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Story 4

Chapter 7: This is My Home

By: SleeplessScribe

I stared at my father, wide-eyed at seeing him actually outside. The crowd around us, save for Gilda and my sisters, made their way to city hall. Both Cyan and Cerulean wrapped their forelegs around him, shrieking “Daddy!” at the same time. He brought them both close, letting out a light chuckle.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen my daughters. Who knew such pretty fillies could grow into beautiful mares in only a month or two?” He then turned to me, a rather proud look in his eyes. “And you, my boy. You’ve grown so much since you took my place. I see you still haven’t cut that hair.”

Grinning bashfully was kind of hard to avoid as my father turned to Gilda last. “You, my dear. Come here please.”

She did as she was told, and my dad brought her into his embrace after letting go of my sisters. “That armor suits you quite well. Your quick thinking and fast action are to be admired, and I’m very proud to see my son taking a liking to such a lovely lady.”

After he said that, Gilda and I both looked at each other before turning away, both our faces as red as his cloak. With a hearty laugh, my father turned around, grabbed a hold of the struggling griffin, and headed to the hall. “I’m sure we now have ample evidence to not only prove young Gilda innocent, but also to have this other griffin brought to justice. I will see you all in twenty-two minutes.”

We all gave him a nod, but Cyan and Cerulean followed him. The elder mare gave me a wink, making my blush return as I was once again in my friend’s embrace. “Your dad is awesome, you know that, right?”

I gave her a quick nod, spreading my wings and holding them over her. “He told me everything. I knew you weren’t a killer, Gilda.”

Her eyes shifted down, which still had me worried, but I was easily able to bring them back up with a kiss on the tip of her beak. “This is probably a terrible time to ask, but since we’re here… if the trial is over at a decent hour, how would you like me to take you to dinner?”

There was no blush, no bashful stuttering, and no attempt to play off my words as a joke. Gilda simply nodded, giving my cheek and affectionate, cat-like lick. “I’d love to.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the lick. Not only did it tickle, but it was kind of strange. “Was that a kiss or are you hungry?” Now I had her blushing again, and after my own laugh, I turned down the road with one wing still around her. “Dad was right, that armor looks great on you, lieutenant.”

She turned to me, her mouth slightly agape. “E-Excuse me?”

With a grin, I turned to her with one eye closed. “Well, as we’ve seen, Shatter only comes out of the office when she’s needed. I’d love to have someone keeping me company while I’m out here, and you’ve proven that you can come out on top even in the worst of odds. Plus the armor. It suits you, and its ranking is on par with my own.”

The griffin let out a sigh, stopping to rub her head against my neck. A lot of her feline side was coming out today. “Stop being so good to me, Cobalt. I might just fall in love with you.”

“That’s just more incentive for me to keep being good to you.” We continued on to the hall, though I could tell she wasn’t scared anymore. Her expression showed much more confidence than when she was first accused of the killings, though her tail was tucked between her legs slightly. I guess the sight of her brother brought back some bad memories.

When it was time for the trial to start, my father was the one who oversaw it. To be honest, Meadowbrook’s court reminded me more of a church with the way it looked, just because all the seats looked like pews to me. The people didn’t bother with the regular setup this time, they just wanted proof as to who killed my guards. It didn’t really matter, though, Gerard was going to receive a lengthy, if not life sentence for what we knew he had done.

Of course, with him here, nopony had solid proof that Gilda was the killer, and with Twister’s body I was able to prove that Gilda was innocent through the fact that Gerard’s talons were a perfect fit for the gashes. Honestly, I feel like Twister would have been smiling at me right now. She didn’t talk much, but she always believed in equality and second chances, so I think that proving Gilda innocent even after her life was over would have pleased her very much.

Nopony bothered to testify against Gilda. My evidence coupled with what she had just done pretty much outweighed any racist excuse they could’ve come up with, but before my father could announce the sentence, I approached the other griffin. I had to know one thing before he was tossed in prison. He still bore a proud grin, and his eyes were just as wicked as they were when he was all dark and evil.

“Why?”

He snapped at me, forcing me to back up. “Remember how I said I wanted Gilda to feel loss like I had? Remember how you said you knew she couldn’t be a killer? Fuck you, asshole, she killed my brother! She killed her own brother!”

All eyes focused on Gilda now and a loud gasp echoed through the courtroom. My friend was hanging her head, and Cerulean patted her on the back. The mare put one wing around her, and I knew Gilda was about to confess something only Cerulean actually knew. She stood, very calmly, and lifted her head. “Only because he tried to violate me. You, Kenta, and father are all certified lunatics. My mother and I were the only ones in our family who weren’t fucked up in the head.”

I really expected my father to call for order as she approached her brother, but he simply sat by, watching. Gilda now had one claw pointed at him, but she didn’t dare get close enough for him to bite her. “You remember that time I left? Yes, I went to flight camp to improve my skill, but the entire year after that, I was trying to find a new home. Why? To get away from you three. I was tired of dad’s beatings, tired of your fucking pranks like that time you pissed in my drinking water or the time you pushed me into the cooking fire, and almost getting raped by Kenta was the last straw! Yes, father sentenced me to death for what I did, but at least he had enough of a heart to let me leave, even if he was repaying a debt!”

