My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship

by Danieru

98. Griffonstone

Twilight asked of Star Twinkle to come to the Castle, to the throne room to be exact. The stallion did as he was told and went to the castle, he was not the only one to be there though. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were waiting in the throne room as well.

"There you are, Star Twinkle!" Twilight said as soon as the stallion walked inside the room.

Pinkie Pie seemed really excited but Rainbow Dash was sitting in her seat and looked away from everyone as if she was not showing interest in whatever was going on in there.

"What is it? Why did you want me to come?" Star Twinkle asked confused.

"Look! Look!" Pinkie Pie said in response as she pointed towards the table in the middle of the room with the map of Equestria on it.

As Star Twinkle was inspecting the map, he quickly noticed that two Cutie Marks were hovering over a certain spot, It was just like back then when the map first appeared but instead of everyponies Cutie Mark, it only showed Pinkie Pie's and Rainbow Dash's. This meant that the map was calling them to go to the place where their Cutie Marks were hovering above. That is at least what Twilight believed, judging from their last trip to Starlight Glimmer's town.

"What is this place?" Star Twinkle asked. He was referring to the place where Pinkie Pie's and Rainbow Dash's Cutie Marks were at. The place looked like a giant tree with houses on its branches from what he could see.

Twilight went on ahead and explained things. "This is so exciting. The map is summoning you to Griffonstone, the very heart of the griffon kingdom!" She said. Somehow, she showed more enthusiasm to all of this than Rainbow Dash, even though the later one was usually the one who was happy to go on an adventure. Star Twinkle was not showing much enthusiasm as well, considering that he was thinking about something else in his head.

"My Cutie Mark isn't on it...again..." he thought, making him wonder why he was called to the castle in the first place.

But instead of getting an answer to that, Twilight was so drawn into this Griffonstone place that she just continued her explanation. "I don't know if either of you have read "Bygone Griffons of Greatness", but griffons were known to be—"

"Rude, insensitive bullies?" Rainbow Dash finished with a bothered expression on her face.

Twilight instantly picked up on what Rainbow Dash was getting at. "You mean Gilda?" She asked.

It was a long time since Star Twinkle last heard that name but he still well remembered who it belonged to. Gilda was an old friend of Rainbow Dash. both of them went to flight school and were pretty close. However, Gilda turned out to be pretty mean to anyone besides Rainbow Dash. She was looking down on them for not being as cool as her and as soon as Rainbow Dash realized how mean she was to her new friends, she realized that it was not right and they both ended their friendship.

Since it was so long ago, Star Twinkle had his troubles to still be mad at her, in fact, he was not too mad at her, to begin with. It was back when he still was still learning about friendship so he just figured that he knew too less to even have an opinion on it.

But Rainbow Dash clearly had a set opinion. "Yeah, I mean Gilda!" She said bothered. "When she came to Ponyville, she was a total jerk to all my friends, especially Pinkie Pie!" She pointed out.

Pinkie Pie had to agree on that. "She was a bit of a party pooper," she said, putting it more mildly than it actually was.

This is where Star Twinkle had to point out something. "That doesn't mean that all griffons are like her, right?" He said, expecting someone to agree with him but judging from how no response came, neither of them did meet another griffon before.

While Twilight had to agree with what Rainbow Dash said, she still insisted that they both should go. "So, maybe Gilda was a little rude. You still get to go to Griffonstone, and according to this book, it has a rich, fascinating history!" She said before she presented everypony a book from her collection.

Both Star Twinkle and Rainbow Dash sighed because they saw a little bit of a story coming towards them. Twilight usually got way into her books so whenever she wanted to share knowledge, things tend to draw out a little. This was no exception.

Twilight began telling the story...

"In ancient times, griffons were known to be as greedy as dragons, always hoarding their bits and other treasures. But all that changed when King Grover found the mysterious golden Idol of Boreas. Legend says the Idol of Boreas was made from the dust of golden sunsets, blown across the mountains by the north winds. Possessing the Idol of Boreas filled the griffons' hearts with pride. It's said that that one great treasure is responsible for turning Griffonstone into the most majestic kingdom of all the land."

Once Twilight finished, Star Twinkle had to admit that her explanation of the griffon race was getting him rather interested now. "Wow...sounds impressive," he commented on Twilight's story.

"I know, right!?" Twilight replied excitedly.

Rainbow Dash, who was not showing that much interest in Twilight's story though, was a little surprised how much the Unicorn showed interest in all of this. "And why do you care so much about griffons anyway?" She asked.

Twilight explained. "It was actually Gilda's visit that made me curious. So I picked up "Bygone Griffons of Greatness", and I've been hooked ever since! And now..." Suddenly her mood swung from being happy to feeling jealous. "Now you two get to see Griffonstone with your very own eyes," she said with a frown on her face.

Star Twinkle was a little surprised to hear this. "Can't you just go with them? That's what I did the last time the map was summoning all of you," he pointed out.

And of course, Rainbow Dash was taking this opportunity to talk herself out of this trip. "Hey, you can totally take my place if you want," she said, followed by a yawn. "I still have half a nap to finish," she added while she was stretching her body a little.

"Why don't you just come with us?" Pinkie Pie suggested. "I mean, you are the Princess of Friendship," she pointed out.

But Twilight disagreed. "No, no, if the map wanted me to go to the coolest kingdom in all of Equestria and tour the palace and see the actual idol that unites an entire species, which would be super amazing, I'm sure it would've said so. You two can handle whatever the issue is just fine. I'll stay here and do important princessy things. I guess," she said, even though she was clearly not liking the idea of staying behind at all, that much everypony could see.

But with that all being decided, Star Twinkle was still not sure why he was part of this little meeting. It was now that he finally asked about that. "Now that those two are going to Griffonstone, do you mind telling me why I had to come here?" He asked as he walked up to the mare.

Twilight gave a casual answer. "Sure. You will go with them," she simply said.

