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Story 4

Chapter 5: Gilda’s Secret

By: SleeplessScribe

Now I could feel my own smile coming on. For the first time since I can remember, a pony who had judged me based on species was actually trying to set aside her bigotry. There was a lot I wanted to say, but all I could manage was a simple “Thank you.”

Cobalt and I both rose, but Shatter rose as well and spoke before we got out the door. “Cobalt- I-I mean, Cobalt, Sir? I’m very aware of the current housing situation, so I do have to question you allowing her to live in the ground residential.”

The pegasus shook his head without actually turning to her. “She’s staying with me until the new houses in the Sky Quarry are completed.”

Shatter cocked her brow, rubbing her chin slowly. “Does Cerulean know? Is it really a good idea to bring back those memor-“

“Back to work, Lieutenant.”

Without a word, the unicorn opened a drawer and pulled out a long list, though Cobalt closed the door before I could see any more. “What was that about?”

He let out a long sigh as we crossed into the left wing through the lobby. “My other sister, Cerulean, had a rather bad experience with a griffin. She thinks it’s ruined her reputation in the city, though I’ve not seen any evidence validating her suspicions.”

One thing came to my mind, and it was the only thing I was really concerned with now. “I won’t ask you what happened, but will you take me to see her? Maybe when she sees me, she’ll try giving me a chance just like Shield Shatter.”

It took a long while to get a response. We went down two corridors, through the indoor training grounds, and finally came to the armory before he spoke. “I guess it’s worth a try, but don’t get your hopes up. To this day, she tells me she’ll never forgive what happened. Now then, do you want a weapon?”

The sudden change in subject kind of frustrated me, but I guess we did have to go through all of this before we could even leave the fortress. “If I have to fight, I prefer doing it with my claws.”

He gave me a nod, tossing me a rather… vertical bronze breast plate. There was no symbol on it, so I knew right then I’d have to start from the very bottom, but the shape had me raising my brows. Upon seeing my expression, he laughed a bit. “A griffin or two has actually served in the guard, so we decided to have at least five sets of armor designed for the griffin anatomy, just in case. That’s the smallest I could find, so try it on.”

The piece itself wasn’t actually designed that differently from my friend’s; the lower part functioned somewhat like the bones in a snakes mouth, meaning they separated into four parts behind the wing and opened up to allow the wearing in and out. The padding inside fit my perfectly, and the only differences I really noted were the color and the face that mine had plates on hinges for the shoulders, and Cobalt seemed to have removed his.

He raising one hoof to his mouth with the other hoof supporting his elbow. The light red eyes scanned me up and down for a moment before he cleared his throat. “Alright, Gilda, I need to tell you two things. One: I don’t think the standard boots will be good for you. You said you prefer fighting with your hands, however I will require you to wear something sturdy on them so you can block attacks from an armed assailant, but I don’t think putting anything on your paws will help, so there’s that.”

“And the second thing?”

It was just a little cute seeing the red tint spread across his light brown face. A little. “Two: Uh, don’t take this the wrong way, but you have a very nice body that you should be proud of. No offense, but given your past, it must’ve taken a lot to look like this.”

Just when I thought I was going to be the one making him flustered from now on, he drops that on me. An idea popped into my head, and I tried my best to play it cool until it was time to execute it. “Well, don’t take this the wrong way, but….”

Back when I said the thing that prompted me to do it, I really should have thought about how I was going to back up my claim. I most likely thought the statement would’ve been enough to get Cobalt to stop teasing me, but since it didn’t I had to think fast. The taste of blood was quite evident as I drew back, but cut on his upper lip was barely visible. “I told you I’d do it if you made another comment like that.”

The captain took of one of his boots, raising the bare hoof to his lip for a moment. After looking at it and seeing that it wasn’t actually bleeding very badly, he flashed a grin at me. “I’m not sure if I should just grab you right now and show you the proper way to do it, or just let you keep making mistakes until you get it right.”

With that, what I thought would be the idea that embarrassed Cobalt more than anything I had done turned into his chance to make me more embarrassed than he ever had. That is, until his lips met the top of my beak in return. “How about we just keep it at doing that should you ever want to again, huh?”

“You’re not even the least bit flustered that I just tried to kiss you?”

Cobalt simply shook his head. “Nope.”

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “You suck.”

His mouth curved into a smile that stretched all the way across his muzzle. The fact that he was in the air a little now told me that whatever he was about to say was bad enough to warrant him trying to fly away, and it was. “And one of these days you’re gonna swallow.”

