My Little Warcraft - New Friends

by Shin Guyviroth

Chapter 31 - Repentance and Redemption

It was hard for Rainbow Dash to look down upon the beaten, almost lifeless body of who was once her best friend. Even as she ran her hoof along the top of her head her feathers felt dry and brittle as though they were on the verge of dying. Her breath quickened, exhaling with more force than she was taking in. "How… how could this happen? Why is she here…?"

Gai'vahros moved forward, feeling that his approach could give the Pegasus some sort of comfort. He turned to her, looking at her saddened expression. "Lady Rainbow Dash," he spoke, "do you know of this person?"

"Yeah," she responded. "She's…" She hesitated for a moment. The memories of what had happened months earlier began to rush back to her in her mind, playing before her eyes like a slideshow. She recalled how the Griffon bullied Pinkie Pie. She remembered how she had made Fluttershy cry. She was reminded of how she had hurt many of her friends. She relived the moment of when she had walked out on her. "She was a friend of mine… my best friend…"

"But," intervenes Fluttershy, "she was also mean to all of us, too…"

Gai'vahros was surprised to hear Fluttershy say that, if not for being completely out of character then because of how Rainbow Dash was still showing care for Gilda. "Is that true?" he asked Rainbow Dash.

She found it hard to answer. She knew that it was the truth, obviously -- she was there when it all happened. But, she didn't want to say it. Not when the person she was talking about was like this. "I… Gai…" Her voice became strained as she tried to force the words from her throat. Her hoof dropped back to the ground as she turned to look at the elf. Her eyes winced as tears filled them. "I don't wanna see her like this…"

The doctor cleared his throat. "I'll… leave you three to be alone with her. If you need anything, I'll be at the reception." With his last word, the doctor made his way out of the room, closing the door slowly behind him.

Fluttershy tried not to whine, feeling bad for what she had said. "I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash…"

"No, it's okay… She was mean to all of us, but… she doesn't deserve this…"

"That means a lot," a soft voice spoke before them. The light sound of rustling sheets breezed past the ears of the three of them as feathers scraped along the pillow and mattress of the hospital bed. Gilda's eyes were half open as she tried to focus on the face of Rainbow Dash. "Hey, Dashie," she spoke again, her voice raspy and fatigued. "Sorry you had to see me like this…" Her eyes shifted from the Pegasus to Gai'vahros. She let out a little sigh. "I see you've got a new friend…"

"Gilda!" she exclaimed, quickly turning back and standing by her side as close as she could. "Gilda… what happened to you?"

"Ah… kinda a long story," she replied. A loud cough escaped her beak, causing her to lurch upright a little. "I was delivering a parcel for the Griffon Express Mail when I noticed something shining in the forest. You know me, right? Can't keep my claws to myself when there's something shiny involved." She chuckled as she tried to lighten the atmosphere, if only by a little. "When I went to see it, I noticed it was a sword. A huge sword." As she spoke, her eyes shifted down to the waist of Gai'vahros. "That's it," she exclaimed through her crippled throat. "That's the sword right there…"

"So it was you who found Quel'Serrar," assumed Gai'vahros. "Does that mean… you were also attacked? By a dark knight?"

"Heh… Hit the nail right on the head there," she responded in humour. "So I guess that you beat her?"

"No. She gave it back to me."

"Gave it back…? Why would she do that…?"

"Because she's my younger sister. One That I may have to kill."

"Your… sister…?" Gilda couldn't hardly believe it, but then it wasn't the most important thing on her mind at the moment. She gave a little smirk. "Oh, yeah… I can see the similarities."

"Well, it's not like we're hard to notice," Gai'vahros retorted with a smirk of his own. Like Gilda, he tried to make the most of the situation despite the heavy toll it was taking on Rainbow Dash' heart.

"Gai," spoke Rainbow Dash, "you can heal her… right?"