"What!? Why?" Star Twinkle asked confused before he looked over to the map once more. "My Cutie Mark is not on the map...again..." he pointed out.

Twilight explained. "Yes. The last time when everyone of us was called, your Cutie Mark didn't show up on the map. That is why you have to go with them," she said.

The stallion lowered his eyebrows confused. "I...don't follow what you are trying to say," he replied.

Twilight explained further. "I'm not saying that the map made a mistake but...I found it kinda weird that the last time all of my friends except you were called. You are one of my closest friends too after all," she said.

"Maybe the map didn't want me there..." Star Twinkle said with a frown on his face.

"Nonsense!" Twilight replied sternly. "You are one of the Elements of Harmony, just like my friends and I, you are one of the ponies who made me who I am, and you are one of my friends that helped me save Equestria a bunch of times," she said while she looked over to the map one more time. "I don't know why the map is not showing your Cutie Mark. I don't know why there is no throne for you either, but I do know that your help is needed and since the map is not showing your Cutie Mark, we just have to improvise," she explained.

"By making me go on those trips, whether my Cutie Mark is on the map or not?" Star Twinkle guessed.

The mare smiled and nodded in response. "Yes. I'm sure this is the best course of action," she said.

Star Twinkle knew where Twilight was coming from with this idea but still...the map was created by the Tree of Harmony, something very powerful and important for Equestria. And here they are, ignoring its "orders" and bending them to their will. The stallion had mixed feelings about that. Was the Tree of Harmony deliberately picking on him? Or was he just the one pony of the group who was the least needed so that it wouldn't matter if he would tag along or not?

The green pony found himself in a place where he didn't want to think about it anymore. It didn't look as if he had much of a choice. Twilight would just end up talking him into this adventure anyway, even if he would disagree so he just decided to agree.

"Alright then...guess I'll go to Griffonstone too..." Star Twinkle said with a mix of enthusiasm and annoyance in his voice.

Pinkie Pie instantly jumped up in excitement and landed next to the stallion. "Great! The more the merrier!" She said as she was putting her hooves around the stallion's shoulder. "Well then, come on, Dashie! We're going to Griffonstone!" She said while she dragged Star Twinkle behind her and bounced out of the room.

Rainbow Dash sighed in response. "Fine..." she said while she was slowly hovering behind them with an annoyed look on her face.

And just like that, it was decided. Star Twinkle, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie were going to Griffonstone, home of the Griffons. They didn't know for what reason but the map sent them there, at least Rainbow Dash and Pinkie. Star Twinkle just tagged along to see if his help was needed in all of this, though he had a guess that this was not the case.

But it was decided so there is nothing that could be changed now. All they had to do was to go to Griffonstone to see what would wait for them there.

Later...

Reaching Griffonstone was quite a trip. The three ponies needed to take the train to reach it fast enough. Fortunately, or maybe, unfortunately, Twilight made sure to prepare the three for this trip by giving them some reading material. It was a book that she wrote herself that had information about what they should do in Griffonstone.

Rainbow Dash was so bothered to go to Griffonstone that she took it upon herself to read Twilight's and judging from her annoyed expression, it was quite a lot to take in.

"So...what exactly is written in there?" Star Twinkle asked.

Rainbow Dash just slapped the book shut in annoyance. "How about what is not written in here! She literally wrote every little thing that we need to look for. It's like Twilight herself in book form," she said before she styled her mane differently to make it look like Twilight's hair. "Always carry plenty of bits. The griffons are sure to help you as long as you share the wealth," she said in a tone that was supposed to sound like Twilight.

This little impression of Twilight actually got a little chuckle out of Star Twinkle which in return made Rainbow Dash chuckle too. For a moment, the mare seemed to forget her bad mood.

However, the mood changed for Star Twinkle as soon as he saw a pony with a cart full of bits walking past him, bits that were spent by Pinkie Pie. Her whole seat was filled with sweets and other food and she looked a little embarrassed as soon as she realized that she might have bought a little too much.

"Uh, can I borrow some bits?" She asked awkwardly.

Star Twinkle pointed at the bits on the cart. "Half of my bits are already on there," he said annoyed.

"Oh yeah," Pinkie Pie replied awkwardly with a smile on her face.

The stallion just sighed. He looked over to the book next to Rainbow Dash and figured that it was a good idea to read through it while he was still sitting in the train. Rainbow Dash definitely had enough of the book and didn't care about it anymore.

"Let's see..." Star Twinkle said as he flipped open the book to see what Twilight wrote.

"Upon arriving in Griffon Gorge, be sure to pause and cast your eyes northerly, up the Hyperborean Mountains, taking in the breathtaking beauty of Griffonstone. Once in Griffonstone proper, go immediately to the palace and introduce yourself to the king. "Bygone Griffons of Greatness" was written a long time ago, and it ends with the coronation of the fourteenth king of the griffons, King Guto. I have no idea who's in charge now. Tell the king you've been sent by the Princess of Friendship, and you're there to help with some sort of problem. If for some reason the king can't help, I'd try the Griffonstone library next. It's a little known secret that if you befriend a librarian, you can usually find out anything. Plus, as a bonus, there's a statue of King Grover outside! Photo op! And don't forget to sample some famous griffon scones. They're supposed to be the best."

"Yep...you can tell that Twilight wrote this..." Star Twinkle said while he shook his head after he realized how much more of the book is left for him to read. It sure beats just sitting around and wait for their arrival though so he might as well continue.

Later...

Once the train arrived, the three ponies found themselves on the foot of the mountains that would eventually lead to the town. There was still a lot to walk though. They were all equipped with saddlebags filled with rations and all things necessary to climb the mountains but Star Twinkle already got dizzy after he saw how much way was left for them to go.