A loud, hearty laugh echoed through armory when he saw my wide eyes, dropped jaw, and completely red face. I had absolutely no comeback for that, and he knew it. “Try all you want, Gilda, you’ll never beat me at my own game!”

I thought about trying to chase him, but in the end I just sighed and walked up to him. “Thanks, Cobalt. You’re making things really easy right now.”

After touching down he brought me into a hug. “Hey, it’s what I do. You ready to try and see my other sister?”

I nodded, kind of wanting to rub up against him. Anytime I ever felt that urge, I blamed my inner cat. That’s all a griffin really is, honestly. We’re just big, feathered cat…birds. Catbirds.

As we made our way to the exit, the colt nudged me some. The smile was no longer on his face, but he didn’t look unhappy. “Gilda, I have to say this. If Cerulean says something offensive… please try and forgive her. Both Cyan and I have promised not to tell anyone that doesn’t know, but believe me when I say you can’t hold everything against her.”

My gaze shifted downward a bit before I gave a nod. “I understand. I’ll try not to be pushy, either.”

“Good. Now, I want to go see Bellows first so we can take care of the combat issue. Normally, griffins accepted weapons, so we simply gave them armguards. You, however, are going to need something to protect your hands when you fight. Thing is, should the city ever be attacked by a monster, use of your claws will be authorized. However, I only allow non-lethal force unless it’s to preserve safety. Basically only in kill or be killed situations.”

Before I even realized what had happened, we were already in front of Bellows’ forge again. The big stallion shifted his gaze between us for a moment with his brow raised. “Yes?”

Without even asking, Cobalt raised one of my hands onto the counter. “Bellows, do you think you could make some kind of gauntlets for Gilda here? She’s part of the guard now, and prefers unarmed fighting. I was hoping you could fix something up that covered her hands and not just here lower arms.”

Bellows didn’t even say anything before heading back into that room behind the forge. He returned with what looked like a clamp with two thick, white pads on the end. “I can do it, no charge, bud. Gilda, keep your hand as flat as you can. I’m going to have to put pressure on it, but it shouldn’t hurt.

I did as he said, allowing him to set my hand between the clamp and press. It did hurt a tad bit, but I was really grateful that he was considerate enough not to include my talons in it. That kind of pressing would have snapped them in half for sure. Once he was done, he pulled each half off and held it over the fire for a moment. “Once I get the mold, I fill it with a flexible, yet sturdy compound kind of like rubber. I can bend it and move it to replicate your range of movement, but it’s strong enough not to break. That way I can design the gloves to allow you to curl and uncurl your claws and such. I’ll close up early today and get to work on them, so see me in the morning, and they should be done.”

Cobalt, I’m sure, wanted to thank him, but I actually beat him to it. “I appreciate it.”

The big guy smiled at me before changing the sign in front of the counter from “open” to “closed”. “Any friend of Cobalt’s is a friend of mine.” Once again, he just returned to the back room, leaving Cobalt to take my hand.

“The Meadow is just across the street, and that’s the florist my sister runs.”

Rolling my eyes was the least I could do when he said that. “The Meadow? Really?”

He gave me a nudge in the shoulder, chuckling. “She’s not very creative, alright? Be nice.”

I wanted to respond, but we were already in the shop now, and I didn’t want to potentially ruin my first impression. The mare was quite different from both her siblings in terms of color, and the glare I was met with told she was a lot different in terms of attitude, too. Cerulean slowly turned to her brother and said, “Well, the fact that she hasn’t pounced on my yet is proof of your claim that she’s a female, so there’s that.”

Cobalt’s words made a lot more sense now. Being nice wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought it was. Getting angry wasn’t going to get me anywhere though, so I extended my hand to her in spite of the comment. “Hi, I’m Gilda.”

There was a little bit more I wanted to add on, but the slap pretty much silenced me. “I thought you promised I wouldn’t have to talk to or even look at her!” She then turned to me, but I noticed her eyes shifting around, apparently trying to look anywhere but at my own. “I want you out, now, you squawk! You’re lucky I’m even letting you in my house. Speaking of, Cobalt, I think I’ll be staying at an inn tonight.”

Now it was my friend’s turn to glare as he got close to his sister’s face. “Cerulean, I swear, I will put you under house arrest if you go to that damn bar again. We’ve been over this, trying to drink this shit away isn’t going to solve your problems!”

