An old... associate of Twilight Comet's comes to visit
Twilight Comet is a pegasus who likes her schedule and plans. So when an old face -- and one she is not too fond of -- shows up and throws her for a loop, she is now sure how to handle it.
Before her alarm clock could even finish the first note, Twilight Comet was wide awake. With a practiced flick of her wing, she turned it off before rolling out of her bed to start her morning routine.
Making her way through the hayloft turned studio apartment, the pegasus made her way to the kitchenette and the refrigerator. Grabbing a blueberry turnover, she stuck it in the toaster oven to warm up. Next, she grabbed a bottle of juice (and made a mental note that she was going to have to get more), then made her way to the open loft door.
There she began her morning routine. First, her stretches: wings; legs; back; even neck and shoulders. All thoroughly stretched out and warmed up. Next were some basic exercises: push-ups, wing-ups, and crunches, currently at twenty-five each. By the time Twilight was finished, the turnover would have cooled enough to touch, but still be nice and warm. As she ate, she also did her weight training: each wing was stretched out as far as it could, with a small weight suspended from the tips. It would also allow her to watch the sunrise as she did.
With the warm-ups done, Twilight made her way to the edge of the loft door, her wings flicking and twitching to work out the strain from her weight work. As she stood on the edge, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting the crisp morning air of Sweet Apple Acres fill her lungs. There was always a hint of fresh apples in the morning dew.
Then she took off. With a flap of her wings, she jumped from the loft and into the air. Slowly, she drifted over the farm, allowing herself to relax and take in the peace of the early morning. It was as if she were the only pony in the whole world.
As always, a part of her was tempted to just enjoy the moment. To simply forget the rest of her morning exercise regiment and enjoy a casual relaxing flight. And as always, that part was acknowledge and out-voted. After all, there was a purpose to her exercises and discipline. She had to keep in shape and be a skilled flier.
The Wonderbolts did not accept slackers. Only the best of the best.
Reaching the fence line, Twilight Comet landed on one of the posts. Slowly she pulled her wings in, trying to balance on top without them. It always took some effort for that part, but she could do it. Once she was balanced with her wings tucked in, Twilight lowered herself into the ready position for racing.
`Three...two...one... GO!
Twilight pushed off hard, shoving against the post with all of her coiled strength. Her wings unfurled from her side and flapped with all her might, launching her forward. Her body kept tense as she pushed her front legs out before her and stretched her hind legs straight back.
Keeping close to the top of the fence, Twilight Comet followed along the length of it. Her eyes narrowed as her mind worked. She calculated her speed based off the regular spacing between each post, compared that to the known distance of the entire fence length from start to finish, took into account the ninety-degree turns at the corners, and ran that against the mental list she made of intended maneuvers for the day.
At the first corner, she turned to keep following the fence, trying to get the maneuver as tight and fast as possible in case she was ever on the inside of a pegasus formation or had to work with a narrow opening. Once she had regained the lost momentum and was at full speed again, she moved down to follow along the inside of the fence between two of the crossbeams.
Now!
Throwing herself hard, Twilight twisted her body. Her wings flapped hard one last time before pulling tight against her body.
Her body slipped back first right through one of the spaces in the fence, fitting between the poles and the crossbeams without actually hitting any of them (although not quite perfectly centered yet). On the other side of the fence, she continued her spin before getting back upright and snapped her wings back out again. Once properly oriented, she climbed up above the fence line again, centering herself above it.
She adjusted her wings to send her into spiral, turning over and righting herself again. It was almost perfect, but she would have to do some more fine tuning.
Again, she shifted her wings. This time she slowly turned as she made her way higher and higher up into the air. Her underside pointed outward as she went. For a moment, she was lined up with the morning sun, feeling the warmth of the light soaking into her stomach and chest. Then, the moment passed and she continued her slow, climbing turn until she was at the pinnacle and upside down.
As she started to move toward her descent, Twilight suddenly got the feeling that there was somepony else close by.
"Hey dweeb," a voice suddenly said. "What's up?"
The voice sounded somehow familiar, but Twilight could not place it right away. As was being called "dweeb." Only one creature had ever called her that so passively...
"Gilda?!" she cried out, eyes going wide as she saw the griffon flying above her.
"Boo."
Twilight's entire body tensed up at the sight of Gilda flying above her with that smirk on her face. Her wings straightened out and locked in place, which would have allowed her to glide if she had been flying straight to begin with.
Instead the angle and tension caused her controlled descent to make her lurch, throwing her off balance and shifting off position. With a yelp, she threw herself in the opposite direction, trying to get herself back in position. Instead it threw her further off, causing her to fly into the nearby orchard.
Eyes wide and body frozen, Twilight Comet could only watch as she flew directly into a tree.
There was a flash of light in front of her as she hit, the impact causing the entire tree to shake before Twilight fell to the ground. With a groan she lifted her head, trying to get back up.
An apple fell on her, then another, followed by dozens. What must have been three or four bushels worth dropped from the tree, and all of them directly onto Twilight Comet.
As she was being buried alive, she could hear the sound of laughter.
(If there was a theme song, this is where it would go)
Twilight Comet thought of herself as a rational and logical mare.
Admittedly, yes there were times when she would get a little neurotic and let her imagination get the best of her. Such as when she had first met Rainbow Burst. Twilight had been so caught up in reading Mysteries of Meteorology and Wonders of Weather -- specifically, an article that theorized that there was a perpetual wind high up in the atmosphere (which if harnessed could increase travel distance in one direction) -- that she had been late in starting work on her cloud clearing for The Summer Sun Celebration. Plus, she had shushed a representative of Princess Celestia's. She was late and had been disrespectful. As soon as her boss had found out, she would have had a mark on her record. She would have been fired. Nopony else would ever hire her because she now had a black mark. Worse, she would never be able to join The Wonderbolts. She would be forced to leave Equestria, or get a job of questionable reputation.
None of that ever happened, but it was what she had thought at the time.
However, barring the occasional bout of paranoia or panic attacks when her neurosis and anxieties got the better of her, Twilight Comet tried to look at things with ration and reason, trying to come up with the most logical explanation possible.
As far as she was concerned, there was only one explanation for what was happening.
I'm dreaming, Twilight concluded as she laid in the darkness. That has to be it. Just a dream. Any second now, I'll wake up and find myself back in my loft, on the floor, tangled up in my sheets. Yes. That has to be it. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and moved to get back up.
Opening her eyes, the apples stayed apples, and the orchard stayed an orchard. Even Gilda was still there, picking up an apple and taking a bite. The griffon stood there as she chewed, her golden eyes focused on the emerging pegasus.
Not a dream then, Twilight thought with a sigh. Pushing her wings out, she shoved the rest of her apples away as she stepped forward. Ears pulled back, she straightened up to look at Gilda.
"What are you doing here?"
Gilda shifted to sit, balancing on her hind legs as she brought the empty eagle claw to her chest, her beak open in an expression of (mock) pain.
"Can't I just stop by to see an old friend?" Gilda asked.
"We weren't exactly what I would call 'friends,'" Twilight said as she shook off the crash. "As I recall, you basically forced me to do your flight camp homework for you, then refused to let anypony else bully me because I was your 'egghead dweeb.'"
"See, it wasn't all bad," Gilda replied with a smirk (how did she do that with a beak?). "I kept other ponies from picking on you."
A snort escaped Twilight as she rolled her eyes.
"Seriously," Gilda said. "I was on my way to Equestria anyways, heard about the whole" -- she did this odd thing with her claws that Twilight did not under stand -- "'saving the world from eternal darkness' thing or whatever, so I thought I'd stop by and hang out for a while. See how you're doing, and all that."
Taking a step closer, Twilight's eyes narrowed as she looked at the griffon.
"And if you happen to get a little bit of fame and celebrity by proxy?"
"Pfft," Gilda huffed out as she pushed Twilight away from her. "Come on, Twi. You really think I care what a bunch of lame little ponies think of me?"
Twilight was tempted to argue, but it was rather difficult. As long as she had known Gilda, there had always been an attitude of... contempt?... toward ponies. Certainly a sense of superiority. Pretty much saw all of them as "lame," as she would put it.