"Why did I come here..." he said in regret before he followed Pinkie Pie, who was already on her way towards the mountains. Next to him was Rainbow Dash, who still was really bothered to go to Griffonstone. By now Star Twinkle figured that he should comment on that. "You know, usually I am the one who is always grumpy or annoyed on trips like this," he said jokingly. "You really don't want to go to Griffonstone, do you?"

Rainbow Dash gave an honest answer. "Not really. Not after what happened with Gilda," she said.

"But just because Gilda was mean doesn't mean every griffon is like that, right?" The stallion figured.

"We'll see about that..." Rainbow Dash said in a monotone voice before she walked a little faster to catch up with Pinkie Pie.

Star Twinkle just ignored that and tried to catch up with them as well. The only way to find out if what Rainbow Dash thought was true was to see it for himself. If they would arrive in Griffonstone anytime soon.

...

After spending quite some time wandering, the three finally arrived at the entrance of Griffonstone. Star Twinkle was just happy that they were finally there. He had to take some deep breathes before taking a look at the town first after it took so long to even get up here.

In the meantime, Pinkie Pie was entering the place as well, her face filled with excitement. "Aw, Twilight should've come along! Then she could see first-hoof that Griffonstone is..." but then she stopped and took a closer look at the town and she was left in shock. "...a total dump!" She then finished after she saw what Griffonstone looked like.

"A total dump" was quite an accurate description of this place. The place didn't look like a town but rather what was left from one. There were holes in the houses, branches and twigs were scattered all over the place instead of on the roofs. And judging from how the griffons just walked by without a care in the world on their faces, they seemed to be fine with the state their home was in.

"It's...not quite as impressive as Twilight described it, that's for sure," Star Twinkle summed up after he took in everything that he saw in front of him.

After Rainbow Dash was looking around the place, she also had to agree that Griffonstone was not in the best state. "Maybe the map should've called Rarity instead of us," she figured.

Pinkie Pie was actually wondering if this was the right town they were at. Star Twinkle had to admit that this was a valid question. This place could be another place and Griffonstone was just somewhere around the corner. This was the only explanation that the stallion could up with why the griffons decided to leave their so-called hometown in this state.

As soon as one griffon walked past the three, Pinkie Pie asked away. "Excuse me, sir? This is Griffonstone, right?" But the griffon completely ignored her and walked away. He was clearly not interested in talking with her. "Well, that wasn't very nice," Pinkie Pie summarized.

"See? These griffons are exactly like I'd thought they'd be," Rainbow Dash said annoyed.

"Maybe we came at a bad timing? Maybe there was some kind of big event and no one bothered to clean up yet?" The stallion guessed.

While Pinkie Pie liked the sound of a griffon party, she somehow doubted that this was true and luckily came up with a surprisingly good idea. "Maybe we should just find the palace so we can ask the king what's going on."

"We don't have a king, losers," a familiar voice then said.

Everyone quickly turned to the one who spoke to them. It was a griffon, no surprise there, but it was also the one griffon that they all met before. It was the one griffon that Rainbow Dash did not want to come across.

"Hello, Gilda," Rainbow Dash said with a glare on her face while she locked eyes with the griffon.

"Dash," Gilda just replied with a glare on her face as well.

"Pinkie!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. She did not seem to read the mood of this situation quite well.

Star Twinkle felt a little out of place to say anything. He wanted to tell both of them to calm down a bit because he feared that they would do something rash but he also knew that it would probably not be that easy considering their history. He decided to remain silent.

"What are you doing here?" Rainbow Dash eventually asked.

Gilda rolled her eyes. "Uh, I'm a griffon? What's your excuse, dweebs?" She asked in her usual arrogant tone that all of them could well remember.

"Hey! These 'dweebs' are here to help Griffonstone!" Pinkie Pie said offended.

"Help it what?" Gilda replied confused.

"Well... we're not really sure!" Pinkie Pie then figured. "But it involves a map and our cutie marks and a problem, and—"

"Bored now!" Gilda interrupted as she walked past the mare with a bored expression on her face.

Despite Gilda being pretty rude so far, Star Twinkle had to ask one thing. "You said that you don't have a king before. What did you mean by that?" He asked.

Gilda only looked at Star Twinkle confused. She did not seem to remember him. They did not have many interactions the last time they met so it only made sense. She still didn't change her behavior to him though.

"What part of "We don't have a king" do you not understand?" She just said without bothering to give more details about the matter.

"Well if you don't have a king, could you at least tell us where the Idol of Boreas is?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Gilda laughed in response. "Don't tell me you really believe in that thing," she said amused after wiping a tear from her eye.

"Why shouldn't we believe it? Isn't it part of the history of Griffonstone?" Star Twinkle asked confused.

"Yes, it is! And you'd better believe it!" Said a male voice from nearby.

It turned out to be an elderly griffon who was peeking out of a window from his house. The griffon was wearing a cherry-colored fez and had Violet gray feathers, dark Violet gray wings, and one black colored eye, the left one being a gray blind eye, which was probably caused by the scar that was over it on his face.

The griffon released some coughs and then ended up falling down a few meters into his house, making quite some painful noises from inside. Surprisingly, the griffon opened the door and stepped out of the house before walking towards the group.

"It was the best thing to ever happen to us griffons!" He claimed.

Gilda just shook her head. "Oh, great. Now you got Grampa Gruff started!" She said annoyed. She knew what was coming up next.

Grampa Gruff ignored her words though and walked up to the three ponies. "I'll tell you the whole tragic tale...for a couple of bits," he said while he held open his claws waiting for somepony to fill it. Since Pinkie Pie spent all of hers and half of Star Twinkle's, Rainbow Dash knew that it was her turn to pay. She just sighed and gave the griffon two bits who smiled and immediately put them under his fez before he started to tell the story.

"The first griffon king, King Grover, united our kind like we've never been united before or since! And he did it all with that incredible Idol of Boreas."

