//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Recuperation. // Story: A Second Chance // by Bolt Magnet //------------------------------// Tears streamed down Gildas face as she crawled away from the glaring mass before her. Smoke oozed from unseen orifices’ of the shadowy blob, as it tauntingly skulked towards her. She released a terrified cry as her back hit the wall behind her; she was cornered. “Please…” She pleaded, pushing herself deeper into the wall. A low chuckled escaped the monsters glowing red maw. A shadowy tentacle shot forth from its body, wrapping itself around the Griffins neck; two more tentacles sprung forward, entangling themselves around her wrists, holding in an outstretched ‘T’ manner. Its grin widened as she was slowly pulled towards its face, “I like it when you beg,” It cooed. Gilda quivered with fear as its mouth gave way to a sickly green, slimy tongue. “We’re gonna have some fun, little fish.” She clenched her eyes shut, awaiting the inevitable. She waited. Trembling with fear. Only to feel. Nothing? She blinked, and looked around wildly. She sat beside a serene pond within a forest enclosure; a very familiar midnight blue Alicorn sat on the bank next to her, staring wistfully ahead. “You know, we really should stop meeting like this.” “Luna?” The Princess turned toward the Griffin with a comforting smile, “You were expecting somepony else?” “N-no I just…” Gilda wiped the tears from her face, “Why are you here?” Luna tilted her head, “It is my duty to ensure the comfort and happiness of my subjects.” Gilda frowned, “Yeah, you mentioned that last time. But, I mean there’s gotta be other… ponies that could use your help.” Luna furrowed her brow, “Firstly, do you think so little of yourself that your problems do not warrant my attention?” Gilda avoided eye contact with the Princess. Luna smirked, “And secondly, what makes you think that I can only enter one dream at a time?” That grabbed the Griffins attention, she snapped her gaze back the Princess, “… what?” Luna chuckled, “Come now child, tis my royal duty to enter your dreams.” “That seems a bit… intrusive.” Luna nodded solemnly, “I can understand how it would appear so to those on the outside. Yet here we are; no monsters, no worries, just… peace and tranquility,” “Point taken,” Gilda grumbled. Luna smiled a smile that was short lived, “Which brings me to why I am here.” “I’ve already told you…” “You cannot continue to blame yourself, child.” Gilda scoffed, “If I don’t who will?” “Gilda…” “What the hell do you want from me, huh?! I’ve already told you everything, what else do you want?” The Princesses gaze remained steady, “I only wish to help.” Gilda sighed, “I know, I’m sorry. I just… I don’t wanna talk about it.” The princess shuffled closer towards the Griffin, and extended a wing over her shoulders, “I understand it is painful for you. However, I believe confiding in somepony is exactly what you need.” Gilda frowned, and glanced up at the Alicorn, “I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that. Beside, who would I talk to?” “Fluttershy, perhaps?” Gilda shook her head, “Fluttershy? Really?” Luna nodded, “She has already offered you residence, and if her dreams are any indication-” Gilda swatted the Princesses wing away, and took a step back, “You’ve been in her dreams?” Luna blinked, slightly taken aback, “But of course.” Gilda narrowed her eyes, “That’s impossible. I’ve only been back for less than a day, unless she’s been dreaming about me since before I came back… You’re lying.” Luna retracted her wing, and frowned, “You really don’t remember, do you?” “Remember what?” Gilda shot back. Luna sighed, shaking her head, “Of course you don’t remember, because that would have made my job easier. But oh no, Rosetta forbid my job should be easy…” “What are you talking about?” Luna fixed her with a troubled gaze, “Gilda, where do you think you are right now?” The Griffins beak fell open, “Uh…” “Allow me to rephrase. What is the last thing you remember?” Gilda blinked. She couldn’t quite remember, she could only see fragments; as if she had just woken up and was trying to remember her