2G

by Bysen

Gilda x Gallus

Gilda awoke the next morning on a couch in Rainbow Dash’s house. Pfft, more like mansion. Compared to most every other house in ponyville it was extravagant. Compared to her own house it was a palace. And that's saying a lot for a town with an actual palace in it. Even if they called the crystal tree thing a ‘castle’.

The debate of whether to take something from Rainbow’s kitchen raised itself again as Gilda stretched awake and felt her stomach asking for breakfast. She’d landed on not taking any of Rainbow’s food last night but that just made the decision this morning even harder. Crashing at her friend’s pla… her ‘friend’s’ place without asking was one thing but taking something from her could lead to a whole other can of worms. Damn it… now she was just even hungrier for a can of worms.

There hadn’t actually been a key in the mailbox or under the doormat. Or a mailbox or doormat at all. But it’s a cloud house.

As she flew through the instantly reforming wall Gilda set her sight on the town below, it was certainly bigger than the last time she’d visited. It had gone from a small town just outside of the capitol to a tourist destination more popular than cantalot itself. Which, while meaning more ponies to deal with, also meant there was actually something to do here this time. And a lack of chance of running into any of Rainbow Dash’s pony friends, especially Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy changed this from four day slug just waiting to a four day slug doing stuff at least.

There’s a…

(this next part is a song that’s tune in my mind is kinda a mix between the Ursola song from little mermaid and Prince Ali from Aladdin]

Shop that sells picture of Rainbow Dash
And all of those other six mares
But that’s not getting any of my cash
So much stuff that I couldn’t care… less!

Next door to the store that’s a big bustling mall
It’s got everything I could need
But it’s selling rainbow wigs with goggles attached
So gotty my eyes gonna bleed

Everything here, all that I’m near gives me a sneer
Get away from stores gonna relax
A trip to the spa, it’s not very far
Sign reading “Even loved by Rainbow Dash”

I just wanna have fun and I wanna forget
Everything I’ve been through here before
Can’t go to the pool can’t go to the school
And definitely not that cake store!

Sweet. This one looks good.
I’ll check out the rock museum!
It’s not what I thought, not the cool kinda rock
Wanted lead zeppelin not lead-potassium

What is there to do in a town so entrenched in somepony you wanna forget?
Every storefront is an affront to my past, my future and my present.
But down around town that the townfolk live away from the tourist trap crap
There’s a small little store selling quills and sofas that’s just as small town as it gets!

I thought there was lots to do in this town
Should’ve slept in why’d I come down?
Three more days I’ll just be looking around
In ponyville it’s all rainbow dash and her crowd
A single thing without her it just can’t be found!...

I don’t want a wig and I don’t want that pic
I don’t want a life size replica nor a minifig
I don’t want any of the crap that they’re throwing around
Why would anyone want a rainbow dash crown?

A cane a cake a cart a kite
The kite’s kinda cool but the colour’s not right
A washcloth a watch broach a wind sock a rainbow c… oh my god.

(music stops)
"Is that real?"

(long pause before the music starts up again)

I just wanna wait in peace without unease
and uncomfortable memories
Can you believe there’s not a single piece, park, parchment, parcel or pursemint without her stitch?

Rainbow Dash is in everything.
Everyway, everywhere, everytime
Not a thing in Ponyville can be done without her somehow being tied

I don’t understand why everypony’s a fan
The reason this gryphon can’t find
Why try to run instead of join in the fun?
This is not the fun I had in mind.

Gryphons and ponies have so much alike yet everything that’s in between
Is different enough to make tensions rough
So I’d rather just sit here and eat.

It was the same place she’d eaten yesterday and despite it feeling like she’d been wondering around ponyville’s tourist sites for at least eight hours it had been something more like three. Of Course saying she hadn’t slept in was a relative term meaning she’d ONLY slept until about midday. So much like yesterday, and Gilda realised this as she saw those three fillies coming towards her again, she’d ended up here around the time school finished for the day.

“Wol’ heya Gilda.” the yellow one said. She didn’t stop though.

“Hey.” came from Scootaloo and a wave of hoof from Sweetie Bloom. Neither of them stopped either.

“You three again… hey.” Gilda offered, being very, obviously, polite. For a gryphon.