Gilda, who was standing right behind him, imitated the old griffon to make fun of him, something that Pinkie Pie found quite amusing. Grampa Griffon must have told this story dozens of times. Star Twinkle focused on the story though because he wanted to find an answer to all of this. Mainly because he wanted to get away from this place filled with rather rude griffons.

Grampa Gruff continued his story. "That idol brought pride to the heart of every griffon that saw it! From one king to the next, Griffonstone had our golden idol. We were the envy of all other species. It held us together – it gave us an identity – right up until the reign of King Guto."

"But then something happened?" Star Twinkle guessed after being quite invested in this story.

"You bet!" Grampa Gruff responded with his face right in front of Star Twinkle. "That's when Arimaspi came to steal our griffon treasure! King Guto tried to fight him off, but Arimaspi managed to get away with the idol! In an attempt to get the idol back though, it fell into the Abysmal Abyss." Suddenly the griffon sounded a lot sadder while telling the story. "They say when our treasure fell into the Abysmal Abyss, our pride went with it. King Guto was the last king of Griffonstone, and we all lived miserably ever after. The end!"

Pinkie Pie, who was very emotional by now, broke out in tears. "That was the saddest story ever!" She commented.

"Aw, well...Tough tailfeathers! No refunds!" Grampa Gruff said casually while he left the group.

Star Twinkle rubbed his chin and began to share his thoughts. "So everything went downhill for the griffons after that idol was gone. Kinda sounds like what happened in the Crystal Empire, if you ask me," he summed up.

"No wonder Twilight's book ended with the coronation of King Guto," Pinkie Pie said with a frown on her face. "Who would want to record a history that sad?"

But Gilda felt a little offended hearing this. "It's not sad! Do we look sad to you?" She asked annoyed.

"You don't really look happy either," Star Twinkle commented but as soon as Gilda was growling at his general direction he took a step back and kept quiet again.

In the meantime, Rainbow Dash was looking around the place some more to come up with a solution for all this, which she thought was the best thing to do now. "Star Twinkle, Pinkie, I think I know why the map sent us here. We need to find the Idol of Boreas and bring glory and pride back to Griffonstone!"

Star Twinkle was about to agree with that plan but seeing how Gilda was laughing at just hearing that, made him reconsider it. "Here we go – typical pony hero complex. None of us care about that dumb old idol. Don't you get it? We don't care about anything, and that's the way we like it!" She claimed.

"I think Rainbow Dash is right!" Said Pinkie Pie as she was literally popping up on Gilda's back, much to her surprise. "The map sent us here to fix some sort of problem!"

This is where Gilda lost her patience with the pink mare. "The only problem Griffonstone has is you!" She shouted while she threw the mare off from her back and flew away from the three ponies, having spent enough time with them.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Well, I don't care what she says. We're gonna find that treasure, make Griffonstone cool again, and get back to Ponyville!"

"Sounds like a plan," Star Twinkle agreed.

"Then Come on!" Rainbow Dash said before she was about to fly off only to be stopped by Pinkie Pie's words.

"Wait, Rainbow Dash. What about Twilight's advice?" She asked.

"What, taking a bunch of pictures?" Rainbow Dash replied.

"She mentioned finding answers at the library," Pinkie Pie explained.

"Yeah," Star Twinkle added. "It can't hurt to get some more information about all this," he agreed.

It was then when Rainbow Dash threw the little book, that Twilight wrote for them was thrown at the stallion's face. "Knock yourself out. But when you get bored with Twilight's tour book, I'll be at the Abysmal Abyss finding the Idol of Boreas," Rainbow Dash said confidently before she was flying off to set her plan in motion.

And just like that, Rainbow Dash was off to do her own thing, leaving Star Twinkle and Pinkie Pie to do some research. Star Twinkle just sighed as he watched her leave. "Let's go and find this library," he just said as he walked away with Pinkie Pie following closely.

"I bet Gilda can help us find the library faster!" Pinkie Pie suggested casually.

"Probably," Star Twinkle replied. "But in case you missed it, Gilda does not really appreciate our company that much," he pointed out.

"Yeah, not really. But she knows more about Griffonstone than us," she pointed out.

As much as he didn't like the idea to talk with Gilda some more, Star Twinkle had to admit that Pinkie Pie was right. They needed any help that they could find to solve Griffonstone's problem and go home as early as possible.

"This all sounds so much like the situation in the Crystal Empire. The ponies all felt much better as soon as they knew that the Crystal Heart returned so if we find that idol the griffons should be happy again, right?" He asked Pinkie Pie only to see her looking at him with a warm smile. "What?" Star Twinkle asked confused.

"Nothing," Pinkie Pie replied happily. "I just remembered how much grumpier you were when we left for Griffonstone. But now you care about the griffons and want to help them really badly. You always act like you don't care about anything but you are actually really nice," she explained, causing Star Twinkle to react a little embarrassed and confused.

"Um...I guess..." he said as he rubbed his neck nervously.

Pinkie Pie just hopped past the stallion with a smile on her face. "I bet Gilda is just the same. She said she didn't care about that idol and Griffonstone's happiness but she probably doesn't want to admit it," she figured.

Those words got Star Twinkle thinking. Twilight did tell them that griffons were a pride race so it would only make sense that they didn't want anypony to see how unhappy they were, especially not some ponies wandering through. If that theory of his was true was still up in the air but it got Star Twinkle determined to find the idol and help the griffons.

It didn't take too long until the two ponies found Gilda. She was pulling a cart behind her. It kinda looked like as if she was attending her job in this town. But whether she was busy or not, Pinkie Pie just hopped up to her.

"Hey, Gilda! Word on the street is that Griffonstone has an amazing library chock-full of answers!" she asked.

"Word on what street?" Gilda replied annoyed.

Pinkie Pie's type of approach was maybe a little to direct for the griffon so Star Twinkle decided to be the one to ask. "Listen, I know you don't like us but the sooner you tell us the faster we will be out of your sight," he said.

