In less than twenty minutes, Princess Twilight Sparkle was able to secure a private car for the next train to Canterlot, which was spacious enough for all of her friends to join her. Even though she considered flying, Twilight’s memory of how Spike reacted to her flights before prompted her to act more reasonably this time around. So, instead of shooting straight to Canterlot with a screaming baby dragon on her back, the Alicorn settled with just waiting patiently alongside her friends. Or more accurately, the other five mares (and Spike) sat patiently while Twilight paced around the luxury car in an irritated state.
“Urrrrrgh!” The Princess had her teeth gritted as she walked around angrily, still looking upset about finding out who her Mom was dating. “I… I just can’t believe that she would do this! I mean, Gilda?! Really?! Mom goes and chooses someone like Gilda?!?”
Even though Spike was surprised by this information as well, he had the same look of worry about Twilight’s state that the others had. Aside from Rainbow Dash, who was strangely looking out of one of the train windows in thought, the others were keeping their attention on Twilight as she kept walking around the train car. The drake tried to grab her attention by saying, “Well, if you think about it, Gilda does kinda fit Mom’s type.”
“Wait, what?” Applejack, who was sitting on one of the lounge couches by the windows, looked at Spike quizzically. “Wha’cha mean, Spike? Does Velvet have a thing for Gryphons or somethin’?”
Before Spike could answer, Twilight turned to the farm-pony with a confused tone of her own. “Well, no… At least, I didn’t think so....”
Rarity put down her newspaper, which she mostly just had as a distraction from her friend’s ranting, as she looked up at Twilight to ask. “So, what is your Mother’s type? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”
Twilight bit her lip and looked away from the unicorn in discomfort. “Well, ummm… How do I put this…”
Seeing her reaction, Spike just chuckled before picking up Rarity’s paper to browse the comics section. He didn’t even look up from the printing as he replied casually, “Mom likes them butch.”
“SPIKE!”
Despite how angry Twilight looked when she shouted at him, Spike just glanced up at her for a moment like it was nothing. “Oh, come on, Twi! Do you remember when she dated that furniture-moving pony who you thought was a stallion for over a month?”
The five mares all whipped their heads to stare at Twilight for confirmation. Feeling their wide-eyed glances on her, Twilight winced uncomfortably and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. “W-well… I was kinda young then…”
Spike giggled while reading his paper, which prompted Twilight to pout with a huff towards him. “And it wasn’t like U-Haul was obvious or anything! She constantly had a five-o-clock shadow, and hooves bigger than Dad’s! Even Shining thought she was a stallion, so how was I supposed to know?!”
Applejack just shook her head and looked away while trying not to laugh. While Fluttershy and Rarity looked over at each other with weirded-out expression of their own, Pinkie kept her eyes on Twilight with a smile. “You know, I think we’ve learned more about your parents today than we EVER have!”
Despite Pinkie trying to lighten the mood, all it did was make the Princess groan and walk away from them. “Yeah, I suppose you girls have…”
Twilight then continued to pace around silently, not even muttering to herself as she stayed with her thoughts. Fluttershy’s attention changed as she looked back at Rainbow Dash, who was still seated at the corner of the train car. Of course, given that she was the only one on her end of the lounging couch, it could be argued that the cyan Pegasus had the most comfortable seat while one of her hooves was propped on the window ledge. Knowing that Rainbow has been strangely silent since they left Ponyville, Fluttershy got off of her seat to talk towards her.
“Ummm… Rainbow?” she asked timidly when she approached her. However, the only response Fluttershy received was a small flick from Dash’s raised ears. When the blue mare finally turned her head towards her, Fluttershy bit her lip before asking, “Is… there something wrong?”
“No, I’m fine,” assured Rainbow before looking over at the rest of the train car. She sighed softly when she saw nopony was paying attention to them. “It’s just…”
After a few seconds of silence, Fluttershy decided to take the reins after Rainbow’s statement trailed off. “It’s just what?”
