//------------------------------// // 20: A Little Kindness [Slice of Life] // Story: Thirty Minutes Shy // by Esle Ynopemos //------------------------------// ((Prompt: You can kill a pony, but you can't kill an idea.)) Gilda awoke to the sound of several rowdy thumps on the platform outside her door. The thick stone walls of her den muffled most of it, but she could still make out the sounds of laughter, and some kind of squeaking noise. The sounds rolled from one end of the platform to the other, occasionally getting rough enough to shake a bit of dirt loose from her earthen roof as something slammed into the walls. Just about the time she was going to give up on the hope that whatever it was would move on and let her get back to her nap, a clawed fist banged against her door. “Hey Gilda!” called a voice from outside. Gus, she guessed from the 'I just pulled the wings off a fly and I think it's funny' tone. “One of your pony friends is here to see you!” A huff escaped her beak as she finally rolled out of bed, brushing her feathers out of her eyes. Rainbow Dash picked the wrong time to come crawling back if she ran into Gus out there. She briefly considered just not answering. A few minutes putting up with Gus would be a fitting punishment for ditching her in favor of all those losers. Gilda shook her head. A few minutes was enough time for Dash to give Gus a bloody beak. Which he totally deserved, but then he would go crying to the chief, and that was a headache Gilda didn't want to deal with. She yawned and pulled open her front door. Sure enough, Gus was there. So was Glen, and Gretchen, and Gloria... geez, he had rounded up all his cronies! They were all perched in a semi-circle around the edge of her landing, snickering to one another as they played a rough game of pass-the-pony. But the pony they were tossing around wasn't Rainbow Dash. Gilda identified the source of that squeaking noise as the flight of gryphons shoved a quivering ball of yellow feathers and pink hair back and forth across the platform. Gus looked up and grinned. “Hey look, haymuncher! There's your friend Gilda! Go give her a kiss!” He pushed her to the ground at Gilda's feet. Gilda peered down her beak at the pathetic creature. That was the loser from the market, right? The one with the ducks. What was she doing here? The pony trembled on the ground. Judging from the alignment of her feathers and all the bruises under her yellow fur, Gus and his gang had been at their little game for quite a while before they knocked on her door. “What do you want?” Gilda barked. The pony's hooves shook. “I-I-I'm... I-I-I...” she stammered, but couldn't form any coherent words. Gilda rolled her eyes, and knelt down to lower her voice so that the pony could hear. “Listen, twerp,” she hissed, “you woke me up from my nap. If you don't spit it out, I'm gonna just go back inside and let Gus and his friends get back to their fun. Do you hear me?” Fear danced in the pony's eyes. She swallowed and nodded. “I... I'm sorry,” she said. Gilda snorted. “Just get on with it!” The pony shook her head once more. “No... I-I mean, that's why I'm here.” She rubbed her eyes, and looked up at Gilda. “To apologize.” “Apologize?” Gilda quirked an eyebrow. “Wh-when you left, you were so upset,” the pony explained. “M-maybe it was just chance that all the pranks happened to you, but...” She put her hooves under herself and slowly stood up. “B-but it was your party, and if you weren't having fun, we should have found out what was wrong. I'm sorry that you didn't like your party, and... and I'm sorry you and Rainbow got mad at each other.” Without warning, the pony wrapped Gilda in a hug. “I'm sorry!” Gilda stood frozen in shock. Of all the stupidest reasons... this pony came all the way out here, let herself be an equine pinball for Gus and his gang, all to tell her that she's sorry? Gretchen sniggered from her perch. “Aw, isn't that precious? The ponies hurt Gilda's feelings!” The other gryphons burst out laughing. Gilda felt a surge of hot blood rise to her cheeks. She shoved the pony back. “You are some kind of dense, you know that?” she snarled. The pony's jaw trembled. “I... I... I” “You think I give a flying feather about Rainbow Dash, or any of you ponies and your stupid parties?” A terrified whimper rose in the pony's throat. Gilda grabbed her by the nape of the neck. “Get out of here!” she bellowed, heaving her into the air. “Don't ever let me see you again! Got it?” The pony's yellow wings snapped open with a yelp, and she scrambled to gain altitude and distance. A smirk played on Gus's beak as he watched her hobble toward the horizon. “Hey,” he said, nudging Gretchen in the side. He picked up a stone the size of a grapefruit. “I'll bet you two fish I can knock her out of the sky.” Gilda's eyes fell to the sharp rocks far below. The mental image of the pony plummeting to the ground came unbidden to her mind. Gus cocked his claw back, lining up his shot. Gilda's eyes darted back and forth between him, the pony, and the ground. She spun and kicked him in the ribs with her back paw. “Oof!” His throw went wide, the stone flying harmlessly into the hills. “What's the big deal, Gilda?” Gus rubbed his ribs tenderly. Gilda ran a talon through her crest. “You owe me two fish,” she said. The other gryphons pointed at Gus and laughed, exchanging high-fives and talon-bumps. The yellow speck shrank unmolested into the distance.