Under The Microscope
The basement of the Golden Oak Library was alive with flashing lights, beeping appliances, and a unicorn frantically galloping about, taking notes and reading charts. Gilda rolled her eyes at the show and only shivered a little when Twilight blasted her with a wave of magic for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning, allegedly just to scan her body for “anomalies”.
The metal braces on Gilda’s fetlocks itched and she groaned for the upteenth time since her and Rainbow Dash’s arrival to the library. She wiggled her hooves and shook the metal helmet strapped to her head in idle boredom while Twilight busied herself by reading the seemingly random lines being transcribed by a beeping machine in the corner of the room.
“So… what are you doing to me again?” Gilda asked for the tenth time.
Twilight sighed before repeating herself once again. “My earlier sensory spells didn’t pick up anything too strange about your condition, and I don’t know of any spells that can just turn somepony, err… griffin, into another species altogether without leaving a trace.”
Twilight paused while she read over the latest assortment of nonsensical scribbles produced by the machine. “So I decided that science might provide a clearer answer… But according to these, you’re a perfectly normal pony.”
“But I’m not a pony!” Gilda shouted.
“I know, but if I didn’t know any better, these statistics would suggest that being a griffin had been the problem all along and that you had really been a pony your whole life.” Twilight concluded her statement dourly. She almost seemed as upset that her tests had failed to present any conclusive data as Gilda was about being a pony in the first place.
“So all of this was a waste of time?” Gilda seethed. “I should have known better than to think you lame hay-munchers could help me!” Her head shook violently until the hat came off, and she pried her hooves from the shackles. She was ready to stomp her way up out of the basement and the library itself, until Rainbow Dash flew down from one of the rafters where she had been lounging.
“Hey! Hold up!” Rainbow demanded, a look of stern resolve on her face. “We talked about this last night. If you want our help, than you have to be nice to everypony. Especially our friends!”
Gilda actually shrank back from Rainbow Dash’s glare. It wasn’t until she summoned up whatever was left of her old griffin pride that she was able to talk back with her usual ferocity. “Hate to break it to you, Dash, but no answers means no deal! If your princess’ ‘prized student’ can’t figure this out then I’m out of here!”
“Please, Gilda...” Twilight approached pleadingly. “We’ve only been at this for a few hours, and you’ve been like this for a whole year. The traces of the cause have faded quite a bit, but I’m sure I’ve seen this somewhere before! If you just calm down and give me some time-”
“Calm down… Time!?” Gilda’s face contorted into an expression of rage. “I have been a pony for a year, you hay brained book worm! And I have lost everything!” Her raving turned livid. “My friends stopped looking at me like a griffin after only a month of this. No one I knew recognizes me anymore. And my own father called me a dumb know nothing pony. To. My. Face!” She shook her head when her vision started to blur. “Just… I need to go. Move your flank, Dash.”
Gilda started to walk around her floating friend, but was cut off again when Rainbow Dash zipped back in front of her and stomped down onto the ground.
Rainbow Dash reared up onto her hind legs and looked ready to snap.
Gilda flinched and closed her eyes, fearing she may have gone too far somehow. She didn’t expect the light touch of hooves on her shoulders, or the look that Rainbow Dash was giving her when she opened her eyes. That look especially threw her off. It wasn’t of pity or disgust, like she had come to expect from her time spent back home.
Gilda could only think of one word to describe it: Understanding. The look made her hind legs feel weak, and she sank to her haunches. Another touch came from her back and she found Twilight behind her, resting a hoof between her wings. It took everything she had not to break down into sobs where she sat—with the exception of the fact she would never in a million years tear up in front of anybody or anypony else.
“Gilda, I know this sucks, but we will fix this. Twilight will fix this.” Rainbow Dash looked so sure of her own words that Gilda couldn’t bring herself to object. “But you have to check that attitude if you're going to get along with any of us.”
Seeing the grin on Rainbow Dash’s face told her that she hadn’t just ruined her chances of fixing the situation. But the expectant look that followed told her what she had to do if she still wanted help.
With a sigh, Gilda turned to face the unicorn still patting her on the back. “Twilight, I’m s—“ The sudden rumble from her stomach was loud enough to derail her thoughts and knock out the remaining tension in the air. “Starving!”
The three of them chuckled at the abrupt mood shift.