Rainbow shook her head and looked back out the window. “Nothing. It’s nothing, really…” However, after another bout of silence, Rainbow huffed before turning back around to ask the yellow Pegasus. “Do you remember when Gilda and I were friends back at Flight Camp?”
“Ummm…” Even though she was unsure where Dash was going with this, Fluttershy answered with a shrug. “Well… barely. I mean, she was more your friend than anypony else’s.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Letting that answer sink in, Rainbow looked down at her hooves briefly until she decided to ask. “So… did you get any vibes from her back then?”
Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion. “Ummm… vibes?”
“Yeah, you know. Like… gay vibes?”
Quickly realizing what her friend was referring to, Fluttershy’s eyes widened while Rainbow stared up at her. “Oh… W-well…” After blinking a few times, she stared at Rainbow in confusion. “Is… is that what you were thinking about?”
“I-I don’t know!” Dash sighed in a quickly pant and looked back out the window. “I just… I wasn’t expecting her to be a lesbian now, and... “ She looked out at the passing mountainside as she paused, obviously unsure what to say to justify her question. “... I dunno, I… I just wasn’t sure how long she’s been like that, that’s all.”
Pinkie popped her head in, seemingly out of nowhere. “How long who’s been like what?”
Both of the ponied jolted from the pink mare’s sudden intrusion into their conversation. Before Rainbow could try and shoo Pinkie Away, Fluttershy turned towards her and answered, “I think Rainbow meant that she wasn’t sure if Gilda had a crush on her back in Flight Camp.”
“WHAT?!” Rainbow stared at Fluttershy with a dropped jaw. “Fluttershy, I never said anything even CLOSE to that!”
Even with an embarrassed blush on her face, Fluttershy was able to respond in a casual tone, “Well… it seemed like that was what you were trying to say.”
Dash gritted her teeth and turned her sights away from Fluttershy, not wanting to confirm or deny that statement. Of course, Pinkie was quick to add her input. “Well, it probably would make a lot of sense.”
“What?!” Rainbow grew a more quizzical stare towards Pinkie. “What do you mean?!”
“Well…” Pinkie had her shoulders shrugged when she looked up at the ceiling. After a moment in deep thought, she sat beside Rainbow as she gave her analysis. “Back when Gilda first showed up to Ponyville, she seemed reeeeallllly insistent on being alone with you. I mean, whenever I tried to tag along and be a good friend, she kept pushing me away! And she seemed way more interested in you than anything else, especially when she was left alone in town.”
Dash’s nose wrinkled when she looked away from Pinkie. However, the party-mare either didn’t notice her friend’s reaction, or did and decided that it wasn’t enough to stop talking. “And since you mentioned how close the two of you were back in Flight Camp, it seems like maybe Gilda saw you as a reeeeealllllly close friend. I mean, it would totally explain why she was more willing to hang out with you alone than with any of us! Heck, she even tried to pull you away from us all to herself!”
Even though she really didn’t want to give in to Pinkie’s assumptions, Rainbow had to admit that her friend wasn’t completely wrong. She remembered that Gilda did try to spend a lot of time with her, mostly for one-on-one flying duels like back in camp. And when she heard about how Gilda acted after she left, most of the ponies that the Gryphon interacted with agreed that she acted apathetic or hostile, like she was waiting for something and growing thin with patience. While the Pegasus didn’t want to come to a conclusion like that, she couldn’t deny that Pinkie might’ve had a point.
Pinkie’s head tilted when she added, “Orrrrr, maybe she was just super shy, and wasn’t comfortable with being around more than one pony.”
With that, Rainbow just sighed and shook her head. “I… I dunno…” After a brief moment, she turned her head back to Pinkie and Fluttershy. “I... think I just need to think things over a bit more. Like… alone, I mean.”
