/\/\/\/\
Griffon the Brush Off: Part 2
\/\/\/\/
Pinkie was so excited to get back to Rainbow Dash’s house, so the two of them could continue their conquest of Ponyville in the form of amazing pranks. She hadn’t enjoyed spending this kind of time with anypony since… well, since the last time she and Dash had hung out. She may be a bit big headed, but when you got past all that, she was the most fun loving pony you would ever meet. Well, aside from Pinkie herself.
Having passed by the library, Pinkie, being the generous pony she was, offered to let everypony do some pranks along with the two of them. However, Twilight was trying to fix that experiment they had ruined last night for her, Spike was cleaning out some unused rooms in the library, and Alex was nowhere to be found- not that he would have wanted to spend time with Dash anyway.
So, knowing that Rarity was running her store, Pinkie left was left with nopony to ask that would be close enough for her to ask on the way.
So, she had headed toward the cloud house that was currently hanging close enough to the ground for Pinkie to easily call up to.
“Hey Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie called, figuring that Dash would still be here, considering he weather jobs wouldn’t start for a few hours, “Are you ready for another day filled with great pranks?”
There was no response.
“Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie called in her sing-song voice, “Wake up sleepy head!”
Again, she received no call back.
Inhaling deeply, Pinkie readied herself for the loudest call she could. But, just before she let it out, a feather covered head poked over the side of the cloud, and looked down to her with a somewhat menacing glare.
“Who are you?” The female voice asked with an edge of annoyance in her tone.
Relieved that she had spoken first, as Pinkie could now identify the creatures gender, she smiled, and introduced herself, “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! Are you a friend of Rainbow Dash? Because so am I!”
“The name’s Gilda.” She began, before she was cut off.
“Hey Pinkie!” The easily recognizable voice of Rainbow Dash called, as she also poked her head over the edge of the cloud, “This is my griffon friend, Gilda!”
“What’s a griffon?” Pinkie asked, surprisingly ignorantly.
“She’s a half eagle, half lion!” Dash announced excitedly, as Gilda puffed out her chest to the party pony.
“Wow!” Pinkie giggled, hiding her embarrassment over not knowing what species this creature was.
“Gilda’s my best friend from back in the days of Junior Speedster flight camp!” Dash explained, as the griffon rolled her eyes at the memory, “Hey, do you remember the chant?”
“How could I forget?” She groaned, “They made us recite it every morning.”
“So…?” Dash asked hopefully, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Only for you Dash.” Gilda said plainly, happy that nopony was around to see her do something so lame.
“Junior Speedsters are our lives,
Sky-bound soars and daring dives
Junior Speedsters, It’s out quest,
To some day be the very best!”
The two recited the chant perfectly, with Gilda having a little less optimism in her tone, while they simultaneously performed a complicated flight in a circle.
Pinkie exploded in to a fit of high pitched giggles, embarrassing Gilda greatly, while earning a bright smile from Dash, “That was awesome! And it gave me a great idea for a prank! You game Gilda?”
“I groove on a prank as much as the next griffon,” Gilda asked, rolling her eyes at the childish suggestion, “But you know Dash, you promised we’d get a flying session in this morning.”
“Oh yeah…” Dash said apologetically, “Sorry Pinkie, you don’t mind, do you?”
“Oh, no problem!” Pinkie smiled, hiding her disappointment, “I’ll, uh, just catch up with you guys later!”
“See ya’ Pinkie!” Dash called, as the two flew away from the pony.
Sighing, Pinkie turned away from the two airborne creatures, and started to head home.
She sure wished she could fly like them!
Oh wait… she could!
/\/\/\/\
Alex had gone back to his hill on the edge of town, and was relaxing before the next insane situation showed up. Spike had given him a pair of binoculars that he had been using to creep the ponies in town.
The morning in Ponyville had begun slowly, but had sprung to life quickly. He had watched a nearby pink pony stop by the library, and then start heading toward the house of Rainbow Dash through the binoculars Spike had loaned him.
