When it came to the land of Equestria, there were several cities that most outsiders could list off the top of their heads with no problem. Whether it be the bustling metropolis of Manehattan, the entertaining hotspot of Las Pegasus, or even the uniquely peculiar cityscape of Baltimare, there were more than a few cities and townships other than Canterlot that were almost universal knowledge. Of course, after the defeat of Equestria’s most recent threat, the incalculably malicious Lord Tirek, it seemed like the quaint town of Ponyville was soon to reach that same status among Equestrian cities. After all, even if the epic fight between Lord Tirek and Princess Twilight Sparkle wasn’t enough to boost Ponyville’s visibility, the crystal castle that was created shortly afterward was more than enough to do it.
Less than a day after Tirek’s defeat (and a much deserved moment of rest), the Elements of Harmony were quick to erect the castle for Twilight Sparkle, and to throw a massive celebration in honor of their most recent achievement. And despite how shaken most of the citizens of Ponyville were in regards to the battle that occurred not too far from their homes, there wasn’t a single frown during the festivities of Pinkie Pie’s Super Special Castle Warming Party. Of course, that may have been because all of Ponyville was beyond grateful that the Elements were able to warn everypony before the fight and have them stay inside for safety; and aside from some singed rooftops and window covers (as well as one certain structure being destroyed), there wasn’t a single casualty or reason bad enough to dampen the mood of the celebration.
Even Twilight Sparkle, the Princess who probably suffered the biggest loss of the Golden Oaks Library, had a gracious smile on her face during the entirety of Pinkie’s party. Even though the massive feast -- as well as all the thanks from citizens and her mentors -- was enough to make the Alicorn feel ecstatic about her triumph, it was the sight of her parents at the castle that made the Princess completely overjoyed. In fact, throughout most of the party, Twilight was practically inseparable from her parents Night Light and Twilight Velvet. And because of that, Applejack made sure to make a quick stop back to Sweet Apple Acres before getting back to the castle by the time the party started to die down.
After checking that Rainbow Dash was away from the castle for her afternoon nap, the orange mare trotted into the main ballroom of the Palace of Friendship with two large, covered boxes on her back. Due to most of the party guests having already left, the ballroom was empty enough for Applejack to easily spot Twilight Sparkle and Spike by the refreshment table. While the farmpony went towards them, the Princess and her drake were giving hugs to the two older unicorns.
“Oh, Mom,” said Twilight in a grateful and slightly tired tone of voice, “I’m so happy you guys were able to make it here!”
“Are you kidding me?” said Twilight Velvet after letting go of her elated daughter. The off-white mare ruffled Twilight’s mane playfully while keeping a smile on her muzzle. “Night Light and I wouldn’t have missed this for the world!”
“That’s right,” added Night Light as he put Spike back down. The blue stallion went over to hug his daughter and said, “How could we miss you getting your own castle? We couldn’t be prouder of you if we tried!”
“Awww, thanks, Dad!” Twilight was nearly at tears as she hugged Night Light back. Applejack, who decided to let them finish, began to lug her boxes off of her back while waiting.
By the time the farm-pony finally got the weight off of her back and wiped her sweating brow, it was Spike who was the first to notice her. “Oh, hey Applejack. What are those?”
The drake pointed to the two crates, which prompted Applejack to shrug with a more relaxed smile. “Well,” began the mare in an upbeat tone, “Ah reckoned that since your folks came by ta congratulate ya, then it’d be good to give some party favors before the two left.”
“Oooohhhh…” Catching sight of one of the corners of the crates underneath the burlap covering them, Night Light’s amber eyes began to widen alongside his growing smile. “Is… that what I think it is?”
