> Rainbow Pie > by Dark Nightshade > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 - A Spell Gone Wrong > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Pie Chapter 1 A Spell Gone Wrong ___________________________________________________________ Rainbow Dash hated only one thing in life. Boredom. It was the worst invention in all of history. What was the point of something that made time seem to go so slowly you could swear you’d aged more than ten years when it had only been ten minutes? It had been at least a week since she and the others had saved Equestria from Tirek and the Friendships Castle had emerged in Ponyville. At first everything had been really exciting. Parties and talks with the princesses about how Twilight would handle her new role as the Princess of Friendship. However, things had dulled pretty quickly for the Pegasus. Twilight had spent most of the last week in meetings about boring stuff, like politics, not something Rainbow Dash was really into. Wish there was something interesting to do, she thought as she rolled to her other side on top of her cloud, lazily glancing down at the castle just on the edge of Ponyville. As she watched, she saw several creatures walking out of the castle. On closer inspection, they were griffins. Rainbow blinked, an idea coming to mind. Hmm. Would she do it for me? She said “no” last time, but maybe if I promise not to do anything sneaky, like pull any pranks and only for an hour or so, she’d go through with it this time. Grinning, Rainbow shot off her cloud, dissolving it and streaked towards the castle. ___________________________________________________________ Twilight nodded, excusing the guards, who left the throne room and headed down the corridors. The alicorn sighed as she went back into the throne room and sat on her throne, glancing at the other five around her and the smaller one next to her own. The others were all busy with their own jobs, so she was alone right now. Even Spike was busy, helping Rarity look for more gems to use in her fashion. The doors suddenly open, causing Twilight to jump, before a blur of cyan and rainbow landed in front of her. “Yo, Twi. What’s up?” Twilight sighed, this time in annoyance. “Rainbow Dash, even though this isn’t my library, you still barge in unannounced. As one or the co-rulers of this castle, I’d have thought you’d learn at least some sense of etiquette.” Rainbow waved a hoof. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Twi. Listen, can I ask for a favor?” Twilight frowned. “What kind of favor?” Rainbow scratched her foreleg anxiously. “Remember how, after we helped the Breezies, I asked if—?” “No,” Twilight said flatly, getting up from her throne and heading for the door. “Aw, come on, Twi,” Rainbow said, flapping her wings and landing in front of Twilight, blocking her path. “Just for an hour? Half an hour? Heck, I’ll even take just fifteen minutes. Please?” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Why? Why do you want me to turn you into a griffin?” The Pegasus grinned. “I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to fly like one. Ever since Gilda turned out to be such a jerk, I’d given up on griffins, until I met the Griffonian Flight Team. Those guys were cool. But I never got to ask them how it feels to fly as a griffin.” Twilight thought that over. “So, you only want me to turn you into a griffin for fifteen minutes so you can know what it feels like to fly as one? You don’t plan on pulling any pranks with the form of a griffin?” Rainbow nodded, then shook her head in answer to the questions. “Come on, Twi, please? You could consider it my early Hearth’s Warming present?” Twilight put a hoof to her chin, thinking. After a few minutes of deep thought, she sighed. “Okay, Rainbow Dash. I’ll turn you into a griffin.” “YES!” Rainbow shouted, hoofing the air. “But only for fifteen minutes,” Twilight continued sternly. “After that you’ll have to come back and I’ll return you to a Pegasus. If you don’t come back, your wings will cramp until you become a Pegasus again.” Rainbow nodded, waving a hoof. “Yeah, yeah. I got it, Twi. Don’t go over the time limit. You’re talking to me, remember?” Twilight shook her head and back up so there was some space between the two of them. Her horn lit up as she charged the spell. Dash could barely sit still as she watched her