After that, she appeared to have a short conversation with that griffon he had seen the other day, and Rainbow Dash. The two of them then flew off, leaving Pinkie alone on the ground. It was a sad moment for him, to see Pinkie get shot down like that, but she appeared to get her momentum back quickly, and ran back to the bakery. That was about a half an hour ago.
He was about to pack it in, and head back for the library, but Alex was surprised to see Pinkie come out of her house, pushing a large trampoline with her head to just underneath the cloud Dash and her friend were sitting on.
She then proceeded to climb on top of it, and start jumping.
Her altitude increased with each bounce, which was impossible, of course. But, she did it anyway.
In no time, Pinkie was poking her head through the clouds, and speaking with the two girls. However, it only took a few seconds before the two took off toward a distant cloud, leaving Pinkie stuck at the one she was bouncing under.
Screeching herself to a halt just before she bounced again, Pinkie jumped off the trampoline, and ran back to the bakery, where she pulled out a few dozen inflatable balloons, and somehow tied them around her stomach.
Running underneath the cloud the two were now relaxing on, Pinkie jumped, and instantly started to fly in to the air, impossibly.
Again, Pinkie exchanged some words with the two of them, before the two of took to the air again, and exploded away from the cloud, racing toward yet another place to sit down. However, when the dust cleared at the start line of their race, Gilda was still there. She then proceeded to pop several of Pinkie’s balloons, sending her back down to earth.
“Man… what a bitch.” Alex mumbled to himself, intently watching Pinkie for whatever she might do next.
Running back home to the shed behind the building, she instantly pulled out some kind of bicycle.
Alex knew it would get her in the air somehow, it was Pinkie after—Yup. There she went. It was a helicopter bike.
Again, Pinkie made her way to the girls, and talked with them once again.
And also, just as before, Dash took off in to the air and started performing all sorts of flight tricks, while Gilda turned around, and grabbed Pinkie’s flying machine by one of the bars holding the rotors.
She said what looked like stern words, and then grabbed the rotor of Pinkie’s bike, causing the entire vehicle to start spinning at an incredibly speed.
Releasing it, Gilda watched as Pinkie spun out of control toward the ground, where it crashed, ruining the bike.
Peering through the binoculars, Alex considered running and getting help. There was no way Pinkie would be able to walk away from a crash like that.
But, to his great relief, she did just that.
“Maybe I should intervene…” Alex considered, knowing that this would only raise hell with Rainbow Dash, “Yeah. I think I should.”
\/\/\/\/
“I can’t believe how mean she is!” Pinkie huffed, pacing back and forth in the library, “She keeps hogging Rainbow Dash all to herself! And she popped my balloons!”
“You know Pinkie…” Twilight began, unsure of how this conversation with her was going to end, “It sounds like you’re jealous.”
“What?!” Pinkie squeaked, in what sounded like an insulted tone, “M-me?! I’m the jealous—what?! You think that I’m jealous?”
“Green with envy,” Spike laughed, placing a few books on a shelf next to her, “Or in your case, pink with envy.”
“I’m not jealous!” Pinkie insisted, “She’s a big meanie!”
“Pinkie, have you considered that it might be your attitude that needs to be improved?” Twilight asked, looking up from her book, “Maybe once she sees you making an effort, you’ll see a different side of her.”
Pinkie pondered this suggestion, wondering if it had indeed been her that was in the wrong here.
“Hey guys!” Alex announced, opening the door and seeing Pinkie already here, “What are we going to do about Gilda?”
“Was she mean to you too?” Twilight asked, ready to put some more stock in Pinkie’s story.
“Well, no,” Alex shook his head, joining them at the table, “But I did see her almost kill Pinkie with that helicopter bike thing she grabbed.”
“Almost kill her?” Twilight asked in surprise, closing her book and giving the situation her full attention.
“Oh yeah!” Pinkie lit up, “I forgot to mention that!”
“You forgot…?” Spike asked in disbelief.
“Yeah! That big meanie pants broke my flycycle!” Pinkie said in an unusually high pitched tone, “While I was on it, and in the air!”
