But Did She Drag Herself In?
Unlike so many of the ponies around her, Fleur didn't panic easily: one of the many benefits to having grown up with a Protoceran's heart. There were certainly times when circumstances dictated that action needed to be taken immediately, and the majority would have been familiar to any who had once been part of a hunt. Situations clearly existed which necessitated an immediate retreat, because reaching a place of safety could be crucial in getting the chance to create a response. And there were also scenarios for which panic was in fact the proper answer, because the reaction lay close to the core of survival instinct and on rare occasions, pounding legs would figure out what had been the best course of action long before the brain ever got involved. Fleur had encountered one of those, and the resulting dreams were changing.
But if there was time... you paused. Thought about the nature of what you were facing. Considered. Evaluated. And then, even if you had to do so while standing among the debris of what had once been your existence... you made a plan.
She was currently hidden by billowing white vapors. There didn't seem to be any need for the unicorn to be in much of a hurry.
I'm standing in the middle of a fresh cloud. Something Rainbow just wove together from most of the humidity in the area.
I'm breathing a cloud.
...it's like pouring trickles of water into my lungs. And every square hoofwidth of my fur is damp, some of it's going to be soaked before I can get out of here, I don't know what this is doing to my mane and tail but I've got some pretty good guesses for the cosmetics, and that's before considering what that takeoff backblast did to my grooming. Plus there has to be a certain temperature present to keep a cloud together when it's this close to the ground, so it's colder in here. So cold and damp and becoming progressively more disheveled while breathing in what's almost pure humidity. Which doesn't help.
I'm concealed enough to theoretically try fixing everything before I can get back into public sight, but I don't have some of the supplies with me and as long as I'm inside the cloud, whatever I do is just going to get ruined again. Almost instantly.
Thanks, Rainbow. Thank you oh so very much.
Almost Killed Her count: possible plus-one to be determined.
...admittedly, when outside of an immediate crisis, there could be a few issues with picking out exactly what she was supposed to be evaluating first. But there was a good chance that Rainbow was still concentrating on expanding the cloud and with the surface temperature of Fleur's body quickly falling, it was potentially becoming all that much harder for the pegasus to watch her.
She carefully slid her hooves forward across the roof, trying to create a minimum of sound while moving slowly enough that she could pull back at the instant the forward edge of her keratin encountered a lack of rim. Fleur hadn't seen this particular part of Ponyville from the air and didn't know if the roof had a rim.
The cloud was probably still expanding. But it might not have completely covered the roof, and if she could just get the right angle...
Her snout cleared the vapor first, and she immediately took one of the deepest breaths of her life: something which did little more than dilute the new internal pools. But then her eyes were free, the unicorn blinked away sunlight and tried to keep her movements slow while making sure that the bulk of her mane remained hidden within the cloud.
She'd spent much of her youth in traveling with the worst of the gangs. Some of that had meant engaging in criminal activities, typically while trying to operate from some degree of concealment. Fleur had seldom found any opportunity to be grateful for possessing white fur --
-- the griffon was still moving down the road.
Evaluate.
Her first impression had been that the tiercel looked rough. This was still very much in play: grooming was required, preening was close to becoming a necessity, and at least two good meals were probably going to be needed just to take part of the edge off. But now that she had a little more time, knew who she was looking at --
-- I don't know anything about --
-- it was possible to see somewhat more.
Brown wings. And the unfolded shape can be distinguished from a pegasus.
That wasn't distortion created by trying to look through shifting clouds. It was you, wasn't it? Moving ahead of the Experience. Flying towards Ponyville, and -- doing so in a way where you wouldn't be seen from the usual air paths? But you're certainly visible now...
Not just visible. The griffon was making sure everypony knew she was there. Followed by trying to discover what they were willing to do about it.
Fleur didn't currently have a sight line which allowed her to get a good look at the griffon's expression. She didn't need one, because the full-body posture was enough. It took a Protoceran native (or someone with a lot of experience) to spot the Stalk Of Shame -- but some things didn't require much in the way of perception. Instinct could serve when experience was lacking, and that meant just about everypony in Equestria was capable of identifying a pissed-off predator who was in the middle of treating the world as something which needed to share her mood. Every step was an announcement of confrontation: she was simply searching for a place in which it could happen. Several places, along with all of those to whom it could happen. She'd been at it for a while before reaching Fleur's sight, and that explained all of the angered and disturbed ponies who'd been going by.