Fluttershy nodded and walked away from her first. “I understand, Rainbow…”
“Me too!” piped Pinkie with a salute. Of course, as she hopped off of the couch and walked away from Dash, she still shouted out in a carefree tone, “But just know that we’re gonna be in Canterlot soon, so I wouldn’t think about Gilda’s possible lesbian crush on you for too long!”
“PINKIE!” shouted the cyan pony before looking around with a hint of worry. Fortunately though, since Twilight was still looking angry enough to throw a random punch out of nowhere, most of the attention from the others was focused on her instead of Pinkie’s statement. Nevertheless, Rainbow still groaned before settling back in her seat, just in time to see Canterlot Castle make an appearance over the horizon.
Even with Twilight Sparkle’s notoriety and fame, along with the shared success of her older brother’s, that didn’t keep Twilight Velvet or Night Light from moving from the quaint suburban neighborhood just at the outskirts of Canterlot. As Twilight and Spike walked alongside their friends down the near-empty streets, the only other ponies out at the moment were a mailpony making his rounds, an ice-cream vendor heading towards the park, and a small group of fillies playing hopscotch on the sidewalk. Aside from that, nothing much stood out from the rows of identical houses behind manicured lawns, and only the numbers on the doors indicated the greatest difference between them. In a way, this neighborhood’s monotony and boredom gave a fairly good background to how Twilight’s foalhood must’ve been around here.
Of course, Twilight still had an irritated scowl on her muzzle as she walked in the lead. And due to her silence since leaving the train, none of her friends tried to say anything in risk of setting off the powder-keg that might blow at any moment. By the time they reached the surprisingly nice-looking house at the end of the cul-de-sac, Spike and the other five elements kept a respectable distance when they followed the Alicorn walking to the door.
After a couple of knocks, Twilight took a breath to calm herself when she heard her Mother’s hoofsteps from the other side. “Okay, okay,” said the Princess to herself in an attempt to stay tranquil, “just keep a level head, Twilight. You’re not here to make a scene, you’re just here to make sure your Mom is informed. Nothing weird about that.”
“Ummm… Twilight?” asked Spike worriedly. “You’re talking to yourself again.”
Twilight groaned, and was just about to turn her head when she heard the doorknob turn. When Velvet opened the door, she seemed rather surprised to see her daughter, along with Spike and their friends. “Twilight?!” Of course, after a brief moment of shock, the off-white mare smiled and hugged the Alicorn sweetly. “Honey, what on Earth are you doing here?! This is such a surprise, even for you!”
Twilight was able to smile long enough to hug her Mother back, but her expression turned firmer after pulling away. “Well, Mom....” Her lips pursed together for a second as her eyes narrowed on Velvet. “I was told by my friends that they saw you with a… new girlfriend?”
Velvet’s eyes shot wide open before making a guilty sigh. “Oh, honey…” Her shoulders slumped down a little when her tone turned more apologetic. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her, but I couldn’t really find the right time to do so. Plus, I didn’t want to tell you on your big day and… steal your thunder, you know?”
“Told ya,” said Spike from a distance with a smirk.
Twilight glared back at him before returning her focus on Velvet. “Well, I’m not upset about that, Mom. However, I wanted to talk with you about her, because we actually--”
Before Twilight could finish her rehearsed statement, she was interrupted from Gilda’s voice calling out from inside the house. “Yo, Vel! We’re out of cream cheese frosting!”
“What the!” Velvet turned back into the house with a look of shock. “Again?! I just bought that yesterday! What are you doing, eating out of it like a pudding cup?!”
A small bout of silence passed before Gilda replied with, “Uhhhh… Should I not?”
