The Party Mare Cometh
The torches for The Burning were lit the moment the sun touched the horizon. The torches were to be flown in from twelve different directions, most of them from the forest but two coming in from a ship off the coast that was placed there for this exact purpose. Five of the twelve torches would be doused en route to the bonfire, a reminder of those who wouldn't be making it to The Burning no matter where it was held. It was a time of Celebration but for the griffons it was also a time to remember, a much more sober start to a holiday party than anything she was familiar with.
Rainbow Dash watched quietly as the torch bearers arrived at the bonfire, all of those with lit torches standing back at a marked position east of the bonfire. Those with the doused torches stood at attention on either side of the path to the bonfire, a reminder of those you had lost, those who wouldn't be making it and thus would be passed by in life.
The pegasus shuddered in spite of the cool air. It wasn't nearly cold enough to cause her any problems, but the imagery, it was painful. How many had passed her by while they were petrified in Nightmare Twilight's spell? Scootaloo was already a fully grown mare, as were the rest of the crusaders. In fact, Scootaloo was now physically older than the five of them. If things had gone well for them, the Wonderbolts probably would have retired years ago, allowing a new flight of pegasi to be known as "the best of the best" while they went off to either teach or pursue their own passions. She'd not only missed working with her heroes, but didn't even know who had replaced them. As such a big fan of the flyers it was almost insulting. If it wasn't for this mess she'd already be digging through everything that had happened while she was petrified, getting herself up to date on the latest Wonderbolts and what became of her heroes. She couldn't though. After this, there may not even be any Wonderbolts left. If the Nightmare really was trying to wipe out Equestria, it had certainly done a good job.
The torchbearers passed their counterparts, those with unlit torches staring blankly to the east as they approached the bonfire. The bearers reached the bonfire and in one motion, thrust the remaining torches into the wooden pile. The wood slowly took, nothing special being used to accelerate the process like oils or spells in the wood.
The mare swirled her drink as the fires picked up, some griffon brew called mead. It wasn't supposed to be that strong as Dash didn't want to knock herself out just yet, but it would likely leave her a bit tipsy. It's not like she had much of an alcohol tolerance. She didn't have many reasons to drink back in Ponyville. A late night Pinkie party, a dare, a storm that was way more trouble than it should have been, either because of the magic of the Everfree Forest or because somepony bucked up the schedule. Not many reasons to drink at all, and it wasn't like she wanted to spend her mornings or afternoons with a hangover. She had practices to think up, weather to take care of, schedules to set, the list went on.
Her mood soured at the memory of Pinkie Parties. Here she was getting ready to celebrate Hearth's Warming and one of her best friends, a mare who lived for parties, was stuck in some bug-pod while she recovered. Dash had let it go after a while, not standing in front of the pod at all hours after the first two days but she still didn't like it. Pinkie was a pony who was always moving, always in action. That kind of stillness, the absolute loss of connection to the outside world had scared Rainbow more than she'd ever admit. It was wrong on so many levels. Too many for her to count.
The fire was beginning to pick up now, the griffons all standing by with their mugs as the sun set. The moment it set, the party would commence in full. It boiled down to about two or three minutes of silence for those who couldn't be there with them. She decided she'd keep Pinkie in mind. Twilight too; according to the Nightmare Moon look alike, she was in a much worse place at the moment. Dash wanted to be mad at Twilight for buying into the lies it sold her and for taking the five of them away from what they knew and loved, but she couldn't find it in herself. The alicorn would be even worse off than Pinkie was now and she was still living it. How do you even recover from something like that? From knowing that you betrayed those around you so thoroughly for a lie?
"Been a while since I participated in a good Burning," a griffon in armor said as she approached. "It's a nice time to sit around and talk. Be it of what you hope to gain, or to remember what you've lost."
Rainbow turned to the new arrival and grunted a response. She wasn't in the mood to talk.
"You know, there's a tradition you may like," the griffon said, not seeming to take the hint. "I'm sure you're all set on guzzling that drink of yours but before you do, ask yourself. Is there anypony you wished could be here drinking it in your stead?"
The pegasus blinked in confusion at the tradition. Of course there was somepony she wished was here. There were several in fact. Pinkie, Twilight Sparkle (the real one, not the monster that was wearing her skin), her parents whom she hadn't seen in years even before the incident, even...