Confronting.
Challenging.
Dominating.
She's out of her normal chain. This is natural.
...more angry than the usual, but for every domination tactic which could ever exist, there's a griffon...
...is she completely disconnected? Had she been in town before this, and stayed long enough to set up a few links? Rainbow would be the most immediate, but I don't know if they share one. Where Gilda considers herself to be on that length, or how Rainbow sees it --
-- in town before this...
...Fluttershy had said something. That there had been a day when her love had truly seen a griffon for the first time, and Fleur knew very little about what had happened next because Fluttershy. It had been a single brief mention, words spoken during a Nightmare Night which had effectively taken place in another lifetime, and there had been a name. And when Rainbow had spoken about having become friends with a griffon, a name had been freely offered. The same name.
Fleur hadn't thought much of it at the time or rather, there simply hadn't been any need to think about it at all. Not when she'd been lost in the emotional rush of discovering that there was a pegasus in the settled zone who had been to Protocera and spent time on a ranch. Somepony who might understand the unicorn a little more than most. It had been the initial foundation stone for their connection.
Something which had given Fleur the chance to make a friend.
You've been here before. But you didn't stay long, did you?
(She had to remember exactly what her love had told her.)
And now you're back.
Why now?
The griffon reached an intersection. Glared down each branch path as if they had all done her a great personal offense, then visibly chose the one which seemed to be producing more pony sounds. Turned, with talons scratching stone as the soft pads of the paws almost managed to glide through the stalk. And then she was gone.
Migration season, and it was probably too much to hope that Gilda was just passing through.
(She wasn't.)
The problems generally arrived with the ones who stayed.
Or couldn't be made to leave.
Rainbow wasn't known for her patience, much less for being willing to stall on anything. (There was a certain notoriety when it came to being delayed, but quite a bit of that could be laid at the slowly sleep-shifting forehooves of naps.) She tended to follow up thought with immediate action, and that was when she could be bothered to think at all. Fluttershy had once told Fleur that if what you said before entering a fight could be considered as your battlecry, then the semi-official declaration of hostilities for the Bearers was "Rainbow, wait!" because the pegasus who'd just gotten ahead of the others was about to be very hostile indeed.
She hated having to wait for anything: part of her eternal problems with new book releases, slow-burn training techniques, and cider lines. And yet she kept Fleur within the vapors for five extra minutes before bringing the unicorn back to ground level -- although in a rather more typical display, she did so through starting the second pressure carry before Fleur could launch the very practical sentence about how the unicorn was capable of just levitating herself back down. And then the irritated immigrant got to wait it out while Rainbow's legs pressed inwards against what was now exceptionally slick fur, doing so with horn ignited so that she could catch herself at the moment she began to slip.
It took about a minute for the weather coordinator to pick a landing spot, and then Fleur's hooves met cobblestone in the center of an isolated alleyway. Set down within the thickest cluster of protective shadows.
Rainbow landed again, and did so directly in front of her. Wide magenta eyes looked up into Fleur's, and the Protoceran failed to read every last one of the emotions which cascaded through them in the two seconds she had before the pegasus got control.
"All right," Rainbow hurriedly said. "You should be okay. She was heading in a different direction, and you've got a clear shot to the bridge from here --"
"-- Rainbow, what was that?" Because they'd been friends long enough for Fleur to recognize what it meant when the weather coordinator was speaking so quickly, and she likely had mere seconds before the pegasus took off again. "I know you don't want her to see me, but why --"
"-- but if you spot her, just get out of sight. Not too fast, because she'll focus on mov -- you know that..." There was a split-second spared for the act and art of totally not facehoofing. "And use your tail to cover your mark, because you've got good tail control."
"-- and you said you didn't want her spotting you with me. Does she see one of you as being the end link? Nothing else can ever be forged --"
"-- and be careful about coming into town! Not that you shouldn't come into town." The prismatic tail completely failed to lash apologetically, mostly because its owner probably had no idea how to do that. "Just wear dresses. Or one of those half-capes. But probably dresses. Lots of dresses. Ask Rarity about her spring line for the dresses. And don't come up to me in public unless I tell you we're clear! But if you do, make sure you're wearing a dress. I'll tell you when to stop."