dream, “I… I don’t know. Everything’s foggy. Like it’s on the tip of my tounge…” “Presque vu,” Luna agreed “R-right, I was… I was with Fluttershy and…” Her eyes flew wide, “Fluttershy! The angry mob!” She rushed up to the Alicorn, laying both claws on her shoulders, “Is she okay? Did they hurt her? What happened?” “Calm yourself, child,” Grabbing Gildas claws with her magic, she gently pushed the Griffin back onto her rear, in a sitting position. “Please Princess, you gotta tell me! If they hurt her because of me…” “Fluttershy is perfectly fine, child.” Gildas chest deflated as she exhaled heavily, “Oh, thank the maker…” “As are her friends. You need not worry about them, if fact, you should be more concerned with your own well-being.” The Gilda looked up at her confused, “What do you mean?” Luna bit her lip, “There is no easy way to tell you this child… but you did suffer quite a few serious blows to some critical areas of your body, and well…” A look of horror flooded across the Griffins face, “A-am I dead?” Luna blanched, “What?! No, of course not! You are in a coma.” Gildas brows shot skyward, as her beak pressed into a thin line. “And this is the third time we have had this conversation.” Gilda blinked, “Oh, really?” Luna nodded. “I don’t remember… Wait, if I’m… then how are you here? I though you didn’t have dreams if you were in a coma…” “Ordinarily no,” She smirked, “Do I really need to reiterate the ‘it is my royal duty to come into your dreams’ spiel?” Gilda grinned sheepishly, “I guess not. Thank you, for caring enough to try to help me.” Luna beamed, “Perhaps there is something you could do for me, in return.” “Yeah?” Luna grinned like a maniac, “I have been dying to know more about your people. What can you tell me about your culture, or religion? Ooo, what kind of fashion do Griffins employ?” Gilda chuckled, just as she opened her beak to reply, she spotted something in the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she saw a blinding white light shining from between the tree trunks of the think forest. Gilda squinted as the light became more intense, burning brighter. Luna pouted, “Oh, that is just typical.” “What is that?” She smirked, “That is you waking up. I will look forward to our next conversation, Old One.” Gilda watched on as the midnight Alicorn stretched and twirled into herself. A fierce gale force wind blew from every direction; ripping trees from their roots, and throwing up pikes of dirt and grass. Gildas heart beat faster and faster as her beautiful surroundings were destroyed and mutilated before her very eyes. She stared down at her claws, the edges of her vision blackened as her claws stretched and twirled unnaturally. Her vision blurred as she fell away from herself, and into total darkness. Dull pain flooded through Gildas body. The Griffin groaned, and squirmed weakly. She could hear muffled voices around her, they sounded familiar yet foreign to her. “Murm, Mockter? my hrrm pees making hup.” Gilda slowly opened her eyes. Her vision swam with blurry figures that made her head hurt. She groaned and turned away. “Herrmmba?” She turned her head back and blinked rapidly. Slowly, her vision returned to her. Judging from the softness she felt against her back, she guessed that she was lying down. Glancing down, she noticed that her body from her chest onward was covered with a thin green bed sheet. Her claws rested across her stomach; bandages were present around her palms, and stretched up the length of her arms. Turning her attention back to the right side of the bed, she saw a caramel coloured Unicorn stallion with a short brown mane. “Good morning Gilda, how are you feeling?” He asked softly. Gilda groaned, and shifted slightly, “Never been better…” She coughed, and swallowed in an attempt to moisten her dry and scratchy throat. The stallion chuckled, oblivious to her sarcasm, “Well, I’m glad to hear that.” “How am I doin’, Doc?” He levitated a clipboard up to his eye line, “Well, you’ve sustained substantial damage to your ribcage, resulting in cracks to your third, fourth and fifth left hoof ribs. A minor laceration to your jaw; nothing major, but