Griffin Over the Line

by Emeral Bookwise

Chapter 4: "The Vengeful Jerk"

"No!"

Trixie gave a pleading look, "But this plan is perfect."

Raindrops had been sitting in Trixie's office for the past… well she didn't even want to think about how long it had been. The point was that she'd been trying her best to keep a level head, but this insanity had to stop. Now. "I said no," she persisted with stern reproach as she refused to budge on the matter.

The still bare coated azure unicorn crossed her forehooves in front of her chest as she pouted, "Why not?"

"Look, I hate everything they've been doing, but we are not tricking them into hating each other just so Gilda never comes back to Ponyville." Raindrops paused as if trying to check her own churning emotions regarding the issue. "That's just plain… low, and I oughta' knock you one for even suggesting it," she punctuated that statement by raising a single hoof, causing Trixie to shrink back from the implied menace.

Dropping the threatening appendage back to the floor, Raindrops then walked up to the portable blackboard that had been set up in the center of Trixie's office. Its surface had been covered in clipped notations and simplistically scrawled illustrations. "Besides, this so-call plan of yours is way too complicated anyway. There have gotta be at least a dozen ways it could go wrong at step #1," she then swept a hoof about in a pattern that vaguely followed the seemingly random scatter of bullet points as she continued, "Let alone the countless other ways things could go wrong by the time we'd even get to step…" she stopped to stare closely in an attempt decipher the writing, "#23." The exasperated pegasus then shifted her glance to an earlier spot on the tangled diagram before adding, "Plus I'm pretty sure you skipped step #17 completely."

Trixie shooed her friend away in a disgruntled huff, "Nonsense, Trixie's plan is flawless," a fact she seemed to try making clear by pointing to the title scrawled in large thick letters across the top of the board, The Great & Powerful Trixie's Masterfully Perfect Plan to Get Revenge on Those Flying Hooligans!!! It was actually the most legible set of words on the entire board, though the fact that she had chosen to write that part using every variety of multi-colored chalk available was distracting in its own right.

Raindrops didn't look the least bit impressed. In fact, it only reminded her, "And another thing. Would you stop it with all the 'Trixie' stuff? You're not putting on a show, so please talk like a normal pony."

The unicorn fumed silently, attempting to stare down her pegasus compatriot, but she might as well have been trying to chisel granite with her bare eyes. "Fine…" she relented with a groan. Scarcely a moment passed though before her eyes came alight, "I have a better plan anyway," she beamed with a conspiratorial grin.

Raindrops raised a hoof, but the only thing it struck was her own face as she let out a moan of aggravation.

The sound of frolicking and laughter filled the air as fillies and colts ran about the schoolyard of Ponyville Elementary.

Scootaloo buzzed towards the building on her scooter, vibrant fuchsia tail whipping in the wind and a grin of exhilaration plastered across her bright orange face. An errant root stood in her path, and when the leading wheel of the scooter struck both it and rider were sent tumbling through the air.

Stunned silence claimed the scene, as every young eye darted to the impending disaster, but with a quick flared twitch of her tiny wings Scootaloo righted. The scooter came down with a crash, but safe and intact as the pegasus filly brought the vehicle into a sideways skidding halt.

As she dismounted and began removing her helmet and pads, a squat greyish-green unicorn colt came over to her. "Woah, smooth moves as always," cheered Snips.

"That? Nah, that was nothing," the filly grinned, "Just wait 'til you see what I've got planned for after class."

A rising shout could be heard approaching the pair from just past the schoolyard, "… hey!… hey!" A lanky amber coated unicorn colt came running up to them, panting as he slowed to a stop, "Hey Snips… you're never going to… oh, hey Scootaloo," he added slowly as though only just noticing the filly, "Anyway, I've got the most amazing news ever!"

"Well go on," Snips pressed his friend.

"Yeah! Don't leave us hanging," added Scootaloo.

Snails beamed with pride as he declared, "My sister is putting on a show in the park this afternoon!"

A moment passed in silence as Scootaloo and Snips shared an awkwardly questioning between each other. Finally the young unicorn turned back to his friend with a flat, "Huh?"

"Yeah, I don't get it," Scootaloo elaborated, "I mean, if it was Rainbow Dash that would be pretty amazing, but isn't your sister… I don't know… kinda ordinary?"

Snails stared blankly as though trying to figure out why his friends weren't more excited, then, "Oh wait, I forgot the best part. She's putting the show on with the help of none other than The Great & Powerful TRIXIE!"