"The fact you're this whole 'big hero'" -- Gilda repeated the motion -- "just means that you aren't as much of a big dweeb as the rest of them. You're still not cool, but you're not as lame as you used to be."
High praise, indeed. thought Twilight, shaking her head.
"Okay," she said instead. "Assuming what you're saying is true, then how did you find me?"
"That was easy," Gilda replied. "The paper mentioned the whole thing happened in Ponyville, so I knew that. The rest was just flying high enough and waiting to see your butt trail."
A blush formed on Twilight's face at the colorful choice of names for her contrail.
"Really," continued Gilda, "I thought it would take longer. Leave it up to your uptight attitude to making it easy for me."
She moved closer to Twilight Comet, a wing reaching out to poke the pegasus in the side.
"Come on. We can hang out, you can show me around, maybe I can even get you to have some actual fun for a change."
"I have fun!" Twilight snapped. "I have lots of fun!"
"Right, sure, whatever you say," Gilda replied in a tone Twilight recognized as not believing her at all. "So how 'bout it?"
A -- rather large -- part of Twilight Comet was very tempted to say no. After all, Gilda was not exactly what she would call a "friend." A more accurate description would be "antagonistic associate." Yes, they knew each other, but it was mostly because one -- Gilda -- forced another -- Twilight -- to do things for her in exchange for not "pounding you into pony paste" as Gilda had put it on several occasions. The only upside was that if any others tried to bully Twilight, Gilda would scare them off, most often with threats of gelding. All the same, the griffon's behavior was never friendly or kind.
At the same time, another part of Twilight wanted to agree. It had been years since she and Gilda had seen each other. It was possible that Gilda had changed in that time. Twilight certainly had. She was not quite as much of a shy introvert as she had been back in flight camp. This could have been Gilda's awkward way of trying to build an actual friendship with somepony that she had sort of known in the past.
Still another part of her pointed out that if she was with Gilda, she would be able to keep an eye on the griffon and make sure she did not cause too much trouble around Ponyville.
"Okay," Twilight sighed out. "Just let me tell somepony about the apples here so they don't end up rotting on the ground, then I can give you a tour of Ponyville."
"Sounds like a plan. Lead on."
Moving away from Gilda and the apples, Twilight took off and started flying toward the farmhouse. The Apples would want to know that the fruit of one tree had been knocked free. Even if they were bruised and could not be sold, there was no reason to let them rot and go to waste. The family could eat them, or Applejack could use them for juice or pies.
Applejack!
Turning her head, she looked back.
"Uh... Gilda? Did you happen to see anypony else when you came to see me?"
"No," Gilda answered. "Like I said, I caught sight of your butt trail thing--"
"Contrail."
"-- whatever -- and came straight to you." She then smirked. "At which point you went straight into a tree." Her eyes then narrowed. "Why?"
"...Just... wondering..." Twilight replied. She put on a smile before looking away. Her pace slowed down as she went. If her timetables were right, the entire Apple family would be up by now and eating breakfast. By slowing down, Twilight was trying to time it so that they would arrive after everypony had finished eating, but before they started on their chores for the day. Then she could tell one of them, and they could go out to the crash spot and pick up the apples.
She just had to hope that Applejack was busy with the dishes or something that kept her from seeing Gilda.
Reaching the farmhouse, Twilight landed in front of the steps, followed by Gilda not too far behind.
"Uhm..." Twilight turned to Gilda, "...maybe you should wait out here?"
"Pff, fine. Whatever." Shifting, Gilda sat in the grass of the front yard.
Hopefully that deals with that danger, Twilight thought as she made her way up the porch. Before she could touch the door, it opened to reveal Big Macintosh standing there.
"Oh. Hey Ma--ACK!" Twilight cried out as she was suddenly shoved aside by Gilda.
"Well, hello," Gilda purred out with a grin. "Aren't you big for a pony." She leaned in. "You know, I don't normally go in for prey species, but I could just eat you up... in other ways." She gave a wink.
Macintosh's lips pursed as his gaze shifted to take in the griffon in front of him. One of his wings gave a flicker.
"Enope," he said as he turned around and walked back into the farmhouse. "Nope, nope, nope, nope."
Quick as she could, Twilight got up from where she had landed and shot for the door. She was just in time to see Big Mac disappear into the kitchen.
"Uh, Gilda?" Twilight said. "Maybe you should--"
"What the hay is going on?" Applejack called out as she stepped out. "Big Mac just came into the kitchen repeating 'nope' and practically shove-- YOU!"
"HEY!" Gilda called out with a grin. "If it ain't good ol' Crabby Snack. How ya doing?"
Instead of giving a coherent answered, Applejack let out a bellow of rage. Wings flapping, she shot forward, flying through the house to tackle Gilda and slam her into the front lawn. Raising up a forehoof, she slammed it into the griffon's beak.
Pinning Gilda to the ground and straddling her, Applejack raised one of her front hooves and brought it down, slamming it into Gilda's beak, and eliciting a squawk from the griffon. Applejack then pulled back to punch her again. And again. And again.
"Lousy no good varmint!" she shouted as she continued to pound Gilda in the face. "Show you! Ain't a filly you can push around no more."
"Applejack!" Twilight called out, getting over the initial shock of what was happening. Jumping forward, she grabbed the other mare. "Applejack, stop!" Her wings flapped as she pulled, tugging Applejack with her to pull her off of Gilda.
"Let go a'me!" Applejack snapped as she kicked and squirmed in Twilight's grasp. "I'm finally gonna teach that no good cat-buzzard a thing 'r two. Make her into a rug."
"What in the name of Celestia is going on out here?!"
The sound of Granny Smith shouting caused the two ponies to freeze, both turning to look at the porch. There was the old mare, as well as Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom. The last was staring out from under her brother's legs, eyes wide and mouth hanging open slightly.
Twilight suddenly felt Applejack go limp in her grasp, all of the fight going out of her. Letting her go, Twilight moved over to Gilda.
"Are you okay?"
Shifting her head, Gilda looked up at Twilight Comet. One of her gold colored eyes focused on the mare easily, the other one squeezed shut as the skin around it had already started to swell. Her beak was bleeding and had some small cracks on it as she smirked. The smirk turned into a chuckle, then a full laugh.
"...Gilda?" Twilight asked, blinking in confusion.
"That was awesome," Gilda laughed out as she got back up. She turned to Applejack. "Didn't know you had it in you, girl. Way to go."
"As interestin' as all this is," Granny Smith snapped, "it don't explain what's goin' on!"
"Oh, right," Twilight said, letting out a chuckle. "This is Gilda, a griffon... acquaintance of Applejack and I from back in flight camp. Gilda, this is Applejack's family: Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, and Apple Bloom. Gilda came by to visit for a bit." She gasps. "Which reminds me, there was a collision with one of the trees and it knocked all the fruit off."
"I'll go pick 'em up," Applejack said as she got up.
"I'll help," Apple Bloom declared as she shot forward from the porch.
"No," Applejack said, holding out a wing. "Why don't you go play, or help Mac with the cart or somethin'."
"But Applejack," the filly started to whine.
"I just need some time to work alone."
Before the conversation could go any further, Applejack walked off, heading into the orchard and disappearing among the tree. Apple Bloom stood there, watching with a look of confusion on her face.
"Applejack?" Apple Bloom turned toward her grandmother and brother. "What's going on?"
"Now don't you worry none Apple Bloom," Granny said softly. "Your sister just needs some time alone to clear her head is all. Now you come on back in and help me with the dishes." She turned to look at Gilda and smiled. "I'm afraid your too late to join us for breakfast, but if you're still around this evening, maybe you can join us for supper."
"Seriously?" Gilda said as she watched the old mare hobble back into the house. "She comes out here, finds me and Butter Rum fighting, and just invites me to have dinner with them? She's not going to ask anything else about it? Not even to know why she attacked me?"
"Would you rather she did?" Twilight asked, tilting to raise an eyebrow at Gilda. "Get mad and make you tell her why Applejack was attacking you? Maybe decide to 'teach ya a thing 'er two,' as she would put it?"
"Pft," Gilda huffed with a roll of her eyes. "What could some old nag teach me?"
"Just hope you never wind up on the receiving end of one of her wooden spoons. Now come on." Getting up, Twilight started for the gate. "I can introduce you to another friend, and she should be able to patch you up."
