//------------------------------//
// Interlude 1: The Escapee 
// Story: Fighting is Magic: The Equestrian Grand Tournament 
// by Lance Skyes 
//------------------------------//

	Bruised, battered, and beaten, Gilda limped her way through the darkened streets of Canterlot, doing her best to hurry in order to hide from the Changeling guards that were after her.
Mere moments before, she had been taken to some kind of cave deep within Canterlot following her defeat in the Equestria Battle Tournament. However, the griffon had no memory of even competing this year. In fact, the last thing she remembered before that day was seeing a flyer for the EBT from her home in Giffonheim, then making her way to a train station so she could go compete. Once she'd gotten on the train, however, she was approached by a pony wearing a trench coat and a large hat that obscured most of his features. Gilda didn't even remember anything specific about that encounter. All she knew was that she saw the pony, then she blacked out, then she found herself in that cave alone with some kind of creature that had tried to steal her magic.
At least, it tried to steal her magic. Fortunately for Gilda, she was a griffon, and she didn't have any sort of magic that ponies had. Seeing her opportunity at that point, she made her escape, easily getting past the guards who weren't even guarding her since they thought she was already finished.
And here Gilda was now, hiding from those very same guards behind a dumpster in an alleyway. She was panting heavily from how fast she was trying to move combined with how injured she was,but she was able to steady her breathing while the guards were near her. Once they passed, the griffon began panting again.
“What... the hell... is going on here?” she asked no one but herself between pants.
“Gilda?” a child-like voice asked from behind the griffon. Gilda turned around to see an orange pegasus filly with a pink mane step out of a cardboard box. “Is that you?”
“Uh...” Gilda said, caught a little off-guard by the fact that a pony just approached her from out of a cardboard box.
“I... I can't believe it's really you!” the filly said with excitement in her voice.
“Shh!” Gilda shushed. “Whatever you want, tell me quietly. I'm hiding from guards.”
“I'm just glad to meet you,” the filly continued. “My name's Scootaloo. I live in Ponyville, but I always enjoy coming here to Canterlot to enjoy the Equestria Battle Tournament. It's the most exciting sporting event in the world. And the fights that you and Rainbow Dash are in are my favorites.”
“What?” Gilda asked. “You mean... I'm one of your favorites?”
“Well, second favorite,” Scootaloo replied. “I mean, who could beat Rainbow Dash in anything? Of course she's gonna take the top spot. But you aren't far behind.” Scootaloo then squealed quietly before continuing. “Sorry, it's just... you're one of the most popular fighters in the Equestria Battle Tournament, and now you're here, in front of me! I just can't believe it!”
“What was that you said?” Gilda asked with confusion.
“I can't believe it?” Scootaloo replied.
“No, before that,” Gilda said. “Did you say I was one of the most popular fighters?”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo replied with a nod. “You're the fighter with the largest fan base... not counting those of the Champions, that is, but still...”
“Really?” Gilda asked. She then looked down. “I... don't believe it. The past few tournaments, I thought everypony hated me for the way I battled.”
“Nope, your fights are really exciting,” Scootaloo replied. “Every time I see you on the roster, I know it's gonna be a good fight. It's a shame you didn't get to fight Rainbow Dash in this tournament, though. A 'Gilda vs Dash' fight is always guaranteed to be the most exciting out of any fight in that tournament, even beating out the final round.”
“Wow...” Gilda said. “I never knew that.” The griffon then chuckled a little. “I actually mean that much to the spectators? I'm not just some generic villain character?”
“Well, we can't sway everypony's opinion...” Scootaloo admitted. “But you have a lot of devoted fans, and I consider myself really lucky to be one of them.”
Gilda was silent for a long while as she processed what the filly before her was saying. “Th-thank you,” Gilda said. “Er, what I mean to say is, obviously I've got fans. I'm the most competitive combatant in this game.” Gilda then puffed out her chest proudly, this this stretched an injured muscle and she quickly reeled from the pain. “Ow...”
“Are you ok, Gilda?” Scootaloo asked.
“I'm fine...” Gilda replied. “Sombra didn't heal me after that fight, that's all. I could easily walk it off.”
“Okay,” Scootaloo said. “Hey... if you're still hiding from those guards, do you want to hide together? I'm... kinda not supposed to be here either.”
“Really?” Gilda asked.
“Yeah...” Scootaloo replied. “Kinda sorta never actually bought a ticket to the Equestria Battle Tournament. But I've still been able to watch a few of the fights. Plus, those Changeling guards tend to not look through alleys for some reason, so this could be a perfect place for both of us to hide from them. What do you say?”
Gilda was quiet once more before replying. “Eh, sure. Why not? If a fan wants to do something nice for me, let 'em.” Scootaloo looked at the griffon with a confused expression for a moment before Gilda smiled and winked.
“Oh,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle. “Still maintaining the persona. Gotcha.” The filly then walked back over to her cardboard box. “I think there's room for two in here. I mean, sleeping on cardboard definitely beats sleeping on dirt or concrete.”
Gilda couldn't have argued with that if she wanted to. Instead she smiled and walked over, settling herself into the box next to Scootaloo. “So tell me something, Scootaloo,” Gilda said. “What's been going on in this tournament? Because for some reason, I don't remember a thing.”