She still had questions about Scootaloo being flightless and somehow being taken under the wing of, pun intended… wait was that even really a pun? Under the wing off Rainbow Dash. But no, a completely relevant question was somehow inappropriate. That’s what Gilda had liked about Rainbow. She was one of the few ponies who was just as brash as any gryphon. Being told you suck wasn’t an insult if it was true. It was a motivation to get better.

Maybe she could’ve been a bit better with how she phrased it at times but nothing she’d ever told anypony was untrue. Back in flight school, ponies picked on Fluttershy. Gilda didn’t. She said Fluttershy can barely fly. Rainbow had once called her out on that and Gilda had just said “What? It’s true. Guess that’s why she’s at flight school.”

And not that Gilda would ever say it, at least today, she’d had a deal of respect for Fluttershy at the time. The filly clearly hated it but was still trying. That was, until she dropped out. Irony of course that somehow Rainbow was the one who got the reputation for dropping out. Those two idiot colts who couldn’t understand graduating early from proven achievement where the cause of that. There loss though. They probably would’ve gotten some tail-feather from Gilda if they hadn’t run their mouth.

Odd thought. A gryphon having sex with a pony. Gilda couldn’t say that the idea was unappealing to her but as she’d gotten more mature, and probably from no longer seeing nothing but ponies for a year, her sense of attraction had shifted away from ponies and back to gryphons. Even pegasus where slightly off putting with their… shape, being just… wrong. She wasn’t exactly sure what was off putting, just that it was. She couldn’t even remember what she’d used to find attractive about Rainbow Dash.

Their head covered in hair. Their legs ending in hooves. Their small wings. Some… MOST, not even having wings. Their tail also covered in hair. Not that gryphon’s didn’t have hairy tails but in a… different way. And their colour. Instead of the basier brown, grey, black and sometimes even white, ponies where every colour from green to yellow, to orange, to red, to pink to purple to… blue.

“Oh hey it’s you… I haven’t seen you around in ages.” Gilda said aloud without really thinking.

The young blue cock had been walking along the road, hadn’t even noticed another gryphon sitting on a table eating a loaded heigh fries. Still didn’t notice her even after being talked to. It’s not like she’d called his name or anything to specifically grab his attention. What did grab his attention though was the CMC just out of sight from where Gilda was sitting shifting their eyes rapidly back and forth between him and Gilda.

Then, even though he hadn’t really been paying attention, what had been called to him clicked in his head that it was about him. He looked at Gilda, back at the CMC and then back at Gilda again. ‘Okay… this now I guess.thought to himself. “Do I know you?” he asked flatly.

“No.”

The End.

“But you tend to notice a blue gryphon. Guess you don’t tend to notice them being gone too. Hadn’t really thought about it much but I haven’t seen you in what, X months now.” added Gilda before taking another bite of… whatever thing she was eating was.

“Uh huh…” the blue boy said dismissively. “And is there any particular reason Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom are hiding from you around that corner?” he asked, pointing towards the red bow sticking out from where Applebloom was peeking around the corner.

Gilda leant back in her seat and twisted her head. “We’ve been made!”

“Abort! Abort!”

“Wait… why does that matter… and you're already gone. Fine… wait up your guys!”

Both the boy and Gilda watched for a moment before returning to face each other. “Eh, beats me.” answered the gryphon as she took another bite. “You know them from the friendship school?”

“Yeah, sor-” he started but was interrupted.

“Wait. Her name is ‘Applebloom’?”

“Yeah…?”

“And that other one’s name is ‘Sweetie Bloom’? That’s weird.”

“It’s Sweetie Belle.”

“Well that’s even weirder.”

“Eh… pony names.”

“I know… right?” she laughed. “Gilda.”

“Gallus.” he replied and stepped forward. He took a seat opposite her and sat while asking “So what’s a gryphon like yourself doing in Ponyville?”

“I was visiting a friend but turns out they’re off in the gryphon kingdom… what are the odds?”

“Well, it happened so… 100%.”

She stared at time with a bemused look. He wasn’t wrong. He just wasn’t right. “That the kind of stuff they teach at that school? I mean I figure you go to that school. I know somegryphon does and a blue one would fit right in with…” Gilda trailed off making a claw gesture at the everything around them.

“Well, that and other things. ‘The Magic of Friendship’...” he mocked. Although he had experienced it first hand and created a castle… ‘castle’ with it. “Learnt some really cool flying moves. And… wait. You don’t actually care do you?” he finished deadpan.