The elf looked upon the wounds once more. He was surprised that most of the wounds had already healed themselves despite the fact that they had nearly all been caused by Liliandra's weapon. The smaller scars had no sign of necrosis and had almost completely closed, while some of the larger, deeper wounds only had a small amount of it. Anyone else struck by Shadowmourne would had been killed on the spot, or, if they had survived, would have died moments later. "I'll do what I can," he replied.

Gilda sighed heavily as she turned her head away. "Save it," she forced. "None of the doctors here know what to do… I don't even know how long I've been hooked up to this stupid machine for… What help could you be?"

"But, Gilda," spoke Fluttershy as she walked to her, "Gai'vahros is a really great healer. He cured dozens of wounded ponies just now."

"Yeah, right… and I'm the President of Manehattan…"

"It really is true, Gilda," backed Rainbow Dash. "Ponyville was attacked by the same person who attacked you. A lot of ponies were injured. But, Gai managed to heal everyone back to full in short time! He can help you!"

The Griffon huffed as she tried to roll over onto her side, hampered by her wounds and the wires that connected to her. "I don't need his help… nor do I want it. Leave me alone…"

The silence in the room quickly turned to tension. Rainbow Dash became more upset the more that Gilda refused help and cooperation. Gai'vahros tried to think of some way to help the poor Griffon, but he knew that nothing he could say could convince her otherwise. He turned to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "Could you two leave me to work on Gilda? I'll need complete concentration if I'm to heal her to full."

"Please, Gai," replied Rainbow Dash, "let me stay here with you!"

"My Lady Rainbow Dash, something could go wrong while I'm healing her. I don't want you to see it should that happen, and my worry for you will affect my focus." Despite his words, Rainbow Dash wanted to stay, but she knew that he was right. With a sorrowful face, she nodded. Gai'vahros let out a sigh. "Fluttershy, please take Rainbow Dash with you."

"Oh… yes," she replied, taking Rainbow Dash by her foreleg as they both made their way out.

As the door closed, the only sound that remained in the room was the steady beeps of Gilda's heart monitor. Gai'vahros took a seat next to her bedside, sitting down slowly, his eyes on the still turned away Griffon. "She's gone now," he spoke softly.

"And what're you still doing here?" she snarled.

"You didn't tell me to leave."

"I told all of you to leave!"

"You meant you only wanted Rainbow Dash to leave." The mattress creaked as Gilda slowly rolled back over. Her eyes gazed at the elf with a mix of confusion and shock. "You said it yourself that you didn't want her to see you like this. I can see it in your eyes, Gilda. Something troubles you."

Her head turned to gaze up at him. Her eyes showed emotions of comfort, yet also of regret. "What Fluttershy said… she was right," her voice creaked. "I was mean to everyone… I bullied so many ponies -- ponies that I didn't even know…"

"And it lead to your friendship with Rainbow Dash being strained, right?"

"Strained…? That's the understatement of the year…" She sighed heavily, forming a mist of condensation on the inside of her respirator. "We never spoke to each other again after that day… for over half a year we never said a single word, never sent a single letter…"

Gai'vahros paused for a moment. He found it hard to question her in her state, feeling like he was treating her like a convict. "Gilda… you can talk to me about it, if you'd like?"

She gave a smirk and a light chuckle. "So, what? Now you're my agony aunt?"

"I just don't want you two to be at each other's necks anymore. Friendship… is not something I know a whole lot about. But, from what time I have spend with Lady Rainbow Dash and everyone else, I know that it's something pretty amazing. Something special. Something that shouldn't be lost. You know it, too, don't you?"

It was like he could read her like an open book. Gilda couldn't keep her eyes off the elf, off of his smiling, caring face. Even though they'd only known each other for not even ten minutes, she felt comfortable around him. She felt comfortable talking to him. "I… always thought of Dashie as more of a sister than a friend. We would always do everything together -- flying, swimming, pulling pranks on people. She was the first person to say "hi" to me when I moved to Cloudsdale, y'know.