Purple curtains had been hung in front of a gazebo in Ponyville Park, forming an impromptu stage. Backstage, Trixie was checking through boxes of equipment.

The azure unicorn was now once again garbed in her typical attire. She'd had to leave them soaking in a special solution all night, but the rainbow colors were almost completely gone. It would still take another few days of spot treatments to return her hat and cape completely back to normal though. She might have been able to get it all in one shot, but hadn't wanted to risk bleaching the apparel completely white. As it was, the underlying purple was a little faded. Still though, the little bits of rainbow stains that remained would be fitting enough for the particulars of this performance.

A voice called out to her from the other side of a changing screen, "And this is really to going work?" asked Raindrops.

"It's like I told you before," Trixie declared, as she proceeded in repeating their goal, "When you got Gilda to back down while defending Carrot Top's farm, you ensured that her griffin's honor would prevent her from ever bothering either of you again. So, as official liaison to the Night Court, all I have to do is goad Gilda into a competition in the name of the whole town. Then, after I show her up, she'll have no choice but treat everypony in Ponyville with appropriate respect and deference."

"And the show?"

An aura wrapped around a few ropes as Trixie secured a rigging, before answering, "Window dressing." Then after she tested to make sure everything was secure, she continued, "We must set an appropriate pretense to lure her into a sense of secured superiority before we spring the trap." The unicorn took a moment to glance over several small fireworks, then concluded, "Besides, this will be so much easier than wasting half the afternoon searching the whole town to find them."

"Right, and the—"

"Tut-tut, that's enough questions." Trixie chided. She then walked over to peek through the curtain, "Now if you'll excuse me I have audience to wow. Just keep your position and wait for the cue."

"Fine, but do I really have to wear this?" the pegasus asked as she stepped out from behind the screen.

Trixie turned to face her friend, and immediately stuffed a hoof in her mouth to suppress a sudden fit of giggles. She quickly let out a cough to cover the slip. "Oh yes," she said with an unrestrainable smile, "It's absolutely essential."

Gilda reclined on a large cloud, tossing a bit of compacted cloud from one talon to the other. "Well this is boring. There's gotta be one last exciting thing we can do. " She sat up and held the ball of cloud high, "How 'bout another cloudball fight?"

Rainbow Dash yawned as she lay on her belly, "If it's all the same with you, I think we should just chill the rest of day."

The griffin frowned as she tossed the ball over her shoulder, "Your call, I guess."

Just then, she caught a flash out of the corner of her eyes. Gilda turned and saw a ring of multicolored light exploding in the air somewhere over the town's park. From the center of the spectacle streamed forth a rainbow trail. It twisted slackly in an idle spiral, making a wide looping arch over the park.

Staring wide eyed, Gilda rubbed the backs of her talons against her eyes and blinked. She slowly turned her head to the pegasus that had just walked up beside her, "Uh, Dash? Is that…?"

The self-proclaimed greatest flier in all of Equestria frowned as she also stared, though less in stunned surprise and more in barely restrained outrage, "No, it isn't, but somepony's got some explaining to do."

"And that, fillies and colts, is the story of how Pauli Chromia became the first and only pegasus to ever perform the legendary Sonic Rainboom."

The eyes of every nearly young pony in town, plus a few adults that had accompanied them, stood transfixed at the sky as the illusory spectacle faded. Then came a stomp, then two, five, twelve, until the entire audience became a united cacophony of thunderous applause.

Trixie glistened in the adoration, taking a bow first to her left and then to her right. "Yes thank you, thank you. You are all too kind, but let's not forget to give a cheer to my aptly capable assistant."

Just as the noise had started to die down, it picked up again as Raindrops descended to the stage. Her jasmine coat was blushing a faint red; partly because she wasn't used to being the center of so much attention, but mostly because she was receiving it while dressed in a leotard that looked to be practically made of silvery sequins, with pastel ribbons of every imaginable hue woven into her tail, and yet more still hanging from a headband.

Though her eyes shifted nervously, she forced a wide grin for the children's benefit. It became far more genuine though as she heard one distinct cry above the rest, "Woo-hoo, I've got the greatest sis ever!" As she looked out across the audience, she saw several colts and a few fillies exchange high hooves with her younger brother. Okay, so maybe all the embarrassment was worth it.

"ALL RIGHT!" came a sudden shout that brought all of the applause to a swift close. All eyes turned skyward where a griffin and a rather irate polychromatic pegasus hovered. "So what was meaning of that poorly faked stunt?"