*****
Landing in the spot near where the crash occurred, Applejack looked around. From what she knew, she could make out some of what happened. The size of the gap in the pile of apples gave a pretty good idea of where Twilight had been when they had fallen from the tree. Looking closer, she was also able to find several long, dark purple hairs in the bark.
Most of the apples were bruised, and it looked like a few at the bottom were pretty badly damaged. She could go through and look at them. The lightly bruised ones could be used for cooking, the heavily bruised ones could be juiced, and any that busted open would go to the cows and pigs. Now she just needed to start putting them in baskets and--
With a groan, Applejack smacked herself in the face with a hoof. The baskets. She had forgotten to grab any baskets when she came out here.
It was no big deal. All the others would be back to their daily routines by now. She could fly to the barn, grab some baskets, and come back to work without running into anypony else. No problem.
Except, that was not how things were going to go. As Applejack came to land by the barn, she found Big Macintosh there. He was standing next to the open doors, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't want to hear it!" Applejack snapped as she stomped past her brother and into the barn.
Big Macintosh moved into the doorway, then shifted to lean against the jamb. Tilting his head, the eyebrow climbed higher.
"Course I didn't plan on losing my temper and attacking her like that," Applejack said. "I didn't plan it at all. Definitely not in front of Granny, and especially not in front of Apple Bloom. That girl looks up to us and we need to be good role models for her."
One of Macintosh's ears twitched.
"I don't know why I did it!" Applejack yelled as she turned to glare at him.
Macintosh's lips pursed as his eyes narrowed. This got a sigh from Applejack as she returned her attention to the baskets.
"Okay. I kinda know why. I mean, she was a real pain in the plot back in flight school. But I thought I was over it. I didn't forget about it, but every time I looked back on it, it just all seemed so stupid and foalish. Didn't even seem like it was worth gettin' upset over. If you had asked me yesterday, I woulda' told you I was fine. Forgiven and forgotten."
Grabbing two of the empty containers, she pulled them from stacks of others. Her ears drooped as she took a deep breath.
"But... when I saw her, it... it all just kinda came rushin' back. Not what she said exactly, but the anger, and fear, and even the frustration that I couldn't do anything about it. It all came flooding back, 'cept now I could do something about it. She had kind of picked on and insulted me, and I just wanted to make her hurt."
Applejack stopped as she closed her eyes. Her breath hitched in her throat and she could feel the tears starting. She was not going to cry. Not now. Not because of her. She was a big, strong, tough mare, and she swore she would never cry again.
Once the feeling had passed, she returned her attention to the baskets. Even though she was not looking, she could still feel her brother's presence at the doorway.
"Fine," Applejack huffed out. "I'll talk to Apple Bloom about it later, and try to apologize to that buz..." she coughed "...to Gilda. Just don't go thinkin' we're gonna be friends or anything. The best she's gonna get is cold civility."
Getting a hold of the baskets, she turned to the barn door and started to walk toward it.
Big Macintosh moved to stand in front of her. Before she could say anything else, he moved forward to place his neck against hers, his wings spreading wide to pull her into a hug. A smile tugged at Applejack's mouth as she leaned into it, moving to return the favor.
"A'right," Applejack said as she finally pulled away. "That's enough mush, ya big ol' softy, you. I've got work to do, and so do you."
"Eyup," Macintosh agreed as he turned to go, leaving his sister to her work.
Feeling a little better, Applejack returned to getting the baskets and heading back into the orchard.
Twilight and Gilda took off as they left Sweet Apple Acres, flying above the road that headed for Ponyville. Twilight Comet took the lead as she knew where they were going. Neither of them really spoke as they went. Not that Twilight minded too much. She was kind of caught up in her own thoughts. So much so, she barely noticed the pair of ponies walking down the road.
A sudden rustling sound from behind her got Twilight's attention. Turning to look back, she saw the road was empty.
"Gilda?"
Reversing her flight, she made her way toward the closest tree. Dropping low, Twilight looked up into the branches. Sprawled out in them was Gilda, plucking leaves and twigs from her coat.
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked as she moved to grab a branch. "What happened?"
Gilda tensed at the sound of Twilight's voice, jumping slightly as she turned to look at her. One of her claws gripped at the branch beneath her, digging furrows into the bark, while the other resumed plucking at her feathers. Her wings flickered at her side as her tail gave a twitch.
"Fine," Gilda finally declared. "I'm just fine. Of course I am. Why wouldn't it be?"
"...You're in a tree..."
"Okay." Shifting in her spot, Gilda licked at her lips and out past the leaves. "So... maybe your little farmer friend hit me a couple times harder than I thought. Maybe -- maybe -- it left me a little wobbly. Add in the fact that I can't completely see and there was a slight cross-breeze, and maybe my flying was thrown off."
The statement made Twilight Comet narrow her eyes and look at Gilda for a long moment. The biggest thing that bothered her about the griffon's statement was that it was admitting weakness. The Gilda that Twilight had known always had to be the biggest and toughest creature around. On one hoof, this could be an actual sign that she had changed. On the other, it sounded like she was making an excuse. If that was the case, then what was Gilda hiding that she would be willing to claim dizziness and disorientation from the fight?
There was also the minor issue in that there had been no cross-breeze. At least as far as Twilight was able to tell.
A thought came to Twilight.
"Well, if you don't feel up to flying," she said slowly, "we can walk the rest of the way." It would be hard for a griffon like Gilda to move at the slower pace of walking.
From her spot in the tree, Gilda threw her head back and groaned out.
"Can't you, like, be my guide pegasus or something? Tie a rope around yourself and make sure I don't drift too far?"
"First, I'm not doing that," Twilight replied. "Second, if you really are suffering from dizziness and disorientation, then you shouldn't be flying at all. You might crash into something or even drop to the ground."
"Fiiiiiine," Gilda huffed out, rolling her eyes. "We'll walk." She started climbing down. "Just hope that this place your taking me isn't too far away."
"Walking's not going to kill you," Twilight retorted as she dropped from the tree. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be athletic or something? Shouldn't that mean that you are in enough shape for a hike?"
"I can walk just fine," Gilda declared as she landed. "It's just so slow and boring." She shifted. "And so is this whole place. It's all so... flat. Give me a clear open sky to fly through and lots of sheer cliffs to jump from any day. Preferably with lots of updrafts."
As they continued on, Twilight made a mental note to show Gilda Ghastly Gorge if there was time. There were some parts of it that were dangerous due to various creatures, but most of it was safe to explore and fly through. Also, while not a massively deep canyon, it was around three-hundred feet to the bottom (the average being at three-hundred twenty-six feet seven and one-half inches, with some as high as three hundred two feet three and one-quarter inches, and others and deep as three-hundred twenty-eight feet eleven and seven-eighths inches), which would allow for time to free-fall, or catching breezes and updrafts and just gliding around. Provided one kept track of their location both in relation to the walls and the nesting areas of certain creatures.
Before long, the two of them reached the path that split off from the main road and followed it to Flowershy's cottage. As they got closer, the sounds of birds singing began to fill the air. Squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks could be seen scampering across the ground. The animals seemed to be enjoying the early morning as well.
"This is Flowershy's shack," Twilight explained. "She takes care of animals, sometimes helps them get adopted by ponies, and even works as sort of an unofficial vet. Not as good as an actual doctor, I know, but she should have some stuff to help with your beak and eye."
As she spoke, a sound suddenly reached her ears, but she was not quite sure she could place it.
"Did you hear something?" Twilight asked as she turned to face Gilda.
Gilda gave a shake of her head. Something about her face seemed more off than before, but Twilight could not quite place what it was. Something about the cheeks, maybe? Well, whether that was the case or not, Flowershy would be able to help at least some.
As soon as Twilight Comet turned away, she heard what sounded like a gulp.
Did Gilda just... No. No, she couldn't have... could she?"
Turning back again, she looked at Gilda with a raised eyebrow.
"What?" Gilda asked, looking way too innocent.
Deciding not to pursue the matter, Twilight once again turned away the griffon and toward the hut. From behind her, she heard a barely audible burp, and in the corner of her eyes, catches sight of what a part of her thinks is a squirrel's tail (without the rest of the squirrel). Ignoring it, she continued up the path and to the front door. Once there, she knocked.