charging her magic. Suddenly the doors burst open, followed by a pink blur and a voice shouting, “Twilight! Dashie! Don’t use that spell! My Pinkie Sense says something bad will happen— Wha!” Pinkie tumbled into Dash, the two getting entangled in each other’s legs. The sudden interruption startled Twilight and she fired the spell. It hit Pinkie and Rainbow and there was blinding flash, followed by a loud scream. When the light faded, Twilight rubbed her eyes, trying to see again. She could just see Pinkie and Rainbow, though a bit blurry. It seemed her spell had failed. “Pinkie, Rainbow, are you okay?” she asked, wincing as her head pounded. “I’m okay,” Dash said and both of them started looking around. “What about you Pink— Pinkie? Hey, where’d you go?” Twilight frowned. Why couldn’t Rainbow Dash see Pinkie Pie. She was standing right there with her. The alicorn shook her head, trying to clear it. The headache had dulled a little, but not by much. Her eyesight cleared and, for a second, she didn’t realize what she was seeing. Then she screamed like a banshee. In front of her was a pink coated Pegasus mare with rainbow mane and tail in the same poofy style as Pinkie’s, magenta eyes and both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie’s Cutie Marks. Rainbow’s cloud and rainbow lightning bolt being in front of the yellow balloon, while the two blue ones were in front of it. The Pegasus leaped in fright when Twilight screamed, glancing around quickly. “What is it? What’s going on?” she asked, sounding just like Rainbow Dash. Twilight stared, her eyes wide. “R-Rainbow Dash?” The mare turned to her, wearing a deadpan look. “Well, duh. Who’d ya think I was, Twilight?” The alicorn just stared. Now that she looked closer. She wasn’t looking at just a Pegasus. Her wings were slightly bigger and her body framed looked just as much like that of an Earth Pony as it did a Pegasus. ___________________________________________________________ “Um, Rainbow?” Twilight asked, her voice quivering. “How do you feel?” Rainbow frowned, thinking. “Dunno,” she said. “My mane and tail feel kinda weird. And I feel a bit heavier than before. And how come my wings feel a bit bigger?” Twilight gulped. “Uh, is Pinkie Pie there?” Rainbow’s frowned turned to confusion. She glanced around, then turned back to the alicorn. “Twilight, I don’t see her. Why would you ask me if I can see her when she isn’t here?” Twilight gulped again. Why was she doing that? “R-Rainbow,” she said nervously, “look at your hooves.” Rainbow rolled her eyes, but decided to play along. “Okay, Twi. But, why would I— WAH!” she cried, lifting a hoof to look at it before jumping back, flailing said hoof wildly. “Why’s my fur pink?!” She glanced behind her and saw her wings and tail and Cutie Mark. “Why’re my wings pink? Why’s my tail styled like Pinkie’s? And how come Pinkie’s Cutie Mark looks like it was in an explosion with mine?” Twilight gulped for a third time. “I’m... not exactly sure how...” she said, not meeting the mare’s eyes, “but, I think, when Pinkie got caught in the transformation spell, it backfired and somehow fused the two of you together?” “Fused?” Rainbow asked, feeling slightly nervous. “Wh-what does that mean?” Twilight grimaced. “It means, you’ve both become one body. You’re not just two ponies anymore. You’re both one pony.” Rainbow’s eyes went wide with fear. She was fused with Pinkie Pie, sharing the same body as her? Her worst nightmare had come true. > Adjustments > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Rainbow Dash?” Twilight worriedly asked, waving her hoof in Rainbow Dash’s face. Rainbow Dash had been completely still for about a minute, and Twilight was getting really worried. Finally, she decided to do something a little drastic. “Rainbow Dash!” she yelled, slapping her across the face. Rainbow Dash finally blinked and stared at Twilight. “Did...did you just..slap me?” Rainbow Dash asked, rubbing her already pink cheek, which was turning a little red. “You weren’t moving, I panicked!” Twilight said. “I thought the fusion had done something that might not be fixable!” Rainbow Dash’s pupils shrunk. “Oh yeah,” she said nervously, looking down at her hooves. “The fusion. It... It’s permanent, isn't it?” Twilight sighed, looking away. “I’m not sure.” Rainbow’s eyes widened in horror. “You don’t know?” she yelled. “How