Cerulean’s hostile expression began to fade into something calmer, though her tone wasn’t convincing anyone. “Get out. Both of you get out. You’re not the boss of me, little brother.”

All he did was sigh, nudging me out the door. “I have half a mind to tell dad.”

“Cobalt, I’m not going to say it again. Get out.”

The door slammed behind him as the both of us walked off. I was angry, but I surprised myself by not yelling at her myself. Also surprising was how fast this day had gone by. When I looked up at the sky, the sun was already starting to go down. I felt a weight on my shoulder, turning to the source. “Sorry.”

He simply shook his head. “Don’t be. Think it’s possible to forgive her?”

After giving my own sigh, I kind of just shrugged. “I’m sure I can, and while I’m not going to ask, I am going to say it’d be easier if I knew what happened.”

Cobalt turned to the direction of his house. “It’s getting late. Go and grab some food if you’re hungry, and if you think you can keep her from finding out, I’ll tell you.”

I turned to him to respond, but he was already on his way to the Sky Quarry. If my stomach hadn’t started to rumble, I would have followed him, but instead I made my way to the forest outside. My mind was everywhere but a few choice thoughts stayed in my head for more than two seconds. Cobalt and I had only been together for a day, but his words and actions had me already starting to feel close to him.

Honestly, I had no experience with romance. I had no idea what love actually felt like, but I knew enough to say that he was more than just a friend to me. That stallion was doing so much out of the kindness of his own heart, the likes of which not even Dash had shown. Even in flight camp, Dash would just try and distract me when old memories came up instead of trying to find out why I was hurting, but the captain didn’t let me just say no.

You know, if I wasn’t in such a mix of moods, I would have laughed when my head met the gate. I was so lost in thought I didn’t even realize it was there until it was too late, but luckily I was able to shake it off quickly. As I opened the gate, I began to think again, this time about the future. Cobalt was someone I genuinely liked, and someone I couldn’t imagine being permanently separated from. In a way, he was a crutch. He gave me something to lean on, something to confide in, that I had never had before. The more I thought, the more sure I was that I could really tell him anything, even what I couldn’t tell the ponies in Ponyville. It was then that I decided two things: that I would go out on a limb and ask Cobalt out and not care if he saw it as a date or not, and to stop walking when I’m lost in thought.

There was a little bit more humor to this accident, though. Think about it, what would you think to bump into in the forest when you’re not paying attention? You would walk into a tree, trip over some roots, accidentally step into a rabbit hole, and stuff like that. However, do you think you’d ever bump into the hind leg of a dragon?

I looked up at the stony beast in awe. His scales were a sky-blue with three grey horns atop his head, with claws and wing flaps of the same color. Everything about him made me think of stone; his scales were jagged and square, and what looked like cracks-though I assumed them to be wrinkles-covered his body. Two long, white, sharp fangs protruded from the middle of his upper lip, and when I looked down I spotted the grey, axe-like blades on the tip of his tail.

The beast turned to me, his yellow eyes focused on what was probably easy prey to him. However, though his voice was low and raspy, there was a calm gentleness to it as he spoke. “Drem yol lok fahdon. Greetings, friend. I am Vahlok, guardian of this city.”

Falling to my knees was the only think I could think to do. I tried to find words, but he gave me no chance to speak.

“Alok kiir. Arise, child. I sense great dismay coming from you. Tinvaak do hin faas. Speak of your fear.”

I had no desire to be disrespectful, and something told me that the fact that I found him just as my mind began racing like this couldn’t have been just coincidence. “Vahlok, I’m conflicted. So many in this city hate me merely for what I am, but I can’t just leave. I feel I’m becoming attached, possibly attracted, to someone whose kindness knows no end. This city feels like it could be a new beginning, a way to get over my past, but the hate I’m still receiving keeps me from feeling… home.”

The dragon rose and stretched his arms and wings. He was smaller than the dragons that I’d seen, being only as tall as the trees around us, but he was still huge compared to me. “ Nust los meyye. They are fools. One who hates another is foolish enough, one who hates another they know nothing of is an imbecile. I see all that occurs in the city, child. I have witnessed the bond forming between you and the pegasus you speak of. Zu’u wah ok fron. I am friend to his kin. Little griffin, listen to your heart. Where it says to go, you go. If it says love, you love. Do not let those that judge you for what you are hinder your quest for happiness.”