“Apology accepted," Twilight replied. “Let’s go get some lunch, Celestia knows I’m hungry too.” She nodded at Gilda thoughtfully. “Any preferences?”
“Now that you mention it, I have a huge craving for bacon!” Gilda cracked a smile and her mouth watered slightly. Rainbow Dash’s mortified look caught her attention, as well as Twilight’s confused one.
“What’s bacon? I’ve never heard of that before.” Twilight’s head was tilted to the side, her hoof rubbing her chin idly. Behind her, Rainbow Dash was shaking her head at Gilda, violently mouthing the word no repeatedly.
“Uhh…” Gilda backpedaled mentally for some sort of way out. “How about you decide, since I don’t know much about Ponyville.” She gave a fake smile and Rainbow Dash seemed to exhale in relief.
“Alright… but I still want to know what bacon is.” Twilight continued staring at Gilda as Rainbow Dash facehoofed from behind her.
Gilda looked between them briefly. “I’m pretty sure that’s a bad idea... Are you sure?” An eager nod from Twilight sealed the poor unicorn mare’s fate. Rainbow Dash folded back her ears and covered them with her hooves.
Gilda shrugged and leaned in close to Twilight. She had once told Rainbow Dash what bacon was in detail, and that ended with a promise from the griffin to never again describe any non-pony friendly food that she ate.
As she whispered the the general idea of where bacon comes from, how it’s prepared, and an idea of the griffin diet overall, Twilight’s features changed from purple, to green, and, disturbingly enough, purple again.
Before Gilda could finish, Twilight bolted up the stairs of the basement and could be heard slamming the door to what Gilda assumed was a bathroom somewhere above in the library. All of which amused the once-griffin-now-pony, sprawled out on the floor laughing hysterically.
Rainbow Dash stood over Gilda for a while, her face completely bemused. When the griffin did take notice, she only snorted at her.
“Come on, Dash! She asked for it!” Gilda choked out after catching her breath.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes but chuckled all the same. “Whatever. Let’s just say that deal between us goes for all my friends from now on. I’m gonna go check on Twilight, so try not to scar Spike for life, okay?”
Gilda gave a mock salute from the ground and watched her friend go. She followed up the basement stairs shortly after and ran into the aforementioned baby dragon near the kitchen of the library. A mischievous sneer crossed her muzzle, and she approached her unsuspecting victim.
“Hey, Spike,” Gilda greeted him.
“Oh, hi Gilda! You guys done with the tests for now?” Spike was smiling, his innocence almost visible from Gilda’s point of view.
“You know any cows around here in Ponyville?” Gilda rubbed a hoof against her chest and inspected it nonchalantly.
“Yeah, I’ve met a few. This one cow I know, her name is Bertha, and-” Spike was cut off from his reverie by Gilda’s sudden inquiry.
“You ever heard of ground beef?” Gilda’s sneer could have peeled paint.
“Yep.” Spike said flatly. He rolled his eyes and began going about his business, Gilda’s intentions set out clearly.
“Thought so, you see… Wait what?” Gilda guffawed at the little dragon walking away from her.
“Uh huh. I found a book in the library about predators a few months ago. When I got bored I read through it. I tried talking to Twilight about it, but when she found the book she threw it out, something about it being a tome of evil.” Spike shrugged as he climbed a ladder and re-shelved a few books he had picked up from the table at the center of the room. “I read most of it beforehand so I know most of what it was about, there was even a section on griffins from before the treaty.”
Gilda closed her slackened jaw and grinned at Spike. “For a little guy like you that lives with ponies, you’re not as soft as I thought. Not like these ponies, anyway.”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, I think... But ponies really aren’t as bad as you think. Maybe you should rethink the way you look at them.”
Gilda’s smile flattened at his words. “Or maybe not…” she mumbled to herself. Spike’s words didn’t leave her however, and she was left to ponder them in silence while he went about his chores. The ponies had been nothing but helpful to her since she got there, and even after the way she had treated them. Any self-respecting griffin she knew would have socked her in the beak a long time ago—or muzzle, as was the current case.
It wasn’t until Twilight and Rainbow Dash came down from the upper floor that Gilda was able to push her thoughts aside.