"-- because if that's what's going on, then we need to --"
"-- I've gotta get out of here!" The sleek head tossed, and several mane hues rearranged themselves. "Get another cloud going! Make the concealment mobile! Find her again without her seeing me, and then find out where she's going! I'll get a message to the cottage when I know what's going on, Fleur, I promise!" The nostrils were far too flared, breath was coming and going in near-gasping snorts... "Or I'll just come myself, since she's got no real reason to go out there! Sun's spots, she'd better not think of a reason to go out there... Keep one eye looking up, just in case. You've got that doctor's appointment tomorrow, right? Go to the appointment. I probably wouldn't be checking in with you until after that, and the appointment's too important. But wear a dress!" There was the briefest of pauses. "And maybe Fluttershy should wear a hat. A wide-brimmed hat. Maybe a dress. But definitely something that covers her face. More of her face. And mane. And I know it's hard to hide her tail, but try."
"-- we have to talk --"
Cyan wings spread.
There wasn't enough time to dodge the final burst of takeoff wind. There never was.
However, there was time available for grooming herself, because Fluttershy wasn't expecting her back at the cottage just yet and Fleur wasn't stepping back into public view like this.
The former escort knew a few tricks for getting her fur back in line (and grain), while drying off was just a matter of moving to the section of alley which was receiving some sunlight and waiting -- although she only intended to wait until the surface would pass inspection: the undercoat would take too long. The restoration of her mane and tail was also a fairly simple matter. And even so, the lack of cosmetics supplies impeded her efforts to the point where she knew she was going to be dodging groups and gazes until she got across the bridge -- and possibly for some time after, because there was going to be hoof and wing traffic heading out towards the cottage. Scheduled clients.
Listen for wings. Griffon wings don't produce the same sound as pegasi --
-- why?
What was Rainbow so worried about?
She smoothed the fur over her pasterns. Checked her mane, looked out of the alley to make sure she had a relatively clear shot, and headed for the bridge.
Trotting towards the cottage.
Thinking.
There was a lot to think about, and only so much time to think at all.
It wasn't a particularly short trot, and Fleur had found numerous opportunities to become acquainted with some of the problems involved in the journey. There were three places where water tended to gather after a storm, and it took careful stepping to prevent hooves from sinking into fresh mud. During the winter, a pair of different locations tended towards snowdrifts. And there was a new river with a fused bed which tried to call for her attention now and again, especially since its mere existence could potentially be seen as her fault --
-- she tried not to think that way. But for anypony moving on hoof from the settled zone, there was one main path to the cottage. Those who'd started closer to the borders had other options: in particular, there was a fairly direct trail coming in from the Acres. But when she started from Ponyville -- eventually, she would have to pass a hollow in the forest. The place where something had once been, currently occupied by open space, some wood chips which had managed to stake out a place beyond the initial cleanup, portions of a lost foundation, and -- saplings. Young ones, eagerly reaching towards the gift of unimpeded Sun.
It was still possible to tell that something else had once been there. But given enough time...
Time.
Once she got back, the needs of the grounds would effectively take over. There was always something to do, along with the knowledge that all of it had to be done. The majority of those activities would then have to be repeated tomorrow, right up until the point when Snowflake arrived. Watching over everything, so Fleur and Fluttershy could go to the appointment. The one she hadn't wanted to keep, or desired to keep for a different reason. A factor which wasn't in play.
The requirements of the cottage had a way of displacing thought, or at least postponing it. This was Fleur's chance to think. Try to make internally-created words fill the void. A gap which she'd just recognized to exist. The previous invisible chasm which broke up a verbal landslide.
Rainbow claimed to favor instinct over any number of things. High among those were thought, planning, and extended discussion -- none of which ever prevented the pegasus from talking. Even when she wasn't using the flow of sound as some sort of screening process for potential hookups, Rainbow was capable of talking for a very long time, and most of it would be about herself: prominent subtopics included Wonderbolts trivia and tortoise care. It could be described as a potential test of loyalty, trying to find out who was willing to put up with all of it -- but the more frequently accurate shorthoof was 'irritating'.