While Twilight was concerned with the development, she still didn’t want to get in on telling Rainbow Dash who she could, and couldn’t be friends with. For all she knew, Dash was well aware of Gilda’s attitude, and simply didn’t care. And if that were the case, then it would make for an incredibly uncomfortable situation when she told her to keep Gilda away from her friends.
“If only Dash knew that this girl was such a meanie-pants…” Pinkie mumbled, “She’s drop her feathery butt on the spot!”
Twilight was relieved to hear that.
“Okay… I think I know how we could ditch this chick!” Pinkie announced, smiling to herself, giving the others pause, “I’m going too…”
She slowed down for effect, clearly increasing the tension in the room considerably.
“Throw her a party!”
Alex opened his mouth to tell her plan was too crazy, and that it was going to hurt somepony! But… well, she had said party.
“What was that?” Alex asked, frowning, “You said… party?”
“Yeah!” Pinkie giggled, “None of you were here for it, but at Applejack’s birthday party a few months ago, Rainbow Dash went crazy with her pranks! Applejack was ready to scream at her by the time the party was over!”
“So…?” Twilight asked.
“So! We leave a few subtle cues on the invitation to the party, and Rainbow Dash will for sure prank her friend!”
“How does that fix anything?” Alex asked, just as lost as Twilight and Spike.
“If Applejack was ready to scream, imagine how quickly an irritable gal like Gilda would just explode!” Pinkie explained, a strange new look gracing her features, “And of course, she’ll blame them all on me! She’ll call me all sorts of names for pranking her… but really, it will be Dash she’s insulting!”
“Pinkie…” Alex began, shocked at this level of scheming.
“Are you sure you feel comfortable manipulating the two of them like that?” Twilight asked, knowing that she was indeed comfortable with it, just by the dark look on her face.
“Of course!” Pinkie said, turning her nose up, “You have to fight fire with fire, Twilight!”
Twilight wasn’t sure if she should be impressed with this master manipulation, or horrified. But, if it did truly force Gilda to show her true colors, then all Twilight could do was be thankful that her powers were being used for good, not evil.
“Come on you guys! We have to get this party together before the day ends!” Pinkie said urgently, looking at the clock that currently read ‘noon.’
“Do we have to?” Spike whined, having been excited for his afternoon nap.
Normally, Twilight would have also been out. But, she was just too curious to see if this plan would work.
“Come on, Spike.” Twilight said, levitating him on to her back, “You can rest when we get home.”
“There’ll be cake!” Pinkie smiled, knowing this would lure the dragon in.
“Really!?” Spike asked, his eyes now wide with excitement.
“Really!” Pinkie giggled, adding another step to her plan, “As soon as Gilda blows out the candles, just jump right in!”
“Really?” Spike asked in awe, shocked that he was being given such permission.
“Sure! Gilda would love it!” Pinkie explained.
Alex told himself one thing.
Never ever cross Pinkie.
/\/\/\/\
“Welcome!” Pinkie said to her guest walking in the door, as they placed a gift on the table next to the door.
“Welcome!” She repeated in the same tone, as the next guest did the same.
“Welcome!”
Alex stood next to Twilight and Spike, as they watched Pinkie go about her business, welcoming everypony to the party, before they started in to their own conversation.
“Do you think they’re even gonna show up?” Spike asked, not sure if this would be Gilda’s scene.
“Oh, she will,” Twilight nodded, “I asked Rainbow Dash specifically. She’s not one to ever pass up a party.”
“Are we sure this is such a good plan though?” Alex asked, worried about the conditions this party could leave the ponies in, “Like, what if Rainbow Dash chooses Gilda over you guys?”
“I don’t think she would,” Spike shook his head, “She’s the Element of Loyalty!”
“That doesn’t mean too much,” Twilight muttered.
“What do you mean?” Spike asked, tilting his head.
“Dash can be loyal to anypony,” Twilight explained, “She isn’t specifically loyal to the other Elements of Harmony.”
“Oh…” Spike said, not having understood that fact, “Well, this plan could really explode in our faces then.”