you will need to keep those stitches in for a few days. Some minor internal bleeding and trauma to your midsection. Hair-line fractures to your arms and legs. And a minor concussion.” He lowered the clipboard and gazed at Gilda over his nose, “If it weren’t for your friend, you might not have made it.” “Friend?” The stallion nodded to Gildas left. Slowly turning, her beak fell open at the sight before her. Fluttershy sat beside her bed, the meek yellow Pegasus smiled tiredly from behind her disheveled pink mane. “Fluttershy?” “Hello Gilda.” “You brought me here?” “And stayed with you, Miss Fluttershy hasn’t left your side for three days,” The Doctor interjected. “I’ve been out for three days?!” A searing pain stabbed her temples, she winced. This is the third time we’ve had this conversation. Shaking her head, she looked back at Fluttershy, “Why?” The Pegasus tiled her head, so Gilda elaborated, “Why did you stay with me? You didn’t have to do that.” Fluttershy smiled, “Because that’s what friends do.” Gilda smiled back, she would have thanked Fluttershy for showing her such a kindness, were it not for four other ponies who barged through the closed door of Gildas hospital room. Rainbow Dash flew up to Gilda, “G! You’re awake!” Gilda flinched, “Yeah, I am. Mind toning it down a bit?” Rainbow bowed bashfully, “Sorry, the nurse just told us.” “How ya feelin’, sugar cube?” Applejack asked. Gilda turned back to the Doctor with a raised eyebrow, “How am I doing?” He smiled, “A few more days rest, and you’ll be good as new.” “Well, I guess that answers that.” “I’ll leave you to your guests,” without another word, the Doctor took his leave. Gilda turned back to the four ponies eagerly watching her, “So… how did you guys hear about what happened?” Rarity stepped forward, “News travels fast dear, why, it was just awful the way those ponies came after you!” Gilda narrowed her eyes at the white Unicorn. She cocked her head and jabbed a talon in the mares’ direction, “Uh… hmm…” Rarity rolled her eyes, “Rarity, dear.” “That! Was gonna be my next guess,” Gilda grinned sheepishly. “Yeah! Well, that and Fluttershy told us,” Rainbow took a step towards the foot of the bed. “Is it true, G? You really take on down eight ponies? By yourself?” Gilda nodded shamefully. Rainbows wings fluttered as she grinned, “That’s so awesome!” Applejack jabbed her side, “Dash!” “What?! Oh, come on AJ! You heard about those ninja moves she pulled, you have to admit, it was pretty cool.” Rainbow turned back to Gilda, “Where’d you learn to fight like that, anyway?” Gilda looked away, “I’ve learned a lot of things since I’ve been away.” Dash leaned closer, “Yeah? Like what?” Gilda huffed, “I don’t wanna talk about it.” Rainbow opened her mouth to push the conversation further. She swiftly closed it when she received another jab, and a glare from the farmer beside her. “Ah think Gilda needs her rest. Come on gang.” Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity all began slowly making their way towards the exit. “You comin’, Fluttershy?” She shook her head, “I’d like to stay with Gilda, if you girls don’t mind.” Applejack smiled, “Sure thing, sugar cube.” “How ‘bout you Pinkie?” The pink mare sat on her haunches at the foot of Gildas bed. She held a deflated look about her. It took Gilda a few seconds to realise that she had been present here the entire time her friends had, and in all that time she hadn’t said two words. Pinkies over-the-top antics had been the reason for Gildas hatred towards her in the first place. But now? Seeing the usually exuberant party mare in such a depressing state, disconcerted the Griffin deeply. “Pinkie Pie?” She asked. “Why did you go outside?” Pinkie asked absently. Gilda opened her beak. “I told you not to go outside.” Gilda nodded solemnly, “Yeah, you did.” Pinkie turned to face the Griffin, “Then why did you go outside?!” She shook her head, “I don’t know.” Pinkie shook her head, dejectedly, “And now you’re in the Hospital…” “Hey!” Pinkie gave a startled jump, and look up at Gilda. “This is not your fault. I’m the one who walked out the door. I’m the one they were after. The blame