Twilight looked more peeved than nauseated. She gave Gilda a withering look briefly, then turned her attention away as she walked towards the front door, Rainbow Dash in tow. “Spike, we’re gonna get some lunch. Watch the library while we’re gone, okay?”
“Sure thing, Twilight!” Spike returned without hesitation.
Gilda hurried after them and only just caught up to Rainbow Dash before Twilight was out the door. “She mad about the bacon?”
“Eeyup,” Rainbow Dash confirmed.
Gilda cracked a smile while she trotted alongside the ponies she was with. She was fairly sure she lost the right to pick where they were going, but she still felt it had been totally worth it.
Gilda frowned at the plate of hay fries before her. As far as pony food went, it wasn’t the worst. Mostly, she was frowning because of the added company the three of them—herself, Twilight and Dash—had picked up on their way to the cafe.
Twilight insisted on going through the market on their hunt for food. By a stroke of luck, good or bad depending on who you asked in the group, the three of them had run into Applejack and Fluttershy. They had been in the middle of packing up an apple stall to break for lunch. They claimed to have plans for lunch that day, as well, and were all too happy to tag along.
So now the number of ponies Gilda was forced to interact with had doubled, and from what she picked up from Fluttershy, another would soon be joining them.
Gilda’s self pity was disrupted when she realized she had been asked a question. “What was that?” she mumbled over a mouthful of food, looking up.
It was Fluttershy that had spoken, and she looked frightened. “Are you really that Gilda?” she squeaked from behind her mane.
There was a pause while Gilda swallowed her food. Everypony’s eyes were on her, but only she, Fluttershy, and Twilight knew what was really being asked. “Oh, yeah, that’s me…”
Fluttershy took a nervous step back from the table. Her retreat was stopped by Twilight’s firm hoof on her back. Twilight herself leveling a narrow glare at Gilda.
Rubbing the back of her head with one hoof, Gilda let out a sigh. “Look, I’m… sorry about before. I won't do that... again.”
Fluttershy sat down at the table once more, but only stared down at her food. Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash were still staring at her, while Twilight was busying herself by comforting the yellow pegasus with reassurances.
“What did you do to Fluttershy, Gilda?” Rainbow Dash questioned with a measured look and a slight crack in her voice.
There was an awkward silence as Gilda shifted where she sat. To everypony’s surprise it was Fluttershy that spoke up first.
“She roared at me,” she stated bluntly.
The table grew silent and a few conversations from the surrounding patrons were the only noises staving off total silence.
Applejack glared daggers at Gilda, while Rainbow Dash and Twilight shook their heads in tandem. Gilda couldn’t decide if she felt ashamed or annoyed that she was receiving the third degree from the ponies that she had all but forgotten about less than a week ago.
“Apology accepted,” came a shockingly cheery squeak from Fluttershy.
Everypony at the table did a double take at the yellow pegasus. Applejack harrumphed after a moment but seemed to accept it, Rainbow Dash sighed in relief before taking a happy bite of her pie, and Twilight seemed to take pride in her friend’s resolve. Gilda actually smiled.
“Thanks, Fluttershy.” Gilda’s face soured after the words left her mouth. “You ponies are brainwashing me…” she lamented before shoving a hoof full of hay fries in her mouth.
Chewing noisily, Gilda tried her best to drown out Fluttershy’s giggles. “So we have the shy one, the down home pony, my best friend, and the egghead. All we’re missing is the pink fuzz-wad and this couldn’t possibly be more awkward,” she drolled once her mouth was clear.
“Oh, Pinkie? Nah, Sugar Cube Corner is always real busy around lunch. We probably won’t see her for another hour or two.” Rainbow Dash piped in idle amusement at Gilda’s obvious concern at running in to the party pony.
Gilda let go of a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding in. She felt slightly concerned at just how much running into Pinkie seemed to stress her out. “Well, I guess I dodged the cart on that one. Maybe this won’t get any worse-”
Rainbow Dash’s face hoof caught Gilda off guard. “Gilda, why would you say that? You never want to say that.”
As if to answer Gilda’s unasked question, a measured and lady-like voice floated itself to the ears of the five ponies.
“Oh, girls! I’m so sorry I’m late,” Rarity called over to them as she trotted up to the table. “Sweetie Belle spilled glitter all over my last sheet of velvet and-” Rarity trailed off and gasped when her eyes found their way to Gilda’s form.
