Ten to One Odds
Ten to One Odds
Gilda couldn’t even laugh at this point. She just stared at Rarity and felt tears welling up in her eyes. But, to be fair, Rainbow was laughing enough for the both of them.
Rarity was quickly approaching them both at a brisk trot, head held high, and wore the most outrageous outfit Gilda had ever seen anyone wear for anything, let alone exercise.
On each of Rarity’s hooves was a light aqua blue sweatband. There was also a gold headband, supposedly keeping her mane out of her eyes, but without altering it in any visible way. Around her shoulders hung a loose, faded pink shirt, and below those was a pair of black spandex shorts. The bright pink string of an undershirt just barely poked out from under the over shirt. But the most ridiculous part for Gilda were the purple hoop earrings dangling from her ears.
Gilda shut her eyes tightly, fighting back tears still, and shook her head. “There’s no way I’m gonna be able to take her seriously like that,” she muttered to Dash, who was struggling to pull herself together. Looking around, she could see Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Spike had all shown up for the race. Everypony except… “Hey Dash, where's Pinkie?”
Rainbow’s ears perked up at the question and she started looking around the small clearing herself. “Huh, I don’t see her anywhere. That’s weird.”
Gilda hummed thoughtfully for a moment. “She wasn’t at Sugar Cube Corner earlier either,” she thought aloud. “The Cake’s cupcakes tasted pretty good but I’m kinda bummed we didn’t get any of the ones she had talked about. Did she skip out or is this just more of ‘Pinkie being Pinkie’?”
Rainbow titled her head thoughtfully. “No, Pinkie wouldn’t usually miss something like this. Something’s gotta be up with her.” She shrugged after a moment. “I’d bet we’ll find out soon enough. If anything, she’s got something planned.”
Not for the first time that day, Gilda found herself lost at what to make of Pinkie Pie. “Planned? Like what-”
“What a pleasant surprise to see you arrive with a measure of punctuality,” Rarity cut in after trotting up to them.
Gilda shrugged, still smirking. “I said I’d be here, didn’t I?”
Rarity blinked a few times, giving Gilda a suspicious look. “I see I needn’t have to mention that you aren’t allowed to use your wings, as I will not be using my magic either.” Her expression relaxed after a moment, looking over the thick elastic band Gilda had loosely secured around her middle. “I do hope it won’t be a problem for you to wear that? I don’t want to presume you haven’t raced under these conditions before, but you can take it off if you’d like. I trust you not to cheat.” She gave a short, tight smile for good measure.
Meanwhile, Gilda couldn’t stop staring at Rarity’s earrings and fought hard to keep the amusement off of her face. “Oh, no that’s fine. I’m good with whatever after Dash filled me in earlier.” She felt her face crack, and it was all she could do not to burst into laughter right in front of Rarity.
At least Rainbow Dash did it first.
“Bwahahahaha!” Dash belted out laughing and dropped to the ground helplessly. “Seriously, Rarity? What’s with the get up? This is a race! Not the modeling runway.”
Gilda started to chuckle while Rarity’s attention was on Dash.
Rarity harrumphed and stomped a hoof haughtily. “Just because I’m about to exert myself physically does not mean I cannot look my best while doing it!”
Seeing the earrings bounce and jiggle from Rarity’s indignant rebuttal, Gilda couldn’t hold back any longer. “Please, Rarity!” she got out before her own laughter set in. “The outfit is enough, but do us all a favor and lose the jewelry!”
Twilight spoke up from nearby on the side of the path, adding, “The earrings are a bit much, Rarity…!”
Rarity let out a soft groan of disappointment and trotted off to the side. “Oh, very well. I suppose this isn’t one of my casual jogs in the park, hm? Fluttershy! Be a dear and hold these, please!” The subtle sound of her magic enveloping her earrings buzzed as she went, along with Fluttershy’s polite reply to her.
