Chapter 5: Griffon the Brush-Off (S1:E5)
My Little Pony: Nine Elements
Written by Brandon Nell and Blake Hawkins
Additional suggestions by Rachel Ravens
Chapter 5: Griffon the Brush-Off
It had been four days since Applebuck Season was completed. Despite the continued support from his friends, Spike still felt guilty about eating those worms for half of those days. He couldn’t bring himself to eat anything during those two days. This left him very weak and sluggish for the duration. Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony noticed this and, with the unknown help of Princess Luna, finally succeeded in convincing him to eat again. After three hearty meals on the third day, Spike was back to his full strength again. The six ponies promised Spike that even if he ate meat once in a while, they wouldn’t hold it against him.
On this particular day, the fourth day since the completion, Pinkie Pie was looking up at the sky while Twilight was reading a book nearby. Spike was reading along with Twilight as he rested his chin on top of her head. “I can’t wait to hang out with Dashie,” the party mare exclaimed. “This’ll be the first time we’ve been together for longer than a few seconds since we beat Nightmare Moon all those weeks ago.”
“If she’s up to it, of course,” Twilight said. “She might have other plans.”
“And from what we know about her,” Spike quipped. “Most of her plans involve napping. I don’t get how such a fast pegasus can sleep so much.”
Pinkie then gasped happily as she saw Rainbow Dash soaring in the sky.
“There she is,” Pinkie squeaked happily. “I’ll see you and Spike later, Twilight. Bye~” She then dashed off as Twilight sighed in relief. Spike noticed that.
“You know, Twilight,” he said. “I think you’re kind of missing the point of why Princess Celestia had us move here in the first place.”
“I know, Spike,” Twilight explained. “Given that we just met the others a while ago, we don’t fully know of their schedules and what they do. I do have responsibilities, but, I’ll still find the time to spend some time with my friends.”
"That's fair enough," said Spike. Twilight could see that he was a bit upset.
“Tell you what, Spike,” Twilight offered. “We’re running low on scrolls at the library. Why don’t you go to Town Hall and get some more? I’ll read you your favorite stories if you do.”
“Okay, Twilight,” Spike agreed.
Pinkie Pie meanwhile was looking for Rainbow Dash, a difficult task since Rainbow had an advantage in speed and flight. "Hmm… where could she have flown off to this time?"
"She's up there!" Cried an orange pegasus filly. This was the same one that was close to Apple Bloom and the white unicorn filly during the return of Nightmare Moon. She was accompanied by two grown-up mares. One was a rather round earth pony with a pale, light grayish amber coat, a brilliant scarlet mane and tail with light tangelo highlights, moderate scarlet eyes, and a Cutie Mark depicting a sailboat beneath the sun wearing a light blue scarf and blue flower earrings. The other mare was a lanky pegasus with a very pale yellow coat, a moderate arctic blue mane and tail with light cyan highlights, moderate opal eyes, and a Cutie Mark depicting a spool of blue thread and a sewing needle who was dressed in a light purple sweater.
"Ah, thanks, kiddo," grinned Pinkie. She hopped off.
“I can’t understand it, Holiday,” said the lanky pegasus. “What does little Scootaloo see in that daredevil pegasus?”
“She is an impressive flier, Lofty,” the earth pony, whose name was Holiday, said in a distinctive accent. “Scoots probably has hopes to take off like her.”
“I feel she has too much of her parents in her,” Lofty commented. “Always looking for thrills. With your brother’s blood in her, she might never fly.”
“Don’t discourage her, Lofty,” Holiday reprimanded. “There’s plenty of pegasi with an earth pony parent that learn to fly.”
“Yes,” Lofty said. “That’s true.”
“Seeing as you’re one such pegasus,” Holiday commented. “Perhaps you can teach her the basics. It may take a while, but, she might at least manage to hover.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Lofty smiled.
Meanwhile, Pinkie had managed to catch up to Rainbow. The sky blue pegasus noticed and was less than thrilled. “I don’t have time for this,” she muttered.
So, she zoomed off, leaving Pinkie to bounce happily behind her. “Rainbow Dash,” the pink pony called out.
Rainbow Dash didn’t answer her, though. She just continued to fly and made her way to the side of the Sweet Apple Acres barn. She stopped to catch her breath, peeking to see if Pinkie was in sight. To her relief, she only saw Caramel carrying a sack of seeds.
“Whew,” Rainbow sighed. “Close one.” However, the pegasus spoke too soon, as she turned around and found Pinkie right there.
“Hi,” she squeaked. Rainbow jumped in the air and took off. The shockwaves from her speed blew the sack of seeds off Caramel’s back.
“Oh, come on,” the stallion complained. “I needed those to… uh… to… oh, great, I forgot!”
“Don’t worry, Caramel,” Pinkie said. “I'm sure Applejack will get that sack of seeds for you onto your back in a jiffy.” She hopped off as Applejack walked up to him.
“Lose the seeds again, Caramel?” Applejack questioned flatly.
“Uh-huh,” Caramel said as he hung his head in shame. “I can’t even remember why I needed them in the first place.”
“They’re fer feedin’ the chickens,” Applejack soothed. “Come on, let’s get ya a new sack, sugarcube.”
“Okay…” Caramel said, dejectedly. Seeing her coltfriend’s depression, Applejack gave him a small peck on the cheek. This perked him right up. “Thanks. I needed that.”
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was still flying in the sky, trying to get out of Pinkie’s peripheral vision. She made her way to the foliage of the Golden Oak Library. “Pinkie’ll never find me here,” the cocky pegasus stated.
She spoke too soon, as Pinkie Pie was actually right underneath Rainbow. Rainbow had unknowingly sat on Pinkie’s head.
“Hi, again,” Pinkie said with a smile. Rainbow once again responded by flying away.
Pinkie gave chase once more, bouncing slowly yet merrily, trying to catch up to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus in question hid herself on a cloud and once Pinkie continued in the direction she was going, Rainbow snuck off in the opposite direction. She soon made her way to another cloud over a quaint little lake in Ponyville. She landed on its shore, making doubly sure that Pinkie didn’t follow her.
“Whew…” Rainbow panted.
Poor luck seemed to befall her as Pinkie Pie was not only close by, but, was actually IN the lake, complete with scuba mask and snorkel. She removed the mask and snorkel before making her presence known.
“I need a favor, Rainbow Dash.” Pinkie said.
Rainbow jumped and was about to fly off when suddenly, she just stopped. “Oh, what’s the point,” she groaned. “You’ll just find a way to catch up to me again, anyway.”
“I totally promise it’ll be totally fun~” Pinkie said enthusiastically.
Rainbow sighed. “Let’s just get this over with. What’s the little something you need?”
The "little something" was a prank involving the use of a lone storm cloud. Pinkie was currently instructing her pegasus friend and pranking partner on where to position the cloud over town hall. "A little to the left," She instructed and Rainbow obeyed. "Now, a little to the right. Oops, too much. A little more to the left again. Now just a smidge to the right. Good!"
Rainbow forced herself to grin. Just play along and it’ll be over soon, she thought to herself.
Pinkie continued barking out orders related to the positioning of the cloud. "Move it up just a smidge. Now maybe down a tiny bit."
Rainbow’s already small reservoir of patience was completely drained at that point. “PINKIE PIE!” she shouted.