Gilda, while still not feeling too happy having the two ponies in her company, replied quickly. "The library's right there, so why don't you go inside and leave me alone?!" She shouted into the stallion's face while she pointed at the direction of the library.

Star Twinkle knew that talking with her was gonna end like this but at least they got to knew where the library was and could continue their task.

The two came across the library, or at least what was left of it. The building was almost gone, there were no walls left, and books just laid on the ground scattered around the remains of the building.

"I guess this is it?" Star Twinkle asked. He was not sure what to make out of this actually.

Pinkie Pie just gasped at the sight of this. "Maybe it's good that Twilight didn't come..." she said.

Despite the state of the library, Star Twinkle was trying to find a book that was in a readable state. But unfortunately, that was harder than he thought. He hoped that Pinkie Pie would be a little bit luckier but he soon found out that the mare was walking up to an old statue that depicted someone who might have been King Grover.

She started...talking to the statue. "It's sad what happened to your town, King, but Rainbow Dash can't be right. This can't all be because of a missing hunk of gold," she said with a frown on her face.

"You are right, Pinkie!" She then said in a more rough voice while she moved the beak of the statue up and down. "And you've got amazing hair!" She added.

"Aw, King Grover, you old charmer!" Pinkie Pie replied embarrassed.

"Pinkie!" Star Twinkle said sternly. He could not believe how she was playing around right now, instead of helping him find any clues about the idol.

"Sorry," Pinkie Pie apologized. "I just thought that it was a little weird that a piece of gold was all responsible for the state of this town," she said as she looked around the town.

Star Twinkle joined the mare at looking around the place some more. "Maybe. But if the idol is not responsible for it, then what is?" He asked.

The mare looked around the town some more. She watched how the griffons were acting towards each other. For example, she saw two of them bumping into each other. They both just glared at each other and walked away. Seeing the griffons act like that gave the mare an idea.

"I know what Griffonstone needs!" She said happily.

Gilda overheard those words. "Fewer ponies?" She said annoyed while she was setting up something on her cart, something edible from the looks of it.

Pinkie Pie explained. "A song!" She said while she popped up in front of Gilda. "I've got a super song about smiling that sure to make even the most grumpy griffon grin!"

Pinkie Pie was inhaling heavily to let out the biggest song in a while but Gilda quickly shut her up. "Can't sing here!" She said while she pointed at a sign that had a crossed off picture of a singing griffon on it.

"Wow..." Star Twinkle just commented on this. He never thought that he would see a sign with an oddly specific rule like that on it.

Needless to say, Pinkie Pie was taken back to see her attempt to help ruined like this. "But how do you break into uplifting musical numbers with no singing?" She asked frustrated.

"I assume they don't," Star Twinkle figured.

"Yeah, that's Griffonstone's biggest problem – lack of uplifting musical numbers," Gilda added sarcastically. It was clear that Gilda still didn't appreciate the company of the two ponies.

Still, Pinkie Pie was not giving up. "Well if I can't sing, how about a party? If there's one thing these griffons need, it's a good cheer! Where's your party store?" She asked.

But judging from Gilda's annoyed expression, there was no such thing.

"No party store?" Pinkie Pie said in shock. "Uh, how about cake? Nothing cheers folks up like cake! Where's a bakery?" She asked.

Again, Gilda looked just annoyed at the mare.

By now, Pinkie Pie was completely in a state of shock."No singing, no party store, no bakery?! What is this place?!" She exclaimed in her frustration.

Gilda walked up to the mare. "You're welcome to leave...AT ANY TIME!" She then yelled at the pony, sending her flying into a wall to a nearby house.

Star Twinkle began looking at the griffon with a bothered expression on his face. "You know, she is just trying to help," he said annoyed.

The griffon then turned to the stallion. "And I told you that we griffons don't need any help! Especially not from some lame ponies like you!" She replied rudely before she continued to set up her cart.

Since Star Twinkle was wondering what she was doing all this time, he decided to ask. "What are those things? Are you selling those?" He asked.

While the griffon seemed annoyed, she still decided to tell him. "Those are griffon scones, can't you tell? They are my specialty," she said proudly.

The stallion could still not tell that those were scones though. They looked really...hard...like stones. Pinkie Pie though only heard the name "scones" and quickly rushed towards the griffon.

"I'll buy one!" She said excitedly.

Gilda took one of the scones out of the shelf and offered it to the mare. "Bits first!" She said while she held her claw open.

Pinkie Pie then looked over to Star Twinkle with an embarrassed look on her face. Just now the stallion remembered how she spent all of her money on the train. "Ugh..." Star Twinkle just said before he paid for the mare and gave Gilda a bit, much to Pinkie Pie's delight.

But the happy expression on Pinkie Pie would soon vanish as soon as Gilda stuffed the scone into her mouth and the mare chewed...or rather tried to chew the scone. Star Twinkle could only look in shock at how painful it looked like to chew those things.

"Well?" Gilda said, waiting for Pinkie Pie to give her opinion on the...taste of those things.

In the meantime, Pinkie Pie still tried to eat that thing in her mouth. Judging from the pain-filled expression that Pinkie Pie made while chewing it, the taste was probably the last thing that was wrong with it. And this was coming from the mare that grew up on a rock farm and claimed to eat rocks before.

Still, Gilda was eager to find out what Pinkie Pie was thinking about her scones. "What, you like it? That's my Grampa Gruff's secret recipe," she claimed, her voice filled with pride saying that.

"Was that recipe from ancient times?" Star Twinkle thought. He just assumed that griffons back then didn't know what the term edible meant. Or they maybe had stronger jaws...

Eventually, Pinkie Pie was done...eating. She actually ended up spitting out some teeth in the process, much to Star Twinkle's surprise. "Ow! I think I broke a tooth!" She expressed.

Gilda seemed a little disappointed to hear that. "Well, whatever. No refunds," she then said in her tough manner again. "I don't even care anyway. I just want to sell enough of these so that I can leave this lousy town," she explained.