Velvet just groaned and rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “Ughhhh… I swear,” she muttered under her breath, “What is it with her and that stuff…”
Twilight Sparkle was just about to try and catch her Mom’s attention when Gilda walked up to the doorway as well. “I don’t see why you’re complaining about it. It’s not like I’m bringing it in the bedroom anymo--OH!” Upon seeing the Princess at the door, the Gryphon dropped her empty can of frosting as her posture tightened. “Er, ummm… P-Princess Twilight, I…”
Gilda’s sight turned past the Alicorn when she noticed Rainbow Dash behind her. “What the!” She pointed a talon towards the Pegasus angrily. “What the hay are YOU doing he--”
Her statement was immediately stopped when she saw Pinkie as well, which just made her angrier. “And YOU!!”
While the pink mare flinched back a little out of fear, Gilda blinked repeatedly when she recognized more of the group. The Gryphon paused as she scanned everypony from the doorway, the gears in her head clearly turning. “What the… why are you…”
When she looked back towards Twilight, it was Gilda’s turn to flinch she noticed the Alicorn’s obviously strong stare on her. Staying frozen in position, it took several seconds before the realization began to set in. As her eyebrows raised slowly, Gilda could only say one thing when she came to the conclusion of why Twilight was here. “Oh… crap.”
Even though the home of Twilight Velvet and Night Light was fairly spacious, there was barely enough room for the seven mares in the living room, not to mention the Gryphon and the baby dragon. But still, while Velvet and Gilda were together in the loveseat, Twilight and Spike were seated across from them in each of the two armchairs, while the remaining five mares were crammed on the couch that was perpendicular to them. Of course, despite the lack of comfort, both from lack of space and from growing tension, the semi-circle that was arranged in the living room made it so everyone could see Gilda’s uneasy expression by the time Twilight finished her story.
Gilda, who was easily a foot taller than her marefriend, was still hunched low enough to match Velvet’s height while carrying a textbook-level cringe on her face. Velvet, on the other hoof, took a long moment to let her daughter’s recollection sink in, and then turned to the Gryphon with a less-than-savory expression of her own. “Well… I don’t believe you mentioned that little story to me.”
Even though she looked uncomfortable, Gilda still gave off a small scoff pointed away from the older mare. “Hey, it wasn’t like I thought it was relevant or anything.”
“Oh really?” asked Velvet with both brows raised. “You didn’t think an interaction like that involving my own daughter wasn’t relevant?”
Gilda quickly turned back to Velvet in defense. “Well, it wasn’t like I KNEW that was your daughter! I didn’t even think it was the same mare back then!”
Everyone looked at the Gryphon with confused stares like she just spoke fluent Zebrican. While Twilight could only blink with her mouth slightly open, Spike was able to speak on her behalf. “Ummm… no offense, but how the heck could you not remember meeting Twilight Sparkle?”
Gilda growled in annoyance and pointed talon towards the drake. “Okay, listen, little dragon-guy! It was a long time ago, and she didn’t even have her wings back then! It’s not like I could instantly remember every pony I saw that day! Besides, a lot of you mares look alike.”
“Excuse me?!” shouted Rarity from the middle of the couch.
Velvet leaned forward in her seat to address the other unicorn. “It’s not like that, Miss Rarity! Gilda is from a different culture. Ponies aren’t as easy to recognize for her.”
Before Gilda could give a slight smile in appreciation, the option was vanished as soon as Velvet set her focus back towards the Gryphon. “But even with that in mind, it doesn’t excuse how you acted that day!”
Gilda sighed and rolled her eyes. “So, they caught me on a rough day, so what? Does that really make ME the bad guy here?!”
Rainbow Dash finally spoke up while seated at one end of the couch. “How are you NOT?! You acted like a complete jerk at that party!”
“Yeah, after all of YOU pulled pranks on me and humiliated me in front of the entire town!” With the way Gilda leaned forward in her seat while glaring at the group on the couch, all of them flinched in fear that she was going to lunge at them with talons drawn. “You really expect me to be all chipper and smiling after being treated like that?!”
“Now, wait a minute!” Pinkie Pie decided to respond to the Gryphon by reminding her, “All those pranks were placed around the party randomly! You just happened to get them before anypony else could!”