"Got 'em in mind? Good, come over here."
The armored hen led Dash over to the bonfire, holding a mug in her own claw. The hen took a deep breath before blowing out through her nostrils. Raising her mug, she toasted to the fire.
"To the one's I've lost, the one's I've gained that can't be here..."
Turning back to her, the griffon pulled off her helmet, smiling at Rainbow Dash.
"..and to those I've found again."
Dash stared at the hen, an odd sense of familiarity ringing in her mind. She watched in confusion as the hen splashed her drink into the fire before turning back to her and chiding her for her lack of movement.
"Don't take all day, dweeb," the griffon said, her smile never dropping.
"No bucking way... Gil? How in Tartarus did you get here?" Dash shouted, rushing over and nearly dropping her mug in the process.
Instead of answering, the hen just grabbed the pegasus' mug to steady it and gestured to the fire. Rainbow took a calming breath before tossing the drink into the fire. This time she kept all of them in mind, even those she didn't think she'd see again. After all, if Gilda managed to find her who knew? Maybe her family was still waiting out there somewhere for her to come back? She could almost hear her dad complaining about how she'd never find a nice colt with a good job.
Before the mare could wheel around on the hen, Gilda used a wing to pull Dash to her side and walked away from the bonfire, letting the rest of the griffons follow through with their tradition. Not a moment after they were clear, Gilda pulled the rainbow-maned mare into a crushing hug.
"Idiot, who'da thought I'd find you here? I wasn't even thinking about you till I saw you putzing around the fire."
"Twilight, she was...she has something in her head and it made her turn me and some friends into stone," Rainbow Dash explained as they took a seat in a relatively empty part of the clearing. "We actually just got out thanks to the locals. I didn't even realize it had been so long till Scoots came along. She was... G, she was a filly who'd just found her cutie mark the last time I saw her. Now she's a mercenary in the Talons and older than I am! How am I supposed to accept this? It doesn't make any sense, nothing does anymore!"
The griffon smiled at her one-time classmate.
"Dash, I know it's rough but you can't let despair get to ya, not even if you lose your wings. You've still got your friends, right? You said a few of 'em were trapped with ya, right? They're going through the same thing, so just pull together with them. Talk to 'em, ask how they're getting along, ask how they're coping and if they have any ideas that could help you."
Rainbow stared back to the fire for a few moments before turning and shoving Gilda's shoulder with a hoof. She couldn't help but let a smile play across her face.
"When did you start getting all mushy and smart?"
Gilda's own smile fell a bit.
"When I went back home. I kept hearing about how Dash and her friends did this, Dash and her friends saved the world, Dash and her friends fought during the Canterlot Invasion. There I was moping while you were doing amazing things and making a name for yourself, leaving me in the dust. I hated it. So I joined my old town's militia to get some experience, transferred over to the Talon Peak Army as soon as I could, and went from there. By the time I heard about you and your friends disappearing, there was talk about invasions left and right. Changelings were everywhere. We didn't know it at the time but they were running scared. Most got away from us but after seeing this place and hearing what was actually going on, that's probably a good thing. Since we didn't know what to do with them, I think most griffon towns ended up handing over any changelings to Queen Twilight. They didn't bother us after we did, we were certain of it. It wasn't until recently that we saw any more changelings.
"We finally had an answer for what she was doing with all those changelings."
"What happened then?" Dash asked.
"They swarmed over the griffon cities. Mindless beasts at that point. I remember capturing a few way back before it all went to Tartarus. They were scared, you could see it in their eyes if you looked. Most of us didn't think anything of it at the time. A few begged to be released, one even said the pony queen was going to destroy us all; changeling, griffon, and dragon alike. I remember my old commander laughed at that one. He died at High Talon. I didn't see it, but for some reason I can just see the changeling that spoke, that tried to warn us being the one to kill him."
Gilda shook her head.
"I told you that if you cut that mane or hid it in any way the world would be a darker place," she said, gesturing to Dash's mane. "I didn't know I was a seer, though. I was just being supportive. It's like the moment you and your friends disappeared was the moment everything started going sideways. Part of me still regrets not heading out to look for you after I heard you'd disappeared, orders be damned."
Rainbow Dash scuffed a hoof on the ground, not meeting the older griffon's gaze.
"I-thanks, Gil. I'm sorry how things kind of died out between us after..."