Gilda noticed the rest of the group watching expectantly, and choked down her giggles, nudging Dash to do the same.
Twilight caught sight of the two snickering, and furrowed her brow. While Rarity was adjusting, she trotted over from her other friends, with Spike riding on her back. “What’s so funny? Gilda, are you still picking on Rarity?”
Gilda waved one hoof dismissively. “She doesn’t need my help for that. That outfit is more than enough on its own.”
The eyeroll and groan from Twilight was to be expected, as was the somewhat playful, somewhat warning jab from Dash that went into Gilda’s side. What was unexpected, was the downright wicked stink eye that Gilda earned from Spike.
Applejack trotted up then, shaking her head and chuckling softly. “Rarity can’t say I didn’t warn her about that…”
Shooting a quick glance back at Rainbow, Gilda coughed slightly and tried to look nonchalant. “To be fair, Twilight, Dash laughed first. I tried not to say anything.” She saw Rarity trotting up behind the others and sighed. “But yeah, I guess I could try harder.”
The earrings now tucked away, likely in Fluttershy’s saddlebags, Rarity trotted back, beaming determination at Gilda. “There! Now that that’s settled, I suppose we should get started. Are you ready, Miss Gilda?”
Gilda looked down the path at the nearby starting line.
Letting out a sigh, mostly at how easy she expected the race to be, Gilda stepped forward and motioned for Rarity to follow. “I think I should be asking you that.” She stopped and gave Rarity another look. “But, for the record, I’m sorry for calling your dresses dumb, earlier.”
Gilda turned back before she could see Rarity’s reaction, but it didn’t stop her from hearing her response.
“Thank you, that’s very big of you…” Rarity said with a gentle tone, which became more chiding as she continued. “But that doesn’t mean you're getting out of this, or that I’m going to go easy on you.”
Gilda laughed and shot a grin back at her, surprised to see Rarity with a smirk of her own. “Hey, you're the one that challenged a real athlete to a race.” She came to a stop at a makeshift starting line between two trees. “Now let’s get this started, I wouldn’t want you to be late for that mane cut.”
Instead of issuing a retort, Gilda noticed Rarity doing some kind of breathing exercise. She looked completely focused on the trail ahead of them. If it hadn’t been for the smile she was wearing, Gilda might have thought her jab went by unheard.
Applejack spoke up and made Gilda jump slightly. “The race is a two mile sprint to the finish. No magic…” She gave Rarity a look that received a curt nod. “And no wings.” For some reason, Applejack chose to glare at Dash rather than Gilda, as Gilda would have expected.
Rainbow huffed and shot back her own glare. “C’mon, AJ, I’m not even the one racing.”
Applejack gave Gilda a wink that only confused her. “I know that, but she at least hasn’t given me a reason to think I’d need to tell her more than once.”
“Ugh…” Dash groaned and rolled her eyes.
Applejack looked ahead, a smirk on her muzzle. “On your mark.”
Gilda crouched forward, her eyes narrowing on the course. In her peripheral, she could see Rarity taking a posture of her own.
“Get set.”
Gilda tensed the muscles in her legs, building up energy for a fast start. A small jolt of pain whined from her shoulder, but she ignored it. It wasn’t her first injury after all, and she’d done harder things than a mile sprint with worse.
Rarity’s voice cut in suddenly, almost sending Gilda into a false start. “Good luck.”
Gilda regained her bearings quickly. “Back at you,” she returned smoothly.
Applejack took one final look around, then threw her hoof down. “Go!”
Gilda threw her weight forward, starting off strong to gain an early lead, and Rarity fell out of sight straight away.
The cheering sounds of the small crowd of ponies followed her, until their shouts of encouragement began to fade away somewhat.
Getting into the stride of the race, Gilda’s legs went into a powerful mechanical rhythm as they pumped beneath her. The feeling of the earth tearing away from under her hooves and the wind ripping through her mane in a way unlike when she had her feathers, but familiar enough that it felt great; being in a competition made it even better.