The party mare realized what Rainbow’s shout meant and finished her instructions. “That’ll do. Just wait for my signal.”
Spike was currently inside, collecting blank scrolls. He was unaware that he was being watched and had no idea what was waiting for him once he exited the building. The little dragon was simply whistling a merry little tune to himself without a care in the world as he gathered the scrolls into a bundle. He then walked out of the slightly ajar front door of Town Hall.
“Now!” Pinkie signaled Rainbow, who kicked the cloud. A bolt of lightning escaped from the cloud and the loud boom of thunder soon followed.
Suspecting nothing, the flash and boom startled Spike and caused him to drop every single scroll he'd just gathered seconds earlier. They fell out of his claws and tumbled onto the ground in front of him.
Both ponies laughed themselves silly at the display, especially once they saw that they'd managed to give Spike a bad case of the hiccups. “Oh no,” Spike groaned between hiccups. As his hiccups persisted, emerald green fireballs would escape his mouth. One nearly hit Rainbow. “So sorry!” Spike gasped.
“Watch your aim!” Rainbow said.
“I can’t–HIC–help it,” cried Spike as another fireball hit the ground ten feet away. “Wh–HIC–enever I–HIC–get the hiccups–HIC–I can’t–HIC–control my–HIC–fire breath! I’m–HIC–fireproof, but–HIC–you guys and P–HIC–onyville aren’t!” At that point, an emerald inferno was beginning.
Thinking quickly, Rainbow used the water in the cloud to make rain to not only put out the flames, but, to pour into Spike’s mouth. “You still can’t use your fire breath for a while after drinking water, right?” Rainbow asked, remembering how Spike’s fire was extinguished in the Everfree Forest.
Spike managed to calm down and catch his breath. The water also helped to stop his hiccups. “Yeah. Thanks, Rainbow.” He then picked up the scrolls. “Hopefully, these’ll dry by the time I reach the library.” He then walked off."
Little did Spike know that a couple of scrolls were hit with his fire breath and had flown over to the castle.
"Hmm?" Celestia blinked as some scrolls showed up. "This is an early friendship report. And a big one if it requires so many scrolls.” She used her magic to open the scrolls to find them all blank. "Did Twilight use invisible ink?" She asked in surprise. She held the scrolls near a light source, but, no writing appeared on them.
“That was close,” Pinkie said. “For future reference, I think we should make sure Spike drank water before pulling a prank like that on him again.”
“Never figured you for a prankster, Pinkie,” Rainbow said with a somewhat impressed smirk. “You're pretty good at this prankster stuff. Almost as good as me, almost.”
"Oh, of course," Pinkie replied with a wink. "Fluttershy's already told me about the kinds of crazy pranks you used to pull off as a filly."
“You mean...” Rainbow smirked wider, seeing the storm cloud still close by her. “Like THIS?” She kicked the cloud, causing thunder to sound. Pinkie was startled into hiccuping as well. However, she was a good sport and giggled between hiccups.
“That was grea–HIC–eat!” Pinkie laughed between hiccups.
“You’re not as annoying as I thought,” Rainbow said. This caused Pinkie to look a bit disheartened. "Hey, you know what? Why don't we team up and pull some pranks around town today? I want to see what you're really capable of."
“Rea–HIC–ally?” Pinkie gasped. “That’d be su–HIC–That’d be terrifi–HIC–That’d be great! HIC!”
“Hang on a sec,” Rainbow said as she kicked the cloud one more time, causing thunder to sound again, scaring Pinkie’s hiccups away. “Hiccups gone now?”
“Uh-huh,” Pinkie said with a nod. “Still a bit sore about that ‘annoying’ comment, though.”
Rainbow comforted Pinkie. Despite her rough and tumble attitude, the prismatic-maned pegasus still had a soft side to her. “How about we do that prank team-up as an apology from me?”
“That sounds great,” Pinkie smiled, feeling much better. “Lucky for you, I know just where to go to get the best prank supplies ever!"
Later that day, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash got their supplies from the Joke Shop, a novelty shop in Ponyville. Their first official target was Rarity at Carousel Boutique. Pinkie rang the doorbell before she and Rainbow hid in nearby bushes. Rarity opened the top half of the door and saw a bouquet of flowers. “Ooh,” she said. “I wonder who sent these? Surely, not Spike. He’s nowhere in sight.” Rarity took a sniff of the flowers, only to get pink dust on her nose. “Huh… hauh…” Rarity gasped. “Hah-choo! Hehu-ha-choo! Hawah, hawah, ha-choo!”
The sound of laughter revealed the culprits to the alabaster mare as she saw Pinkie and Rainbow laughing with Rainbow holding a shaker with an illustration of a sneezing pony on it. Rarity looked at the two in annoyance and Rainbow flew off. The shock sent the sneezing powder shaker off of Pinkie’s hoof and it landed on the ground, a small puff entering Pinkie’s nostrils.
“Ah~” Pinkie sneezed. “CHOooooo~!”
The sneeze propelled Pinke after Rainbow Dash. Rarity saw the display and couldn’t help but smile. Knowing she wasn’t hurt from the prank, she could smile and shrug it off. She made sure to wipe the sneezing powder off her nose.
At the Golden Oak Library, Spike arrived with the still damp scrolls he managed to retrieve. “I’m back, Twilight,” he announced.
Twilight saw Spike and the damaged scrolls and a look of concern appeared on her face. “Spike, are you alright?” she asked softly.
“Well, you know how I have trouble controlling my fire breath when I have the hiccups?”
"Yes?"
"Well, Rainbow and Pinkie didn't know about it and I hiccuped due to a prank of theirs."
"You what?!"
"Twilight!" Cried Spike. "Whoa, it's okay. It was a harmless prank and they gave me water afterwards."
“How many scrolls got burnt?”
“Uh, let me check,” Spike said sheepishly. As he counted the scrolls, Rainbow and Pinkie quietly snuck in and switched Twilight’s regular ink with invisible ink. Just as Spike finished counting, the duo snuck out. “Uh-oh. I must’ve burned six of the scrolls.” He then hung his head dejectedly. “I’m not getting those stories, am I?”
Twilight gently patted Spike’s head. “Tell you what, Spike,” she said. “Since you still brought some scrolls over, you technically succeeded in your task, so, you still get the stories.”
“Even though they’re wet?”
“The circumstances were beyond your control,” Twilight said. “Help me dry them off and everything’ll be okay.”
“But, after drinking water,” Spike pointed out. “My fire breath won’t work for hours.”
“Oh,” the unicorn realized. “You’re right. Hmm. I think I remember seeing a recipe for a fire-breathing potion. Would you like to help me make that?”
“Of course, Twilight,” Spike said happily.
Twilight set up a dry sheet of parchment on a nearby lectern and scribbled a few words on it.
“Let’s see,” Twilight said to herself. “In order to make this fire-breathing potion, I’ll need these ingredients.” When Twilight turned her back to consult the book with the recipe, the words she wrote vanished. Spike noticed.
“Uh, Twilight,” he said. “I think we have a problem.”
“What is it, Spike?” Twilight asked.
“Take a look at your notes.”
Twilight turned to face her notes and she was left shocked and confused when she saw that the paper was blank. “How did that happen?!” she asked in alarm. She wrote more letters on it experimentally and saw them vanish after a few seconds.