She talked about herself. Her stunts. (This tended to leave out most of the crashes.) She spent a lot of time in not talking about the missions, because Rainbow understood what 'classified' meant and occasionally liked to rub pony snouts in the fact that when it came to palace-sanctioned Bearer activity, frequent boastful uses of the term were all they would ever hear. And when the weather coordinator felt that Fleur needed some level of emotional boost, she talked about ranching. About Protocera. About everything which still tried to call Fleur home.
(She wasn't quite allowed to travel of her own free will just yet. Not without giving the palace full advance notice, because they needed to be capable of bringing her back if -- something happened.)
(There was, in theory, one event which could truly free her. It would even allow the removal of the titanium circlet, should she wish it.)
(The cottage was an anchor. It weighed her down, kept her in a single place.)
(The cottage...)
When it came to her own life, Rainbow talked about almost everything. But there were gaps. Fleur still didn't know how the pegasus had gained the post of town weather coordinator. Being hired by the Bureau had led into a direct assignment to Ponyville -- as part of the settled zone's weather team. Rainbow had been working under somepony's supervision. And then something had happened, and... that supervisor hadn't been there any more. Rainbow would freely boast about being one of the youngest coordinators on the continent, and do so without ever saying a word about what had happened to the old one.
And Rainbow would talk about Protocera, if she felt that doing so would help a friend.
But...
"I had a friend. Maybe I still do. I... we haven't spoken since --"
Since what?
"Her name's Gilda. We met at Junior Speedster flight camp, because her parents wanted her to pick up some other-species tricks. They thought it would give her an edge. And we kicked it off. I mean, big-time kick. We hung around each other all the time at camp."
But not recently.
"I think she made me sort of competitive. Anyway, it got to the point where all of our parents thought we should spend some summers together. So there were two years where I visited her at her family's ranch --"
And that had been it.
Rainbow had presented that part of her personal history as -- credentials of a sort. Explaining the reason why she had spent time in Protocera, spoke some atrociously-accented Griffonant, understood ranches, and knew more about griffons than just about every other true Equestrian native in the settled zone. Giving Fleur something which the immigrant could understand. Connect with.
Rainbow would freely talk about the distant nation. But when it came to the friend who had been her reason for going there... the memory of that first mention was just about the whole of it.
The name had come up a few times in conversations since: if Rainbow was going to weave the tale of a victorious ranch wager, then she clearly needed to say who she'd been betting with. But the name had been almost all there was. A name which hadn't arisen frequently enough for the unicorn to forge a link with what Fluttershy had once said, and...
Fleur hadn't even known what Gilda looked like.
"-- she's from Protocera, Fleur! What happens when she sees you?"
What would happen?
In leaving Protocera, Fleur had... run. (It had taken several sessions with Doctor Lorem before she'd been willing to openly acknowledge that, and she'd fought the words to the last.) Fled from everything which had happened, and done so while living in terror of the day when it might follow. She had crossed the border in possession of falsified documents and a talent which didn't let its bearer take up a career for a lifetime. It had taken a long time for her to recognize what had felt like the only way to make it produce income, and...
She'd had a plan. But it required her to live near the heart of power, working her way ever-inward. She had to be in Canterlot.
And when she'd moved into the city, she'd placed herself next to the Aviary.
Not within the miniature griffon neighborhood, because there were limits. But she'd needed to be nearby. Close enough to catch rumors, hear about any search which might have crossed nations in order to hunt down a criminal. She'd worn a lot of dresses -- being an escort had helped there, as her booking schedule often had an evening start in formal wear -- and even a few capes. Hiding her mark, because the iconography...
She'd been at events which had griffons in attendance. None of them had ever seen her wear any dress which featured peek-a-boo gaps over the hips. And in the event that a griffon had somehow spotted her mark, there was always an excuse ready to go. Relatives in the old country: that alone was known to produce a visual manifestation within pony magic -- or so she'd been prepared to tell them. As many times as necessary, because the most important things about that kind of story were plausibility and consistency.