"Flowershy?" she called out. "You home?"
"Just a second, please," a soft voice called out, barely audible. Not long after, the top half of the door was pushed open as a bright yellow head looked out.
"Oh, good morning Twilight," Flowershy said. "What can I do for..." Her gaze froze as she caught sight of Gilda.
"Boo," Gilda said.
"GRIFFON!" Flowershy shouted before slamming the door shut again.
"Shy?" Twilight asked, tapping on the door again.
"GO AWAY!"
"Come on, Flowershy, she won't hurt you."
"I just want to gobble you up!" Gilda added.
"Gilda!"
"What? I'm joking."
"Yes!" Twilight huffed with a roll of her eyes. "Let's tell the obviously terrified pony that you want to eat them. That's going to go over so well."
In the lower half of the door to the hut was a small pet door. It pushed open as a small white rabbit stepped out, its pink nose twitching as it looked up at the two with beady black eyes.
"Great," Twilight grumbled. "Now we have to deal with Angel." With a sigh, she crouched down so that she was about eye level with the rabbit. She then put on her biggest, friendliest smile.
"Good morning, Angel. You're looking strong and handsome today."
Reaching out with a wing, Twilight stroked gently around the base of Angel Bunny's ears. As she did, the small rabbit relaxed a little, leaning into the rubbing.
"Oh, come on!" Gilda cried out. "You can't be serious!"
"Gilda," Twilight hissed between clenched teeth. "Stop."
"What? Why?" Gilda moved forward and leaned down, now eye to eye with Angel Bunny as well. "You expect me to believe this little cottonball is some sort of threat? Probably doesn't even understand a word we're saying." Her voice then turned excessively sweet as she smiled. "Do you, you little white leg hump--"
Angel Bunny pulled back one of his front paws and punched Gilda right in the eye, getting a loud squawk of surprise from the griffon. Turning around, Angel darted back into the house, leaving the miniature door open.
"OH NO!" Gilda roared out as she shoved her head through the opening. "You aren't getting away from me you little carrot muncher! When I get my claws on you, I'm going to mae....m...ma.... ma...
"MANTICORE!"
Pulling her head out of the hole, Gilda shot off in the direction of the road as fast as her wings could carry her.
Manticore? Twilight thought as she watched Gilda disappear. Did she say "manticore?" Moving back to the little door, she poked her head in enough to look around.
Sure enough, there, in the living room sat a manticore.
"That's a manticore alright," Twilight blurted out, staring wide eyed.
"Twilight," Flowershy said as she poked her head out from behind the creature, "you remember Manny from when we went into The Everfree Forest." She placed a hoof on his flank and patted it gently. "He wasn't feeling well and came to see me."
"...nice to see you again," Twilight said slowly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find where Gilda went."
After heading back to the road and searching, Twilight Comet was able to find Gilda again, who it turned out was hiding in the same tree as before. A small part of Twilight found it kind of funny that the big tough griffon had run off and hidden in a tree. But over all, she felt kind of bad for Gilda.
"It's okay," Twilight said. "You can come down. Everything's fine."
"Fine?" Gilda said, eyes wide. "Fine?!" She leaned down. "There was a manticore in that house. A MAN-TI-CORE! How in the name of Tartarus can everything be fine?!"
"He's just a friend that Flowershy made in The Everfree Forest that came to visit."
A squawk of surprise escaped Gilda as she dropped from the tree. Eyes wide, she leaned toward Twilight, beak nearly touching snout.
"Friend? Friend?! Are you seriously telling me that that scared little pony is actually friends with that thing?"
"...yes..." Twilight answered slowly. "Once she took the thorn from his paw, he was actually pretty friendly. How about we go back, you and--"
"NO!" Gilda cut in. "Absolutely not. No way. No how. I would sooner go through Tartarus than go back to where a manticore is. Don't care how 'friendly' some crazy pony thinks it may be."
"Okay, we won't go back. At least not until... Manny... decides to go back to the forest. Let's just go to the hospital and get you patched up."
Gilda shifted and her eyes narrowed (one did at least, the other having swollen from the bruising).
"I don't need a hospital," she growled out.
"One of your eyes is nearly swollen shut, and your beak has hairline fractures and is covered in dried blood!" Twilight shouted, her wings flaring out. "For all we know, you could have a concussion or some other severe head trauma seeing as you've suffered from dizziness. You need to be examined to make sure it's not serious or there is any other internal trauma."
"I'm fine," Gilda retorted. "You're just being overly paranoid. Probably because it was your marefriend that attacked me."
"She's not my marefriend. She is my oldest and closest friend though. None of which matters, because this isn't about Applejack." Twilight reached up with a hoof. "This is about you." She poked Gilda in the beak with it, catching a slight twitch that she assumed was a wince of pain. "At the very least you need to get cleaned up and bandaged."
"Fine," Gilda huffed, "but no hospital."
A growl of frustration bubbled from Twilight's throat. Why was Gilda being such a difficult pain in the plot? More importantly, why in Equestria was she putting up with it? It was not like they had been old friends or anything. Gilda had basically been a bully and Twilight one of her more fortunate victims. With what Twilight had seen so far today, Gilda had not really changed. At least not for the better. Still very stubborn, still somewhat antagonistic, and seeming to always trying to be the big bad griffon. Twilight had things she could be doing other than trying to show an ungrateful griffon around Ponyville and try to get her the proper medical help. She could just fly off and leave the stubborn bird brain to her own stupid fate.
Twilight's eyes closed as she let out a sigh. That was not true. Not at all. As annoyed as she was, Twilight could not simply abandon Gilda and leave her to suffer. And as irritating as the griffon was, she had come to see Twilight and hang out. It would be mean to just walk away from that. Besides, maybe if Twilight kept trying, she would be able to get through to Gilda and see a nicer side of the griffon.
Assuming one even existed.
The problem was, what could she do now?
"Okay," Twilight's mouth said as her mind still tried to come up with a plan. "How about the library?"
"Library?" Gilda repeated, quirking an eyebrow.
"Yes, the library," Twilight confirmed. "They should have some first aid books and maybe even a medical kit we can use."
"Library," Gilda repeated again. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised that you would want to go to a library and use books of all things to deal with a problem." She let out a snort of laughter. "Still, better than going to the hospital. Lead on, dweeb."
The nickname got a snort of annoyance from Twilight Comet, but she did not say anything. Instead she resumed making her way along the road to Ponyville. As they got closer to town and the morning grew later, more ponies were around. Some of them smiled and waved at Twilight as she passed, recognizing her from around town or work. Others stopped and stared, eyes wide as they watched Gilda walking by.
Three particular mares got the griffon's interest. Her eyes narrowed as she puffed up her chest and flared out her wings.
One of the mare's gasped before the three of them all fainted.
"Gilda," Twilight snapped, ears pulled back, "stop scaring them like that."
"What, me?" Gilda asked as innocently as possible. "I didn't do anything. Not my fault that they're such wimps they faint at the sight of a single griffon. Even if it is as one as awesome as me."
In truth, it was not really as impressive as Gilda was making it out to be. The three mares that had fainted had developed a reputation of doing such at the slightest provocation. "Them girls'll faint at the drop of a hat," Applejack had once said. Twilight was not sure if it had been literal or hyperbole, but she had noticed that at least one of them would faint when Big Macintosh walked past. Admittedly, Big Macintosh was a big stallion, but she had never noticed anything very intimidating about him, and certainly nothing so frightening to faint over.
At least they were not able to cry out "the horror, the horror."
While the adults seemed somewhat frightened by Gilda, the foals were absolutely fascinated. Time and again, they would stare at her as well, but with the wide eyes of wonder when seeing something new.
"Geeze," Gilda sighed out after having to move past her third or fourth group of awe-struck little ponies. "You would think they had never seen a griffon or something."
"They haven't," Twilight pointed out. "This is a small town and not really much of a tourist spot yet. Most of the ponies here are pretty much just used to earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. Before Spike and Rainbow, the closest thing to another species is a zebra they're all afraid of." She let out a huff of frustration and gave a shake of her head. "As far as I know, there haven't been any griffons around." She then turned to look at Gilda, raising an eyebrow. "So you should be on your best behavior to try and make a good impression."
