Gilda wasn't used to crying. Tears came hard for her, a holdover from her younger days when the only way to avoid tears had been to be too tough to shed them. Now, though - she recalled the look on Rainbow Dash's face, the actual look of disgust as her only friend told her off in front of the entire party. She'd waited for long minutes outside of that retarded cake shop, first waiting for Dash to come out to apologize, then hoping that Dash would come out and ask her to apologize, eventually just dithering back and forth, putting her paw on the door several times as she tried to think what she could possibly say if she went back in. Finally she left, defeated, hot tears choking her as she flew.
The gryphon put her face into the cloud and sobbed. She wanted to bawl. She wanted to throw back her head and give a full-throated wail that would crack the sky with her grief, but she couldn't even do that right. Instead, she sobbed awkwardly, the sound muffled by the cloud that hid her face.
There was a fluffle of wings, and the cloud bounced slightly as somepony landed. There was a half second, a quarter second maybe, of bright upwelling relief, of hope, of pure shining gratitude - Rainbow Dash had come after her. She would have given her life for the pegasus, and gladly, in that brief moment.
And then she looked, and it wasn't Rainbow Dash after all. It was the ponies' goddess, Celestia. Her Pegasus Guards, stoic in their gold and white, stood on a cloud a short distance away, looking impassive. Gilda's heart plummeted. Had she really fucked up that badly, that the Sun Goddess herself had come to deal with her? She was horrified, but at the same time, perversely, just a little proud. This had to be some kind of a record, to lose your only friend and piss off a goddess in the same day. She wondered if Rainbow Dash would feel sorry for her after she was dead.
She stood and faced Celestia. There probably wasn't much, if any, point in being defiant, not against a goddess. She didn't intend to beg or cower, though. She wished she hadn't been crying. She could imagine what she looked like.
Celestia took a step forward, lowering her head slightly, closer to Gilda's eye-level. She seemed somehow more mortal, if every bit as regal. Gilda started to step backward before she caught herself. She wasn't going to show fear. She realized that the goddess' mane and tail were changing colours, rippling like a pastel rainbow as they blew gently in a breeze only they could feel. How could she have thought this being mortal?
"May I sit here?"
Whatever Gilda had been expecting, that wasn't it. She nodded mute acceptance, not meeting the Princess' eyes, angry with herself again because she couldn't do this right either.
Celestia folded her legs like any pony, and reclined beside Gilda. She smelled like flowers. Her weight dimpled the cloud, she and Gilda sliding together in the pocket thus formed. The Princess was big up close. Big, and warm, and all gentle lavender eyes and flowing mane.
"You've had a very bad day, haven't you?" The Princess' voice was as gentle as her eyes.
Gilda had trouble reconstructing the sequence of events afterward. It was all something of a blur. What was certain, and in the end what mattered, was that she ended up bawling wholeheartedly, her face hidden against the Princess' warm shoulder, the Princess's neck arced protectively over her, shielding and comforting, like a mare with her foal.
Nor was Gilda ever really sure how much she'd managed to say, and how much Celestia had just... somehow... understood. That she'd only wanted Rainbow Dash's attention... That Pinkie Pie could see Rainbow Dash anytime she wanted... That she'd been cornered into going to that awful party where she didn't know anypony, and everything went wrong, and everyone laughed at her and it all happened so fast that there wasn't anytime to think and now Rainbow Dash hated her and she was sorry, so so sorry, but it was all too late now...
Gilda's brokenhearted wails trailed off gradually into sobs, then slowly, slowly into exhausted silence. She felt empty. She felt like maybe nothing would ever happen again. She hoped it wouldn't. She wanted to lay against Celestia's warm flank forever, and never have Celestia leave her.
"My little gryphon," Celestia whispered into Gilda's ear as she began to straighten the gryphon's mussed head-feathers, gentle as any mother. She licked the tears from Gilda's face with her warm tongue, licked each closed eyelid, taking away the burning of the tears, then kissed the gryphon's forehead. "My little gryphon," she repeated, magicking one stray feather back into place, "You must hate Rainbow Dash for what she did to you, hmm?"
"No!" Gilda began to blink back fresh tears. She had thought the goddess understood. With hot tears welling to her eyes, she began to stammer out her longing for the blue pegasus. The goddess interrupted her, softly reassuring.
"I know. I know you don't. You might be angry with her, but you could never hate her, could you?"
Gilda shook her head and whimpered, not trusting her voice. Celestia paused for a moment to lick away the tears once more. Gilda sniffled, miserable.
"I'm sorry if I upset you, but I wanted you to think about that. You had a fight, and you're both upset, but you don't hate her."
Gilda nodded silently. She could see where this was going, but she wanted to be led by the paw, like a hatchling. She was surprised to find how much she trusted Celestia. Celestia would show her the way out of this.
Gilda lay quietly for a bit, waiting for Celestia to speak. The Pegasus Guards had gone, she noticed, leaving the two of them alone. She wondered when that had happened. She hadn't heard them depart. She felt trusted herself, alone with the Princess. She cuddled into Celestia's shoulder, content to wait.
Celestia's gentle voice finally broke the silence. "She's as unhappy about this as you are."
Gilda glanced up for confirmation, and the Sun Goddess nodded, quiet, reassuring. Gilda tried to picture Dash crying. She didn't like the picture she got.
Celestia waited once more. The silence stretched out. Gilda knew she was being waited on. "I wish I'd gone back and apologized."
The Princess nuzzled, warm sweet breath tickling through the gryphon's feathers. "All of Dash's friends would be your friends too, if you'd let them see who you really are." She gave Gilda a few seconds to savour the thought, terrifying and enticing both at once, then continued, "But let's take care of Rainbow Dash first, hmm? She's alone at home now. She left the party early..." Celestia chuckled as Gilda glanced questioningly at her, "I'm a goddess. I have my sources. Anyway, why don't you go to her, and tell her what you've told me? I promise, she'll listen to you. I know apologizing can be scary, but Rainbow Dash isn't going to use it to hurt you. You know her better than to think that."
Gilda nodded, closing her eyes. She lay savouring the security of the Princess' warm flank for a few more seconds, then stretched, stood and shook herself. The clouds were getting pink. The afternoon was wearing on into evening, but she could still get back to Dash's house before dark. She stood for an uncertain second, wondering how to thank Celestia. Did you just thank her like an ordinary pony, or was something more expected? She settled on "Thank you, Your Majesty", before the pause grew too awkward.
Celestia stood herself. She even did that gracefully, Gilda noticed, seeming to just sort of rise up without effort rather than pushing herself erect. "You are more than welcome, my little gryphon. May I ask one favour of you, though?"
"Sure! ...um, Your Majesty"
"Will you write me a letter tomorrow, and tell me how it went? The village librarian will deliver it for you, if you'll give it to her." Gilda nodded her assent. "Go on, now! Make yourself, and Rainbow Dash, and everypony else happy!"
Celestia watched the young gryphon as she glided down toward Ponyville, slowly becoming a dot lost in the distance. By tonight there would be ever so slightly more friendship in the world, and with that her own powers would increase, ever so slightly. She was satisfied. Lifting the sun into the sky was easy. Getting her creatures to see that everything they wanted was waiting patiently inside themselves - well, that was the actual work of being a goddess.
Author's Note
Slight reformatting on May 4th, 2014.
Punctuation correction on Sept 5th, 2014.