Fleur had lived with a constant fear of exposure, and done so to the point where it had mostly been relegated to the background. The terror of being found out had just become part of the routine, to the point where she could pretend it didn't exist at all. But she'd persisted. She'd told a different lie, the same lie again and again, and done so through the mere act of living in Canterlot: I am a native Equestrian. Why would anypony believe anything else?
But now she was in Ponyville.
What would Gilda do, if she saw a Protoceran icon for a mark? Well, for starters, there was a chance that the tiercel wouldn't spot it at all. Fleur's triad icon for acies was the classic shape, and not every griffon became fully familiar with that style of writing. But if she did know what it was, if not what it represented for the unicorn's talent...
There were old lies waiting to be trotted out again. Fleur felt there was some chance they would hold up. But she had to plan --
-- wings moving ahead. She didn't have to worry about that flyer, because one of the carrier saddlebags was barking --
-- just in case she was wrong.
And there was something else. Rainbow didn't want Gilda to see Fleur in the company of the pegasus. Exactly how did the griffon perceive the relationship with Rainbow? How did she feel about additional links? Because the implication was that something had happened.
Her first reaction on seeing Gilda was to get out of sight. Get me out of sight, but she was concealing herself too. And then she told me that she was basically going to watch for a while, if she could. Figure out what was going on. Instead of asking.
It more than implied a shattering of links. Something so severe that Rainbow hadn't spoken to Gilda for an unknown amount of time, because she was no longer sure the tiercel was a friend.
A former friend, who might not react well to the presence of a new one...
Does Gilda know about the Bearers?
It was a question Fleur couldn't answer. All she knew was that the griffon had been in Ponyville at least once before, and that trip had somehow brought her into contact with Fluttershy. And she had the option to ask her love for the details -- but it was too soon after discussing the robbery attempt. She couldn't push. Not just yet, especially not when the next day's appointment was for both of them.
Fluttershy was in Ponyville well before that one Summer Sun Celebration. So it didn't necessarily happen after she and Rainbow became friends. And Rainbow's not talking -- it almost felt like an insult -- and Fluttershy may not be ready yet...
Who else might know?
Hooves were coming up the path behind her. She paused, greeted the client, checked Sun's position, assured him that he and his companion were on pace, and then moved on.
The hollow in the forest was getting close. Something to not look at.
Who else...
...Pinkie.
It was a reasonable guess. The baker lived very close to the heart of the town's social web -- and had a certain way of picking up on new arrivals.
Admittedly, the second factor frequently seemed to be limited to those who were going to live in Ponyville, and the parties were certainly limited accordingly: the other option was to live at the train station and keep a perpetual celebration going for all of those who'd disembarked for an hour on a quest for fresh food. But this would have been a griffon arrival. In Ponyville, that would have stood out. Pinkie might have looked into it and if she hadn't, there was a good chance of her having heard stories from those who had. Griffons arriving in pony territory for the first time, trying to work out a new chain from scratch -- they tended to create stories, and it could take a while before any of the recitals got around to the apologies --
"...Gilda wasn't in town that long. But when somepony stopped her... she just left."
"Oh. One of those. You're better off."
She'd just remembered that.
Trying to work out a new chain, when you don't know what the local system is and when it's a completely different species, with no griffon hearts... you flounder. You need to find out where you stand. And the fastest means is through attempting to dominate everything.
Those who can't stop you are the inferiors. The ones who can are stronger than you. Degrees are recognized. The links form accordingly. About a week of testing, a lot of apologies after it all ends, and then you're settled in.
Somepony stopped her. And she just left.
It wasn't a good sign.
It was one of the worst signs.
How long had she been out of the chain?
Fleur didn't know. Pinkie wouldn't either. But if the baker knew anything about what happened...
Pinkie. The next time I see her. Make time to see her. (Although it was now too late to double back towards town.) It's a place to start. And after I learn what I can from her, then try Fluttershy and Rainbow.
The forest hollow was off to the side. Vacuum called for her attention, tried to pull her in. Her legs trotted on.
Zephyr in town, and he may not leave unless I find a way to make it happen.
Gilda just arrived...
The bad smidgen turning up and getting stuck in a hoof crack, trying to work its way in deep enough to start an infection. And now it had been joined by a potential bad quadran. Fleur wasn't sure what the current exchange rate was, and suspected it would be complicated by Zephyr being utterly worthless.