"Why, Twilight," Gilda said as she stuck her head in the air, "I am the very model of griffon behavior."
If she was joking, Twilight did not find it very funny, and if Gilda was serious, it was not a very comforting statement.
The two of them continued on, taking in the part of town they could see as they went, and the reactions of ponies that passed by. Before long, a large tree started to come into view.
"There it is," Twilight stated, "the Ponyville library."
"...It's a tree..." Gilda said, looking at it.
"Yes, it is. Go ahead. Make whatever tree jokes you have. Get it out of your system."
"What do you mean?"
"It practically happens every time the library is seen for the first time," Twilight explained. "'the local branch, the root of understanding, planting the seeds of knowledge,' and those are the one that I have heard repeatedly."
"Whatever," Gilda said. "Let's just get in and get what we need."
Reaching the door, there was no sign indicating whether it was open or closed. Twilight checked the door and found it unlocked, so she and Gilda went inside.
"Rainbow?" Twilight called out. "Spike?"
The sound of running along the wood floor echoed through the library. It grew louder, followed by thumps of jumping along the stairs. At the base of the case appeared the familiar little purple dragon, a large smile on his face which quickly vanished. After letting out a little cough, he leaned against the banister.
"Oh, hey Twilight," Spike said. "Thought I heard somepony down here. What... is that?" he asked, eyes wide as he pointed past Twilight.
"Spike, this is Gilda," Twilight said, motioning behind her. "Gilda, this is Spike."
"You didn't tell me the library was run by a lizard."
"I'm a dragon," Spike said, eyes narrowing.
"Aren't you small for a dragon?" Gilda asked. "And... kind of wingless?"
Spike's eyes narrowed as he pushed off the banister. Straightening himself up, he puffed out his chest and took a deep breath.
"Spike," Twilight Comet cut in before he could express what he thought, "Gilda was kind of beat up and needs a little help. If you have a book on first aid -- preferably with information on griffons in it -- and a medical kit we could use, I would appreciate it."
The puffing up vanished as Spike turned his attention back to Twilight. A small smile tugged at his lips as he scratched behind one of his ears fins.
"Well, the medical kit's in the bathroom," he said, "and Rainbow is still using it at the moment. We have a couple of medical books and field survival manuals though. I can grab a couple of them and--"
"Oh... my... tail tuft," Gilda suddenly said. She pointed a talon at Spike. "You like her."
Spike suddenly froze, eyes wide. Twilight blinked and turned to Gilda.
"Why are you surprised?" she asked. "Of course he likes me."
"What?" Spike and Gilda both cried, eyes wide and pupils shrunk down to pinpricks.
"Why are you two acting so weird? Spike and I have known each other for a while now. We're friends. Why would we be friends if we didn't like each other?"
Spike sagged a little as he let out a breath. Gilda stared a moment longer, then started to snicker. Before long, it turned into a full laugh.
"Oh, geeze," she cried out. "I don't... I don't believe it. You don't know? Seriously? He's crushing on you."
"...what?" Twilight asked, blinking. She turned toward Spike. "What makes you think he..."
The rest of the words caught in her throat as she caught sight of the look on Spike's face. The young dragon was biting his lower lip as his eyes started to tear up.
"This is hilarious," Gilda declared as she wiped at one eye. "I mean a tiny thing like you in love with a mare like her. What would she even see in you? I mean seriously, just--"
Spike shoved past the two of them and ran for the door. He threw it open as he went, leaving it open as he left the library.
Twilight and Gilda stood there, Twilight staring at the door. It was true? Spike had a crush on her? How? Why?
"What's his problem?" Gilda asked.
Anger suddenly flared up in Twilight, making everything thing turn red.
Turning, Twilight Comet punched Gilda in the cheek as hard as she could.
Twilight Comet's hoof slammed squarely into Gilda's cheek. The blow was quick and impulsive, so Twilight did not put much of her strength into it. Still, it was enough to send the griffon stumbling backwards into one of the bookshelves, her large form causing it to rock and several books to tumble.
Eyes wide and beak hanging open, Gilda brought a talon to her cheek, rubbing it. Turning to Twilight, she stared a moment before glaring. Her wings flared out wide as she stepped forward.
"What is wrong with you?!" Gilda bellowed out.
"Me?!" Twilight shouted back. "What in Tartarus is wrong with you?!" Stepping forward, she jabbed the griffon in the chest. "Why would you say something like that?"
"Oh come on." Gilda rolled her eyes and gave a shake of her head. "What's the big deal that the little lizard had a crush on you?"
"The 'big deal,'" Twilight snarled out, "is that Spike is a child. He's... I don't even know how old."
"Ten," a raspy voice cut in. "Spike is ten."
Rainbow Burst made her way down the stairs, ears pulled back and horn glowing with magic. Eyes narrowed, she looked at the two of them.
"What's going on in here?" she asked. "Why are you yelling about Spike?" Her gaze drifted around the room. "Where is Spike?"
Twilight pointed a hoof at Gilda.
"This... this... featherbrain here basically humiliated and embarrassed him." Twilight turned to glare at Gilda again. "Despite the fact he is a ten year old child!" She took a step forward, getting in the griffon's face. "How the Tartarus would you have felt if somepony had done that to you when you were a... cub?... fledgeling?..." She let out a growl. "Whatever the griffon equivalent of a foal is."
Gilda took a step back, her face softening and her wings pulled back against her. She shifted her weight, looking off to the side.
"Look, Twilight, I--"
"Stuff it," Twilight cut in. Stepping closer, she pressed a hoof against Gilda's chest. "Here's what's going to happen: you are going to go to Sugarcube Corner, and wait there while I get Spike. When we get there, you are going to apologize -- sincerely -- and buy him a treat to make up for it. Got it?"
"Okay."
The agreement threw Twilight Comet off for a second. She had been expecting some kind of argument, and she was ready to threaten Gilda if she had to. So having her simply agree was not something that Twilight had been ready for.
"Okay then," Twilight said with a nod. "Rainbow, can you make sure she gets to Sugarcube Corner without any incidents, please?"
Rainbow stood there a moment, ears back and eyes narrowed as she glared at Gilda. The magic around her horn continued to swirl and throb, waiting to be released. With a snort, Rainbow dismissed her magic.
"Fine," she huffed out. "I'll take her."
"Thanks."
"Yeah, yeah," Rainbow said with a wave of her hoof. "Just don't take too long, or I might get bored and see if griffons can be vaporized."
Hoping that Rainbow Burst was just venting her frustration with dark humor, and not actually planning to blast Gilda, Twilight Comet made her way from the library and started looking for Spike. With Ponyville still being a small town, pretty much all of the residents knew each other, by sight if not by name. Even new arrivals like Rainbow Burst and Spike. Add in the fact that Spike was the only dragon in town, and pretty much any pony in Ponyville would remember seeing him. It just took asking the right ponies and following what they said to find out where he went.
At least, that was what Twilight thought.
Much like most things in her life, the theory was easier than the practical application. It did start as she had expected, she would ask a pony if they had seen Spike (or "the little purple dragon" when asked "who?"), and they would tell her they had seen him heading whichever direction, often pointing. As she got further from the library, it became more difficult as there were fewer ponies who had seen him and were still around. Some times she had to make a guess, and even double back and try again.
It was starting to look like she may not be able to find him, which worried Twilight a little.
"Hey!" a voice called out.
Turning toward it, Twilight caught sight of a mint green unicorn with similar colored mane and tail that had streaks of white in them. Twilight recognized the mare, had seen her around town and often in the company of the candymaker, Bon Bon, but her name eluded Twilight at the moment. It had something to do with music, right? Lute? Lute something. Her cutie mark looked to be some sort of stringed instrument, like a harp. Lute Harp? Lute... Harpsichord? That sounded about right.
Once seeing she had Twilight's attention, Lute waved a hoof toward her. It seemed like something was bothering her.
"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked as she landed in front of the mare. "I'm kind of busy looking for--"
"The dragon, right?" Lute asked. "Little purple guy who lives in the library with that new unicorn?"
"Yeah. Have you seen him?"