Time seemed to slow down for her as she ran, her entire body going into autopilot as she immersed herself in the exertion of simply running and breathing. There was a twinge of pain still in her leg, noticeable but not quite a nuisance; she made a note to get back at Pinkie for the handicap, somehow.
For a moment, she let the world fade away. She let herself forget about her current troubles. Being a pony, dealing with ponies, her aching leg, the half dozen cupcakes she was sure she would regret later, and even the nagging thought that her life might even be on the verge of improving. But all of these thoughts ground to a halt when she noticed a certain pony catching up, and keeping pace next to her.
Gilda took note that Rarity’s breathing was maintaining an even rhythm, exactly like the one she had started just before the race’s start. Ignoring the development, her eyes remained focused on the goal in the distance.
For all the unicorn's worth, Gilda realized that Rarity wasn’t the total joke she had assumed.
Gilda risked a glance back and saw how far away from the starting line they already were. In fact, they were already half way through the race. The lack of exertion on Rarity’s face delivered a message loud and clear: If she didn’t start taking the race seriously, the other pony might actually stand a chance at winning. And then another thought hit her: Her penalty was to be the slave of a fashionista for an entire day, and after she had insulted her trade.
A bit of panic and focus flared in Gilda’s mind, and she doubled her efforts to make up for the distance left to go, and the lack of a lead she expected to have by now. It barely dawned on her that she couldn’t feel the pain in her leg anymore. Her speed once again exceeding Rarity’s by a good margin, she pulled into the lead.
And then, Gilda toppled forward, her leg buckling out from underneath her. One leg already missing in action, the other one crumpled with little resistance against her momentum and weight.
In a second, Gilda’s face was grinding into the dirt, followed by the rest of her. Her eyes slammed shut just before the impact, and stayed closed until she was sure she had stopped tumbling end over end. When they opened, a white unicorn with a purple mane was standing over her.
Rarity’s face was that of pure worry. “Darling, are you alright!?”
Gilda blinked a few times, making sure she didn’t have anything in her eyes. “Uuggh- Uh, yeah.” She winced, getting up slowly. “I’m fine.”
A glance down the path showed they couldn’t be more than a couple hundred meters from the end.
Gilda looked at Rarity, brow furrowed in confusion and still hunched over in pain. “You stopped…?” she asked.
Now Rarity’s face contorted into shock, rather than concern. “Of course I stopped!” she exclaimed. “What if you had been hurt? I couldn’t just leave you after a tumble like that. Are you sure you’re alright?”
Gilda groaned loudly, but not from the pain. “First Spike, and now Dash…” she muttered. The memory of her deciding what kind of personality Rarity had returned again, and got a big red X slapped over it for invalidity.
Rarity blinked and leaned in, confusion on her face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that?”
Gilda rose up on all four hooves, shaking off the dust and dirt that now covered her fur. “Just figuring out I was wrong… again.” She sighed and looked towards the finish line. “So, do you want to just sprint from here, or claim an obvious win? Let’s be honest, there was no way I could have caught up after that fall...”
Rarity stared a moment, visibly puzzled by the question, then hummed thoughtfully. “Hmm… No no no, this won’t do.”
Gilda’s head tilted ever so slightly to the side. “Huh…?”
Rarity smiled and shook her head. “I just don’t feel like this was a good run for me.” She smiled coyly and began trotting down the path and away from the finish. “Would you mind terribly if we started again from just down here?”
"Oh sure," Gilda answered, and started after Rarity, falling in line beside her. “Hey, uh, Rarity, I want to start over-”
Glancing over at Gilda, Rarity quirked her brow. “The race? Don’t you think that’s a bit much, dear?”
Gilda shook her head vigorously, but hurried to clarify what she meant when Rarity’s expression grew in confusion. “No, I meant that I want to start over with you. I don’t think I gave you a fair-”
Rarity stopped in front of her and extended a hoof. “Hello, my name is Rarity, it’s a pleasure to meet you Miss…?”