can you not know? Your cutie mark is magic itself!” Twilight scowled at the now pink Pegasus. “I know!” she growled. “I wish I knew more about it, but I don’t! It was originally supposed to make you turn into a griffin, but instead, you got fused with another pony! That shouldn’t have even happened! I did that spell on all six of us before and we turned out fine, so I’ve no clue as to how or why the spell actually fused you with Pinkie Pie this time around. I’ll have to look into this, but in the meantime, don’t leave the castle!” “Oh... yeah,” Dash grinned sheepishly. “That’s... going to be a problem. You see, I kinda have a date tonight.” Twilight blinked, before facing hoofing and sighed. “Then let’s hope that this will be quick and we can un-fuse you two! Now, I have to go write to Celestia!” Rainbow Dash sighed as the purple Alicorn went off. Alone for the moment, she turned to look at a clock hanging on a nearby wall. I've still got a few hours until my date,she thought. Man, who invented boredom? Suddenly she heard giggling. Kind of. It seemed to be coming from behind her, yet not behind her and when she did look, there was nopony there. Who knows? she heard a familiar voice say. “P-Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash gasped, looking around wildly. “Where are you?” I’m right here next to you, silly! Pinkie exclaimed. Or rather, inside of you! Hehehe! “Wait, what?” Rainbow Dash asked, confused. I’m still here! Pinkie said. I’m still in this body, I just can’t move anything. “That’s good... I guess?” Rainbow Dash said, feeling a small headache coming on from all the over thinking she was having to do. “Twilight’s trying to figure out how to separate us, so the fact you’re still there should be a good sign, right?” Pinkie was silent for a moment. “Pinkie?” Dash asked, curious as to the silence and worried by it too. When Pinkie went quiet, it was always a reason to worry. Yeah, that’s what my Pinkie Sense was about, she finally said. It was telling me that Twilight was about to cast a spell that couldn’t be undone and to get you away from it! Rainbow’s eye widened in horror. “NOOOO!” she wailed as she fell to her knees. “Are you serious about that?” Yepperoni! Pinkie said, going from sounding depressed to her usual cheery self. So, you got a date with Spitfire tonight, huh? Dash groaned. "And of course you can read my thoughts.” It’s more like seeing, actually, Pinkie said. Or thinking? I dunno how it works, really, but yeah, I can tell what you’re thinking. Before Dash could really worry about the idea of Pinkie Pie, of all ponies, knowing her inner most thoughts, Twilight returned to the throne room, looking depressed. “Rainbow Dash,” she said, her voice filled with sadness, “I’ve got some bad news.” “Yeah,” Rainbow sighed, “I know. Pinkie just told me.” Twilight blinked. “Wait, Pinkie’s still in there?” she asked, starting to get excited. Yepperoni! Pinkie exclaimed. Twilight cocked an eyebrow at Dash’s eyeroll. “Is she saying something right now?” “Yeah,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, her pink face turning a little bit pinker as she realized she’d have to talk for the mare. “She just said, and I quote ‘Yepperoni’. End quote.” “Fascinating,” Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “If only I had a clipboard!” Oh! Oh! Oh! Pinkie cried, her volume causing Dash to wince. There’s one in your hair! “What?” Rainbow Dash asked once she’d recovered from the internal ear assault. Just check your hair! Pinkie chirped. Dash stood still for a few moments, before shrugging, deciding to play along. Meh, it’s Pinkie. She reached into her hair and felt around until her hoof came into contact with something. She grasped it and pulled it out to discover that it was a clipboard. Her jaw dropped as she realized it was actually there, like Pinkie had said and the fact that she’d just done something only Pinkie was ever known for. Twilight gasped. "You can do that?” she asked. “That must be because of Pinkie!” Rainbow shrugged and looked at the paper that was in the clipboard, before frowning. “Okay then,” she said, passing it to Twilight. “Pinkie officially freaks me out.” Twilight took the clipboard in her magic and scanned what was on it. She frowned. “This has information on the fusion!” she looked to Dash, or more specifically, the mare she knew would be seeing her through Dash’s eyes. “That shouldn’t have been there. Even by Pinkie standards!” Meh, I was able to put down the info onto that clipboard as we fused. Dash could swear Pinkie was mentally shrugging. It’s complicated. “Yeah, obviously,” Rainbow Dash said. Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “What?” she asked. Then realization dawned on her. “Oh! Right, you can hear Pinkie.” “Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said. Hey, what time is it? Pinkie asked. Rainbow Dash sighed and looked at the clock. Wow, isn’t your date in an hour? Dash blinked, before looking to the clock again and her eyes bulged. “Yeah. Twi, I need to go!” She paused and glanced at Twilight. “Can I go? My date is in an hour!” Twilight sighed. “If you really think you should, then sure,” she shook her head. “But whoever it is might not believe that you’re you, Dash. You don’t exactly look the same anymore." Dash blink, before she frowned in worry. “Yeah. You got a point.” She glanced at her flank, before grinning. “Oh, I could just show them my cutie mark. It’s a little different, but it still has the lightning bolt! Once I explain, I’m sure they’ll understand.” Twilight blinked, before facehoofing. "Well, that show’s you’ve a lot of faith in this pony.” Twilight rubbed her chin for a moment. “I’ll keep studying these notes from Pinkie. The fusion might be irreversible now, but maybe I can figure something out. I did manage to crack Star Swirl’s unfinished Alicorn spell, after all.” She blinked, before frowning “Who is this date anyway?” Rainbow Dash blushed, not really expecting to have to reveal her love life so suddenly. It’s Spitfire! Pinkie yelled, causing Dash’s blush to turn into a frown. “She can’t hear you, remember?” she told Pinkie, before sighing. “Anyway, it... it’s Spitfire.” Twilight nodded. “Makes sense.” Then she blinked, before giggling. “Well, at least you’ll be able to keep your relationship interesting.” > Date Night > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow shot through the sky towards her home. Flying wasn’t quite as easy as it used to be, though she guessed that was because she was now both a Pegasus and an Earth Pony. Those weren’t her worries though. Her worries were about her date. What if she doesn't want to date me? she thought. I just got merged with my one of my best friends! How do you just accept something like that?! Ah, don't worry! Pinkie chirped. Dash almost dropped out of the sky. What the—? Wait, you can hear my thoughts as well?! she thought. Yepperoni! Pinkie replied cheerily. "Well, this’ll be awkward," Rainbow mumbled aloud. Eh, maybe not, Dash somehow just knew she was shrugging. It'll only get awkward if you try to have sex with Spitfire. Or if I make you horny. I dunno if I can do that, but I try that out later! "Ugh, I hope you can't do that!" the pink Pegasus groaned. "Don't you dare try to do that!" Pinkie giggled. Maybe I will. And Maybe I won't! Hehehe! Rainbow did her best to ignore the fear at just what Pinkie might do and pushed on ahead. Rainbow finally arrived at the restaurant, panting from the effort of trying to get here with so little time left. After taking a while of deciding if she should dress up or do something to her hair, she’d finally decided to try and comb her hair down. It didn't work. Nothing did. Her hair just wouldn't go down! "Dang it Pinkie!" she had said. "How do you comb your hair?" Pinkie had giggled. I don't! she'd replied. Putting the previous couple minutes behind and looking around her present surroundings, Dash eyed the tables, trying to decide on a good place when Spitfire landed besides her, glancing around in confused. "Hey, Spitfire," Rainbow Dash said without thinking. Spitfire turned at the address and looked over Dash, confusion playing across her face. "Hi," she said uncertainly. "Do I know you?" "It's me! Rainbow Dash!" the pink Pegasus said, her voice squeaking a bit with worry upon remembering her predicament. She didn’t want things to go badly and it was off to a really bad start if her date couldn’t even tell it was her. Spitfire frowned, clearly not believing it if the skeptical expression was any indication. The yellow mare looked her up and down, clearly taking note of the multi hued mane, but the raised eyebrow indicating further confusion at the style. Finally, she looked at her