“Yes and no. Mostly no.” Gilda chuckled out. That he’d managed to pick up on it at all set him apart from the rest of these ponies around here. She had a pretty good idea who the flying teacher was. She’d rather hear about it from Rainbow herself though.

“So how do you know the CMC? Those three fillies that are obviously in that trench coat over there.”

“We’ve been made… again! Hoof it!”

Gilda couldn’t see the result as she didn’t even bother turning to look at the three but she could hear the ripping of fabric, the crashing of some boxes and the screams of ‘My cabbages!’ from the owner of whatever they’re tripped and crashed into.

“I know one of their sisters.”

“Really? Couldn’t see you having much in common with Miss Rarity. And you didn’t even know Applebloom’s name… or Sweetie Belle’s for that matter… so I doubt it’s Miss Applejack either.”

“‘Miss’ Rarity? ‘Miss’ Applejack?” mocked Gilda.

“Hey, don’t blame me that Principle Twilight’s a stickler for school manors. Besides, which one of them? Neither mentioned knowing a gryphon. And believe me, they would’ve brought it up.” Gallus took a breath, fluffed his neck feather and fluttered his eye lashes. “Oh yes, I am quite familiar with gryphons from my travels as a world renowned fashionista. As I am with all things that I have no idea what I’m talking about on.” he then stiffened his neck, dropped his jaw and put a paper plate on his head for a hat. “Well darned if ah aint got a story to tell you what not ‘bout the time me and a gryphon, of all folk, made a delivery through the forest of feathered fearsome fear!...”

Gilda merely stared blankly for a moment. “I’m sure those impressions are totally spot on on… but I have no idea who either of those ponies are.”

“You don’t know the ‘heroes of equestria’?”

“Well have SOME idea who they are… but… you know what I mean. I’m talking about Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo’s sister… figure… thing.”

“Oh, that. Yeah, that makes a lot more sense.”

“Does it?” Gilda came with so much mockery in her tone <some clever analogy>. “She can’t even fly. And Rainbow’s all about flying. Literally ALL about flying. How could she take someone who can’t even fly as her… ‘sister’?”

“Well… that’s probably exactly why.” Gallus returned with so much condensation that that last analogy did the opposite of whatever I said it did. It’s not like Gilda didn’t understand empathy. She did. And really, it was that simple.

“Huh…”

“Miss Rainbow Dash just… I don’t know. Cares for her I guess. I know, strange concept for a gryphon huh?”

“No. I get it.”

“You do? You didn’t five seconds ago.”

“Well I do now.” she said with force.

“Ok, ok… sheesh. Why are the hot ones always so uppity?...” he mocked

That was a shift she hadn’t expected. “I’m going to stop you right there. I’m old enough to be your mom.” she could tell by the smirk on his face he was about to say something stupid to follow it up. “And I swear if you say ‘That’s the best part’ I’m going to end you.”

He hadn’t planned on saying that. All though Gallus certainly wished he had thought of it. Not that he’d even meant what he’d said in a flirty way. And what he blurted out next, certainly didn’t help either. “You’re only old enough to be my mom if you had me at my age.”

There was a long pause from Gilda. Long enough for Gallus to worry before “I know what you think you were trying to say but all you really said is I’m twice your age.”

There was no smooth talking out of this now. Abort. Abort! “Yeah, well, whatever. There’s plenty of hot hens at our school.” And that probably would’ve done it too. If he hadn’t followed immediately with “Well… as hot as non-gryphons can be.”

Three thoughts ran through Gilda’s head at those words. 1: ‘Either I wasn’t weird for finding ponies hot when I was his age. That or they both of us are.’. 2: ‘He totally has the hots for Rainbow Dash doesn’t he?’. And 3: ‘I should not have this conversation with someone his age…’.

But then a fourth thought popped into her head. One that she vocalised less intentionally than she wanted. “‘Non-gryphons’? Not ‘ponies’. I heard there was like a few non-ponies there. So which one?”

“What? No I was just being non-non-inclusive.” he instantly replied. “Although… come to think of it, all the non-ponies, well, besides me, are girls.”

“So what are they? And on a scale of 1 to 8?” Gilda asked and said, holding up first 1 talon, then all 8 on her forepaws.