Seeing the way Rarity’s eyes widened to the size of small dinner plates and sparkle at her caused Gilda to shift uncomfortably. She looked at Rainbow Dash who leveled a deadpan look in return. “That’s why,” Rainbow Dash mouthed to her.
Rarity quickly zipped up to Gilda and pinched her cheeks betwixt her hooves. “My word,” she murmured breathlessly. “I’ve never before seen such exotic colors as these in a pony’s coat and mane! Why, she looks positively fierce, powerful! Like a… a…”
“A griffin…?” Rainbow Dash offered from off to the side, snickering at her struggling friend.
Rarity threw one foreleg up into the air and took the struggling pony up into a headlock. “Yes! Exactly that!” she exclaimed. “Why, with colors like these, and a cultured, wizened mentor like myself… I could easily— I mean, you, could easily take the fashion world by storm!”
Gilda finally managed to wrench herself free of the surprisingly strong, alabaster colored mare that had gotten a hold of her. “G-Get off me! Gah—” Her throat felt as though it had been caught in a vice. “What are you, crazy?”
“No, that’s Rarity. She’s a friend,” Applejack chimed in for the first time, chuckling and watching events with an amused look.
Rarity, oblivious to Gilda’s discomfort, continued to prattle on about the glorious team they could make in the world of fashion. Gilda looked around the table for help, finding most everypony snickering at the scene she was trapped in.
Rainbow Dash popped the last of her pie in her mouth and got up as if to leave. Gilda saw this as an opening for retreat and leaped at the opportunity... literally.
“Where you going, Dash?” Gilda asked after jumping across the table and in front of the pegasus. Rarity was left holding air where the pegasus had slipped away.
“Uhh…” Rainbow Dash stammered at the sudden blockade. “Weather duty. I mentioned it, like, ten minutes ago? I'll be done quick.”
“Oh, great, let me come with!” The smile on Gilda’s face was a pleading one at best and didn’t go unnoticed.
“Alright I guess… Just keep up would ya?” Rainbow Dash chided.
“Oh, you are so—!” Gilda was interrupted by Rarity as she popped up between them.
“And just where are you going!?” Rarity demanded rather than asking for one. “I haven’t even started to talk about the fall line up!”
Rainbow Dash stepped back to look at Gilda and began to hover off the ground. The look on her face read along the lines of “let her down nicely”.
The unspoken words went straight over Gilda’s head. “That sounds horrifying though,” she deadpanned.
Rainbow frowned and quirked an eyebrow, to which Gilda muttered, “Grr, fine…” She turned, and faced the fashionista patiently waiting behind her. “Sorry, but I don’t do fashion. It’s kind of for lame-o’s and uptight types only.”
Rarity’s jaw dropped, and she looked completely stricken, to Gilda’s amusement.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Well, I guess that wasn’t so bad…”
Gilda growled and went on. “Look, I don’t have time for this. I have clouds to pop and rain to drop. Let’s continue this conversation never.” Her wings snapped out and she was propelled ahead of her friend before another word could be let in edgewise.
Rarity stood dumbly for only a moment before her face reddened in anger. “Hmph!” she mumbled while turning up her nose.
“Sorry, Rarity. She’s not… Okay she’s pretty much always like that,” Rainbow Dash confided. “But she’s kind of in a rough spot right now. I’d explain if I had time, but I do have to get to work. I’m sure Twilight can fill you in.”
Rarity stared a moment, then with some effort sighed and turned to face Rainbow Dash. “She didn’t have to be so rude! Honestly, she’s worse than you when I asked you to model a dress for me.”
“Yeah…” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “You should have seen the look on her face when Twilight suggested we go to the spa!” The girls all broke out into giggles at that, which Rarity eventually joined.
After the bout of laughter, Rainbow gave a final, quick wave farewell, and sped off towards Gilda’s rapidly shrinking form.
“That mare is in a spot of trouble, is she?” Rarity asked nopony in particular, a mild sneer on her muzzle. “What a shame…” She turned to Twilight and put on an innocent look. “So, what exactly did happen to Rainbow’s friend, Twilight?”
Gilda was lounging on a rather large cloud when Rainbow Dash finally caught up.
“Come on, Dash!” Gilda snickered. “You’re not getting slow on me, are ya?”