Alex didn’t have anything to add. As far as he figured, Dash would side with this griffon. They seemed to be in the same mindset when it came to treating others with respect. Although, he was able to admit to himself that his own view might be skewed by his dislike for her.
“Gilda!” Pinkie shouted, gathering the attention of everypony in the room as she extended her hoof, “I’m so honored to throw you one of my signature parties! And I truly, sincerely hope that I can make you feel welcome among us ponyfolk!”
Gilda simply grunted, and reached out to shake her hoof. However, as soon as her hand wrapped around Pinkie’s hoof, she was met with an unpleasant electric sensation that ran through her body, causing all her feathers to stick up on their ends.
Everypony exploded in to laughter at the cheap joke Pinkie had just played on the guest of honor.
“Oh Pinkie Pie!” Dash laughed loudly, stepping past Gilda, “The old hoofshake buzzer! You are a scream!”
Gilda, not wanting to lose her cool in front of Dash, did her very best to laugh off the joke, as much as it infuriated as it had made her.
“Yeah… good one Pinkie,” Gilda roller her eyes and adjusting the feathers on the top of her head.
“Are you guys ready to party?” Pinkie asked giddily, choosing to ignore the attitude Gilda was giving her.
Eyeing some candy on a table across the room, Gilda tried her best to make her way over without looking too eager, lest the ponies in town think she wanted to eat them—or something.
“Vanilla lemon drops!” Gilda smiled, “Don’t mind if I do!”
Lifting and tossing one of the candies in to her mouth, her tongue was immediately set on fire.
“T-this is—hot!” She shouted, looking back and forth for some kind of refreshment to wash the spice out of her mouth.
“G! The Punch!” Dash pointed, trying to contain her laughter, as the griffon ran to the massive punch bowl, grabbed the closest cup to the drink, and filled it. However, as she raised the drink up, nothing came out. She could only feel a liquid pouring down her chest.
Dash could only be heard laughing hysterically, as Pinkie spoke up yet again.
“Well what do you know?” Pinkie laughed, “Pepper in the lemon drops, and a dribble glass!”
“Priceless!” Dash managed through her cackling, “Priceless!”
Seeing somepony drop their drink on a counter, Gilda dashed to it, and splashed it all in her mouth, cooling the inferno she had just endured.
“Yeah. Hilarious.” Gilda grumbled, her scowl even bigger than it had been before.
“Well, if nothing else, this is a lot of fun to watch.” Alex whispered to Spike.
“I kinda feel bad for her…” Spike said, “But, if she’s as bad as everypony is saying, I guess I can sit back and watch.”
“What in tarnation are y’all talkin’ about?” Applejack asked the two, having heard the idle conversation between the two.
“Oh!” Alex said quickly, “We’re—um…”
“We’re pranking Gilda to make her explode,” Spike answered idly, still focused on the situation.
“Pardon me?!” She began, before Dash cut in.
“Hey, G!” Dash grinned, pointing to a large pile of gifts that the ponies from town had brought for Gilda, “Presents!”
Not needing to hear another word, Gilda was in front of the mass of gifts, finally feeling good about this lame party.
“Here!” Dash grinned slyly, “Open this one first!”
Taking the gift from Dash, Gilda grabbed the ribbon around the cylindrical package, and gave it a solid tug. But, as soon as the tension on the lid faded, it exploded forward, sending several toy snakes in to her face, puffing out her feathers.
“Now Rainbow Dash, you should stop playin’ all these jokes on yer’ friend!” Applejack called, somewhat concerned for the feelings of Gilda.
“What?” Gilda asked, her heart sinking at the accusation.
“Aww!” Dash said to Applejack, “Why did you have to go and out me like that?”
Pinkie, Alex, Spike and Twilight all exchanged glances. Their plan depended on anonymity. That was gone now.
“Rainbow Dash was pranking her?” Fluttershy whispered in to Pinkie’s ear, “I wish she had got her worse…”
Pinkie gave the yellow Pegasus an odd look.