"But, I got jealous of her. When I went back to visit my father at the Griffon Kingdom, I couldn't stop thinking about what Dashie was doing without me… I never thought that she would find new friends. When I got back to Cloudsdale, and saw that she had new friends to hang out with… I got jealous. I got upset. And, I got… frightened… I was scared that she would replace me with those other ponies. I bullied them… humiliated them… and I don't even know why. I was horrible to everyone…"

It was hard for Gai'vahros to understand her feelings and motivations for her actions considering that he had not much more experience of friendship than she did. But, he understood what it was like to lose friends all too well. "But, you know what you did was wrong, right?"

Gai'vahros could not predict what happened next. As he finished his words, streams of tears fell from the eyes of Gilda, trickling down her dirt-covered face and onto the pillow, leaving small, dark patches. "Every day during that time we broke up I would wake up and go to sleep regretting it." Her voice began to strain more, getting higher as she tried to force her words, sobbing lightly. "I tried so hard to take my mind off it… I began working for the mail just to have something else to think about, but… but every time I flew over Ponyville, I saw her. I saw her happy, laughing, playing with her friends. I tried moving back to the Kingdom but no one wanted to know me. They looked down on me because I went to go live in Cloudsdale…" Her eyes kept filling more and more with tears, now forming into streams as she turned her head to the side and buried it into the pillow, holding it tightly against it. She began to cry softly, hiccupping between heavy sobs. "Ever since the day I left Dashie… I.. was already dead…" Her sobs became heavier as her cries became more frantic. "I just… I just… want my little Dashie back…!"

He wanted to cry, too. Just looking at the Griffon and hearing about all the time she spent on her own with nothing but regret embedded in her mind made him want to shed a tear, too. Slowly he placed his hand on her head gently, stroking it, trying to comfort her. It seemed to work as her sobs became quieter and less frantic. "It's okay, Gilda," he cooed into her ear calmly. "It isn't the end of everything. You can still regain her friendship, and everyone else's, too."

She sniffled as she looked back up at him past his gentle, silk hand. "But… how…? They won't want to talk to me again… not after all I've done…"

Gai'vahros knew first hand of how forgiving they all were. He remembered that horrible day that he, too, hurt Rainbow Dash. But, he also remembered how forgiving she was, more so than the others were given the circumstances. "You'll be surprised, Gilda. We've both done terrible things, things that we wish we could take back. But, at the end of the day, those events remain cemented in our history. The only thing we can do to move forward is to repent and to seek forgiveness. Are you ready to move forward?"

She couldn't bring herself to answer the question, not with as much self-hate as she still harboured inside her. "… Gai, right?" she asked. "Your name's Gai."

"Seems to be the nickname Lady Rainbow Dash has given me, yeah…"

"Gai… could you tell her… that I'm really sorry for everything that I've done? That I'm an idiot, and a bully, and a jerk? That… I just wanna be her friend again…?"

The elf removed his hand from her head, gazing into her open yet teary eyes. "No." Gai'vahros stood up as Gilda narrowed her eyes in sadness, feeling shot down. Gai'vahros stood over her, raising his hands above her body. "You can tell her yourself when you've the energy to stand. Now, hold still. This could take a while."

She looked down the bedside and watched him in necessity as his hands began to weave strands and ribbons of golden light over themselves. "What are you doing…?" she asked weakly. Her voice spoke with discomfort yet she made no attempt to stop him or even to suggest denial.

"I'm gonna try and heal you the best I can." Gently, Gai'vahros placed his palms on her stomach, starting with the more minor lacerations first to help stabilize her body. The veil of light spread over her fur, causing it to lighten, not from the luminescence of the magic, but from the revitalization that it was receiving as life began to pour back into the Griffon. The wounds began to heal quickly, much quicker than the ponies' wounds. "You're pretty tough to be able to survive such a beating," admired Gai'vahros.

"Heh… Us Griffons are tougher than you might imagine," spoke Gilda with confidence. She gave a sigh of relief as the stinging pains on her underside began to dissipate entirely, leaving nothing but the comfort of the warmth of the light. "That feels… really good…"

"The Light can do a lot of wondrous things. It can be used to heal our fallen, to protect our loved ones, and to smite our greatest enemies. It takes a lot of dedication to gain such power in it."