“Invisible ink,” Spike commented when laughter was heard outside.
Twilight and Spike looked out the window to see Pinkie and Rainbow laughing to themselves. Rainbow was holding an ink well with an image of a liquid drop missing parts of its line. Twilight was visibly annoyed as she opened her window. “You two have some nerve,” she scolded. This made the two mares subside.
“We were just pulling some harmless pranks,” Pinkie said, nervously. She and Rainbow began to sweat from Twilight’s glare.
“Thankfully, I hadn’t started putting the ingredients together yet,” Twilight said sternly. “Now, if it’s not too much trouble, could you two kindly go and annoy somepony else?”
“On it, Twilight,” Rainbow said, handing Twilight a bottle of actual ink. “Here, you’ll need this for… whatever you were doing.”
Twilight eyed them suspiciously. “Is this actual ink?”
Rainbow didn’t appreciate the insinuation. “Of course it is,” she declared. “Don’t you trust us?”
Twilight’s answer was blunt. “I’d be more inclined to trust you if it weren’t for the fact that you both pulled a prank on me and Spike today.”
“She’s got us there,” Pinkie admitted. “But, I Pinkie Promise, that's regular ink.”
Twilight used her magic to levitate the ink bottle inside. She dips her quill in it and scribbles on a nearby piece of paper. Sure enough, the ink didn’t disappear. “Okay, you’re clean,” she said. “But, I stand by my request for you to go annoy somepony else.”
The two quietly hustled away. After they left, however, Twilight and Spike did see the funny side of the situation. Though, Spike quickly noticed something. “Wait, something just occurred to me.”
“What’s that, Spike?” Twilight asked curiously.
“Rainbow and Pinkie managed to sneak in here, replace your regular ink with invisible ink, and sneak back out, all without either of us knowing,” Spike commented. “Normally, you’d be broken out of your focus if one of your ink wells is even touched, never mind emptied and refilled.”
Twilight considered this. “Huh,” she said. “That is strangely impressive.”
Meanwhile, at Sweet Apple Acres, Caramel and Applejack were each pulling a wagon out of the barn. “Ah just can’t understand it,” the farm mare said. “There were bushels o’ apples an hour ago. How’d they–” Applejack was interrupted from her thoughts as she looked ahead.
“What is it, Applejack?” Caramel asked, concerned. He then looked ahead to see apple trees that were harvested four days ago sporting apples in several unusual colors that were hanging from the branches by clothespins. “What in the world?!” The two earth ponies hear familiar laughter.
They turned to see Pinkie and Rainbow close by a nearby rain barrel. They wore artists’ berets on their heads, held paint palettes, and had paintbrushes in their mouths. The two ran off as Applejack started throwing the technicolor fruits in their general direction. “Y’all have any idea how hard it is cleanin’ these here apples?!” the farm mare scolded.
“Yeah,” Pinkie said from a distance. “That’s why we used washable paint!”
One apple Applejack threw landed in the rain barrel and as Pinkie said, the paint instantly came off as the fruit resurfaced. Caramel walked up to the barrel as well.
“Hey,” he said. “It was all colorful when you threw it, but, now it’s red.”
“Sure is, sugarcube,” a soothed Applejack confirmed. At that moment, Caramel rubbed his chin with his front hoof, a little tic he had for when he tried to figure out whether or not he forgot something. “Somethin’ up, Caramel?”
“I’m not sure if I’m remembering right,” Caramel admitted. “But, did Pinkie and Rainbow always have enough skill painting hundreds of apples and putting them in trees in under an hour?”
Applejack considered this. “Well,” she said. “Rainbow Dash is known ta be purty fast n’ so’s Pinkie. Though, come ta think o’ it, ah never saw neither o’ ‘em paint before.”
Caramel sighed in relief. “Oh, good, I was worried I forgot something else for a second.”
“Yer’ alright, hon.” Applejack smiled. “Come on. We better get these apples washed.” She then added, under her breath. “Again.”
Later, Fluttershy was at a river feeding the fish. She was having a lovely time, greeting her fish friends with a sweet smile. Suddenly, a strange turtle reached the riverbank. On the other side of the river, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were waiting. Pinkie had a squirter in her mouth, while Rainbow Dash observed with a telescope.
“Do you see somepony?” Said Pinkie in a light whisper.
“Fluttershy.”
Hearing this, however, Pinkie Pie spits out the squirter.
“We can’t prank Fluttershy,” Pinkie said. “She’s so sensitive that even our most harmless pranks could upset her.”
“Hey,” Rainbow said. “I pulled plenty of pranks on her when we were fillies. Why should this be any different?”
“How did she react to them?” Pinkie asked.
“The same way she reacts to everything,” Rainbow said. “Crying, panicking, and hiding.”
“That wouldn’t be very fun, would it?” Pinkie asked.
“Hey, I was trying to toughen her up,” Rainbow defended herself.
“Sounds more like knocking her down,” Pinkie commented.
“If you think that’s knocking her down,” Rainbow continued. “You haven’t seen those bullies at our school. They kept calling her insulting names.”
“And how exactly is pranking her and making her cry any better?”
Rainbow Dash was about to answer Pinkie, but, then she considered what she said.
“You know,” Rainbow said. “When you say it like that, that sounds really bad. Okay, let’s not prank her. I’m sure we can find somepony better to prank.” Little did Rainbow know she had a black ink ring around her eye.
“Oh, I think we can find somepony easily,” Pinkie giggled. “In fact, I think I found somepony already.”
“Really,” said Rainbow. “Who?”
Pinkie pointed to the river which showed their reflections. She led Rainbow to it and showed the ink mark around her eye. Rainbow was a good sport and laughed about it. “I didn’t even see you put ink on the lens.”
“I can be speedy when I want to be,” Pinkie winked.
“I can tell,” Rainbow said. Pinkie attempted to hoof bump Rainbow, only for the pegasus to move her hoof each time. The two shared a laugh, forgetting about the squirting turtle and leaving an unsuspecting Fluttershy to poke and prod at it.
“Hmm?” Fluttershy said to herself. “That’s peculiar.”
The next day was the start of a typical day for Pinkie as she went to visit Rainbow. Pinkie decided to gussy herself up, wearing a pair of funny glasses, a red clown nose, a fake mustache, and she was blowing a party blower.
But, instead of being greeted by Rainbow, Pinkie was surprised and even a little bit shocked to see an unfamiliar looking bird-like creature staring down at her from above. The creature had light, brilliant amber eyes that could barely be made out with how much her pupils seemed to be gazing at Pinkie right now. She had gold talons and white feathers on her face, though around her eyes the feathers took on a gray hue.
“Whoa~!” Exclaimed Pinkie. “You’re not Rainbow Dash.”
“No kidding, genius,” the creature responded sarcastically while her voice shifted from high and shriek-like to low and roaring and back again. “You never seen a griffon before?”
“Honestly, no,” Pinkie said honestly.
“That checks out,” the creature said. “Now, why don’t you make like a fly and buzz off?”
“Gilda?” Rainbow Dash’s voice called from her house. “Who’s out there?”
“Just some pink lameo, Dash,” the griffon responded.
“Oh hey, that’s Pinkie,” Rainbow said excitedly, flying into view. “I was going to introduce her to you, but, sounds like she came to visit early.”
