't seem to be working out too well, either.”
Posie looked at Gilda with optimism. “Grey will figure something out! He always does!”
“Uh-huh. Sure.” The griffon rolled her eyes. “I'll believe it when I see it. And it better happen soon, or I'm outta here.”
The journey continued in silence, Posie's mind absorbed in emphatically perpetual happiness, Grey's with worry over the next course of action, and Gilda's with simmering resentment of the situation she'd been thrust into.
The day grew progressively colder, its icy grip strangling what small cherished warmth had been held by the now-homeless ponies and griffon. Gilda wished she'd never dared to hope that her life would be better; now, instead of suffering by herself, she was going to have to deal with the suffering of two ponies as well. One of them was even a filly; this made Alkaline Grey most decidedly uncool.
Why was she even with him, then? What was compelling this griffon to follow such a pathetic unicorn as this? Was she delusional? Stupid? Crazy? Probably all three.
Yet, she couldn't bring herself to walk away. There was something she couldn't put her talon on... a draw to this pony. She'd never felt it before, but....
For the first time in a very, very long time, she had hope that things would turn out all right. Not the ridiculous, pigheaded, arrogant hope that foolish griffons would cling to, either; this was genuine hope, and she was putting this hope in Alkaline Grey.
“We ought to find somewhere to stay for the night. It's getting cold.” Grey shifted his head about, looking for an alley that would suit them.
“I, uh....” Two sets of eyes rested on Gilda. “I know a good place.” She smiled sheepishly. “Follow me.”
They twisted through the city streets for a few minutes, eventually arriving at the small alleyway in which Grey had originally found Gilda. “There's a few shops who've got dumpsters near here. It's the best you'll get, dude.”
Grey nodded understandingly. The three of them ventured into the alleyway.
“Oi! Wot're ye doin' 'ere?”
As one, they turned to look at a brawny male pegasus glaring at them menacingly. He had a jagged scar across his cutie mark on one side of his sickly green coat, and depicted on the other side of his flank was a fully intact serrated knife. He was standing very aggressively, his mohawk-shaped dark blue mane quivering as he looked ready to pounce.
“We're not looking for anything in particular; only a place to sleep.”
“Not 'ere. Git goin'.”
Grey looked questioningly at Gilda. “No, it's fine. We'll find another alley.”
The unicorn nodded his head. “Very well. Have a fine evening, sir.” Grey turned his back on the wary pegasus and departed from the alleyway, an unhappy Gilda and a confused Posie in tow.
Several minutes later, Grey let out an unhappy sigh. “I apologize to both of you for this having happened.”
“Yeah, yeah, shut it,” came Gilda's reply. “We ain't dead yet.”
“I took on more responsibility than I could handle.”
“Yeah, and you're a pony, not a griffon. Even I mess up sometimes, dude. Life isn't perfect for all of us.”
A single tear twinkled in Grey's left eye, silently slipping out and making a track down his cheek. “It's my fault, Gilda.”
“Uh... you just lost, like, 30 coolness points. Quit crying.”
Grey looked up at Gilda mournfully, then seemed to realize something, his expression clearing up once again to take on the demeanor of detached observer. “Apologies. I'm not used to being in so dire a situation.”
“Yeah, yeah, keep walkin'.” This stupid unicorn is getting worse and worse. So much for hope.
Why am I still following him?
Finally, Gilda told them to stop at a certain alley. They explored it briefly, and she nodded her approval.
The griffon quickly got to work clearing a spot in the snow for the three of them to sleep tonight. When she finished this, she found some miscellaneous cardboard nearby and formed a makeshift canopy over the swept ground, then laid some cardboard on the ground to provide some cushion from the harsh, frozen stone.
Upon finishing the manufacturing of the new home, Gilda said jokingly, “Nice and cozy, huh?”
Grey smiled. “It looks wonderful. Posie? Let's get some sleep.”
The unicorn stallion and pegasus filly both crawled into the small area and curled up next to one another. Grey removed his saddlebags, placing them next to himself and withdrawing a blanket, draping it over himself and Posie. “Gilda, get in here.”
The griffon glared at Grey briefly, then came to a split decision. “I ain't that kinda griffon. I'm sleepin' out here tonight.”
Grey looked in shock at Gilda. “It's freezing tonight. That's not a good idea.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, and you're a survival expert now? I'll be fine, believe me.”
Grey fell silent, looking deeply into Gilda's eyes. Finally, he nodded his head.
Gilda swept herself a small spot in the snow, then grabbed the final piece of cardboard lying in the alleyway and draped it over herself like a blanket. She shut her eyes, pretending to try to fall asleep.
About an hour later, Gilda heard Grey's and Posie's breathing lessen, indicating that sleep had taken them. She sighed, slipping out from under her snow-covered cardboard blanket, approaching the home that the unicorn and pegasus were living in.
She lifted her tail, sweeping the cardboard roof that was beginning to sag slightly with dampness and snow. It probably wouldn't last the night, but at least they wouldn't get a huge dump of snow on them.
She sighed, looking at them one last time. This wasn't for her.
She departed the alleyway in sad silence and didn't look back.
Inside the cardboard house, Grey's eyes popped open. He quickly rose, wrapping Posie in the blanket like a burrito and giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. The filly yawned sleepily, then drifted back into unconsciousness.
Grey hurriedly departed the alleyway, spilling out and spotting a set of lion's paws disappear around a street corner. He dashed after Gilda, determined not to lose her.
He spun around the corner, sliding briefly on the cobble, before he found purchase and began closing the gap between him and the griffon. Gilda heard him coming and turned around.
“Grey... what? What do you want?” She glared irritatedly at him.
“You know what it is I followed you for, Gilda.”
“Yeah... because you're trying to be as creepy as possible. I'm leaving, dude.”
Alkaline Grey wouldn't be deterred. “You know.”
She sighed. “Yeah... you came to bring me back. Because you like me or something, right?”
“I know how alone you've been, Gilda. I know how alone I've been. This is what I want, and I believe wholeheartedly that this is what you want as well.”
She looked uneasily at the unicorn. “Even if that was true, why do you think I'd want a homeless pony after he showed me how bad he is at budgeting? You're not doing a very good job of impressing me, dude.”
“I don't need to impress you. I never needed to.”
Gilda considered this for a moment. “And what if I do come back with you?”
Grey smiled. “Happiness, I'd imagine.”
A pleasant silence fell as the griffon and the unicorn stared into the eyes of one another. Large flakes of snow fell all around them, sentinels watching over this moment in time that seemed to last an eternity.
Finally, Alkaline Grey broke the silence. “The snow is getting heavy.”
Gilda nodded, saying nothing. She simply followed Grey as the stallion made his way back to the alley that they had claimed for themselves.
Grey slipped under the home that Gilda had made as she dusted off the small amount of snow that had gathered once more. She then joined Grey as he carefully unwrapped Posie, then slipped under the blanket with them, stretching her nearly-frozen wings to cover both the unicorn and the filly.
The warmth of the three creatures felt nice to the griffon. It felt like belonging. It felt like hope.
It felt like love.
Perhaps, together, they would make it through this winter.