Careful. Don't completely dismiss him. Not yet. He's got some power. Brains may be optional, but he's clearly stronger in the air than Fluttershy and his command of pegasus magic may be closer to what their parents have.
...fiscal command may need some work. Mr. Rich said he mostly picked up toiletries. Grooming supplies? But not food, or it just wasn't mentioned. Barnyard Bargains wasn't a full grocery and at least one major edible product was strictly seasonal, but there were enough basics available for a pony to live on. So what's he eating? Is that what he's spending most of his money on, and using the credit line to keep himself looking good because he sees his appearance as its own resource? Paying for a temporary residence? Do I need to check for his hotel myself if Miranda doesn't get back to me soon?
Or is he just going for the cheap way out?
Find some grass. Lower your head. Bite and chew. Repeat as necessary.
Zephyr in town, and Fluttershy's upset. Gilda arrives, and Rainbow's as worried as I've ever seen her. To the point where she's willing to let somepony see that she's worried at all.
Both here, at the same time...
Coincidence. Bad luck. A reversal of fortune, if not an outright backlash. And when luck turned, it could easily become its very own monster.
She could hear the stream now. A few more hoofsteps would see her come around the bend, and then the birds would alert her love.
Fleur distantly wondered if Thistle Burr was scheduled for anything. She was still trying to drive him away, and when it came to having somepony she could take it all out on...
He wasn't.
The cottage took over. It always did.
Appointments. Veterinary services. Grooming. Cleaning up the examination area. Checking stock in the surgery. Harvest from the herb patch, bring the results down the ramp. Mix and stir. Wait for a message from Rainbow, and it never arrived. Perfect company for Miranda's ongoing written silence.
Feedings. You never ran out of feedings, or those who needed to be fed.
You worked, because that was what the cottage demanded. Labor and the hours required to fulfill it.
Fleur had once been obsessed with time. The client schedule of a very active escort, trying to work as much as possible without driving herself to exhaustion. This was factored against the limited span available in which her looks would be at their peak: the only period during which she could work her way close to power and find the information she needed to buy security. A different internal clock ticked down the years until the one who was responsible for so much was released from prison and if she'd still been alive on that final day, she might have found herself lurking outside the building.
But now she had the cottage.
(She had her love.)
And the cottage took so much of her time.
You didn't have a clock: you had the cottage.
You didn't have a life: you had the cottage.
(Her love was her life.)
You didn't think.
She'd been trying to find hours for dealing with Zephyr. She had the cottage. Now there was Gilda, and she still had the cottage. And she was a veterinary student, so she had to study. She was taking citizenship classes because one of the other conditions of her pardon was that she become a real Equestrian, and there was an essay which needed to be written. But that could be mailed in: stopping by the post office on the way to tomorrow's train would do it. Fleur was allowed to do some things by mail, because it was less time lost to travel.
There were so many demands on her time. She had once been obsessed with time, and now so much of it wasn't her own. She was busy, almost constantly busy, and she wondered if that had been part of Celestia's plan. That Fleur would be so thoroughly occupied that there would be no opportunity left to be...
...to be what?
To be myself?
The cottage demanded so much. And long after Moon had been raised, it ordered the pony occupants to seek out their bed, because it required them to recover the strength necessary for doing it all again.
Both mares settled into the soft cloud nest. Neither fell asleep. Not immediately.
Zephyr. Gilda. Two things going wrong at once. And they needed to rest, so they could recover some strength -- but tomorrow wasn't for the cottage. It was for the doctor's appointment. Two things going wrong at once, and now they were going to take most of a day to confront the one which simply stayed wrong. That was what the calendar had dictated.
The calendar, with the Square looming...
They were both tired. Stressed. There would be no fresh stick in the morning. No chance.
But there was still a chance to make it happen before the Square arrived. To get it right.
Her love wriggled a little, pressed tightly against Fleur. The unicorn tried to get closer. It didn't seem to be working.
Or maybe there's just something wrong with me.
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I'm still not getting why someone from her old country seeing her is a problem .
11374965
Fleur isn’t worried about it. Rainbow is. Figuring out what Rainbow is thinking can be something of a challenge.