“You know this griffon, Dashie?” Pinkie asked.
“You got a problem with that, bozo?” Gilda asked aggressively.
“Whoa, easy there, G,” Rainbow said. “Pinkie, this is Gilda. She’s a friend of mine from the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp.”
“Why does her voice keep changing pitch like that?” Pinkie asked.
“It’s called speaking Griffonese, pony,” Gilda said. “Not that I’d expect you to know it.”
“Ease up, G,” Rainbow said. “Sorry about that, Pinkie. Gilda’s kind of a tough nut to crack if you catch my drift.”
“I noticed,” Pinkie chuckled sheepishly. “But, as long as she’s in town, maybe I can join you and show her around.”
“There’s a bit of a catch there,” Gilda said. “Dash here said she’d give me a flying session when I showed up in town.”
“Oh, okay,” Pinkie said, a twinge of sadness in her voice. “Maybe we can catch up later, Dashie?”
Rainbow could see the sadness. “You go on ahead, G. I’ll catch up in a bit.”
“Whatever you say, Dash,” Gilda smirked. “But, don’t take too long, ‘kay?”
“You should know me better than that,” Rainbow playfully jabbed. Once Gilda was out of earshot, the pegasus addressed Pinkie. "Listen, Pinkie, Gilda came all the way to Ponyville to see me. I promise, I'll try to find time later on for us to get in some pranks. But, for now, I want to catch up with Gilda. You don't mind, do you? After all, she just got here."
Pinkie listened to her friend and she gave an understanding smile.
“Okay, Dashie,” Pinkie said. “Hope you and Gilda have fun together.”
Satisfied with the answer, Rainbow Dash took off. "Great! See you later, then!"
The pink party pony watched her pegasus friend disappear into the skies, forcing back some tears as she called out (despite knowing Rainbow couldn't hear her). "I'll catch up with you," An unhappy sigh left her lips as she then finished. "Later." And her posture slouched ever so slightly as her party favor made a rather slow and sad sounding noise.
A short time later, Rainbow Dash and Gilda were flying through the skies. They were laughing like good friends hanging out together. They soon came to rest on a big cumulus cloud close by. “Good to know living in a town full of earth ponies didn’t drag you down, Dash.”
“Heh,” smirked Rainbow Dash. “You remember that it takes a lot to keep me down. Besides, there’s plenty of pegasi and unicorns here, too.”
“Hm,” Gilda smirked. “You still have some tough stuff in you, Dash. Not as much as me, but, you’re getting there.”
“You better believe it,” Rainbow said. “So, what’s new in Griffonstone?”
“Oh, same old, same old,” Gilda said. “It’s been a total snoozefest over there.”
“You know, I don’t really think you told me much about Griffonstone,” Rainbow commented. “What’s up with that?”
Before either flyer had a chance to say anything, however, they were surprised to be greeted by the familiar face of Pinkie Pie. "Hey there, you two."
“Huh,” the two asked in startled confusion. Both were surprised by what they were seeing. Pinkie Pie had somehow managed to not only catch up to them unnoticed, but, was now bouncing up to their position via a trampoline.
Pinkie, for her part, was just explaining herself while bouncing and repeatedly poking her head up through the clouds for a moment at best each time. "It's later. And I caught up. Hope you don't mind."
Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but see the humor in the situation.
“Pinkie Pie,” she said. “You are so random.”
But, Gilda was nowhere near as pleased to see Pinkie as Rainbow was. If either had been watching or paying attention they might have seen the griffon cast a harsh and judging glare at the earth pony. Yet instead of saying anything about it she just cleared her throat, drawing attention to herself. "So Dash, think you got enough gas left to beat me to that cloud over there?" She gestured a claw to her aforementioned target.
Rainbow looked at the cloud Gilda was pointing at and got a look of determination.
“You know it,” Rainbow smiled.
The griffon smiled. "Good," And she quickly barked out. "One, two, three, go." And both flyers took off as fast as they could, leaving Pinkie far behind.
“Um…” Pinkie said, calling out. “Oh-okay, I guess I’ll have to catch you later again!”
The race ended almost as quickly as it had begun, both seeming to touch the cloud at the same time. But, that didn't stop Rainbow Dash from claiming victory. "Ha, I win!"
“No way,” Gilda said. “I win!”
“No way,” Rainbow protested.
“Rainbow Dash won,” called out a familiar squeaky voice.
The two fliers turned to see Pinkie Pie supported by a bunch of balloons. Rainbow, taking advantage of the confirmation of her victory, couldn't resist a gloat. "Ha! I told you so, Gilda! Good thing Pinkie Pie's here to keep you honest, G."
Gilda had a moment where she was visibly flustered, but, she snapped out of it quickly and she said, “Oh yeah? Well, how about a real challenge? Last one to that cloud is a rotten dragon egg! Go!”
Pinkie watched as Rainbow took off as fast as possible, but, Gilda didn't do the same. The griffon instead flew over to Pinkie and glared at the pink party pony. "Stick to the ground where you belong." And using the sharp claws on her talons she popped every single one of Pinkie's balloons, causing the party pony to rapidly lose altitude.
“Whoa~!” Pinkie shouted as she fell, landing in a lake. She was sopping wet, but, nonetheless unharmed. “Looks like I’ll have to use my pedal-copter.”
Gilda then flew off and caught up with Rainbow Dash. Suspecting nothing, Rainbow playfully taunted, "What took you so long, slowpoke?"
“Oh, just had something to take care of,” Gilda said. “You know how it is, getting caught up in something.”
Just then, however, Pinkie happened to show up in a strange looking, pedal-powered contraption. It was pink and white in color and spun blades around in a circular motion to achieve flight. "You girls almost got away from me back there," She greeted. "I never expected to have to use this, but, it's better than a trampoline or balloons. I call it the pedal-copter."
“You again?” Gilda asked under her breath, clearly vexed. Thinking quickly, she thought up a way to get Rainbow out of earshot. “Say, Dash? Any new moves in your ‘trick-tionary’ or did you become a literal one-trick pony?”
“One trick pony,” Rainbow Dash asked in a mock-appalled tone. “Hah! Just watch me!”
Once the pegasus was out of sight, Gilda turned her attention to Pinkie.
“Listen here, you pink nightmare,” Gilda snapped. “Rainbow Dash is my friend and as long as I’m around, I get to hang out with her. So, again, ‘Stinkie Pie,’ make like a bee and buzz off!” She then grabbed the pedal-copter’s top rotors, causing the rest of the vehicle to spin out of control.
“Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa~!” Pinkie exclaimed as she spun out of control before crashing into the ground.
Rainbow soon returned, unaware of what happened.
“Heh,” she huffed. “Did that prove you wrong?”
Gilda, pretending she saw the stunt, lied. “You sure showed me.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow sniffed. She then looked around. “Hey, where’s Pinkie and her crazy pedal-copter thingy?”
“Oh, you know how it is with ground-bound creatures,” Gilda lied. “They don’t have the lungs to get up here without getting loopy.”
“Oh, right,” Rainbow said, believing Gilda’s lies.
Back on the ground, Pinkie took a deep breath before looking at the remains of her creation.
“Aww~” she said sadly. “Poor pedal-copter. And poor Rainbow Dash for hanging out with a meanie like Gilda.” What is that griffon’s problem, anyway?! She thought to herself. But, that would have to wait for a while. Right now, the pink party pony needed to gather up the broken parts of her flying machine so that she could hopefully rebuild it someday.