"He's... uh..." she pointed toward the bridge. "He's under there. I heard crying and... uh..." She shifted.
"Okay," Twilight said as she started to walk toward the bridge. "Thanks, Lyra."
Lyra! That was the mare's name: Lyra Heartstrings. Why in Equestria did she think it was Lute Harpsichord?
It didn't really matter right now. Twilight had more immediate matters to deal with than getting the name of a unicorn wrong. Walking, she made her way toward the bridge. Her steps were extra heavy and dragged a little, causing audible thumps on the ground. At the edge of the bridge, Twilight stopped.
"Spike," she called out, making sure she was hear. "Spike, I know you under there. I'm coming in."
Staying where she was and counting to three to give Spike time to collect himself, Twilight then took a deep breath and stepped forward. Slowly she made her way under the bridge and toward Spike.
Whether Twilight's intent had worked or Spike had already finished, he was no longer crying when she saw him again. Instead his head was resting on his arm, which in turn were resting on his knees. His eyes flicked to her before he turned his head away.
Twilight moved closer, sitting down next to Spike. She looked at him a moment before turning to look at the water.
"So... I guess it's true then," she said softly, "you're infatuated with me?"
"I guess," Spike sighed out. "It's just... when Rainbow and I were working on The Summer Sun Celebration and I saw you on that bench reading, you were like... the most beautiful mare I had ever seen."
Twilight shifted at the compliment, her face heating up as she blushed. Her wings flickered at her side. She was not used to others complimenting her appearance, much less calling her "beautiful." Normally it was ponies like Rarity or the flower mares who got compliments like that.
"Then it turns out that you're really smart, talented, loyal, and really brave," Spike continued. "Who wouldn't fall in love with a pony like that?"
"That's... very flattering," Twilight said. Reaching out, she place a hoof on Spike's back. "But it's also not the entire truth, Spike. You're kind of looking at an idealized version of me, and not the real me."
"I know," Spike sighed out. "So, I guess you don't feel the same way about me?"
Twilight moved to look at him. A part of her felt bad, but it was better to be honest on the matter than to string him along. As disgusting a simile as it may be, it would be like lancing an infected wound. Yes, it would hurt and be uncomfortable, but doing so would allow for proper healing, in this case allowing Spike to get over his crush and move on.
"I'm sorry, but no. I know it's hard to hear, but that's the truth."
"...is it because I'm a kid?"
"...I won't lie," Twiilght said softly. "That is a part of it. Not simply because of the age difference, but because you're still at a point where you're figuring out who you are and what you want, both from life and from a relationship."
Moving closer, she wrapped a wing around him.
"I know this is hard to hear, but I promise you'll feel better someday. You'll meet others -- maybe a pony, maybe not -- and get to know each other. Some times you'll even feel like you're in love. Maybe it will work out, and maybe it won't. If so, you two will work to get closer and be happy, and if not, you'll try again, a little wiser for it."
Spike shifted to look up at her.
"Did that happen to you?" he asked. "Have you been in love before?"
Twilight shifted, turning away from the young dragon and looking at the water flowing by. Picking up a pebble, she tossed it into the water and watched the ripples. As it did, the image of an old memory seemed to move across it.
"When I was little, before I met Applejack, my brother was like my only friend," she said as she continued to look at the water. "He was the coolest, best big brother a filly could ask for. So, naturally he kind of became the benchmark for what I thought I would want in a relationship. I didn't want to date Shining Armor, but I saw all these great things in him I thought I wanted in a stallion.
"Then one day, I met a stallion named Flash Sentry. He was kind of cute and was everything I thought I wanted. He was even planning on joining The Royal Guard when he was old enough. So I thought that he was exactly what I was looking for." She smiled. "Even turned out that he was actually interested in me as well, although I wasn't aware until somepony flat out told me. Applejack says that when it comes to being flirted with, I'm 'as dense as a fence post.'"
She tossed another pebble.
"Anyway, I thought he was exactly what I was looking for, that he was perfect for me." She let out a sigh. "Then we went out on a date. Technically, everything went perfectly. We talked, we laughed, we had fun, but for some reason, I was just disappointed in the whole thing. Despite it seeming like it should be perfect, it wasn't. It felt like I was just hanging out with a knock-off of my brother. Once I looked past the things I thought I wanted, I realized I didn't really know Flash, and there wasn't really anything there that interested me.
"When I ended things with Flash, it turned out that I found another way he was different from what I imagined. He... ended up having a bit of a temper. He didn't hit me or anything like that, but he did not take it well."
She gave a shake of her head.
"Since then, I've been trying to figure out what I want a little more. I've had a few relationships since then, and they haven't really worked out, but I've learned from them."
Turning back to Spike, Twilight smiled again.
"The same thing will probably happen to you. In the mean time, I'll still be your friend. That is if you want." She shifted some. "I'd also offer to give you dating advice if you need it, but I'm not really very good at the whole thing. Really, Rarity would be the best to talk to about stuff like that."
"I bet," said Spike, smiling slightly. "She's checked out a different romance novel practically every week."
"No surprise," Twilight replied as she rolled her eyes. "Anyways, Gilda is waiting at Sugarcube Corner to make up for embarrassing you the way that she did."
Spike moved, turning to pull away.
"Thanks, but I think I want to be alone for a little while longer."
"Okay," Twilight said as she pulled away. "Well, I'll leave you alone then. Need to get there anyway to make sure that Rainbow Burst doesn't do any serious harm to Gilda."
"Okay," Spike replied. "And... thanks. For... talking to me and all..."
"Like I said, I'm still your friend."
"...yeah..."
Leaving the underside of the bridge, Twilight Comet took off and flew toward town. She felt a little bad about leaving Spike behind, but there was nothing else she could do. Besides, she should respect his wishes.
At least he seemed to be taking it well, and the two of them would still be friends when this was all over.
"TWILIGHT!" Spike was suddenly shouting from behind her. "HEY TWILIGHT!"
Turning around Twilight made her way back toward the bridge. Spike had come out from under it and was looking up at her. In his claws was a scroll.
"You said Rainbow was at Sugarcube Corner right?" he asked as soon as she was close enough to hear. "Can you give me a ride there?"
"Sure," Twilight answered as she landed and bent down to let him climb on. "Is everything okay?"
Reaching Sugarcube Corner, Twilight landed with an audible thump, getting a grunt from the dragon that had been on her back.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Spike groaned out as he rolled off Twilight's back and fell to the ground.
"Sorry," Twilight said as she helped the young dragon back up to his feet. She then headed for the gingerbread looking shop and pushed the door open.
While some of the gingerbread house theme continued into the shop, the interior looked more like a typical bakery. There was a counter with a glass display of various treats, as well as a register. Tables were set up all around the room, varying in size and shape. Since it was not yet lunch time, the room was pretty empty.
At one of the larger tables in the back sat Gilda, Rainbow Burst, and Pinkie Pie. At the moment, Pinkie Pie was talking. It was a bit hard to understand what exactly she was saying as she was going pretty fast (under normal circumstances, Twilight often wondered if Pinkie actually needed to breathe). Rainbow was either keeping up, or at least putting on a good impression of following what Pinkie was saying. For her part, Gilda seemed uncomfortable. Her expression was somewhere between angry and confused, and her talons dug into the wooden table.
Turning to see Twilight Comet, Gilda grabbed a cupcake that was on the table in front of her and shot toward the pair.
"Finally," she huffed out. "You're here. That pink... thing -- no way that's an actually pony -- would not stop talking about being--"
"You're royalty?!" Twilight cut in, causing Gilda to freeze and all the ponies to turn, looking at the two of them and Spike.
"...Wh...wh... what?" Gilda finally asked, stepping back and looking around. "That's ridiculous. You're being ridiculous. Where would you even get such a crazy idea."
"Spike?" Twilight said, motioning to the small dragon standing behind her.
Spike unrolled the scroll he held and cleared his throat.
"'My dear student,'" he read aloud. "A member of the newly arrived delegation from The Griffon Kingdom has decided to leave her security retinue and explore Equestria on her own. Please be on the look out for a female griffon with purple markings around her eyes who answers to the name of Gilda. It is quite important that she returns prior to the meeting, as she is a future Duchess and leader of The Mountain Shadow clan."