Stopping short and barely avoiding a chuckle, Gilda smiled wide. “Gilda. Just Gilda is fine.” She bumped Rarity’s hoof with her own, but her smile faltered as a thought occurred to her. “You don’t want to call off the bet now... Do you?”
Rarity laughed outright, turning to the finish line and getting to a crouched position like the one she had at the starting line. “By the princesses, no. We still have a wager to see through.” A sly grin crossed her muzzle. “You haven’t exactly won, yet, even if I am giving you a sporting chance right now.”
A strange sort of relief washed through Gilda, causing her to bleat out a laugh as she took a position next to her. “Wow, what is it with you ponies?”
Rarity swayed and nearly lost her balance. “Pardon?”
Gilda chuckled sheepishly and bumped her shoulder with a hoof. “Don’t worry, it’s a compliment.”
Rarity smiled, but it looked confused. “Thank you then… I suppose.” Her smile brightened and she turned her gaze to the finish, which was now about five hundred or so feet from where they stood. “Would you like to do the honors?”
Nodding, Gilda let out a deep breath. “Whatever happens though, this is it.” She looked at Rarity who had returned to her breathing exercise once more. “Thanks for the ‘sporting chance’, but I don’t usually take freebies like this.”
Rarity gave a nod in response and Gilda pulled her attention to the race ahead.
“Alright,” Gilda began. “On your mark…”
Gilda shuffled her hooves and straightened her posture. She could hear Rarity doing the same and smiled at the unexpected challenge the mare presented.
“Get set…”
All of the muscles in her legs tensing up for a bolting start, Gilda prepared for another bolting start. A rumbling in her stomach distracted her and her posture faltered.
“Go?” she said with uncertainty, her stomach continuing to complain.
Rarity, not catching on to the confusion in Gilda’s voice, took off the second she heard the final call.
Watching the mare pull ahead, Gilda shook her head and shot off after her. Pouring as much speed into her legs as she could muster, she quickly closed the gap between them and barely pulled back into the lead.
A strong wave of nausea slammed into Gilda and her pace slowed with only a little ways left to go. Rarity’s steady pace ensured that she pulled ahead, but when Gilda tried to retake the lead, another wave hit her.
Gilda could feel the contents of her stomach slosh, and the path started to sway. The gap between Rarity and herself only increased.
Gilda’s gallop slowed to a trot, and then turned into a canter. She was well aware that Rarity had won at this point, but was too busy trying to settle her stomach to care too much.
Stopping entirely to rub a hoof on her stomach, Gilda watched Rarity as she began bouncing up and down, obviously proud of her victory. Her celebration eventually coming to an end, she started to look around for something, presumably Gilda. Spotting her, Rarity started to trot, then gallop over to her. The original and no doubt happy expression she was wearing now traded for a similar look to when Gilda fell.
“Oh dear… It just isn’t your day,” Rarity observed. “Did you fall again?”
Gilda shook her head, but stopped when she realized it wasn’t doing her any favors. “No, it’s my stomach…”
Sucking in an understanding breath, Rarity sighed. “I suppose we could start over when you’re feeling-”
“No,” Gilda affirmed, stomping a hoof and instantly regretting it. “I mean… It’s my fault. I had a bunch of cupcakes right before the race. I really didn’t expect you to put up such a challenge.” She forced a smile and stood up carefully. "Stopping and suddenly starting that sprint again did me in."
Opening her mouth to object, Gilda was quick to cut Rarity off.
“I mean it,” Gilda went on. “This was a fair race and you won. I told you there was no going back, remember?” She held up a hoof and received a polite bump from her competitor. “Now let’s get back to the others, I want to get Dash’s jokes out of the- hurk!”
Gilda threw a hoof up to her mouth and her face went sickly. Rarity’s eyes widened and she looked unsure of what to do. Before she could even ask if everything was alright, Gilda scampered off the trail and behind a tree.