This was just screaming to Star Twinkle that Gilda was not happy in this town at all, even though she claimed before that everything was fine here. He did not say this out loud though since he knew that Gilda would just get angry at him.

Pinkie Pie though was eager to help her out. "I can help you with that!" She said with a grin on her face, a grin that looked kind odd considering that most of her teeth were broken due to the scone that she ate before. She really needed to see Zecora after this trip so that she could make a potion to heal her teeth.

But despite the generous help, that Pinkie Pie was offering, Gilda declined. "How many times do I have to tell you ponies that we griffons don't need your help!?" She said annoyed.

"You want to leave this town or not?" Star Twinkle was, once again, the one who managed to convince her. "Pinkie Pie works as a baker in Ponyville. Just let her take a look at your recipe."

The griffon did not like getting help but she also was putting priority in her end goal so she decided to give in. "Fine..."

A little later...

As expected, Pinkie Pie was inspecting the recipe a little bit. She even managed to make them edible this time and took a bite from one without breaking a tooth.

"Grampa Gruff's recipe is good, but it's missing one important ingredient," she said.

"Don't tell me. "Friendship"?" Gilda said annoyed.

"Uh, no. Baking powder," Pinkie Pie said confused after those words of Gilda. Surprisingly, Star Twinkle expected Pinkie Pie something similar. "Lucky for you, I never leave home without it! Now just pop those in the oven, and you'll have griffon scones worth their weight in gold!" She said happily as she put the newly made scones into an oven.

Still, Gilda looked at the scones in disbelieve. "And you really believe that is gonna make someone buy those things?" She asked.

Star Twinkle shrugged his shoulders. "It can't hurt to try," he figured.

First, they had to wait for the scones to be done to find out though. As they waited for that though, two griffons, right above their heads, were bumping into each other and left one griffon falling down at the ground while the other one just continued to its way.

Suddenly, Gilda quickly came to the griffon's aid. "Greta!" She said as she helped the griffon up on her feet again only to be brushed off by her immediately.

Star Twinkle was quite surprised to see this and had to smile. "So much for griffons don't need help, huh?" The stallion thought to himself amused. He didn't want to say it out loud because he knew how Gilda would react to it though.

Pinkie Pie was not too worried about that, however. "Aha! I saw that, Gilda! You may act like a gruff, grumbling griffon, but inside you're gracious and great!" She said happily.

"What are you talking about?" Gilda responded either confused or to play tough.

"You just helped your friend up when she got knocked down," Pinkie Pie pointed out.

"What, her?" Gilda said while pointing at the griffon from before. "Greta's just some griffon I know. We don't have friends here!" She added before she released a sigh and a frown was formed on her face. "I did have a friend once, but you saw how that turned out," she said with an upset tone in her voice.

This is when Pinkie Pie finally got a great insight into what to do and smiled heavily. "Oh, my gosh, I gotta go find Rainbow Dash!" She said before she ran off all of the sudden.

"What!? Hey!" Star Twinkle said confused as he watched the mare leaving him alone with Gilda. Once he realized he was alone with Gilda, he became nervous. She clearly didn't like him and he had no idea what to say or do to make this less comfortable. In the end, he decided to focus on the scones again.

There was a little bit of silence until Gilda decided to break it. "Aren't you here because you wanted to help Griffonstone? Why do you bother your time with me anyway?" She then asked confused.

"It can't hurt to start small. If we can't even help you then how are we supposed to help a whole town?" He pointed out while he kept his eyes on the scones.

Gilda did not seem to see where the stallion was coming from though. "I don't understand you ponies one bit. Why are you all so persistent on this whole "friendship" thing?" She asked.

But Star Twinkle only shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea. Not too long ago I didn't understand much of that either and thought it was a waste of time."

Those words seemed to grab Gilda's attention. "You did? I thought that is all you ponies think about," she said a little bit arrogantly.

Star Twinkle looked over to Gilda with a deadpan expression on his face. "You used to think about it too," he said. "Or at least you used to," he said.

The griffon got caught off guard by those words and popped her eyes open in surprise. "That is none of your concern!" She said angrily.

"No, it isn't," Star Twinkle replied before he started to smile a little. "I imagine having a young Rainbow Dash as a friend can be pretty exhausting," he figured.

Gilda began to chuckle. "Yeah, no kidding," she said with a smile on her face but then she saw how smugly Star Twinkle was looking at her and she got a little embarrassed. She turned her head away from the stallion.

The stallion saw how he was getting closer to Gilda's good site so he just pushed forward some more. "How did you two end up becoming friends?" He then asked curiously.

For a moment, Gilda was looking around as if she wanted to check that no one else was listening. She then walked up closer to Star Twinkle with a serious expression on her face. "Do not tell anyone what I am telling you now!" She threatened.

"Right!" Star Twinkle replied nervously, not even thinking about doing that at all.

Gilda then told her story. "We met at the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp. On my first day there I was...a little bit nervous about what to do and some ponies made fun of me. It was then that Dash stepped in and spent time with me and we teamed up and proved them wrong," she explained. "We've been friends ever since...well...until now," she then added with a frown on her face.

"It's still not too late for that," Star Twinkle assured. It was then that Gilda, for the first time was looking at him as if she believed what he said was true. Star Twinkle was about to say some more comforting words but then he smelled the scones in the oven next to him and figured that he should take them out. He placed them on a nearby table and Gilda quickly took a bite from one of them. It was obvious that the taste changed for the better based on Gilda's surprised reaction on her face.

Of course, Star Twinkle wanted to know what the taste was like and was about to take a bite from one of the scones as well but then Pinkie Pie appeared out of nowhere with panic colored on her face. Of course, Star Twinkle and Gilda were confused about what this was all about but Pinkie quickly came to the point.

"Rainbow Dash is stuck on a ledge in the Abysmal Abyss, and I need your help to save her!" She explained in a rush.

