It had been a few weeks since Gilda had met Fluttershy, and things were going relatively well. They went on every witch hunt together, Fluttershy showing her the ropes and teaching her just about everything she knew. One night, Fluttershy had to work overtime at the animal shelter because one of the volunteers had quit, so she'd asked Gilda to take care of the witch herself. She happily obliged, knowing that with Fluttershy's training she should be able to handle whatever came at her on her own.

She had just made it into the labyrinth. It'd picked a hospital, which Fluttershy had pointed out was especially bad, because the witch was drawing the life forces from humans who were already weak from illness. She transformed like usual and kept her mace withdrawn, in case she needed it in a flash. She'd been taught that quickly summoning and swinging was good because if she carried it around and got caught off guard, she could easily let go of it. She heard a voice behind her that she knew she recognized, and it didn't sound too happy. "Gilda, what the hell is this?"

Turning to see who had addressed her, she quickly wished she'd just ignored, she saw Rainbow Dash glaring at her. "A midnight jog? You've been saying that almost every day for weeks! Don't even try to tell me that's all that this is, because I'm not that stupid! You've flat out been lying to my face! And for what? For this? I don't even know what this is! I want to know what the hell's going on around here, and I want to know now. Or else."

Gilda opened her mouth to speak but seemed to choke on nothing. She had been deceiving Dash- she'd barely even thought of that. All she would think was that this is what needed to be done in order to stay true to her wish. "D-Dash, c'mon, I-"

"Don't call me Dash." Her voice was cold and almost emotionless, except for the crack that Gilda knew all too well- the crack in her voice that always happened right before she was about to cry. "Tell me what's going on, damnit... I deserve that from you..."

"Gilda!" Kyubey called from somewhere ahead. "The witch is waking up! We don't have time for this right now!"

She felt rage boil up inside of her upon hearing the creature's voice. "Give me a minute! Listen, Dash. That day when we went for a jog and you blacked out, you didn't faint. You got hit by a car, Dashie. You died."

"No, thats-" Dash's eyes widened and she put a hand over her mouth in disbelief.

"But it's true. I wouldn't lie to you." Gilda sighed and took a deep breath before continuing. "This creature you see here- it's name is Kyubey. It asked me if I'd want to bring you back to life, in exchange... in exchange for my soul, okay? And you- you mean the world to me. I don't have an existance without you. So, I said yes. Now I go out almost every night and fight these creatures called Witches, in order to stay true to my wish."

She stepped forward to Dash and wrapped her in a tight hug. "See, Dashie? I had to lie to you because I didn't know if you'd believe me or how you'd feel about all this. But... but I'm telling the truth, and I have to fight this Witch."

Gilda ended the hug, backing up and staring at Dash. She was waiting to get hit, or screamed at, or the usual behavior when she royally screwed up. However, none of that seemed to happen, and instead Dash just stared up at Gilda with tears in her eyes. "You did all that... for me."

"Dash, you saved me. I wouldn't be anywhere without you. So please, let me protect you."

At a complete loss for words, Rainbow just nodded. They began to walk in what Gilda said was the direction of the witch when a voice from behind the two of them halted them. "Stop."

Gilda turned to see a girl with shining sapphire eyes, long elegant purple hair and what seemed to be a schoolgirl outfit- but by the diamond soul gem on her left hand, she knew what it really was. "Who are you?"

"My name is Rarity, but we don't really have time for that. Look, this witch is different than the others! You need my help."

"Like hell I do!" Before Rarity could react, she was wrapped up in tight silver ribbon. "That's a trick I learned, and you're not getting in the way. I'll let you out after I deal with this witch." With that, she turned and continued walking, Dash following just behind her.

"No... You idiot..."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Within a few minutes they had arrived at what appeared to be the center of the labyrinth- the heart and where the witch who created it resides. However, unlike most hunts, Gilda didn't see a witch. She couldn't even feel the magical presence of one. However, she did spot what seemed to be a stuffed animal just lying in the middle of the ground. "Is that a witch?"

"Guess so," Gilda replied smugly, summoning her mace. She approached the witch slowly and with caution, her mace held out in front of her in case this was a trap. However, as she got close enough to it, it didn't seem like a trap. "Yeah, this is the witch. Stay back, Dashie. I don't know what'll happen." Her soul gem glistened, showing the excitement she felt. Every time she fought a witch was like an adrenaline rush and she had begun to love the feeling.

Her soul gem was placed on her head in a skull-shaped clip. She held her mace high and brought it down, surprisingly sending the witch flying into the air, seeming reasonably undamaged. It fell to the ground with a plop, Gilda responding by rushing and swinging at it again but with more force. This time as it soared through the air, it seemed to explode. She heard a cheer of encouragement come from Dash.

She turned away from the witch to say something, when she saw something come flying toward her at an alarmingly fast rate out of the corner of her eye. The witch that had exploded had transformed into what appeared to be a large snake-like creature, with a horrifying smile and a wide open mouth.

By the time Gilda regained her senses, it was too late. Dash screeched in agony as she watched her friend helplessly get decapitated by the creature, her body reverting back to the clothes she'd had on before and her lifeless, headless body collapse to the ground.

"Gilda!" A voice called from somewhere behind Dash. She turned, eyes full of both fury and sorrow, to see a girl with long pink hair and warm turquoise eyes rushing toward her. "What happened to her?"

"She-" before Dash continued to explain, it was like something had snapped inside her. "What do you mean what happened? Why should I tell you and who the hell are you?"

"I'm Fluttershy. I've been hunting witches with Gilda for a few weeks now."

Dash felt more angered than relieved at her explanation. "So you just let her die? If you've been hunting with her, why the hell didn't you do something? Why didn't you save her, you jackass?"

"Is now honestly the time for this? I'll handle the witch, just get out of the way."

The both of them turned to find out the origin of this third voice. Dash's eyes widened at the sight of the girl it belonged to. "You're-!"

"I told her she couldn't handle it alone." Rarity's eyes seemed cold, almost deprived of any emotion. "I guess that's what happens when your friends are idiots."

Fluttershy was choking back tears, but Rainbow felt more enraged than anything. "No one calls Gilda an idiot. No one. Not even a magical girl." She turned to Fluttershy, the same rage in her eyes. "And no one lets her die, either. Kyubey?" She heard the jingling of bells fly past her and onto the ground.

"I want to become a magical girl."

Author's Note

So that's it for Gilda's plotline! Also, surprise Rarity. She plays a big role too, but you won't be meeting her personally until later.