The sound of Gilda relieving her stomach of its angry contents was enough to make Rarity’s ears flatten against her head.
The trot back to the start went by quickly as Rarity and Gilda spent the time chatting. The topics ranged from apologies for how they met and shifted to stories of their close friends’ misadventures. But most of all, they did everything in their power to ignore or even forget what had taken place behind a certain tree.
Both of them were gasping for breath over a story Rarity had shared about a beloved doll of Twilight's, and the interesting place she had found it once the spell she cast on it had worn off. It wasn’t until somepony approached them that they even realized they had made it back to the starting line of the race.
“Guys? Hey! Who won?” Dash trotted up, grinning, but gave them both an amused smirk from the merriment they were sharing. Behind her, the other girls all looked on in interest; minus, for some reason, Applejack, who seemed to have vanished.
Gilda and Rarity stared at Twilight, surprised and blinking in tandem.
Rarity looked down at the painted white line she was standing on. “Are we back already?” she mused to herself, before flashing a smile at Gilda. “Gilda, you are such a nice pony for conversation. You know that?”
Gilda rolled her eyes despite the happy look she shared in. “You’re still trying to get back at me for that jab about your outfit, aren’t you?” She turned her attention to Dash and put on a questioning look. “What do you mean ‘who won?’ Weren’t you all watching… and weren’t you supposed to fly ahead and meet us at the finish to judge the winner?”
A nervous smile covered Rainbow’s muzzle and she let out a sheepish laugh.
Twilight stepped forward with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry girls, but Pinkie came by to-”
An acorn smacked into Twilight’s horn and made her yelp in surprise. Her head jerked in the direction of a rustling bush, eyes narrowed.
Gilda tried to get a look at the bush as well, following Twilight’s glare. But the rustling stopped the moment her eyes fell on it.
Chuckling, Dash stepped forward and patted Twilight on the back. “Sorry Gilda, but poor Twilight here got attacked by squirrels in the middle of your race.” The straight face she was fighting to hold showed signs of cracking. She idly kicked the acorn that had assaulted Twilight and managed to settle on a grin. “The little critters were all over her!”
Twilight huffed indignantly and dropped to her rump. “Rainbow-” The stare she was getting from Dash caused her to sigh defeatedly. “Yeah… squirrels…”
Spike, who had been sitting on Twilight’s back up to this point, slid off and began laughing at Twilight’s expense. This caused Twilight’s cheeks to redden and she shot a warning look at the baby dragon that was promptly ignored.
Fluttershy let out a gasp and zipped up to Dash’s side. “Rainbow Dash! The squirrels here would never do something like that.”
A flat look on her face, Rainbow turned on her friend. “Fluttershy…” She nodded her head towards Rarity and Gilda, mumbling something to Fluttershy that neither of them could make out.
Letting out a disapproving sound, Fluttershy shook her head and turned to Rarity and Gilda. “I’m really sorry, but we didn’t see who won.” She offered an apologetic smile. “Could you please tell us what happened…? If it’s alright with you, that is.”
Rarity opened her mouth to answer, but Gilda spoke up first. “What happened to Applejack?”
Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash all shared a panicked look at one another.
“Uhh…” Rainbow stuttered and started looking around as if to find an answer just lying on the ground somewhere.
“She’s taking the squirrels to Fluttershy’s cottage!” Twilight blurted out, giving a forced smile that could only come off as awkward.
Fluttershy let out another sigh and shook her head at the ground.
Dash was quick to recover with Twilight’s explanation. “Yep! She… uhh, rounded them up and took them away so Fluttershy could talk to them later.”
Gilda knew when Dash wasn’t telling her the truth, but decided to drop it and get the news of her defeat over with. “Rarity beat me fair and square, she’s a lot faster than I gave her credit for.” She breathed a heavy sigh and evaded her eyes. “You weren’t exaggerating when you said she was obsessed with her figure.”