Applejack chuckled as she grabbed one of the ends of the cover with her hoof. “Well, I sure as sugar hope so!” With a quick pull, the mare happily revealed the two large crates of premium grade Sweet Apple Acres’ Hard Cider, each one large enough to carry 36 glass bottles. While both the unicorns beamed at the sight (although Night Light’s excitement was much more apparent), Applejack threw the burlap aside as she spoke towards Twilight. “After seein’ how empty yer fancy new kitchen was, Ah wanted to put somethin’ special in your fridge as a castle-warmin’ gift.”She then turned her gaze to Night Light. “Of course, Ah also remember how much yer Pa liked the samples of cider Ah gave him back at that Coronation, so it seemed right to get a case for them as well.
“Oh, my goodness!” Seeing how many bottles were in just one of the cases, Velvet was slightly overwhelmed. Of course, she still had a thankful smile when she looked back towards Applejack. “You really didn’t have to go that far for us, Applejack. You and your friends have already done more than enough to last a lifetime!”
“Aw, shoot! It was nuthin’.” Seeing how Night Light was already illuminating his horn to pick out a bottle with his blue aura, Applejack chuckled a bit before continuing. “Seriously, this was no trouble at all. Twi is just as much family to me as any Apple, and that goes for her family as well.”
“Well,” began Night Light as he got a bottle of cider from the crate for an early drink, “I think I can safely say that we’re very thankful for this, Miss Applejack.” After giving the mare a grateful smile, Night Light easily flicked off the cap with the wall of his hoof and took a hearty swig. “Aaaahhhhh… Man I love apple ale! It really speaks to me, you know?”
“Oh, yeah it does,” said Velvet in a more condescending tone, despite her chipper smirk towards him. “It speaks things to you like, ‘Go ahead and beat-box at your son’s wedding! He won’t mind!’”
While all the mares and Spike cracked up loudly, Night Light groaned with a deadpan stare back to his wife. “Oh, ha ha ha. Are you ever going to let that go?” He then pointed a hoof at her before adding, “And in my defense… that wasn’t apple ale. That was bourbon.”
“Wait, that was beat-boxin’?” Asked Applejack in a more surprised tone of voice. “Ah thought you were havin’ a stroke or somethin’!”
That made the rest of the group go into another round of hysterics while Night Light’s pout became stronger. Twilight was the first to stop giggling long enough to focus her magic on Spike and lift him up to her back. “Well, speaking of good stories, Spike and I were supposed to get a big shipment of books from Canterlot for our library today. I’m not sure how many books it is, but Celestia assured me it was a lot!”
“Oh, of course.” Velvet nuzzled her daughter sweetly before planting a kiss on the Princess’s blushing cheek. “Your Father and I have plans back in Canterlot as well, so we’ll let you get back to your Royal Duties...”
Twilight’s muzzle scrunched inward a tad from that last statement -- obviously still getting used to those kinds of terms -- but that changed when her Dad nuzzled her as well. “Just let us know if you need anything, alright kiddo?”
“Of course, Dad,” said the Alicorn with a smile after nuzzling him back. “You two have a safe trip back.”
“We always do.”
After giving the Princess and her drake another round of hugs, Night Light and Velvet gave the two their goodbyes before leaving with their smiles and a case of Applejack’s cider. Even though Twilight and Spike were obviously saddened to see the couple leave so soon, Applejack couldn’t help tearing up either. Of course, neither Twilight or Spike dared question why, and just hugged her in response after their parents were out of sight. “Are you okay, A.J.?” asked Spike in a sympathetic tone.
“Yeah, yeah,” said the orange mare in a sincere tone after wiping her eyes dry. “Ah just... “ Not wanting to get too personal with the two at that moment, Applejack just shrugged before readjusting the Stetson on her head and heading off. “Just a little nostalgia, that’s all. Ah’m gonna find Rainbow Dash.”
Spike brought up a claw and stated, “Oh, I think I saw her not too long ago. She said something about going to Sugar Cube Corner.”
“Thanks, Spike,” said Applejack before pushing the remaining crate over to Twilight. “Ya need any help puttin’ this in the fridge?”