"Well, well, well, it seems we have some neighsayers in the audience," retorted Trixie. "What's the matter, little Dashie? Is your ego really so superficial that it can't take a little competition from a simple foals-tale?"

"No, but if you needed a pegasus to pull stunts in your lame show, you shoulda asked me. Least then nopony would have had to put up with your shoddy looking illusions"

"As if you could do any better. The Great & Powerful Trixe trained at the hoof of the Princess herself. My illusions are second to none, and certainly beyond your meager limitations; that is, unless you're hiding a horn under that garish tangle you call a mane."

"I don't need any fancy magic, but if you think you're such hot stuff, fine! We'll see how great & powerful you are after I show everypony a real sonic rainboom."

Rainbow Dash shot up high into the air, or at least she would have if a talon hadn't grabbed her by the tail.

"Don't fall for it Dash, it's a shill, a con. We show off our best moves then this shyster turns it all around to make us look like fools. Seen it done a thousand times before by as many talentless hacks."

Trixie tittered a laugh, "Please, The Great & Powerful Trixie need not resort to such charlatan like shenanigans just to upstage the likes of you two. I assure you, Trixie's powers of prestidigitation are more than sufficient to any and all challenges you could possibly pose."

"Sorry, we ain't playin' your games. Let's go, Dash."

As the pair started to turn away they were stopped by a final taunt, "My mistake. I thought griffins were half eagle, but you appear to be all chicken."

"Oh yeah, fine!" Gilda stroked a talon across the bottom of her beak, then gave a sly grin. "Let's keep it plain and simple then. Fly."

The stagemare tilted her head a bit as she raised an eyebrow, "Like some kind of race or acrobatics contest?" she asked with a bit of hesitant confusion.

Gilda dropped down to eyelevel in a low hover so as to stare the unicorn directly in the face, "No, just fly."

"Really, that's it?" Trixie chuckled as she pushed the griffin away with a single hoof. "With all her command of the mystic arts your challenge against The Great & Powerful Trixie is something so mundane as mere flight?"

The griffin leapt high in the air, "Ha!" She pointed an accusatory talon towards the magician bellow her, "See, just like I said, this two bit fraud is all flash in the pan, but she ain't got a practical bone in that plush blue pillow of a body. Long as we keep things nice and simple there's no way she can show us up."

"Hardly," the unicorn drawled, "Trixie accepts your challenge, no matter how boring and beneath her great & powerful abilities it is."

The unicorn's horn glowed with an ever escalating intensity, becoming steadily as blinding as though it were a small sun. She made a big show of concentrating as hard as she could, never letting on that the whole act was just glamour, something to make it look as though she were working a difficult spell so she could distract the audience from her real actions. Finally the light reached a peak of intensity, coalesced into a single pinpoint, and then exploded outwards, blinding all watching eyes.

The stage stood empty, Trixie nowhere to be seen.

Gilda hovered upright and arms crossed, clearly not impressed, "So what? Let me guess. You're flying now, but the spell makes you invisible, or did you just run away in shame?"

It was then that trilling laughter echoed as a voice called out, "You may have taken Trixie for the fool, but rest assured," all eyes were drawn high up in the sky, where ,atop a thin sheet of red that was trimmed with intricately woven golden designs, stood Trixie, "for as promised the magical prowess of The Great & Powerful Trixie was more than up to your mediocre challenge!"

She glided about lazily in the air atop her magic carpet. To complete the effect, she had even cast a glamor upon her hat, temporarily giving it the form of a turban, though still with its usual colors and patterning.

"That doesn't count," Gilda protested. "The carpet is flying, not you."

"Anypony, or griffin, can fly with boring old wings, but only The Great & Powerful Trixie can travel in such fashionable style. Now then, perhaps you can come up with a worthy challenge for Trixie to best you at."

"Oh I got a challenge for you," Gilda roughly took hold of one edge of the carpet, "Land!" and with that she yanked it from under Trixie.

The unicorn stared, wide eyed, seeming to hang suspended in midair for just a second, before gravity asserted itself. She plummeted toward the ground, panic racing through every fiber of her being.