Gilda rolled her eyes with obvious skepticism. “Oh, yeah. Sure they were...”
Velvet’s eyes narrowed on her when she said in a warning tone, “Gilda…”
“Okay, okay,” said Dash as she tried to get the discussion back on track. She pointed a hoof towards Fluttershy who was next to her. “Even IF those dumb pranks triggered you or something, that doesn’t justify making a scene about them, and then trying to make me choose between you or the rest of my friends! Or for yelling at Fluttershy BEFORE that party and making her cry!”
Gilda stared at Dash like she just said something completely pointless. “Oh, you're going to bring THAT up?! So she walks down the middle of the main street backwards like a dingus, and I’M the jerk for pointing it out?!”
“Pointing it out?! You ROARED at her, and made her leave the street sobbing!”
“Yeah!” added Applejack as her tone tuned the angriest. “And that also don’t excuse nearly givin’ my Granny a heart attack back at that apple stand! Or for stealin’ one of our apples without paying!”
“Wait, what?!” Gilda blinked several times, looking fairly confused at that detail added to the discussion. “How would you know about THAT?! Were you all spying on me that day or something?!”
Pinkie made a meager shrug and raised her hoof. “Well… I kinda was…”
The Gryphon’s jaw dropped, and her expression grew much more offended than before. She made a huff before turning her head away and saying sarcastically, “Oh! Well let me apologize, then!”
Pinkie immediately perked up with a smile. “Apology accepted!”
“I DIDN’T MEAN IT YOU PINK STALKING WEIRDO!”
While Pinkie pulled back into her seat with a shocked look, Twilight leaned in towards Gilda with a nasty glare. “Gilda, you are already getting on my bad side, so you should not make it any worse.”
“Twilight, honey,” interrupted Velvet with a raised hoof towards her daughter. “Please don’t make this any worse.”
Twilight took a moment to look back at her Mother, and let her statement sink in before sighing and pulling back with a nod. Velvet took a breath and looked around the room. “Alright then. I think it’s clear that tensions are high because of some unresolved conflicts that arose a while back. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t act civil about it now.”
Looking around, Velvet was happy to see that despite some unsavory expressions, all of the mares, as well as Spike, were able to acknowledge her statement and nod in agreement. Pleased that she could have a less hostile environment in her living room, Velvet settled in her seat before continuing. “Now, I think the best thing to do is to discuss what happened, and then come to an agreement how things went. So, let’s give Gilda the chance to speak first, without any interruption.”
After a few seconds passed, Gilda made sure that nopony had anything else to say before clearing her throat. “Umm… thanks Vel,” she began awkwardly. She then turned her attention back to the rest of the group as her expression became more annoyed. “Well… honestly, I feel like I’m being ganged-up right now! Because when I think back to what happened that day, all I can think of is how I pretty much got bombarded with crap the instant I got into Ponyville! All I wanted to do was spend some time with Dash, and that weirdo stalker next to her couldn’t take the friggin hint that she wasn’t needed around! I don't think I did anything wrong!”
“What?!” shouted Pinkie, seemingly forgetting about her agreement to not interrupt earlier. “What are you talking about?! Rainbow wasn’t complaining about me hanging out at all!”
“Yeah!” added Rainbow Dash, her eyes narrowing on Gilda in slight suspicion. “YOU were the only one who complained about anything! And even when I tried to introduce you to my other friends, all you did was shut them down! All that YOU wanted to do was spend time with me alone. Of course, now I’m starting to wonder why that is…”
Catching the Pegasus’s tone from that last sentence, Gilda narrowed her eyes as well. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Fluttershy quickly turned towards Rainbow Dash in worry. “Ummm… Rainbow? Are you sure this is something you want to bring up?”
“No, I’m curious,” continued Dash as her focused stayed solely on the Gryphon. “Why is it that you wanted to spend time with only ME, huh? Pinkie and I both tried to welcome you into town, and all you did was try to stick with me and nopony else! Is there a certain reason why you wanted me alone?”