“No, I think I’ll be fine.” To prove her point, Twilight lit her horn to lift the large crate like it was nothing at all. “Thank you for the gift, though. I don’t know how much I’m actually going to get through, but this was still really nice of you.”
“Ah, it was nuthin’,” assured the mare sincerely. Applejack then gave the two a tip of her hat before heading off with a heart, “Y’all take care now.”
Fortunately enough, there didn’t seem to be much else in the castle to distract Applejack on her way to the front door; most of the other ponies who attended were already gone, and there was barely even any big messes worthy of getting herself involved with. So, without much hesitation, the orange mare happily trotted into Ponyville to see where her cyan friend may have been. However, while her quest was solved fairly quickly when she heard Rainbow Dash’s brash and raspy voice, Applejack immediately grew worried when she realized she was hearing her friend yelling from the distance. As she galloped closer to the source, Applejack could clearly hear Rainbow shouting from above:
“So THAT’S how you’re gonna act the first time you come back here?!”
Luckily, when Applejack reached the clearing just outside of town where the yelling was happening, she was slightly relieved when she didn’t see any large crowds of ponies looking up at the spectacle in the skies. But still, that didn’t help ease the orange mare’s nerves too much when she saw just who Rainbow Dash was fighting with. While the cyan Pegasus was propped up on a small cloud, her cheeks were clearly reddened from shouting as she bickered with a familiar-looking Gryphon hovering in front of her.
“You know what?!” yelled the white-feathered Gryphon maliciously, “I don’t need this kind of treatment from YOU! I just came here to talk with a friend, so CLEARLY you’re not it!”
“Oh, really, Gilda?!” Rainbow Dash grew a nasty sneer back towards the Gryphon, neither of whom seeming to notice Applejack staring at them from below in stunned silence. “You came here to meet a friend?! Because after how you acted back at that party, I’m a little skeptical that you made friends with anyone around here!”
Gilda just rolled her golden eyes in annoyance. “Oh, what? I can’t have any friends besides you? I might not be some namby-pamby Harmony-thing or whatever, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a life outside of YOU, Dash!”
“Urgh!” Gritting her teeth like she was about to snap at any moment, Rainbow just looked away from Gilda like she was sick of even looking at her. “Just… shut up, alright?! It’s clear you don’t have anything nice to say, so maybe you should just go before you say anything you might regret!”
Gilda merely huffed and turned away as well. “Funny. I was just about to say that about you…”
Rainbow turned around to try and face the Gryphon again. However, Gilda was already off, flying away from the irritated mare like she was just a second thought. Rainbow Dash, looking like she had a lot of pent-up anger still residing inside of her, made an enraged groan that sounded more like a lazy roar before shaking her head and looking down. Unfortunately, that action only made the mare notice Applejack staring up at her wide-eyed.
“Uhhh…” Applejack looked like she was temporarily out of the moment as she tried to speak up towards Rainbow. “Are… you alright, Dash?”
Rainbow sighed and slowly lowered her descent so she could land on the ground in front of her friend. “Yeah, yeah…” Despite her answer, it was clear that the Pegasus looked less than okay when she finally landed and shook her head in a mix of defeat and disappointment. “Sorry about that. I just wasn’t expecting to see Gilda around here today.”
“Well, you’re certainly not the only one,” replied Applejack in an honest tone. Her head turned around as she tried to catch a glimpse of the Gryphon, but didn’t catch sight of her in the skies. “So… what was that Gilda doin’ here?”
“Beats me,” answered Rainbow with a shrug. “I caught her flying by right as I was waking up from my nap, but she got totally defensive when I tried to talk with her.”
“What’ya expect?” asked the orange mare bluntly. “Ah might not know much about that gal, but I’d figure that she’d be crankier than a cat thrown in a lake.”
“Well, maybe, but…” Even though it was clear Rainbow had more to say than that, her words died off quick enough for her finish with a weak sigh and look away from her friend. “Eh… it’s nothing.”
“What’s nothin’?” asked Applejack in a more curious tone.