"'Future Duchess!'" Twilight repeated, turning back to Gilda. She pointed a hoof. "You are royalty!And the future leader of a clan of griffons. The whole reason you're in Equestria is some sort of inter-kingdom meeting."
Twilight's eyes suddenly went wide as her jaw dropped open.
"I... I threatened visiting royalty. I threatened visiting royalty!"
Her pupils shrank to pinpricks as she started breathing in short, ragged gasps.
"What's the punishment for creating an international incident?" she asked. "I might get locked up... or banished.... or banished then locked up in the place I've been banished to."
"Twi," Gilda said.
"I'm going to have a criminal record," Twilight cried out.
"Twi."
"How am I going to get in The Wonderbolts now? They'll never take me if I have a criminal record."
"Twi-light!"
"I'll be locked up in some other place I've been banished to, and never able to join The Wonderbolts. I'll be stuck trying to eke out a living from inside my cage."
"HEY EGGHEAD!" Gilda shouted, causing Twilight to jump and squeak out.
"You see? This --" she motioned with a talon at Twilight "-- is why I don't want to be thought of that way. As soon as any griffon or pony finds out that you're 'royalty' they start acting weird and treating you different."
There was a moment of quiet as Twilight's face shifted. Her mind reeled as she tried to catch up with what she had just heard.
"You mean... you wanted me to yell at you for being a jerk?"
"YES!" Gilda shouted, wings flaring out. "You have no idea how much today has meant to me. Applejack finally paid me back for how I treated her, you actually called me out on being a..." she looked around "... jerk to your little friend there, and your other friend over there has been about ready to blast me at the slightest provocation for how I treated 'her brother.'"
Stopping, Gilda looked down at the cupcake that was in one of her talons.
"Here," she said as she held it out to Spike. "The pink thing says it has sapphires on it because you eat gemstones or something. Sorry for embarrassing you in front of Twilight like that."
Spike took the cupcake, looking at it with wide eyes. Licking his lips, he pulled it closer. His mouth opened wide as he bit down, eating more than half of it, paper and all. His eyes closed as he let out a small moan of happiness.
Gilda watched a moment, then turned her attention back to Twilight.
"All the stuff I put you through in flight school, all the stuff I've done today, most of it is how I am back home. You know what happens? Nothing." Her wings flickered and tail lashed back and forth. "Grandpa talks about how we are a proud and fierce race of warriors, and pretty much every griffon I treat horribly just put up with it. I don't even know if I have any actual griffon friends because..."
The rest of the statement was forgotten as Gilda suddenly had Pinkie Pie pressed against her, front legs around the griffon and tears in her big blue eyes.
"...what is she doing?"
"You poor thing," Pinkie Pie sobbed out. "Everyone needs friends, even grumpy griffons like you."
"Uh... yeah... thanks." Gilda grabbed one of Pinkie's forelegs and tried to pull it off. "Can you let go of me now?"
"Don't worry," Pinkie declared, no longer crying. "I'll be your friend, and I -- cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye -- Pinkie Promise not to treat you any different than any other friend."
"Okay, great. Now let me go."
With that, Pinkie finally let go of Gilda and pronked back to the counter.
"Well that was weird," Gilda said as watched the pink thing bounce away like a ball. "Anyway," she turned her attention back to Twilight again, "it's been nice to actually be treated like a regular griffon for a change. To actually be called out and stood up to." She grinned and snickered. "Even if it was by a bunch of dorky little ponies."
Getting up she started for the door.
"Guess I better get going to Canterlot then. If Celestia is sending messages looking for me, then grandpa is probably worried." At the door, she turned to look back. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anygriffon what happened with you or Applejack." She smirked. "And who knows, maybe I'll be able to bag off and visit again before we head home."
Pushing the door open, Gilda stepped outside and took off.
Twilight stood there, wings open and drooping to the floor as she stared at the exit. Her mind was reeling as she tried to process everything that had just happened. Gilda, the griffon that had bullied her and Applejack in flight camp, was royalty. Royalty. Not only that, but she was actually happy that Twilight had yelled at her and Applejack had beat her up.
It was all too much for the pegasus. Straightening up, she headed for the door.
"Uh... Twi?" Rainbow called out. "Are you okay."
"I'm going to bed," Twilight said, not looking back. "It's been a long day."
Canterlot was incredibly easy to find. After all, it was a big city set on a mountain. She could easily see it from Ponyville. The entire thing loomed over the town. It would easily give an edge in a ground assault: the approaching opposition would be seen before they were properly within attack range. Although that seemed to be the only noticeable defensive advantage Canterlot had. There were no defensive bulwarks with crenelations or arrow loops, no guarded gates, and no bastions. There was a balustrade, but it seemed more to let ponies look out from the mountainside without risk of falling off than to defend Canterlot from enemy assault
The castle itself was also easy to find, seeing as it was the tallest building in the entire city. It had the same problem as the rest of Canterlot as well: it looked nice, but it did not have any good defenses. It was all tall, and narrow, and pretty, with almost nothing that looks like it could stand up to more than one or two good, solid hits from a siege weapon. A skilled team with catapults and ballistas could take the entire thing down with almost no trouble at all. Although doing so would mean not just dealing with the guards, but a supposedly immortal being with the power of the sun at her control. Then there was the newly returned Princess Luna, of which little was known at this time, or a supposed third princess that had appeared years ago and was who knew where. Thinking about it that way made the city defenses rather moot. Any plans would have to focus on disabling the princesses before they were able to do anything, then attack the castle.
As Gilda flew toward the castle, several pegasi and griffons in armor flew up to approach her. In the lead was a female griffon that was close to the same age as Gilda. The most noticeable difference was that the other griffon had a light green tint to her feathers as opposed to Gilda's white, and a dark, solid green instead of purple.
"There you are," the green marked griffon -- Greta -- said. "The Duke was beginning to worry, your ladyship."
"Grandpa had nothing to worry about," Gilda huffed out, shaking her head. "I'm here and I'm fine."
She caught Greta glancing at the swollen eye and dried blood, but said nothing.
"Not going to screw over the entire kingdom just because I have to be at a boring delegation with a bunch of old ponies and stuffy old griffons."
"Of course, your ladyship," Greta said with a nod of her head.
Gilda continued to hover there, looking at the other griffon in front of her. Greta was a perfect example of what she had been complaining about to Twilight Comet. She was always polite, barely seemed to acknowledge when Gilda tried baiting her, and did a great job obeying orders. Right now held perfect examples of such. Greta could clearly see that something had happened to Gilda, but did not dare to ask her about it. There was also no way for Greta to know if what Gilda claimed was true or not. In the past, Gilda had complained quite loudly how much she hated having to attend to all the business needed for taking care of the kingdom, especially dealing with a bunch of stuffy, boring, old griffons that seem to still think they were in the glory days, and blamed all the problems on the new generation. At no time had she actually had the opportunity to escape from the whole matter, even if it wound up only for half a day. As far as Gilda was concerned, Greta would not have been expecting Gilda to ditch the guards and run away in the first place, which means there would be no way of knowing if and when she would come back.
Some times, Gilda just hated Greta. She would have the urge to just antagonize the guard griffon, to just push her until Greta finally lost it and attacked her the way that Applejack did. Other times, Gilda wished they could just be more casual with each other. That she could somehow find a way to get Greta to pull the stick out of her butt and relax, maybe becoming something like friends that could just hang out and have some fun.
Admittedly, there were also times where Gilda wished that Greta would just take her to bed and have her way with her, forcing Gilda to experience and enjoy her more submissive side.
"Come on," Gilda said as she moved past Greta and the others. "Let's go let Gramps know I'm here before he gives himself a stroke or something." She then continued toward the castle, with the guard griffons falling into position around her. She was not certain, but it seemed to her like they were actually a little closer to her than usual. Perhaps they were worried about her taking off again.
How would they react if she actually did something like that?
Standing on a balcony were two figures: Princess Celestia and Duke Gruff. The two of them watched as Gilda landed before stepping toward her.
"Hello, Lady Gilda," Celestia said. "How wonderful to meet yo--"
"By Boreas!" Gruff cried out, stepping toward his granddaughter. "What in the name of Grover happened to you?" Reaching up, he grabbed a hold of Gilda's jaw, pulling her face closer to his. His one good eye looked at her closer than she would have liked, looking at the injuries she had gotten.