cutie mark. She blinked, before glancing to Dash’s face. “Dash?” Rainbow nodded frantically. Spitfire narrowed her eyes. “How do I know it’s you? For all I know, you could be a changeling who really messed up their cover.” “Binky bones,” Dash said with a straight face. At once, Spitefire’s eyes widened in horror and she looked around as if to make sure nopony had heard. Nopony seemed to be paying them any mind. Taking a deep breath, Spitfire opened her eyes, a look of shock having entered them as she turned to the pink mare, who was smirking. "I... Oh, wow, it really is you!" she gasped. She looked Dash up and down. "What happened to you?" Rainbow Dash looked away. "Earlier today I kinda asked Twilight to change me into a griffin for a few minutes, but something went wrong and my body got fused with one of my friends." "How long is this going to last?" Spitfire asked, a curious look in her eyes. Forever and ever! Pinkie singsonged. Dash looked down dejectedly. "It's permanent." Spitfire’s eyes widened. “Seriously?” Dash just kept looking down."Can we just go get a table?" Spitfire wasn’t used to seeing Dash so depressed. She moved over and put a comforting wing over the other mare. "Sure. Come on.” She called over a waiter who guided them to their seat. Once they’d sat down, they took a menu each. Spitfire ended up ordering, as Dash seemed to have spaced out since coming clean about the fusion. As the waiter left to place their orders with the chef, the Wonderbolt turned to the other mare. “So... how does this fusion work, exactly?” Dash just slumped forward, her mane flatting a little. “From Pinkie’s notes, she and I fully became one. Ya know how Alicorns are part Pegasus, unicorn and Earth Pony all put together.” Spitfire nodded. Dash sighed. “Kinda the same, only with just Earth Pony and Pegasus. I didn’t read a lot of the notes myself... or understand much, really.” Well, if we’d stayed with Twilight, I’m sure she’d have told us, Pinkie pipped in. “And why would she have told you?” Dash asked out loud without thinking. “You wrote them, Pinkie. Shouldn’t you know about them?” Spitfire gave the other mare a very confused look. “Oh, right,” Dash said, seeing the odd look on her date’s face and pointing up to her own head. “Pinkie’s still in here. She talks and it’s like I’m the only one that hears her.” Spitfire blinked, before shuddering. “I dunno if I could handle another pony inside my head. Doesn’t that get confusing?” “You have no idea,” Dash muttered. There was silence for a few moments as they both tried to think about what to say next. After their drinks had been poured and she’d taken a sip of her wine, Spitfire decided the best way to get her date out of her funk was a bit of fun. "Did you know that you're more attractive like this?" she asked. Rainbow jerked up, blushing and Pinkie giggled again. "No," Rainbow Dash said, the pink fur on her face being joined by red as she blushed hard. “You really think I’m attractive like this?" Spitfire nodded. Then she frowned, scratching her chin. "By the way, do you want me to call you Rainbow Dash, or should I call you something like.... Rainbow Pie?" I like that! Pinkie exclaimed. "Sure, Rainbow Pie sounds good," Rainbow Dash, or Rainbow Pie now, said a bit uninterested. At least, that’s probably how it looked to anyone on the outside. Truthfully, she was recovering from Pinkie screaming in her mind. Celestia, it was worse than having somepony shouting in your ear. "Well then, I say we get on with this date," Spitfire said seductively. Rainbow Pie found it very hard to keep her wings at her side and vaguely suspected Pinkie had a part to play in that. "After all, I can't let an attractive friend be depressed because of some kind of strange body fusion or whatever." The rest of the night went pretty well, Rainbow thought to herself. Dinner had gone fine enough, with both ponies chatting about things that had recently happened (aside from the obvious) and the food had been pretty good. Rainbow had found herself flustered a lot during their conversations and she just knew Pinkie was behind it. At one point she’d had to excuse herself to use the little filly’s room and splash some cold water on her face. Pinkie’s giggles had told her everything she’d needed to know. After dinner, they’d just hung around the town, doing a bit of sightseeing. Throughout it