Gilda instantly caught on to Rainbow’s intentions, and her eyes shot wide-open in fury. “What?”
Despite the fact that it looked like Gilda was about to slash her throat open, the cyan mare continued in a more insistent tone. “No, really. I wanna know, Gilda. Why was it that you wanted to have me to yourself, huh? Is it the same reason you made sure the doors were closed when you showed up to my house?”
Velvet intervened before Gilda could go ballistic, “Okay, Rainbow Dash! I think you’re stepping way out of bounds with these--”
“OH, SO THAT’S WHAT YOU THINK?!” roared the Gryphon as she shot out of her chair, making everyone else jump back in a panic.
Before Rainbow could get out of her couch, Gilda got right up to her face with a snarl that could make milk curdle. “You REALLY think that I decided to travel all the way from Gryphonstone to visit you for THAT?! Are you really so bucking dense, that you couldn’t actually consider the idea that I wanted to see you because you were my friend?! That you were the first real friend I made back in Cloudsdale?! That maybe I wanted to hang with you because you were the only pony that didn’t see me like I was some gigantic freak!?!”
While Rainbow laid hunched on her corner of the couch, her wide-eyed silence was enough to point out that she immediately regretted her decision. “U-uhhhh… I…”
Gilda rolled her eyes in disgust and turned away, still shouting in a more sarcastic tone, “Oh, I guess not! Apparently, since I have a marefriend NOW, that means that I NEVER wanted to just be friends with a girl in the first place, right?! It’s not like I wanted to be your friend because you treated me like I was normal! Oh, NO… Apparently, according to you, finding out who I’m dating means that I ONLY wanted to be with you to munch on your friggin--”
“HEY!” stopped Twilight in an instant, not wanting Gilda to finish that statement in front of the baby dragon. “Gilda, you made your point! That wasn’t an appropriate assumption, that that doesn’t mean--”
“No! You know that?! I’m done here!” Gilda then stormed out of the living room, leaving everyone in the dust as she stomped up the stairs. “If that’s how I’m going to be treated, than I’d rather keep to myself! AGAIN!!!”
The sound of the attic door being opened and slammed shut was all that followed, leaving a pregnant bout of silence to linger in the living room. Velvet, who was looking down at the carpet with a heavy frown, made a small huff before getting out of her seat and walking to the kitchen. “Twilight, I really want to talk with you alone.”
After Velvet disappeared, Twilight cringed hard, not seeing her Mother that upset since the aftermath of the Changeling Invasion. But before she could follow her Mother’s order and go into the kitchen, the Alicorn got out of her seat and turned to Rainbow Dash with a firm stare. “Rainbow, you need to up upstairs and talk with Gilda.”
“WHAT?!” asked the Pegasus in a shocked tone. “After what just happened?!”
“Especially after what just happened! You made a REALLY dumb assumption about her, and you need to apologize to her for that!”
Rainbow wanted to say something in defense, but she honestly knew that she couldn’t. With her shoulders slumped in guilt, Dash sighed softly with a pained expression. “I… really doubt that she’s gonna talk to me.”
Even though Twilight shrugged in agreement, she still stood her ground by replying, “Well, you have a better chance than any of us.”
Dash took a moment to contemplate before nodding, knowing that Twilight was ultimately right. “I… yeah, I probably do…”
After taking a deep breath, the Pegasus pulled herself out of the couch and slowly went towards the stairs. Twilight looked to the rest of the group and said, “Just… just stay here for the time being, alright? I don’t know how long this is going to take.”
Everyone nodded silently, not wanting to argue with the Princess as she headed back to the kitchen where Velvet was. While the four remaining mares stayed on the couch, and Spike sat in the armchair next to them, the uncomfortable silence lasted for a while until Fluttershy finally spoke.
“So, ummm… this was a little awkward…”