"Like a miracle worker…?"

"I guess in your world I could be considered a miracle worker." Gai'vahros trailed his hands slowly along her body, trying to feel any signs of scarring that were minute and hard to see under her fine yet dense fur. With nothing to find, his hands ran to her sides. "This may sting a little, but bear it as best you can," he warned of her as he placed his hands upon one of the larger cuts on her side.

"Gah!" she cried out in pain as the elf's hands touched upon her raw, lacerated flesh. "Hey! What was that all about?"

"I'm sorry, Gilda. These wounds aren't exactly superficial." His hands examined her wound as though he was using his own eyes to do so. His fingers gripped the two folds of skin, bringing them together to close the wound as his magic began to take hold. "Many of your wounds have suffered from necrosis. I'll have to take time cleansing it before I can heal them up. But…"

"But, what? I don't like the way you said that, Gai…"

"It's nothing." He paused for a moment, contemplating. "You said you don't know how long you've been here for, right? Could you give me some idea?"

"I dunno… A few days, maybe…?"

Gai'vahros chuckled, much to the confusion of Gilda. "You really are one tough creature. Anyone else with only a single wound from Shadowmourne would have died after the first dawn, and yet… you're still here."

"I told ya we're tough…" The raw, shooting pain throughout her side died down dramatically, causing her to give another sigh of utmost relief. "Gai… Thanks… for everything…"

"You've no need to thank me, my Lady Gilda. I wouldn't be able to live with myself had I'd done nothing." His fingers relaxed from her skin, revealing the wound closed completely and devoid of any sort of infection like it was brand new. "That's one. Just several more to go…"

---

The hospital was amazingly quiet, having next to no visitors in the waiting room what with Gai'vahros having healed all of them. The only noises that could be heard were the ticking sounds of a nearby wall clock as the seconds passed, and the sound of scribbles as the receptionists pushed pencil to paper, trying to get all of the paperwork done before the day had finished.

It was difficult for Rainbow Dash to play the waiting game. She was a Pegasus who was more about action than patience, patience not being one of her virtues. She sat beside Fluttershy on the seats directly opposite Gilda's monitoring room, her forelegs folded crossed over her chest. Her eyes never once shifted away from the door.

Fluttershy, however, was more anxious and nervous. She was upset for Rainbow Dash having to be put into such a situation, but also worrisome for Gilda despite having the utmost faith in Gai'vahros' abilities. She began to fidget with her long, curled mane as she began looking around without aim. "You know she'll be fine, right, Rainbow Dash…?" she spoke up quietly, her voice piercing the silence. But, Rainbow Dash didn't respond. "I mean, Gai'vahros is really good at this kind of stuff…"

A low growl rumbled in Rainbow Dash' throat. She bolted from her seat with quick flaps of her wings, startling Fluttershy as she let out a squeak. "But how long is he gonna take?" she exclaimed in impatience, pacing up and down the corridor on her wings. "Gosh!"

"R-Rainbow Dash… please sit down. He shouldn't be too much longer…"

"But, how long has he been in there for?" She looked up at the clock that hung on the far wall at the end of the corridor, but only gave a frustrated sigh. "Gah! I don't even know what time he went in!" Rainbow Dash quickly dashed back to the reception, finding the doctor against the counter filling out a schedule book. "Hey, doc, what time did Gai go in?"

The doctor looked back up her past a pair of glasses. "About an hour ago, Miss," he responded. "I'm surprised he's taken this long, too, what with being able to cure all of the other ponies in the same amount of time. But, having saw what I saw earlier, I have to put my trust in him. That, and that her wounds are a lot more, and a lot worse, than the others. I guess, now that I think about it, I'm not too surprised in the duration."