“It’s nothing, really.”
“Now don’t give me that!” Not wanting to see her friend act this way, especially after a nasty fight, Applejack became more insistent as she asked, “What was it you were about ta say? You know Ah ain’t gonna mess with ya for it, right?”
“I do, I do. It’s…” Taking a moment to pause her words, mostly to see if Applejack was going to back off, Rainbow Dash let off a more defeated sigh before giving an honest answer. “It’s just that… I thought she’d be different when I saw her or something.”
Applejack tilted her head a little. “Different?”
“You know. Like… nicer or… wanting to apologize, you know?” When she looked back at her friend to see her response, Rainbow huffed before shaking her head. “I dunno. It’s just… when I saw her, part of me thought that she was wanting to act better than last time. I mean, if Discord can be good, then why can’t Gilda?”
While Applejack could certainly see Rainbow Dash’s point, and could totally understand the Pegasus wanting her old friend back on better terms, she made a shrug before giving her input. “Well, Ah think we need a little more time to see if Discord really CAN be good, so let’s put that on the back-burner for now. And as for Gilda, it ain’t like she’s gonna just turn nice if she don’t wanna change. Unless she’s able ta see she acted wrong, then hopin’ for change might just be wishful thinkin’. Y’know what Ah’m saying?”
Despite the bluntness of Applejack’s words, Rainbow still nodded with a more disappointed pout. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess…”
Seeing her saddened state, Applejack sighed before adding in a more optimistic tone. “Ah mean, ya never know, though. Maybe she can be less rotten in the future, but Ah doubt it’s gonna happen if you two keep gettin’ in squabbles like a couple’a fillies after naptime.”
Fortunately, that comment was enough to make Rainbow Dash crack a small smirk on her face as she nodded reluctantly. “Yeah, that’s true…” Wanting to stay upbeat, she looked back at Applejack with a smile. “Thanks, A.J.”
Applejack gave a caring smile back at her. “Oh, it ain’t nuthin’. Just be glad that y’all didn’t cause a scene today because of it.”
A distinctively posh voice called out towards the two, “Cause a scene because of what?”
Applejack and Rainbow Dash turned over to see Rarity walking towards them with a curious expression, as well as with a scarf draped across her back. The white unicorn also had Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie following in tow. Realizing that the three just caught the last part of their discussion, Rainbow Dash sighed before rubbing the back of her head. “Oh, ummm… I kinda got into an argument with Gilda just now.”
“G-Gilda?!” Fluttershy quickly looked around, her stance lowering like she was trying to make herself look smaller while out in the clearing with the other four mares. Her voice came out nervously as she asked, “Is... is she still around?”
“Don’t worry,” assured Applejack. “She just flew off somewhere else.”
“Yeah,” grumbled Dash in addition to Applejack’s answer. “Apparently she came to see a friend or something.”
“Ooh, really?!” asked Pinkie Pie excitedly. Looking quite pleased with Rainbow’s response, the pink mare pulled out the large box of cupcakes that were sitting on her back. “If that’s the case, then maybe I can see where they are and give them some of these cupcakes! I mean, I was planning to give these to Twilight’s parents before they left, but--”
“Pinkie, Pinkie darling,” interrupted Rarity as she tried to grab Pinkie Pie’s focus. “Do you really think it would be a good idea to confront that Gryphon after the last time you tried to socialize with her?”
While the four looked over at Pinkie, hoping that she was able to get the hint, the baker paused for only a moment before shrugging her shoulders. “Why not?”
“Ugh!” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Whatever! I’d rather not think about her right now, if you guys don’t mind.”
“Well, I can certainly understand that,” said Rarity in a sympathetic tone. “Today is supposed to be a celebration, so I’d rather not let that mood get soured by any past altercations.”
Applejack gave a hearty nod to the unicorn. “Agreed.”