11375002
But I still don't get why that no matter who is thinking it is a problem.
11375009
That's kinda the point. We as readers have to live with the discomfort of not knowing just like Flur. We'll know in time (generally right at the last moment to ensure appropriate tension).
11375036
There has more to it than just rainbow panic mode because fleur admits that she hid where she came from when she moved near the canterlot griffins
11375009
We'll probably find out NEXT TIME, ON DRAGONBALL Z!!
*flees*
Who here thinks Fleur will absolutely dominate Gilda in the chain link?
And what happens when a Griffin stay away from the chain too long? I guess we will find out.
11375075
That's when she thought she was a wanted criminal back in Protocera, remember?
Ooooh, did Rainbow want to move up the chain to equal link and stay friends, but Gilda was stuck thinking of her as either 'little sister' or 'potential (to be protected) mate'? Either would make Gilda mad seeing RD w/ a big strong Protoceran unicorn.
Fleur didn't get much done, did she? At least they have a better system going now. One trip isn't quite so essential.
My best guess is that Gilda from the show was extremely jealous about being replaced as Dash’s best friend with Ponies, and things might escalate further if she thought she had been replaced by a Protoceran Pony… that the gloves might be off in a real fight for dominance.
I feel like there’s more to it though, and Rainbow is being tight lipped about something… maybe the real extent of her relationship with Gilda? The families thinking they should summer together seems a bit extreme…
I suspect, based on dramatic requirement, that Zephyr is hiding from Gilda and trying very hard to appear as though he isn't. What might he have done, to arrive at such an eventuality?
Should that be the case, I reserve the right to cackle for an inappropriate length of time.
Oof, the idea of Gilda as a semi-permanent outcast in a culture obsessed with knowing its place sounds rough af
Huh. This doesn't seem like the encounter I'm thinking of.
Good to see Fleur's just as confused about Dash's panic as I am. I do wonder what thoughts are racing though that mind. 11375171 may have the right of it, but we'll have to see.
Whatever the case, there's a lot on Fleur's plate, and taking it one day at the time won't necessarily do a lot to address the main stressors. We'll see what she figures out, what Pinkie has to offer... and what Gilda does in the meantime.
And the consultation at the fertility clinic, can't forget that. At this rate, the poor mare's going to get gray hairs by the time both feathered menaces leave town...
👍
"some of it going to be"
"some of it's going to be"?
"one which seemed to producing more pony sounds"
"one which seemed to be producing more pony sounds"?
"Rainbow claimed to flavor instinct over any"
"Rainbow claimed to favor instinct over any"?
"Rainbow would freely boost about being one"
"Rainbow would freely boast about being one"?
11375171
Glad you have a guess considering this seems crazy and at least it sorta makes sense.
11375295
thinking from what the worst scenario would be for fluttershy i guess they hooked up and zephyr dumped her or more likely ran away because he couldn't handle her intensity.
if i was Gilda i would also Be doing a walk of shame if i hooked up with zephyr and he dumped me
How long had she been out of the chain?
Oh. Oh dear.
Considering what we have been told about griffons, that sounds..... really really bad.
11374965
there's at least a slight chance she's being looked for as a murderer in Protocera, but if I understand the original story correctly there's a more than decent chance the death would be looked at as a mercy killing and no one would charge her
11376106
The final chapters of the previous story cover this - she was never wanted for murder
Excellent chapter!
Wonder what Fleur's referring to when she's talking to Rainbow about end links. Sounds kinda final, maybe even violent.
Huh, so it's a form of writing and not a pictorial symbol?
That's an interesting thread.
How do you maintain an identity, a sense of self, when you're so busy you never have time to actually be yourself anymore? And becoming a parent is like that even more, at least I've heard. But I've also heard it makes you become a better version of who you are, in order to be a good example. It takes some selflessness to sacrifice like that.
Well, thank you for this update Estee! Really looking forward to seeing the next installment of this story. Can't wait to see it really take off and get going. I still think Zephyr has had some trouble with the mob or something. It's suspicious. What if it got super dark and violent or something grim like that? Ponies getting kidnapped and stuff. Held for ransom or something. Probably too off the rails for this plot but who knows.