Rarity shot Dash a questioning glare, to which Rainbow returned with shifting eyes and a sputtering of words that even together didn’t make a coherent sentence.
“So Rarity,” Gilda began, catching Rarity’s attention and giving Rainbow a moment of respite. “What kind of torture do you have planned for me tomorrow?”
A chiding smile overtook Rarity’s features when she turned back to Gilda. “Torture?” she laughed. “Darling, you misunderstand. I plan on treating you to a day you won’t soon forget.”
Gilda raised a brow at the mare, concern eating at the back of her mind. “Uh-huh… And what about tomorrow won’t I be forgetting?”
“Hmm…” Rarity hummed to herself, smiling a little too sneakily for comfort. “Well, I don’t want to spoil all my plans… but I suppose I could tell you this much.” She leaned in close, her smile growing. “I plan on introducing you to a couple of dear friends of mine. Their names are Aloe and Lotus.”
Gilda released a breath she wasn’t aware she had been holding. “That doesn’t sound so bad… What do they do?”
“What a coincidence you would ask! I plan on us meeting them where they work.” Rarity gave a cheerful wink to Twilight, Dash, and Fluttershy. “But I’m afraid that is all I’m telling you on the matter for tonight.”
Resisting the urge to press for more details, Gilda resigned herself to a frustrated sigh. “Fair enough, I guess…” She considered the clue she had gotten and an idea hit her. “Do you think it would be okay if Dash came with? It, uhh… helps to have friends around when I’m dealing with ponies I don’t know…”
Rainbow’s jaw dropped and Rarity’s smile seemed almost malicious.
“What a wonderful idea,” Rarity agreed. “It won’t be any trouble for you, will it Rainbow Dash?”
Between the return of Rarity’s glare and Gilda’s pleading look, Dash eventually gave a defeated sigh and a nod of consent.
Twilight chuckled and stepped up between Rarity and Gilda. “So it looks like you two are finally getting along.” She looked back and forth between the two of them as they shared a confirming smile. “Great! How about we head over to Sugarcube Corner and celebrate with some cupcakes?”
Rarity and Gilda’s expressions both soured at the mention of more sweets.
“Actually, I think I’m good on cupcakes for a while…” Gilda muttered.
Rarity nodded before adding her own thoughts. “I agree, plus I would appreciate a shower after all of this running.”
Twilight sucked in a panicked breath. “What? Really?” She shot a strangely desperate look to Fluttershy and Dash, who returned it back. “B-But you could still come for tea or…! Or just to relax with everypony!”
Rarity considered it for a moment and then nodded again. “Well, tea would be lovely...” she sighed and grimaced, looking down at herself. “But I would still appreciate cleaning up at home first. Would it be alright if I met up with you all soon?”
Fluttershy smiled widely. “Oh yes, Rarity. That would be quite alright.”
“Then I will see you all soon.” Rarity smiled and trotted off in the direction of Ponyville, leaving Twilight and Rainbow Dash to stare at Gilda pleadingly. Fluttershy just busied herself with staring at an interesting spot on the ground.
A few moments passed while the staring continued. Gilda let out a frustrated groan when she caught Fluttershy attempting a glance of her own.
“Fine, I'll go,” Gilda conceded. “Just as long as no one forces any pastries on me.”
Fluttershy let out a squee of approval at the same time Twilight sighed in relief.
Dash let out a chuckle. “Hey, if we run into Pinkie, then no promises.”
Twilight nudged Gilda lightly and trotted ahead. “Well, let’s get going.” The bounce in her step punctuated the excitement in her voice. “I don’t want us to miss out on any of this quality time!”
Confused, but un-phased by her new friends’ antics, Gilda followed close behind. “Sure, why not? It’s not like I have anything else I’d rather be doing right now.” Mulling it over, she really couldn’t think of something she’d rather be up to. She shrugged off the thought and took on a content smile. “I’m sure I could think of something, but nothing really comes to mind.”