She soon returned to Sugarcube Corner in a foul mood. Mr. and Mrs. Cake saw this and came to comfort the young pink mare.
“Goodness, Pinkie,” Mr. Cake said. “Are you alright?”
“If you call having a machine you worked on for weeks trashed in seconds, being called ‘Stinkie Pie,’ and basically being told to take a hike just for trying to hang out with Rainbow Dash okay, then, yes,” said the uncharacteristically bitter Pinkie. “I’m just peachy!”
“Ohh~” Mrs. Cake said sadly. “Don’t worry, Pinkie. We’re here for you.”
“Why don’t you tell us the full story, Pinkie,” Mr. Cake suggested.
“I’ll make my comfort cocoa, too,” Mrs. Cake smiled.
Pinkie began venting to the Cakes while storing away the remains of her invention, relieved that she had an audience. "And then she had the nerve to tell me to 'Get Lost' even though I've been trying to find her and Rainbow Dash," she grumbled while pacing back and forth. "She even told me to stay away and called me 'Stinkie Pie'."
Mr. Cake was more than a little concerned by the remarks, but, did his best not to let it show. "Oh, now I'm sure she didn't really mean it, Pinkie," he attempted to sooth the pink party pony's hurt feelings while placing a hoof to her back. "She probably came across as more forceful than she intended."
Pinkie Pie would hear nothing of such a suggestion. "I know what I heard and I know when I've been insulted! If she doesn't like me, she can just say it to my face! She doesn't have to break my stuff! I've never met a griffon as mean as Gilda! In fact, I've never even met a griffon, period. But, I'm sure if I did it would be nowhere near as nasty as Gilda is. If you still think she didn’t mean it, I’m pretty sure I have a big bruise on my rump that says otherwise!" She was about to point her rear end at Mr. Cake, only for the lanky baker to gently push it down.
“That’s okay, Pinkie,” he said. “I don’t need the visual.” At that moment, Mrs. Cake entered with a mug of cocoa. “Pinkie, don't take this the wrong way, but, have you considered that maybe you're... well... jealous of Gilda?"
“Jealous?!” Pinkie asked in shock.
Mr. Cake forced back a gulp. "Well, you said it yourself, you wanted to spend time with Rainbow Dash today. And you were kind of unhappy when she went to hang out with Gilda instead." Mrs. Cake put down the mug before face-hoofing in a way that basically could be translated to, “My husband is an idiot.”
“Yeah, but-” Pinkie stammered. “I wanted to hang out with Gilda, too, and I wanted to give her a chance, but, she wouldn’t let me!”
Mr. Cake only suggested in response. "Perhaps because she wanted to spend time with Rainbow Dash without you also being there," And then he added. "Maybe you should apologize to Gilda, much as I'm sure she'll apologize for breaking your flying machine."
“Me, apologize,” Pinkie gasped. “But, Gilda was- she was just- are you seri- AHHH!”
She stormed out of Sugarcube Corner, leaving Mrs. Cake looking upset. She smacked her husband in the back of the head.
“Ow!” Mr. Cake exclaimed. “What was that for?!”
“Pinkie came to us asking for help and you brushed off her feelings, Carrot,” Mrs. Cake chastised before sarcastically quipping. “Mentor of the year material, right there!”
Mr. Cake said nothing, he just rubbed the back of his head. Later, Pinkie was walking through Ponyville trying to cool her head. The clear weather brightened her mood a bit.
“Maybe I have been jealous,” Pinkie said to herself. “Maybe I was just too jealous to take Gilda’s attitude with good grace. Maybe she just slept funny and it put her in a bad mood today.” Pinkie looked around and saw no other ponies. “I’ve been talking to myself a lot today. Maybe a milkshake will fix that.”
So, Pinkie treated herself to a milkshake. She then looked and saw Rainbow and Gilda flying into the quaint village.
Rainbow shared a laugh with Gilda while stretching her wings. "It's been fun, Gilda. Glad you're liking Ponyville."
“Yeah,” Gilda smirked. “It’s okay if you’re into that kind of thing.”
Rainbow Dash then let out a sigh. "Yeah? Well, guess you'll be seeing more of it. I've got some weather jobs I need to take care of around here. Shouldn't take me too long though," And she was quick to suggest. "Just hang out and I'll come find you as soon as I'm done, okay?"
Gilda nodded eagerly. “Works for me. I’m fixing to chow down, because I’m starving.”
“No problem,” Rainbow said. “Full disclosure, though, don’t expect a lot of meat products here. Later!” And she took off towards the clouds.
Pinkie watched as she saw Gilda making her way past several fruit stands, her tail sticking out and just so happened to get near some apples on one of the stands. An unsuspecting Granny Smith was sniffing the apples when she saw Gilda’s tail and freaked out.
“Ahh!” Granny Smith shouted. “A rattler! A rattler! Run for your lives!” She slowly ran off.
Pinkie had seen the whole thing unfold and was anything but pleased, especially since Gilda hadn't bothered to pop out and explain herself. Granny Smith didn't know that wasn't a snake. That was uncalled for! She thought to herself, before realizing what she was thinking and tried to correct herself. Now, now, Pinkie. It was just an accident. Nopony got hurt. I'm sure Gilda didn't mean to cause any harm.
Gilda made her way along, using her tail to snag at an apple in the cart when no pony was looking and hid it beneath her wing where it couldn’t be seen.
Pinkie Pie pounded the table in disbelief! So Gilda's a thief?! I knew there was something off about her! She likes to pick on innocent ponies for fun and she likes to steal apples! However, she again corrected herself upon realizing she was making a rash assumption (despite the rather troubling displays she was seeing). There you go again, Pinkie. Just wait, Gilda might pay for it eventually. Besides, it's only one apple. Gilda maybe doesn't know you're supposed to pay for your food before you eat it.
Just then, Fluttershy came into town. She was walking backwards and she was leading a flock of ducks through. Because she was walking backwards to keep an eye on the ducks, she didn't see Gilda until she bumped right into the griffon.
The impact wasn’t severe, but, it was enough to make Gilda drop the apple on the ground. And rather than apologizing, the griffon immediately snapped. “Hey, I was walking here! Watch where you’re going, stupid!”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Fluttershy said in a haste. “I didn’t mean to bump into you, I was just-”
"Quit your stuttering!" Gilda snapped as she narrowed her eyes at Fluttershy. "You cost me my free lunch! You want to make something of it?!”
“Um, no,” Fluttershy whimpered, becoming more and more frightened. “I’m sorry, I was just-”
Gilda didn't bother to wait for a full reply. She instead let out a fierce roar directly in Fluttershy's face, scaring the poor pegasus mare half to death and reducing her to tears. And the young griffon didn't even bother to say she was sorry. "A waste of my time." She scoffed and flew off.
Unbeknownst to Gilda, though, Pinkie Pie had seen everything. And the pink party pony knew there was no longer a defense for Gilda's actions. "So, you're a meanie pants and a thief and now a bully, too, Gilda?" She snorted, steam escaping her nostrils. "Well no one and I mean no one treats Fluttershy like that and gets away with it! Not on my watch and I don't even have a watch!" And with that, the gears in her mind started to turn. "This calls for extreme measures: Pinkie Pie Style!"
