The Wind Under Your Wings

by Wanderer D

The Wind Under Your Wings Pt. 2

All things considered, the flight really didn't take that long. Griffonstone was just about three hours east past Baltimare, which was just a two hour flight from Ponyville as the pegasus flies.

Which is exactly what Rainbow Dash did, and she could already see the coast in the distance.

Sure, she could've taken the train, but on the other hoof, why waste money prolonging the inevitable? She knew the whole trip was a waste of time anyway, but she had promised Fluttershy she'd try to mend relationships with Gilda. Or at least figure out what was really going on.

Plus, once she was out of Equestrian airspace, she had plenty of opportunity to fly the untamed skies beyond, really testing her strength and skill. She had performed a Rainboom, gilded while her four hooves rested on top of flying seagulls, landed on a barge offering exotic foods. The trip alone was totally worth it just for the freedom to do things like that.

Oh, the others would be game for the most part, but outside the issue of dragging them over to the middle of the ocean, there was also… the judgment. Fluttershy would be upset with her for riding on the seagulls. AJ would have some trouble with the locals not being good ol' Earth Ponies for a bit. The suspicion wouldn't last long, but it would be long enough to sour the meal. Twilight would be gushing over everything new and requiring constant supervision, Pinkie would take over the kitchen, and Rarity would loudly judge everything even when they could all see she was really enjoying it.

No. Trips with her friends had their own charms, but this is what she needed to clear her head. She needed to relax and to focus, and she wouldn't have been able to do either with them trying to help in their own way.

Fluttershy had been right though. Gilda was still part of her past, and she wouldn't be happy with how things turned out until she had a chance to properly (and privately) confront the griffon. But now that she was getting closer, the question became how to find her.

Gilda had grown up in Griffonstone, this Rainbow Dash knew from their chats at the flight camp. Her friend had made it abundantly clear that Griffonstone was not a place she'd want Dash to visit. Oh, they were thick as thieves, and Rainbow Dash had talked Gilda into visiting Cloudsdale more than once, but the opposite had never been in the cards. By all accounts Griffonstone's territory around it's castle was about the same size as Canterlot, although the same accounts also said the place was a dump, barely liveable, and a veritable hive of scum and villainy.

In other words, it sounded awesome. But also complicated. And Rainbow Dash hated complicated things unless it was a complicated stunt. Then it wasn't just complicated, but also awesome.

She slowed down, frowning as she sat on a cloud to think around that one. Didn't that mean that searching for Gilda in Griffonstone was also right down her alley? In any case, she still had at least an hour flight from the coast to the mainland Griffon territory and—

Her thoughts were interrupted by a rough scream of frustration, followed by a loud crash and the crunch of several large rocks. Quickly scanning the area, she saw the side of a cliff where dust was rising into the air. Her sharp eyes could see here and there pieces of furniture and personal effects among the rocks as the air blew the dust cloud away.

She immediately set flight there, worried that somecreature might be hurt. "Hello?! Is everypony okay?!"

Her only answer was another angry growl coming from above, where she could just make out a small cave. The rocks around her did have some furniture on them, which she could now make out as pieces of chairs and a table broken in half.

Had this been some sort of balcony?

The sound of breaking glass brought her back to reality and she quickly flew up to the opening, peering in. "Hell—whoa!"

She barely managed to avoid being hit by a spinning picture frame that would have smacked her right in the forehead if she hadn't moved out of the way. "What the hay?"

"D-dash?"

Rainbow Dash blinked, her anger forgotten as she glided into the cave, where a distraught Gilda was staring at her with horror and confusion.

Comments

[Nyerguds]

Huh, so it's continuing Rainbow Dash and Gilda's story. Kind of unexpected, given the premise.