"But, what if… something went wrong…?" Rainbow Dash began to worry more and more. Her voice began to tremble. "What if she's--"

"Don't worry. If anything were to go wrong then an alarm would sound off behind the reception desk. Go sit down and relax, Miss. I know it's come of a great shock to you, but everything will be okay."

"O…okay…" Her head drooped as she slowly hovered back to her seat with Fluttershy. Slowly she slumped down on the chair, her body slightly slid off it. "Fluttershy… Do you think that…" Her voice trailed off as her head lifted back up, staring at the door to Gilda's room.

"Do I think what, Rainbow Dash?"

"Do you think… that me and Gilda could be friends again?"

"Oh… I… I think so. Probably…" She felt awkward having been asked such a question on such a touchy subject. It was clear to her that Rainbow Dash still had some feelings for the Griffon despite all that had happened. "Well… do you think you can forgive her…?"

"I don't know," responded Rainbow Dash in frustration at her own ambivalence. "I mean, if Gilda hasn't changed then I don't wanna know her anymore. But, what if she has changed, Fluttershy? What if she's… y'know… really sorry and stuff for all the things she did before? I'd totally be friends with her again, but… what about you? What about everyone else?"

"You know we all will. If she really has changed, and really is sorry for what she's done, then we're all here to support your decision. That's what friends are for, right?"

Rainbow Dash sniffed a little, trying to hold back her emotions. "Thanks, Fluttershy. You guys are amazing…" Fluttershy gave a big smile before leaning forward, giving Rainbow Dash a big hug, much to her embarrassment. "Uh, okay, Fluttershy. You can stop now."

"O-oh! Sorry!" she apologized, quickly retreating back to her seat.

A long, drawn sign escaped Rainbow Dash' lips before soon after turning from a gloomy expression to a little smile. "I remember when me and her would sit on the side of Cloudsdale and watch the sunset. She'd always go on about how she was gonna be this really awesome warrior for the Griffon army, the Red Talons."

"You two must have had a lot of fun together."

"Yeah, always. We'd do everything together, y'know. We'd always try and race each other from Cloudsdale to Redrock and back again. We never beat each other, though, even on the first touch at Redrock we'd always tie with each other. She's one of the best fliers of the Kingdom, or so she says." She gave a chuckle. "She was probably over-exaggerating, though.

"But, everything we did, we did together. Swimming, soccer, going to the Wonderbolts demonstrations -- everything. I always said that we'd never stop being friends, even after she left to go see her family at the Kingdom. But… now…" She began to tear up quickly. Pools began to fill her eyes, glistening in the hospital's lights that gave them away no matter how hard she tried to hold them back. "Now… I'll probably never get to do it again…"

"Rainbow Dash… please don't cry."

She sniffed as she turned her head away. Her voice began to shake and screech. "I ain't cryin'," she spoke out against Fluttershy. But, she couldn't help it. She began to sob on the arm of her seat, laying her head against her forelegs as they rested on the arm. "Every day I keep thinkin' about her, about how she left me, and then Cloudsdale altogether. But now… now that I saw her in there… hooked up to that machine…" The tears began to pour down her flushed cheeks, landing on her forelegs as she tried to keep them from falling on the arm of the seat. She nuzzled her forelegs, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes, but they just kept flowing the more she tried. "I don't… I don't want her to go…! I don't want her to die…! I want… I want her back!"

Fluttershy wanted to cry, too, if not because her friend was upset then because it was Rainbow Dash who was crying. For as long as Fluttershy had known her in all their years as friends, from Cloudsdale to Ponyville, she never once saw Rainbow Dash get upset, let alone burst into tears as strongly as she was now. She leaned over, wrapping her forelegs around her body, holding her close, cuddling her. Her head leaned against Rainbow Dash', pressing her soft cheek against hers, nuzzling her. All the while, Rainbow Dash didn't once try to deny her. "It's okay, Dashie," she cooed into the Pegasus' ear, trying to comfort her as best she can. "When Gai'vahros comes out, the first thing he'll say is that everything will be okay."