The next day, Sugarcube Corner was decorated to host a party. Pinkie decided to throw a party for Gilda and invited her friends and others to join in the festivities. Fluttershy was uncertain about the idea, however.
“About this party, Pinkie,” the demure pegasus said. “Are you sure it’s a good idea?”
“Relax, Fluttershy.” Pinkie smiled. “I know what I’m doing. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it. Your Auntie Pinkie Pie’s got it all taken care of.”
Fluttershy snorted as she watched Pinkie trot away. Although not intentional, the remark had felt patronizing. "I'm a year older than you, you know," she complained with narrowed eyes, but, alas Pinkie was too far away to be heard.
Just then, Gilda finally arrived and she suspected nothing.
“Gilda~” Pinkie said warmly. “Glad you could make it! I know we got off on the wrong hoof… or claw or paw… yesterday, but, I hope it’s not too late for us to start over. I figured I could throw you one of my signature Pinkie Pie Parties since you’re new in town.”
Gilda seemed to nod in reply. "A party for me? You shouldn't have. Guess maybe you're not a total loser after all."
Pinkie held out one of her front hooves for Gilda to shake. She went to grab it, but, she was suddenly shocked both literally and figuratively. Pinkie had a joy buzzer on her front hoof. There were a couple of muffled laughs before the moment passed.
Rainbow Dash even remarked while slapping a hoof across one of her legs. "Ha! Good one, Pinkie! The old joy buzzer greeting! That's a classic."
Gilda muttered under her breath. “Yeah, good one, Pinkie… you’re hilarious…” That last word was spoken through gritted teeth.
Rainbow, suspecting nothing, just remarked. "Come on, G, it's just a prank. No need to get all bent out of shape. Don't tell me you've lost your sense of humor."
Gilda shook her head. “Oh, not at all. I just wasn't expecting to get pranked at my own party is all.”
Rainbow only replied to her friend. "Lighten up. Pinkie's just trying to make you laugh. That's what she does best," And she was quick to offer. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the rest of my friends. One of them’s a dragon."
At that last comment, Gilda reeled back. “There’s a freakin’ dragon here?! You’ve got to be pulling my leg!”
“I’m not kidding,” Rainbow said. “He came to town along with one of my friends, Twilight Sparkle.”
Gilda looked around and saw nothing ablaze. “If there’s a dragon here, why isn’t everything burning?”
“Because Spike has better control than that,” Rainbow said. “He may be the youngest of us, but, he knows how to keep a cool head.”
Gilda raised an eyebrow. “When you say ‘youngest…’”
“He’s still a baby dragon,” Rainbow explained. “Though, he’s about 10 in pony years.”
“I see,” Gilda replied. “How about you go ahead? I’ll catch up in a bit.”
Rainbow went on ahead. When she was out of earshot, Gilda glared at Pinkie. It was clear she wasn’t over the whole buzzer trick. “I know what you’re up to.”
“Great,” Pinkie said sweetly. “I should hope so, anyway. This wasn’t meant to be a surprise party.”
Gilda had to resist the urge to groan. "No no no. What I mean is, I've got my eye on you."
Pinkie responded by getting uncomfortably close to Gilda’s face. “And I’VE got my eye on YOU!” She then stepped back. “Have to make sure the guest of honor has the most fun, after all.” She then addressed the other partygoers. "Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Gilda, a long-time and very dear friend of Rainbow Dash. Let's all honor her and welcome her to Ponyville."
The ponies and Spike applaud for Gilda, who smiles a little bit. She momentarily forgot about her suspicions of Pinkie and noticed Spike. Whoa. Dash wasn’t kidding when she said he was a baby dragon, she thought. The little guy’s a pipsqueak. I won’t have any problems getting him out of the way.
Pinkie was then quick to offer a treat to the honored guest. "Help yourself, Gilda. Snacks and refreshments are on the house. Or, I guess they're on the bakery, although, this is kind of my house, too."
“You live here?” Gilda asked.
The pink party pony nodded. "Yup. For yours truly, there is no better place to be," Then, she led Gilda over to a nearby table. "Go right ahead, take whatever you want. Just watch out for some hidden 'surprises.'"
Gilda then looked at the treats on the counter. “Hmm,” Gilda smirked. “Vanilla-lemon drops. Don’t mind if I do.” She scarfed the drops as quick as a flash. But, then a few seconds later, she began to spew fire out of her mouth as Pinkie held up a marshmallow on a stick to toast.
“G,” called out Rainbow. “The punch!”
Gilda rushed over to the punch bowl as fast as she could and grabbed the first glass she could see. But, when she tried to fill up the glass with punch, she found that most of it was spilling it out through some holes at the bottom. So, she had to resort to dunking her entire face into the punch bowl just to get a drink and finally cool off her burning tongue. When she pulled her head out, steam was escaping her beak.
Spike and several ponies laughed at the display as Pinkie Pie commented. "Well, what do you know? Pepper in the vanilla lemon drops and the punch served in a dribble glass! What are the odds?"
Gilda groaned in annoyance. "So funny, I forgot to laugh," she muttered. It was fast becoming difficult for her to keep her temper under control. And it didn't help that she was so sure it was Pinkie Pie who was pulling off all these pranks as an act of revenge.
Unfortunately for Gilda, it seemed like everywhere she turned she was the victim of another prank that she was sure was meant for her. Whether it was canned fake snakes in the presents or trick candles on a cake. Yet, whenever she tried to interrogate Pinkie, the party pony continued to perform her routine of ignorance and innocence. It seemed like nothing would make her admit to what Gilda thought for sure was obvious. And all the while Gilda's temper continued to simmer despite her best efforts to keep it in check.
At last, it was time for a game of “Pin the Tail on the Pony.” It was Gilda’s turn and she was given a blindfold while holding a purple prop tail in her mouth. "What do you think you're doing?!" she complained as she felt herself being spun around by Pinkie Pie.
“You never played 'Pin the Tail on the Pony’ before?” Pinkie asked. “We’re spinning you around and around and you can pin the tail on the pony. It’s gameplay that makes you a little dizzy. Now just walk straight ahead and pin the tail.”
Gilda had other ideas. “How stupid do you think I am?” she said. “This is another prank!”
So, she began to walk blindly in the opposite direction from the poster. "No, Gilda!" Pinkie protested as she saw the blindfolded griffon walking the wrong way. "Come back! The poster is this-"
But, the warning had come a little too late. Gilda stumbled into the kitchen, crashed into various pots and pans, and generally caused a ruckus. She soon stumbled out, removed the blindfold and saw the cute purple tail draped over her beak. “Uh, you kind of pinned it on the wrong end,” Spike commented innocently.
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Unable to hold her frustration anymore, Gilda used the back of her claw to slap Spike across the face with everypony watching as Spike was sent back a few feet. Twilight and her friends all gasped in shock at what they saw.
“Spike!” Twilight and her friends gasped in horror. Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack went to comfort Spike while Gilda went on her tirade.
"Oh, that's it! I have had it with this party and these pranks!" Gilda complained while flapping her wings. "This is how you ponies get your kicks, isn't it?! Messing around with me at a party. I'm starting to wish I never came here if all I had in store for me was humiliation!"