“Not a chance! And I’ll prove it, too,” Rainbow Dash challenged back. “All these clouds have to go, and we need to water the south field of Sweet Apple Acres. First pony to finish their half wins!”
“You’re on!” Gilda exclaimed before bucking the cloud behind her. “Go!”
What followed was a blur of blue and brown as the two of them raced about the sky, smashing clouds or moving them out of the way for later use. It took maybe thirty seconds before the large clump of clouds was entirely cleared from the east side of Ponyville, and the two of them were racing to Applejack’s farm. Each of them pushing a rain cloud in front of them.
“What’s the matter, Dash? No new tricks?” Gilda cackled as she pulled into the lead.
“You haven’t seen anything yet!” Rainbow Dash called back, before her wings beat harder and her speed began to accelerate.
Despite her best efforts, Gilda was at a complete loss trying to match Rainbow Dash’s speed. She heard a whistle from the rainbow trail Dash was leaving behind, right up until an explosion of colors erupted without warning all around her.
Gilda stopped her wing flaps dead and sat down on the cloud she had been pushing. Her mouth was agape at both the expanding prismatic ring soaring overhead and the pressurized wind that ruffled her mane. Rainbow Dash was barely visible in the distance, already bouncing up and down on her cloud after winning their little competition.
“Ha! I wi-” Rainbow was cut off by the brown and white pegasus that plowed into her in a flying tackle.
“What the hay, Dash!? Since when could you do a sonic rainboom?” Gilda interrogated her, a huge grin on her muzzle.
Gilda was holding Rainbow Dash aloft on her own wing power alone, Dash being dazed by the sudden attack. “Oh, that? For a while now,” she boasted.
Gilda let go of Rainbow Dash and earned a yelp from her before she climbed back into the sky. “Why didn’t you tell me!?” Gilda asked. Her expression melted to melancholy along with Rainbow’s. “Oh… right.”
The two of them fluttered to the ground of the orchard they had been hovering over. An awkward silence hung between them.
“Look, Dash… I’m-” Gilda struggled to find the right words.
“Save it.” Dash stopped her. “Let’s start over.” Rainbow Dash smiled at her before punching her in the foreleg harder than Gilda expected.
“Hey! What was that for!?” Gilda exclaimed.
“For the way you talked to Rarity back at the cafe! How many times do I have to tell you to be nice?” Rainbow Dash leered at her.
“Geez, is that all? You know how I-” Gilda’s ears swiveled around to a soft sound in the distance. She couldn’t make it out completely, but whatever it was sent a shiver down her spine.
“Something wrong?” Rainbow Dash asked.
"Uh, nothing. I thought I heard-" Gilda heard it again, closer this time. Her pupils shrank to the size of pins as she realized what it was: Giggles. “Dash, we have to go! Now.” Gilda panicked, looking around for an escape, even her wings all but forgotten.
“What is it?” Rainbow Dash tensed at her friend's panicked demeanor.
“She’s coming!” Gilda could hear the giggles growing in volume and responded by trotting in place nervously.
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash perked her ears out and smiled when she recognized the voice in the distance. “Oh. Sounds like Pinkie finished up at work,” she concluded.
“Every griffin for herself!” Gilda proclaimed before galloping in a random direction through the trees.
“Whoa! Wait up!” Rainbow Dash called out in vain.
“No way!” Gilda bellowed over her shoulder. “I never want to see that pony agai-”
“Hi there!” Pinkie greeted Gilda while hanging upside down from a tree limb she had dropped out of. “Are you a new friend!?” She giggled, a hoof laid over her muzzle, then went on. “Oh, that’s a silly question, even for me! Because you know what they say, everypony’s just a new friend waaaiting to be discovered!”
Gilda’s eye twitched while she stared in shock, then screamed like a startled chicken. Her wings flared and she shot straight up into the sky... Only to ram head first into a thick tree branch. She saw stars and fell back to the ground with a flop.
Pinkie winced and looked over to Rainbow Dash, who had caught up in time to see the incident. “Was it something I said?” she asked desperately, then shrugged, which meant she let go of the tree limb altogether. There was a thud followed by an “Oomf” as she too fell down onto the ground besides Gilda.
Rainbow Dash surveyed the scene of the crime, ears folded back against her head. “Oh boy, here we go…”