Given his stony look and the fangs coming out of his mouth, it wasn’t easy to tell that the mouth movement was a smile. The large front claw brought itself over me and fell on my other side, as if he were trying to hold me like a father would to a child. “Above all, remember this: never validate these judgments. All things take time, but as they see who you truly are, they shall learn the error of their ways.”

The heavy hand moved away from me momentarily. When it returned, his claws were closed, but opened to reveal a dead deer that he laid before me. “The secret you hide will be difficult to tell, but you cannot continue to hide it. You need not tell it now, but you should not hesitate for too long. I am eternally connected to the sky, and I see all the clouds see. The things you have done do not equate you to the image the citizens have. You must move past it. Now eat, child. It is late, and you must return home.”

I gave him a gracious bow. “Thank you, Vahlok!”

After about an hour, I was starting to think Cobalt was right. Not about the griffin, but about me frequenting this bar. Four mixed drinks and three glasses of tequila still had me sloshed, but when I first visited this place, it took one beer to do me in. Finally throwing in the towel I paid the bartender, half walking and half stumbling out of the door. Unfortunately, I had spent all the bits I had on me-only about ten-on my bingeing, so I’d have to return home even if I planned to stay at an inn.

I was surprised I was even able to walk, but being mobile didn’t mean I knew where I was. Falling to my knees, I started looking around when I heard hoofsteps nearby. Coherent enough to know I was currently in an alley in the residential district, I turned around only to end up on the ground. The pale orange stallion really didn’t seem to mind, though my somewhat blurry vision and his dark sunglasses made it difficult to actually tell.

His grin was unmistakable, though. He took a few steps toward me and forced me to back up until I was against the wall. “Why you backing up, babe? I thought you liked it when guys came at you like this, yeah?”

Looks like Cobalt really didn’t know his citizens that well after all. He was constantly claiming that nopony’s opinion of me had changed since the incident. Obviously, he hadn’t seen all the new looks I’d been getting. “Back up, asshole. You don’t know me!”

The idiot’s grin only got wider as each step brought him closer. “Tell you what, babe, how about you come home with me, and I’ll show you what a stallion can do that no griffin guy can, yeah?”

I finally managed to get back on my hooves, but he was already within foreleg’s reach. “No! Get away from me!”

He tried to put his forelegs around me. “Come on, baby. I promise, I treat you real good.”

“Didn’t mommy ever teach you that ‘no’ means ‘no’, you creep?” The voice came from the end of the alley, but by the time my assailant hand turned around, she was already behind him. She was silhouetted by the light behind her, though the voice and the outline were unmistakable.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m busy.” That stallion flew backwards. He landed on his back, and she pressed her hind paw against his stomach. “Listen here, dickwad. No means no, and you should be thanking Celestia, or Vahlok, or whoever you worship that you’re still alive. Now get out of my sight before I decide to change that.”

The idiot took off once she took her paw off of him. I was still trying to steady myself as she came over, but instead of getting mad at me too, she but both her hands on my shoulders. “You’re drunk.”

“No shit, you think?” I pushed her off of me, trying to stumble past her. The griffin didn’t let me, though.

She grabbed my tail, and had she not said what she said, I would have smacked her with my wings. “I heard everything. Cobalt told me you had a bad experience with griffins. He said both he and your sister promised not to tell anyone that didn’t know. However, based on what he said, I have to ask. Cerulean, did a griffin rape you?”

Honestly, I was expecting angry screams and a kick to the face. Her reaction was a welcome alternative. She simply lied down on the stone, and I heard a few audible sniffles. “Your people are monsters. They took something from me I’ll never fucking get back! All you squawks are nothing but barbaric rapist beasts!”

The fact that she was crying didn’t bother me. I was now concerned with finding out the details. It was something I had not yet even told Cobalt, yet it felt right for me to tell her. “This is going to be hard, but do you have a name?”

She slammed her hoof on the ground. “Gerard! How could I forget it with him constantly demanding I say it as he violated me? Why the fuck do you even care, you bitch!”

With closed eyes and a calm mind, I set my hand on her shoulder. That sealed the deal. I made a decision right then and there: Cerulean was going to be the first to ever hear my dark secret. “Please, hear me out completely before you react. Gerard… is one of my two brothers. Cerulean, you’re not the only one that the males in my family have made a move on.” She was now looking up at me, but the rage in her eyes disappeared when I moved the white feathers on my chest away. “This scar came from when one of them tried to rape me. We got into a fight, and I killed him.”