"Nothing," Gilda answered as she pulled out of his grip.
"Nothing?" he squawked out, and if he had still had any feathers on his neck and head, they would have puffed out. "Half your face looks like it's been bashed against a rock, and you're telling me it's 'nothing?'"
"It's fine, Grampa," Gilda insisted. "Look, you want me to take over as Duchess of The Griffon Kingdom, and leader of our clan, right? Well that means you're going to have to let me deal with things on my own. So, believe me when I say it's all been dealt with."
Turning his head, Gruff looked at her with his good eye, narrowing it as he stared at her. Gilda rolled her eyes as he did, her tail and wings giving a flicker of annoyance. She knew what he was doing, she had seen him do it before and even been on the receiving end of it multiple times as she grew up. Just had to put up with it for a little and it would be fine.
"We do have a full service medical bay," Princess Celestia offered, stepping beside. "If you would like, Duke Gruff, we can give your granddaughter a check-up to make sure there are no other injuries, as well as give some treatment to reduce the swelling, and sterilize any open wounds before bandaging them."
Duke Gruff let his gaze shift from Gilda to the princess. He then rolled his eye and let out a sigh.
"Oh, very well." He turned his attention back to Gilda.
"Don't let something like this happen again. If you get in a fight, it better be for a good reason, and you either win without getting hurt, or make damn sure everygriffon knows how badly your opponent suffered."
"Right," Gilda answered, mostly out of habit. It was just another part of the whole thing that she was tired of: the idea of having to be tough and fierce to get others to do what she wanted. Any who challenged her had to be dealt with ruthlessly, with very little mercy. They needed to have an example made out them. To her, it was just another reason to be isolated from others and not have friends.
"If you will follow me," Princess Celestia said, "I shall show you where the medical ward is."
Giving a nod, Gilda moved toward the ruler of Equestria and started to walk with her into the castle. They were joined by two pegasi guards, and two griffon guards, including Greta. Gruff watched them go, but did not follow. Most likely, he would either go to the quarters assigned to him and rest, or go and annoy some of the other delegates that had come with him. For the most part, it left Gilda alone with the princess, save for the guards which were walking behind them at "a respectable distance" (gag).
Gilda felt like she should say something. After all, this was the princess of Equestria. Well... the primary ruler of it anyways.
"Did you enjoy your visit to Ponyville?" Princess Celestia asked, her voice just above a whisper.
The question caused Gilda to tense slightly, one of her fore legs slipping beneath her. Fortunately she was able to recover almost instantly, the slight misstep (hopefully) unnoticeable by the following guards.
"How do you know about that?" Gilda asked, turning to look at the princess from the corner of her eye. Did she have spies or something everywhere? Was the "letter" merely a way to reveal the truth and force Gilda to return to Canterlot?
"Spike and Rainbow sent me a letter saying you were on your way and summarizing some of what happened."
"And it somehow got here before me?" Shifting, Gilda narrowed her eyes. "How is that possible?"
"It's a bit of complicated spell work," Celestia answered. "I can explain in detail if you like another time, but the basics is that I am capable of sending a scroll directly to Spike wherever he may be, and he is capable of doing the same with me."
Considering what Gilda knew about pony-related magic -- which was admittedly rather little -- it did seem like it was a possibility. Although... did the complexity actually matter? The very use of magic without any sort of material assistance was an advantage they had over the griffons. Plus, being able to send messages to each other from great distances faster than a messenger could travel would give them a massive advantage. If not in combat, then most certainly in spying and reporting events in distant corners of their kingdom, or entirely other ones, like the griffon's. It would also make catching a spy extremely difficult, as any missives would already have been sent. That would give Equestria a big advantage in knowing the social and political moods elsewhere.
"As difficult as it may be to believe," Princess Celestia said, cutting off Gilda's thoughts, "I can sympathize with your desire to escape the responsibilities of royalty and live a normal life, even if only for just a few hours."
"Seriously?" Gilda asked. "You? Aren't you, like, love and adored by all the little ponies around you or something?"
The question got a small chuckle from the princess before answering.
"As disappointing as this may be to hear, no ruler is loved by all of their citizenry, regardless of how well they try to rule. Even here, there are some who wish me to abdicate the throne. Perhaps some day, when it seems I am no longer properly serving the ponies, and they are fully capable of defending themselves, I shall do so. Retire and live out the rest of my days in a nice quiet place, living more along the ponies as a citizen instead of looking over them." She looked up at the ceiling, smiling slightly.
A small sigh escaped her as she looked back down, returning her attention to Gilda.
"Unfortunately, the duration with which I have ruled and the uniqueness of my appearance has made it all but impossible for me to simply leave and walk unnoticed among the citizenry."
"So...what?" Gilda asked, shifting as she walked. "Do you just... get used to it? Put up with it?"
"In my case, I was able to find at least a few on occasion who are willing to be frank and candid with me. Perhaps not as much as they would be with a peer, true, but more so than most of the ponies around me." Princess Celestia then turned to look back. "Once or twice, it simply took me telling the pony that was simply what I wanted. Perhaps a method you could try yourself with a certain guard.
"Also, I am more than willing to offer my own assistance. Perhaps not as much of a mentor as your grandfather, but a sympathetic ear and alternative opinion, if you would like."
The conversation seemed to come at an end there. At least on Princess Celestia's end. Gilda probably could have kept the conversation going if she had actually been willing to make an effort. Instead she stayed quiet, taking in what the princess had said and considering it thoroughly. While it would not actually be the same thing as having a friend, being able to speak with the princess on more candid matters did sound appealing. As well as being able to get advice. Equestria had been around for something like a thousand years, with Celestia ruling, and most of it was prosperous. Definitely better than The Griffon Kingdom had been doing since the loss of The Idol.
Although, when it came to the advice about making a friend, Gilda could not help but be skeptical. At least in the terms of Greta. The other griffon just seemed too uptight and proper. Even if Gilda did as Celestia suggested and simply asked Greta to treat her like she would a normal griffon, she would probably just say that it is inappropriate for a member of the royal family to fraternize with a guard, regardless of proximity in age.
"She reminds me of a pony I once knew," Celestia said. "A pegasus stallion who was a member of the guard. He was assigned to guard the daughter of a baron."
"Let me guess," Gilda cut in. "They fell in love instantly, got married, and had a bunch of kids."
"A classic tale," Celestia replied with a chuckle, "but not accurate in this case. It is true that they did find each other attractive, and romantic feelings did develop between the two of them to at least some extent since they were constantly around each other. However, both of them were rather stubborn, and very focused on what was seen as 'proper' for their stations and and duties. As such, while they did have interest in each other, neither of them were willing to make the first move and express their feelings. Eventually, The Baron's daughter was engaged to a stallion of a higher noble family, and the guard was reassigned to a new position. She became a countess and mother with several children, and he became a guard in my very throne room, marrying a librarian, and starting a family of his own.
"One day, The Countess came to see me, and it so happen that the guard was on duty at the time. The two of them recognized each other, but neither of them said hello or acknowledged the other beyond any official capacity. Yet from my position, I could easily see the two glancing at each other, albeit never at the same time, and the longing in both to speak with the other. It was only after court had ended that I learned about what happened.
"The story does, in a way, have a happy ending. While the two of them never got together, either by fate or chance, their children did. The oldest daughter of the guard married the countess's second son, and had a family of their own. So while the guard and baron's daughter did not ever get together romantically, they did eventually become in-laws and grandparents, and so created the bloodline for your friend, Twilight Comet. Still, there will always be the night when that guard told me how much he wondered about what might had been if he had simply expressed his feelings to her all those years ago. True, perhaps it would not have worked out, but at least they would have known."
As the story ended, they arrived at the medical wing. Excusing herself, Princess Celestia left Gilda behind to speak with one of the nurses, arranging for the griffon's check up and care. As she did, Gilda was stuck considering what she had just been told.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, she thought as she turned around.
"Greta, would you mind keeping me company?"
Mentally, she kicked herself. That was what she said? It was still so stiff and formal.
Stepping forward, Greta gave a slight nod of her head and answered, "Of course, your ladyship."