He had changed the topic at least. Whether for better or worse… or if he had even really changed topics at all, just who the topic was about. It’s not like he had anything to hide. All he friends where just that, friends. Worse case scenario he rated their looks low in a conversation they’d never know about. “Well, there’s Smolder. I didn’t even know she was a she for at least a month so I’d go with… a 4.”

“And she’s…?”

“Oh. Smolder’s a dragon. She’s pretty gryphon-like with her attitude. So if I had to choose, I’d just choose a gryphon. No looks barrier.”

“Wait… she doesn’t look great. But you still gave her a 4?”

“Yeah? Isn’t 4, like, average or something?”

“Below average.”

“No.” Gallus said as he held up his right forepaw with all four talons out and his left balled. “It’s like right in the middle.” and he was right. If you included zero. Which neither of them where.

“Whatever. So she’s average looking.”

“Well, not exactly.” gallus corrected. “Looks she’s probably a 3. Maybe 2.” he got a raised eyebrow from Gilda. “But she’s like, ‘gryphony’. So that’s a 5 there. And that’s an average of 4-I don’t know. I haven’t exactly spent much time thinking through which of my friends is the hottest. I like all of them. Even… no homo, Sandbar.”

“‘No homo’?” Gilda said with a smirk. Then added with a condescending voice “Thought you said they were all girls?”

“No. I said all the non-ponies where girls. Sandbar’s like part of our crew and a pony and a colt.” Gallus paused for a moment. “And if you say ‘That’s the best part’ I’m-”

“Finish that threat, I dare you.”

“Then there’s Silver Stream.” Gallus quickly deflected. “A hippogryph. She’s-”

Gilda cut him off mid-sentence once more. This time though she sounded almost excited. “A hippogryph?!”

“Yeah.” gallus answered flatley. “A hippogryph.”

“So her mom or dad the gryphon?”

“Wot?”

“Which one’s the pony and which one’s the gryphon. Or don’t you know.” Gilda said with genuine curiosity. Something that caught Gallus completely off guard.

“I… don’t think that’s how hippogryphs work.”

“‘Course it is. Or haven’t you learnt about the birds and the lions yet?”

With a bemused expression and a tone of sarcasm Gallus answered back. “I’m pretty sure this whole conversion is not so subtly talking about which of my classmates I’d like to bang so yeah, I have an idea what sex is. And if you think that ponies and gryphons having a kid together makes a hippogryph then I think you’re the one with no idea what sex is.”

Two possibilities rang through Gilda’s head. 1: her school counselor at flight school had been full of it and she’d found another thing that a teacher and the book she was reading from had told her as 100% fact and she'd believe for the majority of her life was BS. Like glass was a liquid. Or that you can’t divide by 0. Or option 2: she was right and he was the one who had no idea. She chose to believe the latter.

“Trust me. As a hen growing up around ponies who fed me the same line of ‘It’s not like you can get pregnant.’ you gotta find this stuff out.”

“I mean… there’s a whole country of them. And they’re like half fish. Or that might just be magic. But there’s no way an entire race is just half gryphons.”

“Well, then you sure she’s a hippogryph? Ponies and gryphons make hippogryphs. Ponies and buffalo make deer. And ponies and dragons make chimeras. No idea what gryphons and anything other than ponies make but when you only have pony books, they tend to focus on themselves.”

“Wait. You think ponies and… whatever a buffalo is, make deers. Those long legged mice with antlers?”

“Not those type of deers. The book just called them that because the look like… them… oh. I get it now.”

“So the book said that a pony and gryphon’s chick is just called hippogryphs because they look like hippogryphs... but aren’t?” he asked, trying to hold a laugh at the idea. But almost as soon as he had said it out loud... “Yeah. I could see that.” the idea actually kinda made sense to him. “Also what’s a buffalo? What would that even look like to make a ‘deer’ with a pony?”

“I don’t know.” she said dismissively. She was probably right but there was still the chance that she’d made an idiot of herself there. It certainly felt like. “The hippogryph.” Gilda stated, intending for Gallus to continue.

Gallus paused for a moment. “Well… she’s kinda beautiful. But also really off-putting. Like, I’m thinking of a gryphon when I look at her and well, yeah. She looks like she’s half pony and it’s all kinds of bizarre. So… a 4.”