here, is with me.” “Well, I never thought I’d hear you say that.” Everypony – and Griffin – turned their attention towards the entrance of Gildas room. Standing proudly in the doorway, was a regal looking lavender Unicorn. Golden plated boots covered the edges of her hoofs, with a pink six-pointed star adorning the front of each boot. A large, thick golden necklace clung tightly around her neck, brandishing a larger version of the same six-pointed star. Atop her head, sat a golden tiara with an exact copy of the star present on her breast piece. “Twilight!” Everypony shouted in unison. She smiled, “Hello girls, it’s been a while.” The other five mares in the room swarmed Twilight, leaving Gilda sitting in her bed, confused. After a while, the rabble died down. “Sorry girls, I wish this were a casual visit,” she pushed past her friends, “I came as soon as I heard. I had hoped to keep this entire ordeal as quiet as possible.” “Ordeal?” “Twi, what in the Sam hill are y’all talkin’ about?” “The attack on her,” Twilight answered, staring at Gilda. Gilda frowned, “So a bunch of ponies held onto a grudge, what’s the big deal?” Twilight shook her head with a sigh, “Girls, could you please give me a minute with Gilda? We have some important matters to discuss.” Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie all nodded and mumbled their agreement. Soon only Twilight, Fluttershy and Gilda remained as they shut the door behind them. “Fluttershy, do you mind?” The Pegasus looked distraught, “I-I don’t want to leave Gilda by herself. “Fluttershy, you don’t have to-” “No no, it’s fine,” Twilight interjected. She gave Fluttershy an understanding smile. Turing back to Gilda, she frowned at the look of incomprehensibility the Griffin held. "Err, is something wrong?" Gilda frowned, "I know it's been a while. But I'm pretty sure you didn't have wings the last time I saw you..." Twilight flexed her wings, and grinned bashfully, "Oh, right. Heh heh, it's a bit of a long story." "Twilight is a Princess now," Fluttershy added happily. "Really? Huh. Didn't see that coming..." Twilight cleared her throat, "If we could get back to the topic at hoof..." "Oh, yeah. The uh... revenge thing. Twilight sighed again, “This ordeal was not about revenge, Gilda. It has less to do with some petty grudge, and more to do with the rising instability between Grifforia and Equestria.” “What?” Gilda questioned. “Not three weeks ago there was an incident in Fillydelphia.” “Incident? I didn’t hear about any incident,” Fluttershy added. Twilight turned back to her friend with a smirk, “Of course you didn’t. I wouldn’t be very good at my job if you did.” She turned back to Gilda, “Which brings me to why I am here. I’ve managed to pull a few strings, the only factor that remains is you, Gilda.” “Me?” Twilight nodded, “Currently, there are eight counts of assault pending against you.” “What!?” Gilda narrowed her eyes, “Those ponies came after me.” “True, but you attacked first.” Gilda scoffed and shook her head, “I can’t believe this!” “Be that as it may, the fact still remains. This act cannot go unpunished. As I said, I was able to pull some strings, your choice of rehabilitation comes down to one year of community service…” “A year?!” “Or, three months in Crystal Star State Penitentiary.” Gilda snapped her attention back to Twilight. She fought to contain her quivers as she asked, “C-Crystal Star…?” Twilight nodded. “A-and that’s it? One or the other?” Twilight nodded again, “Yes.” “Why are you letting me choose?” “Because I would like to give you the benefit of the doubt.” Gilda could feel a shiver run down her spine, she swallowed hard, “I’ll take the community service.” Twilight gave her a small smile, “Alright then. Report to town hall first thing Monday morning, the paper work should be done by then.” Without another word, Twilight turned and left the room, leaving Gilda and Fluttershy alone. “Crystal Star…” Gilda murmured to herself. “Um, Gilda?” Gilda slowly glanced up at her, “Yeah?” “What is ‘Crystal Star’? I-if you don’t mind me asking.” Gilda shook her head, “Trust me, Fluttershy. You really don’t want to know.”