"Gilda, calm down!" Rainbow pleaded to her friend. "You're making a scene!"
Gilda was in such a state of mind that she refused to listen. “Shut up, Dash! You have no idea what this party involved, but, how could you?!” She soon locked eyes with the target of her scorn, Pinkie Pie. "This was all a set up. Admit it, Pinkie Pie! You did all of this on purpose! You were just trying to make me angry, weren't you? Well guess what, dweeb?! You succeeded!"
Pinkie professed her innocence. “Why would I do that? I was just trying to give you a warm welcome to Ponyville, hoping to improve your attitude. I never meant for this to happen. I just wanted us to be friends.”
Gilda snorted. "Well too bad, I don't recall asking for your friendship! And you know what else?! Rainbow Dash doesn't need friends like you! I told you before, Pinkie! I'm the only friend Dash needs!" She proceeded to fly over to the brash speedster. "Come on, Dash. Let's bail on these pathetic losers. We're too good for them. Especially that lameass dragon!"
At that point, Rainbow had had enough of Gilda disrespecting her friends. “I’m not going anywhere,” Rainbow protested. “For three reasons.” She began using the feathers on her wings as hands to finger count the reasons. “One, you made a scene. Two, you blamed Pinkie for every prank after the joy buzzer. I could’ve let the first two slide if it weren’t for the fact that a 17-year-old like you hit a creature as young as Spike!”
“To be honest, it didn’t really hurt that much thanks to my dragon scales,” Spike said, hoping to deescalate the situation.
Unfortunately, Rainbow ignored his comment and continued her rant. “The only prank Pinkie had anything to do with was the joy buzzer. I set up the other pranks. They weren’t meant for you specifically. It was just dumb luck that you set them off.”
“W-what?!” Gilda exclaimed in shock. “N-no, it can’t be! It was Pinkie Pie! She set all this up to make me look bad!”
Pinkie Pie shook her head in reply. "You've got it all wrong, Gilda. I set this party up because I wanted to help you. I thought if you made some friends it would you help turn that big old frown of yours upside down." She briefly flipped her head upside down to demonstrate.
Rainbow Dash, now more serious, confronted Gilda. “And you certainly didn’t need any help looking bad!” She trotted forward, frowning at the griffon. "I don't know what's gotten into you, Gilda. You weren't always like this. You used to be a lot less mean. This isn't how I thought my old friend would treat my new friends. But, it seems like being cool is all you ever care about these days."
For a moment, Gilda couldn’t speak. She thought she knew what to say, but, Rainbow Dash’s response made her silent. Finally, she snapped and said, “Well, Dash! If that’s how you’re going to play, then, fine! It’s me or them!”
"Hey now!" The brash speedster protested. "I don't want to have to choose, Gilda. I want to be your friend, but. not if you're going to use my friendship as an excuse to be cruel to others. If you still want to be friends, then you need to fix that attitude problem of yours."
Gilda shook her head and growled. “Forget it, Dash! You can keep your pony friends and your wimpy dragon friend for all I care! Don’t ever talk to me again! I’m out of here for good!” She turned around, unfolding her wings, letting out a screech of frustration. She then flew out of Sugarcube Corner in the direction of Griffonstone.
All Rainbow could say in response was. "Not cool," But, as soon as Gilda had left she apologized. "I'm really sorry about that, everypony. Especially you, Spike. I swear, Gilda wasn't like this all the time when we were in flight school. I don't know what could've caused her to change."
“Hey, you couldn’t help that,” Pinkie said. “Even I didn’t think Gilda was going to be that way. It’s really too bad. She could have had so many wonderful friends. I don’t mind when my friends have other friends, so long as they’re willing to share those friendships with me. After all, isn’t that what friendship is about?”
Rainbow Dash nodded. "I guess it does, Pinkie." Then, she looked across to Twilight. "What do you think, Twilight? Think that'll make a good friendship lesson for Princess Celestia?"
Twilight nodded back. “It most definitely should.”
Mr. Cake cleared his throat. “Pinkie,” he said. “I wanted to apologize. I’m the one who misjudged you.”
“It’s okay, Mr. Cake.” Pinkie said comfortingly. “You didn’t see in action what Gilda was really like before. But, now you have. Thank you for apologizing, too.”
“Some mentor I turned out to be,” Mr. Cake lamented.
“Hey,” Pinkie said. “We all have our tough days. The only way to learn from a mistake is to make a mistake.” And she gave the orange-maned earth pony a comforting hug. Suddenly, Spike tapped Pinkie’s shoulder.
“Pinkie,” the little dragon asked. “Is it okay if I write the report during the party?”
“If you want to, Spike,” Pinkie said. “Don’t take too long, though. We still have a whole lot of party to finish!”
Twilight made a thoughtful expression. “Hey, Rainbow,” she asked. “Do you have any spare invisible ink?”
“Huh?” Rainbow asked in surprise. “Well, yeah, I do. Why do you ask?”
“Well, remember when Spike mentioned Princess Celestia having a sense of humor?”
“I… think so.” Rainbow suddenly pieced together what Twilight was planning. “Please tell me you’re not planning what I think you’re planning!”
“I would,” Twilight began. “But, if I did say that, I would be lying.” She then gave a rather devious smirk. “Besides, I remember a certain party pony telling me that you would play pranks on a sensitive pony like Fluttershy and we can see how that turned out.”
“Yeah…” Rainbow said with an embarrassed blush. “You got me there.”
“Can I please start writing now?” Spike asked, his patience wearing thin.
“Yes, Spike,” Twilight said. “I have the idea for the draft ready.”
“Ready and waiting!” Spike said. Twilight spoke and Spike wrote.
“Dearest Princess Celestia,
Today I learned that it can be hard to accept whenever somepony you like wants to spend time with somepony else, especially when it's somepony who's not so nice.
Although it's impossible to control who your friends hang out with all the time, it is possible to control your own behavior. And that's what's most important.
So, as long as you continue to be a good friend, the difference between a false friend and one who's true will surely come to light.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.”
“Twi…light,” Spike enunciated. “Spar…kle. Got it.”
“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight smiled. “Though, I have something to send along with the letter.” Rainbow brought in the spare bottle and Twilight placed a false label on it. She then wrapped the paper around the bottle. “Alright, now it’s ready to be sent.”
Spike used his fire breath to send the letter and its attachment away.
Meanwhile, Princess Celestia waited for Twilight’s report as Princess Luna entered with a small, blue and white plush wolf with brown hair on her back.
“Greetings, sister,” Luna smiled. “What hath Twilight Sparkle reported this time?”
“I’m still waiting on her report,” Celestia said softly. At the moment, the report comes in. “Ah, there it is.”
“We still wonder if we shall ever adjust to that,” Luna said.
“Wait, is that the royal we or were you referring to yourself and Canis?” Celestia asked.
“The latter,” Luna clarified as the plush moved on its own.
So, Princess Celestia opened the scroll from Twilight and saw the spare bottle of ink. “Hmm,” she said. “How odd.”
“What is it, sister?” asked Luna. “‘Tis a bottle of ink.”
Princess Celestia shook her head. “Oh, never mind.” She began reading the report. Luna listened closely and the plush positioned itself in a way that made it seem as if it was listening as well. “Quite a lovely report.”
“Indeed, it is remarkable,” Princess Luna smiled. “What say you, Canis?”