Raindrops —who had up until now been largely struggling to remove her costume— watched, a mixture of fear and anger twisting her face. Trixie was too far away. A speedster like Rainbow Dash could surely catch her, but instead the polychromatic pegasus only hovered dumbly as though failing to comprehend what had just happened. Raindrops, though, would never make it —worst of all she knew it— but she had to try. She took off, rocketing towards her falling friend, her charge shedding what costume she had yet to remove. Adrenaline surged through her system as her wings beat with more raw speed than she had ever thought herself to possess.

It still wasn't enough.

Impending doom rapidly filled Trixie's terrified vision, yet through the panic she somehow found a glimmer of wit, just enough to save herself. Maybe? Acting more on instinct than thought, she cast a rudimentary bubble shield spell at the ground, then with one final tweak added an elasticity charm, before her plummet final reached its inevitable conclusion.

The transparent dome caved in like a balloon, holding just long enough to break her fall, before popping and dumping her roughly, but more or less intact onto the ground. Trixie wiped a hoof across her forehead as she breathed a sigh of relief, counting her blessings. The fall had been just long enough to give her time to react, but she knew had it been much further that the improvised airbag likely would have never held.

Raindrops let out a short sigh, as she saw her friend safe, but rather than land to confirm that, she turned her gaze and ire to the griffin that had caused nothing but mayhem. The enraged pegasus made a tight turn, converting all of her forward momentum into a sharp angled ascent. Had she not been so consumed by a single minded fervor, she would have been impressed with her unusually nimble aerobatic maneuver.

As she reached her target, Raindrops flared her wings coming to an almost instantaneous hovering stop next to the griffin, who was just now crumpling Trixie's carpet into a ball as she laughed like the whole scenario was one giant joke.

"GILDA!!!"

Whether Gilda failed to notice the pegasus's obvious rage or was simply trying to be calm in the face of danger was hard to say a she impassively replied, "Oh, hey their Dropsy," before she tossed the balled carpet over her shoulder.

"Just, just shut up before I dropsy you!" raged Raindrops as she loomed towards the griffin, letting loose a short angry snort.

Gilda backed up a bit nervously, eyes shifting left and right, "Woah there. What's the problem?"

Raindrops would have sworn that a blood vessel burst, filling her eyes with red, that is if she were coherent enough to be paying attention to such trivial details. "Problem? Problem! You just about killed one of my friends."

"Kill?! No way! From this height she'd have broken a leg, maybe two. 'Sides, I didn't know that loser was one of yours too." The griffin shrugged, "My bad. Didn't mean to cause you any more trouble."

The pegasus gnashed her teeth as she struggled with the violent urges that were fast consuming her entire being. "Trouble? You've been nothing but trouble since the day you got here, and it's about time somepony put you in your place."

"Woah! Just settle down. Look, we've already been through this. I don't want no trouble with you, so I'll just be on my—"

The griffin was cut off as Raindrops plowed into her midsection. The only thought left in the pegasus's mind being a resounding, NO! Gilda didn't just get to fly away from all this like nothing had ever happened. Things had gone too far for that.

Gilda grit her teeth as she glared down at the pony, "Oh, you wanna do this the hard way!" She grabbed the pegasus round the midsection, "Fine, we'll do this the hard way!" and with a great heave, tossed Raindrops tumbling upwards.

Raindrops spun through the air for several dozen feet before righting herself. Dizzily she glanced down to where she last saw the griffin, but Gilda was gone. Then she heard a raptor's cry from above, glancing up she was blinded by the glare of sun that the griffin had put to her back, leaving the pegasus completely off guard as the she was tackled.

The two rolled about in the air, momentum carrying them away from the park, before they finally tumbled to ground in a heap on the streets below.

Separating, the two combatants circled each other. Gilda stood tall, let out brief roar and then leapt forward in a pounce. At the last moment though, Raindrops ducked and as the griffin soared overtop the pegasus reared, tossing her opponent into a passing fruit cart.

Rainbow Dash landed nearby as Gilda hauled herself out of the splintered pile. A banana peel sat atop the griffin's head with one side hanging over her face like a bright yellow eye-patch.

"Cut it out 'G', you promised you—"

"Back off, Dash!" the griffin growled. "This bit-muncher's got it comin'!"

As Gilda leapt back into the fray, Raindrops charged, only for Gilda to sidestep, grabbing the pegasus by the tail before spinning about and tossing her through the large office window of the representative's residency.

Letting out a fierce roar Gilda gave a single powerful flap of her wings and charged forward into the building. There was resounding crack and the griffin came flying back out the window twice as fast, colliding with a street lamp that buckled under the impact.