"Don't mention it," Gilda said, waving a talon dismissively. "No, seriously. Don't mention it. Abandoning your post is punishable by death. Even talking about it would have ended with my butt locked up if not for the mess the worlds in right now. In the meantime, I think you have a delivery."
"A wha-"
Dash's words were cut off as a passing pair of changelings dropped their cargo, their aim spot on. Before the blue pegasus could react, the missile impacted with a soft thud sending the jumble tumbling into a table, much to the chagrin of the griffons using it. As soon as they spotted the cause though, they gave a few chuckles before moving to a less contested location.
As Rainbow Dash's head finally stopped spinning she realized just what had hit her. Or better yet, just who had hit her.
"Dashie! I missed you guys so so soooo much!" the pink blur shouted.
"Pinkie?" Dash asked. Or would have. Instead it came out as "Hrghlr!"
"I think she needs air, kid. Let her breath," Gilda said, pulling at the earth pony's hooves.
"But my hugs!" Pinkie argued. "I'm way behind on hugs and parties and presents and the baking, oh my goodness the baking! So I've got to make up for it! That means each hug has to be longer and stronger than any hug I've ever given before. Dashie especially needs hugs, and I've got another twenty minutes at this pressure before I have to move on to Rarity!"
"I don't think she'll survive another two at that pressure," the griffon chuckled.
The pink pony looked the her blue friend, who was starting to turn a lovely shade of purple, and shrugged.
"She looks fine to me."
When the hen cocked an eyebrow, Pinkie relented.
"Fine, fine, I'll let go...just a little."
Rainbow Dash wheezed as air was once more able to fill her lungs. Sweet succulent air!
"How, when did you get out?"
Gilda mouthed the word out in confusion while Pinkie giggled.
"Well, I started getting all twitchy because there was a big, big, big party going on and I wasn't able to get to it, so one of the orderlings let me out early. She, I think it was a she, if I'm wrong I'll have to send her a "I'm sorry I guessed your gender wrongly" card, said that we should see how I feel after the parties and that if I need to I can just sleep it off afterwards. Oh, I can't wait, I need to see AJ and Fluttershy and Rarity and Pinkie and, wait, I've already seen me. Never mind. Anywho they said that if after the parties I start to feel all droopy again they'd let me sleep in the pod again until I was good to goop," Pinkie said, the stream of thought blasting the pegasus and griffon's brains. "I'll give you more hugs later, Dashie. You're not the only one I owe them too!"
Pinkie released her grip on her friend and bounded away...for all of three leaps. As she landed from the third leap her body jolted and she slumped to the ground like a wet noodle.
"Pinkie!" Rainbow shouted, at her side in less then a second. Several other beings were also moving closer, curious about the mare's sudden loss of liveliness.
"I told you not to try running around at your usual pace, but did you listen? Nope, nobuggy listens to the nurse. Why would they? It's not like she knows what she's talking about," A changeling with a red cross on her shoulder grumped as she pushed the polychromatic pegasus away. Flipping the mare over, she checked her breathing.
"How many hooves am I holding up?"
Pinkie squinted at the hoof.
"All of them. No, wait, just one. Three? You should really make up your mind, Miss Nurse Changeling.
The changeling, a female if Dash guessed based on the voice, wiped a hoof down her muzzle in exasperation.
"If it wasn't for Queen Pandinus specifically asking me to watch this one..." the changeling muttered, carefully pulling Pinkie back to her hooves.
"I want you to take it easy. I know you have a hard time understanding what that means so I'll break it down for you. You will walk when you travel, you will eat sparingly as your body is still recovering from the restorative sleep the pod put you in and you will listen to me if I tell you to settle down. Do I make myself clear? I'm not above dragging you back to the Temple and shoving you back in a pod. Your health is my job right now and personally I think you'd be safer sleeping."
"But, but the party!" Pinkie blubbered, tears forming in her eyes.
"Yes, you're at the party. Look, there's a table right over there. We can sit there and Miss Dash can gather your friends and have them come to you," the nurse said, pulling Pinkie to her hooves and guiding her to the table.
"It's not the same..." the earth pony mumbled, her hair losing some of it's luster.