The plush responded with a young masculine voice. “I propose you draft a response, Aunt Celestia.”
“Of course, Canis,” Princess Celestia smiled. She levitated a quill and dipped it in the inkwell Twilight sent. “‘Dear Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful student…’” She began, but, once she lifted her quill, her writing disappeared.
“What flaxen homespun have we swaggering here?!” Princess Luna cried.
Princess Celestia got a closer look at the inkwell and the false label that was stuck upon it slipped off, revealing the true label.
“Oh!” Celestia exclaimed lightly. “Wrong ink~” She replaced the inkwell with one that had actual ink inside of it. She began to rewrite her letter, chuckling to herself about the joke.
Princess Luna was stunned. “How can thou be so calm?! Thou hath been made a mockery of!”
“Please calm down, mother,” the plush said. “It was a harmless joke.”
“It was indeed,” Princess Celestia said calmly. “This proves that Twilight is loosening up a bit and not as serious as she was before.”
“She’s not immortal like you and Aunt Celestia,” the plush reasoned. “For her, life is too short to be serious all the time.”
“Ah,” Princess Luna said, understanding the situation. “We doth see.”
“You could stand to loosen up yourself, Luna,” Celestia said. “Spend some time with Canis. He’s been lonely this past millennia.”
Princess Luna smiled, gazing upon him with soft loving eyes. “We hath missed him, so, we shall indeed do just that.” The plush happily nuzzled into the princess of the night’s mane.
End of chapter.
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Is Canis alive because of magic that Luna’s parents made and who’s voice are you thinking of for Canis?
11441841
Canis is alive thanks to Luna's love for him. As for his voice, I'm thinking that he's voiced by Ashleigh Ball in her Oopsy Bear voice. If you don't know what that sounds like, look it up on YouTube.
Loved this!
11441874
Thanks.
Hey there. Thanks immensely for getting this next chapter up. Took a while, but was certainly well worth the wait. Definitely liked the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Definitely liked that early bird speaking cameo by Scootaloo's aunts (including foreshadowing for her actual parents), in addition to the showing of more severe consequences to the prank on Spike (though Rainbow managed to keep things from getting TOO bad), Pinkie making valid points against pranking Fluttershy as well as Mr. Cake being the one to provide the well-meaning but misaimed advice concerning Gilda (who, is, as we find out later, actually the THIRD nicest griffon [Gabby being the FIRST nicest {and it is very much a credit to her strength of character that Gabby is able to maintain such a positive attitude even though she grew up in Griffonstone} and Gallus being the SECOND {though neither will appear for several seasons}]), Rainbow's admission that Gilda wasn't always that mean and the bit at the end with Celestia, Luna and Canis.
REALLY looking forward to more of this.
11441918
Thanks.
Luna with plushie?
Wholesome
11442014
Thanks.
did you really delete my valid criticisms?
Very nice!
Nice way to introduce Scootaloo's two aunts!
Glad that it's the Cakes and not Twilight that Pinkie goes to in this universe. Mr. Cake didn't do such a good job at the advice thing but glad that he saw his error.
Poor Spike. Having to be hit like that by Gilda.
As for the plush thing, is it an OC? I was starting to think "A talking plushie? That's a new one."
11442112
The talking plush, Canus Moonstone, IS an OC.
This is very good. I'm giving you six stars for doing a good job. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
11442619
Thanks.
11442630
You're welcome
Another great chapter.
11442779
Thanks.
Nice work, Blue.
11443073
Thanks.
Why is this in the mother + son sectionof of the twilight and spike group?
11444085
You’ll see.
IDEA for Episode 8 (Look Before You Sleep) & Episode 9 (Bridle Gossip)
Let's start with Look Before You Sleep - Since Spike has lived a sheltered life and is ostracized for his differences, Spike should be present for the Slumber Party with Twilight, Applejack & Rarity, since it really wouldn't make sense for Spike to be sent off to Canterlot on Royal Business. Plus this is the perfect opportunity to have both Spike AND Twilight getting super excited about the idea of having their very first Slumber Party, both of them excitedly suggesting fun activities back and forth while a clearly uncomfortable Applejack & Rarity watch & listen on, but because of AJ & Rarity's feud, they don't want to be near one another but ultimately have no choice. Spike can make Truth or Dare more interesting (And no nothing dirty), since this could be an opportunity to learn more about Spike's difficult life and maybe even learn more about how Twilight raised Spike.
Let's move on to Episode 9 (Bridle Gossip) - I think this would be a great opportunity to get some interaction being Apple Bloom & Spike, it always somewhat bothered me that Spike never spent time with others his own age, sure he's slightly more mature than the CMC, but he's still a kid just like them, and can certainly have his childish moments. I think Spike should tag along with Apple Bloom to meet Zecora AND again when Apple Bloom leaves to seek out Zecora for the antidote, I could see Spike hitting it off with Zecora due to them being different, even if he occasionally struggles to understand what Zecora is saying. One teeny tiny thing I think needs to be changed about this episode, is have Fluttershy be a little more neutral about Zecora, I mean it's okay for Fluttershy to admit Zecora scares her, that's perfectly in character for her, but have Fluttershy attempt to be a little more understanding and accepting, trying to defend Zecora's strange behavior, like how Twilight did at first, only this time Twilight remains completely neutral about Zecora from the start to when they barge into Zecora's home. Twilight witnesses Spike speaking with Zecora in her home, only barging in out of fear for Spike's safety when Zecora makes a joke about Spike & Apple Bloom being perfect (doesn't hear her say 'helpers') for her Stew/Potion. And when the Mane 6 barge into Zecora's home, that's when Spike should scold the girls for being rude and discriminative toward Zecora simply because she's different, stating that the way they're treating Zecora for her differences is exactly how HE was treated by the ponies of Canterlot for HIM being different, he then ask the girls "How are any of YOU any different from the ponies who treated me like I was some kind of a monster? I didn't deserve to be treated like that, and neither does Zecora!".
Loving your story so far, and I loved what you did with Caramel in Applebuck Season, especially Caramel having short-term memory issues and how being around Applejack helps him to remember things because he wants to prove himself to Applejack, that was super sweet. Also it was great how Mr & Mrs Cake immediately rushed to Pinkie Pie's side after the 'Baked Bad' incident in Applebuck Season, DESPITE being on their honeymoon, truly shows how much the Cakes truly care about Pinkie, like a daughter, despite Pinkie's perks, AND Mr & Mrs Cake listening and attempting to offer Pinkie advice after her not-so pleasant run-in with Gilda, that was a nice touch as well.
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I actually already have plans for both of those episodes already.
In Look Before You Sleep, Spike’s royal business is a therapy session with Luna.
In Bridle Gossip, Spike actually chews out the Mane 5 in the beginning for judging Zecora unfairly when they welcomed him no questions asked even though he’s a dragon and Zecora’s closer to a pony than he can ever hope to be.
Could you add a scene where Rainbow Dash finds out that Gilda was very cruel to Fluttershy???
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Maybe it’ll be a deleted scene.
These are neat! I like how they keep with the spirit of the show, but also especially include Spike to a much greater extent, and some retcon explanations and foreshadows that the show couldn't have inserted so early on.
Do you plan to eventually do the entire series?
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Well, some episodes won’t be adapted and will be replaced by original chapter ideas.