Raindrops charged out after her, but was cut short in the middle of the street as Rainbow Dash dropped down in front of her.

"That's enough! Just, stop this now, or… or I'll fire you!"

"Shove it, Dash!" the enraged pegasus bellowed, "I got a score to settle here, so I quit!" and with that she pressed her way past her ex-boss to resume her charge at the recovering griffin.

This time Gilda stood her ground catching the pegasus's outstretched hooves in her talons. The two stood upright, forelimbs locked like a pair of Hippopotamian wrestlers. The two brought their foreheads together, glaring directly into each other's eyes.

Rainbow Dash came beside them both, "Come on! This is way out of hoof! Now just listen to me and—"

"Just stay out of this, Dash!!" came the dual voiced reply. The grappling pair had broken eye contact to look at the intervening pegasus, but now returned to each other's gaze before, "She started it!!"

Finally, the stalemate was broken as Raindrops pulled back ever so slightly before slamming forward again, staggering the griffin with a massive head-butt before tackling Gilda sending both brawlers tumbling down the street in a flurry of motion and dust.

Hooves bucked, talons tore, teeth bit, a beak pecked. Boards splintered, stone cracked, metal was bent, and glass shattered.

As the dust settled, the two combatants stood, heaving ragged breaths. Their bodies battered and bruised, with bits of turquoise mane as well as brown, white, and a few jasmine feathers littering the ground all about the field of battle. Tension mounted as each looked ready to engage again, then finally it all broke, not as one or the other charged anew, but as Gilda began laughing.

"Wow, that was intense. I ain't never heard of a pony that could fight so rough'n'tumble. You're okay in my book, Dropsy."

Raindrops stance slackened as she cocked her head trying to figure out the griffin's game.

"Anyway, it's gettin' late. Think I'll just head over to Dash's and clean up before hittin' the skies. This vacay's been a blast though. Think I'll have to hang with you some more next time I 'dropsy' through these parts. Ciao."

As the griffin flapped away into the distance, Raindrops let her hindquarters fall to the ground and simply sat, starring in puzzled bewilderment, "What just happened?" she said to know no one in particular.

Trixie walked up beside her, "I'm not quite sure, but I think you just made a new friend,"

The battle worn pegasas moved barely a muscle, seeming unable to do any more than mouth the word friend.

While Raindrops struggled to process the unexpected revelation, Trixie gazed about, surveying the damage to the surrounding townscape. She let out an extra-large sigh at the sight of her broken window. "If you'd excuse me, I think I'll go see about finding that paperwork my predecessor came up with and see if I can't get you added to the disaster list next to Rainbow Dash. I really don't feel like paying for another window out of my own purse."

Raindrops barely heard any of that, and certainly didn't notice as Trixie didn't even bother opening her front door, instead taking advantage of the broken window as a shortcut. Once again the pegasus mouthed, friend. She also failed to notice as she was joined by a second pony.

"So, um…" Rainbow dash struggled to figure out what to say, "guess it's back to the ol' grind tomorrow."

A blink, then two. Somewhere in the back of her mind Raindrops recalled something about firing and/or quitting, but the whole ordeal was fast becoming little more than a blur. Finally, Raindrops seemed to find some semblance of voice, "Uh, yeah. I guess so," she said in a hushed tone as the weariness of everything that had just happened started to settle in. She had to ask though, "Rainbow? I… about Gilda… did she…?"

"What, 'G'? Don't sweat that. I know she can be a little rough around the edges, but she's a good gal pal to have at your back." Dash chuckled a bit awkwardly, "I guess you'll get to find that out first hoof though. Well, I better go see her off. See you tomorrow."

Rainbow Dash took to the air, but then paused and glanced back at Raindrops, "Actually, maybe you should to take the day off. You've probably earned it," and with that she departed.

Raindrops sighed, finally taking stock. Some ponies had already started cleaning up, but most just stared in silence. The pegasus gave herself a mental hoof across the face; She was usually better than this. It had been years since she'd let her temper flare like out of control and just like before it was the ponies around her that suffered unduly for it. She turned to limp home, having neither the strength nor the will to fly.

The loosely assembled crowd parted to let her pass and nopony made to accost her over the incident. That would change. Dash may have given her the next day off, but Raindrops already knew what she'd be doing with that time instead, and it would be more work than her usual weather duties. She'd have her hooves full helping rebuild where she could and paying with her own bits where she couldn't, but right now…? Right now she just wanted to get some sleep.