Pinkie Pie, who was looking up in the sky to see if she could spot the Gryphon anywhere, merely shrugged again when she didn’t see her, and returned her attention towards Rarity and Fluttershy. “So, what do you say, girls? Are we still going to the train station?”
“Oh, of course!” Rarity lit her horn to float the scarf off of her back in her blue aura. “I don’t want Velvet to forget her scarf after leaving it at my boutique, after all.”
Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked back towards each other, both giving a clear expression that they had the same idea to join them. “So…” Rainbow was the first to turn back to Rarity and ask, “you want us to come along? I mean, it’s not like have much else to do today.”
“Sure!” piped Pinkie cheerfully. She pointed a hoof to Fluttershy and added, “That’s why Fluttershy was coming along anyway! The more the merrier!”
So with that, the group of five went back into Ponyville’s limits, all choosing to walk towards the train station to give Velvet and Night Light their scarf and cupcakes. During the peaceful trot through town, the five were able to lighten the mood quite nicely with some pleasant conversation, which helped to make Rainbow forget about her fight with Gilda. By the time they reached the train station, it wasn’t until they walked past the alleyway between the station and the post office that Applejack stopped momentarily. “What the…”
The orange mare turned around and peeked inside of the alley, having swore she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. Looking inside the darkened space, Applejack’s eyes narrowed as she tried to spot anything through the darkened space. Despite the alley being near pitch black, with garbage cans and a dumpster obscuring most of the view of the other end, a ray of sunlight peeking in was enough to make Applejack see the moving figure again. As her eyes widened at the sight of white feathers and brown fur, Applejack’s brows raised in surprise while the other four looked back at her. “Ummm… A.J?” asked Rainbow Dash as she walked towards her first. “What is it?”
Applejack’s head tilted, seeing more of the large moving figure near the other end of the alley. Her voice came out in almost a mutter as she replied. “Is… is that Gilda over there?”
“What?” asked the Pegasus in a hiss before looking in the alleyway as well. Since Applejack’s eyes adjusted to the darkness first, it took the Pegasus a moment before realizing her friend was right. Of course, her focus went back towards the orange mare when she overheard her cover her muzzle with a hoof to conceal a snicker
“No way!” whispered Applejack loud enough for her friends to hear. “Ah think she’s kissin’ someone!”
“Really?!” shouted Pinkie less than subtly before hopping on top of Applejack for a good look. Of course, it didn’t seem to affect Gilda, who was still at the other end of the alleyway with her back turned to the five peering in. Slowly, a pair of smooth white hooves could be seen wrapping tighter around the Gryphon’s back.
“What the!” whispered Rainbow Dash, who was now looking more befuddled than anyone else. “Is… is that a mare?!”
“Ah think so,” said Applejack before looking over at the Pegasus with a smirk. “Well, shoot, Dash. You never mentioned that ‘bout her before!”
Dash shook her head faintly, looking like she was at a temporary loss for words due to her growing surprise. “Well… I didn’t know about that!”
“Well,” added Pinkie as she put her hooves on top of Applejack’s head and leaned in, not realizing she was nearly throwing her friend off-balance, “it doesn’t look like her filly friend is complaining one bit!”
Fluttershy and Rarity, who were standing beside Applejack, both carried more apprehensive stares as they tried to get a good look at the Gryphon during her makeout session. “Ummm…” Fluttershy was the first to ask in a growingly worried tone of voice, “G-girls? Who… who is that?”
Rarity, who was peering in nearly as closely as Pinkie Pie, widened her eyes slowly when she noticed the tone of white on the pair of hooves wrapped around Gilda. “Oh… oh my gosh!” Her voice quickly turned grave as she covered her own mouth with a hoof. “Is… is that--”
Before the fashionista could finish, the five watched Gilda be thrown back against the wall of the alley, revealing the mare who was passionately making out with her. Gilda’s claws went down and grabbed at Twilight Velvet’s flank, squeezing it tightly while the mare’s cutie mark of three stars were still shown clear as day to her daughter’s gaping friends. Meanwhile, Velvet obviously had no idea she was being watched, and continued to tongue the Gryphon’s beak deeper than a prisoner during a conjugal visit. While the two kept making out sloppily in the alleyway, none of the five mares watching could say a word while their jaws were dropped in utter shock and dread.