"Listen Pink's, I'll get the girls. I'm sure they'd all love to see you up and about. You just relax okay? I'll be back in a flash!" Dash said, giving the party pony her best smile. She took off at top speed, earning a few angry shouts due to her aftershocks. She needed to get the other girls as quickly as possible. They all owed Pinkie a debt of gratitude and while the pink mare would never collect on it, being there for Pinkie when she needed it was the least they could do.
<-(0)->
Cimmerian watched the group of temporally displaced mares sitting around a table, an older hen sitting close to Rainbow Dash and answering questions for the group. She seemed to know them, or at least Dash. An old friend perhaps? Mist sat beside Pinkie, keeping the mare in check and making certain she didn't hurt herself during her time out of the pod. It seemed that Din was right about that one, Pinkie Pie required a full-time nurse right now. Not because she was ill, but because she didn't have an off switch. The pink pony just didn't seem to understand why her body couldn't keep up with her mind. Or why her mind couldn't keep up with her spirit.
"It's nice to see them together again. Most of them anyway," Celestia said sadly.
Cimmerian nodded.
"Tomorrow is your holiday. I heard there's going to be a play."
"It's tradition," the alicorn mare explained. "I'm certain it will be wonderful as always. I've memorized the lines. I wrote them down for the ponies who will be acting the parts."
"Zelus was upset," Cimmerian added with a grin. "She said changelings would have been able to match the physical features and voices of the ponies that were being represented better."
Celestia giggled daintily into a hoof.
"I'm certain they could. It's not about matching them though, it's about the experience. It's about passing down the information to the next generation."
"Din was also upset," the stallion continued. "Said she wasn't going to go to a play that wasn't historically accurate."
The mare blushed brightly at that line.
"Yes, well when she's done with her pregnancy, she can set something up herself. I'm certain there would be plenty of individuals, pony, changeling or otherwise, who would be interested in watching that sort of thing. She can tell me how it goes afterwards."
Cimmerian pulled the older mare into his side with a wing in a soft hug.
"I've got something to give the six of you tomorrow morning. A little something that I'd like to try before I leave."
Celestia stared at him for a moment, trying to come up with an answer.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're alluding to."
"Don't worry about it," he assured her. "One of the best things about presents is unwrapping them and finding out what you're getting."
"Agreed," Pandinus said, hefting herself onto his back and draping her hooves around his neck. "That's why for your holiday, you're not going to know what we're doing until you walk into the nest at night. I have so many ideas, Cimmer, so many ideas from Cadance and I want to try them all..."
Sorry for the delay, I know I know, where the hell was this several months ago? The answer? Half-done, while my muse has been half-baked 
You know, I've been reading through these old chapters and I can't help but wince at the writing. I can't be the only one who's done that. I'm quite honestly terrified to look over the first few chapters of this story again.
Next chapter should be up faster, I promise.
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Loved the chapter
Holy shit... it updated!
pinkie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw102_small.jpg
*look at new chapter* *does Sombra impression* chaaaapppppptttteerrr.
If you keep that promise I'll eat my Hat, card and all. Hell I'll even describe the tastes.
Obligatory "It's Alive!"
Lets be honest here, you are being hard on yourself judging the earlier chapters. Think of it not as your previous inadequacy but rather how far you have come. Your writing is fantastic and I quite enjoyed this (and all the other) chapters. I look forward to the next update
Well this happened. I think it's good how you brought Gilda back into the light and I'm curious to see how the other elements are coping, I especially loved Rainbow's little episode- Pinkie's was fun but RD's was deeper.
Some notes:
To the one's I've lost, the one's...
"Listen Pink's, I'll get the girls." No apostrophe for these.
I read the blog by the way and don't understand "how you feel."
Lastly, somepony finally thought of Nightmare Twilight as Nightmare Twilight! Not "The Mad Queen" or "The Parasite."
Your older stuff may be wince worthy, butnever cringe worthy. You've always been above the bar for technical presentation.
... ... ... imma have to re-read the entire story to remember what's happening aren't I?
Hey! Your writing was good even back then! Don't sell yourself short!
With love,
Fanboy Sasharah792
Absolutely awesome chapter, can not wait for the next chapter.
It's back, it's back, it's back upon its track!
Caloo, calay, oh happy day, it's back! it's back! it's back!
Glad to see this back up! I've had a lot of fun reading this story so far, so I'm glad your muse returned.
hmm no Frankensteins yet
Fixed
Don't worry about the writting, we also grew with it, and if you wish,you can make a rewrite when the fic is finnished :).