all, Pinkie kept interrupting their conversations, resulting in Rainbow responding to her. At one point they went off for a flight around the city. It was a beautiful sight at night. After a while, they decided to call it a night and flew out of the city. As Rainbow Pie and Spitfire flew towards Rainbow Pie's cloud house, Rainbow thought of something. "Wait, where will you sleep?" she asked. Spitfire glanced at her with a shrug. "I was kinda hoping I could crash here," she said. "It's either this, or a hotel down in Ponyville, since I won’t be able to get back to the compond at this hour." "No, you can stay here!" Rainbow Pie said, almost too excitedly. "All the hotels around here aren't too good anyway." Dashie, how could you?! the pink mare winced at Pinkie’s scolding shout. How would Mild Décor feel if she heard you say that?! “Sorry, sorry!” Dash said, holding her head. Jeez, she’d have to be more careful before saying something so callous. Spitfire cocked an eyebrow. “That was Pinkie” Rainbow replied. “I kinda upset her there. And you’re going to apologize to her tomorrow,Pinkie said as if speaking with a foal who’d been caught with their hoof in the cookie jar. This is going to be a long night, Rainbow thought dejectedly. And not for the reasons I want. > The morning after > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- When the sun rose the next morning, Rainbow Pie opened her eyes. The first (and only) thing she saw was Spitfire’s face. Yay! Pinkie exclaimed, causing to Rainbow wince. Snuggles! Pinkie, please don’t yell, Rainbow thought with a groan. Before she could say anymore, however, her stomach growled, and Spitfire stirred. She opened her eyes and smiled. “I’m guessing you’re hungry?” she asked. Rainbow Pie blushed lightly. “Yeah,” she chuckled. “Sorry.” Spitfire raised an eyebrow. “For what?” “For waking you,” Rainbow replied. “Aww,” Spitfire cooed. “It’s okay. You don’t need to be sorry.” “Okay,” Rainbow stretched a bit. “Well, I should probably make breakfast.” Spitfire nodded. The next half hour was filled with the smell of pancakes and syrup being made. “These are good!” Spitfire said after a bite. “Yeah, I think I somehow got some of Pinkie’s cooking skills,” Rainbow said as she flipped another pancake off the pan and onto a plate. Spitfire raised an eyebrow. “Really? Interesting.” Before their conversation could continue, there was some knocking on the front door. Both Spitfire and Rainbow Pie looked at the door, then at each other. “Are you expecting anyone?” Spitfire asked. “No,” Rainbow shook her head. “Did anyone know you were going to stay here?” “I don’t think so,” Spitfire said, putting a hoof to her chin in thought. The nocking started up again. Shrugging, Rainbow walked out of the kitchen, towards the door, her thoughts on who it could be. Probably Twilight, she thought, shaking her head. Probably wants to know how things are going with all this. When she opened the door, however, she was met with a surprise. “Uh, hi,” Gilda said, looking confused. “Is Rainbow Dash here?” Rainbow Pie stared at her, unsure how to respond. After a few seconds Gilda repeated the question. “Is Rainbow Dash here?” She looked down at a sheet of paper held in her right claw. “This is the address she gave me last time I was here.” Rainbow shook her head. “Uh, sorry. Yeah, I’m here.” Gilda frowned. “You’re not Rainbow Dash. You may have a rainbow mane and tail and have a voice like hers, but you’re not her. Are you a cousin or something? Is she on vacation and you’re just watching over the place or whatever?” Rainbow finally caught up with herself, her eyes narrowing at the griffon. “Yeah, that’s because of something that happened yesterday. Basically, I got merged with one of my best friends. Pinkie Pie, to be exact.” Gilda just deadpanned. “You honestly expect me to believe that?” “When you first came to Flight Camp you were nervous about being around ponies,” Rainbow retorted. “It wasn’t until I stood up for you that you got any confidence, Gil, and we began good friends.” She snorted, looking away. “Or, at least I thought we had, before you came back and were horrible to all my new friends.” Gilda’s beak dropped open. “Dash?” The pink, rainbow maned mare nodded, her expression still cold. Gilda looked like her brain was struggling to comprehend what she’d been told. “Wait, so… that’s