“Surprise!”
A chorus of ponies all shouted greetings and welcomes as Gilda and the others stepped into Sugarcube Corner. The bakery was covered wall to wall in decorations ranging from streamers to balloons. Most of the tables had been removed, except for a few along the walls that were stacked high with a menagerie of desserts and snacks.
The only thing that stopped Gilda from taking flight right then and there was the elastic band she had forgotten to remove from the race... and the wall of ponies standing behind her, blocking the exit. She settled for a surprised yelp and a panicked, wide eyed, look. Dash, Twilight, and Spike fell into some cheery laughter, while Fluttershy seemed as surprised as Gilda was.
From out of the crowd, Pinkie and Applejack trotted up to greet Gilda and the others.
Applejack tipped her hat and chuckled heartily. “I reckon everypony did their part keepin’ this here party a secret.”
Gilda rolled her eyes and shrugged, a small grin on her face. “Yeah you got me… But I think I should have seen this coming…” She slipped the band off her wings and gave them a testing flap before giving Dash an incredulous look. “Squirrels… really, Dash?”
Pinkie bounded forward, a huge grin on her face. “Hi, Gilda! You looked really surprised! I made everypony pinkie promise they wouldn’t tell you about the party and I guess no one slipped up.” She paused in her excited jabbering long enough to shoot a flat look in Twilight’s direction before continuing. “I’m really sorry about missing the race, but I really needed to get everything ready for your big ‘I’ve made up with everypony and we’re all friends now’ party!”
Gilda noded slowly despite barely being able to keep up with Pinkies rambling. “Wait…” A few thoughts clicked together in her head. “You mean you knew me and Rarity would end up being friends?”
Pinkie adopted a goofy look, her eyes crossed and her tongue sticking out. “Well, duh!” She returned to a normal smile after getting her point across. “Why do you think I left when we ran into Rarity earlier?”
“Uhh…” Gilda wasn’t sure how to answer the question, but apparently Pinkie planned on doing that for her.
“To start getting the decorations ready of course!” Pinkie giggled as if the answer was obvious. “I got to work right away! But then you and Dash showed up for cupcakes!” She gasped somewhat dramatically. “I couldn’t let you see the decorations, so I took them down and went to hide back in the kitchen. But you and Dash took soooo long, that by the time you left, I knew there was no way I would finish up and get everypony together in time! So I found Applejack at the race and asked her for help.”
Gilda was getting better at keeping up with Pinkies sugar charged speaking at this point, and was nodding along. “That makes sense,” she lied, still somewhat lost in Pinkie’s train of thought even if she could hear what she was saying. It occurred to Gilda she hadn’t seen Pinkie take a single breath since she began talking. “Pinkie... how are you not out of-”
Suddenly, Pinkie took in a long, exaggerated breath before talking once again. “But, before I could leave, I overheard Twilight and was sure she was going to spoil the surprise. So I thought fast and got her attention like this!” Procuring a random acorn from her mane, Pinkie chucked it at Twilight. The acorn bounced off her horn harmlessly, although, Twilight looked less than amused by the impromptu example. She proceeded to shake her head disapprovingly at Twilight and Gilda wasn’t sure if it was a part of the example, or if Pinkie was still disappointed. “But I guess she did an okay job covering it up because it didn’t look like you knew about the party!”
Twilight let out a groan and trotted off into the crowd of ponies, Spike giggling madly on her back as they went.
Pinkie watched them go with a confused look. “Huh... What’s wrong with Twilight?”
Gilda snorted a laugh. “I think she’s still upset about those squirrels that attacked her back at the race.”
Dash started cracking up with laughter and got a questioning look from Applejack. “I’ll tell you about it later,” she assured her.
Pinkie nodded sagely at Gilda. “Squirrels, huh? They’ll get you every time…”
“I bet you’re dying to know who won.” Gilda baited her with a grin.