“Gilda roared at me in the market today,” Fluttershy whispered with a sliver of anger in her tone, “I cried all the way back home…”
Pinkie couldn’t believe this. Gilda could treat anypony badly. But she could not- she could not treat Fluttershy like that.
A new plan was instantly hatched. And it was much worse than the original.
The only pony looking at her at this moment was Alex, so, Pinkie drew his eyesight to Dash and the door, while she mouthed the words, ‘One more.’
Alex narrowed his eyes. She must want to play another prank on Gilda… so, he nodded. He would communicate that to Dash as best her could.
Gilda, now in a much, much better mood, walked over and wrapped her arm around Dash, “You had me going for a minute there!”
“Yeah,” Dash sighed, somewhat unhappily, “I guess you got me!”
Flashing a glare at Pinkie, Gilda smirked.
Pinkie, just smirked back, putting a frown on the griffons face once again.
“Well, this is all of them!” Dash sighed, walking around the room and gathering the several party pranks she had set up, “Pinkie, where’s your garbage?”
“Outside.” She said darkly.
“Thanks!” Dash smiled, trotting out the door.
Alex, taking his cue, headed out behind her, to stall her… he hoped anyway.
/\/\/\/\
Alex watched as Dash disposed of her candies and other spiked foods in the garbage pail next to the house, and walked up behind her.
“Need any help?” Alex asked, coughing nervously enough to throw her off of his true identity.
“Oh, no thanks,” She said politely, dumping the last of the candy and disposable plate in the garbage that she had balanced on her wing, “So, what do you think of Gil—“
Making eye contact with him, her expression hardened.
“What do you want?” She asked quietly.
“I just came to talk!” Alex laughed nervously, wondering why Pinkie had sent him out, when she would have talked with Twilight way before she would talk with him, “About Gilda!”
Dash didn’t answer him.
“She was kinda rude to Pinkie earlier,” Alex said, scratching the back of his head.
Music was suddenly turned on inside the store, for what the two assumed was for the dancing portion of the party.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Dash said plainly, “But Gilda can come off as that sometimes.”
“She told her that she was a loser!” Alex added.
“What’s your plan here?” Dash asked, her tone getting angrier as she continued, “To drive some kind of wedge between me and one of my best friends from when I was a filly? How messed up do you need to be to try that?”
“I’m not messed up!” Alex argued, his own temper starting to flare, “That chick was really—“
“I don’t want to hear it!” Dash shouted, comfortable that no one inside could hear her voice over the music, “I don’t know if you paid enough attention, but I’m the Element of Loyalty! I trust all of my friends! And I’m not going to betray them just because you told me to!”
“I’m not asking you to—“ Before Alex could even finish his next sentence, Dash had walked past him, back toward the party, “One more prank, Dash!”
\/\/\/\/
Pinkie watched as Alex headed out the door to talk to Dash, and decided that it was time to play dirty.
“Who’s ready to dance?” Pinkie called, as everypony cheered in response.
Running over to her turn table, she turned on one of her many party-appropriate records, and watched as the guests of the party quickly filled the area in front of her, and started dancing.
Gilda, who had been mystified by the music at first, simply started to sway to the upbeat track while waiting for Dash to get back, so she could insist on getting away from this lame party.
Pinkie, now content with the cover she would have, slipped on to the dance floor, and made her way to within one pony of Gilda.
Clearing her throat, Pinkie spoke in a deeper voice.
“That griffon sure looks dumb with that color in her feathers,” Pinkie spoke just loud enough for Gilda to pick up on, while everypony else stayed oblivious.
Snapping around to find the source of the voice, she growled at hearing such an insult.
Moving to her other side, Pinkie changed her voice again.
“Do all griffon girls sound like men?”
Gilda snapped toward the other voice, in awe that all of these ponies thought so little of her. But, she found nothing.
Pinkie knew she just needed one more to push her to her tipping point.
“I can’t believe somepony cool like Rainbow Dash, would hang out with a loser like Gilda!” Pinkie said, bolting away, watching Gilda’s eye twitch in absolute rage.