“Again?”

“Yeah, again. I mean… if they asked me out I wouldn’t say no. But I don’t think I’d ask them out… you know?”

“Ehh… not really.” she did. “But who else?”

“Yona. She’s a yak. She’s… nice. Kinda clumsy. Talks in third-grypho… third-‘yak’? I don’t know. I don’t really like her. I mean I like her but… I’d give her a 2. Like a high 2. Nearly a 3. Not quite though. And besides. I think Sandbar likes her anyway.”

“So how about Sandbar?”

“0.”

“Cold.”

“Straight.”

“Doubt.”

“Bbbhhh, shhh… whatever. Last there’s Ocellus. She’s a changeling. Oh, and changelings have… changed. They’re like fluro colours now and less jagged. And well… I’d say… 7?”

“7?!” Gilda spat out in surprise. “That sounds pretty high to me.”

“Well, I mean, she’s a changeling. So hotness can be an 8. It’s usually only a… 6 though. That’s still high isn’t it.” he said as he looked off in the direction of the school.

“Wow… you really just realising right now you like her aren’t you?” she’d said it in a mocking tone but despite that, she had been genuine about it. She’d just naturally came off as being a bitch is all.

“No… maybe… yes?” he turned back to her, eyes slightly wide, almost worried looking but more to do with realisation. “Yeah… I think so. She’s smart. I think someone called her ‘a-dork-able’. That’s pretty spot on.” he chuckled at that and a smile came to his face, replacing his concerned look from before. “Shy but brave. Surprisingly good flier. I can always depend on her when I’m behind on my homework. Never lets me just copy though, so that’s a negative I guess. Jokes… pranks…”

“Ask her out or I lose what little respect I have for you.” Gilda stated, snapping Gallus out of his contemplation.

He turned to her and all of that faded fast. “Oh, yeah, I’m totally going to do that because some random hen I met dared me to. Dang it! I don’t want this… this’ll just make everything complicated. I just want to go to school and hang out with friends. Not some of the pony’novela stuff Miss Rarity’s always going on about…”

“Hey, she can be anything right? At least you found a blue bird.” again, she didn’t mean to sound like a bitch when actually trying to help. She just couldn’t help it herself.

“I don’t care about that!” spat Gallus. He paused. Changing once more from annoyed to sombre he said “And honestly, when you look at me do you even think I’m attractive? Don’t answer that.” she wasn’t going to. “I’m weird. I’m not as bad as Silver Stream but I don’t want a blue gryphon, it’s weird. Now a grey gryphon, that’s my thing.”

“What, like blueish black grey?”

“No. Like… uh… Natalya.”

“Who? And what kind of name for a gryphon is ‘Natalya’?”

“Forget it. Ugh… now I have to worry about that whole changelings laying eggs in you thing is true.”

“Could just be she’s tricked you into thinking you love her. That’s what changelings do isn’t it?”

“No. She wouldn’t do that. That’s like saying us gryphons only care about bits.”

“That’s not exactly wrong though.” Gilda emphasized by pulling a bit out of seemingly nowhere and flipping it between the knuckles of her claw.

“Maybe for you.” he answered back, took out a coin of his own and flipped it over his shoulder into the tip jar. It was an incredible shot to say the least.

It impressed Gilda, but “You regret it already don’t you.”

“That was my lunch money for tomorrow…” he moped.

It got a laugh from Gilda. “See, you’re going against your instinct just to defend her from ‘some random hen’. No denying it bud.”

“Dang it… I… dang it!” and with that he took off. Looking back at it, Gilda could see how she’d upset him.

“Do you… have a tab for him?” she turned and asked the pony behind the counter. The mare just shook her head and magicked over a bill for both of their food. “Dang it.”

Author's Note:

'it's a flower' - Alternate version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr5zYg4LG6s

So all of the hybrid species stuff originates from my first ever fic back in 2012 and two others since. Well before hippogryphs where canon.
What I pictured a chimera being is pretty similar to what kirin are, now that I think about it.
Also don't reindeer exist in the xmas special don't they?
I'm close enough 3 for 3.

Come to think of it, those two other stories [Link one and two] I mentioned before where actually just chapters from that first story that I turned into stand alone stories. It was a BIG story. 300k words, 600 pages. And some how I was cranking out 2 5k+ word chapters a week.