"Got it!" Star Twinkle replied before he looked over to Gilda to await her response as well.

At first, the griffon hesitated. She wanted to play tough and say stuff like "Not my problem" but because she told Star Twinkle the story about first meeting Rainbow Dash, her memories of them being friends were really fresh. For a moment, she thought back about everything that she did with Rainbow Dash while they were still friends, and a tear even formed in one of her eyes.

Of course, the griffon didn't want anypony to see her like this and just wiped it away. Her answer came swiftly. "Fine. I'll help her. But that doesn't make me her friend," she said before she was running towards the direction of the Abysmal Abyss.

"Duly noted," Pinkie Pie replied before she looked over to Star Twinkle. "Except it does!" She then said towards the stallion with a smug smile on her face.

"I know, I know. Let's get moving now," Star Twinkle said, finding Rainbow Dash's rescue a little bit more important than Gilda showing some good in her.

Later...

Star Twinkle was not that surprised to be informed that Rainbow Dash managed to get herself in danger by doing things her own way but, of course, he went to her rescue just like Pinkie Pie and Gilda.

From what Gilda told them, there were really strong winds in the Abysmal Abyss, causing even the most experienced flyer to get some problems. Flying down there was impossible. That is why you needed to climb down there, if at all.

Gilda, since she knew this cliff better than Star Twinkle and Pinkie Pie, volunteered to climb down while the two ponies stood on top of it. The griffon wrapped a rope around Star Twinkle and Pinkie Pie so that they could pull her, and hopefully, Rainbow Dash up again.

Once the preparations were done, Gilda was going down the cliff. "Hang on, loser! I'm coming!" Gilda screamed down the cliff.

Rainbow Dash looked up from the little part of the platform that she was sitting on. She was positively surprised to see Gilda coming to her rescue. "What took you so long, doofus?!" She said smugly back to her griffon friend.

But even though Gilda was charging right towards the pony, the wind coming from the abyss was just too strong and she was pushed away and had to hold on to the side of the cliff.

Then suddenly, Rainbow Dash began screaming. The platform beneath her was gone now and she fell down. This left both Star Twinkle and Pinkie Pie in shock, the later one already acting in response.

"Rainbow Dash! I'm coming for you!" She screamed before she jumped down the cliff, much to Star Twinkle's surprise.

"Oh, not good," the stallion said before he was dragged down the cliff as well, being unable to support the weight of both Gilda and Pinkie Pie.

Soon, the two flew past Gilda, which then was dragged down as well. Pinkie Pie did manage to catch up with Rainbow Dash and grabbed her hoof but they still were speeding down towards the bottom of the cliff.

Then, suddenly, they all came to a hold. Gilda managed to hold on into a platform and prevented the three ponies to fall down. "Hold on, you three!" She said while heavily grunting and trying to climb up the platform so that she could properly pull them all up. "Huh?"

But then she saw something on this platform. It was a giant horned skull with only one eyehole. It was from the Arimaspi who stole the Idol of Boreas long ago and fell into this cliff. Having realized that, it made Gilda look around a little bit more, and soon she found something. It was on a platform on the other side of the cliff just an arms length away. A golden idol.

"The Idol of Boreas!" Gilda said in awe once she met eyes with this beautiful object.

She immediately thought about how happy the griffons would be once it was back in their possession. She tried to reach it while she hung from her platform but she could barely reach it. On top of that, Star Twinkle, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie were still hanging into her.

"I'm slipping!" Rainbow Dash shouted, making Gilda realize that she had to pull the three up quickly.

But at the same time, Gilda was thinking about the future of Griffonstone and tried to grab the Idol of Boreas. She had to make a choice. She either saved her friend or Griffonstone.

In the meantime, Star Twinkle, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie were not aware of that at all and continued screaming, sensing that they would fall any second now.

But then, it happened...

They were pulled upwards. Gilda was standing on the platform she was hanging on earlier and pulled the three ponies up. They all could take a breath for a second after being out of danger again.

"That was way too close..." Star Twinkle said as he laid on his back.

Once Rainbow Dash was up on her hooves again, she quickly saw the Idol of Boreas as well but then the platform crumbled and the idol fell down the cliff, for good this time. The mare looked over to Gilda as if she wanted to know why she didn't grab it.

Gilda gave a quick and heartwarming answer. "You're more important to me than some dumb chunk of gold," she said before she and Rainbow Dash shared a hug.

Star Twinkle and Pinkie Pie smiled at each other once they saw how things between the two were resolved again. But unfortunately, they had not enough time for that, in fact, they had no time at all.

The platform was crumbling away and the four were falling down the cliff. Gilda was not able to fly while holding all of them, especially since the winds were so strong and they all were falling down at rapid speed. On top of that, Rainbow Dash was hurt and unable to fly.

Things seemed to go slow for Star Twinkle. He was sure that this was the end and was scared. But in the midst of all this, he actually managed to take a deep breath. He closed his eyes and transformed into a Unicorn.

"Please work, please work, please work!" He thought to himself over and over again while he tried to concentrate and his horn began to glow.

Shortly after, he and his friends disappeared. The four then appeared on top of the cliff, safely. He managed to teleport himself, and his friends, since they were all strapped to him. For a moment, everypony was a little surprised. Pinkie Pie was even still screaming since she thought she was still falling down the cliff until Rainbow Dash poked her and she snapped out of it.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie both saw Star Twinkle in his Unicorn form and soon realized what happened, causing the pink mare to hug him as thanks. This was a little too close for the stallion and he was just happy that he and his friends were saved. He transformed back before Gilda could even notice his transformation.

"Can we go back please?" Star Twinkle said exhausted, having had enough danger for one day now.

Later in Griffonstone...

The four were back in town. There was not much talking on the way back but that changed until Gilda stepped claw into Griffonstone again. She had a lot of time thinking about what happened after all.