He scoffed at his sister, glaring and growling. “Heart? Fuck heart, you bitch! You killed my brother! All he wanted was a way to keep our line going, and with griffins slowly dying out in Equestria, you were the best option! Granted, the mare over there was my personal toy, but that’s beside the point.”

Cerulean hid her face with her wing, leaning into Cyan’s embrace as audible crying was heard. Gilda opened her mouth to speak, but I couldn’t hold myself back any more.

“You’re sick.” Now all eyes were on me as I lightly pushed Gilda back. “You’re her brother, and brothers don’t try to kill their family, regardless of what they’ve done. She didn’t have a choice, it was either stop her brother or have her dignity stolen and be forced to carry a child she didn’t even want. Not only that, but let’s add that to the list of abuses she just mentioned. That’s rape, murder, assault on the city twice, and domestic abuse. All of this added up just got you your own death sentence, don’t you agree, father?”

The elder stallion nodded slowly, banging his gavel. “I condense all his offenses into being a sick, twisted monster. Take him to the chopping block and feed him to the dogs when you’re through.”

He struggled as Red took a hold of him. The big colt chuckled a little, looking down at his prisoner. “Squirm all you want, I don’t let go.”

All the citizens began to follow Red, but Gilda spoke up again, grabbing their attention. “Say what you want about me. I may be related to that psychopath, I may be related to three lunatics, but I’m not one. Sure, I murdered, but I’m nothing like him. I don’t care how you all feel about griffins, I’m here to stay.”

Nopony spoke, but both my sisters and my father joined me in putting our forelegs around her. “For the second time in seventeen years, I actually feel wanted by someone, and the first time couldn’t last long because I was on the run. Regardless of what you want, I have….”

Gilda struggled with finding a good word, but my father completed the sentence for her. “Family. As far as any of you citizens are concerned, Gilda is a member of this family. That being said, I expect her to be treated as such.”

I’m sure we all wanted to say something, but everyone was silenced as Shatter stood up, joining our small group. “I chose to give her a chance to show me what was beneath the griffin outside, and today, she’s shown me a strong and caring heart. How about you all give her a chance to show you that as well?”

One by one, ponies began to join us, offering their apologies to my friend. Some held their hooves out and shook hand with her, and some simply apologized and left. After they all were gone, both my sisters tried to speak, but were pushed out of the room by Scimitar. My dad gave me a wink and left, both Cyan and Cerulean following him.

She took my hoof in her hand, leaning up to press her beak to my chin. “You’ve been too good, Cobalt. Now look at what you’ve done.”

I couldn’t help but smile. The griffin was acting so cute now, and it was a welcome change. “Looks like I’m stuck with you now. Poor, poor me.” Lifting up her head, I pressing my lips against the tip of her beak, but she tilted her head to the side and opened her mouth a little, making it feel more like a real kiss.

“I love you, Cobalt. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done and how you’ve treated me. You never gave up on me….”

With my wings around her again, I nuzzled her under my chin. “When I’m devoted to something, I’m five hundred percent committed. That goes for protecting this city, and making you feel welcome.”

Gilda tightened her hug a bit, resting her head on my shoulder. “You’ve done more than that. For the first time in a long, long time, I feel loved. I have a family here, I have a male that’s stolen my heart… I have a home.”

We began the trip back out of the city hall, and I just couldn’t help but pecking her on the cheek again. “You do, Gilda, and I promise you you’ll never want to be gone for long.”

She gave a small giggle, poking my muzzle. “You’re here, I already feel that way.”

As we left, the big dragon stood before us, a rocky smile on his face. “Well done, both of you. You’ve done this city and myself a great service, and I wish to express my gratitude. If you would please accompany me to my cave.”

It wasn’t really request, but we treated it as one anyway. Once we were in the mouth of the cave, Vahlok walked all the way to the back with one of his front claws encased in a blue aura. He began to write with his claw in the wall, and a perfectly rectangular section fell, revealing a gold medallion fitted into a slot. The dragon took it and approached me. “This has been a treasure I have guarded since the beginning of your princess’s reign, and for your devotion to your friend, your family, and your city, I can think of no better way to reward you than bequeathing this to you. Wear it with pride, Cobalt Edge.”

He set it around my neck, but the only think I could focus on was my girlfriend. “Vahlok… does Gilda get anything?”

His smile widened as his eyes shifted to her. “She already has. I told you she would receive a gift, and she has.”

She set her arm beneath my foreleg, leaning on me. “He’s right. Cobalt, I have a home now. I have you. That’s definitely enough to make me happy.”

So that was it. That was really it. In two days, I had helped save the city, gotten my father to come out of his house, saved Vahlok, and gotten a girlfriend. By the time we had reached the ground again, Gerard was already dead, and the dogs we had were all full. It spawned a few poultry-related jokes in the following days, but after a while, life resumed as it always had.

Well, except for the fact that I had a new field lieutenant and a close lover. After a few dates, Gilda and I decided to make our relationship officially legitimately officially official. We had a few long talks too, and eventually went to go see a doctor. Both she and I dreamed of being parents one day, and we were overjoyed to find that a child between pegasus and griffin was, indeed, possible.

What? No, we didn’t do it yet! She just turned 18, we’re not ready for that!

Anyway, yes, things were great. All the people had learned to really like Gilda, and she became an essential member of the community, just like everyone else.

Everyone was happy, and all was good.