“I’m back everypony!” Dash called, entering the room and jumping on the dance floor immediately, as if her conversation with Alex never happened.
“Dash, let’s blow this joint.” Gilda growled, as Dash cocked her head, “Aren’t you having fun?”
“No.” She said simply, having too much pride to tell her what she had just heard.
“Well… Pinkie went through a lot of hassle planning this party… don’t you want to—“
“Dash. Let’s go.” Gilda reinforced with a serious enough tone to silence Dash.
“You’re leaving?” Pinkie asked in to the microphone, as everypony on the dance floor started to call for her to stay.
“Sorry, guys,” Gilda spat, “But—“
“Well, at least stay for cake!” Pinkie begged.
Gilda grumbled.
“Fine.”
/\/\/\/\
It took a few minutes, but Pinkie finally brought out a simply massive cake, and rolled it in front of the griffon, who was obviously itching to get out of the bakery.
Dash looked at the top of the cake, and realized that her trick candles were still in the top of the cake.
But, the words Alex had said to her were ringing in her head. One more prank.
Dash looked to Gilda, and could obviously see that she was agitated. But, if she were to be upset by the prank, all the fault would be on her, since they were her candles.
Twilight lit the candles with a quick spell, as everypony stood around, waiting expectantly for her to blow them out.
Rolling her eyes, Gilda inhaled, and blew them out as quickly as she could, hoping to be done with all of this already.
However, the candles relit.
Shaking her head, she inhaled, and blew them out once again.
They flickered back to life, again.
Gilda growled deeply, as she tried one final time, with one final blow.
However, just as before, they lit back up.
Remembering that Dash had said all her pranks were gone, Gilda looked to Pinkie, who was smirking smugly toward her.
Finally, Gilda lost her cool.
“That. Is. it!” Gilda roared, as everypony backed up from the raging griffon, “I have had enough of you, and your stupid friends, Pinkie Pie!”
The room was shocked in to silence.
“I didn’t realize that when I came to Ponyville, that I’d be surrounded by a bunch of losers!” Gilda shouted, glancing around the room, “All of you think I’m not cool, huh? I heard you while everyone was dancing! Making fun of me!”
Everypony glanced back and forth in confusion.
“But let me tell you all something!” She continued, “I am the cool one! And a bunch of lame ponies like you could never hope to be a friend with either me, or Rainbow Dash!”
The smile on Pinkie’s face only grew wider.
“But you!” Gilda snapped at her, “You are the queen of losers! And let me tell you something! I will never come back to a party thrown by you, or any of your stupid friends ever again!”
Pinkie’s ears folded back on her head, as her bottom lip stuck out.
“Good! I hope you—“
“That’s enough, Gilda!” Dash shouted, silencing the raging griffon, “How dare you talk to my friends like that!”
Gilda was speechless.
“These lame ponies are my best friends!” Dash shouted, as Gilda backed up, “Nopony in this room would whisper about you behind your back! Especially when you’re in the room with them!”
“But I—“
“I can’t believe you would treat them like this, after they all worked so hard to throw you this party!” Dash continued, “Pinkie has been at this for hours, just to make you feel welcome!”
“Well—“
“So, if this is how you’re going to act, after everypony works so hard to make you feel welcome, you can go!” Dash finished, giving Gilda an expectant look.
“Fine!” She shouted back, “You are such a flip-flop, Rainbow Dash. Cool one minute, a loser the next!”
Turning around, Gilda walked out the front door, and flew off to get her things from Dash’s house, so she could get out of this backward-ass town.
“Not cool.” Dash said, turning around to face all of the ponies who attended the party, “I’m sorry everypony! I didn’t know Gilda was so… rude.”
“It’s okay!” Pinkie smiled, swearing to never share the details of what happened with anypony- ever, “We all make mistakes!”
A sad silence filled the room as Dash gave Pinkie an apologetic hug.
Fluttershy, who was now feeling like a million bits, walked over to Twilight and whispered in her ear, “Thank Celestia she’s gone… That griffon was such a bitch!”
/\/\/\/\