When Twilight Velvet’s muzzle finally broke apart from Gilda’s beak, a thick line of saliva connected the two briefly while both were panting and smiling at one another. “Oh, Gilda…” Velvet had an especially randy grin on her face as she eyed the Gryphon with obvious lust. “I can’t wait to play with you back home!”
The five mares watching dropped their mouths even lower, not believing what they were hearing. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop Gilda from chuckling and grabbing Velvet’s flank even tighter. “Well,” replied the Gryphon in a sultry tone, “if you let me, I could fly you back to Canterlot WAY faster than that stupid train can!”
Velvet rolled her eyes, trying not to giggle from Gilda’s talons squeezing her. “I-I know, but… hehehe… but Night Light already paid for the tickets... “ She gave the Gryphon another deep kiss, letting it linger for a long moment before pulling back to finish. “A-and… I don’t want to leave him hanging…”
Gilda groaned with a shake of her head and a smirk. “Oh, please… Why do you have to go back with him?”
“Because he’s my husband, remember?” Even though Velvet said that in a more condescending tone, her enticing grin up to the Gryphon made her look less than disappointed. “Besides, you really shouldn’t have to worry about him…”
The five watched in horror as Velvet moved in closer to Gilda. The Gryphon shuddered as the unicorn pressed her muzzle hard against her feathered neck, no doubt trying to give her a hickey. While Gilda struggled in her grasp and tried not to squirm too badly, Velvet pulled back with an audible pop before moving up to her ear. “You just wait for me back home, you dirty bird,” she whispered naughtily. “As soon as we get back, I’ll shoo Night Light away for a few hours, and meanwhile, you and I can…”
Her muzzle went in closer to Gilda’s ear, and she began to whisper things that none of the peeping mares could overhear. However, with the way Gilda’s hind legs shuddered, it was clear that whatever Velvet said was enough to keep the Gryphon from opposing any longer. Velvet pulled back to ask sweetly, “So… will you be a good little chickie and wait for me?”
Gilda nodded firmly while panting deeply, looking like she was just barely able to play it cool. “Y-yeah, whatever. I… I can handle that...”
After giving the Gryphon a wide grin of approval, Velvet rewarded her with another especially deep kiss. When she pulled back, the mare slowly looked around the alleyway the two were in, which prompted Twilight’s friends to quickly dart out of sight. “Geeze, Gilda,” said Velvet in a huff. “I kinda wish we weren’t somewhere so dirty.”
“Hey, you were the one who pulled me in here,” replied Gilda in a snarkier tone. Her eyes narrowed on Velvet as she added, “Besides… you can’t say you don’t like it dirty…”
Velvet let off a guilty giggle from the Gryphon’s comment, but any statement that could follow was quickly cut off with the sound of a loudspeaker from the train station next door. “All aboard! All aboard for the 4:15 train to Canterlot!”
“Oh shoot!” Velvet gave Gilda another quick kiss on the beak before running out of the alleyway. “I have to catch my train! I’ll see you tonight, alright?”
Even though Gilda was a tad bit thrown off from how sudden the mare’s exit was, she merely shrugged before waving goodbye. “Ummm… alright then! See you back home!”
After giving off another light shudder, letting her feathers ruffle out momentarily, the Gryphon brushed them back down smoothly with a claw before soaring upward into the skies. Meanwhile, still outside the alleyway, all five of the mares who were watching were absolutely frozen in shock. By the time any of them were able to bring their jaws back up from the floor, Velvet and Night Light’s train was already leaving the station. Rainbow Dash, who was the first to move fast enough to notice the train leaving Ponyville, only stayed silent for another moment before blurting out:
“WHAT THE BUCK WAS THAT?!”