possible? And with Pinkie?” “You remember her name?” Rainbow Pie asked curtly, as Pinkie gasped and exclaimed She remembers my name? causing Rainbow Pie to flinch. “It was an accident, but we got merged together, with Pinkie inside my head.” “You can still hear her?” Gilda’s eyes widened. “Can she hear me?” Of course, silly! Pinkie chirped. “Yes, she can hear you,” Rainbow replied firmly. “What did you want, Gilda?” Gilda’s expression suddenly became one of frustration and… shame? The griffon sighed. “Yeah… look, Dash, I… I’m sorry for how I acted back then. I… dammit, this is hard!” She shook her head, before looking Rainbow in the eyes. “I was a jerk. You were the only real friend I ever had and when all your pony friends starting getting so close, I felt like they were trying to take you away from me.” Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “You really expect me tobelieve that was your reason?” Gilda stood firm. “It’s true. What do you expect? I’m a griffon, we’re greedy by nature. I let my Griffon Greed and my experiences from before cloud my judgement and didn’t think of things beyond that.” What about when you took that apple without paying or that mean prank you pulled on Granny Smith?! What about screaming at Fluttershy?! Was that your greed, too?! Pinkie yelled, the suddenly anger causing Dash to wince and voice what Pinkie asked on an impulse. Gilda blinked, before looking down at the cloud floor. “Yeah. I… I let my greed go too far. And, I’m guessing that old mare is the one you’re talking about, so… yeah. Looking back on it now, that was a pretty cruel prank to pull on and old…” her expression sagged. “That old mare is alright, isn’t she?” “She’s fine,” Rainbow replied curtly. Gilda looked relieved and let out a breath, before looking down again. “Remember how, back in Flight Camp, I told you life wasn’t exactly easy, back home? Rainbow nodded. Gilda sighed. “Well, I wasn’t joking. Like I said, we griffons are greedy by nature and Griffonstone isn’t exactly the most friendly place to grow up.” Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “You’re point?” Gilda groaned, facepalming. “Why does talking about emotions gotta be so freaking hard?” She let out a breath and continued. “Well, after Flight Camp, I never really got to leave Griffonstone again. I got stuck helping Grandpa Gruff because the old vulture’s getting pretty senile in his old age. I hated it and was stuck around griffons for so long , I… I guess I forgot what friendship really meant.” She looked firmly at Rainbow, shame still present. “So, when I came to Ponyville last time and saw how many other ponies were your friends… yeah. My experiences with my own kind didn’t help matters.” “So,” Rainbow said, her voice no longer cold, but not really friendly either, “after you left town in a huff?” Gilda sighed, looking away. “I returned home… and, after a long while, started realizing the way other griffons, including Grandpa Gruff, were treating me, it made me realize just how horrible I was being to you and the ponies in this town.” She looked up at Rainbow. “Especially Pinkie Pie.” Dashie, Pinkie said quietly, Gilda does seem genuine. Rainbow looked sternly at Gilda for a few moments, before she sighed and gave a nod. “Okay. But, you’re going to have to make it up to the town, ya hear me? Especially Fluttershy.” Gilda nodded, her expression firming a little. “I promise, Dash, I’ll do what I can to make up for what I did last time. I… don’t have any bits, but I’ll work to pay for that apple I took.” Rainbow eyed her for a few more moments, before nodding and gave a small smile. “Deal.” Gilda sighed, before giving a grin of her own. “So, are you better at pranking now, or is her personality not a part of yours?” “Um, I haven’t tried pranking since the fusion,” Rainbow said, rubbing her chin with a hoof. “And Pinkie’s personality is still her own.” “And you can really hear Pinkie?” Gilda asked. Rainbow shrugged. “Yeah. She talks to me, but nopony else can hear her. Anyway, uh, do you want to hang out later? I kinda got a date over right now, and it would be kinda weird for everypony if you came in now.” Gilda blinked. “Date? Wait, seriously?” Rainbow nodded. “Okay,” she scratched behind her neck. “Guess I can try making up for what I did last time during then. When I’m done, what time do you want me to come over at?"