Rarity, as punctual as ever, chose this moment to join her friends. “That would be me.”
Gilda sighed, but the smile on her face didn’t falter. “Way to kill all my fun.”
Rarity fluttered her eyes sarcastically. “Whatever do you mean?”
“Come on you ponies!” Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing on her hooves anxiously. “Let’s party!”
Another cheer arose from everypony, and pony-griffin, present.
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Those sweat bands look sea green to me, not aqua blue.
Sincerely. - Not Merlos
3808345 ...Always a pleasure Merlos...
I never watch high school musical, even though I've seen all of them because the last time I watched it, it almost drove me to suicide.
I wish I were joking.
3808369 I'm sorry...?
What about it?
3808526 I'm ashamed...
Hmmmm... I still like this, but sadly, with each chapter Gilda has lost more and more of her character and personality...
When this started I was so happy to finally read a story with her being totally in character, and I could still imagine her becoming friends with everypony without loosing much of that. But that would have taken some time and good reasons. Now things just seem more and more... rushed. Reading this I somehow get the feeling you are trying to get the story over with, or at least to try to concentrate way too much character-progress into too short scenes.
Sorry, didn't mean to be too negative, I'm still looking forward to the next chapter
3808595
Oops?
3808474 I dunno.
I'm crazy.
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3808598 Don't worry, your fine. I appreciate your input, and I'm sorry that Gilda isn't the way you would like her to be. As for rushed... I don't know if I can argue that. The story ended up extending a few chapters past it's original intention. But that isn't to say I didn't enjoy doing so. I'm glad you still like it. Even if Gilda isn't exactly the way you imagine her. My only argument though, is that Gilda only had a single episode of air time in the show. And to top it off, it doesn't seem like she got a fair shake to show what she's really like. I also gave her a year of torment over her situation before this story actually took off, so maybe she changed and just has trouble showing it? That said, my opinion doesn't go for much using the same argument. I do hope you enjoy the finale!
3808609 Big oops, but it's gone now. Dumb g-doc comments...
3808648
Well, glad I was able to help point it out.
Still loving this story.
3808641
I did not know you meant this story to be shorter than it has already become in the first place. That explains a lot... so... thanks for the extra-chapters
Also I would never criticise the way you portray a character just because it clashes with the way I imagine that character, what a poor excuse for a comment would that be?
I just wanted to mention that her character was more believable in the first two chapters, but given the length of the story progress had to be made fast and i think you handled it quite well.
Oh, and please excuse my bad English, i guess half of what I write turns out wrong
Rarity: over dressed at all times!
3809072 Dude, I can tell your chomping at the bit over the ending. And it kills me that you're getting all anxious over it, but I really don't want to spoil it for you. If you like how things have gone so far, then just wait for the last chapter and trust I'm not gonna give the first story I ever finished an awful ending, no matter what that ending is. I can't promise you'll love it, but I hope you'll bare with it, okay? Yes, I already have an ending laid out. I had it planned since the beginning. But no, no matter what happens, I'm not changing it. But I'll tell you what: Send me a private message, and I'll spoil the ending for you. If you really like the story though, I don't expect to see any messages.
3808755 Nah, your English is fine! And thanks for following my story this long. I meant it when I thanked everyone who has stuck with me to now. I want to thank everyone who commented especially. Direct feedback from you guys is always great to see.
3808598
Ah, Gilda not being a jerk isn't out of character at all! That's just a mood. After all, characters grow, and for a story that shows what kind of personality might have been underneath her jerkiness, this one is pretty spot on. (I think so, anywho.)
Geez, you should go message this other guy on one of my stories and inform him of that. The fellow had the nerve to state specifically he was downvoting for the express reason of Pinkie acting out of character!
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inb4 herbal bath and suddenly griffon!
MOAR!
To be honest this story would actually make for a good episode, as it has the same pace.