Uhm... here we go...
I really love Pinkie in this story. Her heart's stronger than her body, and was strong enough to protect and defend even the strongest while she was petrified. That's a will and dedication up there with the greatest. So much more than "just a party pony."
This pleases us.
Continue.
After 10 months, I have finally decided to sit down and catch up on 30 chapters.
............
*thud*
"Story used Anticipated Excitement!"
'It was SUPER EFFECTIVE!'
That was fun, may I have another? Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
breathe,"
to!"
EE-YESSSSSS!!! It IS ALIVE!
I can definitely understand being hesitant about earlier writings. But personally I really liked the slower paced, just starting out chapters. They felt like (at least for me) a logical progression of the characters actions and understanding, as well as the understanding of the reader.
Either way I really liked this chapter, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next.
Thank-you ever so much for updating this awesome fic.
Reykan please don't add more to your plate than you can chew. You are one of my favorite authors with multiple stories that I have added to my "all time favorites" library and I would hate it if you burned yourself out simply because you wanted to please your fans, so please take as mutch time as you need.
I wish you well and hope you have a good day
~The party pony cometh, behold, behold~
Also, somehow I just knew Gilda would show up the moment I read 'Rainbow Dash at a griffin holiday'.
7546865 we're gonna hold you to that, you know.
IT'S BACK!!!!
Yay! Update!
It's not dead! HUZZAH!
Half-baked!? That's not nearly baked enough to write a story like this!
Oh wonderful, it's updated! Thank you very much!
I'm glad to see that Dash and Gilda get back together. It warms my heart to see beings connect back up again after long periods of time.
I feel like a dog that was shown a rack of pork ribs, and was only allowed to lick them once before they were taken away. I crave more.......
7546931
(From memory)
Human shunted into NMM's body just before the rainbow beam of death hits, trapped for forty years, released by desperate ponies trying to fight evil with more evil. Instead, he creates a form of utopia where all are welcome. His presence is allowing others to dream, so Luna took notice and panicked. Explanations were made and Cimmerian gained his name. He found Pan outside the nearby trading town and help her adjust to pony life while "feeding" her. A hive started and dear god this is too much to write down this early in the morning. Part 2 of the summary after work.
I was literally thinking about Gilda, RIGHT before she shows up. Gg.
Look at that hand.
Steady as a rock.
Yes, but its this hand I type with.
Hey at least you don't have to reread your own terribly written stories over and over to make sure that you remembered that one obscure line that is now really important correctly...
7523253 no... Not sure what made you think that it was but no it's not a tyrantlestia story, so go read it it's really good.
7547521 um, I messed up in the next chapter on one of my other stories. I used a character that was half-dead to issue a duel challenge because I somehow lost track of my OC's. There were only about 6 of them in that story, too.
The muse can be a fickle thing indeed.
7547471
The sheriff is a pony.
7547557 I have not yet lost tracked of my OCs, thankfully... You could always just DBZ it lol
Queen Huggle Buzz has plans, and Cimmerian needs to decide if that is good or bad news for him. Also, I shall update you on how bad or good the early chapters are because I need to reread them.
I did the same on my own fic. Not only because of the grammar but also because the characters were almost emotionless. They laughed, growled in irritation, and that's it.
Happily the chapters are rather short and I managed to edit most of them pretty fast.
But your grammar is way better than most fanfics on the site, bro! Believe me on this one.
*fanboi squee*
It's been a while since I bothered to check in at Fimfiction, real life is a bitch sometimes, so it was quite a treat to see that one of my top favorite stories had updated. Talk about timing.
Don't worry author, I know that feeling all too well, but I would never do something like that...
*ignores looming behemoth of guilt with a half-finished chapter in its hand*
... Never... Especially not for several months.... At all...
7547019 I think we need to give the Frankensteins a rest for a while. Gene Wilder recently passes after all.
"Listen Pinky, I'll get the girls.
or
"Listen Pink, I'll get the girls.
or
"Listen Pinks, I'll get the girls.
I told you that if you cut that mane or hid it in any way the world would be a darker place," she said, gesturing to Dash's mane
I like that, it speaks volumes to the kind of friendship they had before
7546865 so... pics or it didn't happen.