"Hey, that's my line," a soft, humoured voice sounded from beside them. As Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked up, they saw Gai'vahros smiling as he closed the door behind him slowly with a soft clicking sound of the latch.

"Gai!" cried out Rainbow Dash, pouncing from her seat and pressing the elf against the wall with a big hug. Her relief couldn't have been any more noticeable as she pressed herself close against his armor, holding him tightly and closely. Immediately so, though without embarrassment, she let go and looked up at him. "Is she… is she gonna be okay?"

He let out a small chuckle before patting her on the head, stroking her mane gently. "She'll be fine, my Lady Rainbow Dash," he responded with assurance and certainty. "It took a while, but her wounds are all fully healed and cleansed. She'll be back to her old self in no time."

Rainbow Dash looked past him, making her way to the door. "Can I… go see her?" she asked.

Unfortunately, he shook his head. "I'm sorry," he responded, "but she's resting now. I told her that she needed to get some sleep. But, don't worry. She'll be up and out of the hospital by the morning with any luck."

"But, I… I wanted to talk to her…"

"I know." Rainbow Dash was confused by how he would know of such a thing. At least, not until he spoke once more. "Gilda wanted to talk to you, too. She has a lot of things to say, and a lot of things to ask... especially for your forgiveness."

"You mean… she…" she stumbled as she gazed back at him, waiting for some sort of response or confirmation. With a big smile, Gai'vahros gave a nod. Her heart raced and jumped as she finally realized that she would win back a long lost best friend. Again she pounced on Gai'vahros, holding him close, but this time with tears as she sobbed into her chest, crying with tears of joy. Fluttershy, too, began to tear up and she heard and watched the two of them. "Thank you… so much, Gai… for everything…!"

"I'm just glad you've got your friend back, Dashie." For the moment he held her close, wrapping his arms around her back and cradling her against his chest. "It's getting dark. We should head back to Ponyville and see what's going on."

"Yeah… you're right," agreed Rainbow Dash, pulling away, wiping the tears from her eyes. She gave a little smirk. "Race you both there!" With a burst of her wings she blitzed past him and out the doors, almost knocking over some of the benches.

"Looks like she's back to her old self," said Fluttershy, smiling.

"Yeah… she will be."

Comments

[501st Party Brigade]

"You really are one touch creature. Anyone else with only a single wound from Shadowmourne would have died after the first dawn, and yet… you're still here."

i believe you mean tough creature right?

[Shin Guyviroth]

2904386 Ah, yes, thank you ^^

[Agent_Smith]

2904681

Dat grammar mistake.

[Bazing]

Nice! Quick chapter, makes me happy!

[Shin Guyviroth]

2905185 It's fixed

2905203 Huh... oh yeah. In any case, Gai'vahros doesn't know much about human architecture and tech -- clocks included. Cuz, y'know, he's dumb.

2905547 Aye, thought i'd get all my ideas on paper quick before I forget them

[Shin Guyviroth]

3054914 I was thinking about it, but not entirely sure when I should do it. Maybe in the next chapter or two.

[Shin Guyviroth]

3081243 He occasionally siphons energy from the Sunwell should he decide to "treat" himself, but other than that he is satisfied with holy magics.

[Shin Guyviroth]

3083498 Myes...

[firelordzx5]

question: Did you know that ebon hold's Death knights aren't suffering anymore right? Their bound to the lich king's will is no more and he is dead, plus almost most of the death knights; lore wise; rejoined their respective factions since that day, the rest of the ebon hold is with the argent watching closely sylvanas and the forsakens.

how he still think that they're monsters?

I bet that there are Blood Elves Death Knights Serving in silvermoon as guards or exterminating the rest of the undead in the "Scar".

[Shin Guyviroth]

3150833 Their wracking pains aren't something that goes away when the Lich King dies (even though he's not dead, just existing in another vessel i.e. Bolvar). This was also explained by either Kossak or Ghostcrawler in a blue post.

And, no, in this story at least, there are no death knights in Silvermoon -- most have been relocated to Undercity where they're more... at home.