"I'm really sorry about how I treated you three," she said in regret.

"Thanks, Gilda," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Don't worry about it," Star Twinkle said.

"Apology accepted," Pinkie Pie added.

Still, Rainbow Dash felt bad about the idol. "And I'm just sorry we didn't get your idol back. Now we'll never be able to solve Griffonstone's problem," she figured.

"That's what I was trying to tell you!" Pinkie Pie then said, much to everyone's confusion. "The map didn't send us here to find the lost Idol of Boreas. It sent us here to replace it with something better!" She said.

But Gilda had troubles believing that. "Nothing's better than gold to a griffon," she said.

"And still, you saved Rainbow Dash instead of the idol," Star Twinkle pointed out.

"Right!" Pinkie Pie agreed. "And that is what Griffonstone needs, friendship! If you can learn to care about each other again, Griffonstone could be a mightier kingdom than it ever was before! And you don't need some golden idol to do that. You just need each other," she explained.

Star Twinkle and Rainbow Dash looked at each other and figured that what she said was true. "Whoa, Pinkie. That was... really sappy," Rainbow Dash still added.

"Eh, what can I say? That's how I roll," Pinkie Pie simply replied, not being bothered by those words. It was then that Pinkie Pie saw Greta, the griffon from before, walking by. She quickly saw an opportunity. "Go on, Gilda! Go make a friend!" She said while she handed her the self-made scones to offer her to Greta.

Still, Rainbow Dash had some worries about all this. "I don't know, Pinkie. You really think these griffons are up for this? We aren't exactly in Ponyville, you know," she pointed out.

But Star Twinkle was optimistic about this. "She just has to start small and get accustomed to it," he explained. He was speaking there from his own experience after all.

It didn't take long until Gilda returned and seemed rather happy. She explained what happened. "Okay, so she was really weirded out until I gave her the scone. Then she tried it and said it tasted good! That's the first nice thing anygriffon's ever said to me!" She said happily. The three ponies were happy to hear this. Things seemed to turn to the better for the griffon.

Shortly after, Rainbow Dash's and Pinkie Pie's Cutie Marks started to glow just like back then at Starlight Glimmer's village after they were done there. It was a sign that the problem was solved and that they could return to Ponyville now.

"Whoa, Pinkie. I guess that really was the problem we needed to solve," Rainbow Dash figured.

Pinkie Pie smiled in response. "Baking powder makes baked goods and friendships fluffy and delicious!" She said in a sales-pony kinda sounding tone.

"That means we can go home now, right?" Star Twinkle figured.

Rainbow Dash nodded in response "Yeah, we'd better be heading home," she agreed.

But hearing that made Gilda quite nervous once she realized what that would mean. "What? Y-Y-You want me to spread friendship here by myself?! How am I supposed to do that?! I haven't even made one single friend yet!" She expressed in a panic.

Rainbow Dash simply put a hoof on the griffon and smiled "No, you haven't. You've made three," she said happily.

Hearing that made Gilda almost tear up. To think that by the end of the day, she would end up being friends with Rainbow Dash again was enough for her to look at herself and Griffonstone differently. She was sure that her hometown would end up getting happier again.

In the meantime, Pinkie Pie had no problems showing her tears in front of everyone "Hugging! Hugging now!" She said as she asked everyone to embrace her and of course, the three did exactly that.

"But you'll come back and visit, right?" Gilda then asked.

Rainbow Dash smiled and gave a quick answer. "Just try and stop us!"

After that, the three ponies were walking away from Griffonstone while waving Gilda goodbye. Star Twinkle was really happy that everything ended up well for not only Gilda but Rainbow Dash as well, and hopefully soon, Griffonstone. It was quite some task for Gilda but they all believed that it was possible.

Pinkie Pie took one last look back at Griffonstone. "See ya later, you old charmer," she said towards King Groover's stone statue.

"What?" Star Twinkle asked confused after hearing those words out of context.

"Uh, Pinkie? Who are you talking to?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Nopony!" The mare replied embarrassed.

And like that, the three were gone again. The way to Ponyville was long but they were all excited to go back, especially after successfully solving the problem that the map asked them to solve. Star Twinkle was not sure if he was needed here since he wasn't called by the map but he just figured that he should accompany the girls on those missions. It can't hurt to do it at least.

...

As the three were walking away from Griffonstone, unbeknownst to them, they were watched by something. It was a weird little creature, round, with tiny wings and big eyes. A Parasprite. At least it looked like one, but at the same time, it didn't. It was mechanical, made out of metal and bolts.

It didn't do anything except looking at the three ponies from the distance. Then, all of a sudden it flew away while making little noises. It was as if this thing was watching them and now it was done with it.

For what reason though was unknown for now.

Author's Note:

And that sums up the adventure in Griffonstone. I was kinda happy to see Gilda back then when I watched the episode. I don't really get the hate she received but then again, my favorite Character is the Great and Powerful Trixie ^^.

The next chapter is gonna be an OC focused one. Can you guess who will appear? Is it someone familiar at all? Is someone new gonna appear? Or more than one? You will get the answer to that soon ^^.

But just to warn you, the next chapter is gonna be a little bit more...let's say disturbing than what you might be used to in this story. Not nearly as Fallout Equestria or Smile HD disturbing but compared to what you came across this story so far.

You've been warned.

With all that said, please consider leaving a review or some other kind of feedback and make sure to follow me or this story to always be up to date with everything that I upload.

See you all in the next chapter.
Bye Bye ^^.

Reading Order:

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship Season 1 + 2(Chapter 1 - 53)

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship - Diary of The Storm Wings

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship Season 3(Chapter 54 - 65)

Equestria Girls - The Legend of Friendship

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship - Outcasts

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship Season 4(Chapter 66 - 91)

Rainbow Rocks - The Legend of Friendship

The Legend of Friendship - Harmony

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship Season 5(Chapter 92 - 117)